Chapter 21: Yuanjing Clan’s Get

Ignoring the Lord's promises, Wuyi stuffed his traditional garments with rice cakes. He enjoyed the meal with a few desert hounds in the shaded area behind the horse barn. It was a more substantial breakfast than any of them were used to, and his belly grumbled in discomfort for several hours afterward.

After savoring the desserts, he nestled into a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep; his thoughts oscillated between fear and worry. Nothing good could come out of what has transpired he had hunch. Part of him wished that it would all come to nothing, that the patriarch would overlook his promise.

Late that evening, Wuyi finally wandered up the steps and let himself into Boluo's chamber. He had spent the day pondering what the morning's words might mean for him. As he entered, Boluo set aside the piece of traditional tack he was mending and focused all his attention on Wuyi. He considered him in silence for a bit, and Wuyi returned his stare.

The only person Wuyi felt close to in this world, after his pup, was Boluo; one needn't love to depend. That sense of being able to rely on Boluo made him feel like kin. No matter how much Boluo complained about taking care of an unwanted child, he had become Wuyi's guardian in the truest sense. Whenever Wuyi faced trouble, he knew he could run to Boluo, who would protect him no matter what. Regardless of how mature one's mind is, when one has the vulnerable and weak body of a small child and there is someone who protects and watches over you, attachment grows. Boluo had become his anchor, the source of his stability.1

"So," Boluo finally spoke, imbuing the word with finality. "You had to put yourself before his eyes, did you? Had to draw attention to yourself. Well, he's decided what to do with you." He sighed, and for a brief moment, Wuyi almost felt that Boluo pitied him.

"I'm to choose a horse for you tomorrow. He suggested it be a young one, that I train you both together. But I persuaded him to pair you with a more mature, stable creature. One learner at a time, that's what I told him. However, I have my own motives for matching you with a creature that's... less easily influenced. Make sure you behave; I'll be aware if you're messing around. Are we clear? He suspects that your lineage is strong; but unlike me, he is not doing it for righteousness, he has selfish motives. The more you show your bloodline powers, the more you will be taken advantage of by people and the world. And the more dangerous it will be for you and me too. He just thinks that you have a potent bloodline; he doesn't know that you can actually manipulate people's emotions," Boluo added.3

Wuyi gave him a quick nod.

"Answer, Wuyi. You'll have to use your tongue if you'll be dealing with tutors and masters."

"Yes," Wuyi responded, realizing that his life had just taken an unexpected turn, one that he could neither predict nor control.

It was so like Boluo, always pragmatic and to the point. "You'll be up with the sun from now on, boy. In the mornings, you'll be trained by me—how to take care of a horse, how to master it, and the correct way to hunt with your dogs. I'll instruct you in the common man's method of taming animals, not through that bloodline power of yours, but as an honest beast master does," he emphasized, pausing to ensure Wuyi understood.

Wuyi sighed. Every time he decided to be careful, he ended up doing something careless, like using the statue and drawing the patriarch's attention. He managed a nod, amending it to a "Yes."

"In the afternoons, they've got you. For weapons and such. Probably the training of nobles, eventually. In winter months, there will be indoor learning—classical texts, calligraphy, philosophies, reading, numbers, and histories. What you'll do with it all, I've no idea, but mind you learn it well to please the patriarch. The Luyao clan is not as powerful as Yuanjing, but he's not a man to play around with, let alone cross. That being said, it's not a bad thing; you'll be a better man than just being a shadow, taking care of stables like me if things work out," Boluo added, clearing his throat. "Oh, and there's another thing that's to change."

Boluo picked up a piece of leather he had been working on and continued, "You'll have a proper room of your own now. Up in the fortress, in the place where all the nobles rest, that's where you'd be sleeping if you had arrived on time."

"A room?" Wuyi felt a sense of foreboding.

"Yes, a room of your own, up at the fortress," Boluo reiterated. "I'll finally get my privacy back. Oh, and you're to be measured for clothes tomorrow as well. And shoes."

"I don't want a room up there," Wuyi blurted out. He could imagine the gazes of all the people in the fortress looking at the Bastard of Yuanjing. Nothing good would come out of him staying in the fortress, among people he actively avoided. He had read way too many books to know how outcasts were treated; every time he went in front of them, he knew how true the books were.

The thought of living with Boluo, as oppressive as it had become, suddenly seemed preferable to living with those he despised. He envisioned a spacious, chilly stone chamber, with dark figures hiding in the nooks. Especially being a bastard, he knew the treatment he would receive if he had to stay alone in that fortress.

"Well, you're to have one," Boluo announced relentlessly. "And it's time you should move to fort.You're Yuanjing clan's get, even if you're not a proper-born son. Placing you down here in the stable, like a lost puppy, it's simply not appropriate."

"I'm fine with it," Wuyi ventured. One thing he was sure of was that Boluo was his safety net, and he was not comfortable being alone without that safety.

Boluo lifted his eyes and regarded Wuyi sternly. "My, my. Positively chatty tonight, aren't we?"

Wuyi lowered his eyes. "You live down here," he pointed out sullenly. "You aren't a stray pup."

"I'm not a Yuanjing clan's bastard, either," Boluo retorted tersely. "You'll live in the fortress now, Wuyi, and that's all there is to it."1

Wuyi dared to look at Boluo, who was speaking more to his fingers than to him. "I'd rather be a stray," Wuyi decided to add some emotions maybe that might convince Boluo. "You wouldn't allow this to happen to a puppy, altering its entire world so suddenly."

Boluo paused, then softened. "Come here, Wuyi. Don't be scared. There's nothing to be afraid of. And anyway, they've only said you're to have a room up at the fortress. No one's said you've got to sleep in it every night. Some nights, if things are too worrisome, you can find your way down here. Does that sound right to you? To tell you honestly, they're more scared of you than you are of them. They know no matter what, you will be more powerful than them yourblood is potent. It'snoble blood of ancients."3