Eternal Night - Chapter 2
"It's me!" 99's voice trembled, but he took a step forward before Li Lin could confess. He vaguely remembered that when he was protecting Li Lin in the building, confronting the other three children like wolves, a voice softly sounded in his ear, gentle... yet cold, "Go kill the people on the ninth floor." 99 now preferred to believe that it was his subconscious guiding him, rather than the idiotic younger brother he had always protected.
Li Lin looked at 99 in surprise, reminding himself once again not to dwell on this matter, even though the eight-year-old child's current appearance was enough to make him look up to him.
Li Yannian frowned, and Li Er bowed forward, whispering a reminder: "Master, this year..."
"What a double-cross! Didn't the people in Building 9 die in vain?" Li Yannian's brows relaxed, and he spoke calmly. "They'll be sent back to Building 10, and only those who leave tomorrow will be considered safe!"
Li Er gasped, somewhat unable to fathom his master's thoughts. These children lived in a building with a population of one hundred each, and after days of killing each other, only a few had managed to emerge from each building. These were all considered elite talents. Two had just been ruined, and sending them back into the building this time might result in the loss of several more. It was truly heartbreaking.
"Yes, Steward, it's me." Li Lin sighed inwardly, took two steps forward, and answered softly, "It was my idea, and it wasn't easy to get out. I don't want to go back."
Li Yannian looked at Li Lin kneeling below, somewhat surprised by the calm tone in his voice. "Is it really you?"
99 and Li Lin answered at the same time: "It's me!"
"What a deep brotherhood! Do you know what brotherhood is? Brothers are often the ones most likely to betray you. Remember my words. Who exactly is it?"
99 was eager to speak, but Li Lin stopped him: "Actually, it was me. I came up with the idea, but he was the one who started it."
"Oh? Why didn't you admit it just now?"
"I'm afraid of dying!" Li Lin answered with unusual decisiveness.
"Afraid of death, yes, everyone is afraid of death," Li Yanqing sighed softly. "Aren't you afraid of death now?"
"The steward won't kill me. At most, he'll send me to the Peony Courtyard like those two just now."
Li Yannian looked at him with great interest and called out his number: "100, do you know what the Peony Courtyard is?" He didn't think that a six-year-old child could fully understand, but he asked the question because of Li Lin's calm voice.
Li Lin raised his face, his blood-stained eyes shining like crystals. There was no fear in his eyes, but rather a hint of mockery as he replied, "To die beneath the peony blossoms is to die a romantic death!"
Li Yannian paused, pondered the words several times, and then suddenly burst into laughter: "Haha! I didn't expect this year to be so interesting! Interesting! Interesting!"
After saying that, he turned and left. The people in the courtyard looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Er, carrying a hand warmer, followed Li Yannian into the house with a radiant expression.
The burly men in black around them finally let out a long sigh of relief, and 99 angrily said, "Do you want us both to die?"
Li Lin scratched his head and smiled innocently: "I was the one who told you that."
99 retorted angrily, "You're an idiot! You were just saying it casually, how could you have had such thoughts?!"
Seeing that he was angry, Li Lin smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm hungry."
99 then turned her face and glared angrily at Li Lin: "Look at your face, you'll be in big trouble if you go into the Peony Courtyard!"
Li Lin touched his face and couldn't help but smile bitterly. No wonder he could still contribute to the Peony Courtyard even when he was a fool.
After 99 finished his attack, he pulled Li Lin along and walked out of the courtyard with his head held high. The black-clad guards at the gate clasped their hands in salute and smiled, "Congratulations, young master, you've passed the test."
99 snorted and ignored him, and Li Lin laughed again: "I'll have to rely on you uncles for help in the future."
He followed behind 99 and couldn't help but ask, "Weren't you afraid of dying back then?"
A sly glint flashed in 99's eyes: "At most, we'll send it to the Peony Garden."
Li Lin felt a weight lifted from his heart; he no longer needed to owe anyone a favor.
The Name of the Assassin
Li Lin changed into a brand-new set of clothes and followed the guards to Li Yannian's residence. The guards ahead of him slowed their pace after seeing the small building. Li Lin thought to himself, this Deacon Li has the ability to calmly collect thousands of children and then coldly watch them die within a few days, yet his expression remains inscrutable. With such ruthlessness, it's no wonder the guards are afraid.
