SC Chapter66

Time is truly a mysterious thing. Jiang Lingxin looked at the child lying unconscious on the bed, feeling momentarily distracted. This child was completely unfamiliar to him, yet he was his closest flesh and blood.

“Master… cough…” Mao Si’s eyes were slightly red. The reunion after seven years made it impossible for him not to be moved.

Jiang Lingxin sat gently on the edge of the bed. After a moment of hesitation, he still tested the temperature of the child’s forehead. His palm felt scorching hot.

“It is my fault for not looking after the little master properly…” Mao Si leaned over and kowtowed.

Jiang Lingxin looked at Mao Si. His clothes were stained with blood, he was covered in dust from travel, with rough bandages were wrapped around the back of his hand, showing dark bloodstains.

“Tell me, what happened?” Jiang Lingxin asked.

Mao Si’s eyes were filled with guilt, and he said, “We placed the Little Master with the Shen family back then because the Shen family’s conduct was upright, the Shen couple were kind people, and they had no children. Although they were not extremely wealthy, they were affluent and carefree. The Little Master wouldn’t suffer in such a household. But I didn’t expect that the Shen family’s business would flourish over the years and their trade on the north-south waterways would grow larger and larger. When a tree is tall, it attracts the wind. They must have offended someone, as they brought about a fatal disaster.”

The Shen couple had a rare opportunity to take their son out for a trip. They thought their merchant ship would be safe, but they met with disaster on their way back home. The ship caught fire, and river bandits took advantage of the chaos to kill and plunder. The Shen couple had hidden their son, and when Mao Si arrived, he found only his unconscious little master; everyone else had perished.

A hint of coldness appeared in Jiang Lingxin’s eyes. He spoke: “You retreat and tend to your wounds first. I will have this matter investigated thoroughly.”

“The Little Master, he…” Mao Si did not know how Jiang Lingxin would treat this child.

Jiang Lingxin looked at the bed, slightly lost in thought. The six or seven-year-old child had not yet fully grown, his face was round and soft, and his quiet eyebrows and eyes were exceptionally delicate and beautiful. He couldn’t help but wonder, who does this child resemble?

Mao Si’s gaze also softened as he whispered, “Master, I have been watching the Little Master grow up from afar these years. Although the Little Master is still young, he is very clever and sensible. However…” Mao Si paused, the hatred in his eyes unrestrained, and he gritted his teeth. “The Shen family met with disaster; the Little Master might have personally witnessed the Shen couple and the servants and maids dying before his eyes.”

Jiang Lingxin felt something unusual in his chest and couldn’t help but raise his hand to press it. After pondering for a long while, he suddenly realized that after so many years, he was once again experiencing the feeling of pity and tenderness.

“What is this child’s name?” Jiang Lingxin finally asked.

Mao Si abruptly looked up. For so many years, Jiang Lingxin seemed to have deliberately forgotten about this child, not asking about him at all. Did this question mean he was going to re-accept his own flesh and blood?

“Shen Guan.”

The thunder and rain stopped, and the sky gradually brightened. A new swallow under the eaves drew a dark line across the horizon. When little Shen Guan woke up, he met a pair of clear, beautiful, and cold eyes, and a tiny spoon containing medicine was held against his lips.

“You’re awake?”

The person sitting beside him looked cold, but his voice held a hint of unfamiliar gentleness.

“Father…” Little Shen Guan murmured softly.

Jiang Lingxin’s back stiffened. The hand holding the medicine bowl shook slightly, spilling a few drops of the medicinal soup.

“Father! Mother!” Little Shen Guan suddenly sat up from the bed, threw off the quilt, and ran down barefoot. He had been lying down for several days. Before he had run two steps, his legs went weak, and he looked like he was about to fall to the floor. A hand steadily caught him and threw him back onto the bed.

Little Shen Guan stumbled from the impact, his small face deathly pale, trembling all over: “My father and mother…”

“They are all dead.” Jiang Lingxin looked quietly at the small trembling bundle on the bed while saying expressionlessly, “You should have seen it. They all died completely.”

