《Mute》 I might really be an idiot ¡°That¡¯s not how you do it Joe!¡± The director thundered, ¡°The angles are all wrong. What idiot taught you to punch?¡± Under any other circumstances, it would have sufficed for Joe to punch the daylights out of any person who disrespected his teacher. But today was Monday. ¡°I am sorry director,¡± said Joe while trying his best to rein in his boiling anger, ¡°can you please repeat the steps once more?¡± ¡°I swear Joe, if you didn¡¯t look so much like Daniel, I wouldn¡¯t have hired such a trash stuntman as you. Adam, show him the steps!¡± Adam, the director¡¯s assistant rushed to Joe and quickly took him to the sides. ¡°That was pretty neat bro,¡± smiled Adam. Joe was confused, ¡°What do you mean? Didn¡¯t you hear your boss yelling at me?¡± ¡°Nah, your actions were pretty smooth. Besides, boss is an idiot. He wants what he wants even if it is utter garbage. And he hopes to win the stunt award, can you believe him? ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s just quickly go through the motions. Repeat after me,¡± Adam quickly went through the punch routine that the protagonist was to use for defeating his enemies. Joe slowly followed. ¡°Nice! Now let me see you repeat that really fast.¡± Joe tried going through the motions fast. ¡°Hmm¡­ you still have problems when bending your arms. Put it like this,¡± Adam showed him. ¡°Yes, perfect, now repeat it again,¡± said Adam. Joe did as asked. ¡°Nope, still the problems with your arms. Tell me, why do you raise it so high?¡± Adam asked. ¡°I was taught that way,¡± Joe said in a small voice. ¡°Why? As far as I can tell, it¡¯s not a standard Karate move. I haven¡¯t even seen it in any other martial arts and believe me, I have seen a lot of martial arts.¡± ¡°It¡¯s to protect your throat.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± ¡°Protecting your throat. A really quick opponent can dodge your punch and go for the throat. One should always protect his throat, it¡¯s pretty basic stuff.¡± ¡°It is?¡± Adam asked. ¡°Yeah, my master always used to repeat that stuff. Protect your throat and also ...¡± ¡°Also?¡± ¡°Protect your balls.¡± Adam laughed, ¡°He sounds like a really cool guy.¡± Joe shook his head, ¡°He was a monster. Nearly killed me five different times. I don¡¯t even remember how many times he broke my limbs.¡± ¡°Tough life man,¡± sympathized Adam, ¡°My instructor used to drive me like slave too. Anyways, you have pretty much learned the move. Now let¡¯s focus on getting your arms correct alright?¡± Joe nodded. ------ ¡°Alright, pack up!¡± ¡°Ahh.. the best sentence of my life,¡± Adam sighed, ¡°Good work there Joe, it was hard on you.¡± ¡°Nah, nothing too difficult. Besides, couldn¡¯t have done it without you.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Want a beer? I know a pub that¡¯s just around the corner¡± Adam offered. ¡°Alright,¡± Joe nodded and the two began walking together. ¡°You know, with your looks, you could really be a successful actor. Besides, you know martial arts too. The demand for actors that can do their own stunts is increasing day by day. Look at Jacky Chan, Jet Lee, not to mention Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise and the likes. Why do you think they are so popular?¡± Adam said. ¡°They are so popular because they know how to act,¡± said Joe as a matter of fact, ¡°It is good if an actor knows how to do stunts but with today¡¯s cameraworks, I doubt it really matters.¡± ¡°Yea.. I suppose you are right,¡± Adam sighed, ¡°You know, when I came to this city, I wanted to become an actor. To have great cars, to dance with pretty girls, to have my own bungalow¡­ sigh, those dreams seem so distant today.¡± Joe smiled, ¡°You are what? 25? You talk as if the world has ended. My master said that when one avenue to one¡¯s goal closes, another one opens up, one simply has to not give up and keep looking out for the opportunity.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so simple when you say it. Tell me your story Joe, how did you end up here?¡± ¡°Me? My story is pretty uninteresting really. I am a village boy as you know. Came two years ago in this city to pursue my own dreams. Got fucked big time by life. Ended up homeless for a couple of month. It¡¯s my good fortune that I happened to have learned martial arts from my master in my village. If I hadn¡¯t applied for that ad asking for stunt man, I would still be roaming the streets of this city aimlessly.¡± Adam whistled. ¡°Man, you have had such an interesting life.¡± Joe scoffed, ¡°Some might call it difficult.¡± ¡°Yea, difficult, but interesting. The pub is on the other side of this block, come on, this is a shortcut.