In the Divine God’s residence, the Divine God had created many “phantoms” to help her become familiar with combat techniques. She had felt each strike actually hitting it and had even been struck by the “phantoms”, feeling pain. However, she remained relaxed knowing these “phantoms” were not real and would disappear once completely defeated.
Now, this was her first real human combat, and she was nervous, her movements stiff. After exchanging a few moves, Yu Yi discovered her opponent’s skills were similar to hers, roughly akin to her practice with “phantoms”. She gradually loosened up, and after another dozen moves, she knocked down her opponent, pressed her knee on his back to prevent him from turning over, and dislocated his shoulder joints.
Qing Tong was still fighting another black-clothed person. Yu Yi saw that the opponent was not gaining the upper hand, so she did not help, instead protecting the prince’s side and nervously scanning the surroundings. At this moment, two miserable cries came from the washroom, and then a black-clothed person rushed out directly towards Yu Yi and the prince.
Qing Tong shouted: “I’ll block here, you protect the prince and leave!”
The prince had already put on his pants, so Yu Yi protected him as they left together. She quickly recalled the layout of the prince’s residence and decided to go to the banquet hall, which was crowded and nearby, with many guards.
Approaching the banquet hall, the prince began calling: “Help! Assassins!”
Yu Yi frowned but could not stop him. Although they were not far from the banquet hall, his shouting would summon guards and might attract assassins. However, as a female guard, she could not stop the prince from shouting.
Two figures flashed ahead, and Yu Yi tensed up but then recognized they were wearing guard uniforms. The guard captain knelt down: “I am Hao Guang, the guards are late. Please forgive us, Your Highness!”
The prince recognized him and nodded: “It was sudden, it’s not your fault. Rise. Call more guards, there might be more assassins.”
“Yes!” After Hao Guang stood up, he quietly instructed the guards behind him to call for reinforcements and walked to the prince’s side. “I will protect Your Highness to the banquet hall.”
Yu Yi stood on the other side of the prince but noticed Hao Guang was standing too close. She suspiciously called out: “Captain, why are you standing so close?”
For protecting the prince’s safety, he should stand slightly further away to intercept any sudden attacks. But Hao Guang had already walked within two feet of the prince.
Yu Yi rushed forward two steps and saw a silver light flash in Hao Guang’s hand, stabbing towards the prince’s chest. She quickly extended her right arm and grabbed his wrist.
However, female guards were not allowed to carry weapons. Hao Guang struck first with a fierce momentum. Although Yu Yi caught his hand, being a woman, her arm strength was inferior. Her right hand was pulled by his wrist strength, and despite the knife’s trajectory being slightly skewed, it was still heading towards the prince!
Yu Yi had no choice but to grab the knife blade with her left hand, finally blocking the knife.
Hao Guang, who was originally certain of success, was unexpectedly blocked by Yu Yi. He shook his wrist and simply let go of the knife handle, kicking towards Yu Yi’s abdomen.
Yu Yi, ignoring the cut on her left palm, grabbed the knife handle with her right hand and drew a half-circle, slashing towards Hao Guang’s leg. Hao Guang pulled back his leg and simultaneously grabbed the prince’s collar, dragging him backward. Yu Yi, afraid he would next break the prince’s neck, stepped forward and with the knife tip, stabbed upward from between the ribs, directly into Hao Guang’s chest, hitting his heart.
Warm blood sprayed all over Yu Yi, even on her face.
Smelling the iron-like bloody scent, her hands went soft, and she could no longer push the knife deeper.
She released the knife handle, trembling and stepping back. She watched Hao Guang’s knees soften, then fall to the ground, his body falling straight back.
When fighting the “phantoms” created by the Divine God, she had killed them, and her weapon techniques were always aimed at vital body parts.
More people arrived, all palace guards, forming multiple layers of protection around the prince.
Yu Yi knew she had completed her mission, but she continued to tremble, even after returning to the white room, her body still shaking uncontrollably.
The Divine God whispered: “You have completed all test missions. You can now officially stay.”
Yu Yi was not as happy as she had originally imagined.
Though she had no blood on her, she could still smell that iron-like bloody scent. After showering for a long time, she gradually calmed down.
—
Yu Yi slept for a very short time. When she woke up, her complexion was poor. In her dream, she kept killing, with blood spraying even from the “phantoms” without faces.
Yu Yi did not want to sleep anymore.
Tired, she sat up from the bed. The room’s light brightened. She sat quietly for a while, softly calling the Divine God.
“Aren’t you going to sleep a bit more?”
Yu Yi shook her head: “In my first mission, what happened to that Li woman who reported the case afterwards?”
“She was beaten with a rod, but the imperial envoy, considering her merit in exposing corrupt officials, had instructed his subordinates to strike lightly, just for show, so she was barely injured. Later, Li Xiucai’s case was also found to be a wrongful conviction, and he was released soon after, allowing the couple to reunite. Governor Zhu was exiled to the northern frontier, and his entire family property was confiscated and used for disaster relief.”
Yu Yi nodded: “So in the second mission…”
“The Liu couple’s relationship remained harmonious, and without incident, Jin Zhi became pregnant after half a year and gave birth to a son.”
Yu Yi was stunned for a moment, then asked: “Are these real people? Real events?”
The Heavenly God was silent for a moment before saying: “They are true.”
Yu Yi murmured: “Because of me, Hong Yan had a miscarriage. I personally killed Hao Guang.” Just because she wanted to survive, because she didn’t want to return to the music house.
The Heavenly God hummed: “Hong Yan hit herself; what does that have to do with you? Hao Guang deserved his fate. Let me show you what would have happened if you hadn’t done these things.”
Images appeared before Yu Yi’s eyes. She was just momentarily unable to accept that she had personally facilitated the downfall of those who were not kind.
The Heavenly God coughed and said: “Since you’ve officially stayed, let’s discuss your debt.”
Yu Yi curved her mouth: “May I ask, Heavenly God, how many performance points do I owe now?”
“Not much. After deducting mission rewards, you owe me 4,420 points.”
Yu Yi shook her head, dismissing her disrespectful thoughts. He deliberately mentioned her performance point debt at this moment to prevent her from dwelling on having killed someone. The Heavenly God actually had some human sentiment…
After a moment of silence, she asked: “After paying off the points, can mission rewards be exchanged for silver or silver notes?”
“No problem.”
Yu Yi looked up at the ceiling: “When can I start my first official mission?”
“You’re not going to rest before continuing missions?”
Yu Yi shook her head. She needed silver. She could not only redeem herself but also redeem her mother and sisters. She needed to complete as many missions as possible.
Yu Yi’s first official mission was to unite a merchant family and change their fate of imminent collapse. This mission would likely take more than a day or two. She chose a high-level “phantom” and fought it with all her might, showering after breaking into a sweat, and then slept well.
