Chapter 18: 5

　 I got up in the middle of the night to clear up my thoughts, not knowing what time it was — only that it wasn’t bright outside yet. On the way back to the room, I saw a figure standing in the courtyard, and getting a very familiar feeling, I couldn’t help but take a closer look.

　　 The Shadow Guard’s eyes were expressionless; he was standing blankly with his head hanging. A long sword was thrown on the ground, the blade covered in cracks.

　　 I called a few times, but he didn’t seem to hear. I could only step forward and pat his shoulder.

　　 He was very slow to react, practically shaming his identity as a martial artist as he blankly turned his head back, but I was shocked: his eyes were red, and he looked like he was about to cry.

　　 “At this time of day, why aren’t you sleeping well, instead of enduring the cold wind?”

　　 The Shadow Guard replied, “This servant has been trained since childhood, practicing the sword at this time every day, and has never slackened.”

　　 Yup, the conversation last night had all been in vain, and I became somewhat annoyed. “The doctor ordered you to rest, you shouldn’t mess around. Don’t train anymore.”

　　 “…Indeed, I don’t need to train anymore.” He trembled as he bent down, touching the sword, and his tone was full of pain. “…In this life…I’ll never be able to pick up a sword again…”

　　 His surging mood made me too scared to speak. The people I had known didn’t really have any emotional ups and downs, and I had never seen others being so emotional. I didn’t know how to comfort him at the moment, so I dumbly squatted next to him and waited for him to finish crying.

　　 After he had calmed down a little, he looked up, though his eyes were still intimidating to me, dim and dark. “This servant is already useless, unable to protect Master. I beg Master to grant me death.”

“Hey, I can’t, I can’t!! If you have any injuries, then just take care of them well. If you don’t have the skills, then practice again from the start. Why are you saying this nonsense…?” I know that even if people in this era are free from illness and disaster, they still inevitably grow old and die, but they actually treat life and death as more ordinary things than we do. Yet this word I never even dared to touch: the longer we live, the more cowardly we become.

　　 “This servant does not understand. Keeping a useless person like me, what is the point…” He started voicing his grievances again.

“When did you ever become useless!! You can use chopsticks, cook food, wash your face…” I spoke sincerely, praising all of these things one by one, then put my hand on his back and said, “My knowledge level is pretty much that of a newborn, and there are so many things I need to learn. You can think of all this as being my companion.”

　　 I comforted him for a long time, coaxing him, and stuffed him back into bed and tucked him in, and it wasn’t until then that his expression became a bit more normal. I sighed softly, thinking about his heavily injured body when I first met him, not knowing what calamity he had suffered, while I, a little flower in a greenhouse, still needed him to take care of me. I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

　　 “Right, what’s your name?” I finally remembered this problem. “Other people always call you ‘that follower’. Very disrespectful.”

　　 After all, in front of this God of Creation, everyone is equal.

　　 The light that had just appeared in his eyes vanished again. “People from Nightrunner never have names… Although I was given a name by my former master, I have already been expelled, and have no right to mention it.”

　　 He looked depressed again, and I regretted it, feeling like I had dropped a stone on my own foot, and hurried to say: “Then I can give you a new name?”

　　He became a bit happier. “Naturally. It is an honor.”

　　 It was nice to say, but coming up with a name was another thing entirely. How the hell would I come up with a name when I didn’t even have one myself? But my face remained undisturbed, pretending to be calm. “When coming up with your names, are there any rules?”

　　“People from Nightrunner are usually given the surname Ye.* The name itself can be given as the master pleases.”

*Ye = 夜, meaning night

　　 “Okay, I got it. I need to carefully think about this for a while. Allow me to consider it for a few days.” I felt I had replied to the topic successfully, and even wanted to applaud myself in my heart.

　　 The Shadow Guard, now obviously in a much better mood, then asked, “May I know Master’s name…?”

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　　 “I don’t have a name…” I said this half-sentence normally, but the Shadow Guard’s face changed, and he returned to his previous deferential stance. “I’m sorry, this servant has overstepped his boundaries…”

“No no no no no no no slow down.” I quickly moved to stop him from returning to despair. “I really don’t have a name, so let me explain it like this. The place I came from is very special; names had no legal effects, so they were gradually abandoned. We all only had serial numbers, no names… But this is truly not very convenient.” I rubbed my chin, but couldn’t think up any pleasant-sounding names. “How about this? You can give me one.“

　　 The Shadow Guard was stunned. “…Where is there such a rule?”

　　 “Just think of it as saving me from misery.” I prudently patted his shoulder.

　　 The Shadow Guard was stunned for a long time, but seeing that I looked solemn, he grew serious. He turned his head to think for a while. “This servant doesn’t know anything about Master, and doesn’t know where to start. Let me ask, Master, what ambitions do you have?”

　　 I was at a loss. “I only know that I won’t end up being mediocre.”

　　 “Master, are you interested in politics? Or—”

　　 I didn’t have any ideas, so I hastily replied, “Being above ten thousand people, that will do.”

　　He looked bewildered and uncertain, but stabilized his thoughts after a little while. “Because Master intends to have power over the country, he can take the surname Jun.* Xuanji Yuheng is an instrument of the Emperor to measure the heavens. Master has great ambitions, so this servant dares to choose the name ‘Xuanheng’.”

*Jun = 君, meaning noble

　　 Jun Xuanheng…

　　 I absolutely liked this name. Feeling extremely pleased, I jumped up and hugged him in satisfaction.

　　 The Shadow Guard was caught off guard by my attack. In embarrassment, he added, “It’s just… a servant naming his master. It’s really an absurd fantasy,* and if it is talked about in the future, I fear it will insult the master’s reputation…”

*absurd fantasy = 天方夜谭 (tian fang ye tan), refers to the classic story “The Arabian Nights” but is used as a metaphor

　　 My eyes lit up. “That’s it!”

　　“Huh??”

　　 “Ye Tan…Ye Tan.” I repeated it over, thinking it was both beautiful and memorable, and even followed the Nightrunner naming rules. “You will be called Ye Tan.”

　　 When he finally reacted, he too seemed a little excited. “Ye Tan thanks Master for granting this name.”

　　 “If this is the case, you actually thought of both names by yourself.” After pushing the boat with the current* and getting an easy ride, I couldn’t help but start to feel guilty.

*pushing the boat with the current = 顺水推舟, idiom, to take advantage of the situation for one’s own benefit

　　 “This work is a natural success. It is a case of being accidentally created by a skilled hand,” he quietly said. “Master is really a fascinating person.”

　　 I told him that since we both had names now, we could begin calling each other by name, but he was incredibly stubborn and refused to agree with this in any way.

　　 I decided I could slowly guide him in the future, so I let him go to sleep first. After closing the door and going out, I found that it was already bright daytime.

　　…I heard that you shouldn’t sleep after dawn? Can I still sleep…?

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