¡± The two of them entered an alley. It really was a shortcut to the pub that Adam mentioned. One just had to climb a small wall and a few steps away was the back-entrance to the pub. Of course, on a normal day the two would have climbed the wall and entered the pub. But unfortunately, this was not a normal day. The first one to realise this was Joe. He held out his hands and stopped Adam, ¡°Let¡¯s turn back,¡± Joe whispered. ¡°What? Why?¡± Adam asked, confused. Before Joe could answer, a man in old tattered clothes made his appearance. His whole body was shaking and he held a gun in his hands. ¡°Quick! Give me your money! Quick! Quick!¡± He cried. ¡°He is high. Don¡¯t speak too loud,¡± Joe whispered. ¡°Stop talking!! Quick! Quick! Take out your money!¡± ¡°Alright, easy there man,¡± Joe said soothingly, with his hands up in air, ¡°We¡¯ll give you your money alright? See my hand? I am taking it to my pockets so that I could take out my wallet. Easy alright?¡± Joe slowly took his hands to his pockets all the while moving slowly towards the old man. ¡°Quick! Quick! Your money! Give me!¡± Joe took out his wallets and extended towards him. As soon as the old man reached out to grab the wallet, Joe closed the gap between them as fast as lightning, slapped his hands away and thrust his hands into the man¡¯s throat. The man didn¡¯t even have the time to react as he dropped unconscious on the ground. ¡°What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck!!¡± Adam blabbered, ¡°How could you!? He could have killed us! You psycho!¡± ¡°Relax Adam!¡± Joe said. ¡°What the fuck! What the FUCK!!¡± ¡°Adam!!¡± Joe shouted. ¡°What!??¡± ¡°His gun¡¯s safety,¡± Joe said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s on.¡± ¡°So!?¡± Adam cried. ¡°He couldn¡¯t have shot. The safety was still on,¡± Joe explained. Adam calmed down. Joe further said, ¡°I was not trying to be a hero or something. If his gun were hot, I would have never closed in on him. Wouldn¡¯t gamble on my life, let alone yours.¡± Adam heaved a huge sigh, ¡°Has anybody ever told you? You are a complete idiot!¡± Joe smiled, ¡°My master used to repeat that every now and then.¡± Adam finally smiled, releasing the adrenaline fueled tension a bit, ¡°Come on, best to leave here as soon as possible. And ermm¡­ what about him?¡± ¡°He would be out for a long long time, the idiot didn¡¯t protect his throat,¡± Joe said. Both of them simultaneously broke into laughter which was soon pierced by a heart wrenching scream. ¡°Arghhh¡­ You killed him!!¡± This time it was a woman who apparently was woken up by the sound of the scuffle. ¡°No mam! He is alright,¡± Joe tried to explain. ¡°You killed Tommy!¡± The woman was inconsolable. ¡°Now see here¡­¡± Adam tried to explain but in vain. The woman quickly reached the unconscious body of the old man and began crying. ¡°Tommy!¡± ¡°Adam, let¡¯s leave,¡± Joe said. Adam nodded in agreement. Just as the two of them were trying to exit the alley, the woman screamed, ¡°I will kill you!¡± She grabbed the gun that was on the ground and pointed it towards the two of them. ¡°Now mam, please listen to us,¡± Adam said while raising his arms. The gun¡¯s safety lock was still on but it didn¡¯t take much to snap it off. Joe raised his arms too. He inched closer to the woman perhaps to attempt the same maneuver. ¡°Your boyfriend is quite alright mam, here, this is some money you can get him treated,¡± Joe took out his wallet and showed it to the woman. Her attention was turned to the wallet. Ceasing this chance, Joe closed in on the woman but just before he could disable her, he was pushed back with a loud bang. Joe was utterly confused as to how could the woman possess such a strength and just what was that noise. He could briefly hear Adam in the background and¡­ was he shouting? Why was he shouting? Joe was pushed quite some distance but he corrected his bearings and closed in on the woman, who was, for some reason, stupefied. Taking the advantage, he gathered his body strength, which was substantially lower than what he could muster on other occasions and hit the woman straight on her heart. The woman passed out with pain. Soon enough, Joe found his strength leave his body as he too collapsed on the floor. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck fuck !