A Blade and an Arrow

Of What Was Before, Isn't What Is Today

n. i read something. i like it. so im going to use it with fengqing. im forgetting how to create good titles(not like im actually writing good ones before but thats not the point).

im obsessed, i still have to do research for school but professor refuses to respond so i refuse to do it, so im doing this.

hehe.

there's torture okay. or this isn't considered as torture? im not sure. a bit angsty?

childhood trauma, that's what this is.

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As a man born from a noble clan in a highly prosperous kingdom, there were precise measures to be taken into account in order to keep their nobility. Being declared noble by the royals themselves weren't just something about wealth and wisdom. It took work. It took many men and women's blood and tears to have their name be one in the palace.

They wouldn't be able to buy off a high status, nor bribe any of the greed to bring them in such rank. No, they needed to work hard. Hard in a way that could be seen as treachery against their homeland, or hard in a way it could be seen as god's praise-worthy. Most ascended up by the former, lacking the morality to work hard the legal and good way they chose to dirty their hands in order for the descendants to have clean and wealthy ones. Even if they were caught, it was already a little too late. They already had the power and merit to silence those who wanted to expose their silentlg stained reputation.

So, in order to keep their status preserved for how long the kingdom would live, some of the heads of the noble clans took precarious efforts to maintain their ancestor's names. A small number had taken the liberty to drill their name's hard work into their descendants' brain the moment they were born. Another number would not let their descendants marry outside of their clan to keep their blood pure. And there are those that chooses to marry them off to an equally high noble clan in one condition it would be their own name that was to be used.

Those were the somewhat innocent ones. Those that doesn't actually harm others or bring them pain. No, those were the merciful ones.

Because there are those that chooses a much more harmful way to preserve such rank. A more permanent way that doesn't involve any other contracts or marriages. Those that chooses to carve it into their skin or brand them with a branding iron shaped to have the characters of their clan name. This way, they know of which clan they are immediately. People will know just by a glance of such branding or carved mark.

The Feng Clan was part of this cluster.

Albeit both were harsh options – as if their ancestors who brought them into nobility were punishing them – the adults have made it look as if they have at least some freedom to choose how to mark their skin. With a knife laced with spiritual energy or a branding iron. As part of one of the top highest of ranks, they were much more adamant to keep their names preserved. Never to be removed from the palace no matter what kind of mouth would spit on them. They worked hard for what position they have, traitorous or not. And by this mark shall indicate the work they actually put effort in.

Many of the Feng's descendants became close attendants to the royals, that just made them burn their iron hotter and dig the knives deeper.

Feng Xin chose to be burnt.

One, because he doesn't like knives as a five years old innocent boy who didn't know what he was even choosing. Two, because he heard from the teens of the clan that being branded heals faster than being carved. So, he choose the hot iron over the cold blade.