CH 5

5. Only The Kindness Of Old Friends Exists

After He Qi handed over the key, he knew that the master was probably going to see Lou Yefeng alone, so he found a place outside the Chuihua Gate and waited.

The kingdom's Hall of Punishment is in the underground cell of the Sanku Pavilions, which is normally used only for punishing errant shadow guards. The courtyard planted many flowering trees outside the entrance to the Hall of Punishment to cover up the smell of blood wafting out from the underground.

It was late autumn at this time, Fendai* has long been thanked for the residual red, and withered yellow leaves piled on the ground.

This small courtyard was originally remote, and it was also an important place where shadow guards were detained. No one came to clean up the dead branches and fallen leaves. As soon as Pei Nianyu stepped into it, he felt quite desolate.

Pei Nianyu had always been more lenient towards the shadow guards, and the shadow guards of the royal family of the Dajing Dynasty had their own internal regulations, with clear rewards and punishments. Although the punishment is more severe if there is a fault, it is always determined according to the law, and it has always been rarely punished according to the master's will.

Therefore, in the past few years, the number of times the mansion has used the punishment hall can be counted on one's fingers. It's been more than a month since Lou Yefeng went in, and it's the first time.

Pei Nianyu stepped into the long passage leading underground. The passage was quiet and dark, with only the faint light of the fire at the end illuminating the road. The further you go inward, the clearer the smell of blood in the air becomes.

Pei Nianyu smelled the cold bloody smell, and felt it drifting all the way into his chest. He was used to restraining his emotions anytime and anywhere, but at this moment, although he was still calm and self-sufficient, he couldn't help worrying in his heart, a sense of panic rushed into his chest, and his hands were a little weak.

He took a deep breath, without further hesitation, opened the gate of the punishment hall and walked in quickly.

The punishment hall was not too small, but Pei Nianyu still saw Lou Yefeng at a glance in the dim light. He walked to the door of the narrow cell, looked inside, and suddenly felt suffocated, as if he had been hit hard by something:

The man was wearing an ocher prison uniform, which was clearly the unique color of a felony. Even though the clothes were red and didn't look dirty, there were still streaks of blood dripping from all parts of his body, drying up on the prison clothes.

His long hair was untied, somewhat disheveled, his hands and feet were bound by black shackles, and he was half curled up against a corner of the wall, as if he was in a deep sleep. He frowned slightly, and the shadow cast by the iron grid couldn't conceal the haggard and exhausted look on his face.

They have been masters and servants for ten years. Pei Nianyu was used to Lou Yefeng's appearance in black clothes and black cloak, at this time he was wearing these bright red clothes, he felt extremely eye-catching.

Lou Yefeng lost all his martial arts skills, even though his master had already walked to the door, he still didn't notice it. It wasn't until Pei Nianyu started to unlock the door of the cell with the key then only he was awakened by the sound of metal clashing.

Hearing the sound of the door being unlocked, he thought it was He Qi who came to take him out for daily routine interrogation. However, when he opened his eyes faintly, he saw the master wearing a light satin and brocade robe standing at the door.

He took a brief look, and the master's face was still as handsome as before, with picturesque eyebrows and eyes. His complexion was only a little weak, but he didn't look seriously ill, and a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes:

"Master...you are awake?!"

Lou Yefeng exclaimed subconsciously, only to realize that his voice had already been hoarse due to high fever for many days, and it was extremely unpleasant.

Naturally, Pei Nianyu could hear his voice, but he didn't feel anything else, but his heart was a little more astringent. He saw the joy in Lou Yefeng's eyes when he looked at him just now, knowing that he cared about him, so he wanted to comfort him and say that he was fine.

However, before he could make a sound, Lou Yefeng struggled to get up first, he seemed to have some weakness in his legs, and his movements were quite difficult. After a sound of shackles, Lou Yefeng knelt down on the ground and respectfully kowtowed to Pei Nianyu:

"Criminal Lou Yefeng, bowing to the master."

Pei Nianyu opened his mouth slowly, only to realize that his own throat was also a little tight:

"You... claiming to be a criminal, what crime did you commit?"

His original intention was to say, you have saved me with all your heart, so what crime is there? Unexpectedly, Lou Yefeng bowed his head and didn't look at him, so he didn't see the expression on his master's face, it was not unhappy.

When Lou Yefeng heard the master asking such a question, he had already expected it in his heart. During this month in prison, he spent every day sitting in this square inch apart from being tortured. Naturally, he was always thinking and wondering: if his master woke up, he would become angry with embarrassment, and if he would see him again in a fit of anger.

He was extremely grateful that the master was able to come in person today. As for the crime the master asked about, he naturally didn't think otherwise, he just thought that the master was angry in his heart and ordered him to confess his guilt, so he still fell to the ground and said every word:

"As the commander, first transferred the shadow guard away from the master without authorization."

"Deceiving the master and acting without orders is the second."

"Misplanning and putting the master in danger, this is third."

"As well as……"

Speaking of this, Lou Yefeng's tone suddenly paused, the previous calm voice disappeared, and instead became a little fearful and hesitant. He closed his eyes and said:

"...Secretly using drugs to deliberately charm the Lord, this is fourth."

Lou Yefeng finished speaking sentence by sentence, but he didn't hear any response from his master for a long time. He didn't dare to look up, so he just took a deep breath and kowtowed again:

"The subordinate knows that his crime is unforgivable. If the master still remembers the past's insignificant achievements... the subordinate dares to ask the master for a whole corpse."

