Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder's Record of Counterattacks

by Little Merger

Ning Shu had dropped dead. But in a burst of good fortune she became a task-taker in charge of counterattacking for pitiful cannon fodder. Thus, Ning Shu, in one world after another, took all kinds of life roles, encountered all kinds of ‘you’re heartless, you’re ruthless, you’re making trouble for no reason’ people. She encountered all sorts of white lotus flowers, green tea bitch

17. 929

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Chapter 929: Lowest Ranking of Them All

This was also the first time Zhang family ever found out that Zhang Jiasen actually had a mistress. However, this mistress was actually testifying against Zhang Jiasen. The Zhang family couldn't accept this.

Since she was Zhang Jiasen's woman, it was unacceptable that she did something like this. Zhang Jiasen's mother especially felt that Xue Manman had committed a great crime.

No one seemed to have considered what Ning Shu, this wife, felt finding out that her husband had cheated. No one showed any concern for her feelings.

Ning Shu laughed. In the Zhang family, the daughter-in-law was the lowest being that had no dignity.

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Above her there were the sisters-in-law, the brothers-in-law, the husband Zhang Jiasen, and above that there was the father and mother-in-laws who had absolute authority.

This family had so many rankings, and Miao Miaomiao was the lowest ranking of them all since she was also an outsider.

The judging was still ongoing. Due to Zhang Jiasen's crime of embezzling and accepting bribes, and the fact that he had embezzled over a hundred thousand, he was sentenced to ten years in prison and all his stolen assets were confiscated.

Meanwhile, since Xue Manman had helped conceal these crimes and helped with the disposal of the stolen goods, she was sentenced to three years in jail. However, since she had taken the initiative to supply crime evidence, her sentence was shortened to two years.

When Zhang Jiasen's mother heard this pronouncement, she immediately stood up and shouted, "No! My son was just taking money from his own wife's family! How can this count as embezzling?"

In any case, in the Zhang family's opinion, Zhang Jiasen was just using his own family's money. In their opinion, the Miao family belonged to Zhang Jiasen.

"Quiet. Out-of-court personnel are not to make a ruckus. If there's a next time, you'll be requested to leave the spectator area," said the judge expressionlessly as he knocked his hammer against the desk.

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Zhang Jiasen's mother's face was dark red. A lot of reporters were taking photos of her which made her feel even more at a loss and freeze in place.

Zhang Jiasen's father pulled her to sit down, his face ashen. He pulled very hard, so Zhang Jiasen's mother fell down so hard her face twisted with pain. However, she didn't dare to say anything.

Zhang Jiasen turned around to look at his family. As he was turning back around, he saw Ning Shu who was sitting in the corner and he stiffened.

Ning Shu met Zhang Jiasen's gaze and he immediately shifted his gaze away shamefully. It was clear that what happened between him and Xue Manman earlier made him feel very humiliated.

Zhang Jiasen had turned his head away, but Ning Shu could see that his body was trembling slightly and his figure seemed to stoop over.

Could it be that he felt too embarrassed to face her? Since he was able to do those things, why couldn't he face them?

Zhang Jiasen could also feel embarrassed?

He was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. Ning Shu smiled. Embezzling and accepted bribes was a huge crime. If Father Miao decided to settle it privately, of course Zhang Jiasen would be fine. However, if it was treated seriously, Zhang Jiasen really had to face the consequences.

This was just the sentence for embezzlement. What if the crime for inciting another to commit a crime was added on?

She was going to expose all of Zhang Jiasen's evil conducts so that the world could see what a beast he was underneath that skin.

He scammed a marriage, tried to poison his father-in-law to death, accepted bribes and embezzled, and kept a mistress. Yet a person like this had managed to obtain success and was respected by others.

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Chapter 930: The Second Trial

After the final sentence was pronounced, Zhang Jiasen was taken away. His legs were a little weak, so he had been helped out by two policemen.

During this whole time, Zhang Jiasen's gaze had been on Ning Shu. The aura around his body had been restrained, so he now seemed very cold and calm. He didn't seem like someone who was about to face ten years in jail at all.

Ning Shu was a little surprised that Zhang Jiasen was being so quiet. Zhang Jiasen truly wasn't just a little unreadable.

After this trial was over, another new one immediately started and Zhang Jiasen was once again brought up.

Everyone was stunned and all the reporters that had been preparing to leave immediately came back.

Zhang Jiasen's face was a little pale, but he still counted as calm.

Meanwhile, the Zhang family looked completely at a loss. They were already in despair due to the sentence of ten years, so what was going on now?

This time, the procuratorate accused Zhang Jiasen of inciting another to commit a crime.

A commotion broke out and the reporters started snapping photos like crazy. Originally they had thought that this would make a small story at most, but with how much Zhang Jiasen had done, this was bound to be big news.

When Zhang Jiasen heard this accusation, his pupils dilated and he immediately turned to look towards Ning Shu.

Ning Shu met Zhang Jiasen's gaze. Zhang Jiasen's gaze narrowed slightly, then realization flashed across his face. He then turned away and stopped looking at Ning Shu.

Zhang Jiasen's mother sobbed while trying to stifle her cries. Zhang Jiasen's father was very pale and he looked like he had aged greatly.

Aunt Ping was escorted in by police, dressed in prisoner uniform.

Aunt Ping was very skinny, so the prisoner uniform was very loose on her. Her hair was completely white. Although she was clearly only fifty, she looked like she already had one foot in the grave.

Aunt Ping said quietly, "Zhang Jiasen had me add a drug to Miao Zhi's medicinal dish. Even if this drug was taken, it couldn't be discovered. If this succeeded, Zhang Jiasen promised to allow my son to follow him. He said that he would train my son."

"I was thinking that the Miao family would definitely eventually become Zhang Jiasen's, so I wanted to take a gamble. I'm only a housekeeper. For the sake of my son's future, I had no choice but to take this risk."

Aunt Ping saw Zhang Jiasen's successes, that was why she wanted to help get her son a shortcut as well. Originally Zhang Jiasen was just a nobody from the countryside, but due to the Miao family, he managed to get to the peak of life.

Even Aunt Ping, this housekeeper felt that the Miao family would belong to Zhang Jiasen, so of course the people in the company felt the same. Hence a lot of the higher ups had assisted Zhang Jiasen.

Even though the Miao family company wasn't large, wherever people gathered, there was benefits to be obtained.

Miao Miaomiao was a girl who wasn't really good at anything, so everyone thought that Father Miao had found Zhang Jiasen as a son-in-law to inherit the Miao family.

Hence Zhang Jiasen was able to take over managing the company very smoothly after Father Miao died.

Zhang Jiasen didn't refute Aunt Ping's testimony and just calmly accepted it.

In this crime, Zhang Jiasen was the main culprit and Aunt Ping was an accomplice, so Zhang Jiasen faced severe punishment.

Hence, Zhang Jiasen's sentence worsened and he was sentenced to eight years of jail while Aunt Ping was sentenced to four years.

This meant that Zhang Jiasen would be in jail for eighteen years. That was almost two decades.

Zhang Jiasen's body trembled for a moment, but he quickly collected himself. He turned to look towards Ning Shu. From start to finish, Ning Shu's expression had been indifferent. Zhang Jiasen's lips moved slightly. His face was a little hazy beneath the lights so his expression couldn't be made out.

Once this case ended, Zhang Jiasen's mother could no longer control herself and she started bawling.

Zhang Jiasen didn't seem to care that his mother was wailing, or perhaps he had no way of caring.

The reporters kept snapping photos of Zhang Jiasen nonstop. Zhang Jiasen had beast written all over his forehead.

After this trial, Zhang Jiasen was brought down. He looked towards Ning Shu, his lips forming words.

Ning Shu looked at the shape of his mouth. It was the words 'Miaomiao.'

Could it be that even at this time, he was still hoping for her to save him?

Ning Shu expressed that he sure had nice dreams.

The trial ended. Ning Shu got up and prepared to leave. There was still one last matter to take care of.

"Daughter-in-law!" Zhang Jiasen's father called out to Ning Shu. He got up rather abruptly so he lost his balance slightly, but fortunately someone caught him.

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Chapter 931: No Longer In-laws, But Enemies

Zhang Jiasen's father called out to Ning Shu and asked, "Didn't you say that you were going to save Jiasen? Why did he end up having to go to jail for twenty years?"

Ning Shu: ...

She really didn't know what to say. Zhang Jiasen had been trying to kill Miao Miaomiao's father, yet they could still bring themselves to righteously ask her why she didn't save Zhang Jiasen?

Could it be that they felt no guilt, no shame?

"I tried to go through connections with the money, but it didn't work. Zhang Jiasen's affair is too severe. He tried to kill my dad." Ning Shu picked up her bag and left.

Zhang Jiasen's father's face paled. They were no longer in-laws, but enemies.

Little Sis Zhang grabbed Ning Shu and said, "Did you already use the million from selling the house? My brother also had ownership of the house, so you should split the leftover money with us."

Ning Shu frowned as she looked at Little Sis Zhang. Was the entire Zhang family this shallow? Her brother was in jail, but she still had the peace of mind to ask about the money from selling the house?

Ning Shu grinned as she said, "Every single cent was used up."

"Miao Miaomiao, you're just trying to embezzle the leftover money," said Little Sis Zhang angrily.

Ning Shu replied mildly, "This house belongs to me, so I have the right to allocate the money that it sold for. If I say it's gone, it's gone. What can you do?"

Little Sis Zhang was infuriated. Zhang Jiasen's mother joined in to demand the money. "How could you spend a million in just a few days? That's not possible! You black-hearted wretch, you just want to steal Jiasen's money!"

Ning Shu scoffed, then turned and left. She couldn't be bothered to talk to these people.

When she got home, Father Miao asked her, "How was this matter dealt with? What did the court decide?"

"All of Zhang Jiasen's assets have been confiscated and he's sentenced to eighteen years of jail," said Ning Shu.

Father Miao said coldly, "That's how it should be."

"My dear daughter, could it be that you still can't set Zhang Jiasen down?" When Father Miao saw that Ning Shu's facial color wasn't that good, he hastily said, "Daughter, you couldn't be planning to wait for Zhang Jiasen for eighteen years, right?"

"How's that possible?" Ning Shu was stuck between laughter and tears. Why would she wait eighteen years for Zhang Jiasen? Since the original host had made these kinds of requests, it meant that she no longer had any illusions about Zhang Jiasen.

He had killed her parents and made her lose everything. Her originally happy life had been completely destroyed by him. If she still loved Zhang Jiasen after all of this and waited for him, then her brain must've been smooshed by a pig.

"That's good. Hurry and get divorced with Zhang Jiasen. There are still plenty of good men in this world," said Father Miao with an expression of heartache. His daughter had ended up marrying such a beast. Would it leave a trauma?

Would she end up being single for a lifetime?

"Let's talk about the issue of men later." After she left, when Miao Miaomiao got back, it was her choice whether to search for new happiness or heal her wounds.

Father Miao's facial color worsened. He was sure that his daughter was severely hurt due to that bastard Zhang Jiasen.

Early morning the next day, Ning Shu opened the newspaper to see Zhang Jiasen on the headlines. It proclaimed Zhang Jiasen's crimes in bold. He had tried to murder his father-in-law, he was practically a beast in human skin!

In any case, Zhang Jiasen was now a household name in this city.

Ning Shu set down the newspaper. After having breakfast, she prepared to head to work. Father Miao said to Ning Shu, "You don't have to go to work today, you should just rest up. Work will never end."

"But there's an important meeting today," said Ning Shu.

Father Miao became even more worried. "Miaomiao, my precious daughter, if you're sad, just cry. There's no need to work so hard to numb yourself."

Ning Shu: ...

She wasn't hurt at all. What was Father Miao looking at to make him think she was hurt?

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Chapter 932: I've Matured Now

"Dad, I'm really not hurt. Why would I be hurt? I should be happy that we managed to expose Zhang Jiasen's true face this early so that he wasn't able to hurt us." Ning Shu patted Father Miao's shoulder like a fellow bro as she said, "Dad, don't worry, I'm not that delicate. I'll just take this as a lesson. I've matured now. I'm not hurt."

"Really?" Father Miao couldn't quite believe it.

Ning Shu nodded. "Really."

After dying once, Miao Miaomiao should've matured.

Ning Shu went to the company to deal with the work. The moment she got to the company, she saw that Zhang Jiasen's family was raising at ruckus at the company doors again. Zhang Jiasen's mother was wailing that her black-hearted daughter-in-law was withholding the money received from selling the house.

The entire company knew about what happened with Zhang Jiasen. When they heard what Zhang Jiasen's mother said, disdain appeared on their faces. Zhang Jiasen was a poor bastard and all his assets had already been confiscated. How could he still have money left for others to withhold?

Ning Shu felt that the Zhang family had pretty thick skin. After Zhang Jiasen did something like this, they still had the face to come to the company?

Ning Shu paid no attention to them. After finishing work, she headed to a law firm and had a lawyer get her a divorce contract.

She put the contract in her bag, then headed to the detention center.

Zhang Jiasen was brought out in prisoner uniform. The current Zhang Jiasen already had all his hair shaved off and he was very skinny.

When Ning Shu saw Zhang Jiasen's bald head, she felt a little disillusioned and found it quite funny. With hair, Zhang Jiasen had been very handsome, but the bald Zhang Jiasen... Tsk...

Zhang Jiasen was very calm when he saw Ning Shu, he even smiled gently towards her. This smile was completely different from his usual smile filled with feigned affection.

It was light and easy.

Ning Shu furrowed her brows. She really couldn't understand this person. He was impossible to read.

"Miaomiao," called Zhang Jiasen.

Ning Shu looked at him. She was rather curious what he would say.

"It must be hard managing the company, right? You look skinnier," said Zhang Jiasen softly like he was chatting with a friend.

However, it caused Ning Shu's hair to rise on end. The current Zhang Jiasen was seriously very strange.

Ning Shu shook her head. "It's manageable."

"Miaomiao, since you know about everything now, you must hate me." Zhang Jiasen looked at Ning Shu.

Ning Shu didn't speak. Of course Miao Miaomiao hated him.

Zhang Jiasen smiled. "You seem very different from how you were in the past. The Miaomiao that I knew wasn't this strong, something must've driven you to change. When did you find out about this?"

"You threw me in the countryside," said Ning Shu mildly.

"As expected?" Zhang Jiasen took a deep breath. "You were also involved in me ending up like this, weren't you?"

As Zhang Jiasen said this, there was no trace of resentment. He was actually very calm and just quietly chatted with Ning Shu.

Ning Shu narrowed her eyes. It was seriously hard to read this man.

His thoughts were so deeply concealed that it was like the depths of the sea.

It was hard to imagine that a child from the remote countryside would have such an unreadable personality.

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Chapter 933: If I Say I Love You

Ning Shu didn't want to wrangle with Zhang Jiasen, so she directly pulled out the divorce contract and placed it in front of him. "You should sign this. You probably don't want to attend another court session."

Zhang Jiasen glanced at Ning Shu, picked up the divorce paper and looked at it, then chuckled. He picked up the pen and signed without hesitation.

Ning Shu was taken aback. She hadn't even pulled out her weapons yet. She had been prepared to pull out the video in which Zhang Jiasen and Xue Manman were tumbling, but he had already signed. It went so smoothly that it was shocking.

Ning Shu then signed the divorce contract as well.

Zhang Jiasen looked at Ning Shu. "Are you surprised that I agreed to get divorced so easily?"

Ning Shu just lifted her brows as she looked at Zhang Jiasen. The current Zhang Jiasen looked as if he had set everything down and no longer cared about anything.

The current Zhang Jiasen no longer had anything left, nor did he had anything left to use.

Ning Shu put the divorce contract away and prepared to leave, but Zhang Jiasen called out to her. "Miaomiao, won't you sit and talk with me for a while? You probably won't be visiting me again."

"I don't think there's anything for us to talk about," replied Ning Shu.

"Can it be that you're not curious why I treated you this way? Why I did this to the Miao family?" asked Zhang Jiasen. His gaze contained a gentle emotion.

Ning Shu sat back down.

Zhang Jiasen directly said, "Miao Miaomiao, if I say I love you, you might not believe me."

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

So regretted listening to his chattering. If Zhang Jiasen did these things because he loved Miao Miaomiao, did that mean destroying a person's everything was love?

Ning Shu only wanted to laugh.

Then that meant what she had done to Zhang Jiasen was also love!? She loved Zhang Jiasen!?

Please spare love, alright?

Ning Shu's facial muscles trembled. Zhang Jiasen said, "I knew that you wouldn't believe me. I knew since I was a kid what my calling was. My calling was to shoulder the Zhang family and make the Zhang family that had been poor for several generations soar to success. My dad treats me very well because I'm intelligent and have very good grades. My dad was the one most supportive of my education since education was the best way out for those from poor families."

"My success was not just my personal success, but my large family's success. Your existence and the existence of the Miao family are the weak spots that people attack me with. They all say that I only achieved success through social climbing."

Ning Shu laughed silently. "That's the truth."

Zhang Jiasen didn't get angry. His expression was very calm. "I know that's the truth, that's why I wanted to erase this truth."

Ning Shu: ...

"Now that I think about it, I've never been myself in this lifetime, not even for a day. There were too too many things burdening me, but you lived happily and purely. Everyone, in the depths of their hearts, love perfect beauty, and I'm not an exception. I did like you. I also felt bad hurting you. Some things that were said as lies, as they were repeated, gradually became real."

Zhang Jiasen looked towards Ning Shu. "The most free days I've had in this lifetime actually occurred while I was in prison."

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

Ning Shu felt that Zhang Jiasen was purposefully saying this to gain her sympathy.

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Chapter 934: What Level of F*cking Hell?

"Miao Miaomiao, I've once loved you. Even now, I love you." Zhang Jiasen pressed his hand against his chest.

When Ning Shu heard these words, an enormous amount of sorrow and pain surged up in her heart. This was clearly the original host's emotions. After experiencing unhealable injuries, hearing words like these only made people feel sorrow and loathing.

Zhang Jiasen didn't have the right to mention the word love.

Ning Shu quietly repeated the heart-clearing chant, but it took quite a while to calm the surging waves of emotion.

Ning Shu felt that Miao Miaomiao really was pitiful. Due to a freak combination of factors, she had ended up with a fate like this.

Zhang Jiasen was willing to sacrifice anything. Even though he said that he loved Miao Miaomiao, in the end he still sacrificed Miao Miaomiao.

Ning Shu asked sarcastically, "What about Xue Manman?"

"Xue Manman? Ha!" Zhang Jiasen laughed. "How do I put this? Perhaps I saw my own shadow in Xue Manman, it was just like liking myself, but in the end, I realized that I don't actually like myself."

Ning Shu: Nutjob!

In a nutshell, Zhang Jiasen, this black-to-the-core person, liked the pure and kind Miao Miaomiao, but he felt that he was under a lot of pressure when he was with Miao Miaomiao. Putting it frankly, he just felt inferior.

So then he killed Miao Miaomiao's entire family.

What level of f*cking hell was this?

Ning Shu felt that she didn't really have anything to talk about with him, so she turned and left. She had already spent half a day here with this nutjob.

Zhang Jiasen's mental state was very abnormal. Before his personality had been established, he had been entrusted responsibility greater than he could handle. For the sake of achieving his goal, he was willing to sacrifice a lot, just for the sake of this sense of duty that had already sank deep into his bones.

Ha. Ha. But this wasn't why Zhang Jiasen hurt others. Zhang Jiasen was still trash, the lowest of the low. He had hurt Miao Miaomiao in order to satisfy that brutal desire in his heart even if he liked Miao Miaomiao.

"Miaomiao." Zhang Jiasen grabbed Ning Shu's hand. Zhang Jiasen's hand was very cold. She wanted to shake his hand off, but he gripped her tightly.

Ning Shu: Get your freakin' claws off.

Zhang Jiasen looked at Ning Shu, then smiled slightly. "Miao Miaomiao, without me, you'll definitely be very happy."

"Naturally. Without you, I'll definitely be happy and blessed," said Ning Shu with a grin. If Miao Miaomiao hadn't encountered Zhang Jiasen, her life wouldn't have ended up smashed like this.

Zhang Jiasen then said, "I don't regret hurting you. Even if there was a second chance, I would still do the same." Zhang Jiasen suddenly pulled Ning Shu into his arms. "Miaomiao, I just don't know how to love you."

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

Ning Shu directly stomped on Zhang Jiasen's foot with her shoe, but his expression didn't change in the slightest. It was as if he couldn't feel pain. He actually smiled as he gently released Ning Shu. "You should go."

The frick. Zhang Jiasen was seriously strange like this.

Ning Shu turned and left. When she got to the door, she glanced back and saw that Zhang Jiasen was still looking at her. His expression was very hazy. There was a faint layer of light around him.

"Miaomiao." Zhang Jiasen's lips moved slightly as he watched Ning Shu walk away.

When Ning Shu got out of the detention center, she took a deep breath. Her heart had felt very stuffy this entire time. She wasn't able to suppress this feeling even with the heart-clearing chant. This was the original host's emotions, the emotions remnant in this body.

If this tragedy was told, it'd sound like a joke. Right now, Zhang Jiasen was saying that he liked Miao Miaomiao, that he loved Miao Miaomiao, but he didn't regret hurting her. Ning Shu just wanted to laugh. Love was such beautiful wording. If hurting meant love, then she truly had no words to say.

...

"Ding, discovered eligible soul. Loading data." A cold mechanical voice arose.

"Activating system space."

...

Chapter 935: Death Solved Everything in One Stroke

Zhang Jiasen had committed suicide. When Ning Shu found out about this news, she was taken aback. By the time she rushed to the detention center, Zhang Jiasen was already lifeless and being carried out with a white cloth covering his corpse.

The entire Zhang family was in mourning. When they saw Ning Shu, Zhang Jiasen's mother threw herself towards Ning Shu. Ning Shu quickly dodged.

"You black-hearted woman! You drove your own man to death!" Zhang Jiasen's mother pointed as Ning Shu as she started cursing, her face filled with pain and hatred. "Ever since he married you, the Zhang family has been experiencing all sorts of calamities. You're a bearer of ill luck! Now you've even caused Zhang Jiasen to die! Why weren't you the one that died!?"

Ning Shu replied calmly, "I've already gotten divorced with him. Zhang Jiasen no longer has anything to do with me."

The entire Zhang family was stunned. Zhang Jiasen's father's back seemed to become more crooked. His gaze was filled with vicious resentment as he glared at Ning Shu. The son he had been intensely proud of was gone. "You are truly the most malicious and disgraceful woman that I've ever seen. You got divorced with Jiasen the moment he fell into dire straits, and now you've even driven him to death."

Ning Shu wasn't concerned about Zhang Jiasen's father's words. Could it be that she should just be a pushover that anyone could take advantage of? That she should allow people to hurt and kill her family? How did protecting her own things translate to being disgraceful?

"I wasn't the one that drove Zhang Jiasen to die, it was you guys." Ning Shu paid no attention to the Zhang family.

Zhang Jiasen's father, the steerer of this family, held half the responsibility for Zhang Jiasen getting to this point.

Ning Shu watched as Zhang Jiasen's corpse was carried onto the crematorium car. The Zhang family glanced at Ning Shu one last time, then got on the car as well.

The current Zhang family looked as if their backbone had been taken away. Even when they faced Ning Shu, they didn't have the same confidence as before. The timidness that came from their very bones was now revealed. In the past, no matter what happened, there was Zhang Jiasen there in front of them to help them, but now Zhang Jiasen was dead. There was no one else they could rely on in this city.

Zhang Jiasen didn't have to just fly up himself, he had to drag the entire Zhang family up with him.

Ning Shu entered the detention center to ask how Zhang Jiasen died.

The guard said that Zhang Jiasen had directly stabbed his own throat with the shaft of a toothbrush. The plastic toothbrush had been ground until its end was very sharp. From the looks of it, he had planned this for quite a while.

When Ning Shu heard this, she swallowed hard. How did he bring himself to do it?

From her perspective, Zhang Jiasen was someone with very deep schemes. He definitely wasn't someone that would easily seek death.

Perhaps Zhang Jiasen was tired and wanted to get free from the responsibilities he was shackled with, or perhaps the near two decades jail sentence made him fall into despair. His life was already ruined.

Ning Shu recalled what Zhang Jiasen said earlier. With him gone, Miao Miaomiao would be happy. So then, he committed suicide?

Ning Shu shook her head. Zhang Jiasen wasn't the type to sacrifice everything for the sake of another person. Perhaps Miao Miaomiao was just one factor.

Ning Shu didn't really have any feelings regarding Zhang Jiasen's suicide. Every event has a cause. Zhang Jiasen had caused the deaths of the original host's entire family. Right now, Zhang Jiasen was simply paying for his crimes.

Moreover, he had died just like this. Ning Shu felt that living, living while suffering was the greatest torment for a person. Constantly suffering in regrets was the most painful.

Death solved everything in one stroke.

Death wasn't scary, it was living while facing a painful life that was scary.

Ning Shu had wanted to make Zhang Jiasen stay in jail for a full eighteen years. Once he got out, he would already be around fifty and would have to struggle to survive. However, unexpectedly he had died just like this.

It was clear that Zhang Jiasen had also been aware of what his fate would be like.

The Zhang family brought Zhang Jiasen's ashes to the company doors to cause a ruckus. They said that she had driven him to death.

She drove him to death?

Ning Shu didn't bother to speak to Zhang Jiasen's mother who was spewing curses, and just turned towards Zhang Jiasen's father whose back was stooped with age. "Zhang Jiasen and I are already divorced, and I know that Zhang Jiasen had given you guys quite a lot of money. If you guys insist on continuing to make such a ruckus, I'll be calling the police so that the court can re-evaluate the amount of money that Zhang Jiasen had embezzled. Forget trying to get money from me, whether you guys will be able to even keep the money currently in your grasp is a question."

Zhang Jiasen's father pressed his lips together as he looked at Ning Shu, but in the end, he left. They would head back to the countryside. It was time to bury Zhang Jiasen after all.

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Chapter 936: This World was Very Beautiful

Ning Shu couldn't allow the Zhang family to continue making a ruckus at the company doors. All people felt sympathy for the weak. When the public saw that the Zhang family had lost their son and that the elderly had had to send off the young in such a pitiful way, they would forget all about the loathsome deeds that Zhang Jiasen had committed.

Furthermore, she couldn't give them money. The Zhang family were like leeches. If she gave them money once, there would definitely be a second time, and a next time after that. Giving in once was the same as admitting that you were in the wrong. People like them would immediately take advantage of this to drill into your veins and suck the blood from your body.

Ning Shu knew that Zhang Jiasen's father had some money in hand, but she had no plans to try and get that money back. First of all, it wasn't that much money. Second, if she was too merciless, it'd affect Miao Miaomiao's reputation negatively. If nothing unexpected occurred, Miao Miaomiao would take over the entire company in the future.

The original host would have to interact with others to secure business deals. If her reputation was bad, people would feel that she had poor moral character.

Without Zhang Jiasen, the Zhang family were just mud loaches that would never be able to become dragons, but Miao Miaomiao would ultimately have to deal with the Zhang family herself. The knowledge she had learned about business would remain in this body's brain.

Phew. Ning Shu gave a long exhale. This task counted as finished. Both Miao Miaomiao's parents were well and alive, she just lost a husband.

Ning Shu started single-mindedly focusing on work and continuously went back and forth between the Miao family company and the factory. The company was now very tight-knit without anymore shady people mixed in. She had asserted the Miao family's unconditional status in this company and made it clear that the Miao family was the absolute master of this company, so the workers no longer dared to harbor any other thoughts.

Once Ning Shu got fully familiar with dealing with the company's matters, she started traveling a lot with Mother Miao. The two of them were like sisters, heading off with a camera and taking pictures along the way of wherever they went.

During the process of traveling, Ning Shu's heart became very calm. Not even the heart-clearing chant had had this effect.

Ever since what Zhang Jiasen did was exposed, especially after what Zhang Jiasen had said to her in the detention center, this body's heart had been feeling heavy.

However, in the process of traveling and hiking mountains to watch the sun rise from the east, standing by the sea and running alongside the tide, the knot in her heart was slowly disappearing.

Yes, this world was very beautiful. The pain we imagine to have was actually not that painful.

Ning Shu also felt very carefree as she dived in the sea, walked in the desert, jumped from the sky, and learned about history in museums.

Life was marvelous, so she would continue to work hard to live.

She'd see countless planes and walk countless planes. Perhaps she would be exterminated in the very next task, but at the very least, she was alive in this moment.

"Ding, task complete. Leaving task world." 2333's voice appeared.

Ning Shu felt a burst of dizziness. When she woke back up, she was already in the system space. She glanced down and found that her soul was even stronger than before. This task hadn't used up her soul energy and had actually strengthened it?

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Chapter 937: Lifelong Friend

A task caused her soul to actually become stronger? This was something she had never encountered before.

