Malice Hearts Yin Book 1 Part 1

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"That is all I have to report, Master." I finished with my head bowed to the master of the Blue Dragon Palace. He was an impressive man, who still retained a youthful baring even at 48 years of age.

His hair was still dark and full, and his face wouldn't have yet had the touch of old age if not for the deep lines of grief etched in by his eyes and mouth. He was still quite healthy and fit except for his injured leg and back. He had not completely lost the physique he had gained from when he was an active Onmyoji. Even walking stooped, he was taller than the average man, still standing at a little over six feet.

He always wore threadbare clothes but made from expensive material. He kept his short beard closely trimmed and his thick black hair, touched by an indigo hue, pulled into a tidy braid.

Master Choukichi Yamamoto never failed to be the very image of refined yet austere, and I respected him for that. He was both my teacher and my adoptive father. He was reputed for having been one of the greatest Onmyoji of his time.

I was one of the few allowed in his private quarters, but of course not without proper reasons or an appointment and then only no further than the reception room. Despite being adopted as his son, I had never lived with him.

Instead, I, like every other orphaned trainee, had my upbringing inside the barracks, first at the Azure Dragon Palace in China and then here at the Blue Dragon Palace in Japan. His formal adoption of me only came after I had proved my worth, but I still haven't received the invitation to enter any further into his residence.

"You don't need to stand so stiff. Sit down Yuki." He gestured to the rosewood chair across from his own. Exquisitely carved with a dragon motive and a dark cherry finish, this chair was just one of the many pieces of Chinese styled furniture that filled the reception room. I preferred personally the more humble, earthy style of Japanese rooms than the elaborate and luxurious style the Chinese were so fond of.

"It would have been rude to sit in your presence before getting the permission to do so."

"We can forgo such formalities when there are no other witnesses." He brushed my consideration aside with a careless wave of his hand. I respected him, but I will not say that he had no flaws. For one, he could care about propriety some more.

He poured a cup of tea for me from a reddish clay pot. The smell of ginger perfumed the air. I thanked him, but I have to confess, I did not much care for the taste of ginger tea. Master drank it several times a day because it supposedly soothed the pain from a severe injury he had suffered many years ago. The injury had left him with both a bad back and a gimped leg, which was why he had retired from fieldwork.

I would not spurn his kindness; but it irked me that whenever I gave my mission report that he had me sit down to tea and sweetmeats. It had been one thing when Yuriko was still with us, but now that she wasn't.... well, it felt awkward for the two of us to be having tea and cakes together.

That's not to say that we had a strained relationship, but it wasn't an affectionate one either. He had high expectations of me and pushed me to do my best. He only allowed me a quarter of my monthly stipend from the Onmyodo to spend how I liked, but he put the rest in savings for me, for when I reached adulthood. Master was very generous with doling out an allowance for work well done, so I never missed it. He was actually a bit too magnanimous, even allowing me to keep a small farm further up the path on his property, where I kept several pets. He had indulged Yuriko too with her expensive tastes in food and fashion.

Despite his generosity, and kind disposition, he still kept others at an arm length for reasons that just about everyone in the Onmyodo knew about.

Once an open and convivial man, tragedy had made him lose all trace of sociability. In lieu of intimacy, he took the materialistic approach to convey his affection.