The Reborn Shadow Guard's Training Guide

[Shadow Guard Bottom + Rebirth + Status Difference + Mild Physical Abuse + Misunderstanding Drama]

Xie Shiwei died, then came back to life, reborn three years in the past.

In his previous life, he had poured his heart and soul into helping the Seventh Prince seize the throne. His hair turned white early, and in the end, he was betrayed and abandoned by everyone. The people he trusted betrayed him, and the people he protected wanted him dead.

The only one left by his side was a disobedient death warrior, kneeling at his feet, covered in wounds, repeating over and over: "In life I follow you; in death I will accompany you."

After being betrayed, Xie Shiwei no longer believed in gratitude or loyalty. He had seen the death warrior keep carrying him for three days as they fled, even after being pierced by arrows. He had seen him shield Xie Shiwei even after the flames scorched his back. He had seen him follow without hesitation as Xie Shiwei jumped off a cliff...

Starting over, he found the death warrior and treated him like a blade: the most useful, the sharpest, and the one that required no emotional investment.

Shi Ji was indeed useful.

He killed for Xie Shiwei, tested poisons for him, and crossed mountains of blades and seas of fire for him. He always returned covered in wounds, still obedient and compliant, without a single complaint.

But gradually, Xie Shiwei realized something was wrong. This blade was too useful. Shi Ji knew his thoughts and worried about what worried him. Before Xie Shiwei had even weighed the consequences, Shi Ji had already taken care of everything for him, regardless of the cost or the consequences, without sparing a thought for himself.

He would return covered in wounds, then kneel to beg forgiveness. "This subordinate acted without permission. Please punish me, Master."

If Xie Shiwei showed even the slightest suspicion, Shi Ji would immediately make a wreck of himself, leaving Xie Shiwei unable to doubt him at all.

Xie Shiwei went from praising him without reserve, to feeling a little sympathy, to being utterly exasperated. His sharp, useful blade was always threatening to break itself.

And yet he couldn't say anything or talk him out of it. The slightest reproach would make Shi Ji destroy himself to prove his loyalty. It was as though his body weren't made of flesh and blood, but of detachable parts.

Even Xie Shiwei changed. At first, he wanted a good blade. In the end, he couldn't bear to see this person hurt in the slightest...

[Bonus Scene One]

At first, when danger approached, Xie Shiwei retreated behind his shadow guard.

Xie Shiwei: "Shi Ji, go! Be as vicious as you like. Even if you're covered in wounds, make sure your master doesn't get a scratch!"

Later, before danger could even arrive, he quickly pulled Shi Ji behind him.

Xie Shiwei: "Don't worry, darling. I'll handle this little thing. I can lose a few hairs, it's fine, really!"

[Bonus Scene Two]

When everyone said Xie Shiwei was cold-blooded, brutal, obsessive, and trusted no one...

Shi Ji, eyes red: "I failed to earn my master's trust. It's my fault. I'm willing to pay for it with my life."

Xie Shiwei: "I'm not! I didn't! Don't make things up! Ah Ji, don't listen to them, they're slandering me!"

Reading guide:

1. Reborn pavilion-master top x self-destructive shadow-guard bottom

2. Significant status difference, plenty of melodrama, mild physical abuse but no heartbreak

3. At its core, this is a story about "a cold-blooded, suspicious man who needs a shadow guard willing to break into his home and rob him to cure him"

~~Coming soon: "Recycling Abandoned Dogs for Reuse." Please add it to your favorites!~~

Divine healer top & shadow-guard bottom

How do you train a vicious dog that bites?

Keep him chained up from childhood. When he tries to bite his master, use the chain to break one of his bones. Every time he bites, break another bone. Once every bone in his body has been broken at least once, the wolfdog will be trained.

Crueler than a wolf, more loyal than a dog. Whoever holds the "chain" is his master.

Shen Mo was trained this way into a shadow hound. In his third month as a shadow guard, he was sent to the far northern snow mountains to steal a medicinal formula. Not only did he fail the mission, he was captured as well.

His captor was named Yu Chu, master of Rouyun Mountain in the far northern snows. He was moody, ruthless, and especially fond of testing medicines on living people.

After being trapped in the mountains, Shen Mo was forced to swallow countless deadly poisons by Yu Chu. He could neither live nor die, and his three months on Rouyun Mountain became the most painful time of his life, as well as the source of nightmares that would haunt him for the next seven years.

Later, he finally escaped the snow mountains, but the poison remained in his body. His health gradually deteriorated, and he eventually became a Mo-character shadow guard who could be sold off for a pittance and abused at anyone's whim.

Fate played a cruel joke on him. Just as his life was nearing its end, Shen Mo encountered the man named Yu Chu once again.

Even Yu Chu himself had forgotten how many years he'd lived on Rouyun Mountain. It was a very boring place, with nothing but snow stretching for a thousand miles and silent mountains.

Many years later, the last of Yu Chu's relatives in this world died. The snow mountains seemed even more desolate to him. Day after day, he walked through the snow with a wine flask in hand, until one day he dug a little mute out of the snow.

The little mute was disobedient, stole things, bit people, and loved to lie. He was a thoroughly bad child, but none of that mattered. Yu Chu thought he could teach him to be good.

Yu Chu put his heart into teaching the little mute, but eventually the little mute still left, stealing a medicine formula from him and never coming back.

No one had ever deceived Yu Chu before. The mute was the first.

Theme: Embrace happiness and cherish the present.