In the year 421 of the Qian calendar, on the seventh day of the third month, outside Chang’an City.
The sun was sinking in the west, the last glow as red as blood; in the misty third month, the grass grew lush and thick.
A battered carriage creaked slowly along the official road outside the city, heading toward the gate.
Though the carriage was shabby, the horse was extraordinary.
Its whole body was glossy black, like black satin, with only the four hooves white as snow. It was unmistakably a Dark Cloud Stepping on Snow!
Anyone with a keen eye could tell that the person in this carriage was probably no ordinary man.
The horse seemed displeased that its noble self had been made to do such rough work as pulling a cart. From time to time, it snorted to show its dissatisfaction.
An old man sat on the carriage shaft. His gray-white long hair hung in a tangled mess over his chest and back, and he wore a faded gray robe. His wrinkled face seemed to hide years of wind, frost, rain, and snow.
His calloused hands held the reins. His old eyes were cloudy and dim, yet from time to time a sharp glint flashed through them.
“Old Mo, are we almost at Chang’an City?”
A somewhat lazy male voice came from inside the carriage.
“Yes, Your Highness. We are only about ten li from Chang’an City now. Almost there.”
The old man called Old Mo, who was sitting on the shaft, replied with a chuckle.
“Hey, Old Mo, there isn’t anyone else here. Why are you calling me Your Highness?
Didn’t you say you had a granddaughter in Chang’an? How about making a match with this young master? Then you could call me grandson-in-law, hehe. What do you think?”
That pleasant, lazy male voice came back with a teasing, mischievous tone.
Old Mo, after hearing that, only chuckled and did not answer.
However, before he could speak, another bright and coquettish female voice rang out from inside the carriage.
“Young master~, what are you saying? Old Mo’s granddaughter is only eight years old. How can you speak like that? Isn’t that beastly~?”
Her voice was full of reproach and indignation.
“Chuntao, you little girl, are you trying to boss this young master around now?
Careful, tonight I will… hey, hey, don’t hit, don’t hit! This young master is joking!! Do I look like that kind of person!?”
The man had barely gotten halfway through his wicked line when he was interrupted by the girl’s fists pounding his chest. He hurriedly begged for mercy in a pitiful tone.
The view shifted to the inside of the carriage.
A young man in white was lying on a soft cushion, pinned down by a pretty girl who was pounding his chest. Even while pleading for mercy, a bright smile still hung on his handsome face.
The young man’s name was Bai Zhao, courtesy name Muran.
He was sixteen this year.
He was the son of Bai Yuan, the Prince of Zhenbei, the only prince in Great Qian with a different surname, and also the only son.
The girl named Chuntao withdrew her delicate little fist. Her small, refined nose wrinkled slightly, her lovely eyes were filled with reproach, and she pouted her red lips in displeasure.
“Hmph. Young master really is full of nonsense.
You are the heir of the only prince of a different surname in Great Qian. It was one thing when you were in the martial world and the Northern Border Army these past two years, but now that we’re about to reach Chang’an City, you absolutely must not act so careless!
Chang’an City is not like being by the prince’s side. The people here will eat you without spitting out the bones.
That is what the Princess Consort said!”
The little girl seemed afraid that Bai Zhao would not believe her, so she added that line on purpose.
Bai Muran rolled his eyes. This little girl had even learned to use his mother to pressure him now! He could only say helplessly:
“All right, all right. You sound so serious, yet you’re not even older than I am, and you talk as if you know everything.
I grew up in Chang’an City as a child, okay? I’m just teasing. The whole trip has been unbearably boring!”
Then he added in a cheerful tone, “Besides, this young master came to the capital this time just to have fun. Old Bai already said that once I return to the capital this time, I am free!
What business is it of mine whether people eat others without spitting out the bones? Do they really think this young master is a vegetarian?
Who in all of Chang’an doesn’t know that this young master bullies the weak and flaunts his wealth, a complete wastrel? This young master calls that staying true to myself, hahaha!
I’ve finally grown up enough to enjoy life! Life is short; seize the day.”
Chuntao sighed helplessly after hearing that. The heir’s personality was hopeless!
She had been by Bai Zhao’s side since childhood and believed she knew his temperament well. He was definitely not the kind of person the rumors in Chang’an described.
On the contrary, Bai Zhao had a gentle nature and took things as they came.
Although their young master often wanted to slack off in front of the prince and princess consort, as the young master himself would put it, what was that phrase? Right, lie flat. It was all strange and impossible to understand, and sometimes the heir would even toss out bizarre words like “thanks Q”; she had no idea what that meant.
But the heir had been forced to study and train in martial arts since he was small. The Bai family’s discipline was extremely strict. What he showed outside was only an act for other people.
Chuntao understood this very clearly.
