After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Ding Yinan frowned and spoke with difficulty, "The swordsmanship is elegant, but..."

“But it’s not a killing move. You look down on such a weak technique.” Fu Qingbai glanced at him.

Ding Yinan pursed his lips and remained silent. He had wandered the borderlands since childhood, witnessed rivers of blood, seen nothing but life and death, and learned only killing techniques, so naturally he looked down on them.

“Come on, let’s have a match.” Fu Qingbai tossed the Silent Sword in his hand to him, and casually picked up another sword from the weapon rack next to him. “You use your killing move, and I’ll use the move I just used.”

"This……"

"If you hurt me, I will reward you with one hundred taels of silver."

"Alright." Ding Yinan's hesitant expression hardened, and he drew his sword with one hand. "General, please forgive me!"

The two swords clashed fiercely, one gentle and the other forceful. One sword was light and airy, while the other was filled with murderous intent. Like the collision of water and fire, all vision seemed to be cut off in a flash. The silver swords swirled nimbly in the air, and as their figures intersected, their eyes met. Ding Yinan's eyes were full of murderous intent, while Fu Qingbai calmly returned his gaze.

clang--

The silent sword streaked through the air, its sharp tip plunging heavily into the gap between the floor tiles, the red tassel striking the hilt.

The instant he lost his sword, Ding Yinan clenched his fists. Before he could even throw a punch, a silver sword, as gentle as water and as graceful as the wind, was pressed against his throat just an inch away. He stared blankly at the person standing tall before him. "Your subordinate... Your subordinate has lost."

Fu Qingbai did not sheath his sword, but looked down at him: "Do you still remember what it was like when you first learned martial arts?"

"……Remember."

That year, the border region suffered a severe drought. Yuan Kingdom was willing to provide water to the people of Yan Kingdom unconditionally, but Yan Kingdom officials felt they had lost face and kept urging the emperor to seize Yangming Lake within Yuan Kingdom's territory. Once war broke out, it was the people on the border who suffered the most.

Ding Yinan's parents and relatives all died in the war. He supported himself by "picking up scraps" on the border, which meant picking up the wealth that the dead had not spent in their lifetime.

The border region is poor, but it never lacks dead people.

The day he met Fu Qingbai, he had just crawled out of a pile of corpses and was cursing himself for his bad luck. When he looked up, he saw two handsome men in black armor standing in the fiery red sunset. One was tall and the other was short. The tall one had a heroic appearance, while the short one had a gentle and beautiful appearance.

Although the taller man was scolding the shorter man with a serious expression while looking down, the shorter man was clearly unconvinced and argued back with him while looking up.

Perhaps it was the magnificent glow of the sunset that day, or perhaps it was because he was so used to the devastation of the borderlands that he had never seen such a handsome young man from the capital, so out of place with the barrenness of the frontier. He knelt down with a thud and kowtowed: "Immortal, I am willing to offer my life for three wishes: first, that the war end quickly; second, that I can eat my fill every day; and third, that my parents can be reborn into a good family. Please grant my wish, Immortal."

"Immortals? Are you talking about us?" The short immortal paced and squatted down three steps away from him.

Upon receiving the immortal's response, Ding Yinan was overjoyed: "Yes. If my wish is granted, I will certainly fulfill my vow on the spot and will not delay!"

"Hahahaha," the short immortal laughed loudly, "Fu Qingbai! Did you see that? Did you hear that? This is the meaning of my coming to the border! For this one word 'immortal,' even death would be worth it!"

"Don't talk nonsense! What do you mean by dead or alive!" Fu Qingbai was still scolding him, but her hands were gentle yet firm. She grabbed the short immortal's arm and made him stand firmly, looking down at him. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Upon hearing this, even the dim-witted Ding Yinan knew that these two people were not the legendary immortals. He suddenly remembered that the armor worn by the soldiers of the Yuan Kingdom was the same as theirs. His mother had once said, "Never mess with soldiers, or you'll die."

It seems his luck is truly bad today. No, his luck has never been good. He's also foolish; if there were truly immortals in the world, there would be no need for war.

"You scared him!" the short immortal exclaimed, then softened his voice and said, "Don't be afraid. He may be a bit fierce, but he's a good person. Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He only asked you because he wanted to take you home. It's not safe for someone to be out alone in these chaotic times."

So gentle, half of my fear disappeared. Ding Yinan knelt on the ground, shrinking his neck as he answered, "I am Ding Yinan, a beggar with no home. Today I am here rummaging through corpses."

Why turn over a corpse?

"Looking for food, and gold and silver valuables." As he spoke, Ding Yinan took out half a pancake. "I found this the day before yesterday. I was unlucky yesterday and today and didn't find anything. If you two gentlemen don't mind, you can take this pancake."

"You can't eat food from a corpse, it's unclean, you'll get sick if you eat it!" The short immortal slapped the pancake away and pulled him up. "Alright, stop kneeling, aren't you tired of kneeling?"

Looking at the pancake that had fallen to the ground, Ding Yinan quietly swallowed, resisting the urge to pick it up, and silently shook his head to indicate that he wasn't tired.

Compared to handling dozens of corpses weighing over 100 pounds a day, kneeling for a while is not tiring.

The short immortal seemed to be very observant, and his little action was unexpectedly noticed. The immortal looked down at the cake, realized his inappropriateness, and felt unexpectedly guilty: "I'm sorry, I don't eat meat porridge."

He didn't understand the meaning of "not eating meat porridge," but Ding Yinan knew that meat porridge was a delicacy that his parents would only give him to eat once a year during the New Year.

"It's not your fault, why are you apologizing?" Fu Qingbai's expression was unpleasant.

Ding Yinan vaguely realized that Fu Qingbai was unhappy that the short immortal apologized to him, or perhaps he was not unhappy with him, but rather he did not want the short immortal to apologize to anyone.

He hurriedly waved his hand: "It's alright, it's alright. The general is right, it really shouldn't be eaten."

The short immortal sighed, seemingly feeling that there was no point in continuing the argument, and asked, "Do you want to join the army?"

Ding Yinan agreed without hesitation: "I'm willing!"

The short immortal nodded halfway, then hesitated and said, "...I might die."

Ding Yinan: "I'm not afraid! If I can kill a few more enemies before I die, I can tell my parents about it on my way to the underworld. They will definitely be proud of me."

Before he could finish speaking, Fu Qingbai frowned and said, "No!"

The short immortal put his hands on his hips and said, "Fu Qingbai, aren't you short-handed? Now that he's agreed and isn't afraid of death, why don't you take him?"

"He's not cut out for this."

"He's not, so are only those you recruited with stickers at the border the ones who are?" the short immortal questioned.

Fu Qingbai: "..."

The short immortal proudly raised his head: "What? Did I hit the nail on the head? Speechless now?"

"You're right, but I have a question for him, is that alright?"

"Okay, you ask."

Fu Qingbai pulled the short immortal behind him, "Do you know martial arts?"

Ding Yinan was taken aback: "...I don't know how."

Fu Qingbai glanced at him and said, "To join the army, you need to know martial arts. Even if you don't, you must be strong and powerful."