Holding the knife at the edge of the abyss
Although coaxing children is a troublesome task, it is not without benefits.
If you can please this ancestor, he will tell you anything.
The young man crossed his legs and sighed like a little adult: "Master Zhao Wu likes me very much, but Senior Brother Chu Ming said that Master is not a good person."
"Chu Ming is very powerful, and the martial arts master is also very good to Chu Ming. This is the most powerful weapon in the martial arts hall. Chu Ming is using it, and the martial arts master himself does not have it."
"Master Zhao Wu would regularly meet with a man in black. Every time he met with that man, there would be fewer brothers in the martial arts school. Chu Ming seemed to have guessed something, but he didn't say anything."
"The man in black came again a few days ago. He mentioned Chu Ming in his conversation with Master Wu, and Master and he started arguing."
"A few days later, the master mysteriously brought back a very strange knife."
"After picking up that knife, Master seemed like a different person. He wanted to kill me."
"Chu Ming rushed out and blocked the master. He shouted at me to leave quickly."
"Later, the masked man came and wanted to kill Chu Ming."
"I didn't want Chu Ming to die, so I beat the masked man away."
Ren Xuan looked down at the young man: "Chu Ming is now insisting that he killed someone. Xiao Feng, are you willing to go and persuade your brother?"
Yuan Feng curled his lips, his face full of reluctance: "No, Xiao Feng saved Chu Ming, and I'm still arguing with me. Although Xiao Feng didn't use the Dao Yuan Jue, Xiao Feng didn't kill anyone."
The boy puffed up his cheeks, obviously still angry about what happened before.
Ren Xuan lowered his eyebrows, his thoughts racing. He remembered that Yuan Yi only knew that the martial arts master wanted to kill Yuan Feng, and didn't know what happened next.
Ren Xuan asked softly, "Why didn't Xiao Feng tell her brother that she saved someone?"
Yuan Feng: "Chu Ming said so. He felt it was his fault."
The young man raised his head, his eyes full of confusion: "Master Zhao Wu was really good to him, why did Chu Ming want to kill Master Wu?"
Ren Xuan lowered his eyebrows. It was normal for this kid, an orphan by birth, to have no idea of his parents' blood relationship.
He carefully considered his words and spoke slowly: "Xiao Feng, is the martial arts master also very good to you?"
Yuan Feng nodded, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
Ren Xuan's voice was calm: "What if he wants to kill your brother?"
Suddenly, a dark red began to spread in the boy's eyes, and the aura around him suddenly turned cold: "No!"
Ren Xuan was startled and quickly comforted her: "Don't worry, Xiao Feng, I'm talking about if."
The young man's murderous aura remained undiminished: "That won't work either!"
Ren Xuan's heart trembled, and he nodded hurriedly: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this, let's not talk about this. How about I help Xiaofeng explain? Tell your brother that Xiaofeng actually saved someone and is a good child."
Yuan Feng paused, and the boy nodded quickly, his purpose clear as ever: "I want my brother to pick me up."
Ren Xuan laughed in silence. He patted the boy's shoulder and said, "Okay, I'll have him pick you up."
Ren Xuan jumped down from the tree with his brows lowered. In order to prevent Chu Ming from being taken away by the secret soldiers, Zhao An picked up the evil weapon to resist, but his mind was infected by the evil.
It's ironic.
Ren Xuan headed towards the village.
In the small courtyard at the end of the village, Ren Xuan briefly told Yuan Yi what had happened.
The young man in front of him looked surprised. "Chu Ming? Impossible? Xiao Feng always said that Chu Ming was always against him and was an 'annoying guy.'"
Ren Xuan raised an eyebrow.
Yuan Yi lowered his eyebrows and hesitated, "However, Xiao Feng did say that there are many brothers in the martial arts school who have no parents like him. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time."
The young man looked up, as if thinking, "General Ren, I will follow you to the prison."
As soon as he finished speaking, another person in the yard cast a very wary look at him, as if he was guarding against a thief.
