Gu Yanzhao wore a smile on his brows as he opened his mouth and took a gentle bite. Once they properly buried Tangtang’s master early tomorrow morning, he would take Tangtang back to the capital; they couldn’t afford to delay any longer.
It had been so long, yet his dark guards still hadn’t found him; something must have gone wrong.
Early in the morning, birds chirped busily on the branches. Awakening, Gu Yanzhao saw a pair of straw shoes quietly placed by the bedside.
A warmth welled up in his heart. Putting on the straw shoes, he finally got up and stepped outside.
Tangtang, who was in the middle of practicing her morning exercises, turned around upon hearing the sound and greeted Gu Yanzhao with a beaming smile: “Daddy! You’re awake? Breakfast is already cooked!”
Gu Yanzhao walked over, and seeing the dark circles under her eyes, he felt a mix of anger and heartache.
Tangtang proudly shook her little head; she had learned how to weave straw shoes from her master!
Back then, Master had even praised Tangtang for being clever and deft with her hands, saying she would surely be a formidable little Daoist priest in the future!
Yet… yet Master… she couldn’t even catch a ghost shadow of Master anymore!
No matter how formidable Tangtang became in the future, Master would never be able to see it…
Seeing her emotions suddenly plunge, Gu Yanzhao’s heart tightened as he racked his brains to coax her: “Shoes woven from green grass are soft and extremely comfortable! For Tangtang to be able to weave straw shoes at such a young age makes Daddy very proud!”
Tangtang instantly beamed with joy, responding in a crisp, clear voice: “Then from now on, Tangtang will weave straw shoes for Daddy every day!”
Before her voice had faded, a faint sound came from outside the door.
Gu Yanzhao’s gaze turned dark. Sweeping Tangtang up in his arms, he used his lightness skills to dart into the room and hide.
“Tangtang, don’t be afraid. Stay right here, don’t move and don’t make a sound! Daddy will be right back!” Gu Yanzhao whispered instructions as he tucked his daughter under Daoist Qingfeng’s bed.
After hiding her away properly, Gu Yanzhao gripped a stone in his hand and stood vigilantly behind the door.
The front door was pushed gently open. Gu Yanzhao held his breath, gripping the stone tightly as he smashed it down heavily toward the back of the intruder’s head.
Just as it was about to land, the intruder violently whipped around, their face flashing with wild joy: “Your Highness!”
Gu Yanzhao’s pupils violently constricted. Forcefully halting his motion, he flung the stone away.
“This subordinate is late, please punish me, Your Highness!” After the wild joy, Mofeng knelt on one knee to plead guilty.
“No matter! Rise!” Gu Yanzhao spoke indifferently. “Is there any clue regarding My assassination?”
“Replying to Your Highness, this subordinate is incompetent!” Mofeng lowered his head. “Those assassins seemed unable to feel pain; they hacked at anyone they saw…”
Recalling the scene from that day, Mofeng’s scalp still tingled.
Those assassins had grayish-green complexions and didn’t blink; they looked just like people who had been dead for a long time.
Moreover, those assassins possessed immense strength. Even when their heads were chopped off, they could still swing their blades and hack people!
This time His Highness had brought only ten dark guards out; apart from him, all the rest perished together with those freaky assassins.
Thank goodness His Highness was safe and sound, otherwise his death would not redeem him even a myriad of times!
Gu Yanzhao’s gaze fell on him, looking him up and down for a moment before motioning for Mofeng to go inside to talk.
Just as the two of them were about to walk into the room, a chaotic sound of footsteps suddenly erupted.
Assassins!
Mofeng tensed his entire body, looking around with vigilant eyes.
The next instant, his entire body froze, staring in disbelief at the powder-puff little dumpling who wasn’t even as tall as his leg.
“Let you bully my dad! I’ll beat you to a pulp!” Tangtang roared fiercely, wielding her peach-wood sword and striking heavily against Mofeng’s knee.
Mofeng wore a bewildered expression, looking back and forth between the powder-puff little dumpling beside him and his own master.
When did Your Highness acquire a daughter this big?!
The Crown Princess had been in a coma for three years, so whose child was this that His Highness had fathered?
