Peeking over the endless horizon, the sun spread a warm, orange glow across the land. Creatures of the day awoke and night dwellers hid away, readying themselves for the new day ahead.
On the outskirts of a lush forest, a large stone manor loomed over the surrounding trees, casting dark shadows of varying lengths across the greenery. Mossy rocks stacked atop one another, accentuating the grand splendour of the residential estate.
Through a glass window on the third floor of the manor's East Wing, two young men were deep in conversation. One was plainly dressed in a brown formal coat with dark long pants, with his hair neatly arranged in a way that made him look mature for his age. The other youth was currently being swiftly dressed by the young man. His hair was still in a mess, sticking up at various angles, which made his hair look quite - if one would try to describe it - fluffy.
At first glance, one would assume that all these two young men had between them was a simple master-servant relationship. That is, if they hadn't witnessed the friendly scuffle that had occured earlier. It had ended with the youth pinning the young man down with an impressive strong grip on the large bed, and whispering something into the young man's ear. From a distance, one may misunderstand the situation for something more... let's not go there, but both men were oblivious to the easily-misunderstood role play that just happened.
Yes, these two men were Lin Xia Zhi - the youth - and Qin Yi - the plainly dressed young man. Qin Yi's eyebrows were now slightly creased as he dutifully recited the details of Lady Xi, the adopted daughter of the Xi Clan, and also his master's fiancé.
"It's well-known that Lady Xi was adopted by Master Xi two years ago. However, it is uncertain where she came from, how she met Master Xi, and how he came to adopt her."
"From the information that your father, Master Lin, provided, Lady Xi is quite good-looking, and a bright young lady. Just half a year after she was adopted, she was inaugurated into the executive committee of the Xi Clan, going as far as to personally manage the affairs of Master Xi himself. That shows just how much he trusts her, and the overflowing potential she has for the elders to recognise and accept her in less that half a year."
"...it seems that she is quite an accomplished fiancé" Lin Xia Zhi thought. "She would have only been fifteen when she was adopted..what type of woman would have that much potential to rise to the top ranks of the powerful Xi Clan in just 6 months? This woman...cannot be underestimated."
"Also, it seems that she had requested this marriage to you. After multiple discussions with Master Xi, he finally agreed to her request, and proposed this marriage of our Lin Clan. Qin Yi explained.
"And unsurprisingly, that old man of mine just jumped at the chance of gaining connections through marriage to that Xi Clan." Lin Xia Zhi sighed. After a few seconds of contemplation, he acquisced, "It's not really a bad thing. I don't have anyone I fancy, so I wouldn't be adverse to a beautiful, capable fiancé, especially one that could potentially help our Lin Clan to prosper with the support of a clan as powerful as theirs."
While Lin Xia Zhi was deep in thought, Qin Yi added, "Actually, Young Master, she is the perfect match for you." He said with a perfectly serious look on his face, as he finished dressing his master.
"In what way?" Lin Xia Zhi replied, curious. Lin Xia Zhi was now dressed in a soft royal blue robe, his sleeves a slightly darker blue. As expected of the future heir of the Lin Clan. The clothes he wore were much more decorated than those of mere servants.
Qin Yi started arranging his master's hair, "Well, such a hardworking woman should naturally accompany a man such as yourself, Young Master."
Lin Xia Zhi's ear twitched visibly. Qin Yi...just called him Young Master. Twice. From his past experiences, whenever Qin Yi showed any form of formality to him in private, something would definitely be amiss. After all, they had treated each other as brothers since young, and Lin Xia Zhi had made it clear a long time ago that there was no need for any pleasantries between them.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying that a capable man needs a woman of equal caliber to bring out the best in him?" Lin Xia Zhi tried to avoid the oncoming punchline that Qin Yi was about to deliver.
"It's not that, Young Master." Qin Yi's lips trembled, obviously trying to hold his laughter in. He managed to keep a straight face, and continued, "Instead, her diligence would splendidly make up for Young Master's absolute lack of responsibility. Sleeping in late, cutting classes, running from the guards, sneaking out on a daily basis...both of you are polar opposites of each other, and are therefore perfe~aah!"
