《The Hidden Artefact》Chapter 15
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The Story of Sky Yun, Part I
After the Chen Family kicked Chen Yun out, he then walked for days with the little money he had in his pocket prior to being kicked out.
‘I know have enough for journey outside Beijing, but where do I go from here…’
He was in despair, for days he had cried till he had no tears. He now understood that from this point onwards, he is not Chen Yun but just Yun, a man with no home nor people to go back to.
He then took a train journey, and decided to go to Shanghai and lived a life of sleeping in alleyways, pickpocketing anyone in sight, and trying to survive in the dark cold world.
One day, he finally found a good target to rob, it was a old man with a dusty old suit and a fedora. Although the old man looked as if he was poor, with Yun’s knowledge on clothing as a rich heir to the Chen family, he knew that the suit the old man was wearing was worth 1.3 million Yen!
He slowly approached the man, who was by himself. He hid behind crates and walls and after half an hour of trailing he finally made his move.
Yun reached his hand towards the pocket of the seated man in front of him, however his hand was caught out of nowhere and looked up to see the old man staring at him with cold eyes.
Yun felt scared, he did not know what to do or how to escape, he closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
But nothing happened.
He opened his eyes, to see the old man smiling with his white shining teeth at him.
‘Wh,wha?’
Yun was confused, he had just attempted to rob the old man yet he was smiling…
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“Good, good… HAHAHA!”
The old man started to laugh like crazy, Yun felt uncomfortable at this point.
“I have never met someone who has ever tried to rob me, Sky Long in years and yet you kid, had the balls to do so!”
Sky Long looked at Yun, and after a minute of silence he stood up.
“Listen up kid, you want to work for me?”
Yun was completely dazed; he had just robbed the old man yet he was offered a job?
“You… you look like you have no goal in life…”
Sky Long gazed at the kid in front of him, and sighed.
“I can give you a purpose, something to live for, but you must work for me for 10 years.”
Yun was in a dilemma, although this situation was very beneficial for him, he does not know what he is getting himself into. Sky Long noticed it and nodded.
“Very smart, you wish to know what the job is right? Simple, I give you a task, you must complete.”
‘Servant?’
Yun thought, the task in his mind were chores such as cleaning and tiding.
“These tasks aren’t your average jobs either, you will have to do things that many consider evil and vile. I won’t get into much detail unless you accept my offer…”
Evil and vile? Yun was slightly confused on what he meant, but he knew that this job was a way for him to survive.
“I accept.”
With a determined face, Yun agreed to the 10 year offer from Sky Long.
“What is your name kid…”
“Yun, just Yun…”
Sky Long mumbled to himself and nodded his head.
“You, you have no surname?”
Yun shook his head, his family abandoned him and he had signed a contract stating his name is no longer associated with them.
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“Good, good, follow me.”
Sky Long walked off towards a alleyway, Yun quickly followed him and was led towards a black range rover with tinted black windows.
The window was lowered and Yun saw a huge 7 foot tall man wearing a black suit and sunglasses.
“New recruit, take him to the house and get him settled. After a day, start his training.”
Yun didn’t understand what was going on, but he went into the car anyways. He knew that from this day onwards, his life has completely changed.
For months, Yun was taught in the arts of marksmanship, close-combat and the art of stealth. In his spare time, he learnt the way of the sword, reading manuals on sword styles and techniques from different cultures including Japan and England.
He understood that the job he had taken wasn’t a butler job but of a mercenary, with him taking missions set by the old man and completing it.
In the beginning, he was hurt and scared of what life has installed for him. But after months of vigorious training, his fear turned into bravery and had quickly accepted the life he had chosen.
After 2 years of continuous training, he finally undertook his first mission which was to retrieve an amulet which was in the hand of the biggest family in France. It took him a month to complete, which had completely shocked both the old man and his trainers.
They expected him to finish in half a year, but after contemplating, they finally accepted the result as a ‘fluke’. But as time went by, and the missions done by Yun started to pile up, they finally acknowledged that Yun’s skill was top-notch.
His name throughout the underworld spread and many were fearful of him, and were rightfully so.
Sky Yun stopped narrating and Ling Xue pinched him.
“Why did you stop? What happened next? What did you do during the missions?”
Listening to the explanation of Sky Yun, she was shocked to hear that he was abandoned by his family at the age of 17 and was fending for himself in the streets.
He had also told her that he took a job for 10 years and was taught how to do his job, and he done very well and was known for being the best.
He stopped so suddenly, and she had so much questions to ask.
‘Why did I marry her?’
Maybe he felt alone, maybe it was what the little girl said to him before she died in his arms.
“Mister, do you have someone with you? Like my mommy and daddy?”
The horrors of that night stuck by him, and after years of loneliness perhaps now he has someone he can say is his lifetime partner both on paper and in heart.
Sky Yun looked at his wife, and stared into her eyes. He doesn’t want her to know what he was, what he has done, and what sort of monster he had to become in order to survive.
‘My silence is the only way to show that I love you…’
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