The Princess And The Lord

[Oh well, let's think about this later. I now need to meet my Prince and save the sleeping beauty] Lory waved her hand carelessly. They could not solve anything by staying there.

[Sure! However, you first need to turn your appearance back to Luo Ri Yi] Girsha reminded her.

[What?] Lory unconsciously looked at her hands. She couldn't see anything since the cave lacked light. She only realized her shifter spell was no longer working when she touched her hair. It was natural wavy instead of the straight hair she had been wearing. She was in her original appearance. 

[Trinity not only weaken your curse but also dispelled your shapeshifter spell] Girsha said as he stared at the familiar face in front of him. He missed her real look as he did not like the Luo Ri Yi appearance. Although Lory had recently adjusted her Luo Ri Yi to seem a little more like her original look, Girsha still found her new face weird.

[I can't go out like this] Lory cast a spell and a small purple circle glowed on her left wrist. The rune circle appeared after a few seconds and she was back to looking like Luo Ri Yi.

[How do I look?] Lory showed Girsha her face.

Girsha squinted with displeasure and said [Ugly!]

[It's good then!] Lory ignored his comment.

[By the way, does it hurt? You were hurt the last time you cast the spell. How do you feel now?] Girsha was curious to see how far the curse had weakened as Lory seemed more relaxed.

Lory's noticed her heart didn't feel like she was being pricked by thousands of needles after she cast the low-grade spell. She smiled with joy [I'm good. Nothing aches]

[Good. Let's see how it goes later] Girsha sighed with relief.

[Hmm...] Lory nodded.

[Lory, is it the right time to tell him everything…?] The 'him' Girsha mentioned was Zhao Li Xin. Girsha knew how much Zhao Li Xin loved her and he could tell Zhao Li Xin seemed to need Lory more than Lucas ever did.

Lory hesitated. Telling Zhao Li Xin everything meant pulling him into her chaos. She was reluctant to do so as she didn't know what she was dealing with. Zhao Li Xin was strong but she did not know if he was strong enough to withstand whatever the gods threw to his face. She felt it was too much for her to ask him to handle in one go. 

[Not now…] Lory shook her head and answered with a low voice.

Girsha didn't push the subject as they walked toward the wall. There was a small rune circle on the wall. A small sword lay within with wings spread behind the swords and chains circle around the sword. It was the Lucient Insignia. Only Royalty and the Archknights could carry the symbol on their formal Royal Garb.

Lory pushed the circle and heard a clink-clank sound as the rusty metal shifted. Lory took a few steps back as the wall slowly opened up. The first person she saw was Zhao Li Xin waiting for her. She smiled at him and walked slowly toward him. Her steps halted as she felt a presence behind her. Lory turned unconsciously and saw a smiling girl with silver long hair and grey eyes standing before the wrecked tree.

Arthea smiled before her lips moved slightly. Lory couldn't hear what Arthea was saying as there was a huge distance between them. However, Lory could read Arthea's lips as she said, "It begins again."

Arthea gave Lory another innocent smile as the walls closed with a heavy thud. Lory took a deep breath and shifted her gaze back to Zhao Li Xin. He looked at her with an inexplicable expression. Lory tilted her head and smiled at him, "Did you wait for too long?"

Zhao Li Xin took long strides to shorten the distance between them and pulled her in his arms. He squeezed her tightly until Lory had trouble breathing. However, she did not say anything as she knew it was her fault for scaring him. She said softly, "Sorry…"

"It's fine as long as you come back to me," Zhao Li Xin buried his face in her neck. He couldn't describe the relief he felt as he held her in his arms. The mountain pressing his heart had lifted and he was able to breathe once again.

Zhao Li Xin lifted her until her feet dangled from the ground due to their different height. It was something that happened whenever they embraced each other. Zhao Li Xin was too lazy to bend over and he liked it when her body leaned into his as it felt more intimate.

Zhao Li Xin's subordinates watched their Lord with awe and delight. Not only had their Lord learned to be affectionate, but he had also learned to take advantage of the situation. He was a quick learner. Bei Li Yan smiled proudly while the others were glad they were not the focus of their Lord's wrath.