Qin Yi ducked swiftly as a white feather pillow shot past him, barely brushing past his head, not getting the chance to finish his punchline.
Spinning around lightly, his eyes widened when he saw his master armed and ready with two more pillows, one in each hand. His body slightly crouched, in a fighting stance, Lin Xia Zhi growled, "I hope you've written your will. Prepare yourself."
"Wait-" Before Qin Yi could defend himself, the two projectiles came hurtling straight at him. Sucking in a sharp breath, his body contorted, successfully dodging one of them. However, a split second later, the second pillow came into contact with his abdomen, the force itself almost knocking him off his feet. He lost his breath for a second, sinking to the ground as his knees met the floor simultaneously.
Lin Xia Zhi straightened himself, grinning. Sweet, sweet revenge. He walked over to where Qin Yi was on his knees, gasping to catch his breath. Lin Xia Zhi knelt down, raised a hand to Qin Yi's head, and tousled his hair like what an adult would do to a mischievous kid. Lin Xia Zhi, now on one knee, stared Qin Yi right in his eyes, his deep eyes an endless abyss. He murmered, "You're about ten years too early to get away with poking fun at me, kid."
Qin Yi matched his master's unwavering gaze. He held it for a second. Then, his face broke out into a wide grin, saying brightly, "As expected from a former SS Rank Life Stealer. Your skills aren't rusty at all. If that was a dagger you threw, I'd really be in trouble for not writing my will. Hahaha...keurgh!-"
Qin Yi's short speech was suddenly interrupted by him breaking out into a coughing fit, presumably from his unrecovered breaths that resulted from the earlier one-sided pillow fight.
Lin Xia Zhi sighed. He stood up strode around the room, casually tossing his pillows across his large bedroom of 500 square feet. Poom. Poom. Poom. The pillows landed neatly next to each other, as if they weren't used in a full-on pummeling earlier on.
By now, Qin Yi was back on his feet, patting himself down briskly. Lin Xia Zhi addressed his earlier speech, "My past life of being a Life Stealer is one of insignificance. My life now is one where I will take over the clan as its rightful heir. The past was merely a milestone I achieved in order for me to attain what I have today. No more, no less." He said indifferently.
"Hmm. Xia Zhi, do you really think that your past is not worth mentioning?" Qin Yi posed a question to Lin Xia Zhi.
Lin Xia Zhi was yet again surprised by how Qin Yi addressed him. By his first name this time? Qin Yi was being serious. Only when Qin Yi wanted him to think deeply and reflect about something did he use Lin Xia Zhi's first name.
"..." Lin Xia Zhi furrowed his brows as he thought about Qin Yi's question in silence. After a few moments, he gave his verdict.
"To be honest, before I became who I am today, my life was...a living nightmare. The elders incessantly loaded me with impossible tasks which were to "prove my worth" according to them. However, most of it was just useless slaughter. In order to boost the ranks of our Lin Clan, they even had me assassinate several people in power of other clans. After all that, my final task was to--" Lin Xia Zhi's voice was suddenly cut off. His eyes clouded over, as if recalling a dark memory. His shoulders tensed up and trembled slightly. His breathing became laboured. The silence that followed weighed heavily on them.
"Hey, it's alright. The past is the past. It is undeniably a part of you, but don't let it control who you become. You are your own being, Xia Zhi. Do not throw your past away, but neither should you let it drag you down. How you use it is up to you. Treasure it." Qin Yi gripped Lin Xia Zhi's shoulders firmly. Lin Xia Zhi's ragged breathing gradually returned to normal. His eyes became clear again. He looked up at Qin Yi and said quietly, "Let's go. We have much to do today."
"Yes, we do." Qin Yi released his hands that were holding on to his master and smiled gently. It wasn't the first time his master had had a bad recollection of his past. Every single time, Qin Yi had been there to reassure him. Especially after the final incident that finally made the elders deem Lin Xia Zhi suitable to be the rightful heir to the clan, nightmares about that final mission had haunted his master, both in his sleep and wide awake.
Watching his master who had started striding out of the room, Qin Yi murmured to himself,
"Xia Zhi... stay strong." Qin Yi ran after Lin Xia Zhi to catch up, and followed behind his master with equal strides.
It was just the start of a long day ahead.