Chapter 3

Although Princess Xuanling was very kind, every time Yang Yue saw her, she showed great respect.

"Princess Xuanling, did you come here to see me for something?" After bowing, Yang Yue asked in a low voice.

"I just wanted to see how you are doing. After all, we were classmates! Besides, you are just a girl, very introverted, and now your family has suffered a great change. You also have to take care of your useless brother, so of course I am worried about you."

When Princess Xuanling said 'useless brother,' a smile inexplicably appeared at the corner of her mouth, clearly thinking of the scene just now.

But Yang Yue did not notice this. When she heard Princess Xuanling call Yang Yi useless, she hurriedly began to explain.

"Princess, my brother has changed recently. He has forgotten that demoness. I believe my brother will definitely... definitely not be like he used to be." Yang Yue was trying to say something good about Yang Yi.

But when the words reached her lips, she could only say 'not like he used to be' and could not think of any other good qualities of Yang Yi.

"He has indeed changed, but as a man, he still needs to be supported by his sister. What else could such a person be called but useless!"

Princess Xuanling's words were very reasonable, and Yang Yue had no response.

"Princess!!"

In desperation, she could only call out the princess's title, hoping that Princess Xuanling would continue speaking.

"Xiao Yue, you are only 14 years old, and now is the time for you to study. But look at your life now. You go out to do hard labor during the day, and in the evening, you have to take care of Yang Yi. You don't even have time to read books. If this continues, in a few months, you will lose all your spiritual energy and will no longer be able to summon the spirit weapons from the books."

Princess Xuanling was not joking with Yang Yue but was speaking very seriously.

You see, in the barbaric world, not everyone can summon the spirit weapons from the spirit books.

To use the treasures in the spirit books, one must first have a spirit power far exceeding that of ordinary people. Then, one must convert spiritual energy into spirit coins, and only then can one exchange for spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy is very difficult to control. Even if ordinary people absorb spiritual energy into their bodies, it will dissipate in a short time.

Only by reading spirit books can humans unconsciously retain spiritual energy in their bodies.

The better the spirit book, the faster humans can condense spiritual energy.

Over time, the more spiritual energy humans will have in their bodies.

When the spiritual energy reaches a certain level, it will form spirit coins.

Spirit coins can be used to summon characters, weapons, herbs, and other items from the books, and can also be used to protect the divine consciousness to enter the books to learn knowledge.

In short, spirit books are important, but spirit coins are also important.

Moreover, spirit coins can be exchanged for real currency, although few scholars are willing to sell spirit coins because they are too important.

Sometimes, one more spirit coin means one more life.

In the past few days, Yang Yue has been taking care of Yang Yi and has not read books for several days. The spirit coins she had saved up were all spent on buying detoxifying pills for Yang Yi.

Furthermore, the family's assets were all handed over to Yang Yi, so Yang Yue had to give up her studies and go out to work to support Yang Yi.

Without tuition, one cannot read spirit books.

Without reading spirit books, one cannot condense spirit coins.

This is a vicious cycle. If Yang Yue cannot find a solution, she will never be able to read books again in her life.

"Princess Xuanling, although our Yang family has declined, my brother is still the Dragon Martial Marquis, so I must do my best to help him regain his strength. In the future, I will work harder, and if that doesn't work, I will go out of the city to hunt."

A 14-year-old girl saying she will go out to hunt would make anyone who doesn't know Yang Yue laugh and dismiss it.

But Princess Xuanling knew that Yang Yue would definitely do what she said.

"Xiao Yue, you are thinking too simply. You don't know how dangerous it is outside the city of Prince Xuan. Your Fire Spirit Dagger is a permanent spirit weapon, but how many days have you not used spirit coins to maintain it? I estimate that now the Fire Spirit Dagger is only slightly better than an ordinary dagger. If you encounter ordinary beasts, you might be able to deal with them, but if you encounter fierce beasts or demon beasts, you will surely die."

As a princess, Xuanling had once participated in a city-hunting expedition under the protection of her guards, so she knew how dangerous it was outside.

"I..."

Hearing Princess Xuanling's words, Yang Yue fell into a state of confusion.

"Let's do this. Starting from tomorrow, you will return to school, and I will pay your tuition."

Princess Xuanling finally revealed her thoughts. It turned out that she planned to sponsor Yang Yue's education.

"No! Although I know Princess is well-intentioned, I am a member of the Yang family, and we do not accept any charity."

Yang Yue's expression turned cold, and even her gaze towards Princess Xuanling became somewhat merciless.

Seeing Yang Yue's change, Princess Xuanling realized she had made a mistake.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, many nobles valued their reputation more than their lives.

Although Yang Yue was just a girl, she had the blood of the Dragon Martial Marquis, and her will was very strong. She would never accept any charity, even if it was well-intentioned.