Ning Shu felt her own body. It kind of felt like she was touching gelatin. Her soul really had become stronger.

She was confused, so she asked 2333, "Why does it feel like I haven't used much soul energy in this plane? It feels even stronger than before."

"Purifying one's spirit is also a sort of cultivation. A person's spirit energy is very strong, strong to the point it can resist external enticement. It's something that can be strengthened and trained to become tenacious," explained 2333.

Ning Shu suddenly realized that although she was a task-taker, she was also a human that had her own thoughts and feelings.

Perhaps it was due to the scenic tour she had gone on in the task world. It had allowed her to relax, so she didn't feel very tired upon returning to the system space. Unlike before, she didn't feel the urge to sleep first thing.

She had always felt disgusted and vexed before, but this time she didn't have that feeling.

Ning Shu felt that this was a good strategy. Once a task was over, she should stay a little longer in the task world and roam around a little. Not only would this allow her to relax, it would also slowly heal the entrustor's heart.

All entrustors had been hurt by life, so their hearts were filled with hatred and pain. It'd be good if she could help the entrustors set some of that down in order to begin a new life.

She could also allow herself to relax and strengthen her own spirit this way. This was something that brought benefits to both parties.

"There's no need to transfer me back so fast in the future. I'll let you know when I want to head back," said Ning Shu to 2333.

"Alright, but you can only spend three to four years in a world at most. If you spend too long in a world, it'll severely damage your soul," said 2333.

Ning Shu nodded. "Let's check the points."

The stats panel appeared in front of Ning Shu.

Number: 2333

Name: Ning Shu (Primary Task-Taker)

Age: 27

Experience: 400000 (250000)

Soul: 200

Life: 60

Intelligence: 100

Charm: 3

Luck: 34

Mental Strength: 120

Martial Arts: 55

Faith: 6 (5)

Aptitude: 26

Merit: 36

Abilities: Five Rings Shooting Skill, Trashy Combat Skill, Trashy Beginner of Unsurpassable Martial Arts, Rudimentary Business Administration Knowledge

Acquired Titles: Goddess of War, Altruistic Ancestor

Halos: Benevolent Mother of the World (Empress's blessing), Model Worker Sis (Chen Xi's blessing), Chief Halo (Cao's blessing), Lifelong Friend (Miao Miaomiao's blessing)

Fulfilled Miao Miaomiao's wish: I don't want to be tricked by Zhang Jiasen again. I want to protect Dad's company and make Zhang Jiasen who originally had nothing end up with nothing.

Task Completion Degree: 100%

Gained 250000 experience points.

Gained 30 attribute points.

Ning Shu saw that she had gain 250k experience points, thirty attribute points, five faith points, and also a 'Lifelong Friend' halo.

Although she didn't know what these halos did, she was still very happy to receive them.

The harvest this time wasn't bad. Ning Shu was very satisfied.

"This Lifelong Friend halo is pretty nice. It increases people's instinctive trust in you," said 2333.

So it had this use.

Ning Shu allocated the attribute points. She added fifteen to intelligence, ten to martial arts, and five to aptitude. She had tried adding some to merit but she found that she couldn't add to it.

"Faith and merit points are calculated by me. They're computed through different means so you can't add attribute points to them."

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Chapter 938: Fabricated Space

Ning Shu nodded. The stats panel was already reflecting the changes.

Number: 2333

Name: Ning Shu (Primary Task-Taker)

Age: 27

Experience: 400000 (250000)

Soul: 200

Life: 60

Intelligence: 100 (15)

Charm: 3

Luck: 34

Mental Strength: 120

Martial Arts: 55 (10)

Faith: 11

Aptitude: 26 (5)

Merit: 36

Abilities: Five Rings Shooting Skill, Trashy Combat Skill, Trashy Beginner of Unsurpassable Martial Arts, Rudimentary Business Administration Knowledge

Acquired Titles: Goddess of War, Altruistic Ancestor

Halos: Benevolent Mother of the World (Empress's blessing), Model Worker Sis (Chen Xi's blessing), Chief Halo (Cao's blessing), Lifelong Friend (Miao Miaomiao's blessing)

"You've obtained 500k points, so you can activate the fabricated space," said 2333. "Do you want to activate the fabricated space?"

Ning Shu didn't bother to first ask what the fabricated space was and directly asked, "Does it cost points?"

Leveling up to becoming a mid-level task-taker required three million points. Three entire million!

She had to save as many points as she could to level up to being a mid-level task-taker, then start doing tasks in mid-level worlds. That way she'd be able to gather more treasures.

Cultivation worlds and celestial worlds were all higher-level planes. These worlds had stronger heavenly laws and also more treasure.

"... It doesn't require points. It's a benefit," said 2333.

Ning Shu immediately said, "Then activate it."

"Wait one moment. I'll make the passage to the fabricated space for you right now," said 2333.

After a few moments, a ring with diameter size of about a meter appeared on the ground in the space. 2333 said, "This is the passage to enter the fabricated space. All you have to do is step inside the circle and it'll transfer you there."

"What's the fabricated space?" asked Ning Shu.

"It's a place for task-takers to interact. It was specially set up to facilitate interaction between task-takers. All sorts of things can be traded there and you can also buy all kinds of things. Pretty much everything in the system marketplace is there."

Ning Shu was astonished. "Then won't I encounter a lot of task-takers?"

"Of course. This was a place the higher-ups had specially set up for task-takers to communicate after all. Of course there are a lot of task-takers," said 2333.

Ning Shu kind of wanted to see what this fabricated space was like. The moment she stepped into the passage, she felt a strong force puling at her body. It felt like she was rapidly falling. It was dizzying.

The next time she opened her eyes, she saw that she was currently standing on a street. Below her feet were bluestone tiles. They were very simple and unadorned, but smooth and reflective like polished floor tiles.

The surrounding building were also of the ancient era style.

This was a city, and it was very large.

Ning Shu originally thought that she would see something that she would never have been able to imagine, but it was just this?

There were all sorts of shops on the streets including teahouses and restaurants. People were walking around, all of them were spiritual bodies. There were men and women, and the strengths of their souls varied. Some were very solid while others were thin and see-through.

Ning Shu saw that some people's spirits were actually very old. Their hairs were white and their faces were filled with wrinkles.

Ning Shu asked curiously, "Could it be that they even take task-takers that old?"

"How's that possible? They stayed in the task worlds too long. Perhaps they had obtained absolute power in a plane and couldn't bear to leave, or their task was too hard and they spent too much time in the task world. Souls age too, that's why I advised you not to stay more than four years in a task world. It really damages the soul a lot," explained 2333.

Ning Shu nodded. "I got it."

The person she saw earlier was extremely old and his soul was also very transparent like it was about to fall apart. She knew now that 2333 really had said that for her own good.

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Chapter 939: An Ancient Era City

Ning Shu had expected the fabricated space to be sumptuous and maybe have a sky filled with flying saucers. She never imagined that it would actually be an ancient era city. However, the task-takers in the city were all dressed in different styles.

Some were wearing clothing of the ancient era while others were in T-shirts and shorts. Some were in Western-style suits and some were even wearing hides...

"And I thought it would be some breathtaking place," said Ning Shu to 2333.

"... This fabricated space has existed since forever. This space is here for task-takers to interact, not for them to enjoy. For that purpose, these ancient style buildings are the most suitable," said 2333.

Ning Shu looked at the task-takers that were walking past her. There were a lot of people. She exclaimed with a slight sigh, "There are so many task-takers."

"Is there a lot? Compared to the boundless vast sea of planes, these task-takers are just a drop in the ocean. There are never enough task-takers. Primary task-takers often get exterminated due to all sorts of things. They disappear at a rate faster than finding suitable souls," replied 2333.

Ning Shu asked in confusion, "If there aren't a lot of suitable souls, why exterminate them? Can't they be given a chance?"

"Pfff..." 2333 snorted in disdain. "Allowing you guys to become task-takers is already giving you guys a chance. Ruthless means must be used to make task-takers understand their place. If they fail, of course they must be exterminated. This is an elimination process: survival of the strongest, elimination of the weak. You guys have been given a chance to live. As long as you're not exterminated, you'd possess the ability to live forever. What more chances should be given?"

Ning Shu felt a chill down her back, so she stopped wondering about this question. Thinking about these kinds of questions would only make her more stressed.

She started looking around the city. Here, points served as money. Points could be used to buy a lot of things.

Some task-takers were selling things, but most of the items were for barter. Ning Shu saw that on the carpets of some task-takers were some rather rare treasures, but the items to exchange for them were also very rare.

Ning Shu saw quite a lot of treasures, but when she saw the price, she could only silently gulp.

"Are the people inside the stores also task-takers?" Ning Shu saw that a lot of shopkeepers were also spiritual bodies.

"This involves the question of division of labor. Points are very important to task-takers, they're pretty much currency. Some people rely on doing business to obtain points. They're unwilling to do tasks and only want to continue living. With this method, they also don't face the threat of being exterminated."

"However, people like this have generally given up the chance to become high-level task-takers. Even if they have enough points, they still wouldn't be able to level up," said 2333. "A steady life has its limitations."

"Ning Shu, above there still exists an even more fascinating world. You'll encounter even stronger people. Rather than spend a lifetime viewing the sky from the bottom of a well, why not slowly climb up?" said 2333.

Ning Shu had always been determined to keep doing tasks. While living, humans had to have a goal to slowly fight towards. Furthermore, she could experience all sorts of worlds while doing tasks.

It was much more interesting compared to staying in this fabricated space.

Ning Shu looked up at the restaurant in front of her as she asked, "It's possible to eat in the spiritual state?"

When she saw the stream of people walking in and out of the restaurant, she felt like going in as well.

"It only satisfies food cravings. Eating doesn't actually serve any purpose, but all humans have cravings for food," replied 2333 off-handedly.

Ning Shu licked her lips. She hadn't eaten since she died. How could eating using someone else's body be the same as eating in her own body?

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Chapter 940: (‵′)︵

The moment Ning Shu walked into the restaurant, a waiter came up to greet her. He looked like a typical waiter of the ancient era and had a towel on one shoulder. This waiter was also a spiritual body, but his soul didn't look as resilient as hers.

"I want to order some food," said Ning Shu.

The waiter brought Ning Shu to a table. Ning Shu saw that there were three women sitting at the table next to her and that there were sweets and coffee on their table.

Who would've thought that a restaurant would also have things like that? Ning Shu looked through the menu, then ordered a roast duck and a couple household dishes.

The waiter said to Ning Shu, "In total, that's a thousand points. Please pay first."

Ning Shu: ...

She didn't freakin' know how to pay...

"How do I pay?" asked Ning Shu.

The moment Ning Shu said this, all the surrounding people looked towards her. One of the women at neighboring table directly remarked, "So it's her first time coming to the fabricated space."

"2333, how am I supposed to pay?" Ning Shu mentally asked 2333.

"You asked so many questions that I forgot to tell you. You need to set up a points card. You can just swipe the card whenever you buy something."

Swipe the card!?

Alright, fine. Since even CPUs existed, things like swiping cards were plenty normal.

"Guest, it must be your first time here. We can set up a card for you here." The waiter didn't laugh at Ning Shu and just had her enter the information to make a points card. After that, she paid with it.

Ning Shu looked around. There were quite a lot of people in the restaurant and the things they ate were all different. It was like the restaurant had everything.

Ning Shu noticed that the three women sitting at the nearby table kept glancing at her, then quickly whispering to each other.

"2333, is something weird about me?" Ning Shu was really speechless. She felt like she was a monkey on display.

"... They said that you're really ugly," said 2333.

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

How am I ugly!? At the very least, I count as a delicate little beauty!

Ning Shu's greatest pride was her head of smooth hair. When she was alive, she had to go through chemotherapy everyday, so she didn't even have eyebrows. However, after dying she discovered that her hair was extremely smooth and soft.

However, they were actually saying that she was ugly? Ning Shu turned to look at the women. How pretty could they be?

She outright seized them up. All of them had very white and delicate skin. Ning Shu touched her face. It felt like gelatin and was also very soft.

However, those women either gave off a very pure aura or seemed very sexy. In brief, every single one of them were breathtakingly beautiful. Their eyes were like water, with large busts and curves, and big white thighs.

They were very pretty, very beautiful. In comparison to them, she was indeed pretty ugly. Ning Shu had no choice but to swallow her anger.

"Their current appearance is influenced by the addition of charm points. Your charm level is just too low. If your charm level is higher, your appearance will slowly start changing according to your body's special traits," said 2333. "Your three points of charm is seriously too low."

Ning Shu scratched her hair. There wasn't enough attribute points though. For the sake of guaranteeing her safety and preventing accidents from occurring in the task worlds, she had to increase her martial arts level first. Furthermore, five hundred points of intelligence was the passing score and she was only at a hundred.

At the present stage, Ning Shu felt that she was seriously too weak. Even if she added points to charm, it was still a waste.

Things like charm were secondary. In any case, when she entered tasks, she entered the original host's body, so other people wouldn't be able to see what she looked like anyways.

It was still better to add the attribute points to the more important areas.

The food was brought up. Ning Shu looked at all the delicious food, then tore a leg off the roast duck to take a bite. It was extremely delicious and fragrant, but once she swallowed, it seemed to disappear. She couldn't digest things in the spiritual state, so where did these things go? It was pretty mysterious.

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Chapter 941: (‵′)︵ x2

It had been a long time since she had been able to eat so carefreely. As she gnawed on the roast duck, she saw that the three women were staring at her again.

Ning Shu: What now?

They said she was ugly, and that was true enough. Who asked for them to be beautiful? But what was going on now?

"... They're wondering which corner you crawled out from. It's like you've never had meat before," said 2333.

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone eat before?" snapped Ning Shu. You guys just focus on eating your sweets and let me enjoy my roast duck.

The three women scoffed, then continued chatting among themselves. It seemed like they didn't even want to talk to Ning Shu. They probably felt that she was too low-leveled.

"You two have no idea, I encountered such a weird guy in one of the worlds. All the tasks recently have been pretty hard and tiring, so I wanted to go to a low-level plane to do a simpler task." An alluring woman that gave off an indolent air was speaking. Her soul seemed very strong, it almost looked like an actual physical body.

This woman and the other two were all very strong.

When Ning Shu heard this, she perked up her ears even as she continued to gnaw on the duck leg.

"Big Sis Wei, what happened?" asked one of the women.

"I failed my task in that low-level plane. If it weren't for the fact that I had something to back up my life, I would've frickin' been exterminated." The seductive woman's facial color was very poor as she said this.

"I encountered a goddamn brain-dead man. No matter how I flirted with him, he didn't fall for me. The favorable impression level was forever at zero. It didn't even ripple! I almost frickin' thought he was a machine!" The seductive woman sat up straight, her expression furious and also very speechless.

"What..." The other two women traded a glance, then burst out laughing. "There actually exists a man that you can't make sense of? You probably didn't try that hard, right? You're almost about to become an advanced task-taker after all."

"Didn't try that hard? I tried really hard." The seductive woman waved her hands helplessly. "I really can't figure it out. The more I thought about it, the more depressed I felt, so I ran back to that plane and it turned out that man fell in love with my previous entrustor, his fiancée."

"When I was there, he hadn't fallen in love with me, but he fell in love the moment I left and the person he fell for was the original host?" The seductive woman was indignant. It was clear that she was furious that the man had insulted her charm.

Ning Shu: ...

Why did this sound so familiar!?

Ning Shu looked at the woman. This woman couldn't be 'Song Ning' right? When she had become the CEO, another task-taker had entered Song Ning's body.

She never thought she'd encounter her here. Ning Shu looked at her. She was seriously beautiful and enchanting. However, Ning Shu couldn't get the image of how she looked when she was flirting out of her mind.

Of course, Ning Shu didn't dare to run over to say that she was that CEO.

She couldn't do something that brainless.

As Ning Shu ate, she kept her ears peeled to see what they'd say.

"Big Sis Wei, then what did you do?"

"Of course I had to take him down. This time my entrustor was An Nuan, the female lead. It was way more effective to besiege the male lead with the female lead halo."

Ning Shu's hand shook and she almost dropped her chopsticks. But the female lead An Nuan had already gotten married with the supporting male lead!?

So messy!?

"What happened?" asked the other two curiously.

Ning Shu was also curious about the result.

The seductive woman waved her hand dismissively with a tsk. "Men are all the same, in the end they're still very easy. The male and female lead got together and the fiancée became cannon fodder again."

As the seductive woman said this, she shrugged, then took a sip of coffee.

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Chapter 942: Resisting Had Been a Mistake?

"We knew it! No one can escape from your hands. Teach us some of your skills!" The two women looked towards the woman they called 'Big Sis Wei' with respect.

Big Sis Wei waved her hand dismissively as she said, "All men liked it when women wholeheartedly love them. Men are just lowly creatures that can't appreciate it when a woman treats them too well. It's simple, in order to capture, one must let loose. Once you get into the act, the other party will naturally start to think that you really love him."

"There's no need to mind something like men. They can just be used to fill the emptiness. Switch them out in every world. There are seriously too many men in the world. Why are men allowed to act like stallions but women weren't allowed to live carefreely? Women can also live freely," said Big Sis Wei mildly.

Ning Shu finished her soup, then got up to leave. After leaving the restaurant, she sighed hard, then started strolling around the city again to understand the city setup better.

She wasn't in a very good mood, so she said to 2333, "Let's head back."

"Alright."

In the blink of an eye, she had returned to her system space. She had a lot of questions, so she asked 2333, "I already helped Gong Luo get free from the control of the storyline, so why did she use An Nuan's body to pull the storyline back to the original tracks?"

Furthermore, Gong Luo already had a good ending with Song Ning but that Big Sis Wei, due to her personal defeat, insisted on recovering her face and going back to besiege Gong Luo again.

She had even done it with An Nuan who had already gotten married so it ended up as Gong Luo forcefully snatching someone else's wife. At the very least, in the original storyline Gong Luo had obtained An Nuan's chastity.

The current Gong Luo's situation was even worse than in the original storyline.

So back then, resisting Big Sis Wei had been a mistake!?

Heavens, it was so messy!

They were already about to have a happy ending, so why did she insist on getting involved and forcing Gong Luo and An Nuan together?

"I already told you, each task-taker has their own way of carrying out their tasks. That world's law is to have the male and female leads be together. There was nothing wrong with you counterattacking for Gong Luo, but she's also not wrong in counterattacking for An Nuan and bringing the storyline back to normal. Just do things according to your heart."

"If Gong Luo had gotten back together with An Nuan again in that world, it doesn't have much to do with you. Gong Luo hadn't been able to maintain his own will. You helped him counterattack once, but the second time he had lost himself in the task-taker's charm. No one can do anything about this," said 2333.

Ning Shu wiped at her face. Even she as a woman was barely able to resist that charm, so how could a man resist it?

It was only now that she realized that beauty and charm were also weapons. It was a weapon that bewitched people with pleasant feelings.

That was why she decided that she had to practice the heart-clearing chant more to train her spirit to resist external allures.

This time it had been a woman, but what if next time it was a man. If a magnificent man with max charm flirted with her, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to resist.

However, Ning Shu still felt that the Big Sis Wei had done things out of selfishness. She had forcefully broken the couple apart in order to prove the strength of her charm.

If she minded those things too much, it'd only make her will weaken.

Ning Shu was very satisfied with her current self. Perhaps one day she would be able to become pretty, but right now when even survival was difficult, there was no point minding minor details.

Ning Shu felt that Gong Luo was an intelligent man. Once the task-taker left, the dazzling halo would disappear from the entrustor's body since it belonged to the task-taker, not the entrustor.

Furthermore, every person had a different personality. She hoped that Gong Luo would be able to figure things out. If Gong Luo had really fallen in love, it still wasn't with An Nuan but with the task-taker that had been in An Nuan's body. His true heart had gone to the task-taker.

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Chapter 943: Training

Ning Shu stopped thinking about what happened with Gong Luo. Each person had their own fate.

She sat down on the sofa and started meditating to cultivate. Once she felt about done, she watered the bonsai a little. Although these bonsai would never wither, she still wanted to water them.

Following that, she read for a while. She wanted to one day finish reading all of the books on this bookshelf, that way she could say that she read extensively.

There was no sense of time in the system space. After Ning Shu finished reading one of the books, she set it down and traded for some fasting pills, water, medicine, and antidote pills from the system marketplace.

Once she finished preparing everything, she said to 2333, "Let's go do the task."

"Alright."

Ning Shu immediately felt a burst of dizziness. Once her soul merged with the body, she felt all the hairs on her body rise on end. Her muscles were tensed up and her heart was pounding hard.

It was very dangerous!

Ning Shu immediately opened her eyes, but before she could check the surroundings, she saw a huge tiger pounce towards her. The vicious air of a beast rushed towards her.

Ning Shu stabbed the thing she was holding towards the tiger's eyes. This body was very nimble and the black sword accurately pierced the tiger's eye. Ning Shu forcefully twisted the sword and scorching hot blood spurted out. The tiger roared as it fell, convulsing on the ground. A few moments later, it was dead.

Once the tiger died, Ning Shu fell to sitting on the ground. She gasped for breath as she checked the surroundings. This was a cut-out stone room. She was currently locked in an iron cage and all that was in here was her and the tiger.

It was clear that someone wanted her to fight this tiger to the death.

The stone door opened and a man dressed in black walked in. Ning Shu looked towards him. When she saw that his hair was up in a bun, she knew that this time's task was set in the ancient era.

The man gave off a very cold aura and his face was filled with scars, causing him to look very dangerous.

"Not bad. You took less time than last time," said the man. His voice was a little hoarse and very cold. The sound of his voice was like the hissing of a snake.

It made people very uncomfortable. Upon seeing this person, this body's heart filled with reverence and fear.

Ning Shu still hadn't received the storyline so she just replied, "Yes."

"Training will be sped up. Master has a task to assign you," said the man.

"Understood."

The man glanced at Ning Shu. His voice was firm and slightly sinister as he said, "Remember, you vow absolute loyalty and devotion to the third prince. Master decides our life and death. All we must do is to fulfill our mission even at the cost of our own lives once Master gives an order."

... Was this brainwashing?

Before Ning Shu could react, she had already reflexively replied, "Understood."

The man finally nodded in satisfaction. "Rest a while, there'll be a new test soon."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Ning Shu directly sat on the ground to start receiving the storyline.

#comment: This one's nice-ish XD

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Chapter 944: Eleven's Wish

The original host's name was Eleven. She was a nameless orphan. The reason she was called Eleven was because there were already people with the codenames One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten.

The people here didn't have names, only codenames.

This base hidden deep in the mountains was the place where the current third prince trained death soldiers. The original host was a death soldier. She had been here ever since she started to remember things.

The training here was very cruel. Every single person crawled out from a mountain of corpses and blood. They honed their skills in preparation to meet death for the sake of their master, the third prince.

Eleven didn't reject this lifestyle. She was an orphan from the start and the only life she had ever known was this one.

Eleven's mission this time was actually pretty simple. She just had to protect a woman called Shangguan Qingrou.

This Shangguan Qingrou was the woman the third prince liked. Shangguan Qingrou was the daughter of the Director of the Board of Rites. She was very pretty, cute, and direct; very different from normal girls of noble families.

In reality, this Shangguan Qingrou was a transmigrate. She knew the Gangnam style horse-riding dance and how to sing the 'You are my little, dear little apple. However much I love you, it's never too much' song. These unique songs and dances were very interesting.

The third prince was the first to notice Shangguan Qingrou. He had a favorable impression of this unique woman. Meanwhile, Shangguan Qingrou wasn't a person from the ancient era so she didn't really care about the differences between men and women. After getting to know the third prince, Shangguan Qingrou started frequently dropping by the prince's residence.

The two of them often went on scenic tours and things like that.

They were quite like a couple.

However, Shangguan Qingrou soon attracted the attention of the other princes. The third prince knew that the struggle for the throne would be very dangerous, so he wanted a female death soldier to protect Shangguan Qingrou.

Shangguan Qingrou maintained good relationships with all of these princes. It was beyond that of friendship but not quite lovers. Even the little princes in the palace liked playing with her. These little princes were at the age where they loved to play and Shangguan Qingrou always had rare and strange new things to play with.

The third prince really liked Shangguan Qingrou. He demanded that Shangguan Qingrou belonged completely to him, heart and body. He wanted to possess all of her.

However, Shangguan Qingrou had come from the modern era and was very independent. How could a person with more advanced ideologies tolerate a tyrannical request that stripped her of her freedom?

She had her own social circles and friends.

Shangguan Qingrou originally had a favorable impression of this noble and talented man, but she couldn't take his tyrannical manner. In the end, she got married to the fifth prince.

The two were extremely in love. For Shangguan Qingrou, the fifth prince didn't take any mistresses.

Meanwhile, when the third prince saw how happy the two were, he laughed coldly and just started targeting the fifth prince even more. He didn't bother to be polite about attacking Shangguan Qingrou either.

Every time he was about to hurt Shangguan Qingrou, Shangguan Qingrou would be rescued by someone and the danger would turn into good fortune.

The third prince's goal was precisely to ruin Shangguan Qingrou. I love you, so you must love me. If you don't love me, then I'll just kill you. Since I can't obtain you, I'll just destroy you. Then I can hug your corpse which will belong only to me.

In this struggle for the throne, the third prince was defeated and the fifth prince ascended to the throne. Shangguan Qingrou became empress, but the harem remained devoid of concubines.

The third prince was in the end, given poisoned wine by the fifth prince.

From then on, the emperor and empress lived happily ever after.

The original host's wish: Don't let her master die.

Eleven couldn't understand it. Her master treated Shangguan Qingrou so well. He gave her everything and his only condition was that Shangguan Qingrou was loyal to him.

Shangguan Qingrou was very close to the other princes, but she kept saying that they were just friends.

In any case, Eleven felt that her master was really good but Shangguan Qingrou had said that her master didn't understand love and only knew to snatch whatever he wanted.

Ning Shu sighed. See, this was what a loyal servant was like. While alive, she had been willing to risk life and limb for her master, and even after dying, she still offered up her soul to save her master.

How effective was the brainwashing? Ning Shu didn't know if Eleven had feelings for the third prince or if it was just pure devotion.

But this task!?

Fudge, she was just a death soldier, how was she supposed to influence the battle between these large powers? How was she supposed to get involved in the replacement of a dynasty?

She didn't even have the right to talk in front of the third prince. Her job was to lift her blade and rush forward as soon as the third prince gave a command.

Ning Shu: ...

#comment: Death soldiers basically refer to soldiers that are trained to be absolutely loyal and unafraid of dying.

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Chapter 945: The Second Trial

Death soldiers didn't need to speak, they only had to swing their swords to carry out any and every command from their master. Even if they were facing a bottomless cliff, if their master said to jump, they would jump without hesitation.

Ning Shu carefully considered this task. If she had transmigrated into the emperor's body instead, she could directly give the throne to the third prince. Once the third prince was emperor, he would be able to easily summon Shangguan Qingrou to enter the palace.

This entire situation was also due to how much the third prince liked courting death. In plain terms, people only suffered when they couldn't satisfy their desires. If their desires were satisfied, then they'd just be bored.

Ning Shu analyzed Eleven's wish. She didn't want her master to die. This meant that she had to change the third prince's fate of execution by poisoned wine. As for whether the third prince would become emperor or not, that had nothing to do with her.

However, if the third prince didn't become emperor, he'd end up killed. His hobby of courting disaster with all his might in particular and trying to kill the female lead by every possible means definitely wouldn't let him off unscathed.

Actually, the third prince probably counted as a trashy ex-boyfriend character.

It wasn't that he didn't love, but that he loved insanely much.

Having a master like this was so tiring.

Forget it, she'll just plan things as she went.

Ning Shu sat down in the iron cage and started practicing the Unsurpassable Martial Arts. Since she was a death soldier, the stronger her martial arts, the better. That way, she'd have a greater chance at survival in this job where she had to be prepared to die at any moment.

Ning Shu didn't want to die in the task. If she failed the task, she'd be exterminated.

Fortunately, there was quite a lot of spirit energy in this world so practicing the Unsurpassable Martial Arts went quite well.

There was the sound of a heavy stone door opening. Ning Shu stopped practicing and stood up.

The scarred man from earlier walked in. Ning Shu knew now that he was the head of this training grounds with the codename One. He had carried out a lot of missions before.

"You'll be starting your next mission now." One was very cold and indifferent towards Ning Shu. Ning Shu nodded, then followed him out the stone door. He then pushed open another stone door.

"Go inside. This is your second task. You must kill all of the prey inside." One pushed Ning Shu in, then closed the stone door.

The moment Ning Shu walked in, she smelled a nauseating fishiness. The room was filled with the sound of snakes hissing.

She looked around. There were so many snakes! These snakes were wound around each other and slithering around nonstop.

Ning Shu felt goosebumps rise over her entire body.

Fudge, these were the most disgusting things possible. Furthermore, these snakes all had very vibrant scales. They were all poisonous.