The small building in front of him resembled a stilted house, built against the mountainside in a traditional timber-framed style. Li Lin observed the terrain; from here, one could see a panoramic view of the valley. This Deacon Li appeared nonchalant, but in reality, he liked to have everything under control. He made another assessment of Li Yannian.
Li Er lifted the thick cotton curtain to let Li Lin in, and stood obediently beside Li Yannian with his back hunched over.
A warm, pleasant steam wafted in, carrying a subtle fragrance. Li Lin immediately recognized it as the aroma of orange peels placed in the brazier; this Steward Li knew how to enjoy life. Li Lin suppressed the shrewdness in his eyes, stepped inside, and knelt obediently before Li Yannian without a word.
Li Yannian held a glass of wine and looked at him indifferently.
Should he look directly at her or lower his head? Li Lin's mind raced. After holding on for a short while, he lowered his head at a reasonable moment to show weakness.
Li Yannian stared at him for a long time, and when he saw Li Lin finally lower his head and his trembling body soften, his gaze slowly turned gentle. He asked calmly, "How did you come up with this method?"
"There are only five of us left in the building, not enough to go around. The rule is that each person has to kill one person, but it doesn't say that we can't kill people from other buildings."
Li Lin lowered his head and answered honestly, inwardly cursing the people in the valley for being so twisted. Every child knew they had to hand in a head the next day when they were brought into the building, and all one hundred children in the building went crazy. In just one night, more than half of them had stabbed each other to death, and those who survived or were injured certainly wouldn't survive the second night.
These are all the flowers of our motherland, and if they learn to stab each other in the back and kill each other to survive from such a young age, what will they be like when they grow up? But if he had to choose between life and death, he had no reason to let others cruelly destroy his potential. So, among countless children, some timid, some fearful, and some vicious, he survived. And he never killed a single child. His kung fu skills, whether inherited or not, were superior to the other children's. With a few words of guidance, he protected him and led him out of the building.
“You were an idiot before you came to your senses!” Li Yannian glanced at the thin sheet of paper on the table. The few lines on it recorded everything about Li Lin.
He recalled the poem, his curiosity piqued, his tone softened, and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes: "Do you remember what happened before we came to the valley?"
"I don't remember," Li Lin answered honestly. He only knew that after waking up, he was in the valley. Someone had brought him there, a blurry, ethereal figure, and a shadow that often whispered in his ear, which he ignored.
Li Yannian was a little disappointed. He had always thought it would be difficult for his subordinates to find more than a thousand seven- or eight-year-old boys, so he even brought back an idiot to make up the numbers.
For nearly a year during training, Li Lin just stared blankly as others practiced kung fu. After keeping him for eight or nine months and seeing that he was still acting like a fool, they thought that as long as he looked decent, sending him to the Peony Academy might be of some use. Unexpectedly, he regained his senses three months before entering the building. So he was the last one to join this group of trainees, and his number became 100, the hundredth child in Building 10.
A child who received less training than others and whose kung fu was clearly inferior survived the brutal fighting and even orchestrated a double-cross. From being an idiot to a daring strategist, Li Yannian couldn't help but be interested in Li Lin.
Li Yannian fell silent. The oppressive air filled the room, and Li Lin felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. He didn't only have memories of being six years old; he was an assassin in his past life. So he could only straighten his body even more and tremble slightly so that Deacon Li could see his fear. He tried his best to feign a look of wanting to perform but being afraid.
Li Lin's clean face gave Li Yannian a strange feeling, as if the face seemed vaguely familiar. He glanced at Li Er, who nodded and then shook his head. Li Yannian felt a sense of relief, smiled slightly, and withdrew his imposing aura. Li Lin felt the pressure ease and secretly marveled, "There really is a martial arts master here!"
"The names of the five people in your building are Star Soul, Moon Spirit, Rainbow Robe, Eagle Feather, Sunlight. Choose one!"
When Zhuan Zhu assassinated King Liao, a comet struck the moon; when Nie Zheng assassinated Han Kui, a white rainbow pierced the sun; when Yao Li assassinated Qing Ji, a hawk struck down in the palace… The names of assassins carried the shadow of assassins, sounding glorious, but all ended in fleeting glory and bad ends. He didn't want to be any of them. But did he have a choice? To choose was to dislike, and not to choose required a reason—he had been a fool and an idiot before. So he respectfully replied, "Your Excellency bestows a name upon me."