Spring in Nan’an Prefecture was beautiful, but I heard that the spring on Baolin Mountain in the northern suburbs was even more breathtaking.
However, I didn’t dare to venture up Baolin Mountain because of the Changfeng Manor located there. The manor’s master was said to have once been the leader of the martial arts world, and there was also someone who had been the renowned Marquis Zhenbe, commander of thousands of troops.
As for me, I was just an orphan living in three dilapidated rooms, surviving on the charity of neighbors. I didn’t even know my surname. My old mother, before she passed away last year, always called me “Goudan” (lit. “Dog Egg”), so everyone called me that.
The neighbor’s boy, Xu Jun, was different. His father had served in Marquis Zhenbe’s army, and last year, he went up to Baolin Mountain with his father. He’s been bragging about it ever since. Although I could beat him in every fight, I couldn’t outdo his boasting, even though his father had only been a cook in the Zhenbe army.
So, I wanted to go up to Baolin Mountain once and see the legendary Changfeng Manor.
That spring, many people in Nan’an Prefecture died from a terrible plague. When Xu Jun’s father also succumbed to the disease, Xu Jun became an orphan too.
The city was filled with corpses. Xu Jun and I could only drag his father’s body on a cart to bury him on Xiaomao Mountain outside the city. I pulled from the front, and he pushed from behind, but we were too weak. Before reaching Xiaomao Mountain, we were exhausted, and the cart overturned.
Xu Jun could only cry. I cursed at him a few times, but I had no strength left to put his father’s body back on the cart.
At that moment, a beautiful carriage stopped in front of us. A melodious voice came from inside, making me think it was a fairy singing from heaven. Then, someone helped us bury Xu Jun’s father, and we followed those people northward. They took us to a large manor where there were many boys around our age. Then, they told us that from that day on, we were part of Changfeng Manor.
Xu Jun immediately stopped crying, but his face was still covered in snot. A boy bigger than me standing nearby laughed at him. Of course, I wouldn’t stand for it. This big guy wasn’t tough at all, and I knocked him down with a few punches.
Others came to help him, and Xu Jun came to help me. It was a satisfying brawl until some adults came to separate us. Then I heard that fairy-like voice again. When I looked up, I truly saw a fairy standing before me.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
I could only grin and say, “Goudan.”
The nasty boys laughed uproariously, especially the one I had beaten up. I glared at him fiercely and shouted, “What’s so funny! I am who I am, and my name is Goudan!”
The fairy smiled beautifully. “Goudan doesn’t sound nice. From today on, your surname will be An, and your name will be Chen.”
I hesitated for a moment, then loudly replied, “No.”
“Why not?” The fairy crouched down to look at me.
“I’m Goudan. If I change my name, my dead mother won’t be able to find me when she’s reincarnated.”
The fairy stood up, smiling, and said to someone nearby, “It’s him. Take him to the young master.”
That person told me to call him “Chief Steward.” I followed him for a long way, climbing up a very high mountain. He said that from that day on, I belonged to the young manor master and should obey him in everything. The young master of Changfeng Manor was said to be the future leader of the martial arts world from birth. I wondered if his martial arts were really that great. I was excited.
But I was greatly disappointed. This young master lived in a thatched house, was thin as a rail, and looked even more handsome than the actors in theater troupes. Seeing him frowning as he drank medicine, I couldn’t help but curl my lip in disdain.
When I did this, the young master glanced at me. His eyes were very bright, but thinking that I would have to obey this sickly boy in the future, I felt a bit unhappy.
The Chief Steward seemed very afraid of this young master, respectfully finishing his report and backing out with a bow. The young master walked up to me.
He had his hands behind his back, like an adult, which made me dislike him even more.
“Your name is Goudan?” He seemed to be holding back laughter, which irritated me further.
“Yes.”
“Isn’t the name Mother gave you better? An Chen is quite nice.”
So that fairy was his mother. How could there be such a young and beautiful mother?
“But my mom always called me Goudan.”
“You were also born in the Year of the Ox?”
“Yes.” Seeing that he was about my age, I quickly added, “I was born in the first month. I’m already seven years old.”
He smiled, his eyes still bright: “I was born in the eighth month.”
“Then I’m older than you,” I said, feeling a bit proud.
But he laughed even more: “I heard you’re good at fighting?”
“I’m alright.”
