Dandere General and his Lord

2. Slave

Mo Qiao Sheng was born a slave. 

His mother was a slave, and the child of a slave could only be a slave. 

They said that as his mother was passing by a bridge when carrying him, she felt a sudden straining sensation in her abdomen and having already experienced childbirth, she casually found a sheltered spot by the pier and gave birth to him.

So, he was given the name Mo Qiao Sheng. [efn_note]墨桥生 – Qiao (桥) mage means bridge and Sheng (生) means being born.[/efn_note] Although it seemed casual, it was already a rare, good name from among slaves. 

Take his siblings for example. They all had names like Mo A’Gou, Mo Tie Dan, Mo Er San, Mo Wu Liu, and so on. The name ‘Mo Er San’ was given to a very beautiful and adorable sister of his.

Mo Qiao Sheng did not know who his father was, but he and his siblings all shared the same mother. 

His mother was an emaciated and withered woman, and the arduous living environment made her appear older. 

However, this same woman would return home late at night everyday, covered in bruises from head to toe and carrying a stench as she brought back that miserable bit of shoddy food. And she would paste her lips on every child’s forehead, giving them a gentle kiss. 

This was the only tenderness in Mo Qiao Sheng’s gloomy childhood. 

With more and more children at home and with their mother getting more and more old, their food was gravely decreasing day by day. 

The young Mo Qiao Sheng’s stomach rumbled with hunger everyday as he followed his eldest brother Mo A’Gou to forage for some food from everywhere. 

They picked wild edibles from the mountain forest area and went to catch fish from the river. 

Drilling around in the muddy marketplace, they occasionally picked up the discarded matter left by others. 

Sometimes, he grew so hungry that he would become dizzy and unable to move. When this happened, Mo A’Gou would fish out some saved scraps from the day before and pinch off a piece from the dark scraps before putting it into Mo Qiao Sheng’s mouth. 

Then, he’d pick a little more and then put it into their younger sister Mo Er San’s mouth. 

Mo Qiao Sheng and Mo Er San would both keep those little scraps in their mouth, slowly softening it with their saliva. They couldn’t bear to swallow it, so that they could keep the illusion that they were always eating something. This way, they didn’t seem to be so hungry anymore.

In the slums they lived in, there was a slave called Xiong Ji. He was rough and robust, his whole body exuding brute force. 

He was the most powerful man in their circle, and no one dared to provoke him. 

He was also one of their mother’s men. 

Recently, when he came to look for their mother, his wretched sight would often fall upon Mo Qiao Sheng and Mo Er San. 

Whenever those fishy eyeballs traversed over his body, Mo Qiao Sheng always felt nausea and a chill crawling up his spine. 

At this time, Mo A’Gou would lightly push him and Mo Er San behind himself, shielding them with his thin body. 

However, no matter how much they hid, it was impossible for fate to let them off and show pity on these children. The terrible day still arrived. 

Xiong Ji finally captured Mo Er San. The young girl’s piercing screams did not elicit any response from the people at the site. 

He grabbed Mo Er San’s thin arms and dragged her to his tent. Mo Qiao Sheng pounced forward and was kicked away by him, rolling over several times before stopping. 

Mo A’Gou supported him up. He silently looked at the tent for a while before sighing softly, “You are still too small. Let elder brother go.” 

Mo Qiao Sheng looked ignorantly at his brother before opening their tent curtain and going inside. 

After a while, Mo Er San emerged from the tent, her face covered in snot and tears. She walked over woodenly and lowered her head before tightly holding the corner of Mo Qiao Sheng’s coat with her trembling hands. 

They could hear strange sounds coming from the tent mingled with their brother’s agonising wails. 

Mo Qiao Sheng became faintly aware of what was happening inside. 

He was at a complete loss and dragged his younger sister with him to search for  their mother. 

However, after listening to him recount the events, his mother merely sat there silently, staring blankly at the ground. 

Her aged face which had been wrecked by life appeared helpless and frustrated. 

For the first time, Mo Qiao Sheng felt loathing. He loathed his puny, powerless self. He loathed his humble and lowly background. He loathed those men who wantonly used violence to bully and humiliate the small and weak. Those cruel and perverted men! 

It was already midnight when Xiong Ji came out from the tent. He jerked his muscly body as he tied up his pants and glanced at Mo Qiao Sheng who had been waiting outside the tent before leaving with a triumphant snort. 

I do not want to be insulted by such a man, never. Little Mo Qiao Sheng swallowed down his bitter tears as this thought formed silently in his heart. 

During a hunt a few days later, Xiong Ji’s horse received a fright from some unknown cause and he fell down the hillside. 

When everyone found him, his head had been thoroughly mashed with a stone by an unknown person. He couldn’t have been more dead. 

Death was a common affair among slaves. After carving up his horse and splitting his armor and clothes amongst each other, no one mentioned it anymore.

His master merely made a mark on his register indicating that a bit of his property was gone. 

That evening, a bruised and battered Mo Qiao Sheng returned home. 

Seeing his ragged clothes with grass and bloodstains on them, his mother did not say anything. She merely sighed softly as she stroked his face before she removed his clothes and sat by the light to mend them. 

Little Mo Qiao Sheng kneeled by her side and stared at his mother’s face, softened by the dim light. He slowly recovered from the panic of killing someone for the first time.

