The Crown Princess’s Loyal Guard Dog - CPLGD Chapter 8

“What are you looking at! Bow your head!” The man beside the boy noticed something amiss and immediately forced the boy’s head down, his actions rough, pressing the boy’s entire face into the mud.

The boy did not resist, yet the expression on his face, even when buried in the dirt, spoke of an untamed spirit.

Feeling the silent protest from the boy beside him, Tu Liu sighed internally. In the Hidden Guards, there were no names, only numbers. He was number six of the slaughter squad, hence called Tu Liu. He was leading a few apprentices on a mission to hunt down remnants of the previous dynasty, and this Number Shi Qi was the only apprentice who had survived.

Shi Qi was the most outstanding among the apprentices, but he was too rebellious, which was why he was assigned to the slaughter squad for training. Typically, apprentices assigned here were those the Hidden Guards had given up on, likely to die in one of the few missions they undertook. Yet, somehow, Shi Qi kept surviving.

This time upon their return, they had seen the blue smoke signal, which meant a gathering. Tu Liu had never imagined they would encounter Emperor Xie Yun and the Crown Princess here.

It turned out the royal carriage had gotten stuck in a water-filled pothole. The royal carriages were heavier than usual, and the Hidden Guards nearby who saw the blue smoke rushed to help at the first opportunity, using their bodies to pull the heavy carriage.

They were the Hidden Guards. In life, they belonged to the Xie family; in death, they would be ghosts of the Xie family. The only jewel of the Xie lineage, they weren’t even worthy to carry her shoes. What right did they have to gaze upon her? A single glance from Shi Qi could bring disaster, not only upon himself but possibly also afflict those around him.

Xie Yun glanced towards the commotion but did not particularly care; his gaze swept over lightly and moved away. The incident of Shi Qi’s disrespect towards the Crown Princess was thus overlooked.

Fear often stems from the heart. Tu Liu had never seen the Emperor in person, but the organization had deeply ingrained a sense of reverence and fear for the emperor from the start—planted as a seed and grown into a towering tree, making their awe deep-rooted, to protect the lives of the Xie lineage with their own.

Shi Qi remembered Xie Yun, for a specific reason: he was picked up by Xie Yun from a battlefield. Shi Qi could no longer tell whether it would have been better to die on that battlefield or to have been taken into the Hidden Guards to undergo the bloodless, tearless training.

Unlike others who felt indebted to Emperor Xie Yun, Shi Qi only knew that because of the Emperor, his life had reached a dead end, and his final day was just a matter of sooner or later.

“Cough…” As the carriage window was closed, Shi Qi coughed, his mouth full of mud. Tu Liu couldn’t bear it any longer, delivering a strike to his side without holding back. Shi Qi was almost knocked over, his mouth tasting of blood mixed with mud. His dark eyes fixed fiercely on Tu Liu.

“What are you looking at? If you don’t report back, we’ll both die here.” All Hidden Guards were administered a lethal poison, requiring an antidote from the villa every three months to ensure their loyalty and mission completion. They had been out nearly three months, and even if they delayed for the Emperor’s carriage, the toxin’s effects wouldn’t wait for any reason.

In the Hidden Guards, there was no strict hierarchy—like raising gu, if one had the ability, they could challenge those above them at any time. There was a moment when Shi Qi wanted to fight back, but eventually, he lowered his eyes and suppressed the ferocity that had surged within him.

He couldn’t act rashly, even though he felt like living in the mud was worse than death, deep down he still wanted to live. That desire to live was why he struggled so desperately, still barely surviving to this day.

Following Tu Liu’s steps, Shi Qi couldn’t help but recall the image of that delicate girl who looked like a porcelain doll—so beautiful… But she was the moon in the sky, and he was just the mud on the ground. He was at the very bottom of that mud, and even looking up at the moon was obscured by the layer of mud above him.

The little girl’s smile briefly lingered in his mind, leaving a faint shadow that brought a slight joy, then he cast it aside.