“If you beat me, I’ll call you big brother. If you lose, you’ll call me big brother and change your name.”
Of course, I wasn’t afraid. Just as I was about to agree, he suddenly pounced on me.
I hadn’t expected him to start fighting without warning and was knocked down. But I reacted quickly, pinning him to the ground. However, my waist suddenly went numb, and he flipped me over, punching me hard several times. This skinny kid was surprisingly strong, hitting me so hard that I saw stars.
He sat on top of me, grinning triumphantly. “You lost.”
“You ambushed me, it doesn’t count!” I protested.
He dusted off his hands and stood up. “Alright then, let’s start over. You say when to begin, and then we’ll fight.”
“Fine, let’s fight. Begin!” I lunged at him with all my might. But this kid was as slippery as an eel. Several times I almost caught him, but he always managed to slip away at the last moment.
Of course, I wasn’t satisfied. “Stop dodging if you’ve got the guts. Fight me face to face.”
“Okay,” he stopped evading, smiling annoyingly. “If you’re not afraid, let’s try a different method.”
“How?” Of course, I wasn’t afraid of this sickly boy.
“Since you say you’re older than me, you take three of my punches first, then I’ll take three of yours. We’ll take turns like this, and whoever falls first loses.”
He had hit me a few times earlier. Though his punches were strong, I thought I could take them. But he looked frail and probably couldn’t take many of my punches, so I naturally agreed.
He smiled somewhat smugly and slowly raised his fist.
It seemed like only one punch, but he knocked me out of the thatched house. My vision went dark, and my mouth was full of blood. He picked me up, and I stubbornly refused to speak. He smiled and threw another punch, sending me flying into the hot spring pond below. I struggled in the water, but I couldn’t muster any strength in my arms. Water kept rushing into my throat as I slowly sank. I thought I was going to die, but he grabbed my hair and pulled my head above water.
“From today on, I’m your big brother.”
I still couldn’t speak, so he submerged me again.
When he pulled me out of the water for the fifth time, he slowly raised his fist.
Looking into his eyes, I suddenly understood that if this punch landed, I would sink to the bottom forever.
“Big… brother,” I managed to say.
He smiled slowly. “What’s your name?”
I hesitated for a moment, then coughed out, “An… Chen.”
From that day on, I was no longer called Goudan. My name became An Chen, and I became the attendant of Pei Yan, the young master of Changfeng Manor.
From then on, wherever he went, I followed. Whatever he wanted me to do, I had to do it. When he practiced martial arts, I practiced too. When he studied, I learned to read and write alongside him.
I still owed him one punch. Gradually, I understood that the punch I owed him could cost me my life.
He could have knocked me down with one punch, never to rise again. So why did he go in circles with me back then? It took me a long time to understand.
I stayed with him in the thatched house for over half a year. Every day, he took a lot of medicine and had to soak in the hot spring several times. He practiced martial arts for over five hours daily and spent another three hours reading and writing. As a result, I never got to sleep in again.
He didn’t like to talk much. At first, he only spoke a few words when giving me tasks. Later, he gradually began to ask me about things in Nan’an Prefecture. I missed life in Nan’an Prefecture very much, so I talked about it enthusiastically. But he only listened quietly. I tried to subtly encourage him to go down the mountain to Nan’an Prefecture several times, but he never showed any interest, which disappointed me.
But on the day of the first heavy snow, the tip of his sword emitted a frost-like sword energy, cutting a tree branch in mid-air. He was so excited that he turned and tackled me to the ground, rolling with me in the snow for several turns.
I heard his excited voice: “An Chen, I did it! I’ve mastered sword energy! I can go down the mountain now!”
I was happy too. I missed Xu Jun very much, and I missed Nan’an Prefecture even more.
He let go of me and just lay there in the snow, letting snowflakes fall on his face and body. He seemed to be mumbling to himself: “An Chen, did your mother ever hold you?”
As Jun Beiyue and I lay in the snow, he mimicked my posture, hands behind his head despite the freezing ground.
“Did she ever let you sleep with her?” he asked.
“Until she died, I always slept with her,” I replied.
He sighed deeply, then spoke in a barely audible voice: “But my mother… she’s never held me, never let me sleep with her.”