In reality, One wanted to kill her, didn't he? How was she supposed to kill this many snakes?

Ning Shu hacked the snake that was slithering towards her in half, but there were countless more snakes slithering towards her. She revolved her energy and stomped on the wall to scale it. After a few steps, she finally found a place without snakes.

Right now, she not only had to kill all of these snakes, she also had to avoid getting bitten by these snakes.

She was starting to regret not having exchanged for realgar powder. Next time, she had to get realgar powder.

Ning Shu continued to behead the snakes. The snakes that had been sliced in half kept writhing on the ground, but in the end they still died.

The smell in the stone room got even worse. The fishy smell from the snakes mixed with the sticky stench of blood. It was suffocating.

Ning Shu looked at the endless mass of snakes. She had no idea when she would be able to finish killing them.

One had been waiting at the door for Ning Shu to complete the task. After a very long time, he pushed open the door, just in time to see Ning Shu kill the last snake.

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Chapter 946: The Simplest Mission

One glanced at the ground covered with snake corpses expressionlessly. He didn't bother to praise Ning Shu and just directly said, "You've passed the second trial. There's one trial left."

Ning Shu was really tired. She couldn't even lift her arms, so she said, "Can I rest for a bit first? I'm really tired."

One glanced at Ning Shu. "The last trial is very simple. There's no need for a break."

It's very simple?

Ning Shu followed One into a stone room. This stone room was very clean. There was a stone bed and on it was a little bundle of clothes.

When Ning Shu walked closer, she saw that an infant was wrapped in the clothes. His black eyes were currently looking around curiously and small bubbles formed on his lips as he muttered.

When he saw Ning Shu, he started crying out in baby talk. He didn't have teeth yet and only had pink gums.

Ning Shu looked at the swaddling clothes. There were a lot of patches on it, making it clear that this child had come from a poor family.

Ning Shu had a bad premonition as she looked towards One.

One said with a cold expression, "This is your last test. Kill this child."

Ning Shu's heart clutched hard. "Why? This child has nothing to do with us."

One's gaze abruptly turned sharp. "Is this something you should say? We're simply swords. As long as Master gives the command, regardless of who the target is, we must kill them, even if it's a child."

"Kill him." One pointed to the child on the bed. "This is your last mission. If you don't complete it, then you've failed. Master will not be able to give you an assignment."

Perhaps the infant sensed danger, or perhaps One's voice had scared him, because he suddenly started wailing. The stone room echoed with the sound of the child's cries.

Ning Shu's palm was becoming sweaty. She felt conflicted and lost like never before.

If she didn't kill this child, she wouldn't be able to leave this base. What would happen with her task? She'd be exterminated.

But she had no past with this child. This child didn't even know anything. This was a life. Ning Shu hadn't felt any psychological resistance when killing that tiger and those snakes, but killing a human? And it was even a human that she had no hatred or animosity towards.

Cold sweat covered Ning Shu's entire body. The sweat from her forehead dripped into her eye, causing her eye to sting, but she couldn't be bothered to care.

Was she going to have to kill an innocent person for the sake of her task?

Use an innocent infant's life to trade for her own? Could she do this?

She could, couldn't... could.. couldn't...

Ning Shu felt helpless and lost like never before. She had never encountered something like this in past tasks. What was she supposed to do?

Use this life to complete her own task? But this child didn't know anything and had never done anything to hurt her. Was she really going to do this?

Ning Shu was willing to do things to get justice for the original host, but this child had nothing to do with the task.

What should she do? How could she kill an innocent person, especially when it was an infant that didn't know anything? Even crimes didn't pass down to the child, and this was a completely innocent child.

Ning Shu was very conflicted. Her mind was a complete mess. She felt like her mental state was about to shatter into disarray.

Should she stop caring about the means for the sake of survival and choose to live regardless of the means?

One looked at Ning Shu coldly. "You only need to lift your blade and pierce it into this child's heart. This is the simplest mission. Remember, you're a death soldier."

Ning Shu swallowed hard. Death soldier. This kind of training method practically destroyed a person's humanity.

However, this kind of training was precisely for the sake of eliminating a person's humanity and sympathy so that they'd become emotionless machines.

Beneath every emperor's throne were innumerable bones of the dead. These bones were stomped into steps as he slowly climbed up to the position of emperor.

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Chapter 947: A Bit of Luck in Unfortunate Circumstances

As soon as she pierced down, the morals she had been upholding would vanish. From then on, she'd no longer be tied down by anything. If there was a first time, there would be a second time. After it happened a few times, she'd become numb to it and would no longer feel conflicted like now.

Ning Shu gripped the shaft of her sword so tightly the veins on the back of her hand bulged.

"Kill him, kill him..." A cold voice was next to her ear.

It was either you died, or I die. If it had been an enemy in front of her, she would've lifted her sword and slashed down without hesitation, but this was an unarmed and defenseless child that she had no past with.

"2333, what should I do?" Ning Shu asked 2333 for help.

2333 was silent for a moment, then he asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't want to kill him." After saying this, Ning Shu felt her entire body relax and her thoughts cleared up. She didn't want to kill this child.

This child had no relationship with her.

The system was silent.

"2333, please help me." When Ning Shu saw that 2333 wasn't speaking, she asked again for help.

"There's a fake death drug in the system marketplace. I'll help you get one, but don't report me. This is illegal conduct. I'm risking being reformatted to help you. This is the last time. If we're discovered, both of us face the fates of being exterminated," said 2333.

Ning Shu's heart leaped with joy. "Thank you, 2333! Don't worry, I'll exchange for these things in advance next time."

A pill then appeared in Ning Shu's palm, which allowed her unsettled heart to finally calm down.

It seemed that in the future, not only did she have to exchange for the basic survival items, she also had to prepare these things.

She could only use the things she exchanged for in advance in the tasks.

"Have you decided?" asked One. "With a will like this, you can't be a death soldier. There's no need for you to take on this time's assignment."

"I can do it." Ning Shu quickly walked to the bed and covered the mouth of the crying infant. Then she looked down and quickly stabbed her sword into the infant's left chest before pulling it out.

The stone room that was noisy just a moment ago now only contained the breathing of Ning Shu and One.

One glanced at Ning Shu, then walked over to check the infant's pulse before checking his breathing.

After a good while, once he confirmed that the infant was dead, he said to Ning Shu, "Passable."

Ning Shu asked, "Can I bury him?"

One glanced at Ning Shu, his gaze extremely sharp. In the end, he nodded.

Only then did Ning Shu slowly move to pick up the dead child and leave the stone room.

"Wait." One spoke.

Ning Shu's heart jumped, but she feigned calmness as she turned around and asked, "Is there something else?"

"Return quickly. In a bit, you'll be coming with me to see Master," said One.

Ning Shu nodded, then quickly left with the infant. She walked out of the enormous cave to the forest.

She quickly ran into the forest, found some herbs, and started chewing them. She undid the swaddling clothes and the child's undergarments. There was a sword wound on the left chest where skin and flesh were visible.

Ning Shu pressed the herbs she had chewed against the wound to stop the blood.

2333 had said that this child's heart was on the right side. That was why she had dared to pierce the left side. It probably counted as a bit of luck in unfortunate circumstances.

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Chapter 948: Nothing Special to Look At

The only things near this place were mountains. There were no people living here at all, so what was she supposed to do with this child? There was no way she could walk out of the mountains to look for a family that was willing to take this child.

One was still waiting for her. There wasn't enough time.

F*ck. How were things so hard?

Furthermore, the fake death drug was about to wear off. Ning Shu was very on edge as she continued to chew herbs and press them on the child's wound.

However, the wound had finally stopped bleeding. She shoved a fasting pill into the child's mouth. The fasting pill dissolved into a warm current and flowed into the child's mouth.

Ning Shu didn't know what to do with the child. Could it be that she had to just leave him here? He'd definitely end up being taken by a wild animal and eaten. In that case, after all her effort, he'd still end up dead.

Sigh. Ning Shu picked up the child and jumped up into the tree branches to look down on the forest. She saw a female wolf past by beneath the tree. There were a couple small wolves following the mother wolf.

An idea formed. She silently stole a small wolf and made the swaddling clothes and child have the smell of the wolf, then she followed the wolves back to their cave.

All she could do was try. She didn't know if this female wolf was willing to take care of this child.

She fed the child fever and inflammation medicine. Once the mother wolf left, she placed the child into the cave and watched from close by. If the mother wolf tried to hurt the child, she could only kill the wolf.

When the mother wolf came back and saw that there was an unidentifiable object in the cave, it started sniffing at the swaddling clothes and even tried biting it.

However, it didn't look like it planned to eat the child.

Ning Shu waited for another while. When she saw that the mother wolf ignored the child without trying to hurt him, she sighed in relief.

This was all that she could do.

Since it had been quite a while, she started to head back.

When she got back to the cave, she saw that One was waiting for her. He gave her an outfit and told her to wash up in preparation for heading to the capital to see Master.

Ning Shu took the clothes and headed to a small creek to bath before putting on the clothes. One had given her a set of female martial arts clothing that fit well.

She used rope to tie her hair up in a ponytail, then bent over to look at the surface of the water. She was wondering what the original host looked like.

Very ordinary, nothing special to look at. All her features were ordinary.

If she was in a crowd, she wouldn't stand out at all.

After tidying herself up, she returned to the cave. One started leading her towards the capital. It took over half the day just to get out of this forest.

Ning Shu was glad now that she hadn't attempted to bring the child out of the forest to find people, otherwise it would've taken forever.

After getting out of the forest, Ning Shu saw that there was a person by the road with two horses. When he saw One and Ning Shu coming over, he gave the horses to One.

One gave one of the horses to Ning Shu, then the two of them started riding in the direction of the capital.

Once they got to the city entrance, One got off the horse. When he saw that Ning Shu was still on the horse, he said coldly, "Get down. Don't ride the horse into the city, it'll attract attention."

Ning Shu got off the horse and followed him into the city.

The city was very flourishing. There were all sorts of shops and vendor stands. The people on the streets were also dressed rather tastefully.

Ning Shu hugged her sword as she followed One to the third prince's residence. She entered through the back courtyard.

Weren't they being a little way too careful?

However, she silently noted all of these details down.

The housekeeper notified One and Ning Shu that the third prince was currently meeting with a guest, so they should wait for a bit.

One turned around to ask Ning Shu, "Do you know how to salute the master?"

Cupping the fist or bending the knee or directly dropping to a kneel on the ground? Ning Shu shook her head. No idea.

"Kneel on one knee and cup the fist," said One.

Wasn't that the posture for proposing marriage?

The housekeeper came out to have Ning Shu go in. One didn't enter and had Ning Shu enter on her own.

Ning Shu fixed her clothes, then walked into the room.

Shoot, she was actually a little nervous.

The moment she walked into the room, she saw that there was a man and a woman by the table. They seemed to be drawing something.

When she saw these two, she felt like her eyes were being healed, because these two people were seriously too good-looking.

The woman was leaning on the table, her waist slightly curved as she propped up her chin to watch the man draw.

It was practically like a celestial couple on earth.

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Chapter 949: Carved of Jade and Peerless

The two paid no attention to Ning Shu who had walked in, so Ning Shu tactfully remained silent and stayed in the corner to size the two up.

The man was probably the third prince, Xuan Hongyu. Xuan Hongyu's hair was pulled up with a jade hairpin. He was wearing a white brocade garment with wide sleeves, so every time he lifted the brush, it generated a bit of wind.

His eyebrows were slightly lifted, his facial features exquisite, and his lips were the color of cherry.

Carved of jade and peerless.

Truly style unmatched in his generation.

Ning Shu sneered. He looked like an ordinary person right now, but who knew when his tyrannical possessiveness would flair up?

He was unnaturally fixated on Shangguan Qingrou, in a way normal people wouldn't be able to understand. He wanted to possess all of her to the extreme.

The person he fell for was truly also quite pitiful.

Ning Shu looked towards Shangguan Qingrou. Her eyes were round and she had little peach lips and soft pink skin. There was a spirited aura around her and her eyes contained a hint of craftiness.

Shangguan Qingrou carried the aura of freedom, which was very different from normal daughters of wealthy families who were confined to the back residence. This air of freedom seemed to come from her very soul.

This was the direct and unpretentious Shangguan Qingrou.

Ning Shu felt that the person who had transmigrated into Shangguan Qingrou's body probably wasn't that old.

After transmigrating over, she soon found happiness. She was pursued by the giants-among-men princes and in the end, became an extremely doted upon empress.

Shangguan Qingrou was a very beautiful woman, but when Ning Shu imagined her dancing Gangnam style and singing those common modern era songs, she couldn't help but feel disillusioned.

Fine, perhaps to these little princes, that personality was very unique.

Ning Shu just wondered, Shangguan Qingrou and Xuan Hongyu were different genders, but they were in a room alone. Wasn't that pretty bad for Shangguan Qingrou's reputation?

Other women cared a lot about their reputations, but Shangguan Qingrou never cared and the men that liked her didn't care either.

For example, the fifth prince would even often visit at night.

Ning Shu just stood there like a wood pillar without moving.

Xuan Hongyu finally set down his brush. Shangguan Qingrou picked up the painting to take a look. "How am I this ugly? You drew me too ugly."

"You're not ugly, I just can't draw your beauty." Xuan Hongyu didn't get angry at Shangguan Qingrou.

Shangguan Qingrou pouted, then picked up the brush to draw a cartoon version of Xuan Hongyu. "This is the kind of drawing that's pretty. Isn't it cute?"

Xuan Hongyu burst out laughing. "Why's the head so big and the body so small?"

"This is manga." Shangguan Qingrou grinned towards Xuan Hongyu. Her manner was very adorable. "Just say whether it's pretty or not."

"It's pretty, it's pretty." Xuan Hongyu smiled, causing his features to look even more charming.

Originally Shangguan Qingrou had already been captivated by him, but in the end she couldn't take his yandere personality.

You belong only to me, I'm the only one you're allowed to see. You can't go out with other men. If you don't obey me, I'll punish you. This kind of personality seriously made people fall apart.

Furthermore, he was serious about punishment, it wasn't just empty threats.

Xuan Hongyu seemed to have noticed Ning Shu just now and he beckoned her.

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Chapter 950: A Meaningful Glance

Ning Shu walked over and dropped to one knee as she cupped her fist. "Master."

Shangguan Qingrou looked at Ning Shu. Her gaze swept across Ning Shu's face, then moved away.

"Qingrou, this hidden guard is for you. She'll protect you," said Xuan Hongyu.

Shangguan Qingrou didn't seem to like Ning Shu. "I don't need a hidden guard. It'll feel like someone's always following me. It's uncomfortable."

"She'll just protect you from the shadows. If you encounter any danger, she'll appear to save you. You like going different places to play, so you might encounter danger. She..." Xuan Hongyu turned towards Ning Shu to ask coldly, "What's your name?"

Ning Shu: ...

"Eleven," replied Ning Shu.

"Eleven will be able to protect you when you encounter danger and it'll also be convenient for you to have a female hidden guard around." Xuan Hongyu rubbed the jade pendant at his waist as he said this.

Shangguan Qingrou pouted without speaking.

A light flashed through Xuan Hongyu's narrow eyes. Ning Shu got the feeling that he was getting angry, so she greeted Shangguan Qingrou, "Miss Shangguan."

"From now on, she's your master. Protect her properly and obey all her orders, understood?" Xuan Hongyu spoke to Ning Shu sternly.

"This subordinate understands," said Ning Shu, lowering her head slightly.

Shangguan Qingrou had no choice but to accept Ning Shu.

Shangguan Qingrou was depressed, but Ning Shu was even more depressed. For better or for worse, she was here to guarantee Shangguan Qingrou's safety. Why was she this unwelcomed?

When Shangguan Qingrou left, she was a bit unhappy, but Xuan Hongyu didn't say anything. He looked at Ning Shu meaningfully.

This look completely baffled Ning Shu. What did this mean?

Ning Shu saw that Shangguan Qingrou was leaving, so she hastily followed. Once they left the prince's residence, Shangguan Qingrou stopped walking and turned around to say to Ning Shu, "You need to guarantee my safety, so thank you, but I don't like having someone following next to me."

Ning Shu took several steps back, then said, "Miss Shangguan, you can go first. I definitely won't appear in front of you."

Look at her! An unmarried girl of the ancient era was heading out without even a maid. Heading out like this was really dangerous. Shangguan Qingrou didn't know any martial arts. What if someone grabbed her and dragged her away?

Perhaps the next time Xuan Hongyu saw Shangguan Qingrou, it would be in the pleasure quarters.

Having a maid with you was a way of announcing your status to discourage others from doing anything presumptuous. It also served to avoid arousing suspicion.

Shangguan Qingrou stomped her foot angrily, but her manner was very cute.

Ning Shu followed Shangguan Qingrou to the director of the Board of Rites' residence, then jumped over the wall and moved to crouch on a tree in front of Shangguan Qingrou's quarters. The tree leaves were very thick so it covered her figure.

As Ning Shu looked at the caterpillar on the leaf next to her, she felt very depressed. Why were the lives of hidden guards so hard?

She flicked the caterpillar off, then sat on the branch to start practicing the Unsurpassable Martial Arts. She had to practice it. The original host's current skills weren't good enough.

In the original storyline, she had run to the imperial palace to save the prince, but not only did she fail, she ended up being shot full of arrows.

As Ning Shu trained, she observed the entire residence. Shangguan Qingrou was very favored in this residence. She was the main daughter and very likeable, so even the director of the Board of Rites treated her very well.

Ning Shu felt that the director was willing to have his daughter interact with the third prince. Even if the third prince didn't become emperor in the end, he was still a very powerful prince.

Since there was already an heir apparent, it wouldn't be easy for the third prince or the fifth prince, these full-grown princes to become emperor.

However, Ning Shu was aware that the crown prince was just cannon fodder. In the original storyline, he had also been very interested in Shangguan Qingrou. He had people kidnap Shangguan Qingrou in preparation to force himself on her.

Alright, Shangguan Qingrou's charm truly was strong.

In the end, the crown prince ended up being knocked off the stage. Following that was the start of the third prince and fifth prince's struggle.

The fifth prince, Xuan Xiaotian, had luck bestowed by the heavens, so there was no way Xuan Hongyu could beat him. Furthermore, Xuan Hongyu had hurt Shangguan Qingrou so much.

After hurting the female lead, you still hoped for success? Just go back to sleep to keep dreaming.

Ning Shu could only sigh silently.

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Chapter 951: Because There Were So Many Mosquitoes

Ning Shu didn't really want to protect Shangguan Qingrou, but with her status, she didn't have the right to say no. She was a death soldier without any personal opinions.

If she revealed any trace of unwillingness, then she could just wait for death. There were still ten people ranked above Ning Shu by strength. She wouldn't be able to beat them, or at least, she wouldn't be able to as she was now.

Ning Shu had already figured out how she should carry out this task. There was no need for her to meddle with Xuan Hongyu—she didn't have the ability to anyhow. When the time came that Xuan Hongyu was defeated, she'd go save him. Things would be fine as long as he was still alive.

There was no need to worry about other things.

Ning Shu started practicing the Unsurpassable Martial Arts.

Once it got dark, she snuck into the kitchen to find food before returning to the branch to cultivate. However, there were seriously a lot of mosquitoes.

Ning Shu abruptly slapped her face and killed a mosquito. She scratched some of the bites, then recalled Xuan Hongyu's meaningful gaze from earlier. Should she take a trip back to the prince's residence?

Ning Shu jumped over the wall again to head back to the prince's residence and saw that Xuan Hongyu's study was still lit up.

After a moment of hesitation, Ning Shu still knocked on the door. Xuan Hongyu's cold voice came from inside. "Come in."

Ning Shu pushed open the door and walked in. She found that Xuan Hongyu was currently writing something. As the lantern lights illuminated him, it gave him a hazy glow.

"Master." Ning Shu knelt on one knee.

Xuan Hongyu was expressionless. In front of Ning Shu, he was extremely cold and dignified, giving off an oppressing aura.

He looked up and glanced at Ning Shu who was kneeling on the ground, then dipped his brush in the ink as he said, "You came later than I expected, but at least you did come."

Ning Shu: ...

So that long meaningful glance was telling her to come back.

How the hell was she supposed to figure out anything from a glance? The only reason she came back was random luck and because there were a lot of mosquitoes on the tree!

Ning Shu maintained an expressionless face and didn't say anything.

Xuan Hongyu started drawing something on the paper. The more he drew, the faster he drew. Finally, he slammed the brush down, causing black ink to splash on the paper.

Xuan Hongyu frowned, then crushed the paper into a ball and tossed it.

Ning Shu: ...

Could he let her stop kneeling first?

Xuan Hongyu looked towards Ning Shu and said, "Do you know what your mission is this time?"

"This subordinate knows, don't worry, Master. This subordinate will definitely protect Miss Shangguan properly and make sure that she doesn't encounter any danger," said Ning Shu in a vow-like manner.

Xuan Hongyu didn't react at all to Ning Shu's impassioned words and just kept looking at her indifferently. Ning Shu felt like her awkwardness cancer was about to flare up.

"Besides guaranteeing Shangguan Qingrou's safety, you have a different mission. This prince wishes to know what Shangguan Qingrou does each day and what people she meets. Everything, regardless of its importance." Xuan Hongyu looked towards Ning Shu. "Can you do it?"

Ning Shu's eyes whirled as she considered Xuan Hongyu's words. "Master, everything regardless of its importance includes what?"

"Anything," replied Xuan Hongyu.

And what does anything include? Ning Shu asked, "So what she wears, what she eats, what she says to other people, all of this must be reported?"

"Yes." Xuan Hongyu nodded.

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

The f*ck? This perverted!? It felt like she was going to become a peeking stalker.

This extreme possessiveness wasn't just on a normal level of scary.

He wanted to know everything, including when Shangguan Qingrou woke up, when she ate, when she went to the toilet, whether it was the big one or small one, and when her period came.

Ning Shu's face was extremely unperturbed and expressionless, but she was completely falling apart on the inside.

#comment: /pat Ning Shu has it rough. ROFL

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Chapter 952: Wield the Sword and the Four Treasures of the Study

"Make sure to pay attention to when Shangguan Qingrou's with men. Report everything about what she said to and did with which men, understood?" Xuan Hongyu looked towards Ning Shu coldly. "Can you do it?"

Ning Shu knew that if she said that she couldn't, she would immediately be beaten to death, so she nodded and said, "This subordinate will definitely record it well."

Ning Shu felt that there was still a need to ask clearly. "What if Miss Shangguan is talking with her father or manservants in the residence? Do those have to be recorded as well?"

Xuan Hongyu looked towards Ning Shu coldly, seeming to be very dissatisfied with her comprehension ability. "Any man."

Ning Shu: ...

So tiring.

Someone like this should just be left to die. What was the point in saving him? It was just unnecessary exhaustion.

If she knew earlier, she wouldn't have come back. The moment she came back she got so many additional tasks.

Xuan Hongyu tossed Ning Shu a book. Ning Shu opened it and found that it was filled with blank pages. Xuan Hongyu said, "In the future, record everything in this."

"Understood." Ning Shu still had to act like she was delighted and honored to accept this mission.

From now on, not only would she have to carry a sword around everywhere, she'd also have to carry around the Four Treasures of the Study and write wherever she went.

There was seriously nothing left to live for.

Ning Shu returned to the director's residence, then slipped into Shangguan Qingrou's room. Shangguan Qingrou was sleeping really soundly. Even while sleeping, she was still very beautiful. Shangguan Qingrou's body truly had very good looks.

With the soul change, her aura changed and made her very unique among the noble daughters. This attracted the attention of all the younger generation of aristocracy.

Ning Shu returned to the tree and dug out the book. Under the dim light of a small pocket torch, Ning Shu wrote in the book: "Miss Shangguan is sleeping very soundly. After flipping over, the corners of her lips lifted in a smile. This subordinate thinks that Miss Shangguan must be dreaming of Master."

The fudge? Why did she have to do things like this? Orz

Ning Shu was scared that she would end up becoming abnormal due to Xuan Hongyu's influence.

Following that, she wrote down when Shangguan Qingrou got up at night to use the toilet. After using the toilet, she didn't seem to have washed her hands before drinking a cup of water. After recording these things, Ning Shu started practicing the Unsurpassable Martial Arts.

There was nothing more important than practical skill.

As of now, she had already managed to make an energy form, but the strand of energy was very weak. However, this energy would start to remold her body to increase her body's base abilities.

The original host's body had actually been pushed beyond its limits too much. At the training grounds, all she did all day was nonstop training. Her hands were covered with thick calluses as a result of holding blades since she was a child.

In reality, even if this body hadn't died in the middle of a mission, it still wouldn't have lived for long. There was no hope of dying of old age.

The energy from Unsurpassable Martial Arts was slowly repairing the hidden injuries in the body, but the disadvantage was that she constantly wanted to eat. She was starving.

She had to eat way too much, so she stopped trying to find food in the director's residence and went outside to buy trays of steamed stuffed buns and roast chicken. They were practically the best delicacies in the world.

Ning Shu's daily life consisted of practicing Unsurpassable Martial Arts and recording Shangguan Qingrou's situation. Then late at night, she would return to the prince's residence to hand the book to Xuan Hongyu.

Every time she saw Xuan Hongyu holding the book and that infatuated expression on his usually magnificent-looking face, she'd feel extremely grossed out.

In reality, Shangguan Qingrou also had it pretty rough. She was completely unaware that everything about her was exposed to Xuan Hongyu and that her life was completely under Xuan Hongyu's control.

Xuan Hongyu wanted absolute control of Shangguan Qingrou. This was already beyond the normal amount of jealousy between lovers.

It was already a sick and twisted form of love.

Did the original host, Eleven, know that her master was this yandere?

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Chapter 953: Once He Courted Death Enough

Xuan Hongyu was attracted to Shangguan Qingrou so much that he couldn't extract himself. It had already turned into a sort of persistent obsession.

However, normal people wouldn't be able to take such intense possessiveness. It'd only feel suffocating and make them want to flee.

Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, Xuan Hongyu seemed like a madman. The moment something involved Shangguan Qingrou, he'd become a madman.

It was no wonder Shangguan Qingrou had kicked Xuan Hongyu away without hesitation to get together with the fifth prince.

I'm a woman of the modern era! How could I possibly accept these inhuman conditions?

I belong only to me, not to you or anyone else. I have my own thoughts. I'm a person with dignity, not an emotionless toy.

Ning Shu really wanted to pull Xuan Hongyu back and stop him from running further on the path of courting death.

Master, please calm down. Please don't court death.

Xuan Hongyu closed the book, then said mildly, "Very good. Continue recording like this."

Ning Shu expressionlessly replied, "Many thanks for your praise, Master."

After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Master, since you like Miss Shangguan, shouldn't you marry her?"

That way the fifth prince wouldn't snatch the chance first and he wouldn't had to eye someone else's wife while gnashing his teeth.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu coldly as he berated sternly, "Presumptuous!"

Ning Shu helplessly dropped to a kneel on the ground and said, "Master, please forgive this subordinate for speaking out of turn."

Xuan Hongyu was angry with her for giving her opinion. They weren't people of the same status, so it was out of turn for her to even give an opinion.

Ning Shu had also internally given up trying to get Xuan Hongyu and Shangguan Qingrou together. Working hard on practicing martial arts was the true way to go. She just had to save his life once he courted death enough to be destroyed.

"Remember your own status." Xuan Hongyu's expression was very cold as he tossed the book to Ning Shu. Ning Shu put the book away, then headed back to the director's residence to protect Shangguan Qingrou.

She just had to do what a hidden guard should do. There was no point getting involved in other things.

The storyline should just develop however it wanted to.

However, this mission wasn't relaxing at all. Shangguan Qingrou liked to participate in gatherings a lot since she really liked to play and try new things. Hence Ning Shu was always running to follow Shangguan Qingrou.

At every gathering, Shangguan Qingrou would attract the attention of a bunch of men. Even if she was just on the streets or in a restaurant, she'd still encounter handsome men.

This story was simply just a collection of beautiful men.

Furthermore, these men always had favorable impressions to some degree towards Shangguan Qingrou. Even if they didn't like her, they thought of her as a friend.

Perhaps it was because Shangguan Qingrou's causal and unpretentious manner made these men feel that she was very novel. In this era, whenever men and women met, they were always courteous. Women were always reserved in front of men and abided by etiquette in order not to do anything lacking in manners.

Shangguan Qingrou was completely different. Her liveliness made people feel that she was very unique and she completely disregarded the difference between men and women. She'd often reach out to slap a man's shoulder and call him 'bro.'

That was why wherever Shangguan Qingrou went, regardless of what gathering she attended, she'd still be able to talk with men she knew.

Ning Shu felt that Shangguan Qingrou just enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful men. She enjoyed being pursued this way. Before she transmigrated, she had been an ordinary girl who wasn't that attractive, but the moment she transmigrated, she gained the charm to attract beautiful men.

