Night of the Broken Gliph

The night had yet to pass. 

Or more accurately, it wasn’t known how many nights had passed. Like a zombie, Lam Ming followed Kan Hang closely, watching the scenery in front of her change abruptly from enchanting sceneries of woods to easy greens and then to plains within a few moments. 

After four years of studying gliphism, Lam Ming was able to identify that this should be one of Kan Hang’s gliphilities. The observant her realised that his boots would light up faintly whenever Kan Hang disappeared with her. 

With Kan Hang’s powerful strength, he could perform his gliphility repeatedly, which allowed them to travel at lightning speed. However, Lam Ming couldn’t help but feel sad that she was getting further and further away from Chui Yim. She had also seen her mother’s corpse from Kan Hang, which made her faint on the spot. 

Since then, Chui Yim had changed from one of the two most important people to the most important person in her life. As a ten-year-old, Chui Yim was just like a blood brother to her. Parting with him was too painful for her to handle. 

She started at the bonfire in a daze, her slender fingers running up and down the box subconsciously. It suddenly came to mind that she wanted to see what was inside. Lam Ming remembered that Chui Yim promised her a surprise the day before she left. 

So this is it? Her eyes landed on the box. 

She opened the box slowly, but she wasn’t welcomed by the many weird scenarios she had played in her mind. Instead, a short sword was seen laying on the embroidered cloth silently. 

In fact, it wasn’t a short sword. The sight of it made tears roll down Lam Ming’s cheeks. 

It was actually a kitchen knife. 

“That’s too profound for me, but if there’s a chance, I want brother Chui to make me a kitchen knife!

“Brother Chui, don’t belittle kitchen knives! The relationship between them and g-chefs are just like that of gliphers and gliphists! G-chefs make g-food, and most ingredients for g-food come with gliphs. Despite being dead, those ingredients contain huge energy. Ordinary knives will burst when they come into the slightest contact with g-food. The greatest g-chefs all have their own knives!”

“Alright. I promise you.”

“Deal!” 

She sobbed silently on seeing the kitchen knife in front of her. It was a joke to her, but Chui Yim had remembered it by heart. 

Seeing that Lam Ming had opened the box, Kan Hang peeped over with curiosity. He was always curious about the box that Lam Ming treasured so much she even hugged it to sleep.  

Lam Ming wiped her tears away and picked up the kitchen knife. She felt comfortable as soon as she did. 

Lam Ming observed the knife. The dark brown grip was made of an unknown wood. The grip had a wavy texture that fitted Lam Ming’s hand perfectly. It was a kitchen knife specially made for her by Chui Yim, and he even took into consideration the small details. The blade was wrapped in a black cloth. 

“This is a common cloth amongst gliphers. It’s called the Gliph Cover. It can cover up the energy emitted by gliphs,” Kan Hang said. He was familiar with the Gliph Cover. 

It should be the same as the one Mr Chor wrapped around his arms, right? She thought of Chor Shing Chit immediately. 

Lam Ming lifted the cloth slowly, revealing the tip. Kan Hang glanced at it. He wasn’t very surprised by how it looked. There was a pattern that looked like a sun near the grip. The lines looked just like sunlight and spread to the tip of the knife. 

“This is the ‘Blazing Sun Gliph’. A common gliph on knives that g-chefs use. It allows the knife to emit heat and even flames. It’s a part of cooking while preparing ingredients.” Hearing him, Lam Ming listened in surprise. But she said nothing. 

“Are you surprised that I have culinary knowledge?” Kan Hang laughed bitterly. “Back then, during your parent’s tryst, I was the one that kept watch for them. Your mum would always go on and on about cooking. I naturally picked up some after time.” 

Having her mother brought up, Lam Ming’s face fell as her surprise died down.

“Eh?” Suddenly, Kan Hang let out a gasp. “How could this be?” 

Lam Ming followed his sight which landed on the knife in her hand. There was another gliph on the other side of the blade. This gliph looked similar to the Blazing Sun Gliph, but it had the pattern of a moon instead. Its moonlight similarly travelled to the tip of the blade. 

“That’s the Frosty Moon Gliph…” Kan Hang said, flabbergasted. “It’s another common gliph seen on knives used by g-chefs. But unlike the Blazing Sun Gliph, this gliph helps make the blade cold which keeps ingredients fresh. But… How could the knife have gliphs that are totally opposite?” 

Put simply, the knife was a grade two gliph weapon, which was a grade higher than Sit Ting’s favourite knife. But the real value of this knife was the opposing properties that appeared on the same knife. 