I suddenly recalled the fragrance emanating from that fairy-like Madam as she crouched before me. If only she could embrace me once—
“Mother promised that if I could master sword qi before the New Year, she would hug me and let me sleep in her big bed,” he said, genuinely elated. It was clear he had been anticipating this day for a long time, and I felt happy for him. Truthfully, living in this thatched cottage was even more uncomfortable than my family’s three dilapidated rooms.
We finally descended the mountain, with him practically running down. He searched the entire Changfeng Manor but couldn’t find Madam. I could see his growing anxiety until a little maid called Shu Yun came to tell him that Madam was waiting in the plum forest. Only then did his smile return.
When we reached the plum forest, dusk was falling. The winter plums bloomed brilliantly—red flowers against white snow. The fairy-like Madam stood amidst the plums, her smile more beautiful than the blossoms. She opened her arms, her voice gentle: “Yan’er, come to Mother.”
I happened to glance sideways and saw something glimmering in his eyes. No longer as composed as usual, he raced towards the plum forest.
But just as he was within arm’s reach of Madam, her white sleeves fluttered as she leaped backward. He halted, looking up in utter disbelief at the retreating Madam.
I was stunned, unsure of what was happening. In that instant, the ground beneath him suddenly split open, and he vanished from sight.
I was too frightened to move. Madam alighted on the ground again. She wore a faint smile, as gentle and beautiful as always. But for some reason, I suddenly feared seeing such a smile.
She stood at the edge of the large pit, head lowered, her lips moving slightly as she uttered a few words. Then, without looking back, she left the plum forest.
Only after Madam had gone far did I dare to rush over. I discovered it was a trap, like those used by hunters to catch beasts. He sat at the bottom, his features slightly contorted.
The pit was too deep for me to pull him out. I called out “Big Brother” a few times, but he turned his face away, silent. With no other option, I went to find a rope, but I wandered in the peach grove for a long time, unable to leave the plum forest.
A few days ago, I read about the art of formations with him. I sensed this plum forest was like a maze formation. Struck by an idea, I broke off a long tree branch, but it still couldn’t reach him in the depths of the pit. Frustrated, I jumped into the pit myself.
The fall from such a height made my ankle throb with pain, but I stifled my cry. I tried to help him up from the ground, but he had buried his face in the dirt. His body seemed to weigh a thousand jin; I couldn’t lift him. I only saw his shoulders trembling slightly.
Night fell completely before he slowly turned over. He sat there, motionless, and I sat with him. He didn’t speak, and I didn’t dare break the silence.
The snow fell harder and harder, continuing all night, leaving a thick layer at the bottom of the pit. He finally stood up. I felt a surge of hope and lit a fire starter.
But we had no way to climb out; the pit was far too deep. Even with his excellent lightness skill, he couldn’t escape.
His expression grew increasingly grim. When the fire starter burned out, we still hadn’t managed to climb out of the pit.
That night, we shivered uncontrollably in the trap. I took off my outer robe and gave it to him, but he continued to tremble, even more violently than I did.
We barely made it to dawn, but Madam still hadn’t appeared.
I urged him to call loudly for help, but he pressed his lips tightly together, not uttering a word.
After another full day of freezing, just as I thought I would freeze solid, Madam suddenly appeared.
Madam looked down at us silently, her expression very serious, unlike yesterday’s gentleness. He knelt at the bottom of the pit, head bowed, and I had no choice but to kneel as well.
Madam’s voice was soft as if drifting from far away: “Do you remember what I said yesterday?”
He kowtowed: “Yes, child remembers.”
Madam smiled with satisfaction and turned to leave. Soon after, a rope dangled from above.
His expression is wooden, and he slowly reaches out to grasp the rope. We emerged from the pit, but he sat in the snowy plum forest for a long time before leading me back to Biwu Thatched Cottage.
What had Madam said yesterday? I was desperate to know, but he kept his lips tightly sealed, saying nothing.
That day, upon returning to Biwu Thatched Cottage, he locked himself in the study for an entire night. The next morning, when he went to pay respects to Madam, I snuck into the study and saw what he had written on paper:
“Trust no one, no promise. As great achievement nears, be ever more cautious. The more sincere the words, the more treacherous the heart—even from flesh and blood!”
We no longer had to stay on the mountain all day. What made me even happier was that after the New Year, Xu Jun and the other boys, having undergone half a year of training, were also assigned to follow him. Biwu Thatched Cottage suddenly became very lively, and he gradually began to smile more. In truth, when he smiled, he was quite handsome, somewhat resembling Madam.
