《Glamorous Journey Of The Female Protagonist》 Chapter 1 - Priorities Of A Transmigrator Li Ming''s whole body was hurting. It felt like a truck had just rolled over her. She was unable to move her limbs even a little as it hurt too much. She tried to slowly open her eyes but was unable to do so not only because of the sudden brightness that greeted her but also because of the pain and exhaustion. ''What the Fuck!'' She cursed in her mind as she felt pain shot through her wrist while she was trying to move it. How could she end up in such a situation? She questioned as she tried to analyze her current situation. She took a deep breath and decided to heal her body first and get rid of the terrifying pain. She called on her healing power and soon felt a warm and soothing feeling taking over her entire body. It was so good and relaxing. Just in a few seconds, her body felt brand new. She once again tried to open her eyes, this time a little bit slower than the last one. The sunlight was too bright and it hurt her eyes. It took her a few minutes to adjust to the brightness. When she was finally able to see clearly, she was shocked to find herself in the middle of what seemed to be like a forest. Tall trees in every direction with moss covering their thick trunks. The ground was full of bushes and who knew what kind of plants and decay. "How the hell did I end up here?" She asked no one in particular while trying to remember what had actually happened, and soon enough her head was full of the memories from the previous night, or you can say from her previous life. - She was from the 21st century. But she was not a human, rather she was a mage. Her world of supernaturals lived with humans in secrecy. Very few humans knew about their existence. There were all kinds of supernaturals like vampires, shifters, mages, sirens, and angels. And every clan of supernatural had their own leader and government, with the Supernatural Council as their head. She was the head of the mage clan and also a member of the council. She had been on that position since her 21st birthday and it had been seven years since then. The previous night, she was tracking a rogue shifter group with the leaders of the Vampire and the Siren clans. But who knew that she would be betrayed by those two demons. They led her directly to her death and of course, she ended up losing her life. - But wait! Something was not right about her memory. If she died....then why it felt like she''s very much alive at the moment? Li Ming looked down at herself and was shocked to see a completely different body. Her hands were too small! Her shoulder-length silver hair had become black and very long. Her face felt small and round and she was very short. Her previous height of 5''5" had decreased to 4''10". She probably was in the body of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child but due to malnutrition, the body appeared too small and weak. Moreover, she was wearing some weird clothes, like those in ancient Chinese dramas. Again a collection of memories came rushing to her but this time they were not her memories. Rather those memories belonged to a young girl whose name was Changchang. She was an orphan who lived with other orphaned children in a small orphanage in a town near the Capital City of the Han Empire. This continent was called Qi Continent or mostly as the mainland. There were five empires - Song, Han, Jin, and Wang, with the Central Empire as the most powerful. The people of this continent were cultivators who cultivated spiritual energy to become immortals. But she was a trash. Her body was unable to cultivate and as she was an orphan so no one really cared about the reason or tried to find a way to cure her. Although she was living in a small town she was still looked down upon by everyone. In this world, cultivation was the priority of every single living being, whether it was a child or an old man. Even animals cultivated. A place where cultivation meant everything, someone like her who was trash, did not mean to even exist. She came to the nearby forest with some of the other children of the orphanage to collect fruits and wood but when she was trying to pluck a fruit from a tree on a high cliff, she slipped and fell down the mountain and of course, died. This way when Li Ming also died in her world, her soul transmigrated into the body of this child. Li Ming sighed and looked around herself once again. This was too much even for a magical being like her. But she couldn''t neglect the truth. It''s better to accept it rather than spending her entire day thinking about the possibility of something like this happening to her. She was only happy that her magical powers were still there. The only problem was that the body of this girl was so weak and malnourished that she wouldn''t be able to perform too much magic for the time being. She suddenly remembered something and hurriedly pulled up the sleeve of her left hand to look at her wrist and immediately beamed in happiness as she found exactly what she was looking for. On her left wrist, there was a tattoo of double infinity. When she had become the head of the mage clan on her 21st birthday, she got this tattoo as a gift from her elders. The tattoo contained the most ancient magic and its secrets. She personally had chosen the design of double infinity as it was believed to imply the idea of perfection because it gave an endless amount of space and time to achieve perfection. This symbol was also said to provide equilibrium to life, like its two sets of circles balancing each other. Li Ming looked around for a while and was unable to find exactly where she was. Since the previous owner of the body was an orphan, there were high chances that no one would be looking for her. The other children had probably considered her dead by now. Well, they were actually right, and it was obvious that no one actually cared if a trash like her died all of a sudden. Keeping this in mind Li Ming thought that it was no longer important to return to the town. It''s even better if she didn''t return there as everyone would consider her dead. This way she would be able to start a new life for herself. She was given a second chance, she was going to do everything in her power to live a happy and long life. Her target was the capital city of the Han Empire. According to the knowledge of the previous owner of the body, It would take her days to reach there on foot. But her priority at the moment was a hot bath and a table full of her favorite food. She also needed some comfortable clothes to wear and she had a perfect idea where she would get these things. Chapter 2 - The Secret Of Infinity Tattoo Li Ming touched her tattoo and closed her eyes, letting a very familiar sensation took over her body. When she opened them again, she was standing in front of a three-story mansion. The mansion was very beautiful with towers looming over it. The sky was clear and bright. A magnificent park was built around the mansion. One could see fountains and beautifully designed bushes and trees everywhere. It was a heartwarming sight. Whoever would see this place would be in awe. This mansion was the gift that she got on her 21st birthday. It was not only beautiful and huge but was also built with the pure essence of magic with a strong ward surrounding it. Even after becoming the owner of the mansion and the Leader of the Mage Clan, she was unable to move through the ward that surrounded the mansion and the area around it. So she had no idea about what lay outside the magical walls. This mansion had three floors. The first floor was a residential area. There was a very big and comfy drawing-room, a very large modern kitchen, a dining hall, Six bedrooms with attached bathrooms, two extra bathrooms, a storeroom, an office, a balcony, and a gym. The second floor was covered entirely by the library. But this library was not a normal library. It contained books full of magic spells, magic history, potion books, secrets of dark magic, and who knew what. Coming to the next and last floor. This one was the most important. The third floor was divided into two parts. The first part contained a very large room full of modern technology and modern weapons. There was also a small medical room. The second part of the floor contained various types of ancient and magical weapons. Potions and magical instruments were lining the shelves. Li Ming opened the front door and entered the mansion. A white fluffy ball came running towards her and jumped into her arms, making her giggle and kiss his nose as she hugged him. This was snowy, her familiar. She took him to the Master bedroom and put him on the bed as she asked, "How did you know it''s me? What if I was someone dangerous?" "I think you are forgetting that I am your familiar. No matter how many times you are going to change your appearance, I can always recognize your soul. Do you know that I was so scared? I thought that I would be unable to see you again. If not for the bond, I almost thought that I lost you." Snowy replied and then started complaining through their mind link as he stared at her with teary eyes. Li Ming kissed him again and rubbed his ears for a while before she spoke, "We are going to start a new life now. Let''s not recall our past and feel bad. Alright?" She waited for the furball to nod its head and when it did exactly that, she smiled warmly at him while rubbing his ears. "But before that, I need to get a warm shower. Need some food and a little bit of rest, I think. Wait for me I will be back soon," she announced and went into the walk-in closet. Since her new body was small, the clothes were too big for her. Finally, she found a black crop top and a pair of Blue Jeans shorts. "Looks like I need to do something about these." She looked at her hair and sighed. She couldn''t cut them too short because that would make her stand out in a world where people loved long hairs. So, she only decided to cut a few inches of her hair. After she was done with them, they were still long enough, coming below her waist. She went into the bathroom and took a long warm shower. After an hour or so, she finally entered the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her hair. She made herself sandwiches and got a jug of orange juice from the refrigerator. Everything in the mansion worked with magic, so there was no need for electricity. She also fed Snowy and ate her food in silence while planning for her next move. She needed to put this new body in shape. Changchang was malnourished from her birth, so it would take some time to get physically better. And since she was an orphan who was trash, living in a town she had very little knowledge about this world. Since this world valued cultivation, she needed to find out what was wrong with her body. Although she had magical powers it would be better to adapt to the rules of the new world. Also, there was nothing wrong with learning something new, and useful. For the next few days, Li Ming stayed in the mansion. She started working out in the gym and practiced martial arts to get her body in shape. She also ate a lot! The rest of the time she spent reading magical books, making potions, and testing her range of magic. Since her new body was weak, she was unable to do magic at her full capacity as it was energy-consuming. One evening she was sitting outside in the park with Snowy. There were paper and pencils sprawled on the table in front of them. "According to Changchang''s memory, we are in the Qi continent. There are five empires and we are in the Han empire which is the second weakest Empire. We are currently in the mountain ranges closest to the capital city of the Han empire." She added some more points to the paper while going through the information. "There are a total of three mountain ranges in the Han empire, the one on which we are now is the shortest mountain range and also the safest. First, we need to find a way to reach the capital city. There''s no way I''m gonna walk the whole day, better to find transportation. And second......., we need money." She and Snowy talked for a little while more and finally formed a plan. They were ready to explore the new world of Immortals! *** After three weeks of resting, Li Ming finally emerged out in the real world. According to her, by now everyone must have considered her dead for sure. And also since she was eating a lot for the past three weeks she was in much better shape than before. She was wearing a light blue colored dress. Her hair was designed simply with two very beautiful flower headbands. She looked just like a cute little miss of some noble family. But if you could see her feet you would die from laughing so hard. It took her a little bit of time to remember that she could design clothes with magic. So she tried to remember the dresses that she had seen in those Chinese dramas and made few outfits for herself. But no matter how much she tried to remember about the design of shoes she was unable to do so. In the end, she finally gave up and decided to wear sneakers. - (A/N: The most asked question of this story so far is the one where everyone is curious to know exactly how Snowy looks like. Oops! My bad. I forgot to mention that our cute little Snowy is a white Pomeranian. Though he''s a simple dog for now....remember that he''s familiar which means anything could happen in the future!) Chapter 3 - The Capital City Li Ming came down the mountain and headed straight towards the town. She was wearing a veil so that no one could recognize her. When she finally reached the village she took a long deep breath and decided to find someone to ask for help. According to the previous owner of the body, there was a family of merchants who lived in the village. There were high chances for her to find some help from them. After asking someone for the address, she made her way to the merchant''s house. She needed to wait for a while before an old man in his late fifties, finally came out of the house. "Young Miss, can I help you?" The old man asked her as he noticed a young girl standing outside his house. From the way she was dressed, it was not hard to guess that she was not a local. No one from their village was rich enough to spend so much money on just clothes and jewelry. "I want to go back to the capital city but I don''t have any money with me for the time being. Kind Sir, can you please help me?" Li Ming asked in a sad but kind of desperate voice. She did her best to sound like a poor child who ended up getting separated from her family on her way to the capital and was now left alone with no money or aid. As soon as the old man heard her sad story, he started feeling pity for the young maiden. His wife had also walked out to see what was happening and she too felt bad for the girl. "Miss, please come inside. Even though we live in a small house but it''s still better than standing outside." The old lady welcomed Li Ming inside their small courtyard and served freshly brewed tea. Li Ming thanked the woman as she tried to sip the tea while wearing a veil. For some reason, it was way harder than it should be. "Miss, don''t worry too much. My husband was about to leave for the capital. But our carriage isn''t as good as those used by the people of the capital. Nor our old horse is as energetic as it used to be. I hope you will understand and won''t mind if we won''t be able to reach the capital before dawn." The old woman said in a small tone as her eyes moved towards the horse who was sleeping at the other side of the yard. "Madam, you are doing me such a huge favor. I don''t deserve to complain in the current situation. I just want to tell you that I''m really grateful to both of you." Li Ming replied as she folded her hands in front of her and bowed to the couple. Both the man and his wife smiled warmly as they looked at the young girl who appeared so humble even though she definitely belonged to a noble family. "Sir, Madam...., though I don''t have any money with me to repay your kindness, I still want to help you. If you will allow me." Li Ming asked for their permission so that she could repay their help. "There''s no need for you to repay us. Don''t be bothered about such things." The old man immediately responded with a quick head shake. "I can heal your right hand." Li Ming immediately spoke and watched as both the old man and his wife stared at her in shock. "H.....H-how...how do you.....know that..." The old lady could barely form any coherent words as she kept looking at the girl and then at her husband''s damaged wrist. "I have some basic knowledge of medicine. I can tell that his right wrist is damaged. If you don''t mind, I''m willing to give it a try. I''m a hundred percent sure that I can heal him." Li Ming answered the question that the woman was unable to voice out. The old couple stayed quiet for the next few moments as they contemplated what to do. Finally, the woman nodded her head slightly while looking at her husband who just sighed but also nodded his head. Li Ming did not bother to talk anymore as she placed her hand above his right palm and channeled her healing energy into his hand. Though the man was taken by surprise because of her sudden actions, he stayed quiet. Soon enough, he felt his whole right hand getting engulfed in a warm cocoon. The feeling was too good to be able to describe in words. When Li Ming finally removed her hand after a few minutes, the man was shocked to find that his wrist was completely healed and that too within a few minutes. "Th...this...this is.... " He was too shocked to say anything. His expression matched his wife''s who was almost on the verge of crying as she was feeling too happy. Li Ming looked directly into their eyes as she spoke in an enchanting tone, "Now take me to the Capital city. You will forget about what had happened here. You will forget about me." Both the man and his wide nodded their heads while looking at her in a trance. "Good." She had a beautiful smile on her lips which were hidden behind the veil as she walked out of the house. "I still can''t understand. Why didn''t you compel him in the beginning? You could have easily made him help you. Then why did you wasted all your energy in healing his hand?" Snowy asked her through their bond. "When did I teach you to be so ungrateful?" She reprimanded him as she waited for the old man outside his house. Snowy made a pouting face and shut his mouth. There was no point in talking with his weird Master. *** When they finally reached the Capital city, it was already late in the afternoon of the next day. Li Ming thanked the old merchant and started walking through the busy streets of the market. The streets were full of people. Everyone was busy with their businesses. She roamed through the streets and visited various inns. She also went to a book shop and talked with a few people. She could not only read thoughts but she could also gain information while touching things if she could find the right link, though the latter one needed too much energy and focus. By the time she returned to her mansion, she had gained enough knowledge about the Han Empire. But what left her speechless was that this world was not just a normal ancient one. Rather the people of this new world cultivated some sort of spiritual energy to reach immortality. There were various levels of cultivation. 1. Basic Cultivator ( 9 levels ) 2. Middle Cultivator ( 9 levels) 3. High Cultivator ( 9 levels) 4. Elder Cultivator (6 levels) 5. Great Elder Cultivator ( 6 levels) 6. Master Cultivator ( 6 levels) 7. Grand Master Cultivator ( 6 levels) 8. Lord Cultivator ( 5 levels) 9. High lord Cultivator ( 5 levels) 10. Overlord Cultivator ( 5 levels) 11. Prime Cultivator ( 3 levels) 12. Divine Cultivator ( 3 levels) 13. Immortal Cultivator ( 3 levels) 14. High Immortal / Celestial Immortal [A|N: I know that I ended up overdoing the levels, but damn the deed is already done, and at this stage, it''s not possible to change it *sigh*] The strongest person in the Han empire was at Grand Master First cultivation level. He was none other than the great General Wei. The second most powerful person in the Han empire was Prime Minister Zhu, who was at Master Cultivator''s sixth level. This means that both of these people hate each other like birth enemies. And these both were a great headache for the emperor. The Imperial family also had some powerful people. But as one could see, the people in the Han empire were not too powerful when compared to the other Empires. Li Ming decided to visit the black market the next day. She needed to find a source of income so that she could make a presence for herself in the new world. Being the head of the mage clan, she had taken care of their businesses for years. Her clan was the richest among all the supernatural clans. She had full faith in herself that with her modern business knowledge and years of experience, she would be able to start something here too. Just wait for her to become the Empress of the Business World! As far as she had learned about this world, it''s no different from her world. Even here, the strong were respected and feared. The one who was not powerful enough was always treated as dirt. And she had never considered herself as weak. Her goal was to become the most powerful so that no one could look down at her. She was used to be on top and that''s what she wanted to achieve here too. Chapter 4 - The Black Market The next morning, Li Ming woke up early and went to the underground black market of the Imperial city. To get an entry into the black market, she needed to cross one of the most expensive Inns of the Capital City. In the backroom of that inn, there was a doorway that led to the black market. One could see guards standing at the entrance. The only condition of entering the black market was to have lots of money and since her clothes were of high quality and she gave a noble aura, no one stopped her. Inside the black market, there was every kind of shop selling cultivation books, weapons, herbs, medicines, elixirs, precious stones, and so on. The people who came into the black market were all from high-profile families. There were also a few inns or brothels located around the Black market which was surprisingly way bigger than she imagined. She took a look at the various shops for a while. The price of each item was so high that she probably needed to sell her soul to buy a single item from there. After satisfying her curiosity, she finally decided to take a look at the inns. The first inn that she entered was the biggest in the black market. It was beautifully decorated and the people serving the customers were also well mannered. The atmosphere inside the inn was very soothing. The other three inns were also filled with customers and there were also dancers and musicians and dancers (mostly beautiful women) to entertain the guests. Li Ming finally arrived in front of a small inn. It was located at the very end of the street. Only a few people could be seen entering or leaving it. As her curiosity was piqued after seeing its deserted situation, she hurriedly entered the inn. Although the place was small, it was perfectly clean. One could smell a very light fragrance of herbal tea in the air. At the moment, only two tables were occupied. On one table were sitting three men who were playing chess and the second table was occupied by an elderly man and woman, who were drinking tea in silence. The elder man''s name was Huang Fu. He was in his late forties. He was the owner of the inn and the woman was his wife. They had opened their inn, in the black market nearly two decades ago. Their business was going well until the new inns took over. Since the other inns entertained with the help of beautiful women, the customers were more interested to visit the other inns. This made their business came to an end. Their staff also left as he (Huang Fu) was unable to pay them for their hard work. Only two or three people now visited this inn in a day. Although Huang Fu wanted his business to run smoothly again, he couldn''t make himself hire beauties to achieve his goal. He was not that kind of person. Today he and his wife were discussing about finally closing the inn and returning to their village. A small smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips but was hidden from prying eyes thanks to the veil. As she successfully pried into Elder Fu''s wife''s mind, she already knew way too much about their lives. Mind reading was a really great skill. It could sometimes provide help in the most needed moments. As Li Ming approached the second table, the couple finally noticed her coming towards them and stood up to greet her. "Young Miss, please take a seat. How can I help you?" The older woman asked in a cheerful voice. Li Ming sat down at their table and looked towards both of them and replied with a soft smile, "I''m not here to ask for help. But it''s the other way around. I''m here to offer you my help." She looked at the questioning expression of the old couple and asked them to take a seat. "Please sit down and hear me out first." The old man and his wife finally sat down after a few seconds of confusion. The woman poured tea and offered it to the young girl. Li Ming accepted the tea and took a small sip. Immediately regretting as the hot liquid scalded her tongue. Only she knew how hard it was for her to not cry out and glare at the woman as if she was plotting against her on purpose. She just somehow succeeded in remaining silent as she hurriedly healed her tongue. After deciding to not bother about such a trivial issue, she looked at the couple in front of her and finally spoke, "I know that your business is not going well and you may even be deciding to end it. But I can make your business run at twice the speed of that of "Breezing Flowers". Breezing Flowers was the name of the biggest Inn in the black market. Huang Fu laughed a little at her words as he said, "Young Miss, if I wanted then I would have made my business number one in the black market by hiring beauties and providing entertainment to my customers. But I''m not interested in this kind of business." Li Ming chuckled softly as she shook her head before speaking, "You are too judgemental Elder Fu. I never said that you have to hire beauties to make your business a success." The couple looked at her in puzzlement as they tried to understand exactly what she was trying to imply. "Then what are you talking about?" Elder Fu asked as he waited for the girl to answer. "There are many ways to get people''s attention. You don''t have to worry about it. I''ll not do something that you don''t like. Just tell me whether you are interested in my offer or not?" She asked while looking at the couple. "Why are you helping us? What do you want in return?" The old madam asked with a little suspicion clearly visible in her tone and eyes which were closely inspecting the little girl. "You are smart. Indeed, I''m not helping you two out of kindness but because I have my purpose." Li Ming admitted as she looked at the couple for a while and when neither of them said anything she continued, "I want you and your family to work for me including your two daughters and...your son." Elder Fu was not surprised that the little girl knew about his two daughters. Since he was working in the black market for nearly two decades, everyone knew him and his family. But what surprised him was the mention of his son. Other than his own family, very few people knew about the existence of his son. "How do...do you know about my son? " Elder Fu asked with confusion and a little bit of fear clearly visible in his voice. Li Ming smiled softly as she answered, "I''m here for business. Of course, I will be fully prepared. Don''t worry, my intentions are not bad. You already know what I want from you. And if my first proposal is not enough for you to decide then I have another one for you. If you agree to work for me then... I will cure your son completely." Elder Fu and his wife were too shocked to say anything. It was the truth that their son had an incurable disease. No matter wherever and whoever they had asked for help, everyone said that the disease was impossible to cure. But after all these years, there was a little girl who was saying that she could cure their son. "According to me, you have nothing to lose. I think my offer is more than anyone can ever offer you. But I will still give you a day. Think properly and discuss it with your family. I will visit you tomorrow to know your answer. I hope you will choose wisely." Li Ming gave a final glance to the couple and then stood up and left the inn. If she wanted, she could have made them work for her by using her power of compulsion. But she had some morals and she knew that she could achieve her goal with her skills. She exited the black market and came out on the busy market street. She was hungry and tired. So she went into an empty alley and entered her mansion. No one noticed that a little girl vanished in thin air in the middle of the day without any trace. Chapter 5 - A Great Way To Make Money (1) The next day Li Ming woke up early as usual and performed her morning routine. But all of a sudden, Snowy wanted to take a bath. So, by the time she finished dolling him up, it was already past noon. She got ready and left for the black market. When she entered the inn, Elder Fu and his wife were already standing there. It looked like they were waiting for her. Madam Fu offered her a seat and poured tea for her. Today there were only two men in the inn, they were also busy in playing chess on the other side of the room. From what she had noticed so far, it seemed like the people of this world really loved to play games. An idea suddenly occurred to her but she stayed calm as she wanted to know Elder Fu''s decision. Even she did not why she had not already read his mind to find out the answer. Elder Fu waited for a while and when the girl didn''t say anything, he finally opened his mouth. "Young Miss, if you can cure my son, then my family is ready to serve you till our last breath," he said in a serious tone. Li Ming observed him and his wife in silence for a couple of moments before she spoke, "Alright! I knew that you are a smart man. It''s good to know that you have accepted my offer. But before we move forward, let''s make an oath to heaven, and then I will cure your son." She had found out that in this world people never broke their oaths. It''s just like an emperor''s edict, once you gave it to someone then you could never go back on your words. The consequences were too high to bear. Though she still had to find out what those consequences were. Elder Fu didn''t hesitate and immediately dropped on his knees to make the oath to heaven and earth that he and his family would follow her from the day onwards if she succeeded in curing their son. After making the oath, Elder Fu took her to a room on the second floor. The room was dark and only a few candles were burning to give a little view of the room. A boy of maybe 16/17 years, was sitting in a wheelchair. He was kinda good looking with long black hair and dark eyes. But the boy had no emotion in his eyes. It seemed like he had no more hope left in his life. "He''s my son, Huang Jun. Do you think you can cure him?" Elder Fu was looking at her with so much hope in his eyes that Li Ming almost started feeling bad for the poor man and his family. She just nodded her head and didn''t speak at all. She went near to Huang Jun and crouched down in front of his chair. She placed her fingers lightly on his left knee and closed her eyes. He had some kind of poison in his body which was making him a cripple. The poison would not kill him but it would make sure that he''d never be able to cultivate or stand on his legs for the rest of his life. She took a long breath and then concentrated on her healing energy. One could see a bluish light covering Huang Jun from his head to his toe. Huang Jun felt a warm and soothing feeling coming over his entire body. He closed his eyes to enjoy the moment. He had never felt this good in his entire life. But the warm feeling soon vanished. It felt like it was never there. He opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of her. "We have a lot of work to do. Are you all planning to stay here the whole day?" Li Ming asked out loud as she stood up. She looked around the room to see the confused and nervous expressions on everyone''s face which made her frown. Huang Jun looked at his father and mother. When they both stared back at him without speaking, he once again looked at the girl in front of him. The way she was looking at him with raised eyebrows made him realize that she was waiting for something. After a few moments as he gathered his courage, he braced both hands on the arms of the chair and tried to slowly stand up. Elder Fu thought that even if the little girl somehow knew how to cure his son, it would still take some time for him to be able to stand up. After all, he had been sitting in a wheelchair for more than the past 10 years. But when he saw Jun''er stand up completely without any discomfort or support, he could hardly believe his eyes. Not only that but the next moment, his son tried to take a step forward and succeeded without any problem. He once again moved his leg and succeeded in closing half the distance between him and his parents. It was like he had never been a cripple. Elder Fu was so happy that he could not bring himself to speak at all. One could even see his eyes were starting to tear up. The next few moments were spent by the Huang Family, as they shared hugs and cried together in happiness. After a while, Elder Fu looked at the girl and kneeled in front of her on the floor. The rest of his family also followed him and kneeled. "Young Miss, you have given a new life to both Jun''er and our Huang Family. We''ll always be in your debt. From today onwards our Huang Family will be at your service," said Elder Fu as he along with his whole family bowed their heads. Li Ming smiled softly to know that she had won her first task. She helped Elder Fu and his wife to stand up and asked the other members to also stand up and stop kneeling. "Alright! We don''t have time for all this. We have a bigger and important matter in our hands. Let''s focus on our inn''s business first." She told them in a determined tone before asking all of them to sit down, as she also sat down on one of the chairs. "My name is Li Ming. Since I have taken over the inn, then I will make sure that our business will be running smoothly in the future." It took so much time for her to do some research on her name. She wanted to make sure that there was no one else in the Capital City with a similar name as her, at least not someone famous or well known by the citizens. Elder Fu had two daughters. The eldest daughter, Huang Qing, was 20 years old while the youngest daughter, Huang Ling, was 15. Both the girls were beautiful and cute. "Alright! Tell me exactly how you all were doing the inn''s business before everything went down?" She asked Eder Fu and just like that, they ended up talking about it for nearly half an hour. "I have a plan to attract people''s attention to our inn. Let me try it. I want you to prepare tea and some snacks for the customers. And leave the rest of the work to me," she said and stood up to leave the room. Just when she was about to step out, she remembered something and looked back at the family of five. "Don''t send Huang Jun in front of anyone yet. When I diagnosed him, I found poison in his body. Until we are not sure how he got the poison, we can''t let anyone find out that he is cured." She looked at Huang Jun and then at Elder Fu. They looked shocked as if they could not believe her but still, they agreed. Li Ming nodded her head once and left the room with Elder Fu, to perform her next mission. She was sure that it was going to be too much fun. Chapter 6 - A Great Way To Make Money (2) Li Ming came back to the main room with Elder Fu. Two more customers were sitting with the previous ones. They all were busy playing chess. She went towards their table and let out a deep sigh as she spoke to no one in particular, "Why do all men like to waste their time in playing this childish game?" She sounded like she was talking to herself but her comment was loud enough to grasp the attention of the group of men who were playing that exact game. "Little Girl, what rubbish are you spouting? Do you think that playing chess is a child''s play?" One of the men said mockingly while his companions chuckled. "Of course! What''s so great about playing chess? I have never lost to anyone in this game. At this point, there''s hardly anything about this game that can excite me." She sounded both confident and bored as she answered. "Haha...! A little girl like you and you think that you are such a great player. Hilarious!" Another man commented and he along with his buddies burst into laughter. Li Ming finally turned her full attention to them as she walked closer to their table while speaking in a challenging tone, "You can''t judge me without experiencing my true ability. If you really think that I''m just boasting around, why not play a round with me?" The men looked at each other with questioning gazes before one of them accepted her challenge. "Alright! Let''s see how great of a player you are." They were just passing time while playing chess, so there was no harm in keeping a child''s heart. In reality, Li Ming was just an average player when it came to chess. But since she could read minds, she was confident that it would be easy for her to win. Though she hated reading other people''s minds, the situation needed her to use the power since she lacked the talent. "Little Girl, seeing that you are from the younger generation, we are giving you our worst player. We won''t take the game too seriously," Another man said laughingly while looking at one of the men whose face had turned red from embarrassment. "I''m not going to lose to a little child." The red-faced said grumpily. Li Ming didn''t say anything in response and soon the game began. Although Elder Fu was confused by her behavior, he didn''t say anything and asked his eldest daughter, Huang Qing, to serve tea to the guests. Almost within 20 minutes, Li Ming won the game. The men were surprised to see a little child playing chess so well. After a few minutes of discussion they started another round but this time her opponent was a different person. After two hours she had won every single round against the four men. The men could not believe that they lost to a little girl. After all their Young Master, who was known as the best chess player in the entire capital city, had taught them the art of playing chess and although they were not geniuses but their skills were still good enough. These four people were the guards of the General''s residence. They came to the black market with the eldest young master of the General manor. Since their master was busy in ''Breezing Flowers'' (Breezing Flowers also provide the service of a brothel), they decided to spend their time in this quiet inn by playing chess. But who had known that they would lose to a child and not only once but every single round? They already accepted that the little miss was a genius player. No matter whatever way they used, she already had a way to defeat them. Finally, they paid for their tea and left the inn. But they could not forget about the embarrassment that they felt while losing to a child. Elder Fu was confused by what just happened. He couldn''t control his curiosity anymore and finally asked Li Ming, "Miss Li, I''m unable to understand what you are planning to do. Were you just passing your time by playing chess? Though I''m really impressed by your skills." Li Ming smiled as she looked at Elder Fu and asked, "Elder Fu, do you know who these men were?" "Sorry Miss Li. Though I know many people in the black market and the Capital City, I have no idea who these men were. By looking at their attire they appear to be guards." Elder Fu replied with confusion evident in his expression. "You are right. These are the guards of the General manor. They came here with their eldest young master. Now tell me what you know about the eldest son of the General." She asked Elder Fu while enjoying the sweet flavor of the tea. "It was known throughout the capital city that the eldest young master of General manor has a strong personality. He is famous for his great achievements in martial arts. He''s also famous for playing chess as he is almost undefeatable in the game. He''s the number one chess player in the entire Capital City." Elder Fu told her what he had heard through his friends and servants or the customers about the Eldest Young Master Wei. "Exactly! Now, all we have to do is to wait for his arrival. I''m sure he will soon visit us to meet the person who has defeated his men in the game that he loves to use to boast around," Li Ming said with a smirk on her lips which was hidden because of the veil. Although Elder Fu was still confused but when he saw her closing her eyes to rest for a while, he didn''t say anything and left her alone. - - - - - - On the other side of the black market, Wei Rong, the eldest son of General Wei, noticed the sullen face of his guards. He first didn''t ask them anything but when they continued to ignore his words like passing breeze, he got irritated. "What the hell is wrong with you all? Did something happened?" He asked while looking at them with a frown. "It''s nothing, Young Master Rong. It''s... just today... we lost in the game of chess to a little girl. No matter which one of us was her opponent and how hard we tried but in the end, she defeated all of us with such ease," One of the guards told him embarrassingly. There was no point in hiding the truth from their young master. "You are saying that you lost to a little child? You bunch of useless people!! How could you shame me like that?" Wei Rong shouted at them in rage but quieted down when he saw their sad faces. He thought for a while and finally said, "Take me to that inn. I taught you guys the art of playing chess. But you all made me lose face today. Now I have to get my honor back." The guards obeyed and took him to Elder Fu''s inn. - - - - - - Wei Rong entered the small inn at the end of the street. The first thing that caught his attention was a 12 or 13-year-old girl who was relaxing in one of the seats. Although she was young and her body had not matured but she was beautiful. For a while, Wei Rong was unable to move his eyes from her but then an old man came to welcome him. "Master Rong, what a great pleasure to see you here!" Elder Fu bowed and asked the man to take a seat. Li Ming opened her eyes at Elder Fu''s voice and looked at the young man who had entered the inn. He was quite looking but his expression made him appear quite funny to her. He was wearing white brocade robes. His hair was long and nicely combed while a huge sword was hanging on his waist. His skin was fair like jade and he had dark eyes, with a height of 5''11". Overall, he could join the celebrity industry of the modern world with his looks but she doubted if he would succeed in getting the role of the male lead. The guard behind him said something in his ear and the man smiled. He nodded his head and walked towards her table. "So, you are the one who defeated my guards in chess. I''m really impressed. If this Young Miss doesn''t mind, then I also want to play a round with you," Wei Rong said in a confident tone as he took a seat opposite her. He was unable to tell the identity of the girl. She looked like a young miss of a noble family but since her face was hidden, he could not tell if he had seen her before or not. Also, he was unable to tell her cultivation level. It could only mean two things, either her cultivation level was above his own, which was kinda impossible as she was so young and the other one was that she was a trash. But he was not an idiot to judge someone so early. "Master Rong, not everyone is as free as you think. Why I would waste my time in playing chess with you when I''m gaining no benefit from it?" Li Ming asked in a soft voice. Wei Rong looked at the girl in front of him with a frown decorating his face. He thought for a while and finally asked, "What are you thinking about?" Li Ming smiled and said, "You are one of the best players of chess in the entire capital city. Why not make a bet?" Thus they both ended up making a bet of 1000 silver taels. Wei Rong put a pouch full of 1000 silver taels on the table and looked at her. Li Ming also produced a pouch of money out of thin air and placed it on the table. She had created this money using her illusion powers. Although her powers were weak it was enough to make anyone below Elder Cultivator level believe in her illusion. The illusion would work for 8 hours but after that, it would start wearing off. Also, the act of producing the pouch out of thin air was to show the people around her that she was not a trash just because they were unable to feel her aura. Her idea worked as after seeing the little girl producing a pouch full of money in the thin air, everyone was left surprised. They all had the same thought, that the girl''s identity was not normal. Chapter 7 - Introduction To A New World Of. Games Elder Fu served tea and also stood at the side to watch the game. Soon the game began. Li Ming agreed that Wei Rong was really a great player but no matter how great of a player he was, in the end the one who lost was him. It was the first time in his life that he had lost in the game of chess. All the people present in the room were also speechless. The little girl was really a genius. The guards were worried that their master would loose his cool but they were also rendered speechless when Wei Rong started laughing so hard. They thought that the eldest son of the General manor had lost his mind. "Young Miss, you are indeed a great player. Can you tell me who taught you to play this game?" Wei Rong was in a good mood. Although he lost in the game but finally he met someone who was at a level to become his opponent. "Master Rong, some things are meant to be a secret." Li Ming said with a soft smile. Wei Rong nodded his head and pushed the pouch of money towards her. Li Ming picked up the pouch and gave it to Elder Fu. Wei Rong noticed that but decided to remain silent for meanwhile. He also heard Elder Fu calling her Miss Li. "If I''m not wrong then there is no family in the capital city with the name of Li." Wei Rong asked her. "When did I say that I''m from the Imperial city?" She asked him with a little twitch on her lips. "Ahhh!...." Wei Rong shook his head on his stupidity. She smiled and asked him, "Do Master Rong want to try something new for a change?" Wei Rong looked at her and asked curiously about what she was talking about. And that''s how the game of Snakes and ladders started in the silent inn at the end of the street of the black market. The game was new and really interesting. They had never played such a game before, so everyone wanted to try it. Thus everyone ended up playing it once. By the time the game finally ended it was already reaching the night time. Everyone was in a good mood. Wei Rong promised to come back a few days later with some of his friends to play the game and left the inn with his guards. The money that the inn made today was more than what they normally or you could say barely made in a month. And the 1000 silver taels was a bonus. Li Ming gave 100 silver taels to Elder Fu and asked him to prepare for the next day. "But Young Miss, we have enough money from today''s income to prepare everything for tomorrow." Madam Fu said. "Use that for your family. Madam Fu you are good at accounting right?" She asked. When Madam Fu nodded her head she said, "Hire a 13/14 year old child and teach her/him accounting. From tomorrow onwards you will take care of the inn''s account book. I''ll check it at the end of the day." She gave a few more instructions and then left. She was also tired. She took a shower, ate noodles and then submitted to her much needed sleep. *********************************** The very next morning, Li Ming woke up early and went to the black market. But what she did next left the whole Huang family speechless. Till now they were not sure how strong she was because even Elder Fu, who was at Elder Cultivator sixth level, was not able to feel her cultivation powers. But after what they saw that morning was something that even he couldn''t do with his cultivation powers. Although they had already made an oath to serve her but after seeing her level of powers the whole family decided to serve their master with their lives. As Li Ming could read minds, so she already knew what all of them were thinking. She was relieved that her power show didn''t go wasted. The first thing that she had done was to clean the entire inn with magic. Then out of nowhere, sea blue colored curtains with very beautiful designs covered the windows. A few modern paintings of landscapes were also appeared on the walls. Although they had never seen paintings like these before but even they could tell that the paintings were very beautiful and costly (the paintings were inside the glass frame and at that time glass was not even invented). One could see very beautiful plants in designer pots in every corner of the inn. The tables and chairs also got organized in a very beautiful manner. The entire inn changed into a very beautiful place. Everyone was in awe. Li Ming had used too much of her energy in decorating the inn. She taught Madam Fu and her two daughters how to take care of the plants. The inn had three floors. The ground floor had the dinning area (main room), a storage and a kitchen. The first and second floors contained sleeping quarters. There were total of twelve rooms in the inn. It took almost all of her energy to decorate the first and second floors. But after an hour she was finally done. She was impressed by her work. But since she had used all of her powers, it would take her some days to regain her energy. Once again she thought about cultivating. If she could start cultivation then her magical powers would also become strong. Although she had the healing powers but she couldn''t heal something that she didn''t know. She had no idea what was wrong with her body. There was no poison in her body. Since she didn''t know the source, she was unable to heal herself. The last thing that she did was to place a small but very beautiful Terrarium on a table in the middle of the main room. It was the most beautiful thing in the entire inn. Elder Fu and his family also came behind Li Ming to see the jar closely. The magical mansion had so many beautiful and precious things in it. As she was going to spend more time in the inn, then there was no use in keeping these things in the mansion. Also she knew that this Terrarium will attract people''s attention, as it was something they had never seen in their lives before. "Miss Li, what is this thing? It''s really beautiful. We have never seen something like this before even in the black market." Huang Ling said with great curiosity. "It''s just something for decoration. I thought that it will look good in here. You have just to make sure that no one knock it off, otherwise it will break." Li Ming told them. "Young Miss, you have changed the entire inn in such a way that even I can''t recognize it anymore. At such a young age your cultivation level is really admirable." Madam Fu said with awe. Although they were stupefied by her powers but they were also smart. They knew that unless their master want they couldn''t tell anyone about her unique and special powers. After everything was ready, Madam Fu brought a 13 year old girl with her to meet Li Ming. "Miss Li, this is Ming Zhu. She''s the daughter of one of my relatives. I think she will be a great student." Li Ming looked at the girl and found out that she had no bad intentions towards the Huang family or the inn. She just want a job so she could take care of her sick mother. "Alright! As long as she will not create any problem, you can keep her by your side and teach her. Give her 2 silver coins for her salary. Once she will learn then I''ll increase her salary. Also provide her with a package of food to take home for her mother and little brother. " Li Ming told Madam Fu. Ming Zhu thanked her. After that both she and madam Fu bowed and left. Li Ming went to the middle table of the room and put a modern day incense burner on the table beside the jar. Soon the air was filled with a light fragrance of sandal wood and rose. The incense was actually a magical one. It had the properties of healing and rejuvenating the body of a person. The sweet and light smell was really soothing and relaxing. Chapter 8 - Winning Heart And Money With Delicious Food Since Wei Rong had said that he would come a few days later, Li Ming wanted to complete a few important tasks first. She asked Elder Fu to arrange for two guards and four maids. After Elder Fu left, she called Madam Fu and her two daughters to discuss some kitchen arrangements. "Huang Qing and Huang Ling, you both can cook. Right?" When the two girls nodded their heads, Li Ming smiled and said, "If we want to attract visitors to stay in our inn we have to provide something that the other inns are not providing. That''s why I''m thinking of providing breakfast, lunch and dinner. Since we don''t have anyone staying in the inn at the moment, we don''t have to worry about it for now. But I want you two to be prepared for this task. Also I want to teach you to cook something new." Li Ming brought the two girls into the kitchen and for rest of the morning she spent her time in teaching the girls how to make coffee and a few easy snacks. When she was busy teaching the girls, a new idea struck her. She asked Madam Fu to bring a white paper and ink. After writing on the paper she pasted it on a wooden plank and put it at the entrance of the inn. The message written on the paper was : Special Lunch with New Dishes Limited Offer Price : 1 plate of each dish = 2 silver taels 2 plates of each dish = 5 silver taels 3 plates of each dish = 20 silver taels 4 plates of each dish = 40 silver taels Special Sweet Dish : 1 plate = 3 silver taels 2 plates = 10 silver taels 3 plates = 30 silver taels The people on the street saw the board and nearly everyone of them was surprised. The price of food in the black market was higher than the normal restaurants. But even those normal restaurants didn''t serve food as cheap as this inn. Although the price of the 3rd and 4th plates were higher than normal but it was rare that someone would order more than 2 plates of the same dish. And moreover the inn was serving new dishes. This announcement attracted many people. It was still an hour early before the lunch time. Although the offer was attractive but not everyone fell for it and those who were interested had to wait for an hour. On the other hand Snowy was going insane. Li Ming had given him the duty of monitoring the oven and the ice-cream in the freezer. He wanted to kick his master in a razing volcano right at that moment. Moreover he was not even allowed to taste anything. He was a familiar for goodness sake not a cook! "You are the worst master possible. You want to torture me to death!" He said grumpily through their bond. Elder Fu came back with two guards and four maids. Li Ming ran through their thoughts and found that they were okay to hire. The guards were placed at the entrance of the inn and the maids went into the kitchen with her. For next one hour everyone watched Li Ming cooking weird but mouth watering dishes. They had never seen something like this before in their lives but the aroma of the food was so good. Even they wanted to taste the dishes prepared by Li Ming. But they stayed silent and observed her every step closely. As the air was strong today, the people outside on the street also smelled the delicious aroma of foods and even those who were planning to go somewhere else for lunch changed their mind. As soon as one hour completed and noon approached, the main room of their inn started filling with people. This room could serve at least 20 people at a single time. And every single table was booked. Soon the four new maids and the Huang sisters brought lime soda prepared by Li Ming (with her magic) and started serving the customers. The soda was cold and tasty. It was really a nice drink rather than drinking hot tea as it was summer season. After the chilly soda, the customers were served the special dishes. Although they had never seen these dishes before but they could tell from the smell that the dishes were tasty. Even the cutlery was made of some fine material, making it shine brightly. The dishes that Li Ming cooked were : # Apple Cider - Glazed Pork Chops # Jelloff Rice # Crispy Honey Garlic Salmon # Barley Cabbage Rolls # Cherry Cream Desert As soon as the people tasted the dishes they couldn''t stop themselves from praising the cook and the dishes. They had never eaten anything more tasty than these dishes. Everyone ordered as many plates as possible. By the end of the lunch everyone was full but they still wanted to eat more. But Li Ming stopped everyone. "Do you all forget that this is a limited offer. You can''t have more than four plates and nearly every single one of you had ordered more than two plates of each dish. Now it''s time for the special dessert." Li Ming clapped her hands and the maids came out with the dessert and started serving everyone. The people in the inn were amazed to see the desert. Actually it was confusing what impressed them more, the desert or the glass cup in which the desert was served, which they had never seen before. Everyone enjoyed the desert and many of them even ordered more than once neglecting it''s high price. When the lunch was over and everyone was enjoying the free soda, the Manager of the Herb Hall, Elder Fang, asked Elder Fu about the cook. Elder Fu looked at Li Ming and when she nodded her head, he said to everyone present. "This is Miss Li. She''s the new owner of this inn and the delicious food that you all just enjoyed was cooked by her." "How''s that possible? She is so young and you are saying that she not only cooked the food but she''s also the owner of this inn." A young lady said with surprise and a little sarcasm. "Age doesn''t matter when you are strong enough to pursue your goals. I hope you all have enjoyed the lunch." Li Ming said politely. The manager of the Herb Hall, Elder Fang, laughed heartily and said in a praising voice, "Miss Li is very humble. You have changed the entire inn into a complete new world. All the things in here from those paintings on the wall, the plants, the food, the cutlery and that strange thing on the table (He''s talking about Terrarium), everything is amazing and beautiful. Although I''m working in the black market for past three decades I have never seen anything like these before. I can see that the future days of this inn are going to be very busy and lively." Although he himself was surprised to see that the girl was so young but he was also not an idiot. Someone who could produce things out of this world couldn''t be simple. Everyone thanked Li Ming and her staff for the delicious food and left to complete their business. The Huang Family and the servants were happy as they earned 1500 plus silver taels today. It was way more than what Huang family had earned last whole year. After everyone left, the servants cleaned the entire main room making sure that it was again shining brightly. These servants had known about the condition of Elder Fu''s inn. When Elder Fu came to find guards and maids, they didn''t want to go and work for someone who couldn''t pay them properly. But when Elder Fu offered 10 silvers for the guards and 7 silvers for the maids, which was way more than the normal salary of servants, they all were surprised. Although they were suspicious but they needed money, so they decided to come over. But what they saw here left them stupefied. Now all six of them decided to work diligently to earn their Master''s favor. In the evening Li Ming made the servants sit with them for dinner but they refused politely as it was not good to eat with your master. When Elder Fu and Madam Fu also persuaded them they finally gave in and all the servants and the entire Huang family had a delicious dinner with their Master. They finally got to taste the delicacies of Li Ming that moved everyone''s heart. Everyone was happy and looking forward to the coming days. If you all were confused about how Li Ming got vegetables and other materials for cooking, then here''s your answer. The Magic Mansion has a storage which provide vegetables, fruits, snacks, meats, fishes and other materials related to food and cooking. It is magicaly inchanted and it''s stock never finished. It''s like someone or something is keeping the storage full with fresh food. Chapter 9 - Preparing For Future (1) By the next day, the entire black market knew about the changes in the ''Black Jade Inn'' and its master. Everyone was praising about the beautiful decorations of the inn and the delicious food. Next day, People started visiting the inn from early morning. Although they didn''t get to eat the famous dishes of the ''Black Jade Inn'' but Elder Fu had announced that the inn was going to serve a very special tea and delicious snacks. So, people were excited. Li Ming again spend her morning in teaching the Huang sisters to make coffee and some snacks. The girls were quick learner and just in one hour they learned everything. Actually it was not that hard to make coffee and fry some chips! When Li Ming came to the main room to check on the customers, she found that at least 12-13 people were there. Seeing this she was feeling good. For the rest of the morning, the inn got many customers. Everyone liked the new tea (coffee) and the snacks. When it''s nearly noon, the ''Black Jade Inn'' got its first customer who booked a room for a week. Everyone was happy as it had been nearly a year since anyone had stayed in the inn. The rest of the day went smoothly. In the evening Li Ming again cooked with the help of the Huang sisters this time and the servants with their master and the customer, all enjoyed a hearty and delicious dinner. ------------ ''Breezing Flowers'' In one of the rooms upstairs, a person in black clothes was sitting on the table. The glow of the candles could only give a little idea about his gender and figure but his face was completely in shadows. Another person in black clothes was kneeling in front of him. "My Lord, there''s no information about the ''White Pearl Lotus'' yet. I have asked our secret guards to keep an eye on the disciples of..." The person kneeling down said. "Hmm." This was the only reply that he got as the man sitting on the table stopped him to talk any further. He stood up and bowed. As he was turning around to leave, his master stopped him. "Book a room in ''Black Jade Inn'' for me. I heard that they serves very delicious food." The man said in a melodious tone. "Yes my lord!" The other man bowed and left the room. ------------- Next morning, the ''Black Jade Inn'' was again filled with customers and another man came to book a room. Li Ming made sure that the Huang sisters were making everything right and when she was satisfied enough, she left Madam Fu to take care of everything. She had asked Elder Fu to prepare a carriage for her. The carriage arrived early and she asked the guards to load some boxes into the carriage. She gave some instructions to Elder Fu and informed that she would be late. After that she left in the carriage. 8 hours later the carriage finally stopped outside a house in a town near imperial city. Yes! It was the same town in which the previous owner of Li Ming''s body grew up as a child. The reason of Li Ming coming here today was related to her future plans. The house in front of which the carriage had stopped was none other than the orphanage. The old couple who looked after the orphanage came out to see who was in the carriage. They saw a young girl of 13 years old, coming out of a carriage. The carriage was neither too lavish nor too normal. But the young girl looked like a young miss of some rich family. Her clothes and jewelry were of high quality. But due to the veil, they were unable to see her face. The couple were surprised to see this young miss at their orphanage. "Can I talk to you both?" Li Ming asked the old couple. She had changed her voice with magic, so that no one could recognize her. The couple hesitated for a moment but then led her inside. The condition of the orphanage was not that good. Everything was in poor condition. After everyone settled down and the old madam served tea, Li Ming looked at the children working around the house. "Who opened this orphanage?" She asked after observing the children for a moment. "My father started this orphanage. After his death I took over and now both me and my wife looks after these poor children." The old man replied. "If that''s the case, then why I can''t see anyone older than 13/14 years in the group?" Li Ming asked with a frown while looking puzzled. At first the old couple was so shocked that they hesitated for a moment but then the old madam said laughingly, "Once these children become older than 14 years, they leave this orphanage to search for work and build themselves a good life." Li Ming laughed mockingly at the old madam''s words. She sure knew how to pretend. The old couple looked uncomfortably at the laughing young girl. "This.....Young Miss..." The old madam started but Li Ming cut her off. "You can call me Miss Li. And don''t think just because no one else has caught you in your business, then you can fool everyone easily." Li Ming looked at the old couple who were now looking terrified. "We have no idea what Miss Li is talking about." The old madam said. "Don''t need to pretend anymore. I know that you sell these children as slaves. And you has been doing it for a long time." Li Ming said while playing with the tea cup in her hand. This time the old couple were too afraid to even speak a single word. Their business had been going well for all these years and never anyone from the village suspected them. They had never thought that one day a small girl would come and destroy everything. Right now their minds were running at full speed to stop this girl from ruining their lives. If this truth was revealed then they would spend their rest of life either in prison or in poverty. The first thought that came in their mind was to kill the girl, but as they tried to stand they were unable to move. They both looked at each other in terror and then they looked at the girl in front of them. "Planning of killing me?" She asked with an evil smile. The look in her eyes terrified the old couple to no end. "Don''t worry. I''m not going to tell anyone about what you both were doing. I''m here for business and I want to make a deal with you." Li Ming told them in a serious tone. Li ming''s words made the old couple relax. The old madam even smiled a little as she thought that Li Ming wanted to partner with them in their business. After reading old madam''s thought, Li Ming wanted to strangle her to death. But she controled herself. "Bring your mind out of the gutter." She said to old madam while glaring at her. Her glare erased the smile from the old madam''s face. "How much money you make in a month from your business and was their any other benefits for you in this business?" She asked the old man. "We can get at least 100 silver taels for selling two or three children but we don''t receive any other benefits. Only the girls who were sent to brothels can get higher price. But since the children are small we can only sell five or six children in a year. Overall, we can earn nearly 500-800 silver taels a year. " The old man told her. But it was clear that he was terrified. Li Ming processed his words and then finally asked, "What will be the consequences if you stop selling the children?" "That.....It''s not that easy. The people involved in this business are not normal people." The old man replied with a sigh. "Give me all the details about these people. I''ll take care of it. Now lets come to our business deal. I''ll give you 100 silver taels every month as your salary if you agree to work for me." Li Ming told the old couple. The old couple was so shocked. It was once in a lifetime opportunity. "Miss Li, if you can really take care of those people then we have no problem working with you." The old man said. "Don''t worry about that. It''s now my problem to solve. And let me clear your mistake, you are not working with me, you are working for me." Li Ming looked at the old man and his wife. When both of them nodded their heads in understanding, she asked, "Can anyone in this house read or write?" "I have some basic knowledge." The old man told her. Li Ming nodded her head and took out a parchment. "This is the contract. It states that both of you work for me and this orphanage and these children are mine to order. Read it carefully and then sign it." "But Miss Li, what do you want us to do?" The old madam asked in confusion. Chapter 10 - Preparing For Future (2) Li Ming looked at the old madam and asked, "Are all the children in the orphanage today?" "Yes, all of them are here." The old madam replied. "Alright, call all of them outside." Li Ming told the old couple and stood up. She walked to the front yard and looked at the old and barely standing house in front of her. She sighed. The old madam had left to call all the children outside. Li Ming asked the old man, "If you were making enough money, why didn''t you renovate this house?" "I also wanted to renovate it but my wife thought that it will make the villagers suspicious." The old man (Old Mo) was clearly embarrassed. Li Ming didn''t know whether to praise the old madam or call her stupid. On one hand it was right that if they renovated the house, there would be questions but at the same time what''s the point of earning money if you couldn''t even afford a proper house. After a few minutes, the old madam came out with 28 children. The children stood in a group and bowed to Li Ming. Li Ming shorted out the children in different groups. All the children who were younger than 10 were placed in one group. Only two children were younger than 5, Li Ming asked the old madam to take both of them aside. Then she placed three girls of her own age and one girl slightly younger than them, in another group. After that she divided the remaining children into three more groups. The old owner of her body had known these children for years. That''s how she knew which of these children were good in which kind of work. The old couple were confused, so the old madam asked, "Miss Li, why are you dividing them in groups?" Li Ming looked at the first group of 8 children who were younger than 10 and said, "Old Mo, I want you to teach these children how to read and write. Can you do that?" "As you wish, Miss Li." The old man bowed and accepted the task. "The rest of you will also learn with the old sir for two hours every day. Is that clear?" Li Ming looked at the rest of the children and they all nodded their heads. "Good. Also from now on, you all don''t need to go out and work. I''ll provide food, clothes and other necessities for you all." Li Ming told the surprised children standing in front of her. Then she looked at the second group which had four girls, "You all can cook, right?" Li Ming asked them. When the four girls nodded their heads, she asked, "I''m going to train you four in cooking special dishes. Do you want to learn or is there anything else you want to do?" The four girls excitedly accepted her first offer. Li Ming nodded her head and looked at the third group. There were three children in this group, one boy and two girls. "You all know the needle work, Right?" Li Ming asked. Again the three kids nodded their heads. "Good, then the three of you will train with me in needle work." She told them. Li Ming then looked at the last group. This group had 11 children. "I want to train you in martial arts. Do you all agree?" In response to her question a loud yes could be heard. "Alright! Then it''s settled. You all will start your classes with the old sir from tomorrow. So...all of you want to see some magic?" Li Ming asked the group of children standing in front of her. When the children again echoed a loud yes, she asked them to wait for her there. She told two boys to bring something to plant seeds. After a few moments, the two boys returned with trowels in their hands. She brought them outside the house and gave some weird looking seeds to them. The seeds had runes all over them. She asked them to sow a seed at every corner of the fence of the orphanage. After 5 minutes, the boys returned after completing the task. Li Ming told them to go back inside the orphanage. After the boys went inside, she closed her eyes and focused a little bit of her energy on the seeds. Soon after vines sprouted out of the seeds and started covering the fence. When the vines had covered the entire fence, Li Ming also returned back inside. The people inside had also seen the vines but they stayed silent. Li Ming asked them all to stand behind her in the front yard. Everyone did as she said. Li Ming faced the house and again closed her eyes. She had been preserving her powers for the past two days. She focused on her energy and directed it towards the house. Everyone was confused by Li Ming''s behavior but no one dared to disturb her. Soon everyone saw something that left them in awe. The house which was nearly destroyed was changing into something new. There was originally only a single floor but now the house which was constructing itself in front of them had two floors. The design of the house was a little different than what they had seen before. It was simple but beautiful. Barely after five minutes, there was a complete new house in front of them. They all looked at Li Ming with pure admiration and curiosity. Li Ming opened her eyes and looked at the house. Although it was not exactly what she wanted, but due to her limited powers they had to do with it for now. She looked at the others and found them gawking at her. "What? Don''t you want to decorate your front and back yard?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. The children again nodded their heads but this time with a lot more excitement. Li Ming took out some vials with different color liquids. She opened the first vial and emptied it in the front yard. After a few seconds, the whole front yard was covered in grass, perfectly mowned, of course! Then she emptied two more vials and the front yard changed into a beautiful garden. There were various colored flowers. There were also some fruit trees. At one side of the garden was a swing covered beautifully in vines. On the other side of the garden was a very large table with at least 40 seats. After finishing, Li Ming looked at the stupefied children and the old couple and said, "Let''s go to the back yard." All of them followed her to the back yard. This time Li Ming emptied two vials and stood at the side. Soon the back yard also changed. The area around the well got covered with tiles and a flower bed. The rest of the back yard changed into a soldier training place. "What do you think? Do you all like your new house?" Li Ming asked the audience. It took some time but finally everyone came out of their trance state. "We love it. This is so beautiful. How did you do it? What is your cultivation level?" One of the girls asked with pure curiosity. "Didn''t I said that I''m going to show you some magic? That''s it, just a little magic." Li Ming said. Li Ming brought everyone inside the house. There was a kitchen, a dinning room, a storeroom, a library with paper and ink, 15 bedrooms and a common room. When finally everyone had looked over the entire house and was sure that their eyes was not playing tricks with them, they all kneeled down in front of Li Ming and thanked her while kowtowing. According to them, this Young Miss was sure some great cultivator. Li Ming looked at all of them and said in a serious tone, "The vines that I grew on the walls are enchanted vines. It will make sure that anyone who is not a part of the orphanage will see it as the old house it was before. You all can still go out in the village to meet with others or play but make sure that none of you will say anything that has happened here today. You will tell no one about me. Remember clearly, I hate those who betrays me. Am I clear?" Everyone nodded their heads in understanding and promised to not say a single word to anyone. Li Ming asked them to stand up and helped the old madam. Then she told everyone to freshen up and went into the kitchen with the four girls of the cooking group. By the time Li Ming was finished with preparing the dinner with the help of the girls, everyone had finished washing up. The boxes that Li Ming had brought with her contained clothes, vegetables, fruits and some sweets. She asked the old sir to put the boxes in the store room. She then filled the entire store room with rice, flour, cereals, fresh veggies and fruits, tea leaves and other cooking materials. After that everyone enjoyed a hearty dinner in the evening. Old Mo signed the contract and gave all the information about their slaves business to Li Ming. "Miss Li, the next transaction is after 4 months. Until then we don''t have to worry about those people. I hope you will find some way by then." Old Mo said. "Don''t worry." Li Ming gave the old sir a pouch. "Here are your 100 silver taels. I hope you will not dissapoint me." "Rest assured, Miss Li. We will not give you any reason to regret this." The Mo couple bowed and promised. "Alright! Now, it''s time for me to leave. I''ll visit after a few days and officially start the training." Li Ming told them. "But Miss Li, your carriage left in the morning. How will you go back?" The old madam asked with worry. "Don''t worry. I don''t need a carriage." Li Ming had saved enough of her energy to teleport herself back to the inn. The carriage took too much of her time. But she couldn''t use teleportation as her traveling solution because right now her powers were too low for that. Based on her current situation, She could only use teleportation powers once in a three days. She sighed irritably in her mind and teleported herself back to inn, leaving behind a very shocked old couple. Chapter 11 - Fourth Prince Is A Headache (1) When Li Ming appeared in her room at the ''Black Jade Inn'', it was already night time. She was feeling dizzy. Everything was looking blurry and it felt like darkness was pulling her in. It looked like she underestimated her level of weakness. She''s even weaker than a baby mage! She went inside the mansion and sat down cross legged in the back garden. She was exhausted because she had used too much of her powers. Snowy brought a vial in his mouth, full of golden colored liquid and gave it to her. "I can''t believe you are my master. How can my fate hate me so much?" Dear Snowy said in a very sad tone. Li Ming ignored him and took the vial. She gulped down the golden liquid and then closed her eyes. For next one hour she focused on making her internal energy stable. Just when she was making the internal energy flow from her head towards her toes, she found some blockage below her navel. ''What''s that?'' But before she could explore any further, Snowy stopped her. "What?" She asked with impatience. "Maybe you should check on the inn before it''s too late." Snowy said in a bored tone. Li Ming raised her eyebrow at him in question but he didn''t even gave her a look after that. At first she thought of ignoring him but something told her to just check on the inn at least once. She cleaned her sweaty body with a spell and left the mansion. She appeared in her room at the inn and heard voices coming from the main room. She went downstairs and saw, all the servants, guards, the Huang family and even three customers were there. In the middle of the room was a man in black clothes, sitting on one of the table, like he owned the entire place. His beauty was alien. Jade like skin, long black hair combed beautifully, black eyes full of mischief and a non describable darkness. Li Ming could not get a hold on his thoughts, which only meant that his level of cultivation was quite high. But it was not hard to understand what he was thinking as he was looking disgustedly at the food in front of him. All the people present were looking too afraid to even breathe loudly. Elder Fu saw Li Ming coming down the stairs and at once rushed at her side and said in low voice, "Miss Li, where have you been and when did you return?" Li Ming didn''t answer Elder Fu''s questions. "What''s going on here and who is this man?" She asked while pointing with her eyes at the man who was now looking at her. Before Elder Fu could say anything, the man suddenly appeared in front of Li Ming. "So, you are the owner! Since you are back, go and make me those delicious and special dishes for whom you are famous. I''ll be waiting here." He said in cheerful voice and turned around to return to his table without giving Li Ming a chance to respond. "Miss Li, he''s the Fourth Prince Zhang Yong." Elder Fu told her in a low voice. "What he''s doing here?" Li Ming asked with surprise. "He''s booked a room in the inn. He came here this evening and asked to prepare meal for him. But when we served, he became furious." Elder Fu told her everything hurriedly. "He''s staying in the inn?" Li Ming asked, raising her eyebrows. "Actually, he''s not staying at the inn. His guard booked the room in the morning but he only came now just to eat dinner. He said that he''s not going to stay but will come back tomorrow in the morning for breakfast." Again Elder Fu murmured in hurry. Li Ming looked at the Fourth Prince with a frown. '' Don''t tell me he came here just to eat food!'' Li Ming went towards the Fourth Prince and said, "Your Highness, if I''m not wrong then my staff has already served you a well prepared meal." It was true. The meal that was served to him was really good. The only problem was the Fourth Prince himself. Being a royal, he had always eaten the best kind of dishes. But when he heard the rumors that someone could make even more delicious food, he wanted to eat them. That''s why he booked a room in ''Black Jade Inn'' because only its staying customers had the honor of eating that delicious food. But all he got was the normal food he had been eating since his birth. "But this is not the food for which you became famous!" Zhang Yong said with sadness. Li Ming smiled lightly and said, "But Your Highness, I have never said that I will cook food for customers everyday." "I''m not a customer! Don''t you know who I am?" Zhang Yong said with frustration. After all he had not eaten anything since morning and right now all he wanted to do was to eat. "Of course, I know who you are! But Your Highness, since you are saying that you are not Black Jade Inn''s customer, then you should leave. Because our Inn only entertain our customers." Li Ming said all this with a very polite smile. The guard behind the Fourth Prince didn''t like the way Li Ming was talking to his highness. But before he could say anything, the Fourth Prince stopped him. Fourth Prince stood up and looked at Li Ming. Suddenly his frustrated and distasteful expressions changed into a sad one. "You know, just to eat those delicious dishes of yours I have not eaten anything since morning. Although I have a palace of my own, I still booked a room in your inn. I really wanted to eat something different but all I got was the food that I have been eating since I was born. Do you really want me to remain hungry? I really want to eat those delicious food of yours." The expressions on The Fourth Prince''s face was so heart melting. No one with a heart could say no after hearing his words. "You.....!" Li Ming was so shocked after hearing his words. She herself had a weakness for cuteness. And at that moment, Fourth Prince''s expressions and behavior was so cute. This cuteness made her feel like an a**. ''Am I really being so mean?'' She thought. "Alright! But since you are making me work this late and also wasted the food prepared by my staff, I will charge you 3 times more." How could she not think about her benefits? "No problem! As long as you make me those delicious food, I will pay you even 10 times more." Fourth Prince said while beaming. "Hmm! Give me an hour then." Li Ming said and left for kitchen with Huang Qing. Since it would take some time to prepare the food, Li Ming took out a bottle of wine out of her collection and went to serve it to the Fourth Prince. When Zhang Yong saw the wine glasses, he really liked them. He had already seen the interior of the inn and he was really impressed. Every single thing was something that even he had never seen before. "Where did you get all these beautiful things from?" He finally asked. "Your Highness, we are not on such friendly terms where I will share all my secrets with you." Li Ming replied with a soft smile. "Here! This is the special wine of our Black Jade Inn. I hope you will enjoy it." She offered the glass to him and left. Zhang Yong looked at the departing figure of Li Ming and smiled softly. He had never seen anyone as interesting as her in his whole life. Although the girl was so young but her aura was so strong. He couldn''t detect any spiritual energy in her body but there was some other sort of energy in her body and in a very vast quantity. He was sure that Li Ming was not someone normal and she sure had many secrets. When he took the first sip of wine, he felt really amazed. It was so good. His body relaxed and he closed his eyes to enjoy the taste of wine. Chapter 12 - Fourth Prince Is A Headache (2) With the help of Huang Qing and her fuming familiar, Li Ming soon finished cooking dinner for the Fourth Prince. She had stopped the aroma of the food from going out of the kitchen with a spell. After everything was ready, the maids served the food in front of the Fourth Prince. The food prepared by Li Ming were : # Currywurst # Lasagna # Green Salad # Dhokla # Dessert - Almond Lemon Sponge The dishes looked so beautiful and tasty. The cutlery was also beautiful and the aroma coming from the dishes was mouth watering. Specially the sweet dish was looking so beautiful that even people didn''t want to destroy it''s beauty by eating it. Even the other members present who had already eaten their food, was feeling hungry again after looking at these dishes. Zhang Yong looked at the food in front of him with happiness. But there was a problem. How he was supposed to eat these food with chopsticks? When Li Ming saw him frowning, she looked at the food to see what was wrong. But then she realized what was the problem. She sat down beside him on a seat and took the knife and fork in her hand. She cut the food in small pieces and then offered them to the Fourth Prince. Zhang Yong looked her carefully cutting the food in small pieces and when she offered him the plate, he started eating without saying a word. After finishing the entire table of food, Zhang Yong finally looked satisfied. There was not even a single grain left. His face had a small but beautiful, almost satisfied smile on it. He took out a pouch full of money and put it on the table. Then he stood up and looked at Li Ming. "Miss Li, you are really an amazing cook. From now on I will come every day to enjoy your special dishes." Zhang Yong said with happiness. Li Ming was so shocked after hearing him. She quickly replied, "Your Highness, I don''t have time to feed you every day. If you come here then you will get the same food as the other customers, Prince or not." "Haha! I know that you are only saying this for show. I''m fully aware that you will prepare these wonderful dishes for me if I will come. After all you can''t see me being sad. Alright Ming''er, it''s late. You should rest early. I will see you tomorrow." Zhang Yong didn''t give her a chance to respond and left the inn. "This Fourth Prince is really something!" Li Ming gritted her teeth and looked at the door of the inn. ''Let''s see if he ever get to eat the food prepared by me!'' Li Ming huffed and looked at the pouch in her hand. Her black mood became good after seeing the money. She wished everyone good night and went upstairs to her room. The maids cleaned the main room and everyone went to sleep. When Li Ming entered her mansion, she again sat down in cross legged position and started to assess the blockage that she had felt before. When she reached her lower part she again felt the same blockage. She opened her eyes and looked at Snowy with a confused look. "What''s wrong?" Snowy asked her. "There''s something blocking my powers in my body. Do you think this body has some internal issues?" She asked with a frown. "It''s your body. How am I supposed to know?" Snowy said while shaking his head in annoyance. If he was not cute, Li Ming had kicked him out a long time ago. "I have to find some way to actually find out what is wrong with this body. I need to start cultivating as soon as possible but how exactly am I supposed to do that?" The more Li Ming thought about that, the more her mood became bad. "You remember, I liked to read transmigration stories, when we were in modern world?" Snowy asked with a new spark in his eyes. Li Ming nodded her head. Of course, she remembered! It was the only thing he knew how to do. "In most of those stories, the female lead had either a system to help her or there would be some kind of interspatial ring that she had which gave her special places and sources for cultivation. Maybe you should look for something like that." Snowy said proudly as he was able to solve the problem this quickly. "Are you done yet?" Li Ming looked at him like she was looking at some idiot. She looked at the night sky full of stars and laid down on the grass. After nearly an hour later, Li Ming eyes suddenly shone with light. Snowy looked at her and concluded that she had finally found a solution or some idea about her problem. But nothing prepared him for what happened next. Li Ming picked up Snowy in her arms and started rubbing his ears. He