lifelong slavery

"One land three."

He has no name.Since the age of ten, he has fought bloody battles for more than 60 years in the Anxi factory in Ruijiabao, before he got the code starting with the word "one".Although he is only the No.62 three in the prefix "one", it does not mean that he is a bit weaker than the [-] shadow guards above.It's just that he didn't want to go out to die so early, and he kept one or two moves in the fight meeting every year.

So since he was 16 years old, he has stood among a group of black-clothed brothers, watching the other brothers with the prefix "one", going out to die... no, to protect the castle owner.This gift is another ten years.He witnessed batches of babies coming in, feeding Gu, brainwashing... and then growing up, working hard, and killing people, first killing his brothers and friends, and then going out to kill the castle owner's enemies.

Every year, there are old and new ones, more than a dozen or twenty people go out from here, but they never come back.In the past ten years, there were too many people, and he couldn't remember any of those faces, but everyone had an indifferent face.

Occasionally he would feel that if he watched too much, he would have nightmares—but only if he could still have dreams.The managers in the Anxi factory know how to train people into machines.If he entered the factory when he was still a baby like everyone else, he is probably like everyone else now, numb and indifferent, or died in a wasteland long ago, and was hydrated by the corpses of his companions to the point that even his bones and hair were gone. Couldn't find one.

Even if he is vague about the past, even if no one remembers his last name, he will even subconsciously follow every order, from a 90-year-old man to a three-year-old child when taking someone's life. They can take lives without mercy.Occasionally, he still has some lucid consciousness. Among all his consciousness, there is only one thing that is the strongest: endure, go out, get out of here.

If he got a whip, or was punished, and his body hurts, he would often remember this.He also tends to remember that he seems to be a person rather than a tool.

Therefore, since he was 16 years old, he has concealed his strength and tried his best to protect his own life, because he knew that those who were officially selected were directly made dead soldiers and died very quickly.If he was selected into the "Twelve Horses in Black" and became the master's personal bodyguard, he would die faster.Because the dead soldiers only need to work hard, without using their brains, life and death depend on hard resistance.As for the shadow guards, they have to deal with all kinds of troubles from their masters and protect their lives. Things that take their brains are more likely to kill them!

However, no matter how long he delays, he will still be a shadow guard with the prefix "one". Ten years in the factory is already too long.Recently, the world has been very turbulent. This year alone, those with the prefix "two" have been picked twice.Except for the shadow guards who were lost as substitute Rui Dabao, more of them were arranged in Ruijiabao and separated from other places.This led to a sharp drop in the number of masters still in the factory.

Until one day.

The iron door of his small dark room was pushed open.

"One land three."

He slowly raised his eyes expressionlessly, and looked at the manager outside the door who was holding the "mention order".I knew in my heart that I could no longer escape.

Anyway, what should come will always come.

"You come with me." The manager said coldly, before he agreed, he turned and left.

After a while, he stood up slowly, smoothed his quilt, and looked around the dark room less than five steps away as if he was a little nostalgic. He didn't pack anything, and stepped out without hesitation.

The sun on the training ground is very poisonous.

He and the other two with the prefix "one" have been standing on the field for more than two hours.The shadow starts from the west and gradually gets shorter until it is out of sight.

At this time, if you look at it from a distance, you can only see three men in black, facing the distant stands, standing in the heat wave, sweating profusely, motionless, with the same expression.

Weird.

After a while, several stewards came out and stood on top of the three of them.Then he heard the sound of footsteps, went up to the stands, and seemed to sit down after fluttering his clothes.

"The subordinates are waiting to see the castle master." The chief managers took two steps forward, cupping their fists and half kneeling.

He and the other two didn't even dare to lift their heads, they knelt heavily on the ground, and buried their heads tightly between their arms.From the beginning to the end, there was no sound at all.

The people in the stands seemed to have said something. The manager with the prefix "一" came forward and listened, and came back after a while, shouting: "One four seven, one five nine. You two go first."

A man and a woman kneeling next to them cupped their fists and said, "Yes." Then they got up quickly and jumped to the middle of the arena.

He continued to kneel under the scorching sun, motionless.

Then there was a sound of mixed footsteps in the training ground, and occasionally there was the sound of weapons colliding.He knelt there, carefully discerning the gap between strength and weakness.Finally, after a certain stagger, the audience fell silent.

He sighed inwardly.

