My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Recalling the unbearable past, Ye Hu was filled with rage, wishing he could poke ninety-nine holes in Xie Yan's body.

Night Fox's ability to rank second among the many assassins in the Wind and Cloud Pavilion is undoubtedly due to his skill. It's just a pity that he's currently blinded by anger and hasn't been able to unleash even 70% of his power.

Amidst the flashing blades, Xie Yan not only dodged with ease but also couldn't resist teasing him from the side: "Look at you, six years have passed, and your skills haven't improved at all. Tsk tsk tsk, your footwork is all messed up, and your sword isn't fast enough..."

"stop it now!"

Just then, a figure flashed between the two.

He was a boy with a baby face, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He slapped Ye Hu's sword-wielding hand with one hand, and bent his other arm to bump Ye Hu's shoulder, pushing Ye Hu away.

Xie Yan raised an eyebrow. The boy looked young, but he was able to force Ye Hu to retreat in just two moves.

I never expected that the Prince's mansion would be so full of hidden talents.

Seeing that Ye Hu had calmed down a bit, the young man breathed a sigh of relief, scratched his head shyly, and turned to Xie Yan, saying, "Young Master Xie, the Prince invites you."

It has to be said that this Prince's Mansion is so big that it rivals the Imperial Palace. After following the boy named Yu Bai and Ye Hu around for half an incense stick's time, Xie Yan silently cursed the two royal brothers: "Damn capitalists!"

Xie Yan glanced at Ye Hu, who was leading the way with a cold face, then turned to Yu Bai, who had been glancing at her intentionally or unintentionally from the beginning, and said with a smile, "Young man, do you admire me a lot? Why are you staring at me?"

"Ah! No, no..." Yu Bai was startled and quickly turned his head back. After a few moments, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Um, Young Master Xie, I heard that you've never taken off your mask?"

"Good question, young man!" Xie Yan said he had a lot to say about this!

As an assassin, especially a top-tier one, Xie Yan is different from other assassins who wear only a face mask when going on missions.

Whether he was resting or on a mission, he always wore a mask. In all his years at Fengyun Tower, no one had ever seen his true face.

As for why he wears a mask at all times—

Xie Yan said dejectedly, "Working in this line of work, which involves making enemies, is only suitable for those who desperately want to become famous. Others who only cover their lower half of their face are likely to be easily recognized unless they look completely ordinary."

For example, there was a colleague who had a very distinctive appearance. When he went to work, he accidentally left someone alive, so the bounty was placed on half of the person's face based on his memory.

Actually, posting a bounty is nothing to an assassin. The problem is that one day, that guy went out for a stroll on the street without any attempt to hide it.

He was just strolling around the streets, but he also had the misfortune of admiring his own bounty. As a result, he was recognized at a glance while standing in front of the bounty poster, and because of the considerable reward, it caused a huge nationwide manhunt.

Xie Yan, who witnessed everything, said: "It was truly terrifying."

From then on, he wore his mask even more tightly.

As a result of this incident, the man's full-face portrait immediately became the top item on the imperial city's wanted list.

Xie Yan even went to take a look at it. The revised portrait could no longer be described as a mere resemblance; it was practically identical.

Yu Bai's mouth dropped open in surprise, but the Night Fox in front of him gave a cold laugh: "Who do you think did this?"

"Huh?" Yu Bai was even more puzzled. Why did this sound like there was more to it than met the eye?

Night Fox's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude: "Do you think it's such a coincidence that the unlucky guy was said out in front of a bunch of people by this jerk next to you?"

Xie Yan felt somewhat innocent: "How can you blame me? I was just passing by and he looked familiar, so I mentioned him. It was his poor mental fortitude that made people realize it was him."

Night Fox: "Hehe."

Yu Bai's mouth gaped wider and wider. He had heard about the sensational manhunt that had swept the city years ago, but he never imagined that the truth was like this.

He glanced at Xie Yan, who was cracking jokes, and finally began to understand the feelings of Brother Xuanfeng, who had gone undercover at Fengyun Tower under the alias Night Fox.

I heard that ever since he was summoned back by the prince six years ago, he still has nightmares every night, shouting Xie Yan's name.

Yu Bai shuddered. Now that Xie Yan had entered the Prince's mansion, he suddenly felt fear about his future.

"Ah, here we are."

Upon reaching their destination, Ye Hu and Yu Bai fell silent, standing solemnly on either side of the door with stern faces, and pushed open the door to signal Xie Yan to go in by herself.

The door slammed shut behind him. Xie Yan habitually touched the mask on his face, sighed inwardly that he had finally reached the interview stage, and stepped inside.

It was nearly noon, and the bright sunlight was almost blinding. Several rows of hydrangeas were in bloom along the path leading to the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Xie Yan paused, looking ahead. The lake shimmered, and in the pavilion, partially obscured by a draped veil, a figure could be vaguely seen.

As expected, Xie Yan met the gaze of the person inside when she lifted the gauze curtain.

Chu Ling truly deserves his reputation as the most handsome man in the capital. No matter who sees him for the first time, it is difficult to take their eyes off his face.

His handsomeness lacked any gentleness; his very presence exuded a sharp, aggressive aura, and his deep, dark eyes seemed to pierce through people's hearts.

Meanwhile, the renowned Prince An was reclining lazily on a couch, one hand supporting his forehead.

From Xie Yan's perspective, Chu Ling was wearing a black robe with gold trim, the belt loosely draped around his waist, and his strong and upright figure could be glimpsed from the overly loose neckline.

"I have long admired the name of Fengyunlou No. 1."

Chu Ling's gaze swept over Xie Yan once, then he chuckled softly a few times. He stood up, walked to the stone table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Xie Yan, saying, "Please sit down."

Xie Yan sat down without any ceremony, took the teacup, but made no attempt to remove her mask.

Chu Ling didn't mind and continued, "I've heard Xuan Feng mention you before; you're very interesting."

Xie Yan didn't need much thought to guess that Xuanfeng was Yehu's real name. It seemed that this prince had no intention of hiding the fact that he had sent an undercover agent into Fengyun Tower.

Xie Yan ran her fingers over the rim of the still-steaming cup and exclaimed, "You flatter me. Your Highness is quite interesting."

Chu Ling raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh?"

"Actually, Your Highness doesn't need to test me anymore. Just ask whatever you want to ask."

Chu Ling remained calm and continued Xie Yan's words, saying, "I heard that you claimed to have washed your hands of the martial world three years ago and retired from the martial arts world. Why are you now working under my brother?"

"Oh, you don't understand."

Xie Yan leaned against the stone table with a melancholy sigh, "He gave far too much."

Chu Ling: "...?"

Xie Yan immediately became indignant: "When I retired, or rather, after I gave up my life of crime, I realized that with all my savings over the years, I couldn't even afford an apartment in Beijing! Is that even fair...?"

Listening to Xie Yan's incessant complaints, Chu Ling fell silent.