Bai Rouyun was surprised when she heard Li Moyun's words. Every faction had their own Death Guards, and every important person cultivated a few themselves, but she had never expected that Li Moyun would make them a part of Eternal Shadow Palace and cultivate some for her.
The oldest of the children was thinking deeply, and none of the others said anything else. They waited to hear what decision he made, and then they would follow him since he was their leader.
"I want to be a death guard," the boy finally said. "Lady Bai is the one who found us, and I am not sure how long I would have been able to live without her grace. If I can spend my life protecting her, then I feel it is worth it."
Although he was merely ten years old, his mentality had matured far beyond his years due to the harsh reality he had to face.
Bai Rouyun had thought that they would choose to become common guards for the Eternal Shadow Palace, so she was shocked when she heard that they wanted to become Death Guards.
She was about to say something to dissuade them, but when she saw the solemness in his eyes, no word could leave her mouth.
"I promise never to let you regret the decision you are making today," Bai Rouyun said the only thing she could, and the boy nodded his head solemnly. The other children looked at her with their childlike naivety and their hopes for the future.
Li Moyun was pleased with their choice. He wanted to recruit some children to become Bai Rouyun's Death Guards, but since he never forced anyone to become death guards, he thought it would take a long time to prepare them.
Never would he have thought that she would find a group of children herself, and move their hearts enough to make them willing to become Death Guards.
"Mo Chu, take the children to the base," Li Moyun said. "I will stay with the lady and act as her guard. Settle them in and tell Elder Sun that they are to become my lady's Death Guards. He knows what to do."
Mo Chu bowed deeply and guided the children to follow him. All of them looked hesitatingly at Bai Rouyun, but she gently smiled at them. "Don't worry, you will become strong in the future, and if you regret your decision, you can always change it later. I will never force anyone to stay as my Death Guard if they do not want to."
The young boy nodded his head and took a deep breath. "Come on," he said, and the children took each other's hands and walked with Mo Chu towards another building in the Imperial Capital, where they trained the children.
Bai Rouyun kept looking after the children, a bit of pain was evident in her eyes, and Li Moyun noticed it, after which he quickly took her into his arms and hugged her gently.
"You have given them a new lease in life, they will have a good life from now on, and we will treat them well," he promised. "They are like yourself. Your new life is also just beginning. Forget all the sadness and continue to move forward."
Bai Rouyun nodded her head as she leaned against his sturdy chest, feeling secure. Usually, she did not get emotional so easy, but it could be because her family in both her lives disliked her. She had always dreamt about belonging somewhere.
Li Moyun placed his lips on top of her head and kissed the crown of her hair, wanting to make her feel loved. He too, understood her feelings. While he was not an orphan or directly disliked, he was not liked by his family either.
His mother merely wanted to use him as a way to progress in the harem, and his father feared him.
He had never been given any love from his family; even now, they were all scheming against him. If not because he had Elder Sun, who had taught him well, he would have long since been killed in the intrigues of the palace.
Slowly Bai Rouyun got her emotions under control, and she quickly smiled as always. "Let us go to the Thousand Treasure Pavilion," she said as she began moving forward, but while walking, she found that Li Moyun was holding her hand.
She was not used to holding hands with someone, but she did not mind it, it was quite a good feeling, it felt safe to hold his hand, so she let him be.
As they arrived at the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, Li Moyun was curious as to what she wanted to buy, but when he saw the list of herbs she gave to the manager, he could guess it was something for her alchemy.
Having bought a whole stack of herbs, she ended up paying four hundred and seventy thousand gold, so she was near poverty, but the herbs would be able to make a significant change for her cultivation.
Li Moyun knew that she was spending her dowry, and he was tempted to say that he would pay for her, but he knew that she would not accept it. After all, she could take whatever she wanted without paying according to Xue Jingyu, but even so, she still stubbornly decided on paying for the herbs she took.
She did not mind taking a gift once or twice, but these were expensive herbs, and she knew that after a certain amount of time, she would need more of them, so it was not fair to let Li Moyun or Xue Jingyu take care of the payment for her. It was different if she could scam the Crown Prince, but she did not want to abuse her friends too often.