A Father's Plea

Day by day, the time passed.

The weather grew colder. His father still had not returned. The Western Prefecture of the Ji Clan had long since dispatched a garrison of Black Armored Guards to permanently station themselves at Winged Serpent Lake.

Within the training grounds.

Trails of sword-light whistled through the air as Ji Ning practiced the Dripping Sutra alone. At this point, neither the Black Armored Guards nor any powerful demon beasts were of any use in sharpening his swordplay. And since his father, Ji Yichuan, still had not come back, Ji Ning had no choice but to train by himself.

“Young master,” Qiuye said softly.

“Hm?” Ji Ning turned to look at her. Qiuye’s face was full of anxiety.

Ji Ning frowned and put away his Northsea Swords. “Qiuye, what is it?”

“Young master.” Qiuye lowered her voice. “Chuncao’s father has come to request an audience with you.”

“Who?” Ji Ning was startled.

“Chuncao’s father!” Qiuye’s voice grew a bit louder. “Her birth father!”

Ji Ning was surprised. “Chuncao has a father?”

Both of his personal maidservants had been bought into the Western Prefecture of the Ji Clan as slaves when they were very young.

“Where is Chuncao?” Ji Ning asked.

“Chuncao didn’t dare come see you herself,” the maidservant Qiuye said quietly. “I could tell… she actually wanted to see her father, but her status… she was too afraid to ask.”

Ji Ning nodded thoughtfully.

That was right. Strictly speaking, Chuncao and Qiuye were both his maidservants; their lives were completely in his hands. From the day they were sold, they had no connection to their parents. But still… men are not made of grass or wood; who can be completely without feeling?

“Go. Bring Chuncao’s father in,” Ji Ning said with a smile. “Since he wants to see me, I’ll see him.”

“Yes.” Qiuye’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately ran out.

Ji Ning called out toward the courtyard: “Chuncao, come in.”

A maidservant dressed in animal skins was standing anxiously just outside the courtyard. When she heard her young master’s voice, she had no choice but to walk inside. Her face was a mixture of anxiety and fear… Chuncao’s heart was in turmoil at this moment. She felt excitement and nervous joy, as well as shame and guilt.

“Young master.” Chuncao looked at him.

“Your father came to see you. If you want to see him, see him,” Ji Ning said with a smile.

“But… I was bought by the Ji Clan.” Chuncao bit her lip.

“Hm?” Ji Ning’s brow furrowed slightly. “Are my words not enough?”

“Yes, young master.” Chuncao glanced at Ji Ning, her heart filled with gratitude. She could feel that this prodigiously talented youth of the Western Prefecture—the one who would one day become Prefectural Lord—did not treat her and Qiuye the way ordinary masters treated their servants.

“He’s here.” Ji Ning looked outside and saw two figures walking into the courtyard. In the lead was Qiuye, followed by a tall, middle-aged man dressed in black animal hides. There were scars on his face, and he walked with his head lowered, looking slightly ill at ease.

“Young master, he’s here.” Qiuye said respectfully.

The scarred middle-aged man immediately stepped forward and knelt, pressing his head low to the ground, his hands placed flat before him in utter reverence. “Blacktooth pays respects to the great young master.”

Seeing this, Chuncao couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

Ji Ning glanced at Chuncao, then said, “Rise.”

“Yes.” The scarred middle-aged man got up. He caught sight of Chuncao standing by Ji Ning’s side. When their eyes met, he couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down his face.

The scarred man quickly came to his senses and wiped his tears away.

“Why have you come to see me?” Ji Ning asked.

The scarred man took a deep breath. “Blacktooth has come to beg the young master to allow me to redeem my child, Miwa.”

“Redeem her?” Ji Ning was stunned.

Redeem her?

In the years since he had come to this world, there were not many people he had formed attachments with. But in his heart, he had come to see Chuncao and Qiuye as older sisters.

“Father.” Chuncao couldn’t help but call out. Redeeming a slave was possible in certain cases, if one paid the right price. But who was a young master of the Ji Clan? How could her father possibly redeem her? If she angered the young master, her father might very well lose his life.

She fell to her knees with a thud, kowtowing. “Young master, my father doesn’t understand anything. Please, forgive his impertinence.”

“Let him speak.” Ji Ning looked at the scarred man. “Tell me everything. If you can convince me, I will agree. If you cannot… hmph.”

The scarred man’s heart trembled.

He knew full well how great the power of this young master was. It would be nothing for him to take a man’s life. But since he had chosen to come… he was prepared.

“Great young master.” The scarred man spoke respectfully. “Blacktooth will say everything in his heart.”

Ji Ning simply looked at him.

“I, Blacktooth, was once the son of a tribal chieftain,” the scarred man said slowly. “My tribe, the Blacktooth Tribe, lived a peaceful life in a mountain forest. We raised wild beasts, and I led the tribe’s strongest warriors to hunt the demon beasts around our territory. One day… we discovered a secluded valley where a vast amount of broomcorn millet was naturally growing.”

