The Beautiful CEO’s Close Bodyguard

"Thinking about it now is useless; we should take it one step at a time." The old gang leader suddenly came to his senses and said, "There is no way to plan this slowly, once the assignment is made tomorrow, we should seize the opportunity to find the location of the Time-Space Gate."

Chu Ge nodded slightly, "Alright, let’s do it."

Before coming, the old gang leader had already spoken with the Emperor, and for convenience, Feng Luo was to be assigned with them. Unsurprisingly, the three of them were placed together without incident.

Feng Luo was secretly pleased; with the old gang leader around, she felt confident. She initially thought the old gang leader’s words yesterday were just to comfort her, but it turned out to be true.

"Old gang leader, who would’ve thought you really have some tricks up your sleeve. Who did you bribe to dare interfere under Prince He Shuo’s command?"

Feng Luo teased.

"Enough, close your mouth, speak less. If you find this result unsatisfactory, I will switch things up for you."

The old gang leader chided in a low voice.

"Satisfied, very satisfied." Feng Luo quickly grabbed the old gang leader’s arm, giggling. She was genuinely worried the old gang leader might send her somewhere else.

After a busy morning, everything was assigned, and the area where Chu Ge and the others were placed was a city by the sea, only ten li from the sea, very close.

Standing on the shore and gazing out, one can see distant islands. The old gang leader said the Time-Space Gate was in between those islands, as for which island specifically, it needs to be found.

There aren’t many islands, only three or four, finding them would at most be a troublesome task for a day or two, but the difficulty lies in the place they were assigned to, which falls under direct jurisdiction of Prince He Shuo.

Entering and exiting would be stricter compared to other places.

After the assignment, Chu Ge and the old gang leader followed other soldiers to the camp to report.

"So nice that we’re together, surely no one will dare to bully us." Feng Luo said cheerfully as they walked.

The old gang leader laughed and shook his head, "You, oh you, better not get too happy too soon."

"Why? Is someone really going to dare bully us?" Feng Luo was skeptical, "If anyone dares bully us, I’ll beat him until he crawls on the ground!"

"Stop!"

As Feng Luo just finished speaking, a stern voice suddenly came from behind.

"Isn’t that a coincidence? Just talking about no one daring, and someone comes to provoke?" Feng Luo turned her head curiously, seeing the person calling them; he was dressed in a soldier’s uniform, somewhat worn, clearly an old soldier.

"What do you want with us?" Feng Luo asked coldly.

The man had his hands behind him, like a lord, "Are you the ones who enlisted from the Beggar Gang?"

Feng Luo raised a brow, seemed like he was here to cause trouble, "Yes."

"Haha, there are rules in our camp."

The old soldier, with a fake smile, circled around Feng Luo, scrutinizing her intensely before clicking his tongue.

"Speak quickly! I’m busy, you know!" Feng Luo’s voice was subdued. She had been dressed as a man since the expedition and hadn’t changed.

"Oh, this young lad is impatient, but it won’t help you. Soon, something more urgent will arise."

The old soldier threw a glance towards several soldiers who came along with him, and they took the opportunity to surround Chu Ge and Feng Luo.

"Entering this camp, Beggar Sect Disciples must undergo the Three Baptisms."

The old soldier shouted loudly, attracting attention from many new soldiers, curious about the commotion.

Chu Ge was curious about what these Three Baptisms entailed.

"Three Baptisms? What does it mean?" Feng Luo was puzzled.

"The Three Baptisms mean the Three Baptisms, to wash away the bad luck and filth from the Beggar Sect, only then can you join us."

"Oh?" Feng Luo sneered, "Can you guarantee that you don’t have any filth? Do you not have bad luck yourselves?"

"Enough with the nonsense! How can we compare to the Beggar Gang? They are beggars; we are much more noble than them!"

Feng Luo’s eyes glinted with malice, "Really? I’d like to see what your so-called Three Baptisms are all about, the bad luck you mentioned, how bad, the filth, how filthy!"

"The Three Baptisms are actually simple; every one of us spits on you to wash away your bad luck, that’s the first baptism. The second baptism is you drinking our foot-washing water."

Upon hearing this, Feng Luo was trembling with anger; it turned out that the Beggar Sect Disciples were bullied like this in the military camp!

Foot-washing water? Spitting? Haha, is this a baptism? It’s insulting, isn’t it?

Is this how Prince He Shuo disciplines his soldiers? She initially thought there was merely a difference in political views between Prince He Shuo and Luo Qi, and no serious private conflicts; even if there were minor issues among subordinates, they wouldn’t escalate to here.

Even though she knew the Beggar Sect Disciples weren’t welcome in the military, she never expected they’d suffer such humiliation!

She thought of stepping in on behalf of the Beggar Sect Disciples, but hoped not to go overboard to avoid embarrassing Luo Qi and them, and getting them into trouble.

It seems she came just in time!

"And the third baptism?" Feng Luo gritted her teeth, glaring at the man.

"The third baptism is you crawling under the crotches of these men!"

Chu Ge raised a brow at him; he realized that the rumors saying Beggar Sect Disciples came to the military not to serve but to endure humiliation were true, thanks to such bullying.

"Who set these Three Baptisms?" Feng Luo slowly stepped forward, coldly staring at the man.

"These rules have been around for many years; as for who enacted them, what’s your business knowing? I’ll ask again: are you from the Beggar Gang? If you are, accept the Three Baptisms, if not, tell me who the Beggar Gang members are."

"I am from the Beggar Gang!" Feng Luo had her hands behind her back, standing straight despite her short stature, without any fear.

Not only was Feng Luo angry, but even the old gang leader felt deeply enraged upon hearing this; he originally thought it was all rumors, but it turned out to be true! His disciples wanted to serve the court yet had to endure such disgrace! It’s suffocating and humiliating for anyone!

It’s hardly likely there would be any Beggar Sect disciples willing to enlist in the future. Aspiring young people wishing to serve the court would be disheartened too, right?

"What if I refuse to comply?" One by one, Feng Luo spoke, her hand already balled into a fist behind her, veins bulging, ready to throw a punch at any moment!

"That could be troubling. If you don’t comply, you’ll either be beaten to death by sticks or chased away as a deserter!"