Training = Torture I

“Brother Mo... I... We feel that you should say something. This is outrageous!!! We… I mean… I heard that he’s an adopted slave! He might be lying about everything! Why should we listen to a slave!” The man, addressed as Brother Mo, was actually called Mo Yun. He was the only one who had royal blood amongst the nobles. His father was the grandson of the seventh brother of the late emperor. Mo Yun grew up outside the palace but still enjoyed the wealth and power associated with being royalty. What made Mo Yun and his family more unique was that they were one of the few nobles that didn't own slaves but paid servants.

He might seem like an upright and fair young man but he was in fact just a big snob like all the other young nobles. He felt that other nobles were too poor to employ servants, that's why they resorted to buying slaves. He felt that the commoners and slaves were too carefree, that's why they would be able to climb the caste ladder. Mo Yun looked at the young man who had just voiced his frustration and disgust. "You are...?" The young man was called Hou Bing and he had been sleeping next to Mo Yun for the last two days. "I... I'm... My name is Hou Bing. I sleep in the bunk next to you..." Hou Bing's ears turned bright red. He knew that he didn't make a big impression but he was sure that he had introduced himself the first night.

Mo Yun looked at the others who were listening in on the conversation. He could see that they were waiting for his reaction. Mu Yun got irritated, it was late in the night and they were getting ready for bed. Today had been like the other previous days, a grueling day full of training. Most of the nobles were sitting on their bed too tired to lift a finger. Luckily for them, they still had their servants to take care of them. The slaves and commoners were put together in rooms with just stretchers and they had to take care of themselves. Mo Yun looked at the others. “What benefit will there be if I complain about Nam Mu? Am I better than him? Are you better than him?

Explain it to me because I don't understand why I should not learn from someone who's better than me.” Hou Bing's mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Mo Yun looked at the others in the group in disbelief. Hou Bing turned slightly red. “But... You’re the higher Zhuhou (Noble) here. Shouldn't nobles learn from other nobles.” Mo Yun pulled a face. “Is that the only reason? Like I said before, Nam Mu is much better than any of us, so why should I complain? It has been two days since he started to teach us and all of us have improved. Am I wrong? So why should I complain?!” Hou Bing didn’t know what to say after that because everything Mo Yun had said was correct. “B… But.”

Mo Yun squinted. “You can't even give good arguments! I fear for your future. I’ll say it again. I have no problem with Nam Mu teaching me. If you have a problem with it, then you complain to yourself.” He looked at Hou Bing and the others. Nobody said another word but Mo Yun could see that they were not happy but he couldn’t care less. ‘Spoiled brats. Even, I can see that Nam Mu has talent! I can't believe that they are complaining about Nam Mu. Nam Mu is a unique commoner. I should keep him close. He might be useful in the future.' Mo Yun thought.

He walked to his bed and laid down, ignoring the rest of the group. If they want to trade with Nam Mu and Li Jie, Mo Yun wouldn’t stop them because he really didn’t want to trade with Nam Mu and Li Jie. Nam Mu and Li Jie had compared to the others their own private room. It was a small room near the training field and it was big enough for them and Mule. That was actually the main reason for the disapproval of the noble-born. The first day at the palace they were housed with the other nobles. Because of Nam Mu and Li Jie achievements during the ‘test’, they were ignored by most nobles but some, like Mo Yun did introduce themselves but didn’t talk to them afterwards.

After the first day of training Tae Yong had decided that it would be better for the two of them not only to train the other participants but also get special training from him and his soldiers. Since then Nam Mu and Li Jie were the first on the field and the last to leave. That was also the reason why Mo Yun didn’t want to complain. He was scared that he might have to wake up early. He saw that Nam Mu and Li Jie were trained to the bone and he wouldn’t trade with them in a million years. The other noble-born were grumbling with each other. “We should think of something to make them look bad.” One of the boys looked up with a wicked smile. Hou Bing smiled back at the man, who was called Wang Wei.

“That might not be a bad idea. I mean we are much higher ranked than Li Jie and I'm sure that Nam Mu's father is not even from here.” Hou Bing sneered. “It’s not even his real father anyway, who cares.” Mo Yun turned towards them. “How do you even know that he used to be a slave? Who told you that?” Hou Bing had been saying this since yesterday but nobody knew how he got that information. Hou Bing stood straighter. “After showering I heard some soldiers talk about Nam Mu and how he was trained by a former soldier. One of them was talking about how he had been training for just three months and how he used to be a slave for a merchant in Asdal.” Mo Yun couldn't understand why Hou Bing was so proud.