Little Shen Guan stiffened for a long time, silently curled himself up, and made no sound at all.

Jiang Lingxin looked at the small thing’s thin shoulders twitching and subconsciously reached out but stopped short in mid-air. He hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his hand, his fingertips slightly curled up in his sleeve, as he said, “No one will pamper you anymore. From now on, you must rely on yourself for everything.”

Little Shen Guan bit his lip and quietly sobbed for a long time before he choked out intermittently, “Who killed my parents?”

Jiang Lingxin said, “The Xie family of Cheng’an. They wanted to seize the business on the canal, so they simply went all the way and killed the Shen couple. It is not difficult for you to get revenge; the Xie family of Cheng’an is nothing to speak of. But do you know why they dare to be so brazen?”

Little Shen Guan looked up, his reddened eyes full of hatred.

Jiang Lingxin paused and said, “Because he is a branch of the Xie clan of Prince Wujing, with such a powerful main family, they naturally have nothing to fear. Do you want to know how to get revenge?”

Little Shen Guan looked at the person in front of him, whose expression was cold but whose presence was sharp, and slowly nodded.

Jiang Lingxin’s tone was gentle: “Cutting the branches and leaves of a towering tree is useless. You have to dig out its root.” He reached out and gently wiped the red corners of little Shen Guan’s eyes, taking away the boy’s tears.

“Master… teach me…” Little Shen Guan’s voice was hoarse. Facing the unknown, he cast aside his timidity, desperately grabbing the corner of that person’s clothes.

Jiang Lingxin was slightly moved. Looking at the small hand clutching his sleeve, his heart softened, he said, “Be my disciple.” Little Shen Guan agreed and called out “Master.” Jiang Lingxin was momentarily lost in thought. He took out the Bixie jade token from his sleeve and personally tied it to little Shen Guan’s waist.

The cold, black jade hung heavily. At that time, Shen Guan was still young and did not yet understand what it symbolized.

That was the best, and the only thing, Jiang Lingxin could give.

Jiang Lingxin was very strict with little Shen Guan. It was his first time being a master, and he had no experience. He subconsciously taught Shen Guan by imitating how his own master had treated him.

During the period of martial arts practice, little Shen Guan often could not sleep all night due to the swelling and pain in his wrists while staring at the rafters until dawn. Sometimes Mao Si would secretly come to see him, bringing him snacks that children outside loved to eat. That was the happiest time for little Shen Guan.

Mao Si rubbed Shen Guan’s thin wrists with medicinal oil, watching his little master tilt his head and nibble on a pastry, with date paste stuck on the corner of his mouth.

“Little Master’s birthday is in a few days. Is there anything you want?” Mao Si asked.

Little Shen Guan lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and was a little shy: “Uncle Si, I want to eat water caltrops from Yangzhou.”

Mao Si was quite happy. “Good, I’ll have someone bring some to you later.”

A few days later, Jiang Lingxin received a secret order to investigate a case in the Jiangxi area, and Mao Si accompanied him. The case was solved smoothly, and the wanted criminals were apprehended. When the party returned to the division, they passed through Yangzhou. Mao Si remembered the matter and intentionally mentioned it to his master.

Jiang Lingxin was busy writing the reports for the emperor and ignored him. Mao Si did not dare to say more. The next day, he took advantage of his free time to go to the market by the river to buy some fresh water caltrops for his little master. The water caltrops, black and shiny, were displayed there in August. Mao Si bought a basket and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a familiar figure in the busy riverside market.

That person was squatting by a moored fishing boat on the bank, selecting water caltrops. His white robe trailed and was stained with a bit of mud. His whole person was plain, he wasn’t even wearing a hair ornament, allowing his dark hair to be loosely tied up, as if not wanting to attract attention. He flipped through the water caltrops at several stalls, awkwardly and seriously comparing which ones were better.

Mao Si stared distantly in a daze, after a long time, he couldn’t help but touch his nose and smile as he lowered his head, casually giving the basket of water caltrops he was carrying to a child on the roadside.