It was normal for her to be in high spirits.

Ning Shu recorded all of these things, then handed the book to Xuan Hongyu. When Xuan Hongyu saw what was recorded, a black aura seemed to emit from his body. His pupils trembled slightly. It was clear that he was very angry.

Ning Shu was inwardly filled with schadenfreude, but on the surface, she maintained an expressionless face.

As Shangguan Qingrou got to know more and more men, every time she met a guy and spoke with him, Xuan Hongyu would become unhappy. The unhappy Xuan Hongyu would go to pick faults with the men. If that man's status wasn't high, he'd directly do something to make that man suffer.

If his status was high, Xuan Hongyu would just quietly cause trouble in the shadows.

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Chapter 954: Then You're Mine

Xuan Hongyu had always been suppressing his own desires to stop himself from hurting Shangguan Qingrou, but in the end his desires still burst forth.

Xuan Hongyu pulled Shangguan Qingrou to his residence and first expressed his love for her. "Qingrou, I have feelings for you."

Shangguan Qingrou's face turned red. She was a little shy as she looked at the noble and dignified Xuan Hongyu. She also had a favorable impression of him.

When Xuan Hongyu saw that she wasn't speaking, his face filled with slight fretfulness. "Do you have feelings for me?"

Shangguan Qingrou did have feelings for Xuan Hongyu. Xuan Hongyu had a high status and peerless talent. Furthermore, he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

Shangguan Qingrou was pretty happy that such a good man like her. In the modern era, the men with good conditions wouldn't even notice her.

"Yes." Shangguan Qingrou nodded.

Xuan Hongyu smiled brightly, making his facial features seem like they came straight out of a painting. "Then you're mine. If you betray me, I'll kill you."

Shangguan Qingrou who had still been submerged in the happiness of having a beautiful man confess to her abruptly shivered. She turned to look at Xuan Hongyu and stammered, "Wh... what did you say?"

"I said that you're mine. You can only talk to me, you're not allowed to talk with other men, otherwise I'll kill you." Xuan Hongyu was smiling happily, but the words he spoke were very cruel.

Ning Shu who had been crouching on a tree and watching the show: ...

Lord. If it had been her and she heard this, she would've immediately run.

It was clear that Shangguan Qingrou was also frightened, but she tried to argue and lifted her chin as she said, "How can you be like this? What right do you have to stop me from talking with other men? Aren't you controlling too much?"

When Xuan Hongyu heard this, his facial color darkened, but he still said, "Behave, alright? Otherwise I really will kill you."

Shangguan Qingrou was about to explode from anger. Wasn't this man way too overbearing? Could it be that just because he had confessed to her, she belonged to him?

"There's no way I like bastions of male chauvinism like you!" Shangguan Qingrou turned to leave. The bit of favorable feelings she had towards Xuan Hongyu instantly vanished.

What she wanted was a man that could understand her and show tolerance towards her, not a man that wanted to control her.

Xuan Hongyu's facial color wasn't very good. He pressed his lips together tightly, then grabbed Shangguan Qingrou's wrist to ask in a low voice, "You don't like me?"

"That's right, I don't like you!" said Shangguan Qingrou loudly.

When faced with this situation, according to normal developments, Xuan Hongyu should press Shangguan Qingrou against the wall and then kiss her hard until she was too dizzy to resist. With Xuan Hongyu's looks, everything could be solved this way.

Xuan Hongyu had pulled Shangguan Qingrou to a wall, but he didn't kiss her. Instead, he clutched her by her neck as he said, "Be good, don't make me angry, otherwise I'll kill you~"

Ning Shu: I...

Ning Shu saw that Shangguan Qingrou's little face was turning bright red from lack of oxygen, so she hastily jumped down from the tree and shouted towards Xuan Hongyu, "Master."

If he kept choking her like this, Shangguan Qingrou really would perish.

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Chapter 955: Male Lead Had Come Online

Ning Shu spoke up to remind Xuan Hongyu. At this point, Shangguan Qingrou's face was starting to turn a little purple. She was extremely shocked and her pretty face was twisted with fear. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Xuan Hongyu finally snapped out of it and suppressed the violent anxiousness in his heart, and that trace of helplessness, to release Shangguan Qingrou's neck. Shangguan Qingrou fell against the wall and slid to the ground, coughing hard as she gasped for air.

Her gaze was filled with fear and loathing as she looked at Xuan Hongyu. She could tell that this man had really wanted to kill her.

He said that he had feelings for her, but he actually tried to kill her.

Shangguan Qingrou got up from the ground and ran out, staggering slightly. As Xuan Hongyu looked at Shangguan Qingrou's back, he clenched his fists and lowered his head slightly. A bit of hair fell over his forehead, casting a bit of darkness on his flawless face.

Ning Shu looked at him from the side. At this time, Xuan Hongyu seemed very helpless and lost. There was no trace of that brutality from when he clutched Shangguan Qingrou's neck.

In response to this, Ning Shu could only say, you freaking deserve it.

Who could take a person expressing their feelings this way? He had even clutched Shangguan Qingrou's neck while saying you belong to me, I like you in such a touching way filled with passion.

It was too intense, too extreme.

"Master, do you still want me to protect Miss Shangguan?" asked Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu lifted his head and glanced towards Ning Shu coldly. "As before, guarantee her safety. This prince wants to know everything about her whereabouts."

Xuan Hongyu turned and left. He didn't seem to want to talk to Ning Shu at all.

Ning Shu was actually relieved that Xuan Hongyu treated her with this attitude. Being ignored was the best. People that Xuan Hongyu cared about had rather pitiful fates.

Ning Shu caught up with Shangguan Qingrou who had run out of the prince's residence. She kept weeping and wiping at her tears without looking at where she was going, so she kept bumping into people on the streets.

She almost bumped into a carriage, but fortunately Ning Shu pulled her out of the way in time. Shangguan Qingrou's face was deathly pale, making the marks on her neck even more apparent.

Shangguan Qingrou was stunned, then she turned stiffly to look at Ning Shu. She pushed Ning Shu away as she shouted hoarsely, "Scram! I don't want to see you! I don't need your protection! You're one of Xuan Hongyu's people!"

Ning Shu frowned slightly. What was the use in getting angry with her? If she had the ability, go argue with Xuan Hongyu.

Moreover, she had just saved Shangguan Qingrou from the fate of being trampled by a horse, yet this was how Shangguan Qingrou reacted. Ning Shu was pretty irritated.

Even if she had been ordered to protect Shangguan Qingrou, she didn't owe Shangguan Qingrou anything.

Shangguan Qingrou was completely venting her anger towards Xuan Hongyu on her. Ning Shu took several steps backward without paying attention to Shangguan Qingrou who had just suffered a huge blow.

"Oh, who's this?" A laidback voice arose.

A palanquin had stopped in front of Shangguan Qingrou. The curtain was lifted by a fan, then a man walked out.

This man carried an arrogant air, but he still had a noble aura. He seemed like a yuppie, but he seemed distinguished and accomplished rather than vulgar, mainly due to his good looks. His long and narrow peach blossom eyes made him look very sexy.

Xuan Hongyu's aura was noble and cold, while Xuan Xiaotian seemed wanton and easygoing.

As Ning Shu looked at this man, she was thinking that the male lead had come online as soon as Shangguan Qingrou had suffered a grievance. During this situation, what the female lead needed most was for the male lead to console her wounded heart.

When Shangguan Qingrou saw this man, she immediately rolled her eyes and said angrily, "What does it have to do with you? Good dogs don't block the road!"

Xuan Xiaotian flipped open his fan as he sized Shangguan Qingrou up. "You actually dare to call this prince a dog and be so impolite? Be careful, lest this prince decides to pin on you the crime of being disrespectful towards the imperial family."

When Shangguan Qingrou saw this hateful man, she felt like she was about to be angered to death. Enemies sure traveled on a narrow road. Why did she encounter him while she was in such a wretched state?

Shangguan Qingrou hated this man, so she said angrily, "Then why don't you pin that crime on me and throw me into jail? Just chop off my head then!"

Xuan Xiaotian choked up when Shangguan Qingrou yelled at him this way. He flipped his fan shut. "Damned girl, did you take the wrong medicine?"

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Chapter 956: A Quarrelsome, but Loving Couple

"You're the one that took the wrong medicine! Your entire family took the wrong medicine!" Shangguan Qingrou started yelling at Xuan Xiaotian without restraint.

The passersby were completely speechless when they heard what Shangguan Qingrou said. Was it because she had big boobs but no brain, or was she just especially fearless? With this, Shangguan Qingrou had even cursed the emperor.

Xuan Xiaotian tapped Shangguan Qingrou's head with his fan and said in slight annoyance, "Damned girl, your guts have sure grown. Is this prince someone you can afford to curse at?"

Shangguan Qingrou only snapped out of it now and she stuck her tongue out with a guilty expression.

Xuan Xiaotian didn't blame Shangguan Qingrou at all and was actually helping her cover this up. In reality, he was protecting Shangguan Qingrou.

They were actually a quarrelsome, but loving couple.

Xuan Xiaotian had encountered Shangguan Qingrou at a banquet and had directly said that the songs Shangguan Qingrou sang offended public morals, making Shangguan Qingrou very displeased. She had always sung these kinds of songs ever since she had arrived in the ancient era. Everyone said that they were very unique, but this man actually said that she offended public morals.

Actually, Ning Shu agreed with what the fifth prince said. After all, the common modern era songs were all very direct and all about love, love, and more love. In this conservative ancient era where particular attention was paid to all arts, they were a little shocking.

At that time, Shangguan Qingrou was unwilling to accept this critique, so she said that Xuan Xiaotian should sing a song so that she could see what kind of good song he could sing.

Xuan Xiaotian had shot back that he wasn't a singer or prostitute, so he didn't sing.

Hence that was the start of the animosity between the two. Whenever they encountered each other, they'd throw barbs at each other.

Shangguan Qingrou felt that she was seriously unfortunate today. First there was Xuan Hongyu, then there was this Xuan Xiaotian. Every single one of them was making life so difficult for her. Were they so special just because they were princes? Just because they were princes, they could bully people this way?

Shangguan Qingrou turned and left. When Xuan Xiaotian saw that this usually bossy little pepper was backing down just like this, he was a little surprised and he reached out to grab Shangguan Qingrou's arm. When her clothing was tugged, the bruise on her neck was immediately revealed.

When Xuan Xiaotian saw this bruise, he was stunned for a moment, then he asked coldly, "Who did this?"

Shangguan Qingrou hastily covered her neck and said angrily, "None of your business."

"I'm asking you who did it?" Xuan Xiaotian looked at Shangguan Qingrou coldly as he asked this.

"What does it have to do with you?" Shangguan Qingrou's eyes were red. She wanted to shake off Xuan Xiaotian's hand, but Xuan Xiaotian had grabbed her arm tightly.

Shangguan Qingrou's tears overflowed. "You'll all bullying me! Every single one of you!"

Xuan Xiaotian was stunned for a moment when he saw Shangguan Qingrou cry. His lips moved slightly, then he started pulling Shangguan Qingrou towards his palanquin. Shangguan Qingrou was so startled that she forgot to wipe at her tears. "What are you doing?"

"Does it matter what I'm doing? Lift the palanquin," said Xuan Xiaotian.

Ning Shu hesitated for a moment, then followed them. She heard all sorts of exchanges come from the palanquin. Although they were arguing, Ning Shu got the strange feeling that these two were flirting.

"Xuan Xiaotian, you bastard! Let go of me, or I'll make you pay!"

"Make me pay? I'll make you pay first."

"You bastard! You're taking advantage of me!"

"..."

Chapter 957: Correct Way to Start a Romance

When Xuan Xiaotian got to his residence, he got off the palanquin and pulled Shangguan Qingrou into his residence.

Ning Shu didn't rashly jump over the wall to enter the residence. She sensed the presence of similar people nearby. They were probably Xuan Xiaotian's hidden guards that were in charge of the residence's safety.

After thinking about it, Ning Shu walked in straightforwardly and waited by the door. She heard all sorts of exchanges come from inside.

Xuan Xiaotian wanted to apply medicine on Shangguan Qingrou, but Shangguan Qingrou refused for the life of her. Xuan Xiaotian responded by threatening to take off her clothes to apply the medicine.

So Shangguan Qingrou was indignant and felt wronged, but she finally behaved and allowed Xuan Xiaotian to help her apply medicine.

As Ning Shu took in their exchange, she felt like the entire room was filled with pink bubbles.

Ning Shu felt that Xuan Xiaotian liked Shangguan Qingrou and was purposefully using this method to attract her attention.

This was the correct way to start a romance.

As for her master Xuan Hongyu, she could only sigh.

The good thing was, this task was only to save Xuan Hongyu, so she didn't need to worry about other things and wouldn't need to clash with these people.

Even if she wanted to help Xuan Hongyu a little with something, she couldn't. She was a death soldier, so she couldn't do anything that exceeded the bounds of her status. It'd only make Xuan Hongyu feel that he couldn't control her.

The task was simple and straightforward. It was just a little troublesome due to having a master like this.

She didn't know what medicine Xuan Xiaotian applied, but the bruise on Shangguan Qingrou's neck instantly lightened.

However, no matter how Xuan Xiaotian questioned Shangguan Qingrou, she refused to tell him how she got this bruise.

Hence, Xuan Xiaotian stopped asking and just sent Shangguan Qingrou back to her residence.

Just as Ning Shu was about to flip the wall into the director's residence, she was stopped by Xuan Xiaotian. Ning Shu looked at the man that was blocking her way as she asked, "Fifth Prince, do you need something?"

Xuan Xiaotian fanned himself with his fan, giving off an oppressing aura, as he asked, "You must be Shangguan Qingrou's hidden guard. I'd like to know what exactly happened to Shangguan Qingrou?"

"That's Miss's affairs. If Miss isn't willing to tell you, I also cannot tell you," said Ning Shu as she shook her head.

Xuan Xiaotian flipped his fan shut, then lightly tapped it against his palm as he said, "That's not up to you."

Several people instantly appeared and encircled Ning Shu.

Ning Shu felt pretty depressed. Frick, he couldn't bear to press Shangguan Qingrou, so he decided to pry open her mouth. Fudge, even if Xuan Xiaotian ended up finding out that Xuan Hongyu was the one who did this, it couldn't come from her mouth.

She was a death soldier that was loyal to Xuan Hongyu, a death soldier that could die for the sake of her master. How could she possibly do something like selling out her master?

"How did she get that strangle bruise on her neck?" demanded Xuan Xiaotian. "Are you going to say it yourself, or are you going to wait to confess after I have you tied up and brought back? If you wait, you might end up losing a few limbs."

"You're not someone of the director's residence. Who's your master?" Xuan Xiaotian looked at Ning Shu coldly. "What's your motive in following Shangguan Qingrou?"

Ning Shu didn't speak and just grasped her sword tightly as she eyed the four that were surrounding her. Four against one. She wasn't sure of these people's abilities.

Shangguan Qingrou really was pretty blessed. There were always men protecting her and cherishing her silently.

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Chapter 958: Please See my Longing Gaze

"Tie her up." Xuan Xiaotian couldn't be bothered to waste his breath, so he moved to the side to have his hidden guards capture Ning Shu.

The four guards rushed up all at once. Ning Shu quickly revolved her energy as she started fighting with these people. Her level was pretty much the same as these hidden guards, but four versus one was a little too much for her to handle.

She reached towards the pouch at her waist and threw white powder at the four. For the sake of dodging the white powder, the four people moved away and gave Ning Shu a bit of breathing room. Ning Shu immediately took this chance to flee.

She kept moving around the city, worried that someone was following her. After taking detours for near two hours, she returned to the third prince's residence.

When Xuan Hongyu saw Ning Shu, his brows furrowed. "Why are you back? This prince told you to follow Shangguan Qingrou."

Ning Shu hastily told Xuan Hongyu about everything that happened. The moment Xuan Hongyu heard what happened between Xuan Xiaotian and Shangguan Qingrou, his brows furrowed even more.

Especially when he heard Xuan Xiaotian had threatened to take off Shangguan Qingrou's clothes to apply medicine. He directly crushed the jade pendant he had been toying with. His expression was eerily cold.

Ning Shu didn't care about what Xuan Hongyu was currently feeling at all. She was more concerned about what she should do next, so she asked Xuan Hongyu, "Master, then should this subordinate still head back to protect Miss Shangguan?"

She didn't want to go back. She really didn't want to go back! Please see my longing gaze. Ning Shu stared at Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu couldn't even be bothered to glance at Ning Shu. He picked up a brush and quickly wrote something. His hand was trembling as he held the brush.

"Of course you have to go protect Shangguan Qingrou," said Xuan Hongyu without even lifting his head.

Ning Shu: ...

Why did she still have to go protect Shangguan Qingrou? What was the use of protecting her? Shangguan Qingrou wouldn't even say any words of thanks. However, Ning Shu still accepted the command, then asked, "Then the fifth prince?"

"This prince will deal with him. You should just continue to follow Shangguan Qingrou. Make sure to pay particular attention to the matters between her and the fifth prince. This prince wishes to know everything," said Xuan Hongyu coldly.

Ning Shu replied, "Understood." Then she headed back to continue protecting Shangguan Qingrou. She knew that Shangguan Qingrou didn't like her, so she never appeared in front of Shangguan Qingrou. In all honestly, she found it pretty annoying to see Shangguan Qingrou as well.

She even had to record all sorts of things about Shangguan Qingrou. Just watching these incidents were annoying, but Xuan Hongyu insisted on having them and he even insisted on details without discrimination.

As of now, Ning Shu just wanted Xuan Hongyu to hurry and be defeated so that she could just save him and run. That way these painful days would finally be over.

Ning Shu lay on the tree as she wrote in the book. After she finished writing, she continued practicing Unsurpassable Martial Arts. Her strength seriously wasn't good enough. She couldn't even defeat Xuan Xiaotian's four hidden guards, so if it really came time to save someone, the word written on the wall in bold was 'death.'

Ning Shu didn't want to participate in these people's love relationships. The only thing she did aside from practicing martial arts each day was record what people Shangguan Qingrou met with each day.

She had already gotten used to doing these things every day. After the task ended, she should probably go see a psychologist to see if her mental state was still normal.

Due to the last incident with applying the medicine, the fifth prince's relationship with Shangguan Qingrou had changed slightly. Even though they still bickered all the time, there was always a slightly sweet tartness in the atmosphere.

The two were probably in a slightly suggestive state, just one step away from official.

Alright, it seemed that her master truly had no hope.

Ever since Xuan Hongyu had choked Shangguan Qingrou, Shangguan Qingrou hadn't gone to find Xuan Hongyu again.

Who would approach someone to ask for death after all? Although Shangguan Qingrou didn't visit Xuan Hongyu anymore, everything she did was under Xuan Hongyu's watch. Xuan Hongyu knew her like the back of his hand.

Xuan Xiaotian would often come visit Shangguan Qingrou and bring her outside of the city to go horse-riding or participate in a Lantern Festival. In short, he'd specially get fun things to play with to show her.

He knew that Shangguan Qingrou liked novel and strange things, so he adapted to her taste.

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Chapter 959: Crushed the Pink Bubbles

Xuan Xiaotian's interaction with Shangguan Qingrou seemed quite like modern dates. In plain terms, Xuan Xiaotian was currently pursuing Shangguan Qingrou.

Xuan Xiaotian was using the method Shangguan Qingrou liked to pursue her. Shangguan Qingrou was a woman of the modern era, so she didn't really believe in the Confucian moral injunctions for women. She felt no pressure at all when going out to play with a man.

At the start Shangguan Qingrou was still bickering a lot with Xuan Xiaotian since she still held a grudge about when he said her songs offended public morals.

But Xuan Xiaotian often took her out to play and sometimes would even give her a little surprise, so she gradually came to feel that this person wasn't bad. Although his way of speaking was a little too flirtatious, it was still a lot better than the unreadable, cold, and moody Xuan Hongyu.

Compared to Xuan Hongyu who'd abruptly say that he'd kill her, Xuan Xiaotian was way more considerate.

His only flaw was that he liked to take advantage of her too much. He was always saying things that made her heart pound and made her blush.

Every time the two of them headed out, Ning Shu would thicken her skin to follow. Of course, she didn't ruin their atmosphere and just followed from a distance away without showing herself.

Ning Shu could sense that there were still hidden guards following Xuan Xiaotian. They were probably there to protect Xuan Xiaotian.

She didn't know what Xuan Hongyu had said to Xuan Xiaotian, but Xuan Xiaotian no longer had his hidden guards attack her again.

So Ning Shu just followed with the attitude of watching a show. Whenever Xuan Xiaotian headed out with Shangguan Qingrou, Ning Shu would record the process of all these honeysweet dates down for Xuan Hongyu to read.

Every time Xuan Hongyu read about them, his expression was calm, very calm. Calm to the point it was abnormal.

Following that, Xuan Hongyu started waiting at a teahouse near the director's residence. As soon and Xuan Xiaotian headed out with Shangguan Qingrou, he would immediately follow.

So the original, sweet two-people date instantly became a three-person trip. The entire time, Xuan Hongyu's expression would be very cold and the black aura that emitted off him completely crushed the pink bubbles.

Xuan Xiaotian fanned his fan, still looking confident and at ease as always. However, the depths of his peach flower eyes contained a hint of darkness.

Meanwhile, Xuan Hongyu's gaze was always on Shangguan Qingrou. He completely ignored Xuan Xiaotian, whose facial color was conspicuously darkening.

Ning Shu watched from a nearby area. These two brothers were about to rip into each other over a woman.

It was sure Mary Sue enough. If Shangguan Qingrou was someone with ability and peerless talent, then it'd be very normal that she attracted men's gazes. However, Shangguan Qingrou didn't really have ability. If dancing Gangnam style and being able to sing the little apple song counted as ability, she truly had nothing left to say.

The noble daughters of this era had a lot more dignity and grace than Shangguan Qingrou, which made Shangguan Qingrou seem a little overly lively, to the point she sometimes seemed a little crazy.

It was also because Xuan Xiaotian became emperor in the end and didn't take any concubines that Shangguan Qingrou got to live in extreme comfort. Otherwise, with Shangguan Qingrou's personality, she definitely wouldn't be able to beat the women of this era who paid particular attention to this era's rules.

That was why it was so important to marry a good man.

Shangguan Qingrou was always talking about self-dignity and self-love, that she only belonged to herself and not anyone else.

She believed herself to have advanced ideologies of the modern era, but in reality, she was just like the women of this era. A wife's honor was due to a husband's nobility, women relied on men to get to a high position and live a happy life.

Shangguan Qingrou was also relying on Xuan Xiaotian's existence. All she had to rely on was Xuan Xiaotian's love for her.

She was also a woman that relied on a man's doting affection.

Shangguan Qingrou was very displeased with Xuan Hongyu's arrival, especially when she saw that Xuan Hongyu was looking at her in that frightening manner. Her hair rose on end from discomfort.

In short, the atmosphere around the three was very strange and stiff, not wonderful at all.

Shangguan Qingrou was so angry that she directly turned and left. The moment she left, the other two men followed her. Wherever she went, those two men followed.

Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Xiaotian showed brotherly respect for each other on the surface, one greeting 'Third Brother' and the other greeting 'Fifth Brother,' but in private, they were making all sorts of attacks.

The atmosphere of the trip wasn't very good, so of course they couldn't continue with it. Shangguan Qingrou could only return to her residence.

The brothers stood at the door and watched as Shangguan Qingrou headed back inside. Then the atmosphere between the two instantly changed.

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Chapter 960: There's a Flower Thief

"Shangguan Qingrou is my woman. Don't even think of trying anything with her, she can only be mine. Even if I must ruin her, I won't allow anyone else to have her," said Xuan Hongyu coldly.

Xuan Xiaotian fanned himself as he said, "And do you have that ability? You were the one that made the bruise on Shangguan Qingrou's neck, weren't you? After you hurt her like that, how could she possibly like you?"

A dark expression flashed across Xuan Hongyu's face. He gave a cold humph, then turned and got on the palanquin. When he saw Ning Shu who was nearby, he narrowed his eyes.

Fudge, it was another meaningful gaze. She really wanted to pretend that she didn't see it. Her interactions with Xuan Hongyu pretty much mainly relied on glances.

Who the frick knew what he was trying to say?

Xuan Xiaotian saw that Xuan Hongyu had left, so he also got on his palanquin. However, he also glanced at Ning Shu. A trace of dark shrewd light flashed through his peach flower eyes.

Ning Shu: ...

What was he looking at her, a hidden guard, for?

That night, Ning Shu was hiding in the dense tree branches and training when she heard soft footsteps. She quickly stopped training.

When she parted the tree leaves, she saw that Xuan Xiaotian was standing outside Shangguan Qingrou's room, dressed in brocade clothing.

Xuan Xiaotian tidied up his clothing, then pushed open the window and jumped in.

Ning Shu: ...

She really wanted to just sink energy into her dantian and shout, there's a flower thief!

She perked up her ears to listen to what was going on inside the room. There was the quiet sound of voices. Following that, there was the sound of Shangguan Qingrou's voice. "Eleven, Eleven."

Shangguan Qingrou's voice wasn't very loud. It was just enough for Ning Shu who was outside to hear.

After a moment of hesitation, Ning Shu lightly jumped off the tree and entered the room from the window, but she found that Shangguan Qingrou was perfectly fine and sitting on the bed. Meanwhile, Xuan Xiaotian was leisurely sitting on a chair, toying with a porcelain cup.

Xuan Xiaotian called out, "Enter."

Four hidden guard came in and surrounded Ning Shu. The woman's chamber that was originally quite large now seemed really crowded.

They had been lying in wait for her.

Ning Shu tightly grasped the shaft of her sword as she asked Shangguan Qingrou who was sitting on the bed, "Miss Shangguan, what do you mean by this?"

Shangguan Qingrou's face was very beautiful under the illumination of the lamp. Beauties were always more beautiful underneath the light. Her skin looked flawlessly smooth and also contained the charming sleepiness of someone who had just woken up.

Ning Shu naturally didn't care about Shangguan Qingrou's beauty. She was currently thinking about how to break free from this encirclement. This time, all the hidden guards had masks on that were made of very thick cloth. It was clear that they were guarding against her using poison again.

"You're Xuan Hongyu's hidden guard. Lately, you've been telling him about me. If not, why would Xuan Hongyu know every single time I head out? You should leave. I can't afford to keep a hidden guard like you," said Shangguan Qingrou angrily.

"You're loyal to Xuan Hongyu, so I don't need your protection." Shangguan Qingrou was seriously done with Xuan Hongyu following her wherever she went.

She really disliked how Xuan Hongyu kept bothering her. Ever since Xuan Hongyu had hurt her and choked her, she had already completely rejected him.

He looked extremely noble and distinguished, but he was the type to actually hurt women. There was no way she could accept this kind of trashy man.

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Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder's Record of Counterattacks #Chapter 961: Was the Person, Not the Sword - Read Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder's Record of Counterattacks Chapter 961: Was the Person, Not the Sword Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 961: Was the Person, Not the Sword

Shangguan Qingrou had seen a lot of beautiful men since she had come to the ancient era. At first she had been charmed by Xuan Hongyu's beautiful looks, but the longer she stayed here, the more beautiful men she encountered and her admiration towards Xuan Hongyu also gradually disappeared.

Meanwhile, Xuan Hongyu's feelings for Shangguan Qingrou had already become very deep. It had become a sort of obsession.

One was anxious to control while the other was anxious to get free. It was seriously a tragedy.

"Eleven, you're Xuan Hongyu's hidden guard. Even if you're currently following me, you're still loyal to your original master, so there's no need to follow me anymore. You should go." Shangguan Qingrou didn't want to see anything related to Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu furrowed her brows as she said, "Master told me to protect you. That's my duty."

Ning Shu glanced at the hidden guards that were eying her like prey. She might not be able to make it out of this room peacefully.

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Xuan Xiaotian set the cup he was toying with on the table and said mildly, "You're here to monitor this girl, and while at it, protect her. Third Brother sure put a lot of thought into things."

This time, Ning Shu finally understood. They were tired of having her follow them like a persistent third wheel. Furthermore, since she kept giving Xuan Hongyu reports, they had lost all chances to have private dates with each other.

"My duty is to protect Miss Shangguan, not to monitor her," said Ning Shu, unflustered, unabashed.

Shangguan Qingrou looked towards Ning Shu speechlessly. "Then how come every time I head out, Xuan Hongyu always follows? If you didn't tell Xuan Hongyu, how did he find out?"

Ning Shu was pretty speechless with how Shangguan Qingrou kept saying the name Xuan Hongyu. For better or for worse, Xuan Hongyu was also a prince. It was a little outrageous that she kept calling a prince directly by their given name.

