The Princess And The Lord

Lory was well ready for the tomb as she had stocked up on everything she would need when exploring it. She knew she needed to be extra careful as she had to survive without her Gift. She was inside the tent with Zhao Li Xin when he took out something from his spatial ring.

"Wear this beneath your robes," Zhao Li Xin handed her a thin dark blue linen fabric. The fabric was very soft to the skin but strong.

"What is this?" Lory touched the fabric gently with curiosity.

"The fabric is made from the iron blue silkworm. It will protect you from the heat and cold. Also, a normal weapon won't be able to hurt you if you are wearing this," He easily explained.

Lory was unaware the silk garment was worth millions of gold taels. The iron blue silkworm was a rare species and difficult to raise. Zhao Li Xin discovered the worms by accident and at first thought, they were useless and disgusting.

He had carelessly tossed the worms in one of the gardens in the Underground Palace. He was unaware at the time that the garden provided a good environment for them to breed. A year went by and soon the iron blue silkworms that were considered difficult to raise multiplied and forming many cocoons inside the garden.

Zhao Li Xin was disgusted by the sight and wanted to burn them but Wu San Bo begged him to spare them. Wu San Bo convinced Zhao Li Xin that the silkworm would make Zhao Li Xin a lot of money. Zhao Li Xin relented and let Wu San Bo take charge of them but asked Wu San Bo to keep them out of his sight.

The blue iron silkworm soon became another source of income for the Hei Shen Sect. A lower grade one-piece robe from blue iron silkworm was worth fifty million gold taels. The Emperor and Empress were the only ones who wore such robes. The garment Zhao Li Xin gave Lory was the highest grade.

Zhao Li Xin never told Lory about the cost because to him it was simply produced by the silkworms he ignores. Lory, on the other hand, never asked about the cost of the items he gave her as it was rude to do so. What mattered to her was the thought that went into the item selection. This was the reason she was ignorant of the treasures Zhao Li Xin gave her.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Li Xin's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. His breathing also stopped when he looked at her.

Lory had taken off her top robes with ease. She was still wearing the dudou underwear underneath so she didn't feel naked and she didn't mind changing before Zhao Li Xin. Lory was casual about it as they had lived under the same roof for almost a year and they both loved each other, even though the words had yet to be said aloud.

Lory also knew she and Zhao Li Xin would have already slept together if they were back in Harland. However, she also knew the custom in this world was different and she was still not mentally prepared to do the deed. They were many things she needed to first understand as to why she was in this world.

"You asked me to wear this robe underneath my outer robes, didn't you?" Lory turned her back at Zhao Li Xin and took off her robes layer by layer. Zhao Li Xin stayed frozen through it all. He wanted to tell her to stop but his mouth couldn't move. He also knew he needed to close his eyes but they somehow remained wide open.

[Lory your mark!] Girsha quickly warned.

'OH, SHIT!' Lory cursed inwardly. She forgot about the mark on her back.

It was a good thing her long hair covered most of her back. She turned around and faced Zhao Li Xin. The poor lord who had been teased by his beloved's sexy back was now graced by her front. He was unsure if he should feel grateful or ungrateful by the view she presented.

Lory quickly wore her robes as she was afraid he would see her mark. She was unaware a certain lord hadn't paid much attention to her back as he was bust admiring her long hair. His attention was also drawn below her waist while he was looking at her back. 

"Hmm… Did you see anything strange?" Lory asked nervously once she was done.

"I've seen nothing," Zhao Li Xin quickly lied. He had seen many things but he did not dare admit it. He averted his eyes from her and dashed out of the tent as he felt a little guilty for lying to her.

[Do you think he saw it?] Lory looked at Girsha with worry.

Girsha sighed heavily. He felt bad for the young man [Nah. I think you are fine]

'But he isn't', were Girsha's unsaid words. 

[What was I thinking? How could I forget?] Lory roughly rubbed her face. She had been careless [Remind me not to do that again!]

[Yeah, sure…] Girsha rolled his eyes. He blamed Lucas and the others for making her dense. Lory was genuinely unaware of how a man's mind worked.

Zhao Li Xin calmed himself by meditating alone once he got outside. The strange feeling was acting up once more but he couldn't tell what it was exactly. His throat felt dry, his heart raced and heat cruised through his veins. The heat was different from the one that he felt when he cultivated the Immortal Flame. It was...weird. He thought he needed to ask his master on this new feeling once he met him. 

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On a high mountain somewhere, an old man with snowy hair sneezed nonstop.

'Hacho…hacho…hachoo...'