[-] wins.

"One Continent Three." The manager called out.

"Yes." He got up to respond, and walked into the venue slowly.When Yi Wujiu, who had half of his neck broken and his eyes open blankly, was dragged away from him, he shed steaming blood all the way.He didn't respond at all.

The expression on his face was exactly the same as that of Wu Jiu who was going to be a flower fertilizer.

Then they met Si Qi who was holding short golden hooks in both hands.

Her hair was messy, her chest heaved rapidly, and her shoulders were cut open, revealing the white and tender skin inside.If it weren't for that dead expression, Lu San would always confuse her with those big girls outside when he was in a trance.

"Open." The manager waved his hand.

The two flew out like arrows, collided rapidly in the air, and separated instantly. Before they landed on the ground, they joined together again.

Between several ups and downs, only a golden light can be seen.

"Lu San! Bring out the saber!" Si Qi's calm voice came from beside his ear.

During the quick fight, he slowly raised his eyes to look at her.

Si Qi's eyes turned cold, and she waved out a dozen flying knives. He turned around in the air, and the flying knives narrowly passed in front of him, and the last two drew a bloody gash on his face.

"Sword!" Si Qi's breathing became disordered, "Today either you die or I die. Do you think you can protect me if you don't do it?" Her voice was still cold.

Yi Lu San landed in the distance, wiped the blood from his cheeks, and took out a short knife that was not much longer than a dagger from his arms.

The moment Siqi rushed up, Lu San disappeared, and in another moment, he appeared behind Siqi like a ghost, and stabbed Siqi's heart without hesitation.The short knife stabbed out from Si Qi's chest.

Yilusan still kept that face indifferent, watching Yisiqi's struggle weaken, and finally collapsed on the white stones in the training ground.

There were a few not-so-warm applause from the stands.

He turned around and knelt down hastily.He heard someone behind him dragging Si Qi out of the venue, but he didn't dare to look back.He just hung his head and knelt straight.

"Xiao Da, the people in your factory are becoming more and more promising." The voice moved from far to near, until it reached his face.

Kneeling Yilusan saw a pair of extremely luxurious and beautiful shoes.The hem of the shoes was bright red with various flowers embroidered with gold and silver thread, which made him unable to open his eyes.

"Even the dead warrior who ranks No. [-], his martial arts are better than my [-] in black clothes!" As soon as he finished speaking, Lu San's neck was suddenly grabbed by someone, and he was lifted up by a foot. .

The white and white sun dazzled his eyes, and the hand that grabbed his neck left him almost no room.He swallowed and moved his throat with difficulty, and it took him a while to see clearly the master above his head who controlled his life and death.

What a rich and arrogant face.

The several stewards nearby were so frightened that they knelt down, trembling all over, not daring to say more.The expiry of the term is Ruijiabao's top crime.Not to mention things like hidden martial arts?Master Rui is worthy of being Lord Master Rui, and it only takes a moment to see the clue.

Yilusan was so stuck that his eyes went black, and when he thought he was going to die, the master who grabbed him smiled slightly and said, "Do you have anything to say?"

He shook his head hard.

"Hmph." Master Rui sneered, raised his hand and threw him out.

Lu San bumped into the stone lion in front of the stands, spat out a mouthful of blood before falling to the ground.He didn't dare to hesitate, knelt down immediately, and climbed back to the feet of Lord Rui.

Even if he didn't raise his head, he could still feel the angry gaze of the master from above.

I don't know how long it took, the pressure suddenly disappeared, and then he heard the master say: "Drag on, two hundred lashes, no medicine is allowed. If you are not dead, bring me to the yard. Let him stand on top of the twelve horses." Location."

The kneeling manager repeatedly agreed, but before he could react, someone had already tied him up.When he stood up and looked up, the Lord Rui in red had already gone away.

After he lowered his head and took two steps, he saw the half-dried blood on the ground.

A pain in my heart for no reason.

Hey, Siqi...

Outside the window is the wet rain that is unique to the southern Fujian region in summer.

"...Jiangnan Heng's family seems to have changed recently...The fall of the three branch families in Jiangzhou is suspected to be related..."

"It's the end of summer and autumn, and the summer wheat in the territory has been harvested..."

"Golden Yuling reappeared in Jianghu, Master Xuanci of Shaolin called a martial arts conference and invited everyone to discuss."

