Don't Draw the Sword

Bang!

The gates of the Training Ground were kicked open, and Edward, clad in armor, strode inside.

"What happened?" Edward asked in astonishment as he looked at the bloodstains covering the ground.

"Young Master Edward, Knight Henry was stabbed by this farmer using underhanded means during a fair duel," Knight Vincent stepped forward and explained respectfully.

Knight Harold added, "We merely wanted to spar with this farmer boy. We never expected him to have hidden a dagger on his person."

"Enough! Save those words for three- or four-year-old children! There are only five knights left in Glan Territory who are of any use, and now one of them has been blinded. Are you trying to make me a lord with no one under him?" Edward was in an extremely foul mood. These subordinates had nothing but muscles in their heads. All they knew was how to cause him trouble all day long!

"We are deeply sorry, Young Master Edward!"

The two bent at the waist in apology at the same time, filled with regret. They swore to God that when they went to challenge that farmer boy, they had only wanted to teach him a "small" lesson. They had never expected the boy to be so ruthless, or that he had brought an extra dagger with him.

Vincent helped Henry, who was rolling around on the ground, to his feet. He had the servants take him back to a room and summoned the Traveling Physician who lived in the castle to treat him.

"Young Master Edward, what should we do with this boy?" Harold asked, pointing at Zhou Ming, who lay on the ground with a longsword piercing through his chest.

Edward glanced at Zhou Ming on the ground and shook his head. "The sword pierced his lung. He won't survive. Give him a quick death."

"Yes, Young Master Edward." Harold drew the Side Sword at his waist, walked over to Zhou Ming, and raised it high.

"Enough! Stop this at once! Cough, cough, cough!"

An aged voice came from nearby, accompanied by violent coughing.

Harold, who was about to strike, turned toward the voice. He quickly sheathed his sword and dropped to one knee facing the doorway.

Baron Connor had arrived. Despite his severe injuries and frail condition, he stood before everyone with Little Donny and Madam Madeline supporting him.

"Father, why did you get up? You haven't recovered yet. How could you get out of bed?"

Edward was startled and hurried forward to support his father. What was his father doing here? Hadn't he said that everything in the territory would be handled by Edward?

Baron Connor's body shook violently. His paper-pale face held nothing but profound disappointment and fury as he pointed at Edward. "Edward, must you kill your father... cough, cough... before this ends? Cough, cough, cough. Can't you spare Little Ryan? Cough. Just treat it as fulfilling your father's final wish before he dies. Cough, cough, cough. I'm about to die. Everything in the territory will be yours. Can't you even tolerate two farmers? Where has the 'tolerance' in your knightly virtue gone? Cough, cough, cough..."

Edward patted his father's back for a while before hurriedly explaining, "No, Father, I already agreed to let them go! It was the knights who stopped Ryan. Besides, Ryan's chest was pierced by a sword. He can't possibly survive. I only told Knight Harold to kill him to give him a quick death."

"I'm dying too, so give me a quick death as well!" Baron Connor cursed, before breaking into another violent coughing fit.

Meanwhile, Donny sprinted to Zhou Ming's side. Staring blankly at the longsword in his chest, he threw his arms around him and burst into tears. "Ryan, don't die, don't die! We still have to travel the world together. We still have to go study in the royal capital together. Don't leave me behind all alone!"

"Poor child... Why were you born into this miserable world?" Madam Madeline was overcome with grief, continuously wiping tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Don't..."

"Don't pull it out..."

"Don't pull it out..."

At that moment, Zhou Ming, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, suddenly spoke.

"Ryan spoke! Ryan, what are you saying? Don't pull out what?" Little Donny wiped away his tears and leaned close to Zhou Ming.

"Don't draw the sword. Don't draw the sword!" After saying it twice, Zhou Ming's body went limp, and he fell into a deep coma.

"Don't draw the sword?"

Donny was confused for a moment. Then, when he saw the longsword that had pierced through Ryan's chest and lung, realization dawned on him. He immediately shouted at everyone around him, "Quick, save him! Don't pull out the sword in his body. He can still be saved—he must be saved!"

The servants hurriedly lifted Zhou Ming up and carefully carried him into a bedroom in the castle.

Amid utter darkness.

Ding!

The game character has entered a near-death state. Does the player wish to leave this state and exit the game?

The system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

Zhou Ming steadied himself and looked around, only to find himself in a void. There was no light, no things of this world. Only his still-sharp senses told him that he still existed.

"System, entering a near-death state means the game character isn't dead yet, right?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Yes, Host."

"Can I choose not to exit the game? Since I'm not dead, there's still hope—still hope of getting a high rating!"

Zhou Ming had no intention of receiving an abysmally low rating worth only a few dozen Achievement Points in a game where he had struggled to survive for eighteen years.

"You may, Host. However, this state generally leads to only two outcomes. One is eventual death. The other is not necessarily death, but remaining in this near-death state for a prolonged period... The probability of a miracle occurring is extremely small."

"I choose the miracle!"

Time passed bit by bit.

In the darkness, Zhou Ming had no idea whether one day, two days, one year, or two years had passed outside...

All he could do was wait patiently. Wait...

Until one day, he heard the sound of sorrowful crying...

"Big brother, big brother..."

"Big brother, wake up already! If you don't wake up, how am I supposed to live in this world alone?"

"Waaah... waaah..."

Alice... it was his little sister Alice's voice. He could hear the sounds outside now.

Suddenly, Zhou Ming's fingers twitched slightly on the hospital bed. Then, hearing, smell, taste, and sight all returned to his body at once.

What followed was pain like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart, surging over him like ocean waves, making him let out an agonized scream.

"Big brother's awake! Big brother, you're awake? That's wonderful! Wonderful!" Alice, who had been crying beside him just moments ago, immediately burst into tears of joy and jumped up happily.

"Water... water..." Zhou Ming said in a dry, hoarse voice.

Alice hurriedly brought over a bowl of warm water and fed him a couple of sips.

After drinking a bowl of warm water, Zhou Ming felt a little better. Only then did he realize that he was lying in their familiar home.

The sword that had been stuck in him had already been pulled out. His bandaged wound had only festered a little and was no longer bleeding.

"Alice, how long have I been lying in bed?"

"More than half a month, big brother. They said that the fact you're still alive is nothing short of a miracle."

"They..."

Who were they?