Ruying Palace.
"How will you atone for this sin, Li XingZhu?"
Scrutinized King Ruying with his tiger-like eyes that seemed to freeze anyone in sight.
Daring not to meet his eyes, Xing kneeled.
"I truly apologize, your highness, but-"
*Whack*
Xing watched as blood dripped onto the ground, feeling a stinging pain in his head. He wanted to grab it, but he couldn't dare to.
"I miss your mother; she was my favorite plaything, haha!"
Keeling over in laughter, King Ruying slapped the table and stood up. Staring at Xing for any reaction, he saw nothing. It seems his words didn't seem to affect him like he thought they would.
Silently taking slow breaths, Xing managed to calm down and spoke:
"I am willing to take any punishment if you let my mother go."
Staring up at the king, Xing quickly looked down and bowed. The King sat back down and tilted his head, thinking of what he could make Xing do. Snapping his fingers, he said:
"How about this, I can make you into a soldier, but all you have to do is disregard your mother's family name. Are you willing?"
Smiling sinisterly, the King put his feet up and stared intently at what Xing was thinking. Looking at the King intently, Xing smiled.
"Of course, I am willing, anything to survive."
Nodding his head in approval, the King chuckled softly.
"Good boy, but one thing. If you tell anyone you are my son, I will kill you one hundred times over, got it?"
Dismissing Xing, the King smiled, thinking, "That W*ore was quite satisfying, but this son is quite an eyesore; he might cause problems later. Sending him to the army, and then I can make a plan to eliminate him for good, haha, I am too cunning.
Xing walked out of the palace, his face betraying no emotions. He just turned 14 a day ago, and now he is being turned into a soldier by the one person he hates. Life is full of fun, isn't it?
Staring at the ground as he walked towards his residence near the edge of the palace, Xing thought about what his mom told him before she left. She told him to live well, to live safely, but to do all that, he has to obey a piece of sh*t king.
The King treated Xing's mother like a piece of flesh that was to be used and discarded. Every single day, Xing would see her come home with fresh wounds. But...why couldn't she take him with her?
He tried to ask her that day she left, but she just choked up and said that she would explain everything later. Staring at the familiar house with a shabby-looking roof, he opened the gate blocking entry to the front yard.
Noticing something wrong, he ran inside and found that his place had been ransacked, and nothing valuable was left. Clothes all over the floor, furniture upturned, vases broken, and paintings everywhere.
Walking slowly towards his room, Xing saw that his bed was untouched, but his other stuff was gone. Lying on his bed, he began to cry slowly, asking why, why is he the only one here, why did mom not take him with her...
The next day.
Feeling the sunlight hit his eyes, Xing got up slowly. Birds chirping as the wind began to rustle the dried weeds. The breeze hit Xing slowly as he stretched, looking around his empty home. He wiped his tears with his sleeves.
"Not even a pair of clothes was left, you f*ckers."
Xing sniffed and stared at the ceiling for a very long time, until he heard the gate opening. Snapping back to reality, he heard footsteps enter the house. Looking at the intruder, it was a soldier wearing a badge.
The badge read, 'Captain'
The Captain began to look around the worn-out house, and his eyes landed on Xing, with his frail body wearing a robe way too big for his body size. Sucking his teeth in, the Captain spoke:
"Are you Xing?"
Nodding, Xing looked the Captain up and down, noticing the scars and calluses on his hands. He must be skilled at fighting, and hand-to-hand is what Xing presumes. Bowing, Xing spoke:
"Yes, I am Xing. Are you the famous Captain Leo Ching, who defeated the Red Bandit?"
Blushing a little, Captain Leo Ching nodded and cleared his throat.
"I am here to invite you to my squad. I was a good friend of your mother."
Narrowing his eyes, Xing looked at Leo's expression, not finding a hint of a lie, Xing half-smiled.
"Is that so? Okay, I accept."
Captain Leo Ching nodded and put on a stern face, handing Xing his armor and sword that looked way too big for him to carry. He told Xing to carry it for practice until they reached the barracks.
Sweating a bit, Xing followed Captain Leo Ching to the army's barracks, which were located at the foot of the entrance to the palace. Seeing soldiers running and patrolling, Xing was a little excited and a bit scared.
Following Captain Leo into the army's building, they went past rooms, looking around. Xing found people fooling around, but more were curious as to who he was and why the Captain was escorting him.
Reaching the last room, Captain Leo Ching opened it, and dust came out, making him cough a little.
"Well, all the rooms are filled for now, so you get the solitary confinement room. Any questions?"
Before Xing opened his mouth, the Captain had already left, making Xing look like a goldfish trying to eat. Closing his mouth with his hand, Xing dropped the armor and sword in his room, that was just a bed in a narrow space.
It was not even long, just like a cell. Xing began to dust off the bed, seeing that it was the afternoon, his stomach growled.
Xing wondered if they got free lunch...