"Alright, since you are unwilling to accept my help, then come and be my book servant. You should know that I am currently in need of a book servant."

Princess Xuanling changed her tone and offered Yang Yue another way out.

A book servant is a companion to a scholar, usually responsible for helping the scholar tidy up the room, organize books, notes, ink, and so on.

In simple terms, a book servant is a higher-level servant.

However, many ordinary families hope to send their children to serve as book servants in the homes of high officials and nobles.

Because as long as a book servant follows a good scholar, they have the opportunity to come into contact with spirit books.

If the scholar is good, they might even give the book servant the chance to read the spirit books.

But whether the book servant can understand them depends on their own talent.

"Princess, I understand your intentions, but if I become a book servant, I won't have time to take care of my brother."

Yang Yue shook her head helplessly after hearing Princess Xuanling's request.

In fact, she understood that Princess Xuanling was well-intentioned, but to become a book servant, the first condition was to live in Princess Xuanling's home.

"Xiao Yue, don't rush to refuse. If you are willing to be my book servant, I can let Yang Yi move into the Xuan Wang Palace and provide him with a clean room. Of course, his living expenses will be deducted from your salary."

Princess Xuanling knew Yang Yue's thoughts and quickly proposed a feasible solution to remove all her concerns.

"This... Since that's the case, then thank you, Princess Xuanling!"

Hearing this, Yang Yue understood Princess Xuanling's intentions.

Since the other party had resolved all her concerns, if she still refused Princess Xuanling, it would be too disrespectful.

"That's right. You should tidy up a bit, and I will send someone to pick you up later."

Seeing Yang Yue agree, Princess Xuanling nodded in satisfaction.

"Tonight? Isn't that too soon?"

Yang Yue was taken aback, clearly not expecting Princess Xuanling to act so quickly.

"Not too soon. I just want to... cough, cough." At this point, Princess Xuanling suddenly coughed twice and then changed her words: "I just want you to accompany me from tonight. You know I have always hoped to have someone to talk to."

"I understand!" Yang Yue nodded, believing Princess Xuanling's explanation.

"Alright, go and prepare quickly. I will also go back to the palace to make arrangements."

"Yes!"

After giving her instructions, Princess Xuanling walked towards a carriage in the distance.

"Phew! Close call, I almost slipped up. It's all that damned Yang Yi's fault. He was clearly a useless person before, but suddenly he became so principled and spoke so convincingly, even claiming he could write a famous work in three days, which piqued my curiosity."

After getting into the carriage, Princess Xuanling began to complain.

Originally, Princess Xuanling had indeed wanted to see Yang Yue today because they were classmates.

However, she had not initially intended to make Yang Yue her book servant.

It was only after Yang Yi mistook her for a demoness and made those grand statements that Princess Xuanling became curious and wanted to bring Yang Yi to the Xuan Wang Palace to observe him.

But Princess Xuanling's identity was very sensitive, and she absolutely could not let anyone know that she brought Yang Yi to the Xuan Wang Palace out of curiosity.

So, she used Yang Yue.

...

In the dilapidated house.

After Princess Xuanling left, Yang Yi stared at the wooden door, afraid that she would change her mind and come back to assassinate him.

Creak!

When the door opened again, Yang Yi quickly asked, "Who is it?"

"Brother, it's me!"

Yang Yue calmly replied to the question.

"Xiao Yue, you're finally back."

Hearing Yang Yue's voice, Yang Yi's tense spirit immediately relaxed.

"What's wrong, brother? Did something happen?" Yang Yue noticed Yang Yi's unusual state and came to his side, asking anxiously.

"I'm fine, I just missed you because you were out for so long."

Yang Yi did not mention the demoness, fearing that Yang Yue would misunderstand.

Moreover, if he told Yang Yue that he had made a deal with the demoness, who knows what she would think.

"Don't worry, I will never abandon you!" Hearing that Yang Yi missed her, Yang Yue felt a warm feeling in her heart.

To be honest, she was even a bit relieved that Yang Yi had lost all his assets.

Because in the past, when Yang Yi was still the glorious Dragon Martial Marquis, he rarely paid attention to his sister.

"Xiao Yue, do you have any food? I'm almost starving."

After tricking Yang Yue over, Yang Yi quickly changed the topic to food and reached out to grab the food himself.

When Yang Yue sat down, Yang Yi heard the sound of a paper bag and, based on his judgment, reached out his hand.

In the darkness, Yang Yi's vision was limited, but after a bit of fumbling, he managed to find the food.

"Is it a steamed bun? It's so small, but it's quite soft." Based on his judgment, Yang Yi guessed that Yang Yue had brought him a steamed bun.

But after feeling it a few times, he found that he couldn't pick it up.

"Wait, this feeling..."

Suddenly, Yang Yi felt something was not right.

"Ahh..."

"Misunderstanding! Yue'er, don't hit me, it's a misunderstanding! Ahh~"