"I did tell Master. Master said to notify him every time Miss Shangguan heads out. Master's simply worried that Miss Shangguan would encounter danger outside. Master's simply worried about Miss." Ning Shu thickened her skin and forcefully twisted the truth. Moreover, Xuan Hongyu had done this out of concern. Although the majority of it was so that he could keep Shangguan Qingrou under his control.

Shangguan Qingrou instantly exploded. "And this is still not monitoring!? How can Xuan Hongyu do this!?"

Shangguan Qingrou's facial color was very poor and her brows contained loathing. "Leave. I don't need your protection."

Xuan Xiaotian stood up and said lightly, "We can't let her leave like this."

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Ning Shu pressed her lips together as she tightened her grip on her sword. She reached towards the pouch at her waist as she looked towards Xuan Xiaotian.

"We can't let her go like this. She's Third Brother's death soldier." Xuan Xiaotian's gaze was filled with killing intent as he looked at Ning Shu.

Shangguan Qingrou asked in confusion, "What's wrong with being a death soldier?"

"People like this only care about their masters. For the sake of carrying out their masters' commands, they don't care about the means. People that don't fear death can't be left alive. They must be killed," said Xuan Xiaotian coldly.

"She's too familiar with this residence. If she wanted to hurt you, it'd be very easy." Xuan Xiaotian said to Shangguan Qingrou, "Moreover, who knows how many innocents have died at her hands."

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

The f*ck? He was talking like he didn't have any death soldiers. You guys were the ones that trained death soldiers. Even if they did kill any innocents, the blame should be on you guys!

When the hand held a sharp weapon, the one that killed was the person, not the sword.

When Shangguan Qingrou heard what Xuan Xiaotian said, she glanced at Ning Shu uncertainly. "Do you really have to kill her?"

Xuan Xiaotian shook his head as he said, "It's too dangerous to leave her. Just leave this person for me to deal with."

After a moment of hesitation, Shangguan Qingrou nodded. "Alright."

Ning Shu: The f*ck...

They decided on her fate just like this?

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Chapter 962: Win it All, or Lost it All

Ning Shu knew that Xuan Xiaotian wanted to get rid of her and while at it, get important information about the third prince out of her.

The struggle for the throne had already started in the shadows.

Meanwhile, the fight between Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Xiaotian was extra intense due to Shangguan Qingrou.

There was the supreme power and the woman they deeply loved. The victor would possess it all while the loser would lose everything, including his own life.

Regardless of who it was that ascended to the throne, neither would hesitate in killing the other.

"Capture her," said Xuan Xiaotian to the hidden guards.

Ning Shu immediately said, "Wait, I have something to say."

The four hidden guards froze and looked towards Xuan Xiaotian.

Xuan Xiaotian looked towards Ning Shu coldly. "What do you want to say?"

Ning Shu revolved her energy and her entire body tensed up in preparation as she said to Shangguan Qingrou, "I know I won't be able to escape this time, so I want to say a few things to you."

"What do you want to say?" Shangguan Qingrou looked towards Ning Shu with slight pity like she was facing someone about to die.

Ning Shu revolved her energy and instantly moved to Shangguan Qingrou to quickly clutch her by her neck.

Xuan Xiaotian's facial color immediately turned ashen. His low voice contained boundless anger. It was completely different from his easygoing manner from a moment ago. "Let go of her, otherwise this prince will make you wish you were dead!"

Ning Shu grinned as she grabbed Shangguan Qingrou's arm and twisted it behind Shangguan Qingrou's body so that she couldn't move.

"You tricked me!" Shangguan Qingrou struggled, but since her hand was pinned behind her back, she couldn't move.

And you were about to kill me. Ning Shu curled her lips in disdain, then said to Xuan Xiaotian, "Let me leave."

"Not possible." Xuan Xiaotian's facial color was very poor. He had been threatened by an ant, it was ridiculous. He was no longer in the mood to question this hidden guard. As soon as he captured her, he'd have her killed.

Ning Shu tightened her grip on Shangguan Qingrou's neck and Shangguan Qingrou instantly started gasping for breath in pain. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She inwardly hated Xuan Hongyu to death now. First Xuan Hongyu had choked her, and now Xuan Hongyu's hidden guard was choking her.

She could feel that the body behind her was cold and filled with murderous intent. Shangguan Qingrou was a little frightened by Ning Shu. When she recalled what Xuan Xiaotian said about how death soldiers were people that didn't feel anything upon killing people, she became very scared.

The two groups were in a complete deadlock, so the room was very quiet. Ning Shu saw that Xuan Xiaotian didn't intend to let her go, so she directly placed her blade against Shangguan Qingrou's neck. "Let me go, otherwise I'll kill her."

Xuan Xiaotian glanced at Ning Shu, then at the blade against Shangguan Qingrou's neck. His expression was unperturbed and calm.

Ning Shu pressed on the blade slightly and the sharp edge instantly cut into Shangguan Qingrou's delicate skin. Fresh blood flowed across the edge of the blade and dripped to the ground.

Shangguan Qingrou inhaled sharply due to the pain and tears overflowed even more. Xuan Xiaotian's facial color instantly changed. After taking a deep breath, he said to Ning Shu sternly, "This prince will let you go. Let go of her."

Ning Shu wasn't stupid. The moment she let Shangguan Qingrou go, the four hidden guards would attack her with intention to kill. Ning Shu wasn't stupid enough to think that Xuan Xiaotian would still want to capture her alive after she hurt Shangguan Qingrou.

She had challenged Xuan Xiaotian's prestige, so her only fate was death.

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Chapter 963: Waiting for the Book

Ning Shu dragged Shangguan Qingrou with her as she retreated out of the room. Originally she had planned to let Shangguan Qingrou go and start running, but when she saw how dark Xuan Xiaotian's expression was—intense murderous intent was radiating off him and his gaze was extremely cold as he looked at her—she knew that he was determined to kill her today.

In this situation, there was no way she could let Shangguan Qingrou go. She revolved her energy, then turned and jumped over the wall with Shangguan Qingrou.

However, Ning Shu felt that Shangguan Qingrou really was a little heavy.

"Pursue." Xuan Xiaotian's face was completely cold as he took the initiative to chase after Ning Shu.

"Let go of me!" Shangguan Qingrou struggled nonstop. Meanwhile, Ning Shu was struggling to stay calm as an air of death seemed to close in on her from behind. Her hairs rose on end.

So when Shangguan Qingrou kept causing a ruckus like this, she became pretty annoyed and directly karate chopped her neck to knock her out. Following that, she shifted Shangguan Qingrou onto her shoulder and headed straight for the third prince's residence.

She could feel that the people behind her were getting closer. The other party's speed was very fast. Ning Shu revolved the energy in her dantian and increased her speed.

She was still too weak, seriously too weak.

Xuan Xiaotian wanted to eliminate her. He didn't want any of Xuan Hongyu's subordinates to be by Shangguan Qingrou's side. The current Xuan Xiaotian had already come to think of Shangguan Qingrou as his woman, a woman that others should give up trying to get a share of.

The fact that Xuan Hongyu had been able to give Shangguan Qingrou a hidden guard indicated that their relationship was beyond that of normal. If he killed this hidden guard, he could ruin Shangguan Qingrou's relationship with Xuan Hongyu.

Whenever someone of the imperial clan did something, it always contained hidden motives.

Ning Shu felt like her dantian was about to rip. Wanting to escapefrom the four quite strong hidden guards and the also quite skilled Xuan Xiaotian really wasn't easy.

Ning Shu did want to set Shangguan Qingrou down to run by herself, but even if she set down Shangguan Qingrou now, the people behind her still wouldn't let her off, so it was better to keep ahold of Shangguan Qingrou as a trump card.

She saw that she was about to reach the third prince's residence, so she placed her fingers by her lips and gave a loud sharp whistle.

This was the method the hidden guards from the base used to communicate in pressing situations.

Several black figures immediately jumped out from the third prince's residence and headed towards Ning Shu. Ning Shu said, "Help me fend them off for now. I'm going to look for Master."

Ning Shu was relieved to see these people. She carried Shangguan Qingrou into the residence and headed to Xuan Hongyu's study. His study was still lit.

Ning Shu knew that Xuan Hongyu was waiting for her to bring him the book today. He wanted to know what Shangguan Qingrou did today.

But today, she had brought the actual person.

Ning Shu knocked on the door. Xuan Hongyu said coldly, "Enter."

Ning Shu pushed open the door and entered. She saw that the ground was covered with papers. The same person was on each page; it was all Shangguan Qingrou. Shangguan Qingrou's every movement, every glance, every smile.

Currently, Xuan Hongyu was still drawing. He didn't even lift his head when Ning Shu entered and said coldly, "Tonight?"

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Chapter 964: Because Miss Shangguan's Injury Requires Treatment

Ning Shu felt the back of her scalp prickle when she saw Xuan Hongyu like this. She placed Shangguan Qingrou on a chair. Xuan Hongyu lifted his head to glance over at Ning Shu and his gaze was immediately draw to the unconscious person on the chair. He was taken aback for a moment, then he tossed down the brush and walked over.

When he saw the injury on Shangguan Qingrou's neck, his gaze became very cold as he looked at Ning Shu.

Ning Shu hastily said, "Master, this subordinate can explain..." Ning Shu repeated what happened. How Xuan Xiaotian had snuck into Shangguan Qingrou's room in the middle of the night, seeming to harbor bad intentions, and how she had wanted to save Shangguan Qingrou, only to discover that the two were colluding to capture her so as to torture information about her master out of her.

After that, she brought Shangguan Qingrou back. She kept the explanation about the wound on Shangguan Qingrou's neck vague.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu coldly, then extended his jade-like fair hand. "Don't try to play smart in front of this prince."

Xuan Hongyu swung his palm towards Ning Shu, clearly to punish her for acting on her own initiative, but Ning Shu quickly bent over—dodging Xuan Hongyu's palm—to undo Shangguan Qingrou's collar. She acted as if this entire dodge had been inadvertent and just said, "Master, Miss Shangguan's injury requires treatment."

Xuan Hongyu narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at Ning Shu, then he leaned over and picked up Shangguan Qingrou to head towards the side room.

Ning Shu sighed silently. She had no desire to be hit by Xuan Hongyu. Fudge, at that time, she could've been killed, but not only did Xuan Hongyu not console her, he even blamed her for hurting Shangguan Qingrou.

Fine, Shangguan Qingrou was way more important than she was.

Hidden guards sure had it hard. She really didn't understand what the original host had been thinking when she offered up her soul to save her master.

With a master like this, the sooner you got free from him, the better, but Eleven actually wanted to save him.

Ning Shu couldn't understand Eleven's loyalty towards Xuan Hongyu at all. It was also a sort of fortune for Xuan Hongyu to have this sort of death soldier who stood loyally by his side.

However, Xuan Hongyu's attitude towards her was that she was just a tool. He didn't even treat her as a person, so his attitude towards the original host had probably been the same.

Ning Shu glanced at the countless paintings on the ground. This was how Shangguan Qingrou appeared to Xuan Hongyu in his heart. Rather than say that Xuan Hongyu deeply loved Shangguan Qingrou, it would be more accurate to say that he was obsessed with her.

She left the study and closed the door. After that intense running earlier, her entire body was in pain. Some muscles had even been torn due to overuse.

Wondered how Xuan Xiaotian was doing now? Ning Shu stood on the wall of the residence to wait for the hidden guards to return.

When the hidden guards returned, Ning Shu smelled the scent of blood on them, so she hastily asked, "How was it?"

"They withdrew first. They were quite strong. Should we report to Master first?" said one of the hidden guards. His face was covered, so in the night, his features couldn't really be made out.

Ning Shu shook her head. "Let's wait until tomorrow." How could the current Xuan Hongyu have the mood to listen to these things?

Xuan Hongyu wouldn't have her protect Shangguan Qingrou again after this, right? Things had already gotten to this point, if Xuan Hongyu told her to go protect Shangguan Qingrou again, it was no different from telling her to go die.

Ning Shu stopped paying attention to this matter and scaled a tree trunk to get on a tree branch in preparation to start training. She had already become a monkey. She climbed pretty much every tree she saw and she hadn't slept in a bed once since coming to this world.

The occupation of being a death soldier was dangerous and had little benefits. How did such an inhuman occupation come into existence?

And her strength was seriously too trashy. All she could do was run every time. She really wanted to do an awe-inspiring PVE massacre and gain the reputation of being undefeatable.

There was no one here that she could rely on. There was no point mentioning Xuan Hongyu, this yandere master of hers. She might even end up dying at his hands instead of during a mission, which was why she seriously needed strength!

After taking a deep breath, she emptied her thoughts to start training.

"Xuan Hongyu, you pervert! Let go of me..."

Ning Shu's training was interrupted by a shrill shriek.

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Chapter 965: Because Legs Went Numb

Ning Shu's training was interrupted, so she parted the leaves to look towards the side room of Xuan Hongyu's study. The room was still lit and Shangguan Qingrou's loud shrieking was coming from inside.

Ning Shu was starting to wonder what Xuan Hongyu was doing to Shangguan Qingrou.

She jumped down from the tree and snuck to the window to peek in. Shangguan Qingrou had been tied to a bed with four pillars. Her four limbs were tied to the pillars so she was completely sprawled out on her back and couldn't move at all.

Meanwhile, Xuan Hongyu was sitting on a chair not far away and just watching Shangguan Qingrou. It was oddly horrifying.

"You're awake." Xuan Hongyu poured a cup of water, then walked over to the bed with it as he said, "You must be thirsty. Want some water?"

Shangguan Qingrou was currently struggling against these ropes. When she heard what Xuan Hongyu said, she shouted indignantly, "I don't want to drink water! Xuan Hongyu, release me! It's uncomfortable."

As Ning Shu watched from outside, she felt that Xuan Hongyu was seriously good at courting death. Shangguan Qingrou was such a delicate girl. Although she was a little lively, but based on Xuan Hongyu's skills, he could easily keep her down with one hand. How could she possibly escape?

Shangguan Qingrou's little face was completely pale with fear. She looked at Xuan Hongyu like he was a psycho.

"Xuan Hongyu, can you let me go first?" Shangguan Qingrou beseeched Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu shook his head as he set down the teacup. Then he got on the bed and hugged Shangguan Qingrou, causing Shangguan Qingrou's entire body to start trembling with fear.

Xuan Hongyu stroked Shangguan Qingrou's hair, consoling her. "Don't be scared."

Shangguan Qingrou's trembling worsened.

Xuan Hongyu sighed, then he asked gently, "Qingrou, I like you, so why don't you like me?"

Shangguan Qingrou choked. She had no idea what to say.

Xuan Hongyu lay down next to Shangguan Qingrou and propped up his head to look at her. His expression was languid, and with his smooth hair falling loosely over his shoulders, he truly made a magnificent scene.

Xuan Hongyu suddenly thought of something and an elated smile appeared on his face. His facial features were like something straight out of a painting, exceptional and peerless. "Qingrou, let's become one."

Ning Shu: Pfff...

Next was...

Should she withdraw now?

Shangguan Qingrou's eyes widened in fear and she shouted frantically, "No! I don't want to!"

"You'll like it." As Xuan Hongyu spoke, he got off the bed.

Ning Shu: This was so dirty...

She had crouched for too long, her legs went numb so she couldn't get up. Ning Shu hammered her legs as she continued to watch the situation inside the room.

Xuan Hongyu got a dagger. The dagger's blade shone with cold snow-white light under the illumination of the candles.

Shangguan Qingrou's lips trembled. "You- what are you doing?"

She was pretty bewildered to see Xuan Hongyu holding a dagger. Wasn't becoming one supposed to be dat?

What was he holding a dagger for!?

Xuan Hongyu was holding a dagger, but he spoke gently to Shangguan Qingrou like a noble gentleman, "Don't be scared."

Forget how Shangguan Qingrou, the person involved, felt for now, even Ning Shu felt her hair rise on end just from watching.

Men like this really were too much for someone to take.

#comment: Ning Shu, nice excuse. Xp

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Chapter 966: Because Not Enough Education

Xuan Hongyu first leaned over to bury his head in Shangguan Qingrou's neck to kiss her.

Shangguan Qingrou started shrieking. Her voice contained pain and her face twisted with agony.

Ning Shu squinted to look closer. The place Xuan Hongyu kissed was where Shangguan Qingrou had been injured.

It was a good while before Xuan Hongyu lifted his head. His lips were covered with fresh blood. Paired with his incomparable looks, he looked darkly seductive. He even licked all the blood off his lips.

Xuan Hongyu gently spoke to Shangguan Qingrou's whose eyes had gone dull with fear. "Now my body contains your blood."

"So now, you should drink my blood. This way, we can become one." As Xuan Hongyu spoke, he cut his own wrist without hesitation. Blood quickly emerged from the wound.

"Y-you..." Shangguan Qingrou looked towards Xuan Hongyu incredulously. "You... What exactly are you trying to do?"

Shangguan Qingrou looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears. She looked terrified and completely at a loss.

"Let's become one. This way, no one will be able to separate us." Xuan Hongyu grabbed Shangguan Qingrou's chin and placed his wrist in front of her so that his blood could drip into her mouth.

Shangguan Qingrou's expression was pained and sinister. She tilted her head to the side so that the blood wouldn't get into her mouth, and the blood ended up dripping all over her face.

"Be good, alright?" Xuan Hongyu forced Shangguan Qingrou's head to face him and grabbed her chin tightly. He lifted his wrist to allow the blood to drip into her mouth.

The intense fishy taste of the blood made Shangguan Qingrou retch. When Shangguan Qingrou spat out the blood, Xuan Hongyu just dripped more into her mouth. "Swallow it."

After quite a while of this struggle, Xuan Hongyu finally stopped. He wrapped his injury with a cloth and said to Shangguan Qingrou who seemed to have lost all hope in life, "From now on, we're one."

Shangguan Qingrou made a faint sound almost like a lifeless laugh. It was clear that she was in shock from this terrifying experience.

Xuan Hongyu leaned over and hugged Shangguan Qingrou. As he looked at her face that was covered with blood, he said, "I'm really happy."

Ning Shu wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. As of now, her legs weren't numb anymore, so she climbed up the tree in one breath.

Yandere supporting male lead, you're seriously unbelievable! It was seriously scary to have no education. So what if you drank her blood? After digesting it, it'd be pooped out with the next load. What need was there to make things so bloody?

Shangguan Qingrou seemed about to go insane from fright.

Feed each other blood to become one? Ning Shu had thought that it would be dat kind of close quarters contact.

The next day, before the sky even lightened, Xuan Xiaotian came to the third prince's residence, probably to demand for the person.

Xuan Xiaotian's face was so dark that it was unsightly. He held a fan and continuously fanned himself. His anxiousness was clear to see.

Shangguan Qingrou had been here the entire night, and Xuan Hongyu liked Shangguan Qingrou. Xuan Xiaotian tried hard not to imagine what could've happened last night.

When Xuan Hongyu walked out, he was very content with his achievements. His satisfaction showed on his face. When Xuan Xiaotian saw him like this, his facial color worsened and he clenched his fist so hard his knuckles audibly cracked.

"Third Brother, I'm here to send Shangguan Qingrou back. It's about to be morning. If the people of the director's residence find that she's not in the residence, it wouldn't be good for her reputation." Xuan Xiaotian endured the anger in his heart and spoke politely towards Xuan Hongyu.

It damaged a woman's reputation terribly if they didn't return for an entire night.

Xuan Xiaotian still wanted to have a future with Shangguan Qingrou, so he couldn't let Shangguan Qingrou have the reputation of already having lost her chastity.

Compared to Xuan Xiaotian who was so anxious he was about to jump up, Xuan Hongyu was completely unperturbed.

"Third Brother, where is Shangguan Qingrou? I need to bring her back," said Xuan Xiaotian again.

"There's no need for you to worry about this. I'll bring her back," replied Xuan Hongyu mildly.

"I need to see her." Xuan Xiaotian clenched his fan hard as unconcealable anger appeared on his face.

Xuan Hongyu asked, "You'll leave once you see her?"

"Yes," said Xuan Xiaotian while gritting his teeth. He wanted to see how exactly Shangguan Qingrou was doing.

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Chapter 967: Why Was She Like That?

Xuan Xiaotian's current feelings were too complicated to describe. Apprehensive, anxious, infuriated, worried about Shangguan Qingrou, and also resentful.

When Xuan Xiaotian saw Xuan Hongyu's calm manner, his heart clenched uncomfortably.

He couldn't shake off the feeling that something had happened between the two.

Shangguan Qingrou was helped out by a maid. She had already changed into clean clothes and her face was no longer covered with blood. However, her face was completely pale and she seemed distracted and fearful.

Seeing Shangguan Qingrou like this made Xuan Xiaotian's heart drop and his facial color worsened. Xuan Hongyu had definitely done something to her!

When Shangguan Qingrou saw Xuan Xiaotian, her tears immediately overflowed and she ran to him. Her voice trembled as she cried, "Xuan Xiaotian, please bring me away from here! I want to go home!"

Shangguan Qingrou didn't even dare to look at Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu's facial color instantly turned cold and he said to Shangguan Qingrou, "Come here."

"I don't want to, you damned pervert! There's no way I'm going over there!"

Xuan Hongyu looked at Shangguan Qingrou with a cold expression. Shangguan Qingrou's back prickled with cold sweat when she saw his strange lingering gaze. She tugged Xuan Xiaotian's sleeve. "Xuan Xiaotian, I want to go home."

"Alright." Xuan Xiaotian could only suppress his worries and bring Shangguan Qingrou to leave.

"I said so before that I'll send her back," said Xuan Hongyu coldly. His gaze was filled with hurt and disappointment as he looked at Shangguan Qingrou.

He had been happy earlier because he thought he would have a new beginning with Shangguan Qingrou, but why was she still like this?

"Third Brother, she asked for me to send her back, so just allow me to do so. Also, there's no need for you to assign a hidden guard to be by Qingrou's side anymore, she doesn't like it." Xuan Xiaotian pulled Shangguan Qingrou behind him as he confronted Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu pressed his lips together, his expression cold. "Shangguan Qingrou is mine."

Xuan Xiaotian staggered for a moment. Behind him, Shangguan Qingrou immediately refuted, "I'm not yours! Stop making things up."

Xuan Xiaotian said coldly, "Third Brother, if you care about Qingrou even in the slightest, let me send her back now. It's going to be dawn soon. Could it be that you want her to end up with the reputation of having lost her chastity?"

Before Xuan Hongyu could even speak, Xuan Xiaotian pulled Shangguan Qingrou and left. Xuan Hongyu could only stare at Shangguan Qingrou's back figure blankly. His expression couldn't be read.

Ning Shu who was crouched on the tree curled her lips in disdain. Although Xuan Hongyu was her master, she still couldn't stop herself from feeling that he freakin' deserved it.

Xuan Hongyu had performed perfectly the role of a courting death expert. This was her first time meeting a supporting male lead who was this good at courting death. Weren't supporting male leads supposed to have the signs of being gentle spare tires?

But this guy's extreme possessiveness was already beyond treatment.

"Eleven." After standing in place for a long while, Xuan Hongyu called Ning Shu. Ning Shu immediately jumped down from the tree and walked to Xuan Hongyu. "Master."

Xuan Hongyu's face was deathly pale as he asked Ning Shu, "Eleven, why was she like that?"

Ning Shu: ...

Ning Shu kept her face completely blank as she said in an earnest manner, "This subordinate doesn't know."

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu, then turned and entered the room. When he saw that Ning Shu was still standing outside, he said coldly, "Get in here."

See? He was taking his anger out on her.

Ning Shu expressionlessly got in there and knelt on one knee as she asked, "Master, what instructions do you have?"

Ning Shu was very nervous. Please don't have her go protect Shangguan Qingrou again. Xuan Xiaotian would kill her every time he saw her. Please don't send her towards the blades, Master.

Xuan Hongyu asked Ning Shu, "You're also a woman. You know why Shangguan Qingrou was like that towards this prince? I like her, so why is she so scared of this prince?"

Ning Shu inwardly burst out laughing. If it were me, I'd also be scared. You fed her blood this time, next time you might feed her shit. If you didn't even dare to eat the shit of the person you loved, how could you still say that you love me?

Ning Shu replied earnestly, "This subordinate doesn't know about these kinds of things."

"What do you like?" asked Xuan Hongyu suddenly.

What did she like? Ning Shu was taken aback for a moment. She loved points the most.

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Chapter 968: Not a Woman

"This subordinate doesn't have anything she likes," replied Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu, finally recalling that the woman in front of him wasn't a normal person. Strictly speaking, she didn't even count as a woman. He waved dismissively. "Get out."

Ning Shu: ...

After calling a person inside, after a few words, he was having the person scram again.

She had to come upon being summoned and leave upon being dismissed without any grudge or resentment.

Ning Shu turned and was just about to leave when Xuan Hongyu suddenly said, "Oh right, one more thing."

Ning Shu asked, "Master, is there something else this subordinate should do?"

Please don't have her go protect Shangguan Qingrou.

"Continue keeping an eye on the director's residence," said Xuan Hongyu mildly.

F*ck. Ning Shu almost puked blood. Why the frick did she still have to go back? She didn't want to go back.

Ning Shu wasn't feeling very well, but she maintained a serious expression. "This subordinate feels that the director's residence is no longer enterable. The fifth prince will definitely send people to guard the residence."

"Just pay attention to the surroundings. If anything happens between the fifth prince and Shangguan Qingrou, report to this prince." Xuan Hongyu didn't insist that Ning Shu go die.

Ning Shu accepted this mission with a sincere expression of honor.

However, this task was comparably simpler. She only had to record each of Shangguan Qingrou's outings and didn't need to continue squatting on the tree outside Shangguan Qingrou's room to feed the mosquitoes.

Shangguan Qingrou had probably been too frightened by Xuan Hongyu because she didn't leave the residence for a very long time. However, Xuan Xiaotian often visited the director's residence. Whenever he left, it was always the director that personally saw him off.

Ning Shu grabbed a manservant that had left the director's residence to carry out an errand and gave him some silver. "Is there some happy occasion in the director's residence?"

The manservant weighed the silver in his hand, then said with a proud smile, "His Highness the fifth prince plans to propose to our miss. He'll be asking His Majesty to bestow the marriage in a few days."

Ning Shu immediately headed back to tell Xuan Hongyu about this. When Xuan Hongyu heard, he immediately overturned his gold-laced redwood study desk. He looked dumbfounded.

Ning Shu suddenly didn't even have words to say about Xuan Hongyu. Did Xuan Hongyu actually think that after exchanging blood, they would become one? That after he went through some holy blood-feeding ceremony, the person would become his?

As Ning Shu took in Xuan Hongyu's lost expression, she asked, "Master, are you alright?" If you're fine, just eat some Liuliumei.

Xuan Hongyu's facial color was very poor and his eyes were bloodshot. He pulled down the painting of Shangguan Qingrou that was hung on the wall, then ripped it apart. However, he felt that it still wasn't enough, so he took out the previous paintings and ripped them all to shreds as well.

Ning Shu just watched silently. What use was there in ripping paper?

After venting his anger, Xuan Hongyu's expression was now ice cold. He seemed to have calmed down, but his facial muscles would occasionally contort, showing that his emotions were still raging inside.

"Head back and continue keeping an eye on the director's residence," said Xuan Hongyu without even looking at Ning Shu.

Ning Shu replied understood, then turned and left. She had no plans to comfort Xuan Hongyu.

#comment: If you're alright in Chinese uses the words 'do you have anything [to do]' and I'm fine uses the words '[I have] nothing [to do]'. Liuliumei is a brand of dried fruit products and one of their famous commercials revolved around the dialogue "Do you have anything to do? If you have nothing to do, just eat some Liuliumei."

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Chapter 969: A Grand Marriage

The storyline continued smoothly. Xuan Xiaotian and Shangguan Qingrou were about to get married. Despite Shangguan Qingrou's playful personality, she hadn't taken a single step out of the residence for a long time.

Even Xuan Xiaotian rarely visited the director's residence anymore even though he used to be quite enthusiastic about visiting. He was probably busy preparing for the wedding.

Ning Shu asked a maid that had left the director's residence on an errand and the maid said that Shangguan Qingrou was currently embroidering her dowry.

Embroidering her dowry?

Ning Shu didn't feel like Shangguan Qingrou could embroider anything.

Soon the imperial edict bestowing the marriage came and Xuan Xiaotian's marriage to Shangguan Qingrou become something set in stone. Even though Xuan Hongyu wanted to obstruct it, he wasn't able to stop the two from getting married.

The day of the wedding was set to be very soon, probably to guard against Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu went to see Shangguan Qingrou, but he always faced a closed door. Shangguan Qingrou wanted absolutely nothing to do with Xuan Hongyu. Since she was about to get married, she wanted to see him even less.

Over half the reason that Shangguan Qingrou was in such a rush to marry was because of Xuan Hongyu. However, it was also because Xuan Xiaotian treated her very well.

However, Xuan Hongyu wouldn't give up and even sent death soldiers to the residence to kidnap Shangguan Qingrou. Xuan Xiaotian had been prepared and had already made sure that the security of the director's residence was watertight so that Xuan Hongyu couldn't cause any more trouble.

