Chapter 417: Fighting to Survive

to the daily debates of the court officials coming and going. Some even suggested that her grandmother reinstate her former husband, but she turned them all down one by one."After going back, Nannan t...Princess Xiangyi, at her age, was at the peak of a woman's allure. How could she possibly grow old!

Behind her, a handsome young man was helping Xiang Yi comb her hair, softly and gently comforting her.

As he was combing, the man noticed a single white hair mixed in with Xiangyi's black hair. His eyes flickered, and he immediately, silently hid the white hair within her black tresses. If he dared to say that Princess Xiangyi had white hair, he would certainly never see the sun rise again.

"Lately, my energy hasn't been great. I just don't feel like doing anything, everything feels dull. It seems like my heart has grown old too."

Xiang Yi was in a bad mood, she waved her sleeve and swept the bronze mirror in front of her to the ground. The maidservants in the palace immediately knelt down.

The man also hurriedly put down the jade comb, then knelt on the ground and said:

“The Princess is furious! This lowly servant heard a rumor that there is a Xu Nu Palace among the martial arts sects. The practitioners of the Xu Nu Xuan Gong are said to be unrivaled in their beauty-preserving skills. Rumor has it that the Palace Master of the Xu Nu Palace is over eighty years old, but her appearance remains like that of a blossoming maiden, and she is highly sought after.”

Xiangyi's originally bad mood suddenly brightened because of the man's words. She turned her head and asked:

"Is that really what you're saying"

Of course, I wouldn't dare deceive Your Highness. You may send someone to investigate.

The man knelt on the ground, not even raising his head as he spoke.

"Alright, you can go now!"

Xiangyi's lips curled into a smile, she had a new goal in mind, and waved her hand to signal the man to step down.

Yes, Your Highness!

The man bowed deeply and gratefully, then retreated out of the princess's bedroom.

After leaving the princess's line of sight, the fear on his face vanished instantly, his eyes turning cold. There was disgust for Xiangyi within them. When he encountered a palace attendant, he muttered in a low voice:

The message has been delivered to the princess.

The eunuch, as if he hadn't heard a word, merely bowed briefly before quickly turning and leaving.

The man returned to his solitary house and told the boy to draw him a bath. After bathing for over an hour, he dressed and left the room.

Xiangyi, having heard the man's words, summoned her head guard:

"Go investigate and see if that rumor is true."

Yes!

How is Xu Fengze's son doing

Xiangyi suddenly asked on a whim.

"Princess, Xiao Qi has been sent to the assassin training camp for five years. He now has a number, but it will take some time to train him before he can be by your side."

This man is the leader of the masked bandits who slaughtered Yinzhe Mountain Villa, and also the leader of Xiangyi Princess's personal guards.

He's still too young, and I don't want to wait until he grows up before I can no longer eat.

Princess Xiangyi smiled wickedly.

"Understood, my subordinate will investigate as soon as possible and find a way to restore the princess's beauty."

Go ahead!

Xiang Yi was finally satisfied and dismissed the leader of the dark guards.

Over these twelve years, Xu Fengze's son and Lian Yi lived vastly different lives. As a child, he cried day and night because of an injury in his chest. Eventually, the leader of the guards took the infant to see a ghost doctor, who used powerful medicine to heal the wound in the child's chest. However, it left an unhealing scar.

This scar accompanied the infant as he grew, occupying a place on his chest. When he was old enough to walk and speak, he began taking care of the guards' daily lives. After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, that's what the guard captain taught him.

He did everything he could, washing clothes and shoes, cleaning the room and making the bed, serving breakfast, and then taking any spare time to study "The Thousand Character Classic". He started by memorizing it, then learned to recognize each character individually. If he didn't understand something, he asked the guards who were off duty. In short, he seized every opportunity to learn.

From a young age, he didn't even have a name. The guards would call him "kid" or "boy," and he would always respond. From when he was old enough to understand, he knew that his entire being, his whole life, belonged to Princess Xiangyi. Everything he was learning now was to better serve the princess in the future.

One of the guards couldn't bear it anymore and, avoiding everyone, whispered his backstory:

"Princess Xiangyi killed your parents and left you in swaddling clothes. If you want to find out about your origins, you can't just think about being a male consort. Becoming a dark guard will give you the chance to uncover the truth behind everything, and then you can decide whether or not to seek revenge."

For a child of only seven, that was a bit deep, but he understood. Xiangyi Princess wasn't his benefactor, but rather his enemy. She hadn't spared his life out of any kindness.

So he first took the initiative to find the leader of the Dark Guards, wanting to join the training camp of the Dark Guards. He said that he had learned martial arts well and would be able to better protect the princess in the future.

The head of the dark guards did not refuse his request, after all, Princess Xiangyi ordered them to bring the child back and never inquired about the child's life or death afterward. He also sympathized with the child's plight and sent him to the dark guard training camp the next day.

"The path you choose is your own. Only those who pass all the trials and live to leave the training camp can become Shadow Guards. Your future depends on you."

"Don't worry, Leader. I will come back alive."

He then resolutely walked into the training camp. For the first three years, he didn't even have a code name, only struggling on the edge of life and death. He wanted to live, to find his family, his own surname.

Whenever he was knocked to the ground and unable to get up, he would silently repeat these words over and over again, grit his teeth and persevere, clutching the short knife with a jagged edge in his hand, and once more charge into the crowd.

Keep fighting, get knocked down, stand back up, get knocked down again, and stand up until only he is left standing on the battlefield. Then comes a long period of healing, but this isn't about resting. It's about learning to become a Shadow Guard.

Three years later, he finally had his own code name, "Seven." This was what he fought for in the Dark Guard camp, giving him the right to continue living. There were over a hundred children who entered the Dark Guard camp with him. Less than thirty of them had code names, the rest had already gone to report to the King of Hell.

Today we are learning about the various factions in the martial world.

A one-armed, black-faced man stood at the front and began to lecture the remaining thirty or so people on the current state of the martial arts world.

Three days later, the leader of the dark guards brought back accurate news and reported to Xiangyi:

"Princess, there is indeed a Sushu Palace in the martial world. This sect mainly recruits female disciples. The palace master, Su Minyi, is over eighty years old, but she has the appearance of a thirty-year-old woman. This is the result of her sixty years of cultivation in the Xuan Gong of the Sushu."

"After sixty years of cultivation, I've only managed to maintain my appearance. It seems I'm too late to start practicing now."

Xiangyi's face fell.

"Should I have my subordinates bring this set of martial arts techniques"

"Of course, I need more than just martial arts techniques. I also need the sixty years of internal energy from Master Fuminyi, so that I can stay youthful forever."

Xiangyi suddenly said with a smile.

"This"

"Stop wasting time, make arrangements. We depart tomorrow. I must absorb her inner strength at the first opportunity and prevent her from destroying it. Have someone infiltrate beforehand to receive us. This technique can only be cultivated by me from now on, there's no further need for the Su Nu Palace."

"Yes!", everyone would lose face."This time I believe Xuetao, but I also don't want to see such news again. If Lianyi found out, she would be heartbroken."As Zongqing reminded me, this is also my concern. I...