really liked it when she did that! After a few moments of silence, Li Ming said, "Snowy, you know that I love you, right! Since you are my familiar, it''s your duty to help me in hard situations. And I have something that need your help!" "Go and find books on basic cultivation and bring them to me. And remember the books should be of use to me. Otherwise, I will make sure that you will not get a single piece of chicken for your entire life." Li Ming said with an evil smile and pushed Snowy out of her arms. This idiot knew nothing other than cursing her the entire day. Finally, she found a way to use him. Snowy looked at Li Ming like she was the cruelest person present on the entire planet. He glared at her for a second but then left to complete his mission. After all, his CHICKEN was at stake! After Snowy left, Li Ming stood up and went inside the gym. For past three weeks she was continuously working out some light exercises to build this weak body of hers. She spent next hour in the gym. After taking a bubble bath she went into the kitchen and drank a glass of milk. She had found a new spell book in the library. For next two hours she read the spell book before finally going to sleep. Chapter 13 - A Visit To The Herb Hall Next morning, Li Ming woke up early and spend another one hour on the treadmill. She took a shower, washed her long hair with shampoo and applied conditioner. She put on a baby pink dress with beautiful designs and blow dried her hair. After pulling her hair in a simple hairstyle, she applied lip gloss and put on her sneakers (trust me, sneakers are much better option!). After eating her breakfast, she put on her veil and left the mansion. She went downstairs and saw everyone was already there preparing for the day. The servants were busy in cleaning the inn and the Huang sisters were making coffee. Elder Fu told her that there were Five people staying in the inn at the moment. After discussing some matters with Elder Fu, she went into the kitchen. The Huang sisters prepared breakfast under Li Ming''s guidance and by the time they were finished, the inn was starting to fill with customers. The maids served the five customers their breakfast and Huang sisters busied themselves in preparing coffee and snacks for the other customers. Next Li Ming looked at the account book and after making sure everything was fine, she went to the main room. The moment she entered in the main room, something bumped with her legs. When she looked down, she found a very dirty Snowy looking at her with teary eyes. Her heart melt by seeing him like that. The guards hurriedly came to drag the dog out but Li Ming stopped them. "Don''t! He''s mine." She picked up the dirty snow ball and held him away from her dress. Then she looked at the dirty floor and with a flick of her hand everything (including Snowy) become neat and clean. Everyone present saw this and in their hearts they all were surprised to see this young girl''s cultivation level. After telling Elder Fu to inform her if something important came up, she left for her room with Snowy. After entering the mansion, she bathed snowy and then blow dried him. She combed his hair and then gave him two large chicken legs to eat. All this time, Snowy remained silent. After finishing his food, he finally produced two very large and heavy books in front of her. The books were mainly made of papers binded together with some sort of wire like thing. She patted Snowy on head and opened the first book. The book had information about the geography of this world. She looked at Snowy with raised eyebrows. "Don''t tell me, it''s not useful for you!" Snowy said while cleaning the last remaining crumbs of chicken. "But it''s not what I have asked you to bring." Li Ming said, barely controlling her rage. Snowy looked at her and huffed with disappointment. "You have not checked the second book yet!" Li Ming stared at him for a little bit more but then opened the second book. Snowy was right. This one was for basic cultivators. After reading a few pages she found a paragraph : In Cultivation, a person collect spiritual qi from the environment in his body. The lower dantian is the place where this qi is collected. If a person''s lower dantian is damaged or blocked, then that person is unable to cultivate. Li Ming reread the paragraph again and then closed her eyes to let her power flow inside her body. Exactly when it reached under her navel, it felt a blockage. According to the book the position of dantian inside a human body was exactly the same. ''That means my dantian is blocked since my healing powers can''t detect any damage.'' After pondering for a while she again started reading the book. There were methods written for healing a dantian or unblocking it. But the spiritual herbs required were very rare, that also made them costly. But she was a mage! There were very few things that she couldn''t do. Well considering her present situation there were very few things that she could do! She looked at Snowy and asked, "Where did you get these books from?" Snowy scratched his ears with his paws for a moment but then answered, "I....these are from Fourth Prince''s Palace." "...." Li Ming looked at him with wide eyes and then asked, "You stole them?" "No! I asked His Highness, the great Fourth Prince, to give me these books as gifts as I had graced him with my presence. STUPID! If not stealing then how am I supposed to bring them?" Snowy''s expression was like he had never known someone more stupid than Li Ming in his entire life time. "You....! Whatever!" She ignored him and wrote down the name of herbs on a paper. Then she left the inn and went towards The Herb Hall. It was the black market of the Imperial city of Han Empire, if there was a place where one could find these rare herbs then it should be here. She entered the Herb Hall. The manager of the shop, Elder Fang, came to receive the customer but when he saw Li Ming standing in front of him, he was shocked. He composed himself quickly and welcomed her with a warm smile. "Miss Li, it''s a pleasure of ours to see you here. How can I help you?" He asked very politely. Li Ming slightly bowed her head in greeting and said in a sweet voice, "Elder Fang, actually I need your help. There are some herbs I only want to take a look at but I don''t know if it is allowed or not here. I don''t want to cause you any inconvenience." Her tone was completely dripping with honey. "Shameless!" Snowy shouted in her head but she remained calm. How could Elder Fang say no to such a sweet request. He already knew that Miss Li was not from some normal background. Although she only wanted to take a look at the herbs but there was no harm in full filling her wish. "Oh! There''s no problem. You can look at whatever you want. You are always welcome in our Herb Hall." Being the manager of the shop for more than two decades he was wise enough to guess which customer was important. "Thank you Elder Fang." Li Ming replied and gave the paper of herbs to Elder Fang. After a few minutes, the servants brought all the herbs written on the paper and placed them on the table in front of Li Ming. She dismissed the servants and took out her iPhone. Although she couldn''t use it for internet and calling, but there were still many use of a phone. When Elder Fang saw the weird thing in Li Ming''s hand, he didn''t said anything. Afterall there was nothing normal about her and the things she had. Li Ming opened the camera and took pictures of every herb. After examining every single detail of the herbs, she added some notes to the pics. Elder Fang couldn''t remain silent anymore as his curiosity was piqued. "Miss Li, What is that thing?" He asked while pointing at the iPhone. "Oh! This? This is.....a device for capturing images of objects and people." She explained in a way which was quite simple to understand. "Stand there, I will show you!" Next she took some pics of Elder Fang and showed him. Elder Fang was speechless as it was something out of the world. But what was of this world about the Little Miss? After playing around a little bit more, she was again struck by another idea. "Umm.... Elder Fang, do you want to make a deal with me?" She asked in a cute voice. "What''s on your mind, Miss Li?" Elder Fang was also excited to hear about her deal. Though he didn''t show anything on his face. "I want you to teach me about all the herbs and their uses from tomorrow on and let me have pics of those in my phone. In return I will treat you and your staff free lunch until we are finished learning....What do you think?" Li Ming asked excitedly. According to her she was giving too much in return as making that lunch will cost her time and her precious food. But the knowledge of these herbs would be beneficial for her. And learning medicine by this method was much better than hitting her head on a book which would only give her theoretical knowledge. "It doesn''t look like a bad idea." Elder Fang said while thinking about her proposal. "Alright! Then from tomorrow onwards I will visit you two hours before noon and at lunch we all will go back to my inn to eat lunch. Is that okay with you?" Li Ming asked as she saw the servants who were moving the herbs back to their shelves. She noticed the position of the boxes of herbs when the servants placed them back on shelves and also took their pictures. After setting everything about her classes with Elder Fang, she left the Herb Hall. Chapter 14 - Making Friends (1) When Li Ming entered the ''Black Jade Inn'', she was greeted by Wei Rong and at least 12 more males surrounding him around his table. The normally silent and peaceful main room was completely filled with the chatters of this group. Wei Rong noticed Li Ming standing at the entrance door and stood up in excitement. "Ming, here you are! We have been waiting for you. As I promised, I am back with my friends." Li Ming came into the room and stood in front of the group. She noticed that all the men were of high statuses and most of them were older than her by four or five years. "Master Rong, you sure have a nice amount of friends!" Li Ming said with a smirk. It took Wei Rong a moment before he realized that she was mocking him. "Hey! I thought I am helping you!" Wei Rong said defensively. "If that is your intentions then I''m really grateful towards you. But I just can''t stop wondering why you all came here just one hour before lunch break? Will you all be leaving to eat your lunch soon?" Li Ming''s expressions were really very innocent. "Ah!...Ming....We''ve heard a lot about your cooking skills. Everyone in the black market is talking about your amazing and delicious food and even the Fourth Prince is your fan. So...we are thinking that maybe....you can...." Wei Rong saw the murderous glare of Li Ming and stopped at once. Although the girl was so much younger than him but there was something about her that assured him that she could kill him without even blinking her eyes. "If I had any idea that my act of goodness will become such a trouble for me, I would have never done that. But it''s already too late to regret." Li Ming muttered bitterly. "How long you all are going to stay here?" She asked the group. "Don''t worry Miss Li, we all will be staying here until you will kick us out yourself." Wei Rong''s younger brother and General family''s fourth young master, Wei Min said and everybody laughed. "Alright then! You will help me with something then we all will have lunch prepared by my cooks. Then we will start our game. I will treat you all with my personally cooked dinner in the evening. Okay?" Li Ming asked them. "Why the dinner, Miss Li?" Yan Jhong, the only son of the Duke Yansheng, asked while taking a sip of the coffee. "By the way, your tea is really nice." He said and everyone else also nodded their heads in agreement. "Thank you. And to answer your question if I''m not wrong then the Fourth Prince will also be coming for his dinner. So, it will save me from working extra time and you all will get a chance to meet His Highness." Li Ming said while taking out some drawing sheets and pencils. "It sounds like a good idea, but what if Fourth Prince doesn''t like it?" Wei Min asked. "Don''t worry about that, I will take care if that happens. Other than that, do you all agree with my plan?" She said as she placed the drawing sheets neatly on the table. "We are all happy to comply, but what are these things Ming?" Wei Rong asked as he picked up one of the pencils. "Didn''t I asked you to help me with something? Or your entire focus was on the dinner that you even forget that." Li Ming said with a sad tone. "Of course I remember! But what are these things?" Wei Rong asked again as he passed the pencil to others to take a look. Li Ming picked up a drawing sheet and said while showing everyone, "As you all can see, it''s a piece of a paper. The only difference is that it is of a very high quality and it is completely white in color rather than yellow." "Oh....!" Then she picked up a pencil and said, "It''s called a pencil. It is much more convenient for writing than a brush & ink. Let me show you!" After that she wrote down all of their names on the drawing sheet. She made sure that all of them could see clearly what she was doing. "Don''t we have to use any ink?" Yan Jhong asked with pure curiosity in his voice. "Of course not! You can see this sharp tip right?" She asked while pointing at the tip of the pencil with her index finger. When the others nodded their heads, she said, "Whenever this tip broke down or finish completely, you just have to sharp it again with a sharpener." Then she gave Wei Rong a sheet and a pencil and asked him to write something. It took her some time to teach them how to exactly hold the pencil. But after 10 minutes everyone in the group had wrote at least one line using the pencil. By this time the sharp tip of the pencil had shortened and it was impossible to write with it anymore. Then she took out a sharpener and showed them how to sharp the pencil. "See! We have again a sharp tip to write." She passed the pencil and sharpener to them to take a look. All of the men were fascinated. "Ming, where did you get these things from?" Wei Rong asked. "I''m not selling away my secrets. Now enough of the fun. Let''s start with the main task." She told Elder Fu to ask the Huang sisters to prepare the lunch. Then she looked at the sheets with an evil smile. The look in her eyes was like she was going to devour something alive while enjoying each second of it. "Sometimes, you give a very evil feeling." Snowy said through their bond as he came running down the stairs and jumped into her lap. After giving her a few licks on her face, he finally settled down on her lap. "..." Li Ming wanted to kick the idiot out of the door. "Is he yours? He''s so cute." Wei Min said. "Thanks! His name is Snowy." Li Ming said with a little smile. "I like him." Snowy said through their bond while looking at Wei Min. "What are you doing here?" Li Ming asked while pondering weather to push him away or let him stay. "I''m bored." Snowy said in a weak voice. This was enough to make her stone made heart melt. She stroked him lightly on his head, then finally looked at the group. "I want you all to help me organize a few things." She told them. "As long as we can help. What are you planning?" This time it was Bai Liang, the second master of the Marquis manor, who spoke. "Tell me what is the price that the Breezing flowers charged for one night?" She asked while she picked up a pencil and a sheet. When she looked up at the others, she found all of them looking anywhere else but at her with different states of embarrassed looks on their faces. It took her a few seconds to realize the reason. "You... ! I''m asking about the price of a normal stay, without any special service." She wanted to curse at all of these stupid morons. When the males heard what she said, they finally relaxed. "Oh!.....They charge 15 silver coins for one night stay. The tea and the snacks were also included in it." Wei Rong answered. "Then I will charge.....50 silvers for one night." She said and wrote down something on the sheet. "...." The others looked at each other with confusion. "Why are you charging 50 silvers? Isn''t it too much?" Bai Liang asked with surprise. "Are you forgetting that I''m also providing three times meal to my customers. Not only that, the tea and most of the dishes are only available in here. The decorations and the comfort is also a bonus. Calculate yourself, that if you have to eat your three meals in a restaurant it will normally cost you almost 80-100 silvers. But I''m providing the three meals and a place to stay only in 50 silvers." Li Ming said while pointing out all the facts. After hearing her words everyone agreed that she was not asking too much. In fact, she was the one who was in the loss. When Li Ming saw that all of them agreed with her point she continued, "Also I''m going to charge 50 silvers for each plate, if someone wants to eat the dishes prepared by me." The color on their face paled when they heard what she was saying. Li Ming laughed and said, "Don''t worry I''m not going to charge you today for the dinner but you have to pay for the lunch and the game." "Just don''t ask for too much price for the game. Otherwise we all will become poor just in one day." Wei Min said and all of them laughed. Chapter 15 - Making Friends (2) Li Ming thought for a while then said, "I''m going to charge the tea and the snacks 15 silvers. Do you think it''s alright?" They all discussed for a long time until the blue print was ready. By the time they finished, it was already lunch time. Li Ming asked the maids to bring the food out and went towards one of the wall of the front door of the inn. She put her hands on the wall and closed her eyes. When she opened them again after a few seconds, there was a bulletin board on the wall. Li Ming pulled out the blue print and murmured a spell. The next moment, the bulletin board was covered with a beautifully prepared sheet with the same contents as the blue print only more organized. The borders of the bulletin board was beautifully decorated with designs. The contents on the board were : Cost for 1 day stay = 50 silvers (with three meals a day provided by the inn) Cost of one time meal for the customers who are not staying at the inn = 30 silvers. Cost of tea and snacks = 15 silvers. Special Dishes of the Black Jade Inn : Cost of 1 plate of each dish = 50 silvers Cost of 1 plate of desert = 40 silvers Cost of 1 bottle of soda = 80 silvers Cost of 1 glass of special wine = 500 Silvers. Game play : The customers who wants to play the special games of the Black Jade Inn will be charged according to hours. The price for one hour is - 20 silvers. Thank You! Everyone looked at the board and sighed when they saw the price of one glass of wine. It was the highest price they had ever seen just for a cup of wine. Li Ming came back to the table and they all started to eat their lunch. For next half an hour they all talked about the affairs going on in the capital city. When they all finished the lunch, Li Ming took out Three bottles of soda and pour them into 14 glasses. Wei Rong picked up his glass and looked at it with surprised eyes. "Ming, is this not the same material as those?" He asked while pointing at the glass jar and the painting frames. "Your guess is correct. This is called glass. Are they not better then those small cups?" She asked with a small chuckle. "Yes Yes. These are much better and beautiful." Wei Rong said as he drank the soda. Everyone liked the chilled soda. After everyone was finished, it was the time for starting the game. But when Li Ming placed the board on the table, Wei Rong realized that it was different from the one they had used before. But before he could ask, Li Ming said, "We are going to play a new game and trust me it is more exciting. I think you will get hooked to it." Although they didn''t understand what she meant by hooked but they all focused on the explanation that Li Ming was giving about the game. "This game is called ''Stratego''. It is a strategy based game and only two players can play one at a time. The board is of 10 by 10. Each player commands 40 pieces representing individual soldiers and officers in their army. The goal of the game is to discover and capture the opponent''s flag, or to capture so many enemy units that your opponent can''t make any more moves. Players are not able to see each other''s ranks, so discovery and misinformation are important factors to the game." Li Ming told them the rules two more times and after everyone was less or more understood the basics, they started the game. Li Ming''s first opponent was Wei Rong. The game barely lasted for 15 minutes before Wei Rong lost the game. The next opponent was Wei Min who lost after 10 minutes. The other members also played with her but everyone lost within 10-12 minutes. After everyone had lost once they all discussed among themselves for a few minutes and then the game started again. This time everyone played better than the last time except Bai Liang who lost exactly after 10 minutes, two minutes earlier than before. After three hours of continuously playing the game, everyone became better and Wei Rong even lasted for half an hour before loosing. They all took a break and talked about how much fun they were having. "It is really a great game. I don''t remember when was the last time I had this much fun." Wei Min said. "See, I told you that you will like it." Li Ming said with a smile. "Lets play another round and then you can busy yourself in the preparation of our dinner." Wei Rong said with a smirk. "Shameless!" Li Ming rolled her eyes but then started the game. Wei Rong was really a smart player. This time he lasted for nearly 50 minutes. Bai Liang and Yan Jhong also lasted for nearly half an hour. By the time this round completed, it was already evening. Li Ming took out a paper and pencil and started calcuting with Madam Fu. After a few minutes, she finished her calculations and placed the sheet in front of Wei Rong. "Take a look at the bill and then deposit the money to Madam Fu. I''m going to prepare the dinner." She stood up and left. Wei Rong picked up the paper and read it out. After he finished reading, they all realized that Li Ming had nearly robbed them. The total amount was more than 2800 silver taels. Wei Rong took out three pouch and gave them to Madam Fu. "Each of them contains 1000 silver taels. Take the extra as our thank you." Madam Fu bowed and left. Wei Rong again looked at the sheet in his hand and laughed out loud. "This girl really knows how to do business. Although, at first glance it appeared that she is providing everything in cheap amount but when you look at the overall income, you will realize that she is actually in benefit." Wei Rong said to his brother. "She''s interesting and most importantly, she''s humble. Even having such high level of cultivation, she has no arrogance." Wei Min said and the others also nodded their heads. The servants and Elder Fu also heard them and they all felt proud after hearing praises of their master. Most importantly the people who were praising her were all from the families of high officials. Chapter 16 - Fourth Prince Is A Pervert After two hours Li Ming finally finished with the dinner. It was such a headache to prepare meal for so many people. If it was not for her magic, she would have passed out by the end. She left the kitchen and entered the main room. She found all of them playing with Snowy. Wei Min noticed her and asked, "Miss Li, is dinner ready?" "Yes, everything is ready." Just as she finished speaking, the guard announced the arrival of the Fourth Prince. Everyone present in the inn came into the main room and knelt down. Li Ming looked at all of them and then looked at the person standing at the entrance of the inn. Zhang Yong entered into the room and his eyes settled on the girl. Just like the day before she didn''t knelt down to greet him. She was wearing a light pink dress and although her aura was cold and dark, the dress gave her a cute look. He smiled when he saw that she had no intentions of kneeling down in front of him. She bowed her head slightly in greeting and in return he also nodded his head. "It looks like, the Black Jade Inn is too lively today! All of you, stand up." Zhang Yong dismissed everyone back to their work. Then he looked around the room and found that most of the customers were from the high status families. He even recognized the young masters of the General manor and Yan Jhong. Then his eyes caught the site of the bulletin board. He went towards the board and read it. When he read the price of one glass of wine, he laughed out loudly. He could understand the reason behind the high price. He went towards the table in the middle of the room and sat down. Then he looked at Li Ming with a smile and said, "Ming''er have you prepared my meal or do you want some time?" Li Ming rolled her eyes but then replied, "Your Highness, don''t worry. I have already prepared the dinner. Since my friends are here to eat, I didn''t wanted them to wait too much." Li Ming asked the maids to bring out the food. Zhang Yong frowned and looked at the group of men sitting around the other tables. "When did all these people become your friends?" Zhang Yong asked with a cold tone. "Since they all paid a high price for the food and the games." Li Ming replied. "Then it means that I''m also your friend." Zhang Yong said with a smile. "No." "Why not? Didn''t I also paid you a high price yesterday?" Zhang Yong asked in surprise. "Pay for today." Li Ming said while looking him right in his eyes. "What...?" Zhang Yong was not sure what was she meant by that but he had a feeling that whatever it was, it sure was not anything good. "If you really want to become my friend then pay for their meals." Li Ming said while pointing at the group of Wei Rong who were busy in their own discussions. "Why should I pay for their meals?" The Fourth Prince asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Here is the thing! I promised them that I''m not going to make them pay for this meal but later I realized that if I didn''t get paid then my inn will face a heavy loss. But I can''t ask them to pay now. And since you want to be my friend, you should help me. And most importantly you are a prince. I don''t think just a few silvers will be such a problem for you." Li Ming said while making a sad face. "Ah! When did you become so shameless!" Snowy shouted through their bond. Listening to his Master shamefully looting people, he wanted to cry. Li Ming ignored Snowy and kept looking at the Fourth Prince, waiting for his reply. "Alright!" Zhang Yong decided to take his revenge some day but gave in for now. Moreover he couldn''t make himself say no to her. "You are such a great person, Your Highness." Li Ming stood up and then said in a loud voice. "Today, his highness, the Fourth Prince is paying for everyone''s meal. You all should enjoy this chance." Then she left the room. Wei Rong laughed and said to the Fourth Prince, "She''s very smart. You should always remain prepared, Your Highness." Zhang Yong smiled lightly and sipped his coffee. The maids came out with the food and the room filled with their delicious aroma. The food prepared by Li Ming were : # Steak # Spaghetti # Pizza # Pasta # Kimchi # Roasted Chicken For Dessert : # Black Forest Brownies # Peanut Butter Pie Shooters And of course the very special wine to accompany the food. Everyone started eating at once. Every single thing was so delicious. Since Fourth Prince was paying for the food, they all ordered as much as their stomach could afford. The most demanded item was the PIZZA. By the end of the dinner everyone was as full as possible. "Ming, are you a food goddess or something! I can''t believe that there can be such delicious food in this world." Wei Min said while drinking the wine. "And where did you get this wine from? Actually, never mind. I know you are never going to tell this secret." Wei Min said and laughed with the others at his own words. Everyone left the inn one by one and promised Li Ming to pay a visit soon. The customers staying at the inn also went inside their rooms. In the end, the Fourth Prince was the only customer left. Li Ming told the staff and Huang family to also take their leave. She then looked at the Fourth Prince and said, "I''m going to bring the bill. You should prepare your money!" She went towards the Corner table of Madam Fu and picked up the bill. The total amount was of 10,000 silvers. It was not that everyone ate too much food but the main reason for this high amount were the two bottles of wine which cost 5000 silvers on their own. Just as Li Ming was going to turn around, someone grabbed her from behind. Before she knew, she was in Fourth Prince''s arms. "What do you think you are doing?" Li Ming asked while turning her head upwards to look at the Prince. But she realized that it was a stupid move. First, the Prince was quite tall with a height of 5''11". And second her back was towards his front, so it hurt her neck to turn around at such angle. "I should ask you the same question. What do you think you are doing?" Zhang Yong said in a low voice as he slightly tightened his grip on her waist. She was so small. And she had a very light fragrance on her. But before he could say anything more, the small body in his arms turned around and something hard hit him on his right knee. His grip loosened and he backed up a few steps. "Pervert! Next time you have such thoughts, you can visit the Breezing Flowers Inn." Li Ming glared at him while folding her arms in front of her chest. Zhang Yong took the bill out of her hand and looked at it. Then he returned the bill on the table. Since Li Ming was standing in front of the table, so when Zhang Yong bent down to put the paper back on the table, it made the distance between the two of them very small. "Don''t worry! I''m not into children." Zhang Yong said with a smile. He stood up straight and took out the money and placed them in her hand. He again bent down a little and said in a low voice in her ear, "That''s why you should grow up early. I''ll be waiting." Before Li Ming could process his words, Zhang Yong turned around and left the inn. Chapter 17 - Start Of Cultivation Journey Li Ming stared at the entrance of the inn after Zhang Yong left, for a while. The expressions on her face were unreadable. After a few minutes, she finally looked at the money in her hand and a large smile appeared on her face. Although she had tired out herself but the end result of the day was still pleasing. She put the money inside a safe in the mansion and then cleaned the main room and kitchen with a spell. She packed all the extra food in small packages and washed everything with her magic. After making sure that everything was in order, she gave the food packages to the guards and closed the main door of the inn and left for her room. Li Ming ate her dinner inside the kitchen of the mansion. Although she could have eaten her food with others in the main room but it was better to eat alone than fighting with the veil through out the dinner. After finishing her food she went to the top floor of the mansion. She went inside the spell room and searched for the book she was looking for. After a little while, she finally found the book in a corner of the room. After looking through the book she finally found the right spell. She knew the spell for duplication but by duplicating spiritual herbs, she would not be able to achieve the required result. That''s why she needed another spell for her mission. She opened the file manager in her phone and looked at the photos she had taken that morning. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated on the shelf number of the herbs in the Herb Hall. The next second, all the herbs that she had asked Elder Fang, to see in the morning were lying on the table in front of Li Ming. Next Li Ming muttered another spell and the empty spaces of the herbs on the shelves in the Herb Hall were again occupied by exactly the same herbs. After she successfully completed her mission. She picked up the herbs and started making a potion. Nearly after an hour, the potion was ready. Although according to the book, she needed to make pills of these herbs but since she had no cultivation powers, she couldn''t make those pills. Also something was telling her that making a potion of these herbs while using her magical ingredients, would be more beneficial. And she had always listened to her instincts. That''s why she made a potion. It was dark blue in color. Neither very bad smelling but also not good one too. She let the potion to cool down and when it was at the right temperature, she drank the entire vial of potion. Just in a few seconds, she felt like hundreds of knives were cutting her lower dantian into pieces. She had never felt such pain in either of her lives. She fell on her knees as the pain became unbearable. Li Ming''s face was pale and sweat was dripping down on the carpet. Her clothes and hair were also wet because of the sweat. It felt like centuries had passed when the pain finally started to fade into nothingness. After the pain was completely gone, Li Ming took long breaths and let her fast beating heart calm down a little. She made herself sit in a lotus position. Then she closed her eyes and tried to let her power flow inside her body. This time when the power reached her lower dantian, she didn''t felt any blockage. Li Ming was shocked beyond words. According to the book, she needed to take the pills five times before her dantian would be unblocked. But the potion healed her just in one time. Since the mansion had no spiritual energy inside it, Li Ming could not start her cultivation. She placed everything back on their places and left the room to take a shower. After making sure that she was completely clean, she put on her pajamas and tied her hair into a bun. Then she left the mansion and appeared in her room inside the inn. She again sat down cross legged on the bed and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the air around her. Soon she realized that there were colorful particles swimming around her. She concentrated her focus on the particles and started collecting the spiritual energy inside her body. The particles rushed into her and gathered in her dantian without any obstacle. Li Ming had read the entire book of basic cultivation last night. So, she more or less knew exactly what to do. She didn''t even realized but by the time she stopped, it was already the time for sunrise. That mean she was awake the entire night but she was not even a little bit exhausted. On the other hand, she was feeling relaxed and energetic. She had already reached the 2nd level of Basic Cultivator just in a few hours. The next entire week went smoothly. The number of customers increases as the days passed by. Due to some miracle the Fourth Prince didn''t visit the inn for the whole week. It seemed like Li Ming could finally take a break from her cooking for a while. The game of Stratego also became famous in the Black Market. Wei Rong and the others also visited the inn often to spend their time in playing a few rounds with Li Ming. They were getting better and better each day. By the third day, they started playing with each other, which was a relief for her. Li Ming visited the Orphanage twice in the past week. She started the training of the children. Since, it was the first time they were given the chance to learn something, all the children were excited. They paid their full attention to her teachings. Li Ming spent her days taking care of the inn and orphanage. She also visited the Herb Hall everyday for two hours to learn about the herbs. While at night she spent her time in cultivating her spiritual powers. Since, she had strong internal force and with the help of her magical potions, the level of her cultivation was increasing rapidly. By the end of the week, Li Ming already reached the 5th level of Basic Cultivators. Chapter 18 - Meeting With Old Sir Liu Li Ming was sitting on the swing in the orphanage while watching the children running around, laughing and playing with Snowy. They had already completed their lessons for the day. And now all of them were enjoying their break. She stood up and after telling Old Madam, she left the orphanage to take a walk. The environment of the village was very nice. The level of spiritual energy was a little bit more here than compared to the capital city as it was close to two of the mountain ranges of the Han Empire. When she came near the fields, she saw that almost all the area was barren. There was not even a single bit of greenery as far as her eyes could see. She was puzzled as it was the starting of new season and the villagers should be busy in their fields but she couldn''t see a single soul. After looking at the empty fields for a while, she finally decided to return to the orphanage. When she reached the center of the town, she found that a large group of elders were sitting outside a house, discussing something. After seeing so many people talking, her curiosity was piqued. She made herself invisible with a spell and walked towards the group silently. After listening for a few minutes, she finally realized the purpose of their gathering and the reason behind the barren fields. Due to some unknown reason, the rice and wheat crops got damaged. Most of the villagers depend on the income from these crops. Since, the crops were damaged, the villagers didn''t have enough rice or wheat to sell. They could either sell them to buy new seeds for the next season or keep them to feed their families. They all were thinking about selling the crops to the money lander. Although they would not have proper food after selling the crops for the time being but they didn''t have any other options. Li Ming listened to their conversation and thought about the reason for damage that happened to the crops. The spiritual energy of this place was good for the crops. Due to the spiritual energy one could grow any kind of crops, vegetables and fruits. But according to the villagers, the quality and quantity of the crops, both were decreasing for past five - six years. So, no one knew what could be the reason for the sudden and unexpected reason behind the damage of the crops. After all the villagers returned back to their house, Li Ming made herself visible again. The house where the villagers were gathered, was of the eldest person in the village. The old man was called by the name of Old Sir Liu. He was known for his knowledge and righteousness through out the village. He was also the most powerful cultivator in the whole village. That''s why the villagers respected him and whenever a situation like this appeared, they all went to the old Sir Liu. Li Ming tapped on the door of the house and waited outside for someone to open it. After a few seconds, a little boy of 5-6 years, opened the door. He was the only grandchild of the Old Sir Liu. A woman in her late twenties came behind the boy and asked with surprise, "How can we help you,Miss?" "I''m Li Ming. I want to meet the Old Sir Liu." Li Ming said in a polite voice. The woman welcomed her inside and after asking her to wait, she left to call the Old Sir. After waiting for a few minutes, Li Ming saw an old man entering the room. He was probably in his late seventies. Li Ming stood up and bowed a little in greeting. "Old Sir Liu, I''m Li Ming. I heard about the problems that the villagers are facing in agriculture. I''m here to offer my help." Li Ming didn''t beat around the bush and stated her reason for visiting him. At first the old man looked surprised but after hearing her words, he started laughing. Li Ming didn''t react and waited patiently for the Old Sir to calm down and say something. The old man thought that the girl would get impatient but when she didn''t react and started to sip the tea, that his daughter-in-law had offered, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Young Lady, what someone like you - a rich miss of a noble family, is doing here in such a village?" The Old Sir asked while sipping his own tea. "Old Sir, you are actually right. Being the only child of a wealthy family, I should be enjoying my life in luxury. But you have to tell that to my grandfather. Since I was a child, I was trained day and night to one day take the business responsibility of my family at my eighteenth birthday but my grandfather was not convinced. One month ago, he gave me a condition - I could choose any Empire and start my business there on my own. I have four years to make my business number one in that whole Empire. If I succeeded the task, then he will gave me my birth right and assign me as the new master of my family. But if I lose, he will kick me out of the family." "It''s not like I have a choice. So, I chose Han Empire as it was neither the most powerful nor the most weak Empire and came here a month ago. Right now I have my own inn at the black market of the capital city which can make an average income of 7000 silver coins per day. I was going to the Dark Rise Mountain Ranges today when I heard the conversations between some of the villagers." If Snowy was here at this moment, he would have bowed down at her feet to praise her creativity of such a story. The old man was surprised after hearing her words. "You came to the Han Empire all alone? Was your grandfather not worried about your well-being?" The Old Sir could not believe that a person could be this cruel towards his own grand daughter. "My father offered a guard and my personal maid to accompany me but my grandfather stopped him. He said that if I can''t even keep myself safe then I''m not good enough to be given the responsibility of an entire family clan." Li Ming said in a very sad tone. She appeared like she was missing her family and really sad. Looking at the little child in so much pain, the Old Sir became soft. "Don''t worry my child. You are doing great. Don''t pay attention to the words of that man and prove to him that you are the best option for the family head." "Thank you! I have so much on stake. That''s why I''m here to make a deal with you." Li Ming said while looking at the Old Sir. "How can you exactly help us?" The Old Sir asked after a moment. "I heard that the villagers are going to sell their crops to the money lander. I want you to stop them." Li Ming said with seriousness. "Little Girl, if they don''t sell their crops then they will not have enough money and seeds for this season. We have already lost one week of time." The Old Sir said in a sad voice. He really wanted to help the villagers but even he couldn''t detect the problem with the crops. Chapter 19 - Encounter With The Eldest Miss Of Prime Minister Manor Li Ming saw that the Old Sir didn''t exactly refused to except her help. It was a good sign. "Don''t worry about the seeds. I will provide seeds to the villagers." Li Ming told the Old Sir. The Old Sir looked at her with confusion. "Little Girl, it will cost you too much to provide seeds for the entire village." "Just trust me, Old Sir. I''m not going to back down." Li Ming said seriously. The Old Sir Liu looked at the young girl in front of him. Although a sensible man would not agree with a child''s words. But he had a feeling that this girl could really help the villagers. He finally nodded his head in agreement. "Alright! I''ll do as you wish but do you know anything about farming?" "When I was back at my family clan, I was also trained to maintain the family fields properly. I will not let you down. You tell the villagers to not sell the crops. I will return to the city to buy the seeds and meet you all at the fields tomorrow morning." Li Ming said while standing up. "Alright! But how will you return that early? It will took nearly 8 hours to reach the capital city." The Old Sir was confused. "I have my own methods. I will be at the fields tomorrow morning. Now I''ll take my leave." Li Ming thanked the woman for the tea. Just as she was going to leave, she saw a pot with a dead plant inside it. A smile appeared on her face. She placed her hand over the pot and a green light appeared, the dead plant started sprouting and grew up into a beautiful plant with two beautiful flowers. "Now it looks perfect!" Li Ming said as she retracted back her hand. The Old Sir and the woman was shocked after what they saw but before any of them could say anything, Li Ming disappeared in the thin air. ************ Li Ming appeared near the fields. She wanted to collect some samples of the soil before she left for the city. After she collected samples from Four different fields, she returned back to the orphanage. She told the old couple about her plan of helping the villagers and asked the old madam to prepare a room for her to stay at the orphanage. After picking up the still angry Snowy, she teleported back to the ''Black Jade Inn''. After returning back she asked Elder Fu if there was any shop for seeds in the black market. But there was none. Li Ming decided to visit the capital market. She appeared on the busy street of the market. After looking around for a while, she finally found a few shops. She bought one bag of seeds of rice and wheat each. After searching a while for the seeds of vegetables and fruits, she found nothing. ''What a place!'' Li Ming rubbed her nose in annoyance. Although it''s very rare for her to get annoyed but sometimes she just couldn''t help herself but get annoyed. She left the shop and started walking towards the stalls on the street, selling various items. She was about to enter a clothes shop when she heard loud voices coming from another shop. She looked at that direction and found a large crowd surrounding the entrance of another shop. She decided to ignore the ruckus but then she heard the loud voice of hunter and then the shrieks of a child. She stopped at once and again looked at the crowd. Actually the crowd was gathered around the entrance of The Herb Pavilion. The Young Miss of the Prime Minister manor, Zhu Xiang, was visiting the Herb Pavilion when a little boy bumped into her. The Young Miss of the Prime Minister manor was arrogant and short tempered. She couldn''t control her rage when her new dress got dirty because of a little beggar. She started beating the boy with her Night''s Edge hunter. Everyone in the Capital city knew that the Night''s Edge Hunter of Zhu Xiang was a special weapon which was given to her by her grandmother who was the disciple of the Legendary Weapons Sect. Anyone below the level of Elder Cultivator could not stand the lashes of the Night''s Edge Hunter without damaging their cultivation energy. Moreover the boy was barely 12-13 years old. If Zhu Xiang didn''t stop, then the boy was sure to die. But Zhu Xiang had already lost her mind. Moreover, she didn''t give a damn if the beggar died. Just as she was going to strike her final blow, something caught her hunter. She tried to free the hunter as she pulled it with the help of her spiritual powers but she was not able to move it a single centimeter. The people around her was staring at something or someone behind her with admiration, some with surprise and some with even pity. Zhu Xiang turned around to see who was it and saw a girl of her own age standing there holding the Night''s Edge Hunter''s other end in her hand. Zhu Xiang was shocked to see that. Because only she knew about the secret power of the Night''s Edge. If a person another than its owner touched the Night''s Edge without getting hurt that mean the person was more powerful than the owner. But Zhu Xiang was the only female of the young generation in the Capital city to reach the fifth level of High Cultivator. Then where this girl came from? Not only she touched the Nights Edge Hunter without getting hurt but also stopped her strike! "Who are you and why are you holding my Night?" Zhu Xiang asked with a frown. By now she had cooled down a little. "My identity doesn''t matter. I just want you to stop beating a child who had done nothing wrong." Li Ming said in a serious voice. "Hah! Did nothing wrong? He bumped into me and ruined my clothes. How could I let him go without teaching him a proper lesson?" Zhu Xiang said with an evil smile. "If I''m not wrong then he already apologized for that. You should stop your punishment." Li Ming looked at the boy who was beaten near to death. "You should mind your own business. If I let him go this easily, then people like him will not know how to behave." Zhu Xiang was getting irritated by Li Ming''s interference. She was only controlling herself because she couldn''t fight with someone more powerful than her. Li Ming shook her head in pity. She wanted to solve this matter without making any enemies but look like the Young Miss of the Prime Minister manor was too much to handle with sweet words. She looked at the crowd and asked, "Tell me, if this little boy had collided with the Empress, did she have also beaten him like this after he apologized or let him go?" The crowd was speechless. The answer was simple. "Of course, she would have let him go!" One of the man said. "She''s the mother of our nation. She knows how to forgive." Another woman said. The others also nodded their heads in agreement. "See! If the Empress, the mother of Han Empire, can forgive such mistakes. Are you, Miss Zhu, think yourself more important than the Empress?" Li Ming asked in a mocking tone. Zhu Xiang turned pale. She had no idea that this girl would bring the example of Her Majesty to ruin her image like this. The crowd was looking at her with hatred and anger. They already knew that Zhu Xiang was arrogant and short tempered but they had no idea that she thought herself more important than the Empress. Zhu Xiang didn''t know how to reply. Her maid saw that the situation was turning bad, so she ushered Zhu Xiang away from the crowd. Zhu Xiang looked at Li Ming with pure hatred before turning around and going away with her maid. Chapter 20 - The Problem In Soil Li Ming looked at the boy who was covered in blood and could die any moment. She crouched down beside him and placed her hand on his head. She poured her healing power into his body. Soon a yellow light appeared and the cuts on the body of the boy started healing. Just in a few seconds, the boy was healed completely and all the blood that was covering his body and skin vanished. Before the people could even realize what was happening in front of them. Both the girl and the boy disappeared in the thin air. From that day the gossips of an immortal doctor who could perform miracles, was started in the Capital city. But of course, no one knew the true identity of the girl. ******* Li Ming appeared in her room at the inn and laid down the boy on her bed. She poured a light pink color potion into his mouth. After making sure that he was not going to wake up for next eight or nine hours, she informed Elder Fu to not disturb her. She entered the mansion and went into the Spell room. She took out the soil samples that she had collected from the fields and ran some experiments. After a couple of experiments, she finally realized the problem. It looked like the soil had some kind of poison in it that was making it unfertilized with a slow speed. It was either the seeds or the water that was making it unfertilized. The water was drank by the entire village and according to her no one was having any kind of problem. It meant that the problem was with the seeds. It was not hard to understand that whoever was selling these seeds to the villagers was behind this. Li Ming put the soil aside and went towards the largest shelf in the room. After looking for a few minutes, she finally found what she was looking for. It was a crystal ball with different types of runes on it. Li Ming placed the ball with the bag of seeds. After that she and Snowy (who kept cursing her till they finished their work) started preparing various seeds of vegetables and fruits. Although what Li Ming was planning to do would take time and a lot of hard work, but she was sure that if the villagers gave their 100% they would be successful. After they completed their preparation for the next day, Li Ming left the mansion and appeared in her room. She came downstairs and told Elder Fu that she would be going away for a while but would pay a visit to the inn every week. She also gave six or seven new sets of Stratego to Madam Fu. After looking through the entire day''s business, she again returned back inside her room. The business of the inn was running smoothly. That''s why she was sure that she could leave the responsibility of the inn in the hands of Elder Fu and his family. Li Ming spent the night in cultivating her spiritual powers as the coming days would be tiring and power consuming. ******* Next morning Li Ming woke up the little boy. The boy was surprised to see himself alive and in a complete strange place. He looked at Li Ming and remembered that she was the same girl who stopped Zhu Xiang the previous day from killing him. "Why?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Huh....!" Li Ming was not sure what the boy was asking. "We don''t have time. If you have some place to go then tell me, I''ll send you there. If not then get up and follow me." Li Ming didn''t wait for his reply and left the room. Actually she already knew from his thoughts that the boy was a beggar. He certainly had no place to return, that''s why she didn''t wait for his answer. The boy hesitated for a moment but then followed Li Ming downstairs. He realized that his clothes were different from before. Rather than his usual rags, now he was wearing light grey colour clothes. Although he wanted to ask Li Ming who changed his clothes but then he changed his mind and kept quiet. When they came downstairs, he found that they were in an inn. Li Ming brought him to a table and asked him to sit down. Elder Fu was surprised to see a strange boy with the Young Miss. "Who is this, Miss Li?" He asked while pouring coffee for all three of them. "He is....." Li Ming stopped and then looked at the boy. "What''s your name?" She asked the boy as she passed him the coffee. Both Elder Fu and the boy looked at Li Ming with surprised eyes. The boy finally replied, "I''m Xian." "Right! He''s Xian." Li Ming told Elder Fu and continued to sip the coffee. Elder Fu didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. He didn''t say anything and asked his daughter to bring the breakfast for Miss Li and Xian. The boy had not eaten a full belly food for years. This was the first time someone was offering him so much food without him begging for it. His eyes turned moist as he looked at Li Ming who was putting a little bit of every dish in his plate. She looked at him and smiled softly. Then she started eating her own food. He could tell just by looking at her that she was not used to eating with the veil on. He picked up his chopsticks and started to eat the warm food. He wanted to enjoy the food as much as he could because who knew when he had to go back to his previous life. After they both finished their breakfast, Li Ming asked all the servants and the Huang family to gather in the back room. After giving instructions, she sent all of them back to their work. She gave the address of the orphanage to Elder Fu and told him to send her a message if something important happened or if they need her. After she made sure that everything was fine with the inn, she finally went towards Xian, who was standing in front of the Terrarium, looking at it with curiosity. "Do you like it?" Li Ming asked as she approached him. "Umm...Yeah! It''s beautiful." Xian said a little embarrassedly. "Alright! We are getting late. Let''s go." Li Ming said as she offered him her hand. Xian looked at her hand and asked, "Where are we going?" "It''s a surprise. Now lets go." She didn''t give him a chance this time and held his hand before teleporting both of them to the orphanage. Chapter 21 - Meeting The Villagers (1) Li Ming and Xian appeared in the front yard of the orphanage. The children and the old couple were also there, busy in their morning session. They all wished Li Ming good morning and continued with their class. Li Ming looked at Xian who was looking at her with terror. She dragged him towards the swing and after he sat down on it, she started swinging it with light pushes from behind. "Why are you looking at me like I had murdered someone?" Li Ming asked with a soft chuckle. Xian didn''t reply for sometime but then asked with a voice full of both suspicion and admiration, "How can you do that?" "What? Doesn''t cultivators do this place traveling thing all the time?" Li Ming asked as she lightly pushed the swing. "But they need teleportation arrays for that. Moreover, the powers like these are only used by the immortal cultivators and you are just a little girl!" Xian nearly shouted with excitement but then controlled himself. "Hmm...! Then consider it a special gift of mine. Now, tell me! What do you think of this place? Wanna stay here with me?" Li Ming asked. "You are not going back to the capital city?" Xian asked her as he looked towards the other children studying with smiling faces. "I have some matters to take care of here. So, I''m going to stay here for the time being." Li Ming answered his question. "Why are you helping me?" Xian asked after a few minutes of silence. Li Ming looked at the children running after squirrels. She sighed as she said, "Because you are special. Just like the rest of them." She nodded her towards the children of orphanage. A small smile appeared on Xian''s face when he heard her reply. She asked him to follow her and went towards the group of children. She already knew his decision. "You all have a new friend. He''s Xian and he will be going to stay here with you guys. Treat him with love and kindness. Okay?" Li Ming said as she pushed Xian on a seat between two other boys. "Yes Miss!" The children answered her in a loud voice. The old couple nodded their heads in understanding and continued the class. Li Ming told them that she was going to the fields and teleported. Although at first her plan was to keep her powers a secret but later she realized that the people of this world both respected and feared the powerful person. That''s why she''s no more trying to keep her powers a secret. Also this show off of her powers were helping her in making the people trust her. If not for her powers, she couldn''t have gained the ownership of the Black Jade Inn. The villagers had already received Sir Liu''s orders and nearly every villager was present at the fields with their families. They were waiting for the special person about whom Sir Liu had told them. According to Sir Liu, that person had the ability to help them. They all were waiting for past one hour but they still couldn''t see a single soul coming towards the fields. It''s not that Li Ming was late. Rather the villagers were too excited after hearing Sir Liu''s words, so they all came to the fields very early. Just as they were getting impatient from the waiting, suddenly a girl appeared by the side of Sir Liu. They all were too shocked to utter a single word. The whole place was dead silent. Only the voices of the birds and insects could be heard. Li Ming saw the large crowd gathered. She was kinda impressed. She thought that the villagers wouldn''t believe Sir Liu and most of them would carried out with their plan. But it seemed she was wrong about the level of trust the villagers had in Sir Liu. When Sir Liu saw Li Ming suddenly appearing beside him, he nearly got a heart attack but he somehow controlled his reaction. He nodded towards Li Ming and then said to the villagers, "This is Miss Li. She''s from a very noble and respected family. When she heard about our problems, she offered her help. I think you all should hear her out." Li Ming looked at the crowd who were still looked like they had seen a ghost. Actually, it was not the villagers fault. The only powerful cultivator that they had seen for last few decades was The Old Sir Liu. They had only heard about the High Level Cultivators. It was their first time seeing a person appearing out of thin air. "I did some study on the soil samples from your fields yesterday. And I think I know the problem of the damage in the crops." Li Ming said as she looked at the crowd. The silent crowd suddenly erupted into loud voices. After Sir Liu told them to keep quiet, the crowd again settled down. "But before telling you guys the reason, I want to ask a question." This time Li Ming directed her words towards Sir Liu. "What do you want to ask? I will try my best to answer." Sir Liu said as he looked at the little girl who was emitting a very cold aura. Her every step and word showed the high position and personality that a Master had. "Did anyone in the village got sick with some weird disease in the recent years?" Li Ming asked seriously. Sir Liu thought for a while and finally shook his head, "As far as I remember there was not any case of any strange disease in the past few years. All the people who got sick were suffering from some normal cold or fever and they even recovered in a few days after taking the medicine.....But why are you asking this question?" Sir Liu was puzzled. Li Ming nodded her head as she listened to what Sir Liu had said. "Then my theory was actually right. When I studied the soil samples yesterday I found a very rare poison in it. This poison is making it unfertilized for past 5-6 years. There''s only two methods for getting this poison into the soil without getting caught. The first one is through the irrigation, but since the same water is used by the villagers for drinking purpose and no one had been infected by any strange illness that mean the water is safe. That leaves the second method...." Chapter 22 - Meeting The Villagers (2) After listening to Li Ming''s words, everyone was shocked. One of the villager could not help it any more and finally asked, "Miss Li, what is the second method about which you were talking?" The others also supported him and started asking the same question. "I''m not 100% sure about this one as I have no proof but I think that if the poison was not in the water then it was in the seeds." Li Ming said. The crowd again started talking but this time it was in anger. No one had ever thought that someone was deceiving them like this. "Does that mean Han Zhe was providing us with those poisoned seeds? That mo***r f****ng bastard!" A young man, maybe in his late twenties, shouted in anger. The villagers continued to talk angrily among themselves and continued to curse the Han Zhe. It took a lot of effort from both Sir Liu and Li Ming to make the boiling villagers cool down a little. "Miss Li, why are you so sure that the poison was in the seeds? Maybe whoever did it had used some other methods." Another one of the villagers asked after they all had settled down. Li Ming nodded her head in agreement and said, "You are not completely wrong, But I have my reasons. If the poison was not in the water and nor in the seeds, then it means that someone had sprinkled it in the fields. Although one could also sprinkle this poison at night or at a time when no one was present in the fields but it is kind of hard and nearly impossible. First, it''s really tiring to sprinkle the poison in such a large area. And if there were more than two or three persons then it was also impossible that no one from the village saw anyone or anything." "Now, let''s consider that they got away with it for the first time but the poison continued to seep into the soil for past 5 years. That mean the poison was added every year. How can someone be so smart to get away with it all these years without getting caught." "But still as I said before I''m not 100% sure that the poison was in the seeds but don''t worry, we''ll find out the real culprit behind it. But right now, the most important thing is to start the preparation for this season." Li Ming told the crowd who nodded their heads after listening to her explanation. The villagers finally settled down when they heard Li Ming talking about the crops. Since their soil was already poisoned, how they were going to feed their families anymore! "Miss Li, you are very kind and intelligent person. Your level of cultivation also seems quite high. By any chance do you know any method or some way that can help us?" The woman who spoke this time was Sir Liu''s daughter - in - law, Liu Hansi. Before Li Ming could reply, someone from the crowd spoke up. "She is just a little girl. Although she has some tricks up her sleeve but that doesn''t mean she can solve such a huge matter. How can we trust a complete stranger like this? Moreover a little child!" These words were spoken by a fat woman who was in her mid thirties. Her name was Yan Ning. ''What a place? Everyone is jealous after seeing someone as talented and beautiful as me!'' Right! These were Li Ming''s exact thoughts after she listened to that woman''s words. Snowy shook his head but didn''t bother to say anything to his stupid master. Li Ming looked at the woman and spoke in a very cold voice, "Can you suggest a better option? If not, then don''t open your mouth again! I''m not known for my patience." It was clearly a warning, both to that woman and to all the other villagers. No one said anything and completely ignored the woman who was left both terrified and angry by Li Ming''s words. "Now it''s time for business." Li Ming told the villagers. Everyone was surprised after hearing this. "Miss Li, what are you talking about?" Another woman asked. "You want someone who can help you in getting rid of the poison. And I can help you." Li Ming looked at the crowd who became happy after listening her words. "But I want to make some things clear before that." Li Ming looked at Sir Liu who nodded his head. The crowd felt silent and looked at Li Ming as they waited patiently. "I''m a business woman. Everything that I do is related to my business one way or another. As I said I can help you guys but I have a business proposal and I can assure you that this proposal is the best thing that can happen to this village in an entire century." Li Ming''s said in a voice full of confidence. The villagers started talking among themselves. Li Ming didn''t disturb them and stayed silent. She looked at the crowd and her eyes sparkled with an evil light as her gaze focused on Yan Ning. After listening to Li Ming''s words, Yan Ning thought that it was the perfect moment to sow the seed of doubt in the heart of villagers as Li Ming was only thinking about her own benefits. But somehow her lips got stuck to each other. Not only that but her whole body was paralyzed. She couldn''t move a single finger. Her heart started beating rapidly with terror. She looked around in horror and saw Li Ming looking at her. Cold sweat appeared on Yan Ning''s forehead. If her body was not paralyzed then she might be shivering in pure terror. "It looks like you don''t understand normal language. Didn''t I tell you to keep your mouth shut if you don''t have anything important to speak? I will not be kind enough to repeat myself a third time. I hope you will not disappoint me." Yan Ning heard Li Ming''s cold voice in her head and she immediately nodded her head in understanding. That''s when she realized that she could move her body again at her will. She looked at Li Ming and immediately looked down to avoid her cold eyes. It looked like this Miss Li was not a human but a devil...!! Chapter 23 - Farming (1) Li Ming looked at the waiting crowd in front of her and finally said, "As Sir Liu has already told you, I''ll be providing you with seeds and any other requirements. So, you all don''t need to sell your crops from the last season. Use that for your family. And don''t worry, the grains are not affected by the poison and are completely safe for use." The crowd happily accepted and thanked Li Ming for her kindness. After a few minutes, she again said, "Now here''s my deal. I want all of you to listen to me carefully without interrupting, to the end. After you have listened to my deal it will be your decision whether to accept it or not." All the villagers nodded their heads in understanding as they all waited for Li Ming to tell them her proposal. "I want to take over the ownership of your entire fields." Li Ming had imagined a lot of questions, anger, and doubts from the villagers. But to her surprise, all of them remained silent. No one argued or cursed her. They kept looking at her like they were waiting for her to say something more. She raised her eyebrow in surprise and asked, "Are you not angry?" "Didn''t Miss Li asked us to listen to you till the end without interrupting and coming to conclusions!" The person who spoke was an old grandma who was sitting with her family beside Liu Hansi. "....." Li Ming smiled lightly and nodded her head. "Alright! As I said I want to take over your fields and I want you to work for me. In return, 10% of the final production will be distributed between the families of this village at the end of the season from their fields. In addition to that, each family will also get 10 silver taels at the end of each month as your salary. But since I have already given the entire production of last season to you and am also taking care of the seeds and other requirements, you all will not get any silvers for the next 4 months. I think my deal is fair enough. Now you all can decide if you want this deal or not." Li Ming stated and then sat down on a chair that she had produced with her magic. The villagers started talking among themselves. Although the 10% portion of the crops was very little but it was completely out of their hands whether the production would be good or bad in the end. That''s why everyone focused on the fact that no matter how bad the result of the production would be if they excepted the deal then they would get 10 silver taels each month which was more money than they had ever earned. In their village merely a few families could earn a few silvers if they worked hard for the entire year. Also, they had enough grains to feed their families for the next 4 months. After discussing for an entire half an hour, the villagers agreed to accept the deal. Li Ming didn''t waste any time and made a contract. She made the villagers either sign it or left their thumbprint. After everything was taken care of, Li Ming took a look at the contract and after making sure that everything was fine, she placed it inside a locker in the mansion. "I want all of you to stand a little away from the fields." Li Ming told the villagers and started walking towards the center of the fields. The villagers didn''t waste any time and made a straight line a few meters away from the fields. Li Ming approached the center of the fields and took out the crystal ball with runes. She placed the ball on the soil and put two drops of her blood on the ball. Then she teleported back to where the other people were standing. The crystal rose a few feet above the earth and started glowing with a faint green light. Soon black colored smoke-like substance started coming out of the soil and entered the crystal. The villagers looked with shock and horror at the scene that was taking place in front of them. As far as their eyes could see the fields were covered with that black substance. "Is that...!" Sir Liu was also shocked to the core that he couldn''t even voice his thoughts. "The Poison." Li Ming finished what Sir Liu had started to say. It took nearly 10-15 minutes before the black substance finally stopped coming out of the soil. But the pure white crystal ball was now completely filled with black smoke. Li Ming again teleported back to the center of the fields and picked up the crystal ball. She looked at the slightly hot ball in her hand with a frown. According to her theory, the poison should be in liquid form but the crystal ball was completely filled with black smoke. Li Ming continued to look at the ball for a few minutes but then put it in the spell room inside a golden box. After she made sure that the ball was completely safe, she looked at the villagers who had already approached her. "Is the soil now free of poison?" Sir Liu asked her. All of them were still shocked after witnessing so much poison in the fields. "Yes, it is now completely free of poison. We can start our preparation for this season now." Li Ming told the villagers. "Miss Li, what''s your plan? Should we start plowing the fields so that we can sow rice and wheat crops?" Sir Liu''s eldest son, Liu Nian asked. "I have a new plan for this season. First, we are going to divide the fields into three parts. One part for crops, the second part for vegetables and the third part for fruit orchards." Li Ming told the villagers. Although they had no idea how they were going to do that but they were sure that Miss Li had her own ideas and plans for that. Chapter 24 - Farming (2) After telling her plan to the villagers, Li Ming started her work. The villagers worked with their full potential and didn''t give Li Ming any chance to doubt their sincerity. For the next whole week everyone was busy. They separated the fields into three parts as per Li Ming''s directions. Firstly they ploughed the first part with the help of Li Ming''s magic and completed the work only in three days. On the fourth day, Li Ming took out bags after bags of hybrid seeds from her mansion and the villagers planted the seeds. They planted wheat, rice, maize and sugar cane in the first portion. Li Ming had already soaked the seeds into a special potion which would increase their level of consuming spiritual energy from the air. After that everyone started watering the fields. By end of the first week, the work in the first portion of the fields was completely done and they had planted the crops successfully. Li Ming gave the villagers break for one day. She decided to visit the Black Jade Inn as it had already been an entire week since she had left. When she teleported back to the inn, the environment inside of the inn was as dark and cold as possible. She frowned and looked at the terrified people inside the main room. That''s when her gaze fell on the person who was responsible for the situation. Of course, it was none other than the Fourth Prince! Li Ming rubbed the tip of her nose and sighed softly. Elder Fu saw Li Ming and came running towards her. Although he didn''t say a single word, but Li Ming could read the request in his eyes. All the people inside the main room, including Fourth Prince''s guards, were nearly begging her with pitiful faces to handle the situation and save them. Zhang Yong felt her presence behind him the moment she appeared. Although he had never seen from his own eyes but he had been informed that she could teleport without using a teleportation array. He didn''t turn behind as he saw Elder Fu running towards Li Ming from the corner of his eyes. He had been waiting for an entire week. He had visited the inn nearly every day but he didn''t get a single glance of her all this time. Even his most powerful trackers and shadow guards couldn''t find her whereabouts. Though he could have got the information using his position from the Black Jade Inn, but he had a feeling inside him that Li Ming would not like that. And didn''t know why but he didn''t want to make her unhappy. Li Ming looked at Zhang Yong and then at the staff. She signaled all of them to leave the room quietly. No one wasted any time and flew from the room like a demon was after them. Li Ming looked at the Prince who had not made a single movement since she had entered the inn. She observed the peerless beauty and the long silky hair of Zhang Yong for some time. She had a strong desire to touch those rosy lips. Zhang Yong was the most handsome man in the entire Han Empire. He was known for his high achievements in Spirit Cultivation and his sharp mind. He''s also the favorite son of the Emperor. Before Li Ming could divulged deeper into her fantasy, she was interrupted by his voice which was as sweet as honey. Li Ming shook her head and looked at the man in front of her. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought, ''Is this man doing some magic on me? Otherwise how can I think about him and his voice in such a way!'' When Zhang Yong didn''t get a response from Li Ming, he finally turned towards her and raised his eyebrows in confusion. Li Ming rolled her eyes and walked towards his table. She took out two cans of beer and opened their lids. She offered one to Zhang Yong, who looked puzzled but still took the can. Zhang Yong saw Li Ming taking a sip from her beer and he did the same but the next moment he nearly cursed out loud but stopped himself. She at least should have told him that it was going to be chilled and bitter. He had gotten used to the rich taste of wine but what he had drank just now tasted completely different. Li Ming saw the expression on Zhang Yong''s face and laughed out loud. "It''s called beer. I thought you will prefer something bitter after making the day of my staff also bitter and uncomfortable." Zhang Yong looked at the girl in front of him who was drinking that beer thing in pleasure. He looked at his own can. He noticed that the material from which the can was made was also something new and there were some sort of things printed on the can. He took a long breath and decided to take another sip. After a few more sips, he finally started to relax. "Where have you been all this week?" He asked the girl who had been sitting there quietly. "Why do you want to know?" Li Ming said without even looking at him. "Didn''t I tell you that I want to eat those delicious food of yours? Then how can you disappear without a trace?" Zhang Yong asked with a hurtful expression. "I''m not your servant, Your Highness." Li Ming replied softly but matter of factly. "But I''m your Prince, you should be responsible for feeding your Prince." Zhang Yong said with a cute pout. "....." Li Ming was completely speechless after seeing the level of audacity of this person. "Hah!....Why I should be responsible for feeding you? You have your own palace and your own personal cooks, who can make wonderful and delicious dishes for you anytime you want. SO, STOP BOTHERING ME!" Li Ming told the shameless person in front of her. "Alright! I''ll not ask you to cook for me everyday but you have to tell where you have been all this time." Zhang Yong asked curiously. "Why do you care? It''s none of your business. Now, if you excuse me Your Highness, I will like to focus on my Inn''s business which has gone down into the gutter because of your presence." Li Ming stood up and looked at the Fourth Prince. "I hope you can see yourself out. Have a safe trip home." She said sweetly and turned around to go and look for her coward staff. But before she could take more than two steps, something hit her on her neck sharply and then everything went black..... Chapter 25 - Caught By The Fourth Prince Li Ming was staring at the culprit who had nearly made her a suspect of committing treason against the imperial family. If she had any idea that her decision of sending Snowy for the task of finding cultivation books would bring her to such a terrible situation, she would have found another solution. When she first opened her eyes, she found herself in a pavilion at the outskirts of the Capital City. The owner of this Pavilion was no one other than his highness the Fourth Prince. She went into the back garden to teach her kidnapper a proper lesson this time, but everything went down the hill when she saw Snowy in Zhang Yong''s arms. And his next words nearly made her kill herself in embarrassment. It''s one thing to steal something after being all high and mighty in front of the people but it''s entirely a different situation to get caught in the act. It took her a few minutes to realize that if the Fourth Prince wanted, he could kill her right at that moment. Zhang Yong looked at Li Ming with a small smile on his face. The embarrassed look in her eyes at the moment was priceless. If it was someone else who had committed such a crime against him, he would have killed that person without even blinking twice. But of course, Li Ming was not just someone for him, Not Anymore! He couldn''t kill her but that didn''t mean he couldn''t tease her for a while. Moreover, he wanted to see what she was going to do now. "Have you ever seen this little snowball before, Ming''er? I found it sneaking into my study. It was actually trying to steal my books of early level cultivation." Zhang Yong asked as he pointed to the little dog in his arms. Li Ming looked at Snowy and after thinking about her current situation she finally decided to play innocent. She was sure as long as she would not accept the accusations, Zhang Yong couldn''t prove her guilty. After taking a deep breath she looked at the Prince and said in an innocent voice, "I have never seen this dog before. I don''t know what you are talking about!" ''Heartless Monster!'' Snowy cried through their bond after he heard her words. ''Who told you to get caught in the wolf''s claw? If you can''t even save yourself, then don''t expect me to save you.'' Li Ming replied with a cool voice. Zhang Yong smirked and said in a serious voice, "Alright! Since it''s not yours then there is no problem. It''s my bad to misjudge you. Don''t worry, I will find out the real culprit and punish him for committing such a high crime." "Put this dog in the boiling water." He ordered his guards. Before the guard could take the dog in his hand, it was snatched away by a fuming Li Ming. Li Ming pulled the shivering Snowy tightly in her arms and started rubbing his ears. She then pulled him inside the mansion before anyone could snatch him away from her. Zhang Yong signaled his shocked guards to leave and looked at Li Ming. "I thought it was not yours. Looks like I was wrong again." Li Ming looked straight in his eyes and said, "I also judged you wrong. I have never thought that you will be such a cruel person to kill an innocent animal in such a terrible way." "I was not going to really boil him. And he was not really innocent. It was just a stunt to make you accept that you are the owner of the dog." Zhang Yong said with a smirk. "You...." Li Ming didn''t get to say another word as Zhang Yong suddenly stood up from his seat and in the next blink, he was standing behind her, closing her within his arms. Li Ming could feel his hot breath on her nape. Zhang Yong looked at the girl in his arms. She neither tried to get out of his hold nor turned around to look at him. She just stayed standing still. It had been a complete week since he had last seen her and even more longer since he last felt her in his arms. He tightened his hold around her waist and said in a low voice in her ear. "You have been found guilty of committing treason against this Prince. How do you think you should be punished?" Li Ming pulled herself out of his arms and turned around. Although Zhang Yong was reluctant but he still let her go. "Your Highness, don''t beat around the bush! It''s clear that you don''t want to kill me, then please say what''s your demand." Li Ming said while looking straight in Fourth Prince''s eyes. Zhang Yong looked at the girl who was staring at him. In his whole life, there was not a single person who had not feared him except his father Emperor. Even the Empress and the Crown Prince were afraid of him. But this girl, who was standing before his eyes, had never shown any hint of fear from the first time they met. Rather she had contradicted him on nearly every point. After meeting Li Ming, he had thought that he had finally found his equal. And he was determined to not lose her. "Umm.....let me think! What about becoming my personal cook and spending the rest of your life in the glory of cooking those delicious dishes of yours for me!" Zhang Yong suggested. "Your Highness, I have already made this clear before that I have no time to fulfill this fantasy of yours. I will trouble you to please ask for something else." Li Ming said sweetly. Zhang Yong pretended to think for a while and finally said. But this time his tone was serious and although he was only suggesting Li Ming could hear the demand behind his words. "I have two things to ask from you." Zhang Yong moved behind her as he said. "The first one is that from today onwards, you will always inform me about your whereabouts. Deal?" Li Ming rubbed her forehead with irritation but she knew that she could not get out of this situation unharmed without accepting his demands. Therefore, though reluctantly but she nodded her head in surrender. A slightly bigger smile appeared on Zhang Yong''s face but he soon hid his expression. "Great! And the second one is...." The next second, the veil on Li Ming''s face became loose and before she could do anything, it already fell on the ground. "...that you should not wear that veil whenever you are alone with me." Zhang Yong completed his second demand as he turned Li Ming around to face him. Li Ming looked at the Fourth Prince with a frown. Although he looked charming and down to earth most of the time but she was not one to be deceived by this. Zhang Yong looked at the beautiful girl in front of him and said with a soft tone, "Look like my Ming''er is a peerless beauty." "I thought you were not into children!" Li Ming said with a smirk. "And I told you to grow up quickly." Zhang Yong said sweetly as he rubbed her head. Li Ming pushed his hand away and said with a mocking tone, "Then I think you are in to wait for a long time." "Right, since everything is sorted out, let me go. I have things to take care of at the inn before leaving. And I will also take you with me tomorrow morning to the place where I have been for the past one week, but you have to leave your guards behind." "As you wish, I will meet you at the inn tomorrow morning." Zhang Yong said and Li Ming nodded her head. Then she didn''t wait any longer to let Zhang Yong change his mind and teleported back to the inn. Chapter 26 - Starting The Second Part Of Farming Li Ming spent the rest of her day taking care of the Inn''s business. She taught two new dishes to the Huang sisters and filled up the storage of the inn. She checked the account book and gave a few new orders to Elder Fu and Madam Fu. After making sure that everything was going well in the inn, she finally decided to rest. Therefore she spent the entire night in cultivating her spiritual energy. ****** Next morning when Li Ming went into the main room, she found Zhang Yong sitting there, sipping coffee. It was the first time when the people inside the inn were quietly doing their own work in the presence of this person. Li Ming went towards Zhang Yong''s table and said, "If you are ready, then should we leave?" Zhang Yong stood up and looked at the girl, "Sure!" Li Ming told Elder Fu that she would be leaving. Then she caught the corner of Zhang Yong''s sleeve in her hand and teleported both of them to the village. Zhang Yong felt a sudden pull and then he found himself floating in nothingness but before he could take a better look, he was pushed out of the space. Although he had used teleportation arrays before but teleporting with Li Ming was different. It was a lot faster and moreover Zhang Yong was not even prepared. He had no idea that Li Ming was going to use her teleportation technique. It took him a few seconds to fight the dizziness that was taking over him. When he finally straighten up, he found himself standing on the outsides of large fields. A lot of villagers were already there waiting for Li Ming. The moment they saw Li Ming appearing, they all went towards her and wished her good morning. But due to some miracle not a single person kneeled down and bowed to the Fourth Prince. Not only that but they all acted like they didn''t even see him. Li Ming saw the questioning look on Zhang Yong''s face and said, "Right now, I have put an invisible spell on you. So, these people can''t see you. Don''t think that they are disrespecting you in any way. I just don''t want them to spend their time in fawning over you rather than working." Zhang Yong looked at Li Ming and shook his head with a little twitch on his lips. "Then what am I supposed to do when no one can see me?" "Whatever you want. Just don''t disturb us. I have work to do." Li Ming said and left after the villagers. Zhang Yong did as he was told. He didn''t disturb them and found a large rock to sit on. He was curious to find out what exactly Li Ming was doing in this village. Li Ming started teaching the villagers about how they were going to prepare the second part of the field. After nearly an hour was over, everyone started working. They made rows after long rows in the second part. With so many people, they all finished their work only in a few hours. After resting for a while, Li Ming took out bags after bags of organic manure. She had also put the same potion in the manure which would increase its capacity of consuming spiritual energy. They put the manure in the rows and after it was done, Li Ming took out large trays of small plants. She then taught the farmers how to put the plants in the soil. They all stopped for the lunch break and started working again. By the end of the day they had completed the work. But they still needed to water the vegetable plants. After thinking for a while, Li Ming asked the villagers to return back to their homes. She then went to the wells in the fields and stood a little away from them. She closed her eyes and focused her powers on the wells. Zhang Yong had passed most of his day in cultivation. He had many theories of the reason behind Li Ming''s visit to the village but nothing prepared him for the truth. He was totally shocked to find that she was actually farming. Moreover her way of farming was completely different. He had watched with a soft smile on his face as she ordered around the villagers. Everything about her was unique and surprising. She had the ability to make even the most difficult work look simple. He watched her as she went towards the wells and he followed after her. Li Ming focused her creation powers on a spot and imagined the structure of a tube well. She imagined a long pipe going deep in the ground and when she felt the pipe reaching the water level she focused her powers on that spot. Creating some small objects was not a big deal for