Xuan Hongyu had a frosty expression on his face every day. An oppressive atmosphere seemed to hover around the entire third prince's residence. Ning Shu didn't care about how much in pain her master was at all or how wronged he felt. She just worked on speeding up her training even more. The battle between the two sides was intensifying.

From what she knew, several of Xuan Hongyu's death soldiers had already died due to all sorts of missions. Some had been captured, so they had bit through the prepared poison capsule and died. Others had taken the initiative to head towards death for the sake of their master's plan. This kind of struggle occurred in private and out of sight, but was vicious and bloody.

This kind of savage fighting—every mission granted only a narrow chance at life—caused Ning Shu's hair to rise on end. All she could do was calm herself down and continue to train. Compared to what the others had to face, her mission was much simpler, and much luckier. All she had to do was keep an eye on Shangguan Qingrou and monitor the director's residence.

If Shangguan Qingrou left the residence, Ning Shu had to notify Xuan Hongyu immediately.

She had already officially become a peeping stalker. It was sure exhausting to encounter an abnormal master.

There were so many grils in the world, why did Xuan Hongyu insist on having Shangguan Qingrou?"

This fixated possessive desire drove Xuan Hongyu to insist on obtaining Shangguan Qingrou. Fudge, I want you, so you must be mine! Your corpse is mine, your hair is mine, your nails are also mine!

If he couldn't obtain her, then he felt extreme pain that seemed to scratch at his heart. It was so painful that he'd toss and turn endlessly at night, so painful that it drove him crazy.

The day of the wedding truly was filled with such loud festive gongs and drums that the music filled the skies as the red bridal procession moved through the streets. A daughter of the director's residence was becoming the bride of the fifth prince and going to become a princess consort. It was the most festive event in the capital.

Xuan Xiaotian treated Shangguan Qingrou very well and gave her plenty of face. The dowry was so much that it made a line that stretched all the way from the prince's residence to the director's residence. The chests seemed very full since the carrying poles were all bending from the weight.

Xuan Hongyu was planning to attack the bridal sedan chair and directly make the bride disappear, but Xuan Xiaotian actually managed to convince the emperor to assign a troop of guards to guarantee that the wedding would progress smoothly.

Hence, Xuan Hongyu had no choice but to have his death soldiers withdraw. These guards were Imperial Father's people. If he had his death soldiers attack, it would just be sending them straight towards blades, and it would even make Imperial Father become suspicious of him.

Xuan Hongyu stared darkly at Xuan Xiaotian who was riding on a horse, dressed in festive attire. He wished that Xuan Xiaotian would just fall off the horse to his death.

Ning Shu stood behind Xuan Hongyu and just curled her lips in disdain. She had told him to hurry up and marry Shangguan Qingrou, but he insisted on making Shangguan Qingrou his and actually blindly tried things like feeding Shangguan Qingrou blood. Did he really think she'd be his just with that?

So then Shangguan Qingrou ended up being able to marry someone else with her body still pure.

Ning Shu just wanted to cover her forehead.

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Chapter 970: The Entire Country Will Belong to This Daddy!

Xuan Hongyu naturally also had to participate in Xuan Xiaotian's wedding. Even though these two were irreconcilable enemies in private, in front of their old man the emperor, they still had to act like they mutually respected each other as brothers.

The moment Xuan Hongyu left the teahouse, he headed towards the fifth prince's residence. The residence was very lively, but it was guarded very tightly. This was to prevent any accidents from occurring, but mostly to guard against Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu just stood in the corner and watched as the new couple went through the ritual kneeling to heaven and earth. The dark aura around him wasn't even suppressible. Written on his face were the clear words: As long as I'm here, you guys can give up on having a happy life together! Once I frickin' kill one of you, I'd like to see how you guys can continue holding each other's hand into old age!

When the master of ceremonies shouted, 'Enter the bridal room!' Xuan Hongyu pressed his lips together and left. Ning Shu was waiting for Xuan Hongyu outside the residence. When she saw that expression as if he wanted to destroy the world on his face, she took a couple steps back. No way she should approach him right now, what if he decided to slap her? She couldn't dodge, so she'd end up being cannon fodder.

Xuan Hongyu returned to his residence, then locked himself in his room. Ning Shu didn't know what he was doing.

She just sneered, then headed off to start work. Xuan Xiaotian would probably be ascending to the throne soon, so she had to make preparations ahead of time to save Xuan Hongyu.

She had squatted on a tree branch to feed mosquitoes and written in a journal every day. If after surviving all of that, Xuan Hongyu still ended up dying, she'd probably puke blood and die.

As for Xuan Hongyu who had just had his heart broken, who cared about him? He'd soon be alive and bouncing again, coming up with ways to kill Xuan Xiaotian and Shangguan Qingrou.

Xuan Hongyu was in pain, but Xuan Xiaotian and Shangguan Qingrou were joined at the hip and super lovey-dovey after they got married. All the noblewomen in the capital were jealous.

Every time Xuan Hongyu heard this news, his expression was very indifferent. It was impossible to read what he was feeling.

Ning Shu felt that this person wasn't silently suppressing anger in preparation to explode, but silently suppressing anger and becoming more twisted.

Xuan Hongyu hadn't given up on Shangguan Qingrou and had actually become more fixated on her. He spent all his days staring at someone else's wife.

During this time, a huge incident occurred, which was that the crown prince had happened to see his sister-in-law and his heart stirred. Shangguan Qingrou's personality was lively and she was also very pretty. Due to having become married, she also had the loveliness of a young married woman, so she was practically top-quality goods.

The crown prince had come up with a way to get Shangguan Qingrou into his hands. Just as he was about to partake though, Shangguan Qingrou was rescued by Xuan Xiaotian. Shangguan Qingrou had nearly been scared to death.

Speaking of which, Shangguan Qingrou was also quite pitiful. She was always attracting wolves like this. There was no helping it though since her charm was seriously too great.

When Xuan Hongyu heard about this, he actually formed a mutual understanding with Xuan Xiaotian and joined hands with him to kill off the crown prince.

Following that, the entire capital was abuzz due to some of the crown prince's malicious deeds being exposed. However, these weren't very significant incidents. Although it wasn't good for the crown prince's reputation, it couldn't shake his position. However, it did infuriate him.

The crown prince also knew that this was Xuan Xiaotian's doing, so he decided to fight Xuan Xiaotian head on. He was thinking that in the future, this entire country would belong to this daddy, so what if this daddy slept with your woman? Just endure it! You actually dare to revolt!?

The two sides fought like cats and dogs. The crown prince was the heir apparent and had already been engaged in court for many years, so his skill couldn't be underestimated. However, Xuan Xiaotian had Xuan Hongyu helping him, so for the time being, they were evenly matched.

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Chapter 971: Start of the Struggle for the Throne

Shangguan Qingrou ended up as the fuse that set off the struggle for the throne.

In brief, the two sides were fighting viciously and it was hard to predict the outcome.

Based on what Ning Shu knew, Xuan Hongyu had sent out a troop of death soldiers, but almost the entire troop got wiped out. Only a few came back. So many living people were gone just like this.

Ning Shu was quite alarmed to see this. She knew that she really didn't have much time left, so she could only work hard to increase her own strength.

One day, while the emperor was addressing the imperial court, he suddenly coughed blood and fell from the dragon throne. When the imperial physicians checked, they said that he had been poisoned and wouldn't be able to live past half a year.

The emperor became so angry that he spat another mouthful of black blood, then passed out.

The emperor had been poisoned, so the crown prince naturally took over the duty of supervising the nation. All that the emperor had to do now was wait for death.

However, not long later, it was exposed that it was actually the crown prince who had poisoned the emperor. He had bribed the emperor's personal eunuch. There were all sorts of evidence. Even that eunuch confessed and said that he had been following the crown prince's instructions.

The reason was because a while ago, a lot of the crown prince's crimes had been exposed. For the sake of keeping his status as crown prince, he poisoned the emperor. Once the emperor died, he'd naturally become emperor.

These pieces of evidence left the crown prince speechless. He knelt by the bed of the emperor crying 'this subject son is wrongly accused!' The emperor was so angered that he coughed blood. Ever since he got poisoned, he vomited blood nearly every day. The blood was always black and carried a terrible stench.

It was seriously unpleasant to wait for death. The emperor truly felt like he was about to die. When he saw that it was his own son that had poisoned him, he didn't kill the crown prince and just demoted him to the status of a commoner. Even though he really wanted to drag a person down to die with him, he still had to take into consideration his reputation in history.

Mutual attempts to kill between father and son was a terrible scandal.

As for the crown prince, since he had been demoted to being a commoner, he was already defeated and no one paid any more attention to him.

Once the crown prince was kicked off the stage, Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Xiaotian instantly adjusted the direction of their spears. The two that had been collaborating just yesterday immediately started fighting.

Things happened really quickly. It had been too much for Ning Shu to even take in. The last part was like this:

The emperor had only half a year to live at most, so both Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Xiaotian had to enter the palace to attend to the emperor. They had to do their filial duty, but of course, it was also to contend for the throne.

As of now, there were only two adult princes. The others were still children that didn't really have any contending power. If nothing unexpected occurred, one of these two would become the emperor.

Ning Shu didn't feel like Xuan Hongyu could become emperor. The male lead, Xuan Xiaotian, would be emperor while the empress would be Shangguan Qingrou. The love story of having only one love this entire lifetime was a paragon of the imperial family that always went down in history.

After increasing the speed at which she trained, she had become stronger than before. If she encountered Xuan Xiaotian's old hidden guards again, with the help of her weapons and poison, she definitely wouldn't lose.

Who cared about all the billowing waves in the world? Ning Shu just silently worked on practicing martial arts since she already knew the outcome.

It wasn't that Ning Shu hadn't considered helping, but Xuan Hongyu definitely wouldn't tolerate someone who was supposed to just be a tool criticizing his actions. In any case, her task was only to save Xuan Hongyu, so there was no point worrying about anything else.

It was just that the task of saving him would take some effort.

Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Xiaotian stayed by the emperor's side regardless of the time of day or night. They moved into the imperial palace. Although it was said that the emperor would have half a year left to live, the poison had flared up in just a month. The emperor's entire body became purple and bruised. The poison had already severely corroded his internal organs. Even though the imperial physicians were doing all they could to treat it, they couldn't save the emperor's life.

Since the emperor was about to die, he naturally had to pass the country to his son.

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Chapter 972: Respect

Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Xiaotian knelt in front of the emperor who was near his last breath. Black blood that carried a bad stench flowed out the corner of the emperor's lips. In front of his closest ministers, he struggled to speak. "After we pass away, the fifth prince, Xuan Xiaotian, shall inherit the throne. The third prince, Xuan Hongyu, will become the resolved prince. Once we pass away, the third prince is to immediately leave the capital and head towards the feudal fiefdom. Without being summoned, he is not to take a single step into the capital."

"We subject sons are grateful for this grace." Xuan Xiaotian and Xuan Hongyu kowtowed in thanks.

Xuan Hongyu pressed his lips together tightly. His expression was indifferent, so people couldn't tell what he was thinking at all. Meanwhile, there was a smug air around Xuan Xiaotian.

"All of you, withdraw. Hongyu, stay." The emperor coughed. More black blood overflowed from his mouth, carrying a nasty stench of rot.

Xuan Xiaotian glanced at Xuan Hongyu, then followed the ministers out.

"Hongyu, come in front of us," said the emperor.

Xuan Hongyu greeted, "Imperial Father."

"With your personality, you're not suited to being emperor," said the emperor. "When you were young, you had a little dog. You doted on this dog a lot, but one day, this dog ran to us and wanted to play with us. We teased it a little, but afterwards, you killed this dog."

Xuan Hongyu didn't speak. The emperor continued coughing with large mouthfuls of black blood. Xuan Hongyu said, "Imperial Father, don't speak." As he spoke, he wiped the black blood that had dripped onto the emperor's neck.

"We originally thought that you were a bloodthirsty person, but later, we found that it wasn't that you didn't care about things, but that you were too obsessed with the things you cared about. You should head to the fiefdom. Don't returned to the capital anymore."

Xuan Hongyu pressed his lips together without speaking.

"You can go," said the emperor.

Xuan Hongyu knelt. "This subject son will withdraw now."

When Xuan Hongyu left the resting palace, he saw that Xuan Xiaotian and the ministers were still waiting outside the palace. Xuan Xiaotian walked up and asked Xuan Hongyu, "What did Imperial Father say to you?"

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Xuan Xiaotian, then smiled for the first time during all this time. It made him looked exceptionally magnificent. Even Xuan Xiaotian was taken aback for a moment. Xuan Hongyu said mildly, "Guess."

Xuan Xiaotian narrowed his eyes, but before he had the chance to say anything, he heard the eunuch's mournful cry, "His Majesty has passed away!"

Ning Shu, who was training in the third prince's residence, heard the sound of the knell coming from the palace, so she knew that the emperor has passed away. The housekeeper immediately took down all the gaudy things in the residence, then hung up white silk.

When Xuan Hongyu returned, there was a cold air hovering around him. Ning Shu knew from the sight of this that Xuan Hongyu had no hope.

Later, when she heard the emperor's decree, she became overjoyed. If Xuan Hongyu headed to the fiefdom after the emperor's funeral, then there would be no further incidents.

In reality, the emperor was doing this to protect Xuan Hongyu. Hopefully Xuan Hongyu would be able to understand his old man's painstaking efforts.

Ning Shu originally wanted to ask Xuan Hongyu whether he would leave the capital after the funeral, but when she saw Xuan Hongyu's cold expression and that strange lingering affection in his eyes, she swallowed her words back down.

She almost forgot that this guy was an expert in courting death. If he didn't cause some trouble, he couldn't sleep at ease.

It was sure rough. Ending up with a master like this was practically the greatest life tragedy.

Why couldn't Xuan Hongyu just switch targets? Why did he insist on being fixated on Shangguan Qingrou?

Although Ning Shu already had some understanding of Xuan Hongyu's ability to court death, she was still surprised by how skillful he was.

While Xuan Xiaotian was busy with arranging the funeral and the process of ascending to the throne, Xuan Hongyu kidnapped the empress-to-be, Shangguan Qingrou.

Towards this action, Ning Shu could only kneel and write the word 'Respect.'

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Chapter 973: Cursed All Eighteen Generations

In reality, her task was to save a master that courted death nonstop and make it so that her master could live a little longer in order to continue courting death?

She really wanted to shout towards this master: could you freakin' cut it out?

The previous emperor had obviously done this in order to stop brotherly massacre. Xuan Xiaotian perhaps could've abided by the emperor's edict and not attack Xuan Hongyu, but with this, Xuan Xiaotian would definitely kill Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu sighed helplessly. She seriously couldn't understand Xuan Hongyu's fixation. Towards things he cared about, he exhibited shocking possessiveness. For example, there was how he showed his love towards Shangguan Qingrou. He was even willing to hurt himself by cutting his own wrist in order to feed Shangguan Qingrou his blood.

However, towards things he didn't care about, he completely ignored them, even when the thing in question was his own life. She really wondered if Xuan Hongyu knew the consequences of what he did? He probably did know, but he still did them.

The problem right now was that Ning Shu had no idea where Xuan Hongyu had kidnapped the person off to. Some of the hidden guards from the prince's residence were also gone. They had probably left with Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu: ...

His wife had gone missing. Xuan Xiaotian was instantly certain that Xuan Hongyu had been behind this, so he sent his subordinates to search the third prince's residence.

The current Xuan Xiaotian was emperor, so wanting to search a prince's residence was a piece of cake. He even personally led the search and overturned every piece of dirt in the residence, but he didn't find Xuan Hongyu and Shangguan Qingrou.

Ning Shu had run off before Xuan Xiaotian had come to the residence and hidden herself. If she ended up captured by Xuan Xiaotian, she'd definitely be tortured. She'd probably be given a dose of everything including whips rubbed with chili, the tiger bench, the hot iron, and needles.

Ning Shu didn't think she could endure these ruthless torture methods.

Xuan Xiaotian's expression was very cold as he left the third prince's residence without any harvest. He privately assigned more guards to search for Xuan Hongyu. To the outside world, his explanation was that he was looking for an escaped criminal.

The nation's empress had gone missing. If this was revealed, it'd cause an uproar, so Xuan Xiaotian could only keep the information hidden.

Xuan Xiaotian was searching for Xuan Hongyu, and Ning Shu was also curious where Xuan Hongyu had run off to. He had caused Xuan Xiaotian to explode with fury. The moment an emperor raged, there would be a thousand miles of blood. Furthermore, what he did was something that gave the emperor a green hat. Ning Shu wished she could just give up saving Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Xiaotian's actions caused the capital to become very tense. Everyone thought that the new emperor was about to set his prestige by using his new blade on an example, so they all behaved themselves extremely well. Even the low-grade brothels had less business since guards would break in to search frequently. When people were in the middle of doing dat, the sudden search almost startled them to death.

Ning Shu had been hiding in an abandoned house, but when she saw that Xuan Xiaotian was searching like this, she had no choice but to return to the third prince's residence to hide.

However, after several days of searching, they still weren't able to find Xuan Hongyu. Too many things could've occurred during these days.

If Xuan Hongyu wanted to do something to Shangguan Qingrou, he would've already done it.

If this incident spread, even if nothing had happened between Shangguan Qingrou and Xuan Hongyu, her crime of losing her chastity was already set in stone.

Furthermore, it was questionable whether Xuan Xiaotian would believe that nothing had happened between them.

Xuan Xiaotian was already beyond himself with anxiousness. He had even more guards comb through the entire city, but they didn't find Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu felt that Xuan Hongyu was definitely not in the capital. Perhaps he had run off to the base deep in the mountains. Ning Shu wanted to head back to that base to take a look, and while at it, check up on that child from back then. She wondered how that child was doing?

Ning Shu disguised herself and changed out of her martial attire into ordinary dull-colored female clothing. She inserted a cheap silver hairpin in her hair. The original host's looks were ordinary from the start, so after dressing up this way, she stood out even less.

However, when Ning Shu reached the city gates, she found that they were guarded very tightly. All of the guards were holding paintings. Every single woman was stopped from heading out and were checked against the painting. If they looked like the painting, they would be arrested.

Ning Shu saw that her picture was posted on the wall as an arrest order. She was listed as wanted?

She wiped at her face. It was probably because Xuan Xiaotian couldn't directly order the arrest of Xuan Hongyu, so all he could do was capture her and find Xuan Hongyu through her.

The problem was, she had no idea where Xuan Hongyu had run off to either.

Even if they did capture her, they wouldn't be able to find Xuan Hongyu. Ning Shu couldn't shake off the feeling that she had been trolled by Xuan Hongyu. Fudge, he was having her take all the fire for him without even letting her know where he had gone off to.

Ning Shu turned and left. There was no way she could leave the city with the search going on like this. As long as the guard felt that the woman seemed similar to the picture, they would capture her. They'd rather mistakenly kill than to let the actual person off. Ning Shu had no confidence that she would be able to make it through that search.

When she got back to the third prince's residence, she found that some people were lingering outside the residence. They were clearly there to capture her.

That meant that she couldn't even return to the third prince's residence. She had no choice but to hide in another abandoned house. She couldn't even go to an inn.

Ning Shu inwardly cursed all eighteen generations of Xuan Hongyu's ancestors.

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Chapter 974: A Filial Son

It was so infuriating. Ning Shu hammered her chest. Even if she had to save Xuan Hongyu, she definitely had to come up with some way to get revenge. Fudge, if she didn't make Xuan Hongyu pay for this, there was no way she could bear with this anger.

Ning Shu seriously couldn't understand why Eleven would offer up her own soul to save Xuan Hongyu. Xuan Hongyu didn't treat her as human at all and didn't care even the slightest about her life. Why was she willing to risk life and limb for Xuan Hongyu when he was like this?

Ning Shu didn't understand this kind of fanatical loyalty.

Every time she encountered something she couldn't resolve, she would find that she truly knew too little. If she knew how to change her appearance, then she could've easily left the city. In the future, she really had to learn more. She needed to learn how to properly disguise herself. If there was appearance changing pills in the system marketplace, she should also exchange for some.

However, what if one day she got a task in which she couldn't use items from the system marketplace? That was why there was still a need to learn the skills for herself. The more she learned, the better.

These skills would allow her to handle tasks more easily and may even save her life.

Ning Shu sat and cultivated in a cellar. When she got hungry, she just took fasting pills and continued to train.

She'd occasionally head out to get ahold of some news and see if Xuan Hongyu had been found. As long as the guards at the city gates were still there, she knew that Xuan Xiaotian hadn't found Xuan Hongyu yet.

Ning Shu wiped at her face. Xuan Hongyu was about to drive his younger brother crazy.

It had already been several days, near a dozen. Xuan Xiaotian who was supposed to ascend to the throne hadn't done so. He pushed the date off with the reason that he had to first do the full twenty-one days of rituals for the late emperor first. He had to have the senior monks continue to chant the sutras so that his imperial father could enter paradise.

Even though the ministers said that the nation couldn't be without a monarch and urged Xuan Xiaotian to hurry and ascend to the throne, Xuan Xiaotian refused to and insisted on waiting until after the twenty-first day. He said to wait until the late emperor was buried first.

No one could dissuade him, so they could only go with his will.

Xuan Xiaotian knelt in front of the late emperor's coffin even day to watch over his spirit while having to continue to search for Xuan Hongyu and Shangguan Qingrou in private. There was no need to mention how anxious he was.

However, his good reputation of being a filial son started spreading.

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Chapter 975: Actually, We Can Dig a Tunnel

A filial son?

When Ning Shu heard about this, she almost burst out laughing. It was the middle of summer and he was leaving the corpse out for over twenty days. Even if ice was placed with the coffin, it still wouldn't be able to slow down the speed at which the corpse rotted.

So the late emperor was quite pitiful as well. He ended up swept up in the hurricane generated by his three sons' fighting. Not only did he die from being poisoned, after death, his son wouldn't even allow him to enter the soil and rest in peace. He still had to face such torment.

Xuan Xiaotian didn't dare to ascend to the throne before Shangguan Qingrou was found. How could he ascend to the throne while his empress wasn't present? The inner palace would end up without an owner.

Ning Shu once again had a whole new level of respect for Xuan Hongyu's ability to court death. As of now, Xuan Xiaotian probably wanted to skin Xuan Hongyu alive.

The part that she was most irritated about was that she hadn't done anything, so why was there an arrest order out for her? Pei...

Shangguan Qingrou was eventually found, and she had been found before the late emperor's funeral. Xuan Hongyu had swaggered into the city with Shangguan Qingrou. As he was entering the city, the guards at the city gates even had to salute him.

When Xuan Xiaotian got the news, he immediately went to rescue Shangguan Qingrou. He also imprisoned Xuan Hongyu in the palace, saying that he should observe mourning for the late emperor.

When Ning Shu got this news, she completely fell apart. T-this...

Was there something wrong with Xuan Hongyu's head?

He first kidnapped Shangguan Qingrou, but now he brought her back and was captured by Xuan Xiaotian.

Ning Shu scratched her head. What the hell?

If you freakin' came back just a few days later, she could've seen how Xuan Xiaotian planned to savaged things.

Ning Shu couldn't calm the fury in her heart. You frickin' like Shangguan Qingrou and you've already kidnapped her, so why not just escape to somewhere faraway already!? Whaddya come back for!?

Ning Shu very much felt the urge to beat Xuan Hongyu up right now. Frick, she really couldn't understand what he was thinking.

Shangguan Qingrou had been found, so the guards naturally no longer needed to search the capital. Ning Shu sighed in relief. In all honestly, she had been very scared of getting captured. Just the thought of being tortured made her hair rise on end.

She decided to head back to the prince's residence first. She checked to make sure that no one was monitoring the residence anymore before jumping over the wall.

When she jumped down from the wall, she saw a mark by the foot of the wall. It had been left by the leader of the base.

Ning Shu followed the marks to an abandoned temple. She saw that several people were either standing or sitting inside. Every single one of them were looking forward with cold expressions and a baleful air hovered around them.

When One saw Ning Shu, he asked coldly, "Why did you only come now?"

Ning Shu hastily replied in a respectful tone, "There were people monitoring the third prince's residence this entire time. This subordinate only saw the marks just now."

One humphed coldly, then looked towards the people in the room. "We plan to go rescue Master. I heard that Master has been locked up in Changle Palace."

Ning Shu felt that this plan was very unreliable. Was the imperial palace a place they could break into just like that? This was no different than heading over to die. Ning Shu originally wanted to say something, but she saw that none of the others spoke. It was clear that they would go with whatever One said.

Ning Shu pressed her lips together, then asked, "When do we move out?"

"Tomorrow night," said One firmly.

"Tomorrow is when the new emperor ascends to the throne. Very few people will be paying attention to Changle Palace tomorrow, so we'll take advantage of that time to save Master." As One spoke, he took out a map. It was a detailed map of the imperial palace.

Ning Shu said, "Actually, we can dig a tunnel to Changle Palace."

One looked towards Ning Shu coldly with murderous intent. "Eleven, you talk too much. Are you thinking of betraying Master? After that damned emperor ascends to the throne, he'll definitely kill Master. How long would digging a tunnel take?"

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Chapter 976: Actually, Nevermind

All the other death soldiers looked towards Ning Shu. Some even pulled out their swords in preparation to kill her.

Ning Shu: ...

Did she say something wrong? She was just giving a suggestion.

"Remember, your life belongs to Master. Everything you have belongs to Master. The reason you exist is for Master," said One coldly. "What you need to do now is rescue Master, even if it's at the cost of your life."

Ning Shu was stunned. When she looked around and saw the expressions on all the other people's faces, like this was only natural, she suddenly understood why Eleven had offered up over half her soul to save Xuan Hongyu. It was because the very value in her existence was Xuan Hongyu.

In the past she hadn't understood and had always been wondering what exactly about Xuan Hongyu was worth Eleven offering up her soul to save him. It was only now that she actually understood Eleven's mindset.

Death soldiers were no longer ordinary people. They had gotten used to their masters assigning missions to them. They didn't hesitate to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of completing the mission. This way of life was their spiritual support. If this support beam fell, they wouldn't know what to do.

They were used to being given orders. If one day the person that gave the orders no longer existed, they would feel lost and fearful. They wouldn't know what to do.

Their hands were covered with blood. Heartless and ruthless death soldiers couldn't possibly live an ordinary life. Their every action was alien to normal people. If they stood under the sunlight, it only took a glance to see their difference.

Xuan Hongyu's attitude towards Eleven was that she was just a tool. But even if he abandoned her, Eleven didn't have any way to abandon Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu inwardly sighed, then said, "This subordinate was only too worried about Master."

One glanced at Ning Shu coldly, then started assigning different missions.

This was clearly an act of heading towards death, but Ning Shu could only watch without saying anything. How could these few people in the room be able to fend off the imperial army?

One's plan was to create a diversion. He sent some people to assassinate Xuan Xiaotian in order to attract the guards' attentionx, then the others would head to Changle Palace to save Xuan Hongyu.

The ones that had been assigned to assassinate Xuan Xiaotian were pretty much heading over to die as a diversion. However, the people that were assigned to this task didn't show any reaction and just calmly accepted the task.

It caused Ning Shu to gulp. Fearing death was basic instinct. Did these people no longer even fear death?

The assignments were given out. Ning Shu was the only one that hadn't been given a mission, so she asked, "What's this subordinate's mission?"

One glanced at Ning Shu coldly, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Ning Shu instantly had a bad feeling. She suppressed her instinct to run and asked, "What is it?"

"Tie her up," said One coldly.

People immediately approached and grabbed Ning Shu to tie her hands behind her back. Ning Shu revolved her energy and struggled free from these people's control. She pulled out her sword and faced these people warily.

"Did I do something wrong? Why are you trying to tie me up?" Ning Shu was very depressed.

One glanced at Ning Shu coldly. "I suspect that you've already betrayed Master."

Ning Shu: Hah!?

She's betrayed Xuan Hongyu? How come she didn't know?

"For the sake of preventing you from leaking this mission, you can't go." One lifted his crossbow and aimed the arrow towards Ning Shu's head. "Originally I had wanted to capture you so that Master could decide your punishment after we rescue him, but now, we can't allow you to live."

Ning Shu was speechless. He was all of a sudden saying that she had betrayed Xuan Hongyu. Where was his evidence?

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Chapter 977: Actually, I Already Dug a Tunnel

One aimed his arrow at her. The arrowhead flashed with dark light. This type of crossbow had extremely strong destructive power and the end of the arrow was even barbed, so when it was pulled out, it'd take a large chunk of flesh with it.

Ning Shu's entire body tensed and she kept a close eye on the arrow as she said coldly, "I didn't betray Master."

"I trust my own intuition. Even if you didn't betray Master, I still can't leave you alive." One shot towards Ning Shu's head.

