Chapter 10

The first rule of the shadow guard: Unconditionally obey the master’s arrangements;

The second rule of the shadow guard: As a shadow guard, you may have to complete the most dangerous tasks at any time. A shadow guard should be fearless of death and not cling to life.

Yu Yi had been a shadow guard since he could remember, and he had always done well all these years.

After all, if he wasn’t good, he wouldn’t be called Yu Yi.

However, he never imagined that he would violate the two most important rules of the shadow guard in just one short day.

Ever since the prince no longer needed shadow guards for close protection, every time it was his turn to guard the prince, he would always find a position that wasn’t too close to the prince but allowed him to observe all around.

He had always done well… until tonight when he watched the prince stumble out of the Taoist temple hall and weakly ride a horse towards the city.

Yu Yi couldn’t quite describe what he felt at that moment. If he had to be specific, it was a desire to… get closer and see if the prince was alright.

Yu Yi was scared by his own thoughts.

By the time he realized it, he was already very close to the prince… but no matter how close he was, he ultimately let the prince be taken hostage.

When he saw Mu Sheng draw blood from the prince’s neck with a hairpin, some strange fragments seemed to flash through his mind, as if once upon a time… he had also helplessly watched someone leave.

At that moment, it felt like his world had suddenly collapsed.

Yu Yi didn’t know why he would have such feelings, but deep down he was certain that it was a feeling more painful than being hacked by knives and axes.

Without any orders or instructions… Yu Yi took action on his own for the first time, directly stopping Huo Bujue who still wanted to keep talking at the time.

But even so, the master was still hurt.

Actually, Yu Yi regretted it at that time. Since he had already acted on his own, if he had accidentally killed Huo Bujue, at least he would have avenged the prince.

He thought that after this hostage situation, the master probably wouldn’t tell the shadow guards to stay far away anymore, right?

But none of this mattered to him anymore.

A shadow guard failing to protect and causing the master to be injured was an unforgivable crime.

He would have no tomorrow in this life.

The red-tailed whip striking the body really hurt. The flesh hurt… the meridians hurt… the internal organs hurt… even every inch of bone hurt.

The red-tailed whip would cause the qi in the body of the punished to collide everywhere. The more profound one’s inner power, the more intense the collisions.

For those with profound inner power, this punishment was worse than lingchi.

Even shadow guards trained from childhood would mostly choose to end their own lives under this punishment.

Yu Yi didn’t know how he endured these hundred lashes.

Even at the most painful moments, a sentence kept echoing in his mind.

If one could survive a hundred red-tailed lashes, and not die from three days without water and food, then one could request further punishment from the master.

Whenever he thought of the prince… some indescribable courage would always arise in his heart, allowing him to grit his teeth and endure.

But what was the point of enduring?

As a shadow guard who never knew what tomorrow would bring, he never needed to consider such distant questions.

Thinking of this, Yu Yi felt a sense of confusion…

But this confusion didn’t last long before he started having hallucinations. He seemed to fall from a great height into a warm place.

…There was also a familiar cherry blossom fragrance…

His body didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore…

Had he already died?

There were many questions in the remnants of consciousness in Yu Yi’s mind, but he was too weak. Everything turned into a deep sleepiness.

Until he felt movement around him, he suddenly opened his eyes to see the prince’s face magnified several times compared to usual and her hand on his chest??!!

Jiang Lingyu had slept until just before dawn, and this time she slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up.

As soon as she woke up, she instinctively looked towards Yu Yi’s direction. Seeing him still sleeping peacefully beside her, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Even though the imperial physician had said Yu Yi was not in danger, Jiang Lingyu still couldn’t help but put her hand on his chest, only feeling relieved when she felt his steady heartbeat.

Wait, why did Yu Yi’s heart suddenly start beating so fast?

Just as Jiang Lingyu was about to lean down on his chest to listen more closely, she met a pair of deep fox-like eyes.

Jiang Lingyu was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on a sincere smile like nothing had happened and asked with concern:

“You’re awake? Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable?”

If one could ignore the fact that Jiang Lingyu’s little paw was still on someone else’s chest and had quickly stroked it twice more before reluctantly putting it down, this scene would indeed be quite heartwarming.

Yu Yi felt that he might have really died, otherwise how could he be sleeping in the prince’s bed, with the prince looking at him so caringly.

As for the prince’s hand… that must have been his imagination!

Jiang Lingyu looked at the person staring at her blankly and dumbly, not knowing if it was an aftereffect of the injury, and hurriedly called out:

“Someone come!”

A moment later, the on-duty imperial physician and the people waiting outside to serve entered in succession.

Jiang Lingyu said to the imperial physician: “No need for greetings, examine him first.”

Yu Yi actually saw the prince very naturally holding his hand, while the imperial physician was examining him.

Why would he receive such preferential treatment after death?

Was this a hallucination before his death?

But why did the prince holding his hand feel so real?

He could clearly feel the temperature from the prince’s body transmitted through his fingertips…

Yu Yi didn’t know how to explain the current situation. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and his body was so stiff he couldn’t move.

Seeing the person beside her like a wooden doll that someone had pressed pause on, Jiang Lingyu couldn’t help but ask:

“What’s wrong with him? Did he injure his spine earlier and can’t move?”

The imperial physician noticed the pulse under his fingers beating faster and faster, and looked at Yu Yi doubtfully, asking:

“Has Young Master Yu ever had problems with palpitations before?”

Yu Yi didn’t know who Young Master Yu was, but when he heard this question, everyone looked at him.

How could a shadow guard have palpitations? This strange time really didn’t make much sense.

Yu Yi tentatively shook his head.