The skill required to create this is…

As the emperor’s personal imperial guardand Emperor Lam’s shadow, Kan Hang definitely had vast knowledge. He could tell immediately that this knife was the work of a great… No, grandmaster! 

A knife forged personally by a grandmaster? Who is the bald teenager to be able to get a grandmaster to make this? 

Seeing how Kan Hang had his jaws on the ground, Lam Ming smiled proudly. It’s been a long time since she last smiled. “Of course it’s great. It’s brother Chui who made this.” 

“It can’t be.” Kan Hang shook his head, disagreeing immediately. “This is the work of a great master… Or even a grandmaster. That kid…”

“It’s brother Chui who made it! I’m sure of it!” Unlike how timid she normally was, she jumped up with the knife in her hand while glaring at Kan Hang like an angered stray cat. 

“Ah yes, it’s him who made it.” Kan Hang nodded helplessly. A ten-year-old grandmaster? The Emperor might die laughing if he hears this.

Sensing Lam Ming’s anger, Kan Hang changed the topic promptly. “Oh, that boy said that he wanted Your Highness to name the knife, right?” 

“Don’t call me that.” Lam Ming snorted. 

She turned to the knife in her hand and mumbled to herself, “A sun and a moon makes up the word ‘Ming’ in Chinese. It’s such a pity… That I can’t tell brother Chui my actual name before my departure.

“This knife represents brother Chui who’s guarding me from a thousand miles away. I’ll call it the Heart Defender.”  

Lam Ming was her alias as a boy. Her actual name was Lam Ming Sum. 

Sum meant heart in Chinese, and Heart Defender came from defending her, Lam Ming Sum. 

It seemed like the knife had confirmed its name. A buzz was heard as the gliph on the knife lit up. 

“Recognising its owner!” 

Kan Hang let out a cry of surprise. Only grade three gliph weapons can do this! After a weapon did so, unless the owner died, nobody else could use it. Immediately, Kan Hang’s face fell as he grabbed Lam Ming Sum. He kicked the ground with his right leg to put out the bonfire before disappearing. 

A few seconds later, a figure appeared where they once were. The person smirked before crouching down to touch the ground. It was warm. 

“I’ve found you.” The person stood up, his shoulder lighting up. The light spread down his back and turned into beautiful wings. He spread his wings, making the rocks and sand around him scatter before vanishing into the night. 

“What’s wrong?” Sensing something was out of place, Lam Ming asked. For the past few days, Kan Hang similarly held her on his shoulder while traveling. But this was the first time the scenery in front of her changed so fast that it changed in the blink of an eye. The change of pace made her nauseous. 

“We are being watched,” Kan Hang said seriously. He moved with lightning speed, and with his gliphility, he could teleport to places he could see immediately no matter where he was. But even so, the pursuer was able to catch up to him. What was worse was that the mastermind behind all of this was familiar with his gliphility and had sent a person to counter him. 

Familiar with my gliphility, while being able to hire powerful gliphers who can catch up with me…

Kan Hang thought seriously. He ignored Lam Ming Sum who was feeling nauseous and continued to teleport continuously. From a bird’s eye view, one could see a figure blink once every several hundred meters. Meanwhile, several thousand meters behind him, there was another ray of light speeding towards it. 

Kan Hang deliberately held this chase in the wild. He knew that the mastermind wasn’t any ordinary person, and might be even scarier and more powerful than he originally thought. Thus, he chose to only travel through the wild despite it taking a much longer time. Compared to the wild, being amongst humans was even scarier. There were too many gliphers who could hide in a crowd and launch a deadly attack when you weren’t aware. Kan Hang wasn’t worried for himself, but for Lam Ming Sum who was only ten. He wasn’t confident that he could protect her. 

That night, Kan Hang travelled continuously by teleportation till the sun rose. 

The sun rose into the sky, dispersing the darkness of night. As soon as this happened, the figure behind them appeared in front of them. 

Kan Hang stopped and glared at the other party. The other party stood opposite of him. If Kan Hang was known as the assassin of the dark, then this person was known as the assassin of light.

His glittering wings helped him float in the air. The person smiled thinly. He was so handsome that his smile lit up the world. “Are you done?” 

“Feather of Light Gliph. You’re the one known as the Feather of Light,” Kan Hang said seriously. 

“Hehe, I’m honoured that the Imperial Guard Nightwalker, Mr Kan, remembers the name of a nobody like me.” The person descended to the ground slowly. When he landed, the wings vanished, and he bowed towards Kan Hang. “I’m Mo Yung Kwong, and I’m here to send you to heaven.”