The boy I had fought with was called Tong Min. We buried the hatchet and became brothers. Not long after, a Young Master Nangong arrived, making Biwu Thatched Cottage even more bustling.
He visited Madam’s quarters in the main courtyard less and less, spending all his time with us instead. At first, Tong Min and the others were as reluctant as I had been, but for a while, I noticed their faces swollen and bruised. I knew then that, like me, they would come to address him as “Big Brother.”
When Young Master Nangong first arrived, he looked down on us younger boys. But one night, as I got up to relieve myself, I saw him pointing his long sword at Young Master Nangong’s chest acupoint. I didn’t dare make a sound and quietly retreated. The next day, Young Master Nangong became much more agreeable.
But the day we wholeheartedly and unreservedly called him “Big Brother” came three winters later.
It was snowing heavily that day. Madam seemed to be away from the manor. After returning from the main courtyard, he smiled and suggested we go hunting in the back mountains. The steward had recently mentioned spotting a fierce tiger there, so we were beside ourselves with excitement as we followed him up the mountain.
We boys, around ten years old, thought that after a few years of martial arts training, taking down a tiger would be no problem. But when that large white tiger with ringed eyes appeared before us in a gust of wind, we realized our skills were far from sufficient.
In the blink of an eye, two of our brothers were knocked to the ground by the tiger’s paws, unable to move. Tong Min’s back was clawed and bleeding, while An Lu was swept aside by the tiger’s tail and lost consciousness.
Knowing the situation was dire, I led over a dozen brothers to shield him, shouting, “Big Brother, run!”
The tiger pounced towards me, its earth-shattering roar making my hand tremble. Just as I was about to be pinned down, someone rushed up from behind, slashing at the tiger’s paw with a sword.
When I scrambled to my feet, I saw him and Young Master Nangong engaged in a fierce battle with the tiger, their forms graceful, their swords flashing cold light.
Unable to help, we could only watch nervously, sweating profusely. It was then that we realized how vastly superior his and Young Master Nangong’s martial arts were to ours.
We knew that if anything happened to him, we wouldn’t survive either. So we charged forward, yelling for him to run, but he wouldn’t listen. He and Nangong were knocked to the ground several times by the tiger, yet they persisted. I saw his eyes gleaming with excitement and passion as if that tiger was the world’s most precious treasure, one he must possess.
The tiger ultimately became his trophy. Despite his bleeding shoulder, he happily carried the dead tiger down the mountain with Nangong.
I truly admired him. Whatever he wanted, he always got. Just as this fierce tiger could only die by his sword.
As we descended, I saw Xu Jun and the others looking at him with awe. I knew that from this day forward, he had truly become our “Big Brother.”
He skinned the tiger and excitedly took me to carry the pelt to the main courtyard. Madam had just returned from the capital, wearing pure white fox fur. She stood beneath a plum tree in the courtyard. He slowed his pace, holding the tiger skin as he approached Madam.
Madam seemed uninterested in the tiger skin, merely saying flatly, “Just leave it there.”
I glanced at him. He lowered his head deeply, but I could see his earlier smile frozen at the corners of his mouth.
Madam, however, didn’t look at him. She simply cut off a plum blossom branch and said indifferently, “It’s not good for you to always be mixing with these boys. Prepare yourself. Tomorrow you’ll accompany me to the capital. Your uncle wants to see you.”
We grew excited once more. Half a month later, we arrived in the prosperous capital and moved into the mansion of the Rong family, the wealthiest merchants in the world.
Uncle was exceptionally kind to him, for he was born to be the future Martial Arts Alliance Leader and held a hereditary title. Uncle and Madam took us out daily to mingle with the capital’s dignitaries. Through this, I visited the homes of the rich and powerful, and the mansions of princes and dukes throughout the capital.
He became increasingly mature, developing the demeanor of a young marquis in his interactions. I found his smiles increasingly difficult to read.
The people of the Rong mansion were very polite to us, but the two young masters were somewhat resentful. Finally, one day, the elder young master intercepted us in the garden. He and the second young master took turns saying some very unpleasant things.
He listened quietly, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. I saw clearly that when the second young master spoke disrespectfully of Madam and Uncle, his hands, hidden behind his back, trembled slightly.
