The Blind Boy
As the Field Trip group managed to return home safely...
...a young man clad in black and dark gray clothes with green embroidery, dressed like a young master arrived, riding on a black dragon at night. His long black hair was half in an updo with braids, secured in place with a black, green-trimmed guan. secured with a silver hairpin with the rest worn loose. Around him is a black hooded cloak.
He appears around 14-ish due to his svelte frame befitting his age. Handsome with a black bellflower tattoo on his left cheekbone. His black eyes were dull and milky...a sign he was blind.
His expression was cold as ice. And stood domineeringly as he laid waste to the Beast Tide, a herd of rampaging beasts when something disturbed the forest enough to send them into a frenzy, using black lightning bolts from his hands before he could land.
To decimate so many by himself, stood testament to his strength for one so young.
Upon landing, he went to a nearby pond for a drink...but it smelled weird, so he threw it away in disgust.
His stomach then growled.
'...hungry...' he then turned to his dragon. 'Take me to the nearest city you can find. Just far enough away that they can't sense your presence, and point me in the direction.' The dragon nodded as the boy hopped on again and they took off.
The nearest city was Linhua City.
It was nighttime by the time he got there.
He used his other senses to walk the streets without bumping into anyone in search of food.
He was mostly reliant on his companions as without them, he's a sitting duck, but he got lost as they're on a job in an unfamiliar country...this was really one of the days he really hates being blind.
He may be a powerful Summoner and Warrior but that's it. He's useless everywhere else. He was no different from an attack dog thus, when needed.
He sighed.
So many smells that it mixed into something unpleasant to his nose.
His hunger got worse and worse until his walk became unsteady and he felt really strange...
'Watch out!' a young girl cried as she held him. 'Are you ill? You're walking in a strange way...do you need a doctor?'
'...hungry...'
'Oh dear, you're already starting to feel ill if you're staggering...how long have you not eaten? We'll start with a light meal first so you won't throw up...will it be alright for you to come with me to my lady's home?'
'Lady?'
'Princess Huang Beiyue.'
...what are the odds that he gets taken into a Princess' home? And Huang Beiyue, the Mad Princess? Went Mad from abuse and poisoning from her paternal Xiao Family after Princess Royal's death? THAT Huang Beiyue?
xxx
Huang Beiyue immediately noticed what was wrong with the boy Dongling brought home.
'Oh my, a patient?' Beiyue asked her maid who got back from errands.
'He seems to be a foreigner unfamiliar with the city...and he hasn't eaten for days so I thought I'd make a light meal.' said Dongling.
'Alright. I'll see if he has other ills from traveling.' Beiyue told her maid. 'What is your name, young master?'
'...Molian.' said Molian.
Beiyue thought he's kinda timid but that is incongruent with his eyes that showed strength and confidence.
'I'll check on you a bit, OK?' Beiyue gently guided him into sitting with her. 'I'll be using magic.'
Molian felt magic being used on him. It doesn't seem to harm, but if it does, not even he would hesitate to kill a princess. '...oh dear. Molian, do you know that your blindness is artificially-done, not natural?'
That, is a shock to him.
'E-eh?!'
'You have two spells on you...one that made you blind even though your eyes are working just fine...and a curse linking to the black flower tattoo on your cheek.'
'Curse...' Molian shook, stunned by the revelations.
'I can remove the blind one, but you'll be in my care for at least a month as your eyes needs to adjust to light and colors again. As for the curse, it doesn't seem to harm the body, but affecting something else about you. Nothing to your mind, spirit, body and cultivation so I'm at a loss there. If I know what it does, I could come up with something.'
'...removing the blindness seems OK...I thought I was blind all my life.' Molian was furious. Who did this to him, and why? What's the motive?
'I'll tell Principal Cang He Dongling and I will take a month off to monitor your eye's progress, and I'll ask him if he knows of this curse. He's been around since two wars so he might have seen something...'
'...thank you very much. ...how should I pay you back?'
'Well, I suppose I will charge in seven favors when we meet again someday after your treatment is done.' Beiyue told him. 'I will be in this city for a long time or to my fiefdoms so our meetings will be purely out of luck from there on, but still, seven favors, OK?'
