I am the snake demon!

Gao Feng followed behind Hong Xiu as he entered the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion for the first time.

Looking at the magnificent architecture and decorations of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, Gao Feng felt unusually embarrassed. Fortunately, he was not fond of smiling by nature, was rigid and taciturn, and looked no different from usual.

His mind is still blank.

Bai Xuan is none other than Xu Shi'an, the Prince of Zhenbei.

He is still struggling to process this huge news.

After following Hongxiu for a long time, they finally arrived at Bai Xuan's courtyard, where they saw an open space.

Bai Xuan, dressed in black, was practicing his fist techniques. His movements were not fast, even somewhat slow, and his fist techniques did not seem to have any power. However, a graceful Daoist charm naturally flowed around Bai Xuan.

"His Highness is practicing his boxing, please wait a moment, Captain," Hongxiu said gently.

"I wouldn't dare. This humble general will wait here." Gao Feng said sullenly, a glint of light appearing in his eyes as he looked at Bai Xuan's fist technique. This fist technique was somewhat similar to his Cloud Wave Palm, but it was more advanced, and the prince's realm was far higher than his.

Seeing this, Hongxiu didn't say anything more.

Before long, Bai Xuan finished his set of punches. When the last punch landed, the powerful energy surged and transformed into an invisible vortex that twisted in the void.

Hongxiu thoughtfully offered a towel.

Bai Xuan brought it over, wiped his sweat, and looked at Gao Feng, saying, "It's here. Have you received all the compensation money?"

"Your Highness, the compensation has been received. This is the silver note Your Highness gave me back then, and I am returning it to you in its original form." Upon hearing this, Gao Feng immediately took out the silver note that Bai Xuan had given him that day from his pocket.

He used the banknote that very day.

Later, after Bai Xuan defeated the Xu family and received three million taels of silver, the pensions for the various camps began to be distributed.

His battalion was no less than anyone else's.

He then devised a plan to exchange the silver notes from that day for his own money, which he now intends to return to Bai Xuan.

"No need," Bai Xuan said, shaking his head. "Your villages are all quite backward. Besides, I've seen the men in your battalion. Many of the martyrs have children, but they haven't gone to school. I plan to build a school specifically to take care of these descendants of martyrs and teach them to read and write for free, to be loyal to the emperor and love their country. You can keep this silver note to improve your life."

"The prince wants to build a school and teach reading and writing for free?" Gao Feng's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

They take care of their descendants and provide them with free education and literacy.

This treatment was much better than he had expected.

"Of course, soldiers who die defending their country will naturally receive the best care, and this will become the norm. To be honest, it is my fault that I did not immediately investigate this matter after I ascended the throne," Bai Xuan said.

"Your Highness ascended the throne hastily and has been working hard to maintain stability in the northern border. What does this have to do with Your Highness? Furthermore, Your Highness's benevolence is evident to all. If our brothers could know this in the afterlife, they would only regret not being under Your Highness's command. How could they blame us? On behalf of all the brothers who died in battle, I thank Your Highness."

Gao Feng vehemently refuted him, and then knelt down on one knee to pay his respects.

He came from a poor family, but a poor family is still a family.

Although his parents died early, he was still educated and knew about loyalty, filial piety and etiquette. In his mind, he was a soldier of the Northern Frontier, and it was only natural for him to be loyal to the King of Zhenbei.

There are only ministers who have made mistakes, but no rulers who have made mistakes.

Even if the king is momentarily unaware, he is still being deceived by a villain.

Especially after Bai Xuan gave him the silver, he was already grateful to Bai Xuan.

Seeing Bai Xuan's concern for the fallen soldiers, I feel even greater admiration for him.

"That's all talk, why are you kneeling?" Bai Xuan laughed, helping Gao Feng up. Gao Feng felt an overwhelming force coming at him and couldn't resist, so he immediately stood up.

"What did you think of my boxing skills when you watched me practice?" Bai Xuan asked.

"Your Highness's boxing style appears slow and gentle, but it actually contains powerful energy, like a vast ocean. On the surface, it is calm, but once it erupts, it is like a mountain torrent or tsunami, capable of destroying the world," Gao Feng replied.

"Oh? You actually noticed that." Bai Xuan looked at Gao Feng with considerable admiration.

"Fortunately, I practice the Cloud Wave Palm, which is also a palm technique that mainly uses soft force, but it is far less powerful than the fist technique Your Highness just used," Gao Feng replied.

"It's impressive that you can tell. I recently acquired a magical technique and need someone to practice with it. I'd like to choose you as the leader of my personal guard. Would you be willing to come?" Bai Xuan asked.

"Your Highness has given the order, and I will go through fire and water without hesitation. However, I am only a sixth-rank cultivator. How can I be the leader of the Imperial Guard? How about I become a personal guard?" Gao Feng asked hesitantly.

He was only a sixth-rank official.

Such strength is more than enough to serve as the personal guard of the Prince of Zhenbei, but it is far from sufficient to be the leader of the personal guard.

"Your strength isn't high, but you can train. You're thirty-two now, still in your prime, and your combat power can still improve. I built a Taoist temple for the Lingbao Sect, and as a token of their gratitude, they gave me a Shangqing Pill. After taking it, it can increase my cultivation by ten years. It's not very useful to me, but I'll give it to you. You can enter the seventh rank." Bai Xuan said.

"Shangqing Dan?"

Upon hearing that it would increase one's cultivation by ten years, Gao Feng's eyes lit up. He immediately declined, saying, "This pill is precious. How could I possibly be worthy of it? Your Highness is young; it is only right that Your Highness takes it."

