The Princess And The Lord

Two days passed but there was no sign of Lory waking. Zhao Li Xin faithfully stayed by her side without sleep. Jin Hao rummaged through his library searching for clues on the illness, while Bei Li Yan sent his people into Liangzu's palace to find out more about the Liangzu Princess and her connection to Lou Ri Yi.

Girsha also remained in Lory's room and kept his eyes on her. Although he felt her soul wasn't in danger, he worried that her body would weaken if she slept for long. Humans needed to sustain their bodies with food and drink. The lack of technology in this world also meant there was no machine to sustain her body.

This would not have worried Girsha if they were on Harland. Someone could stay in a coma for ten years because they had sufficient technology that could maintain a patient's body condition.

Girsha wished there was a way for Lory to receive Zhao Li Xin's Qi. The only issue was she wasn't of this world and her being Gifted didn't help matters. The situation could probably have been easier if she was born a Creator as their bodies could be adjusted to the powers of this world.

Girsha groaned in exasperation. If only he could find a way to synch her Gift with his Qi. His thoughts stopped when he saw the necklace Zhao Li Xin gave Lory. A new possibility hit him.

'THAT'S IT!'

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 Lory stood in front of the weird tree. She had dreamed about the tree from the moment she got into the Liangzu Kingdom's territory. She stretched her hand touched the tree trunk and was surprised to find it warm. Its temperature could be compared to a human's.  

Lory followed her instincts and hugged the tree. The warmth was comforting. It reminded her of Zhao Li Xin. The man was such a worrywart and she suspected was worrying about her. He hoped he won't make a very big fuss over her situation.

She could feel someone staring at her but she didn't see anyone when she first looked around. Something made her look down and found a cute face with curious eyes poking from behind the tree. Lory froze as she realized she was looking at a child.

The child, a girl looked to be somewhere between seven or nine years old. Her hair was parted into two buns. The child blinked at Lory a few times before she scoffed in annoyance, "What took you so long?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know how long I've waited for you?" The child placed a hand on her waist and puffed her chest. The girl continued to grumble non-stop for a few minutes. "You never stay here for long. Do you know how rude it is to keep popping in and out? I didn't even have the time to see you. If it wasn't for the tree's help, I would have failed to make you stay for longer!"

Lory didn't really understand what the girl was talking about but she was compelled to pacify the little firecracker.

"Uhm…sorry?" Lory wondered if that was enough to calm the girl down.

The girl pouted but she eventually stopped complaining after she made a 'hump' gesture at Lory.

'What a brat...?' Lory lamented to herself. An awkward silence followed as the girl stopped talking. Lory heaved loudly.

"So… What do you need?" Lory asked the little girl but the child gave her a blank look.

"I don't know…" The child responded without shame. Lory sighed and they both became quiet.

"Why did you want me to come here?" Lory gave her a kind smile. She needed to be patient as she was talking to a child.

The girl sat in front of the tree, "She told me you could help me…"

"Who?" Lory asked.

"I don't know…" The child shrugged.

Lory scratched and yelled at the child in her head. She told herself to calm down and smiled, "Okay… How do I help you?"  

"I don't know…" The child replied nonchalantly.

Lory could feel smoke was coming out of her head.

'That's it! Someone call social services now! YOU DAMN BRAT!!!'

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 Zhao Li Xin's eyes were trained on the sleeping pale girl. Her complexion was worsening as she had slept for three days. She wasn't a cultivator and her body couldn't live without food or liquids for long. He had moved her to a red crystal bed to help warm her body but her body would still weaken if she failed to get the nutrition she needed. This was what worried him the most.

Zhao Li Xin managed to curb his wild thought to stop himself from falling into madness. He needed his mind to think of a solution. He heard about the ancient tomb but his people also said the tomb was sealed from the inside and the mist surrounding the tomb was filled with a deadly poison. No one could last for more than two minutes even with Jin Hao's special pills. Zhao Li Xin was at a dead end on what to do next. 

