"I am ashamed."
A long, low sigh drifted through the seating area.
The speaker was a steady, composed elder. He sat facing east from the western side, a position marking him as one of the most distinguished guests. He possessed an aura of natural authority, and the disciples lined up behind him were all of exceptional bearing, making for a grand display.
As soon as he spoke, the surrounding crowd held their breath to listen with the utmost respect.
"My Qiu Manor has been a renowned name for a century, pridefully considering ourselves the orthodox lineage of sword-forging. Only today do I realize that we are naught but mediocre men, obsessed with forms, appearances, and trivial crafts, nearly forgetting the very essence of the 'Sword Heart.' Today, this young hero’s words have been like a splash of cool water over my head, bringing sudden enlightenment. This old man offers his thanks."
As the elder finished speaking, the disciples behind him knelt in a respectful wave. Seeing Ye Tan receive such high praise, the crowd erupted in a fresh murmur of envy.
Ye Tan returned the gesture with a distant politeness. "Master Qiu overpraises me." He then turned and stepped off the stage to return to our seats.
The elder of Qiu Manor stroked his beard and praised, "Unmoved by either favor or humiliation—truly the bearing of a master."
Seated right next to the Qiu Manor section was a dissolute, disheveled man. He sat alone, looking quite desolate, sprawled crookedly in his chair. He clapped and laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Brilliant! Old Man Qiu, how many times have I told you that? You stubborn old mule refused to admit it, and now you’ve finally tripped up!"
His words were rude, but the Qiu Manor elder merely smiled faintly. "The One Sword Tomb exists to bury swords. Why did you not test yours just now? Or did you realize you would be showing off your meager skills before a master and felt too ashamed?"
Upon hearing this, the man kicked his table and leaped up, ready to start a fight. Yang Qingzhou rushed forward again to pacify him, finally managing to drag him away.
After this commotion, the competition came to a hasty close, and the host led the guests toward the evening banquet.
Ye Tan had not yet reached our seats. Along the way, guests passing by all cupped their hands in respectful greeting, clearly intending to strike up a conversation. Ye Tan was delayed the entire way, only managing to return to my side with great difficulty.
"When you said... to be careful of the broken blades, so that was what you meant," Ye Tan said thoughtfully.
I nodded with a smile. "I didn't have time to tell you before you left. Weren't you afraid of getting beaten up?"
"That is also my duty," Ye Tan replied.
I rested my chin on my hand and looked at him. "Is that how you see me?"
"No..." Ye Tan tried to argue, but after a moment of thought, he found himself speechless.
"Are you unhappy?" I asked.
Ye Tan frowned. "I am a shadow guard. I can only protect my master by hiding in the shadows. I am not used to this..."
"But I’m happy." I squeezed Ye Tan’s hand and looked up at him. "I want the world to know you, to understand you, and to respect you... I like seeing you stand in the sun. I want everyone to know what a good person my Ah-Tan is."
Ye Tan stared at me blankly for a long while. A sudden, flickering light danced in his dark eyes. He closed them and dropped to one knee before me, resting his forehead gently against my knee.
He looked even more docile like this. I couldn't help but stroke his head as if I were petting a cat.
After kneeling for a while, Ye Tan asked softly, "Why... why are you so good to me?"
I pondered for a moment and answered with total honesty, "Am I...? I haven't been that good, have I?"
Ye Tan looked up at me, his eyes bright. "...It is because you are too gentle."
"Well, I suppose I'm alright," I evaluated objectively. "Don't I treat everyone like this?"
Ye Tan said softly, "Yes. Because you are gentle by nature, you would treat anyone this way... regardless of whether it was me or not."
"I don't know," I answered truthfully.
He gave a silent smile, and a sudden weariness seemed to settle into the corners of his eyes and brows.
"Are you sleepy?" I asked, stroking the top of his head.
"Yes," he whispered.
I was somewhat surprised. Ye Tan always insisted on pushing through everything; if even he said he was sleepy, he must be exhausted to the point of fainting. I hurriedly declined the host's banquet and dragged Ye Tan back to rest.
He was indeed very tired. He didn't say a word the whole way back. By the time I tucked him into the blankets and smoothed the corners, his eyes were already closed.
I kicked off my shoes and crawled in as well, drifting off to sleep against his shoulder.
In that state between dreaming and waking, I heard him murmur to himself:
"...Am I being too greedy?"
I didn't know how long I slept before someone knocked on the door. Fearing it would wake Ye Tan, I reached out in my daze to cover his ears before sluggishly poking my head out from under the covers. "Who is it?"
Yang Qingzhou’s voice came from outside. "The auction is halfway through. Is Young Master Jun not going to take a look?"
I lowered my voice. "We’re sleeping. We’re not going."
Yang Qingzhou took his leave and departed. I pulled my hand back, curled into Ye Tan’s arms, and immediately fell back asleep.
"Master, I did not..."
Did I hear someone speaking? Forget it, everything can wait until I wake up.
When I woke up in the morning, the space beside me was empty. Ye Tan was gone again. I rolled over to his side and dozed for a bit longer. A lingering, indefinable aura remained where he had been—it wasn't quite a temperature or a scent, but it just felt more comfortable than my own side of the bed.
After rolling around to my heart's content, I got out of bed. With a bird's nest for hair and rumpled pajamas from a night of tossing, I stepped out of the room. To my surprise, Yang Qingzhou was in the courtyard practicing calligraphy. A thick stack of ledgers sat on the stone table waiting to be reviewed. Hearing the movement, he hurried to rise and bow, but a moment later, his smile froze on his face.
"Young Master Jun... perhaps you should wash and dress before coming out...?" Yang Qingzhou suggested politely.
" I don't know how," I said frankly.