I feared he might grab the two young masters and throw them into the nearby lotus pond, but he didn’t. These days in the capital had truly changed him greatly.
That night, he stayed up late, practicing sword in the courtyard until midnight. Then he sat alone under the ginkgo tree in the yard. It was snowing heavily that day.
I knew he was unhappy, so I smiled and told him to punch me a few times. He did. The first punch hurt, but gradually the force lessened.
He tackled me to the snowy ground, laughing heartily. After laughing, he seemed to have something to say but never spoke it.
A few days later, the eldest cousin’s young master was severely beaten by his Uncle for keeping an actress as a mistress and was locked in the ancestral hall. A few days after that, the second cousin young master, and a group led by the heir of Duke Jingcheng went hunting and accidentally shot the son of Minister Wang. Uncle was so angry that he made the second cousin kneel at Minister Wang’s gate for three days and nights, and had to ask people to intercede and apologize before the second cousin narrowly escaped disaster.
For the next four years, we traveled back and forth between the capital and Changfeng Manor. He officially gave us, including Xu Jun, a name – the Changfeng Guard.
We liked this title, and more people joined us. But I was always the one who stayed by his side. He smiled most of the time, and his smile was handsome. Many people said behind his back that he was truly Madam’s son.
He had his gloomy moments too, but he never showed it in front of others. At most, he would punch me a few times to vent. But he talked to me more and more and liked to discuss things with me, even though I could never make any decisions.
In the spring of our fourteenth year, the peach blossoms on Baolin Mountain were exceptionally beautiful, covering the hills and valleys. The air was filled with a strong fragrance that made many people restless.
That day, we were training to search for secret passages when Chen An, that simpleton, found many dusty books in a secret room in the Biwu Pavilion.
Of course, we didn’t dare to open them without permission. We waited for him and Young Master Nangong to arrive. Young Master Nangong picked up one of the books and looked at it closely. After a moment of surprise, he burst into laughter and shooed us out. As I was leaving, I glanced at the book in Young Master Nangong’s hand, and my face immediately turned red.
He and Young Master Nangong kept laughing inside the room. Xu Jun and Chen An kept asking me what I had seen, but of course, I couldn’t tell them. Actually, at that time, I didn’t understand what those pictures were depicting.
As night fell that day, he called and Xu Jun in and ordered me to change into his clothes, and Xu Jun to change into Nangong’s clothes. Watching him and Nangong change into ordinary noble youths’ attire, I vaguely guessed what he was going to do. I wanted to go with him, but I had never disobeyed his orders, so Xu Jun and I stayed obediently in the Biwu Pavilion, facing away from the carved windows, pretending to study diligently.
However, Madam, who rarely came to the Biwu Pavilion, stepped into the study that night.
We were all afraid of Madam, but no matter how scared I was, I couldn’t tell her where he had gone. As a result, Xu Jun and I were locked in the ice cellar.
The ice cellar in Changfeng Manor had several levels, all filled with thick ice collected in winter, and used for cooling in summer. We were shivering from the cold. I counted the hours, waiting for him to come and rescue us. But even when my whole body was stiff from the cold, he still hadn’t come.
Xu Jun curled up into a ball, shivering as he asked, “An-An-An Big Brother, w-will we f-freeze to d-death here? W-will the b-boss come to s-save us?”
“H-he’ll d-definitely come to s-save us,” I said, and then my consciousness began to blur.
When I woke up, I found myself lying in his big bed.
Because I had taken off one of my clothes to give to Xu Jun, my hands and feet were frostbitten. I was unconscious for a long time. After I woke up, Chen An secretly told me that the boss was very worried. He had found the best medicine in Changfeng Manor for me to take. He let me sleep in his big bed and even held my ice-cold feet to his chest. However, after I woke up, I moved back to my bed.
Chen An also told me that long after Xu Jun and I were locked in the ice cellar, the boss and Nangong finally rushed back. Madam was very angry and refused to come out. He and Nangong knelt outside her door until they fainted, and only then did Madam order someone to release us.
The night after I woke up, he seemed very happy and sat by my bed talking to me for a long time. Eventually, he squeezed onto my bed and fell asleep.
As I was drifting off to sleep, he suddenly started laughing, sounding very pleased with himself.
“An Chen.”