Rui Ming leaned on the reclining chair under the eaves, propped his chin and watched the rain outside the window, falling drop by drop, and absent-mindedly listened to the reports of several pavilion owners and factory owners in the castle.One report every seven days, coming and going are all those messy things, Lord Rui seems a little bored.

The lower pavilion masters have finished what they should say, but they have not heard the castle master speak.Several people glanced at each other, and Xiao Dongqing came out and said, "Castle Master, since you were attacked last month when you were on patrol, only eight of the Tsingyi Twelve are left. The world has not been peaceful recently, and the Rui Family Fort has become a big tree. Ling Youxian, I'm afraid the Twelve Horses in Tsing Yi should make up for it."

Rui Ming didn't speak.

Xiao Dongqing bit the bullet and said: "The subordinates know that these twelve Tsing Yis grew up with the castle master, and they are brothers and sisters, but the castle master's safety comes first, so we should try our best..."

"Oh?" Master Rui, who had been ignoring anyone all this time, laughed, turned his head, looked at Xiao Dongqing with blazing eyes and asked, "Then according to Pavilion Master Xiao, where should I make up for this? What about my brother of more than ten years?"

"Time is running short, and my subordinates have the courage to ask the castle master to choose four from twelve miles in black—"

"Holly." Rui Ming interrupted Xiao Dongqing, his eyes darkened a little, "Don't mention this matter again." He stood up and waved his sleeves, "If there is nothing else, let's go."

The few people standing in the audience were stunned for a moment, and Rui Ming had already walked out, and Xiao Dongqing hurriedly followed in an attempt to continue persuading Rui Ming.

"Castle Master, this..."

However, when Rui Ming walked to the inner courtyard corridor, he caught a glimpse of a person kneeling in the rainy field in front of the hall in the distance, paused, turned and walked over, and stood on the steps.

The rain was not in a hurry, but it never stopped. It seemed that it hadn't stopped since last night.The man kneeling on the bluestone road under the steps, his black shirt was soaked long ago, and the whole body was stuck to his body. The raindrops fell and formed a puddle beside him. There were bloodstains, flowing along the water, from the man's clothes penetration.It must have been kneeling for a long time.

Lord Rui suddenly became interested.Take a good look at this person.

As for the age, it seems to be a bit old, about 26 or seven years old, the facial features are not exquisite, but it is very comfortable to look at.The figure kneeling in the rain is also very good, kneeling straight and motionless.If it weren't for the icy cold breath that is so close to strangers, coupled with an expressionless face, it might not be impossible to be regarded as a son of some family.

"Holly, this is?" He asked Xiao Dongqing who had caught up and stood behind him.

Xiao Dongqing asked in a low voice to the left back, stepped forward and replied respectfully: "Castle Master, this person is the shadow guard you picked out from the Anxi factory the day before yesterday. He received two hundred lashes and survived. The serial number is One Six Three."

"One Continent Three, right?" Master Rui showed a playful smile on his face.

"Yes, master." Yi Lusan, who was kneeling on the ground, heard the castle master's words, put his hands on the ground, moved forward, and then bowed deeply in the rain, knocking his head on the bluestone board, and made a sound.

The smile on Master Rui's face deepened a bit: "How did you survive? Could it be that the two hundred whips were mixed with water?"

Yi Lu San didn't dare to look up: "No."

"No? Not what?" Lord Rui asked again.

"..." There was no echo under the steps.

For a while, there was only the sound of rainwater splashing on the ground.

"Castle Master, the Shadow Guard of the Dark West Factory, you can't say much except for 'yes' and 'no'." Xiao Dongqing whispered in the ear of Master Rui.

Rui Ming just remembered this and laughed.

What do you mean by "not to say more", is it not allowed to say at all?In order to completely brainwash and create loyal dead men, those who came out of the Anxi factory were forbidden to exchange private conversations before they came out, and they were not allowed to say a word.Those who can't control their mouths have long since disappeared.

"You are allowed to speak." Rui Ming brushed his finger over the corner of his smiling lips.Xiao Dongqing could see clearly that it was evidence that Lord Rui was in a good mood.

"Thank you, master." The kneeling Yilusan kowtowed again.

As long as the master raises his hand, all the prohibitions that cost blood will disappear.It can be seen how humble and lowly these shadow guards are.