He gently caressed her cheeky, happy that her body temperature wasn't as cold as before. Her face, however, was still pale.

"Wake up…" He whispered to her and pleaded miserably. "There's a sweets store that recently opened in the city. Don't you want to check it out...? I'll take you there and I'll buy you all the sweets you like. So please...please…wake up…"

The hearts of the Mong brothers standing outside the room ached for their lord when they heard this. They wondered why God had been so cruel to their lord. He never had parental love as a child. Everyone around him only knew to hit, kick and spit on him. There was no one to help him, not even his own family. He had lived a lonely, cold, and brutal life. This situation with Miss Luo happened just when he had found someone who made him happy. How much more did God want him to bear? Did God want their lord to go insane? The chances of the lord going insane if Miss Luo died were high, and they couldn't stop him because he was too powerful.

Zhao Li Xin was in deep thought when Girsha flew in through the window, gripping a purple flower in his claws. He flew over Lory's head and placed the flower on her chest. Something incredible suddenly happened. Lory's chest moved slowly, her pale cheeks became rosy and her breathing became stronger. Zhao Li Xin looked at Girsha in disbelief but quickly understood what the bird was telling him. He left Lory's side and opened the bedroom door surprising the Mong brothers with the outburst.

"Go and gather all the bellflowers you can get. You only have one day to bring it here. GO NOW!"

Mong Yi and Mong Ki didn't know what happened but it was the first time their lord was excited after Miss Luo lost consciousness and they trusted him. They bowed to his command and quickly left.  

Zhao Li Xin returned to Lory's bedside confident that they won't fail him. He checked her body and was relieved to see she looked better. He glanced at the beautiful bird nestled beside Lory's head. The bird was brushing against her cheek with worry.

"Who are you…?" Zhao Li Xin asked Girsha. The bird tilted his head and looked at him cutely but ignored Zhao Li Xin's question. However, Zhao Li Xin didn't care about this as he was grateful for what the bird had done. He held Lory's warm hands. This was the first time in days that he felt hopeful.

Hei Shen Sect's power was vast. A week of travel was compressed into one day. Everyone worked without complaint and used the fastest flying beasts. The bluebell flowers were easily transported from the Jiang Wei Kingdom to the Liangzu Kingdom within Zhao Li Xin's timeframe. 

Zhao Li Xin was looking at the newly delivered bluebell flowers in the garden when Girsha flew from behind him, grabbed the flower stalks and plant it in the ground. Zhao Li Xin easily understood the bird and asked everyone to do the same. The whole garden at the Xinjing Manor was soon covered by blue bellflowers.

Girsha led Zhao Li Xin back to Lory's room, pecked at Lory's robes and threw Zhao Li Xin a meaningful glance. Oddly enough, Zhao Li Xin understood him once again. He picked Lory and carried her to the garden with Girsha in tow. The bird landed in the middle of the bluebell flowers and pecked the ground.

Jin Hao and Bei Li Yan anxiously headed to the garden when they heard what was happening. They were shocked to see the garden filled with a flower that was new to them. They thought their lord had lost his mind when they saw Zhao Li Xin carrying Luo Ri Yi onto the flowers.

Zhao Li Xin placed her gently on the ground. He fixed her hair and robes, rose, and took a few backward steps. The purple flowers suddenly glowed around her like a lantern one after another.  

The scene was so magical that everyone stopped breathing. Zhao Li Xin was surprised momentarily but calmed as he was kind of expecting this strangeness. Somewhere at the back of his head he always knew she wasn't ordinary. It was a feeling he had from the moment he met her.

Purple orbs emerged from the flower and floated above them. This reminded Zhao Li Xin of the story of the night and fireflies as the orbs looked like purple fireflies.

The floating orbs gathered above her, illuminating the garden with purple lights. Everyone had a surreal feeling; it was like they were dreaming. Jin Hao tried to capture the orbs but they would disappear every time he touched. Bei Li Yan, on the other hand, was speechless as he had never seen anything as beautiful in his entire life. He had met many cultivators but nothing came close to what he was seeing.