Deep autumn had set in, and the land was frozen solid.
It was high noon.
Through dilapidated alleyways slick with sewage, pedestrians drifted like zombies, their eyes glazed and vacant.
However.
CLIPPITY-CLOP! CLIPPITY-CLOP!
Just then, a carriage suddenly turned into the alley. The lead groom had a scarred face and a fierce expression, a blade resting by his side. He was clearly not someone to be trifled with.
The alley was narrow and crumbling.
But at the sight of the thundering hooves and the RUMBLING wheels, pedestrians from far down the way scrambled to press themselves flat against the walls, terrified of accidentally brushing against the carriage.
The small flag of Lu Manor fluttering from the carriage was conspicuous and jarring.
All who saw it couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
Only after the carriage had passed did they dare to whisper amongst themselves:
"A personal carriage... That must be one of Lu Manor's Sword-carrying Guests!"
"Those people... They're so impressive."
"Just being a regular Steward who collects rent or oversees a territory is respectable enough. They get to boss around three or five men."
"But I heard that when those Stewards go to Lu Manor to pay rent on behalf of their Shopkeepers, they have to tuck their tails between their legs if they run into one of *these* guys. They'll be all smiles, begging for directions!"
"Sigh."
"I wonder what the person inside looks like. If only one day I could also..."
A man with a shaved head, huddled by a ditch and rubbing his hands together, was muttering to himself when his companion beside him let out a derisive chuckle.
"You?"
"Even if meat pies fell from the sky, none would land on our heads. Stop dreaming!"
"There are ranks among Martial Artists, you know."
"For dirt-poor commoners like us, even if we scrape together half a lifetime of our family's silver coins to learn a move or two, the best we can hope for is to become a Fire Kiln Steward."
"Lu Manor's regular Guests are all hand-picked. There are so few of them. How could an ordinary Martial Artist ever be chosen?"
"And that's not even mentioning the Sword-carrying Guests. I hear there are only about thirty of them, and every single one is a top-notch expert."
"A man... has to accept his fate."
"In all this time, this shithole of ours has only produced one person who rose up from being a groom—that Ji Family's Son. But that's all he is. If he doesn't struggle for a few years, maybe even a dozen, he'll probably never escape this 'cage' either..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence.
The man beside him looked down the back alley, his jaw dropping in shock as the carriage, which had shrunk to a small dot in the distance, came to a stop in front of a fenced-in yard.
"W-Wait a minute."
"Look."
"That place..."
"Isn't that the Ji Family Siblings' thatched mud hut?"
Following his pointed finger,
the surrounding crowd of onlookers froze.
"I think... you're right."
Before long,
as the carriage came to a halt,
this poor, dilapidated neighborhood on the outskirts of the Fire Kiln district...
erupted completely.
...
A crowd gathered, heads bobbing and weaving.
From a distance, they watched the Lu Manor carriage as someone finally drew back the curtain and revealed themselves.
Hong Jiang, the Groom, quickly leaped from his seat, grit his teeth, and prostrated himself on the ground to act as a 'human step-stool', allowing the person in the carriage to disembark smoothly!
The moment Ji Xiu appeared—dressed in the standard black, tight-fitting attire of a Lu Manor Sword-carrying Guest, with a crocodile-skin belt and a refined iron saber at his waist...
gasps of shock rippled through the crowd:
"Th-That's the Ji Family's Son!?"
"What a handsome, dashing young man! When he was starving and skinny as a rail, you couldn't tell at all. Who knew he was this good-looking..."
A hubbub arose from the distance.
Ji Xiu took half a step out of the carriage, ignoring the commotion. But when he saw Hong Jiang prostrated on the ground, his brow furrowed and he paused.
"Brother Hong, you've already shamed me by acting as my driver and stirrup-holder. I told you before, this is unnecessary."
"And now you want me to imitate those pampered Nobles, stepping on a 'human step-stool' to walk on level ground."
"I, Ji Xiu, have spent half my life surviving in places overflowing with sewage like this. I wasn't born into wealth, and I can't learn such habits."
"Get up."
He leaped down and pulled Hong Jiang to his feet, pretending not to hear the sounds of praise and envy all around him.
Poverty in a bustling city earns no visitors, while wealth in the remote mountains attracts distant kin.
Now he was receiving a full house of applause.
Although it was a bit intoxicating...
once the initial rush passed, he could see the nature of it all with a single glance.