'...alright.' Molian agreed to the terms.
'Good thing it's night, so we can ease you with light and brightness levels starting today after I get rid of the Blindness Spell first.'
xxx
The School...
Cang He received a letter in his office from the Princess, telling him about the foreigner Beiyue's maid brought home. A young boy around Dongling's age who has two curses on his person. A Blindness Curse which she can remove, but she was at a loss with what she calls 'bellflower curse' as the other is maintained by the named flower tattoo on his left cheekbone, but no idea what it does as it does not harm his body, mind and cultivation. But still a curse in nature!
The boy will be at her home until he adjusts to safe levels thus will take month off of school.
He was concerned with her antics.
In camp, she showed good medical skills for her age, though she was still...mad. She terrified the other injured students as she treated them while awake, even if they have pain-numbing pills...but she hides away her competency.
Zhanye confided in him why she does so. She hates the whole country with good reason, only will listen to the Emperor, Grandqueen, Prince Xiaoyao, Prince Lianyi and her maid. She was a high-level swordswoman even without qi, a genius pharmacist for her age and a doctor that managed to cultivate when her dantian was born defective!
She was of high talents as a cultivator and doctor and through the Grandqueen, made her fiefs prosper with three times the production rate that she has a surplus of goods and material, with enough left over for her citizens in her fiefs. She also gathered enough youths and start training. She frequently travels, so her school attendance is occasionally spotty. She takes fourth week off of every month to check on the progress of the youths she recruited for her domain's military force.
A curse like she encountered is no doubt, very obscure...he'll have to meet the young man tomorrow.
But still...Molian is it? Or rather, Mo Lian?
He shuddered. Princess needs watching over!
What did princess get herself into? She knows not who she brought home! Not everyone outside Linhua City is as kind as she imagined!
xxx
Next day...
Mo Lian woke up from his sleep.
As of last night, he could see through deliberately-dimmed lights.
He saw many things for the first time in his life, as Princess taught him with patience.
He was also in a dim room with little light as he needed daily adjusting until he can see like normal, lest he actually damage his eyes too too soon!
He can't leave his room during the morning, that the girls come to his room instead to teach him. But when it's sundown, he can come out and explore again.
But that morning he got a visit from a tall person with a lot of hair! Why does he have so much hair?
'Molian, this is Principal Cang He. I asked him to come over incase he knows.' said Beiyue kindly.
'...hello.'
Cang He thought the Mo Lian of this generation is a lad of few words. Maybe he was different from the previous Mo Lian.
The last Mo Lian? Learned a lesson to never piss off a man by making a pass at his woman.
This Mo Lian was blind that he was merely a warrior and summoner, nothing more than an attack dog as being blind, he cannot be taught anything. His expression was that of a child in perpetual wonder. Hence he was mentally and emotionally immature no doubt...and he was able to see the flower mark on his face that earned him recognition, and pitied the lad.
'He's able to see as of last night but like a typical person recovering from blindness, he has to take it easy with lighting a bit.' said Beiyue. 'So he'll be in this dim room until he can safely progress.'
'Alright. About the tattoo on this young lad's cheek...its a curse out of spite, but a lost art hence due to war.' Cang He told them somberly, seeing Mo Lian's tattoo for the first time up close. 'In Song Country where Prince Xiaoyao was from, its a curse when a victim's feelings grow into bitter hatred because of a person who no doubt, hurt them so. Even a non-cultivator can use it as long as they have pure hatred, and as long as they have knowledge of this technique. This Bellflower Curse ensures the cursed is doomed to die alone. Unfortunately, this is a bloodline curse...he will die alone, ending his father or grandfather's bloodline.'
'That's rather cruel, why include their child in the curse? The child has nothing to do with his crazy relatives!' Dongling choked out unhappily.
'Hatred borne out of hurt is often irrational.' Cang He told the kids somberly. 'If there was a cure, its long lost in Song Kingdom's ruins. Its not far from Nanyi Country, but a small kingdom hence. It was around when I myself, was a youngster your age...and years later, four years into Princess Royal's marriage, war tore that kingdom to the ground. So its demise is very recent. There should be relics left under the rubble, if any.'
