Gui Wuqing listened to her earnest advice, letting it go in one ear and out the other, treating it like a nursery rhyme.
In the world of dark guards, there was a clear division of labor. Typically, each household’s dark guards were managed in four areas: mission execution, intelligence gathering, interrogation, and personal protection of the master.
Gui Wuqing was originally in charge of missions, but for some reason, Prince Yu’nan had decided to add personal protection to his duties as well. Gui Wuqing was doing two jobs for the pay of one. If quitting were an option in this line of work, he would have long since told Prince Yu’nan to shove it and walked away.
Gui Wuxin, unaware of what was going through her colleague’s mind, was the head of interrogation. She had given him this heartfelt advice many times before. As she bandaged Gui Wuqing’s wounds, she lectured him on the principles of being a dark guard, much like a worried mother fearing her son might be mistreated by his boss.
Heaven knew she was only five years older than Gui Wuqing.
Gui Wuxin was quick with her bandaging. Once she was done, Gui Wuqing contentedly stretched his legs, feeling no discomfort. He rolled down his pant legs, put on his shoes and socks, and took out the knockout powder Gui Wuxin had given him earlier.
“You used too much, and it has a scent. It’s easy to detect.”
He had no intention of listening to Gui Wuxin’s motivational talk.
“………………”
Gui Wuxin shot him a horrified look.
The powder she had mixed had only been given to him yesterday morning, and since then, Gui Wuqing had only gone out once. Who had he used it on?!
Gui Wuqing said, “I used it to knock out Consort Yu.”
After all, he had left in a hurry and didn’t have any other knockout drugs on him. The situation was delicate; if he hadn’t knocked her out first, the emperor’s crown might have turned green.
He picked up a bit of the powder and sniffed it, admitting, “It wouldn’t knock me out. This batch wasn’t mixed well.”
“…If it could knock you out, that would be a problem!”
Gui Wuxin was tempted to smack him upside the head. She lowered her voice, both anxious and angry, “This was just for you to test sometimes, not to use on important people!”
Gui Wuqing blinked, tempted to say: Knocking out an important person for a short while is better than watching them put a green hat on the emperor.
But he knew Gui Wuxin’s temper, so he didn’t argue. He obediently listened to her scolding and, before leaving, was handed several small jade bottles: “New poisons. The small one causes intense itching, the large one rots a person’s insides through. Wuyu said things have been unstable lately, so you might need to go out a few more times.”
After a pause, she added with concern, “Don’t test these on important people again. Be careful.”
Gui Wuqing nodded silently, stowing the bottles away, and headed to the kitchen with a spring in his step.
Meanwhile, Gui Wuyu, feeling utterly dejected, handed over intelligence to his superior.
Prince Yu’nan held the thin sheet of paper, examining it repeatedly. His face was dark as he said, “They were talking inside, and you only noted the time. What about what they said?”
Gui Wuyu hung his head, feeling deflated, yet outwardly he remained energetic and respectful as he replied, “This subordinate is incompetent. Wuqing has excellent hearing. If this subordinate gets within fifty steps of him, he can no longer hide his presence.”
Prince Yu’nan’s grip on the paper was so tight his knuckles cracked. He knew it wasn’t Gui Wuyu’s fault, so he took a deep breath and instructed him to fetch Gui Wuqing for personal protection. He then burned the paper with a candle, leaving only a small pile of fine black ash.
Gui Wuqing had just grabbed a bowl of noodles from the kitchen when his annoying colleague came to fetch him.
Gui Wuyu, having somehow acquired some sunflower seeds, watched Gui Wuqing, who was exuding a chilly aura as he held his noodles. Crunching on the seeds, he spread his hands helplessly, saying, “The master called for you. There’s nothing I can do. What do you want me to do?”
Gui Wuqing silently picked up some pickled vegetables with his chopsticks, pretending not to hear, and quietly slurped his noodles.
He had received a task at noon and had been busy for a while before returning. He hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner, and his stomach was already empty. Today, it was supposed to be Gui Wuqiu’s turn to guard, so why was he being made to work overtime?
Gui Wuyu squatted nearby, munching on sunflower seeds. “Hey, I’ve delivered the message. If the master asks later, it’s not my fault.”
The system, observing this passing-the-buck scene, couldn’t help but lament the decline of camaraderie: “In this world, there’s not even a shred of plastic friendship among colleagues anymore!”
Gui Wuqing paused, then quickly finished his noodles. With a blank expression, he snatched the sunflower seeds from Gui Wuyu’s hand and stormed off to work overtime.
Fortunately, in this cold world, there was still a last thread of camaraderie hanging on. Gui Wuyu, after a few cries of protest, somehow found a pastry and handed it to Gui Wuqing: “What’s the use of stealing sunflower seeds? A fresh meat pie is what fills you up!”
“………………”
Gui Wuqing thought that made sense, so he took Gui Wuyu’s last handful of sunflower seeds.
Gui Wuqing, who worked around the clock, hadn’t been gone long before he returned to his boss, Chu the Skinflint, Prince Yu’nan.
He tucked the sunflower seeds and meat pie close to him, met with Prince Yu’nan, noted his sour expression, and then skillfully climbed up to the rafters, choosing a spot to sit.
The rafters, which should have been dusty, were kept clean by the dark guards’ constant presence. Gui Wuqing lay on the beam, took out the hidden meat pie, and carefully took a bite.
Sure enough, Gui Wuyu was still annoying.
The meat pie’s crust was crispy and fragrant, and it tasted quite good. However, because the crust was so flaky, crumbs inevitably fell, forcing Gui Wuqing to hold it with his hands to eat, which irritated him no end.
When Gui Wuqing finished the meat pie, a little dark guard was already squatting nearby, eyes sparkling, and respectfully handed him a bun.
Gui Wuqing felt quite satisfied and even shared a small handful of sunflower seeds with the little dark guard.
The little dark guard blushed immediately.
He carefully tucked away the sunflower seeds given by his idol and watched with bright eyes as his idol ate the bun, even wanting to ask whether his idol wanted another one.
But his idol didn’t have the chance.
Just as Gui Wuqing finished the bun, a young palace maid hurriedly knocked on the door, saying that His Majesty had something to discuss with his beloved Imperial Younger Brother.
When the target of personal protection was about to leave, naturally, the dark guards assigned to protect him had to follow.
Gui Wuqing dusted off his hands and put away the oily paper that had held the meat pie and now contained its crumbs. Seeing Prince Yu’nan step out, he nimbly swung down from the rafters, slipped out through an open window, and followed along the eaves.