CH 12

I asked straightforwardly about gossip involving the Second Young Master and Ye Tan, but Ze Que humphed and ignored me as expected.

I thought for a while, then asked again, “I heard on my way here, the Zhongli Eldest Young Master has slept with everyone in the entire Zhongli Court…”

“Nonsense!” Ze Que punched the bed in anger. “Even I don’t have this honor!”

Me: “……???”

Isn’t your thinking a little bit weird?

“So it turns out the rumors on the street about the Zhongli Eldest Young Master having a prodigal temperament are all just rumors…”

“The Eldest Young Master is unrestrained and magnanimous, having countless admirers; it’s understandable if he has some quick relationships.” Ze Que spoke proudly, counting off a whole list of the Eldest Young Master’s love affairs, seven working girls who served tea, the most well known names of eight brothels, nine leaders of martial arts sects, ten leaders of demonic sects… Truly many different kinds, sure enough a strong man!

I muttered to myself over and over, finally asking the question I cared about most: “My family’s little Shadow Guard used to be someone from Zhongli Court. I don’t know if the Eldest Young Master has done… cough, honored him?”

“Even I have never! How would he get a turn!” Ze Que was furious.

“Yes yes yes, noble warrior, you are a romantic and capable man. It is only that the Eldest Young Master forgets his blessings and has a shallow fate.” I cheerfully comforted him.

After Ze Que finished his spiel, he instead said honestly: “The Eldest Young Master indeed fancied Yaksha; it’s just that Yaksha was the Second Young Master’s person after all.”

“……”

I contemplated this again and again.

“…Then, has the Second Young Master slept with Yaksha?”

Ze Que burst out: “The Second Young Master has a noble and unsullied character; how would he do something so dirty!”

…No? Wait a minute? Who are you saying is dirty??

“The Eldest Young Master was interested in Yaksha only because he didn’t have eyes for anyone, that’s all.” Ze Que tried his best to regain his honor. “The Eldest Young Master said that the ones you can’t get are the quality goods, while the ones that you already took possession of become dull.”

“But hasn’t the Eldest Young Master always been quite pleased with Yue Changsheng?” I wondered.

Ze Que: “If he already had what he desired, he wouldn’t still be anxiously looking for him everywhere.”

I summed it up.

The Eldest Young Master has slept with innumerable people.

But the one he really wants to be with, he can’t.

Hahahahahaha, he really seems pitiful.

“What’s so funny now?” Ze Que scowled. “It’s unfortunate that luck was on your side. Since Yaksha lost all his martial arts, he can’t harm you.”

I noticed what he was implying and said suspiciously, “I am Yaksha’s master, so why would he harm me?”

Ze Que thought this was extremely funny, asking coldly, “It can’t be that you actually think Yaksha is something good?”

For a guard, do you still have to separate between good and bad?

Ze Que laughed coldly. “Yaksha is bloodthirsty and cruel, unfaithful and unrighteous, and killed his first master Qin Kezou with his own hands, crushing his bones into ashes and leaving no corpse. The Second Young Master kindly took him in, but had to expel him from Zhongli Court for betrayal and collaborating with the enemy… Everyone knows of these deeds; what are you feigning ignorance for?”

He snorted coldly. “But it is also not his fault. No ‘Yaksha’ in Nightrunner for hundreds and thousands of years has ever had a good ending.”

There was too much information in this sentence.

Let me take it in slowly.

It took me a while and a bit of effort to straighten out these past events, abandoning Ze Que’s personal views through his eyeglasses stained with disdain. If what he said was true, it appeared to be like this:

‘Yaksha’ was not a name, but a title that Nightrunner evaluated every ten years. In each assessment, the top three contestants would receive these titles: Ye Yin the Mist Maven, Ye Jun the Imperial Protector, or Yaksha the Blood Devil.

These three titles had different evaluation standards. Ye Yin specializes in concealment, Ye Jun specializes in protecting his master, and Yaksha specializes in killing.

When the title holder is defeated, the title is inherited by the winner. But if a Shadow Guard recognizes a master, they can no longer compete.

Ten years ago, when Ye Tan was chosen as Yaksha, he was only seventeen years old.

Yaksha was the person with the strongest combat ability in all of Nightrunner, but this title was ominous, as every Yaksha suffered a violent death. So Yaksha was left hanging like this, no one daring to hire him.

After hanging for four full years, Yaksha beat down countless fellow disciples at Nightrunner who wanted to plunder the title. It was only at the age of 21 that he was finally taken away by the seventh son of the Qin family.

He was a conceited genius, egotistical and cruelly untamed, repeatedly offending and contradicting his master, and after being disciplined many times, he gradually gathered resentment in his heart.

Finally, there was a day he lost his conscience and cut off his master’s head in front of many guests.

The Qin family wanted to take away the body for burial, but still couldn’t get close after battling for half a month. Yaksha said that he hated him to the bone and he had to crush his bones into ashes.

The poor Qin Kezou’s beloved daughter was still in infancy, while his lighthearted wife was pushed into insanity. The Qin family offered sacrifices to their ancestors during the Qingming Festival every year, but there was nowhere for them to place even a single stick of incense.

Yaksha henceforth had a notorious reputation, becoming the target of public criticism.

The Second Young Master of Zhongli Court was tolerant and kind, receiving this hot potato and allowing Yaksha to receive the protection of Zhongli Court from then on. It could even be said that he could finally sleep peacefully, living a life of luxury.

Yaksha ran rampant in Zhongli Court for three years, quelling innumerable scholarly people, and the Second Young Master never argued with him about it, but it was unfortunate that even his gentle and sincere heart couldn’t warm up a heart of stone.

The hateful Yaksha was obsessed with riches, selling out his master for his own glory, committing an irrevocable mistake. The Second Young Master finally became disillusioned, waking up to see the truth.

It was fortunate that the Second Young Master was a sage nobleman who took the pain to think things through in light of old affections, leaving him with his life and only expelling him.

Me: “I have something I would like to ask.”

Ze Que: “Speak.”

Me: “Ye Tan… I mean, Yaksha. Other than me, he really only had two former masters, right? There won’t appear any third, fourth and fifth predecessors, right?”

Ze Que: “…Are you sure you got the main point correctly?”