Volume 2: Jade Promise Chapter 120: The place you can't go back to is called hometown
Tang Zheng was thinking about the matter of the Sushiwenxing Tower when Ye Qianhan came in and reported that Li Xiaoren, the instructor of Yisu Academy, was looking for him with someone.
Upon hearing this, Tang Zheng took Tang Xiaotang and a few others to the gate of Tianxia Minglu to greet the chief instructor Li Xiaoren.
When they walked to the door, they saw Li Xiaoren and someone waiting at the door from a distance. When they got closer, they saw that the person next to Li Xiaoren was indeed Ning Mo.
However, after being demoted to a slave, Ning Mo was dressed in coarse linen clothes and his hair was cut much shorter. On his neck, one could vaguely see a fresh tattoo of a Tang character, announcing his identity.
"Hey, why bother with all this formalism?" Tang Zheng knew at a glance that whether it was tattooing or cutting hair... these procedures were probably done intentionally by the institutions that managed slavery, in order to give the newly enslaved people humiliating stimulation both physically and psychologically, so that they would understand as soon as possible that their identities were different.
However, as a foreigner who came to Xingyao Continent in a world that values human rights and equality for all, Tang Zheng disliked these methods very much. However, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Even if he wanted to change these bad habits now, he didn't have the ability to do so.
"Instructor Li, would you like to come to my house for a visit?" Tang Zheng stopped looking at Ning Mo and turned to invite Li Xiaoren.
"I'm not interested. I'm here to give you something as a gift. This is Ning Mo's slave nameplate. Keep it. From now on, Ning Mo will have nothing to do with the academy. This nameplate was also specially made by Bailianfang. It is connected to another nameplate that has been inserted into the star vein acupoints in his body. If he has any ill intentions, you input star power into this nameplate and he will have no choice but to surrender!" Li Xiaoren said as he threw a black nameplate into Tang Zheng's hand.
Hearing Li Xiaoren's words, Tang Zheng couldn't help but weigh the black nameplate in his hand again and again, but unlike most slave owners, he did not input star power on the spot to inspect the goods, making the slaves suffer as a warning, but casually put the black nameplate away.
Li Xiaoren looked at Tang Zheng's reaction and frowned, "You'd better be careful. Ning Mo came from the military intelligence camp. You were lucky that he didn't kill you before. Since you insist on not killing him and want to use him for your own benefit, be careful not to let the wolf into the house. Also, after your injury is healed, don't slack off and return to the academy as soon as possible to continue your classes!"
After saying this half scolding and half warning, Li Xiaoren turned around and left without any intention of saying any more words to Tang Zheng.
Tang Zheng had no choice but to smile and wave at Li Xiaoren's back, then turned to look at Ning Mo who was standing there with his head down and not saying anything: "Let's go, from today on, you will follow me, don't worry, I will definitely arrange all kinds of dirty and tiring work for you, so as to make up for my previous losses."
In this way, the group returned to Tang Zheng's home, and the number of permanent residents in Tang Zheng's home increased from four to five.
"Five people... this number is not auspicious. No, I have to add one or two more people if there is a chance." Tang Zheng just returned home and muttered to himself.
"Ah? Master, why is five people not auspicious? Is there any story behind it?" Tang Xiaotang has sharp ears and immediately asked curiously.
"Well, of course it's because of five people. It sounds like five-nut mooncakes!" Tang Zheng pouted.
"What is a five-person mooncake? Is it very big, so that five people can finish it? Is it delicious?" Little Lingling became interested as soon as she heard about food.
"Five-nut mooncakes... are a classic dark dish that has been passed down in my hometown for many years. The taste, of course, is terrible!" When mentioning five-nut mooncakes, Tang Zheng showed a look of nostalgia and his voice was a little low.
"Master, are you missing your hometown?" Xiao Lingdang saw Tang Zheng's expression, pinched his fingers, opened her eyes wide and whispered.
"The places you can't reach are called faraway places, and the places you can't go back to are your hometowns... I didn't expect that I found faraway places but couldn't go back to my hometown." Tang Zheng shook his head, getting rid of some of the sadness in his heart. Looking at Tang Xiaotang and the others who formed a circle around him, he smiled and said, "Forget it. With you guys here, this is my second hometown. Don't look like I've been exiled. Be careful and I'll make some five-nut mooncakes for you to taste!"
"Mooncake for five people? Okay, Master, you must keep your word. I must eat that mooncake for five people. I can finish it by myself. Master, pinky promise!" Xiao Lingling stood on tiptoes and hooked Tang Zheng 's little finger.
"Little girl, they say it's five-nut mooncakes, not five-person mooncakes...Okay, I promise you, on August 15th, I will treat you to the five-nut mooncakes I made by myself." Tang Zheng rubbed Xiao Lingling's hair lovingly and said with a smile.
The entire living room was suddenly filled with a faint warm feeling of family reunion. Only Ning Mo was like an outsider. He stood outside the crowd somewhat awkwardly, watching Tang Zheng and Xiao Lingdang playing, his eyes feeling a little sore.
"Okay, Ning Mo, you sit down too. Although you still owe me a lot, I'm not a harsh creditor." Tang Zheng noticed Ning Mo standing outside the circle and waved at him.
Ning Mo nodded, found the shortest stool, sat halfway on it, and leaned forward, as if ready to listen to Tang Zheng's instructions at any time.
Seeing him like this, Tang Zheng knew that he was clearly stating his identity as a slave. He sighed slightly and was too lazy to waste words on this matter. Instead, he asked about another thing that he had been interested in for a long time, and it was also the thing that Ning Mo cared about most in his life: "Ning Mo, tell me the story of you and your sister ."
When Ning Mo heard Tang Zheng's words, his body shook violently, just like what happened on the academy arena that day. He hated Yingshan for assassinating Tang Zheng just for revenge, and he gave up the dignity of a warrior and would rather be demoted to a slave, also for revenge.
He originally thought that although Tang Zheng agreed to help him, he didn't know how long it would take, and he had already prepared himself to be patient. Unexpectedly, less than a quarter of an hour after arriving at Tang Zheng's house, Tang Zheng took the initiative to bring up this matter, which made him excited.
Ning Molian swallowed several times and spoke slowly in a low voice: "This all started ten years ago when I retired from the military intelligence battalion due to an injury and returned home."