Ning Shu revolved her energy and dodged the arrow. "Give me a reason why you need to kill me."

One said coldly, "Currently, you don't look like a death soldier at all. You can't live."

Ning Shu was stunned for a moment. What kind of reason was this? She saw that One was aiming another arrow at her and several death soldiers were also moving towards her.

She hastily revolved her energy to run out of the temple and quickly disappeared from sight. She was pretty pleased about this. She was now much stronger than before. At the very least, she had been able to escape from this many people.

After running for a long while, she stopped and stomped on a tree trunk to scale a tree. She glanced back and found that no one was chasing her. She patted her chest in relief. Lord, why did it feel like the entire world was filled with enemies?

Xuan Xiaotian wanted to kill her, and now Xuan Hongyu's death soldiers wanted to kill her too. One said that she no longer seemed like a death soldier. Ning Shu patted her mouth, it's all this thing's fault for talking too much.

Death soldiers didn't have their own thoughts. They only had to unswervingly carry out their masters' commands. In the end, she and Eleven weren't the same type of people. She hadn't gone through a death soldier's training so her mental state was completely different. Furthermore, she and Eleven weren't the same person so she'd naturally exhibit small differences in her actions.

Sometimes it wasn't possible to change some of a person's little subconscious reactions.

Since they wanted to try this rescue attempt, then they should. Going to rescue someone with such great fanfare like this was no different than sending themselves towards death. There was no meaning in it at all.

Ning Shu was only willing to go rescue the person on the premise that her own life wasn't threatened.

She didn't directly enter the city and just sat on the tree branch to train. She only returned once day came.

The moment she got to the city gates, she was stunned. A row of corpses was now hanging at the city walls neatly. There was even the sound of guards beating drums as they shouted, "These rebels tried to assassinate His Majesty! As a warning to others, His Majesty will be hanging these rebels' corpses for a month!"

Ning Shu saw One's corpse. A rope was tied around his neck and his body hung from that rope, causing his neck to stretch. His face was tilted up slightly. A scar stretched across the length of his face, causing it to look very sinister and filled with unwillingness.

The person that had been holding a crossbow to kill her earlier now had his corpse hung here. This was the society where imperial power was absolute and life was viewed as grass.

The entire group had probably been wiped out. Ning Shu only glanced at the wall briefly before retrieving her gaze and entering the city.

Wonder how the current Xuan Hongyu was doing? Did he know that so many death soldiers had died to save him?

However, even if he did know, he probably wouldn't care.

Ning Shu entered the city to get some information about the imperial palace, but the information that was currently going around were all about last night's assassination. There wasn't anything about Xuan Hongyu.

She had originally wanted to return to the third prince's residence, but people were guarding the surroundings, probably waiting for her to fall into the trap.

She turned and left. She went to a very ordinary commoner's house and pushed open the creaky door. A thick pile of dust crashed down. The entire house was very much in ruins and there were dust and spider webs all over.

Ning Shu walked straight into the basement. There was the sound of people speaking inside. The two sides of the wall were dimly lit with oil lamps. Ning Shu walked over and asked one of the people, "How far have you guys dug?"

A man that was about forty said, "We've already reached the Martial Stage Palace. We'll reach Changle Palace very soon. You also know that it's not easy to dig in the palace, if we're not careful we'll hit a pond."

Ning Shu's brows furrowed. "Can you go a little faster? It's too slow. Wages aren't a problem." As she spoke, she pulled out two chains of gold.

"Alright, I'll have the guys speed up. We should be able to reach Changle Palace by tonight." The man weighed the gold in his hand with a happy smile.

The air in the basement was bad, so she waited outside. These people that she had found were tomb raiders, so they were very skilled in digging tunnels. She had been planning this ever since she first stepped into the capital.

Originally, she had been planning to tell One about the fact that there was a tunnel, but One had wanted to directly kill her.

Ning Shu thought about things a bit, then left the courtyard. When she came back, she was carrying a heavy sack on her shoulder.

Around midnight, the tunnel finally reached Changle Palace. Ning Shu was delighted when she heard. They finally got there!

This tunneling method was actually something that she had learned from the School Doctor Uncle. The School Doctor Uncle had made a tunnel between his office at school and his lab, so she also put it into practice.

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Chapter 978: Actually, I'm Here to Rescue You

Ning Shu lifted the sack and placed it on her shoulder. After grabbing an oil lamp, she bent over and started walking through the tunnel.

It was impossible to stand straight in the tunnel. Ning Shu felt that her little waist was about to snap.

When she became too tired to carry the sack, she just dragged it on the ground. However, she eventually did get to the place.

Above her were limestone slabs. Ning Shu pushed the slab up hard, but as soon as she managed to lift it, someone stomped down.

Ning Shu was startled. Had someone discovered her?

After a good while, Ning Shu pushed it a little again to make a slight gap. Through the gap she saw a pair of shoes that were embroidered with fortuitous clouds.

"Where did this huge rat come from?" Xuan Hongyu stomped the limestone slab back down.

Ning Shu: ...

"Master, it's this subordinate. Please stop stomping." Ning Shu pushed hard to move the slab aside, then heaved the sack up first before climbing out from the tunnel.

When Xuan Hongyu saw Ning Shu, he lifted his brows in surprise. "You're not dead yet?"

Ning Shu: ...

She didn't know why, but she really wanted to beat him up. He looked like he needed to be beat up. As expected, he knew about the fact that his death soldiers' corpses were being hung up at the city gates.

Ning Shu took in Xuan Hongyu's appearance. He didn't seem like he was a prisoner at all.

"Master, this subordinate's here to rescue you. Let's go," said Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu narrowed his eyes slightly and said uncaringly, "Leave this place to go where?"

"Anywhere in the grand wide world." As Ning Shu spoke, she opened the sack. Inside was a man's corpse.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at the corpse, then lifted his eyebrows to look towards Ning Shu.

"Master, please come with this subordinate," said Ning Shu. She was clearly here to rescue him, but why did things seem so troublesome?

Xuan Hongyu looked at Ning Shu. "Then where are we going?"

"Let's talk about it after we get out first." Could we get out of here first before worrying about where we're going?

"You carried a corpse here to use it as a replacement for this prince?" A cold smile appeared on Xuan Hongyu's face. "Something this lowly will be able to be buried with the honor of the resolved prince and enjoy the worship of the imperial clan?"

Ning Shu: (‵′)︵

My fricking god! He was so hard to please!

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Chapter 979: Actually, I Need to Return This

Did he think it had been easy for her to find a corpse that had dimensions similar to him? Yet he was actually showing disdain for the corpse.

"Then Master, what should this subordinate do?" asked Ning Shu with a blank expression.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu indifferently. "Put the corpse back in the sack. Why should this prince escape by feigning death?"

So Ning Shu had no choice but to put the corpse back into the sack. As she looked at the corpse's ashen face, she silently prayed, Amitabha Buddha.

Xuan Hongyu walked to the candles and picked one up to light a curtain.

When Ning Shu saw, she hastily tossed the corpse into the tunnel, then jumped into the tunnel. Xuan Hongyu jumped down as well and moved the slab back over the opening.

The tunnel became completely dark. Ning Shu pulled out her portable torch and lifted the sack back on her shoulder. She said to Xuan Hongyu, "Master, follow me."

Xuan Hongyu made a sound of affirmation.

They didn't speak the entire way. Ning Shu was about to die from exhaustion due to having to lug a man's corpse.

Her original intention was to find a corpse to take Xuan Hongyu's place so that people would think Xuan Hongyu had been burned to death. Even if after inspection, they figured out that the corpse didn't belong to Xuan Hongyu, by that time, they would've already been able to get far away.

However, Xuan Hongyu was too proud to use this method. He rather make the question of whether he was alive or not become a mystery.

Ning Shu curled her lips in disdain. You freakin' already lost everything. So what if the question of whether or not you were alive became a mystery? Whether you were dead or not, the situation would still be the same!

After getting out of the tunnel, she gave a long sigh in relief, then leaped onto a roof. She saw that flames had reached the sky in the direction of the imperial palace. The flames were very strong and illuminated half the sky.

A fire had broken out in the imperial palace, so the entire capital was in an uproar.

Ning Shu lifted the sack back on her shoulder in preparation to make a trip.

"Where are you going?" Xuan Hongyu was standing in the middle of the old room. There was dust and cobwebs all around, but he still looked magnificent as always and seemed to illuminate the entire room.

Ning Shu said, "This subordinate is going to put this corpse back in the funeral house." She had stolen this from the funeral house.

Xuan Hongyu was expressionless, so Ning Shu jumped over the wall with the corpse and left. When she got back, she saw that Xuan Hongyu was sitting on the chair and propping up his chin as he looked at the leaping flame of the lamp.

When he saw that Ning Shu had returned, he said coldly, "When are we leaving? There will definitely be a lot of guards tomorrow."

"Master, the city gates have already closed, so we have no choice but to leave tomorrow morning," said Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu didn't say anything. When he saw that Ning Shu was standing there without moving, he said, "This prince will be resting now."

He meant for her to withdraw? Ning Shu turned and left.

"Eleven, where is this prince supposed to sleep?" Xuan Hongyu was a little confounded. When Ning Shu walked in, she realized that there really wasn't a place to rest. It was filthy all around, so she said, "Master, it'll be morning very soon. Just endure it a little and don't sleep."

Xuan Hongyu's expression was cold, but he was silent.

"Master, when we leave the city, we definitely have to disguise ourselves. Someone as charming as you will definitely be recognized."

Xuan Hongyu still didn't speak.

So Ning Shu went all out on Xuan Hongyu's face. His originally lofty eyebrows now became sloping eyebrows, and his facial color became yellow and sallow with the help of medicinal powder. The last part was Xuan Hongyu's brocade clothing. It seriously attracted attention too much.

Ning Shu found a coarse cotton outfit for Xuan Hongyu to change into. Xuan Hongyu glanced at the plain outfit, then looked at Ning Shu silently.

Ning Shu said with a stern and earnest expression, "Master, this is all for the sake of getting out of the city. Please bear with it."

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Chapter 980: Because No Money

Xuan Hongyu changed into the gray garments. Although her skill at disguises wasn't very polished, he still looked quite different from before.

Ning Shu also changed her own looks so that an ugly girl came fresh out of the oven. Xuan Hongyu glanced towards Ning Shu, then instantly shifted his gaze away.

Xuan Hongyu didn't speak with Ning Shu except on things that had to be discussed.

A fire had broken out in the imperial palace, and it was even at the place where the third prince had been staying. It took a long time to finally put out the fire, but it was discovered that the third prince wasn't inside. No matter how big the fire was, it couldn't have burned a person to nothing.

Xuan Xiaotian gave a cold humph. Next to him, Shangguan Qingrou pouted unhappily with an expression of hurt. "Xuan Xiaotian, why won't you believe that nothing happened between me and Xuan Hongyu? How long are you going to pull a long face around me?"

Xuan Xiaotian rubbed his forehead without saying anything, then turned and left. He sent people to figure out Xuan Hongyu's current whereabouts.

Xuan Xiaotian felt like Xuan Hongyu bounced around all day like a flea. Another incident occurred after such a short time just because he hadn't had time to deal with Xuan Hongyu yet. It was seriously such a pain.

As of now, Xuan Xiaotian itched to just capture Xuan Hongyu and break all the bones in his body.

When Xuan Xiaotian sent for people to search, Ning Shu and Xuan Hongyu had already left the capital and were currently sitting on a horse.

"Master, can you lower your head a little? This subordinate can't see the road in front," said Ning Shu to Xuan Hongyu who was sitting in front of her.

Xuan Hongyu lowered his body a little bit. "Why must this prince sit in front? And why is there only one horse?"

Ning Shu was holding the reins in one hand and the horse whip with the other as she said, "This subordinate is sitting behind because this subordinate will be able to block attacks for Master if pursuing soldiers attack. The reason why we only have one horse is because this subordinate only had enough to buy one horse."

Ning Shu really didn't have money. The money she had used to have the tunnel dug had actually been scraped together. She even stole some things from Xuan Hongyu's residence and sold them for this.

Xuan Hongyu who was sitting in Ning Shu's arms: ...

Ning Shu planned to return to the base to see how that child was doing.

Ning Shu felt quite guilty towards the child.

Once they got to the forest, they couldn't ride the horse anymore and could only proceed by walking.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu. "We're going to the base?"

Ning Shu nodded.

Although Xuan Hongyu was a prince, he was also very skilled in martial arts. Hence, it was conspicuously easy for him to walk in the forest.

"They're all dead, so why are you still alive?" asked Xuan Hongyu suddenly.

Ning Shu hugged her sword as she said, "They said that this subordinate has betrayed Master so they didn't allow this subordinate to participate in that assassination."

Xuan Hongyu didn't speak.

Ning Shu was very curious about what had happened between Xuan Hongyu and Shangguan Qingrou. They had disappeared together for so long after all.

"Master, you and Miss Shangguan?" asked Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu, then chuckled darkly. That yellow face paired with this kind of eerie smile seemed extremely sinister.

"Nothing happened between us. I didn't touch her." There was smugness and schadenfreude in Xuan Hongyu's voice.

Ning Shu: ...

If nothing happened, what are you so happy for?

Nutjob.

"This prince told Xuan Xiaotian that there was a birthmark on Shangguan Qingrou's back," said Xuan Hongyu with a cold grin.

Ning Shu: Pfff...

Ning Shu looked at Xuan Hongyu strangely. How evil must he be to do something like this?

He was purposefully telling Xuan Xiaotian that something had happened between him and Shangguan Qingrou, that they had already done dat.

However, Shangguan Qingrou felt wrongly accused. Nothing had happened between them at all, so why wouldn't Xuan Xiaotian believe her?

Whether something had happened or not, who exactly would be able to tell?

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Chapter 981: Wolf Child

Ning Shu was very surprised. With Xuan Hongyu's personality, how was it possible that he didn't do anything to Shangguan Qingrou?

Didn't he say that all of Shangguan Qingrou belonged to him, even her corpse? Ning Shu looked towards Xuan Hongyu who was walking ahead. "Master really likes Miss Shangguan?"

Xuan Hongyu replied mildly, "This prince does like her a lot, but she betrayed this prince, so this prince is punishing her."

"What I want should belong completely to me, but Shangguan Qingrou is already dirty," said Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu: _

Shangguan Qingrou was dirty? Just because she didn't marry you, she was dirty?

"So this prince thought of something new. Doesn't she want to have a happy life with Xuan Xiaotian and live until old age with him? Then I'll make it so that they continuously doubt each other. This thorn should stab into their hearts for a lifetime," said Xuan Hongyu, lifting his chin slightly.

Ning Shu: ...

How messed up!

The impression Xuan Hongyu purposefully gave Xuan Xiaotian was that something had happened between him and Shangguan Qingrou, but he hadn't touched Shangguan Qingrou. This way, no matter how Shangguan Qingrou explained things and tried to say that nothing had happened between her and Xuan Hongyu, there was already a thorn in Xuan Xiaotian's heart that couldn't be pulled out.

Every time this topic was brought up, this thorn would be pushed in deeper.

Ning Shu glanced at Xuan Hongyu as she asked, "Master, you really didn't do anything to Miss Shangguan?"

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu. "Eleven, you talk a little too much."

Ning Shu shut up and the two passed through the forest silently. After walking for half the day, they finally got to the base.

There was no longer anyone left in the base, causing it to feel very empty. There were some basic necessities still there, enough to last them for a while.

Xuan Hongyu walked straight to his stone room. This room was made exclusively for him. Its interior was very large and it was fully furnished.

Xuan Hongyu looked towards Ning Shu. "Eleven, this prince is hungry."

"Then this subordinate shall go hunt." Ning Shu turned and left the cave, then quickly weaved through the trees to the place where the mother wolf had been. She wanted to check on the child.

When she had left to head to the capital, those little wolves had still been baby wolves, but as of now they were already nearly fully grown. A few wolves were frolicking in the den, and amongst them was a dirty child. He was crawling on the ground like a wolf, even the way he sat was like the wolves. His long hair was dirty and tangled.

This child was probably almost one, but he showed no signs of trying to walk on two legs. On the contrary, he crawled on all fours like the wolves and even leaped like them.

It was perhaps due to the fact that he had stayed with the wolves for quite a while, but his gaze was slightly cold. He'd even mimic the wolves in baring his teeth and emitting a not quite accurate howl.

Ning Shu walked over, picked the child up, and tucked him under her arm. The child was startled and growled at Ning Shu while struggling fiercely to get free. He even bit Ning Shu.

Ning Shu pressed his head down to make him behave, then stroked his neck. The child instantly fell still when he sensed the danger.

Ning Shu then headed to the river and washed up. The child bared his teeth at Ning Shu while eying her warily, but Ning Shu just pressed his head directly into the water with an indifferent expression.

The child's whimpering softened and he starting behaving and standing still while Ning Shu washed him. However, his pupils still contained the vicious currents of a wild beast.

After Ning Shu finished washing the child, she saw that aside from the blade scar on his chest, he had other wounds on his body. It was clear that he hadn't been taken care of much by the wolves. There was even a scar on his forehead.

Ning Shu sighed. Back then when she left this child here, it was because she had no other choice. As of now, since all the work on hand was almost over, she naturally had to make sure that this child returned to human society.

The child took advantage of Ning Shu's distraction and bit her wrist fiercely, refusing to let go.

Ning Shu expressionlessly pinched a muscle on the child's arm. At first the child still wouldn't let go, but it probably got too painful because he finally stopped biting her.

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Chapter 982: Will Be the Father

The child had bit through the skin on her wrist, it was even bleeding. Despite being small, this child was plenty vicious.

Ning Shu tucked the kid under her arm, then hunted down a few rabbits for dinner.

When she got back to the cave and Xuan Hongyu saw that Ning Shu had come back with such a big child after just one trip out, he asked mildly, "What's with the child?"

Upon seeing a stranger, the child immediately started snarling at Xuan Hongyu. It was a strange sounding wolf cry since the voice was so young and immature.

"A wolf baby?" Xuan Hongyu smiled as he picked up the child. His eyes narrowed slightly. Who knew what he was thinking?

When the child ended up in Xuan Hongyu's control, he started whimpering softly towards Ning Shu. His tone was very pitiful and it seemed like he was asking Ning Shu to save him.

"I heard that people who grow up drinking the milk of beasts have unusual innate skills." As Xuan Hongyu spoke, he glanced towards the child's lower half. "The general of Chen Nation is rumored to be a wolf baby as well."

Chen Nation was a nation on the border of this nation. The two nations were similar in terms of power.

Ning Shu: _

"Master, please allow this subordinate to look after this child instead. He's still very wild." Ning Shu couldn't help but feel that Xuan Hongyu wasn't up to anything good.

Xuan Hongyu lifted the child with both hands. "Alright, this prince has decided to raise this child! Let's see what special abilities a wolf child possesses. In the future, I'll have him fight a few rounds with Chen's general."

Ning Shu scratched at her hair: No...

Her plan had been to teach the child to be a bit more normal, then find a family for the child, not to have the child stay with the two of them.

However, Xuan Hongyu actually wanted to raise this child. Could it be that he wanted to raise this child to become a death soldier?

"Master, it's really hard to raise a child. It's better if we send the child away," said Ning Shu. There was no need to raise this child into a death soldier. Xuan Hongyu didn't have anything left right now and was even being hunted down by Xuan Xiaotian's people.

He had no chances of turning the tide unless he went back to his fiefdom.

Ning Shu asked, "Master, are we heading to the fiefdom now?"

"There's no hurry." Xuan Hongyu set the child down on the bed and the child immediately crawled to the corner before turning to confront Xuan Hongyu. He leaned his body forward in an attack-ready posture.

Xuan Hongyu was actually very happy. "A child this little actually has such sharp senses."

Ning Shu covered her forehead. She was starting to regret bringing this child back. She hadn't expected Xuan Hongyu to be this interested in this child.

However, she had no plans to give the child to him. This child was unlucky from the start, so if he stayed with Xuan Hongyu, he'd only become more unfortunate. "Master, this subordinate will find a family for this child tomorrow. Master, it'll be inconvenient to bring a child around with your identity."

Xuan Hongyu lifted his brows as he looked at Ning Shu coldly. "Eleven, are you disobeying my instructions?"

"Eleven is simply thinking of your well-being, Master," replied Ning Shu calmly. "Master, what kind of person do you want to raise him to be?"

"This prince has already said that this prince wants him to grow up to be like Chen's general." Xuan Hongyu looked displeased. It was clear that he was very unhappy with Ning Shu's disobedience.

Ning Shu said, "But a child needs parents."

"Parents? Then I'll be this child's father." Xuan Hongyu grinned. It was clear that he was very interested in this child and was serious about raising him.

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Chapter 983: Truly Had a Lot of Talents

Ning Shu saw that Xuan Hongyu was sincerely interested in this child. If she said anything else, Xuan Hongyu would probably kill her.

As for what Xuan Hongyu said about wanting to be this child's father, Ning Shu inwardly spat in contempt.

She suddenly started feeling pity for the child. He had unfortunately ended up attracting Xuan Hongyu's attention.

He truly had an unfortunate fate. In the past, he almost died, and now he had fallen into Xuan Hongyu's hands again.

"Eleven, this prince is hungry." Xuan Hongyu saw that Ning Shu was still standing there without moving, so he added, "This prince's son is also hungry."

The fudge? You were the one that wanted to raise the child, so you go cook!

Ning Shu left the stone room and killed the rabbits. However, when she recalled about the child, she cut the rabbit meat into small pieces and mixed it with rice to make meat porridge.

Death soldiers truly had a lot of talents. Not only did they need to know how to kill people, they also needed to know how to cook. They had to fulfill all of their master's requests no matter what it was.

The kitchen was filled with smoke. Due to the fact that they were in a cave, the smoke didn't really disperse. Ning Shu felt like she was about to suffocate, but she still managed to finish cooking the rice. Afterwards, she sprinkled some salt and counted it as done.

Xuan Hongyu looked at the thin porridge. The rabbit meat inside was completely white. It didn't look appetizing at all. "Eleven, you want this prince to eat this?"

It was already really good to have something to eat, alright? Ning Shu inwardly rolled her eyes, but she put on an ashamed expression as she said, "This subordinate only knows how to cook this." If he didn't want to eat it, he could just starve.

Although Xuan Hongyu didn't like it, the child that had been crouched on the stone bed was attracted by the smell. He crawled over to look at the thing in the bowl.

"Oh, you like eating this?" Xuan Hongyu fed the child a spoonful. However, this porridge had just come out of the pot and was very hot. It instantly seared the child's lips red. The child started crying in pain.

Ning Shu immediately fed the child some cold water. When she checked, she saw that the inside of the child's mouth was completely red from the burn. She wasn't sure if there would be blisters or not.

"This... This prince didn't do that on purpose," said Xuan Hongyu. "This prince didn't know it would be that hot. When you carried it over, you should've checked the heat beforehand."

The f*ck? Shouldn't you at least blow a little and see how hot it was before eating? And he even said that he wanted to be this kid's dad? It seemed like it would be a miracle if the child even survived.

Ning Shu gave Xuan Hongyu a polite smile. Xuan Hongyu clasped his hands behind his back and looked away, avoiding eye contact.

Ning Shu picked up the bowl and lifted the spoon. She blew on the rice until it cooled before bringing it to the child's mouth. The child really liked eating it and ate a full two bowls. For a child his size, it was quite a lot.

"Not bad of an appetite," said Xuan Hongyu. "Oh right, this child should have a name. What would be good?"

Xuan Hongyu started mulling over the matter of the child's name. Ning Shu paid no attention to him and started eating some of the porridge. However, this seriously didn't taste good. The rabbit meat tasted very fishy. She was only able to bring herself to eat a couple bites.

Xuan Hongyu considered names for a long time, then finally came up with a name: Xuan Miexiao.

Xuan Miexiao!?

This 'xiao' wouldn't be the one that she was thinking of, right?

Was it really alright to give a child a name like this?

#comment: Mie as in exterminate and Xiao as in the fifth prince's name Xiaotian.

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Chapter 984: Starting to Question Life

The sound of Xuan Miexiao... Ning Shu's facial muscles twitched. For some reason, Xuan Hongyu's every single move courted death without restraint.

He looked cold and had a dignified aura, but everything he did crushed Ning Shu's impression of him.

"Master, is this really a good name?" asked Ning Shu. This wasn't just him courting death, he was having a child that didn't know anything court death with him.

Xuan Hongyu's expression turned cold. He was very dissatisfied with Ning Shu's reaction. "It doesn't sound good? If Xuan Miexiao doesn't sound good, then let's just call him Xuan Tuxiao."

Ning Shu: Pfff...

Even if you hate Xuan Xiaotian, you can't be like this.

Ning Shu felt that Xuan Hongyu was doing this on purpose.

"As long as you're happy, Master." Ning Shu grimaced.

When Xuan Hongyu said that he wanted to raise this child, the way he did it was by reciting some difficult to understand knowledge at the child. The child just curled up into a ball and slept. He paid no attention to Xuan Hongyu at all.

Towards this, all Ning Shu could say was, as long as you're happy.

Xuan Hongyu clearly had no experience taking care of a child, so all of these responsibilities fell to Ning Shu. Ning Shu had to feed the child every day, give him baths, have the child try walking on two feet. While speaking, she'd make all her mouth movements more exaggerated in order to try to stop the child from continuing to howl like a wolf. Even now, when the child cried, he still sounded like a whimpering wolf.

Meanwhile, all Xuan Hongyu was responsible for was giving the child cultural nurturing. He spent all day talking at the child about things that even Ning Shu couldn't understand.

It was very annoying to take care of a child. It made Ning Shu very vexed, especially since the child would only crawl around like a wolf. When she pulled him to stand on his legs, he'd feel very uncomfortable and would even bite her.

When he had to relieve himself, he wouldn't make any sounds and would just poop wherever he currently was, so he always ended up covered in poop.

Ning Shu hadn't known that it was this hard to raise a child. It was both mentally and physically exhausting. Speaking to him was a pointless exercise since he couldn't understand anything.

Ning Shu repeatedly chanted the heart-clearing chant. When she recalled that it was partially her fault that this child became like this, she suppressed the vexation she felt.

After a while of feeding him, the child gradually became more familiar with Ning Shu and started approaching her more. However, he still didn't know how to speak. When Ning Shu occasionally held his hands, he would be able to take a couple steps on his feet but it wasn't that much.

There wasn't much food left in the cave anymore. Ning Shu planned to head out to get some supplies and while at it, ask around about the current situation.

Ning Shu said to Xuan Hongyu, "Master, this subordinate is going to go buy some food. Please look after Xuan... Miexiao."

Xuan Hongyu nodded indifferently. "Go, this prince can look after him."

Ning Shu didn't trust Xuan Hongyu to be able to look after a child at all.

"Master." Ning Shu looked towards Xuan Hongyu. Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu, then spoke like he was conferring a favor, "Alright, come back soon."

Ning Shu: _

"Master, this subordinate doesn't have money," said Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu again, then headed to his stone room to get a few ingots of silver. "Come back soon."

Ning Shu took the silver. As expected, he had money. But this was one of Xuan Hongyu's bases after all.

"Bring some cooked dishes back with you," said Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Hongyu wasn't someone that cared much about good food, but he was probably starting to question life after eating only the things Ning Shu cooked for this long.

Ning Shu took the silver and left. She first bought all the necessities, then started asking around about the capital.

The news she got stunned her a little. Xuan Hongyu had been pronounced dead. When the fire broke out in Changle Palace, Xuan Xiaotian hastily took advantage of this chance to announce that Xuan Hongyu had died in the fire. 'Xuan Hongyu' had even been buried.

Ning Shu furrowed her brows. With this, Xuan Xiaotian had directly cut off all of Xuan Hongyu's roads of retreat. Xuan Hongyu couldn't return to his fiefdom anymore since 'Xuan Hongyu' was dead. If he returned to his fiefdom, he might be arrested for posing as someone of the imperial family. This was a severe crime.

Xuan Hongyu was seriously good at courting death. He lost his own woman through his own efforts and also lost his honorable status. In the future, he wouldn't even be able to openly say his own name.

#comment: The tu in Xuan Tuxiao means to slaughter.

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Chapter 985: You Talk Too Much

Ning Shu wasn't in the mood to buy food for Xuan Hongyu anymore. She just bought some cereal and then headed back.

She lugged the cereal back, but the moment she stepped into the stone room, she smelled the telltale stench of poop. Xuan Hongyu was standing in the corner with a dark aura all around him as he watched the child that was covered with poop crawl on the ground. Every place the child crawled past, there was a trail of poop.

Ning Shu: ...

Even if he didn't wash the child, if he had just carried the child to the bucket, the room wouldn't have ended up like this.

"Hurry and get him out of here," said Xuan Hongyu coldly.

The fudge? This was your son though! His surname of Xuan came from you!

Since you were going to be a father, you should undertake the responsibility of a father!

