Ink Blade - Chapter 4.1

Master (part 1)

However, Chu Yan did not expect Mo Ren to remain sleeping for three days.

Obviously the pulse condition was already stable, and obviously the injuries were beginning to heal, but the person still did not wake up. He even had no reaction to the external things at all, he really appeared to be in a comatose state.

In such a weird situation, even the Hall Master of the Medicine Hall was helpless. Chu Yan became increasingly anxious, and simply kept Mo Ren in his bedroom, not daring to leave the place for a moment. Even the favored pet, Young Master Bai Hua’s invitation, had been repeatedly rejected for various reasons.

In this way, not only the attendants in the Zhongqian Hall were terrified, but even the first maidservant, Qiu Quan, looked like she was falling into a dream every day.

Yet Chu Yan ignored it all.

His heart was burning with impatience, and he just wanted Mo Ren to wake up soon.

He was so desperately, almost anxiously longing for Mo Ren to open his eyes, look at him, talk to him, and call him “Master”. Or anything else was also fine, even if it was to get angry at him or utter bad words, at this moment he could tolerate anything.

He just wanted to get some kind of proof, or some kind of confirmation—quickly.

That this person was still alive and was beside him.

That’s all.

****

Past noon that day, Chu Yan leaned against the edge of the bed and took a rest with his eyes closed and an unconcealable tiredness was already noticed between his brows.

The warm sunlight shone on the head of the bed through the carved pear wood window, and slowly shifted over time, gradually shining on the face of the sleeping person. Mo Ren, who was supposed to be in a coma, frowned slightly, and subconsciously wanted to hide away.

His consciousness had been floating in the darkness and chaos, like a handful of burnt ashes being blown away by the wind in the endless cold abyss. He was trapped in such a dark void, merely drifting in a trance, not knowing himself or distinguishing sorrow and joy.

Until a certain moment—as there seemed to be a tiny beam of light shining through.

What light is it?

Warm and bright. It’s so strange, but it seems very familiar…

It was very much like the sunshine of that summer day twenty years ago.

A beam of sunshine that he didn’t deserve.

This secret guard is doomed to not see the light.

……Mo Ren didn’t remember his own origin, it was the Dark Hall who deliberately made him forget it. He only knew that he was an orphan, and he didn’t know whether it was luck or misfortune that he was picked up by the Jiuzhong Palace when he was just a child.

There was no light in the Dark Hall, and he and many other children were only trained in Martial Arts, and merely killed each other to compete for a place in order to survive. It was like a group of red-eyed little beasts biting each other dripping with blood in the deep forest without knowing the direction.

But one day, the heavy doors of the Dark Hall burst open. He was taken out along with dozens of other children. He was bathed under the sun for the first time, and met a young boy who was more dazzling than the rising sun.

“It’s the Palace Master who allowed this Young Master to choose his bodyguards at will. Of the people in the Jiuzhong Palace, this Young Master naturally wants whoever He wants.”

The little boy had a pair of sharp black long eyebrows and phoenix eyes. He sat on a high seat with his legs crossed carelessly, his words were heavy and deliberate, with a sense of ruthlessness, “Do you think that your Dark Hall does not belong to Jiuzhong Palace?”

At that time, Chu Yan was only a year or two older than him, but he could already see that he would be proud, handsome, and be unrestrained in the future. The Hall Master of the Dark Hall hung his head dripping with cold sweat, and said hoarsely, “Fourth Young Master’s words have made this subordinate feel ashamed, this subordinate absolutely dare not!”

“In that case,” Chu Yan let out a cold snort, propping his cheek with one hand. The dark ink sleeves on the child’s white wrists were decorated with golden cloud patterns, which were very dazzling under the sun, “Why don’t you call out your secret guards and show this Young Master?”

…..Only then did Mo Ren find out later that the Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace at that time was also Chu Yan’s biological father–he had four sons and two daughters under his knees. Moreover, Chu Yan’s biological mother was the one with the humblest background and the weakest temperament among his concubines.

Chu Yan’s talent was astonishing, and his Martial Arts aptitude was unmatched by his other older brothers, which made him even more frightening. The Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace was a Martial Arts maniac who cultivated the ruthless way. He ignored the open and secret fights between his children and between his concubines in the back room. These young masters and ladies competing with each other for the future position of the Palace Master of Jiuzhong Palace, was in fact not much faster than the Dark Hall.

However, Chu Yan alone was weak, and he was still young. Moreover, his mother’s temperament was delicate and docile, therefore she’s not much of a help either. Everyday, dangerous situations emerge and surround him. However, he was born with a hard bone that was unwilling to be inferior to others. Not only did he refuse to admit defeat, but he also competed with his brothers.

That’s why, he urgently needed a secret guard of his own.

“But…this is really against the rules. If the Palace Master blames this subordinate, it will be really difficult for this subordinate to do it.”

The Hall Master of the Dark Hall looked solemn, and after pondering for a moment, he beckoned the children to come over, “But if the Fourth Young Master insists on wanting one, why not…..pick a child who has not yet officially registered as a secret guard and take him away.”

“It can also be done.” Chu Yan accepted it quickly as it was still to his favor, and readily agreed, “Tell them to come forward, this Young Master will come and test them.”

“Yes.” The Hall Master of the Dark Hall bowed and stepped aside, but couldn’t help but sighed softly while looking at the still young figure on the jade seat.

A secret guard…..was a sword used to kill, a spying eye, and a protective shield. They were not people of flesh and blood, let alone know how to serve a master.

No one would want to choose a secret guard to be their personal guard, this was the same reason that no one would choose a piece of cold iron to make clothes.

But the Fourth Young Master had no other choice.

Logically speaking, if the sons and young ladies wanted to obtain secret guards to be assigned to them, they had to be thirteen years old to be eligible. It was only that the Fourth Young Master couldn’t wait, as his situation was too dangerous. If there was no one to protect him, he may just be killed for no apparent reason before he could even turn thirteen years old.

——No one would choose a piece of cold iron to make clothes, unless he was already surrounded by enemies and needed to wear armor all the time to save his life.

That’s why the Fourth Young Master resorted to such a scheming plan, under the pretext of picking his personal bodyguard, he came and begged for a secret guard from the Dark Hall.

Chu Yan’s “test” was very simple. He brought a black and slender sword and threw it on the ground in front of a dozen children.

“This sword has the single name ‘Mo’. It was made by the successor of the famous sword forging master, the Hu family. It cuts iron like mud, and can hide in the dark night.”

The noble young man in black robe smiled and pointed at the long sword with one finger.

“You guys can fight with all your abilities. The one who grabs the sword in the end will belong to him, and will go with me.”

After his few words fell, the children immediately jumped up and fought with one another. It was not an exaggeration to say that such an opportunity to get rid of the suffering of a secret guard and follow this noble young master from then on was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It was only Mo Ren who didn’t move. In fact, he wasn’t really called Mo Ren at the time—he remained kneeling on the side, and couldn’t help stealing a glance at this overly noble and handsome Fourth Young Master.

He had never seen such an eye-catching figure before, a person that seemed as if his body was surrounded with brilliance. This little boy was so good-looking that he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

He couldn’t move his eyes, so he just kept watching.