She also knew that the heir had been strictly controlled since childhood. Now that he had finally gained freedom, it was inevitable that he would become a little unruly. That was understandable.
As Bai Zhao’s personal maid, she felt that although Bai Zhao often flirted with words, the heir was very considerate toward her.
A personal maid was supposed to sleep with her master, but Bai Zhao had always said Chuntao was still too young and that there was no hurry; they should wait two more years.
Chuntao grumbled inwardly: “Where exactly am I small? You weren’t the one who touched me. Obviously I’m not small…”
In truth, he had no choice but to care. Bai Zhao understood Chuntao’s feelings, but he simply could not bring himself to lay a hand on a sixteen-year-old girl.
Bai Zhao was precocious, and his behavior and mannerisms were completely unlike those of other children his age.
For that reason, the Prince of Zhenbei and his Princess Consort had extremely high expectations for their only son.
To shape Bai Zhao, they beat the lazy boy until he howled and ran wild all over the capital.
So the impression many of the noble families in the capital had of Bai Zhao as a child was that he was unruly beyond reason.
Although part of that really was because Bai Zhao loved to slack off, more of it was the Prince of Zhenbei’s painstaking effort to make Bai Muran conceal his true abilities.
As the only noble house in Great Qian granted a princely title despite having a different surname, the Bai family was deeply trusted by the Qian Emperor. And yet the civil and military officials, as well as the aristocratic clans and noble families, could not tolerate a Bai family that held such high status and military power.
Because His Majesty favored the Bai family far too much, he had even more than once spoken of marrying a princess to Bai Zhao.
The Prince of Zhenbei’s estate commanded three hundred thousand troops in the Northern Border and enjoyed immense imperial favor.
How could such singular treatment not make those so-called high officials envious, jealous, and resentful?
They all repeatedly urged His Majesty to weaken the Bai family’s military power, or at least keep Bai Muran, the Bai family’s only heir, firmly under control.
Bai Yuan understood exactly what these people were thinking, so of course he wanted his son to grow up safe and sound.
Although he had grown up with the Great Qian Emperor since childhood, like brothers, he knew full well what a ruler was. He knew how cold and heartless the people who sat on that throne could become through the generations, and he did not dare gamble on it!
More importantly, even if the Qian Emperor trusted him, Bai Zhao and the emperor had no such trust between them. So for Bai Zhao’s safety, he could only tarnish his own name.
But reputation was only for outsiders to see. Once the doors were shut at home, teaching Bai Zhao would naturally be handled with strictness.
After all, the Bai family had been loyal and upright for three generations, and Bai Yuan certainly did not want Bai Zhao to truly become a wastrel.
From childhood to adulthood, Bai Zhao had fought wits and courage with the Prince of Zhenbei and his Princess Consort just to slack off.
But how could a child possibly outwit two adults? Even if he was a transmigrator, he still could not do it!
Yes, Bai Zhao was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, he had been an agent. His parents died when he was very young, leaving only a little sister to depend on.
In a novel, he would have been the standard protagonist template.
When Bai Zhao was ten, his sister fell victim to a rare illness and died young. From that moment on, Bai Zhao had no family left in the world.
He promised his sister that he would see the world for her and live well.
From then on, the world gained one more orphan.
Eighteen years later, the dark world gained a top agent.
He was incredibly patient, cold, and ruthless. To complete a mission, he would stop at nothing.
He could hide in a cold, damp swamp for half a month just to wait for the chance to assassinate a terrorist leader with a single fatal blow.
He could also slaughter more than a hundred people without the slightest change in expression in order to carry out an order from above.
He was a name that made agents, mercenaries, and assassin organizations all fear him. But he was also a pitiful man. No one understood the numbness and pain in his heart.
He lived only to honor the promise he had made to his sister. But he felt so tired, so tired…
Bai Zhao’s transmigration happened during a mission. It was his final mission.
He was tired. He wanted to rest. Over the years, he had committed too many killings and seen too much of the world’s evil.
He applied to retire, and after half a month of discussion, his superiors gave him his final order: assassinate the leader of a small African country. After the mission was complete, he would be given a new identity and be allowed to live in the sunlight.
Bai Zhao agreed, but he knew very well that once the mission was finished, so would his life.
Over the years, he had learned too many secrets and done too many dirty jobs for his superiors. He could never again live in the sunlight.
But who was he? He was Sha! If he did not want to die, no one could take his life.
And then, um…
He still died.
Because the leader had a little girl in his home.
Looking into those pure eyes, Bai Zhao felt as if he were seeing his sister. In those eyes, he saw himself covered head to toe in blood, saw his own struggling soul.
Bai Zhao chose release. He chose to let himself go.
After the blaze of the explosion faded, his consciousness entered a place of dark emptiness.
When he opened his eyes again, what he saw was his father in this life, Bai Yuan, with that handsome face…