Li Rufeng had been dogged by bad luck all the way, stumbling along until he finally reached the military camp. The moment he stepped through the camp gate, a soldier eagerly ran over to help him carry his things. But as soon as the soldier's hand touched Li Rufeng, he accidentally tripped over a Shítou on the ground and crashed into the nearby weapon rack with a loud clatter, scattering various weapons all over the floor.
The soldier looked at Li Rufeng with a grievance-filled face and said, "Li Rufeng, your bad luck is really something else! I just wanted to lend you a hand, how could I be so unlucky?"
Li Rufeng said apologetically, "Brother, I am truly sorry. When this bad luck of mine strikes, I cannot control it at all."
Just then, a junior officer in the camp walked over, frowning as he asked, "What is going on here? All this yelling and shouting." The soldier hurriedly explained what had happened. Hearing this, the junior officer let out a disdainful snort and said, "Hmph, I don't believe in curses. Just how bad can it be?" With that, he reached out to pat Li Rufeng on the shoulder, intending to offer a few words of comfort.
No sooner had he patted him than the junior officer suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. His face instantly turned ashen, and clutching his belly, he bolted for the latrine, muttering, "Ouch, what is going on? Why did my stomach suddenly start hurting this badly?"
The surrounding soldiers burst into roaring laughter. One soldier chuckled and said, "Sir, do you believe it now? Whoever touches Li Rufeng's bad luck gets hit with bad luck."
Li Rufeng shrugged helplessly and said, "I don't want this either. This bad luck is going to last for a whole day, and I haven't the foggiest idea what to do."
Female Deputy General Mei Yuxin walked over and teased with a smile, "Li Rufeng, your bad luck has practically become a scenic attraction of the camp. From now on, everyone will probably give you a wide berth."
Just at that moment, General Ma Rulong, having heard about the commotion over here, strode over. He looked at Li Rufeng and said sternly, "Li Rufeng, your bad luck must not disrupt the order of the camp."
Li Rufeng hastily explained, "General, I really didn't do it on purpose. This is a punishment bestowed upon me by the heavens, and it will be fine by tomorrow."
Hearing this, Ma Rulong pondered for a moment and said, "Fine then. Since it's come to this, go help sort out the rations over there first, and don't wander around everywhere, lest you implicate the rest of us."
Li Rufeng had no choice but to obediently walk toward the ration storage area. But no sooner had he reached the provisions than a fierce gust of wind blew by, suddenly ripping away the tarpaulin covering the grain stack and sending some of the rations flying everywhere.
The soldier in charge of rations cried out anxiously, "Li Rufeng, the moment you arrive, even the rations suffer along with you!"
Li Rufeng felt like crying without tears. "This... this cannot be blamed on me either. This wind picked up at the worst possible time."
Other soldiers gathered around to help tidy up the rations, joking as they worked, "Li Rufeng, your bad luck packs quite a punch. Even the rations are afraid of you."
Li Rufeng heaved a helpless sigh, thinking to himself, "When will this unlucky day ever end? Who knows how much trouble I'm going to cause in the military camp."
With a heart full of helplessness, Li Rufeng began to sort the rations. Just as he squatted down to pick up the scattered grain, a wooden board under his foot lifted without any warning and struck him right in the face with a loud smack.
"Ow, ouch!" Li Rufeng was in so much pain that tears nearly welled up in his eyes, and he groaned as he clutched his cheek. The soldiers helping nearby couldn't help laughing when they saw this and said, "Li Rufeng, what deep grudge do you have with that wooden board? Even that managed to hit you."
Li Rufeng retorted with a snort, "It's all because of this wretched bad luck! What else could I do?"
Just as everyone was scrambling in a panic to clean up the rations, something even more bizarre happened. Those bags of grain, which had been stacked so neatly, suddenly seemed to grow legs and started "running away" on their own. Sack after sack of grain rolled across the ground, scurrying in all directions.
The soldiers were dumbfounded. Someone screamed, "Th-this grain is running away by itself! Are we haunted?"
Li Rufeng was also completely dazed, muttering to himself, "Surely my bad luck didn't turn the rations into spirits, did it?"
At that moment, a veteran came to his senses and shouted, "Don't just stand there, hurry up and catch the grain!" Only then did everyone snap back to reality and scatter in pursuit of the rolling rations.
After finally rounding up all the grain, the breathless soldiers barely had a moment to catch their breath when another commotion broke out from the direction of the stables. Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see a horse actually buck its groom off, rear up on its front hooves, and mount directly on top of the groom, carrying him on its back as it went tearing wildly through the camp.
"What is going on here? How is a horse riding a man?!" A soldier's jaw dropped in astonishment.
The groom yelled from atop the horse's back, "Come and help! This horse has gone mad!"
With a bitter face, Li Rufeng said, "I knew it. This bad luck definitely isn't over yet."
A group of soldiers rushed forward trying to subdue the horse, but the beast acted as though it were possessed by something, refusing to stop no matter what. Just as everyone was at their wits' end, the horse suddenly charged straight at Li Rufeng.
Scared out of his wits and turning ashen, Li Rufeng spun around and bolted, shouting at the top of his lungs as he ran, "Don't come over here! I've already had enough bad luck!"
As it turned out, the horse still caught up to him, knocking Li Rufeng flat on his ground with a crash, and then galloped right over him with the groom still on its back.
"Oof, what kind of sins did I commit in my past life to deserve this?" Li Rufeng lay flat on the ground, groaning feebly.
The surrounding soldiers, while running after the horse, didn't forget to tease him, "Li Rufeng, your bad luck doesn't even spare horses!"
After finally managing to subdue the horse, the military camp was already in absolute chaos. The soldiers looked at Li Rufeng, feeling a mix of exasperation and amusement.
One soldier said, "Li Rufeng, if your bad luck is going to be like this every day, there'll be no living in this camp for us."
With a pitiful expression, Li Rufeng said, "I don't want this either. This bad luck won't end until tomorrow, and it's sheer torture for me to endure it."
Throughout the entire day, bizarre bouts of bad luck never stopped plaguing the people around Li Rufeng, and whoever got close to him met with misfortune. If someone accidentally touched him, they would be struck by a flying object; if someone spoke a word to him, they would inevitably take a tumble. The entire camp was turned completely upside down by Li Rufeng's bad luck.
Finally, night fell. Li Rufeng lay in bed, pinning all his hopes on tomorrow.