her anymore but what she was creating right at the moment was far beyond her current level of power. She soon felt her energy draining away. But they needed this tube well. The ancient way of irrigation was no more profitable for her farming. She ignored the dizziness that was taking over her body and focused her entire power on the task at hand. Just a few more minutes and the tube well would be completed. Zhang Yong was still very far away from Li Ming but he could still saw the strange thing that was appearing out of no where. It started from a scratch and soon started getting bigger and bigger. It took him just a second to realize that it was Li Ming who was creating it. He quicken his steps. Li Ming had nearly lost all her energy. She was completely drenched in sweat. She felt the moment the tube well fixed itself into its place. A small smile broke on her face. She finally achieved her goal but it was getting harder for her to even open her eyes any longer. Zhang Yong was just a few feet away when he saw Li Ming swaying a little. He flashed in lightning speed and caught her in his arms before she touched the ground. Chapter 27 - Watering The Fields Li Ming felt herself coming out of her unconsciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the sky full of stars above her. Zhang Yong looked at the girl in his arms who was looking at the sky silently. He was so worried about her and here she was, admiring the night sky like she had not been unconscious for nearly two hours. The moment she fainted, Snowy had thrusted a vial full of golden liquid in Zhang Yong''s hand. At first he wanted to feed her a high grade pill but then decided to go with the golden liquid. Her breathing relaxed after drinking the potion and color returned to her face. Only then Zhang Yong relaxed. He didn''t remember the last time when he was this much concerned for someone. Li Ming realized that she was lying in Zhang Yong''s arms. But seeing that he didn''t pushed her away after she opened her eyes, she also didn''t move away. She was too lazy to move. Moreover it felt good to let someone hold her and of course she was getting a nice view of the beautiful night sky above. "So beautiful!" Li Ming said as she continued to stare at the stars. "Right! Beautiful!" Li Ming heard Zhang Yong saying those words. She moved her head to look at his handsome face. Rather than looking at the sky, he was looking at her. A smile broke on her face as she realized that he was talking about her and not the night sky full of stars. "Why did you use so much of your powers when you are not ready?" Zhang Yong asked with worry as he looked into her sparkling eyes. "The tube well is important for the farming." Li Ming replied but saw that Zhang Yong was still staring at her. Sometimes she felt that he could see through her every barrier. Like he could see through her soul. She sighed and asked, "You knew about my cultivation level, right!" It was not exactly a question. Zhang Yong smiled lightly and said in a soft voice, "From the very beginning. That''s why I''m impressed by your progress. Just in a month you had already reached the seventh level of Basic Cultivation." Zhang Yong took hold of her hand and placed it above his heart. He didn''t give her a chance to move her hand out of his hold as he placed his own hand over her''s. Li Ming felt the warmth under her hand. The soft fabric of his black garments and the hardness of his chest. She gulped down her nervousness and looked at Zhang Yong''s face. "You know that you can trust me, right! I''ll keep everything deep in here and never tell a soul." Zhang Yong said as he pressed her hand to his heart. Li Ming nodded her head as she looked at the man in front of her. She knew that she could trust him but she''s not ready, not yet. "I know. One day, I''ll tell you. But maybe not now." Li Ming said carefully. She didn''t wanted to hurt him. Zhang Yong smiled and pulled her closer in his arms. "I''ll wait for that day patiently. Just remember to not over do yourself. Alright?" Li Ming nodded her head and promised. She looked at the tube well and realized something, "Oh no!" "What''s wrong?" Zhang Yong asked as Li Ming got out of his arms and stood up. "I''m supposed to water the vegetable plants otherwise they will wither." Li Ming replied as she moved towards the tube well. She had already exhausted herself, there''s no point she could use her magic. She looked at Zhang Yong and smiled. "Come here." "What do you want?" Zhang Yong asked as he walked up to where she was standing. "I need you to use your cultivation powers to direct the water from the tube well into the fields. Can you do that?" Li Ming asked. Zhang Yong nodded his head. He made a gesture of his hand and the water started flowing out of the tube well towards the fields. Li Ming was completely speechless. She looked at Zhang Yong like she was looking at her idol. Zhang Yong looked at the worshipping gaze of Li Ming and laughed lightly. His laughter was like a sweet melody in the dark and silent night. "What! Impressed by my Cultivation powers?" She was indeed impressed. If she had to do that task it would have probably taken two - three minutes for her to make the water flow according to her command. She had not seen many people using their cultivation powers in this world. Most people around her were from normal or poor family. They spent their time in working and earning money for their families rather than cultivating. The only people who were slightly better in cultivation were the group of young masters whom she had met in the Black Jade Inn, but there was never a situation for them to use their power. More or less, it was her first time seeing someone using their cultivation energy. And she sure was impressed. Although the techniques were different but the results were same as her magical powers. But being impressed didn''t mean that she had to boost his ego to another level. And she sure was not going to let Zhang Yong feel that he had impressed her in any way. She laughed mockingly and said, "Don''t flatter yourself, Your Highness!" She didn''t talk to Zhang Yong anymore and focused on her work. For the next three and a half hour, the two of them silently worked in the fields and watered the entire first and second part of the fields. After they had completed their work, Li Ming changed Zhang Yong''s appearance slightly. Although he already told her that he had never came to the village before but she still not wanted to take any chance. In his new appearance he still looked like a rich young master but no one could recognize him as the Fourth Prince of the Han Empire anymore. Chapter 28 - Hamburgers Zhang Yong neither stopped her, nor he asked any question. He just silently let her change his appearance. Because he had a feeling that if he refused to change his appearance then Li Ming would probably kick him out of the village. After she had completed her task, she took him to the orphanage. The look on Zhang Yong''s face when he saw the old and barely standing house in front of them was indescribable. "Why are we here?" Zhang Yong stopped in front of the orphanage and asked. Li Ming turned around and looked at the frown that had appeared on his face. "Are you planning to sleep on the street?" "Don''t tell me we are going to spend our night here!" Zhang Yong said as he looked at the orphanage. "If not here then where are you planning to sleep tonight? I''m not powerful enough to teleport you back to the Imperial City." Li Ming said. "Let''s find an inn or something. This place looks like it''s going to collapse any moment." Zhang Yong took hold of her wrist in his hand and started to walk in other direction. Li Ming broke his hold and folded her arms. "Your Highness, this is not your Imperial City but a small and poor village. Why do you even think that you will find an inn here?" "And let me tell you something important today. You should not judge a book by its cover. Sometimes looks can be deceiving. And trust me, in this case you are being deceived by the looks. Come! Let me show you some magic." Li Ming didn''t wait and entered the orphanage. Zhang Yong looked at the orphanage once more but decided to follow Li Ming halfheartedly. Nothing had prepared him for the view that he met after entering the house. Rather than an old building the house looked brand new and had a beautiful garden. After knowing Li Ming for nearly a month, he should be prepared, right! Li Ming introduced Zhang Yong to the old couple and the children. She took him to show his room which was right beside her own. Although the room was not too grand but it was spacious and beautifully furnished. She looked at the Prince and asked mockingly, "Do you still think that this place is not suitable for you to stay?" Zhang Yong put both of his hands on either side of her shoulder and said with a cute angelic voice, "Wherever my Ming''er stay is definitely the most beautiful place in the world. How could it will not be suitable?" Li Ming looked at the shameless person in front of her. Just a few minutes ago he was ready to flew from the orphanage but suddenly it became the most beautiful place in the world! Zhang Yong looked at the cold look on Li Ming''s face and said hurriedly, "Ming''er, I''m hungry and I have not eaten any of your dishes for a complete week. Please make something for me." The tone he used was so cute and adorable. No one could make themselves say no to such a person. Li Ming shook her head but decided to prepare something for the devil. She spent next hour in preparing the dinner. She didn''t cooked several dishes this time. Everyone gathered around the large table in the garden. The place was beautiful decorated with lanterns by the children. The garden was sparkling in light from the lanterns and the full moon above in the sky. Li Ming brought the food outside with the help of the kitchen group. She had prepared three large bowls of Hamburger Fried Rice and a very large amount of hamburgers. The children got to drink a glass of milk while the elders got one can of beer each and of course, according to Li Ming she was also old enough to drink. The group enjoyed a delicious and hearty meal. Although at first everyone was confused about how they were going to eat without chopsticks, but then Li Ming picked up her burger and took a large bite out of it. She looked at the people around her who were giving her a strange look. "What? Not hungry anymore!" She didn''t pay any more attention to them as she busied herself in enjoying the rich flavor of the hamburger and the beer. The group also didn''t waste more time. They could tell that whatever that round thing was, it was really delicious and who cared if they had to eat with chopsticks or with their bare hands as long as they enjoyed the food. The last person to submit was the Fourth Prince. Though he didn''t want to eat with his bare hands but there was no possible way to eat with the chopsticks. And he also didn''t want to loose the pleasure of eating the food prepared by his favorite chef. When he saw everyone including the old couple, eating the hamburger, he finally gave in. It''s not like anyone would know that the Fourth Prince of the Han Empire was eating his food in such a way except his Ming''er. Li Ming looked at the Prince and chuckled softly. They all enjoyed the food. She had made enough hamburger that each of them could eat at least three pieces each. The environment inside the orphanage was warm and happy. Everyone was smiling as they chatted about random topics. Chapter 29 - Planting Orchards Li Ming spent her next week in the preparation of the third part of the fields. This one was the hardest out of the three as they were going to plant orchards. Zhang Yong didn''t help her in the labor but he also didn''t disturb her. Li Ming worked hard with the farmers and their families entire week. They ploughed the fields, watered them. Then again ploughed them after one day and mix a lot of manure in the soil. Li Ming also sprinkled some spirit gathering potion that she had made after a lot of research and failure, but in the end succeeded. She had already planted the seeds of various fruits in a special potion to increase their growth level, when she had first formed the plan. It had been two weeks already. It would take at least three more weeks before the plants would be big enough for planting in the soil. This would also give them enough time to prepare the soil with enough spiritual energy to support the growth of the plants. Zhang Yong made sure to make her cultivate every night. Both of them spent their whole night for the entire week cultivating near the foot of the Thundering Mountains. The spiritual energy there was even more denser than the village. Since Zhang Yong was cultivating since his birth and was provided with the best methods of the cultivation, he had many tricks up his sleeve for cultivation. Li Ming realized that the method that Zhang Yong had taught her was really beneficial in gathering more spiritual energy in less time. She also kept teaching the children of the orphanage. She taught the kitchen group some new dishes, gave a few new designs to the designer group to learn and spent two hours everyday in teaching them yoga and martial arts. On the last day of the week, Li Ming gave the villagers a day off and teleported Zhang Yong and Xian back to the Black Jade Inn. Zhang Yong left due to some unknown but important matter and promised to visit her soon. Last time Li Ming had already asked Elder Fu to inform Wei Rong and his group of friends to visit the inn on Sunday if they wanted to meet her. Like always she spent two hours of her day in the Herb Hall as she learned about the spiritual herbs. Zhang Yong had also given her some books on medical knowledge when they were at the village. After a few minutes of her return to the inn from the Herb Hall, Li Ming got a visit from her new friends. Wei Min was angry with Li Ming for nearly vanishing out of the Black Market for two whole weeks. The game of Stratego was becoming more and more famous in the Imperial City. To please Wei Min and the others, Li Ming played with them for the rest of the afternoon as a way of her to say sorry without pronouncing the words. She prepared dinner for the entire Black Jade Inn with the help of Huang Sisters. Though it took them almost more than two hours as the number of customers of the Black Jade Inn was really huge. But after a whole month of training, the Huang Sisters were getting better and better. The dishes that were served : (including wine for those who wanted to pay 500 silvers for one glass and soda for the rest) # Chicken Tikka # Yoshoku # Japanese Omelette Rice # Spaghetti # Doughnuts Everyone enjoyed the meal and again Black Jade Inn made a lot of money. For the rest of the month Li Ming worked with the farmers in the fields and kept teaching the children of the orphanage. On every Sunday she spent her day taking care of the Black Jade Inn''s business. Wei Rong and the group also visited her on every Sunday to enjoy a few rounds of Stratego with her, after her morning classes in the Herb Hall. The Inn was making sufficient income and since she was using her magical powers to keep the inn''s business keep flowing, she only needed to pay the salary to the staff. Other than that she didn''t spent a single coin. Just in two months she had made enough money to be considered as one of the rich people of the Capital City. Although she was not rich enough to compete with the noble families like the Prime Minister or the General manor but she had only been in this business for two months. By the end of the month, the fruit seeds that she had planted in the potion, were ready to be planted in the soil. Li Ming spent four days in the plantation of the fruit orchards. Due to the special care for the past month, the soil was full of spiritual energy. They planted apples, mangoes , peaches, bananas, dragon fruits, grape vines, strawberry and oranges. After the hard work of more than a month, the farming task was completed. Now they only needed to take care of the plants and provide them with proper water and manure. Li Ming made Old Sir Liu Incharge of the farming. She gave him proper instructions and left more than two dozen manure bags at his house. She was sure that as long as Sir Liu would be the incharge she didn''t have to worry about the farming work. But before leaving the village she had a last task to complete. That night she paid a special visit to Han Zhe, he was the person who had been providing the villagers with the seeds. Li Ming had an invisibility spell on her, so no one noticed as she slip inside the house. Just as she entered the yard she found two man talking there. "I have heard that she had not only freed the fields from the poison but she had also given the entire crop production of the last season to the villagers." One of the man was saying. It was clear that these two people were talking about her. "They had already planted the crops and even vegetables & fruits." The man continued. The expression of the other person was not good at all. It was like someone had robbed his entire wealth. "Han Zhe, this is not good. If this continues then we will become beggars!" Oh! So these two men were Han Zhe, the person who provides seeds to the villagers and Lian Hu, the money lander. She was correct when she had concluded that these both were working together. Chapter 30 - Finding Out The Truth (1) Li Ming pulled off her invisibility spell and appeared in front of the two men. Seeing a young girl appearing out of thin air, the two men were terrified to death. Li Ming looked at their pale faces and laughed out loud. "Don''t worry, I''m not going to kill you, at least not yet!" The men became more terrified after listening her words. "W.....Wh.....Who....Who are you? And.....Wh...What do you want?" Lian Hu finally found some guts as he asked. "Aah! I''m so sorry. I didn''t even introduced myself. So bad of me!" Li Ming lightly hit her forehead with her hand and looked like she was so disappointed with her bad etiquettes. "Hello! I''m Li Ming. I will love to say that it''s nice to meet you both but unfortunately I can''t lie." Li Ming said in a very polite manner. "You.....You...are Li Ming?" Han Zhe asked in a shocking voice. "En!" Li Ming nodded her head and looked at the two men who were as terrified as they had seen a ghost. "Miss Li, I don''t know why we got to receive the pleasure of your visit?" Lian Hu collected himself from the initial shock and asked in a polite business like voice. "Not bad! I''m impressed. You know how to be polite even if it''s fake. Well, let''s get to the point. I just want to know how the two of you exactly poisoned the fields and got away without getting caught for such a long time?" Li Ming asked with real curiosity. For one second Han Zhe''s expression again turned terrified but the next second everything was back to normal but it was not enough to fool Li Ming. "Miss Li, we have no idea about what you are talking about." Lian Hu said in an indifferent voice. It appeared Lian Hu was really good at pretending. "Then let me elaborate. When I studied the samples of the soil from the fields, I found that it was poisoned but the most amazing thing about this case is that the poison is not harmful for anything or anyone else but it''s only taking away all the spiritual energy from the soil in a very slow speed. Since the soil is loosing it''s spiritual energy it''s fertility is also decreasing." "I''m really curious to know that from where did you find such a poison. Someone who can make such kind of poison is really talented. But I still can''t think of any poison which would be powerful enough to work for nearly 6 years in such a large area. Therefore I think that the poison was added at least every year. But I''m sure you two will be able to answer all my questions." Lian Hu and Han Zhe both were covered in cold sweat. But none of them uttered a single word as Li Ming continued. "Although if we ponder on this case with some concentration, it''s clear that you didn''t want to harm the villagers. Your only ambition was to decrease the fertility of the soil so that the villagers will get less production. For a year or two it would not be too much of a problem but as this continued, the villagers started getting desperate. They had not enough money to buy seeds and in their desperation they found someone who was ready to help them with money and seeds. In return the villagers gave their entire production to you and their children are working in the iron mill of yours in free." Li Ming finally stopped and took a long breath. Both the men were shocked. Even the villagers didn''t know that their children were working in the iron mill. If this information got out, then both of them would be rotting in dungeon. From the corner of her eyes, Li Ming saw Lian Hu taking out a dagger. Just before he was going to stab her, Lian Hu fell on his knees and clutched his head. His entire face was getting red and sweat was dripping down. Han Zhe ran towards him and started shaking him but didn''t get a response. Just as he was going to shout for help, Lian Hu''s painful face started to relax as he took long breaths to calm himself. After a few seconds, both of them looked at Li Ming with horror. "Such a poor stunt. Do you really think that both of you can deal with me that easily. Tsk tsk! Sometimes I really pity foolish people like you. Now be good boys and tell me what I want to know." Li Ming had an evil look on her face which could terrified anyone. Lian Hu had suffered such degree of pain in his head that he was terrified of making Li Ming angry. Therefore he decided to speak the truth. But before he could open his mouth, Li Ming took out two little red pills and said, "This is Truth Seeking Pills. I want both of you to eat them before answering my question." Both men were suspicious but the cold look in Li Ming''s eyes was telling them that they didn''t have any other option. So they both took a pill and swallowed it down. "Good, now you can start speaking." Li Ming created a chair and sat down on it facing the two kneeling men. "Miss Li, you are right that we were taking advantage of the villagers for past 5 years but we had no idea that the fields were poisoned." Han Zhe said hurriedly. Li Ming frowned. It''s impossible for him to lie after eating the Truth Seeking Pill based on his current cultivation level. Did that mean he was telling the truth! "Do you mean that it was not the two of you who poisoned the fields?" Li Ming asked carefully. "No, we didn''t! We have no idea that the fields were poisoned until a few weeks before. And we only got to know this because of you." Lian Hu replied as he continued to kneel down. "When did you find the iron mill?" Li Ming asked. The men looked at each other as they hesitated. "Don''t test my patience!" Li Ming said in a cold and loud voice. "Nearly 8 years ago! One day me and one of my cousin brother went into the mountains. That night there was going to be a strong storm. We had already went too deep into the mountains so it was hard to return before the start of the storm. So we decided to find a safe place to stay for the night. To take shelter from the storm we found a cave. But that night due to landslide the mouth of the cave got covered with rocks. Just the two of us were not enough to make a gap to get out of there. So we decided to find another way out. After roaming the cave for an entire day and night, we finally found a small gap big enough for us to get out. But we also found something else that day. When we got tired of searching for a way out we decided to rest for some time. The place where we took our rest was exactly the place where we found the iron. We''re so happy because after such hardships we got a present. That iron could make us rich but my brother had another plans. He wanted to give that information to the Royal Family. But how could I let him destroy such a big chance. So,....I....I..." Lian Hu was unable to speak a single more word. He was already shaking very badly. "So to keep the news secret you killed your cousin." Li Ming said with a smirk. Chapter 31 - Finding Out The Truth (2) Lian Hu started shivering more than before but he didn''t tried to deny the truth. "What happened after that?" Li Ming asked him. At first he kept silent but the cold eyes if Li Ming made him terrified and he started reciting everything. "When I returned back home, I told everyone that we both got separated in the storm and I couldn''t find him. Our families tried to find him but of course no one found him. After that it took me a complete year and a half to prepare tools for the mining. But I had only 6-8 people and they were not enough. But 5 years ago, I found Han Zhe talking about his plan with his wife, who didn''t want him to do any such thing. I thought that I could also benefit from it. So after discussing we both decided to work together. Because of the less production of last two seasons, the villagers were in bad condition. So, I offered them money and in return asked for 80% of their production and for their grown up children to work for me. In the past 4 years they had only seen their children a few times and the children are not allowed to leak any information about the iron mines." Lian Hu completed his story and fell completely silent. "Then according to you the villagers were already struggling with the poisoned fields even before you started your plans." Li Ming looked at the both men who nodded their heads in affirmation. ''How could that be possible? If not these two then who poisoned the fields?'' It was the first time in this world that Li Ming had came across a really tricky situation. "Snowy, go and bring Sir Liu and his family here!" Li Ming told Snowy who left immediately. "Why no one from the Capital city found about the mine?" Li Ming asked Lian Hu. "The Thundering Mountains are the safest mountain ranges in Han Empire, which means that there are very small amount of spiritual herbs and spirit beasts. It also means that the people from the Imperial City don''t have enough time to waste on such a place where they will not find something useful. The only people who went into the Thundering Mountains are from the nearby villages. They go into the forest only for catching some prey, wood or collecting fruits and wild veggies. And for such things they don''t need to venture deep into the mountains. So, no one found about the mine and my work." Li Ming rubbed her forehead. She had never thought that these two people would be committing such a high treason. "Other than this, is there anything else you would like to confess?" Li Ming asked the duo. "Nothing.....there is nothing more to tell." Lian Hu said but soon chocked on his words. It was a clear sign that he was still hiding something. The Truth Seeking Pill would not let him lie. Li Ming didn''t say anything and waited. After a minutes later, Snowy came back with the Liu family. Li Ming asked both Lian Hu and Han Zhe to repeat what they had told her. At first Lian Hu didn''t comply but he didn''t have many options. Due to the Truth Seeking Pill, he told the Liu family everything. After listening that the children from the village were actually working in the iron mines, Sir Liu was ready to kill both the culprits right there. After everything was clear, Li Ming asked some of the villagers to bring the families of both Han Zhe and Lian Hu there. Lian Hu had a wife and two sons (both were over twenty years old) in his family and after asking a few questions after feeding the Truth Seeking Pills to the three of them, everyone found that his entire family was taking part in the treason. Han Zhe had a wife, an 18 year old daughter and a 5-6 year old son. But what shocked everyone was the condition of both his wife and daughter. They both looked like they had been beaten by someone. Even the little boy had some marks on his face and arms. Li Ming also gave them the pills and then asked, "What happened to the three of you?" Both the woman and the girl didn''t say anything and kept quiet. Li Ming looked at the girl and said in a soft voice, "Don''t be afraid, I will not let anyone here hurt you. Just tell me the truth. Who did this to you?" For a moment Li Ming thought that the girl was going to tell her but then she looked at someone behind her and suddenly recoiled in fear. Li Ming turned around and saw Han Zhe staring at the girl. After thinking for a while Li Ming took the girls chin in her hand and pulled her face up. She looked into her eyes and said, "Don''t worry about your father, just tell us the truth." She was using her compulsion magic. "This monster is not my father!" The girl suddenly cried out loud. Many nearby families had already gathered around when the Liu family had arrived. After listening the girls words everyone started talking in whispers. Everyone had their own theories and speculations. "Silence!" Li Ming shouted loudly and everyone felt quiet. She looked at the trembling girl who was crying non-stop. "What do you mean? Tell everything clearly." Li Ming told the girl. "Such an evil person can never be my father! He always beats me and mother!" The girl started crying more loudly. "When I was younger, I saw him getting drunk and then beating my mom but that only happened once or twice a month. My mother said that it''s very common but everything changed since past 3 years. He started to get drunk more and more but the worst part is that he also started bringing that Lian Hu and his two sons at our home. Then one day that bastard Lian Hu tried.....tried to f....force himself on me!" The girl was crying so hard that it was nearly impossible to speak. The crowd was silent as it listened to the girl''s words. No one dared to utter a single word. Every now and then, they gave Han Zhe a killing glance before continuing to listen to the girl''s grievances. After a few seconds of silence the girl continued, "But my mom saved me. When I told my father he said that it was not a big deal. I should not make his friend angry. Later I found out that for saving me my mother paid the price. She had secretly saved some money. So she gave me the money to get far away from the village. Since my brother was a boy he was safe from those beasts. That night I tried to run away but I got caught by Lian Qin, the eldest son of Lian Hu. He brought me back to the house and my father beated both me and my mother. That day we realized that there is no other way for us than excepting the harsh truth of our lives." Everyone was so shocked after hearing the truth that none had any words to speak. All of them were thinking about the pain that these two mother and daughter pair had suffered. "My husband never beated our son but he also never stopped the Lian boys from hurting him." The woman spoke for the first time. The whole area was completely silent. Other than the crying mother and daughter, no one made a single noise. Suddenly the voice of four powerful slaps one after the other echoed through the silence of the night. Chapter 32 - Finding Out The Truth (3) It was Liu Hansi who had slapped Han Zhe, Lian Hu and his sons one after the other. Although she had slapped really hard but a fragile hand of a young woman was not enough to teach the bastards a proper lesson. "A slap is not enough punishment for them, they should be beaten to death. What are we waiting for, let''s kill these four demons right now!" One of the woman from the gathered crowd said with anger. Hearing her words, the other people were also ready to free the earth from the burden of these four scums. "You are right. These kind of human don''t deserve to live!" Another man said. "Why are you calling them human? They don''t even deserve to be called human! They are demons and they should not be allowed to live a single day more!" One after the other, all the people started to curse them. But before any of them could do something, Sir Liu stopped them. He looked at Li Ming and asked, "Miss Li, what are we going to do with them?" Li Ming first looked at the kneeling group and then at the fuming crowd. She knew that all of them were angry about the situation of their children who were working in the iron mines. She finally turned towards Sir Liu and said, "This case is no longer just the matter of this village but also attached to treason against the imperial family. So, it''s basically the Emperor who will take care of them. Don''t worry, I''ll arrange everything and I''ll make sure that your children will return to their homes." Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. Li Ming went towards the group of culprits. She asked a man to search their bodies and another woman searched the three women. Other than a few accessories and money, they didn''t find anything. After the search was complete, Li Ming closed her eyes and murmured a spell that she had nearly forgotten. Next moment, the five culprits were captured inside prison circles. Li Ming had put all of them in a different circle just to be safe. The circles were magical and no one other than her could break the spell. The reason was not that the others were not powerful but they had no idea what they were dealing with. Until or unless someone knew exactly what was the spell, it''s impossible to break it. She also put a circle around Han Zhe''s wife, daughter and son. But she put all three of them in a single circle. "I''ll try to get the three of you out from this case but I can''t promise." Li Ming told them silently before walking away. She then placed an alarm spell in the area which would alert her if someone tried to harm the circles. Then Sir Liu ordered few of his trusted people to guard the place. Everyone returned to their house as they had to work the next morning. Although no one said anything but they all had started to trust Li Ming after working with her for a while. And they all believed that their children would be back with them soon! ***************** Li Ming directly teleported to the Fourth Prince''s manor at the outskirts of the imperial city. She had not been into the Royal Palace, so she could not teleport there to find Zhang Yong. That''s why she decided to came here. When she appeared there she only found the royal guards and the staff. The Prince and his personal guard were no where to be seen. The guards and the staff had already seen Li Ming before with their Master. Therefore all of them bowed to her in greeting. "Where is his highness? I have something urgent to talk to him." Li Ming said to one of the guards. "Miss Li, the Prince had left for some important work two weeks ago. Right now we don''t know his current location but we got the information in the morning that he will be returning after two days." The guard answered politely. Li Ming thought for a while and then said, "It''s alright. Just inform him about my visit." Li Ming then teleported back to the orphanage. She was a little tired after using so much of her magical powers in such a short time. It was already too late, so she didn''t disturb anyone and silently entered the mansion. She ate her dinner, took a quick shower and changed into her pajama bottoms. Then she went into the spell room. It had been more than two weeks since she had stepped into the spell room but nothing prepared her for the view that she saw after setting her foot inside the room. The door of the room had an ancient spell on it that makes sure no one other than the owner of the mansion could enter the spell room. That''s the only reason the destruction that happened was limited to the spell room. Otherwise her whole mansion could be in pieces. The spell room was beyond recognition. The books were scattered on the floor, the potion bottles were lying broken, the ingredients were also scattered around the room and even the tables and chairs were overturned. It looked like a tornado had passed through the room. "What the heck happened here?" Li Ming was shocked beyond words. First it was nearly impossible for anyone to enter the mansion without her permission and even if by some miracle someone entered the mansion then it was IMPOSSIBLE to enter the spell room! The floor was covered with broken glass and spilled potions. Li Ming didn''t have the energy to carry on another case after such a long night. Also she had suffered such a great loss. Most of the potions and the ingredients were hundreds of years old that had been prepared by her mother when she was the clan leader. And she still had not learned to make all of them. Moreover it was impossible to restore the wasted potions. Li Ming wanted to curse the entire universe at the moment! She took a long breath and decided to clean up the room. With the help of Snowy and her magic, she soon completed the task. But the now spell room was far from the previous one. The shelves which were initially filled with various potions, herbs and books were now empty and the room looked more like a broken storage than the sparkling spell room. Since the book were torn apart, she had put all of them into the Regeneration Ball. It would fix the books again. "Why there''s no Regeneration Ball for these potions?" Li Ming said to no one in particular with a pout. After looking at the empty spaces, Li Ming really wanted to spill some of her precious tears. She took a last glance at the room and decided to take a break for the day. Just as she was going to leave the room, her gaze landed on the far corner of the room. The room was really big and the only light was coming from one of the lamp, so Li Ming could not clearly see what was in there. But she was sure that she had seen something behind the sofa. She pulled out a dagger from one of the shelves. The moment Li Ming touched the dagger it started shining with a red light. She moved towards the corner with light movements. She moved around the sofa and raised her dagger to attack whatever was behind the sofa but the moment her eyes landed on the floor, the dagger fell from her hand with a loud clatter. And before she could react, Snowy flew from the room barking at his full volume! Chapter 33 - The Culprit! "Stupid Dog!" Li Ming shouted loudly at Snowy who ran out of the room like he had seen a ghost. His screaming/barking had nearly given her a heart attack just now. She looked back at the man lying on the floor covered in black smoke or black mist or.....was it the poison that she had gathered from the fields.....Whatever! It looked like she was doomed to exhaust herself tonight!! Li Ming couldn''t clearly see the face of the person who was lying like a dead man on the floor because of the black smoke. She was sure that the black smoke was the same poison that she had collected from the fields in the crystal ball but how it ended up attacking this man was a mystery. Although it was important to find exactly how this man entered the mansion and what he did to her spell room but she was in no condition to interrogate another person tonight. Moreover the condition of the man was not looking good enough to answer her questions. With some effort she found his hand and checked his pulse. After a while she finally found the problem. It seemed like she had found the culprit who had turned her spell room upside down. His body was overflowing with the potions that were the pride of her spell room for decades or even centuries. The idiot had drank all the potions not even caring whether they were even drinkable or not. ''What was he thinking? Was he trying to commit suicide? Fool!'' Ming''s first thought was to kick the man out of the mansion and let him die. But if he died then wouldn''t she be the one in disadvantage. He had ruined hundreds of the rare and special potions, she had to find a way to compensate herself! After checking his condition from head to toe, Li Ming was slightly confused or rather shocked. He had control over black fire! Did that mean he was a demon? Li Ming looked at the man with a frown. He also had a lot of poison in his body. What''s wrong with this man? Li Ming struggled a little bit but finally succeeded in putting the man on the couch. She found some herbs and placed them while forming a charm, on his body. Then she prepared a few potions and let the man drink all of them, which was not easy at all since she was unable to see his face clearly and he was also unconscious. By the time she finished it was already 4:00 in the morning. She just left the room to take her much needed sleep. *********************** Li Ming woke up late in the morning next day. Though everyone in the orphanage were shocked since it was the first time when she was late, but no one disturbed her. Li Ming spent the rest of her day teaching in the orphanage. It was kind of refreshing to spend her time in the company of small and innocent children. (Though half of them were her own age). She visited the fields in the evening and took a look at Lian Hu and his group. Everything was perfect and she had to wait for one more day for Zhang Yong''s return. Li Ming had her dinner with the others in the garden. After everyone went to bed, Li Ming also entered the mansion. She entered the spell and to her relief everything was in proper condition. After seeing the room in tatters yesterday she was now afraid to find her spell room in that exact condition again. The man was lying on the couch but due to the charm that she had placed on him last night, the black smoke had left his body. Li Ming went close to the couch and looked at the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. His beauty was beyond words. In other words he could give a proper challenge to Zhang Yong in terms of handsomeness. The long silver hair was covering the cushions like a blanket. Li Ming had special love for silver hairs. Her own hair was silver back in her previous life. The man was still sleeping and his jade white skin was sparkling in the florescent lights of the room. The man was wearing dark purple and black color clothes which gave him a dark aura. Li Ming sat down beside him and murmured a cleansing charm on the man. She checked his pulse which was now normal. After feeding him the potions that she had prepared last night, Li Ming closed the door of the spell room and left for her room. That night Li Ming didn''t sleep but read a lot of potion books. She needed to restock her spell room as soon as possible. After midnight she started cultivating. Next day she also got late. It was nearly noon when she finally stopped her cultivation and got ready for the day. When Li Ming came out in the garden, she was greeted by Long Jie, Zhang Yong''s bodyguard. "What''s wrong? Why you came here alone?" Li Ming asked him. "Miss Li, His Highness received your message and sent me to take you to him as soon as possible. He''s a little bit tired after the long journey so he is resting at the Nan Xia Manor. But he doesn''t want to make you wait. That''s why he sent me here." Long Jie said in a hurry. Li Ming looked at the guard who was standing before her. Although she was a little bit suspicious but she also knew that Long Jie was Zhang Yong''s most trusted man. She sighed and looked at the man with a smirk. "Are you sure that he sent you to take me to the Nan Xia manor and not the other way around?" Long Jie was confused by Miss Li''s words but he didn''t got a chance to question. The very next second his whole world started spinning and he had a strong urge to throw up. Just a few seconds later he was kneeling on the ground in the front garden of the Nan Xia manor. Chapter 34 - Poison (1) Li Ming left the sick Long Jie with the servants. She was quite too familiar with his condition. When her father taught her how to teleport, for the first few months she ended up getting sick after every lesson. That was the first time in her life when she wanted to give up on something. But of course, being the heir of the mage clan, she was not given the privilege to say no. Specially when it comes to magic. She walked through the silent halls of the manor and finally reached Zhang Yong''s bed chamber. Although Long Jie said that he (Zhang Yong) was only a little bit exhausted after their journey but Li Ming had a feeling that it was not that simple. Before she could knock on the door, it opened from inside and she was engulfed in a tight hug. "I missed you." Zhang Yong said as he released her. He closed the door behind them and ushered her to sit down at the table. "Did you miss me too?" Zhang Yong asked as he sat opposite her. Li Ming looked at the man and don''t know why she felt like something was off about him that day. But she didn''t voice out her doubts and said with a smirk, "Why you have the misunderstanding that I was busy missing you?" "If you were not missing me then why you came here to find me?" Zhang Yong asked with a smile. "Because I have something important to talk to you." Li Ming said seriously. "Really! Now I''m excited to know that what is important enough to make you come here to find me." Zhang Yong said with a fake curiosity. Li Ming shook her head at his acting but told him about everything that she had found out from Han Zhe and Lian Hu. Nearly after twenty minutes or so, she finally completed telling him every single detail & information. She was nearly out of breath by the end and quickly gulped down the water offered by Zhang Yong. "What do you want me to do about this?" Zhang Yong asked curiously. "I have two requests." Li Ming said seriously as she looked at the man in front of her. "Go on. I''m listening." "First, I want you to send all the children back to the village from the mines." Li Ming said. "And...?" Zhang Yong was still waiting for her second request. Li Ming stood up and went to the window. The view of blooming flowers outside the window was very beautiful. "I want you to save Han Zhe''s family. I don''t care what happens to others but I want his wife, daughter and son. The three of them are innocent." Li Ming said as she continued to stare out into the garden. She felt Zhang Yong coming behind her. She turned around to look at him. He was looking at her with an expression that she was unable to read at the moment. "Your first request is not too much but the second one is not easy. According to the laws, a traitor''s whole family is punished with him and saving Han Zhe''s family would be difficult. Why do you think that I''ll help you?" Zhang Yong asked her. The expression on his face at that moment were unreadable. It was hard to say whether he was serious or testing her. Li Ming smiled as she heard his question. "Your highness, I''m not a fool. I never thought that you will help me. That''s why I said that I have two requests not two wishes. There''s a very little but strong difference between these two." "But I still can''t think of any reason to help you." Zhang Yong said as he also looked at the flowers outside the window. Li Ming smiled lightly and nodded her head. She came a little closer to Zhang Yong and said, "Maybe I can give you a reason. You help me in getting my two requests done and in return I will treat the poison that is running in your blood right now." Before Li Ming could make a move she was pulled against the wall by Zhang Yong. He put both of his hands on either side of her shoulder, caging her within. Although the force used by him was strong but he still made sure that Li Ming would not get hurt. He looked at the girl who was not even a little bit afraid from him. He looked into her bright eyes and asked, "How do you know that I''m poisoned?" Li Ming face broke into a soft smile as she replied with a smirk, "Did I forgot to mention that I have some talents in medical field?" Zhang Yong started laughing and said in a cold voice, "Whenever I think that you can''t amaze me anymore you proves me wrong everytime." "And whenever I think that I''m starting to know you a little bit, you also proves me wrong." Li Ming replied with the same coldness. Zhang Yong kept looking at the girl and finally sighed as he put his head on her shoulder. She had a very light fragrance of lilac on her body which helped him in relaxing. Both of them kept quiet for a while. "Do you think I am being too much?" Zhang Yong finally asked after sometime but didn''t move away from his position. "I have seen worse!" Li Ming replied with a soft tone. She didn''t try to push him away but neither made any move to hug him back. She could feel the tension in his body. Due to some unknown reason he was a little disturbed. Moreover she was actually interested to know what happened to him in the past few days. Zhang Yong looked at her face as he stood up straight. "Is it possible to keep a secret from you?" Li Ming looked in his eyes as she said, "Trust me Prince Yong, you are the only person around me whose secrets I still have not uncovered!" Her words brought a smile on Zhang Yong''s face and his sad and depressed mood suddenly changed into a happy one. "You are the most amazing person I have known in my entire life!" Zhang Yong said as he embraced the girl in his arms tightly. It was like a silent promise to never let her go!! Chapter 35 - Poison (2) Li Ming and Zhang Yong both were playing Stratego for past three hours. Li Ming was actually surprised by the speed at which Zhang Yong had learned the game. One could say that he''s a natural talent. But what angered Li Ming was the sad reality that Zhang Yong had already defeated her in the last game. And she was sure that she''s going to loose again. Li Ming put the board aside and looked at Zhang Yong with a sad pout. "You should have at least given me some face as your master! Shameless!" Zhang Yong laughed after seeing her sad but cute reaction. "Alright! I promise, from today onwards I''ll be the one to loose when it comes to you. Now are you happy?" "Hmm. I think I am!" Li Ming replied with a soft smile. "Ming''er, are you really not going to treat me before your requests are completed? What if something happene to me? " Zhang Yong asked as he pretended to be in pain. "Stop overacting! The poison is not going to kill you. Rather it will make you bald within two weeks. And according to our deal I''ll treat you after you will complete my two requests. Don''t think I will change my mind." Li Ming said as she rubbed Snowy''s ears. "Ming''er, you are too cruel!" Zhang Yong said with a sad face. But Li Ming completely ignored him. "Alright, tell me how you got that poison inside you? I really wanted to know whom you had angered in the past week that the person even punished you with such a poison!" Li Ming couldn''t stop laughing just by thinking about the situation. "I don''t know what you are talking about?" Zhang Yong pretended to be busy with the rolls that were covering half of the table. "Alright! I know that it''s embarrassing for you to tell me about the person who can actually defeat you. I will not pressure you." Li Ming said as she chuckled softly. "You...!! Hey Snow ball, come here! I will be a better host. I''m sure this cruel woman tortures you every single day." Zhang Yong said as he tried to pick Snowy out of Li Ming''s hands. But before his hands could touch Snowy, the white fluffy ball was seen running out of the room like he was being chased by a death reaper. Li Ming looked at the Fourth Prince and asked with a cold tone, "Whom are you calling a bad master?" "When did I call someone a bad master? It''s you who is assuming too much!" Zhang Yong replied innocently as he watched the snow ball fleeing out of the room. "Ming''er, why that dog ran away like that?" Zhang Yong asked with a puzzled look. Li Ming started laughing after hearing his question."Your highness, did you forget that not too long ago you had ordered your guards to put him in boiling water! How come you are expecting him to not react like that?" "But that was only an act. It''s not like I really boiled him!!" Zhang Yong protested. Li Ming looked at the man who was acting like he was actually being wronged. "Do you really expect for a little animal to differentiate between your act and threat?" It''s not like Snowy could not differentiate between real threat or acting. It''s just the dog like to overreact every now and then. "Ming''er, your cultivation level is increasing rapidly. You are already at the last level of basic cultivators. I think it''s time for you to have a spirit beast. Trust me, it will be much more helpful than that snow ball!" Zhang Yong said after thinking for a while. "Stop calling him snow ball. It has a name, SNOWY! And thanks for the offer but I already regret having this idiot with me. If another one joined the group then I will probably end up in an asylum." Li Ming said bitterly. "What''s an as--sylum?" Zhang Yong asked as he had never heard that word before. "It''s a.....a...never mind. Now I''m getting late, I''ll be going now." Li Ming said and stood up to leave the place. After making sure that everything was in order for the plan, Li Ming teleported back to the orphanage. *************** Within a day the matter of Lian Hu and Han Zhe was completely handled by Long Jie. All of them were taken to the capital and were locked up in the prison. The very next day, all the children from the iron mines were back and met with their families. In all the months Li Ming had been in this world, it was the first time she had felt true happiness, not only for her but also for others. The whole village was filled with warmth and love. This was the day when the whole village kneeled down in front of Li Ming and vowed to be loyal to her from that day onwards. The villagers decided to follow Li Ming and the village was named as Dongji Village (Dongji means Winter). It was Li Ming''s idea to name the village after her previous name. Now, don''t judge her, okay! The iron mines were given to The Fourth Prince by the Emperor and the culprits were sentenced to death. After two days, Long Jie came to the Dongji village with Han Zhe''s family. Just when Li Ming was thinking that she could finally take a break, she had another problem in her hands. There were more than 50 children who had returned back to the village. Li Ming couldn''t let these children waste their talents in the fields. So with the help of the Old Sir Liu and Liu Hansi, she formed a plan. Chapter 36 - The Silver Hair Immortal (1) Li Ming decided to reorganize the village business system and training the village children in various fields. But this sure would take a proper planning, a lot of time and of course a lot of her powers. Since the children had returned to the village after such a long time, Li Ming decided to let them enjoy a little freedom before they would be introduced with the most dangerous thing known by the children. Yes!! It''s nothing other than studies. She planned to have a tour through the Thundering Peaks Mountain Ranges. She just wanted to find some normal spiritual herbs so that she could start remaking some of the basic potions. Since the magical mansion had no spiritual energy inside it, it''s impossible to grow spiritual herbs there. That''s why she had to go into mountains to find the herbs. Although she could purchase herbs from the Herb Hall but she didn''t want to spend her money when she could get the herbs in free. After the case of Lian Hu and Han Zhe was taken care of, the Emperor assigned the Fourth Prince as the Incharge of the Iron mines. Li Ming spent two days at the Black Jade Inn, taking care of it''s business. As usual she went to the Herb Hall to learn about medicinal herbs and spend the rest of her day playing Chess and Stratego with Wei Rong and the group. In the evening everyone again enjoyed a very hearty dinner prepared by Li Ming. The inn''s business was growing day by day. People were getting attracted towards the amazing snacks and drinks that was served by the inn. Also Stratego was becoming famous among the rich lords from the official/noble families. ********************* Li Ming was standing at the outskirts of the Thundering Peaks. She made sure that she was alone and then changed into a pair of jeans, hoodie and sports shoes. She pulled her long hair into a high ponytail and put on a face mask. It was more comfortable to walk through a forest in a pair of jeans and sports shoes than in a gown. She took Snowy out of the mansion and dumped him on the ground. "You are becoming fat by just sitting around and doing nothing. That''s why you are going to walk throughout this entire journey." Snowy looked at the most evil person that he had encountered in his life. He sometimes wanted to either jump off a cliff or push his master from one. Both of them started their journey through the Thundering Peaks. For the next few days, Li Ming spent her days in collecting spiritual herbs and at night she either cultivate or made potions. All this time in the mountains, Li Ming barely saw any high level spirit beast. She didn''t kill all the spirit beasts but only those who tried to attack her or Snowy. That mean she had only collected five or six spiritual cores in the past week. If it had been any other mountain ranges of the Han Empire, Li Ming would have been devoured by the spiritual beasts by now. Li Ming was reading a potion book while sitting on the porch, when she heard a loud noise of something falling from the living room. She looked at the Snowy who was also looking shocked by the noise. It struck both of them at the same time as they bolted inside with a fast speed. When Li Ming entered the house she already knew that the silver hair guy had probably woken up. Nearly all the healing potions that she had made in the past week was devoured by that person. Since he had awoken, it''s time for her to collect her debts. Just as she thought, when she entered into the living room, she found the silver boy standing there looking at something on the floor. Li Ming''s eyes followed his gaze to the floor and she nearly got another heart attack because of this person. Lying there on the floor was the most expensive painting that Li Ming had in her possession. It was worth millions of dollars. The man turned around as he heard the soft footsteps and came face to face with the person he was trying to find since he had awakened. The girl was barely five feet tall and probably in her mid teens. Long lashes, sparkling dark eyes and fair jade like skin. She had pulled her hair into a loose bun and strands of hair were falling down her neck. But then his eyes trailed down her body and his breath got caught in his throat. She was completely exposed to him. The shoulders, her hands, that small waist and those fair legs, everything was bare and exposed for him. He had seen a fair amount of beauties in even less clothing in his life but he was never caught off guard in such a way. Li Ming saw that the man was looking at her in a weird way. She looked down at herself and realized that she was wearing an off shoulder crop top and shorts. "Damn!!" She hurriedly took out a cloak and pulled it around herself. She looked at the man who was still staring at her. "If you had seen enough then will you care to introduce yourself and what are you doing here in my house?" Li Ming asked the man with an angry tone. "I don''t tell my name to strangers and it was you who brought me in your house." The man replied with a soft tone. If she was not confused by his reply of her second question, she sure would have taken her time to enjoy and praise his beautiful voice. She was still trying to remember when she invited this walking time bomb in her mansion, when the man started walking out of the room. Li Ming teleported right in front of him before he could left the room and blocked the door with her outstretched hands. "Where do you think you are going? You have a lot to answer and even double to compensate!" Li Ming said in a strict voice but saw that the man was not looking at her face but..... That''s when she realized that the cloak had become undone when she outstretched her arms and her body was again at full display. Chapter 37 - The Silver Hair Immortal (2) Li Ming hurriedly covered herself and looked at the man while glaring daggers at him. It''s not like she was shy or anything, but this world was a lot more modest and she felt weird to show too much skin. The silver hair raised his eyebrow in ''What? Is it my fault now?'' kind of gesture. "Mr. Silver, sorry to disappoint you but you can''t leave just because you want to. Both of us have a long list of topics to discuss and I am not letting you out of the mansion before I have collected my debts." Li Ming said with a cold smile. The man looked at the girl, something was telling him that he was really unable to leave the house without her permission. The girl herself was no match to him but there was something about her that speaks danger. He let his power loose to sweep the area and soon found exactly what he was looking for. Around the house was a very powerful and ancient barrier and he had no idea what that thing was made of. He tried to slowly and carefully find a way to break the barrier but after a long moment of time, he finally gave up. His powers were kind of weak at the moment and he''s in no mood to spend anymore of his energy. Looked like he had no choice but to play along. Also he really didn''t mind the company of his host. The girl was actually interesting and funny. "What are you talking about?" He asked innocently. He had been silent for such a long time that Li Ming had nearly thought that he had gone mute. She looked at the man and frowned. If she was not wrong then this man was the black mist like poison that she had collected from the fields. There''s something... NO! Too many things fishy about this person! "Why were you in the fields?" She finally asked after a few seconds. "How did you take me out?" The man didn''t reply to her question but rather asked one of his own. "That''s none of your business. I have my own methods and secrets. You only need to thank me for getting you out of there." Li Ming said coldly. The man''s face suddenly broke into a slight smile. "Exactly the same way, I also have my secrets which are none of your business." Although his words were a perfect counterattack but Li Ming was not going to give up. "But because of you, the villagers had suffered for a long time. Don''t you think you owe them an apology?" The man''s lips twitched slightly at the mention of the word apology. In his entire life of thousands of years, he had never apologized to anyone. "I didn''t mean to harm anyone. It''s just I didn''t have any choice." He finally answered. Li Ming looked at the man for a while and finally sighed softly. She was sure that this man was not someone normal. He could control black fire and his body was overflowing with poisons. Also his cultivation level seemed to be too high. His identity didn''t seem to be normal. It would not be a good thing for her to anger this person and end up being an eyesore. She didn''t want too many enemies before she had a solid ground for herself. She thought for a while and finally said, "Fine, let''s assume that you really had no choice and if I should be truthful, then all of that actually ended up as a good thing for the Dongji village. If it had not been for you, the villagers would have never gained my curiosity and then they didn''t have the golden chance that I''m giving them now." Her words brought an actual smile on the cold face of Silver hair. But he quickly schooled his expression back to his cold one. Li Ming looked at the man. But this time her tone was not a single bit pleasing as she said, "But what about me? What''s your excuse for racking havoc in my mansion? Do you have any tiniest bit of idea that how much your antics had cost me? Those potions that you have gulped down like water were the rarest and hundreds of years old possessions that I have cherished with my life. My whole spell room now looked like a barren and vacant basement. You have looted all the previous jewels of my Spell room. Not only that but you also destroyed my millions of dollar painting!" By the end, Li Ming was fuming in anger. If she had not been overpowered by her anger then she would have probably started crying over her loss. No one could understand her feelings. Not a single soul had any idea what or how much she had actually lost. The man looked at the girl who was shouting in anger at him. She actually looked cute being all riled up in anger and frustration. But behind all that anger he could actually felt her sadness. "I didn''t know that those elixirs.....or potions....were actually so expensive!" He finally said with a soft tone. It was the nearest he was going to say anything to an apology. "And that''s your excuse?" Li Ming asked with surprise. "I''ll compensate you for your loss once I get back to my house." The man said in a smooth voice. ''Yeah! Like she was going to believe that!'' Li Ming looked at the man and said while gritting her teeth, "You know what, just leave. I don''t need your compensation. If you keep staying here, who knew how much more I will end up loosing. As long as I will not see you again, I think I''ll be able to cope with my loss." She didn''t give him a chance to react and teleported both of them outside in the mountains. "Here you go. Just pretend that we never met each other. You go your way and I''ll go my way." Li Ming said with a coldness and teleported back inside the mansion. The man kept staring at the place where Li Ming was standing just a few seconds ago. He had a strange expression on his face. He kept staring at the exact place for some time and finally turned around to leave. Chapter 38 - A Surprise In The Thundering Peaks At one of the mountain peaks, a man in Black and Purple brocade clothes was standing on a high rock. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed the last few rays of sunshine. His long silver hair was dancing in the wind. He opened his eyes and looked at the object he was holding in his hands. It was the same crystal ball in which he was stored by Li Ming. A man appeared behind him and kneeled down. "My lord! You are finally back!" The happiness in his voice was clear as day. The silver hair man didn''t reply and kept looking at the empty crystal ball in his hand. Finally after a long time he asked, "What is the condition of Evernight after 7 years of my absence?" "My lord, you are still weak and going to Evernight right now would not be the right decision." The kneeling man said with fear. Although he was his Lord''s most trusted man but he was also the only person who knew about the level of coldness and heartlessness of his master. The silver hair guy turned around and looked at his man with a small but evil and cold smile. Beads of sweat appeared on his (the one who''s kneeling) face as he tried his best to not shiver in terror. "This servant is sorry for speaking out without My Lord''s permission. But my lord please consider what I just said!" He said hurriedly as he continued to kneel down. "Alright! I also think that I need some time to regain my full cultivation powers. But since I''m out of the Black Devil Circle, it will not took them too much time to find out that I''m released. Where do you think I can stay without getting into their radar?" "This.....!!" The man thought for a while and finally after some time his eyes sparkled as he said, "My lord, we all know that it''s impossible to break the Black Devil Circle for anyone other than the one who is casting it. In these past seven years we tried every method possible but were unable to break the circle. But that girl, Miss Li, she not only broke the circle without any effort but also just in a week you got your physical form back! So...." The silver hair man raised his eyebrows. "What are you exactly trying to imply?" The man gulped down his saliva as he again struck by fear but he knew that his plan was actually best for his master at the time. "After she took you with her, we couldn''t find your location even after trying so hard. After spying on her we found that she actually has some secret place where our powers could not reach. Maybe you can stay with..." This was the moment when he realized what he was actually saying. He was actually asking his master to stay with a woman!! Everyone in Evernight knew that his master hate even the mention of the word woman! The silver hair man smiled as he kept staring at the vast land of forest down the peak. "Return back to Evernight and find about every single moment of those monsters. I will be staying with Miss Li." The man bowed his head and didn''t stay a single second more. With a rush of wind, the silhouette of the man disappeared from the hill top. **************************** Back at the mansion, Li Ming was finally able to cool down. She ate her dinner and then spend some time in the spell room to work on her new potions. Actually she wanted to make the new potions with the spiritual herbs. But since she had very little knowledge about these herbs, her idea was proving a good obstacle for her. That''s why she was spending her days in collecting spiritual herbs and her evenings in studying those herbs. She had a feeling that she had gone back to her Academy days when she spent almost her entire day in learning. She finally retired to her bed when it was nearly mid night. - Next day, Li Ming took a shower and put on leggings, a red hoodie and boots. She pulled her long hair into a tight bun and fixed them with a hairpin. She was not afraid of getting caught by anyone in these clothes. Her hoodie helped her to hide her face and she had her mansion to escape. If anyone saw her in the mountains, she could always hide in the mansion and no one would be able to find her. After having her breakfast, she came out into the mountains with Snowy at the exact place where they had stopped their search the previous day. They had already searched half of the mountains but just like they were told, these mountain peaks had very little amount of spiritual herbs and beasts. But she was not anxious. After all she didn''t need those rare and important spiritual herbs right at the moment since she had no idea what to do with them. She''s starting from scratch and it would take some time for her to get ready for higher level. Although she found out that the doctors of this world had their own ways and theories for making spiritual pills and potions but that took high amounts of spiritual energy, money and a lot of learning. Thinking about her current situation, she''s lacking in all those fields. That''s why she decided to stick to her potions for the time being. They both started their journey through the mountains. Their target for the day was to find a spiritual herb which had healing properties. After looking through the books that she had gathered or looted, whatever you wanna say, she found some normal herbs that could heal small cuts and bruises. And she was sure that at least she could found those herbs on this mountain. After looking for a while, they finally entered a small clearing in the woods. They finally found some spiritual herbs growing there but not a single one of them was the one she was looking for. It''s like the whole universe was against her idea of making potions. Ahh!!! Just as they were going to leave the place after collecting the herbs, Li Ming heard a loud shrieking noise. Followed by another and then another. She looked at Snowy with surprise and they both started running towards the place from where the screaming or shrieks, to be fair, were coming. When they reached the exact spot, Li Ming saw exactly who or what was causing the noises. And if you think that she was left surprised to her core, then you would be joking. She was not only surprised but actually shocked to such a level, that first time in both her lives she felt like fainting!!! ************************* Chapter 39 - Snowys Tinkerbell "Freaking Tinker Bell!!!" Yep! That came from Snowy. Right in front of them were at least two dozen pixies, all trapped in some sort of net. Someone probably had put on a net for hunting but somehow these pixies ended up getting caught in it. "It''s not Tinker Bell!" Li Ming told Snowy as she finally realized that she was actually seeing a group of little fairies and it was not a dream. "Is this world also have supernaturals?" She thought as she observed the pixies. She approached the net and looked at the pixies inside it. Just as she was going to break them out of it, she heard a small but sharp voice. "Hey human, get us out of this stupid thing!" A small pixie in a green dress with blonde hair said. "Tinkerbell!!!" Snowy once again started his chanting as he saw the blonde hair pixie. "She''s not Tinkerbell for heaven''s sake. Will you stop it??" Li Ming said, clearly frustrated. She looked back at the pixies who were now looking at her. She was surprised that the pixies were speaking in English but not in Chinese. Did it mean that they were also from future. She became excited as she said, "You can speak!!" "Of course we can speak stupid. We have a mouth and a tongue!!" The blonde said grumpily. "Yeah, and a sharp one." Li Ming mumbled and rolled her eyes. "I mean you speaks English!" Li Ming said again but this time she clarified her words. The blonde looked at Li Ming like she was the most stupidest person. Li Ming ignored her stare and put her hand on the net. A bright yellow light appeared and the net completely vanished. The pixies all started laughing and smiling after getting free. A silver and blue hair pixie flied in front of Li Ming and said with a little bow, "I''m Alvina, the leader of this batch. We have been trapped in this net for past two days. Thank you so much for your help." All the pixies bowed their head slightly in order to thank her. Li Ming smiled at the pixies and then finally asked as she was unable to hold her curiosity. "Are you guys from a different world?" Alvina looked at her with a little shocked eyes but then asked, "Why do you think so?" Li Ming smiled lightly as she said, "Firstly because I have never heard about the existence of any kind of fairies in this world but the major reason for my question is that you speaks English which is not a language of this world." "Then are you also not from this world because you can also speak English!" The blonde asked with curious eyes. Li Ming didn''t answer but nodded her head in affirmation. "What did you do to get punished?" Another pixie, this time a boy, asked. "Huh? What do you mean? What punishment?" Li Ming asked with confusion as she didn''t understand what he was talking about. "All our life, we''re told to never cross the land of Pixie Hollow. Our queen and elders always told us to never go in the human world but since childhood we have always heard great things about human world. So last Christmas, we all decided to sneak into the human world just to calm our curiosity. But unexpectedly, when we appeared on the streets of London, the humans saw us. Not only that but they also took our photos. After that our photos appeared on newspapers and TV shows. The queen was beyond furious. Entering into the human world without permission can be forgiven but getting caught and causing an uproar.....never!!" Alvina shook her head as her eyes were filled with sadness. "What happened next?" Li Ming asked. "The queen send us to the forbidden land, a place where are no trees, no flowers, no birds and even a very short amount of water. A place like that is the worst punishment for fairies like us because our existence solely depends on the nature. When we got there, it was impossible for us to live there. There was no way for us to make pixie dust. After a few days, a witch found us and she said that she could get us out of there but we would be send to a complete new world. Until or unless we found the perfect master for us, every human and beast could be considered our worst enemy. After thinking about the offer we agreed for it because every place was better than that forbidden land, no matter the dangers. When we came in this world, unfortunately a bunch of people saw us. We flew to save our lives and finally got caught in this net. If you have not saved us then maybe in a day or two someone else had found us...." The sadness was clear in her voice. Li Ming could tell that all of them were regretting their mistake but it was already too late. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Snowy crying. She looked at the snowball who was looking even more sad than the pixies themselves. "What''s wrong with you?" Li Ming asked as she picked up Snowy in her hands. "Poor Tinkerbell!!" Snowy said and started crying even more loudly. "You.....!" Li Ming dropped him back on the ground. "Ignore him. He just enjoy overacting." Li Ming told the pixies but she saw them surrounding Snowy with awestruck eyes. "He''s so cute!" The blonde fairy said as she rubbed Snowy on his head and the idiot was busy in enjoying the celebrity treatment that he suddenly got. "You must be kidding me!" Li Ming was really speechless. Alvina looked at the girl who was sending daggers at the little puppy but she also knew that the girl love him so much. She still remembered the witch''s last words to her, "Remember! Only the one who can understand your language in that strange place will be your saviour. Make sure to stick to your saviour!!" And according to her (witch''s) words, this girl was their saviour and now they would stick to her. Chapter 40 - Fairies And Their Powers Li Ming was looking at the pixies who were busy in changing her back garden into their new Pixie Hollow. Alvina had requested her to help them find a safe place to stay. Li Ming knew that no place in the outer world was safe for pixies and she couldn''t make herself leave them in danger knowing that they wouldn''t last for too long. That''s why she decided to bring them with her into the mansion. After asking for at least tenth time if they need anything else, she finally decided to return to her search of spiritual herbs. Since Snowy remained with the pixies to help them with their work, Alvina decided to accompany Li Ming on her search. They looked for some time but couldn''t find many herbs. After searching for a while they finally reached near a stream. Li Ming found a big rock and sat down. Alvina flew on her shoulder and sat down. "Don''t you think that something is not right with this whole place?" Alvina asked as they both observed the flowing water of the stream. "You also feels this way?" Li Ming asked with surprise. "Ummhmm....!" Alvina nodded her head in answer. "I also thinks the same. I mean it''s a vast land with such large amount of trees, plants and all. All these things are perfect for conserving a large amount of spiritual energy and trapping it in this place. But in reality this place has the least spiritual energy out of all the mountain peaks of the Han Empire. I just don''t believe that this matter of lack of spiritual energy is as simple as everyone thinks." Li Ming said. She looked deep in her thoughts as her eyes were locked on the clear flowing water of the stream. "You are actually right. This is not natural, rather there is something in this place which is sucking away all the spiritual energy from this place." Alvina said as she flew towards the stream and brought water in her cupped hands. She offered the water to Li Ming who chuckled but declined. "Why do you say so?" Li Ming asked Alvina as the little fairy again settled down on her shoulder. "I''m a Garden Fairy. We have special relationship with all things that grow from the earth. We can sense what a plant needs and have an intuitive understanding of how to help it blossom & grow. We can also work with insects like - earthworms, ladybugs and honeybees. Because of my this special relationship with nature, I can tell that the lack of spiritual energy in this forest is not natural." Alvina answered. "Wow! That''s cool. Are all the other fairies same as you?" Li Ming asked with curiosity. "No. Only Lily and Iris are Garden fairies like me. Clank and Bobble are Tinker fairies. They have special abilities of creating or inventing new tools. They are also good at making pots and pans." "Beck, Fawn and Terra are Animal fairies. They have unique ability to speak with any animal in its native tongue. They are extremely sensitive & can read an animal''s thoughts or emotions. They know when an animal is frightened or sick and can tend to it''s needs to help it feel better. They are also very skilled trackers." "Bess, Quill and Scarlet are easily inspired to do portraits. They are art fairies who sculpt statues, paint portraits or just plainly any simple sketch. Back in Pixie Hollow, when it comes to changing the seasons, their group of pixies are the ones in charge of painting the flowers, butterflies, bees, ladybugs & many other things." Alvina stopped for a moment as she thought about those beautiful moments back in Pixie Hollow. Then she shook her head like she wanted to breakout of her dream and continued. "Rani, Silvermist, Tally and Humidia are Water fairies. They can manipulate water in astonishing ways. They mold it like clay, make it freeze or boil, or can create powerful waves in puddles and ponds with just a flick of pixie dust. They can also seek out hidden sources of water and can make bubble messages, which burst open only for the fairy who is meant to hear them." "Ginger, Dunkin, Dulcie and Mixie are Baking or you can say Kitchen fairies. They can make the most delicious food ever." "Vidia and Wisp are Wind fairies. They can manipulate the air or wind according to the situation they want." "Luna and Sparkle are light fairies. They glow brighter than any other fairies, as you have already seen. They control light and direct the rays of light where they want it to go. They also provide light to the fireflies." "Ellery is a music fairy and the last member of our group Hem, he is a Sewing fairy." Alvina ended introducing her group. Li Ming was seriously impressed. These tiny little fairies were really talented and smart. They were also very cute. "Wait! That blonde fairy is an Animal fairy, right?" Alvina chuckled and then nodded her head, "She''s Terra. And since she was an animal fairy that''s why Snowy feels closer to her than anyone else." "Now, it makes sense why Snowy is so obsessed with her!" Li Ming said as she thought about the little fur ball following that blonde everywhere. "Haha! Don''t worry, he loves you the most. Although you two pretend to hate each other but the love between the two of you is as clear as day. You are the best master he could ever have and he is the perfect familiar for you." Alvina said with a little smile. Li Ming smiled softly as she heard Alvina''s words. "I know. He''s so special and adorable. It''s just he gets on my nerves and can irritate me to death." Alvina looked at the half happy and half irritated expressions of Li Ming and said, "I can understand that he can be a little irritating sometimes." "Not sometimes but nearly most of the times and he loves to curse me!" Li Ming said as she stood up and dusted off the dirt from her dress. After look for sometime more they found few herbs near the stream and decided to return back to the mansion. Chapter 41 - The Supreme Immortal A place far from Han Empire and the current location of Li Ming..... Disciples in light blue and white clothes were busy in their daily routines. One group was practicing some sort of martial arts and some were busy in chanting the sect rules. A group of girls could be seen extracting lotus seeds from the little ponds. In a different compound, another group of young disciples was observing an elder group performing medical treatments. The place was surrounded by eye catching scenery. A very beautiful waterfall, a very vast land of forest and high mountain peaks. On the highest mountain peak was a beautiful manor. Only a limited number of people were allowed to enter this manor. The manor was beautifuly constructed and the gardens were filled with colorful flowers. Little butterflies and honeybees could be seen wondering all around these flowers. A nice and light breeze was blowing, rustling the leaves of the tall trees. In one of these garden was a pavilion made of light purple and red stones. Inside the pavilion, a man in dark blue colored clothes was sitting behind a table, playing a soothing melody on Zither. His long black silky smooth hair was tied up high with a golden band. He had a sharp face which was extremely handsome, a rather straight nose and sexy red lips. His eyes were closed as he was deeply engulfed in the music. And one could see his long and dark eyelashes. The man was such a beauty that anyone could be mesmerized whether it was a man or a woman. A guard was kneeling in front of the man as he waited for his master''s reply. The man finally ended his song and looked at the kneeling guard. The zither disappeared from the table with the flick of the man''s sleeve. "Do you know that poison is one of the speciality of the medical sect and you are saying that a 14 year old girl cured the poison that was invented by the brilliant disciples of medical sect. Not only that but that little monster Zhang Yong was now roaming around freely!" The anger and frustration was clear in his voice. "Supreme Immortal, the information is true. A little girl really cured Fourth Prince Zhang just with some kind of elixir." The guard said as he kept kneeling. "Alright! You can leave. I will take care of this matter personally." The Supreme Immortal said and dismissed the guard. The guard bowed and left the pavilion as another man in dark clothes entered. "My Lord, everything is prepared for the coming full moon. If nothing unexpected happened then we sure will get the ''White Pearl Lotus'', just like the last time. The man in blue clothes nodded his head and then said, "Pay more attention to this one. I have a strong feeling like something will surely go wrong this time. I just hope it''s not related with Zhang Yong. I still can''t believe that a little girl cured him." "My Lord, this information is indeed true. I think it will not take too long before the Shadow Lord will start to cause havoc in your life again." The man in dark clothes said, holding his laugh inside to avoid the wrath of Supreme Immortal. Just at that moment a sudden breeze blew through the garden and a silhouette in dark black clothes appeared inside the pavilion. "Look like you guys are missing me!" The man in black clothes said with a soft chuckle and settled down on the table beside the Supreme Immortal. "His Highness the Fourth Prince! This servant will take his leave." The man in dark clothes greeted Zhang Yong and then took his leave. "Every time I come here to pay you guys a visit, you try to avoid me like a plague!" Zhang Yong shouted at the retreating back of the man in dark clothes, who in return pretended like he heard nothing. "That monster!" Zhang Yong said while making a face. "You are the one who''s a monster! What are you doing here?" The Supreme Immortal said angrily. "Didn''t I just said that I came here to see you? I was just free for past few days and feeling very lonely, since my Ming''er is not with me. So, I decided to come and visit you. I know that your happiness level rises up every time you see me!" The teasing was as clear as day in Zhang Yong''s voice. But the Supreme Immortal was still stuck to the word Ming''er, which Zhang Yong had said with so much emotion and affection. He looked at the Prince sharply as he asked, "Who''s this Ming woman?" "Ahh?" Zhang Yong stopped in the middle of whatever he was telling and looked at the handsome man who was looking even more cute with that little hint of frustration on his face. "I told you so many words, lines and even changed the topic to your zither but you are still stuck on my Ming''er. As expected, that girl can even attract the attention of the Supreme Immortal without even meeting him." Zhang Yong said with such an expression like he was proud of Li Ming. "Is she the same girl who cured you?" The Supreme Immortal was still not ready to move on from this topic. "I knew that you are going to find out the truth. After all you love me the.....Ahhh!!!" Before Zhang Yong could finish whatever nonsense he was speaking, he was hit with a strong force of spiritual energy. Although this energy was not powerful enough to hurt him badly but it was surely enough to rock his ground. The Fourth Prince leaped from his chair and stood at the other end of the pavilion, staring at the Supreme Immortal. "Shadow Lord, I''m busy right now so I''ll not entertain you. I hope you can see yourself out." The Supreme Immortal said as he stood up from his seat. It looked like he was going to leave when he suddenly said, "And I will find out about this Lady Ming, who can even cure the poison of my Medical Sect." He then disappeared in blue smoke. Zhang Yong looked at the last wisps of smoke that vanished within seconds and a small smile appeared on his lips. "I''ll also be waiting patiently for the moment when you finally meet my Ming''er. Knowing the personality of you two, it sure will be an awesome show!" With a soft chuckle, the silhouette of the Fourth Prince also disappeared from the pavilion. The last rays of the setting sun was shining on the top of the tall trees. The butterflies and honeybees returned to their nests/home as the day came to an end. Chapter 42 - Afraid Of Heights, Or NOT Next day, Li Ming went to look for spiritual herbs all alone. The pixies were still busy in building their houses, so she didn''t want to disturb them and Snowy had not left that blonde''s side since the previous day. She was almost at the end of the Thundering Peaks. Within a day or two, she would be finally able to return back. She appeared at the exact stream where they had stopped their search the previous day. She was again wearing jeans and a jacket over her crop top. Her puberty phase had just started, so she didn''t have that much curves at the moment but the jeans and the crop top still gave a better idea about her developing body than those ancient clothes, in which she appeared nearly flat chested. She was just about to start her search, when she heard the voice of the last person she wanted to see at the moment. "You really have a unique choice of clothes!" There, on a branch of one of the tree was the same silver hair guy who was the reason for the current situation of her spell room. He was lying on the branch in such a comfortable position like he was rather lying on a comfy bed. He was wearing light purple color brocade clothes with dark purple design on it, which