¡± Joe could hear Adam shout. Would you keep it down¡­ He wanted to say but he couldn¡¯t muster up the words. ¡°Hello 911, a man has been shot, yes, in an alley¡­¡± Shot? Who was shot? The it dawned on him. Why was he pushed back, what was the loud noise, why was Adam shouting so much and just what was the watery feeling on his arms. Indeed, he had been shot. Thinking back, his day had started in a pretty shitty way. He had missed his breakfast because he didn¡¯t have any money. He was late to the shooting because again he didn¡¯t have any money to catch the bus. He had to endure working with the shitty director. And to cap it all up, he was shot. All in all, a really really shitty day. As he lay in his own pool of blood, he began thinking about his childhood, his farmer parents, his friends and most of all, his strict master. It was weird that the one whom he hated the most in his childhood, his master, was the one that he wanted to see most right now. All those horse stances he did, all those ridiculous warming up exercises and not to forget those ridiculous breathing exercises that his master claimed were the topmost in the whole world and made him repeat day after day! It all seemed so pointless back then but right now, as he lay waiting for his death, he missed them dearly. ¡°Hey Joe! Joe you hear me! Don¡¯t give up buddy, the ambulance is on it¡¯s way!¡± Joe¡¯s consciousness was slowly fading away, and so was Adam¡¯s voice. In his final moments, Joe thought about how he should have known that the gun might have been a broken one or that it¡¯s safety switch might have been a defunct. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t have known it at that time but he shouldn¡¯t have taken unnecessary risks. His master always said that he was an idiot. Maybe he really was. Your granny smells like pig! ¡°Wake up! Wake up you mute son of a...¡° A very very rude voice greeted Joe when he woke up. What the fuck man? Joe wanted to say but he couldn¡¯t. And not just because he found himself in a completely unknown surrounding with a completely unknown person before him but also because he simply couldn¡¯t speak. He couldn¡¯t speak. He couldn¡¯t speak! Joe got up in alarm. The fuck! What happened to me!? ¡°Finally! The mute shows mercy upon us. Get up and moving boy, there¡¯s a carriage for you that¡¯s from the Capital. It seems, for whatever reasons, the Duke wants to see you. I don¡¯t know what reasons he might have for wanting to see such a good-for-nothing idiot like you. Now Get up boy! Fast!¡± Joe knew the fatty before him. He was Shah, the one in charge of this villa. Just when Joe was thinking about how he possibly could know who fatty Shah was, fatty lost his patience and just dragged Joe out of the stable. Hey, hey! Fuck, how is he so strong! Fatty dragged him outside the villa and dumped him into the carriage and Joe couldn¡¯t do anything at all. The carriage began running as soon as Joe was put inside. After a while, he could see the villa he lived for the sixteen years of his life (how did he know that?). The villa was the property of some Duke. It was remarkably remote considering that it was a Duke¡¯s property. Nobility like them would never bother to set foot in these part of country and it was not as if the place was a trade hub. Nor was the villa some sort of watchpost. Besides, it was only villa in name. The building was small and the residents could be counted on one hand. Regardless, he was finally leaving this wretched place. He had longed for so long for this day. Fuck! What¡¯s wrong with me? Why does this all seem familiar!? Was I not shot? I should be at a hospital. Where¡¯s the doctor? Where¡¯s Adam? Multiple things were going on inside Joe¡¯s brain that even Joe did not know about. It was a sort of diffusion. Like how sugar cubes would dissolve in water, foreign memories were slowly seeping inside Joe¡¯s consciousness. All those times sweeping that huge villa. Fatty Shah¡¯s curses. Granny¡¯s inedible stews. All of those memories definitely did not belong to him. Thinking about them just gave him a headache. So Joe just tried and stopped thinking. Out of sheer habit, he repeated the breathing exercises that his master had taught him. It was what he did whenever things became too stressful. It used to calm him then. And it calmed him now too. In fact, he found himself drowning in a comfortable sensation. Riding the feeling of comfort and the quite bumpy carriage, Joe set off to the capital. --- The Royal palace was the most grand architecture ever built on the city of Pirr. Spanning hundreds of acres of land, the palace was something of reverence to the citizens. It was said that the most rarest herbs and fruits of all seasons grew in the garden of the palace. And all sorts of animals were kept in a sanctuary inside the palace. King Robert had also collected arts and literature of all kinds in his private collection. To a normal citizen of Pirr, setting their foot inside the palace was nothing short of a life goal. Inside the palace, in the royal chambers, two gentlemen were talking to each other. ¡°How did the Duke react?¡± The one to speak first was no other than King Robert, the seventeenth king of Pirr. ¡°Reporting to your majesty, apparently Duke Renne tore the letter into pieces as soon as he finished reading it.