"Did I get a cold?" He wondered as he sniffed. It would be embarrassing if someone with a high cultivation like him was to get a cold. He didn't believe that was possible. He suspected someone was saying bad things about him. 'WHO DARES!'

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Bei Li Yan wondered why his lord suddenly decided to meditate. It was more normal to find Zhao Li Xin lazily seated somewhere drinking wine with a half-dazed expression at such a time. However, he looked more stern after he emerged from the tent to meditate.

"What happened to our Lord? Did he have a fight with Ri Yi?" Bei Li Yan nudged Mong Yi.

"It is better not to ask too many questions when it comes to them," Mong Yi wisely said as he shook his head. He had witnessed his lord's weird behavior whenever he was around Miss Luo many times.

"Oh!" The vague answer increased Bei Li Yan's curiosity. He found them so interesting and thought to find a way to stay at the Xinjing Manor for a while. He wanted to watch their interaction. His brain started to create different scenarios of coaxing the Demon Lord.

While this was happening, a stubborn Ming Ru Yi still chose to wear a beautiful dress. It was not as frilly as the previous dresses but it was still inappropriate for entering the tomb. She didn't care about the inconvenience because she was close to her and she wanted to look her best.

Lory examined the tomb's entrance through the hole once they reached there. She concluded she needed a long rope to descend. She took out a rope and was busy looking for a place to tie it when Zhao Li Xin lifted her.

"Hold tight!" Zhao Li Xin said and jumped through the hole without warning. He used one hand to carry her and the other held the rope. Lory wrapped her hands around his neck tightly out of reflex. He bounced on the cave wall twice before he smoothly landed on the ground.

"You okay?" Zhao Li Xin asked when he saw Lory's bewildered look.

"Give me a heads-up next time," Lory patted his shoulder yet she still looked shocked.

"Sure…" He said lightly. It was uncertain if he would follow what she suggested in the future. 

Zhao Li Xin placed her on the ground and lit a torch. The faint light brightened the dark cave and an echo of shrieks from bats and rats echoed through the cold cave wall.

The cave was wide and deep. The surface walls were covered with dark moist grey stones and there was a long and thick rooted tree hanging like a chandelier from above. There was also a half-broken spiral stairway heading to the bottom. A huge pitch-black was at the center. The hole was endless and no one could see its end.

Bei Li Yan, Jin Hao managed to copy Zhao Li Xin's moves as they descended, while the Mong brothers needed to bounce on the wall a few times before they landed safely.

"Let's go!" Zhao Li Xin didn't wait for General Fu and the princess' group as he suspected the stupid princess would cause a ruckus descending. His thoughts came true as they heard the princess making noise after they had taken a few steps away.

"How dare you touch me like that? I'm a princess. Do you want me to behead you?"

"Your highness, you must hold on to this servant if you do not wish to get down alone. You could ask the three young masters to assist if you are uncomfortable with me," The soldier carrying her was perplexed by her words. The troublesome princess made his job much harder than it should. 

"I don't think I can get down while carrying you princess," One of the young masters smiled awkwardly. The hole was too long and it was already difficult for him to get down by himself. He couldn't carry anyone else unless he wanted to hurt the person or himself.

"You!" Ming Ru Yi felt the admirer was useless. She hoped Zhao Li Xin could help her but he left without waiting for her.

Lory didn't hate the young princess too much as she considered her a silly teenager. The princess was also haughty and unruly like most teenagers. However, she couldn't stop giggling and she found the princess' shouting hilarious. 

"Careful, the stairs are slippery" Zhao Li Xin offered her his hand as they descended. Lory easily accepted his hand as she knew a slip from the stairs meant falling down the endless hole. She would die without a corpse if that was to happen.

"Do you smell that?" Lory sniffed.

"Corpses," Jin Hao replied.

They carefully followed the pungent smell without making a sound. The smell got stronger as they got close. Lory touched the wet stone wall and rubbed the liquid on her fingers. A closer look revealed deep red blood. Lory was wiping off the blood when she saw a puddle of blood mixed with dirt on the floor. She sifted her feet to the side to stop herself from stepping on it.

Zhao Li Xin held her hand tightly and kept her close. The sound of tearing flesh followed by the sound of chewing and grinding something hard was the only thing they could hear. Zhao Li Xin's group exchanged glances to confirm they were all hearing the same.

Mong Yi plastered himself on a wall and peeked to see what lay beyond. He held his breath when his eyes focused on a beast that was more like a monster not too far away. Its overall appearance was ugly. It looked like a pig with tiny feet. It was furless with pink wrinkly skin like an old man. It had two small eyes and sharp teeth sticking out of its mouth. The mouth was filled with green saliva pouring out of its mouth.