'Then that's where I'll go next when I get better. I just need the location on a map after I learn how to read it.' Mo Lian decided firmly. 'Song Kingdom. I'll find a way to undo this somehow.'
'Well, take care now kids, its a long road to recovery.' Cang He encouraged them.
'Thank you for helping us out Principal.' Beiyue thanked the old man gratefully. 'Molian, be patient with your eyes OK? Its not easy recovering from any form of blindness, unless one is truly, naturally born blind.'
'Mm.'
Thus he lived a somehow good life with his host family. In the meantime, he sent out Efa with a letter, to find Hong Lian and Meng Qitian. Maybe they can look into it for him before picking him up?
xxx
7 hours later...
Meng Qitian watched as Hong Lian fumed after reading the letter.
'Well?'
'Mo Lian's shacking with Nanyi's Mad Princess!' yep, she's jealous, he thought as Hong Lian's words got his eyebrows going up. 'Because his eyes need careful adjustment after being able to see again!'
Qitian paused in stunned disbelief.
'Wait...what?'
All their lives growing up in Glorious Palace, the nameless boy left on Glorious Palace's gates who became Mo Lian is known blind since birth.
Then suddenly he's recovering from blindness?!
'Mo Lian said that Huang Beiyue discovered a spell and a curse on him, things our own Glorious Palace did not detect!' Hong Lian burst out angrily. 'A spell that induced artificial blindness on him...and a Bellflower Curse originating from a defunct Song Kingdom not far from Nanyi Country. We gotta find a way to remove that somehow by digging into those ruins before we pick him up by end of this month.'
'Right...well, at least by the time he's OK, he'll be a lot stronger and more reliable.' said Qitian. 'This is simply a minor setback as we have no time limit anyway.'
'Yeah, this is more important.' Hong Lian quipped. 'Really, who on earth curses kids along with their target of hatred? Talk about nasty...'
xxx
Mo Lian enjoyed a life of comfort with the Princess. He gets to sleep on a soft bed, eat delicious food, learn how to use chopsticks, and considering he's traveling, he was taught how to wear clothes, how to bathe himself and use the loo, use money, street smarts and how to read maps. At night he was taught how to read the stars for directions, and survival camping skills...and refining pills for poison and injury treatment.
On his second day, Beiyue had the tailors measure him.
'Uhm, it has to be black.' Mo Lian would tell them. 'That's all I ask.'
After that, lessons proceeded. Every mealtime was at central hours of Maoshi, Wushi and beginning of Xushi.
He was taught the value of 'eating well'. His meals always contains a vegetable dish, meat dish and seafood dish with his large bowl of rice, and a bowl of soup. He also has a fruit bowl as dessert! Though he was also taught how to eat them given the chance as he is traveling. And only in breakfast, he eats an entire baked sweet potato. The large kind since the girls do the same!
'Without a balanced diet, your body will weaken due to being deficient in nutrition a body part needs or parts.' Beiyue would tell him. Mo Lian learns cooking from Dongling, all else from the Princess.
Thus he gets better.
On the second week...
'I heard about your guest from the Principal.' Zhanye paid a visit out of worry. 'How is Mo Lian faring?'
Mo Lian was here for two weeks and when Beiyue was a no show in school that he only got wind of through gossip, he had to ask, and his old tutor warned him of Glorious Palace of Beiyao Country...because Beiyue unwittingly took Mo Lian in!
Every generation, a pair who is the strongest is bestowed titles by their Holy Emperor. A girl is titled Hong Lian, and a boy Mo Lian. They are to wear their colors befitting their high rank. Thus he must not let age and appearance deceive him. His teacher told him his experiences with the previous generation.
This boy before him looks no older than his sister Yingye, yet he's already titled Mo Lian...which means he's very powerful. Just how do they train in Beiyao exactly, that Zhanye who has a Wuling in Zihuo Kirin is weaker than Mo Lian? That got him frustrated.
Zhanye knew that Prince Lianyi is a frequent visitor to Beiyue as well. Given how Beiyue fights and his musculature, he had to do better than that!
