This Is All So Messed Up...

Old Village Chief looked at Bai Yang, his aged brows furrowed in thought. He said nothing, and no one knew what was going through his mind.

The villagers around them looked from Bai Yang to Old Village Chief, but no one spoke.

At last, Old Village Chief looked at Bai Yang and said with deep feeling, "Very well. On behalf of the villagers, I accept these weapons and suits of armor you have bestowed upon us!"

Good, he'd agreed. Hearing Old Village Chief say that, Bai Yang smiled.

But his understanding of their language and culture was too shallow. He understood that the other man was accepting the items, but he didn't understand what the word "bestowed" meant.

"But you must also agree to two conditions."

Old Village Chief changed tack and looked at Bai Yang with utmost seriousness.

From the look in the other man's eyes, Bai Yang could tell that if he refused, the man would flatly reject the weapons and armor!

"Go ahead."

Bai Yang rarely got serious, but this time he nodded.

"First, I'll distribute these weapons and suits of armor to the hundred strongest villagers. They will all become your guards. Second, speaking officially as Little Cat's grandfather, I'm telling you that she now belongs to you completely!"

Huh? Bai Yang's heart gave a jolt.

The first condition was easy enough to understand. Guards, huh? Like bodyguards back on Earth. No big deal. It wasn't as if he'd have these villagers going around chopping people up every day, and he wasn't the sort to go looking for trouble. He could agree to that. But the second condition left him dumbfounded. What exactly did "belongs to me" mean?

Old Village Chief waved a hand to stop Bai Yang from speaking, then continued, "Of course, since these hundred strongest villagers make up the village's main workforce, most of their energy will still have to go toward the village's labor and production. I hope you understand."

That was easy enough. Bai Yang understood, so he nodded.

But then he realized something was wrong. What exactly was going on with Little Cat?

Bai Yang was completely bewildered...

But Old Village Chief didn't give Bai Yang a chance to ask what was troubling him. Turning to the villagers around them, he began pointing people out with his aged hand:

"Zhao Shi, Hei Gou, Hu Zi, Zhu Zi, Shu Gen..."

Old Village Chief selected a full hundred people. The rest automatically stepped aside, and a hundred hulking, tower-like men stepped forward. The scene fell utterly silent, deadly serious, and Bai Yang felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"Don your armor."

Old Village Chief looked at the hundred hulking men and said only those two words. But Bai Yang's Chinese was still at preschool level; he couldn't understand their pronunciation or what they meant...

Truthfully, he only understood the rest of what they said in bits and pieces, too.

The hundred muscle-bound men tore open the crates with a clatter. Each man got a suit of Titanium Alloy Armor, which they strapped on with a clanking rustle. Finally, every one of them took a Titanium Alloy Blade.

Xiong Da had even thoughtfully added a hook to each Titanium Alloy Blade's scabbard, so it could hang perfectly at the left hip of the Titanium Alloy Armor. Bai Yang hadn't thought of that...

A hundred strong men stood in the clearing, armored and armed. Shing! A hundred blades came free of their scabbards all at once!

In the first light of dawn, a hundred mighty warriors stood in armor, a hundred cold blades gleaming—a terrifying aura that seemed to swallow mountains and rivers.

As Bai Yang watched, bewildered, the hundred men all made the same move. They drew their Titanium Alloy Blades across their left palms, slicing through their cowhide gloves. Blood stained the blades.

With a clatter of armor, they all dropped to one knee before Bai Yang and shouted, "We swear to serve Young Master Bai until death!"

"Holy crap!" Bai Yang jumped in fright. What was this supposed to be? The whole thing was so serious it scared him, and he hadn't understood a single word of their vow to serve him until death. He looked at Old Village Chief in confusion.

Old Village Chief smiled and nodded toward Bai Yang.

Bai Yang scratched his head. He didn't understand what they were up to, but awkwardly gestured for them to get up. You're all making me feel so confused...

"They'll all be your guards from now on. Would you like to appoint a captain for them?"

Old Village Chief said with a smile beside Bai Yang. He spoke very slowly and added gestures; only after a great deal of effort did Bai Yang understand what he meant. Their earlier conversation had gone much the same way.

Bai Yang was utterly at sea and had no idea what was going on, but he still followed Old Village Chief's suggestion and pointed at Zhao Shi. "Let him do it."

He couldn't help it. Of the three wild men, Bai Yang knew Zhao Shi best. Zhu Zi couldn't be trusted—he only knew how to eat. Hu Zi couldn't be trusted either—his curiosity knew no bounds. Zhao Shi was the only one who seemed steady.