Qin Xuan leaned against the door frame and glanced at Ren Xuan, his warning not to be too obvious.
In order to avoid being retaliated by His Royal Highness the Prince of Han in the future, Ren Xuan could only call Qin Xuan to prove that he was only handling the case and had no intention of helping Qin Shu to prosecute anyone.
The atmosphere in the cell was cold and depressing. Chu Ming was still curled up in the corner. When he heard the footsteps approaching, he didn't even raise his head.
Yuan Yi stood outside the iron cage, his eyes complicated. Combining what Yuan Feng and Ren Xuan had said, he had roughly figured out the cause and effect of the whole incident.
The young man hesitated for a moment and said softly, "Chu Ming, Xiao Feng told me everything."
Chu Ming's body stiffened slightly, but he still didn't look up.
The young man spoke with conviction, recounting the story of his conjecture: "That day in the martial arts school's garden, Master Zhao An was murdered by a masked man. You weren't the murderer. Zhao An was a covert soldier, but this time he refused to surrender. He took up that evil blade in resistance, and it ultimately led to his own death."
Yuan Yi's voice was steady: "Xiao Feng saw everything. He was the one who injured the killer and saved your life."
Chu Ming suddenly looked up, a flash of shock in his eyes, then dimmed again: "Yuan Feng promised... not to tell."
Lu Shian frowned and said, "Xia Wumei's confession is consistent with what Yuan Feng said. Chu Ming, even if you don't admit it, the case can still be concluded."
Tears welled up in the boy's eyes and his body trembled slightly.
Chu Ming clenched his fists tighter, his knuckles turning white. "Master Wu got the knife for me..."
As soon as he said that, his whole body seemed to be drained of strength, his shoulders slowly drooped, and his voice became hoarse:
"In the end...he still wanted to protect me."
The boy's voice was low and hoarse, trapped in the light and shadow of time, unable to escape.
It was a rainy afternoon. The little boy huddled in the street corner, an umbrella shielding him from the rain.
The man took him back to the martial arts hall, gave him a warm place to live, plenty of food, and taught him martial arts.
He once truly regarded Zhao An as his father and the martial arts school as his second home.
He once treated all his fellow apprentices as family with great enthusiasm.
Until the fellow disciples began to "leave" one by one.
Mr. Zhao An said that they were on an outbound mission and that they had gone to a more important place. Chu Ming believed it.
However, more and more fellow apprentices went out and never returned, leaving rooms empty one after another, and even the dining table no longer needed more stools.
They left quietly, as if they had never been there.
Finally one day, he saw Zhao An looking at his new junior fellow apprentice.
That look was so familiar.
That was the look Zhao An gave him when he first looked at him—quiet, with a light in his eyes, as if he was sizing something up.
Zhao An smiled and patted Yuan Feng's shoulder lightly.
Then, his gaze towards Brother Yuan Feng suddenly became sharp, like a knife protruding from a cloth.
Chu Ming was trembling all over. He knew what Zhao An was going to do. In this place, if someone was "chosen", it meant that someone would "disappear".
At that moment, all the past events converged into one clear thought in his mind: he had to get Yuan Feng out. Now.
The boy's voice trembled, and his eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness of the cell and return to that night of blood and fire.
Zhao An held the "knife" in his hand, and there was no clarity in his eyes.
"Each one of them is a good seedling... Strip away the bones, remove the heart, and they will be obedient... It's time for you to be obedient too, Chu Ming."
"I was afraid too. I was afraid that you would be like them, stripped of your bones, empty and obedient... So I hid you and protected you... How was that wrong?"
Under the moonlight, Zhao An's face was distorted, with sweat and tears mixed together. He suddenly burst into laughter, his voice shrill and crazy.
"Do I really want to hand over my disciples? Do I want to watch them being taken away one by one?!"
Zhao An's voice was hoarse, like sand blowing through rusty iron: "If they want me, I have to give it to them... I have no choice... I have to survive..."