Jiang Lingyu saw that Yu Yi seemed to have regained his senses, but his whole person still seemed as indifferent as she remembered.

No, why did his brows suddenly furrow?

Jiang Lingyu couldn’t help but think of how someone who wouldn’t even let out a muffled groan after such a serious injury was now frowning?

Jiang Lingyu asked softly: “Are you uncomfortable?”

It turned out that when Yu Yi saw the imperial physician taking his pulse and asking if he had palpitations, he instinctively tried to control his heartbeat with his inner power.

But when he tried to use his power, he found that the inner power in his body was completely gone, and instead it aggravated his injuries, so he frowned in pain.

Yu Yi was greatly alarmed in his heart. A qualified shadow guard should not feel pain or be weak.

Otherwise, how could he protect his master well?

Yu Yi instinctively wanted to deny it, but when he met the prince’s clear black and white eyes… for some reason, he couldn’t say anything.

Jiang Lingyu saw Yu Yi looking dazed and silly, and didn’t mind that he hadn’t answered her question.

Instead, she directly asked the imperial physician: “Has he injured his vocal cords, or is there anything abnormal with his body?”

The current Emperor has four daughters, with Jiang Lingyu ranking fourth.

Although she wasn’t the Crown Princess and was sent to her fief at a young age, she was the only princess with a fief bestowed by the current Emperor, so one can imagine how noble her status was.

Those who could be imperial physicians by her side not only had amazing medical skills, but naturally also had excellent skills in observing people’s expressions and words.

What kind of person was a shadow guard called Yu Yi?

That was an honor fought for with countless bones and fresh blood. Let alone now that his injuries had been properly treated, even if he had bled dry, as long as he had one breath left, he would still be an extremely dangerous figure.

The imperial physician gave a complex and subtle look at this ‘frail and helpless shadow guard’, and cautiously said:

“Young Master Yu’s injuries are severe. It’s normal that he’s having trouble adjusting after just regaining consciousness. However, as long as he’s carefully nursed back to health, even if his powers have completely dispersed, he’ll still be healthier than ordinary people in the future.”

Yu Yi watched as the imperial physician not only didn’t expose that he was already ‘fine’, but his mouth opened and closed, saying many precautions that he could understand but would never have had the chance to apply to himself before.

The imperial physician’s behavior was already so unreasonable, but the prince didn’t rebuke him… instead, she listened with a serious face.

From time to time, she would remind the attendants beside her to remember to follow the instructions.

Everyone seemed to know that he had no inner power left, but from beginning to end, no one mentioned how to deal with such a ‘useless’ person.

This made Yu Yi, who had been wracking his brains to prove that he was still useful after waking up, feel an extremely complex and subtle feeling.

Yu Yi didn’t know how he suddenly came to such a bizarre, incredible world.

He was clearly trying hard to observe every blade of grass and tree around him, trying to find flaws in it, but when he saw the prince continuously holding his hand gently…

That attitude of not minding that his hand was rough and calloused, that solemn and cherishing attitude… were all situations that Yu Yi had never experienced before.

Unknowingly, a strange emotion that he had never felt before arose in Yu Yi’s heart.

…Such a… rebellious world… was actually quite nice…

As soon as this thought flashed through Yu Yi’s mind, he was startled.

It felt like something had scratched his heart hard, suddenly tightening.

His face was still expressionless as usual, but his body was so tense that he didn’t dare make any extra movements, afraid that this bizarre world would shatter because of him.

Neither Jiang Lingyu nor the original owner had ever seen such terrible wounds from punishment before – one lived in peaceful times and could never have seen such horrific injuries, while the other was in a high position where no one would dare to pollute her eyes with such wounds.

So Jiang Lingyu, who possessed the original owner’s memories, was for the first time in complete agreement with the original owner’s understanding.

They both felt it was perfectly normal for Yu Yi to be momentarily dazed and unable to recover after suffering such severe injuries.

Jiang Lingyu blew gently on Yu Yi’s wounds, who was severely traumatized and had empty eyes.

She tried to keep her voice as soft as possible, with a tone of coaxing a child, saying:

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Blow on it, and the pain will fly away.”

As a shadow guard, Yu Yi’s body was originally much more sensitive than ordinary people.

He never imagined that the master would suddenly get so close to him… and act so childishly and frivolously in front of so many people, taking liberties with him…

No matter how strong Yu Yi’s mind was, he was still a man after all.

Being taken advantage of like a laughing courtesan in public, he should have felt humiliated and embarrassed.

But when Yu Yi met the prince’s caring and doting eyes… the feeling of humiliation in his heart suddenly dissipated.

He seemed to inexplicably understand the meaning in the prince’s eyes… it wasn’t insult or teasing, but care and concern.

When the prince’s breath blew on his body, it was soft and ticklish…

Even though his emotions wouldn’t fluctuate even when facing a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, he suddenly became flustered.

This chaotic and absurd feeling shattered his usually strong will, and his heart couldn’t help but want to escape in disarray, but when he saw the prince’s clear black and white eyes… he couldn’t move no matter what.

How could he have such a strange reaction? Had he already broken down without realizing it?

Jiang Lingyu saw that Yu Yi still had that cold, silly look.

Thinking that he hadn’t eaten for a day and a night, she subconsciously got off the bed to get him something to eat.

Yu Yi’s inner turmoil was still raging, but the warmth on his hand suddenly disappeared.

He looked down in surprise to see that the prince had directly withdrawn her hand, and then her whole person got up and left.

Yu Yi’s mind hadn’t yet processed it, but his hand immediately grabbed the prince’s sleeve.

He looked at the prince with pleading eyes, and in a voice hoarse to the extreme, uttered his first words since waking up:

“I can protect you!”

…So please don’t just leave me like this.