Rody’s face felt a burning pain. He looked at Old Mark with frightened eyes.
What just happened? He actually dared to hit me? On top of that, he succeeded?
When Old Mark lifted his hand earlier, Rody had already moved to the side subconsciously to avoid it. As a warrior with decent skills, no ordinary person would be able to hit him.
However, the slap somehow managed to land on his face. On top of that, Rody could barely catch the movement of his hand.
Rody, without realizing took a step back and knocked down the chair behind him.
“You…”
Mark showed an indifferent expression and calmly said, "I did not hit you because of what you just did to the Miss but because you should not have made her sad! You should not have reminded her of sad things! You should not have gotten angry at her! Boy, she has suffered enough!"
“What?” said Rody covered his face, looking dumbstruck.
“That’s enough! Stop making that stupid face boy!” Mark lightly continued, “I know your identity. You are not Young Master Seth! You are an Imperial Academy student, Rody!”
“Ah!” Rody took another step back but he tripped on the fallen chair. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance.
“You fool!” Mark’s expression was now no longer respectful. His tone was cold. “Let me tell you! This entire matter was arranged by me! Otherwise, do you think a little boy like you could quietly sneak into the Tulip Family’s estate that night? Do you really think the guards here ate nothing but plain rice? If it were not for me, you would have been caught the moment you climbed the walls!”
Rody was speechless. He was dumbstruck and just stared blankly at the mystifying old groom.
“Let me tell you, boy!" Mark bent down, picked up the chair and casually sat on it. His gave a deep smile and said, "First, some self-introduction. My name is… well, I have forgotten after so many years but you can call me Mark. As for my occupation…. Haha, I am a groom if it could be considered as an occupation. I am the fourth generation of Dandong's disciples."
“Dandong?” Rody really started to feel like he did not have an adequate amount of brain cells.
“Shut up and let me finish!” Old Mark became unhappy at Rody’s interruption and continued, “How things developed had nothing to do with me. I merely pushed the situation this way by coincidence. That night, I noticed you hiding behind the tree from the start. Thinking that you were a coward, I ignored you. However, I soon found you tailing our carriage and then trying to sneak into our house. As a result, I could not ignore it. I wanted to know what kind of person was brave enough to attack the Tulip Family’s house! That was why I rearranged the staff assignments and allowed you in. I wanted to see what you wanted to do.”
“However, I was soon surprised when I found out all of you were just hired thugs who attacked the wrong carriage! I then lost interest in you. But then I saw you at the horse shed and decided to observe you again.”
“Wait a minute!” Rody suddenly spoke. “You were there? You were there that night?”
Old Mark gave a supercilious expression. “Of course I was!”
“Why did you not attack me?”
“Attack you?" Old Mark showed a profound smile. "Attack you? Who do you think you are? You are not worthy of my attack but you dared to do that thing to the Miss that night. At first, I could not stand it but then, the Young Master appeared… Quite frankly, I did not expect the child to have that kind of courage. To think he actually dared to leave… Ah, I'm speaking out of topic… Anyway, the Young Master knocked you out so I didn't need to do anything."
“Everything that happened after that was much simpler. After the Young Master left, his sister had to arrest you and use you as a substitute. I saw the entire thing but I am old and not bothered about it. Anyway, it is not my responsibility. Whatever the Miss wishes, so be it.”
Rody was still speechless.
“Is it strange? I wonder if you know who I am?” Old Mark continued. “I told you. I am Master Dandong’s disciple. We have been following the Tulip Family. My duty was to protect the safety of the Tulip Family’s descendants.”
“…”
Rody finally decided to ask, “Why did you not stop Seth that day?”
“Why do I need to stop him?" Old Mark asked. "Seth does not like to be a duke. It is his choice. Why should I stop him? Since he does not like it, it is better not to force him. Let him do the things he likes!"
“But…” Rody was dumbfounded. “Didn’t you say you were protecting…”
“I just protect the person, not some stupid family glory. What does the Tulip Family's glory have to do with me? I see the Miss frowning unhappily every day." The old man suddenly became angry and said, "Hmph! What family glory? The earlier it is destroyed the better!" He immediately realized that he should not have said that. He then sighed and slowly said, "I will say it straight. My duty is to protect their safety. If someone wants to hurt the Miss or Young Master, then I am duty bound to act. However, the family's responsibility is completely irrelevant to me. Understand?"
What duty? Dandong’s disciple? Weren’t Dandong and the Tulip Family quite close? Or could it be that he just refused to acknowledge the decline of the Tulip Family?
“I know you don’t really understand. I don’t really understand it either but... my duty is just that.” Mark narrowed his eyes and said, “I have said so much already but basically, I don’t care if you are an impostor. You do your thing and I will do my duty. However, I will not allow you to hurt the Miss. Do you understand? Sigh, if it weren’t for you angering the Miss, I would be too lazy to be bothered by you.”
Having said that, Mark stood up and was ready to leave but then Rody suddenly moved. He mustered the courage to shout loudly, “Wait!”
There were too many things he did not know. This person could be the only one who could help him answer all those puzzling questions he had. That was why he gathered his courage to ask.
“Mark, I really cannot understand. You said that you are Dandong’s disciple but… Dandong has been dead for over two hundred years… you…”
“Oh…” Mark did not seem to mind answering. “Did you think that Dandong’s disciples would die so easily? Let me tell you. As long as I am willing, I can live for a thousand years without any problems. I have been with the Tulip Family for generations. Have you ever heard of any of the Tulip Family’s descendants being killed in action? Such as the Empire’s Marshal, the invincible commander… An idiot like you would not have thought about it. Among the most famous officers in the world, how many of them survived the battlefield? Why is it that not a single successor of the Tulip Family died on the battlefield?”
A horrifying yet puzzling thought crossed Rody’s mind. “You… How did you do that?”
“Haha… My first body has been dead for over two hundred years. I simply find someone of good health, kill him, and take his body. I think… I was the 9th Duke’s adjutant, the 11th Duke's servant, and the 12th Duke’s personal bodyguard…. Hmm. As for this body, when my previous body died a few decades ago, I found the body of this young servant.”
Rody’s mouth was hanging wide open and his eyes almost fell out.
Eternal life!!
This guy can actually possess people’s body to keep on living!
Dandong! It is Dandong again! How many miracles did he create??
First, he created life. Then he created space. Now, one of his disciples could preserve his soul for eternal life!
This is another one of God’s ability!