Ch. 22 - The Less You Know, the Safer You Will Be

"But mother… Does not people at the age of six go through the awakening? He can not be older that four… maybe five years old, right?"

"You are right honey…"

"Uhm, I-I am actually a special case. I am five years old, but for some reasons which I can not tell you about, I went through the awakening a few days ago."

"Oh, so that is it. Okay dear, do you mind telling us about what happened to you?"

"Uhm… O-okay. I was with my uncle's at my father's old mansion and while I slept, the Xiong Clan attacked my clan. My uncle fled to Rosewood City while the guards fought back to win time, so that he could get away safely without getting followed. Then after I woke up, the house was empty and the ground outside was covered in corpses.

After a while, I found someone who was alive. I took him in, treated his injuries and then asked him about what had happened. He told me everything, including where my uncle had fled to. I decided to go after him, but just as I was about to leave, a bunch of assassins appeared from the shadows."

"Poor child! What happened next, dear?"

"The man whom I had saved yelled at me to run. I did not want to leave him, but I understood that I would just be in the way if I stayed. I ran until I heard a loud explosion coming from inside the house. That is when I finally understood why I had to leave. The man had planned to sacrifice himself to get rid of the assassins."

"What did he do, dear?"

"I do not know… I just know that he died together with the assassins."

"How horrible! Poor child! Mom, can we let him stay? He has been through so much!"

"But sweetie… Did you not hear him? He said that he had to go and find his uncle. Since has a family, they would probably be very worried if they could not find him, right?"

"I guess you are right mom, but--"

"--He would not care…"

"What? Who would not care for their own family? I know for sure that my mother would worry herself to death if I just disappeared."

"He would not care since he and I are not related by blood. His brother adopted me and died two days later."

"But how can you be so sure that he does not care about you? Maybe he just--"

"--I just know… The way I am, no one would ever want to be associated with me…"

"What makes you think that, dear?"

"Everyone has secrets."

"... Okay, but where are your biological parents?"

"Sweetie! You can not just ask that so bluntly! What if--"

"No, it is fine. My mother was murdered and as for my father… I do not know."

"What do you mean by 'I do not know'?"

"Sweetie!"

"I meant what I said. I do not know where he is. He left and erased all of my memories of him. I do not even know if he is still alive."

"I… I am sorry…"

"No it is fine, pretty sister."

"Haha, do you never get angry, dear? My daughter asked such questions and yet you stayed calm and answered everything. Quite admirable!"

The lady smiled while staring at her daughter. One could tell that she was upset with her daughter's behaviour.

"Because of something which I can not tell you about, I can not get angry."

"You can not?"

"Well, I CAN, but if I do, then… just say that it will not end well…"

"Hahaha, will you start killing people or something?"

"Sweetie! Enough already!"

"It is fine, pretty lady. Pretty sister only tried to ease the tension. She meant well."

"Yeah, but--"

"--Besides… she is right."

"What?"

"She is right. I would probably start killing people if I got angry."

"Haha, enough with the jokes--"

"I was not joking. I am serious."

"If what you are telling us is the truth, then may I ask why you are telling us all of this?"

"I am not sure myself, pretty lady. For some reason I feel like I can trust both of you. You would not harm me. I can tell that both of you would rather die than reveal any information about me. You do not know me well, but you are both good at heart and would not want me to suffer. I am just a little boy after all."

"But dear… how can you be so sure that we will not betray you? How can you be so sure that we are not acting right now?"

"Hmm… Let us just call it intuition."

"Okay… If you really trust me and my daughter then… mind telling us your name? I just realised that you never introduced yourself to us."

"Hmm…"

"What?"

"Nothing, I just… I do not know if I should tell you… My name is Jin Xin, but--"

"--but that is not your real name, right?"

"It is my real name, but it is the name that I got when Jin Long decided to adopt me. It is not the name that my biological parents gave me when I was born, so I do not know if I--"

"JIN LONG?!?! As in 'The Golden Dragon', Jin Long?! Your name is Jin Xin and you are his son?!"

"Calm down sweetie!"

"S-sorry mom…"

"You said that your name has not always been Jin Xin, so what is your… you know… 'real' name?"

"I would prefer not to tell."

"Why? Did you not say that you trusted me and my daughter?"

"I do trust you, but it is just… You have been so nice to me… both of you. Therefore, I do not want you to get hurt or killed just because I was stupid enough to tell you things that you did not need to know."

"But--"

"Trust me, pretty lady. The less you know, the safer you will be…"