Jiang didn’t want to dwell too much on his past life as he had more serious issues to worry about, like getting as far away as possible from his father’s men. But that didn’t mean the past wouldn't come knocking on his door.
Though it was the early hours of the morning the sky was still dark, so dark that even the chirpings of birds could barely be heard. They seemed to be asleep still and Jiang wished he could join them. He had run hard all night and was utterly exhausted. He decided to rest for a while under a tree and sat down leaning on its trunk. He was feeling drowsy and his eyes gradually fluttered shut. Soon, he was in a state between half asleep and half awake.
It had been quite a while since Jiang had a restful night sleep and tonight was no exception. In his half-sleeping state, it didn’t take long for him to drift away to dreamland or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say, memory lane.
Once Jiang closed his eyes, the memories from his past rose up to torment him; he revisited the scene of his mother's passing away right before his very eyes and his inability to do anything to save her life. That scene had kept him awake for the majority of his nights ever since resulting in many sleepless nights and tiresome days.
But what occupied his thoughts right now was about the summons to the Lei Manor several days ago. When he was running for his life a moment before, that memory had come back to haunt him. Jiang, still half asleep he started recalling what had happened prior to him taking his half-sister’s place.
There was nothing particularly different about that day, but Jiang had been startled awake by the loud knockings, more like banging, on his door. He got up and make his way to the door but before he could let in whoever was on the other side, the door was forcefully broken.
What remained of his dilapidated door that barely held on until now, were scattered pieces of wood here and there. His thatched hut, as well as everything in it, were like precious treasures to Jiang. He and his mother had built their home from scratch, every piece of wooden furniture. Every hide used as beddings or curtains were from animals they hunted for their skins, regardless of the dangers they faced. They had done everything themselves.
To make matters worse for Jiang, one sliver of shattered wood struck his already disfigured face, leaving a deep scratch on it. Not that he cared about the mark, he was already so ugly one more scratch wouldn't cause any major difference at all. No matter what he did, he would still be the ugliest and most disgusting being to ever exist in this world.
Jiang turned his attention towards the door of his ramshackle hut to figure out what the commotion was all about and saw two hefty-looking men walked in with scowls on their faces and a strong momentum that destroyed his door. They deliberately used a lot of strength when they came inside which caused the thatched hut to shake vigorously as if there was an earthquake.
Jiang signed deeply. He was certain that the two men were Earth Elemental Martial Spritus. Cultivators in this world were referred to as Elemental Martial Spritus or Elemental for short. Everyone with an affinity for an element would be titled on the basis of that element and their abilities.
Thus, Earth Elemental Martial Spiritus was usually masculine, hefty-looking men or women. Having an affinity for the Earth Element was considered both a blessing and a curse; for men, it was a blessing and they prided themselves in being Earth Elementals. But for most women, it wasn't so much of a blessing because their element made them appear very sturdy and masculine with their body strength being a notch above other elementals.
It was dark inside the hut, so Jiang couldn’t see the newcomers properly. "Who are you? Why are you here?" Jiang questioned, his expression very calm. He knew that the men must have a definite purpose in seeking him out and he didn't think they were here to talk with him about life. But he wasn't scared, even in the face of unknown dangers Jiang was never one to run away.
Instead of responding to his query, both of them grabbed Jiang's arms standing on either side of him to do so. The strength of their grips wasn’t light at all. Jiang felt as if his bones were likely to be crushed at any moment, especially if they kept on squeezing. Despite their painful grips, Jiang refused to give them the satisfaction of crying out in pain. He knew crying wouldn't do any good, it would just make his abusers happy and let them inflict more pain on him.
In such close proximity to these men, Jiang was finally able to see a little more details. He noticed an emblem on the sleeves of the men as well as on some specific parts of their robes, it's design was that of a soaring eagle. The design of the emblem was used only by the people of one particular family. Besides, the men were wearing the grey colored robes normally worn by the guards of that family when they weren’t dressed in their battle armor.
At first the men dragged Jiang by his arms along the way leading to the Lei Manor. Due to their callousness and how they were purposely manhandling him, Jiang stumbled from time to time and got some fresh bruises here and there. His thoughts, however, were not concerned with the actions of these two, rather it was dwelling on how long it had been since he had walk along the path leading to that place. After all, he and his late mother had been forbidden from coming anywhere nearby. He had only defied his father’s orders that one time when he went there seeking help on behalf of his sick and dying mother.