'He's doing well now but can't handle noontime sunlight just yet, so we have to do the rest indoors during afternoon hours.' said Beiyue. 'We have to carefully adjust just as I have done after recovering from my own eye injury.' Zhanye grimaced at the horrible reminder that Beiyue fought Spirit Deity.
'Right...'
And next day after?
Feng Lianyi and his aide Hu Wendi choked at Beiyue's guest. They know who Mo Lian is alright!
And to Lianyi's inward annoyance, she was treating him a little TOO well? And they're playing with a feathered thingy they're hitting back and forth with a wooden paddle?(Hanetsuki) And it's a rather hi-paced game at that, given how they're moving so fast and hitting back at forth at top speed!
'Dongling...this...' Lianyi twitched with a strained smile. Beiyue is playing with one of Beiyao's most dangerous people?!
'Oh that? When missy got wind Sir Molian doesn't know how to have fun, she took personal offense and taught him how to play every after dinner since its lessons during the day.' said Dongling sheepishly. 'She said we're young only once, and there are things we can only have at a certain point in our lives and never again.' she said softly. 'Tea and snacks, your highness, Sir Wendi?' she offered with a smile. 'We have chilled fruit juice for a pair of overheated players, but as its still autumn, there's still tea.'
'Thank you...' and they sat down to watch.
'What is that game though?' Wendi asked Dongling as they watched the game. 'I've never heard of it.'
'Missy comes up with things once in a while out of boredom.' Dongling explained. 'She calls that game Jianda(shuttlecock strike). It may look like that, but what does that teach you in combat terms?' she asked the two northerners who watched the game.
'Reaction. Agility. Speed. Timing. And speed of your sword strikes alongside your ability to deflect attacks.' Wendi stated as he can see the benefits of the game.
'As expected of sir. That's what missy told us too when she taught us the game.' Dongling smiled. 'Originally there's a penalty...for missing the jian, you normally get your face marked with black ink, like graffiti. But Sir Molian is a bit sore due to recent revelations...so missy thought he would not like his face marked on. So the penalty instead is once ten misses are accumulated, the loser of ten misses must obey petty demands of the winner. It can be silly things or awkward things.'
'Heee...'
'Well, five rounds of different games a day before dinner to work up an appetite.' Dongling chimed. 'Young sirs probably have dinner on normal schedules already but we changed schedule a bit just for this month, before we're back to normal like anyone else. Its the final round of ten already.'
Soon, Beiyue lost.
'Beiyue, do you know what a kiss is?' Mo Lian asked Beiyue cluelessly as everyone went pink.
'I-I do, why?'
'I've never seen it, just that Hong Lian gets excited when she sees couples doing something whenever we're in a city...I was told they're about to kiss, so what is it? Show me by kissing one of those people. Only boys and girls kiss so Dongling is out.' he pointed at Lianyi and Wendi with utter innocence in his face, and the older guys went scarlet. This is an awkward demand! What the hell is Hong Lian teaching this guy?!
Beiyue choked at the demand. This kid is so unfair at his last request today!
But its a batsu-game...eeeek...
Well...Beiyue strode over to Lianyi who blushed hard at being chosen.
Wendi looked excited for some reason as he scooted away and poor Dongling squeaked, covering her eyes, red-faced.
'Y-Yue, you know how to kiss?' Lianyi asked her nervously.
'Duh~ I do read novels.' well, she knows how back in her first life and can only dream, but justice came first back then. 'Pucker up now!'
Lianyi supposed he has Mo Lian's clueless curiosity to thank for this...and he took the initiative to kiss Beiyue senseless she was stunned by the end of it.
To be fair, he too, was turned on...considering he kissed a girl he actually likes...
'So how is it like? Is it good?' Mo Lian asked curiously.
'If done with a girl you actually like, yes very much.' Lianyi smirked smugly at his handiwork while Beiyue was still stunned from being kissed to the point she was both in a daze and turned on...
...not that she understood what the feeling was.
'A girl...I like...huh...'
Mo Lian looked thoughtful and intrigued now...
