Night of the Broken Gliph

He no longer addressed himself as “I”, but “me” instead as to show that he and Kan Hang were both the same; Kan Hang was no inferior to him. In this world, there were less than ten whom Lam Chun treated in this manner. 

However, Kan Hang hung his head low and looked at both his hands. The imperial physician had already treated them, and they now posed no risk to his life, but he was powerless with his hands for life. His limit was to barely pick up a cup, and he could not use his Soul Chasers again. “There are many reasons, Kan Hang’s paralysed hands are one of them.”

“You know that doesn’t bother me!” Lam Chun waved his hands violently. He glared at Kan Hang hard like a beast eyeing its prey. “You are always a brother. A blood brother, and you were never a servant to me. As for the request you made today, I can even behead you for it. If the explanation I receive doesn’t satisfy me, I’m not going to let you off today, Kan Hang.” 

Unlike his words, Lam Chun didn’t sound strict or fierce at all. This warmed Kan Hang’s heart. “Your Majesty, Sit Ting… died.

Lam Chun remained silent on hearing him. 

“Yes, and right before my eyes more so. I failed the mission Your Majesty gave me. During these ten years, I have always thought how different things would have been today if I had convinced Your Majesty to accept Sit Ting, and even to make her the queen.  

“She’d never have to live in fear, nor raise the child on her own for these ten years. I might not have expressed it, but I was quite happy to take up this mission that Your Majesty gave me as it made me feel like I was able to make up for my timidness ten years ago. 

“But now, she’s dead. She died under my protection. Your Majesty, do you know how that feels? Later on, I found the daughter of Your Majesty and Sit Ting. I brought her all the way to South Imperial City. It was an extremely dangerous trip; we were being chased and attacked repeatedly. During the worst part, I was seriously injured, but… it was Princess Ming Sum who saved my life.” 

Kan Hang stood up. Not in the manner of the emperor’s shadow, but himself. He made eye contact with Lam Chun. “I’ll never be able to repay what I owe Sit Ting and her daughter even with my next life, so Your Majesty, please allow Kan Hang to become Princess Ming Sum’s shadow for the rest of Kan Hang’s life. I’ll protect her and make sure she’s never hurt again.” 

“Please give Her Highness Kan Hang’s life, Your Majesty.” 

Evergreen Palace, Imperial Garden. 

It was seemingly spring throughout the year in Evergreen Palace, as if the seasons lost their meaning here. The Imperial Garden was a huge treasury that stored numerous precious gliphic plants. Everyone joked that if a thief entered the Evergreen Palace, he’d become a parvenu after selling his gains from the garden. 

Lam Ming Sum was currently walking in the garden with a palace maid following her respectfully. She had just spent half an hour persuading the palace maid to not help her change. 

As a saying goes, “fine feathers make fine birds”. Lam Ming Sum looked much prettier now with her new, splendid clothes and her silky blue hair which was previously disguised by Sit Ting. 

Despite being slightly afraid, she couldn’t hold in her curiosity to look around. To Lam Ming Sum, she felt like she was in a paradise of warm spring where all flowers bloomed. It was just like a dream, but the thought that she was only able to come here because of her mother's death dimmed her happiness. A breeze blew past, making her hair dance. 

“Greetings, Your Highness.” The palace maid behind her bowed down immediately. It was unknown when a teenager appeared in front of Lam Ming Sum. 

“You may leave.” The teenager waved his hands. 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Both children sized up each other. Due to Lam Ming Sum developing earlier than other girls, she was almost the same height as the young boy in front of her who was obviously a few years older than her. 

“Hey, so you’re my younger sister?” Lam Zaa blinked, looking at her. But all Lam Ming Sum did was lower her head like an ostrich, as if the tip of her feet was so interesting that she could look at it forever. 

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” Lam Zaa called out again. He felt that having conversations with Lam Ming Sum was interesting as there was nobody else who dared to ignore him, and compared to his other younger sister who threw a fit every time she saw him… I’m not going to think about it, the thought of her gives me a headache.

Lam Ming Sum took two steps back subconsciously on hearing Lam Zaa. 

Plop! She came to a stop after bumping into somebody. 

Lam Ming Sum turned around to see a teenager behind her. In comparison to the teenager that others called the Crown Prince, this teenager was extremely ordinary. He wore a simple, grey long garment that had no ornaments and a loose robe that made a weird combination over it. 

In the dreamy garden, this teenager looked out of place. Just like a fly on a table filled with delicacies, a black spot in a beautiful landscape painting, or even a pile of shit in this gorgeous Imperial Garden. However, his arrival made Lam Ming Sum feel at ease. Well, before wearing this grand clothing, I was just like him too, a dirty girl with a bag as big as a snail. 

It was a weird feeling to her, as it felt like she finally found a human on an island filled with gliphic beasts. Thus, she hid behind the boy subconsciously, standing opposite of Lam Zaa. 

Lam Zaa frowned. He disliked this boy a lot. Despite being a few years younger than him, the boy always stared at him as if looking at a child. This made Lam Zaa uncomfortable. For a long time, as long as he told his mother who he disliked, those people would disappear automatically, which was something that made him happy.  

But this boy was an exception. No matter how much he complained, all his mother would do was to tell him to bear with it. Thus he disliked this boy to a large extent. 

“Get off, obedient dogs shouldn’t block my way,” Lam Zaa chided. 

But the teenager still stared at him, as calm as a river. Lam Zaa’s words were like a stone thrown into the river, unable to create a ripple as the teenager remained unaffected. “An obedient dog definitely wouldn’t block the way, but what about a disobedient dog? Moreover, I’m not a dog,” he said, revealing his snowy white hand and a short knife from his grey robe.