'This is the change that fist and status have brought me.'
Ji Xiu murmured softly.
Before, when he and Ji Wei were cooped up in their dilapidated, drafty hovel, they were like air. No one ever gave them a second look.
If he hadn't become a Lu Manor Guest, where would he be today?
This was the effect of being just a Sword-carrying Guest.
'What if I climbed higher? What if I became the face of Lu Manor who had reached Bone Tempering, a Boxing Hall Master, or even completed Skin Refining and become the master of my own domain? These people would probably kowtow piously, as if they were witnessing the descent of a god.'
He had tasted its sweetness.
So...
how could he possibly stop here?!
Meanwhile, Hong Jiang heard Ji Xiu's words and pushed himself up, laughing it off on the surface as if it were nothing.
But inwardly, it was another story. He was filled with bitterness, as if he'd chewed on a bitter melon.
'Holding the whip, holding the stirrup, acting as a human flesh cushion. Never mind for a Martial Artist; even an ordinary person with an ounce of pride wouldn't want to play the sycophantic servant. But I have no choice! In front of all the Lu Manor Guests, under everyone's watchful eyes, I made a promise as good as gold. If I went back on my word, I would lose all face.'
'And this Ji Xiu... At sixteen, he comprehended 'Ten Steps One Kill' and entered the gate of the Swordsman. His future is boundlessly bright, certainly far better than my own. If it were just that, it would be one thing. But on top of that... The Old Manor Master's gaze... that day, anyone who was close enough saw it crystal clear! Others might not know. But I, Hong Jiang, saw it with my own two eyes. I watched Lu Chengfeng send away his own son, Lu Yu, and his Closed-door Disciple, Luo Xiao, just to have the young mistress show this kid around the manor. Any discerning person could see what he was planning! A Saber Technique prodigy with a bright future is, frankly, just that and nothing more. But... if you add the title of 'ideal son-in-law' for his own boss to that...'
Hong Jiang felt that,
if he didn't grovel and make a big investment now,
then in the future, when this young master soared through the ranks, the one who would be dealt with and kicked to the curb would probably be him.
His own 'fortune' was on the line; how could he not perform well!
"Someone's got to lead the horse, so it might as well be me."
"Back when I was running wild on the mountain paths outside Anning County, I acted as a human flesh cushion for the big boss countless times when he mounted and dismounted his horse. When you admit you're wrong, you have to show it with your attitude."
"I, Hong Jiang, was the one who ran my mouth and said the wrong thing before."
"But a man of his word makes a promise that's set in stone! I said I'd be your Groom, and I'll be your Groom for life, or at least until you leave Lu Manor!"
Hong Jiang cupped his fist, lifted his blade, and with a solemn expression, began to patrol around the carriage. He looked as fierce as a demon, daring any unseeing pickpocket to even think about getting close.
The great commotion...
also caused the little girl in the dilapidated hut to sneak a peek, poking her head out to see.
Ji Wei, bundled up in a purple cotton-padded jacket, was covered in soot from lighting the stove. She had just gotten the fire going and was about to cook a hearty meal, waiting for her brother to come home to eat.
Hearing the noise, she glanced outside.
And there she saw him...
Ji Xiu, dressed in black with a blade at his waist, his figure tall and straight, his hair dancing in the wind. He was stepping onto the yellow earth and pushing open the wicker fence.
Seeing her brother, who was so transformed and had never worn such respectable clothes before...
the sight left Ji Wei completely stunned.
"Little sister."
"I've come to take you to our new home."
A slight, gentle smile touched the black-clad youth's lips as he spoke.
He personally took Ji Wei's small hand and, step by step, led her onto the carriage.
Inside the carriage, a stove gave off a pleasant warmth.
It made Ji Wei fidget nervously, wringing the corner of her jacket. She pressed her calves together, feeling a little uneasy.
She was even...
still in a daze.
She watched her brother bustle about, loading the carriage with their bedding, cotton clothes, and other belongings.
Finally, after a long, careful look at the little mud hut they had lived in for over ten years,
he nodded and took out a string of firecrackers.
A moment later,
the sound of firecrackers exploded, driving out the old and welcoming the new.
Red paper scraps from the spent firecrackers littered the yellow earth.
The carriage slowly pulled away, leaving behind only a cloud of dust.
It was like a scene from a dream.