Chapter 206: Bitter Medicine
In the next two days, Long partic.i.p.ated in the actions at night.
Long didn’t kill any person. He just stood on the top of the roof, seeing shadow guardians killing people.
The guardians killed more than seventy people in total in three days.
Tonight was the last night.
Long still stood on the top of the roof, with Liu accompanying him.
“Father! Mother!” A heartrending cry arose late at night.
A guardian just killed a couple, which woke up a child from sleep.
When seeing his father and mother being killed, this boy aged eight or nine got overwhelmed by fury and sorrow.
He rushed at the guardian barefoot, “Murderer! Murderer! Ah! Give my father and mother back! You’re a devil!”
Long paused, “What’s going on?”
Liu looked indifferent and unfathomable, “That kid was adopted by the couple who came from the Eastern Darkness and worked for the Third Prince. During the past six years, they established good relations.h.i.+ps with many merchants, killed two families and kept more than ten killers. Although they were vicious and diabolic and committed hideous crimes deserving the harshest punishment, they were really good to the adopted son.”
The kid was yelling, with the hope of attracting people to help him.
The command given to shadow guardians was only to kill people on the list. More than ten killers and the couple in the house had been killed, but how to do with this child aged eight or nine…
The guardian didn’t kill the child.
One guardian came to ask for Ying Feng’s instructions because they had to hurry to the next place.
Ying Feng looked to Long who pursed his lips, “Ying Feng, how will you deal with him?”
Ying Feng answered indifferently, “Erase his memory and send him to the Benevolent Hall.”
Long dropped his eyelids, “Just do that.”
Shadow guardians often met such innocent children when executing tasks. The imperial family had a medicine which could make people lose their memories. The medicine was harmful to the human body. But the child was not grown up, so the harm to the body could be eliminated during the growth.
Generally speaking, when they met such children, they would erase their memories and send them to the local Benevolent Hall.
All parts of the country had established Benevolent Halls. During the several months when s.h.i.+ stayed in the army, Long improved Benevolent Halls. So that would be a good place for this child to stay.
Who was supposed to be blamed for the innocent kid? Shadow guardians?
But if his parent didn’t walk on the wrong road, how could the child lose his parents?
People would get what are coming to them.
Moreover, it was lucky that this innocent child could keep his life under the governance of imperial power.
None of children in the mansions of ministers sentenced to death could live.
Weren’t those people innocent?
Therefore, it was important for people to make any choice. Once you got on the wrong road, you had to bear the cost…
Even if Long understood the truth, he still felt uncomfortable.
He suddenly thought of the slogan of his country in modern world, which was ‘I want world peace.’
That slogan sounded like a joke at that time.
But when seeing the kid drenched and taken away by the guardians…
Long thought he also wanted world peace so that innocent kids didn’t had to bear those evils.
“Were many shadow guardians selected from the Benevolent Hall?” Long asked Ying Feng.
“Yes, they were. But kids like this one were not qualified to enter the Shadow Guardians Training Camp.”
“Why?” Long was confused.
Ying Feng answered, “The selection standard of shadow guardians for the training camp is very strict. The candidates could be orphans, but they must have a clean family background. Those kids with parents committing crimes were forbidden to enter the training camp.”
“Even they take the medicine that can erase their memories?”
“Yes. This medicine can’t guarantee he will never restore his memory.”
Long nodded and stopped saying anything.
There were no kids involved in the next two places. Seeing shadow guardians killing people from the top of the roof, Long seemed to become a little more hardhearted.
During one action, several a.s.sa.s.sins found Long and tried to break out of the siege to kill him.
But Liu and Ying Feang both stood beside Long, how could those a.s.sa.s.sins get close to Long easily?
All the a.s.sa.s.sins trying to get close to Long failed. Seeing those a.s.sa.s.sins being killed in front of him, Long looked ruthless.
When the last a.s.sa.s.sin was killed, Long and Liu left first.
“We can leave tomorrow.” Liu said.
Long nodded.
“Six people who were not on the list had been found and killed.” Liu continued.
Long still nodded.
Liu then turned to leave without saying anything.
Long lay on the bed, feeling a little tired. But physical tiredness couldn’t make him sleep. Long finally fell asleep in a daze after being awake for a long time…
Long seemed to have a dream with s.h.i.+.
In his dream, s.h.i.+ smiled to him.