An illusion even germinated in his heart that this tranquility would continue forever. 

However, as he grew up, he was soon sold off to his first master. 

This master, surnamed Wu, given name Xueli, had a pale face with a long beard. He was a teacher and he owned his own school where he taught a few students how to read and write. 

Wu Xueli was gentle and refined in his daily life, seldom beating or scolding his slaves. 

His slaves were all well clothed and rarely went hungry. 

For Mo Qiao Sheng, this was the sort of excellent life that he had never experienced since birth. 

He cherished this kind of life very much. 

Every time his master gave him a task, he would complete his task very earnestly, without even daring to slack off the slightest bit. 

Sometimes when his master was giving lessons to his students, he would attend by the side, straining his ears, diligently listening to his master speak. His every word, his every sentence, he saved in his heart. 

In the dead of night after a hard day of working, he would pick up a small twig and write and draw on the sand, practicing the words he heard and saw during the day.

Gradually, Wu Xueli discovered that this slave was different from the others. He was diligent and eager to learn, absorbing new knowledge rapidly. 

The most important thing was that all the tasks assigned to him, big or small, were all accomplished clearly and orderly, without any mistakes.

Wu Xueli assigned him to work by his side and slowly permitted him to take care of his study. Occasionally, when his mood was good, he would teach him a word or two. 

After all, being able to have a literate slave as a pageboy was a symbol of a thriving family and also a great honour to bring out in front of friends. 

During that time, Mo Qiao Sheng was filled with worship and gratitude for his master. 

He was even permitted to stay in the study overnight so as to serve his master. 

Consequently, he had the chance to stealthily pore through those wonderful books throughout the night. 

These books taught him that outside the narrow sky above him, there existed a boundless world. 

He was thirsty for knowledge, and especially attracted to military strategies and tactics. 

Although there were many parts obscure and difficult to understand due to his age and experience, he still repeatedly pondered over it and kept it in his mind. 

He did not dare to inquire from his master, but would readily absorb even the tiniest bit of knowledge imparted by his master during his lectures to students.

The young him did not understand that his excessive display of hard work not only attracted the attention of his master, but also attracted the envy of others living a lowly life like himself. 

One day, he was tricked out of the study by an acquaintance. When they turned around, the master’s most cherished silver and gold star ribbed purple robe and high quality inkstone had fallen to the ground and split. 

Wu Xueli flew into a rage. No matter how Mo Qiao Sheng crawled on the ground to explain, he refused to believe him. 

The slaves standing at the side to attend all looked at him indifferently as he knelt on the ground, panicked and frightened. No one stepped out to testify for him.

Wu Xueli stripped him of his pants and had him beaten in public before selling him off to the filthiest and lowest brothel, Chuhuai Hall, as a slave. 

Fortunately, Mo Qiao Sheng’s features were too three-dimensional and his frame was too broad, not having the beautifully feminine and youthful appearance that nobles most liked to play with. Therefore, under his strong resistance, he wasn’t pressured to receive guests right away, instead being assigned to serve one of the currently popular little escorts.

This little escort called Lu Xiu was a beautiful youth with elegant features and snowy satin-like skin. [efn_note]绿袖 – Lu Xiu = Green Sleeves.[/efn_note]

He was fond of dressing in green robes, putting on powder and makeup and behaving delicately and attentively towards his noble guests. 

However, as soon as the guests left, he would become very irritable and often scolded Mo Qiao Sheng. 

As long as he would not have to serve those nauseating guests, Mo Qiao Sheng felt that he could endure being beaten and scolded. 

But these days didn’t last for long.

This time, a luxuriously dressed guest left contentedly, but Lu Xiu did not come out. 

Mo Qiao Sheng brought water inside and saw a scene he would never forget in his lifetime.

Lu Xiu, with that snowy white skin covered all over in horrific bruises, had long lost any signs of life. 

His most beloved green robe was utterly crumpled and soaked in so much blood, you could no longer make out the original colour. 

There was a gold ingot on the floor, which was the price of this youth’s life. 

The master of Chuhuai Hall happily picked up the gold and waved his hand, ordering Mo Qiao Sheng to clean up the room. 

Mo Qiao Sheng vomited as he lay on the floor, wiping away at the blood that was seemingly endless, appearing as though it could never be washed clean. 

Chuhuai Hall had a team of hired thugs who were responsible for dealing with any violent situations. 

Dong Sandao, the leader of these men, had recently discovered a young slave who was going to be forced to serve guests sooner or later, and was always pestering him. 

The young slave in question was quite forceful. Cruel to others and also cruel to himself.

Dong Sandao liked his ruthlessness and took him in under his wing.

Of course, it wasn’t that Dong Sandao was a benevolent philanthropist. Living in such difficult circumstances, who could have the extra kindness to give to a child slave? 

He tempered and polished Mo Qiao Sheng like a powerful weapon. 

The skinny youth who grit his teeth like a wild wolf slowly grew up under this ferocious and terrifying training, becoming like a sharp sword. 

Incidentally, Hou Huayu from Weibei came to Chuhuai Hall for entertainment and met Mo Qiao Sheng. Thereupon, he fished out two silver ingots and stuffed this sharp sword into his army, turning Mo Qiao Sheng into a warrior under his command.