Without Ye Tan, I was essentially a level-nine invalid.
"It was my oversight," Yang Qingzhou said. "Please wait a moment, Young Master Jun." He called two maidservants to escort me back to the room.
The two girls were clever and sweet. They combed my hair into a bun, tied the hair ribbon, and briskly dressed me in fresh clothes. When I asked how to tie the belt, they taught me with bright smiles, not mocking my lack of basic life skills at all. I felt as refreshed as if I were bathed in a spring breeze.
I walked out and happily patted Yang Qingzhou on the shoulder. "Your manor is so well-prepared. The girls here are very good at taking care of people."
"Young Master Jun flutters me. Attending to daily needs is what maidservants are supposed to do," Yang Qingzhou smiled.
I understood his point. "You mean maidservants are responsible for daily life and chores."
Yang Qingzhou asked in return, "Yes, of course. What else?"
"Then... what about guards?" I asked.
"Escorting, fighting, and committing arson," Yang Qingzhou joked.
I nodded thoughtfully.
So, Ah-Tan had been doing things far beyond his duties all this time.
"Right, I am here on behalf of others." Yang Qingzhou remembered his business. He set his brush on the rest and picked up two exquisite, ancient-looking long boxes from a chair. He laid them out and opened them. Inside each was a longsword. One was inlaid with gems and pearls, radiating a brilliant luster; the other was simple and unadorned, dark and lusterless.
Yang Qingzhou said, "These are gifts from Qiu Manor and the One Sword Tomb. Please choose one, Young Master Jun."
Only then did I remember missing the auction last night. I hadn't expected people to deliver gifts to my door today. I drew the blades and inspected them both. Both were top-tier masterpieces, a thousand times sharper than any sword I had seen over the past two days. Regretfully, I asked, "I can only choose one?"
Yang Qingzhou gave a bitter smile. "Qiu Manor and the One Sword Tomb naturally cannot coexist under the same master."
Thinking of Ye Tan, I didn't hesitate. I weighed the simple, unadorned one in my hand. "This one."
Yang Qingzhou hesitated, then asked, "Would you... like to consider it more carefully?"
"That other one is too flashy. It’s hard to match with clothes," I said.
Yang Qingzhou took a deep breath. "Young Master Jun, you must never let those words reach the ears of the people from Qiu Manor."
"Alright." I shook his hand in a friendly manner. Yang Qingzhou, looking conflicted, left with the other sword.
This was a six-sided Han sword, entirely black, long and slender. The handguard was a sharp, narrow square, and there were no extra decorations on the body—no tassels, only a small pine and cypress motif at the mouth of the scabbard. It was a masterpiece of "great artistry requiring no ornament," its brilliance concealed within. It suited Ye Tan perfectly; the more I looked at it, the more I liked it.
I tucked the sword under my arm and wandered around looking for Ye Tan. I searched half the garden but couldn't find a trace of him.
As lunchtime approached, I bumped into Yang Qingzhou again. I grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Have you seen Ye Tan? I've been looking for him all morning."
Yang Qingzhou looked at me in disbelief and pointed toward a tree. "Isn't that him right there?"
I looked up and adjusted my angle. Sure enough, I saw Ye Tan sitting cross-legged amidst the branches, cradling his sword.
"Ah-Tan!" I hurriedly called him down.
"And he’s been following you from the rooftops since this morning. What kind of game are you two playing..." Yang Qingzhou coughed awkwardly, clutched his ledgers, and slipped away.
"So you were there the whole time. Why didn't you say anything?" I had been running all morning and was out of breath, forced to lean against the wall to pant.
Ye Tan leaped to the ground and said respectfully, "As a shadow guard, I am naturally always around my master. You need only call."
So that was it. I nodded and handed him the sword in my arms. "Ah-Tan, a gift for you from the One Sword Tomb. Do you like it?"
Ye Tan dropped to one knee, taking it with both hands. "I thank Master for the reward."
"So you don't like it," I sighed.
"I do. The sword... is very good," Ye Tan said.
I didn't know if it was my imagination, but it felt like the efficiency of my communication with Ye Tan had dropped back down to zero.
Leaning against the corridor, I finally caught my breath. I tried to gesture for Ye Tan to sit with me, but he refused.
"There is a distinction between master and servant. I fear others might misunderstand," he said.
I was puzzled. "Who cares what others think? Just sit."
"I might misunderstand," Ye Tan said.
I couldn't help but look at him. It was late autumn; most of the lotus flowers in the lake had withered, leaving only duckweed drifting together and apart. Ye Tan stood quietly in the shadows of the corridor, his gaze fixed elsewhere, his thoughts even further away.
I didn't understand.
Ye Tan had been saying things I didn't grasp lately. What exactly was I missing?
"Ah-Tan, am I getting in the way of your training?" I asked.
"Why would Master say such a thing?"
"I only heard today that maidservants are supposed to handle daily needs. Ah-Tan is a guard; you weren't supposed to be responsible for those things. Up until now, you've been doing things outside your duty, yet I took it all for granted... I'm sorry." I apologized softly, moving closer to pinch his fingertip. "I'll try to learn to do things myself from now on so I don't disturb your training."
Ye Tan was stunned for a moment and did not reply.
I tugged on his sleeve again. "I'm hungry." I paused, then added, "I can't walk anymore."
Ye Tan crouched down in front of me, signaling for me to climb on.
I hesitated. "You're a guard, you shouldn't be doing this..."
Ye Tan simply said, "Get on."
"Oh."
As I lay on Ye Tan’s back, I thought to myself: *This world is so troublesome. Why shouldn't guards do laundry, cook, and warm the bed? I wonder if I can convince him if I pay him more?*
***