“Yes.”
He put his hands behind his head, swinging his right leg crossed over his left knee, seeming to want to say something but hesitating. After a while, he finally said with a mysterious smile, “An Chen, I did something naughty.”
Before I could understand, he patted my shoulder and said, “You suffered this time. Next time I have a chance, I’ll take you to experience it.”
He paused, then lowered his voice, “Snow Lady from Yuehua Tower truly lives up to her reputation.”
I didn’t dare ask more. I just thought to myself that I hoped he would take me to Nan’an Prefecture to drink flower wine someday.
I recovered after lying in bed for a few days. When I walked out of the East Pavilion, I found that some of the boys serving in the Biwu Pavilion were gone.
He and Nangong still snuck down the mountain from time to time, with Xu Jun and I pretending to be them in the study, but we were never discovered by Madam again.
He and Nangong also met Ning Jianyu in Nan’an Prefecture. Soon after, he brought Ning Jianyu back to Changfeng Manor. Madam immediately took a liking to this boy and even adopted him as her godson.
I always remembered that he said he would take me to Yuehua Tower, but even four years later when he turned eighteen and officially became the leader of the martial arts world, defeating the ten major sects; even when war broke out in the northern frontier and he led us to fight bloody battles, establishing the formidable and invincible Changfeng Cavalry; even when he managed flood control and quelled civil unrest while guarding Cheng Prefecture; even when he returned triumphantly and entered the imperial court as a minister – he never took me to drink flower wine at Yuehua Tower.
But I always remembered the Snow Lady he mentioned. Many years later, when I was sent to Nan’an Prefecture on his orders, I secretly visited Yuehua Tower. The once-famous Snow Lady had long since retired and her whereabouts were unknown.
But when I asked about Snow Lady, the people at Yuehua Tower vaguely remembered that Snow Lady was once incomparably beautiful and talented in poetry and music. Yet in one spring, she lost a poetry contest to a strange young man. In the end, she willingly admitted defeat and personally led this young man into her warm chamber. Everyone remembered this brilliantly talented young man for his unparalleled, elegant smile.
I know I’m about to die. These damned Huan soldiers – my blade is curling, yet they keep attacking like locusts.
I can feel the blood draining from my body. My whole body is numb and without feeling. I’m just instinctively swinging my thick-backed sword. This sword was given to me by him after the battle at Qilin Mountain. It’s said to be a treasure forged by the great master Changye of the previous dynasty. But no matter how good a sword is, after drinking so much Huan traitor blood, even its blade will curl.
It’s the same for me. I’ve been by his side for so many years, and been through so much with him, but there will come a day when I have to leave him.
This time, I’m leaving him, aren’t I? Last time at Qilin Mountain, when he was hit by a poisoned arrow and fell unconscious, I thought he was going to die. Tong Min, Xu Jun, and many of our brothers – they weren’t afraid to kill so many Huan traitors, but seeing his face turn ashen as he lay unconscious, they couldn’t stop crying.
I didn’t cry, but I couldn’t let him leave us like that. For over ten years, I had never left his side and never disobeyed his orders. Sometimes, I felt like I was his shadow. If the master was gone, would the shadow even exist?
Tong Min and the others didn’t dare to do it, so I drove them out and used his treasured sword to cut out the necrotic flesh from his leg. There was a blood blister under my tongue, but I couldn’t hesitate. His face was turning more and more ashen, and I absolutely couldn’t let him die.
When I saw the blood from his wound gradually turn bright red, my whole body started to go numb, just like it is now. But back then, I was overjoyed, unlike now – there’s no joy, only guilt.
I don’t know why I’m remembering these distant events while fighting for my life. Perhaps it’s because I’ve rarely left his side in all these years, and this mission to Hexi is the longest I’ve been away from him.
But it was this time that I failed to complete the task he entrusted to me. I couldn’t hold Hexi. Boss, I want to call you that one more time. Since you were enfeoffed and became a minister, we brothers haven’t called you that anymore. But after all these years together, I know that in our hearts, we all still prefer to call you Boss.
The Huan army’s arrows are aimed at us. My body begins to sway. The sharp arrows pierce the air, instantly penetrating my body. But at this moment, I seem to hear his voice. Boss, have you come? I’m so useless, dying like this in front of you.
I just hope that I don’t look too unsightly as I die.