Ink Blade Chapter 35 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver
Close to the body (part 1)
Chu Yan's words were just a casual remark, but little did he know that with just that sentence, Mo Ren's expression would turn extremely grim. He immediately knelt down on both knees, slamming them forcefully onto the ground.
"Master, this servant is not deserving! Mo Ren only wishes to serve the Master faithfully for all eternity. Apart from that, he has no other desires and no other skills.. Master, please do not make such jokes..."
As he spoke, he was about to knock his head to the ground, but Chu Yan, with sharp eyes and agile hands, quickly grabbed him, "Ah Ren!!"
“What's this all about? If you're not willing to talk about it in earnest, then don't mention it anymore! You get up first and speak... get up first.”
The moonlight illuminated the cheeks of both the master and servant. Chu Yan was on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat, feeling the subtle trembling in Mo Ren's body through his touch. He knew that he had truly misspoken, even though his intention had been merely to express admiration with a hint of affection.
Mo Ren lifted his head within the curve of his master's arm, and he gazed at Chu Yan. His eyes seemed to quiver, and he pleaded softly and helplessly, "Master...you once said... you said..."
The usually cold voice trembled without confidence, like a drowning person clinging to some driftwood, "you used to call Ah Ren..."
He naturally lacked confidence.
When did Chu Yan say those words? It had been over a decade in the past, in the previous life.
Back then, Chu Yan couldn't stop saying how much he relied on him, but now...
It had been a long, long time since he left the side of the palace master and stopped being a personal bodyguard. Now, Chu Yan was probably "used" to the days without Mo Ren.
"Alright, alright, this Master will use you," Chu Yan responded repeatedly. He firmly grasped his hand and slowly helped the guard to his feet. "Ah Ren, stand up first... Be obedient."
Mo Ren was silently pulled up by the palace master, but suddenly shuddered.
Suddenly, he felt a panic in his heart——
Could it be that the Master, after meeting again after a long separation, finally realized that...his bodyguard is actually very annoying?
After all, he had always known that his character was really poor.
"Master!"
The more Mo Ren thought about it, the worse he felt. He gritted his teeth and knelt back with his heart pounding, "Master... whatever you like now, this subordinate can learn for you."
The implication was, “Could you give Ah Ren some more opportunities and to keep this subordinate for a while longer”.
……These words were actually quite shameless. Whether the palace master wanted or didn’t want someone to serve him, where is he qualified to pester him relentlessly?
If Chu Yan hadn't been overly fond of him these days, Mo Ren would never have had the guts to say such a thing; now he had the guts to say it, but he avoided looking and buried his head down, not daring to look at Chu Yan's expression. .
Chu Yan wished he could slap himself.
These days, he was almost walking on thin ice in front of Mo Ren. He didn't dare to say a harsh word, pretending to be angry and even trying to coax him back, afraid of making another hurtful remark.
Who would have thought that what frightened Ah Ren in the end was the reward that others couldn’t hope for...
"Ah Ren, you... listen to this Master's explanation!" Chu Yan stumbled to explain, and leaned over to support Mo Ren again. It's a chilly night and the street was cold. It's too painful for people to kneel like this.
"This Master promised you, to cherish you for a lifetime, as long as you like it, everything depends on you. Don't you remember?"
"This Master, just now, it’s just...just wants to give you something better. The better you live, the happier this Master will be. How could it be to drive you away? How could this Master be willing to drive you away!?"
Mo Ren just shook his head. Not only did he shake his head, he actually shrank back and refused to get up. At this point, he was actually stimulated to act recklessly and be bold.
So the guard endured his guilty conscience and continued to do things. He pulled the palace master's sleeve and pushed his luck. "Then... the Master... can the Master always keep Ah Ren by his side to serve?"
"Keep keep keep..." Chu Yan had no choice but to comply. In fact, his heart was bleeding. He had only recently realized his true feelings during the day and had been contemplating how to keep Mo Ren out of harm's way in the future.... Well, there's no need to think about it now anymore.
The black-clad guard pursed his lips, he glanced quickly at Chu Yan, and whispered, "But Master hasn't needed this subordinate’s service these days. If there's anything this subordinate has done wrong... Ah Ren can learn."
Chu Yan was stunned.
This……
He suddenly had the illusion that he had been taken advantage of by Ah Ren.
The palace master covered his lips and coughed, "You...what do you want?"
Mo Ren paused. He wanted to reply habitually, "this subordinate doesn't dare," but he felt that it was too shameless to say so at this point.
He then asked tentatively. "Master, can you let Ah Ren do more things?"
"..."
"This subordinate knows that the Master is compassionate, but now Ah Ren is already very good, no matter how much more..."
As Mo Ren spoke, seeing that Chu Yan's expression was not right, he quickly added in a low voice, "This subordinate is having a little...difficulty in adapting at the moment."
That's just a bit of a human statement. Chu Yan raised his eyebrows, suppressed the anger that was about to come out again, and asked patiently, "You say, what is considered very good...You get up first and answer the question, how many times has this Master said it?"
Mo Ren stood up on his knees and replied quickly, "No illness, no worries about food and clothing, and not being bullied, have the Master’s trust, love and care, and still want to stay by the Master’s and be loyal to the Master."
Chu Yan suddenly fell silent.
…Incredible.
It seems that in Mo Ren's heart, as long as he can move his body, have food to eat, and can do the work of serving himself safely, it is a luxury and happiness.
How ridiculous. Any normal person would find it incredible when hearing such words.
But despite the sadness, he seemed to...vaguely sense some of Ah Ren's thoughts.
...Yes, Mo Ren has been in the Dark Hall since he was a child. The best life this man has ever lived is limited to the period of time he gave him when he was a teenager.
Even at that time, I was actually very strict and willful.
Even if he comes and goes in the light and shadow of swords day and night, he will be injured all over his body.
But in this person's perception, the best days in the world are just like this.
It turns out that it’s not Mo Ren insisting on resisting him and not believing him.
It turns out that Mo Ren just really doesn’t understand.
Calculating it this way...the miss between them may not have started with the disintegration of trust due to Bai Hua's arrival.
But from the very beginning——when the young Fourth Master of the Jiuzhong Palace rewarded him with a sword and a name, and brought the child out of the Dark Hall——it was wrong.
Then one step was wrong, and then the next.