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. King Robert smiled, ¡°For the Duke to tear the letter knowing that I can punish him for the destruction of royal proclamation, the old man must have been quite angry.¡± ¡°Angry is an understatement your majesty,¡± King¡¯s personal adviser Ricard replied, ¡°After tearing the letter, he ordered the execution of the royal messenger.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± King Robert expressed surprised. To kill the Royal messenger was nothing sort of a mutiny against the crown as the messenger only relayed King¡¯s word. ¡°Yes, your majesty. Duke¡¯s soldiers even dragged the messenger to the execution grounds but mid-way, the Duke changed his mind. The messenger reported that Duke Renne appeared calm unlike his previously agitated state.¡± ¡°How can this be?¡± King Robert mused, ¡°Has he found an out to this problem?¡± Ricard replied, ¡°Your majesty, our spies inside Duke¡¯s residence reported that a carriage was soon dispatched after the messenger returned. I dare say that Duke Renne is up to something.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ tell our spies to keep looking out for new happenings inside his castle. We can¡¯t take any chance this time. We have invested too much into crippling him to this state. This final push and we can get rid of him for good.¡± ¡°This servant obeys your majesty,¡± Ricard bowed and left the room. ¡°Just you wait Duke Renne, once I get rid of you, the Phoenix manual will surely be mine!¡± --- After few days of carriage ride, Joe reached the capital. During these few days, he had made good friends with the carriage driver. The driver was an old man named Tong, who Joe found, was a chatterbox. During the first few days, Joe remained inside the carriage but he quickly got bored so he simply got out of there and sat beside Tong in his driver¡¯s seat. Tong too, didn¡¯t object. Thus began a one-sided conversation between the two in which driver Tong told Joe just about everything related to Tong¡¯s life. Obviously, Joe ignored the talkative drive soon but he still managed to gather some important information. Apparently, the Duke had two sons but both of the sons were killed in the war of attrition against the neighboring empire. The two sons were famed general and martial artist of impeccable power. Tong described how the eldest of the two sons killed thousands of enemy footsoldiers with nothing but a single sword and how the youngest son accurately hit only the left eyeballs of hundreds of enemies with his bow. Joe found it quite hard to digest but he very well couldn¡¯t express his disbelief for the simple fact that he couldn¡¯t as he couldn¡¯t yet speak. Every morning when he woke up, he would try speaking some simple words but it would come out as meaningless utterances. This was driving him mad. ¡°The eldest master Rowan couldn¡¯t have any heirs for some reason and perhaps it was because of this that eldest mistress left him. The youngest master Ronald, though, has two children. The two of them are twins, one boy and one girl. Quite mischievous they are. Once, they set the horses free in the back garden. I had to personally go and round up the horses ¡­¡± Tong started his monologue again and Joe zoned out. ¡°... and that¡¯s how it went,¡± Tong finished speaking just as the two arrived inside the Duke¡¯s palace. It was extremely grand. Much grand compared to his old residence. ¡°Let¡¯s get you to your room,¡± Tong said, after handing over the carriage to the guard in the entrance. ¡°I see you do not have much possessions,¡± he remarked. No possessions more like, scoffed Joe inwardly. He didn¡¯t really have time to collect anything seeing as that blasted Fatty was dragging his arse just after he woke up. The two of them made their way inside the palace. The first thing he registered about the palace was the lavishness. The villa was decorated with top notch art pieces. Grand paintings of all sort hung over the walls. Chandeliers of immense luxury decorated the ceilings. The walls themselves seemed to emanate a peculiar glow that compelled one to think twice before entering inside lest one inflicted some blemish inside. With not so small trepidation, Joe entered inside. ¡°Hey you! Who told you to enter?¡± An old butler suddenly came out of nowhere and bellowed at him. What the hell! The speed of the butler startled Joe. It was as if he had suddenly appeared out of thin air. ¡°Why don¡¯t you speak anything? How many times have I told that drunk to not casually let anyone inside the residence. Get out now!¡± The butler began shooing him out. ¡°Head-servant!¡± Old Tong quickly came to his rescue. ¡°He is¡­ err.. What¡¯s your name? Oh right, you can¡¯t talk¡­ Anyways, head-servant, he was invited here by the Duke himself. I only just fetched him from the Ivory village.