When he was about to hug s.h.i.+, s.h.i.+’s face changed suddenly.
s.h.i.+ asked Long why he was so hardhearted that he didn’t help a dying man.
Long tried to explain, but s.h.i.+ turned to left without listening.
Long was anxious to stop s.h.i.+, but s.h.i.+ kept on walking.
At last, Long woke up and found that was a nightmare.
“Um…” Exhaling deeply, Long found it was dawn.
Feeling a little dizzy, Long put his hand to his forehead… what bad luck! The forehead seemed to be a little hot.
Long was stunned, wondering if he caught a chill.
But he seemed to not feel cold last night.
Raising his eyebrows, Long got out of bed, feeling top-heavy.
It was too bad that he seemed to be sicker than he imagined.
Long hated to get sick. But that couldn’t be controlled by him.
With lips pursed, Long walked outside.
“Ying Feng.” Long called Ying Feng in a hoa.r.s.e voice.
Ying Feng appeared immediately, “Master.”
“Where is Liu? Get him here. I seem to be sick.”
Being stunned, Ying Feng looked for Liu in a hurry.
Liu came soon and joked, “How useless! Just not having a good rest for several nights made you sick! Gee.”
Long rolled his eyes, “Don’t make sarcastic comments. Treat me.”
Liu took Long’s pulse and said after a while, “Hmm, don’t worry. You only catch a chill. I’ll prescribe two medicines for you.”
Blinking his eyes, Long said, “Does the medicine have to be made into decoction instead of pills?”
Liu twitched his lips, “Don’t tell me you fear of bitterness.”
Long looked at Liu, “So what? Isn’t a normal thing?”
Liu was speechless. He looked at Long and didn’t know what to say.
Long said, “Make it into pills. It’s more convenient.”
Liu rolled his eyes, then left without responding.
Long yelled behind Liu, “You have to make it into pills.”
Liu kept walking, with his eyes rolled again.
After yelling, Long felt his throat almost seared.
He hurried to pour water and drank two cups of water before feeling better.
“Master, I’ll go bring you breakfast.” Ying Feng said.
Long had little appet.i.te, but he knew it was not good to refuse to eat and they would depart later.
Then Long nodded.
Ying Feng brought breakfast soon, but Long only ate half bowl of porridge and some steamed buns.
“When to depart?” After breakfast, Long asked.
The shadow guardian answered, “Doctor Liu was boiling medicine. We’ll leave after he finishes it.”
Hearing this, Long turned to be anxious, “Boiling medicine? Not pills?”
The guardian didn’t know how to answer this question.
Long’s face turned to darken, “Never mind, you can excuse yourself.”
Ying Feng walked away at once.
Long curled his lips, feeling the mouth tasted bitter even not taking the decoction yet.
After thirty minutes, Liu brought Long the decoction. Having no idea if he had a misconception, Long thought Liu’s smile… seemed to be very vicious.
Liu sat beside the table under Long’s gaze, “Take the decoction.”
Long raised his eyebrows immediately, “Liu Suifeng, are you revenging on me? Why is the decoction so smelly?”
“Hoho.” Liu laughed, “Do you think it smelly?”
“Hmm, very smelly.” Long answered.
Liu gave another laugh, “Smelliness is right. Don’t worry. Good things are not always aromatic things. The smellier, the more useful. The key point is the effect, right?”
Long twitched his lips, “Really? Why did I never hear about it?”
“I can promise that, after you take a short break in the carriage, the cold will be gone when you meet s.h.i.+.”
Long blinked, “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I don’t need to cheat you.” Liu smiled.
Long decided to chance it, “Alright, I take it.”
“Hmm, rest a.s.sured. It was not hot anymore when I brought it to you. You can take it right now.”
Long increasingly found Liu intentionally gave him a hard time.
But he had to take the decoction even if he suspected Liu’s intent.
Signed in the heart, Long… chanced it.
Pouring the decoction into his mouth, huhuuu… Long… almost vomited.
Long really almost vomited. d.a.m.ned, why did this decoction taste so terrible! It was unbearable.
After Long finished taking the decoction, Liu smiled, “Does it taste good?”
Long really wanted to vomit it to Liu’s face, wondering how the h.e.l.l it could taste good.
Liu laughed, “Rest a.s.sured. Take a break in the carriage, you’ll be fine when you wake up.”
Long glared at Liu, “Hum.”