Chapter 23: 10

        In these few days I had experienced great joy and also great grief, and it had made me very exhausted. After I finished digging through my lunch, it was as if I was lost in a state of disappointment, and I only wanted to go to sleep again.

　　 Ye Tan raised his eyebrows and said: “Master’s physical condition seems to have suddenly improved.”

　　 That’s right, I could now sit on a chair at the table to eat a meal like a normal person, which was remarkable progress.

　　 Rubbing between his eyebrows, Ye Tan asked again, “Is there anything troubling Master?”

        “I have some questions to ask you.“ After this meal, I had been able to rest my thoughts for a while, so I carefully sorted out the events of the past few days. “I don’t know if these things have anything to do with me. If you’re unwilling to mention it, I won’t force you.”

　　 Ye Tan respectfully said, “Master, please continue.”

        I nodded. “First, I went back to the inn yesterday to pick up a book. Why would someone want to capture me? Who is Ze Que and what is his objective? In his speech, he mentioned Yue Changsheng, so who is Yue Changsheng? Second, Ze Que said that you were banished by the Second Young Master, so who is the Second Young Master? Was he also your former master? But a few days ago at Nightrunner, the shopkeeper clearly said that Shadow Guards were employed for life, so why did you change masters? Also…”

　　 I paused, not wanting to touch on his past, but I was truly curious. “Ze Que seems to be very interested in your swordsmanship, so what is the actual reason you lost all your martial arts?”

　　The questions were asked, yet no answer could be heard. Ye Tan seemed to have completely forgotten the etiquette of avoiding my eyes and was silently staring at me.

　　 “I’m sorry. It might involve hurtful past events for you…” I hurriedly waved my hands around. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. I just asked without thinking.”

　　 “Master has misunderstood. This servant is just… a bit surprised,” Ye Tan said meaningfully. “It turns out that Master has been thinking so carefully, this servant did not realize it.”

　　 I apprehensively thought:  is he praising or insulting me?

        “The first thing is indeed this servant’s fault. This servant wrote down Zhongli Court Yue Changsheng. Yue Changsheng is the most favored guest of Zhongli Court’s Eldest Young Master, Zhongli Zixu. For living expenses in and out of the city, as long as this name is given, Zhongli Court will take care of it. It was this servant who dared to assume Master was him, because except for Yue Changsheng… this servant cannot find a second person with such an appearance as Master.” Ye Tan lowered his head, apologetic. “Unfortunately, this servant is dumb, and guessed wrong. It even caused Master to put himself in danger; the blame is all on me.”

　　 “So where is Zhongli Court?”

        “Zhongli Court is east of Changluo by a hundred li,* a centuries-old prestigious family well-known in both the light and dark paths. Nowadays, the Eldest Young Master has a prodigal temperament, indulging and playing around everywhere, while everything in and out is organized by the Second Young Master. The Second Young Master is uniquely intelligent and successful in business, not only winning the support of many Jianghu sects, but also making connections with influential officials in Chaozhong, and has been like the sun at noon* these past two years. Ze Que is one of the best swordsmen under the command of the Eldest Young Master, and his name is famous in the present age.”

*li = traditional Chinese unit of measurement, equivalent to half a kilometer

*like the sun at noon = idiom, referring to things at their prime

　　 “That’s weird.” I rubbed my chin. “Don’t you think something is wrong?”

　　 “This servant does not dare to guess Master’s thoughts.”

　　 I sighed. “Can we just have a nice conversation?”

　　 Ye Tan said, with great respect, “It is Nightrunner’s orders that we only take care of killing people, not ask what is right or wrong.”

　　 I suddenly felt the road ahead was long and endless, covering my face with a sigh.

　　 Ye Tan hurriedly said: “If Master orders it… this servant will try his best.”

　　 At this, I finally nodded with satisfaction. “You young ones are worth teaching.”

　　 Ye Tan lowered his head and thought about it, then said: “This servant dares to guess that, since Yue Changsheng is a favored guest, Ze Que would have known that Master was faking his identity before he arrived if he was still at their residence.”

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　　 “Yes, not only is Yue Changsheng not at Zhongli Court, but his whereabouts are unknown to anyone.” I nodded in agreement, then continued, “But that doesn’t really have anything to do with us.”

　　 Ye Tan anxiously said, “But Master beat Ze Que, which could also be considered an insult to the reputation of Zhongli Court. They have been going smoothly with the current* for many years; I’m afraid they won’t swallow their anger.”

*going smoothly with the current = idiom, being successful without any obstacles

　　 He was willing to speak normally, so I became happy and asked, “That Second Young Master, was he your former master?”

　　 Ye Tan was flustered for quite a while, before replying: “…Yes.”

        I waited quietly for a long time, until he spoke again: “Second Young Master, he…Zhongli Zixi is one of the most talented and outstanding heroes of the present day. Whether it be literary skill or martial arts, nothing is difficult for him. Unfortunately, my skills were not proficient or strong enough to protect my master, and my martial arts were destroyed. The Second Young Master was capable with noble aspirations, and keeping me was useless, so he returned me to Nightrunner.”

　　 I thought it was strange and said: “Then why did the boss at Nightrunner say it was employment for life?”

        “Actually, those words are not exactly wrong.” Ye Tan sighed. “The Shadow Guards of Nightrunner can be returned. It’s just that since the establishment of Nightrunner, no one has ever been returned… This servant can be considered the first case in history.”

　　 “So why is that?”

　　 “Because…” Ye Tan gazed out the window, and there seemed to be emotions surging in his eyes, “The procedure of sending someone back to Nightrunner, is a thousand times more troublesome than killing the Shadow Guard directly.”

　　 I frowned.

        “For us Shadow Guards who aren’t even fit to have a name, death and injuries are trivial and common. But to return a Shadow Guard, the master must take the Shadow Guard back and forth between the branch office and the headquarters, consuming a lot of resources and effort to fill out all kinds of certifications, and establish contact with people high and low at Nightrunner, getting them to agree to take back such a disgraceful degenerate. People who buy Shadow Guards are all wealthy and respectable, so who would be willing to waste their energy running about for a worthless untouchable? It would be better to kill them simply and easily.”

　　 I couldn’t help but sit speechless.

　　 “…This Second Young Master did not hesitate to save your life at all costs; he probably really liked you.” My mouth twitched as I spoke.

　　 Ye Tan seemed shocked. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

　　 I cocked my head to the side. “Ye Tan, tell me honestly, if I didn’t buy you that day, what would have become of you?”

　　 Ye Tan calmly replied, “This servant definitely could not last two nights.”

　　 “Isn’t that really weird?” I shrugged. “Zhongli Zixi insisted on saving your life, but then didn’t heal your wounds. What’s going on in that mind of his?”

　　 “The Second Young Master is a dragon and phoenix among people*, and his thoughts… this servant has never understood.”

*dragon and phoenix among people = idiom, a genius / great person

　　 I squinted at him and thought over it several times, and felt increasingly that there was something more to Ye Tan’s words.

　　 So as not to interrupt his reminiscing, I unhurriedly got up and went out.

　　 As I was just about to leave the courtyard, Ye Tan finally reacted. “Master is going out?”

　　 I curled up the corners of my mouth. “To drink tea and pick up girls.”

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