¡± The head servant immediately stopped in his tracks. ¡°Master invited him?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I was taking him to see the old master. He was quite insistent about seeing him as soon as he arrived.¡± ¡°Master isn¡¯t here,¡± head-servant replied, ¡°You can take him there after he arrives. Oh, and give him a bath first, he smells of pig. Also give him something to wear,¡± head-servant added with contempt. Old Tong nodded his head and guided a very confused and slightly offended Joe away. From Ivory village? And he can¡¯t talk? The age also seems right¡­ head-servant mumbled inwardly after the duo had left. ¡°As you heard, he is the head-servant of the villa, Heshu. Don¡¯t mind him really, he is just generally unpleasant. But he is also quite reliable. In fact, only a handful of men have the Duke¡¯s ear and he is one of them. A piece of advice for you young man, if you want to remain inside, don¡¯t offend him. Just nod at whatever he says. ¡°Anyways, here¡¯s your room. You will find some clothes inside. I will find some maid to fetch you hot water. Take a bath, will you? You really stink.¡± Old Tong playfully patted his back and went about his way. You smell of pig, your granny smells of pig! Joe cursed inwardly. I am to learn this? Joe had washed up quite thoroughly. In fact, with the new clothes that Old Tong provided him, he looked comely, nothing like his previous ragged appearance. Still, this new look did not give him a lot of confidence. Reason? He was standing in front of Duke Renne who was eyeing him as if he wanted nothing more than to throw him out of his sight right this instant. What¡¯s with his eyes? Joe wondered. ¡°What is his name?¡± Duke Renne asked Old Tong who stood to Joe¡¯s side respectfully. ¡°Servant reports, the head-servant there didn¡¯t tell me his name, my lord,¡± ¡°He must have referred to him in some way?¡± Renne asked again. ¡°My lord, I only ever heard servant Shah call him Mute,¡± Tong replied. The Duke nodded, ¡°I suppose that¡¯s because he can¡¯t talk. Regardless, he would need a name. Look at me boy,¡± Joe matched the Duke¡¯s eyes unflinchingly, ¡°Henceforth, you will be called Regan Phoenix.¡± A maid standing in the room dropped the plates on her hand at that very instant. It would have been a pretty big deal had it been some other time. Right now though, her mistake was conveniently masked away by the clamor that suddenly arose in the room. ¡°¡°¡°My lord!¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°Old master!¡±¡± Several people present in the room including Old Tong and head butler Heshu and Duke¡¯s other advisors spoke up at once. ¡°Silence!¡± The Duke said. He hadn¡¯t really shouted but the room quieted down nonetheless. ¡°You have heard me right. As of this instant, I am officially adopting him into Phoenix household. All of you are to call him young master from now on.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. So shocked were everybody that they even forgot to reply anything. ¡°Tong, transfer him to one of the family rooms. I appoint you as his personal attendant. See to his need. Heshu, you are to teach him the basics of Phoenix Arts starting tomorrow. I want to see him master the basics within three months. All of you are dismissed,¡± Renne proclaimed. ¡°¡°As the Duke commands¡±¡± The two bowed slightly and left the room, taking Joe, no Regan, in tow. Throughout this entire episode, the only one to remain calm was an old man. This old man was hidden so perfectly in the room that no one beside the Duke knew of his existence. Once everyone departed, he silently came out in front. ¡°Do you think the boy has what it takes?¡± Duke asked the old man. ¡°My lord, allow me to be blunt, he won¡¯t last a month.¡± ¡°Hmm.. you speak truth. Regardless, all that is required of him is his presence. I don¡¯t care whether he lives or dies.¡± The old man mused, ¡°Why allow him to train in the Phoenix arts then my lord?¡± ¡°Just call it a whim.¡± ¡°Or perhaps a lingering affection?¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± the Duke exclaimed, a bit too soon. That was the signal for the old man to quietly meld back into the shadows. He did so with a mysterious trace of smile. The next day in the courtyard of the manor: Regan stood with a sour mood. He still could not speak which would adequately explain his mood but to add insult to injury, he found that whispers followed him wherever he went. Maids would start talking to each other in hushed voices whenever they saw him, butlers would eye him with contempt and an unexplained cautiousness. Even old Tong, his supposed attendant, would be caught staring at him once or twice. The only hint of normalcy in this unexplained environment was the old butler Heshu. He was cold to him before and he was cold to him now as he stood in front of him. ¡°Master has asked me to teach you the basics of Phoenix Arts in three months. I¡¯ll be blunt with you, I can¡¯t.