Jiang had come to terms with the fact that he would never get to see the Manor again until his dying day. His father had ordered him not to leave the forest, with death being the penalty for noncompliance. At that time, General Lei had said to his face, “I do not wish to see such an abomination ever again. Now scram, and never let me see your face.” He then turned around flinging the wide sleeves of his robe arrogantly and walked out on the kneeling Jiang whose knees were bleeding profusely from many scratches.
It seemed the men bringing Jiang over weren’t having enough fun with him yet. They stopped along the way to bind his legs and arms, kicked him viciously to prevent him from getting up from the ground and then proceeded to use the rope tied to his arms to drag him. They treated Jiang like he wasn’t human and therefore, not worthy of their care or consideration. Every inch of skin on his body was scratched and bleeding, wounds appeared almost everywhere on him and soon his robes were soaked with his blood. Yet, Jiang didn’t flinch and refused to whimper or cry out in pain.
Jiang's stoic indifference apparently triggered the men's baser instincts to the point that they behaved cruelly. It had to be said that they weren’t afraid of been punished by General Lei for their inhuman treatment of the boy that under different circumstances should have been their young master. They actually believed they might even be rewarded for their acts of cruelty.
Fortunately, the men knew to stop messing around with Jiang when they were about to reach the Manor. They finally released Jiang from his bindings. However, by this time it was like Jiang's soul had flown from his body and he wasn’t really paying attention anymore to what was going on around him. The pain was so excruciating it became numbing. It was like he was thinking about so many things but at the same time unable to focus on anything.
By the time they finally stopped moving, Jiang found that he was already inside his father's study. "Master, we are back," reported one of the guards. Jiang was a bit disoriented and still couldn’t believe that he was here. He never thought that he would be allowed to step a single foot in the Manor, let alone enter the private study room of his father. But here he was, kneeling before a father who had never accepted him as his blood, his son.
"Leave." General Lei instructed shortly, and the guards that brought Jiang here bowed before going out of the room.
General Lei practically glared at Jiang as he looked at him up and down. He noticed Jiang's bruises and the bloodstains on the brown robe made of animal fur that he wore. The old robe was already tattered to begin with and him being dragged all the way made its condition worse. That made General Lei feel even more disgusted with Jiang. He knew why Jiang was in such a disreputable state, but as far as he was concerned everything was Jiang's fault, including the mistreatments he received from the guards.
Jiang nervously looked at the man who was supposed to be his father and realised that General Lei had gone back to reading through the scrolls before him. He was probably fed up with looking at his unwanted and useless son and perhaps, he didn't want to waste a second more giving Jiang his attention.
Jiang felt his heart ache due to the General's failure to reprimand his servants for treating his own flesh and blood in such a harsh and inhuman manner. But Jiang could only rationalise to himself that it must be his father who actually gave the orders for him to be treated like that because there was no way the guards would dare to take such initiative on their own even if he was deeply scorned. He knew his father was not beyond giving such orders, as he was a very cruel and vicious man especially when it came to Jiang and his late mother.
They were many times Jiang used to question whether the man in front of him was truly his flesh and blood. He knew the answer to that question was a resounding “Yes!”. His late mother had assured him of that fact time and time again whenever he made such absurd speculations. He was even seriously scolded by her back then not to speak so thoughtlessly. But Jiang could never understand why the General was so hateful to him. Was it really just because his legal wife felt betrayed by him bedding her maid and bearing a son?
Suddenly, his father’s voice caught his attention, "You have a chance to redeem yourself for being the disgrace that you are… a chance to lift the curse you have placed on my Lei household. So trash, are you willing to redeem yourself?" He asked sternly. There was no warmth in his words, just disdain. Jiang noted bitterly that the General still considered him a cursed existence even after all these years.
"Yes, father. I am willing." Jiang replied promptly fearing that any delay might further anger the General. It was this agreement that completely sealed his bitter fate. Nonetheless, whether he was willing or not, Jiang would still have to reply with a ‘yes’ because he knew that any other response wouldn't be tolerated and would only bring him more troubles. Jiang simply didn’t have the luxury to say no.
Comments (3)
See all