"I certainly don't lack these pills. On the contrary, if you don't use them, you won't be able to become my personal guard captain. To be my personal guard captain, the first requirement is loyalty, and the second is that I find you pleasing to the eye. I like you. Do you want to accept the pills and become my personal guard captain? If you don't want to, I'll find someone else," Bai Xuan said.

"Your Highness's kindness is immeasurable, and I could never repay it even if I died a hundred times. If Your Highness does not abandon me, I am willing to go through fire and water for you." Gao Feng was excited. In his more than ten years of military service, no one had ever valued him as much as Bai Xuan.

A scholar will die for one who understands him.

From an official standpoint, Bai Xuan is the Prince of Zhenbei, and it is only natural for him to be loyal to the Prince of Zhenbei.

Personally, Bai Xuan saved Sun Ke'er, provided her with early compensation, and was therefore her benefactor.

With both factors combined, his life originally belonged to Bai Xuan.

Even if Bai Xuan regards him as a pig or a dog, he still needs to repay the favor.

Moreover, Bai Xuan values ​​him so highly?

"Don't die a hundred times. You will be the leader of my personal guard. If you die a hundred times, wouldn't that mean I have to escape death every day?" Bai Xuan laughed.

Gao Feng was always composed and never joked with people; he would only smile ingratiatingly.

"Alright, if you don't want to laugh, then don't. It's alright. This is the Wudang Tai Chi Manual. Just look at it and practice it well. Once you've mastered it, you'll be the head instructor of this battalion and teach them this set of martial arts," Bai Xuan said.

"The Wudang Sect's ultimate martial art, the Tai Chi True Scripture?" Gao Feng's expression changed upon hearing this, and he looked at Bai Xuan in disbelief.

The first meeting involved ten thousand taels of silver. The second meeting resolved the issue of compensation and presented the recipient with the Shangqing Pill, which could enhance one's internal strength by ten years, and the Wudang Sect's ultimate martial art.

At this moment, Gao Feng truly felt that even giving his life to Bai Xuan wouldn't be enough.

Hongxiu was also somewhat surprised. Was the prince really treating the Tai Chi manual like a roadside condiment, teaching it on such a large scale?

"That's right. You should cultivate diligently, and then separate the second level of the Tai Chi True Scripture and teach it to your subordinates. You don't need to teach the rest; they probably won't be able to learn it anyway," Bai Xuan said.

The first level of the Tai Chi Manual is to overcome hardness with softness, while the second level is the opposite, to overcome softness with hardness.

Most soldiers in the army lack the understanding of using softness to overcome hardness, so they have to cultivate the second level separately.

We need to understand Gao Feng as the commander.

This is also one of the reasons why Bai Xuan chose Gao Feng.

He had investigated Gao Feng; he came from a respectable family, and two generations of his family had served the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion. He neither drank nor indulged in women, and his talent and character were all certified by Zhang Huan as good. Moreover, he had practiced the Cloud Wave Palm, making him extremely suitable for cultivating the Tai Chi True Scripture and assisting his Nine-Bend Formation.

"Your humble servant obeys," Gao Feng replied respectfully.

Bai Xuan chuckled and had someone lead Gao Feng to a nearby training ground to practice martial arts, where someone would teach Gao Feng the Tai Chi True Scripture.

As the ultimate martial art of the Wudang Sect, many of the retainers in the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion are curious about it. Two of them are martial arts experts who are proficient in Tai Chi, and they are more than capable of teaching Gao Feng.

"Hongxiu, you will be in charge of the logistics for this battalion from now on. You will be responsible for the food and salaries of 600 men, which is based on the size of 1,500 men," Bai Xuan said.

So-called elite troops are those that require a lot of money to maintain.

Having just received a windfall, Bai Xuan was now quite wealthy and powerful.

"Yes, Your Highness." Hongxiu nodded, then added, "Your Highness, although Gao Feng is of excellent character, his cultivation level is indeed somewhat low. Isn't it a bit too slow to train him now?"

"It's alright, I have plenty of time. Besides, some unpolished gems don't shine in the world simply because they lack someone like me to polish them, just like you," Bai Xuan said.

"Meeting Your Highness is the greatest blessing of my life," Hongxiu said with a smile.

"But what do you think of Gao Feng?" Bai Xuan asked.

"He's not interested in women," Hongxiu said.

"How did you figure that out?" Bai Xuan asked curiously.

"When the maid brought him in, he kept his eyes straight ahead and didn't even glance at the maid," Hongxiu said.

"That's really rare. I couldn't help but steal a few more glances," Bai Xuan echoed.

Hongxiu has a typical hourglass figure, with a slender waist and full hips. She has a unique fragrance and is a fox demon, so her every step exudes a seductive charm.

The phrase "natural beauty" seems tailor-made for her; Gao Feng's ability to keep his eyes straight ahead is truly remarkable.

"Your Highness." Hongxiu blushed shyly upon hearing this. If the prince wanted to see her, there was no need for her to sneak a peek.

Bai Xuan laughed heartily. Just then, another servant came to report that Xu Yan, the head of the Xu family, was requesting an audience with all of the He family's assets.

"Oh, you've finally arrived." Bai Xuan said with a slight smile.

"Besides, the He family has many maids they wish to offer to the Prince," the servant reported.

"Okay then." Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and he was looking forward to the pool party even more.

He was quite satisfied with the person Xu Yan brought.

"Hongxiu, I'm going to see Xu Yan. You go and take care of the maids," Bai Xuan said, then headed to the main hall to meet the legendary head of the Xu family.

Hongxiu remained where she was, glancing at Bai Xuan's retreating figure with a hint of resentment. "You like beautiful women so much? I'm right here beside you, and I haven't seen you eat any of them."

Could it be that he, like the Prince of Zhenlan, prefers younger children?

But I do sometimes look at other people's faces.

Hongxiu looked down at her ample chest, her eyes filled with confusion.