"And what did you gain?" Hou Bing looked confused. "Uhm... What do you mean?" Mo Yun looked at him and the others. "What will you gain from this?" Hou Bing looked at Mo Yun like he was the crazy one. "We are Zhuhou! No commoner or slave can tell us what to do. That is what we are gaining." Mo Yun didn't understand it but he didn't care anymore. He knew that all these boys were about to be sent home. It seemed that two days was enough for them to forget what happened the day they entered the palace.

He shook his head before turning back around. 'We'll see who will win tomorrow. Dumb brats.' Those were his last thoughts before falling asleep. The other nobles went to bed an hour later since they were still discussing what to say and who would be saying it. Nam Mu and Li Jie of course had no idea what had just happened. They had just finished their training with Tae Ying and Chungho. They were dragging their sore bodies back to their room. "I've made dinner. I'll start preparing your baths." Mule looked at the two boys with sympathy.

"Four more days. I'm sure it will get better from now on." Nam Mu and Li Jie looked at him contemptment. "It's getting worse and worse. Prince Tae Yong is a tyrant." Li Jie sat down with tears in his eyes. Nam Mu sat down too before nodding. "He's asking us to do impossible exercises. Do you know what he made us do today?!" Mule shook his head looking at them. "He made us shoot arrows while blindfolded! I mean we're not some legendary sage!" Mule lifted his brows. "But you managed to hit some targets right." Li Jie gave a big smile. "Of course! Nam Mu was always better but I managed to hit four out of ten!" Nam Mu looked guilty because the only way he had managed to hit more was because Saja told him where the targets were.

"You did your best, that's the most important part. Eat! You'll have to wake up early." Nam Mu and Li Jie pulled a face. "I wished I had hit Brother Chungho and the Pince." Mule looked at Li Jie in shock. Nam Mu choked on his rice. "You want to kill the Crown Prince?" Nam Mu was laughing with tears in his eyes. Mule took a few steps back from them both. Li Jie closed his eyes. "Of course not. I'm not that crazy! I just wish I could do it so we didn't have to train so much." Mule gave a silly smile. "Sorry, I think I've been cooped up here too long." Nam Mu gave Mule a sympathetic smile. "You're coming with us tomorrow. You can stay inside the whole time. The other young masters always have their servants with them! You should also come. Don't forget your role here is to be our servant."

Mule shoulders fell, he was actually planning on leaving the palace for a day. He had made plans with a cute maid. While Nam Mu and Li Jie were training like crazy, he had been going to the gate to talk to the soldiers and the servants there. In these two days he had become friendly with many of them. The thought of going to the field to watch them train was not something he wanted. "Uhm... I'm alright. There is a lot to do here." Li Jie looked worried, shaking his head. "No... we can't leave you here every day." Mule gave a fake smile, cursing his own big mouth. "I... I'll... Thanks for the invite but... I'm going outside." Nam Mu and Li Jie looked at him confused. Mule gave a bashful laugh.

"I'm... I... Let's just say I have a date." Li Jie looked upset. "So you're saying that while we've been training like we're going to war, you have been flirting with the maids here!" Mule gave them a cheeky smile. Nam Mu didn't mind at all but Li Jie was about to lose it. "You're coming with us whether you like it or not." Mule looked at Li Jie in astonishment. "Since when do I have to listen to you? Am I playing Nam Mu's servants, not yours?!" Li Jie looked at Nam Mu voor support. "Like you said... You're playing a roll. Shouldn't you be with your master the whole time?" Mule's mouth fell open at Nam Mu's words. "But... My...Wait!!" Mule had a triumphant smile on his face. "I forgot to tell you what I heard yesterday."

Nam Mu and Li Jie waited but Mule just kept on smiling. "You win! You can go on you date!" Mule clapped his hands before finally talking. "There are actually two things that I found out. The first one is that this years examination will not have a writing part." Nam Mu and Li Jie looked at each other. "The reason is because of the commoners and slaves in the group. The prince is only focused on strength. He's planning on teaching them reading after the pass." Li Jie nodded. "This will create a strong and loyal group. They will be grateful for the prince." Mule nodded. "That is one of the reasons. I also heard that the prince will be dismissing the Zhuhou before the final examination."

Nam Mu and Li Jie were shocked by this news. "Why would he want to send them away? Will he not get in trouble with the ministers and the King?" Mule shook his head. "According to the soldier I heard it all from, the prince has found a fail proof way to get rid of them but he didn't know what it would be. He just said that Zhuhou days are numbered." Nam Mu and Ji Lie were silent for a while. They were both wondering what the prince was going to do. They had both noticed that the prince clearly didn't care about the Zhuhou participating. During practice he would ignore them and focus on the commoners and slaves. That was also the reason why Nam Mu and Li Jie were training their peers.