The Princess And The Lord

Lory's eyes were glued to the ceiling while her mind was still in her past. It took her while to differentiate her dream from reality. She took a deep breath and massaged her forehead. Her dreams were being more vivid as days passed. She also wondered why her dreams focused more on her mother since she came into this world. 'My sun and my moon...', Was Lory's mother trying to tell her something? Why did she keep hearing those words?

"Bad dream?"

A startled Lory jolted up but was quickly relieves when she saw a familiar handsome man walk towards her from the screen divider. Surprise still filled her voice, "Li Xin, why are you here? Shouldn't you be hiding for a few days?"

"I am… I'll be hiding here," Zhao Li Xin responded casually.

"You'll what? Is it safe?" Lory suddenly had the urge to bang Zhao Li Xin's head and see what was inside. What he was doing was risky since someone could be watching her. The Sacred Mountain Peak was in big turmoil and everyone watched everyone with suspicion. Their good plan would go down the drain if someone caught them. 

He shrugged with indifference, "I will stay where I want to stay… Who will stop me?"

"No one, apparently," Lory chuckled and rolled her eyes. Zhao Li Xin was such an arrogant man but she couldn't hate him. She smiled foolishly at herself as her dream came back to her. Zhao Li Xin was unlike her father and yet she fell deeply in love with him. Her mother was right, love worked differently for everyone.

"I thought you had a bad dream but you are now smiling on your own," Zhao Li Xin sat by the bedside. "You kept mumbling incoherently in your sleep."

"It was not a bad dream. It is just… I dreamt about my family, again," Lory said. It was possible he could not understand her because she was speaking the Harland language.

"Oh…" Zhao Li Xin didn't know how to comfort her as he didn't understand family love. He was oblivious of Lory's feelings but he knew he needed to offer her some kind of comfort. He gently patted her head and said awkwardly, "Uhm, don't be sad…"

His awkwardness brought a smile to Lory's face. She was grateful as she felt better, "Thank you… You always know how to make me feel better."

'I do?' Zhao Li Xin was stunned at her words.

"Okay, I'll take a bath first then have breakfast," Lory jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom leaving the confused Lord in the room. Zhao Li Xin frowned for a moment then shifted his gaze to Girsha who was nestling on a small comfy pillow on a small table in the corner.

"You think I've helped her?" Zhao Li Xin asked Girsha despite knowing the bird would not reply.

Girsha blinked and nodded his small head [You are…]

Zhao Li Xin's gaze softened as he smiled warmly. Girsha was the only other person, apart from Lory, who he could show such an expression. It could be because he knew Girsha was more than a pet to Lory. Zhao Li Xin hated to admit it but he knew Girsha's position in Lory's heart was irreplaceable. He was also ready to love anyone Lory loved unless it was another man.

Zhao Li Xin had already brewed Lory sun citrus tea when she was done with her bath. Her taste buds were like those of a four-year-old as she didn't like to drink or eat anything bitter - this included Jin Hao's medicine. Her face flushed with happiness when she smelled the tea.

"Have a seat. I will dry your hair," Zhao Li Xin gently pushed her to the chair in front of the dressing mirror and gently massaged her scalp with a warm towel. Lory relaxed more as she got comfortable.

"Xie Hua Ling and Mo Ning Yuan met in her courtyard last night," Zhao Li Xin revealed calmly like it was no big deal.

"The Mo family is now an empty shell. It is not surprising for anyone to easily get in and out of the manor, especially if the person has high cultivation like Xie Hua Ling. Getting into a place like that would be a walk in a park," Lory understood the Mo family situation. It was a pity the once strong family had fallen to a miserable situation.

"Why did Xie Hua Ling meet with her? I didn't think Mo Ning Yuan had anything good to offer?" Lory was baffled by the weird news.

"Who knows? They seem to have a strong connection. I don't understand what they are thinking?" Zhao Li Xin muttered as he started to comb her hair. He did not understand certain things when it came to men and women's relationships, especially if they was a lot of pull and tag. He also failed to understand the complex feeling between lovers.

Zhao Li Xin didn't like to make things complicated when it came to feelings. If a man wanted a woman to be with him, the man had to be honest and truthful. One should not act tough or play hard-to-get. Zhao Li Xin's method of courting Lory was also very simple. He believed he had to always be there for her. 

He would be there when she became sad, lonely, or when she was hurt. Lory should never have to search for him or make excuses to meet him since he would always be there when she needed him. Zhao Li Xin didn't like playing mind games with Lory. It was something he did with others but not her.

Zhao Li Xin's method was simple and very effective yet it was hard for others to do the same. This was especially true for people with overbearing and tyrant tendencies like a young master from an influential family.

"They may find comfort in each other," Lory shrugged and guessed.

"Comfort?" Zhao Li Xin was still puzzled.

"They have hidden a secret all their lives. A shameful secret that fills them with disgust and pain. I think they must be tortured by this secret. I think they feel suffocated by it and they need someone who would not condemn them. Someone who will not squint their eyes in disgust when they show them their rotten side. This could be the reason," Lory watched Zhao Li Xin frown with an amused smile. "You can say they are birds of the same feathers flocking together."

Zhao Li Xin's eyebrows knotted together as he finished braiding Lory's hair, "I don't fully understand it but I think I know what you mean."

"What I don't understand is who is Mo Ning Yuan siding with?" Lory propped her chin with her palm and shook her head with confusion. "Is it the Mo family, Xie Hua Ling, Xie Xian Zi, or someone we don't even know?"

"I also have some new information from Mong Gui. The Chen family member involved with Mo Ning Yuan is Chen Hu Yin," Zhao Li Xin said flippantly as he concentrated on Lory's hair.

"Chen Hu Yin? Chen Yi Suan's brother? Xie Xian Zi's supporter?" Lory rained him with many questions. She couldn't believe another influential man was also tangled with Mo Ning Yuan.

"Yes, that one…" Zhao Li Xin answered flatly. A faint smile touched his face as he was done styling Lory's hair.

"What is she thinking? Why is she keeping everyone on her hook? What does she want?" Lory was dumbfounded. She did not understand Mo Ning Yuan's true motive. She wanted to believe Mo Ning Yuan only wanted to increase her cultivation by sleeping with these powerful men, but she suspected there was more. Could Mo Ning Yuan's sinister plan be related to Lazarus?

"I know what you are thinking…" Zhao Li Xin held her from behind and softly whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let anything happen to you." 

His warm embrace calmed her but she knew she now needed to be more vigilant than ever. There was something brewing under her nose and she had a bad premonition about the future. However, she did not worry about it as she had the beautiful man who was currently embracing her. She could almost feel the snake mark on her nape turn as cold as ice.

"Lory, everything is going to be okay," Zhao Li Xin tightened his embrace to reassured Lory as she thought Lory was anxious about Mo Ning Yuan harming her. "I will never let anything happen to you. I will not make the same mistake again."

Lory smiled weakly, "I know…"

'And so will I'.