Chapter 39: Zhong Liang's erased past (1)
Lan Ruan observing Zhong Liang's indifference, can't help but run his big hands through his short black hair, he felt apprehensive and worried about his junior brother. Despite his fierce appearance and his cool, strong man's behavior, Lan Ruan was, in fact, a gentle-hearted person, especially to his family.
When he was 10 years old Zhong Liang was brought in by the mysterious Blue Phoenix holy beast or something, at that time Lan Ruan didn't understand much about holy beasts, even today he was quite deficient in that matter, he just knew he shouldn't kill holy beasts and that he should avoid causing problems for these beings if he did not want to die. Anyway, that year Zhong Liang was only 5 years old and was the most beautiful child he had ever seen in his life.
To Lan Ruan, this junior brother was even more handsome than his master and even more beautiful than any celestial being that might exist, but everything about that child was a mystery, only his master, the sect leader, and few select people knew anything about young Zhong Liang. His master quickly took over the child, so Zhong Liang, 5, was the youngest accepted disciple in the history of the Celestial Sword Sect.
Somehow everyone thought that Zhong Liang was a lost son of his master or a son of some friend of his master, there was not much question about it, after all, his master was powerful and always did what he wanted, who getting in his way would suffer serious consequences.
Anyway, Lan Ruan had been happy to become a big brother, after all, Zhong Liang was truly cute, however it turned out that this child had a serious problem communicating with others, at first Zhong Liang couldn't understand what everyone was talking about. For a moment everyone thought that Zhong Liang had some hearing or mental disability, perhaps some trauma… Sometime later it was discovered that Zhong Liang did not know the language of the continent!
Very patiently Lan Ruan and his teacher began to teach Zhong Liang to speak correctly, they also taught to read and write, very lucky this child was very quick to learn and a year later he was almost fluent in the mainland language.
Months later, when Lan Ruan thought that he could finally interact correctly with this cute little brother, he found that Zhong Liang had a serious problem communicating, he didn't trust people, often at night he would wake up screaming and calling strange words, probably, it was the word father and mother that he called in his native language. Things were getting worse and worse and his master thought that little Zhong Liang would go crazy, it was as if a ghost was in the child's mind instigating pain, at that time 5 days that the child had not slept, even using medicines was impossible that child sleep.
They tried alchemy and pharmacy, but there was a strange reaction in Zhong Liang's body as if there was something sealed in the child's body, all the herbs went into the child's heart as if there was a black hole sucking it all up. In short, neither alchemy nor pharmacy worked for Zhong Liang. His master was desperate for fear that the cute child would die, and the holy beast that brought Zhong Liang was also injured and had hibernated, so there was nothing anyone could do to save this child.
Lan Ruan remembered that he had to stand by this little brother, holding his hand while he tried to persuade the child to remain calm and to take the medicine that would strengthen his weak body, this was the only medicine that had an effect on the child and that did not allow Zhong Liang to die.
He remembered that his cute little brother frowning, pouting while he persuaded him with sweet fruit after taking the bitter medicine, Zhong Liang was so cute when he did that! Lan Ruan sighed as he remembered these distant memories, in front of him, was no longer a cute six-year-old child, but a young man of 20 who had paralysis in his handsome face and could not express himself correctly.
When Zhong Liang was seven years old his illness got worse and he was getting increasingly unsteady mentality, so his master rushed to Elder Han to call an important person, so important that the sect master seemed frightened by his master's request to Elder Han.
Elder Han looked as though he was going to die himself when he left that day, so days later a young woman as beautiful as a celestial being in legends came to the sect. Beside her was a man of ordinary appearance, but who had a magnetism that no smaller than the woman with him.
He later learned that this woman was the greatest physician and alchemist who ever set foot in the realm of humans, she was revered in all empires, even devils had respect for this woman. The man next to her was her husband, and his reputation was not very noticeable, but his (Luan Ruan) master and sect leader treated that person with much respect, almost as if this common-looking man were his ancestors.
Days later Zhong Liang managed to sleep peacefully for the first time in two years, the beautiful woman had sealed his painful memories as well as his powerful lineage so that this child could grow up strong enough to master such power of his blood. Before the couple left the man gave his (Lan Ruan) master an unpretentious little ring and said it was for little Zhong Liang, there would be a proper cultivation technique and pills suitable for his lineage, which would be needed in the future when the seal on his soul was finally eroded by time or when Zhong Liang's own strength was strong enough to break the seal.
After that, this couple went to visit the sect once a year and spent a month with Zhong Liang, in those moments it was easy to see the smile of the little child, at that time Lan Ruan's little martial brother had no facial paralysis. Until the day Zhong Liang turned 10 and began cultivating the technique that would culminate in the path of the Emotionless Sword Dao.
That year the couple visited the sect again, this time the woman was pregnant and her belly was already noticeable, which did not diminish the beauty of this heavenly woman. Zhong Liang like any child was a little jealous, but the woman quickly persuaded him that he would be the baby's older brother.
The couple loved Zhong Liang so much that he allowed him to name the baby, that day Zhong Liang's eyes twinkled like stars and he didn't stop smiling, sometimes very shyly he touched the belly of the heavenly woman and sometimes the baby answered him, baby kicking his mammy's belly!
If it was a boy, the baby's name would be Song Yan!