Gu Yanzhao cared not a whit about what Mofeng was thinking. Stooping down to pick up his daughter, he explained in a gentle voice: “Be a good girl, Tangtang. This is Daddy’s subordinate, not a bad person!”
Tangtang tilted her head to eye Mofeng for a moment before suddenly asking in confusion, “Not a bad person? Then why is there black Qi on him? It stinks!”
The little girl wrinkled her nose, staring at Mofeng with disgust: “Did you go dig up other people’s graves? If you get caught by the yamen, you’ll get your head chopped off!”
Her deadpan, serious demeanor left Gu Yanzhao not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“It’s normal for Mofeng to go out on business without bathing! Daddy will send him to go wash up right now!”
Tangtang buried her head into Daddy’s embrace, muttering in a muffled voice: “Can’t wash it off! It smells just like the people who got washed away! Daddy, does our family make a living by digging up coffins?”
The black Qi and odor on him were so heavy; at a glance, it looked like he hadn’t dug up just one.
Gu Yanzhao’s temples twitched a couple of times.
As the dignified Crown Prince of a nation, how could he possibly make a living by digging up people’s graves?
Just then, Mofeng had mentioned those assassins acting as though they couldn’t feel any pain—how could dead people feel pain?
The arm holding his daughter tightened slightly. To go to such painstaking lengths as to use a group of corpses to assassinate him, what on earth was their objective?
Mofeng also snapped back to his senses. He rarely failed to control his emotions, but right now his face was a sheet of gravity.
“Your Highness…”
Gu Yanzhao glanced at him: “Treat your wounds first, we’ll investigate the rest after returning to the capital!”
Tangtang raised her head, pointing a small finger at Mofeng: “Daddy, the stinky black Qi on Uncle Feng has already spread to his glabella and chest. If it’s not removed, he won’t live past tonight! Tangtang can save him!”
The little girl’s words exploded like a thunderclap beside Gu Yanzhao and Mofeng’s ears.
As a dark guard, Mofeng had suffered countless injuries, but this time not only did he feel chilled all over, his movements were also growing increasingly sluggish.
It must have been the work of those freaky gimmicks!
Mofeng felt an incomparable sense of fortune; thank goodness those neither-human-nor-ghost things hadn’t run rampant into the town, or the commoners would have suffered a disaster!
For the ten of them as dark guards to die protecting the peace of the local commoners—it was worth it!
Kneeling on one knee without a shred of hesitation, Mofeng reported: “Reporting to Your Highness, the situation is critical right now. This subordinate earnestly requests to escort you and Young Miss back to the capital first!”
Gu Yanzhao didn’t answer him, instead looking down at Tangtang to ask gently, “Then I’ll have to trouble Tangbao. Just do your best!”
With a chance at life on the line, he couldn’t just sit by and watch a dark guard die.
If… Gu Yanzhao closed his eyes—that would be Heaven’s will…
Tangtang patted her small chest, guaranteeing: “Daddy, don’t worry. Although it can’t be completely eradicated right away, with me here, Uncle Feng will definitely not die!”
Standing before Mofeng, the little girl extended her index finger and tapped it lightly against Mofeng’s glabella.
In a split second, a streak of black Qi surged out from Mofeng’s glabella. Tangtang raised her hand, snatched the black Qi, and rolled it into a ball.
“Yaya!”
The moment her voice fell, Yaya fluttered its wings and landed on her shoulder, opening its beak to bite down on the black ball of Qi and swallow it whole in one gulp.
The little girl froze, roaring in absolute dismay: “Yaya! Spit it out fast! This stinky black Qi is poisonous, you can’t eat it!”
She had meant for Yaya to hold a talisman to purify the black Qi, not for it to be eaten as a snack!
Tilting its head, Yaya burped with a full stomach and looked completely innocent: “Not stinky! It’s fragrant and delicious! Tangbao, you should try some too…”
When this guy covered all over in black Qi had sneaked up and stood by the doorway, it had already sensed him. Fearing it would frighten Tangtang and her new dad, it had suppressed itself and refrained from rushing forward to peck him fiercely.
Now that Tangbao had rolled the black Qi into a sugar pill, naturally it wouldn’t stand on ceremony anymore~
Unnoticed by anyone, after Yaya swallowed the black Qi, subtle changes unexpectedly began to sprout among its feathers…