screamed royalty. His long silver hair was left flowing down freely. The only jewellery that he was wearing was a head band with a dark purple stone in the middle. Overall, he was looking like a damn sexy male God, with a special liking to the Purple color! The man jumped down from the branch swiftly and came in front of her as he said with a smirk, "But I must say that this one is a little bit less exposing than the previous one. But again it''s not like you really have something to expose!" His eyes traveled from her head to toe and back again and the mockery was clear in his eyes as he looked at her body and specially at her b****ts. "You.....!" Li Ming gritted her teeth as she looked at the pervert in front of her. What he was actually expecting? She''s still 14 for heaven''s sake! "I will wear whatever I want, it''s none of your business! You better pay attention to your own self ! By the look of you, you already appeared like a hundred year old grandpa!" "Seriously! Grandpa?? Even you know that this hot male God doesn''t look like a single day older than twenty!" The silver hair guy said with full of confidence. Li Ming cursed herself inwardly. A small smile appeared on the man''s face as he looked at the embarrassed look in her eyes. "If I''m that old then shouldn''t you show some respect to me?" He was again mocking her!! "Whatever!! What are you doing here by the way? I thought you were desperate to return back to your home?" Li Ming asked as she started to walk towards the last peak of the mountain. "I don''t remember exactly....where is my home!" Li Ming nearly face planted herself at these words. She turned around to look at the man who was standing behind her. "That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard in my life! Well, I really don''t care what you are doing here. But at least next time try to find a better excuse." "And stop following me!" Li Ming said a little irritably. Right at that moment, she heard some voices coming from nearby. Damn!! She was about to disappear inside her mansion, when suddenly someone grabbed her around the waist and another hand covered her mouth. But before she could try to free herself, her surroundings became a blur. She closed her eyes tightly as she nearly felt sick in her stomach due to the strong force. This feeling was not worse than what she had first experienced when she started learning teleporting but it was nearly there. After a few seconds, the sick feeling in her stomach finally disappeared but the hand was still covering her mouth. She opened her eyes and finally noticed the purple clothes of the person who was holding her. "Ssh!! Look down!" The man whispered in her ear. Li Ming looked downwards and that''s when she realized that the two of them were actually standing on one of the highest branch of a tall tree. And down below, there were five men, all in light blue and white clothes who were talking among themselves. The distance between them was too much for Li Ming to clearly hear what they were actually talking about and due to some reason she was also unable to use her magic to inhance her hearing. The man finally realized that the girl was not trying to make any noise and he silently retracted his hand back from her mouth. Li Ming slightly turned her head around and whispered, "Who are these people?" "By the look of the situation, it appears that the Thundering Peak is not just a mere mountain without spiritual gifts anymore." There was a sparkle in his eyes as he said that. Li Ming was confused so she again asked, "Can you tell me exactly what is going on here?" The men in the blue clothes started walking away and after a few minutes, they finally disappeared from there. "Are you afraid of heights?" The man asked Li Ming as he noticed that she was clutching his hand very tightly and by the look on her face, she didn''t even realized that. "Aah? Of course not! Why I would be afraid?" Li Ming replied in a hurry. It''s the truth that she''s not exactly afraid of heights but the current situation was something she never experienced before. Although she could teleport herself back to the ground but because of some strange reason her powers were not working and she had no idea what was wrong. "Alright then, you should go down now!" The man said as his eyes sparkled with mischief. "What?? Wa.....wait!" Li Ming tightened her hold on his arm. "You should really go down quickly. The branch can''t hold us for much longer!" The man said with worry. Li Ming looked at the branch on which they were standing and found that it was as thin as her wrist. It didn''t break down the moment they stand on it was really a miracle! Chapter 43 - You Are Kidding, Right?? "You are the one who brought me all the way up here. Now you should be responsible for getting us back on the ground!" Li Ming said desperately. "Hey! I was trying to save us from those people!" The Silver hair guy said in his defense. "Who asked for your help? I could have saved myself without you. Now take me down!" Li Ming said irritably. "If you are that powerful then just go down on your own." The man said mockingly. "I-If I find out that you are the one who''s interfering with my powers, trust me I will not let you go easily this time. I..." Just that moment the branch on which they were standing made a cracking sound. Li Ming stopped breathing for a few seconds. She was sure that if she fell from such a height she would end up getting double the amount of bones than what she had at the moment in her body and considering the weak body of hers maybe even end up dying. Her powers were also not working, that mean she couldn''t use her healing power. "The branch is going to break at any second, are you going down or not?" This time Li Ming noticed the coldness in his voice and as she turned her head to look at him she also noticed the mischief in his eyes. "You.....! What the hell do you want from me?" Li Ming asked as she gritted her teeth in anger. A smile broke out on his face as he said, "I want you to take me with you at your house and let me stay there until I''m completely healed." "You know what, just let me drop to the ground. I would rather have broken bones than having you in my mansion again." Li Ming said as she tried to free herself from his hold and for a second she even succeeded. But before she could fall, again she was engulfed in strong arms and after a few moments, she found herself again on a tree branch. Buy this one was even higher than the previous one. ''Monster!'' Li Ming cursed the man who was looking at her with confusion. That''s when Li Ming felt something. His cold as ice hand was touching her bare waist. Li Ming''s breathing quickened as she felt the coldness of his hand on her skin. "Let me go!" Li Ming said as she tried to slow down her breathing. But rather than letting her go, the hand tightened around her waist. "I''ll not destroy anything this time." The man said in a hushed voice. "Yeah, I believe that!" Li Ming said sarcastically. "You just need to bear with me until I''m completely healed." "But why my house? You appeared like a rich immortal. Can''t you find some other place, maybe a doctor or a hospital?" Li Ming asked suspiciously. "Because your house is the only place where my enemies could not find me. Once I''m completely healed, I''ll leave. In addition I can help you in making those elixirs as I also have medical knowledge." The man replied with patience. Li Ming looked at the man in his eyes and she could tell that he was not lying. "How long?" She finally asked after thinking for a while. "More or less a year." Came the reply. "What? You are kidding right? Nope, there''s no way I''m keeping an active volcano like you in my house." Li Ming quickly shook her head in denial. "I have been buried in the ground for past six years and have lost too much of my spiritual energy. It''ll take me some time to regain it." The man said as he looked amusingly at the girl in his arms. Her smooth milky skin beneath his skin was making him warm all over. "I''ll not hurt you. You don''t have to worry." As he said these words, a mocking expression appeared on her face. "I''m not worried about me. You will not be able to hurt me inside my own mansion. I''m worried that if I let you stay in my house, maybe after a few days I don''t even have a house anymore. Last time you was unconscious but you still destroyed the second most powerful part of my mansion. But this time you are fully conscious, who knows what you will do this time!" Li Ming said as she remembered the destruction of her spell room. Just thinking about it made her shiver and boil in anger. "I said that I''m not going to destroy anything this time." The man said. Li Ming looked at the man and said after thinking for a while, "Why should I even help you?" "Because I will make sure that you will regret not helping me for the rest of your life." The man whispered in her ear. Li Ming knew that the man was not kidding, he would really make her regret. "Fine! But remember, the moment you break your promise, I will kick your ass out of my mansion and I don''t care if you will end up dead. Now take us down!" Li Ming said with impatience. Her feet were starting to hurt for standing on such a thin branch for so long. The next second Li Ming found herself back on the ground. But it still took a glare from her to make the man release her. The moment Li Ming got a few feet away from the man, she felt the presence of her powers again. She again glared at him and found him smiling. "It was hard to do that as your powers are quite unique but you still have to practice to reach a certain level." The man replied to her glare. He found that he really enjoyed her angry look because it made her look more beautiful and cute. Li Ming didn''t reply and took both of them inside the mansion. But she had made a promise to herself, she''s going to get her revenge on this man. Sooner or later! Chapter 44 - Hes A Troublemaker When Li Ming appeared inside the mansion with the silver hair guy, the pixies and Snowy were already standing in the front garden, waiting for her. "You are back! But why you bring him here?" Snowy asked as he looked suspiciously at the man. Li Ming ignored him and looked at the fairies who were looking very excited. "What you guys want to tell me?" The man noticed the little things with the wings and the strange language of their conversation but decided to keep quiet at the moment. "Ming, we have finished our work. Will you please come with us to take a look?" Clank asked excitedly. Li Ming nodded her head with a smile and followed the pixies to her back garden. The view that greeted her was like something out of a fairy tale. She couldn''t believe that this place was her normal and boring back yard just two days ago. "Wow guys, it looks so beautiful." Li Ming finally said. She was really impressed. "Thank You so much Ming!" All the fairies said happily. "Ming, who''s your friend?" Alvina asked her as she pointed towards the man who was looking at the pixies house with puzzled expression. Li Ming went towards the man and asked, "Will you tell me your name, so I can introduce you?" The man smiled and looked at the girl, "What about calling me my lord? But you can also call me Lord Ruoshan if you want." Li Ming had a strong desire to punch the idiot right on his face and remove that smirk. But somehow she controlled herself. She turned back to look at the pixies and said in English, "He''s going to stay here for some time but he''s a troublemaker, remember to avoid him as much as you can." The pixies nodded their heads in understanding. Li Ming gave a last look to Ruoshan and left the back yard. That evening Li Ming prepared dinner for everyone, including the new headache whom she had invited, and everyone enjoyed their time while eating the delicious dinner. After dinner everyone went to sleep. Li Ming took Ruoshan to a spare bedroom beside her own. She made sure to take away all the important items out of the room. By the end she finished, there was only a bed, a table and a closet remained in the room. "Remember to not set your foot out of this room before morning." Li Ming said and left the room. ********************************** Next morning, Li Ming didn''t go out to search for the herbs. She knew that there were people in the area of last peak of Thundering Ranges. "Who were those people yesterday?" Li Ming asked Ruoshan who was reading a potion book. He closed the book and put it on the table, "What kind of elixirs are these?" Li Ming shook her head as she said, "I already told you that you won''t understand it. So, answer my question." Ruoshan sighed as he relaxed on the sofa. He liked the comfy seats and beds in this place, they were way more comfortable. "They were the disciples from Guixian land." Ruoshan finally answered. "Guixian Land?" Li Ming asked confusingly. She had never heard of it before and moreover it''s only been less than five months since she had transmigrated. Ruoshan looked at the confused expression on her face and said mockingly, "Looked like you are not properly educated about the mainland. The five empires are surrounded by large water bodies. In the middle of that vast ocean is the forbidden land of Guixian. It was currently occupied by the five sects - Medical Sect, Sword Art Sect, Spirit Beast Sect, Array formation Sect and Armament Sect. All of these sects are under the Supreme Immortal. Only the disciples and masters are allowed to set foot in the Guixian Land other than a special few. The disciples from yesterday were from the Medical Sect." Li Ming took all the information and got lost in her thoughts. After a few minutes, she finally looked at Ruoshan as she thought, ''This man can be useful for her in the form of a living and walking encyclopedia of this world.'' Just these thoughts brought a large evil smile on her face but of course Ruoshan had no idea what she was thinking. "Do you want to go to take a look at what they are doing here?" Li Ming asked him after thinking about something. "No, I will rather stay here with you." Ruoshan smiled with that evil glint in his eyes. "Fine. Then we are returning back to the Capital City. I''m not interested in getting involved in a situation from where I can''t get myself out." After having their lunch, Li Ming dragged Ruoshan into the spell room. She had thought for a very long time and she finally came to the conclusion that she didn''t trust this man enough to leave him alone in the mansion while she would be busy working in the outside world. So, after roaming around her entire one floor library, she finally found something which would help her with the problem. "Why do you bring me here? I thought that I will never see this room again in my lifetime." The smirk on his face was enough to rile up Li Ming but she somehow controlled herself. AGAIN!! "After thinking about this matter, I finally realized that I''m unable to let you stay in my house all alone in my absence. So, you will come with me in the outer world whenever I will leave the mansion." Li Ming said as she brought out a very thick and old book from a corner table. "But you know..." "That you are not safe from your enemies in the outer world. I know." Li Ming said as she cut him off. "There is an ancient spell.....well at least it was ancient before I...Never mind,....that can help to hide your location even when you are out of the mansion, as long as you stay in 100 meters radar of me." Li Ming told him excitedly. "And you are sure that it will work?" Ruoshan asked as he raised one of those dark eyebrows at her in question. Li Ming looked at him and for some reason decided to tell him the truth. "Well.....umm...This....It is one of the most powerful spells and my current level of powers is not enough to perform it on my own. So, if I''m not wrong then you are perfect to help me but since this will...be...my first time doing this spell, so there...are a little bit chances of it backfiring." She finally finished and looked away from the cold gaze of Ruoshan. "How much is that little bit?" He asked in a deep voice. "Just this much." Li Ming quickly held her thumb and index finger at barely a single centimeter apart. But Ruoshan was not an idiot to believe her. "And what are the consequences?" Li Ming looked at him and after a few seconds finally shrugged her shoulders. "How am I supposed to know, it''s my first...aah!" Before she could complete her sentence, she was held captive in a very tight embrace and a very cold pair of eyes were looking at her. Chapter 45 - Young Master Ruoshan Li Ming shivered. She tried to free herself out of the tight hold but she was no match to Ruoshan. After trying for a full minute, she finally gave up. "Look! I''m doing this for your own good. There is no spiritual energy inside this place. Even if you wait for an entire year, without spiritual energy you will still be same as now. The only way for you to cultivate your powers back is the outside world. Although this spell is risky but it still worth the risk." Li Ming said her words carefully. She was actually right though. Ruoshan looked at the girl in his arms and just looking at her cute face, his heart melted like wax. He had never felt like this before in his life. "Fine!" He finally said. Li Ming''s face broke into a beautiful smile at his agreement but his next words nearly made her heart stopped beating. She had expected a threat or something like that but he said something very opposite of that. "I trust you!" Ruoshan said as he looked at the shocked expression on her face. He finally let her go and sat down on the couch. Even he was not sure why he said those words. But he was sure about one thing and that was, he meant those words. "What are you waiting for?" He asked while raising his eyebrow when he saw that Li Ming was still staring at him with a frown. His words brought her out of the trance. Li Ming took out the box that she had prepared last night and set it on the table. She took out a piece of glittering black chalk and murmured a spell. After that she drew a rune on the table and put a bowl with Latin words inscribed on it, in the middle of the rune. Ruoshan silently looked at the girl who was busy with her full concentration on something that was completely out of the reach of his mind to grasp. Being an immortal lord and a genius in spiritual powers, it was the first time in his life when he was feeling completely clueless about something related to magical prowess. Li Ming emptied a complete bottle of ice dragon''s blood in the bowl. Then she put a single drop of unicorn blood and added a blue colored leaf. She took out a safety pin to pierce her index finger and added one drop of her own blood in the bowl. Then she looked at Ruoshan and said, "I want you to channel your spiritual powers to me. Can you do that?" Ruoshan nodded his head and put his hand above hers and then He closed his eyes. Li Ming also closed her eyes and felt the extra powers which were boosting her own. She started chanting the ancient spell again and again. A blue light appeared around the bowl and then it rose above a few inches from the table. The rune that Li Ming had drawn earlier converted into blue colored ribbons and flew inside the floating bowl. After a minute everything went silent and still. Li Ming slowly opened her eyes and looked at the bowl which was again resting on the table. Ruoshan heard a loud squeal as his own eyes flew open. "What?" He asked Li Ming who was beaming with happiness. She picked out something from the bowl and hold it in front of him. As she slowly opened her closed fist, Ruoshan saw the sparkling blue stone in her hand. "This...?" Li Ming smiled and said happily, "We did it!" She took his right hand and put the stone on his wrist. She covered his wrist with her hand and again murmured a spell. When she retracted back her hand, there was a small blue moon tattoo on his wrist. "It''s done. For next six months, your location is safe. Now you can come with me in the outer world but remember to be within 100 meter radius of me." Li Ming told him in a strict voice. "Hmm." Ruoshan only hummed softly as he looked at the beautiful tattoo on his wrist. "When are we going back?" He asked after a minute or two. "Let''s go back now. There''s no point in staying here. It''s still noon, so we have a few hours before the sunset." Li Ming said as she hurriedly put away everything. "Hmm. But it will still take us a week to finally came out of the Thundering Peaks." Ruoshan said. Li Ming smirked as she looked at him, "Let me show you something interesting today. I''m full of surprises." ************************************ 10 Minutes Later..... Black Jade Inn The moment Li Ming appeared inside the inn, all the staff and the Huang family came rushing to welcome her. "Miss Li, it''s been weeks since you last came here. The whole black market was missing you!" Madam Fu said as she took Li Ming to a table and made her sit down. Then she poured coffee for Li Ming and offered her the cup. On the other hand Ruoshan was still not able to come out of the shock that he was teleported by a little girl who was still a second level middle cultivator. He observed the group of the people who were welcoming Li Ming with pure love and respect. Even the customers looked happy to see her. He couldn''t believe that he had been neglected like that. Not a single soul was paying attention to him. Although Li Ming had changed his appearance, just to be extra safe, but it still didn''t mean that he should be treated like air. He went towards where Li Ming was sitting and talking with an elderly couple. He cleared his throat as he sat down on a seat opposite her. All of them suddenly turned towards him and rather than feeling awkward like a normal person, Ruoshan actually felt relieved in his heart. But his face didn''t reveal anything and still looked cold as usual. Li Ming poured coffee in a cup and signaled Madam Fu to offer it to Ruoshan. "Miss Li, this...Young Lord is.....?" Elder Fu asked curiously. Ruoshan chocked on his coffee when he heard the old man calling him a Young Master. ''Young Master your a** !'' "Oh! His name is Li Ruoshan. He''s from my clan. My father sent him to inquire about my current situation and development. So, he will be staying with me for sometime." Li Ming told everyone as she looked mockingly at Ruoshan. Chapter 46 - The Mysterious Visitor Li Ming spent the rest of the day taking care of the inn''s business. It was nearly the end of the month, therefore she paid salary to the staff. Since everyone had worked hard she gave a bottle of newly made healing potions to each of them. Everyone was more than happy with their reward because a single bottle of healing elixir still was too costly for servants like them but their master was giving them such a precious elixir in free. She took a tour of the inn and found that everything was still in one piece and intact. Then she checked the account book and found that Ming Zhu was improving in her accounting skills under the guidance of Madam Fu. In the evening, Li Ming once again spent her time in teaching the Huang Sisters some new dishes. In the past five months, the sister''s culinary arts had grown better. The business of the inn was blooming day by day. The game of Stratego was attracting the Young Masters of the noble families and the women, elders and children were drawn towards the Black Jade Inn because of its beautiful interior and delicious dishes or snacks. The Black Jade Inn was the fifth most reputable and successful business of the black market after the Weapons Armory, Breezing Flowers, Herb Hall and Precious Jewels. But the secret was that all these four shops were under the Crown Prince of Han Empire. Next day, Li Ming decided to make some more arrangements for the inn. The number of customers were increasing in the inn. Nearly 10 - 12 people were staying in the inn nearly every day and the number of visitors to enjoy the delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner was also not small. There were only four maids and the Huang sisters and only these six people were not able to take over the entire work force. They not only needed to clean the inn twice a day but also needed to serve the customers. There was also kitchen work which needed it''s own team of maids. So, she decided to hire more staff. After she gave her order, Elder Fu left to take care of the new hiring. Li Ming was currently sitting on a table while playing with a Pikachu keyring. She looked lost in her thoughts. Ruoshan noticed the frown on her face and couldn''t stop himself from asking. "What''s the problem with you?" Li Ming heard the cold voice of the man who was looking at her with confusion. She sighed and said while looking at him with an irritated look, "Are you made of iceberg or something? How can you ask such a normal question with such coldness?" "Ice.....what?" Ruoshan asked with confusion. "Aah! Nothing. Just pretend I didn''t say anything. I don''t have the patience to teach you a very basic vocabulary." Li Ming said while making a sad face. Ruoshan didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. The girl was clearly insulting him! After nearly half an hour, Elder Fu returned with seven maids. Li Ming looked through the servant agreement and found no problem in them. Then she looked through the thoughts of the new maids. All of them were fine until her eyes fell on the last one. An evil smile appeared on her face as she went towards the last maid who was in her late thirties. She bowed her head when she saw Li Ming coming towards her. "You can return back to Precious Jewels. Our Black Jade Inn don''t welcome spies." Her tone was as cold as ice. Everyone fell silent when they heard Li Ming''s words. They looked at the maid who was shivering in cold sweat. "I don''t like to repeat myself." Li Ming was clearly angry. The maid didn''t waste a single second as she ran out of the inn. Elder Fu kneeled down and said, "Master, it''s my fault. I was unable to perform my duty well, please punish me." The sadness and guilt was clear in his voice. Li Ming looked at the old man who was kneeling on the floor. She knew that Elder Fu had no bad intentions towards her and he would never do anything purposely to harm the Black Jade Inn. She helped Elder Fu to stand up and said with a soft smile, "It''s not your fault. Sometimes it takes more than just our eyes to see the true form of others. But be careful next time." Elder Fu nodded his head but it was clear that he was still feeling guilty. Li Ming assigned the new six maids their duties and finally relaxed. She placed one of the previous maid and two new maids under Huang sisters in the kitchen. Two more new maids were assigned under one of the previous maid to the cleaning team. And the last group had four maids, two new and two previous ones, who were assigned to serve the customers. It was already reaching the noon, so all of them had their lunch as they discussed about the current situation of the Black Market. After lunch, Li Ming took Ruoshan to her room upstairs. "Here! You are going to stay in this room and cultivate. And I''m going to take care of my business. You will still be in the radius of 100 metre of me. Alright?" Ruoshan nodded his head and sat down on the bed cross legged. He closed his eyes and started to cultivate spiritual energy. Li Ming gave a last look to him and closed the door. When she came downstairs again, she found that a guard of the black market was standing in the main room waiting for her. The black market had a group of guards, who made sure that no one cause any kind of problem in the market. "What''s wrong?" Li Ming asked as she approached Elder Fu and the guard. "Miss Li, there is an old man at the entrance of Black Market, who''s calling himself one of your man. But he has no proof. I will trouble you to please confirm his identity." The guard said as he bowed respectfully. Since the Black Jade Inn was becoming popular, so was Li Ming. Everyone in the black market knew about the mysterious Young Miss of the Black Jade Inn. "Miss Li, let me go and check." Elder Fu said. "It''s alright. I''ll go myself." Li Ming said and nodded slightly at Elder Fu. "Fine. But at least take a guard with you." Elder Fu was reluctant to let her go all alone. "You can''t be serious right! I''m not a child who can''t look after herself. Don''t worry." Li Ming said while shaking her head. She followed the guard and left the inn. But the moment she sat her foot outside the inn, she realized something. She sent one of inn''s guard and after a few seconds, Ruoshan came out of the inn with a small smile on his face. "Follow me and stop smiling. You look like an idiot when you do that." Li Ming said, clearly irritated by his smiling face and followed the guard towards the entrance of the black market. Chapter 47 - A Visit From Old Mo When Li Ming reached at the entrance of the Black market, she realized that the said old man was no one other than the Old Mo from the orphanage. "Miss Li!" The old man shouted with happiness as he saw his Master coming towards them. The guards who were standing at the entrance bowed to Li Ming as they continued to hold the old man. "He''s indeed my man. I''m seriously sorry for the inconvenience caused. I''ll make sure to issue a token from the Black Jade Inn, so there will not be similar cases like this in future." Li Ming said as she bowed slightly to the head guard. Her tone was humble and without any attitude. The guard was happy to find that the Young Miss didn''t cause a scene like he had thought. He had been listening to the great rumors about this girl and the Black Jade Inn. They said that the Young Miss of the Black Jade Inn was talented and a rare cultivator. According to the rumors, she had a very humble attitude and was the best cook in the entire Han Empire. At least he found out that one of those rumors was true. He didn''t made things hard for her and let her take the old man with her to the Black Jade Inn. ************** Back at the Black Jade Inn... Li Ming asked the Old Mo to sit down and also took a seat. "You can now return back to upstairs." Li Ming said to Ruoshan as she poured tea for the Old Mo. She noticed that Ruoshan didn''t move, so she turned towards him and asked while raising her eyebrows, "Do you need something?" Ruoshan sighed as he shook his head. Who knew what this man was thinking in his mind. But then he turned around and left. Since it was after noon, so the inn was mostly empty. Only a few tables were occupied. Li Ming looked at Old Mo and asked, "Why are you here? Does something happened in the orphanage?" Old Mo put down his tea cup as he hurriedly said, "Miss Li, two days ago we received the message from the dealers. They were coming tomorrow midnight to take the next group of children. I was so scared and didn''t know how to approach you. So, I finally decided to come here but the guards didn''t allow me to enter. I don''t even know if you are here or not." Li Ming cursed in her heart. This was such a serious situation, if she had not decided to return back to the inn, then maybe something very wrong might have happened. "The communication system of this world su*ks!" Li Ming whisper shouted as she punched the table with her small fist. "Now that''s a unique scene to come across." A voice which Li Ming recognized instantly, said from behind her. She turned around to see Wei Rong and Wei Juan (second Young Master of General manor). The first one looked amused while the second one was looking surprised. She had met Wei Juan in the last few months and by now she believed that the entire Younger Generation of General Wei was at least not brats and neither carried bad attitude. She actually was happy to have friends like them. When Snowy told her that in the books he had read, nearly all the Young Masters and Misses of high profile were morons and bit**es, she actually believed in that idiot. But fortunately she didn''t end up with those kind of people. Although she never heard a single better thing about the children of the Prime Minister Zhu, but due to some luck, in the past five months, she had met only one of the Younger generation of Prime Minister manor and it was not a pleasant meeting! Both the Young Masters took a seat at her table. Old Mo though was not sure of their identity but he was also not an idiot. Of course someone who''s associated with his Master would be of high rank. So, he stood up and properly greeted the two good looking Young Masters, who in return slightly nodded their heads but didn''t pay any more attention to him. Wei Rong signaled a maid to bring some wine as he studied the little girl who was completely ignoring him and his brother. After a minute or two, the maid returned with a jar of wine and left. Wei Rong opened the jar and took a small sniff from it but the expression on his face turned to disappointment as soon as he realized that the wine in his hand was a normal wine and not those special wines of Li Ming. He closed the jar and put it aside. He looked at Li Ming who was still ignoring him and said with a sweet voice, "Ming Ming, where are those special wines of yours? We are meeting after nearly a month, shouldn''t you let us two take a small taste of those elixirs (wine)." Li Ming rubbed her forehead and looked at the two Young Masters. She had no idea how she ended up being friends with these shameless people. "My stock of wine is nearly at its finishing point. Don''t even think that I''m going to give you any of it. Moreover I''m in a bad mood, so don''t disturb me." Li Ming said as she was still in some deep thoughts. "Huh? Why do you look like you are in deep trouble and you were even using bad language when we came here!" Wei Juan asked. His tone was like of a big brother who was reprimanding his younger sister. Li Ming looked at the two men seriously and suddenly an evil smile appeared in her eyes. Both Wei Rong and Wei Juan were taken aback. The cold and evil look in her eyes send cold shivers down their backs. "Do you guys enjoy street shows?" Li Ming asked with a little excitement. "Don''t tell me you want to watch a street show? You don''t appear to be someone who enjoys such things!" Wei Juan said as he started fanning himself with his fan. "You know nothing! I''m busy today, so I''m not going to entertain you guys." Li Ming said and stood up. Old Mo also took his leave and followed Li Ming out of the room. Chapter 48 - "Im Sorry" Li Ming took Old Mo to one of the vacant room on the second floor. "You have traveled a long journey. Rest here and don''t worry, we''ll return to the orphanage in the morning and I''ll take care of this matter." Li Ming told the old man. When Old Mo heard Li Ming''s words, he finally relaxed. He knew that as long as his Master said that she would take care of the situation, he didn''t need to worry. After Li Ming left Old Mo in his room, she returned back to the main room. "Did they left?" Li Ming asked Elder Fu. "Yes, Miss Li. Master Rong told me to let you know that he will come back in a few days with all the Young Masters to torture you." There was a small smile on his face. In these past months, he had seen the friendship between these youngsters grow. Something that started for the purpose of their business, ended up becoming a beautiful friendship between them. After talking with Elder Fu a while, Li Ming decided to pay a visit to the Herb Hall. She had collected a lot of data and research on the spiritual herbs from the Herb Hall and its Manager by now. For next few hours, Li Ming spent her time in learning about the spiritual herbs and making notes. She returned back to the inn before evening and retired to her room. When she entered the room, she found Ruoshan lying on the bed and lazing around. "You are supposed to be cultivating!" Li Ming said coldly as she glared at him. Ruoshan opened his eyes and moved to a sit in lotus position on the bed. Then he patted the space in front of him as he said, "Come and sit here. Lets cultivate together." Li Ming stared at him for a few seconds more but then sighed and moved to sit on the bed in the lotus position, facing him. Ruoshan took her hands in his own and closed his eyes. "What are you doing?" Li Ming asked coldly as she tried to free her hands from his hold. But he gripped her small hands more tightly. "Just relax and stop fighting. I''m going to use a new technique of cultivation. So, close your eyes and focus." Ruoshan said as he picked one of her palm and drew a symbol on it with his powers. He did the same thing to her second hand. After that he drew a different symbol on his own palms. After looking at the two symbols closely, Li Ming realized that the symbol on his palm was a replica of the one on her own with just a few changes. "What kind of dark sorcery are you doing?" She asked him with suspicion. Ruoshan didn''t answer her and closed his eyes as he held her small hands at a small distance above his own. Their palms were facing each other. Li Ming took a long breath and finally closed her eyes. But just after a few seconds she opened one of her eye to look at him. "Close both eyes!" Ruoshan said while shaking his head slightly but didn''t open his eyes. Li Ming made a face at him, mimicking his words but then closed both of her eyes. Both of them concentrated on the spiritual energy in the air. After a moment, the symbols on their palms started glowing. The symbol on Ruoshan''s palm was glowing in dark black color with a purple touch while the symbol on Li Ming''s palm started glowing in blue color. As both of them started to cultivate, the two lights of the two symbols started glowing more brightly and reached towards each other. The two lights joined each other in the middle of the distance between their palms and combined to form a new dark blue colored light. Li Ming felt the difference the moment her spiritual energy combined with his black one but rather than retracting her spiritual powers she started to cultivate. Both of them kept cultivating for next five hours. It was two hours past midnight when the room suddenly shone with bright blue light as Li Ming broke through not only one, two or three but continuously four levels within merely 10 seconds and finally stopped on sixth level of middle cultivator. Li Ming opened her eyes after a minute had passed and looked at the smirking Ruoshan. She could feel the spiritual energy flowing inside her body. "We''ll cultivate together from now onwards!" She said without giving away any of her emotions. Ruoshan looked at her. A small twitch appeared on his lips as he nodded his head lightly, "Whatever you want!" "I want to cultivate some more. You can sleep in here and I promise I will not take advantage of you." Ruoshan said as he moved to the side of the bed leaving enough portion for her to sleep comfortably. Although Li Ming didn''t trust him completely but if she refused to comply with him then she would appear selfish. Moreover, the earlier he got his powers back, the sooner she will get rid of him. So, she called Snowy out of the mansion and told him to keep a watch on Ruoshan while she took her beauty sleep. "And if you fail in your duty, I''ll make sure to chop you into hundred pieces and distribute them to a cat family as souvenir." Li Ming said with an evil smile as she lightly patted his head. Snowy looked at the scary monster who was his master as he promised to not be careless in his mission. He wanted to cry out loud but he had no wish to end up as a souvenir for the cats! Li Ming gave a last look to both Ruoshan and Snowy and finally moved towards the bed and lied on the other side. She closed her eyes and tried to finally sleep. Snowy kept his stare on Ruoshan who gave him a small smirk and then closed his eyes and started cultivating. Snowy had a bad feeling in his guts. He didn''t like the way Ruoshan smirked at him. The room was completely silent and a light breeze flew into the room through the open window. Just within half an hour both Li Ming and Snowy fell in a deep sleep. Ruoshan slowly opened his eyes and looked at the sleeping beauty beside him. He moved a little closer to her as he lightly kissed on her forehead and said in a very low voice. "I''m sorry." Chapter 49 - Lord Yueliang On the beautiful land of Moon.... In a mesmerizing garden with hundreds of fireflies roaming around here and there, under a small pavilion made of white marble and spiritual gathering stones, a Godly figure was sitting. He was wearing plain white color brocade clothes but anyone could tell with just one look that those clothes were of really very high quality. Half of his long black hair were tied up with a beautiful jade hairpin and the rest were left down on his back. His jade like white skin was shining under the darkness of the night. He was busy in painting something when a black fire appeared at a few meters in front of the little pavilion. The Godly figure flicked his sleeve and the painting disappeared from the table. There was a small smile on his face as he stood up and started walking towards the man in purple clothes who emerged from the black fire. His clothes flew in the breeze as he walked. His aura was strong, much stronger than any immortal on the mainland, but all one could see when they looked at this God was the warmth and love that emitted from him. His dark cerulean eyes were like a deep ocean which calls like a sirens song. And that faint smile on his lips only added to his beauty. Not only women but even men were under the charm of the beauty of this God. "I''m surprised to see the Evernight Lord at my place. For what do I get this great honor?" The God asked with a soft smile. "Lord Yueliang, it''s only been what - 8 years since we last met and you are already pretending like it has been a century!" The supposed Evernight Lord or our Ruoshan said playfully. Both of the men entered into the pavilion and took a seat. Ruoshan observed the deity as the later poured tea for him. "Nah! Although your tea is very unique and special but it still not the one I like. Next time, I''ll bring the special tea from her, I know you will enjoy it." Ruoshan said as he took a sip and then put the cup back while shaking his head. Lord Yueliang shook his head as he took a sip of his own tea and placed the cup back on the table. "I never knew that you will take advantage of such an innocent girl like this. Do you know that it''s not good for your image to torture a week seedling like her?" The playfulness was clear in his voice. Ruoshan raised his eyebrows as he looked at the man who had just called Li Ming a week seedling. "Innocent? Weak? Are you sure you are talking about her? My dear Lord Lan, it will be good for you if you spend a little time outside this Yueliang Land of yours. That woman is everything except an innocent and week seedling. She''s a pure Demon Goddess in the face of a human!" "And who told you that I''m taking advantage of her? I''m just staying with her for some time to stay safe from my enemies and so that I can cultivate back to my full strength!" Ruoshan said as he defended himself. Lord Lan chuckled softly as he heard the shamelessness of the person in front of him. "We both know that you don''t need her to deal with those back at Evernight. Just admit that you are doing this to stay close to her!" A smile finally appeared on Ruoshan''s face as he saw the mocking look of the deity. He knew that he couldn''t keep anything from this friend of his. But he suddenly became serious as he asked, "When are you going to meet her?" The smile on Yueliang''s face disappeared. He lightly shook his head "It''s not the right time!" "Don''t you want to meet her?" Ruoshan asked as he observed the sad look on his friend''s face. Lord Yueliang smiled sadly as he said "There''s nothing that says that you can do what you want. Do I want to see her and be with her? Of course I do! We all had waited for past 50,000 years for her, of course I want to keep her by my side forever. But as I said, it''s not the right time. She''s not prepared yet." He looked at Ruoshan as he continued, "That''s why I want you to train her. Just as I said, she''s an innocent and week seedling at this moment. You need to prepare her and develop her into a strong tree so that she could stand the coming storm." Ruoshan patted his friends shoulder, "Don''t worry. I will develop this seedling of ours into that strong tree. And she will always have our support." "It''s just a pity that she can''t meet you for now!" Ruoshan said as he shook his head with a sorry look. "I think, she''s her hands full with you and the Shadow Lord at the moment. And if I''m not wrong then the Supreme Immortal will be joining the group soon." The deity said with a smile. "So, the Shadow Lord is already in the show? No surprise that I felt his spiritual incense on her! That fox is already trying to take her away from us!" There was an evil and cold look in Ruoshan''s eyes as he imagined breaking the white milky neck of the famous Fourth Prince of the Han Empire, or at least that''s how the mortals knew him. Lord Lan chuckled as he looked at his friend. "I''m sure the two of you will keep me entertained as I will wait for my turn to meet her. Just don''t forget your main task between this bickering of yours." "Didn''t I already promised you? She''s also important for me. Of course, she is my first priority. Show some faith Lord Lan!" Ruoshan said as he looked around the place. "The five provisions has been waiting for thousands of years for their Empress. I think the wait will end soon!" The two men looked at their surroundings and there was a small smile on their faces. Both the man chatted for few more minutes before Ruoshan finally decided to return. After Ruoshan left, Lord Yueliang took out the same painting. It was a painting of none other than Li Ming. Lord Yueliang looked lovingly at the girl in the painting as he said in a soft voice, "We''ll meet soon but till then trust Ruoshan and Zhang. They will never hurt you." He looked at the painting for a long time and finally put it away. He flew to the top of the pavilion and sat down there comfortably. A jade flute materialized in his hands and after a few seconds, a very beautiful and heart warming melody started playing. Chapter 50 - "You Are Too Slow, Come Ill Teach You....!" Ruoshan returned back to the inn and silently stood beside the sleeping girl on the bed. By now he knew that she''s not used to sleep with the hard pillows. He had seen those soft and comfy pillows in the mansion. Seeing her being restless as her neck was hurting, Ruoshan moved towards the bed and lied down next to her. He lifted her head slightly and snaked his left arm under her neck. She was still under the sleeping charm, so she didn''t wake up from the movements and after a long struggle, she finally found a comfortable position and settled down. Ruoshan looked at the girl who was sleeping without any care on his chest. A smile appeared on his face as he folded his arms around her. He knew too well that he would not get a chance like this again anytime soon. "Although the five of us are not on friendly terms and I would rather be still trapped in the Devils Circle then be with that Zhang Yong but don''t worry, if you want I will tolerate even those three demons." Ruoshan spoke softly to the sleeping girl in his arms. "From tomorrow on, I''m going to personally train you. It can be a little hard for you but don''t hate me, I''m doing it for you." He lightly kissed her head and closed his eyes. He knew that in the coming days she''s going to seriously hate him. ----- Just half an hour before the arrival of morning, Ruoshan woke up. He quietly retracted his arms from around Li Ming and tucked her safely back inside the blanket. He stood up and looked at the little fur ball who was snoring loudly. Ruoshan picked up the little pup, who woke up from his mouth watering dreams and looked with fearful eyes at the immortal who was holding him. "If she find out that you were busy snoring and drooling, rather than doing your duty, what do you think will happen to you?" Ruoshan asked with a small chuckle. Snowy''s already fearful eyes grew even more wide after he realized his Master''s words from last night. He could already see his hundred pieces being gifted as souvenir!! Ruoshan chuckled as he saw the fear in the eyes of the little snow ball. "Don''t worry! She''s still not aware and I''m also not telling her. But remember it''s only the first and last time I''m helping you. Got that?" Snowy nodded his head hurriedly. If he could then he had already hugged and licked the God in front of his eyes. But he had a feeling that if he did that then he didn''t have to wait for Li Ming, to become a souvenir for the cats. Ruoshan put him down on the bed beside Li Ming and rubbed his head lightly before walking out of the room. Li Ming woke up after 20 minutes or something. She noticed Snowy who was sitting on her chest looking at her with his puppy eyes. Li Ming picked up the little fur ball and kissed him on his nose. "Did you stay awake the entire night?" Snowy silently nodded his head in answer. Li Ming felt bad for her poor familiar. She never thought that he would stay awake all night. Now she''s feeling horrible. She took out a bag of dog biscuits and poured them in a big bowl. She had mixed these biscuits with special potions which were good for his health. Snowy''s mouth started watering the moment he saw the biscuits and he didn''t waste a single second as he started devouring as soon as Li Ming allowed him. Li Ming shook her head as she flicked his head. "You behave like I starve you!" But Snowy was too busy to pay attention to his Master''s unimportant words. Just as Snowy finished his food, Ruoshan entered the room. He nodded lightly to Li Ming and the three of them entered the mansion. Half an hour later, they all appeared back in the room after getting ready for the day. Li Ming was wearing yellow color dress with a matching veil. She had left her long hair down with only a single hairpin in her hair. But she still gave a strong and noble aura. They all went down the stairs and had their breakfast with Old Mo and Huang Family. Li Ming told Elder Fu and Madam that she would be leaving for the Dongji village for a few days. She had already filled the storage of the inn the previous day and the business was running smoothly. She was sure that Elder Fu and his family would look after the inn all too well. After breakfast Li Ming send both Ruoshan and Snowy inside the mansion and teleported to the orphanage with Old Mo. The old madam was anxious for the entire night as she had no idea whether her husband found the Young Miss or not. When she saw them appearing in the front garden, she finally relaxed. Li Ming brought Ruoshan out of the mansion the moment she appeared at the orphanage. In no condition was she going to let him stay inside the mansion all alone. If it was not for her low level of powers, she would not have even let him inside the mansion without her. Although she could now teleport a long distance twice a day with her current cultivation level but she was still not sure whether she would be able to teleport with two people. Also she needed her powers for the coming night. "Young Miss, you finally remember to return!" The complain was clear in Old Madam''s voice. Li Ming smiled softly and patted old madam''s hand as she said, "Don''t worry. I''ll take care of tonight''s matter." The Old Madam lightly nodded her head. In these past months she had learned to respect and trust her Young Miss. The children were excited to see her after nearly a month. Li Ming found that all of them were getting better in their fields of work. Just like usual days, she practiced with them in the back yard. After two hours of morning practice, they all took their classes with Old Mo. Li Ming spend the day teaching them new things but she soon realized that she needed people who could teach these children. She was not available everytime and if she wanted them to learn properly then she had to find a way. After their lunch, Li Ming went into the mansion. She wanted to make some preparations for the coming night but was stopped by Ruoshan before she could enter the house. "What?" Li Ming asked, a little bit irritated. "Let''s duel." Ruoshan said excitedly. "Huh??" Li was confused but then she saw him taking out a large sword. Her eyes widened as she realized that this man was not joking. "Are you insane? Find someone else!" Li Ming said hurriedly and started walking away. But before she could take more than a single step, she heard the sharp sound of the sword cutting through the air. On her instincts, she bended backward a little and saw the sparkling sharp edge of the sword which was at the exact place where her neck was. She stepped back and stared at the man who was smirking at her. "Are you tired of living?" Li Ming shouted loudly. If she had not followed her instincts then maybe she would be dead by now! Spells, charms, potions or even a dagger, she could handle these things but weapons like swords - nope! "You are too slow. Come, I''ll teach you." Ruoshan said as he tried to drag her somewhere with him. Li Ming snatched her hand out of his hold. Ruoshan was confused as he looked at the girl who was actually fuming in anger. "Take it as a warning. Next time you do something like this and I''ll make you realize how much a person can hate living!" Li Ming said in a very cold voice and after making her point clear, she left. Ruoshan rubbed his forehead. It was even harder than what he had predicted. Chapter 51 - Xi Qiu City Li Ming followed behind Old Mo silently with the rest of the four children. It was just a few minutes before mid night and all of them were going to the decided spot for the exchange. Li Ming had no idea for what to expect from the coming situation. She was just praying for everything to go according to her plan. Her sensible mind was warning her that whoever was the mastermind behind this whole dark and shady business was not someone normal. But no matter what she had to get her orphanage out of the situation. They finally reached the decided spot after walking for a few more minutes. Li Ming observed the area around her. Although the whole area appeared to be silent and still, but she knew that more people were there, residing in the darkness. One of those people was Ruoshan, who was hiding behind the mask of darkness, keeping an eye on the situation. She didn''t wanted him to come along but also couldn''t leave him. So, the final decision was that he would follow them secretly and won''t interfere until she would say. The other people were of course the group which had came to retrieve the children. After a minute or two, four people finally appeared with a carriage. Li Ming waited patiently as she saw the group walking towards the pentagram that she had drawn earlier in the middle of the road. It was barely visible to mortal eyes. The carriage stopped at a little distance from them and the four men started walking towards them. Just as she had thought, none of them noticed the pentagram and before they could realize that something was wrong, they were already standing inside the pentagram. There the four men stood like a statue as they were under the spell of the pentagram. "There''s no one around." Ruoshan said as he came out of his hiding place. His job was to find out if these people had any backup. But looked like they were a little too confident in the Old Mo to not betray them. "You can now return back to the orphanage. I''ll deal with the matter." Li Ming said to the Old man. "But Miss...!" Old Mo wasn''t ready to leave his Master in the hands of these monsters. Although she was powerful and smart but at the end of the day, she was still a little girl. How could he let her go into a tiger''s den when he knew that the tiger was hungry and waiting for his prey. "Don''t worry. Do as Ming is saying. I''ll take care of her." Ruoshan said as he saw that Old Mo was not going to let Li Ming go alone. Old Mo looked at the man who was like a shadow of Young Miss. He knew that this man was close to his Master and also very skilled & powerful. After a few more seconds of coaxing, Old Mo finally, but reluctantly, agreed to return back to the orphanage. Li Ming went inside the pentagram and looked at the four men. She muttered something in the ear of each of them and the four of them nodded their heads. Li Ming then freed them out of the pentagram. The four men placed all the other children inside the carriage with Li Ming and started towards the Xi Qiu City. Xi Qiu City was actually the second most powerful City in the Han Empire after the Imperial City. It was famous for it''s market ground. The city was solely built as a business sector. There were restaurants, shops, auction houses, tea houses and brothels. It was a place only for shopping. There were less than 20 residences and those were mainly of the City Lord and shop owners. There were courtyards behind every shop, where the workers stayed. The City also had a teleportation system which joined it with the rest of the High Class Cities of the Han Empire and some that opens into the other Empires. "Why are they taking us to this Xi Qiu City?" Li Ming asked with confusion after Ruoshan told her about the City. "What''s your plan?" Ruoshan asked after a moment of silence. "Nothing exactly! I''m just going with the flow for now." Li Ming said as she saw Ruoshan shaking his head. "What??" She really couldn''t understand this man''s problem. Why did he have to act like she was being dumb at the moment. "How can you put yourself in such a dangerous situation when you don''t even have a fully prepared plan, forget about a back up!" Ruoshan asked with a little hint of frustration and anger in his eyes. "What''s your problem? No one asked you to come with me and now you are throwing tantrums like a child. Yes! I don''t have a plan. That''s because, I don''t do a supercop every day. I''m a normal young teenager who''s suppose to be having a fun time not doing all this!" Li Ming said with anger as she was really not pleased with his behavior. "Then you should just behave like that little Young Miss you are and let others take care of you!" Ruoshan said as he was also not happy with her response. "You know that I can''t do that. My grandfather.....!!" Li Ming was going to again use her imaginary grandfather for an excuse when Ruoshan interrupted her. "Don''t you dare to play that bulls**t on me!" Ruoshan narrowed his eyes as he looked at her in warning. "No one is forcing you to stay here. If you are not happy then you can always leave!" Li Ming said with a pout. "You know that it''s not possible. I can''t be away from you!" Ruoshan said with a little smirk. "Then shut up and let me deal with everything on my own way." Li Ming said as she folded her arms and tried to look cool. "Alright! Do whatever you want but trust me, the moment I feel that you are in danger, I''ll take you away from here. I don''t care if you loose your orphanage or the entire Dongji village after that. I''m not letting you get in danger in my presence." Ruoshan said in a very deep voice as he hold her chin in his hand, Making her look directly into his dark obsidian eyes. Chapter 52 - Im Not Backing Down!! Ruoshan looked at the girl who was staring at him in anger. But he didn''t care. She''s more important than anything else. If he had to choose between the entire mainland and her, of course he would always choose her without any doubt. He cupped her face in his hands and said in a coaxing voice. "Don''t worry. If you want, I''ll give you hundreds of Dongji village in return. Forget that! If you say then I''ll win the entire Qi Continent for you." "Eww!! Can you hear yourself? You can''t even save yourself and you are talking about winning the entire world? Tell me something - are all you guys born with this cheekiness? It doesn''t suit you by the way!" Li Ming said as she tried to free herself from his hold. But unfortunately he didn''t even noticed her attempt. "I''m serious!" Ruoshan said in a strict tone but his smiling eyes gave him away. "It''s not about the orphanage anymore. There are hundreds of children who are loosing their childhood because of this. I can''t just let it pass like a wind. If I can save them then I''m going to do my best." Li Ming finally said the words that she had in her heart for the past two days. In these two days she realized that this was not a problem for her orphanage only, but many other children of the Empire were going to loose their childhood in the darkness of slavery or brothels. In her last life, her father thaught her to care for others. She was responsible for thousands of people who looked at her for their safety and security. She had always tried her best to give them a better and safe society to live. The only difference between these two lives was that in her past life she was responsible for the safety of her people and rest of the supernatural world but in this new life she was not. The only people for whom she was responsible were those who were working for her. But that didn''t change the fact that she was brought up with the teachings of helping and protecting the weaks. "Let''s assume that you will save these children today, then what? These are the children who don''t have homes or whose parents have sold them. Where do you think these children will go? What they are going to eat? Where they are going to stay? There are thousands of other children like them on this mainland. Are you going to save all of them?" Ruoshan asked the girl who was looking at him with sadness in her eyes. "Maybe I can''t save all the children right now but that''s not going to stop me from trying. I don''t know what I''ll do after this but if saving these children from this hell means that I have to raise them, then I''m not backing down. I will take them with me to Dongji village and make sure that one day they will be powerful enough to stand on their own and help me in saving the others." A single tear rolled down Li Ming''s face as she looked at the man who''s making her feel worse at the moment. "Hey! You are not supposed to cry!" Ruoshan nearly had a heart attack after seeing that single tear. It was like a dagger was forcing it''s way through his heart. He engulfed the girl in his arms tightly and started rubbing her back soothingly. "Don''t cry anymore. I''m not stopping you from doing anything. Just promise me that you will be safe." Ruoshan said softly as he continued to hold her. "Why are you so against of this?" Li Ming asked the man who was holding her so tightly that she couldn''t even move her hands. Ruoshan sighed as he heard her question. After a minute of silence he finally said, "Because you are not prepared. Do you think the people behind all this are someone normal? No, they are not. Although they are not the most powerful people of the mainland but they are still out of your league. I''m just afraid that you are not ready to face those kind of danger at the moment." Didn''t know why but after hearing his reply, Li Ming''s heart relaxed. She stopped struggling and put her head on his chest. She could hear the rhythmic sound of his beating heart. "I''ll be alright." She didn''t know how to respond. So, she finally said the only thing that came into her mind. "I know that you will...Let''s practice sword play with me from now on?" Ruoshan finally found a chance and of course, he took it. "Hey! Not that thing again! That sword of yours is even longer than half of my height. Also it''s so sharp. What if I ended up hurting myself or if I somehow.....!" Before Li Ming could complete her babbling, Ruoshan put his finger on her lips to silence her. "No more excuses. I will let you do as you wish but in return you have to learn the sword play!" His voice was firm and Li Ming knew that she was trapped this time. "Why are you so into teaching me that sword art of yours?" Li Ming asked and her unhappiness from the situation was evident on her face. "Because I know that you will need it in future. The road that you are going to take today will lead you into the dark reality of this world and to fight with that you need to learn anything and everything! Are we clear now?" Could she even say something against that speech? But deep down in her heart even she knew that Ruoshan was telling her the truth. When Ruoshan saw that she was not saying no anymore, he finally relaxed. He started patting her head and said softly, "Have some sleep. We are still a few hours away from the Xi Qiu City. I''ll wake you up when we reach there." Li Ming didn''t even get the chance to say no as she instantly fell asleep. Chapter 53 - Action Time (1) Li Ming felt someone waking her up. Didn''t know why people couldn''t let others sleep? "We are at the back entrance of the Xi Qiu City. I think you should wake up now Sleepyhead!" Li Ming heard the soft familiar voice and then she realized that she''s not in her bed but in a carriage. She straightened up and peeked outside from the carriage window. They were indeed at the entrance of the City and by the look of it, it was probably the back entrance. "Do you think they are also dealing with the brothels here?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the rest of the children who were sitting inside the carriage with them. If you guys are now thinking about the time when these two were being lovey dovey in front of these children, then let me clear the Misunderstanding! Li Ming planned to use puppets in place of real children. She was a mage after all. With a little bit help from Ruoshan, who was known as the Master of Dark Arts, she finally succeeded in producing four puppets children, out of which two were girls and other two were boys. She herself was portraying as the third girl and fifth member of the group as she was also of the same age. Because of Ruoshan''s powers, it was nearly impossible to find out that the children were not real. That''s why she was not worried about getting caught. After a minute or two, the carriage finally started moving again. Li Ming put on an invisibility spell on Ruoshan and reminded him to not cause any problems. The carriage continued towards the end of a dark alley and finally stopped outside a very small building. By the look of it, the building appeared to be the worst looking and probably the least earning business of Xi Qiu City. A man opened the door of the carriage and nearly dragged all the children out of the carriage. Another man showed a guard at the building''s gate, some kind of token and then they (Children) were ushered inside the building. As Li Ming predicted, the building looked like a small inn which was worse looking from inside then it was from outside. By the look of the situation, it was probably not used in ages. They all were taken to one of the rooms. Li Ming was actually confused by all of this. She had no idea what was going to happen next. The only comfort was coming from the man who was in the shadows hiding under the invisibility spell. "Li, do you think they are taking all of you to offer some sort of sacrifice!" Li Ming wanted to kill this idiot who was clearly taking fun of her situation. How did she ended up with this little monster? "Snowy you better keep your mouth shut for the rest of the day, otherwise I''ll end up giving you as a sacrifice!" The warning was clear in her voice and Snowy was not idiot enough to test her in such a situation. The next moment a trapdoor opened in the floor and Li Ming could see stairs going down. The four men started walking down the stairs and the children followed them. But the scene that greeted her down there left Li Ming shocked. The entire place was an underground market. Brothels, slave shops and drug stores lined up the street. There were more than a dozen shops in there and the look of the area was making Li Ming both angry and nauseous. They were taken inside a slave shop and the men locked the five of them inside a room. After they left, Li Ming put another puppet of her own and teleported outside the room with Ruoshan. She was already under the invisibility spell. There were three more rooms. Li Ming checked all of them and sure enough there were at least more than two dozen children inside those rooms. She heard some voices coming from one of the room upstairs. As she followed the voices, she found the men who brought them here talking to a woman who, in every manner was either a prostitute or the owner of one of the brothels. Li Ming voted for the later one. "Here''s the money. I''m taking all those pretty b****es with me. My brothel is enduring looses for past two months since everyone was craving for new meat!" The woman said as she put two big pouches of money on the table. "Why not take even a single boy this time?" One of the man asked as he opened the pouch to take a look at the glittering gold taels. "Ah! Two days ago, a special carriage was sent by the master. There were three boys inside. Their looks is even more beautiful than most of those fairer rich beauties of the Official families. Right now the three of them are the most demanded ones in the market!" The woman chuckled shyly as she told the men in lowerd voice. "Where did Lord get these boys from?" Another man asked curiously. "Nearly a week ago there was a rumour spreading in the Imperial City that three servants offended the Eldest Miss and as a punishment our Lord sold off the three of them after punishing each of them with 20 strokes. But one of my inner informer told me that the three servants are actually the sons of one of the maids of the Madam. The three boys are very good looking. She told me that when Eldest Miss saw them she wanted to take them as her personal slave and wanted to you know.....!" The woman stopped as she again pretended to be shy about saying the next words. "Then?" The men were more curious to know about the inside rumour then caring about the overacting of the woman in front of them. "Then what? Those stupid boys can''t see good from bad as they declined. The Eldest Miss even tried to offer them so much money and high position in the manor but those foolish boys were too arrogant and ended up enraging the Eldest Miss." Chapter 54 - Emperor Or An Old Coward?? "Then the Eldest Miss, in her anger blamed the three of them for forcing themselves on her. Of course, everyone believed her rather than those three. Therefore they were heavily punished and then sent here. The entire manor was warned to not let a single word out. But of course I have my own ways." The woman said proudly. "Now, I have to go. There are too much work left to do and you all can come and visit those three whenever you feel hungry for a feast!" The woman said with a chuckle. "Maybe you should quench...!" Li Ming didn''t stay there any longer. She heard the men laughing out loud as she went down the stairs and out of the shop. She took a complete survey of the underground market. The matter was much more complicated than she had predicted. There were more than 300 people in there, who stayed in the slave market 24/7. Most of them were the prostitutes, the others were either the workers or the owners of these shops. The children who were given away as slaves stayed in the market mostly for a week before they were sold of. And the people who actually came here to either enjoy the brothel services or buy slaves or drugs, were from all over the Empire. Even if Li Ming wanted to free these people, it was nearly impossible to do so. First she had no idea where to take these many people and second she found that all the prostitutes and slaves were given drugs in order to control them. After a period of taking these drugs, even those with strong spirits crumbled under the want of these drugs. It''s not like there''s any rehab center waiting for these people. Li Ming brought Ruoshan into the mansion as she racked her mind to find a way to solve this matter. "Calm down! You need a proper plan before doing anything. Right now you can''t do anything!" Ruoshan tried to reason with the girl. "Huh! I never thought that the Emperor of this Empire is a blind person. His own official is destroying his country and he has no idea! Who knows if he is also a part of this?" Li Ming said with a bitter smile. "Although I don''t know the Emperor on a personal level but I can still assure you that he''s not a part of this and maybe he even knows about all this shady business of Prime Minister Zhu. But let me tell you, the Prime Minister has a very powerful backing. Even if the Emperor wants to punish the Prime Minister, he can''t do it without receiving a back lash." Ruoshan told her like a professional of the matter. "Are you trying to say that since the Emperor can''t do anything then I should also sit silently like that Old Coward!" Li Ming was clearly angry. Ruoshan looked at the girl who was fuming. He shook his head as he flicked her head, "Why you always assumes the worst about me? I''m only saying that you should have a proper plan with you before diving in this issue. And don''t go yelling about the Emperor like that outside." "I know. Hey! Who''s this powerful backing of the Prime Minister?" Li Ming asked curiously. After all she wanted to know who was this person that the Emperor was scared of. "Find out on your own. I''m not going to help you in any way. I''ll just make sure that you will not end up killing yourself before I''m back to the peak of my cultivation. Other than that don''t expect anything from me!" Ruoshan said with an indifferent tone. Li Ming glared at the shameless man. She wanted to voice out her opinion about him but then thought better of it. "But I can give you at least one advice. Find a support who will help you in this case. Someone who hates the Prime Minister Zhu and also have a strong image in the empire." Ruoshan said with a little touch of softness and concern in his eyes. "It would have been better if you have directly told me that you''re talking about General Wei!" Li Ming said as she rolled her eyes. "Whatever! Now let''s go back to the orphanage. You have five more months before the next exchange. I think by that time you already would have solved this problem." "Not so early! Let''s give this market and the Prime Minister Zhu something that will sway them from their feet." The evil smirk and the cold look in Li Ming''s eyes was the clear indication of the coming storm. Li Ming went back to the same shop and found that the four men and that woman were still there, busy in pleasing each other. She somehow held her disgust inside and started to enter the room but suddenly her eyes were covered by a hand. "What do you think you are doing?"Li Ming whispered in an irritated voice. "I''m not letting you go inside in there! You are still too young for all these stuff!" Ruoshan whispered back into her ear. "You....!" Li Ming was not sure what to do with this guy. She tried to free herself but just as usual ended up in wasting her energy. "Let me go!" Li Ming nearly shouted but at the last moment she controlled her voice. "No!" Ruoshan was in no mood of negotiations. He was not letting her go inside that room to witness such stuff. She''s too young and pure for that. He''s not letting something like that ruined her innocence. If Li Ming had heard his thoughts, she would rather had spent her time teaching him about her own level of innocence then continuing with her plan. "I''m telling you for the last time to let me go!" Li Ming said as she gritted her teeth in order to control her anger. "And I already told you that I''m not letting you go inside." Ruoshan said in a confirmed tone. Li Ming took a deep breath and then turned around. Her soft hands grabbed the collar of Ruoshan''s outer garment and she jerked her hand backward. She wanted to push him away for a little bit of distraction but she ended up tearing his clothes. Li Ming''s eyes went wide the moment she looked at the jade like shining and luscious chest of Ruoshan. Naked and on it''s full glory to please her eyes..... Chapter 55 - The Three Mysterious Men Li Ming got what she wanted. Ruoshan was taken back with the sudden happening and his hold on her loosened due to his shock. Li Ming was also in shock but she hurriedly collected herself and entered the room before Ruoshan could stop her. She was still under the invisibility spell, so the people inside the room didn''t notice her. The spell that she casted on the five people inside the room was the most important part of her plan. The spell was overflowing with a very high percentage of compulsion. The spell would manipulate their minds and plant new information there. After making sure that none of them remembered her face, she went into the other three rooms. There were also children inside those rooms probably brought from different cities and villages of the Empire. She put them under a sleeping spell and teleported them inside the mansion. After that she planted new puppet children in their places. Only a last task was left. She waited for the five of them (the woman and the four men) to come out of the room. All this time she didn''t say a single word to Ruoshan who was standing beside her but was also silent. Somehow his torn clothes were back to their previous glory. After an hour or so, the woman finally appeared out of the shop. Li Ming silently followed her to the largest inn of the market. The moment Li Ming entered the inn, she wanted to fled from there. The place was filled with a strong smell of some kind of aphrodisiac drug. Li Ming silently rushed through the entire inn to find those she was actually looking for. After a long search, she finally opened the last room of the inn. There, in the worst condition possible, were three men. All of them were unconscious due to all the beatings and torture. Li Ming pulled the three of them inside the mansion, the exact moment the door of the room opened and three maids entered the room. The shock and fear was clear on their faces as they found the room completely empty. The three of them hurriedly left the room to tell whoever was the incharge. Li Ming teleported back to the previous inn where the children were locked. She entered the first room and stood with the puppets children. She was wearing dark black clothes. Her hair were held back in a high ponytail. A mask covered her mouth and a cloak was draped over her entire body, hiding her eyes. She looked taller than usual as she was in high heel boots. She was extremely covered and there was nothing that could give away her identity. Just a few minutes later, two of the men opened the door of the room. But their eyes met a black silhouette who suddenly disappeared in the thin air. But the worse thing was that he also took the children with him. One of the man ran towards the second room and burst through the door but again the same thing happened. Another silhouette in red, disappeared in the thin air with the children. By now, all the four men were rushing downstairs towards the third room but again they met with the same scene and this time it was a silhouette in pure white. The entire inn was suddenly empty except the four men who were startled beyond words. Li Ming didn''t wait any longer and teleported back to the orphanage. An evil smile blooming in her shinning eyes. After assuring the Old couple that everything was fine, she asked them to prepare bath and a lot of food. She stood in the front garden and poured her powers, with a very strong spell towards the top floor of the orphanage. The very next second, another floor got added to the orphanage and now it had three stories rather than two. After making sure that there were enough rooms for everyone, she entered the mansion. She needed to check on the children and also the three men needed immediate medical attention. But the moment she entered the mansion, she was met up with another problem. At the moment, Li Ming''s back was against a wall as she was caged by the man whose eyes were shining bright purple at the moment. "Why did you do that? Do you love to test my patience?" His voice was so low and husky against her ear. His hot breath on her nape was sending cold shivers down her back. "I.....I...!" Li Ming tried to voice out her words but looked like they were stuck in her throat. "You what....?" His voice was strict and demanding. "I didn''t mean that!" Li Ming finally squeaked out those five words. "You better should pay attention from now on. If you tried to go against my words next time in such a situation, I''ll not let you go so easily!" Ruoshan said in a commanding voice and then left her standing there in confusion. Since Li Ming couldn''t see his face, that''s why she didn''t noticed his smile. "Wait! Is he not talking about me ruining his clothes...??" Li Ming scratched her head in confusion. She shook her head and decided to focus on more important matters at the moment. She brought all the children out of the mansion and with the help of the Old Mo and Madam, who looked terrified after seeing almost two dozen children, placed them inside the new rooms. Each room had at least four beds. With her magic she cleaned all of them from the weeks of dirt and grime. Then she started healing those who were injured. The three brothers took the most time as their situation was the worst out of all of them. After all of them were physically stable, Li Ming finally removed the sleeping spell from them. The children were terrified to find themselves in a complete new place. Li Ming left the Old couple to deal with that. She could already feel a migraine coming over. She''s in no condition to deal with a bunch of panicked children. It took nearly half an hour before everyone entered the dining room. Although the new children were now looking more relaxed but they were still on edge. Everyone settled down to eat lunch. Li Ming had to change the dinning area since there were more people. Everyone started eating and the room was completely silent other than the noises of cutlery and dishes being passed around. Li Ming noticed that the three brothers were the most silent among all of them. They didn''t even speak a single word throughout the lunch. After thinking for a while, Li Ming finally decided to give the new comers a few days to settle before deciding to add them in the curriculum of the orphanage. She specifically instructed Old Mo, Madam and the previous children of the orphanage to try and make the others feel better. Li Ming finally felt a little relief as she saw the group of children playing in the garden with the butterflies. Although she still had a fight to win but at least she had given a hard time to the Prime Minister Zhu for the time being. On the other hand, the whole underground market of Xi Qiu City was in uproar. The new batch of children that were brought last night and the three brothers from the Prime Minister manor disappeared suddenly. Even after searching the whole Xi Qiu City, they were unable to find out a single clue. Due to the fear of attracting too much attention, they stopped their search. Prime Minister Zhu was going insane in anger. It was the first time when something like this had happened. He ordered his personal shadow guard to continue the search. The search was for - THE THREE MYSTERIOUS MEN !! Although Li Ming was happy when she find out about the Prime Minister Zhu''s condition but little did she knew that the coming day would bring too many problems for her and her headache was only going to increase!! Chapter 56 - Pixie Dust (1) Li Ming stared at the group of pixies in front of her. She was now seriously regretting her decision of keeping these little monsters with her. If she had slightest idea at that time that she would come across such a situation, she would probably had made a different decision. Now you guys would be wondering about what these little angels would have done to make our female lead call them monsters, right? So, basically the moment Li Ming finally got away from the torturous sword art learning session with Ruoshan, she came face to face with another problem. Moreover, this one didn''t make any sense to her. When she appeared in her back garden to take a look at the pixies, she found all of them sitting around in a group, looking sad and depressed. Some of them were even crying! Now, her first stupidity was the decision of letting the pixies stay in her mansion. Then her second stupidity was the decision to check on them. But it was not enough, so she again added another one on the list and that was asking about - ''what was wrong?'' And when she received the answer to her question, she knew at that moment that she was doomed. Alvina told her that she and her group had ran out of the pixie dust. That sparkling powder known as the legendary Pixie Dust was the most precious treasure of the pixies. Since, they had no more pixie dust with them, they were now completely useless as they could no more performe their daily activities. Li Ming rubbed her forehead as she again felt a headache coming over within the span of last two days. She looked at the teary eyed little angels and sighed. "Don''t tell me that you guys want me to send you all back to the Pixie Hollow because trust me, I don''t think that it''s possible. Like - EVER!!" The pixies looked at each other and then Terra said in a small voice, "No! We are not asking you to send us back because we know that it''s not possible. But...W-we want y-you to....." Li Ming was actually surprised to see the blonde hesitating. She didn''t know whether to laugh because the one who was always there to give her (Li) sarcastic responses was not even able to complete a single sentence or should she cry because whatever Terra was hesitating to say would probably not be good for her (Li). "Go on. Don''t keep me waiting! I have other things to do." Li Ming said as she prepared herself for whatever was coming her way. This time it was Alvina who spoke. The little fairy took a deep breath and said in a hurry, "We want you to help us find a Moonstone!" It took a moment for Li Ming to register Alvina''s words. "A What..?" Li Ming stared at the pixies like they had grown horns on their heads. "You can''t be serious. This place is not your Pixie Hollow. Where am I supposed to find that little blue ball of yours and...Wait a minute - is that moonstone a real thing?" Her question made her receive not very pleasing, glances or should I say glares, from the pixies. ''Well at least she got the answer!'' "Com''on Winter! This world is full of magic or...what is that...ah! Spiritual energy. From rocks to water, animal, birds and humans, all have magic. Is it really that impossible to find a stone that has the same properties as the moonstone?" The desperation was clear in Alvina''s voice. Li Ming sighed as she thought about what Alvina had just said. She was actually right. In this world of spiritual energy and immortals, she also thought that there should be at least one stone somewhere which could be similar to the moonstone. "Do any of you know how to make pixie dust?" Li Ming asked after a few minutes. The pixies looked at each other and then shook their heads in negative. "B-but as long as we have the moonstone, we can find a way!" Terra said in a voice that was supposed to be cheerful or at least that''s what Li Ming thought. Li Ming continued to look at the pixies, when her eyes caught the little fairy in the back of the group. "Bobble, do you have something to say?" Bobble looked both surprised and terrified when he heard Li Ming calling his name. He noticed that all the pixies were now looking at him in confusion. He went to the front of the group and looked at Li Ming. Then he turned towards his fellow fairies and said in a little voice, "I need to tell all of you something." The pixies looked at each other in confusion but no one said anything until Clank. And being the face reader as well as a mind reader, it didn''t take long for Li Ming to realize that Clank was already aware of whatever Bobble was going to say and moreover he didn''t look happy about it. "Go on. We all are listening. Just make sure to raise your voice a few notes higher so that everyone can hear you clearly!" Clank said as he folded his arms. Li Ming would have laughed at the way Clank looked with a pout and folded hands, if not for the heaviness floating around them and the seriousness of the situation. Bobble looked ashamed as he heard Clank''s words. "I have t-the Pixie Hollow Book.....with me.....h-here." As soon as Bobble completed his sentence, each and every fairy gave a full dramatic response. Like some gasped in horror, some looked too shocked to even react and some were looking at Bobble with wide eyes. But in the mean time, Li Ming looked completely clueless. Right! She had no idea what was going on. Do you....?? Chapter 57 - Pixie Dust (2) Who knew for how long, the pixies fought, shrieked, cursed and some even cried. Through all this, Li Ming had no idea about what the hell was going on with those fairies. After trying for a long time, she finally was able to calm down the pixies. But when Li Ming demanded an explanation, the pixies became completely silent. They had already spent their entire energy on fighting and arguing with each other. Li Ming looked at the silent pixies and rubbed her forehead. She was really regretting her decision of letting the pixies stay with her. She looked at the pixies and then asked, "Is any of you going to tell me why you all nearly gave little Bobble a heart attack?" Her voice was clearly stating her impatience. After looking at each other and wasting another few but precious moments, Alvina finally cleared what was going on. The book of Pixie Hollow was the most precious and important object of the pixies. It contained all the secrets of the Pixie Hollow. "Then what''s wrong if he brought the book with him? That book can solve most of our problems. According to me, Bobble did the best thing. Rather than reprimanding him, you all should thank him!" Li Ming said with a little touch of anger in her voice. She was shocked to find that the pixies were angry because Bobble had stolen the book. Shouldn''t they be thinking about their future which could be more easier to build if they had the book with them? "You are not understanding!" Terra said while stomping her little feet on ground, like she was loosing her cool. Li Ming raised her eyebrow at the little fairy and asked with a small but mocking smirk, "Can you please elaborate!" "We''re not angry at him because he stole...i-i mean took the book from the Pixie Hollow." Alvina said in a sad tone as she gave Bobble another hard stare. Now, Li Ming was seriously confused. She was feeling like she had lost her ability to think properly ever since she came across these pixies in the morning. "Then?" Li Ming looked at the pixies as she waited for them to finally clear about what exactly was happening. "We are angry at him because he didn''t tell us about his plan of stealing the book. We could have joined him! And now all of us are feeling left out of such a great adventure!" Clank said with a cute growl. Li Ming nearly face palmed herself. She was shocked beyond words after listening to the most idiotic explanation that she could ever have assumed. She was not sure anymore what to say or do. It was like Snowy was not enough to torture her and now she had a complete gang who were even at a higher stage in the league of stupidity than Snowy. After finally calming herself down and making sure that she was not going to lose her temper the moment she opened her mouth, she said "Let me take a look at that book. Maybe I can find some important stuff about the Pixie Dust." Looked like the word "Pixie Dust" brought back the fairies to earth. Their expressions changed suddenly and it was like they were never throwing curses at each other - or more like at Bobble. Bobble took out the book and gave it to Li Ming. If she was not already too shocked then she would probably have died because of laughing. The book was barely large enough to hold in her small palm. Shouldn''t such kind of books were meant to be large, thick and centuries old? But the book in her hand was completely opposite of that. Li Ming slowly opened the book and a small pink light shone out from it. But when Li Ming looked at the pages, she couldn''t find anything on them. They were completely bare and there was not even a single word written in the entire book. Li Ming moved her hand above the book and murmured a spell softly. After a few seconds, the white and plain sheets changed and there were words on the pages this time. Li Ming looked at the pages and turned through them. All this time, the little fairies were completely on edge. They had never seen the Pixie Book before - at least not from close. After a few minutes, Li Ming finally found something. She took a deep breath and then started reading aloud so that the others could also hear. "Pixie Dust Trees are enchanted trees that can produce Pixie Dust. It comes from their hearts and they are essential to the existence of fairies. It''s strength comes from the Blue Pixie Dust that isn''t produced by it, Instead by the Blue Harvest Moon. Pixie Dust trees can be created by infusing it inside a regular tree and it will produce Pixie Dust as long the blue one is dropping inside." Li Ming flipped to the next page and continued reading. "Blue Pixie Dust is used to replenish the Pixie Dust Tree so that it will keep producing Pixie Dust. Without it, the tree will wither and the dust will cease to flow. Once every eight years, a Blue Harvest Moon rises in Pixie Hollow. When it''s light shines through a Moonstone at 90 degree, the light is transmitted into blue pixie dust. The dust is then collected by Dust talent fairies who sprinkle most of it on the Pixie Dust tree. A portion of dust is collected and kept safe at the Pixie Dust Distribution Depot and thereafter twenty six grains of blue pixie dust are administered to the Pixie dust tree daily." "Moonstone is a blue colored crystal stone which is used to produce Blue Pixie Dust. A moonstone observes light during the day and then it shines brightly at night for three or four hours....." Li Ming flipped through a few more pages, but other than that short paragraph there was not a single more word was written about the Moonstone. She looked at the pixies and then asked "How am I supposed to find the Moonstone without any specific information about it? And what on Earth is a Blue Harvest Moon ??" Chapter 58 - Making A Deal With The Devil "Can you help?" Li Ming looked while making a cute pout at Ruoshan. After thinking for a while she finally realized that there were only two people who could answer her questions. The first one was the Fourth Prince, who was not in her contact at the moment, and the second one was Ruoshan. That''s why she decided to ask him for help. But of course, the devil was not going to give in so easily. "Of course I can help!" Ruoshan said in a matter of fact tone. He walked towards her seat and stood behind her and bent a little forward to whisper in her ear. "But the question is - What I will get in return of helping you?" His voice was so low and husky that it gave her goosebumps. Li Ming turned around and stared at the man. "What do you want?" She stood up from her seat and faced him. She was half angry and half curious. Angry because he was shameless enough to demand something in return when she already was letting him stay with her and curious because she wanted to know what he actually wanted from her. Ruoshan walked to the young girl and smiled softly at her. "First, promise that you will give me what I''ll demand." Li Ming sighed deeply and looked at the silver hair guy. "Do I look like an idiot? I''m not promising anything without knowing what I am getting into." "I''m helping you with such an important matter and I can also give you the exact location of the Moonstone and how to find the Blue Harvesting Moon. In return, shouldn''t you fulfill at least one of my request?" Ruoshan asked with a confused expression. Li Ming thought for some time and then nodded her head slightly. "Alright! Tell me what you want and if I can fulfill it then I''ll try my best." Ruoshan thought for a while but then shook his head. "I don''t have any wish at the moment. Why don''t you give me your words and when I have a wish in the future, I''ll ask you." "Definitely not!" Li Ming was not dumb to not realize that Ruoshan was purposely trying to make her give words on a blank promise. "I promise to not ask for something that you won''t be able to give." Ruoshan said softly as he waited for her to change her mind. "Li, Please say yes to whatever he was asking. We don''t have too much time and you already said that he''s the only one who can help us." Alvina said in a very desperate voice. Li Ming knew that the situation was serious but she didn''t want to give Ruoshan a promise that would bring problems for her in future. "Fine! I give you my words that I will fulfill one of your request in the future as long as it will not hurt anyone." Li Ming said after she finally weighed the situation. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he heard the most awaited words. He suddenly engulfed Li Ming in a tight hug which took her completely by surprise. Alvina gave a cute shriek and flew out of the room. "What do you think you are doing?" Li Ming asked angrily. "Compared to what you did in the Xi Qiu City, what I''m doing right now is nothing!" "..." Ruoshan''s words left Li Ming completely speechless. It was the first time in past two days when he had directly mentioned about the what happened back at the Xi Qiu City. Though for someone like Li Ming, who was from 21st century, that was not a big deal but same couldn''t be said about the people of this world. Li Ming was so embarrassed that she immediately went silent. She was in no mood to discuss about that. Ruoshan smiled softly as he felt the soft body in his arms relaxing. It was not like he''s taking advantage. It''s just that he realized the previous day that whenever he''s in contact with her, even if it was holding hands, he felt so relaxed and happy at that moment. It was a feeling he had never experienced in his entire immortal life. That''s the reason he could not stop himself from taking advantage of the situation. It was not like he would get another chance like this again easily. After giving a light feathery kiss on her temple, he finally released her. "You want a specific type of stone. Maybe we should pay another visit to the Thundering Peaks. If I''m not wrong then we will get to meet both His Highness Zhang Yong and your much needed stone there." Ruoshan said as his face transferred into a mischievous grin. "How do you know Zhang Yong?" Li Ming asked with surprise and a little bit of suspicion. "There''s nothing about this world that is unknown to me and Lord Zhang is a very special part of this world." Ruoshan said as a slight twitch appeared on his lips. Li Ming frowned at his words but she knew that she was not going to get anymore information from him about the topic. She thought about what Ruoshan had said about visiting the Thundering Peaks. "Do you mean that the Moonstone is in the Thundering Peaks?" Li Ming asked as she became a little excited. "Do you already forget about the incident when we came across the disciples from Guixian Land? What do you think they were doing there?" Ruoshan asked her with a raised eyebrow. A smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips. "Looks like we are paying a visit to the Fourth Prince!" "We will depart tomorrow in the evening. I have a few matters to solve before that." Li Ming told Ruoshan and left the room. Chapter 59 - The Secret Of Thundering Peaks (1) Next morning Li Ming woke up early as she had one more matter to solve before her departure for the Thundering Peaks. The crops and vegetables were already ready for harvesting and Li Ming needed to find a market place for selling them. At sunrise, Li Ming visited the fields. She tested the vegetables & the crops and as she had predicted, they had high amount of spiritual energy in them. Li Ming gave Sir Liu orders for starting the harvesting of the crops and plucking the veggies. The fruit trees were too almost ready for bearing fruits. Li Ming added a new potion in the soil to give them a boost. After her morning visit to the fields, Li Ming left the Dongji village and went straight to the Black Jade Inn. She had received a message from Elder Fu that Wei Rong and his group of friends were going to visit the Black Jade Inn. After she appeared in the inn, she went through the inn''s business, which was becoming stronger and firmer by the passing days. During noon, Li Ming received her group of friends at the entrance of the inn. After all of them settled in the main room, Li Ming took out two cartons of beer and passed the cans around the ground. "So, anything special you guys wanted from me?" Li Ming asked as she opened her can of beer. "Ming! Don''t insult us like this! We just want to spend some time with our friend who keep disappearing from the black market every now and then." Bai Liang said with a sad face. Listening to Bai Liang''s words, Li Ming felt bad in her heart. This group was the only ones whom she could call her friends. In past five months, they had never treated her badly even though all of them were from noble families and far more rich than her. "It''s not like that!" Li Ming tried to defend herself. But in reality she didn''t have much to say in her defense. "Hey! It''s alright. We''re not blaming you. Just remember to try to appreciate it when we give our special and precious time to you." Wei Rong said in a soft voice as he lightly ruffled her hair. "Alright, Alright! Stop making me feel bad. I''m really thankful to all of you for including me in your friend circle." Li Ming said with real appreciation in her voice as she sipped her beer. "Hey! All of you. Stop making little Ming upset!" Wei Min said to all his friends as he looked at the sad face of Li Ming. The group continued to talk as they all drank their beers. After half an hour and having a nice and warm lunch, everyone decided to play a few rounds. This time Li Ming decided to continue the Snakes and Ladders game. Wei Rong was already somewhat familiar with this one. And it was not that hard to understand the game of snakes and ladders. Just in within an hour, every single person in the group was engrossed deeply in the game. It was already evening by the time they all finally decided to wrap up for the day. "Before leaving, I have an important matter to discuss with you guys!" Li Ming said as she put the game board aside. "What''s that?" Yan Jhong asked as he sipped his tea. "From where do you guys buy raw food materials?" Li Ming asked as she looked seriously at the boys. The boys looked at each other and then at Li Ming. "We never paid attention to that. All the things related to kitchen is taken care by the Head maid or our mothers." Wei Rong finally answered. Li Ming sighed deeply and shook her head. "Whatever! Forget about my question!" "But why did you ask?" Bai Liang asked. A small smile appeared on her face as she looked at the boys. Though they couldn''t see her smile because of the veil but the look in her eyes was telling them that they were again going to get robbed. (A/n : These guys have great instincts) After an hour, the group left the Black Jade Inn. Li Ming looked at the papers in her hand and smiled. Having rich Young Masters as friends was really nice. She no more needed to worry about finding a market for her crops and vegetables. Now, she had contracts from eight noble families who were now her permanent dealers. She had made the Young Masters to agree to buy the fresh raw food from her fields in twice the market rate and not only that but the cost of transportation was also not her headache, since the buyers would bear that on their own. After leaving the Black Jade Inn, Li Ming visited the Fourth Prince''s manor at the outskirts of the imperial city and made another contract with the head servant of the manor. But this time the price was four times more than the normal market price. But it was not a problem for the Prince manor. The servants were already familiar with Li Ming and they all treated her with respect. The steward agreed to all her demands without even asking a single question. All of this barely took her about half an hour. By the time Li Ming teleported herself and Ruoshan to the Thundering Peaks, it was already getting dark. She had teleported them to the same location where they had stopped their search for herbs on their previous visit. "So, what''s the plan?" Ruoshan asked as he looked around the dark forest. "Wait." "Huh?" Ruoshan looked at Li Ming with confusion. "We are going to wait." Li Ming said as she sat down on a large rock with crossed legs. Ruoshan sighed softly as he took his seat on the rock beside her. Chapter 60 - The Secret Of Thundering Peaks (2) It was almost midnight and the sky was full with millions of twinkling stars and a very bright moon. The cool night breeze was blowing throughout the Thundering Peaks, making the temperature lower a few degrees. "How long are we going to sit here?" Ruoshan finally broke the silence and asked the question that he wanted to ask for past few hours. Li Ming opened her eyes and looked at the impatient expression on Ruoshan''s face. "What''s your problem? What is so hard about sitting and waiting? Moreover, you have got a chance to cultivate in this dense spiritual energy!" She finally let out her own frustration. Sometimes, Ruoshan could act like a five year old spoiled brat. "What gave you the idea that the spiritual energy here is suitable for my cultivation?" Ruoshan asked. "At least, it''s way more better than what we have back at the City or the Dongji village." Li Ming said as she jumped down the rock. "Let''s go." She said as she started to walk towards the small clearing at a few meters away. "Where are you going?" Ruoshan asked as he followed behind her. "Since you can''t sit silently then let''s practice that sword art of yours. We don''t know if we will get the chance for practice tomorrow morning or not!" Li Ming answered as she reached the clearing. Ruoshan looked at the girl who appeared as an immortal goddess in the bright moonlight. He was suspicious of her behavior. He knew too well that she hated their morning practices and here she was - asking for a practice lesson. This was enough to rouse his suspicion. But rather than confronting her, he went to the middle of the clearing and took out his sword. Li Ming took out her own sword that she had picked from the weapons room of her mansion. When Ruoshan had seen the sword for the first time his instant words were - "You need a different and better sword." Li Ming started her daily practice as she sharpen her senses. She purposely kept slipping or doing the wrong movements, which was making Ruoshan very angry. "What''s wrong with you today? If you are not going to concentrate then don''t pretend that you even want to practice." Ruoshan was seriously not pleased with her behavior. Li Ming''s face saddened as she heard the harsh words of Ruoshan. This man was always flirting with her, talking in sweets and honey. The sword art practice sessions were the only time, when he actually got angered at her. But she''s a newbie. How was she supposed to master a skill in just two days? Ruoshan noticed the sad look in Li Ming''s eyes and his heart clenched with pain. He knew that it would take her some time to learn the basics, but looking at the speed at which she was reaching towards the dark side of their world, he just wanted her to be prepared for anything and everything. He moved towards where she was standing, looking at her feet with her face full of sadness. "You are not holding the sword correctly. That''s why you are having difficulties with the steps. Here, let me show you." Ruoshan said in his softest voice. He moved behind her and took her right hand which was holding the sword, in his own. The moment his palm touched her hand, Li Ming felt the familiar electric spark in her body. Ruoshan lightly unfolded her fingers and then showed her the right way of holding the sword. After observing him, Li Ming tried holding her sword and after a few adjustments by Ruoshan she finally got the right position. "Here you go! Now you have a perfect grip." Ruoshan said in a satisfied tone. Li Ming started her daily practice of sword art. Every now and then, Ruoshan kept correcting her poses which made them came into body contact with each other. Though having a little body contact with a male was not a big deal for Li, but same couldn''t be said about the people of this world. And during all this time, a silhouette in dark black clothes, who was observing Li Ming and Ruoshan from the moment they started their practice, kept gritting his teeth and clutching his hands. His knuckles were white since he was clutching his fists very tightly. The guards behind him were shivering in terror as they felt the dark cold killing aura coming from their Master. "Why I was not informed that the Evernight Lord has returned and not only that but he''s also with my Ming''er!" The coldness in the man''s voice was enough to freeze anyone into a cube of ice. "My Lord! This subordinate failed you. Please punish me." Long Jie kneeled down as he accepted the mistake. He knew that any kind of explanation would not do any good to him. "Go and spend two nights at the Freezing Caves!" Zhang Yong said without even giving a single glance to Long Jie. He was still staring at Ruoshan who was again touching Li Ming''s hands as he taught her how to swing the blade at the right angle. Hearing the name of Freezing Caves, Long Jie''s breath got stuck in his throat. His heart started beating rapidly as he thought about the torture he was going to suffer. The Freezing Caves were a blessing for those who cultivated ice spiritual energy. But for the rest of the world, it was a place which was even worse than hell. Long Jie bowed and thanked his Master before he stood up and left the area with the rest of the guards, who were more than happy to disappear from the sight of their Master at the moment. Zhang Yong came out of his hiding place and moved towards the clearing. Li Ming felt him before she saw him. But she continued her practice as she pretended that she was not aware of his presence. "Ming''er!" Li Ming stopped as she heard the soft call of her name. She turned towards Zhang Yong and pretended to be surprised. "Your Highness! What are you doing here?" But rather than answering her, Zhang Yong stared at Ruoshan who was standing beside her also staring at the Fourth Prince. ''Now, what''s wrong with these two?'' Li Ming thought as she saw the two males glaring at each other. Chapter 61 - The Fourth Prince & Evernight Lord Li Ming was sipping her tea silently as she looked at the two men who were still busy in glaring at each other. The tension between these two was clear as day and the cold environment inside the camp was making her dizzy. She and Ruoshan had accompanied Zhang Yong to his Royal camp which had been set inside a large cave. The cave had at least a dozen room and the one in which they were sitting at the moment was no less than a royal suite. Li Ming was actually amazed to say the least. Everything was going according to Li Ming''s plan, well if you can call it a plan in the first place! She was still not sure about what Zhang Yong was doing in the Thundering Peaks. But one thing was clear that the disciples from Guixian Land, Zhang Yong and the Moonstone, all of them were related in some manner. She tried to get some information out of Ruoshan but to no vain. That man enjoyed each and every moment of torturing her! "What do you think is going on between these two?" Li Ming asked Snowy through their bond. "I''m not sure. But if I have to guess, then these two are probably lovers who are meeting after many years but then there''s you!" Snowy replied as he also looked at the two men who were trying to kill each other with their glares. "What do you mean by that?" Li Ming asked as she stared at her tea cup in confusion. It was like she was expecting the tea cup to answer her question. "Don''t act like a stupid! Isn''t it simple? The Fourth Prince already kinda like you and today he saw you with his old lover. Of course, there will be tension between the two!" Snowy explained with patience. Li Ming first looked at Ruoshan and then at Zhang Yong. She thought about what Snowy had said but just the image of these two as lovers made Li to shook her head instantly. "No way! Your imagination is really something! These two can''t be lovers, right?" Snowy heard his Master''s words and shook his head as he said while sighing, "Whatever makes you sleep well tonight!" Li Ming sent a silent message to Snowy which was probably some kind of threat, because the little fluff ball shut up immediately. She moved her hand up and down, between the two men, trying to finally break their staring contest. "What the two of you are trying to do?" Zhang Yong was the first one to take a break. He looked at Li Ming who was sitting there with folded hands, giving both of them a disapproving glare. "You never told me that you have a bodyguard. If you have told me before, I could have assigned someone more professional!" The Fourth Prince said as he started fanning himself with his Royal fan. (This name was given to the fan by Li Ming) Li Ming noticed a dark look in Ruoshan''s eyes which disappeared in a few seconds. She looked at Zhang Yong and smiled as she replied, "Your Highness, I don''t remember meeting you after I returned to the Imperial City from the Thundering Peaks. I met Ruoshan here coincidentally. And I think he''s good in his job." The last part was actually a truth. From the time he was assigned with the task of her protector, even though it was only for show, he never failed her. Moreover, she didn''t need much protection for the time being. "Yeah! I can see that!" Zhang Yong replied with a smirk as he looked at Ruoshan with venom in his eyes. "Your Highness, you don''t have to worry. I know how to take care of her." Ruoshan said as he looked at Li Ming and gave her a reassuring smile. Li Ming rolled her eyes at the two men and stood up from her seat as she moved to look at the interior of the cave. "I heard that you returned back to the Imperial City, then what made you to visit here again?" Zhang Yong asked as he again gave Ruoshan a hard glare. "Just needed some more herbs. What about you?" Li Ming answered before asking the question that was making her stomach cramp due to curiosity. But all this time, there was no change in her expressions as she continued to pretend to be busy in observing the room. "Nothing important. Just a small matter! It''s already past midnight, why don''t you take a rest." Zhang Yong changed the topic with ease or at least that''s what he thought. "Yeah, sure! Ruoshan, let''s go." Li Ming said as she put the incense burner back on the table. "He''s staying here...with me!" Zhang Yong hurriedly said. When he saw Li Ming raising her eyebrows in confusion, he continued "I want to talk to him for a moment. The guard will show you to your room." Li Ming shrugged at his reply. "Alright!" But just as Zhang Yong was thinking that she was about to leave, what happened next left him both speechless and fuming in anger. He wanted to kill that Evernight Lord right at the spot. Li Ming moved towards Ruoshan and before he could react, hugged him. She softly whispered in his ear so that Zhang won''t hear them. "Make sure to keep him engaged till the sunrise. I''ll take care of the rest." She moved back a little and smiled softly as she patted his cheek softly and said in a loud voice, "Don''t stay awake the whole night, Alright!" She didn''t give him a chance to reply as she gave Zhang Yong a soft smile and a good night wish before leaving the room. Ruoshan looked at the little figure as he felt the burning glare coming from the Fourth Prince. He was not sure whether to praise her for her plan or to cry because now he needed to deal with a jealous Shadow Lord. Talk about meeting his brother after a long time! Chapter 62 - Following Behind Long Jie Ruoshan looked at the sparkling red crystal in his hand which Li Ming had given him before they came to the Thundering Peaks. The red Crystal was a charm which was connected to the magical mansion of Li Ming. As long as Ruoshan would have that Crystal with him, the spell which kept his location hidden from the entire world, would be active even though he was no more in 100 metres radius of Li Ming. The only problem was that the crystal would only work for five hours, which meant that Li Ming needed to complete whatever she was going to do within these five hours. "It''s been a decade since we have last seen each other!" Zhang Yong said with a smirk as he settled down on his seat. A slight twitch appeared on Ruoshan''s lips. He put away the red crystal and turned towards the Fourth Prince. "And Just in these 10 years, you already forget your etiquettes as you no more think that it''s important to greet your Senior brother!" "I''m just surprised to see you. Last I heard, you were trapped in the Black Devil Circle. Looks like my information sources are not as good as I thought!" Zhang Yong said as he observed the wine glasses that Li Ming had left behind. "So, tell me. Why does Li Ming need the White Pearl Lotus?" He asked as he poured wine in the glasses and offered one to Ruoshan. "Well! If you already know her reason for coming here, then you are probably aware about the whole situation." The slight twitch on Ruoshan''s lips was the clear indicator of his mockery. Zhang Yong slammed the glass on the table and looked at Ruoshan with murderous glare. "My biggest mistake was to leave her alone. Who would have known that in my absence, you will try to snatch my Ming''er away from me!" If glares could kill then Ruoshan would have died at least hundred times by now. Ruoshan stood up and gave Zhang Yong a hard glare. "Let me remind you, she''s not only yours. When the prophecy was made it was clear that she belongs to all the five of us." "I''m not going to fight with you over her but if you try to come between her and me, I''ll make sure that you will regret it." The warning was clear in Ruoshan''s tone. A little twich appeared on Zhang Yong''s lips. "Interesting! I know that my Ming''er is irresistible but I''m seeing her true capability only now. Let''s leave everything on her." He walked closer to Ruoshan and said in a very cold tone, "If she wants something then it will be hers, but if she doesn''t want it then I''ll remove that thing from it''s existence!" The atmosphere inside the cave rose to such a temperature that no human could survive it. It took a few moments before the atmosphere became normal. It was like the two immortals were not at each other''s neck a few seconds ago. Zhang Yong drank the rest of the wine from his glass and started to walk towards the entrance of the cave. "Where are you going?" Ruoshan asked as he followed behind him. "Since you are not going to tell me what she is up to, then I''m going to find on my own." Zhang Yong replied without looking back. "But....forget that! Even I''m interested to know what she''s going to do. She never fails to amaze me!" Ruoshan changed his mind and decided to accompany Zhang Yong rather than fighting with him. The next second, the two silhouette disappeared from the sight. *********** Li Ming felt the discomfort in the atmosphere inside the cave, but she didn''t have free time to find out exactly what was going on. The moment she came out of the room, she disappeared into her mansion. She picked up the things that she had selected last night and put on an invisible and silent spell on herself. After making sure that no one could detect her, she again appeared at the entrance of the cave. Li Ming searched through the minds of the guards that were stationed outside the entrance. But much to her dismay, none of them were aware about the reason for which Zhang Yong was at the Thundering Peaks. "Huh? How ridiculous!" Li Ming scoffed at the guards. Since she was under a spell, the guards didn''t hear her. She was about to go and look for other guards to find out some information when her gaze landed on Long Jie, who was going towards the top of the peak with a few more guards. Li Ming followed behind quietly. When they reached the top, Long Jie divided the guards into two groups and both the groups left for different directions while he himself went deep into the dark forest. "Long Jie. Ah! Long Jie." Li Ming shook her head while exhaling a long breath. Alvina and Terra appeared in front of Li Ming. She looked at the two pixies and said, "Follow the guards and see what are they doing here. Remember not to get caught!" Both pixies nodded their heads and flew into the air, each after a different group of guards. Since, the pixie dust was no more available, Li Ming had transferred a little of her magical powers to the pixies so that they could continue with their daily works. Li Ming started behind Long Jie but since she had wasted some time, the head guard was no where to be seen. Li Ming still continued to walk ahead. Since the time gap was not too long, therefore Long Jie wouldn''t have gone too far. "Li, why you didn''t send me after one of the groups back there?" Snowy asked as he was curious to know why his master didn''t take the advantage of the situation and send him off to do her chores. Li Ming rolled her eyes as she replied, "Is it that hard to understand? Of course, I am not free enough to spend my time in saving you. Because looking at your track list, you were bound to get caught or do something stupid and bring problems for me!" "..." Snowy looked wide eyed at his Master. ''How can she speak such rubbish about such an angel like me? She''s a devil!'' Chapter 63 - The Two Bickering Immortals Li Ming kept walking deeper, but even after walking for nearly ten minutes she didn''t see even a single glance of Long Jie. "Where did he disappeared?" Just as Li Ming was about to set her next step forward, she collided with an invisible force which almost made her to fall down. She looked at the area in front of her with confusion. After thinking for a few seconds, Li Ming held up her left hand in front of her and pressed it forward in the thin air. She took a few steps forward and her hand again touched that invisible force. But rather than falling backwards like last time, a small smirk appeared on her lips. "Ah! A protection barrier of such high level!" At the same moment, both Alvina and Terra came flying towards her. "What do you find?" Li Ming asked as she kept her hand on the barrier and closed her eyes. "Both the groups disappeared inside this barrier. The strange thing was if the both of them were going to the same place then why did they took two different routes? We''re not able to cross the barrier as it is very powerful. We met each other as we followed the barrier and then we came here. We are sorry Li!" Alvina said in a small voice. Li Ming opened her eyes and looked at the pixies. The both fairies were looking really sad. "It''s alright. You guys actually did the right thing by coming back. If my guess is not wrong then if we tried to pass this barrier forcefully, either it will revolt against us or it will raise an alarm. Both of these are not good for us." "Then what are we supposed to do now? Can you disable this barrier?" Terra asked as she looked at Li Ming. "I''m afraid that I can''t." Li Ming said as she looked at the saddened faces of the pixies. "Ah! Why are your appearance is like you are mourning my death? Though I can''t do anything about this barrier but that doesn''t mean that I''m completely useless." With these words Li Ming crouched down on the ground and put her right palm on the moist soil. She closed her eyes and started chanting a spell. Just in a few seconds, her hand started glowing in bright green color and for the next ten minutes, Li Ming stayed there, crouched on the ground with her eyes closed. ******* At a slightly higher ground level, a little further away, two men were observing every move of Li Ming. When the pixies first appeared, it shocked Zhang Yong so much. He had never seen anything like that in the cultivation world before. "What are these two?" He asked. "Ming usually calls them little pixies or fairies. I don''t know much about them but one thing is sure.....!" When Zhang Yong didn''t get a response to the last sentence, he looked at the Evernight Lord with raised eyebrows. Ruoshan sighed as he said, "That they are not from this world." There was silence for a few moments before the both of them again focused their attention on the girl and her two little companions. They saw when the pixies returned and sadly confirmed their failure. "Do you think she will try to forcefully get through the barrier?" Zhang Yong asked after a moment. But the next second he received his answer when Li Ming replied to the pixies about not being able to get the shield down. The two immortals kept their gazes on Li Ming as she crouched down on the ground and after a few seconds the green light covered her hand. "What do you think she''s doing?" Zhang Yong once again asked. But this time Ruoshan was completely irritated by his constant nagging. "Why the hell are you asking me all these questions? How am I supposed to know what she''s going to do or not? Moreover it was you who have been around her for more than past five months!" Zhang Yong looked at the Ever night Lord with equal irritation. "What do you mean by that? It''s not like I have been around her all day and night!" And just like that the two powerful immortals started bickering like little children, in the middle of the night at the Thundering Peaks. Who knew where and when their fight would have ended, if they were not disturbed by the voices that were approaching them very quickly. "Ming''er.....!" "Ming...!" Both the men said at once. Their first reaction after listening to the voices, which definitely belonged to the disciples of Guixian Land, was to protect Li Ming. But to their heroic dismay, she had already teleported away. ******* Li Ming appeared inside the cave room which was given to her by the Fourth Prince for the night stay. It was already two hours past midnight and she had no idea if Ruoshan and Zhang Yong were still busy in their glaring contest or if it was already over. But she was too much tired to care about that. All that matters at the moment was that she had now all the information that she wanted. There were still three days before the full moon. And just in three days, she needed to come up with a perfect plan to snatch away the ''White Pearl Lotus'' under the noses of the Guixian Land disciples and Zhang Yong. Though she had a feeling that it would not be hard to deal with Zhang Yong but the same couldn''t be said about the Supreme Immortal. She had a very bad feeling about going against the Supreme Immortal. But she didn''t have much of a choice, did she? She laid down on the bed and closed her eyes. All the tiredness of the entire day made her fall asleep immediately. That''s why when the two immortals appeared inside her room, she was already deep in her dream world. After making sure that she was back under their protection unharmed, the two immortals lords left the room. Chapter 64 - Moonstone (1) Li Ming was observing the disciples from Guixian Land, who were patrolling the perimeter of the protection barrier. She smirked at their stupidity. These little fellows had no idea that the Fourth Prince of the Han Empire was already aware of their every single move. If she had not taken care of him and his guards before coming here, then at midnight there would be a blood bath going on here. She was lying down on a high branch of a tall tree waiting for the midnight. Who would have known a month ago that she would one day be lying on a tree branch, not feeling any discomfort and enjoying the feeling. But all the thanks goes to Ruoshan. A few minutes later Alvina, Terra, Clank, Bobble and Fawn came flying towards her and settled around her in a circle. "How''s the situation?" Li Ming asked as she played with one of her rings. "We successfully completed the task. None of them were prepared for something like that!" Terra said as she smiled proudly. A satisfied smile appeared on Li Ming''s face. "You all did great tonight. Now, you can return to the mansion. I''ll take care of the rest. Tonight, we''ll finally get the moonstone!" It was already the night of full moon. After Li Ming returned to the cave where the Fourth Prince was staying two days ago, she started preparing for the current night. For the next entire day she locked herself inside the spell room and worked hard to prepare for tonight. By the time she finished, she had a complete plan ready for her mission. She first needed to take care of the Fourth Prince and his guards, then there were always the disciples from Guixian Land. The only benefit she had was that the Supreme Immortal himself was not coming to take the ''White Pearl Lotus'', otherwise even if she poured every single drop of her blood in her mission she would not be successful. She still had no idea why these people called the Moonstone - "White Pearl Lotus". But she had no time to ask someone and fulfill her curiosity. Before coming at the protection barrier tonight, she had already cleared up the problem of Zhang Yong and his guards. She mixed a very powerful sleeping potion in their food and just like that, after eating their dinner the whole cave was full of sleeping guards. She had left the problem of keeping Zhang Yong away on Ruoshan and she didn''t even give him an option of failing the task as her ultimate threat was to kick him out of the mansion. Alvina, Terra, Clank and Bobble were sent out by her to mix the sleeping potion in the water of the guards who were on patrol. Since the pixies were under invisibility spell, the guards didn''t suspect anything. But the problem was that she could not use the same method on the disciples of Guixian Land, since all of them were from the Medical Sect. It won''t take them too long to find out. When she arrived at the protection barrier two days ago, she had learned the secrets of Thundering Peaks by retrieving the information from the earth. It''s when she realized that the protection barrier was actually for the protection of the disciples of Guixian Land who were camping there and not for the ''White Pearl Lotus''. The information that she gathered gave her a clear understanding of the situation. The location of the ''White Pearl Lotus'' was actually unknown. For last 300 years the ''White Pearl Lotus'' kept appearing in the Thundering Peaks. Ten minutes before the midnight a very old and thick maple tree would appear on the highest peak of the Thundering Peaks. In the thick trunk of that maple tree was a portal which leads directly to another world where the ''White Pearl Lotus'' would appear. As to what that world looked like and what problems she would encounter there, she had no idea. All that was left now was to take care of the disciples from Guixian Land and Li Ming had a perfect idea how. An hour before midnight Li Ming jumped down from the branch swiftly and moved towards a large rock a few feet away that she had spotted a few minutes ago. She sat down on the rock in lotus position and closed her eyes. Her hands were folded in her lap, her palm facing upwards. Just in a few seconds, her entire body was surrounded by a very bright purple light. Small particles of purple dust formed a circle around her. If anyone could see her they would be in awe with the mesmerizing beauty of the scene but unfortunately no one could see her due to the invisibility spell. The disciples of Guixian Land kept passing from the front of her, unknown to anything. The pixies had already informed her about the location of different patrolling groups of Guixian Land disciples. One by one Li Ming started to form illusion arrays for those groups. She couldn''t poison them directly but making them sleep after getting stuck in her illusions was not too big of a deal for her. She couldn''t leave them conscious because then it would not take them too long to understand that someone was after the ''White Pearl Lotus'' and of course they would send signals for help. Though it''s not possible to send a signal after getting stuck in the arrays as they completed separate you from the outer world but she didn''t want to take any risk. There were total of seven groups who were patrolling the highest peak of the Thundering Mountains. Within just half an hour Li Ming already completed the most powerful arrays that she could design. The arrays were carrying sleeping spell inside them. As long as a person was trapped in the array he would fall asleep within two seconds. Just in five minutes all the seven groups of Guixian Land disciples fell asleep under the sleeping spells. Li Ming send the pixies to confirm that no more disciples were left and as she had predicted the pixies confirmed that her coast was clear. There were still ten minutes left before the appearance of the Magical Maple Tree. But before Li Ming could decide what to do next, a large power ball hit the rock on which she was sitting..... Chapter 65 - Moonstone (2) Li Ming jumped away from the rock to protect herself. She looked at the three people who were standing a few meters away from her. Li Ming recognized them instantly. They were the disciples of Guixian Land. She should have known that it would not be too easy to get them out of her way. After all the Guixian Land would not send normal disciples for such an important matter. A smirk appeared on her lips as she said, "Tsk tsk. Looks like I underestimated you guys. Who would have known that you will turn out to be a disciple of the Array Sect of Guixian Land? But it''s alright. I don''t mind chatting with you for a little while." There were only eight minutes left for the Magical Maple Tree to appear. All she needed to do was to keep the three disciples busy. She had already lost a huge amount of her powers when she performed seven illusion arrays at the same time. The small amount of power that''s left was for an emergency, she couldn''t waste it on these three disciples. Moreover, she had no idea what was waiting for her at the other end of the portal. "So, it was you who attacked us! You little girl! Are you too eager to die? How dare you attack the disciples of Guixian Land? Don''t you know who we are?" One of the three men said with his voice overflowing with venom and anger. A laugh broke out from Li Ming''s lips. "You are too funny. Are you wearing a badge or an ID that will help me to recognize you as the disciple of Guixian Land? How childish!" Her words made the three men lose their minds. Though they didn''t understand what she meant by that badge thing but the mockery in her voice was enough to make them understand that the girl was laughing at them. Being the disciples of Guixian Land, all their lives they had only experienced respect. Whenever they appeared on the mainland, people looked at them in awe and admiration. It was the first time when they were being mocked and moreover it was a little girl. "Haha...! You are such a naive girl. Rather than playing with dolls, you are here, in the middle of the night interfering in something you don''t even understand. Being the disciples of Guixian Land, we''ll not make it hard on you but you also need to be taught a good lesson so that in future you will not meddle in the businesses which are out of your league!" The man who appeared to be the senior out of the three said in an arrogant tone. Though he said that he would only teach her a lesson and then let her go but Li Ming was not a child. How could they let her go easily after losing their faces? Li Ming smirked as she said, "I''m deeply unsatisfied with your performance. After hearing such high praises of Guixian Land and looking at its high position, I''ve thought that its disciples would be better in not only cultivation but also in manners and etiquette. But today you disappointed me in both these categories!" Li Ming sighed deeply and shook her head slowly. "You dared to look down on our Guixian Land? Today I''ll surely teach you a proper lesson!" The senior disciple said in rage and his other two companions also nodded their heads in agreement. The senior disciple took out his sword and launched into the air. He sliced his sword in the air and hit the final stroke. A large fireball came rushing towards Li Ming, who in return bent down backward to let the fireball pass. The fireball hit a tree and disappeared. The three men started launching one after another attack at her and Li Ming kept dodging them one after another. Li Ming was actually thankful to Ruoshan for the first time. If it was not for his constant nagging for her to practice the sword art, she would probably have lost her life at this moment. In addition to Ruoshan''s sword practice, her own training back in her world came handy. Being the leader of the Mage Clan, she was trained day and night, not only in magic but also in combat. The harsh physical training was now saving her life. The attacking and dozing kept going on, destroying several rocks and trees in its path. The three disciples were getting frustrated since not a single attack was successful. The attack suddenly stopped and the three men stood together, gathering spiritual power in their hands. "F**k!" It took Li Ming barely a second to realize that the three were creating an array to trap her. Li Ming was about to launch an attack at her enemy when suddenly a bright light appeared a few meters away from where they were battling. Li Ming took advantage of the distraction and took out a vial full of green liquid. She threw the vial towards the three men. One of them realized that she was up to something but by that time the vial had already broken at their feet. Suddenly dozens of vines started growing from the ground and started clutching their feet. Though the three tried to cut the vines with their swords or destroy them with power balls but the vines kept growing and clutching them tighter. Li Ming smirked as she looked at the futile attempts of the three men. "Li! Stop wasting your time!" Snowy shouted through their bond as he tried to get her attention back on the task at hand. Li Ming looked at the Magical Maple Tree which was glowing in bright yellow light. She ran towards it and stopped in front of what appeared to be the portal. After taking a deep breath and a last glance at the three struggling men, which by this time were completely in the tight hold of the vines, she entered into the portal. Just the moment Li Ming disappeared in the portal, one of the men launched a sparkling red light into the sky. Chapter 66 - Moonstone (3) Li Ming stumbled inside the portal and landed on the other side. She actually never thought about what would it look like but the scenery that graced her eyes was something out of the world. A beautiful round moon was embracing the night sky, making everything shine in the moonlight. But Li Ming didn''t get enough time to appreciate the heaven in which she had entered, because right at that moment, a loud "BOOM" sound welcomed her. There, on her right, was going on a battle. A little white furball could be seen fighting with a silhouette in black. If not for it''s nine long but at the same time small tails, she would have mistaken the furball as Snowy. Looked like someone got inside the portal even before her. She had already exhausted at least 40% of her stored internal energy when she formed the seven arrays to trap the disciples from Guixian Land. Li Ming took out Three different vials full of different color liquids. The silhouette was so busy fighting the Huli Jing (the fox spirit/nine tail fox). Li Ming opened the first bottle of a vial and poured the liquid on her left hand. She did the same with the second and the third bottle. But rather than slipping out of her hand and dripping on the ground, the liquid stayed at a few centimeters above her hand. Li Ming took out a dark blue leaf and dropped it in the middle of the liquid which had formed a circular ring. A spell accompanied next as her focus was entirely on the black silhouette. By now the baby Huli Jing had noticed the girl who was also bold enough to trespass in his territory but he was busy fighting the first trespasser. The ring formed by the liquids started to sparkle with a bright yellow light. Soon, a silver chain was lying in Li Ming''s hand, surrounded by a light yellow hallow. By now the silhouette in black had also noticed Li Ming but couldn''t do anything about it since the battle with the fox spirit had still to end. One minute, Li Ming was standing at the other side of the pond and in the next, she appeared right behind the silhouette in black. Before the black silhouette could even turn around, a silver chain tightened around his body. His hands got stuck and even though he fought with his entire internal energy, he couldn''t get himself free. "Don''t try. The more you will struggle the tighter the chains will get. Save both of us from burying your dead body because that can get nasty." Li Ming said with a nose scrunch. Like she was remembering an old memory. Her words were enough to creep out anyone, even though her tone was actually sweet. Li Ming had taken care of two of her obstacles but now she was facing her third one. Though the little furball gave the vibes of a cute little angelic fox but just like the great saying --- (Don''t judge a book by its cover / Don''t be fooled by the beauty of a beast - pick one) She had a soft heart for cute things, the same reason for why she was still tolerating Snowy. That''s why she would hate to hurt the poor soul but right now, she couldn''t be soft-hearted. The same could be said for the little Huli Jing. She also had a soft heart for beauties but right at the moment, she couldn''t be soft. But before either of them could start the duel, a thundering sound echoed throughout the dark sky. It took Li Ming a few precious seconds to realize that the sound of thunder was coming from outside the maple tree, not from inside. "What the heck is that?" Li Ming whispered shouted as if she was afraid that the person outside could hear her. "Danger! And a great one!" The baby Huli Jing shouted in panic as his small bunny eyes turned into large balls. "What?" Li Ming asked as she was still confused. "It''s the Supreme Immortal. He''s here and by the sound of those louder than bombs thunder, looked like he''s pissed." The little furball squeaked out a little cry. Li Ming was no different from the two shivering silhouettes beside her. No matter how powerful she was or that she had an IQ of 148. She was still far from ready to face a deity, especially if the said deity was her opponent. Moreover, she was about to face a pissed deity. And it would not take a genius to realize that she was the reason behind the anger of one of the most powerful immortals on the mainland. It was clear that if she stayed a single more minute there, then it would be her dead body which would be buried and who knew if the Immortal didn''t end up throwing her in the dark and deep abyss of the ocean. No way, she was going to stick around to see her doom. "I think you two will need to welcome this deity on your own. I''m kinda busy at the moment. Hope to see you soon." Li Ming turned towards the chained man and the baby fox as she said her departing words. Li Ming closed her eyes and used all her saved powers in teleporting herself back inside the mansion and at the same time teleport back to the Black Jade Inn. "Goddess!! Don''t leave me alone!" The little furball gave out a sharp cry as she felt the disturbance at the portal of the maple tree. The fox spirit leaped towards the right leg of the betraying goddess and clutched it with all her might. The moment the third intruder was about to enter inside the portal, Li Ming teleported back to her chosen destination. *********** The Supreme Immortal was looking at the empty space in front of his eyes. A slight frown enhancing his peerless beauty. He was about to enter the portal just a few seconds ago but before he could set his foot inside, the entire maple tree disappeared from the front of his eyes. According to the previous observations, there were still four minutes left before the disappearance of the Maple Tree. Then why suddenly it disappeared before the scheduled time. Just as the Immortal God was pondering on the possibilities that could have made the maple Tree disappear, a mischievous laugh rang throughout the silence of the night. But rather than an ear-bleeding sound, the said laughing tone was melodious. You would want to hear it again and again, just to make sure that such honey dripping laughter existed in this world. Supreme Immortal already knew who was the person laughing in his situation when he turned around. But what surprised him was the second person who was accompanying a laughing Zhang Yong. "Long time no see, Lord Ruoshan!" The Supreme Immortal said without giving away his true thoughts. "I was kind of busy. Sorry if I kept you waiting Supreme Lord." Ruoshan said with a small twitch on his lips. Though the words exchanged between the two immortals were actually friendly but there was nothing friendly in their gazes which were particularly drilling holes in each other. "Looks like you lost something important." Zhang Yong finally broke the cold war that was going on between the Supreme Immortal and Zhang Yong. The mockery in his tone was as clear as day. "Where''s the Godly Maple Tree?" The Supreme Immortal asked the other two immortals. His tone was cold as ice. "How are we supposed to know? We just saw it disappear just like you did a few minutes ago." Zhang Yong replied in a mocking tone. Though there was no visible change in the Supreme Immortal''s expression, his aura became more and more terrifying by each word that left Zhang Yong''s mouth. "Maybe you don''t know the current location of the Godly Maple Tree and maybe you also don''t know exactly what happened to it. But one thing is clear that you know exactly who did this. Care to share Your Highness." The Supreme Immortal said in his ice dripping tone. "You are actually right. But even if I tell you who is behind the disappearance of the Godly Maple Tree, what are you possibly going to do?" Zhang Yong was again using his mocking tone which was only fueling Supreme Immortal''s anger. "That''s none of your business. As long as you have no hand in this case, you don''t need to worry about other''s fate." The reply was as cold as it could be. Zhang Yong''s lips twitched slightly as he nodded his head lightly. "All right then. I know that you are capable enough to solve this matter on your own. I''ll be looking forward to the coming days. This Prince has a lot of work in his hand. I''ll not take any more of your precious time. Please proceed with your investigation. Lord Ruoshan and This Prince will take their leave." And just like that, the two Evil Immortals disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving a very angry Supreme Immortal behind. Chapter 67 - Blood Bond Li Ming let out a deep breath as she finally opened her tightly closed eyes. She couldn''t remember the last time when she was this much afraid of facing a person. But when she opened her eyes she seriously wanted to cry out on her bad luck. Rather than being inside her mansion, she was still standing inside the Maple Tree. The little Huli Jing was wrapped around her legs tightly as if its life depended on Li Ming. On the other hand, she couldn''t see the expression of the man in black robes since his face was covered in a mask but his body was stiffer than before. Li Ming looked around and it suddenly dawned on her that the loud thundering sounds had disappeared. Everything was as quiet as it was before the thunderstorms had declared the arrival of a very pissed Immortal Lord. "What''s happening?" Suddenly a little squeal was heard as a female voice disturbed the silence. But it was neither Li Ming nor the baby fox who had spoken. Rather the question came from the man in black. With a flick of Li Ming''s hand, the hood of the cloak slipped away and to everyone''s surprise, the person in the black robes was actually a young girl, probably in her late teens. Her dark black eyes were full of shock and fear. The raven black hair was falling down covering most of her face. She was actually cute. Li Ming observed the girl for a moment. She was about to question her when another voice disturbed the silence. One by one all the pixies enter the Maple Tree, looking around in shock and awe. The little Huli Jing let out a deep growl as it noticed the strange flying creatures that entered its territory. Due to some unknown reason, it had come across more intruders than what it predicted. Terra was the first one who noticed the little fox and flew directly to where it was growling, hiding slightly behind Li Ming. And just with a simple pat, the fairy succeeded in taming the previously growling baby fox. "What are you all doing here? And how did you even came out of the mansion?" Li Ming asked Alvina. "Li it''s you who brought this tree inside the mansion!" Rather than Alvina, it was Snowy who quickly answered her question. "I did what?" Li Ming asked with a surprised tone. Her mind had suddenly refused to work. "Follow me, you will see it for yourself," Alvina said as she started flying towards the portal which would lead them out of the Maple Tree. When Li Ming crossed the portal, she was standing in her mansion''s backyard which was now the pixie''s new home. But to her shock, the Maple Tree was now standing there too in its full glory. The portal door was still there glowing in bright orange and yellow light. "How did it happen?" Li Ming asked particularly to no one. She was completed confused. She again entered the Maple Tree and looked at the Baby Fox, who for some unknown reason was looking anywhere but at her. She picked the little furball up and brought it to her eye level. "Why this tree got teleported with me to my mansion?" Her tone was cold and her glare was screaming danger. The little furball squirmed in her hands as it tried to free itself from the Goddess who had suddenly become a Demoness. In all it''s squirming and trying to free itself, the baby fox ended up scratching Li Ming''s hand. The fox stilled in her hands instantly the moment blood appeared on her skin. The scratch was barely an inch long and it wasn''t deep too. But before Li Ming could heal herself, something unexpected happened. The baby fox who gave her the scratch licked her blood off her hand. It kept licking her blood like it was the tastiest elixir of the world. Li Ming was so shocked that she didn''t react at all. She just stared at the little furball in her hands. Her trance was only broken down when a bright white light started covering both of them. It barely took her a moment to realize what was happening. They were forming a blood bond. The moment baby fox licked her blood, it initiated a blood bond. Li Ming''s first thought was to push the baby fox away so that the bond couldn''t complete, but right at that moment the baby fox stopped licking her blood and looked up at her eyes. The small bright golden eyes that were radiating so much warmth and innocence stopped Li Ming from what she was about to do, as she felt her heart-melting. She looked around and found that everyone was looking at her and the baby fox in astonishment. Her eyes landed on the one she was looking for. She was expecting to see hurt or possibly sadness in Snowy''s eyes but to her amazement, her familiar was radiating so much happiness. "Are you not angry?" Li Ming asked him through the mind link. "Why I would be angry? I will finally have a companion. I''m too happy right now. Don''t you remember that I always wanted companions, a lot of them? Please Win, please complete your bond with this baby fox!" Snowy''s eyes were literally pleading her and that''s all took her to agree. She held the Huli Jing in her arms in a comfortable position and put her index finger of her free hand on its forehead. A blue light ball entered its head and the next moment there was a very beautiful mark that appeared on its head. The mark was made of a star surrounded by flames in three different colors - red, purple, and blue. It was so small but at the same time so mesmerizing. After a few seconds, the light that was surrounding both of them disappeared as the bond completely formed. Li Ming chuckled as the baby fox rubbed itself in her arms and its tails wrapped around her hand. She squatted down on the ground and stretched her free hand towards Snowy, signaling him to come over her. In the blink of an eye, Snowy was standing next to Li Ming. She picked him up in her free hand and settled him comfortably in her other arm. It was such a cute and adorable sight. A very beautiful fourteen years old girl holding a white pomeranian and a white baby fox spirit in her arms. The mesmerizing scenery only added to their beauty and charm. "Looks like the Godly Maple Tree has finally chosen its Master." A very deep and cold voice disturbed the beautiful moment that was going on. Chapter 68 - Itll Ruin My Reputation Li Ming froze as the cold tone entered her ears. She let Snowy and the baby fox jumped out of her arms before she turned towards the owner of the coldness that had suddenly taken over the previously warm atmosphere. She frowned as her gaze landed on none other than the fourth prince of the Han Empire, Zhang Yong. She looked at Roushan who was standing behind the Fourth Prince and raised her eyebrows in question. To Ruoshan''s credits, the man was bold enough to shrug in response to her unasked question. Her gaze again landed on the Fourth Prince who was still emitting the coldness and his eyes were full of hurt. For a moment Li Ming felt a heavy feeling taking over her heart. It was clear that Zhang Yong was angry about her betrayal. She tricked him and snatched away the same thing from under his nose for which he was planning and plotting for an entire month and maybe even before than that. It took only a few moments before she kicked those guilty feelings out of her mind. It was true that Zhang Yong was more or less one of her allies. This man had never tried to make things hard for her if you could neglect their first few encounters. He had been her helping hand on more than one occasion. But she did what she thought was important. She didn''t want Zhang Yong to end up as her enemy because that would totally f*ck her life. That man could snatch away all the things for which she had worked so hard in revenge. But at the same time, she did what she thought was necessary. The moonstone was a must for the fairies and there''s no other alternative. At least none that she was aware of. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to face the consequences of her actions but to her amazement, nothing happened as she had thought. The cold aura of the fourth prince disappeared completely and the next second his expression changed into one of those of a little boy who had been told no for a candy. Li Ming even thought that she saw a hint of a pout but when she looked more closely, there was no sign of a pout on his face. "Ming''er, why didn''t you tell me your reason for coming to the Thundering Peaks?" Zhang Yong asked as he made a sad face. He almost let out laughter as he noticed Li Ming''s completely confused expression. But he somehow succeeded in keeping his fake expression in check. It took her mind a few seconds to realize the situation before she found herself blurting out, "You are not mad?" "Of course I''m mad. You went around stealing not only the ''White Pearl Lotus'' but the entire Godly Maple Tree from under the nose of the Supreme Immortal. But you were so cruel that you didn''t even invite me with you on this adventure. Moreover, you left behind more than two dozen of my personal sleeping guards and a whining child." Zhang Yong said in his hurt tone. "Whom are you calling a whining child?" Ruoshan glared at Zhang Yong as he said the words through his greeted teeth. "Isn''t it too obvious!" The Fourth Prince replied with a mocking smile plastered on his face. "You....!!" "Will you two stop bickering like a married couple?" Li Ming cut off whatever Ruoshan was about to throw at the Fourth Prince. The two immortals stopped dead as they stared at Li Ming with horror-filled eyes. Her words were like a cold bucket of ice that someone had poured on them. It was Zhang Yong who broke out of his trance first. He went close to the girl and clutched her arms tightly as he said in half irritated and half annoyed tone. "Ming''er don''t say things like that. It will ruin my reputation." Li Ming pushed the clingy prince away as she folded her arms and stared into his eyes, "You too should keep some distance from me. Otherwise, it will ruin my reputation." Note the sarcasm. Zhang Yong let out a deep chuckle at her words. He shook his head and looked at Ruoshan as he asked, "What have you done to my Ming''er?" "Nothing much. She''s just a little bit more intelligent than before." Ruoshan replied with an indifferent tone. His coldness disappeared the moment Li Ming had pushed the Fourth Prince away. "Oh for heaven''s sake take a break you two." Li Ming said with an exasperated sigh. "Li, are you out there collecting hot male models for a fashion show? Where did you even found these Gods?" Bobble whispered in her ear as he stared at Ruoshan and Zhang Yong, nearly drooling. She flicked his head to make him stop before he would devour the two men with his thirsty eyes. "Goodness, are you all have always been this perverted and I haven''t noticed till now, or is something wrong with this place?" "We aren''t perverted and nothing is wrong with this place too. It''s just you who''s blind and can''t appreciate the Gods that are surrounding you." This time the sarcasm came from Terra. Of course, the little blonde was waiting for a perfect moment to flaunt her very much-not appreciated sarcasm. Li Ming rubbed her forehead as she looked at the crowd around her. Her eyes landed on the pond where something was shining brightly in the moonlight. Alvina noticed Li Ming''s surprised expression and also turned towards the pond. Just a glance was enough to know what was the sparkling object in the middle of the pond. But still, to make sure that her doubts were not wrong, the fairy flew towards the middle of the pond. Everyone looked at Alvina, waiting to hear the good news but rather a sharp shriek left the pixie''s mouth nearly destroying everyone''s eardrums. Li Ming teleported right next to Alvina, her feet barely touching the surface of the water. Flying wasn''t one of her best strengths and though she was only levitating in the air at barely a few inches from the water surface, still the lack of solid ground from under her feet made Li Ming slightly uncomfortable. "What''s wrong? Why did you shriek like that?" Li Ming asked the fairy as she tried to slowly adjust her eyes to the brightly sparkling object which was supposed to be the Moonstone. Alvina was still too shocked to utter a single word, so she only pointed her small trembling fingers at the sparkling stone. Li Ming''s eyes finally adjusted to the bright light and her gaze landed on the stone but to her surprise, there was not only one stone there but seven different colored stones - blue, green, amber, pink, purple, cyan and orange, encircling a white stone. Chapter 69 - Different Colored Pixie Dusts (1) Li Ming stared at the nine stones that were laying inside the blooming lotus flowers. Each one of them emitting a different bright light. "Are there supposed to be nine of these?" She asked the two immortals who were looking at her with soft smiles playing on their lips. "No-Li, that''s not the reason for my shock!" Alvina finally came out of her shock and hurriedly said before either of the two men could reply. Li Ming raised her eyebrow as she stared at the Fairy, waiting for her to explain. "The reason for my shock is that the stones are of different colors!" Alvina tried to explain but looking at Li Ming''s expressions it was clear that the little fairy failed poorly. Her explanation seemed more funny and stupid. Though it was surprising that the stones were of different colors but not surprising enough to let out an ear-splitting shriek. If the reason was the fact that in place of one they got eight more stones, it still could be counted as a justified reason to destroy people''s sensitive ears. "What do you mean by different colors?" Clank shouted from where he was standing with the rest of the crowd. Yeah crowd, otherwise what would you call a group of almost 28 pixies, a little beast and a snowball, two insanely handsome immortals and a complete stranger in the name of a teenage girl who wasn''t sure if she should be scared, afraid or confused? "There are eight stones each one carrying the same colors as our pixie dust. There''s blue, green, orange, purple, pink, amber and cyan. The only stone which is different is the one in the middle - the white one." Alvina explained to everyone and this time her explanation was actually good enough to be categorized as an explanation. "Wait, what do you mean by that these stones match the colors of your pixie dust? Isn''t pixie dust supposed to be golden?" Li Ming asked in a confused tone. But she got her to answer the moment she saw the little blonde rolling her eyes. But she was in no mood to take the blond pixie''s attitude. "Don''t give me that attitude little lady. I''m neither a pixie nor I''ve come across your race more than once or twice. Then how am I supposed to know all these things?" Tera turned into fifty shades of red the moment she heard Li Ming''s words. She could swear that it wasn''t her intention to be rude to their savior. But she had a habit of being bitchy which sometimes became impossible to keep in control. Alvina was about to answer Li Ming when the later stopped her. She looked at the baby Huli Jing and asked, "Will these stones remain safe if we leave them in their original place for now?" "Don''t worry. The stones are not going to vanish if you leave them in the flowers. But you will need to pluck them out within the next three days because the flowers will wither at the first sunlight of the fourth day." The baby fox spirit told it''s master. "Hmm. That''s sounds good. Let''s leave those stones in their original place for now. There are a lot of questions that we need answers to. First of all, let''s leave this place." Li Ming told everyone as she teleported back to where the others were standing. "Master, can I come with you too?" The baby fox asked in a barely noticeable voice. But its eyes sparkled with happiness when Li Ming nodded her head with a soft smile. She put her left hand on the head of the girl in the black robes and the next second the girl was asleep. With a flick of Li Ming''s hands, the girl disappeared. "What did you do with her?" Fawn, another animal fairy, asked with curious gazes. "I just teleported her to my room in the Black Jade Inn. We have no idea who she is and it''s not safe to talk about anything in front of her. She had already heard and seen too much than necessary. It will be a headache later to make her forget all that she had already seen." Li Ming told all of them as she started walking towards the portal which will lead them out of the Godly Maple Tree. Once they all were out, Li Ming sat down on the ground to give her aching feet a little rest. All the action and drama had exhausted her and she wanted nothing more than going directly for her bed and sleep for an entire day. But there were some things that she needed to clear first. As all the pixies surrounded her and also settled around her on the ground, Snowy and the baby fox directly climbed into her lap and settled down in a comfortable position, snuggling into each other. A soft smile appeared on her face as she looked at her only familiar and her first spiritual beast. Both of them looked like harmless cute little creatures but the reality was far from it. Even Snowy wasn''t as simple and unharmful as he appeared. She softly patted them as she settled her attention on the two immortals. Zhang Yong was sitting in a very carefree position on a lower branch of a tree and Ruoshan was standing leaning against the trunk. She focused her attention back on Alvina as she asked, "So, about the stones and the different colored pixie dusts?" Alvina nodded her head softly as she started explaining, "Li, you already know about the blue pixie dust and how we create the golden pixie dust from it, right?" When Li Ming nodded her head, Alvina continued, "Though golden pixie dust is the most commonly used and the blue one is the most important one but other than these two, we can also create seven more different colored pixie dusts." Chapter 70 - Different Colored Pixie Dusts (2) Inside Godly Maple Tree... In the middle of the same pond where the nine magical stones were laying inside the small white lotuses, an enormous pink lotus was also growing. But surprisingly that flower wasn''t there when all the drama happened barely a few moments ago. When the pixies tried to explain about the different colored pixie dusts, they all just ended up confusing Li Ming more than she already was. The day had tired out everyone and all that they wanted at that moment was to just retire to their beds and succumb to the much-needed sleep. Li Ming decided to take a break for the day and sent everyone away to rest. The pixies remained in the backyard of the mansion which was now their home. Snowy and the baby fox also decided to stay with the pixies. Li Ming was in no mood to answer Zhang Yong''s interrogation about the mansion and the pixies, therefore she charged the red charm stone that she gave to Ruoshan which kept his location hidden, and sent the two immortals to the Black Jade Inn. They would also look after the girl who was still sleeping inside Li Ming''s room at the Black Jade Inn. When she sent everyone away, the baby fox told her that as long as she''s not inside the Godly Maple Tree, no one except her spiritual beasts could enter the portal. The spiritual energy inside the Maple Tree was dense and very pure according to the baby fox. The huge lotus flower emerged out of the pond with just a tap of baby fox''s paw and settled there in the middle of the pond. It was huge enough that neatly eight to ten people could sit comfortably inside it. According to the baby fox, the lotus was called ''Divine Lotus'' and was famous for consuming a lot of spiritual energy from it''s surrounding and storing it inside its petals. When a person sits inside the flower or even lie down, the flower transferred the stored spiritual energy inside that person. Currently, inside that enormous lotus flower, a mid-teenage girl in a snow-white dress was sitting in a cross-legged position. A small ancient-looking book was laying open in her lap. She looked like a little Goddess in the bright moonlight. Her long black hair was held in a high ponytail, flowing on her shoulders and coming out as a direct contrast to her milky skin and snow-white dress. Li Ming was already feeling energized only after ten minutes. The flower was so soft and the fragrant was nearly addicting. For the first time, an extremely stupid idea crossed her mind when she suddenly had an urge to eat the giant petals of the lotus flower in which she was sitting. Though she immediately kicked that thought out of her mind but then she glared at the flower suspiciously as if it''s a monster trying to lure her. She flipped through the pages of the pixie book and finally found what she was looking for. The first page on which Li Ming stopped was about Pixie Dust Trees. She took a deep breath before she dived into the Pixie world knowledge. Pixie Dust Trees: They were enchanted trees that could produce Pixie Dust. It came from their hearts and they were essential to the existence of fairies. It''s strength came from the Blue Pixie Dust, which wasn''t produced by it, instead by the Blue Harvest Moon. Pixie Dust trees could be created by infusing it inside a regular tree and it would produce regular Pixie Dust as long as the blue one was dropping inside. Half of Li Ming''s tension evaporated when she realized that finding a Pixie Dust Tree won''t be a hard task. All that they needed to do was to find a healthy tree and then pour blue pixie dust in it''s heart and BOOM!!! The pixie dust tree was ready. The next topic was Moonstone and the Blue Pixie Dust. The process of creating Blue Pixie Dust was actually simple and easy but the problem was the Blue Harvest Moon which was needed to create the Blue Dust. All that she found about the Blue Harvest Moon in the entire book was that every eight years the Moon turned blue on the celebration day of Autumn Revelry. A special scepter was created as a stand on which the Moonstone was placed in the bright moonlight of the Blue Harvest Moon. The Autumn was nowhere near as it was still the mid-summer and even if it was already Autumn, Li Ming still wasn''t sure where to find a Blue Harvest Moon. She let out a frustrated sigh as she continued to look through the book. After a few minutes, she finally found the topic of the different colored pixie dusts. Other than the Blue and Golden Pixie Dusts, six more different colored pixie dusts could be made by mixing a unique ingredient in the Golden pixie dust and a drop of blue pixie dust. These were - green, amber, pink, purple, cyan, and orange. The Green Pixie Dust could be created by mixing - golden dust + blue dust + green rock. The Amber Pixie Dust could be created by mixing - golden dust + blue dust + sunflower seeds and a pinch of moonflower. The Pink Pixie Dust could be created by mixing - golden dust + blue dust + essence of flowers. The Purple Pixie Dust could be created by mixing - golden dust + blue dust + purple feathers. The Cyan Pixie Dust could be created by mixing - golden dust + blue dust + dew drops. The Orange Pixie Dust could be created by mixing - golden dust + blue dust + eggshells. And with that, the topic ended. Li Ming again read through the entire two pages to make sure she had not missed any important point. The special ingredients needed for the creation of these different color pixie dusts were actually easy to find....back in her own world, but the same couldn''t be said about this new world. There were many green rocks which could be used to make the green pixie dust, for example - Chlorite, Actinolite, Epidote, Jade (Jadeite), Olivine, Serpentine, etc. As for the sunflower and moonflower, coincidentally those two flowers were growing in the front garden of the mansion. Hence, the problem solved. Li Ming decided to give the task of collecting the essence of flowers and the dewdrops to the pixies. Finding eggshells won''t be a problem and as for the purple feathers, there were some birds that had purple feathers like the Purple Starling, Purple Grenadier, Purple Martin, Purple Gallinule, Varied Bunting, Purple Honeycreeper, Splendid Sunbird, etc. The main question was if she could find these normal birds in this abnormal world. Just as Li Ming was about to start reading the next part about the abilities of each of the Pixie Dust, a bright blue light shone on the top of the only cliff that was visible through the large trees of this new world of the Godly Maple Tree. Whatever happened next, Li Ming wasn''t sure if she should feel happy or devastated. Chapter 71 - The Scepter Li Ming was sitting with her back towards the cliffs, that''s why she didn''t see the bright light that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared just as quickly. Everything was again back to normal inside the Godly Maple Tree as it was only a few seconds before. Li Ming turned through the old yellow pages of the little book which was lying open in her lap and found an image of a scepter that someone had drawn. One thing that Li Ming noticed about the book was that it was handwritten, but again was she really expecting a printed book? Definitely No! The moonlight was bright enough that Li Ming could read the words written on the book but the image was so old that the color had smeared together and that made it hard to clearly observe the scepter. Li Ming took out a torch from her storage and shone it directly at the painted photo of the scepter. It was an iron scepter which was probably made of different parts of some machines. Some that Li Ming could recognize like the car keys fixed at the lower level or the cd disk at the top, but she had no idea about the others. It reminded Li Ming of the Tinker fairies. After all, they were known for creating miracles out of unused or waste materials. On top of the scepter, a blue stone was placed which was shining brightly. Li Ming wanted to read through the pages which held information about the different pixie dusts and the abilities that they provided to the pixies, but the scepter had already succeeded in attracting her attention towards itself. Li Ming was feeling too energized to sleep, exactly opposite to how she was feeling barely an hour ago. The ''Divine Lotus'' had shown it''s magic and now she was fully recharged. That''s why she decided to carry on with the task of creating pixie dust. There was still too much to do and the sooner she would complete this task the sooner she could start working on the other important matters. She had been away from the Black Jade Inn and the Dongji village for quite some time by now and there were too many important businesses that she needed to deal with as soon as possible. Before she could deal with one problem, another one was already waiting there for her. She also had no idea about what was going on in the Xin Que City or at the Prime Minister Manor. Li Ming''s bucket list of the things that she needed to start or create to make things easier, were too long to be possible. Li Ming suddenly missed Cherry, her PA back in her previous life. Her life was also fully packed with business deals and clan matters back then and she barely had any time to take a break. The same thing was starting to happen here and she suddenly felt the need to hire a PA who would keep a proper tab of all her important business matters and schedule them properly. Li Ming let out a frustrated sigh. Of course, she would not find any PA here in this world. After looking at the photo for a few more minutes, she finally closed the book and put both the torch and the book back in the spell room of the mansion. She remembered something that the baby fox had told her before it left with Snowy. She decided to test it. She took a deep breath before walking at the end of the enormous lotus flower. A particular petal was a little shade lighter than the rest. The moment Li Ming stopped in front of that particular petal, it bent backward and opened a little gap in the tightly enclosed petals. The flower lowered a little into the water so Li Ming could easily climb out of it. Before her feet could touch the water, a small lotus flower appeared beneath her feet out of nowhere. It was big and strong enough to bear Li Ming''s weight. As she kept walking forward new flowers kept appearing while the previous ones again vanished beneath the water. This kept repeating until Li Ming finally arrived where the nine stones were gleaming under the bright moonlight. Li Ming closed her eyes and focused her energy on her creation magic. She started chanting a spell in a small voice. Two ribbons, one white and one golden, appeared out of thin air and started knotting with one another in front of her, a little bit above the water surface. Her eyes were tightly closed as she kept her focus on the design of her creation. It felt like hours but was actually just a few minutes. In place of the knitted ribbons, a very beautifully designed scepter of pure gold with silver designs was floating in the air. Li Ming stretched her right hand out and the scepter floated right into it. A pout appeared on her beautiful face as she looked at the scepter. The gold and silver hadn''t appeared out of thin air. If she was powerful enough to produce something as precious as gold from out of nowhere, then she would probably be the richest person in the entire universe. But unfortunately or maybe fortunately, magic didn''t work like that. The gold and silver that Li Ming had used to create the scepter actually came from the two vases that were placed on the first shelf of her Treasury. She had used them to create this beautiful scepter. And as for the Treasury, of course, the freaking mansion would have a treasury in it. After all, it was the hidden home of all the previous heads of the mage clan. All the precious stones, jewels, books, elixirs, weapons, medicines, charms, and artifacts that they had found throughout their lives were kept inside the treasury of the mansion because it''s the safest bank. That treasury had a billions worth of valuables but of course, Li Ming decided to never use them. This was actually the first time in more than a century when something was taken out of the treasury but the good thing was that those two vases were a gift from the siren prince to Li Ming on her eighth birthday. Therefore, in short, Li Ming only used something from the treasury that was actually owned by her in the first place. She shook her head to get rid of her unwanted and also unappreciated thoughts. She placed the scepter on the lotus flower which emerged out of the water, the exact moment as the scepter was about to touch the surface of the water. Another spell made sure that it was not going tumbling down into the water with just a whiff of the wind. She took out a large glass bowl and held it beneath the lotus flower with the blue Moonstone. Li Ming looked at the Moonstone and plucked it out of it''s flower with a light force. The moment the stone left the flower its petals started dropping. But rather than dropping into the water, they ended up inside the bowl which Li Ming had placed beneath it. After all the petals were securely collected in the bowl, Li Ming sent it too into her spell room. She gently placed the Moonstone on the Scepter and the stone fit perfectly on it. The scepter was already beautiful but the Moonstone increased its beauty to another level. Gold, Silver, and a shining blue stone that was looking even more mesmerizing than a Sapphire. She admired her creation for a few seconds before the same bright light from a few minutes ago, again shone on the top of the cliffs. Since Li Ming had changed her position and currently she was facing towards the cliffs, therefore this time she noticed the light. A slight frown appeared on her face as she stared at the same place where the light had shone barely a few seconds ago but now it was back to normal again. She decided to teleport at the top of the cliffs to take a look. Li Ming could use her teleportation power as long as she had seen her destination at least once, so that she could picture that place in her mind to teleport there. This could also work if the mage had a picture of that place where he|she wanna go but this took a lot more energy than the normal teleportation. And back in her previous life, Li Ming still had to achieve that level in teleportation. Since she could clearly see the cliffs in front of her. She could picture that top while teleporting and using her teleportation magic to go there won''t be really a bad idea. Only if she knew! Li Ming stared at the top of cliffs where she had seen the bright light before it disappeared in barely a few seconds, and then she closed her eyes and teleported. Chapter 72 - The Intruder Li Ming grasped the branch tightly as she racked her brain to find a way for a safe landing on the ground without ending up drowning in the monstrous vines that were covering the top of the cliff where she had teleported blindly. That''s the side effect of teleporting somewhere you had never been before, you had no idea what you would be getting into at the other end. When she teleported, she landed directly in the center of a small area filled completely with monstrous vines which started creeping up on her body, immediately constraining her from moving her hands or to be honest any other part of her body. But the worst part appeared when it started sucking her spiritual energy. It took almost all of her remaining strength to get herself out of the clutches of those vines and she teleported on the first tree that came into her sight. To be honest there were only two trees around that small area where the vines were growing. One was only a few feet away from her but was covered in vines, definitely not a good escape. The other one was a little