"Oh, Li Xin, I need your help!" Lory pushed him away from her neck.

"Hmm?"

"We need to leave first. The place would collapse without the tree!" Lory's words shocked everyone.

"WHAT!!" They all screamed at the same time.

"Li Xin, put me down," Lory tapped his shoulder and Zhao Li Xin gently placed her on the ground. His face was filled with worry.

"Let's go now!" Zhao Li Xin pulled her away but Lory stopped him.

"Where are you going? We won't manage to get out in time if we use the same path we came through," Lory said casually while everyone else was panic-stricken. Lory pulled at Zhao Li Xin's sleeve and pointed to the moonlight penetrating through the holes in the ceiling.

"We need to make the holes bigger," Lory gave Zhao Li Xin a mischievous smile. "Can you do it?"

Zhao Li Xin easily understood what she wanted him to do. He took out a red velvet cloak from his spatial ring and placed it over her shoulders. He did not forget to lift up the hood to cover her face. 

"Hide behind the boulder. I will use forty percent of my power so it could be dangerous," Zhao Li Xin told Lory. He then turned to Mong Ki, threw three rainbow crystals towards him, and commanded, "Use this as a protective array for everyone."

Zhao Li Xin's subordinates face lit up. Their Lord was thinking about them at last. Zhao Li Xin actually gave them the arrays for their young madam's safety, but they did not care about semantics. If Zhao Li Xin used forty percent of his power without using the protective arrays, they would all suffer from extreme heat.

"Everyone, gather here if you don't want to die!" Mong Ki warned everyone They all rushed to follow his command and were too frightened to remember the unconscious Ming Ru Yi. Thankfully, General Fu still remembered his duty. He carried her on his shoulder like a sack of rice. Lory was confused to see Ming Ru Yi's horrible condition. It was now clear why she did not hear Ming Ru Yi's hysterical shouts when she emerged from the wall.

"What happened to her?" Lory asked Bei Li Yan.

"She was stupid enough to provoke an angry demon," Bei Li Yan snickered. He had no sympathy for Ming Ru Yi.

Lory was quick to understand what happened. It seemed Ming Ru Yi had vented out her frustrations to Zhao Li Xin when she failed to enter the forbidden place. Idiocy was a sin like Fred used to tell her.

An invisible layer engulfed them after the Mong brothers completed the triangle array. The array had a slight rainbow tint where the light touched.

Zhao Li Xin ignited the fire around his body when he was sure Lory was safe and sound. The temperatures rose until the small rocks around them melted and the boulder hiding them became as black as charcoal. Zhao Li Xin's figure disappeared in the blazing fire. Although the others were inside the protective array, they couldn't stop trembling profusely.

'He's a demon!'

They screamed in their minds as they thought Zhao Li Xin's power was beyond human logic. The rumors about Long Ming's strength didn't describe his strength as those who met him could not see his cultivation level. The word strong was an understatement to those who could see him in action.

Zhao Li Xin accumulated the power in his hand, took a deep breath, and threw a fireball towards the ceiling. The fire hit the ceiling with a deafening BOOM. The impact was like a tornado as the ceiling was destroyed into nothing.

Lory and the others covered themselves with their arms out of reflex. The outcome now was much scarier than the last time she saw him use his power. The flame soon disappeared, smoke and dust floated everywhere. Lory got out once Mong Ki disabled the array. She looked up and saw the small holes had become a giant crater.

"Is it enough?" Zhao Li Xin genuinely asked. He didn't mean to show off his power.

"It's...enough," Lory patted his arm yet she looked perplexed. It seemed like she was dating a demolition man.

The floor beneath them suddenly shook like an earthquake was about to happen. The cracks on the ground spread at a high speed. Debris fell from the ceiling and they could all hear the beasts roar in fear. They exchanged anxious looks as they realized the tomb was going to collapse.

"We need to leave, NOW!!" Bei Li Yan shouted.