“Our entire tribe was overjoyed. With that millet, we could survive much better and raise more clansmen. But the news soon reached another powerful tribe—the Blood Mosquito Tribe. One morning, while it was still dim and many of our people were still asleep…” The scarred man’s eyes filled with pain. “They ambushed us. They slaughtered our people savagely. Our strength was far inferior to the Blood Mosquito Tribe’s, and we had been caught off guard. Those of us who survived could only flee.”

“I carried Miwa and ran. We went through countless life-and-death crises and finally reached the Western Prefecture city.” The scarred man’s body trembled slightly. “But the wife I loved, my tribal brothers… they were all dead. I had to take revenge. I had to, even if it killed me. But Miwa was innocent. I wanted her to live… so I sold her to the Ji Clan. In the Ji Clan, at least she could have a stable life.”

Chuncao was trembling, tears flowing without stop. “Father… father…”

She couldn’t forget…

She couldn’t forget the days of their flight. Though she had been very young, she remembered the relatives and friends dying one after another. She remembered her father dragging her through countless dangers to reach the Western Prefecture city. At the time, all her father had said was, “Miwa, your father has something he must do. You have to live well.”

“Father, don’t leave Miwa! Father, father…” the young Chuncao had wailed.

Back then, the still-young Blacktooth had gritted his teeth and walked away.

He had set out on the path of vengeance.

“I hated.” The scarred man’s body shook. “I wanted revenge. I was just a Nine-Fang Warrior, nothing before the Blood Mosquito Tribe! After I killed four of my enemies, a great demon with fiery fur attacked the Blood Mosquito Tribe… that ugly bastard who had led the force that destroyed my home was swallowed by that great demon in a single gulp. The Blood Mosquito Tribe was wiped out. The survivors were absorbed into other tribes.”

“My enemies were gone.”

“I had nothing left. I couldn’t redeem Miwa, so I became a traveling merchant.” The scarred man continued. “I walked the roads of life and death, time and time again. I found some of the Blacktooth Tribe’s survivors and brought them together. My caravan grew, and I accumulated wealth. I gathered other refugees and founded a new tribe—the Blacktooth Tribe! And I became the new Blacktooth.”

“During my time as a traveling merchant,” the scarred man said, looking at Ji Ning, “I spoke with some of the Ji Clan’s servants. I learned that the Miwa of those days had become your maidservant, young master Ji Ning.”

“After I established the Blacktooth Tribe, I did everything I had to do. I have lived up to my father. I have lived up to the line of Blacktooth chieftains.” The scarred man stared at Ji Ning. “So I came. I came to see the child I have dreamed of for ten years—my Miwa. Even if it means my death, I had to see her.”

“My Miwa. My child. I want to be with her. She is my only family left in this world.” The scarred man was covered in tears.

Chuncao was already sobbing uncontrollably.

“Father!” Chuncao ran straight over and embraced her suffering father.

“Miwa.” The scarred man held his daughter. He had longed for this day for so long.

Qiuye was also crying on the side.

Ji Ning watched and listened, his heart stirred.

The people of the tribes fought against the heavens, fought against the earth, fought against demons. And Chuncao’s father, Blacktooth, was just one example among countless others.

“Chuncao.” Ji Ning spoke. “Do you want to be with your father?”

Chuncao bit her lip, unable to control the tears streaming down her face. She knelt directly. “Young master, please forgive Chuncao! I truly want to be with my father. Truly!”

“Great young master.” The scarred man knelt as well.

Ji Ning looked at the father and daughter. After all this time together, Chuncao and Qiuye had become like sisters to him. He didn’t really want Chuncao to leave him, but he wanted even less for her to be in pain. “Chuncao. Starting today, you are free. Go with your father.”

“Ah!” Chuncao and Blacktooth were both stunned.

It was that simple?

They could be together?

“Thank you, great young master! Blacktooth will forever remember the young master’s great kindness.” Blacktooth knelt down, speaking with fervent gratitude.

……

With Ji Ning’s arrangements, Chuncao regained her freedom. Her father, Blacktooth, took her away. As she left, Chuncao called out, “Young master, Chuncao will always remember your benevolence. Chuncao will silently pray for you in the Blacktooth Tribe. If you ever pass by the Blacktooth Tribe in the future, I hope you will come see Chuncao.”

“I will.” Ji Ning replied.

“We will definitely come,” Qiuye said, tears streaming down her face. She and Chuncao had been as close as sisters.

The weather grew colder and colder.

Ji Ning’s thoughts were also changing.

Chuncao’s departure. Her father’s story. The Winged Serpent’s attack. His father heading out to slay great demons. The lack of worthy opponents within the Ji Clan to temper his swordsmanship… These events churned in Ji Ning’s mind, stirring his heart.

He felt that the Western Prefecture city was too small.

He wanted to go out. He wanted to see the wider world! He wanted to see how tribes like the Blacktooth Tribe struggled to survive! He wanted to fight great demons, just like his father… He wanted to roam and take risks across this vast land…

“Ning’er, your father is back.” On a snowy day, Yuchi Snow called out to her son.

Ji Ning looked up. High in the sky, his father was descending atop the Greenflame Bird.