bit away from the area but still not far enough. It was not covered with the vines but a few of the vines growing near it could reach out to at least one or two of it''s lower branches. But she was so drained and out of focus that her legs slipped from the branch on which she was standing. Coincidentally, just before she could land back on the ground and get devoured by those vines, she grabbed one of the branches. To say that the sight of the Master of Godly Maple Tree hanging on a tree branch trying to save herself from the poisonous vines that were trying to get a hold on her, wasn''t funny, would be a straight-up lie. She was starting to feel dizzy but the problem was she''s not sure why. Though the vines had sucked a lot of her spiritual energy out it was not to the point where she would end up unconscious. Therefore, the sudden dizziness that took over her was confusing. It took her hazy mind a little too much of the precious time to realize that a very light green smoke like thing was wafting out from the tip of the vines, which appeared like buds. How come something so evil like these poisonous vines had the power to bloom something as sweet and beautiful as a flower? Li Ming cursed under her breath as she realized the problem. The monstrous vines were now using their hidden weapon to get her in their clutches since they couldn''t reach her on their own. Li Ming''s energy level was already too low to teleport anymore but now even her mind was about to shut off and dump her in the open arms of those evil vines. Well, if they had any arms! She tried to use all the remaining energy in her body to climb higher on the tree. Maybe it would help if she had some solid ground under her feet or in this case a solid branch. But in her half-consciousness, her right hand slipped from its tight grip on the branch. When did she become so slippery?? Just as Li Ming thought that she''s going to once again end up in the tight clutches of those vines, a hand grabbed her waist from behind and flew her on the top of a very huge rock, a little bit away from the area where the vines were growing. The person settled down on the top of the hard rock and tucked Li Ming in their lap. An arm circled around her waist, keeping her tightly against a hard chest. The sudden little flight pushed Li Ming''s already spinning head into more frenzy. She tried to get a grip on her surroundings and finally after a few seconds or maybe it was a few minutes? - she succeeded in calming down a little. But her condition was still poor as she felt like she had drunk a lot of alcohol. Her mind was either trying to fell in deep sleep or fight with the sudden headaches that struck in every few minutes. Half consciously she realized that someone was holding her in their arms tightly. She tried to get out of the tight clutches of the stranger but note the keyword here - tried! Of course, she didn''t succeed. Her body was already drained of energy and her mind too wasn''t working properly. It was obvious that she couldn''t fight even a mere child in her current condition. Her struggles only made the person pull her more tightly in their embrace. "Stop struggling little one." The melodious soft voice halted Li Ming in her completely useless struggle. It was like a compulsion as her body instantly relaxed. She fell back on a hard chest but due to some reason, it felt very comfortable. "Are you alright?" The same melodious voice whispered softly in her ear. Li Ming could feel soft hair, which was definitely not her own, tickling the right side of her neck. Goosebumps appeared on her body and she tried to control the shivers that were taking over her body. Although she was currently living in the body of a 14-year-old girl but mentally she was almost 30 years old. The warm body against her back was adding fuel to her already unstable mind. "Who the hell are you? You are the one who trespassed in my land, right?" Li Ming asked with an edge in her voice. Though she was confronting the stranger she didn''t even try to move out of his embrace. It was too comfortable! It''s been a long time since she had enjoyed the warmth of a loving embrace. And that''s exactly what she was feeling at the moment - love and warmth. Whoever was holding her, radiated lots of warmness and love. Was it for her? Or was it for someone or something else? Li Ming had no answers for these questions but she was enjoying the moment too much to think about unimportant questions. In her previous life, Li Ming had a fair share of the most handsome, powerful, and important men of both Supernatural & Human World. From being very active sexually to suddenly get deprived of even a small hug, was like a cold bucket of ice dumped over her in the middle of a chilled winter night. Though she had a few encounters where Zhang Yong and Roushan had hugged her but just as it was said - a few! Moreover, the two had always maintained a proper distance from her. Though they were more friendly but they never overstepped the lines between a man and a woman. Li Ming understood that this new world was different from her own world. Here people didn''t go around touching each other randomly, not even if you were friends or family. Even the same gender kept a proper distance from each other. She respected their customs and beliefs, but sometimes things like these could become a bane for people like her. She was thankful that she''s not an incubus or a Succubus, otherwise, she wouldn''t have survived very long in this world. "Can you see someone else here, because I can''t? Isn''t it already obvious little one?" The man asked with a little mocking sound but if you hear closely his voice was full of love and adoration for the girl in his arms. "You....!" Li Ming gritted her teeth as she tried to calm herself. That man seriously dared to mock her. He sure had some guts. "Don''t try to be over smart with me. Tell me Who you are? And exactly how you entered in my land without my permission?" Li Ming said in a strict tone. A soft chuckle could be heard coming from the man. He softly patted her head as he answered her question, "Although it''s true that no one can enter the Godly Maple Tree without the permission of it''s Master, but there are still some people out there in this world that are even older than the Godly Maple Tree. These people won''t need your permission. Just like that Moon over there....." *************** Hi everyone! I know that the sexual tension in the chapter was probably sudden and you weren''t expecting that but since we are already beyond 70 chapters, I decided to kick the romance a little bit forward. No need to worry, we are still not anywhere near the real romance for now because our fl is merely 14. Yeah, we gotta wait till she''s at least 18 but that would give us enough time to build the story and characters. But remember that this is a reverse harem and that means a lot of romance and maybe smut? Don''t know!! I''m writing this here instead of in the creator''s thoughts box because the wc is more than 500 which is the word limit of the thoughts box. Btw, back to the story. Who do you guys think is this intruder? What does he want from our Li Ming? Thank you and stay safe! :) Chapter 73 - A Shameless Deity Under the night sky with a full moon and millions of shining stars, a Godly figure in white brocade clothes was sitting on a high rock. His dark black hair was flowing down on his back, creating a mesmerizing look. The jade white hairpin tuck in the half tied hair was shining in the moonlight. But the most eye-catching sight was the girl, also clad in white clothes, lying in his embrace. Her cheeks had turned a light shade of pink due to the drunkenness of the green smoke like poison of the monstrous vines. She appeared like a cute and innocent maiden as her drowsy eyes stared at the moon in puzzlement. "Moon....?" Li Ming asked confusedly as she stared at the bright moon shining above in the vast cloudless sky. Surrounded by millions of twinkling stars which only contributed in magnifying the beauty of the night. "En!" The Deity nodded his head. "You are weird!" Li Ming finally said after a few moments. Her words caught the Deity off guard as he confusingly asked, "Weird?" "Right! You just called the Moon as if it''s a person." Li Ming muttered softly. "Oh. Maybe I''m talking about the person who lives on the moon." The Deity answered after a few seconds of thinking. "There are people living on the Moon?" The topic had somehow piqued Li Ming''s interest as she curiously asked. "Of course there are people living on the Moon. Though only a few. The Moon Immortal and a few of his trusted ones." The Deity answered but his voice had changed from the happy to a sad one. Li Ming wanted to ask more questions but she got cut off as the Deity continued. "Moreover, I used the Moon as an example. It''s been around for much longer than the Godly Maple Tree. Same goes for those Stars, the trees, that pond or should I say in particular the water and even the Sun that''s going to rise within a few hours." The Deity softly whispered in her ear. His words only made Li Ming frown as she was completely clueless about what the man was trying to imply. After her mind threw up hands in the air and declined from working anymore, she decided to ask the question, "What about the Moon, Stars, Trees, Water, or the Sun? What puzzles are you spouting?" A small smile appeared on the Deity''s face as he started softly moving one of his hands through Li Ming''s silky smooth hair. If she was in her right state of mind, she would probably have kicked the man to one of the stars for his outrageousness. But of course, her mind wasn''t working perfectly or should I say normally, therefore she only snuggled more into the warm chest, enjoying the comfort the hand moving through her hair was giving her. "I''m only trying to ask you, do you think either of them needs your permission? Do that Moon, the Stars, or the Sun needs your permission before shining in the Godly Maple Tree? Will the trees need your permission before growing? And what about the rain, will it need your permission too?" The man asked her as he continued to stroke her hair. Li Ming frowned but then softly shook her head in negative. Of course, none of them needed her permission. Her mind taking more than double the amount of time to process information. "Do you understand why?" The Deity asked when he saw her shaking her head. ".....because they have been around even before the Godly Maple Tree came into existence?" Li Ming answered but it sounded more like a question as if she was waiting for the man to confirm her conclusion. "Exactly! Just like them, there are also some people in this world who have lived for a much longer time than the Godly Maple Tree, that''s why they won''t need your permission before entering into your little heaven." The Deity replied with a small smile playing on his lips. "Xiao Tiantang!" Li Ming suddenly shouted and clapped her hands happily. For a moment the Deity was completely stupefied by her smiling face but he soon collected himself and stopped her before she could turn around towards him. He tucked her back into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head as he asked, "What do you mean?" Li Ming didn''t think about the sudden way in which the man had stopped her from turning around as her focus was again back on the words she had shouted a few minutes before. "Xiao Tiantang, Little Heaven! It will the perfect new name for this place. It''s so stupid and boring to call it Godly Maple Tree all the time." Li Ming said excitedly. A soft chuckle left his mouth as he listened to her words. "You want to name this place as Little Heaven? Don''t you think you will enrage the Heaven Emperor with that?" He tried to be a little bit serious but the mere imagination of the scenario sent him chuckling again. The sound was so melodious and soothing that for a few seconds Li Ming forgot about everything as she concentrated on the calming sound. "Who cares? Moreover, you are the one who gave me the idea." Li Ming said after a few seconds in self-defense. "En! Who cares? First of all, Heaven Emperor doesn''t need to know the new name of the Godly Maple Tree and secondly, even if he finds out and becomes angry, I''ll be your shield." The Deity said with a soft brush of his lips on her temple. Li Ming broke into a beaming smile as she heard the heartwarming words of the Deity. "All right. Let''s get back to the main topic. Now I know how you entered in Xiao Tiantang, because you are some ancient old immortal and you don''t need my permission to enter. But.....what are you doing here?" "Did you just called me ancient and old?" The Deity asked as he tried to sound hurt. "Is there any other way to describe you?" Li Ming countered back. "The Immortal part is absolutely correct. So maybe a Handsome Immortal God? It''s a perfect way to describe me." The Deity answered in a thoughtful tone but there was a smile playing on his lips. He couldn''t remember the last time when he acted so childishly but he''s not regretting his words or actions even a single bit. If his childish behavior could make his "Little one" smile, then he''s more than happy to act in that way. Li Ming scoffed at the shamelessness of the man. "Cocky, But whatever! Enough of your stupid talk. Now answer my question." She once again tried to sound cold and demanding but to her disappointment, she only ended up making the Deity smile wider. "Hmm. I''ve heard rumors that the famous Miss Li of Black Jade Inn is very fierce and cold-hearted. But why I only can see a cute little girl? What did you do with the original Miss Li?" The Deity asked as he stared at the pouting girl in his arms. The more he looked at her, the more his heart melted. "Ah! Don''t ruin my reputation. Whom are you calling cute? Don''t start rumors." Li Ming said in a chided tone but there was still a small smile playing on her lips. "Alright, I''m sorry for being outrageous. I won''t do it again, happy?" The Deity asked in a laughing tone as he gazed fondly at the girl. "En! Now answer my question. What are you doing here?" No matter how happy and calm the man was making her feel, she''s not going to let him go easily without getting the answers to her questions. The Deity sighed as he answered in a serious tone, "Because I realized that you need some help." ******* Hi everyone, Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I realized that it was actually easy to guess who this trespasser is. Looks like I need to work on my skills....hehe! What are your impression of the Moon Deity? And if are given a chance, exactly what kind of character would you like him to be? Please let me know so that I can build his character according to your wish! Btw, a fun fact about this chapter. The new name of the"Godly Maple Tree" that is "Xiao Tiantang" was an at the moment idea. The second I typed Little Heaven in the Moon Deity''s dialogue, I got this sudden idea. Let me know your thoughts about this new name. Also, just an out of the blue question. How many of you have watched "Skate Into Love" drama. Due to some unknown reason, I dropped it on episode 12 back at the start of the year and completely forgot about it. But yesterday it popped up in my YouTube recommendations and now I''m rewatching it. Hope I won''t drop it again, lmao. Stay safe and happy! Chapter 74 - Blue Moon "What help?" Li Ming asked. "What kind of help do you need at the time, Little one?" Rather than answering her question, the Deity replied with a question of his own. "You don''t need to worry about my problems. I can take care of them by myself." Li Ming said with a frown. Maybe she was looking like a drunk and her mind was on break for the time being, but she was still the stubborn and self-dependent girl who was not going to take help from any stranger whose intentions were still not clear. Of course, the same rules didn''t apply as she rested in the same stranger''s warm embrace, whose intentions were not clear yet. Talk about double standards! The Deity chuckled softly as he saw the frustrated expression on her face and the little pout adorning her beautiful face. "Look at the Moon." He whispered softly in her ear. Li Ming confusedly looked up at the sky and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes took in the most beautiful sight that she had ever come across in both of her lives. A deep blue ring was closing in around the shining moon. Just in a blink of an eye, it already merged with the outline of the moon, which turned bright blue. A large blue dot like thing emerged from the blue outline of the Moon and started circling around the moon. It took Li Ming a few seconds to realize that with each round, the dot was moving closer to the center of the Moon. The area in which the blue dot already had passed circling around, was slowly starting to turn blue and with each passing moment, it was turning into deep blue. It was barely after five minutes when the blue dot completed it''s last circle and reached the center of the Moon. It shone brightly for a mere second and then disappeared inside the Moon. The very next second, a bright and slightly bigger than before, Blue Moon was illuminating the land of Xiao Tiantang. "H-How.....? It''s beautiful !" Li Ming wasn''t sure exactly how she should react. Her half working mind was suddenly filled with so many questions but at the same time, she was too mesmerized by the Moon to pay attention to anything else. It was like watching a magic which was forbidden to be seen by anyone, just so it could be kept from being tainted by the curious and mesmerized eyes. A sparkling glint appeared in the Deity''s eyes as he took in the awed expression of Li Ming. "Let''s go!" Before she could even take her next breath, the man tightened his arm around her waist and launched into the air. They flew towards the direction of the pond. Li Ming barely got the time to enjoy her first-ever experience of flying without the help of any airplane, chopper, hot air balloon, or parachute. They were soon standing at the bank of the pond, facing towards the Moonstone sitting on the newly made scepter. Since they were no longer near the poisonous vines, their effect was wearing off and Li Ming felt her sleeping brain cells trying to wake up. Li Ming took out a small vial full of silver-colored liquid and drank it in one go. The rotten taste almost made her gag but she succeeded in keeping the potion inside and not vomit it out. She wasn''t sure if it would work or not but she needed to take control over her mind and body before it was too late. After a few seconds, she realized that the potion was actually working. The Deity observed her as the drowsiness slowly started disappearing from her eyes. He hugged her from behind and once again tucked her against his chest. "It''s good to see that you stay prepared for unexpected surprises. Now look, it''s almost the time." He said as he pointed one of his hand towards the Moonstone before once again wrapping it around her waist. Li Ming looked at the Moonstone, the Blue Moon was now shining exactly above it. That''s when it hit her. (When the rays of Blue Harvest Moon falls on the Moonstone at 90¡ã, it creates Blue Pixie Dust.) That''s what the Pixie Book said. With a flick of his sleeve, two large jars were placed beside the Moonstone. It barely took a few minutes before a bright blue ray of moonlight fell on the Moonstone and penetrated through its hard crystal body. Tiny blue-colored sparkling particles started appearing, surrounding the Moonstone and after circling around it for a few seconds they settled inside either one of the two jars. Not a single particle dropped on the ground. And little by little, the two large jars started filling with that blue shiny particles. "Every year on this exact day, the Moon of the Xiao Tiantang will turn Bright Blue at midnight. Make sure that you will be prepared to collect your Blue dust at that time. Otherwise, you will need to wait for another entire year to get another chance." The Deity told her as he looked at the beautiful sight in front of his eyes. "Every year?" Li Ming asked surprisingly. The Blue Harvest Moon of Pixie Hollow could only be seen once every eight years but now they could get a Blue Moon every year? "En! Every year." The Deity confirmed. "Exactly who are you?" Li Ming asked as a dreadful feeling settled in her heart. As she was getting more and more hold on her body and mind with each passing minute, the reality was settling in. Though the man didn''t try to harm her or her Xiao Tiantang, but the fact that he''s aware of the secrets of the Moonstone, Blue Moon, and the Pixie Dust, didn''t seem right to her. A stranger who''s taking interest in her life and helping her out, how could anything like this lead to something good? Li Ming tried to get away from the warm embrace, but of course, she failed. Though she had gotten her mind to focus again but her body was still out of energy due to losing almost all the spiritual energy. She elbowed the man in his ribs but before her elbow could meet it''s target, an iron-like grip stopped it. Though the hold on her arm was tight somehow it didn''t hurt her in any way. Li Ming acted like she was trying to get her arm out of the tight grip but at the same time, she struck her right leg backward with all the force that her body could muster, her target was his knee this time but to her disappointment, due to her lack of energy and the fact that the man was quick to evade her attack without losing his grip on her arm, she ended up losing her balance. "Shit!" Li Ming cursed under her breath as her body was pulled downwards thanks to the God of Gravity. But before she could face plant herself and probably broke her nose, she was once again pulled back in the same embrace. Just this time the hold around her waist was much tighter than before. "Stop struggling!" The man whispered in her ear but rather than the soft and comfortable tone, this one came out as cold and demanding. It was not like she was going to but her body stiffened at the direct command. Goosebumps appeared on her body and cold shivers ran down her spine. But the reactions of her body were not due to fear but due to a completely different reason. Her 14-year body was sharing the same thoughts as her 28 years old mind. But the Deity mistook her reaction as fear and his cerulean eyes lost their sparkle as he was overpowered by the feelings of guilt. "This Lord didn''t mean to scare you, Little one. I''m not going to harm you. Please trust me." Lord Yueliang whispered softly as he snuggled his face in the crook of her neck. "The jars are full." Li Ming softly said as she lightly patted his arms around her waist. The Blue Moon once again had returned to its original form. The Moonstone was resting on the scepter just like before. The two jars which were now full with Blue Pixie Dust to the brim we''re floating in the air around the Moonstone. "I''ll be always here to help you out if you need it. Keep practicing the sword arts, it will come handy in the future. But if you are not comfortable with handling a sword, there are other choices of weapons. Find something that you think you can wield perfectly. I''ll suggest you to keep your eyes on Prime Minister Zhu." The Deity told her softly but in a firm tone. "Why?" Li Ming asked as she kept staring at the floating jars. Her heart and mind were struggling to win over each other. One was feeling warmth and happiness because of the man who was holding her protectively in his embrace like she was the most precious jewel. While the other one was suspicious of his actions. Lord Yueliang knew what was the question his Little One was trying to ask. Chapter 75 - The Millenniums Long Wait The two of them stayed silent for the next few minutes. Li Ming was waiting patiently for him to answer her question while Lord Yueliang was deep in his thoughts. He finally decided to answer her question but it only made Li Ming more suspicious about him. "You are not prepared to know the answer for now. This Deity promise that I''ll be the one to answer all your questions when the right time comes and when you will be completely prepared." Li Ming scoffed at his "Not ready yet, not the right time" excuse. She hated it when she was left in dark but she was sure that no matter how much persuasion she would try on him, he''s not gonna tell her anything. "Whatever!" She mumbled in an indifferent tone as she rolled her eyes. Acting childish and bitchy? Maybe. But in her defense, she''s still somewhat feeling high due to the poisonous drug and her mind was definitely not helping. It''s still stuck on the matter that she''s in the embrace of a very well built man and that her body was feeling things that a 14-year-old shouldn''t even think about. "Can you let me go now? I don''t think you should be touching me in such a manner." Li Ming said coldly as she tried to get the arms around her waist to loosen a little bit. Lord Yueliang broke into a light chuckle but didn''t loosen his grip on her. After all, he wasn''t touching any stranger. The girl in his arms was destined to be his.....to be theirs! When Li Ming felt that the man was in no mood of letting her go, she sighed but stopped her futile attempts of getting out of the solid arms. "Hey! I''m really tired and exhausted. I have lost so many brain cells today and my mind badly needs a break. The same goes for my body because it''s completely out of energy. Moreover, if I will sleep now at least I''ll be able to get three or four hours of sleep." Li Ming said in an exhausted tone. She was almost about to whine, almost! "Alright. You should rest now. I''ll be leaving too." Lord Yueliang said as he heard the tiredness in her voice. Though his hold only tightened around her. It was a miracle that by now Li Ming didn''t end up breaking her midriff due to his tight hold. The two jars filled with Pixie Dust came floating towards her and stopped in front of them. With a flick of Lord Yueliang''s sleeves, the jar was tightly closed with lids and was covered with a red silk cloth. "All yours." He softly told her. "Thank you for all your help. I''ll try my best to repay your kindness in the future." Li Ming thanked him sincerely with a promise. Only if she knew how much she''s gonna regret that promise of hers in the future! Lord Yueliang just nodded his head before he softly placed the index and middle finger of his right hand on her forehead. A blue light shone beneath his fingers barely for a second and the next second, Li Ming was lying asleep in his arms. He picked up the girl bridal style in his arms and started moving towards the enormous lotus that had emerged out of the pond. He placed her carefully on the soft surface of the flower. The two jars full of Blue Pixie Dust were also placed beside her carefully. Lord Yueliang smiled at the sleeping girl who was looking so adorable. He took off his outer robe and carefully draped it over her small body. Making sure that she was completely covered and comfortable, he finally relaxed. He had promised himself to not come in front of her before she''s ready but it was hard for him to stay away from her. Moreover seeing Zhang Yong and Ruoshan around her only made him desperate to meet her at least once. He had somehow controlled himself but when he realized that she needed a Blue Moon, his inner self refused to listen to any excuse and just wanted to help her. But he needed to stay away from her. He would only make her life more difficult. Though he knew the importance of distancing himself from her but he also knew that doing the same would be the most difficult thing. "Don''t worry Little One, though Zhang Yong is a complete idiot and Ruoshan is no better than him but those two will do anything for you. Moreover, I''ll be always looking over you." He softly whispered as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. For the next few hours, he kept sitting there, caressing her hair softly. Only when it was one hour before the sunrise, did he decided to leave. He placed his forehead against hers and inhaled her light honey and lilac scent. His hands softly caressed her cheek for the last time as he bent down to place a soft feathery kiss on her forehead. His deep cerulean eyes were full of longing and love. "The Moon has waited for millenniums for you. Don''t make us wait for too long Little One." He softly whispered before he vanished from the Xiao Tiantang. ************* When The Moon Deity returned to his manor, he wasn''t expecting his three Junior Brothers to suddenly visit him out of blue. The three of them were sitting under the same pavilion made of purple colored spiritual gathering stones where he and Ruoshan had a talk just a month ago. The two youngest junior brothers were looking as usual and were busy in their intense game which he couldn''t recognize. There was a board with gridded squares. A number of ''snakes'' and ''ladders'' were pictured on the board, each connecting two specific squares. But when the Moon Deity turned towards his second Junior Brother, he was surprised to see that the Supreme Immortal was glaring daggers at him. The Moon Deity sighed and took his seat on the opposite side of the table where the Supreme Immortal was sitting. He knocked his knuckles a few times on the table to get the attention of the two troublemakers who finally put away that weird board and focused on him. "What are the three of you doing here?" He asked softly as he poured wine in four cups and passed them to the other three while picking up his own to take a sip. "Wine in the morning?" Zhang Yong asked with raised eyebrows. "If you don''t want to drink it then give it to The Supreme Immortal. Looking at him I don''t think he would have any problem with drinking wine this early in the morning." Ruoshan said as he emptied his cup in one go. Well, he''s now used to drink from the big glasses thanks to Li Ming. These cups felt too small for him. Zhang Yong shrugged and followed Ruoshan. Drinking the entire wine of the small cup in one go. "Now back to my question. What are you guys doing here?" Ruoshan asked again when the two stopped their antics. "The two of us have been dragged here by a specific Deity who has definitely lost his sanity." Zhang Yong replied as he poured himself another cup of wine. "No one can make the two of you do something you don''t want to do. Don''t try to fool me." Lord Yueliang said as he shook his head. "You know us the best First Senior Brother. Then let''s just say that I don''t want to miss the chance of seeing my favorite Third brother backing down for the first time in his entire immortal life." Zhang Yong said with a smirk as he eyed The Supreme Immortal who was now glaring his precious daggers at him. Oh, how much he enjoyed making him (Supreme Immortal) lose his control! "Why? What happened?" Lord Yueliang asked the two since the person who was the talk of the morning was too busy in glaring at random things, people, and places to answer any question. "He was trying to find out who was the person responsible behind the sudden disappearance of the Godly Maple Tree and just say that he succeeded," Ruoshan said with a small twitch of his lips. "We tried our best to keep him from finding about her but he just never listens and now see!" Zhang Yong said with a shake of his head. But then he noticed his three Senior brothers staring at him with raised eyebrows. He scoffed at them as he said, "Fine! I''ll take it back. I actually wanted him to find about her sooner. It''s just he is too slow when it comes to important matters!" That ended up with him receiving another cold glare. Who cares? He''s used to them by now. They were like passing breeze for him. "So, when are you going to meet our destined one?" Lord Yueliang asked the Supreme Immortal. The other two were also looking at him, waiting for his answer. "Soon. Very soon." Chapter 76 - Buying The Jewelry Shop Jing Lin was looking at the girl who was deep in her thoughts. About six months ago he would have laughed at the thought that their group of friends would be wrapped around the finger of a little girl. She''s full of wonders and joy. They had found a gem that day in the black market when they visited ''Black Jade Inn'' with Master Rong. The Eldest Master of General Manor had been continuously praising about a young girl who had suddenly become the owner of an Inn which was about to shut down. At first, all of them thought that the Eldest Young Master of General Manor had miraculously fallen in love at first sight with some girl but all of them were proved wrong when they finally met Li Ming. As time passed they realized that she was a completely different and unique person. Yes, she was cunning, crafty, cold-hearted, and maybe a little tricky but she was never a bad person. She didn''t go around flaunting her powers and high cultivation level. It didn''t take a genius to realize that she''s powerful, way more powerful than any of the Young Masters. It would be a lie if he said that they weren''t envious. It felt like a disgrace to them as a mere little girl had surpassed them in cultivation, but that feeling soon evaporated as they grew close to her. Even though she was more powerful than them, she always respected all of them equally. She never used them or their high statuses to climb up higher. She never showed off their friendship. Of course, it didn''t mean that she didn''t take advantage of their friendship but that''s a normal thing between friends. And to be honest, even those rare moments couldn''t be counted as taking advantage. Also, she never tried to seduce any of them just like the other girls. With each passing day the respect that they had for Li Ming only grew. They had never seen her face in these past six months as she''s always wearing the veil but they had come to know to her by her inner beauty. They never asked her about her whereabouts when she used to unexpectedly disappeared for months. Just as she never asked about their personal matters. Jing Lin still remembered that night clearly. It was two months later from the day when they had first met Li Ming in Black Jade Inn. *********** Once again they had spent almost two hours in Black Jade Inn, playing ''Stratego'' and irritating Li Ming. They had decided to stop by an Inn to have their dinner and a few drinks. Apparently, they had irritated their Ming Ming too much that she had kicked them out of Inn without feeding them. She''s heartless! They were silently enjoying their food, which was a miracle because how could you expect a group of thirteen young boys in their late teens or early twenties to stay quiet? When suddenly Bai Liang spoke, "I wish she''s my little sister. I would have loved to spoil her with all the happiness in the world. It pains to look at her all alone there without any family." All of them knew that he was talking about Li Ming because he wasn''t the only one with those thoughts. Though all of them had sisters, except Bai Liang, but they knew that none of their sisters were as innocent and naive as they represent themselves. Not all of them were crafty or cunning but none of them were carrying a good heart full of love and kindness. Only General manor''s Third Young Miss was not as cruel and selfish as the rest of their sisters. All the brothers were aware of the true faces of their sisters but they never meddled in their matters. Just like every sister wanted a loving, caring and warm-hearted brother, every brother dreamed of a sweet little sister who''s innocent and kind. They never found these traits in their sisters. But who were they kidding. If their sisters couldn''t be considered good then they themselves were far from what they appeared. Backstabbing, double-crossing, blood bath, disloyalty, betrayal, all these were the most common aspects of a noble family. No one was innocent. The only difference was the scale that measures their deeds. Some committed fewer crimes while some more than others. Being the Young Masters of the Noble families they were aware of all the schemings that were going on in their own families. Some were scheming to get something that was never theirs in the first place while some were scheming to protect the same thing from the bad ones. But in the end, none of them were innocent. That''s why when they met Li Ming, they found someone who was completely different from their world. She was innocent at the same time when she''s not. She was kind and also she wasn''t. She was loving, caring, and had a pure heart but at the same time, she''s also cold-hearted and evil. There''s something about her that made them want to protect her, to always keep her happy and safe. "We all wish for that!" Wei Rong replied as he opened a jar of wine but instantly put it away after taking a sip. After a while, the food was gone but the wine jars were still full or untouched. Now the only wine they liked to drink were the special drinks of the Black Jade Inn. Almost all their foods and beverages were unique and special. The wine that they were used to drink now tasted bland compared to those from the Black Jade Inn. "Let''s promise today that we will keep our little sister Ming Ming always happy and safe." Wei Min said after a while as he finally opened his wine jar and looked at his friends. Everyone looked distastefully at the wine but finally grabbed a jar each and cheered, promising to always help the new member of their brotherhood, their little sister. To protect her like their own sister. ********** Jing Lin smiled at the memory. It''s been four months since that night and their love and feeling of protectiveness towards their Ming Ming had only increased. Currently, they were sitting in the small backyard of the Jing Lin''s family jewelry shop. Their family wanted to sell this old shop for a long time but the shop was in such a bad condition that no one wanted to buy it for the high price that his family was demanding. Actually, the shop was in the main market area of the Capital city, surrounded by many popular shops and inns. The reason behind its high price even when it''s in a poor state was exactly due to this reason. When he went to the Black Jade Inn in the morning with Wei Rong and Yan Jhong, Li Ming asked them if they knew about any shop or land in the main market area which was up for sale. That''s why the four of them came here so that Li Ming could take a look at the shop. Jing Lin had already mentioned to her about the poor state of the shop but Li Ming said that she could take care of that without any problem. "So, you can sell this shop to me in 200,000 silver taels?" Li Ming asked as she glanced around, taking in every detail of her surrounding. What she got was even better than what she had expected. The old broken state of the shop wasn''t a big matter for her as she had already planned to open something new and different. Moreover, the shop, the backyard, and the remaining area around the shop gave her more than enough space. And the best thing about the shop was its location. The moment she realized how good its location was, she had decided to buy it no matter what. "Well if you are certain to buy this place then I''m more than happy to hand it over to you. As for the price, since we all consider you as our Little sister then I''ll give this shop to you only in 100,000 silver taels." Jing Lin said as he looked at Li Ming, beaming happily about the fact that he had helped his sister. But the evil glint that appeared in her eyes after listening to his words, made him gulp in fear as his smile disappeared. "Since I''m your little sister and you are generous enough to give me a discount then why not gift this shop to me totally free?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. Her soft voice was mocking Jing Lin. Both Wei Rong and Yan Jhong broke down in a fit of laughter while Jing Lin''s jaw dropped. "Free?" He almost shouted in panic. He only wanted to not pressurize her with such a high amount. Though she could probably afford it by the look of her successful business in both the black market and Dongji village but 200,000 silver taels was still a very high amount. Who knew that his attempt of helping Li Ming would end up backfiring at him. She really was heartless. At that moment Jing Lin wanted to cry at his stupidity. Chapter 77 - "Dont Jinx-" Li Ming shook her head at Jing Lin''s dumbfounded reaction. The boy looked like he had lost his soul. She took out a box from her mansion and placed it on the wooden table. She tapped it and looked at Jing Lin, signaling him to open it. He opened the box which was full of silver taels and a small vial of green liquid. He looked at Li Ming with questioning eyes as he showed her the vial. "It''s a healing potion. As long as the damaged part isn''t the heart, drinking this liquid will heal any wound. No matter how deep and vital it would be. It''s a gem, use it wisely. And there are 200,000 silver taels in the box." Li Ming explained. "Woah, Ming. Where did you get such a powerful elixir from? Which poor soul are you looting like this?" Yan Jhong asked as he inspected the vial like he was trying to find some clue engraved on the bottle itself. Li Ming rolled her eyes at his idiotic questions but didn''t answer. Jing Lin asked his guard to bring the papers of the shop. It barely took five minutes before Li Ming was looking through the legal documents of the shop, stating her as it''s new owner. "Perfect!" Li Ming said happily as she put the papers inside her mansion along with the papers of Black Jade Inn and the Orphanage. "Ming Ming, are you really sure that this place is exactly what you are looking for? I mean it''s really in a very bad state." Wei Rong asked as he once again looked at the shop. "Brother Rong isn''t it too late for that now? But still don''t worry. I''m two hundred percent sure that this shop is exactly what I was looking for. Now just wait and watch me perform my magic on this place but it will take a couple of days." Li Ming reassured Wei Rong. "What are you planning to do with this place, Ming Ming?" Jing Lin asked curiously. "Nope. No spoiler. You have to wait before I will reveal the surprise." Li Ming said with a small smile playing on her lips. She was feeling really delighted. "But Brother Lin, why this shop is such in a poor condition? Didn''t you take good care of it?" She asked Jing Lin. "This shop was built more than a century ago by my great grandfather when he first came here to live in the Capital City. Moreover, most part of the shop is built of wood. We wanted to renovate it for nearly a decade but I''m not sure exactly why the work never started and here we are today, it''s completely at the point where it''s needed to be rebuilt from the scratch. So, my father just decided to sell it." Jing Lin told all his three friends the story of the jewelry shop. "It''s actually clear why no one was eager to buy it. Not only the price itself was high but whoever would have bought it, needed to spend a lot on getting this place back in shape." Wei Rong said and the others nodded in agreement. "Doesn''t it mean that our Ming Ming will become poor? She had already lost 200,000 silver taels today and now she will spend on rebuilding this place too!" Yan Jhong said with half baffled and half sad tone. He didn''t want his little sister to become poor! "Don''t jinx me! And no I''m not going to become poor." Li Ming said as she took out at least a dozen one feet tall very thin sticks. All the sticks had different writings on them. Two specific sticks had a beautiful design engraved on them which actually didn''t look like any normal design. Li Ming passed two sticks to each of the boys and kept two with her along with the sticks with the special design. "Go and bury these sticks in the ground about half of their size around the fence of the shop. Each stick is needed to be placed at an equal distance from each other." She explained to them. Then she handed one with the special design to Wei Rong and said, "Bury this one exactly in the center of the front gate. Now go on and complete the work." "Let''s send the guards to do the work. They will complete it more quickly." Yan Jhong was about to call the guards when he noticed Li Ming glaring at him. His words stopped in his mouth and refused to come out. "Why? Is this too much of a work for you? Don''t act like a spoiled brat and start with the work on your. Moreover, I trust you guys, not your guards. Hurry up!" Li Ming said in a strict voice and gave all the three of them a hard glare before walking inside the shop. She didn''t see how the surprised look on the three of the Young Master''s face suddenly transformed into a happy and proud expression. She trusted them and that''s all they had ever wanted from the day they swore to be her big brothers and her hidden protectors. It took the boys barely any time to complete the task and at the same time, Li Ming had made three holes in the middle of the wooden floor of the reception area of the shop. She placed her own sticks in the holes. The stick with the special design in the middle hole and two normal sticks on either side of it. When she came out of the shop, the boys had also returned. "Were the sticks enough or do you need more?" She asked. "No. They were enough. We didn''t know that there are more sticks, so we just adjusted with what we have. What now?" Jing Lin asked curiously. "Do you know brother Lin that curiosity isn''t a good trait. It can lead you to your doom." Li Ming said with a small smirk. She didn''t wait for Jing Lin''s reply and turned towards the front of the shop. She connected the index and middle finger of both her hands, making a cross and closed her eyes. The spell that she was chanting was barely audible and the three Young Masters looked around to see what would happen next. To their disappointment not even a fallen leaf moved during the entire time. Li Ming started laughing as she looked at their accusing glares. She took out a palm-size ball made of iron and placed it on the ground. "Isn''t that heavy?" Yan Jhong asked. "It''s completely empty from inside. So no, it''s not heavy at all. This is a special gadget...umm, let''s say a very special and unique tool. It can consume everything in its surroundings according to its range. With the help of this gadget, we will get rid of this old shop within a day. That will save us a lot of time, money, and labor." Li Ming explained to the three Young Masters as she channeled her spiritual energy to the ball. "Wow, that''s such a cool thing. You know what Ming Ming, you should sell some of these special artifacts of yours. You will become the richest person in the entire Han Empire within a night." Jing Lin said as they all followed Li Ming out of the Jewelry shop. Li Ming pressed her palm on the main door and sealed it. The next second the entire shop vanished from there. Instead of the Jing family''s jewelry shop, there was a huge empty land in the middle of the market street. "What-?" Wei Rong stared at the empty space in shock. The other two Young Masters and their guards had the same expression. Soon a crowd formed around the area. Those who had seen the shop disappearing were whispering about the miracle that had happened and those who had just appeared after seeing the crowd were curiously asking questions about what was going on. Li Ming rubbed her forehead as she heard the crowd going crazy behind her. How could she have not thought about this? It''s so unprofessional and stupid of her. But now there''s no use in regretting her actions. She turned towards the crowd with a large smile but soon realized that they couldn''t see it because of her veil. Well, their loss! She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed in greetings. The crowd had people mostly from poor families, workers from the nearby shops, or those who could be considered as middle-class families. The Jing family was the richest family in the Han Empire because of their huge and years old business establishments. Everyone in the Capital City was familiar with the Jewelry shop and the three Young Masters of the top Noble families who were currently standing in front of them. But when the girl who looked just as high profile and noble as the three Young Masters, suddenly bowed to them, the crowd was left shocked. Everyone hurriedly bowed to the Young Miss, not wanted to offend the nobles. Li Ming strengthened and looked at the crowd. "I''m Li Ming and you all can call me Miss Li. I have bought this jewelry shop today from Young Master Jing and I''m the new owner of this piece of land." Chapter 78 - The Herb Market Of Jin Empire The crowd once again started murmuring. Most of them were trying to find out any noble family with the surname Li but everyone came out empty-handed. There was no family in the entire Capital City with the surname Li. Li Ming was in no hurry to explain to the crowd about her identity or that she was not from the Han Empire. After all the story that she had cooked up about her real identity sometimes sounded too lame even to her, but the deed was already done. Now there''s no going back. "An invisibility array has been placed around the shop. I''ll be rebuilding this place and I don''t want to cause you all any kind of problem. That''s why the barrier will make sure that the daily life of the market continues. I''ll be taking my leave now. Have a nice day." Li Ming politely informed the crowd before leaving the area with the Three Young Masters. "This Young Lady is so humble." An old lady who had come to the market to buy groceries, said to the gathered people as she looked at the departing back of Li Ming. "You are absolutely right. She''s so rich and definitely belongs to a noble family but did you all saw how she bowed to all of us?" Another man who was the owner of a weapon shop that was on the opposite side of the street added his agreement and praised Li Ming even more. "Yes yes. You are right!" The others also agreed with the man and the old woman. For the next few minutes, the crowd continued to praise Li Ming before they all went back to their works. Maybe it was all planned and maybe it was not but that day, Li Ming left a very good first impression in the eyes of the gathered crowd which only spread more and more in the future as everyone shared their experience of coming across such a humble and sweet Young Miss. But where some people were praising Li Ming, there was a certain person who was gritting her teeth as she glared at the girl in the light blue dress and face covered with a veil. The moment she saw that girl with Master Rong, she wanted to crush her bones and dump her in a deep pit. She continued glaring at the silhouette of the girl until it completely disappeared from her sight, before leaving the inn with her maids. ********** Li Ming entered an inn along with Wei Rong, Yan Jhong, and Jing Lin. The manager of the inn immediately led them to a private room on the second floor. When Li Ming entered the room she was surprised to see the rest of the Young Masters were already there, sitting around the large table, enjoying snacks and tea. Yeah, surprisingly no one was drinking wine. "It''s a very beautiful surprise. It''s been a while since we all last had eaten together and I''m too hungry right now." Li Ming said with a cute pout as she settled down between the Wei brothers. If it was some other noble family''s Young Miss, she would never have said the same in front of a dozen males even if they were friends. She would rather kill herself then go around telling people that she''s hungry. But of course, it was not any other girl but our female lead, Li Ming. She felt no shame or embarrassment in speaking out the truth. Most importantly when everyone sitting around the table considered themselves as her friends and brothers. If they were going to judge her on something like that then none of them were worthy of her friendship. "Tell me, Ming Ming, what you wanna eat. Your brother Min will get everything for you." Wei Min said beaming at her. Everyone around the table chuckled and started ordering food. Though the servants who were assigned to them were looking baffled to see an alone girl with thirteen boys, who all were the Young Masters of the Noble families, laughing and eating together but they kept quiet and didn''t say anything. Of course, Li Ming could read their thoughts but she never cared about such things before and she wasn''t planning to start now. After an hour all of them were drinking tea and chatting about random things when Li Ming took out a bunch of A4 size photos of different flowers and plants. By now the Young Masters were used to see her take random but unique things out of her spatial ring. "Brother Feng, you are the only son of the Imperial Physician Xu and in these past few months, I have heard a lot about your vast knowledge of medicines and spiritual herbs. Can you please help me with something?" She asked while making puppy eyes. "Haha....! No need to praise me. I''ll help you as long as I can, tell me what you want help with." Xu Feng said with a chuckle. "You are the best, brother Feng. By the way, look at these pictures. These are either some flowers, spices, or herbs. Can you tell me if there''s any place, market, or a shop where I can find them?" Li Ming asked as she passed the sheets to Xu Feng. These could easily be found back in her world at any normal nursery. But looking at the fact that nothing about this world was normal, she wasn''t sure if these things could be found here or not. "Are you looking for their seeds or plants?" Xu Feng asked as he was going through the pictures one at a time. "Either will do." Li Ming replied instantly. Her next plan was completely based on these flowers and herbs. Though there''s also a plan B in case she couldn''t find these plants but she was hoping for the best. "Hmm. These are very normal herbs and spices. But all of these grow in different parts of the Empire. It will take you a long time to get all of these." Xu Feng said after a few minutes. "Are you sure there''s no place on the mainland where I could find all of these together?" Li Ming asked as she collected the scrambled photos. "Actually there is a place like that. The Herb market of the Jin Empire." Wei Rong suddenly said. "Yes. That''s right. The Herb market of the Jin Empire is famous for the shops which sell all kind of herbs, plants, spices, vegetables, fruits, flowers and any other plant that existed on the mainland. It''s the only place where you can find all these plants in a single place. But the price wouldn''t be cheap and it will take you at least seven days to reach the Jin Empire." Xu Feng explained to Li Ming. Li Ming nodded her head before finally speaking, "Alright then. The money isn''t really a big problem. I''ll find a way to deal with it but give me some time to think about the long journey. Thank you for all the help." "It''s not a big deal Ming Ming. We are more than happy to accompany you to the Jin Empire. And as far as I think you won''t really need too much money since these are just some normal plants. The price would a little higher than normal but for someone who has just bought a jewelry shop in 200,000 silver taels without even blinking twice, I don''t think it will be any problem for you." Wei Rong said and everyone broke out into chuckles, enjoying the last few minutes before leaving the inn. ******* "I''m seriously thankful to all of you for your help. And as far as it goes about me selling my special gadgets then no I''m not going to do anything like that. Who knows if the person purchasing it will become my enemy in the future and use my own gadgets against me. I''m not gonna take that big of a risk. Moreover, I have a very limited stock, so no selling out my precious gems." Li Ming told her three friends as they finally reached in front of the Black Jade Inn. The others had left to their own work and again Wei Rong, Yan Jhong and Jing Lin accompanied her to the black market. "Do as you want to do and don''t listen to these idiots." Wei Rong said as he lightly patted her head. "Hey!!" Both Jing Lin and Yan Jhong shouted, looking angrily at Wei Rong for calling them idiots. Li Ming wished the three Young Masters goodbye and entered into the inn. It was a few hours after lunchtime and there were only a few people sitting around the tables in the main room. "Miss Li, you are back." Madam Fu said a little too loudly as she saw Li Ming standing in the middle of the main room. Before Li Ming could reply she heard two pairs of footsteps hurriedly coming down the stairs. The next moment both Zhang Yong and Ruoshan were in the room, glaring at her. Oops! Chapter 79 - Xingan "So, you are trying to tell us that you went out looking for a shop to buy, in the main market area of Capital City?" "Yes!" "And then you bought the Jewelry shop of Jing Family that is almost about to crumble any second?" "Yes!" "And then you had your lunch with the Young Masters, whom you call your friends and brothers, as you had something important to discuss with them?" "Yes!" Li Ming looked at the two men who were still staring at her like she had committed some kind of crime. They had been nonstop asking her questions about what she was doing the entire day and why she didn''t take them with her? Well, it was mostly Zhang Yong asking all the questions while Ruoshan just sat there quietly, continually looking at her. "Why didn''t you tell me that you wanted to buy a shop? I would have bought the best shop in the entire Capital City for you." Zhang Yong said with a pout and his eyes were looking at her accusingly. "Thanks for the offer, Your Highness. But I have bought the best shop on my own." Li Ming replied. "See! That''s where you are wrong Ming''er. That Jing Lin has taken advantage of your innocence. That shop can''t even stand a few strong gusts. Sooner or later it will fall apart. Why do you think the Jing Family was so eager to sell it?" Zhang Yong asked the girl. "I''m very well aware of the condition of the shop and I''m a hundred percent sure that it is exactly the shop that I wanted to buy." Li Ming once again tried to explain to Zhang Yong, who for some stupid reason was stuck on his belief that she had been manipulated by Jing Lin. "But...." "Who wanted to buy the shop?" Li Ming asked as she cut off Zhang Yong before he could start again with his reasons and all. "Huh?" The Forth Prince looked at her confusingly. "Who wanted to buy the shop?" She repeated her question. "You." "Who knows the requirements of the shop that I needed to buy?" She asked another question. "Of course You." "Who knows about my budget the best?" "You." Li Ming didn''t ask any more questions and just looked at Zhang Yong with raised eyebrows. Zhang Yong sighed and then said, "Fine. If you are saying then I''ll believe you for now." "Good." Li Ming nodded her head as she silently let out a sigh of relief. She finally got rid of his whining. Oh, how wrong she was! "But Ming''er you should have told us if you needed anything. You just disappeared this morning without telling us anything. Do you have any idea how worried both of us were for you?" Zhang Yong complained. "Stop your overacting. And do you seriously think that I''m blind or an idiot? Do you think that I won''t notice when there are people following me the entire day?" Li Ming asked as she gave Zhang Yong a hard glare. Of course, she knew that Long Jie was following her the entire morning and noon. It didn''t take a genius to know that he was following Zhang Yong''s order. "We just wanted to make sure that you are safe and alright." Zhang Yong said in his self-defense. "I''m not some most wanted criminal, neither there''s an assassin after me that I will need protection. So exactly from whom were you trying to protect me?" Li Ming asked. "You are forgetting about Prime Minister Zhu!" Zhang Yong said as he looked at Ruoshan who had not spoken a single word since Ming''er had returned about an hour ago. But his eyes hadn''t left her for even a second all this time. "And you are forgetting that the Old freak isn''t looking for a fourteen-year-old girl but for three colorfully dressed faceless males. And you yourself confirmed that there''s no way he could trace the incident back to me." Li Ming told the man. He was making her go off-topic. She had some important questions to ask him. "Now stop all this unimportant nonsense. I have something important to ask you." Li Ming said in a serious tone that got the attention of the two Immortals. "What is that?" Zhang Yong asked. For the next few minutes, Li Ming explained about how she needed to visit the Jin Empire to buy some important herbs. Just as Zhang Yong was about to open his mouth, Li Ming interrupted him. "No. Don''t even think about suggesting that stupid idea. I want to go on my own and I''m not taking either one of you with me." "It''s a pleasure that you even considered me." This time it was Ruoshan who spoke but his words were full of sadness even though there was a smile on his lips. A smile that didn''t reach his eyes. Li Ming completely ignored his comment and looked at Zhang Yong. The Forth Prince peeked at the defeated look on Ruoshan''s face and for a single second, he almost felt bad for him. If he was in Ruoshan''s place and was suffering the same fate, he didn''t even know what he would have done. He looked at Li Ming and asked, "Are you sure? If you want I can bring those herbs to you in just a day and if not then let us accompany you.....!" Li Ming gave him her coldest glare which shut him up instantly. Zhang Yong looked at Ruoshan as he said, "I need to return to the Imperial Palace due to some important works. Why not let Lord Ruoshan answer all your questions? He will tell you all that you need to know." Saying that he immediately stood up and left the room after giving Ruoshan a wink. "If you don''t want to help, you could have just said so. No need to pretend." Li Ming murmured under her breath as she cursed Ruoshan in her mind. She didn''t give a chance to Ruoshan to speak and immediately entered her mansion. She appeared inside the spell room. She was thinking about making some new healing potions when suddenly she felt his presence behind her. She turned around and glared at the man. "Did I not made it clear that you are not allowed to set foot in my mansion? Or are my words worth nothing to you now?" Her tone was so cold and unfriendly and it could freeze people. "I only come here to help you with your problem of traveling to the Jin Empire. As for the other matters, we will talk about them later." Ruoshan said as he looked directly into her cold eyes. "No need. I''m not that desperate to take help from those who lie to me and take advantage of my trust. It''s better for you to leave right now, not only from here but also from my life." Her words were like a sharp knife penetrating his heart. The next second he was standing right in front of her as his hand grabbed her waist and pulled her in his tight and warm embrace. There was no space left between their bodies and Li Ming felt electric shocks passing through her entire body. They were like tingles running through her body which almost made her whimper but she tightly bit her lips to keep the sound inside. Ruoshan made her look up at his face as he said, "Don''t. Not right now. Let''s first talk about how you can reach the Jin Empire in a short period of time and after that, we will talk about us." "Why not now? Are you really that desperate to help me or are you just looking for a reason to ignore answering my questions?" Li Ming asked in a taunting voice. Due to some unknown reason, she wanted to rile him up. The arms holding her tightened and for the first time in all those months she had known Ruoshan, a totally different person was standing in front of her. The eyes which were always full of amusement, fun, intelligence, and adoration were now staring at her full of fire and hurt. "I know I was wrong. And I know that I''m still wrong but can you stop treating me like this, Xingan." His voice sounded so raw and painful. But what shocked Li Ming was the term of endearment that he used. "Why?" Li Ming''s voice came out in a soft whisper. She also didn''t want to be rude to him. His sadness was making her unhappy too. All that she''s asking for was an explanation. But the stupid and stubborn man was not telling her anything, which only made her frustrated. ********** Xingan - literally means ''heart and liver''. While that might sound a bit too odd but the term is used to recognize the most important person, without whom you can not live (Just like how you can''t live without your heart or liver). The closest English term could be ''My Heart and Soul''. Overall it''s a very strong term of endearment reserved only for those who are extremely precious to you. (This explanation is completely based on Google, so it can be wrong. If so, please let me know. Also, if you have ideas about cute endearments then leave them in your comments.) Chapter 80 - Master, Guardians & Caretakers ********** When Li Ming woke up in the morning she found the two jars full of blue pixie dust sitting beside her. The forest area surrounding the pond was too quiet for her liking which made her question if the place was deprived of any wildlife even though it only consisted of forests, mountains, water bodies, and plains. A perfect place for wildlife. As far as her sight and hearing power could work, she didn''t found a single shadow of any kind of wildlife. There was also no trace of the Immortal Deity. He probably left during the night time. Li Ming was still confused about why a stranger came all the way just to help her. But she had so many important tasks to handle, therefore she decided to focus on those tasks and pushed the stranger Immortal and his visit in a locker at the very back of her mind. She plucked out all the nine stones from their respective flowers and stored them in a box with nine columns made of red silk. The box was locked with a powerful enchantment and she safely kept the box in the spell room. She also collected the lotus petals of the flowers before they dropped in the water and left Xiao Tiantang to meet with the pixies. Her body was once again fully energized as she felt the spiritual energy flowing inside her. The Divine Lotus Flower had transferred a lot of qi in her body during the hours she slept. That day Li Ming spent all her time with the pixies. She divided a few of them into different pairs and sent them to collect all the ingredients needed to make the other pixie dusts. With the help of Alvina, Snowy, and Little Fox, she poured a little bit of blue pixie dust in one of the huge and strong trees in the Xiao Tiantang, standing at the other end of the pond. The miracle where a normal oak tree changed into a magical one, was breathtaking. It''s branches expanded and became thicker. A platform formed in the very heart of the tree where pint after pint, golden pixie dist started dropping in a pool. The tree was shinning in a golden glow. Alvina assigned two pixies to pack the golden pixie dust into small packages made of leaves. It took them a few trials to realize that the new golden pixie dust was more powerful than normal. It was basically due to the fact that the Blue Pixie Dust was made from the Moonstone that had a huge amount of spiritual qi in it. It took the pixies only a few hours before they returned with all the required ingredients. For the rest of the day, Li Ming helped them in creating the new pixie dusts. Li Ming had made all of them invisible before sending them out in the Thundering Peaks so that they could avoid dangers. They found the sunflower seeds, dew drops, and the essence of flowers from the front garden of the mansion. And the purple feather and eggshells could be easily found in the Thundering Peaks. As for the green rock, Li Ming used a Fuchsite that she found in one of the terrariums that had broken a few days ago. By the time they finished, it was past 7 in the evening. They had made enough pixie dust to last for about a few months. Just like the golden pixie dust the others were also more powerful than the normal ones. The next day, Li Ming also spent most of her morning in making sure that the pixies were comfortably settled inside their new home. They were allowed to stay inside the Xiao Tiantang and at the same time, they could also use the backyard of the mansion as their home. Their only job was to make sure that both Xiao Tiantang and her mansion would be surrounded by nature and it''s beauty. The pixies took over the care of nature and started with their duties immediately. They were delighted beyond words to once again perform their duties and in other words, you could call it magic. If Li Ming was the Master of Xiao Tiantang and Magical Mansion, then the Little Fox and Snowy were their Guardians respectively. And now the Little pixies became the Caretakers of both. After the mission ''Help Little Pixies'' was finally successfully over, Li Ming returned back to Dongji Village. For the rest of the day, she looked at the progress of the children at the orphanage and made sure that everything was going perfectly there. She also visited the fields to take a look at the crops and vegetables. The fruit trees were in their full bloom and ready to bear their first fruits. By the end of the day, she had more or less completed her survey of the Dongji Village and teleported to the Black Jade Inn. The first person that greeted her was none other than Ruoshan. For the past few weeks, she wanted to ask something important to Ruoshan but didn''t get a chance. It was finally the time when she should get her answers. She knew that Zhang Yong would not leave them alone. So she took Ruoshan to the only place where the Forth Prince could not follow them - the magical mansion. "Is there something wrong?" Ruoshan asked her as soon as they appeared in the front garden of the mansion. Li Ming looked at the Silver-hair Immortal as she stretched her right hand towards him. Her palm facing upwards. "Can I have the Location Hiding Charm back please?" "Oh, you are going to recharge it." Ruoshan sighed out in relief as he realized that she was not in some problem. He took out the Red stone from his sleeve and placed it on her small palm. "No. I''m not going to charge it. Actually, I forgot to tell you something. It''s not the Location Hiding Charm." She said while looking directly in his eyes. Ruoshan could feel that something wasn''t right. He raised his eyebrows in question at her words. What did she mean by that? "Actually that day when I first give you this charm, I was in so much hurry and because of that, I gave you the wrong charm. Rather than the Location Hiding Charm, it was a normal protection charm. But because the two looks almost identical, I didn''t realize my mistake until you returned it back to me the next morning to recharge it." Li Ming stopped to take a deep breath and glanced at Ruoshan. The Immortal was staring right at her but his face was devoid of any expression. His eyes also didn''t give away his true emotions. "I was surprised to know that in those entire five hours where you were not under the Location Hiding Protection Charm, none of your enemies tried to get to you. After thinking about it a lot, I decided to confirm my doubts. The next day, I took off all the protection charms from you but made sure that the tattoo on your wrist won''t disappear. I kept you in my close proximity so that I can take you inside the mansion if something happened but surprisingly...nothing happened. No one attacked you. But I still didn''t want to doubt you. For two more days, I repeated the same thing and got the same result. I finally realized that my suspicions were actually more or less right. It''s been too many days since you are left unprotected and your location can be traced but I can''t see those enemies of yours. Can you explain it?" Li Ming asked. She wanted the answers. After all, she trusted him enough to let him stay in her mansion. He was more or less aware of all her businesses and daily life. She would burn him alive if he even came any close to the thought of betraying her. But to her utter disappointment and frustration, he remained silent. Just looking at her with his empty eyes. Li Ming rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath before saying, "So you are not going to answer. Ok! Until or unless you are ready to answer the question, you are not allowed to enter the mansion. Due to some unknown reason, I can''t stop you from coming and going out of here at your will but I''ll soon find a way." Li Ming looked in his eyes as she said, "I just wanna know why?" ******** The same question she had asked the previous day and once again she repeated it. Ruoshan snuggled his face in the crook of her shoulder as he inhaled her light lilac and honey-like fragrance. He pulled himself back a little and looked at the girl who although was angry at him but still didn''t try to push him away. A small twitch appeared on his lips. "I think you deserve to know the answers. Let me take you somewhere." The next second the silhouette of both Ruoshan and Li Ming disappeared from the spell room, leaving a gust of purple smoke behind which vanished into thin air the very next second. ******* (No one could enter the Magical Mansion without Li Ming''s permission. Even though these Immortal Deities could enter into Xiao Tiantang but they couldn''t pass through the portal which opened into the backyard. Ruoshan was the only one who could enter and leave the magical mansion at his will, but that''s a story for another time!) Chapter 81 - The Ever Night Province Li Ming looked at the scene with confused and shocked eyes. She took in every single detail of the gloomy place that laid in front of her. They were currently standing on a high cliff from where the entire town that was build in the depth of the valley could be seen. Ruoshan had brought her to an unknown place which reminded her of those underworld scenes from the modern movies. The place was too dark for her liking. Everything was black whether it was the broken houses or the tattered clothes of the people who were fixing their homes. Their unkempt clothes and hair only added to the darkness and sorrow of the place. This unknown place was the complete opposite of what she had seen in the Black market, Capital City, and Dongji village in the past six months. The sky was covered in dark clouds but there was no indication of rain anytime soon. Only a few trees could be seen around the area, otherwise, the entire place lacked the greenery of nature. But even those few trees appeared to be dark in color and lifeless. The only good thing was that she couldn''t see any volcano erupting red hot lava and confirming her doubts about the place being the Hell. Little children could be seen running here and there, trying to help their parents in fixing their homes. Ruoshan pulled her forward and the next second she was walking on the pebbled street of the destructed town. The people departed from their path to let her and Ruoshan walk through them. Both of them looked completely out of place in their high-quality clothes and jewelry. Li Ming wasn''t sure why Ruoshan had brought her there. But she was too shocked and confused that she just followed him without asking any questions. The people were staring at them as she and Ruoshan passed by their broken homes. Just as they were about to turn around a corner, Li Ming noticed a little boy of about 7-8 years old who was nibbling on something. It took her only a few seconds to realize that it was a scrap of iron. "Hey! Don''t eat that. Put it away.....!" Li Ming shouted in alarm and ran towards the boy, but at the last second, Ruoshan stopped her as he dragged her back in his embrace. "What''s wrong with you? Let me go! He''s chewing on an iron scrap for goodness sake!" Li Ming shouted irritatingly at Ruoshan as she tried to get out of his tight hold. Ruoshan didn''t lose his hold but with a flick of his sleeve, the iron scrap vanished from the hands of the little boy, who hurriedly ran away and hid behind a woman. Li Ming somehow succeeded in getting out of his hold. That was a first for her but unfortunately, she had no time to celebrate her little success. Moreover, she had a doubt that it was actually Ruoshan who let her go. "Don''t you want to know what is this place?" Ruoshan asked her before she could even open her mouth. Li Ming frowned but slowly nodded her head. She noticed that they were actually surrounded by a large crowd. She didn''t even notice them when they were coming closer. But what shocked her the most was when all of them kneeled down and bowed. A very loud "Long Live His Excellency!" boomed through the previously quiet streets. Li Ming was stupefied. She looked at Ruoshan with raised eyebrows. Her question was clear - ''What the heck is going on here?'' Ruoshan nodded once at the people kneeling around them and then looked at the girl. "This is the Ever Night Province of the Demon Realm and these people are commonly known as Demons in the mainland." His cold icy tone was devoid of any emotion but at the same time, it held a warmth that was only there for his Xingan. He was waiting for her reaction. To see how she would react after knowing that the people surrounding her were not human but demons. And most importantly he wanted to know how she would react after realizing that he was a Demon too. The most common reaction of any sensible person who wasn''t a part of the demon realm was either a look of horror or disgust. It mostly got accompanied by anger and bitterness. Both Mortals and Immortals were not a big fan of the Demons. Li Ming raised her eyebrows as she asked, "Demons?" Her tone sounded kind of confused. Ruoshan wasn''t sure what to think of her question but her next words sent him laughing his heart out. His Xingan was too cute and innocent. (A|N: Bold of him to think that!) "Aren''t demons supposed to have horns or long teeth or...I don''t know. They look too normal for a demon." She said while nodding towards the crowd. She even imitated horn and teeth signs with her finger which only made her look more adorable. Then her gaze landed on Ruoshan and she looked at him from head to toe and then asked while looking straight into his eyes, "Does that mean you are their king?" She more or less knew the answer from the way all the people.....err....demons had greeted him, but she still asked to confirm her doubt. Ruoshan smiled a little while only blinking his eyes slowly to answer her. "Are you kidding me? How can a demon be so handsome and beautiful? My whole life has been a lie!" Li Ming said in an alarm. "So you think that I''m handsome and beautiful?" Ruoshan asked as he walked closer to her. He wasn''t expecting her reaction to being like this. Though his instinct told him that she would never judge him or anyone based on their race but still the doubt was there. The fear of losing her was too much for his already cold heart. Li Ming realized her mistake and cursed under her breath. "Did I say that? I can''t remember." Just as Ruoshan was a few inches away from her, she heard chuckles coming from around her. Her cheeks flushed red as she realized that the demons were staring at her and Ruoshan. "You all can now return to your work," Ruoshan said to the demons surrounding them and the next second all of them disappeared back to their work. "Let''s go somewhere more private." He said as he offered his hand to her. Li Ming held his lean and slightly cold hand with her warm and small one and once again both of them disappeared in purple smoke. The demons had returned back to their work. Once again they were trying to fix their broken houses which would crumble down again if the sun refused to rise in their realm the coming morning, just like it had done for the last few years. Next, they appeared at what looked like a bridge. The sound of running water under it was soothing and a clear contrast to the rest of the area. "Why is everything so dark and gloomy here?" Li Ming asked as she surveyed the area with her keen eyes. "If not dark and gloomy then how exactly is a demon realm supposed to look?" Ruoshan asked with a small twitch on his lips. "I don''t know. I mean according to my info the demons were not supposed to look so normal and.....even quite good looking. But it happened. That''s why I''m just surprised to see this place in such a devastating state. Why the town looked like it had been ransacked by a Minotaur?" She said or more like muttered and shrugged her shoulder. "A Min- what?" Ruoshan asked with raised eyebrows. "Ah, it''s just a demon." Li Ming told him in a lazy tone but the raised eyebrows of Immortal made her realize her mistake. "Actually, not.....a demon....but kind of a demon at the same time too. Ah! It''s just an enormous bull-like creature with very big, thick, and dangerous horns. And at the same time, he had a body of a human...." She noticed the look on Ruoshan''s face and decided to stop before she said something more stupid. "I just have heard about it in tales. It''s kind of famous for this kind of destruction. So, that''s why..." She more or less tried to explain. Ruoshan nodded seeing her struggle. He wanted to laugh at her adorable actions but he knew that the consequences won''t be good, so he just went with a little twitch on his lips. "The Demon realm was not always like this," Ruoshan said in a soft tone. "What''s the story?" Li Ming asked as she looked around the area. "It''s a long one," Ruoshan said as he sat on the steps of the bridge, leaning on the solid railing and pulled her in his lap. "What are you doing?" Li Ming asked but didn''t try to move away. "I told you it''s a long story. Don''t want to make you feel uncomfortable Xingan." Ruoshan said as he softly caressed her head. "So, here''s the story of the Demon Realm....." Chapter 82 - The Story Of Demons & The Demon Realm (1) The Mortal Realm was formed by the Immortal Deities of the Heaven Realm many millennia ago. After that, there were only two realms, the Heaven realm, and the Mortal Realm. The Deities in the Heaven Realm were proud and powerful, the two things most precious to them. Of course, they didn''t want to lose either of them, neither their proud, not their power. But things went wrong in the Heaven Realm when the Heaven Emperor fell in love with a female water demon. By the time he realized the truth behind her identity, she was already pregnant with his child. The Heaven realm was in an uproar. Back at that time, the demons were not really too powerful and were scattered around in the two realms, but the Deities never liked them. The demon baby was taken by the Heaven Empress in her care after the Heaven Emperor killed the female demon. As the demon baby grew up he started realizing the difference between himself and the others around him. Everything was going perfectly. Though the Deities didn''t like the idea of a demon prince but they kept quiet for the time being. But this was the silence before the storm. The day the Demon Prince turned eighteen, his demonic powers unleashed starting havoc in the Heaven Realm. The Deities were worried that the Demonic powers of the Demon Prince would become a problem for them. But then someone reasoned that he was only a weak demon with next to no powers, all alone in a realm of powerful deities. This blinded the Immortals from looking at the reality that was taking place in the very front of their eyes. The Demon Prince wanted to learn cultivation just like his elder brother and younger sister but no one wanted to teach him. The Heaven Emperor and the Empress even prohibited him from going anywhere near the Imperial library. It was always taken care of that he never ate anything that contained any kind of spiritual energy. There was not a single book in his chamber. He was forbidden from speaking to anyone. At the end of the day, he was confined in the four walls of his chamber. As time kept passing, everyone in the Heaven realm forgot about the danger that the Demon Prince directed towards them. Unknown to all those Immortals, the weak and stupid Demon Prince had changed a long time ago. When he noticed how everyone around him was powerful, the Demon Prince was determined to surpass all of them and prove to his parents that he wasn''t weak or stupid. That he could also become a powerful deity of the Heaven realm. It took him years but he finally found a way to become powerful. It was a completely different way but all that he cared about at that time was becoming powerful. It was an accident when he found one of the guards of the Heaven realm battling a seven feet tall three-headed serpent beast in the Cloud Array Mountain Peaks. He had sneaked out of the Imperial palace just to come to the Cloud Array Mountain Peaks to see the very famous cloud arrays. He never imagined coming across a battle between a ferocious serpent beast and a weak guard who was badly injured. He was going to help the guard in defeating the serpent beast and prove that he''s not as weak as everyone thought, but unknown to him, his demonic powers were craving the darkness and the lust that wanted to devour everything. By the time he came out of his blood lust, he had already killed the guard. But he didn''t stop there. Something inside him was urging him to consume the energy of the dead guard. He didn''t find it repulsive but the problem was he had no idea about how to do that. It didn''t take him much time to follow his instinct. In less than a minute he had consumed all the spiritual energy of the dead guard. He wasn''t sure about how he did that but the energy that entered his body was too good to let go. He didn''t kill the snake and let it take care of the body. After that day, many more incidents happened where he consumed the energy of some of the other guards who were badly injured from fighting with the beasts or sometimes practicing with the Deities and mostly working as their punching bags. He didn''t kill anyone again but the lust of blood and death was always there. It was years later when he found a book about cultivation in his brother''s study when he went to meet him. Though he didn''t get to meet his brother that day but he succeeded in slipping out the book with him out of his study. Somehow his brother never realized that a book had gone missing from his study. But the problem was that the Demon Prince didn''t know how to read. The book was completely useless for him. He started spying on the guards and other workers of the palace when they all cultivated. It was a necessity for everyone in the Heaven realm to cultivate, everyone but him. It took him months to finally learn a thing or two. He realized that not all the things that he learned was helpful for him. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn''t. All this time he was also trying to learn how to read. It took him almost ten years to finally be able to more or less understand what was written in the book that he had stolen from his brother''s study. As time passed by, he came up with some of his own methods to raise his cultivation level. He added his own ideas to the already existing cultivation methods just like his instincts suggested to him. It was like his body was aware of what it needed. He had always heard some of the deities and even servants of the palace calling him Demon but he never realized the meaning behind the word, until the day he came across that three-headed serpent beast once again. The serpent was a Divine level demonic beast. It had reached that level of cultivation in the past few decades where he could transform into a human form. Soon the dark secrets of the Heaven realm opened in front of the Demon Prince. The serpent was the spirit beast of his mother who was a powerful water demon. When she found about the plan of the Heaven Emperor and realized that she was about to die, she transferred all her energy into the serpent to protect him from dying because of the spiritual bond, along with her. It had always been waiting for the day when it could tell the Demon Prince all the truth about the murder of its master. The Demon Prince was though angry but he wasn''t impulsive. He found more demons with the help of the serpent. The other demons were also like the previous him, weak, stupid, and useless. He started training them along with him. Thousands of years passed and the number of demons increased. They became more powerful and smart. They were hiding in the depths of the poison valley of the Cloud Array Mountain Peaks, waiting for their Master''s order. The Demon Prince had decided a long time ago that he wanted the position of the Heaven Crown Prince which originally belonged to his Elder brother or in short, the true heir of the heavenly realm. When finally the day arrived when the Crown Prince of Heaven Realm was going to be officially declared and crowned in front of the entire Heaven Realm, the Demon Prince decided to finally come out of the shadows. To say that the day ended up with the grand hall of the Heavenly Imperial Palace full of blood and dead bodies of both deities and demons, won''t plant a good picture in your mind. But sadly or maybe not, it was the truth. The Heaven realm was unprepared for the ambush that happened after the Heaven Emperor declined to Crown the Demon Prince as the Crown Prince of the Heaven Realm. The Deities had never faced a war before in their lives and the number of guards of the heaven realm looked nothing in front of hundreds of demons. Both the parties faced losses on their parts but the Heaven Realm was shaken to their core. Though they somehow succeeded in catching all the demons along with the Demon Prince but due to some unknown reason they weren''t able to kill most of them. The Heaven Emperor prohibited anyone from harming the Demon Prince but he allowed them to find a way and kill the rest of the demons. After weeks of searching and experimenting, nothing worked. The demons who were captured didn''t die by any possible method, no matter how barbaric or brutal it was. Even the Demons were not aware of what was stopping them from dying even after suffering to such levels. Chapter 83 - The Story Of Demons & The Demon Realm (2) The Deities were afraid that the Demons would attack them again if they didn''t finish them for once and all. But the Heaven Emperor was still a little bit reluctant to kill his son even after his act of backstabbing and treason against the Heaven Realm. Deep down in his heart, the Heaven Emperor had always regretted snatching away his son''s mother just a few minutes after his birth. He didn''t like how the little boy was confined in the four walls of his chamber from day one, deprived of any kind of love, affection, respect, warmth, or resources, all the things that a child and a Prince deserved. But he couldn''t deny the truth that if they had provided him with all those things then they would surely have to pay a much bigger price then what was happening at that time. Moreover, even if he ordered to kill every single demon along with his demon son, it wasn''t like the Deities were able to kill even a single one of them. And the worst part was - they were unable to find out exactly why? But there was a person there who was aware of what was going on. About why the demons had suddenly become impossible to kill. But his guilt was now stopping him from killing his son. He had no idea at that time that the world would pay a very big price just because of his hesitancy. After months of planning, they finally came across a solution. Just like how they created a realm for mortals, once again they created another realm for demons. The Demon Prince and his followers were sent to the newly formed realm which was known as the Demon Realm. A place which had a limited source of water, very small forests, very little wildlife, and next to no spiritual qi. Most of the realm was covered with huge rocky mountains and deserts. It was capable of feeding the demons and keeping them alive, but just barely. For the next few thousand years, the Demons stayed under the radar. Making no movements or at least that''s what the Deities assumed. As time passed and the Deities confirmed that the Demons had given up, they started paying less and less attention to the Demon Realm. They had no care in the world if the Demons were alive or not as long as they stayed inside their Demon Realm and left the other two realms alone. The Demon Prince had learned to teleport between the realms a long back ago. He used to teleport to the Mortal realm when he needed something to buy. Therefore as soon as his powers were back to their peak, he teleported into the Mortal realm, a place which had become his favorite during his time in the Heaven realm. The Mortal Realm provided the Demons all the things that they needed and the most important of them was the weapons. The Demons had turned the Demon Realm at least into a habitable place. They even started growing their own crops because looting food from the Mortal realm would have grabbed the unwanted attention of the Deities. They were so silent and clean in their movements that the Heaven realm never realized that another attack was going to greet them in the near future. But they had learned their lesson last time. The Heaven Realm had a much stronger and bigger army than before. The next war also ended with only losses on both sides. But the Demons were not ready to back down any time soon. Their animosity towards the Heaven Realm and the Deities only increased with the passage of time. When the Demon Prince got married to a mortal and had his son, he taught him to be as ruthless and merciless as himself. The new Demon Prince also had only one mission, conquer the Heaven Realm and snatch away everything that was supposed to be theirs in the first place. As millennium passed new rulers appeared in both Heaven and Demon realm but nothing changed. Every new ruler of Demons wanted to conquer the Heaven Realm and Every new ruler of Heaven Realm was trying to find a way to completely finish off the demon race. And in the middle of the animosity of these two realms, the mortal realm had become a constant target of the Demon Realm to irk the Deities. But in such a long time, the demons had grown both in numbers and power. Though they hadn''t surpassed the Deities and Heaven Realm in power and strength but they were not too far from reaching there. Finally, the time approached when for the first time in millenniums, two demon princes were born. Both had a very cold, terrifying, and powerful aura from the moment of their birth. Just at the age of ten both the Princes had surpassed all those demonic cultivators who were in their thirties and had been cultivating for decades. The Demon Emperor was joyous beyond imagination. He could finally see the Heaven Realm crumbling and bowing at the feet of his sons. The Heaven Realm was also aware of the high achievements of the two demon princes. Though the Crown Prince of Heaven Realm who was barely a few weeks older than the two demon princes was also surpassing all his seniors in cultivation and was as powerful as the two demon princes, but the real problem arose when a prophecy was made. Only the Diviner God, The Heaven Emperor, The Heaven Empress, and two more deities were aware of the prophecy. It was made sure that these words never reached the ear of a sixth person. Exactly a month after the prophecy was made, the Heaven Realm sent an offer for the two Demon Princes to join the Heaven Disciples Academy. The Deities were sure that the Demon Emperor would never send his barely ten-year-old sons to the Heaven realm, no matter what. But to their surprise, the two Demon Princes were standing in the Grand Hall of Heaven Imperial Palace, the very next day. Just like the Heaven Emperor had his reason behind inviting the demon princes into the Heaven realm, similarly, the Demon Emperor had formed a plan of his own before sending his sons to the realm of Deities. The two Demon Princes remained in the Heaven Realm for nearly about ten thousand years. Their close group of friends had become their only family. Finally, the two Demon Princes passed the Academy along with their friends and were ready to return to their home realm. The day these two princes finally returned to their realm, a storm hit the two realms which swept away everything with it. The Heaven Emperor punished the Crown Prince because he failed in his mission of killing the two demon princes. Not only that but he had also formed a brotherhood with them. The Heaven Emperor sent him away for closed-door underwater cultivation and maybe this was the exact decision for why the Heaven Realm went through such a dark period in the coming five years. While the Crown Prince of Heaven Realm was in closed-door cultivation, the Demon Emperor too had lost his mind in rage. Both of his sons made it clear that they had no interest in the Heaven Realm and ruling it. Rather than destroying the Heaven Realm from inside in these past ten thousand years just like the plan was, they completely ignored it. The Demon Emperor decided to brainwash his sons just like his father had done to him when he was a child but nothing worked on the two princes. Though they never took the side of the Heaven Realm but they also made it clear that they were not going to participate in any war. Their only plan for the future was to create a Demon Realm which was even more beautiful and magnificent than the Heaven Realm. In his anger, the Demon Emperor divided the Demon Realm into two provinces - North and South and appointed each of his sons as the head of one of the provinces. He wanted to see exactly how they were going to convert the barren and dark Demon Realm into a place like Heaven Realm. Both the Princes tried their best and gradually things started changing in the Demon Realm but this only infuriated the Demon Emperor and just like that in his rage he attacked the Heaven Realm. By the time war came to an end, the Demon Realm had lost their Emperor but while killing the Demon Emperor the Heaven Emperor had also injured himself very badly which led him into a deep slumber. The two Demon Princes finally made a peace treaty with the Heaven Realm. The two realms had faced so many blood baths and loss during their millennium-long animosity, it was finally the time to stop the pain and darkness that came along with war. But unknown to everyone, even a much bigger conspiracy was going to strike them soon! Chapter 84 - The Ambush The Demon realm was never in a better shape in the first place. The demons were more focused on getting their hands on the Heaven realm than developing their own realm. After the peace treaty, both the Demon Princes took over the command of their provinces and finally started the work on getting the Demon realm in a better shape. On the other hand, the Heaven Emperor had healed completely and the Heaven Realm was overflowing with happiness. Not only they had finally found a way to keep the three realms at peace but the Princess1 of Heaven Realm was also getting married to the Water Immortal. Just when everyone was finally thinking about a peaceful future, the darkness took over their happiness and everything changed in just one night. ********* "What happened?" Li Ming asked after Ruoshan had gone quiet for a long time. She had tried to keep silent and let him continue on his own but he suddenly spaced out and didn''t speak for a long time. She couldn''t control her curiosity anymore and asked him while trying to gain his attention. A chuckle left Ruoshan''s lips as he snuggled the girl closer in his arms. Assuring himself that she was really there with him. The dark past was threatening to take over his mind. "First tell me what you think about the story so far," Ruoshan said as he took her small hands in his own and started softly rubbing her delicate fingers. "What''s there to even think about? Both parties had their own faults and mistakes. The Deities were or maybe still are too overconfident of themselves and the demons were or maybe they too still are too greedy." Li Ming replied with a shrug of her shoulder. "It was the Deities who wronged the First Demon Emperor. They not only killed his mother because of their prejudice against the demons but also kept a small child deprived of all the happiness and rights that he deserved. He just wanted to take the revenge of his mother''s death and prove to the Deities that he can also be a part of the Heaven Realm. Then why are you saying that he was greedy?" Ruoshan asked. Rather than anger, his tone was filled with curiosity. He wanted to know her opinion about the entire situation. "I agree that the Deities and the Heaven Emperor were wrong but that doesn''t mean the Demons were not at fault. Every single day thousands of children face similar situations like the Demon Emperor where they were also wronged, but if every single one of them decides to take revenge then this world will become a war zone, where one person would be bathed in the blood of another one." "I''ll not say that taking revenge is completely wrong. I can''t comment on something about which I have no idea. I don''t know the pain, and anger behind the emotion of revenge. Only the person who had lost something and had been wronged knows best about these feelings. But taking revenge doesn''t mean that you end up being a killer yourself." Li Ming took a deep breath before continuing. "The Demon Emperor wanted to take revenge and he attacked the Heaven realm. That day so many soldiers and deities died in that fight. But why? Just because they were protecting their Emperor and realm from the Demons? Have you ever thought about the families of those that died in the fight? At first, the Demon Emperor only wanted to be the Crown Prince of the Heaven Realm, in short, he was aiming for the position of next Heaven Emperor but slowly it transformed into greed. I actually agree with the two Demon Princes whom you mentioned in the story. Rather than snatching away Heaven Realm from the Deities, why not build your own realm into a lovely place? Won''t that be better? The fruit of your hard work." A small smile appeared on Ruoshan''s lips as he heard her words. "So you are in support of the two demon princes?" He asked curiously. "Of course. They were the only ones who appeared to have a brain and they actually used it or at least tried. The so-called revenge had long transformed into greed and competition. There was no point in continuing the rivalry between the two realms when both of them were at the losing ends." Li Ming replied. "I never knew that it will be so easy to impress you. If I have known, then I would have told you this story a long time ago and have impressed you with my intelligence." Ruoshan said in a dramatic tone. "Don''t be so...Wait, your intelligence?" Li Ming looked at him with raised eyebrows. Her neck was starting to ache due to the uncomfortable position in which she was looking behind her at him. When she didn''t receive any reply from him, the locks finally clicked in her mind and she said in a shocked tone, "Are you one of the two Demon Princes?" Somehow she already knew the answer even though she couldn''t read his mind. But she still waited for him to answer and confirm her doubt. "En!" Ruoshan lightly nodded his head. "The Ever Night Province is the previously known Northern Province of the Demon Realm." He explained after a few moments and let the information sink in. "How old are you exactly?" Li Ming asked suddenly. Ruoshan was shocked as he wasn''t expecting her to ask such a question. He scratched his neck as he tried to find a way to answer. "Not too much. Just a little bit." He finally said when he realized that she was still waiting for his answer. "Exactly what''s the meaning of your little bit?" Li Ming wasn''t going to let him go easily. He didn''t appear a single day older than a young man in his early twenties, maybe twenty-three or twenty-four. But her instincts were telling her that she''s being deceived by the cover of the book. "It''s rude to ask a man his age," Ruoshan said as he gave her a chastising look. "Wait, when did this rule got applied on men? Last I heard, it was considered a bad manner to ask a lady her age but not a man." Li Ming glared at him. "How can you be such a sexist? If it''s a bad manner to ask a lady''s age then why the same rule does not apply on men?" Ruoshan asked with a frown. "...." Li Ming was completely speechless. What Ruoshan had said actually made sense. Did it mean that she couldn''t ask him his age anymore? But, she would definitely find out in one way or another. "Alright, I won''t ask questions related to your age anymore...for now. Now tell me what happened next in the story." Li Ming said with a small huff. Ruoshan sighed but continued the story. ********** The two Demon Princes were planning about starting an Academy in the Demon Realm. They were in the study room of the Palace of Southern Province of the Demon Realm when the calamity hit them. During all those times when both the Demon and Heaven Realms were busy in killing each other, none of them realized that a new enemy had entered in their world and all that they wanted was darkness, sorrow, blood bath, despair, and clash between the three realms. But a peace treaty between Heaven and Demon realm meant that all those things were gone. There would be no more war between the realms and no more blood bath. So, when the timing was perfect, they struck. Just when the Heaven Realm was celebrating the Grand wedding of the Heaven Princess, the dark powers ambushed the cheerful Grand Hall of the Heavenly Imperial Palace. But this time the damage was far more than those from the past. Once again the Deities were caught off guard, though they fought with all their might the damage was done. The attacker''s main targets were the Heaven Emperor and his family and they succeeded in their mission. Just as they completed their mission, all the attackers, which were merely a hundred in number, disappeared in the thin air. Leaving a bloody hall and the dead bodies of the Rulers of the Heaven Realm behind. The only one alive from the lineage of royal blood of the Heaven Realm was the crown prince who was still completing his punishment of underwater closed-door cultivation. Whether this punishment was a blessing or a curse, but the Crown Prince had reached the Grand Hall too late that day. He was supposed to be there for his sister''s wedding before resuming his punishment but he was attacked by another group of assassins on his way. It was not clear what was more shocking, the fact that some mere assassins had murdered the Ruler of the Heaven Realm or the clues that were gathered which pointed at the Demon Realm as the mastermind behind the ambush. Chapter 85 - The Mysterious Enemy The Deities were enraged. The demons had crossed all limits. Without wasting any more time they headed with their army of 900,000 guards straight to the Demon Realm. Whoever was this new enemy, they were really intelligent. To keep the Demons occupied until the Deities reached there, another group of assassins had attacked the demon realm. The Deities were so enraged that they didn''t give any chance to the Demons to prepare for the war and attacked their realm in the middle of the night. Since, both the princes were in Southern Province of the Demon Realm, the Northern Province was left unprotected and faced most of the wrath of the Deities. Because of the peace treaty, the demons had pulled their guards down. None of them were prepared for a sudden attack. Especially when there wasn''t one but two completely different groups of attackers. Ruoshan knew that they were at the point of losing. There wasn''t enough time to prove that the Demons were innocent this time. So, he did the only thing that he could do to save at least half of his realm. From the ancient scrolls of Demonic Cultivation, he and his brother had learned many dark cultivation powers. It was time to finally use them. It took almost all of Ruoshan''s power to build the protection barrier around the Southern Province. The protection barrier was actually a demonic array. The guards of this protection barrier were the spirits of the Demon guards who had died in the past while protecting their realm. It took a lot of his power to summon an army of 400,000 dead demon guards and form a barrier. The barrier stopped the Deities and the mysterious assassins from entering the Southern Province and those who had already entered were now trapped inside and they had no other option than to fight with Demons. Though Ruoshan had lost too much of his powers, he still couldn''t leave his province to fight for survival on their own. As their leader, he needed to protect his people. He assured his brother who was fighting with a dilemma of whether to follow Ruoshan and help him or protect his own province. At that time, the Southern Province needed their Master as much as the Northern Province did. The sight that greeted his eyes after he reached the Northern Province, could make anyone''s blood freeze. The houses were either on fire or broken to crumbles. The crops were destroyed. The streets were covered with blood and the dead bodies of his people. The people who were still alive were crying beside the bodies of their loved ones. If it was some normal day, all of them would have kneeled down to pay their respect to their Lord but that day, no one cared. The Deities had already left. They had already taken their revenge. But the war wasn''t over. Before Ruoshan could even register the sight of disaster in front of his eyes, properly, black smoke covered him and the next second he was standing in the dark forest of Thundering Peaks, surrounded by hundreds of black-clothed assassins. He fought for hours but the number of assassins kept increasing by every minute rather than going down. At some distance, a silhouette in a crimson red cloak was standing on a high peak, keeping a close eye on the fight going on down below. It (the person in the red cloak) knew that they couldn''t take down the Demon Prince due to his immense powers and peak level of Cultivation, but since he was already weak, it crafted a perfect plan to tire him until Ruoshan couldn''t lift his hand anymore. Days passed but the fight continued. The silhouette in the crimson cloak was surprised beyond words. It had known that the Demon princes were powerful but for the first time saw it with their own eyes. On the other hand, Ruoshan''s brother and guards were searching for him. It had been days since he disappeared but they couldn''t track him anywhere within the three realms. Unknown to all of them Ruoshan was trapped inside a very powerful array, fighting with hundreds of assassins. It took eleven months before Ruoshan finally lost all his energy and that too because the crimson cloaked silhouette had become desperate to eliminate him from their path. It took that person eleven months to find a way to take Ruoshan down. But even after that, they couldn''t kill him. It was like his body was immortal. Fire, water, air, thunder, sword, from elements to weapons, nothing could hurt him, not even a scratch. In the end, the red-cloaked silhouette decided to use the Black Devil''s Circle to finally get rid of Ruoshan. The place where they had trapped Ruoshan in the Black Devil''s Circle was none other than the Dongji Village. The Black Devil''s Circle was also one of the forbidden array formations of the Demonic Cultivation. The only person who could break this formation was the one who had cast it in the first place. Since Ruoshan''s body was in search of energy, it started sucking the spiritual energy out of the crops and the nearby other sources of energy which led to the downfall of the farmers of the Dongji Village. On the other hand, the protection barrier that Ruoshan had created to protect the Southern Province of the Demon Realm to protect it, had now become a bane for the Northern Province. ********** "How come a protection barrier became a bane?" Li Ming asked with a confused look. She was actually more confused about the whole story. There were so many loopholes in it. Too many things that either didn''t make any sense or didn''t add up with the storyline. "Just like I told you. There was someone else who was pulling the reins this entire time. The Northern Province was not only attacked by the Deities but there was also a black mist that spread through the entire province. It had entered the Demon realm along with those assassins. Because of the protection barrier, it couldn''t enter into the Southern Province, so it started sucking the energy out of the Northern province. The sight that you are seeing around you is because of that black mist." Ruoshan told her as his eyes looked at the almost deserted and barren area around them. "What are you talking about?" Li Ming''s mind was buzzing with so many questions. She wanted to crack open his mind and get all the information in one go. The Demon Lord was playing with her while telling her the story in a circle. "My brother and guards found out about me being trapped in the Black Devil''s Circle only three years ago. Though there was no way to break the array they still tried their best but found nothing of help. Until you came out of nowhere and just within a few minutes, I was out of the clutches of the depth of the array. After you kick me out of your mansion..." Ruoshan stopped as he saw his Xingan glaring at him. But then with a soft chuckle, he continued, "I went to meet my brother and finally found out about what happened after my disappearance. When my brother finally reached the Northern province it was already too late. Along with searching about my whereabouts he was also trying to get both the provinces back in shape. The state in which I found my province and people was not because of the attack of the Deities." "It was done by that mysterious enemy, the assassins, and the mist." Li Ming said. It wasn''t a question because she already had her doubts from the starting and Roushan''s words only confirmed them. She had seen too many movies in her previous life to not understand such a simple point. He nodded his head with a little sad smile on his face. "The Crown Prince of Heaven Realm noticed the dark presence when they entered the Demon realm. He was one of our close friends during our Academy years. He knew us and had visited the Demon realm many times. When he was ambushed at his way to his sister''s wedding by the group of assassins he knew that they didn''t belong to the demon realm. Their spiritual aura was completely different from us demons. He noticed the same difference when they reached here. He already knew that something was wrong, so he ordered his army to return back to the Heaven Realm. It took months of the investigation but he along with my brother and other friends proved that the mastermind behind the assassination of the Heaven Emperor and his family, were not the Demons." Li Ming noticed the sadness and a hint of anger in his eyes which was gone in merely a few seconds but she already knew the reason behind his emotions - The Crown Prince of the Heaven Realm was his friend. Though he stopped his army from attacking the Demon Realm and proved them innocent but that day he still left the Demons unprotected, especially when he could have done something to help them! Chapter 86 - The Silver Marks "But it had been so many years since that day. Why the Northern Province looks like it had survived a war just a few days ago?" Li Ming asked the question that was poking her limited brain cells the most. Her question worked as a distraction for Ruoshan as he came out of his trance and answered, "Whoever that mysterious enemy was, they were not happy to see their plan failing. Not only the Heaven Realm retreated but the Demon Realm was also proven innocent. This ruined their entire plan. Just as the army of Heaven Realm retreated, they realized that something had gone wrong in their planing. That''s why they tried to finish me off and at the same time that dark mist took over the Northern Province." "The black mist has been sucking out all the energy out of the Northern Province. It''s not even possible to grow crops or vegetables. The dark clouds that you are seeing have been there for years by now. After that night, the Northern province has not seen a single glimpse of the daylight. My people spent their entire day fixing their houses so that they can sleep with a roof above their heads but at the exact time of sunrise, the houses crumble down on their own. It has been happening for years. They don''t have food, no drinkable water, no permanent house to live in, and all this time they have been suffering." Li Ming''s heart clenched as she saw the pure hurt and sadness in Ruoshan''s eyes. The anger that was directed at himself for failing his people. She had left his lap during the time he was telling her about his past. She stood against the opposite guardrail of the bridge as she took in all of his expressions in, most of them disappeared within seconds leaving a cold and distant one as a mask. "If there was no water and food, how are they still alive?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. Ruoshan looked up at her. A sad smile adorning his peerless handsome face. "My brother has made sure to provide my people with food, water, and clothing. He has done everything in his power to find out about exactly what was wrong with Northern Province but nothing helped. There''s something here which is stopping anyone, who''s not a part of the demon realm, from entering the Demon Realm. Only my brother can enter in the Northern Province." Li Ming let the information sink in. If a non- demon couldn''t enter in the Northern Province that meant the Heaven Emperor and the other friends of Ruoshan were also unable to help. "Why didn''t your brother took these people to the Southern Province?" Li Ming asked suddenly. It was a very good solution and she couldn''t believe that the Demon Prince of Southern Province never thought of it. "That''s why the protection barrier surrounding the Southern province became a bane. Though it''s protecting them but it doesn''t let anyone enter or leave the Southern Province." Ruoshan answered. His lips twitched at the end with a smile but it never reached his eyes. "What the heck? This is....! But now you are back and you can lower that protection barrier, right?" She waited for his reply and when Ruoshan nodded his head slightly she continued, "....then what are you exactly waiting for? Why haven''t you shifted them to the Southern Province yet?" "Feel it Xingan. Let your spiritual energy flow and you will find all your answers." Ruoshan said in a soft voice but didn''t look up at her. His voice was telling her that she wouldn''t like whatever she was going to find out. Li Ming stared at him for a few seconds before she sat down on the cold stone floor of the bridge in the lotus position. Her hands were folded in her lap, palm facing upwards. She gave a last look to Ruoshan who was now looking at her with soft eyes and finally closed her own eyes. In the past month, she had been cultivating during the night times. She had not slept most of the days in the past month. Her days were too chaotic and busy. She didn''t get enough time to cultivate. That''s why she spent her nights cultivating and increasing her cultivation level. She was now on the last level of Middle Cultivator Rank and soon she would breakthrough to the High Cultivator Rank. She focused on her energy and let it flow around her. It was barely a few seconds later when she felt the repulsive energy that was trying to suck her own. A cold shiver ran down her back as she instantly pulled her powers back. Something was wrong with the energy of the Northern Province. It felt corrupted. A weird darkness loomed in the shadows waiting for its prey. She took a deep breath before she once again let her energy loose but this time it was attached with a protection spell. The spell kept the darkness away from her energy, keeping it safe from the repulsive aura of unknown evilness that lingered in the air. The air that was too silent to be real. As her energy spread more into the Northern Province, she realized that the darkness was in the black mist that was surrounding the Northern Province. But the meaning behind Ruoshan''s words hit her hard when her energy came across a group of demon children playing with black stones at the outskirts of the town which she had just seen in crumbles just a few hours ago. The same darkness that was surrounding the Northern Province, was also surrounding the children. It was like black smoke that was covering their bodies and clutching tight on them. Li Ming tried to reach closer to the group of children but the black mist was so repulsive that her energy was fighting her order. It wanted to stay away from the darkness. Wanted to keep her safe and hidden from it. Li Ming moved her energy away from the group of the children and searched for the town. It took her barely a few minutes before her energy found the demons who were still trying to fix their houses and just as she feared, all of them were emitting the same darkness. The level of repulsive energy coming from them was too much for her single thread of pure energy that it became claustrophobic. Li Ming felt her breath coming in short pants as her heart rate increased. The black mist had noticed her energy and now it was trying to latch on it. To suck it in and taint it with the darkness. Li Ming pulled her energy back. A loud gasp left her mouth as she sucked in a deep breath. She felt large hands circling around her small frame and the next second she was back in the warm and protective embrace of Ruoshan. He was clutching her so tight to his chest like he was afraid that she would disappear suddenly. She felt something cold running through her entire body like it was searching for something in particular. But even though it was cold, she felt her body relaxing and giving in to the foreign energy flowing through her body, letting it fill her body with warmth. "You are okay. You are safe." Ruoshan whispered softly in her ear as she felt him snuggling his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent deeply. At first, she thought that he was trying to calm her and that''s why he said that she''s safe but soon she realized that the truth was completely different. The silver-haired immortal was trying to reassure himself that she was actually with him, safe and unharmed. She felt his stiff shoulder relaxing as he inhaled her scent a few more times. She could feel the emotions that were a mess in his head. He was guilty of being a failure as a leader and he was worried about her. Li Ming felt her heart getting heavy as she remembered what she had just found. The demons in the Northern province were dying. The dark mist had poisoned them and everything in the Ever Night was crumbling under its darkness. There was no point in shifting the demons to the Southern province. Not only it would be a dangerous move to lower the barriers because it could open a door for the dark evil mist to enter into the Southern province but the demons of Northern Province themselves were too tightly gripped by the dark mist that there was no guarantee they would be alive if they were forcibly separated from it. And Ruoshan was seeing his Realm dying in front of his eyes. She was his only distraction from reality and the one who was giving him the energy to fight for his people. A gasp left her mouth as she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She was confused for a second but then she realized that the pain was coming from Ruoshan. She was experiencing his heartache and pain but it only confused her more. Why she was feeling his emotions so strongly? Li Ming thought as she tried to get the pain under control. But then her eyes landed on the silver lines that were now glowing under the milky skin of her left wrist and with that, her world fell apart. Chapter 87 - A Surprise For My Lovely Readers Li Ming strolled through the busy market street of the Wang Empire. The market was full of life with mortals and cultivators from all around the mainland. Even though the Wang Empire was the weakest Empire of the Mortal Realm but it still held a hidden gem that grabbed the attention of other Empires and this particular gem was the reason behind her short trip to the Wang Empire - well kind of! It had been three days since her visit to the Northern Province and three days since the silver lines had appeared on her wrist which had currently taken a break from their usual nonstop shining duty. Though she had found out about the reason behind Ruoshan''s lies and she didn''t hold it against him anymore but she had still spent the last three days in ignoring the Ever Night Lord. She had seen his eyes which were confused because of her cold shoulder treatment towards him and the glimpses of hurt that he tried his best to hide. But she wasn''t ready to face the reality yet. There were too many questions and she needed to find their answers. The Han Empire had two teleportation arrays that joined it with the other Empires. One was in the Imperial Palace that could have teleported her directly to the Jin Empire, but Li Ming rejected it within a second when Zhang Yong proposed the idea of using it. She was not interested in entering the Imperial palace until it wasn''t necessary. The second teleportation array was in the Xie Qiu City, but it didn''t lead to the Jin Empire directly, rather it could teleport people to the Wang Empire. Wang Empire had only one teleportation array but it was connected to the Capital Cities of all the other three Empires - Song, Jin, and Han Empire except the Central Empire. She could use the teleportation array of the Wang Empire to teleport to the Capital City of the Jin Empire, where the Herb Market was located. She woke up early that morning and after giving a few directions to Elder Fu, she took her leave. She didn''t need a carriage to reach Xie Qiu City since she had already been there before. So, she directly teleported there. Within fifteen minutes she cleared through all the checking points and was teleported to the Capital City of Wang Empire where she was currently strolling through the busy streets. In the past six months of her stay in this new world, she had spent most of her time in the black market, Dongji village, or the Thundering Peaks. She had rarely seen the normal streets of this ancient and magical world. That''s why she decided to stroll through the busy market street which was bustling. Maybe she would learn something new. ********* On the roof of one of the inn was lying a man clad in long dark red and black color brocade clothes. His long black hair was tied in a high pony with a long thin piece of red ribbon, a few loose strands of hair, with a little touch of red highlight in them, were falling around his face which was covered with a black mask. His obsidian eyes had a red circle around the irises that grabs everyone''s attention to them. His light pink shaded thin lips were glistening as he emptied another jar of wine. He hadn''t liked the taste of wine but he still emptied four jars within the last five hours. He was playing with a flute that appeared to be made of black jadeite, shining brightly in the morning rays of the sunlight. He kept flipping the flute in the air and every time he did that, the three guards who were hiding in the shadows a little far away cringed at the mere thought of their lord breaking the flute into tiny pieces. Though all of them were aware that it was impossible for their lord to break his flute but they still couldn''t help thinking the worst. The man suddenly straightened into a sitting position. His previously drunken self had transformed into a completely sober and sharp one. The three guards also straightened as they tried to point out the source that had piqued their Lord''s attention. But they couldn''t find anything. Everything was as normal in the market as it was an hour ago. On the other side, the man with the jade flute in his hand completely stood up. His robes lightly swayed with the breeze. His sharp eyes were scanning through the crowd that had filled the street down below. He had a sudden urge to visit the Capital market of the Wang Empire since the previous night. It was so strong that even after his many attempts of ignoring this stupid instinct he still ended up in the market of the Capital City of the Wang Empire even hours before the dawn. It had been five hours but nothing happened. Still, something was keeping him from leaving. And his instincts went haywire when that light fragrance of lilac mixed with honey reached his nose. This fragrance had been hunting him for the past one month. He tried everything to find the source of the fragrance but never got anything. Who knew that he would come across that fragrance in the Capital City of the Wang Empire. The three guards appeared out of their hidden place as they noticed that their Master was about to leave. But a sharp side glance from their Lord and all three of them froze in their steps. The message was clear - not to follow him. And the next second the man in black & red robes gracefully jumped down the roof of the two stories Inn and disappeared in the crowd. Somehow his appearance and dark aura didn''t catch anyone''s attention. ********* Li Ming was looking at a stall that was selling hairpins but after going through all the different designs she still didn''t find a single one to her liking. She had just walked a few steps away from the stall when a small body collided with her and nearly sent her tumbling down on her ass but she somehow saved herself from the embarrassment. Her eyes landed on the little boy who was not as quick as her and had landed on the ground. He was barely seven or eight years old. Though he didn''t look poor but his appearance was still shouting that he belonged to the so-called middle-class family. His clothes were a little too loose on his body. They looked like they had been washed too many times but they were still dirt free. The boy hurriedly picked himself up and kneeled down on the ground, shocking Li Ming who was about to help him stand up. "Miss, I''m s-sorry. I was in hurry and didn''t notice you. Please forgive my mistake." The little boy said in a desperate tone as he started kowtowing. "What the-? Hey, Stop it! Why are you kowtowing kid?" Li Ming somehow stopped the boy and helped him stand up. The little boy looked at her with tearful eyes as he said, "I didn''t mean to bump into you. It was an accident. I''m sorry for ruining your dress. My family has a clothes shop. Though they can''t match with your high-quality clothes but you can still take away anything from there for free." For a moment he faltered as he thought that he had offended the Young Miss but then he relaxed when she spoke those gentle words. Li Ming looked at the little boy and said in a tender voice, "I know that you didn''t collide with me on purpose and I''m accepting your apology. But there''s no need for any compensation." "Thank you, Miss. You have a great heart but can you please come with me to my sister''s shop and choose an outfit? After all, your dress is ruined because of me." The boy said in a hoarse tone as he looked at the Goddess who was standing in front of him. Li Ming again would have refused his offer if she had not caught the emotions in his eyes. Though they had guilt in them for ruining her dress but there was something else too - a hope. Hope that she would go with him to his sister''s shop. Hope that she would not turn down his request. And because of that hopeful look in his small eyes, she found herself slowly nodding her head in acceptance to his offer. If she wanted she could have read his mind to find out about exactly what he was thinking but she couldn''t make herself do that. To invade the mind of a little child who was completely unprotected to her magic, wasn''t something she wanted to do. She followed behind the little boy who was hurriedly walking towards the more crowded area of the market and for the first time in both of her lives, her powers failed to detect the presence of the mysterious person that was following her since she had collided with the little boy. Chapter 88 - Sweetheart Li Ming was following the little boy quietly when she suddenly asked, "I have heard a lot about the Divine Treasure Hall of the Wang Empire. There are rumors that they are going to auction some very rare treasures in the coming weeks." Lies! She had never heard the name of this auction house before and if not for Zhang Yong she would never have found about the upcoming auction. Zhang Yong advised her to pay the Auction House a visit to see if she could find a weapon of her liking. The Divine Treasure Hall was the actual treasure of the Wang Empire. It''s a rumor that the Master of the Divine Treasure Hall was actually someone from the Central Empire. This Auction house had many branches in different cities of all the Empires. But the most famous one was that of the Wang Empire because every year two days before the Lantern Festival, the biggest auction of the year was organized by the Divine Treasure Hall of the Wang Empire, and the treasures that were auctioned off were said to be one and only of their kind. Li Ming was curious to know why someone from the Central Empire chose Wang Empire as the main location to open their biggest auction house, especially when Wang Empire was considered the weakest Empire. According to the knowledge that she had gathered about the Wang Empire, before the opening of the Divine Treasure Hall, no one was interested to visit the Wang Empire because there was nothing in the entire Empire that could be considered as useful to them. After looking at all those facts, the presence of the Divine Treasure Hall in the Wang Empire was actually suspicious. But Li Ming didn''t try to ponder too much on it since she had nothing to do with either the Wang Empire or the Divine Treasure Hall. She was only going to visit it so that she could finally found a weapon of her liking and to use their teleportation array to reach the Jin Empire. Yes! The only teleportation array of the Wang Empire was under the ownership of the Divine Treasure Hall. "The Auction house is on the same street as our shop. They have not officially announced the date of the auction but according to the rumors, they would announce it soon. Are you here for the Auction, Goddess?" The Little boy asked as he looked at her with his twinkling eyes. Li Ming halted and looked at the boy for a few seconds and asked with raised eyebrows. A soft smile playing on her lips, "Goddess? Why are you calling me that?" The little boy blushed slightly but then murmured in a small voice, "Mother and Elder Sister always told me that a Goddess looks so beautiful and she is always kind. And you too are very beautiful and kind. If it was someone else then they would probably have beaten me for ruining their dress but you didn''t even raise your voice at me. You are just like how I have imagined a Goddess to be." Li Ming was so surprised by his words that it took her a few moments to collect herself. She crouched down so that her eyes were at the same level as his. She took his small hands in her warm ones and said with a soft smile, "This world is a cruel place. There are only three kinds of people who exist here - one who are givers, second who are receivers and the third one are those who stand at the side and watch everything in silence. Those who carry the status of givers are allowed to speak, give, or do anything they want. It doesn''t matter if they are wrong or right. Those who are at the receiving end don''t have the status or power to question or challenge the givers and the ones who stand by and watch in silence are the stupidest of all. They are too afraid to speak but too excited to watch the downfall of others. Even if they know that whatever is happening is wrong they will never speak against it because they aren''t aware of their own power. They haven''t realized the strength that they hold in the unity of their voice and it will take a lot of patience, sacrifices, and time to make them realize their strength." "I know that you are still a little child but life, hardships, and pain never take the age into consideration. I can only tell you the reality of the world in which you are leaving. It''s up to you which one of these three types of people, you want to be." The little boy looked at her with his innocent eyes. His lips trembled slightly as he asked, "Which one of them is the best?" Li Ming chuckled but her eyes only held sympathy for the child who was waiting for her answer to his innocent question. "None!" "Huh?" The boy was confused by her answer. "None of these three is best. If you become the first one you will end up exploiting your powers. If you become the second one you will always be at the receiving end of the endless unfairness of this world and if you become the third one you will end up in the crowd full of cowards and heartless people. So, in conclusion, none of them can be considered as the best. What matters is if you are brave and righteous enough to stand on your ground and be exactly who you are." Li Ming smiled softly as she looked at the puzzled expression of the little boy. "Do you want to be like those who misuse their power?" She asked him in a soft tone. The boy immediately shook his head in denial. Li Ming nodded her head once before asking her second question, "Do you want to spend your entire life as a person whom anyone can humiliate and take advantage of?" The boy again shook his head in negative. "Do you want to be a part of those who keep silent at every wrong and unfairness happening around them just because they are too afraid to even try to voice out their opinion?" Li Ming asked as she started in the eyes of the boy which promised a bright future if given a chance. "I don''t want to be any of those." He said in a determined tone. "Good. Because there is another type of people in this world but they are so rare that it feels like they don''t even exist. They are the ones who have learned their lessons. Who knows how it felt to be wronged and being abused by those in power. They have realized that silence only leads to the demise and they have also learned that the power is not for harming others. They are the people who have seen the reality of this world and have decided to become someone who is completely different from the rest of the world." "Can I become like them?" The boy asked. "Yes, sweetheart. Anyone can become like them as long as they have the same goal in their mind - to make this world a better place." Li Ming pinched his cheeks lightly as she said. "Sweet h-hat?" The boy looked at her in confusion. Li Ming chuckled softly as she answered, "It''s sweetheart. You can call someone sweetheart who is cute, adorable, sweet, charming, closer to your heart, and whom you love & adores a lot. It''s a type of endearment." She tried her best to explain. "But I''m not close to your heart then why would you call me that?" He asked with a cute pout. Li Ming wanted to pinch his slightly red cheeks and turn them into tomato but she controlled herself as she replied, "I''m not a real Goddess but you still called me one because according to you I have the same character traits as a Goddess. Similarly, though we have not met before and we don''t know each other but to me, you appeared like a little cute, adorable and innocent dumpling. Now it''s your choice whether you want to be called a sweetheart or a dumpling? Choose quickly." "I''m not a dumpling." The little boy said with a cute pout. "Alright! Then I''ll call you sweetheart. Now, let''s go to your shop." Li Ming said as she lightly rubbed his head and stood up, stretching her legs a little bit to bring them back to life. With a flick of her fingers, the stains that had covered her sky blue dress disappeared. The boy looked at her with amazement sparkling in his eyes. "You still want to come to my sister''s shop?" He asked but Li Ming could see the desperation in his eyes. "Of course. I need to buy some dresses. Now let''s go." She said with a smile on her lips that was covered with her veil. The boy nodded his head and started walking again towards their destination. As soon as the silhouette of Li Ming and the boy disappeared, the man in the shadows came out and looked at their disappearing figures. The only thought that was flowing through his mind was Why no one ever called him Sweetheart? Chapter 89 - The Lord Found His Lilac Girl They finally reached the busiest street of the market. The little boy stopped in front of a two-story shop. It looked pretty good from outside but Li Ming realized that there wasn''t a single customer walking in or out of the shop. She started to follow the boy inside when a soft honey dripping female voice stopped her, making her cringe inside. She turned to her right and found a girl in her late teens walking towards them. Her clothes and jewelry were not of the highest quality, nor she appeared like the Young Miss of a noble family however she conducted herself with pride. Li Ming looked behind the girl and her gaze landed on the shop that was standing right beside the Little Boy''s family shop. "Yes?" Li Ming asked the girl who had stopped a few feet away from her. The girl bowed to greet Li Ming. Looking at her soft smiling face and demeanor, she appeared to be a well behaved and kind young lady but then again, never judge a book by its cover. The girl ruined her impressive image the moment she opened her mouth. Though her words were sugar-coated but Li Ming wasn''t really a fourteen-year-old child. Her experience as the leader of the Mage Clan had taught her too much in her past life and one of those lessons was how to read a person. She could not only read minds but she had also learned to read the personality of a person. It''s hard to trick her keen and sharp eyes and disguise your true personality behind a facade. However, it didn''t mean that she couldn''t be wrong. In a few situations, her opponents were too smart that it''s hard to read them. But she made no mistake while grasping the hidden intent behind the girl''s words. She didn''t even need to read her mind to confirm her doubts. "Young Miss, you are probably new in the Capital City of Wang Empire." The girl said in a polite tone. Li Ming stayed silent and didn''t respond. She found no obligation towards a complete stranger to answer about her personal matters. The girl''s cheeks turned slightly red in embarrassment but she still continued, "Young Miss, since it''s your first time in the Capital City, it''s our duty to make sure that you won''t be taken advantage of by some random tricksters. I''m sure this boy had told you some heartbreaking story about his sister or his poor family and forced you to buy clothes from their shop out of pity. But you are being fooled here. Don''t trust this little kid. He and his family have done numerous wrongs and because no one visits their shop anymore, they have started tricking and fooling innocent and new visitors, so that they can buy from their shop out of sympathy." Li Ming wanted to roll her eyes but she controlled her urge. She was amazed that there were people out there who actually believed the stupid words of this girl. "Oh! Thank you for letting me know. If you haven''t found me now, I have almost been robbed. After all, I''m such an innocent and simple-minded girl who can''t tell wrong from right. But I have to buy some clothes. If not this shop then where I can buy good quality clothes?" She asked innocently. Her words were clearly mocking the girl but looked like she had given her more credit than she actually deserved. The girl didn''t even realize that she had been mocked. Li Ming felt the little boy tensing beside her. She looked at him and found his eyes full of tears. She placed her hands on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. The boy looked confused but didn''t say anything and kept quiet. The girl was too happy to notice anything. She beamed as she hurriedly said, "If you are looking for good quality and designer clothes, why don''t you come to our shop." She said while pointing at the shop behind her. "I''m Chu Hua, one of the personal maids of the Eldest Young Miss of the General Lan of the Wang Empire. This shop is owned by the Eldest Young Miss and she''s famous around the entire Empire and even in some other cities of different Empires for her most unique designer clothes. I''m sure you will really like the clothes." The girl, Chu Hua, said in a very polite tone. She had controlled her excitement real quickly and efficiently took over a polite way of conversing. Li Ming was actually impressed by the master of Chu Hua, she had really trained her underlings very well. If not for her experience, she would probably have been swayed by her polite words. Tsk tsk, what a tricky method of snatching away customers. "If it''s really like that then I''ll love to check your Master''s designed clothes. Please lead the way." Li Ming said to Chu Hua. The girl smiled politely and started walking towards the three-story shop that had a constant number of customers entering and leaving it. Li Ming turned towards the little boy and said in a soft tone, "Let''s go." The boy didn''t move from his place and stared at her with confused eyes as he asked, "Where?" "To help me teach these stupid people some lessons. Won''t that be exciting?" Li Ming asked in an excited tone as she winked at the little boy who was now grinning. He nodded his head in excitement but then his smile disappeared as he looked towards the shop of the General family. Li Ming looked at the direction of his gaze and noticed Chu Hua looking at both of them with confused eyes. "Just stay beside me and don''t talk to anyone. Your Goddess will take care of everything. Okay?" Li Ming asked in a soft voice as she took one of his hands in her own and held it securely. The boy nodded his head lightly and his fingers gripped her hand a little tightly. Li Ming felt a sudden drop in the temperature even though the sun was reaching its highest peak of the day. She shook her head to stop overthinking and started walking towards the shop with the little boy. Unknown to her, a man in black and red robes was staring at her hand which was held tightly by the little boy. The sudden temperature drop was due to the cold vibes that he was emitting. His obsidian eyes glowed bright red for a few seconds before turning back to their previous self. The three shadow guards quivered under the cold pressure of their lord as they kept hidden in the shadows of the shops. They had no idea about what triggered their Master''s wrath but none of them dared to face their Master to find the answer. They were not interested in dying so early. On the other hand, Li Ming stopped at the entrance of the shop and looked at Chu Hua, who was slightly blocking the entrance, with questioning eyes. "Young Miss, why are you bringing this boy inside the shop?" Chu Hua tried to ask in a normal tone but she couldn''t hold the irritation out of her voice. "Is there some problem if I bring him along with me?" Li Ming asked instead of answering her question. "No. It''s nothing like that. But-" "If not then I don''t see a reason behind you questioning me like that. Am I allowed to enter or not?" Li Ming said as she cut Chu Hua off in mid-sentence. The girl wanted to argue but then stopped her words from leaving her mouth. Though Li Ming was wearing normal clothes, but she could tell that the clothes were if high quality. There was only a single golden hairpin in her hair but it too was very beautiful and her hair was perfectly designed. But the lack of her hair jewelry was covered with all the rings and bracelets that were decorating her jade-like hands. The hands which looked soft and elegant, indicating that she had never done any household work. But above all, the most impressive was her aura which shouted elegance, power, and status. Chu Hua had been personally trained by her Master and she had learned a long time ago to not take any of the visitors of the Capital market, lightly. She nodded her head and entered the shop, followed by Li Ming and the little boy. The black and red-robed man noticed the girl entering a shop and his legs immediately led him directly towards that shop. It was like his body, soul, or mind, nothing was in his control. Every single cell in his body was dragging him towards the girl who carried that lilac and honey mixed fragrance with her. The same fragrance that had been haunting him day and night for quite some time. He finally found his lilac Girl. The three shadow guards nearly let out a surprised scream as they watched their Lord walking towards a shop. "What is the Master going to do inside a shop for women''s clothes?" One of the guards asked his other partners as he tried to take in the fact that their Lord, who had disliked the mere mention of the word female, had just entered inside a shop of lady''s clothes in the bright daylight. What''s gonna happen next? Chapter 90 - So Ridiculous! Li Ming entered inside the shop and the first room that came into her view was a spacious and professionally decorated sitting area. She wasn''t expecting to see such a well-maintained shop and the workers who were busy in their works. A woman in her late forties was sitting behind a desk, busy writing something in a very thick bounded notebook, which Li Ming guessed was probably an account book. She was holding a brush in her right hand and was scribbling in the notebook, dipping the brush in the scraped ink every now and then. If not for her pens, Li Ming had no idea if she could have the ability to even write in this world. Her calligraphy could be considered at the very bottom of the Pacific ocean. But since she had two cabinets full of new boxes of her favorite pens, she didn''t need to worry about her poor calligraphy skills. The sitting area was empty except an eleven or twelve-year-old girl who was playing chess all alone. Chu Hua led Li Ming to the next room which was double the size of the sitting area. The entire room was filled with racks after racks of bundled clothes. Li Ming looked through the racks and indeed the quality of the clothes was really good. She didn''t find anything suspicious. Next, they went to the second floor which was divided into three parts. The first part was full of beautifully designed dresses. Each design was better than the other. There were wooden beams lined rows where the dresses were hanging. The second part held dresses which were made from the clothes of the highest quality. The designs were really beautiful and unique. There were some dresses that were specially designed for the ladies of the Imperial family and the high profile noble families. And the last part of the floor was a small room which was probably a storeroom. If she hadn''t grasped the evil intent in Chu Hua''s words, she would really have praised that Eldest Young Miss Lan for her business skills. Everything was perfect about the shop. It''s size, decoration, staff, quantity and quality of the clothes, the beautiful and unique designs of the dresses, everything. But that only made Li Ming frown because even though she was aware that something was wrong but she couldn''t grasp exactly what it was. It was not until she was exploring a dark blue dress with flowery patterns on it when she noticed the boy who had been following her around silently. His eyes were fixed on the blue dress and his entire body was stiff, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Actually, you really have good quality clothes here in your shop but unfortunately nothing captures my interest here. Maybe I should visit some other shops to see if I can find something according to my taste." Li Ming said with a soft smile as she started walking out of the room with the little boy, but was stopped by Chu Hua. "Young Miss, this is the best clothes shop in the Entire Wang Empire. You won''t find clothes of better quality and design than ours, in any other shop." Chu Hua tried to persuade the young girl who was slowly getting on her nerves. "Come on Miss Chu, don''t be so arrogant. If this is really the best garment shop in the Wang Empire then you wouldn''t need to stand outside and manipulate visitors to buy clothes from your shop." Li Ming said with a soft smile though her words were anything but soft. Her words were like lava to Chu Hua who gritted her teeth while saying, "Miss, what are you trying to say? We are not the ones who manipulate people to buy from our shop. I just saw that you were about to get taken advantage of by this boy, that''s why I tried to help you. If I have known that you will try to harm the image of this shop, I would have never helped you." They had grasped the attention of the other customers who were also shopping there. Everyone was now looking at them, some with interest or confusion, while others with bored expressions. "Miss Chu, you are the personal maid of the Eldest Young Miss Lan but you were standing outside the shop so that you can help those visitors who were manipulated by some swindlers. I''m really impressed that you and your Master are kind enough to help strangers. But how can you say that this boy was trying to trick me?" Li Ming asked with a raised eyebrow. Chu Hua smirked as she replied, "That''s because the elder sister of this boy had once stolen our Eldest Young Miss'' designs to sell the clothes as their own. But they got caught at the right time and our Miss brought their true faces in front of everyone. After that day no one buys from their shop anymore. That''s why he and his family go around the market, telling lies about them being the one who was wronged so that people will buy clothes from their shop out of pity." Li Ming frowned and her eyes landed on the boy beside her who was clutching her hand tightly. His head was bent down, therefore, she couldn''t see his expressions. Though she didn''t know the entire story or the real truth behind it but her instincts were telling her that everything wasn''t as what Chu Hua was telling her. "Is this boy belongs to some high-class family?" Li Ming asked after a few seconds of silence. Her words made Chu Hua chuckle slightly but she quickly got herself under control as she replied, "Miss, are you joking? How can someone from a reputable family stoop so low? Of course, his family is poor and greedy. Otherwise, why would they have stolen the designs?" This time it was Li Ming who chuckled, a sound that was full of mockery. Everyone was surprised to hear her chuckle but her next words were even more surprising. "Are you serious Miss Chu? You are telling me that a girl from a poor family entered into the well guarded General Manor and stole the designs of the dresses that your Eldest Young Miss had worked hard on? Do you know how stupid that sounds? Is the security system of the General manor so poor that they could not guard their house against a little girl? If a person couldn''t even guard his own house properly how could you trust such a person to guard your entire Empire? This is so ridiculous!" Li Ming said while shaking her head. Her mocking words against General Lan provoked Chu Hua who finally let out her true side from behind her facade. "Are you insulting the Great General Lan?" Her voice was loud and full of anger. "No. I''m not insulting anyone here. I''m just letting you know exactly how stupid your story sounds. Anyone with a brain can tell that your story actually makes no sense. I''m surprised that there are people in this world who actually believed you." Li Ming replied in her calm tone. Her words were a direct punch at the faces of all the ladies, from different cities or Empires, who were present in the room. After all, most of them were regular customers of this shop and had listened to the story about the girl, who stole the designs of the Eldest Young Miss Lan, at some point during their visits. But just like most of the others, they believed the story. While there were some who were not as stupid to believe the story but they were really not interested in finding out about what was the truth behind the story. They only wanted to buy good quality clothes and that''s exactly what they did, ignoring everything else. The ladies weren''t happy to be called idiots bluntly by a little girl but they stayed silent, not wanting to end up in the wrong books of the girl if by any chance she was from some reputed family. "And before I leave, let me clear one of your misunderstandings Miss Chu. When it comes to stooping low, no one can beat those from the high-class families." She said in a steady but cold tone. Before Chu Hua and the other ladies, who belonged to the said high-class families, could speak or more like shout at her in anger, Li Ming stopped them. "No need to argue. We all know the truth behind the elegant and polished image of our families and we all know exactly how low our families can bend for their gain. So, there''s no need in fighting with me over a topic that is not even debatable. I''ll take my leave now." Li Ming gave a side glance to everyone present in the room before leaving the shop with the little boy. Chu Hua gritted her teeth in anger as she looked at the girl as she left the shop with that boy. She didn''t wait anymore and immediately left the shop as she hurried towards the General manor. She would tell her Master about that arrogant bitch and then would see exactly who''s the idiot when her Master would show that girl her true place. Chapter 91 - The Sad Past Of Jin Jing "It feels like I have just listened to a script of some soap opera." Li Ming said as she looked through the rough sketches of some designs that Jin Jing had drawn. "Soap what?" Jin Jing asked with a frown. She wasn''t sure whether she should be amazed at the indifferent behavior of Miss Li and praise her or if just kicked that girl out of her shop. "Soap Opera. You know the same sad typical stories of nearly every other person." Li Ming replied without even looking at her. "Miss Li, you are so heartless. We just shared the sad story of our lives and you are acting like it means nothing." Jin Jing said in an irritated tone. She was still not sure how she exactly ended up sharing their past with the strange girl whom her little brother had brought to their shop. No one except her mother and little brother knew exactly what was the truth behind the corrupted words of Eldest Young Miss Lan which had spread across the Capital City of the Wang Empire, ruining their lives. They never tried to explain themselves because there was no point even in trying. But for the first time in the past five years, she had let the truth out and that also in front of a complete stranger. According to her brother, the girl was supposed to be a kind-hearted and understanding, but what she was seeing in front of her was a cold and indifferent Young Miss of some high noble family. She initially was not going to answer any of Miss Li''s questions but her brother''s constant nagging made her to be at least polite towards their guest. But the next thing she knew, she was already spilling out everything about their dark past. There was something about this strange young girl which made her heart believe that she and her family could believe her (Li Ming). She even let Miss Li see her last few designs that she had succeeded in protecting. But all she received, in the end, was her cold comment about how her past sounded like the story of every other person. Though there was no lie in her words but again she didn''t need to be so heartless. "Then what do you want me to do? Should I cry or pretend to be sad? Is there even a point in that?" Li Ming asked as she finally looked up from the designs and stared at Jin Jing. Her eyes were challenging and there was no trace of any kind of humor in them. "..." Everyone was at a loss of words. The young girl was actually right. There was no point in her being sad over their unfair past. "See! Even you agree with my point." Li Ming said as she slightly shook her head before once again returning to her task of examining the designs. Only heavens knew exactly what she was looking in those sketches for the past half an hour. "But Miss Li, what made you believe us? Everyone else believed in what Miss Lan told them but you are the first one who believed us and not her." This time it was Madam Xia, Jin Jing and Xiao Sheng''s mother, who asked the question. Madam Xia was a woman in her late thirties. Though she was still young but the harshness of her life had taken a toll on her body. She looked tired and a little too old for her age. Jin Jing was seventeen and actually pretty. But just like her mother she also looked tired. Her body was also weak despite the fact that their family wasn''t poor enough to not afford at least two times of proper food a day. Xiao Sheng, on the other hand, was only seven and Li Ming could see that both his mother and elder sister had tried to keep him healthy and fit. "Do you think I''m also an idiot like the rest of those brainless people who can''t see the truth behind the facade of that Miss Lan? But to be honest, I agree that I wasn''t expecting the truth to be something like this." Li Ming said as she collected all the scrolls of designs and folded them before putting them aside. "Whether you believe it or not but I still think that behind your accident back when you were poisoned had something to do with this Miss Lan." Li Ming said as she looked at Jin Jing. "Why do you think like that? Though she had indeed stolen my designs and made me the villain in front of everyone but can she really be the one behind my accident?" Jin Jing asked but it was clear from her tone that even she had her own doubts. It''s just she didn''t want to believe that her childhood best friend or more like ex-friend, could hate her to such a level. But if she looked back, all the hints were there from the starting. Jin Jing''s father was one of the third rank officials while her mother was the only daughter of a merchant. Their family was definitely not one of the high-class nobles but they were living a happy life. When Jin Jing was born she had a very strong spiritual core which instantly made her one of the few genius children of the Wang Empire. As she grew up her cultivation level increased rapidly. Just at the age of eight, she had already surpassed the eighth level of Basic Cultivator Rank, something that had not happened in the Wang Empire for quite some decades. Due to her good cultivation, she was immediately summoned to the Imperial Academy of the Wang Empire. She was undoubtedly the most favorite student of all the teachers and one of the best students at the Academy. The Imperial Academy was exactly where she met Ming Zhu, the eldest daughter of General Lan. In very little time both of them became close friends. Jin Jing was so innocent and simple-minded that she never realized the sudden change in Ming Zhu and how her friend started to turn cold towards her. And all that started when her father tried to stand against one of the plans that General Lan had suggested for the flood relief in the villages of the western province of the Empire. Both their fathers were never on good terms with each other throughout their career as the officials but this time there was something deep behind their clash. As time passed by there were many incidents where she had seen the jealousy and anger in Ming Zhu''s eyes but always ignored it as her overthinking. And then after a few weeks, her accident happened. They were on the task of collecting spiritual herbs from one of the mountains ranges near the Capital City when out of nowhere Jin Jing was attacked by a group of poisonous pythons. Somehow she got separated from her group and when she was attacked there was no one there to help her. She was barely eleven years old at that time and it was impossible for her to fight with more than a dozen third rank python beast all alone. By the time her group and teacher found her she was already badly injured. Her body was filled with so much venom from all the bites from the pythons. She somehow saved herself from dying due to the poison, by sealing her acupoints but by the time she was taken to a doctor, it was already too late to save her. The best the doctors could do was to seal some of her meridians so that the poison won''t reach her heart. And that led to the end of her cultivation journey. The most unusual thing about this incident was that the mountain ranges where they went to find the herbs had no spiritual beasts residing in its outer parts. And the group of pythons that attacked her was never seen outside of the very center part of the mountains. A few months after her incident, her father disappeared suddenly. It was rumored that he had committed treason by selling some inside military information with one of the rogue''s clans that were situated at the north border of the Empire. For some unknown reason, the Emperor never sentenced their family to be beheaded for the crime of treason that was blamed on her father. Jin Jing and her mother tried their best to find her father and the truth behind his disappearance but whoever was the real culprit behind all this was far more powerful than them. Her brother was barely a few months older at that time and he needed protection from the enemies that were trying to ruin their family. But their bad luck didn''t stop there. After her father''s disappearance, there was no way left for income. Her mother had received a shop of clothes from her parents in the dowry. Jin Jing had always loved to design new ideas of clothes and other than her family only Ming Zhu was aware about this hidden talent of hers. With the help of her mother and the sketches of her new designs, they opened their clothes shop again which immediately attracted attention due to their unique designs. And then one night, someone stole all her designs that she had spent years in sketching. Her body had become weaker after her incident and the most affected part of her body was her hands. As time had passed it became difficult for her to sketch or even write anymore. The designs that were stolen were the ones that she had designed before her incident. Not only her designs got stolen but the very next day she and her family got another shock. Chapter 92 - Twenty Four Pairs Of Hanfu "Ming Zhu framed you for stealing her designs and selling them as your own. Your shop got closed for months and you lost all your customers. On the other hand, Ming Zhu used your designs and with a little more improvement in them, she started selling them and became the most famous designer of the Wang Empire. In the past five years, you traveled to different states of the Wang Empire to find some clue about your father''s disappearance but found nothing and now you are finally back here to once again settle down and start from the very bottom so that you can give your brother a better future. Impressive!" Li Ming said as she concluded their poor state of living. Jin Jing nodded her head as she picked up the scrolls of her designs as she said, "I have spent years trying to once again draw some sketches for new designs. I know these are not the best ones in the world but they are all that we have for now." Li Ming looked at the sadness in Jin Jing''s eyes and then at Xiao Sheng who was also looking sad as he stared at his sister''s disappointed face. "Since you already have the designs then why haven''t you already started the work on them? According to what you told me you have returned back to the Capital City two months ago then what''s the reason behind your lack of activity?