¡± Regan did not know what to think of it. To begin with, what the hell was Phoenix arts? It was as if butler Heshu heard his question as he began explaining, ¡°Phoenix Arts is one of the signature Martial Art of the Phoenix clan that is, the Duke¡¯s clan. It is said that the first Phoenix Duke learned it from a mysterious expert of the unknown realm. It is fire attributed and once you learn it to sufficient levels, you can do this:¡± Heshu took up a very odd stance. It was a horse stance with his left palm facing forward and right fist held back as if to punch something. Regan¡¯s analysis of the stance had to stop because he suddenly began feeling very hot. The source of the heat was Heshu¡¯s entire being. ¡°Haah!¡± Heshu punched out with his fist. Regan felt something moving through the air and after only a small moment, BANG! The tree towards which Heshu had punched broke into splinters and simultaneously erupted into flames. Bloody hell ! Regan was absolutely stunned at that moment, completely incapable of any thought at all. Heshu breathed out a long breath. Regan looked at Heshu, and then at the burning tree, then back again at Heshu. It was hard for him to register that a single punch of a stupid old butler could do that to a fucking tree! I am to learn this? Regan came back to his senses. ¡°This is merely the third level of the phoenix art, no need for you to be so awed.¡± ¡°You, however, are only required to learn the basics. Don¡¯t expect yourself to be blowing trees anytime soon,¡± Heshu scoffed. ¡°Now, first step, the Horse Stance,¡± Heshu said. Not again!! Regan cried inwardly. Would you leave already!? Regan was tired, very very tired. He also felt terribly wronged. Why did he have to go through that boring, not to mention torturous, horse stance once again!? This was simply unfair. It was not that he did not understand. Horse stance was basics. It strengthened the lower body and provided stability to a fighter, which his body seriously lacked. Not my body, this body, he corrected inwardly. Back before in earth, sitting in horse stance for 5 hours was a piece of strawberry cake for him. Right now though, he couldn¡¯t even maintain the stance for thirty minutes. This spoke volumes about the condition of this mute¡¯s body. A knock at his doors woke him up from his musings. Come on in, he wanted to say but of course he couldn¡¯t. It was Old Tong, he had brought some food with him. ¡°Err¡­ y-young master, how was the training today?¡± Regan gave him this look that said it all. ¡°Y-yeah, training, fun¡­ hehe,¡± he gave a nervous laugh. ¡°Anyways young master, here¡¯s your dinner.¡± He placed the plate in front of Regan. The Duke¡¯s manor did not disappoint, the food was very very luxurious. Most of all, it was quite energetic. Regan could already feel his tiredness ebbing away. Old Tong lingered a while as if he wanted to say something and was thinking how he should formulate his words. ¡°Young master, it¡¯s quite incredible isn¡¯t it? You even get to eat delicacies made of spirit ingredients¡­ aah, if only I were so lucky.¡± Spirit ingredients? What were those? ¡°Oh, I nearly forgot, master has asked me to teach you the words. I trust you don¡¯t know how to read?¡± That was quite interesting. All this while Regan had basically heard English but he suspected that the language of this place was quite different. Was the script different too?Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the alphabets,¡± Tong sat beside him with a parchment and a pen. He drew a bizarre never-seen-before symbol on the parchment. It was apparently ¡°awa¡± or something similar sounding. Thus began an hour long fruitless task of learning to read and write. Fruitless because no matter how many times Tong repeated the symbols, Regan simply couldn¡¯t grasp them. It was frustrating. Tong sighed, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it for now. We shall continue tomorrow.¡± Disappointment was as clear on his face as the starry sky outside. After Tong left, Regan left his room and reached the courtyard. It had been a very disappointing turn of events. From getting a job to dying and then landing at a dream-like place (for what else could it be?). Worst of all was that he was feeling terribly lonely. Regardless of his difficult life, he always had someone he could talk to. Even when he was on the streets, it was easy to make friends who shared similar difficulties. Now though, not only was he a stranger in this strange place, but he also could not communicate with anyone. He lay beneath the stars in the courtyard and began contemplating. ¡°Who are you?