"Look how much like me you are...just as entangled, just as escaping, just as helpless."
"You are my child..."
Zhao An didn't finish his words. When he fell, the sky was quiet, the night was deep, the sound of the wind was like crying, and the firelight reflected the light in the boy's eyes.
Chu Ming watched as his fingers gripping the evil soldier slowly loosened. That hand had taught him how to eat, hold a knife, and kill.
Now, it was empty. Chu Ming thought he would be happy, but he wasn't.
There is no pleasure, nor relief.
Chu Ming heard Zhao An's last words.
He said, "You look like me."
Chu Ming was unwilling to admit it, but he couldn't deny it.
These days, in prison, Chu Ming would dream of Zhao An.
The man sat on the old couch and asked him with a smile as before: "Disciple, what did you learn today?"
In the cell, Chu Ming's breathing suddenly became rapid. The boy's face was as pale as paper, and his voice was like gravel grinding from the depths of his throat:
"I don't know... just kill me... I'll give my life to him..."
Lu Shian looked at the young man who was struggling in pain in front of him.
He walked forward slowly, squatted down across the iron cage, and looked Chu Ming in the eye.
The young man's voice was calm and gentle: "Why should I feel guilty?"
Chu Ming raised his head, his eyes dull.
"Zhao An has been a secret agent from the very beginning. He's a killer, a man who sells his life for another's. No matter how good he is to you, that can't change him."
"You don't owe him anything, he ruined you."
"He killed your parents, took away the family you should have had, and made your fellow apprentices into commodities."
Lu Shian's voice was soft, but every word was powerful: "This kind of person is not worth your tears."
The cell was silent, with only the boy's rapid breathing echoing.
Lu Shian said no more, only turned to look at Ren Xuan: "He is Zhao An's favorite disciple. The secret soldiers may still be watching him. It's very dangerous for him to continue alone."
Ren Xuan just nodded and said, "I'll handle it."
On the side, Yuan Yi seemed to be lost in thought. He stepped forward and asked, "Chu Ming, you were arguing with Xiao Feng in the martial arts hall. Were you deliberately trying to drive Xiao Feng out? Did you want to protect Xiao Feng? Are you and Xiao Feng friends?"
Chu Ming was slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected anyone to see through this. The young man lowered his head in silence for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Yuan Yi looked at the boy with a look of relief in his eyes: "You saved Xiao Feng. My brother has had few friends since he was a child, but I think you should be able to get along well with him."
He paused, his eyes sincere, "Want to go home with me?"
Qin Xuan, standing by, tutted. Yuan Feng wasn't enough, and now there was another. Qin Xuan understood: this guy really was willing to pick up anyone.
Chu Ming's body froze, and a hint of disbelief flashed in his eyes.
Thinking the boy was hesitating, Yuan Yi continued, "You are a genius in the martial arts school, and Xiao Feng's martial arts attainments are also good. He is also practicing Dao Yuan Jue now. You two will definitely learn a lot together."
Chu Ming pursed his lips, his eyes still flickering. The boy's breathing became rapid.
The boy in the iron cage can no longer hide the loneliness between his brows.
"I...I will be a burden to you."
A rather gentle voice interrupted the boy's heavy thoughts: "I've already told you, you're still young, don't think too much."
The young man outside the cage smiled warmly: "That's something for adults to consider."
He met the boy's increasingly uneasy gaze with a gentle gaze: "Chu Ming, you act too much like an adult. You should learn from Xiao Feng. At your age, you can be more willful."
The young man pretended to be profound: "I'm telling you in secret, I'm a fourth-rank master. I killed your martial artist with just one sword strike."
Qin Xuan, who was standing by, was choked by these words and started coughing violently.
It was a sword for sure, the kind that would kill me after it hit me. A pseudo fourth-grade cultivator, if he dared to force it, would kill me in minutes.
Qin Xuan coughed and said, "Stop talking nonsense."
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