Chapter 27: Taking Lives

He stood up and walked over to the fireplace. Tilting his head, he gazed into the flames before bending down to poke the dying embers back to life. "It's essentially about taking lives. The specialized skill of assassination. It could also involve causing blindness, deafness, limb weakness, paralysis, chronic coughs, or even rendering someone infertile. It could lead to premature aging or mental instability... but the specifics don't matter. This has been my line of work, and it could be yours too if you agree. Understand from the get-go, I'll be teaching you the art of killing. Given your abilities, you might even be capable of eliminating mystics and cultivators one day. This won't be the grand, public spectacle that Huo is teaching you, not the kind where you're cheered on a battlefield. No, I'll instruct you in the discreet, underhanded, yet effective methods of ending lives. You may or may not grow to enjoy it; that's not for me to decide. But I'll ensure you're skilled at it. And there's one more thing, a condition I set with Lord Congming: you'll be fully aware of what you're learning, something I wasn't at your age. So, are you ready to learn the ways of an assassin, young man?"1

Wuyi gave another nod, unsure of what else to say. Chao looked at him closely. "You can talk, right? You're not both voiceless and a bastard, are you?" 1

Wuyi cleared his throat. "No, I can talk."

 "Good, then speak up. Don't just nod your head. Share your thoughts on everything I've just laid out for you."

 Though encouraged to speak, Wuyi found himself speechless. He looked at Chao's unusual face, the thin texture of his hands, and felt the intensity of his green gaze upon him. His tongue moved within his mouth, but it produced no words. While Chao's demeanor seemed to welcome conversation, his appearance was more daunting than anything Wuyi had ever encountered. 

"Listen up," Chao's tone became gentler, causing Wuyi to look him in the eyes. "I can guide you even if you dislike me or what I'm teaching. I can educate you if you're unengaged, lazy, or slow to catch on. What I can't do is teach you if you're too frightened to communicate with me. At least, not in the manner I have planned. You need to speak up. You've become so adept at concealing your thoughts that you're nearly scared to admit them to yourself. Try opening up to me; there will be no repercussions." 

"Ah," Chao paused and let out a long sigh. "Each Killing will require a decision from you. The first one will be the most challenging. But understand that you have plenty of time ahead to make that choice. And you have a lot to absorb before then." He took a moment before continuing. "Keep this in mind, in all situations, not just this one. Acquiring knowledge is never a bad thing. Even learning the act of killing is neither immoral nor virtuous. It's simply a skill, one that I can impart to you. For the time being, are you open to learning it and deciding later whether you'll apply it? Do you understand why Lord Congming has asked me to be your instructor?" 

Wuyi shook his head. Chao replied, "Since he is investing in you, he is going all the way. First, when you know all the ways to kill, you know many ways how not to die. Congming is a wise man, maybe the wisest of the patriarchs of Luyao. He sees things from angles that even I might not have thought of. Now he is investing in you, he wants you to survive, and this world is filled with dangers; people kill for petty reasons. He will make you owe him so much that you might have to work your lifetime for him to repay his debts, boy." When Chao put it this way, Wuyi realized it would be useful for him no matter how he looked at it. Even if he decided to run away at some point, this knowledge would be useful to him.

 "I can learn it," Wuyi said.

 "Alright," Chao gave a smile, though his face showed signs of fatigue and he didn't appear as content as one might expect. "That's sufficient for now. Quite sufficient."

 He glanced around the chamber. "We might as well get started this evening. First thing's first, let's clean up the place. You'll find a broom over there. But before that, switch out of your current robe. Ah, there's a worn-out robe hanging there; it should suffice for now. We can't have the laundry staff puzzled by the smell of herbs and toxins on your clothing, can we? So, go ahead and sweep the floor while I organize a few items." 

The subsequent hours unfolded in a similar manner. Wuyi took to sweeping and then mopping the stone flooring. Chao guided him in removing various items from the large table. Wuyi rotated the herbs on the drying rack to ensure even drying. He also fed the trio of salamanders that Chao had kept in a corner cage, cutting up some aged, sticky meat into pieces that they swallowed whole. He cleaned several pots and bowls before storing them away. All the while, Chao worked beside him, seemingly appreciative of the companionship, and conversed with him as though they were either two elderly men or two young lads.

"No letters as yet? No ciphering. Bagrash! What's the old man thinking? Well, I shall see that remedied swiftly," Chao kept murmuring one thing or another some made sense and some did not. "I have seen your father. You've got your father's brow, boy, and just his way of wrinkling it. Has anyone ever told you that before?"