Zhao Shi stepped forward, cupped his fists toward Bai Yang, and said, "Greetings, young master."

After Bai Yang nodded in confusion, Zhao Shi turned to the armored men and spoke rapidly in a stream of unintelligible words. The hundred warriors looked at Bai Yang differently now, but Bai Yang had no idea what their expressions meant...

In the end, Bai Yang returned to his treehouse in a daze...

"Huh? I still haven't figured out what's going on with Little Cat."

When Bai Yang got back to the treehouse, he saw Little Cat standing prettily by the entrance, looking at him with a radiant smile. He smacked his forehead and muttered to himself.

While Bai Yang was still fretting, Little Cat faced him, dropped to her knees, and prostrated herself before him.

"What are you doing?"

Bai Yang jumped in fright and hurried to help her up. In his haste, he instinctively switched back to Chinese.

Little Cat stood up and blinked at Bai Yang, showing that she didn't understand what he was saying.

Well, Bai Yang was now completely lost when it came to the customs here...

Then, with Little Cat serving him, he ate a meal of roast meat like some pampered lord, food coming straight to his mouth.

After the meal, Little Cat fluttered around happily like a butterfly, bustling from one task to another. When she finally had a little free time, Bai Yang quickly beckoned her over. "Little Cat, come here. I want to ask you something."

"What would you like to ask, young master?"

Little Cat didn't sit down. She stood before Bai Yang, gazing at him with her beautiful eyes, blinking at him over and over.

"Um, why did they do that earlier?"

Bai Yang asked, gesturing as he spoke. He meant the hundred hulking men cutting their palms earlier.

"They were pledging their loyalty to you. They'll all be your guards from now on."

Little Cat answered simply and plainly, but because of the language barrier, it still took Bai Yang quite a while to understand her fully.

Bai Yang thought the whole loyalty thing was incredible. Why did it make him feel like he'd just given off a mighty aura...?

What kind of messed-up custom was this? Did people really have to cut their hands just to serve as bodyguards?

Setting that question aside, Bai Yang scratched his head and asked Little Cat, "Earlier, your grandfather said that you belong to me completely. I don't really understand what that means..."

"It means that from now on, I'm yours, young master. You can have me do anything you want..."

Little Cat looked at Bai Yang with complete seriousness as she explained. Her face was a little red, but she didn't shy away from his gaze at all.

What?

Gulp...

Bai Yang swallowed. Wasn't this a bit too intense?

"Um, I mean... isn't this all a little too much to decide so casually?"

Bai Yang asked, deeply conflicted. He'd never seen anything like this. Just one sentence, and he could do whatever he wanted with this gorgeous woman?

At his words, Little Cat's expression turned terrified. She looked at Bai Yang and asked, "Does young master not want me?"

"No, I... Hey! Why are you grabbing a sword? You're not going to cut me, are you?!"

Bai Yang was about to explain when Little Cat suddenly turned around and pulled the meter-long broadsword off the wall.

She wasn't going to attack Bai Yang. Heartbroken, she gave him one look, raised her sword, and brought it toward her own neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Bai Yang was so stunned that he jumped to his feet and shouted. This was too terrifying. People here went around cutting their throats and their palms at the drop of a hat. What on earth was going on in this place?

In his panic, Bai Yang shouted in Chinese...

Perhaps it was the sight of Bai Yang's furious, alarmed expression that made Little Cat stop. The broadsword rested against her slender neck. Her eyes were red, tears falling, as she looked at him in confusion. The polished blade was even streaked with a trace of blood!

She was serious. She really had been about to cut her own throat...!

Very carefully, Bai Yang moved the broadsword away from Little Cat's neck. Then, still worried, he snatched it from her hands.

Whoa, it was heavy—probably fifty or sixty jin. Bai Yang nearly threw his back out...

"What exactly do you mean?"

Bai Yang struggled to toss the broadsword into the corner, then looked at Little Cat, stern and confused, as he asked.

"My life belongs to young master now. If young master doesn't want me, then I can only die."

Little Cat's one sentence left Bai Yang speechless...

(I really struggled with this chapter. I kept scrapping it and starting over, then revising it again and again. After nearly eight full hours, I ended up with only about 2,500 words, and there are still plenty of things to criticize. Please go easy on me; everyone sees things differently. When two different worlds, cultures, morals, and ways of life collide, conflict is inevitable. That's all I can say. Finally, please support me with recommendation votes and follows. Stone bows in thanks.)