Disobedience, endangering the master's life, charming the master, no matter which one is taken out alone, is a felony in the shadow guard regulations. If the punishment is determined according to the law, it is more than enough to sentence him to death. If he is punished for several crimes, even Ling Chi** will not be enough.

Although Lou Yefeng and Pei Nianyu have been in a master-servant relationship for ten years, and because he is seven years older than his master, Pei Nianyu has five points of respect for him besides five points of trust. Therefore, when they got along on a daily basis, Pei Nianyu never gave him any oppression in terms of status, and the two of them were more like close friends than master and servant.

However, in these ten years, Lou night Feng heart has always been their own position to weigh to understand, and have not had a half of the thought of overstepping the rules.

Getting along on weekdays is about getting along, but when it comes to such important matters, Pei Nianyu is the master and he is the servant, and the identities between the two are as insurmountable as a natural moat. He dared to deceive the master of the design, which was challenging Pei Nianyu's majesty as the master. The two of them are as insurmountable as a heavenly rift. 

The word "love" ...... will no longer carry half the weight after all.

Lou Yefeng knew this better than anyone else. When he first set up this game, he never thought that his master would save his life. He had already done this with the will to die.

For so many years, he accompanied Pei Nianyu in the palace through countless ups and downs, and also saw the fate of countless other shadow guards under his master who dared to overstep the rules. He never imagined that his master would treat him differently because of love.

The shadow guard bears the Lord's trust, protects the Lord with his body, and repays those who know him well with his martial arts. It's nice to say it, but after all, it's just a knife in the master's hand.

How can a knife be used by the owner easily? Nothing more than two——

Easy to use and obedient.

But now his martial arts have been abolished, and he is no longer useful, and what he has committed is the most taboo crime of overstepping his authority and hurting his master. These two chips that can prove the value of the shadow guard...he has nothing.

The knife can be sharpened again when it is blunt, but if the knife is disobedient... not only is it disobedient, but it will also cut the hand holding the knife. Such a knife will undoubtedly end up being reduced to scrap iron and melted away.

"You…………"

Pei Nianyu knew that the crimes that Lou Yefeng said were true, and these crimes were indeed serious, but he couldn't bring up the slightest thought of punishing him.

He listened to Lou Yefeng counting his crimes one by one in a hoarse voice without any waves, and it was clear that he was determined to die. However, what flashed through his mind was every bit of what he had silently guarded by his side in a black robe and a long sword for ten years.

From the hard work of risking one's life in the middle of the night to bring back the opponent's intelligence, to the danger of bloody battles when the palace changes suddenly, to...

The willingness and forbearance when you lie under yourself and let the violence happen.

At this time, those memories that he had never forgotten were revealed layer by layer, and gradually overlapped with the humble figure kneeling on the ground in front of him. Pei Nianyu felt that his chest was blunt and aching from his cautious movements.

He coughed lightly, walked in front of Lou Yefeng, and stood still. Then looked down at him, and asked in a serious but not harsh voice:

"Lou Yefeng, since you have committed a serious crime, I will personally convict you. Do you...do you have any objections?"

The man kneeling on the ground trembled in his heart and said:

"This criminal Yefeng…..have no objection, please punish me, Master."

"Alright then, Lou Yefeng, just listen—"

"That's good, Lou night Feng, and you listen to--"

"In the sixteenth year of Yuanzhao, you discerned every detail and found a deadly poison in the flowers and leaves. In order to eliminate the poison, your meridians were injured and you suffered from cold syndrome. This is your first merit."

"In the nineteenth year of Yuanzhao, the Hengtianmen coup d'état, you protected me all the way to the place where I escaped from the chaotic soldiers, and suffered more than thirty wounds from arrows and knives, this is the second merit."

"In the first year of Jinghe, at the Winter Sacrifice Ceremony, you detected the traitor in time and prevented me from being framed for regicide by an adulterer. This is the third merit."

"For three years in Jinghe, you spent your energy to get rid of the peach blossom Gu for me and relieve my life's danger. These are the four meritorious deeds."

"...The rest of the achievements will not be described in detail. According to the eighth article of the criminal law of the shadow guards of the Dajing Dynasty - 'When the shadow guard is guilty, if the master agrees, he can make up for the crime."

Speaking of this, Pei Nianyu suddenly squatted down and got very close to him, then grabbed the shackles on Lou Yefeng's wrists, put the key in, and turned it lightly, the iron shackles flew open:

"Your crime has four, merit also has four, merit and demerit. Lou night Feng, this king ...... pardon you not guilty."

Lou Yefeng's whole body trembled suddenly, and he raised his head very slowly - the master's familiar face was close at hand, his eyes were warm and inclusive.

Immediately afterwards, the master's slender palms were held in his own, and the temperature and gradually firm strength on them were transmitted from the place of holding to his heart.

As if in an unbelievable dream, he stared blankly at Pei Nianyu's expression. After a while, there was a faint red circle in his eyes, which were always cold and sharp.

*粉黛 

fěn dài

face powder and eyebrow liner

cosmetics

(fig.) beautiful woman

**Lingchi ([lǐŋʈʂʰɻ̩̌]; Chinese: 凌遲), translated variously as the slow process, the lingering death, or slow slicing, and also known as death by a thousand cuts, was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE up until the practice ended around the early 1900s. It was also used in Vietnam and Korea. In this form of execution, a knife was used to methodically remove portions of the body over an extended period of time, eventually resulting in death.