¡± A sound pierced the music of the crickets. Regan got up and saw a beautiful girl looking at him with eyes full of curiosity. He met her eyes, for that was the only reply he could give. ¡°Did you not hear my question? Who are you? How did you come here? Do you even know that strangers in this place at this hour can be executed if found? I would leave the say way I came if I were you.¡± Could you slow the hell down? The girl was worse than Tong when it came to speaking. ¡°Well, don¡¯t you sit there and stare at me. Go on, shoo, run the guards see you.¡± Regan was too tired to move, let alone run anywhere. He just conveniently ignored the little girl and lied down again. If this action infuriated her, she didn¡¯t show. She just came by his side and peered down at him, determined to not be ignored. He sighed. This girl was not going to leave him so easily. He got up, pointed to his neck and swayed his head left and right. There, that would tell the girl that he could not speak. Apparently not. ¡°You¡¯re funny,¡± the girl giggled. ¡°Are you angry at someone? You know, whenever I am angry at grandfather, I too don¡¯t speak with him at all. He usually brings me gifts afterwards and then I start speaking with him again.¡± That¡¯s not the point! Regan exclaimed. ¡°Anyways, my name is Rune, I am grandfather¡¯s granddaughter.¡± Had he been drinking something, Regan was sure that he would have choked on it. Rune found affront with the strange sounding laugh that Regan made. ¡°No, seriously, I really am his granddaughter. The entire city knows this, what¡¯s there to laugh about? ¡°Anyways, I am forgiving you this time. Mother says that it¡¯s rude to laugh at a lady. If you do, you might not get married at all. So you should learn to control yourself. I am saying this for yourself you know. Now then, I got to go. Nice to make your acquaintance stranger. Oh, and be sure to not speak until you get a good present. I once settled for the royal sweets from grandfather and the next time I was angry, he got me the same thing! Can you believe that? I am thinking of getting mad at him again so that he could take me to this year¡¯s Royal Hunt.¡± Would you leave already!? ¡°I mean, my friends are all going and even crown prince will be there! He is the most beautiful person in the entire continent. His hair¡­ he has this wondrous hair color and his smile¡­ I could go on and on about his smile.¡± Go on and on she did for fifteen more minutes. ¡°I really got to go now. It was quite nice to talk to you, stranger. We should meet more often. Say, same place same time tomorrow?¡± Regan nodded his head. He would have done just about anything to get the girl to leave. ¡°Alright!¡± She exclaimed and bounced back to god knows where. Just what the hell was up with this girl? He didn¡¯t know. She was nice though sans the part where she talked and talked and talked. It is often the case that a man knows not of his emotions. Same was with Regan for had he known, he¡¯d have found that he was feeling a bit less lonely. Fuck you too old man! One month had already passed and Regan had settled into his routine. Getting up early in the morning, spending all day in horse stance in a remote corner of the courtyard and taking mind-bogglingly fruitless reading lessons with Old Tong. The thing that amazed him most was the rapid increase in the strength of his body. When he began his training with Heshu, he couldn¡¯t even maintain the stance for thirty minutes. At the end of the month though, he could comfortably remain in the same for the entire day. Regan suspected that it had something to do with the food with spirit ingredients that Tong mentioned but there was no way to prove it so he left it at that. The thing that amazed him second most was the near zero progress of his literary skills. No matter how much Tong tried, Regan couldn¡¯t grasp the alphabets. He couldn¡¯t just remember them, at all. This frustrated both him and Old Tong to no ends but kudos to Tong¡¯s diligence, he patiently came and taught the same thing again and again every single day. He had become fast friends with Tong, sort of. The old man sure liked to talk and talk he did. He told Revan all sort of things about the kingdom, the four major Dukes, the minor nobilities and so on. He also told him things about the Phoenix family. They were one of the major Dukedom albeit now in decline. Still, Tong would beam with immense pride and joy when speaking about his master. Their ¡°conversation¡± led him to identify the mysterious girl he had met in the garden as Rune Phoenix, and yeah, she really was her grandfather¡¯s granddaughter, which was to say, the Duke¡¯s granddaughter. Speaking of her, Revan hadn¡¯t gone to visit her after the first time. Not because he didn¡¯t want to (he wasn¡¯t particularly fond of her though), it was just that Heshu had increased his training so much that he simply couldn¡¯t muster enough energy to move about in the manor. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Heshu spoke. Already? ¡°We only have two months remaining and though your body leaves much to be desired in terms of strength, we will have to proceed onwards,¡± he eyed Regan coldly as if being weak were his fault. Yeah, fuck you too old man. ¡°I will next demonstrate a set of fist moves. I advise you to observe with your complete attention, I am not as patient as Tong is,¡± he said. Regan scoffed. By now the entire manor was aware of his disastrous reading skills, Heshu was no exception. ¡°This is the first set of phoenix fist skills, it¡¯s called phoenix claws,¡± Heshu got into the stance and executed a series of jabs, punches and defensive moves. It was absolutely entrancing to see such fluid movements. Regan, being a martial artist himself could properly appreciate the fluidity and viciousness of the moves. But there was this small little problem.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It¡¯s too fast! Indeed, Heshu¡¯s skills were extraordinary and his speed was to the point that Regan found it hard to follow. ¡°Your turn,¡± he said. Regan just stood there expecting Heshu to slow down the moves and demonstrate it once again. ¡°We don¡¯t have all day, you stupid piece of ¡­¡± He held his tongue. As a servant of the manor, he was supposed to address Regan as young master. But he had never once done so. Regan didn¡¯t mind. However, not addressing him with proper respect and calling him a stupid piece of whatever were two entirely different things. ¡°Sigh¡­ alright, I will demonstrate it once again. Follow my movements,¡± This time, Heshu slowed down a bit. Unexpectedly, Regan was able to follow it quite well which kind of surprised the old butler. ¡°Hmph, seems like you have some talent after all. You are to repeat these steps for the entire day. I¡¯ll check on your progress in the evening.¡± Heshu left as he always did. It seemed like he had no time to deal with a random person who was suddenly adopted into the phoenix household. Regan began practicing. The phoenix fist arts, or the phoenix claws, as Heshu named it was profound in nature. Regan understood it as much. The martial art that he had practiced since his childhood had enabled him to see through most of the moves. Why hands were moved the way they were moved or why they stayed where they stayed, everything had a reason behind them. His old master had drilled the nature of asking questions and thinking about every move in him. According to him, it was the basics of the Ryu, the martial arts that he had taught Regan on earth. Dragon arts, phoenix arts¡­ all pretentious names. As if Dragons and Phoenixes would ever need fancy movements to strike. Regardless of his thoughts, he had to practice to the Phoenix Claws. So he got on with it, with surprising results. In the royal palace, King Robert was quite grave as he discussed his schemes with his advisor Ricard. ¡°What is the meaning of this? They gave their precious Phoenix name to a village boy? Has that old monster finally gone mad?¡± ¡°Your majesty, my spies report that the boy is currently practicing the Phoenix Arts. Apparently, master Heshu is teaching him himself.¡± This alarmed the king to no ends. ¡°But he has never taken a disciple before? What could be the meaning of this?¡± King Robert mused. ¡°My spies reported that it was a direct order from the Duke himself. It is indeed strange your majesty. Although he lives there as a servant of the house, Heshu is most respected and the strongest in terms of Martial skills after perhaps the Phoenix Defender himself. Not even the Duke dare order him around,¡± Ricard reported. ¡°Then why is he teaching this boy?¡± Robert asked angrily. Ricard bowed his head, ¡°This servant does not know your highness.¡± King Robert was a very regal looking man. With royal robes and a strong muscular build, he looked more like a warrior than a king. Other times, he exuded an air of magnificence and awe to those in front of him. This time though, he was filled with anxiety and suspicion. ¡°Ricard, send a message to Duke Fael. At the time of the Royal Hunt, he is to ask for the usage of the legacy stone.¡± ¡°The Royal treasure, your highness?¡± Ricard asked suspiciously. ¡°Indeed, once Duke Fael asks for its usage, other three Dukes will be compelled to do the same.¡± Comprehension dawned on Ricard¡¯s face, ¡°I¡¯ll send the message immediately your highness.¡± Ricard bowed and excused himself. ¡°Cheap tricks will not save you this time Duke Renne,¡± Robert gave a self-satisfied laugh.