Ning Shu got the child into the water and washed him clean before placing him on the stone bed. Xuan Hongyu was looking through the things Ning Shu had brought back. "Where's the food I told you to buy?"

He still had the mood to eat right now? Ning Shu said, "Master, it's terrible."

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu and Ning Shu proceeded to tell him about the news she had gathered.

Xuan Hongyu's expression didn't change upon hearing this news, so Ning Shu couldn't figure out what he thought of this. She asked, "Master, what should we do now?"

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu without speaking.

When Ning Shu saw him like this, she decided to just go cook. The current Xuan Hongyu seriously had nothing left. Wait no, he still had her, this death soldier, and a son.

Ning Shu was in the middle of feeding Xuan Miexiao when Xuan Hongyu walked out from the stone room. He had the same unconcerned look on his face and the same magnificent noble aura around him as always.

Xuan Hongyu had Ning Shu ladle him some rice. As he ate, every movement of his was elegant and dignified. Even when he was in this stone room, watching him made it feel like the surroundings was a bejeweled jade palace.

Ning Shu looked at the silent Xuan Hongyu as she asked, "Master, what should we do now?"

"Can you stop asking that all the time?" said Xuan Hongyu coldly.

Ning Shu curled her lips in disdain. Look, even he was stuck.

Since things were already like this, Xuan Hongyu should just live an ordinary life. Xuan Xiaotian was emperor now after all. The two of them were on different levels from the start. If Xuan Xiaotian wanted to kill Xuan Hongyu, it would only take a wave of the hand.

"Master..."

"Be quiet." Xuan Hongyu cut Ning Shu off.

Ning Shu had no choice but to stop talking.

The next day, Xuan Hongyu woke up early in the morning and said to Ning Shu who was making breakfast surrounded by flames and smoke, "Disguise this prince's face. This prince is going to enter the city."

Ning Shu asked, "Master, what are you going to the city for?"

"Eleven, you talk too much," said Xuan Hongyu coldly.

Ning Shu pressed her lips together in annoyance and used her very crappy disguising skill to help disguise Xuan Hongyu.

Basically, she just did everything possible to make him ugly. Xuan Hongyu's looks were extremely good and he had a natural noble aura, so it was seriously hard.

Things like aura came from the very bones.

After a while of struggle, she finally got him to look passable. Ning Shu couldn't stop herself from asking, "Master, it's very dangerous for you to enter the city like this. Should this subordinate go with you?"

Ning Shu had to make sure that Xuan Hongyu lived. At the very least, Xuan Hongyu had to be alive until she left this world. As for what happened after she left, whether Xuan Hongyu survived or not, that wasn't her problem.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu coldly. "What do you mean by dangerous? It's not like this prince is going to break into the imperial palace."

You would though. Ning Shu felt that with Xuan Hongyu's passion for courting death, he was fully capable of doing something like that. If he ended up captured by Xuan Xiaotian, Ning Shu didn't have the confidence to get him out a second time.

Xuan Xiaotian would probably also kill Xuan Hongyu as quickly as possible too in order to prevent him from causing any more trouble.

Ning Shu was extremely apprehensive. Please don't do anything rash! Ning Shu exhorted, "Master, please please make sure to be careful."

Xuan Hongyu nodded, then glanced at Xuan Miexiao who was crawling all over the ground. "Look after him well. This prince will be back very soon."

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Chapter 986: Imperial Love Affair Rumor

After Xuan Hongyu left, Ning Shu couldn't shake off this anxious feeling. She was really worried that Xuan Hongyu would end up causing some sort of trouble.

Near afternoon, Xuan Hongyu finally came back. Ning Shu loosened a breath in relief when she saw that this guy managed to come back safely. However, when she saw the smile on his face, her unease flooded back.

"Master, are you going to eat?" asked Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu waved dismissively. Ning Shu could smell the faint scent of alcohol on him. He likely already ate.

Ning Shu's heart was itching with curiosity. "Master, what did you go to do today?"

"Eleven, are you questioning this prince?" Xuan Hongyu's expression turned cold.

"This subordinate doesn't dare."

Ning Shu saw that Xuan Hongyu was clearly not telling her something, but since he refused to answer her questions, she just came up with an excuse to go to the city. She decided to go buy some vegetables for the child in order to see what exactly he had done.

When Xuan Hongyu heard Ning Shu say that she wanted to go buy stuff, his facial color darkened. In the end, he said, "Come back soon, otherwise he'll start po... you know, all over the place." As an elegant nobleman he naturally couldn't say such a vulgar word.

After Ning Shu entered the city, she found the that security had become very tight again and there were arrest orders for Xuan Hongyu posted on the wall. The arrest order said that Xuan Hongyu was an escaped criminal.

Ning Shu:???

What exactly did Xuan Hongyu head into the city to do for Xuan Xiaotian to actually put out an arrest order for him? What did he do to make Xuan Xiaotian explode again?

Ning Shu entered a teahouse. It was easiest to find out news about the capital in places like this.

Following that, Ning Shu overheard a conversation that made her spit out her tea, which was that not long ago, the resolved prince had been burn to death alive by the current emperor in Changle Palace. His body was so charred that not even the late emperor down below would be able to recognize him.

As for why the emperor killed the resolved prince, that was because the resolved prince gave the emperor a green hat. The empress Shangguan Qingrou had a thing with the resolved prince, so the emperor had the resolved prince burned to death in anger.

This imperial love affair rumor was everywhere in the city. Even if Xuan Xiaotian wanted to stop these rumors, there was no way he could get so many mouths to shut up.

Ning Shu: ...

This was definitely Xuan Hongyu's doing. Xuan Xiaotian had him die, so he decided to pin a green hat on Xuan Xiaotian.

T-this...

Ning Shu didn't know what to say. All she could do was kneel to Xuan Hongyu.

How exactly did he manage to do something like this where he damaged eight hundred of his own in order to injure a thousand of the enemy's? Furthermore, Xuan Hongyu was even one of the people involved in this incident.

It was clear that Xuan Hongyu would only rest in peace once he courted himself to death.

Not only did he insist on taking revenge on Xuan Xiaotian for announcing that he was dead, he even tried to ruin Xuan Xiaotian's relationship with Shangguan Qingrou while ruining Shangguan Qingrou's reputation. The empress of a nation had done something like this? The current Shangguan Qingrou definitely wasn't in a good situation right now.

Even if Shangguan Qingrou was innocent, the world would still discuss the question of whether she was truly innocent.

And the most depressing part of all of this was that Shangguan Qingrou really was innocent. If she had actually done something like this, she would be willing to acknowledge her crime, but she really didn't do anything like this...

It was seriously both mentally and physically exhausting. This rumor pretty much put Shangguan Qingrou straight on the grill.

Ning Shu finally understood why Xuan Hongyu hadn't touched Shangguan Qingrou.

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Chapter 987: True Love was Xuan Xiaotian

When Xuan Hongyu kidnapped Shangguan Qingrou before, he didn't do anything to her. He even took her around on a scenic tour. Rumors say that Shangguan Qingrou actually found it pretty fun.

Shangguan Qingrou definitely never expected for something like this to happen.

Xuan Hongyu said that he wanted to ruin Shangguan Qingrou, and as of now, Shangguan Qingrou was already ruined.

He still had feelings for Shangguan Qingrou, so he used this method to ruin Shangguan Qingrou.

His possessive obsession was truly horrifying.

As of now, Xuan Xiaotian had probably already gone crazy from anger. This method caused trouble for everyone.

However, the current Xuan Hongyu had nothing left. Those who were already barefoot no longer feared losing shoes.

Ning Shu bought some vegetables, then headed back to the mountains. When she got back, she saw that Xuan Hongyu was holding a book and reciting something profoundly difficult to understand to Xuan Miexiao again.

When she recalled the rumors in the capital, she had to take deep breaths to calm her annoyance.

She felt that it was probably about time to change locations. If they continued waiting like this, they'd definitely end up captured, especially with Xuan Hongyu courting death like this.

When Xuan Miexiao saw Ning Shu come back, he actually stood up and staggered towards Ning Shu. Ning Shu set down the things she was holding to catch the child that looked about to fall.

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu, then closed the book and headed back into the stone room. Ning Shu followed after him as she said, "Master, should we change locations?"

Ning Shu felt that they really couldn't stay here any longer. Every time she entered the city to buy things, she would buy from a different store out of worry that she'd be recognized.

However, the capital was no longer safe with so many guards on patrol and the arrest orders posted everywhere. For escaped criminals, whether they were dead or alive, there'd still be a large reward. This imperial order illustrated just how furious Xuan Xiaotian was.

So they should switch to a different place.

She was still in this world, which meant that this task wasn't over yet. All she wanted right now was to get Xuan Hongyu further away from Xuan Xiaotian. If they were too close, it was easy for incidents to occur.

Xuan Hongyu lifted his brows. "Even if we are to leave, it wouldn't be now."

Ning Shu: ...

Could it be that you still want to watch Xuan Xiaotian struggle more? If you rejoice too much in other people's misfortune, before you know it, the tables will turn on you!

If you really frickin' ended up being captured by Xuan Xiaotian, your death won't be pretty!

After yanking the tiger's beard, you're not bolting and instead, hanging around to enjoy the tiger's pained expression?

This manner of courting death truly widened Ning Shu's view of the world.

"Master..."

"Be quiet." Xuan Hongyu cut Ning Shu off. "This prince is hungry."

Ning Shu really wanted to just slap him. It seemed that if someone wanted to court death, stopping them wasn't even possible.

Ning Shu angrily hacked at the veggies, then chopped up the meat before tossing them all into the pot to make porridge.

This was the only thing she could cook. Stir-frying food was too high-leveled.

When she served the food, Xuan Hongyu took one glance at the things inside the bowl, then shook his head helplessly. As Ning Shu fed Xuan Miexiao, she said to Xuan Hongyu, "Master, this subordinate feels that it's still better if we change locations. This place is too dangerous."

The power of an imperial family couldn't be underestimated. Ning Shu didn't feel like it was safe for them to stay here. "Moreover, Master, there's an arrest order out for you."

"It's precisely because there's an arrest order that we need to stay here. If I leave this place and frequently interact with people, I'll be recognized," replied Xuan Hongyu mildly.

Ning Shu was speechless. Wasn't this clearly just that he didn't want to leave?

Why exactly was he so fixated on this? It felt like the person Xuan Hongyu truly loved was Xuan Xiaotian. He put his very life on the line in order to do everything he could to cause Xuan Xiaotian trouble.

You mischievous little devil!

Chapter 988: Wash, Starch, and Sew

Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu, then said mildly, "If you want to leave, then leave. This prince won't force you to stay."

Ning Shu did want to just leave and be done with all of this, but the moment she recalled the task, she had no way of being unyielding and saying outright the words she really wanted to say: this ma'am wasn't going to play with you anymore!

Although she only knew how to mix random things with rice to simmer out a thing, she was certain that the moment she left, Xuan Hongyu would end up having to eat dirt.

And would someone like Xuan Hongyu be able to look after his son?

He insisted on adopting this child without any thought, but did he have the ability to look after this child?

Ning Shu grimaced as she very unwillingly said, "Master is joking. This subordinate is Master's hidden guard, how could this subordinate leave Master's side?"

Xuan Hongyu nodded, then said, "For the time being, don't enter the city to buy things."

"Understood." Ning Shu's mouth twitched. Of course there was no way she'd head into the city in this kind of situation. She was more worried that Xuan Hongyu would cause some other kind of trouble.

"Master, you shouldn't go either," said Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu nodded, then set down his chopsticks. "It's seriously too much to eat this every day. Next time, use some oil and stir-fry something."

"Master, the porridge has meat and vegetables. It's very healthy," said Ning Shu. "The child also likes eating it."

During this recent period of time, Xuan Hongyu had been behaving himself. He was either reading some difficult to understand books to Xuan Miexiao or going to the river to fish. He seemed to be completely at leisure.

However, Ning Shu's heart was filled with trepidation. When she saw Xuan Hongyu courting death, her heart would tremble with fear. Even now when he stopped courting death, her heart still trembled uneasily.

Encountering a master like this was practically the result of eighteen lifetimes of bloody misfortune!

However, one thing that made Ning Shu rather happy was that Xuan Miexiao was now able to lean against the wall and slowly walk on his own. From time to time, he'd even make a few simple sounds. It was clear that he was also trying to learn to speak by mimicking Ning Shu and Xuan Hongyu.

She suddenly felt proud like she was a mom. Although Xuan Hongyu had taken this child to be his son, he didn't really take care of him. Ning Shu was the one doing all the raising.

Sometimes she'd be able to sew a simple garment. Life sure was rough. A person that only knew how to wield a blade now had to pick up an embroidery needle and sew.

All she did all day was wash, starch, and sew. Aside from that, she cooked and managed the household duties.

Every world truly came with a brand-new way of life.

However, these repetitive days were very tiring and mentally exhausting. For women to stay at home and deal with all the household chores was just as tiring, if not more, as working at a company.

Ning Shu very much hoped that when Eleven came back, she would be able to find her own happiness instead of pinning her everything on Xuan Hongyu. She didn't want Eleven to continue waiting for Xuan Hongyu to simply give her missions and standing behind Xuan Hongyu without any questions or grudge.

Even if others treated her as a tool, she shouldn't treat herself as a tool. Every human felt joy and pain. Eleven had the right to pursue her own happiness and become happy.

Xuan Hongyu's attitude towards Eleven was that she was a tool. What feelings could he possibly have towards a tool? Even now, although he was in dire straits, in front of her he still seemed aloof and remote.

His way of thinking was already fixed. It was just like whether a farmer would bother to be polite towards the hoe he was holding.

Hence, Ning Shu hoped that Eleven would be able to have her own life in the future instead of continuing to treat Xuan Hongyu as her mental support pillar.

In all honesty, someone with this sort of status like Xuan Hongyu wouldn't consider the well-being of someone like Eleven at all before doing something. Meanwhile, a person like Eleven had to risk her life for Xuan Hongyu.

So many hidden guards had died to rescue Xuan Hongyu, but he hadn't said a word about it.

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Chapter 989: Must Be a Masochist

In the end, Ning Shu still decided to leave this place. The capital was flipping out. Not only were the guards searching in the city, they were starting to expand the search outwards from the capital to find Xuan Hongyu.

Xuan Xiaotian was clearly determined to capture Xuan Hongyu. Xuan Hongyu had really stabbed him in a sore spot this time.

If they didn't leave, they'd eventually be caught.

However, one thing that made Ning Shu want to fall apart was the fact that Xuan Hongyu refused to leave. The feeling that the current Xuan Hongyu gave her was that he didn't care about living or dying, he didn't seem to care about anything anymore. The look of him made her teeth ache with irritation.

Ning Shu was burning with anxiety. Not even practice college entrance exam questions could calm her down. She watched Xuan Hongyu as he moved about leisurely. Since he refused to leave, she'll just have to resort to force.

For the sake of her task, she decided to go for it. If it weren't for this task, she definitely would've just continued watching with a smile how Xuan Hongyu courted death.

She touched the medicinal powder tucked in her chest pocket, then smiled coldly.

Under the illumination of the moonlight, Ning Shu was urging a carriage forward on the road. She had already decided on a good destination.

Ning Shu lifted the curtain and glanced inside the carriage at Xuan Hongyu and Xuan Miexiao who were sleeping. He seriously didn't appreciate it when people took the time to talk things out with him and insisted that people use force.

He must be a masochist.

Ning Shu didn't sleep for a single moment the entire night and kept driving the carriage forward. She was thinking that it was best to get as far away as possible from the capital.

When daylight broke, Ning Shu stopped to allow the horse to rest for a while. She started making a campfire to cook some breakfast.

"This... Where the hell is this?" Xuan Hongyu had come out from the carriage. As he was getting out, he ended up hitting his head on the roof of the carriage. He staggered, then rubbed his forehead which still felt very dizzy and heavy. He looked around, then questioned Ning Shu, "Eleven, what are you doing?"

"You're showing disrespect towards your superiors." Xuan Hongyu looked at Ning Shu coldly. His eyes were narrowed slightly with murderous intent.

"This subordinate was simply taking into consideration your safety, Master. Some people were already starting to search the surroundings of the base. If we didn't leave, we'd definitely end up captured," explained Ning Shu. There was only the two of them, but Xuan Xiaotian had an entire army. How the hell could they possibly win in a confrontation?

Xuan Hongyu didn't care about his life, but Ning Shu had to make sure that Xuan Hongyu lived. If she didn't complete her task, she would be exterminated.

Fudge, having to protect a person who incessantly courted death was seriously painful.

Xuan Hongyu looked at Ning Shu coldly. He walked over, then said to Ning Shu, "This prince is thirsty. Pour me a cup of water."

Ning Shu went inside the carriage to get a bowl, then poured some water from the water sack before handing it to Xuan Hongyu. Xuan Hongyu reached out to take the bowl but froze when he noticed his hand. He stared at his hand in shock.

Xuan Hongyu's fair as jade hand was covered with oval sores that were wet with yellow pus.

Xuan Hongyu was dumbfounded. He turned his hand to inspect it. How did his hand end up like this after just one night? He touched his face and found that these things were also on his face.

"This- what exactly is this?" Xuan Hongyu was both baffled and appalled.

Ning Shu's face filled with sorrow. She opened her mouth but hesitated. In the end, she finally said, "Master, you've contracted leprosy."

"That's not possible!" Xuan Hongyu reflectively refuted. "That's not possible, how could I possibly get leprosy?"

Xuan Hongyu stared at Ning Shu. "What did you do to me?"

"This subordinate didn't." Ning Shu hastily shook her head. "This subordinate only added a bit of sleeping powder to your food. This subordinate really doesn't know how you ended up like this. Master, did you eat anything strange?"

Ning Shu's face was filled with sincere devotion. "Master, once we get to the next town, let's find a doctor to take a look."

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Chapter 990: Stay Strong!

Xuan Hongyu's brows were tightly furrowed and his facial muscles were trembling. It looked like he was about to fall apart. "You definitely did something to me."

"This subordinate really didn't! Why would this subordinate do something this treacherous to you, Master?" replied Ning Shu with a very earnest expression. "Moreover, this subordinate doesn't have this ability."

Xuan Hongyu's brows were tightly furrowed. He lowered his head slightly, looking a little defeated. In this era, leprosy was fatal.

"Alright, since things are already like this, we should head back after all. Return to the capital," said Xuan Hongyu indifferently.

Ning Shu: Pfff...

He couldn't be thinking that since he didn't have much longer to live, he should just let Xuan Xiaotian capture him, then try to pass this disease onto Xuan Xiaotian?

Ning Shu's lips twitched as she said, "Master, the capital isn't safe right now. There are a lot of godly doctors out there in the world, your illness will definitely get better. Master, even if you got leprosy, we still have to stay strong, stay strong!"

Ning Shu encouraged Xuan Hongyu, but Xuan Hongyu just glanced over at her with an indifferent expression. "Did you poison me?"

Xuan Hongyu refused to believe that he had leprosy because he had never come into contact with anyone that had leprosy. How could he suddenly get it just like this?

Ning Shu hastily shook her head. "Master, this subordinate really has no reason to do that. This subordinate is loyal and devoted to Master and would never do something disloyal like this. This subordinate doesn't know of any poisons that could make someone get syphilis- No, leprosy."

"Since I got leprosy, why aren't you scared of me? This thing is infectious after all." Xuan Hongyu glanced over at Ning Shu.

Ning Shu immediately puffed out her chest and said firmly, "This subordinate is Master's death soldier. My very life and death exist for your sake. This subordinate's duty is to go through fire and water for you, Master, so even if you have leprosy, this subordinate isn't scared."

Xuan Hongyu laughed coldly. With all the eczema on his face, it was a chilling sight. Such a magnificent face had been ruined just like this. Ning Shu shifted her gaze away as she silently chanted Amitabha Buddha.

Such a beautiful thing had been destroyed. It was a true tragedy.

Xuan Hongyu flipped his hand back and forth to look at it indifferently. Ning Shu was worried that Xuan Hongyu would take it too hard, so she asked, "Master, how do you feel right now? Does it itch? Even if it itches, don't scratch it. The moment you scratch it, it'll fester. Master, once we get to the town, let's find a doctor to take a look and while at it, ask around to see if there are any godly doctors. Afterwards, this subordinate will take you to find the godly doctor."

"Master, no matter what, don't scratch, alright?" exhorted Ning Shu again.

Xuan Hongyu hadn't felt anything before, but after Ning Shu brought up the word itch, his entire body started prickling with an itchy feeling so strong that he couldn't help but want to scratch at it.

"Master, no matter what, you can't scratch it." Ning Shu immediately stopped Xuan Hongyu. "Master, endure it for a bit and it'll go away. Even if it itches, don't scratch at it, alright? The more you scratch, the itchier it'll get."

"Shut up. The more you talk, the itchier it gets!" roared Xuan Hongyu. Ning Shu immediately stopped talking.

Ning Shu went into the carriage to get a cloak and said to Xuan Hongyu, "Master, wind will make leprosy worse, so please put on this cloak."

Xuan Hongyu laughed coldly. "You even prepared a cloak? Eleven, if you really don't have anything to do with this, then this prince will just commit suicide."

Ning Shu's expression was filled with grievances as she cried, "Master, this subordinate really didn't do anything! This subordinate only bought this cloak because you're too good-looking. Wearing this cloak would be able to hide your magnificent looks slightly."

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Chapter 991: Seriously Weren't Picky

Xuan Hongyu put on the cloak. His body was fully wrapped up and his face was covered by the black veil attached to the cloak's hood.

"Where are we going?" Xuan Hongyu glanced at Ning Shu through the veil.

"This subordinate had been planning to go to a town near Master's fiefdom, but now that something like this has happened, this subordinate plans to take Master to search for a cure," replied Ning Shu earnestly.

Xuan Hongyu fell silent. The black veil covered his face, so his expression couldn't be made out.

Xuan Miexiao who had been inside the carriage woke up, so Ning Shu carried him out of the carriage and fed him some food. Xuan Hongyu sat down at the other side of the fire in order to get a bit further away from Ning Shu and Xuan Miexiao.

"Master, it's fine. In a bit, this subordinate will rub some mugwort leaf juice on the child's skin so that it won't be as easy for him to get infected," said Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu just nodded.

"There's no need to go look for a doctor. Let's return to the capital," said Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu: Pff...

This person was seriously...

"Why? Master, if you return like this, you'd only end up a laughing stock. Right now what you need to do is cure the sy- pei! The leprosy. Master, you'll definitely be able to make a comeback." There was no way Ning Shu would let Xuan Hongyu go back.

Xuan Hongyu didn't speak, so Ning Shu just took it as agreement.

She rubbed mugwort leaf juice on Xuan Miexiao, then said to Xuan Hongyu who was standing to the side like a pillar, "Master, let's go."

Xuan Hongyu didn't enter the carriage and just sat down next to Ning Shu, so Xuan Miexiao was the only one inside the carriage.

It was clear that Xuan Hongyu was afraid of approaching Xuan Miexiao. He was worried about spreading this disease to the child.

Ning Shu swung the whip and drove the horse forward. She glanced at Xuan Hongyu out of the corner of her eye, but the black veil was covering his face so she couldn't see his expression.

She had the feeling that under the veil was an all-hope-was-lost expression. She really wanted to see it.

"Master..."

"Be quiet." Xuan Hongyu didn't want to talk.

Ning Shu curled her lips in distant.

She drove the horse forward at a steady pace, so after a night, they were already quite far away from the capital.

As Ning Shu continued driving the carriage, she lifted the curtain to check on the kid. Due to the swaying of the carriage, Xuan Miexiao had fallen asleep again.

Swish!

A sharp wooden stick suddenly flew towards one of the wheels of the carriage. Ning Shu pulled on the reins, then swung her whip, catching the wooden stick and flinging it aside.

"Hand over all your valuables!" Several people had appeared by the road. They were all holding swords and looked violent.

They had encountered bandits.

"Oh, and there's even a female. She's a bit ugly, but at least it's a woman." A bandit glanced at Ning Shu, then looked towards Xuan Hongyu who was covered from head to toe. He said towards his leader, "Boss, that person's completely wrapped up, so it's either a beauty or an ugly hag."

"Capture them." The bandit peeked at Xuan Hongyu with lust in his eyes. "Let this daddy have a taste first."

Xuan Hongyu had a naturally lofty aura. Even completely wrapped up, he still gave people the feeling that he couldn't be casually offended.

Ning Shu: ...

The hell? They thought Xuan Hongyu was a woman? Could a woman possibly have such a large frame? Or was it that they seriously weren't picky?

The dangerous atmosphere outside caused Xuan Miexiao to become uneasy. He started wailing and crying.

"There's even a kid." The bandit leader licked his lips. The sight was quite terrifying.

Before Ning Shu could even make a move though, Xuan Hongyu had reached out to take the horse whip from Ning Shu. He got off the carriage, walked to the bandit leader, then started rapidly swinging the whip at the bandit leader's head.

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Chapter 992: Venting Anger

When the other bandits saw, they moved up to support their boss. However, Xuan Hongyu was completely unconcerned. He simply swung the whip at the bandits that were rushing over and flung them out with the whip. The bandits that were sent flying smashed into trees and were too injured to get back up. They even vomited huge amounts of blood.

When the bandits saw that this beauty was this violent, they didn't dare to rush up anymore and could only watch as their leader was whipped.

Meanwhile, the bandit leader couldn't run even though he wanted to. Every time he tried to run, he would be pulled back by the whip.

Xuan Hongyu simply swung the whip at a steady pace, but every hit he landed caused the bandit leader to scream in pain.

Ning Shu felt like Xuan Hongyu was just venting his anger on this poor devil.

The whistle of the whip caused people's hair to rise on end. The other bandits didn't dare to approach Xuan Hongyu, so they rushed towards Ning Shu instead in order to try and capture her, but Ning Shu just pulled out her sword and killed all the people that approached her.

These people lived off of robbing others. Not only did they take people's money, they also robbed people of their lives.

Ning Shu's attacks were very sharp and fatal, so the other bandits didn't dare to rush up anymore.

Xuan Hongyu eventually whipped the bandit leader to death. Some places had been whipped so badly that the white bone was showing beneath the mangled flesh.

After whipping the bandit leader to death, Xuan Hongyu turned to look at the rest of the bandits. Even though he was wearing a black veil, those bandits could feel Xuan Hongyu's gaze sweeping over them. They felt a chill run down their backs, so all of them immediately turned tail and ran.

Xuan Hongyu moved to chase after the bandits, clearly intending to wipe them all out. Ning Shu called out, "Master!"

However, Xuan Hongyu paid no attention to her, so she had no choice but to wait for him to come back. She turned to comfort Xuan Miexiao who was still bawling. She gave him a bit of jerky to grind his teeth on.

After waiting a good while, Ning Shu was about to fall asleep leaning on the side of the carriage. She hadn't slept the entire night after all. However, even after waiting a good while, Xuan Hongyu still didn't come back. She was starting to get the feeling that something was off.

A thought suddenly occurred to her and she hastily turned the carriage around. Xuan Hongyu had definitely taken advantage of this chance to slip off.

After driving for a while, she finally saw Xuan Hongyu's cloaked figure ahead. Xuan Hongyu turned back and glanced at Ning Shu, then quickened his steps. However, there was no way his two feet could compare to a horse's four hooves.

"Master, where are you going?" asked Ning Shu lightly.

Xuan Hongyu said, "This prince thought about it and feels that it's best to head back to the capital after all. No matter what, the skill of the doctors in the capital should be better than those of the doctors in the countryside."

"Haha..." Ning Shu gave a polite laugh. "Master, your body's covered with sores and it's even the infectious sy... Leprosy. You won't even be able to get past the city gates, so how are you going to find a doctor?"

He was always insisting on running towards the capital. It was seriously unbelievable.

"Master, don't give up on treatment, and don't drag it on anymore. The longer you drag it on, the harder it will be to cure. Master, don't be so stubborn." Ning Shu looked towards Xuan Hongyu.

Ning Shu patted the carriage. "Master, hurry and get on."

Xuan Hongyu stood there without moving and paid no attention to Ning Shu.

So Ning Shu asked, "Master, do you feel itchy?"

Xuan Hongyu shifted slightly. His body seemed to start prickling again. In the end, he went to sit back down next to Ning Shu silently while emitting an icy aura.

Ning Shu glanced at him, then turned the carriage around.

Ning Shu was a little sleepy due to not having slept the entire night, but she was so alarmed by what Xuan Hongyu did that all her sleepiness had been chased away. In the future, she had to follow Xuan Hongyu without taking a single step away.

"Master, exactly what important matter did you have for you to be in such a rush to head back to the capital?" asked Ning Shu.

Xuan Hongyu gave a cold humph, then said, "No matter what, this prince has to go back to take a look at how Shangguan Qingrou's doing, right?"

What does how the person's doing have anything to do with you?

As of now, Shangguan Qingrou would probably try to drag Xuan Hongyu down in a double suicide the moment she saw him.

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