Yi Lu San couldn't think about where the blockage in his chest came from, and then he answered the master's question in a hoarse and unfamiliar voice: "Returning to the master... the whip that the subordinates received , is the red dragon hook, and the punishment of Anxichang... has never been relaxed."

The so-called Red Dragon Hook is actually a barbed whip soaked in red tung oil. When the whip is thrown down, ordinary people will hurt their tendons and bones.

As soon as he said this, everyone present was taken aback for a moment. Rao Dabaozhu did not expect that the person who received two hundred red dragon hooks could get up on the third morning and was still in the rain. Knelt for a while.

"Take off your clothes." Lord Rui suddenly said.

Yi Lusan, who was kneeling in the rain, stretched out his hand and took off his shirt twice without hesitation.

"Pants." Lord Rui said again.

The kneeling man froze for a moment, and Rui Ming frowned slightly.However, before he got angry, Lu San, who was kneeling on the ground, had already started to untie his belt.

The master is above, he can't stand up and take off his pants, but with the order, he can't help but hesitate.His lowered eyes darkened, and with a force, the whole pair of pants was torn off by him.

At this time, the person kneeling in the rain had nothing but a pair of obscene pants on his body.The rain hit his bronze-colored skin, making a crackling noise. That muscular body without fat was like a piece of fine ancient jade, exuding a different kind of elegance.

Master Rui's brows loosened, and he stepped into the rain.Immediately, a servant followed up with an umbrella.

Yilusan's back and legs were densely packed with countless unhealed whip wounds. Most of the wounds did not heal, and as expected, no medicine was used, and the wounds were bleeding out in the rain.The blue, red and purple merged into one piece, as if some dyeing room had collapsed, and the colors were mixed together.Terrible.

Rui Ming looked at the injury, and gradually remembered why he had to punish this slave.

The last trace of a smile faded from his face.

"Are you sure you're wrong?" he asked.

Yi Lusan, who was kneeling on the ground, turned around and kowtowed: "This subordinate knows his mistake."

"What's wrong?" Rui Ming raised his eyebrows.

"It's a fluke at the end of the period, and I'm afraid of fighting and dying. It's very wrong." Yi Lusan's expression was still so indifferent. When he talked about the big mistakes in the castle, he didn't even have a trace of fear. Like a rock.

"Then I spared your dog's life, do you want to thank me?"

Yilusan, who was kneeling on the ground, knocked his head heavily again: "Thank you master for not killing me."

Rui Ming looked down at him, his eyes were pitch black, and he couldn't see any emotion, and after a while he said, "Very good. Then you can kneel here."

"Yes, master."

Be respectful and polite, and respond clearly.

Rui Ming shook his sleeves, turned around and walked towards the inner courtyard for a while, seeing the shadow guard still kneeling in the rain as motionless as a log, he couldn't bear it.

He sighed secretly in his heart, walked back and said, "Go down and take a bath, take medicine, put on clothes, and then come back to receive the punishment."

The mood of the kneeling person seemed to fluctuate slightly, making Rui Ming think it was his own illusion.

Then the man said: "Thank you, Master, for your mercy."

Rui Ming touched his nose, thinking it was funny.

mercy?

After Master Rui left, Lu San knelt outside the conference hall for a whole night.After being whipped without a break, and after being drenched in the rain for a long time, and kneeling on the stone floor for three or four hours, Lu San felt as if his whole body was boiled in boiling water, almost boiling hot.There was pain everywhere.It's just that other people looked at it, but they couldn't see anything strange.

However, he felt lucky.

If he was still in the factory, he might still be staying in a room where he couldn't see his fingers right now, unable to hear, speak or see.How can it compare to the scenery outside, not only can you hear the chirping of birds, there are occasional maids and guards passing by in the distance, and the voices of chatting are very pleasant...

Lu San didn't look sideways, knelt there motionless and expressionless, but he was thinking about something.

Saying that he was being punished, it was already the morning of the second day when Yi Lu saw Rui Ming again.

Castle Master Rui was flipping through a booklet in his hand, but Lu San didn't dare to speak, and went to the place farthest from the castle owner after entering the house.After a while, Rui Ming put down the booklet in his hand and said, "Come here."

Yi Lusan got up, walked a few steps, and knelt down in front of Rui Ming's case.

"The subordinate kowtows to the master."

Rui Ming nodded and said, "Do you know what this is in my hand?"

