Ink Blade Chapter 66 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver
Chapter 66.2 Returning to the Human World (part 2)
It seemed that this torture would never end. The night had no end, and the snow had not stopped.
In the ups and downs of the sea of suffering, there was a sudden crisp sound. It was his sword, which the palace master had recast for him before leaving, it was knocked down at this moment which was originally hanging at the head of the bed.
Mo Ren struggled with the last bit of strength, he crawled towards the sword, stretched out his hand, as if to hold the only driftwood.
That sword, the one the Master gave him…
Those past lives rushed towards him again, he first saw the overly bright sunshine, saw the young master flicking his black sleeves, and threw this long sword down. From then on, he had a name and a master, which was not the beginning of his life, but it was better than the beginning of his life.
He saw the years of accompanying the young master, and then Bai Hua appeared, alienated and suspicious due to Drunken Dream Death Life, until that sword shattered the Dantian. He was in pain at that time, he really was hurt. The body of the ink sword was cold, like quenching ice, it hurts.
Soon he saw the daily humiliation in the Side Hall, those dirty and tired chores and the servants who bullied the weak and feared the hard.
After the meridians were broken, the hands and feet always hurt so much that people went crazy, and the diseases on his body became more and more, heavier and heavier, never being able to touch a sword again.
Finally, he saw the goose feather snow on the mountain, the red lanterns, and the bloody execution rack. The blood flowed down, and the blood stopped. The snow fell, the snow stopped, and he was no longer cold.
He was no longer cold, no longer in pain, no longer sad, no longer nostalgic. It seemed that there had never been a moment in these two lives that was as stable as it was now.
Then…
He seemed to see a river, the water waves gently calling him. The river was covered with fog, and there was a curved bridge in the fog, and there was a faint ballad coming from the bridge.
Chu Yan stood at the head of the bridge, with gentle eyebrows and eyes, wearing a black robe with a woven gold nine-cloud pattern, casually scattered hair, handsome and comfortable, as if he wanted to ride the wind and ascend to immortality.
“Ah Ren?”
Mo Ren was stunned for a moment, and in an instant, he seemed to wake up from that kind of hazy and peaceful state. He took two steps forward and called out anxiously, “Master… Master!”
He called out, and Chu Yan came down from the bridge, as if he was obediently listening to him.
The palace master parted the fog and came to the guard’s side, reaching out to touch Mo Ren’s cheek with great care, saying with a look of longing, “Ah Ren, this Master misses you so much.”
Mo Ren grabbed Chu Yan’s wrist in one hand and said in a daze, “Why is the Master here?”
Chu Yan frowned, he seemed a little confused, his gaze looked around, and finally fell on Mo Ren, “How is Ah Ren here?”
Mo Ren was at a loss for words, as if he was awake and confused. He couldn’t answer, but he also held the palace master’s hand unwilling to let go, and after a long time he whispered, “Master…let’s go back together with Ah Ren?”
Chu Yan obediently nodded, and held hands with Mo Ren, saying, “Okay, let’s go back.”
So the two of them turned around together, turning their backs to the peaceful river and bridge, turning their backs to the ballads on the other side, and walking back.
Just at the moment of turning around, there was nothing beside Mo Ren. There was no peaceful end, no forgetfulness, no Chu Yan…but he was still walking back alone.
He walked into the snow, the cold came back, the snowflakes blew past his eyes, and what he saw was the dark blood of the hall master’s cruel torture. He continued to walk through the blood, the pain was engraved into the bone marrow, he endured the cough and walked back to that dirty and smelly Side Hall, calmly passing through the laughing servants. He walked back to the moment of breaking out with the palace master, glanced at the black sword that pierced his lower abdomen, and endless sorrow and pain surged in his heart.
Everything he saw was bitter, and he couldn’t find what he was looking for everywhere, but he was still walking back…walking back.
He walked through the days when he first saw Bai Hua, and the days when the palace master stepped on Yan Luo under his feet for him. He walked through the spring flowers and autumn moon, saw Chu Yan riding a horse and offering wine when he was a teenager, and laughed happily. He walked under a pear blossom and saw himself performing a sword dance for the palace master, using the broken and recast ‘Mo’ sword.
He saw the tear stains that the palace master had shed for him in this life, saw the bright red hot blood when he pierced his chest. He saw the kiss in the alley under the rain, saw the lingering before parting… He was the palace master’s broken and recast ‘Mo’ sword.
At some point, the summer sun fell in front of his eyes, like a shimmering golden river.
For the first time, Mo Ren stopped in a daze, he finally stood here again, the starting point of everything. Someone gave him a name and a reason to live.
The fourth young master of the Jiuzhong Palace, Chu Yan, sat on the high platform of the long steps, and the small secret guard of the Dark Hall knelt below.
“Do you have a name?”
“Replying to the Fourth Young Master, this one is without a name.”
“Today, this Young Master will give you a name with this sword–Mo Ren.”
“From now on, you are my sharp blade.”
Mo Ren walked straight ahead, passing by his younger self kneeling at the bottom of the steps, and step by step, he ascended the white jade long steps. The sunlight fell, everything was warm and vigorous, it was a good world.
A voice came from behind, “Thank you, Fourth Young Master, for the name.”
In front, the young master shook his head with a smile, “Since you have recognized this Young Master, don’t call me Fourth Young Master in the future. You should call…”
Mo Ren finally stood on the last step of the jade steps, he reached out with his long arms, and audaciously picked up the child sitting high up.
Once recognized as the Master, loyal for a lifetime.
“You…” The handsome young boy seemed to be surprised that he was picked up so easily, he opened his beautiful eyes wide, and immediately blushed. The young boy was both surprised and angry, both angry and shy, and hit Mo Ren’s shoulder with his sleeve, “You! You…so presumptuous! Bold!”
But Mo Ren held him high in his arms, and called out clearly, “Master.”
Chu Yan was angry and embarrassed, “Who is your master! Where is there…you don’t understand the rules, do you still know how to write the master-servant way!?”
The guard looked deeply into the young and lively little Chu Yan in his arms, suddenly lowered his head, and kissed the child’s brow devoutly.
His eyes were smiling, not like a sword, or maybe it was, like the gentlest sword in the world.
“Master, Ah Ren misses you too.”
“The pear blossoms at the foot of Tianlan Mountain are about to bloom, Master, go back with Ah Ren…”
The sunlight in the memory melted into thousands of scattered light spots, and like a breeze blowing through the summer, it lifted his consciousness up until he returned to the human world.