On this journey back to Jinling, Jiang Lingxin was suddenly ambushed, lost three shadow guards, and also suffered a sword wound. Fortunately, the injury was not severe; a period of rest would suffice.

However, Jiang Lingxin was eager to return, so he simply bandaged the wound and continued his journey. The day he returned to Jinling happened to be a heavy rain day; he travelled through the night in the rain and only arrived at Tianyi Division around the third watch[mfn]Around midnight[/mfn].

Little Shen Guan was curled up alone in a corner of the bed. His living space was large, but he had no servants or maids. Jiang Lingxin didn’t want him to develop a spoiled nature, so he usually had the division’s guards accompany him during the day, and naturally, there were no maids in attendance to look after him at night.

Jiang Lingxin didn’t know that his little Shen Guan was no different from an ordinary child; he was afraid of the dark and also afraid of thunder.

Outside the window, thunder roared, the lightning illuminated the sky a stark white, and the booming noise seemed to envelop all of Jinling under dark clouds. When Jiang Lingxin pushed the door open and came in, he saw that small bundle in the corner of the bed.

“Guan’er?”

Little Shen Guan was stunned and suddenly looked up to see the person walking towards him: “Shi… Shizun?”

Jiang Lingxin slowly walked over, hesitated for a moment, and still reached out to gently pat Little Shen Guan’s head, saying, “It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping?”

Little Shen Guan bit his lower lip, not daring to say that he was afraid.

Jiang Lingxin glanced at the lightning flashing outside, then down at the child curled up in the darkness; the words he had meant to scold him for being weak caught in his throat.

“Shizun, your clothes are all wet.” Little Shen Guan reached out and gently pulled Jiang Lingxin’s sleeve.

Jiang Lingxin had travelled all the way back in the rain, his clothes soaked. He reached out and removed his outer robe, worried that his clothes might dampen the child’s bed.

Little Shen Guan couldn’t help but move closer, hesitatingly asking, “Shizun… are you cold? Do you want to lie in a bit?” lifted the bedding with his small hand, secretly peeking at his master.

Jiang Lingxin knew that this child was afraid of the thunderstorm and wanted company. He felt that cowardice was a very bad thing and should be scolded. Perhaps the night was too deep; that small face in the darkness seemed particularly pitiful, making his heart soften.

By the time Jiang Lingxin realized it, he was already lying next to the little Shen Guan.

Little Shen Guan lay down next to his master with some trepidation, wanting to get closer, yet also very scared. He kept rubbing closer and moving away, suddenly catching a whiff of blood, and abruptly sat up: “Shizun? Are you hurt?”

“No.” Jiang Lingxin reached out and pressed his shoulder; perhaps the overnight journey had caused the already unhealed wound to reopen.

Little Shen Guan wanted to ask something more, but Jiang Lingxin impatiently wrapped the little fellow in the quilt and pressed him into his arms. Little Shen Guan struggled to poke out a fuzzy little head, nestling right against Jiang Lingxin’s chest.

“Go to sleep.” Jiang Lingxin closed his eyes, feeling a bit tired. The little thing moving around in his arms rubbed aimlessly for a while, and its breathing gradually became even.

Before drifting off, Little Shen Guan vaguely realized that even someone as cold as his master could feel warm in his embrace. It was like… like…

“Mother…”

The soft and sweet murmuring instantly took away Jiang Lingxin’s sleepiness, and he slowly opened his eyes in the dark.

When Little Shen Guan woke up the next day, there was no one beside him, there wasn’t even a wrinkle on the bedding. He tilted his small head and thought for a long time, unable to confirm whether last night was just a dream or reality.

Outside the window, the rain had ceased I’m the morning, raindrops falling from the eaves onto the green bricks, and on the table sat a basket of sweet water chestnuts.

Many years later, Shen Guan still remembered the rainy night when someone held him impatiently in their arms, and he no longer feared the thunder crashing outside the window.

After that year, Shen Guan gradually grew up, volunteered to go to Prince Wujing Mansion as a spy, and after leaving Tianyi Division, he never had close moments with Jiang Lingxin again.

Jiang Lingxin had not expected that his Guan’er would leave and never return.