"I don't know." Lu San replied without raising his head.

Rui Ming laughed: "You haven't even seen it, why don't you know?"

Lu San raised his head and quickly glanced at the brochure on Rui Ming's desk, his eyes were almost perfect without raising his head, and immediately bowed his head and said, "Your subordinate dares to say, what the master holds should be Yi Lu San's travel record."

The so-called records are files, but they are more detailed than files.The record of the Anxi factory records the person's ins and outs, clear practice, areas of expertise, weaknesses and strengths, fighting experience... - records, like a guide book, so that the master can firmly grasp the shadow guard in his hand.It sounds like the Anxi Factory is well managed, but after analyzing it, it turns out that those shadow guards are really treated as objects and tools, not people.

"It is recorded in the Xing Lu that you have entered the prefix "one" at the age of 16. It is reasonable that you could directly enter the Twelve Black Clothes in that year, but you lost and only got the position of Lu San."

"Yes, master."

"In the past ten years, your position in Lu San has not changed?" Rui Ming smiled, "If it weren't for the fact that there are only 15 people left this year, and only three of them are old people over five years old, don't you I can continue to be your Lu San." Rui Ming's tone was not harsh, but for some reason, it sounded like a knife cut.

Yi Lu san kowtowed and said: "The subordinates are greedy for life and afraid of death, and have repeatedly violated the factory training. Please master die."

Rui Ming originally thought that he would beg for mercy, but he didn't expect to admit it outright, and was rather taken aback.Thinking of the whipping before, he sighed and said, "Forget it, the one who should be punished has already been punished, and if you don't let go of this place, you will appear to be stingy as a master."

"Thank you, master." Yi Lusan kowtowed again, his voice was flat and lifeless, not at all like someone who just fought back and forth at the gate of hell.

Rui Ming looked at Yilusan, felt a little uncomfortable, coughed and said, "Let's talk about it, why did I choose you?"

"The subordinates are bold, they should be dressed in black and serve as the master's personal bodyguards."

Compared with other jobs, the position of Twelve Horses in Black is indeed a bit special.There are only 12 black-clothed shadow guards, and those who die are made up by Anxichang.Generally, it is the elites in the initials of the Anxi Factory that can be selected.And this selection process is even more cruel. It is different from the qualifying competition for the initials, but it is a life-and-death struggle.If you choose, you can only advance but not retreat, and if you retreat, you will die without a place to be buried.

Once selected, it is different from other shadow guards, with corresponding names - Zhao Da, Qian Er, Sun San, Li Si, Friday, Wu Liu, Zheng Qi, Mei Ba, Feng Jiu, Chen Shi, Chu Shi Shi, Wei Twelve.The name is based on the time of entering the black clothes. If someone dies, the latter will be filled in order.

The last time Rui Ming went out of the castle, he was ambushed, not only losing four horses in green clothes, but also a horse in black clothes.The loss is not insignificant.Tsing Yi refused to add others because of her childhood feelings, but Black Yi must make up for it.

After all, no matter who it is, aren't those shadow guards just consumables?

Rui Ming picked up a brass plate from the table, threw it down and said, "Take it, from today onwards, you are the shadow guard in black of the lord of this castle."

The place where the sign was thrown was not far from Yilusan, and he had to move forward to get it.

Yi Lusan lowered his head, knelt forward and climbed two steps, and put the brass sign in his hand. It seemed that the sign had been polished by many people, and there were some traces of bumps and bumps. The inside was black. It was black, like solidified blood, Yi Lu San didn't dare to look at it carefully, turned it over, and there were three words engraved on the sign, he touched it.

"Forget that the shadow guards can't read anymore." Rui Ming's voice came lightly from above his head, causing many high-ranking people to look down, "It's your name written on it. Wei Twelve."

Yilusan could only bend his spine even lower and bury his head deeper: "Thank you, master, for the name." There was no joy in his voice, as if carved in clay and wood.

Rui Ming seemed a little bored, so he picked up the book and read it, and waved absently after a while: "You go out and wait, Zhao Dahui will pick you up later."

"Yes, Master." Yi Lu San... Oh, it should be called Wei Twelve.Wei Twelve retreated respectfully from the conference hall and stood outside, silently waiting for Zhao Da who came to pick him up.

Holding the brass plate tightly in his hand, his downcast eyes were pitch black, and no emotion could be seen.

He is actually literate...