Chapter 2: He Escaped
Soon, a crowd of sturdy men arrived—perhaps a dozen in all.
Lin Zijing narrowed his eyes. Seeing his expression, A-Yi understood at once: the young master intended to make someone's life miserable.
All Mo Ruxuan could do now was pray for himself.
"You are elite soldiers," Lin Zijing said. "This man is my new guard. I want to see what he can do. Exchange a few moves with him."
Anyone with ears could hear the command beneath his words, let alone his own subordinates. He wanted them to beat Mo Ruxuan with everything they had. If the man died, Lin Zijing would take responsibility.
A-Yi listened in alarm, unable to understand his master's purpose.
He opened his mouth to plead for Mo Ruxuan, but one cutting glance from Lin Zijing silenced him immediately.
Tan Fei looked at Mo Ruxuan as if he wanted to drink his blood and devour his flesh.
The group attacked.
Lin Zijing quickly discovered that he had underestimated Mo Ruxuan. A dozen men together could fight him only to a draw.
Has Mo Ruxuan already become this powerful? Lin Zijing wondered. If so, who could possibly be his opponent?
He began to question the soldiers' competence.
His expression shifted from gleeful anticipation to a faint frown.
"A-Yi, bring the sword from my room."
"Young Master, but aren't you—"
Lin Zijing cut him off and urged him to hurry.
When the sword arrived, Lin Zijing stared at the weapon that had accompanied him through life and death. Counting his previous life, he had not touched it in more than ten years.
Now, because of Mo Ruxuan, he held it once more. Even if Mo Ruxuan died upon its blade, he ought to consider it an honor.
While Mo Ruxuan was distracted, Lin Zijing took the sword and drove it toward his heart.
Everything happened in an instant. Mo Ruxuan turned and met his gaze. When he saw the hatred filling Lin Zijing's eyes, time seemed to freeze.
That single moment stretched across decades.
By the time everyone else reacted, Mo Ruxuan's hand was locked around Lin Zijing's throat.
Unable to breathe, Lin Zijing struggled as color rose in his face.
"Mo Ruxuan, you lowly servant! Release the young master!" A-Yi shouted.
He ran over and pulled at Mo Ruxuan's arm, but could not loosen it. Regret gnawed at him. He never should have considered intervening earlier. Mo Ruxuan deserved to be beaten to death.
A-Yi tugged with all his strength to no avail. The elite soldiers were just as useless—unable even to defeat a guard, now standing around as if they had no idea what they were there for.
Suffocation closed around Lin Zijing. Mo Ruxuan's grip was powerful, as if he truly meant to kill him.
As that face merged with the one from his previous life, Lin Zijing began to laugh.
Mo Ruxuan looked at his mad laughter in confusion.
"Mo Ruxuan, oh, Mo Ruxuan," Lin Zijing raved. "What does your noble blood matter? I still trampled you beneath my feet. You're nothing but a wretched dog, born to be stepped on and ordered about like a slave.
"How pitiful you are... cough..."
His words made Mo Ruxuan wonder whether he knew something.
But how could Lin Zijing know his identity?
Lin Zijing could barely draw breath. The feeling of approaching death brought him agony, nostalgia, and a strange exhilaration.
Then regret followed close behind. He could not die yet. His vengeance remained unfinished.
As soon as the thought arose, his excitement ebbed.
Mo Ruxuan made no attempt to hide the murderous intent in his eyes. Lin Zijing did not care. While speaking, he seized the hilt of the sword still lodged near Mo Ruxuan's chest and pulled with all his strength.
The pain weakened Mo Ruxuan's hand enough for Lin Zijing to break free.
He stumbled away, cheeks flushed as he gasped.
"You useless fools! Attack him! Beat him with everything you have. A-Yi, summon Bu Yan and Bu Yu."
A-Yi raced away.
Lin Zijing stared at Mo Ruxuan. "Good. You have courage enough to try to kill me? You aren't worthy."
"What do you know?" Mo Ruxuan asked.
"You aren't worthy of speaking to me. You have no right to demand an answer."
Mo Ruxuan was wounded, and the wound lay close to his heart. Another fraction of an inch and the blade would have killed him.
What a pity.
Lin Zijing truly hated him. Why had Mo Ruxuan ultimately risen above all but one, while Lin Zijing's very bones were denied a resting place?
Why?
The world was intolerably unjust.
"I won't tell you," Lin Zijing said with smug satisfaction.
In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, Bu Yan and Bu Yu appeared.
They were the hidden guards his father had trained for him before his death.
Already wounded, Mo Ruxuan soon fell at a disadvantage against the pair.
Just as they were about to take his life, however, both Bu Yan and Bu Yu were struck hard. Their injuries were serious.
Fear pierced Lin Zijing. If Mo Ruxuan could wound both of them while injured himself, his strength could not be underestimated.
"Bu Yan! Bu Yu!" he shouted.
The three fighters leaped onto the roof. As their battle continued, they vanished from sight.
When the hidden guards returned, they were alone and terribly weak.
"Young General, your subordinates are incompetent. We failed to kill that slave."
Seeing them alive, Lin Zijing quietly relaxed.
"Survival is enough. Tend your wounds. A-Yi, take them to a physician."
As long as Mo Ruxuan lived, the thorn in Lin Zijing's heart could never be removed.
He had to kill him.
The knowledge that he had at least injured Mo Ruxuan filled Lin Zijing with such pleasure that he forgot the cold until Xiaocui reminded him, "Young Master, the wind is strong. Shall I close the window?"
Only then did Lin Zijing return to himself. He asked Xiaocui to find a storybook and read aloud.
The tale concerned a male fox who loved a man and sought to cultivate a human form. To complete his transformation, the fox killed many people. After he finally became human and joined his beloved, the man learned of his crimes and killed him.
By the end, Xiaocui was in tears. "How could that fox spirit be so wicked?"
Lin Zijing did not believe the fox was wicked.
"Everyone has the right to pursue the life they want. Tell me—if the fox spirit received another chance, what would he do?"
If a villain were given a chance to return, what would he do?
"He would turn over a new leaf, of course," Xiaocui answered.
Lin Zijing's own answer rose silently in his heart.
Of course he would repeat every mistake.
Frightened during the day and exhausted in spirit, Lin Zijing retired early and slept peacefully through the night.
The next morning, after dressing, he told Aunt An what had happened.
He knew the general's residence was no longer safe. After yesterday's disaster, Mo Ruxuan would certainly seek revenge.
He had to plan early if he wished to protect A-Yi and the others.
After sending Aunt An away, he summoned A-Yi.
"A-Yi, announce that I have gone south to recuperate. In two days, we will leave this residence at once."
A-Yi did not understand, but obeyed.
"Are we keeping it from Aunt An as well?"
"Do as I say. Also, send Bu Yan and Bu Yu back to the old place immediately. Give them extra banknotes."
Lin Zijing knew he could not use the two hidden guards now.
He had brought them enough misery in his previous life. In the end, both died without intact remains in a mass grave.
There had also been a place called Nanling Pavilion. With enough money, one could obtain anything there.
In his previous life, Lin Zijing lost the things he wanted and could never recover them.