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. Jin Jing sighed as she answered, "After I got crippled I wasn''t able to sew clothes anymore. When we first opened the shop, there were three sisters from a nearby village who were quite good at sewing. It took us a bit of time but we finally found a balance between their way of sewing and my designs. But when we returned back two months ago we got to know that the three of them are now working for Ming Zhu. We tried to find someone else who can take the job but it looks like the Eldest Young Miss Lan doesn''t want us to start our business again." Li Ming chuckled at Jin Jing''s words who in return glared at her. "What? Come on, were you seriously expecting her to be happy about your return? Of course, she would do everything in her power to make sure that you would never become a hurdle of her path again. I''m actually surprised that she hadn''t robbed or burnt this shop down in your absence." "Well...you are actually right." Jin Jing said as she lightly massaged her head. "Do you think that we should leave the Capital City and move to some other state?" Madam Xia asked her daughter who was looking even more tired than the past few weeks. "Definitely not. Why we have to leave our home when we haven''t done anything wrong in the first place? I have stopped investigating about father''s case for now but it doesn''t mean that I''m giving up. As soon as I can find a permanent income source for our living, I''ll start with the investigation again." Jin Jing''s voice was calm and collected. It didn''t leave any place for any argument. A small smile appeared on Li Ming''s face as she listened to Jin Jing''s words but she pretended to be busy in looking through the dresses that were hanging in front of her. Her eyes landed on a pair of black and grey colored hanfu that attracted her attention. The upper part was grey in color with a white color undershirt. The long skirt was black with small beautiful prints at the bottom. A long white belt accompanied the beautiful hanfu, giving it the final touch. Li Ming picked the dress up and showed it to Jin Jing as she asked, "Do you have more pairs of this hanfu in the same design and color?" Jin Jing was shocked for a moment but then she hurriedly nodded her head. "How many do you want?" Her voice came out a little breathy and unsure. "How many do you have?" Li Ming asked as she once again examined the beautiful piece of dress that her expert eyes had found. Of course, she noticed the surprise and uncertainty in Jin Jing''s voice and Madam Xia''s posture. Even Xiao Sheng was looking at her in suspicion. They all were thinking that she was either about to mock them or maybe she was going to buy those dresses out of pity. "Umm, we have around twenty or something pieces?" Jin Jing replied but her reply came out more like a question. "Perfect. Bring all of them out. As long as all the dresses would be in perfect condition, I''ll buy all of them." Li Ming said in an excited voice. "Huh? But Miss Li what are you going to do with twenty pieces of same-colored hanfu?" Madam Xia finally asked the question that was swimming through the minds of all three of them. "I like this color combination and the simple design. That''s why I''m going to buy all those pairs for the maids working in my Black Jade Inn. It will look more professional if all of them have the same working clothes. I always wanted to have a fixed uniform for them but either I didn''t get enough time to check out the clothes stores or I didn''t find anything that caught my eyes. But these look absolutely perfect. They suit the location and the name of my Inn." Li Ming replied as she signaled Jin Jing to hurriedly took out all the other pairs. It took Jin Jing and Madam Xia a few minutes to bring all the dresses out of the storage. But finally, all the twenty-four pairs of the hanfu was in front of Li Ming. Since they had been stored for a long time there was a very faint smell lingering in the clothes. Jin Jing was about to apologize when just with a flick of Miss Li''s fingers, the light foul smell disappeared and in its place was a light fragrance of sandalwood emitting from the clothes. Xiao Sheng beamed at his Goddess while both Madam Xiao and Jin Jing were looking at her in amazement. Though this kind of tricks sounded simple and easy the truth was that only those cultivators could perform these simple-looking tricks who had mastered their cultivation level to a very higher rank. That''s why seeing a very young girl using such a trick shocked both Madam Xia and Jin Jing, who were a little familiar with the world of cultivation. "Now it''s perfect. Please pack all of these in a separate bag." Li Ming said as she handed the hanfu to Madam Xia that she had picked from the cluster of other clothes. Within the next ten minutes, all the twenty-four pairs of hanfu were stocked in the closet of one of her guest rooms in the mansion. She paid two hundred silver taels to Madam Xia for the hanfu and their brown-colored packages. She settled back on her chair and signaled Jin Jing to sit on the chair beside her. She took her wrist in her hand and let her healing energy flow into Jin Jing''s wrist. It took Li Ming a few minutes before she finally let her hand go. The poison was too much for Li Ming to heal with her powers. Though she could have healed Jin Jing immediately but the poison would have left some lasting effect since it had seeped into her bones. So, just to be safe, Li Ming decided to treat Jin Jing by using her vast knowledge of potion and the limited knowledge of alchemy that she had gained in the past few months. In this way, she could also test her medicinal knowledge. "The poison has seeped into your bones. It will be hard to cure it in one go but I think it will take a maximum of two weeks. After curing the poison we will see exactly how your wrists are going to respond." Li Ming said as she looked deep in thoughts. It took a few minutes before the meaning behind Li Ming''s words sank in the mind of Jin Jing, Madam Xia, and Xiao Sheng. "Wait, are you saying that Jin Jing could be cured?" Madam Xia asked in a quivering voice. Jin Jing was too shocked to even speak. Her eyes were staring at Li Ming with an expectant gaze. "Of course, she could be cured. But just like I said, it''s going to take a few weeks. I''m heading towards the Herb Market of the Jin Empire. I''ll visit you guys in the next two or three days and we will start Jin Jing''s treatment." Li Ming said as she stood up to finally take her leave. After she left Jin Jing''s shop, Li Ming headed towards the Divine Treasure Hall for her next destination. It barely took her twenty minutes before she was finally standing on the beautifully decorated streets of the Herb market of Jin Empire. Chapter 93 - Plot Twist Back on the beautiful land of the moon... An enormous black dragon could be seen hopping from one rock to another in the Deep Valley of Ice Spirit River. Its obsidian scales were shining and one could see a few touches of dark blue on them. Its wings were huge and its deep red eyes were changing their color between black and red every few minutes. At first, it appeared that the adult looking dragon was actually playing around but after a few minutes you could realize that you were not looking at a cute dragon playing but at an angry and furious dragon who was taking his anger out on the poor rocks. It would let out a stream of fire every now and then, trying to burn anything or maybe everything that came into his range. "Why did you bring him here?" Lord Yueliang asked Ruoshan as he stared at the black dragon from the top of the valley. "If I have not brought him here then there will probably not be a Capital City of the Han Empire anymore. He just transformed a few hours after Xingan left. It''s best if you keep him here with you. After all, there''s nothing much here for him to destroy." Ruoshan said as he flinched a little when the angry dragon burst a huge rock into crumbles and dust. Lord Yueliang gave Ruoshan an icy glare before he started to build a barrier around the valley to make sure that the angry dragon wouldn''t cause a ruckus in the rest of the moon land. "Do you seriously think that he will turn into his final beast self?" Ruoshan asked as he watched the Moon Deity completing the final steps of the barrier. "At first he was only away from your brother but he kept in check because of his bond with the Supreme Immortal. Then he got bonded with Little One too. Now, the Shadow Lord has none of his bonded masters with him. Your brother is out there somewhere but he hasn''t returned in the entire past month. The Supreme Immortal is also too busy, and Little One has left for the Jin Empire. Right now, he''s feeling left out and his beast isn''t liking the distance that has formed between him and his three most precious bonds." Lord Yueliang told Ruoshan. His eyes held the slightest glimpse of empathy but it disappeared soon enough before anyone could see it. "Well, at least he''s not breathing out black fire," Ruoshan said with a sigh. "Let''s hope it will stay that way," Lord Yueliang said with a sigh as he and Ruoshan finally left the valley and appeared in the study of the Moon Manor. They settled around the table that was placed in the middle of the study. A group of maids entered the study and left after a few minutes. "How are we going to calm him down? He needed to change back to Zhang Yong before Xingan returns back." Ruoshan asked as he poured the freshly prepared tea that the servants of the moon manor had served them. "The Supreme Immortal is in the Heaven Realm and he''s busy with some important work. I don''t think he will be available anytime soon. Little One is not an option, that leaves your brother. It''s time for him to finally return. Find him as soon as you can. I don''t think Little One would like to find out that she had somehow bonded to the Shadow Lord of the Dragon Clan. Moreover, it''s not the right time for her to find out about the identity of Zhang Yong." Lord Yueliang said as he refilled his cup with the fragrant tea. "No matter what time it will be, she''s never going to like it when she will finally found out about her bond with Zhang Yong. And maybe we too will face her wrath for keeping quiet all this time." Ruoshan said with a sigh. Lord Yueliang took out his zither. His long slender fingers ran on the cords as a beautiful melody drifted out of It. "But it''s not our place to tell her the truth. Let''s focus on finding the location of The Demon Lord of the Southern Province first." ********* Li Ming was sitting in a private room of a restaurant as she tried various new dishes for the very first time in her life, or to be fair, in both of her lives. The food of the Jin Empire had a unique taste and there were many local dishes that she hadn''t seen in the Han Empire. As she tried the dishes her mind was busy forming new plans for her future. There were too many things to do and her mind was creating a new plan every day. Her future plans were stockpiling as time passed. She needed to start working on these plans as soon as possible. The private room in which she was sitting had two parts, separated by a partition that was mostly made of linen drapes. She didn''t know who was the person sitting on the other side of the partition but she was sure that there was definitely someone there in the room with her. She mostly ignored the other person as she gulped down the food quickly. She hadn''t get the chance to have her breakfast that morning and it was already noon which meant that she had not eaten anything since her dinner from the previous night. While Li Ming was busy finishing all the food that was covering the table, a silhouette in black and red robes was sitting on the other side of the partition, his eyes were fixed on her every movement. A small smile graced his lips as he watched her eating all the food hurriedly. He was observing her so closely that he could tell when she liked a dish or when she didn''t like one. When she found something interesting about a particular dish as she tried to find out about the special ingredient that was making it delicious or when she looked at one of the dishes in horror. He almost let out a chuckle at her cute expressions. All he wanted to do at that moment was to move out from behind the partition and sat beside her, just observe her more closely. He wanted to read her eyes which held so much life and happiness in them and to inhale that lilac fragrance deeply so that it could be engraved in his memory for the rest of his immortal life. But unfortunately, he couldn''t do any of those. Though the emotions that he was feeling were too strong to ignore but at the same time, his mind was busy in proving that stranger girl as a danger, not for him but for the one who had made him wait for her arrival for millennium. His heart was marked for that one and only person and he wouldn''t let some little girl take that right away from her. His hands tightened in a fist as his knuckles turned white. The smile and affection that was present in his obsidian eyes a few seconds ago disappeared as they turned bright red in anger and disgust. He would make the girl pay for even thinking about playing such a deceitful trick on him. The three shadow guards who were hiding outside the window of the private room of the second floor of the restaurant shuddered as they felt the sudden change in their Master''s powers. Just a few minutes ago, he was emitting a warm and comforting vibe but suddenly it had turned into a cold and threatening one. They were both amazed and afraid at the speed at which their Master was changing his mood. It was a huge shock for them when they found out that their cold-hearted Master was actually following a young girl. Then they got another shock when they first felt the warm and comfortable vibes coming from their Master and the final shock was when the warmth suddenly disappeared and its place was taken by the usual cold aura but the most frightening was the anger that accompanied it. Was their Master got rejected or something? That''s the thought that appeared in the head of each of the shadow guards for a second but all of them immediately shook their head to kick the outrageous thought out of their mind. Which girl in her right mind would agree to be their Master''s partner? But the main point was that none of them were ready to believe that there was even a single girl born in all the three realms who could make their Master''s cold heart move. They would probably need a girl from some other world who could be able to do this impossible work. Only if they knew how close they were to the truth. But the point was, there''s indeed someone who had succeeded in moving their Master''s heart but not in the way they wanted. Chapter 94 - The Herb Market "Thank You!" Li Ming thanked the owner of the small herb shop as she finished her shopping and left the shop. The herb market of the Jin Empire was entirely different from what Li Ming was expecting. It was located at the end of the street of Capital Market. A huge board welcomed the visitors in the one and only herb market of the Mortal Realm where one could find any herbs and plants that could be found on the mainland. Of course, there were still some plants and herbs that were too precious to be sold in an open market but according to the information that she gathered, one could get the location of any kind of herbs or plants from the Masters of the biggest shops of the market and if the payment was high enough, they would deliver the herb themselves. The inside of the market was full of greenery. It was more like a place where nurseries were lined one after another than a market. The air was full of the mixed fragrance of different flowers, spices, and herbs. The spiritual energy in the Jin Empire was eight or nine times more than that of the Han Empire and the Herb Market had the densest spiritual energy in the entire Capital City of the Jin Empire. The spiritual qi was needed to keep the herbs fresh and green. The shops were lined according to what kind of herbs or plants they were selling. Starting from the smaller range of vegetables, crops, fruits, and spices which were cheaper & needed less spiritual qi to grow and ending on the major shops selling very precious and expensive spiritual herbs. Li Ming surely bought more than what she had planned. She purchased seeds for crops and seedlings for vegetables and fruits, accompanied with various spices, herbs, and a few very famous tea plants. She bought some specific herbs on the suggestions of Marshmallow. [A|N: Special thanks to one of my readers for suggesting such a cute name for the Little Fox Spirit] It took her three hours before she finally completed her trip of the entire Herb market. By the end of these three hours, she more or less had knowledge about each and every shop and its owner. She wanted to enter her mansion and plant all the herbs in the vast land of Xiao Tiantang as soon as possible. But the feeling that someone was still following her stopped her from entering her mansion. She shuddered as she remembered the cold aura that had hit her from the other side of the partition in the private room of the restaurant where she was having her lunch. That cold aura reminded her about the time when she felt the sudden drop in the temperature back at the Capital City of the Wang Empire. Was someone following her all this time? And if someone was really following her then who this person was and exactly why they were following her? All these questions were giving her a headache and at that moment she wanted nothing more than to just disappear in her mansion. She entered a small alley at the end of the street of the herb market and waited for someone to appear in front of her. Almost twenty minutes passed but no one entered the alley. She could still feel the cold aura somewhere near her but her powers were unable to pinpoint its exact location. Li Ming finally gave up waiting and in the next second her silhouette disappeared from the small alley. Once again leaving another person dumbfounded and at the same time impressed with her powers. ********* A twitch appeared on the thin lips of the man who was looking at the empty alley down below. His shock had long evaporated and in its place was an expression which clearly spelled that he was both impressed and intrigued by the girl who suddenly disappeared from the front of his eyes. One of the shadow guards appeared behind him and dropped down on his knees as he bowed. "My Lord, we checked through the entire Herb market but that girl is no longer here." The guard informed him. A small chuckle left the lips of the said Lord as he shook his head lightly. As the smiling expression disappeared from his face, once again it was back to its usually cold and indifferent look. "Keep your eyes open and inform me as soon as you see her. It''s been a long time since someone has piqued my interest. I''m going to love this chase my ''Sweet Prey''." His eyes sparkled bright red as the words left his mouth, making the shadow guard gulp in fear. Let''s pray for that girl to never appear in front of their Lord ever again, otherwise no one could save her. The shadow guard prayed in his heart as he trembled under the overbearing pressure of his Lord. ******** "Achoo!!" Li Ming sneezed as she entered Xiao Tiantang with a basket full of small seedlings and various packets of seeds. She lightly rubbed her nose as she followed Marshmallow and Snowy towards the opposite side of the pond. It took them about fifteen minutes before they finally appeared at the end of the small forest that was surrounding the pond. The clear area was large enough to fit at least three huge mansions which gave Li Ming enough space to grow her spiritual herbs. The area of Xiao Tiantang was huge enough to fit at least two Han Empires in it. But not all the area was open for Li Ming, at least not yet. According to what Marshmallow had told her, a new portion of the Xiao Tiantang would open itself for her every time she would receive a blessing from the deepest of the heart of a person who felt gratified towards her for something. All the area that had already opened itself for her except the pond was due to the fact that she had already received a few blessings. The funniest part was that Li Ming had no idea who these people were who felt such gratitude towards her that they actually blessed her with a pure heart. Well, in conclusion, all she needed to do was to help people and receive blessings that came deep from their heart and she''s good to go. Not too hard, right? At the moment, she could use the area of the pond, the small forest surrounding it, and the first range of mountains at the west end of the forest along with the clearance behind the forest where she was currently standing. "Let''s start plowing the fields. We should plant these herbs as soon as possible so that they would be ready to use at the right time." Li Ming said in a chirpy tone as she nodded towards the large empty field in front of her. After a few minutes of silence and no reply from her companions, she looked at Snowy and Marshmallow with raised eyebrows. "Why are you looking at us? Are you expecting us to plow the fields?" Snowy asked as he tried to raise his own eyebrows. Just imagine a white fluffy Pomeranian who''s trying to raise its eyebrows. All that you could see was cuteness and only cuteness. That''s exactly how Snowy looked at that moment. "Of course! Are you two going to rest while I will work hard in the fields?" Li Ming asked with a pout. "Don''t be so dramatic. You are only going to work in fields then why are you making such a hideous face? Now don''t waste time and start your work." Snowy said as he sat down on a log. "How can I end up with such useless bonds? You two are no different from each other. Both are completely useless." Li Ming huffed as she glared at her familiar and her first-ever spiritual beast. "But Master, I''m not useless. I have a lot of information that can help you." Marshmallow said while looking at her with cute eyes that almost soften her heart. "Other than being a talking encyclopedia, is there anything else that you can do?" Li Ming asked with a raised eyebrow. "Of course, I will become a very powerful spiritual beast in the future and will protect you." The little fox said in a proud voice as she wiggled her nine tails. Li Ming scoffed at the little fox and rolled her eyes. The baby fox sure knew how to boast but again she needed to start working on the fields as soon as possible. Li Ming changed her attire to black shorts and a white tank top. Her long hair was tied in a tight bun and her feet were covered in leather boots. She took a deep breath before marching forward and starting her work. For the rest of the noon and the evening, Li Ming worked in the fields. By the time of sunset, she had succeeded in planting all the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices with the help of the pixies who joined her a little later. That night when Li Ming was lying on her bed, a satisfied smile was grazing her lips. At least she completed one of her tasks that day. Chapter 95 - The Uninvited Guest "How''s he now?" Zi Yan asked after Li Ming had completed her diagnosis of her brother. Though he was continuously assuring her for the past few days that he''s feeling good and completely fit but her heart couldn''t believe his words that had became a constant lie in the past few years. "Looks like you have no faith in me. I already told you that your brother will be as good as a perfectly fit teenage boy after my treatment but even after a week you are questioning me." Li Ming said with a sigh which was accompanied by a slight shake of her head. "Master, you know that it''s not true. If not for you, I''ve almost lost him that night." Zi Yan said with her voice full of gratitude and courtesy. "Sister is right, Master. You are not only mine but both of ours savior. We will always be grateful to you for the rest of our lives." Yuan said as he stood beside his sister. Both siblings looked at Li Ming with eyes full of respect and admiration. "What''s with both of you today? Stop being so dramatic and let''s head to the front garden. We have tons of work to complete in the coming days." Li Ming said as she lightly flicked both of their heads before heading downstairs. The two siblings followed behind her, both rubbing their heads lightly. Zi Yan was the same girl who had entered the Godly Maple Tree, which was now known as Xiao Tiantang and fought with little Marshmallow. Li Ming had sent her to the Black Jade Inn that night after casting a sleeping spell on her. The next day, when she questioned the girl about her reason for entering into Xiao Tiantang, she found that the girl only wanted some water from the spiritual pond rather than the white pearl stone. Yuan was Zi Yan''s twin brother and both of the siblings were nineteen years old. Her brother was suffering from a chronic disease and after years of medical treatment, the doctors were still unable to cure him. After years of searching around, Zi Yan had come across a rumor that the water from the Spiritual pond of the Godly Maple Tree had the ability to cure diseases when mixed with some specific spiritual herbs. Though it was only a rumor but at that moment she had no other options. Her brother was her only family in the entire mainland and she was ready to do anything to protect him. At first, it was hard to believe her words but Li Ming could read her thoughts even though the girl had a strong barrier around her mind. When Li Ming finally met Yuan, who was staying in an inn, she knew that Zi Yan wasn''t lying. Yuan was indeed suffering from a chronic disease but it wasn''t incurable. Li Ming did some magical experiments on the water of the spiritual pond of Xiao Tiantang and found that the water was actually helpful as medicine if used properly. It took Li Ming only two days to cure Yuan but she still kept him under observation for a few days. She decided to let the siblings go after she had cured Yuan but the siblings refused to leave and asked for her permission to stay with her. Zi Yan and Yuan were originally from a town of the Northeast Han Empire. Their father was a part of the troops that were stationed on the northeast border of the Empire. Their mother had died due to illness when both of them were barely two years old. After that, both the siblings stayed with their father in the military camps, until he too died in a fight against a high-level desert spirit beast. Their father made sure to train both his children in martial arts and Li Ming could tell that both the siblings had a strong internal force due to their good base in martial arts. Keeping the two siblings with her only worked in her favor that''s why Li Ming didn''t refuse their request and let them stay in the orphanage with the other children. Li Ming had returned back to the orphanage directly from the Herb Market. Her instincts were telling her that something was waiting for her to come out of her mansion and for the first time in her life she felt like a prey. She didn''t return to the Black Jade Inn because she wasn''t ready to face Ruoshan yet but she knew that she had to face him sooner or later. She spent a few hours of the early morning in the fields with the villagers as they discussed about the vegetables and crops that they were currently farming. She also formed a group of villagers and tasked them to clear an entire area of the village that was left empty due to some unknown reason. The orphanage was no more enough for all the children and as the days were passing the number was only increasing. Rather than making changes in the orphanage every time new people joined it, she decided to build another place big enough for everyone. She was tired after all the work and decided to take a short rest before visiting Zhang Yong. She had a proposal for him which could work in both their favors. She was currently resting in the front garden of the mansion. The sound of the flowing water of the fountain soothed her hectic thoughts that were refusing from leaving her mind alone for a single minute. She was about to drift into a sleep when she felt the slight disturbance in the air. It was so soft and light that it was almost unnoticeable. Li Ming felt the presence behind her even before she saw the person. "Did you miss me Winter aka Miss Li?" The person asked with an icy touch in their voice. Li Ming scoffed as she stood up from her chair and walked to stand directly in front of the person. But soon a frown appeared on her face as she realized that in her current form she''s an entire foot shorter than the person standing in front of her. "This is so frustrating. What are you even doing out here? Is your kitty parties over or your psycho friends refused to accompany you anymore?" Li Ming asked with an irritated tone as she settled back on her seat. "You don''t need to worry about my kitty parties sweetheart. They are going on as perfectly as before. I''m just here because I wanted to make sure that you are fine and not in need of my help." The person said in a chirpy tone. Li Ming almost cringed at the voice that entered into her ears. The instincts of covering her ears were too strong but she somehow controlled her hands, not wanting to offend her uninvited guest. "You have not worried about my well being in the past five years. I''m surprised that you still remember about my existence." Li Ming said with a scoff. "You are so mean Win win. How can you be so impolite towards me?" The person said with a dramatic sad tone. "Me and being impolite towards you? Hah! You should consider yourself lucky since I''ve not kicked you out of the mansion yet. Now don''t waste my time and tell me why are you here." Li Ming said in a serious tone, stopping whatever whining comment was about to leave the mouth of her guest. "Whatever! I''m just here to inform you that a big part of those thoughts, or to be honest the doubts, are right in most manner." The person told her. "Wait, what do you mean?" Suddenly Li Ming''s entire attention was focused on her uninvited guest. "The familiarity that you felt about the black mist of the Northern Demon Province, your dreams that you are having for the past few days, and the soft whispers that you assumed you were overhearing in the Demon realm, all of them are connected in more than one way. And no, it''s not just a doubt of yours." The person said with a serious tone. The pink glow in their eyes was proof that the person wasn''t playing with her but actually telling the truth. "Can you tell me more about it?" Li Ming asked even though she already knew the answer. The person only shook their head with a slight glimpse of a sad smile on their face which disappeared the very next moment. "Also, stop running from what you have already realized is the truth of your life. It will only create problems Win-win. I can only tell you one thing that you are in for a very sweet surprise. Grace it as it comes. Don''t fight it nor question it. It''s a present, just accept it with an open heart." The eyes of that person were no longer shining pink rather they were shining bright gold with a little touch of pink in them. Li Ming''s heart was beating so fast as she stared at the slowly fading silhouette of her uninvited guest which disappeared completely after a few seconds. Chapter 96 - Soon-To-Be Personal Assistants "Don''t fight it nor question it. It''s a present, just accept it with an open heart....." These words were playing on repeat in Li Ming''s head. That''s exactly why she didn''t welcome that person anywhere near her. Their visit was a clear indication that she was about to lose her sleep because of their double meaning words. Exactly that had happened this time. Li Ming couldn''t sleep the previous night because of her dreams that had started haunting her from the day she had visited the Northern Province of the Demon Realm and then the words of her uninvited guest kept disturbing her. She had busied herself in work so that she could not think about those matters. She visited the jewelry shop and placed some new crystal balls in place of the previous one. Within the last four days, her gadgets had shown their magic and in place of the jewelry shop was now an empty area. She was going to start building the new shop with her creating powers soon. But it would probably take her a few weeks because she wasn''t powerful enough yet to build such a big shop in one go. At most she could complete it in four days with her current level of cultivation but she decided to not exhaust herself and take the longer route. She wasn''t in any hurry to open the new shop. To open it, she needed to handle some other important business too. The business of the Black Jade Inn was still growing with every passing day. The cooking staff of the inn was nearly fully trained and the income that she was getting from the inn was twenty times more than what she made in the first month of its opening. The Dongji village was also blooming in the business area as Old Sir Liu had found more dealers to sell their crops and vegetables. The children of the orphanage were diligent in their classes and many of them had shown better results than what she expected at the start. After making sure that all her businesses were flowing perfectly, Li Ming started preparing for her future plans. She visited Wang Empire a few hours before noon and started Jin Jing''s treatment. She also got to know that the auction would take place at the end of the week, which meant she still had five days left before the auction. ********* Present..... "Miss Li, you called the four of us?" A girl in late teens asked as she lightly tapped on the door of her study in the orphanage to alert her of their presence. Behind her were three more people, another girl who was a few years older than all of them and two boys who both were either twenty or twenty-one years old. These four were the children of the villagers of Dongji village who had returned at the start of the previous month from the Iron mines. After discussing with these children back then, Li Ming found that almost none of them wanted to continue their future as a scholar. That''s why Li Ming didn''t force them to study any major subjects. They were only needed to join the simple classes so that they could at least read and write. All this time, Li Ming had tasked two people to keep a close eye on these children. She wanted to know what was the area that interested them the most and both Old Mo and Old Madam hadn''t disappointed her. The previous night she received a complete analyzed data from the Old couple about each and every child. "Yeah. Come in and take your seats." Li Ming motioned towards the seats around her table. The four of them looked a little hesitant and nervous but still silently sat down on the seats. Li Ming was about to pour tea in the cups when the two girls hurriedly stopped her and started serving tea. She just shook her head with a little smile on her face which was hidden behind her veil and settled back in her seat. When everyone was once again back on their seats, Li Ming said in a soft tone, "Don''t be so nervous. You all are not in any trouble. I called you here today because I want some people who are actually intelligent and can complete my assigned tasks." The four of them looked at each other and then at Li Ming. The previous tension had left their shoulders but they were still nervous. "I received information that the four of you are the most intelligent and smart out of all the other children when it comes to tricky and complicated situations. Based on that I''m going to appoint the four of you as my personal assistants who would take care of all my businesses." Li Ming told them and noticed the sparkle of happiness, curiosity, and amazement that entered in their eyes. "What we are going to do, Miss Li?" This time it was one of the boys who asked. "Right now, I''ve two businesses going on. One is the Black Jade Inn and the other one is the farming that is going on here in Dongji village. I''m going to open another business in the main market area of the Capital City. That means three of you will be assigned to take care of each of these businesses and the fourth one would be your team leader. His or her duty would be to make sure that the data that I''ll receive from you guys is trustworthy and correct." Li Ming said as she pointed at all four of them. The excitement of these young kids was only increasing as Li Ming explained more about their future job, which sounded actually tiring but also much more fun than their previous work. "For example, if one of you is assigned to the Black Jade Inn then what is the job that you actually need to do. Let me explain and you all have to pay attention. If you have any questions, save them for the end. We will discuss all of them one by one after I''ll be done briefing you all on your future job." Li Ming said in a strict tone. All the four of her soon to be personal assistants immediately nodded their heads. Li Ming nodded her head in approval as she launched into explaining exactly what these four were supposed to do. "Though Black Jade Inn is doing good in its business but that doesn''t mean that someone couldn''t surpass us in that. To make sure that our business will always keep moving upwards we need to start analyzing the market. Unless we don''t know exactly what customers are looking for we couldn''t provide them that service. The one who will be assigned to the Black Jade Inn will need to analyze not only the market of other inns in the Black Market but I want that person to analyze all the inns of the Capital City. His or her task will be to find out exactly which inns are the most famous among the customers. What''s the main reason behind their success? What are the services that they provide to their customers? What''s the charge of each service? Who are the permanent customers of these inns? Their background and family, their reason behind visiting the Capital City or the Black Market. How many times they usually visit? I need all that detail. It will give us an idea about who are the people we should aim at and exactly how we should lure them to us." Li Ming explained in a calm tone. "And when I said that you need to analyze each and every inn of the Capital City then I mean each and every, even those who are not doing good in this business line or are even about to shut down. You will need to find out the reason behind their downfall. This job is going to take a lot of hard work, patience, smartness, and craftiness. And I''m confident that I can train you guys for this job perfectly." The four of her soon to be PA''s looked deep in thoughts and after a few minutes of silence and self pondering, all of them nodded their head in understanding. "Good. Now you know what is your job and exactly what you needed to do if you are assigned to the Black Jade Inn. Now the question that arises is exactly how you guys are going to do it. It''s not like you can turn up in the Breezing Flowers and demand them to show you all their records or data and they will serve you that on a silver platter. So, tell me, do any of you have ideas about exactly how you all are going to lure these informations out from the only people who could answer your questions?" Li Ming''s question left the four of her PA candidates into a mess. All of them started discussing about the possible ways which could give them their desired results but after hours of discussions and stupid ideas, Li Ming kicked all of them out of her study and gave them twenty-four hours to come up with ideas that would actually work. Chapter 97 - House Of Pleasures The Capital City of the Wang Empire... The Red Blooms Inn was buzzing with life as once again it was fully packed with customers. A group of musicians was playing a melodious song that lightened the environment and filled it with a soothing feel. On the fourth floor of that inn, the silhouette of a man in black and red robes was sitting at the small table, he was reading a scroll, and his eyes had a little twinkle in them as he read through the content of the scroll. He was the same man who had followed Li Ming because of her scent and currently he was staying at the most expensive and famous Inn of the Wang Empire. The door of his room opened and one of the shadow guards entered the room. The door closed behind him as he quickly came to kneel in front of the table where his Lord was sitting, bowing in greetings. But of course, he didn''t receive any response from his Lord. The man on the other side of the table didn''t even look up from his scroll and completely ignored the presence of the guard. This only made the guard to quiver in fear on the inside. He made sure to not show any reaction on the outside because it would only worsen his punishment. He cursed his luck for losing to his other two partners in the bet. If not for that he would not be the one forced to face the wrath of their Lord for failing the task poorly. He still couldn''t believe that they were unable to find the location of that young girl. It was like she had suddenly disappeared from the Wang Empire. If back then he would have known that the girl was going to become the reason for his misery, he would never have prayed for her safety. The silence inside the room stretched on as the time passed. It was probably after hours or maybe it only had been a few minutes, but the man in black & red brocade robes finally put the scroll aside that he was reading. "Since you all have failed to complete your mission, report to the House of Pleasure for your punishments." The man said in a smooth cold voice that it sent shivers running down the spine of the guard. The guard wasn''t sure if he should be happy to know that he wasn''t the only one getting punished but his other companions were also going to accompany him or should he cry on his horrible fate that he had to face the worst nightmares of his life as a punishment. But he silently bowed and left the room, without uttering a single protest. To be honest, the House of Pleasure wasn''t the worst punishment imaginable when it comes to the methods of punishments used by their Lord. But akin to its name the House of Pleasures was anything but a place for finding pleasure. The man in brocade clothes looked at the door which had closed behind the guard as he had left the room. A slight twitch on his lips was the only expression visible on his face which was covered with the mask. His long eyelashes and the darkness of the room covered his eyes hiding them behind a cover. The door of his room opened once again and this time it was his head shadow guard who entered into the room. He bowed in greetings and placed a small and thin wooden tube on the table. The man in brocade clothes picked up the wooden tube and opened its cap with a slight push of his spiritual energy on it. He took out a small piece of paper from inside the tube which was glowing in purple light. He read the content of the letter and sighed as he burnt the paper. "I''m called to the Yueliang Manor. Station some of your most trustworthy people here to keep an eye on that girl and to confirm if she''s really not in the Wang Empire anymore." He ordered his guard who bowed and left to execute his orders. A portal filled with red and black flames opened in the room and the man disappeared into it. Leaving a quiet and cold room behind. ********* "So, do any of you have thought of an idea." Li Ming asked the four candidates for her PA''s positions. She had spent her entire morning learning a little more about spiritual herbs and alchemy. By the time she finished making her first badge of low-grade healing pills, her entire spell room looked like a survivor of a disaster. That scene of her spell room reminded her of two past memories of hers. The first one was when the spell room had faced its last disaster thanks to Ruoshan and the second one was when she had first started learning potion back in her previous life. She was barely eight or nine years old when her mother decided to teach her how to make a sleeping potion. The ending result was of course far from perfect or even anywhere near good. The room in which she was making the potion had caught fire somehow, and rather than a sleeping potion, she ended up inventing something that smelt worse than decaying dead bodies. She didn''t remember anymore exactly what she had added in the potion to create that tragedy but it sure ended up with furious neighbors banging on their door late at night. She ended up grounded for three entire months even though she was actually pretty much innocent in that accident. Whew! Well, her past life was full of such kinds of incidents. Learning magic was sure not an easy task but performing it was even a few steps higher when it comes to creating disasters just with a single mistake. But again everyone learned from their mistakes, right? So, she had learned her lesson after failing three times continuously in making a simple low-grade healing pill, something that she could now make in a few minutes in potion form with closed eyes. She cleaned up her spell room and decided to take a break. Therefore, after having her lunch she called the four of her PA positions candidates to find out if they had worked on their homework or not. The four of them were - Sue Mei, Lei Xiao Ting, Lei Yong, and Zhou Han. Lei Xiao Ting was the elder sister of Lei Yong and was already 21 years old. Normally at this age, almost all of the girls get married in this world, except those who were focusing on cultivating their spiritual energy. The later were mostly those from the Imperial or high-class noble families. But since Lei Xiao Ting was working in the Iron mines for the past several years, she didn''t get married yet. Li Ming found out from Old Madam, who loved to gossip a lot, that Xiao Tang''s parents were looking for a suitable groom for their one and only daughter. Lei Yong and Zhou Han, both males were about twenty years old. Their working experience in the Iron mines had gifted them with a well-built body that looked even more intimidating since they were no longer suffering from malnourishment. On the other hand, Sue Mei was the youngest out of all of them. She was only eighteen and had a cute face. But Li Ming could see the sharpness behind her little round eyes. According to Old Madam''s gossips, Sue Mei often stole food from the kitchen to feed the little children back when they were working in the iron mines. And the most surprising fact was that in her three years of work in the iron mines, she never got caught even once for stealing food. Though she could barely do that once in every one or two weeks because of the tight security but whenever she got her chance she grabbed it. As to how did Old Madam knew about all this? It''s thanks to her hand of sneakily listening to the children talking among themselves about their hard days back at the Iron mines. Li Ming had noticed the sadness and guilt in Old Madam''s eyes whenever she told her about the things that the children talked about. That''s the only reason why Li Ming never stopped her from spying on the children because she had realized that in the name of spying the Old Madam was actually trying to learn more about the children. She could tell that the Old Couple harbor no ill intent towards her or anyone else anymore and listening to the hardships of these children was making their resolve of taking care of them even stronger. "Miss Li, we actually have some ideas about how can we dig out all these data and information from the people who are either working in these businesses or are their customers." Lei Yong said with a sparkle in his eyes. "Oh! Do tell then!" Chapter 98 - Teamwork "The best way to get all this data is by retrieving them out of those people who are working in this field or maybe related to it in some way." Sue Mei said as she looked at her other three companions and then all of them turned towards Miss Li for some sign of approval. They had already discussed their plans and ideas among themselves before coming to meet Miss Li. All of them had almost the same ideas and they decided to present whatever they had thought of so far. Now, all they needed to do was to find out the thoughts of Miss Li about their ideas. Li Ming nodded her head slightly, urging the four youths to continue. " There are some places where we could find such people, for example, the Inns, or brothels. We can''t go to all those Inns to ask such questions directly. It will be a very grave mistake. That''s why we can rather meet the workers of those inns while they were relaxing in other inns or brothels during their free time. It''s easy to get such information out of these people in such surroundings. We just have to find the perfect timing and place to hit the rock." This time it was Zhou Han who shared his thoughts but immediately went silent when he noticed the two girls, Lie Xiao Ting and Sue Mei, glaring at him probably because of his mention of Brothels. "Zhou Han is actually right. Places like Brothels and Inns are daily visited by people who come there to relax and chit chat. Most of their topics would be related to their work or about the gossips that are the hot topics of the city at that moment. If you play your cards right then you will get all the information without too much struggle." Li Ming said as she showed her approval of Zhou Han''s idea. " Actually it will be easy to find all the information as long as we can locate people who are ready to speak." Lei Xiao Ting said and the others nodded their heads in agreement. "We can also visit music houses. They have a lot of visitors too. But the point is that none of these people would speak on their own, we have to find a way to make them speak without making it obvious." Sue Mei added her thoughts and once again the others agreed with each other''s points. "But Miss Li, how are we going to make them speak? Just like you told us, no one is going to share such great secrets of their business on a silver platter. Then how can we make them speak?" Lei Yong asked and the others also looked at her for guidance. Li Ming frowned slightly as she answered in a confused tone, "Isn''t that simple? You can either use the money to make them speak or if money won''t work you can always threaten them." Her words left the four youths staring at her with shocked eyes and gaping mouths. Looked like they were not expecting her to suggest such simple ways! "Now go on and practice how you guys are going to threaten people to make them speak. You all look like young innocent kids. If you need to show that you guys are even a little bit dangerous than you will need to practice hard to bring that look on your face and that aura in your body. Now shoo and start practicing immediately." Li Ming said in a tone that clearly stated that they were supposed to leave immediately to start their practice. But how could they were supposed to even move when their little and also limited brain cells had refused to function due to the shock that they just received. "M-Miss Li, are we going to use these kinds of dir- I mean these ways to get the information out?" Lei Xiao Ting was practically squealing at that point, not in happiness but in horror. "Why? Is there any problem in my ways?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. She was struggling to not laugh at the horrified looks that had taken over their faces. "B-But....isn''t that wrong?" It was Lei Yong who finally dared to voice out their thoughts but it only made the other three gulp down in fear. "Of course, it is. But again, to be honest, there''s nothing wrong and right when it comes to business. If you keep stuck with the right way bullshit then you will only face downfall. Business is a world of players where only the best player takes the trophy home. You need to play this game with your mind, it''s not for those who are in control of their hearts. Of course, it doesn''t mean that you have the right to commit crimes and corruptions, nor it gives you permission for exploiting others. But since you guys don''t have any better ideas. So, let''s just use mine. After all, we will either be buying their loyalty or threatening them, nothing serious." Li Ming said with a dismissive tone. "Ah?" The four youths looked at their Master with shocked expressions. They were moved by her words but at the same time, they were shocked to hear the solution that Miss Li had provided. They kept silent and immobile for the next few minutes before finally, something dawned on Sue Mei. She signaled towards her other three companions and though the others weren''t sure what she was up to but they still followed her steps. They all stood up from their seats one by one and bowed to Li Ming. "Miss Li, we are apologizing for our mistakes. It took us a lot of time to understand that it''s our task to find out the answers to our questions. You are here to guide us not to do our jobs." Sue Mei said with a tone that sounded both apologetic and firm. A small glint appeared in Li Ming''s eyes and her lips bloomed into a soft smile. "Always remember this, if I have to solve all your problems and answer all your questions then there''s no need for me to even assign you guys as my employees. I need you all to think more about this topic. Try to give your hundred percent in finding a solution, I''m sure the four of you can find at least one method if you all work as a team. Because you are not competing with each other rather in the future the four of you will compete against all our business rivals as a group. There''s a great saying - ''United we Stand and Divided we Fall''. First, you have to learn to work as a team even though all of you will be assigned to different businesses and only after you will learn to work as a team, you will find that it''s much easier to find your way out of any problem." Li Ming looked in the eyes of all the four of them one by one, letting her words sink in and settle in their mind before she continued, "And if because of some reason you can''t find your way out then I''ll be always here to guide you but that''s only when you will fail as a group, not as an individual. If I want I can get all this data in just two days without even wasting money or threatening people. But if I''m asking you guys to do it then it''s because I believe in you. I want to see your level of competitiveness and hard work. And let me remind you once again, you are not competing against each other, the four of you will be competing against the rest of the business world but as a team." The four of them nodded their head in understanding. The previous shocked expressions had disappeared from their faces and now there was a firm confident look which promised her that they were not going to fail her. Li Ming was no seer but she had her experience and understanding of people. Back in her previous life, she had learned the lessons of lives too early, most with personal experiences and some while watching others going through them. She could see potential in all these children and she wanted to give them a chance to show it to the rest of the world. It was without any doubt that not all the children were clear-minded. There were some who had already started to get affected by the darkness of this corrupted world. She needed to find a way to stop them from wandering on the wrong path. Maybe she won''t succeed in keeping all of them with a good conscience but she was going to try her best. The rest was up to their fate. The four of her PA positions candidates bid her goodbye and left the study. She was looking forward to know exactly what ideas they would present to her next but first, she needed to find Zhang Yong and Ruoshan. Chapter 99 - The Angry Dragon The land of the beautiful moon... The angry Dragon looked at the three men who were surrounding him and looking at him with displeasure written on their faces. But the one who irked him the most was none other than the man in the black and red brocade robes who was looking at him with cold eyes. His face was a mask of disapproval and disappointment. It only made the Dragon breathe out a surge of Fire in anger which broke the rocks around him into crumbles and dust. It was him, the Dragon, who was supposed to be angry from all his Bond mates who had left him all alone, but to his disappointment, the man was looking at him, not with softness in his beautiful and captivating eyes but irritation. The only one from whom he''s not angry was his Ming''er since she wasn''t aware of their bond yet. But the other two didn''t have a single excuse for ignoring him. He huffed out a puff of smoke and turned around, neglecting the presence of those three unimportant persons who were standing at the top of the cliff. "Why exactly is he being so stubborn and rebellious?" The man in black and red brocade robes asked with a frown. Zhang was acting too out of his character. "He''s feeling neglected I think!" Ruoshan answered his brother''s question as he kept his eyes trained on the dragon. The frown on the man in red and black robes only deepened as he glanced at his brother who raised one of his eyebrows while returning his look. His mind was in an uproar because of the lilac fragrance that was clinging to all of them, Zhang Yong who was currently in his dragon form, his brother Ruoshan and even Lord Yueliang. He now remembered exactly how he first came across that fragrance for the very first time. It was back when his brother visited him about one and a half months ago after someone had rescued him from the Black Devil''s Circle. The lilac and honey mixed fragrance was clinging on him. He personally didn''t like fragrances but that one was an exception. He had felt a sense of familiarity with it even though he had never come across it before. Exactly how his ''Sweet Prey'' was related to all these three people who were a part of his life? He thought as he glanced at his brother and the Moon Deity. "As far as I remember he was the one who wanted to stay in the Han Empire as the Fourth Prince. Seeing that, I don''t think he has any right to act like this." His voice was cold and indifferent. If he could, the Dragon would really have pouted at the words of the Demon Prince of the Southern Province. But unfortunately, dragons didn''t look cute while pouting. So, he simply dismissed the idea. "Still you kept in contact with each other after he came to the Han Empire. But you haven''t met him for the past nine months, even though you know very well that he needs tactile contact with at least one of his bonds." This time it was Lord Yueliang who spoke and from his tone, it was clear that he was not happy with the Second Demon Prince''s behavior. "I thought that Wen Guiying will take care of him in my absence. There were some strange movements happening in the ''Volcano of Flames''. I just went to take a look at that. Never knew that I would be trapped there for almost seven months, fighting some weird looking creatures." The Prince defended himself as he explained the reason behind his absence. "Speaking of Wen Guiying, the Supreme Immortal has been Zhang Yong''s constant target for the past nine months. You should be prepared to face him after you made him suffer." Ruoshan informed his brother with a small twitch of his lips. The Second Demon Prince closed his eyes for a few seconds to calm his mind down. But then he heard his brother speaking again. "Then what about your sudden visit to the Wang and Jin Empire? As far as I know, you have done exactly nothing there in these past two months." Ruoshan asked with a sparkle in his eyes which only made the Second Demon Prince more suspicious. Both Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang had a slight idea exactly what was the reason behind his brother''s sudden visit to the Wang and Jin Empire but none of them were eager to end his misery. The Second Demon Prince was left speechless for a few seconds. He hated it when all his Senior brothers started targeting him at the same time. For the rest of the world, he was a dangerous, cold-blooded, ruthless, destructive, and tricky Demon Prince of the Southern Province. Everyone feared him and at the same time also could not stop themselves from admiring him for his high cultivation powers and breathtaking beauty. But that same Demon Prince became a little brother when it comes to their friend group. He was the youngest out of all of them but every time all of them started to point out his wrongs, he felt like a toddler who was being scolded by his Elders. Just wait for the moment when the ruler of his heart would finally take over him. That would be a memory to behold! "I just wanted to spend some time away from all the chaos." That''s the only thing that he thought of saying. Obviously, this gifted him with two pairs of raised eyebrows and mocking eyes. While these three were busy bantering among themselves, the Dragon was fuming in anger down below in the Valley of Ice Spirit River. First, he was ignored when the Second Prince was not here and even after returning, he''s still ignoring him. This was too much for the fragile heart of Zhang Yong to take in as he was already felt left out. Without waiting for a single more second, he leaped into the air and soared high in the sky. He heard some loud voices calling him but he ignored all of them. Then a deep cold and demanding voice entered his mind, ordering him to return back on the ground, but he ignored it too. A portal formed in the thin air a few meters away in front of him and in the next few seconds, he entered the portal which closed itself behind him. "Where is he going now? To see the Supreme Immortal?" The Second Demon Prince asked particularly to no one but he still got a reply which only made his frown deepen. ********* In the calming environment of the Xiao Tiantang, a girl was continuously hitting a punching bag which was levitating in the thin air beside the pond. Her movements were timed perfectly and precisely. Looking at her body actions it was clear that she had been familiar with a punching bag for a long time. Her long hair was pulled in a high ponytail with a few loose strands falling down her neck. She was wearing a white crop top and black shorts along with black boots. Sweat glistened on her body as the rays of the sunlight, which was approaching noon in an hour, fell on her. Her hair was sticking to her neck, shoulders, and arms due to the sweat but even after her disarrayed and sweaty appearance, she looked like a goddess in her glory. The water pixies were playing in the pond with Snowy and Mallow. Their laughter and squeals were taking over the silence of the Xiao Tiantang. Li Ming stopped punching the bag and put her forehead against it to catch her breath. She had been training this new body of hers for the past six months and she could finally see some results. Her height has increased in these past months. She was now 4''11" which was still too small for her age and liking. She was 5''6" back in her previous life and she wanted that exact height here too if not more. It took her barely five minutes before she was once again full of energy. The spiritual energy in the air took over her tiredness and restored her stamina. Once again she was back to punching and kicking the bag with her fluid movements. A loud shriek stopped her in the middle of a punch after about ten minutes or so. Li Ming hurriedly turned around to look exactly what happened that made the pixies cried out. Her eyes widened as she took in the shape of a dragon that was flying directly towards her. She was about to launch a ball of energy at the coming danger when the dragon suddenly dived with lightning speed and the next thing she knew, she was surrounded by large and powerful wings that draped her into a cocoon and she was tucked in the embrace of the Dragon. What the actual hell was happening here? Chapter 100 - Soul Mates "Can you please let me go now?" Li Ming asked the dragon as she tried to get herself out of his tight clutches. But to her utter disappointment, the Dragon grasped her more tightly in his embrace and refused to let her go. She looked at the man who was standing in front of her. His eyes held a little glimpse of pity for her. This only made her anger climb higher as she gritted her teeth to stop herself from lashing out at the immortal. "Can you please make your dragon let me go?" She asked Ruoshan in a very desperate voice. She didn''t care about her appearance or the desperation that was evident on her face at that moment. All she wanted was to get away from the dragon who was hell-bent on keeping her tied to himself. It''s probably been a lifetime since she was trapped in his embrace, surrounded by the soft but thick wings, and though the warmth felt good in the starting but as it was already noon of a warm summer day, she was feeling anything but good. "He is not going to listen to me" Ruoshan replied with a sympathetic tone. "What the heck do you mean he won''t listen to you? After all, he is your spirit beast. How can you say that he won''t listen to you? If not you then who he is gonna listen to?" Li Ming was about to strangle the idiot who was only making her anger bloom. "If he had listened to me then we won''t be sitting here like this. I already told you that he''s angry with me." Ruoshan tried to defend himself. "Are you kidding with me? You need to find a way to get this dragon to leave me alone. It has been already two hours since he had clutched me in his wings like this. I am not going to let you sit here the entire day so just you can have a heart to heart talk with your dragon. And exactly what you did to make him angry? You can''t even take care of your spirit beast?" Li Ming reprimanded the Immortal who was giving an expression like he was having a hell of a time. But who cared. She only wanted to get the Dragon away from her. And the only person who could make this possible was Ruoshan. If not for him she would have almost blasted the Dragon with the most powerful energy ball that she could manage but coincidently Ruoshan appeared exactly the moment she was about to slaughter the Dragon and free herself from his tight clutches. According to what Ruoshan had told her the Dragon was his spirit beast who for some reason was angry with him and was now acting like a spoilt brat. That''s how she ended up sitting in the embrace of the Dragon, her back was cradled in his neck and front right leg, and one of his wings was draped across her to hide her body which was full-on display. Due to some miracle, she always ended up in a crop top and shorts in front of Ruoshan. On the other hand, Ruoshan was cursing himself for coming after Zhang Yong to stop him from doing something stupid in front of Xingan. He must have let the Moon Deity or his brother do the job but Lord Yueliang immediately had refused to face Li Ming. He and his stupid reasons! Meantime, his brother, who should be the one worried about Zhang Yong and his whereabouts, didn''t even care. Rather according to him, Zhang Yong was being disobedient and should not be spoilt, which was actually true, to be honest. But unlike the Second Demon Prince, both Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang were aware that Zhang Yong was going to meet Li Ming and that would only end up in devastation. So, In The end, Ruoshan was the one who ended up with the task to bring back Zhang Yong. And now he was facing consequences for his stupid decisions. His Xingan was already not talking to him for some unknown reasons and if Zhang Yong ended up infuriating her than who knew what she would do to him (Ruoshan). Maybe she would refuse to talk to him forever. The mere thought of his Xingan upset and angry with him made Ruoshan glare at Zhang Yong with his cold eyes. But the Dragon ignored him as he softly rubbed his nose in Li Ming''s hair. The later tried to pat him lightly even though her eyes told him that she was not happy in her current situation. All five of them had known for the past 50,000 years that they all would be tied to a single woman. It was a shock to all of them but with time most of them accepted their destiny. The first time he had seen her, he felt that pull and warmth towards her but it was only after he touched her for the first time in the Thundering Peaks when his soul recognized its other half. The warmth, love, affection, devotion, and sense of protection that his heart and soul felt was too sudden and new for him. But he received a surprise when he came to know that even Zhang Yong had formed a bond with her. Unlike the five of them, Zhang Yong''s bond was linked with their spiritual energy. Somehow, both of their spiritual energy had bonded together to form a link between the two. Li Ming was still too young to feel that bond yet that''s why Zhang Yong decided to keep it a secret until she was ready to face it. Though they didn''t like the idea of keeping such a thing secret but it was Zhang Yong''s right if he wanted to tell or not. Moreover, he was only asking for time. That''s why he along with Lord Yueliang decided to keep silent. Ruoshan found his other half of his soul when he needed someone the most in his life. When he was at his lowest. He only had two goals in his life, to bring his realm back to life and to love & cherish his Xingan for the rest of his life. He could feel the longing in Lord Yueliang too. No matter how much the later tried to not show it but Ruoshan knew his Senior brother enough to recognize the yearning in his eyes. What he didn''t understand was his reason behind staying away. The Supreme Immortal had also recognized Li Ming and her connection to all five of them but he was one of those who hadn''t accepted their fate yet. Ruoshan was sure that if Wen Guiying would come across Li Ming face to face, his soul would bloom like a flower too and he would not be able to turn away. And somehow Ruoshan knew that the man himself was aware of this and that''s exactly why after constant nagging and planning of Zhang Yong, he had succeeded in staying away from Li Ming. Then came his brother, the person who was the first to accept their fate. He was the one who was most excited to meet the chosen one. He surely had already met her but his soul still had to recognize her. And the last one, well he still had to make his appearance. Ruoshan let out a sigh as he looked at the Dragon and said, "It''s enough. You know that she''s not feeling comfortable in that tight cocoon that you have formed. The temperature is warm and you are only causing her discomfort. Let her go immediately and return with me. You know it very well that there are people who would not be happy with this impolite and disobedient behavior of yours." His tone was cold and hard. Li Ming inhaled deeply as her heart jumped at the deep cold voice that came out of Ruoshan''s mouth. She could feel the silver marks gleaming on her wrist which was hidden from the sight because of the wing that was covering her body. Her body was only fourteen years old but her soul was already twenty-eight and it had started yearning for its other half. The silver marks on her hand had five tendrils that joined to a single leaf of ivy. One of those five tendrils turned purple every time her soul felt the presence of Ruoshan around her. Sometimes light violet and sometimes a little dark. The other four were still silent and Li Ming had no idea how she was going to handle what''s coming towards her in near future. More than one soul mate was nothing new to her. Back in her previous life, she had seen many people who ended up with more than one mate. But except that, everything was new and different now. The world, the people, and the life that she was living. Exactly who was her other four soul mates and where were they? Chapter 101 - Mr. Big Blacky Zhang Yong was reluctant to let go of his Ming''er. Also, he was in no mood to face his cold-hearted bond-mate who was probably going to punish him. But he was aware that Li Ming was seriously struggling within his hold. Slowly and reluctantly he retracted his wings from around her. But when he noticed the sudden redness that had appeared on Ruoshan''s cheeks as his eyes took in Li Ming''s appearance, he almost smirked evilly at the Ever Night Lord. Li Ming herself was too busy standing up and fanning herself to cool her sweaty body down a little bit and therefore she didn''t realize that she was on display with her exposed milky white skin. She finally noticed that something wasn''t right as her surrounding had gone too quite suddenly, when a silky white robe appeared on her shoulders out of nowhere, draping over her and hiding her revealed skin under it. She looked around and her eyes landed on Ruoshan who was standing a few feet away staring at her with an intense gaze. He stepped closer to her and somehow Li Ming controlled her feet from moving backward. His eyes, his steps, and his aura, everything had turned predatory and Li Ming had no doubt that she was the prey. Within a few seconds, he was standing right in front of her. His hands suddenly grabbed the side endings of the cloak as he pulled it right around her. "You need to start wearing a little bit of more clothes Xingan, otherwise you won''t like the consequences." His voice was deep and full of dark promises. Li Ming felt the mark on her hand burn a little as it felt the nearness of one of her mates. The burn was not painful but rather a tingle across her wrist which could turn to pleasure just with a single touch from Ruoshan. She was more than sure that one of the tendrils would be gleaming purple, which was once again hidden by the cloak. Something that she was thankful for. She needed time to sort out her life. Moreover, she had no clue about the rest of her four mates. Would they even accept her? And even if they accepted her would they ever agree for a polyamorous relationship? She heaved a long breath and moved back a few steps. Her previous shocked and dreamy appearance suddenly transformed into a mocking one. "What happened Lord Ruoshan? Not used to seeing women with exposed skins?" Her tone was taunting and full of mockery. Damn, was she actually trying to mock Ruoshan? Hell yeah, anything that would make her legs stop from becoming jelly. But how wrong she was! Her taunt only ended up riling Ruoshan. In the next blink of her eyes, she was pushed against a wall, trapped in the cage that the Immortal had formed around her. Ruoshan had teleported them inside her bedroom in the magical mansion. His long slender fingers grabbed her chin and made her look up directly in his eyes which were shining bright purple. She took a quick glance towards her right hand and just as she had thought one of the tendrils was glowing purple just as brightly as his eyes. She hurriedly pulled her hand behind her back, away from the eyes of Ruoshan which hadn''t drifted from her face even for a second. Ruoshan slowly put his forehead against her and took in a long deep breath, inhaling her lilac scent which soothed him down immediately. His hand slipped from her chin and slid down her neck before it finally ended up resting just above her sweet spot between her neck and shoulder. Li Ming''s breath caught as she stilled, waiting for Ruoshan''s next movement. If he had pinched her sweet spot even lightly she would probably have come undone right then and there. But to her relief, he didn''t move his hand a single millimeter. It probably took them about ten minutes or something before Ruoshan finally spoke. "I''m sorry. I should not have...!" His eyes looked so pained and hurt at that moment that Li Ming''s soul cried out in agony. "It''s okay. I''m sorry too, I should not have tested you like this." Li Ming replied with a soft tone as a small smile played on her lips. The instant relief in Ruoshan''s body that followed her words was enough to calm her soul. But there was still something that was bothering him and it was clear from the hesitancy that she could see in his eyes. "What''s wrong?" She finally asked him softly when Ruoshan kept quiet for a long time, only staring at her with his eyes which had returned to their normal self. "Are you angry at me Xingan?" Ruoshan asked her as his eyes searched hers for an answer. "No, I''m not." Li Ming replied with a soft smile. It''s actually true. She wasn''t mad at him, it was more like she was avoiding him. "Really?" His voice sounded suspicious and also surprised as he asked. Li Ming chuckled lightly as she replied, "I''m really not angry at you. I was in so much hurry during that time and also I needed some time to digest all the information that I learned about the Demon realm. Sorry if that made you think that I''m mad at you." Looking at Ruoshan''s squinted eyes it was clear that he was still suspicious of her but after a few minutes he finally gave in. As long as she''s not mad at him anymore everything was good. "Alright! Let''s go back. Who knows what that dragon of yours would do to my Xiao Tiantang in my absence." Li Ming said as her mind went back to the huge dragon. "He likes you too much to even think about harming you or anything related to you," Ruoshan replied with a little shake of his head as both of them started walking out of her room. "It''s our first time meeting each other. How can he already like me? I''m actually surprised by his behavior. It doesn''t sit right with me." Li Ming said as she gave a suspicious look to Ruoshan. The tables had turned and now it was Roushan''s turn to answer and clear her suspicions. A small twitch appeared on his face as he replied, "Though it''s your first time meeting each other, he has been around you for a long time." When Li Ming looked at him with raised eyebrows, he continued with a soft tone, "He has been staying inside my spatial dimension all this time, and as I was around you all the time so was he. Just like me, he felt something calming about your presence. He had often asked me to let him out and allow him to play with you but I never permitted him. So that''s why when he became angry at me today for some unknown and probably stupid reason, he flew directly here to you." [AN: Liar liar pants on fire! So, who''s setting Lord Ruoshan''s pants on fire?] Li Ming was surprised after listening to Ruoshan''s words. She wasn''t expecting something like that to hear. And now she was feeling bad for the poor dragon. When they appeared inside the Xiao Tiantang once again, the sight that came into Li Ming''s view made her laugh out. The Dragon had picked up Snowy in his paws and the later was swinging upside down, crying for help. But no one looked courageous enough to challenge the enormous dragon. So, all of them were standing at a safe distance watching the drama unfold. When everyone noticed the presence of Li Ming and Ruoshan, Snowy started crying out for help from his master. Did the poor baby forget that his Master was even crueler than the Dragon? "Master, please save your baby from this devil?" Snowy looked at Li Ming with his tearful eyes. Li Ming folded her hands across her chest as she asked, "Exactly what did you do to make him angry?" "Why would you think that it''s me who did something? Don''t you know me? Can I be so stupid to annoy a dragon who''s as huge as a mountain?" Snowy asked her with a cute pout which did nothing in his favor. "You answered your question on your own. Exactly because I know you that''s why I''m sure it''s you who has done something and most importantly I agree that you are stupid enough to challenge a dragon who''s as big as a mountain." Li Ming replied to Snowy''s questions. Snowy was about to start his whining but a single glare from Li Ming made him spill the beans, "I j-just called him Mr. Big Blacky. But it was supposed to be a cute nickname." He hurriedly defended himself. The dragon huffed as he glared at the little white ball. The furball was daring enough to call the handsome Shadow Lord as Mr. Big Blacky? He sure had some guts! Chapter 102 - Exactly Who Is She? "Can''t you see that I''m angry at you?" Snowy asked with a cute pout as he followed Li Ming around the spell room. He had been constantly nagging her for the past an hour, lowkey trying to make her talk to him. But unfortunately, he was failing miserably. She wasn''t exactly mad at him but she also was not paying any attention to him which was the reason behind his constant pestering. Snowy had even started thinking that his master was enjoying the attention that he was giving her. The little devil was busy boosting his ego! Ruoshan and the dragon, Mr. Big Blacky, had left Xiao Tiantang about one and a half an hour ago. "Even if I am aware that you are angry at me then what exactly you want me to do?" Li Ming asked as she finally stopped whatever she was doing and focus her entire attention on Snowy. "Well, you can try to coax me," Snowy replied to her question but immediately changed his line as he saw Li Ming raising her eyebrows at him. The evil smile on her lips was enough for his soul to quiver in some corner. "I said that you can. I didn''t use should. That means you will never need to do something like this for me. Who said that I''m angry? Nope! I''m definitely not. I love my Master too much to be mad at her for such silly things. Haha!" Snowy changed his expressions to their cutest version and looked at Li Ming with hopeful eyes. "It''s good to see that you are trying to act mature. Very new of you. I''m impressed. Next time remember not to do something as stupid as calling names to someone you can''t handle on your own. I''m sure your punishment won''t be as easy as taking a dip in the pond." Li Ming told him in a strict tone though her eyes were soft. "That wasn''t an easy punishment! The water was freezing to such a degree that I almost got frozen in it, even though it''s mid-summer. You can''t call it a simple punishment. My soul almost left my body!" Snowy shrieked at the top of his lungs as he tried to explain to his Master that getting dumped into a pond full of such level of cold water could not be considered as an easy punishment. "Stop whining and leave. I have some important works to complete. Go and disturb Mallow." Li Ming shooed him out of the room as she herself teleported out of the magical mansion. It was time when she would find out exactly what plans did her PA candidates had prepared for their mission. ************ While in the Yueliang Manor... The environment inside the Moon Pavilion was too dense. Lord Yueliang looked at the three Immortals that were sitting around the table. The Ever Night Lord, Ruoshan, was too busy reading some music scrolls that he had suddenly found very Interesting. Similarly, The Shadow Lord, Zhang Yong, was finding his beautifully calligraphed and painted fan extremely intriguing. He too was busy in ogling his fan which he probably had already seen millions of times. But then came the Second Demon Prince, Qin Hei Long, who had placed his intense and cold eyes on Zhang Yong and he also moved them towards the other two from time to time. But none of them had uttered a single word. The pavilion was calm and silent and deep down everyone was waiting for the arrival of the storm. "Exactly who is she?" The question that left Qin Hei Long''s mouth grasped everyone''s attention. To be honest, they were waiting for The Second Demon Prince to either punish Zhang Yong or to release his pent up energy through words. No one thought that Hei Long would ask about Li Ming. A hint of a smile graced Zhang Yong''s lips but he controlled them from blooming into a full smile. Of course, the person running through his, Qin Hei Long, mind and thoughts was Li Ming. The one and only ruler of their mind, soul and heart. Even Zhang Yong couldn''t get the girl out of his mind and they were not even soul mates like the others. But his connection with her was as pure and beautiful as the bond of soul mates. Maybe he could never be her lover but he would be happy to stay by her side as her protector and friend. His bond with the Supreme Immortal and the Second Demon Prince was formed thousands of years ago. The two cold-blooded Immortals had risked their lives to save a dying dragon and that ended up with them being connected to that dragon for the rest of their lives. Zhang Yong was sure that the two of them regretted their decision of saving him almost every day and he too loved to make their lives hell as much as he could, but deep down all three of them cared about each other though none of them would ever accept it. His bond with Li Ming had formed the moment he had first seen her in the Black Jade Inn. He didn''t even realize the presence of the bond until a few weeks later. Neither he nor Ruoshan or Lord Yueliang had any idea about how their bond formed all of a sudden. But he would be lying if he said that he wasn''t happy because of her. Even though she appeared cold, detached, neutral and uninterested most of the time but her mere presence was enough to calm all of them down in a single second. Her aura was full of life and colorful light which attracts them towards her like a moth to a source of light. Zhang Yong''s amused eyes took in the hard expression of Hei Long, but there was something else there too, hiding behind his hard gaze was his true emotions. Confusion, anger, interest, irritation, hostility, and even excitement. He was full of so many emotions but he hid them well behind his facade. Zhang Yong could only feel a little percent of exactly how Hei Long was feeling and that too because of their bond. "What are you talking about?" Ruoshan asked his brother with a confused expression plastered on his face even though he knew very well about whom Hei Long was asking. All of them were aware that the Second Demon Prince was talking about Li Ming but none of them were eager to tell him the reality. Why? Because all of them had memorized every single word of the prophecy that had changed their fate forever. None of them wanted to take any risk when it came to their mate. Not even Zhang Yong. Hei Long would recognize the bond between himself and Li Ming whenever the fate would allow and disturbing the destiny was never a good thing, not even for Immortals or deities. A deep and dark chuckle followed Ruoshan''s question as Hei Long replied to his brother''s question, "Don''t try to act confused and ignorant in front of me. I can smell her toxic fragrance on all of you. These two are literally bathing in it...." He pointed at Ruoshan and Zhang Yong. ".....and even you are carrying a light scent of it on you." This time he pointed his words at Lord Yueliang. Before The Moon Deity could reply, Zhang Yong already opened his mouth, "Why? Do you want to accompany us and meet her too? I''m sure you too will like her." His tone was carrying a hint of mockery and irony in it. Hei Long abruptly stood up from his seat as he glared at Zhang Yong. This time his voice was laced with anger and a little hint of betrayal. "I never thought that the three of you can stoop so low. I know that you are not a part of this and you can be with whoever you want but you should have at least made sure to stop these two following your steps." His words were directed at Zhang Yong. And then he turned towards his brother and the Moon Deity. This time his voice sounded hoarse as he asked, "How can you do that to her? We have already waited so long. Can''t you wait for a little more? You won''t do this to her. You can''t!" His voice had lowered and there was a little hint of desperation in it. At the end of the day, Hei Long was the baby of his four senior brothers, and the thought that his brothers were still against their chosen fate, hurt him too deeply. He didn''t wait to hear their explanation or anything that they wanted to say. He didn''t need to hear that she was not going to appear. Because deep down in his heart he had a feeling that she had already appeared in their world. Now, he had two tasks to complete. First, make sure that the lilac fragrant girl would not be a thorn in their lives and only after he had taken care of this problem would he start with his second task of finding his soul mate, their soul mate. Chapter 103 - The Crafty And Cold-hearted Miss Li Li Ming motioned the four youths to settle down on the seats that were arranged around the table on which she was currently sitting. Lei Yong, Zhou Han, Lei Xiao Ting and Sue Mei, all of them slowly moved around and settled down on their seats. "So, have you guys found any ideas?" Li Ming asked as she fixed her gaze on the four candidates who were looking a lot more confident than the last time when they visited her. "After discussing the topic among the four of us, we actually found a few ideas that could help us in getting all the necessary information." Zhou Han told her with a confident tone. Li Ming was actually surprised to see that the four of them were no longer hesitant and unsure about themselves. Their postures, eyes and words, all held a new level of confidence. "Alright! I''m all ears." Li Ming gave her permission for them to start explaining their plans. "As we have already concluded that Inns, brothels, or music houses are the best places where we could find the workers and managers of various inns resting and chatting around. Therefore we will target these places." Lei Yong said as he looked at all the other three members of his team and then at Miss Li. Li Ming nodded her head and signaled him to continue. "We can''t ask them questions about their businesses directly but we can still lure the information out of them." He finished with a small smile playing on his lips. Li Ming raised her eyebrows at him as she said, "Stop playing around things that I''m already aware of." The four of the youths hurriedly nodded their heads, their smiles disappeared and a serious look took over their expressions. "What people love most is bragging. We can always found someone who''s either bragging about their wealth or their business. If we trigger the ego of these people at the right time and within the right limit, we could make these people let out some inside details of their businesses." Sue Mei said and waited for Li Ming''s opinion. "You are actually right. This plan isn''t really bad but you will need to find out exactly whom you can trigger and whom you can''t. I don''t want to spend my time saving you guys from problems." Li Ming told them and they nodded their heads in understanding. "We can wander around the market and find more information about the lower rank servants working in these inns. If there are people who need help or those who are already cheating their Masters for money, we can lure these people into our trap. They probably can''t give us details like those related to the accounts and VIP customers, but they can still give us enough information." "For example, who visits their shops the most and how frequently. The name of the accountant, manager, and maybe even the owner can be revealed if proposed the right amount of money." Lei Xiao Ting explained. Li Ming chuckled at the last part. She wasn''t expecting that to be honest, "The entire idea sounds good but I didn''t know that you guys are up for using money as your advantage. Last I remember you all looked horrified when I suggested it. Now suddenly you are up for using this idea. What has changed?" She really was curious to know exactly what changed their mindset. "Well, let''s just say we finally realized that you can either aim for profit in the line of business or at honesty and morality. This world is in the hands of those in power and everyone in power is doing business in one way or another. That means that none of our business opponents are people with pure and kind hearts. We are just going to do business too." Zhou Han replied to her question and the other nodded their heads in agreement. Li Ming could see honesty in their eyes and their thoughts. Her mind-reading ability was the main reason she never questioned the faithfulness of these four. They were probably not devoted to her with their soul but they had respect for her in their hearts and they appreciate everything that she had done for the Dongji village and its people. Most of all, they were thankful to her for saving them from the slavery that they had been doing for the past few years. "Good to know that you are learning the rules of this game. Of course, it will take time and experience for you all to become a good player but you are starting off pretty good." Li Ming praised the four of them and watched as a slight glimpse of happiness entered their eyes. The happiness of being praised by their Master. Other than that slight glimpse nothing changed in their expressions or posture. "So, moving on. Let''s say we find out the name of the accountant or the manager of a particular inn. Now, our next move will be to find out more about his personality and nature. Asking around people casually about a certain person won''t be much of a problem. For example, let''s say we go to the black market and enter into some random inn. There are also other people there passing their time. Everyone is talking about some daily life topics and we direct that topic to the businesses that are doing well in the black market. Wait for them to indulge deeper into the talk and then one of us suddenly says, " Oh! I heard that the Miss Li of Black Jade Inn is a very crafty and cold-hearted person." The people who are sitting there are either the people working in the Black market or the customers. Most of them would know about your true personality and after hearing our words they sure will try to clear our misunderstandings by telling us about your true personality. Just like this way we can make them spill about the personalities of other famous people of the Black market too. And this same idea can be used in the city market. What do you think of this idea Miss Li?" Lei Yong asked eagerly as he stopped explaining the idea. The others stared at Lei Yong like he had grown a second head. But they were not at fault. The cold aura that had suddenly taken over their surroundings made shivers ran down their spine. Lei Yong first stared at his companions in confusion to exactly what had happened and when he felt the sudden drop in the temperature, his eyes moved towards Miss Li. There was a cold look in her eyes and the cold aura was definitely coming from her. He had no idea exactly what had happened that made Miss Li angry but his confusion soon turned into horror as his mind registered the words that he heard next. "I think when you randomly choose an inn while wandering around the black market to find information about the true personalities of the managers and owners of various Inns, don''t end up in the Black Jade Inn. I''m doubtful that calling me crafty and cold-hearted in front of my own people would lead to them clearing your misunderstandings. I don''t want the entire Dongji village to stop their daily lives only to join your funeral." Her voice was a deep chilly warning that made Lei Yong gulped down his saliva in fear. How could he be so foolish? Lei Yong cursed himself in his mind as he tried to find some way to loosen the thickness that had taken over the air inside the room. The other three, Sue Mei, Zhou Han, and especially Lei Xiao Ting, were struggling to control their hands that were itching to strangle the stupid Lei Yong. Sometimes, the boy could lose his mind and utter some words that could end up as a decree of his death. And currently, he had once again shown this great side of his mind which was either completely empty or was too full of garbage. "Haha...! I was just giving an example." His words came out more of a squeak than an attempt of loosening the heaviness. Little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and the other three prepared themselves to flee from the room if the situation demanded. "Really? What a coincidence! I was also just giving an explanation. As far as I can think, there are worse futures than death for those who call me crafty." Li Ming replied with an evil glint in her eyes. Her words made everyone gulped down in fear. Lei Yong was almost on the verge of a mental break down and just when everyone was ready to say their final goodbye to Lei Yong, the temperature of the room returned back to its normal self. "Alright! I think the idea of finding information about the personalities of some certain people would be a good idea and I also approve of this plan. After finding out about their personalities you all will be aware of whom you can trigger and how much. You will only need to aim at their ego and the rest of the task is done. Now, there''s a last thing remaining." Li Ming told everyone as a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. Chapter 104 - Pill Refining - Part One Li Ming entered into the Xiao Tiantang. She was carrying a basket that was filled to the top with vials, crystals, various herbs, and magical ingredients. The sun was approaching the horizon as the day was finally about to end, ready to welcome a beautiful and hopefully calm night. She reached the opposite side of the pond where a bunch of very thick and tall oak trees was growing. Just as she stopped in front of the first tree which was slightly covered in light green and lime yellow-colored moss, a portal of similar color appeared in the center of the trunk, and Li Ming entered into it without any hesitation. On the other side of the portal was a five-story library filled with valuable and secret knowledge of this cultivation world. Mallow had introduced her to the five hidden treasures of the Xiao Tiantang that stored vast knowledge about this world and the Library of Alchemy was one of those five treasures. Currently, she was inside the library that stored information and secrets of alchemy. Behind her, both Snowy and Marshmallow also entered into the huge room which was almost empty except the various bean bags and the coffee table that Li Ming had placed beside the only but a large window. The library was built inside the trunk of the oak tree, every floor consisting of a single but large enough window that was not visible from outside the tree. The wooden floor was smooth and the temperature inside the library changed according to the season. Since it was mid-summer the temperature inside the library had lowered to give a better environment. At the corner of the room, a spiral staircase could be seen which would lead them to the second floor. The library was divided into separate levels based on the amount of knowledge they provided. Each floor was different from the others. The first floor was actually an empty room which was mostly used by the previous Masters of Xiao Tiantang for refining pills or sometimes to just relax as they spent their time reading the books and scrolls. The second floor basically consisted of the books regarding the information for those who were new to the world of alchemy. Li Ming had read through about a dozen books and a few scrolls in the past few days to understand more about alchemy and how it worked. She had also practiced the simple steps that were mentioned in those books, like purifying some simple herbs, cleaning the pill furnaces and cauldrons properly, channeling her spiritual energy to use it in alchemy, etc. The third floor had books full of information about each and every spiritual herb that could be found in all three realms. There was a particular part on the third floor which held books and scrolls filled with information about the herbs that could be found in the Demon realm or were somehow related to demonic cultivation. The fourth floor of the library consisted of books and scrolls that carried the method of refining the most powerful pills and elixirs of the cultivation world. Li Ming still had to pay this floor a visit and that''s not going to happen anytime soon as her current cultivation level was still limited to the second rank of high cultivator. She broke through the second rank the previous night while cultivating to store her energy for refining the pills. The fifth and the last floor of the library consisted of the most treasurable information according to Li Ming. The entire floor was filled with the handwritten notes and scrolls that the previous owners of Xiao Tiantang had left behind for the future masters. These notes consisted of some special methods of refining that they had come across or their improved versions left behind by the others. There was also information about some special pills that they had ended up refining on their own and the later ones had improved the pills over the years. For example, let''s say the first owner of Xiao Tiantang somehow ended up inventing a new type of pill that could be used for cultivating. But since it was their first time refining the pill, it wasn''t perfect. They improved as time passed and when the next owner of Xiao Tiantang took over their duty they found out about this new invention, the new owner also experimented on the pill and somehow increased its benefits. As time passed the owners of Xiao Tiantang changed and each of them contributed in making that pill better and better. Some experimented with its ingredients, some changed the time limit while some others changed the amount of qi used in refining. And whatever changes they made and the results that followed those changes, they all made notes and stored them on the fifth floor. "So, what are you up to?" Mallow asked as she and Snowy took their seats on the bean bags. Mallow''s nine tails were spread in different directions, making her look ethereal. Her golden eyes sparkled as the sunlight coming from the window fell on them. "In these past few months, the children of the orphanage has built a firm base of internal energy after practicing martial arts. The other children who have returned from the iron mines are also doing pretty good. I think it''s the perfect time to start their cultivation practice." Li Ming answered Mallow''s question as she put the basket on the coffee table. She took out the small vials full of yellow sparkly liquid from the basket and placed them on the table beside it. "This is the body cleansing potion. It can clean all the impurities out of your body and also from your blood. And these..." Li Ming took out the bowl consisted of different magical ingredients. "...these are the ingredients that I used in this potion. Now I''m going to refine the body cleansing pills. I have found a scroll that explains how to refine it. I noticed that nearly eighty percent of the ingredients used are different from those that I used in the potion. I wanna see which one is better and to what extent. Let''s give it a try." She went towards the opposite wall of that with the window on it and tapped her knuckles three times in the center of the wall. As she retracted her hand back a door appeared in front of her, leading her to the basement where shelves after shelves were lined, filled with jars and bottles of pills that were left there by the previous owners. In the middle of the basement room, a shelf was stood where the equipments needed for refining pills were placed. Li Ming picked up a furnace and refiner and brought them back to the first floor. She took out the scroll in which the method of refining body cleansing pills was written and brought all the spiritual herbs that she needed. She had bought the herbs from the Herb Hall of the black market and even planted some of them in her Spiritual Herbs field in Xiao Tiantang. Li Ming cleaned the refiner and fixed it above the furnace as she ordered Snowy and Mallow to take care of the furnace. Her eyes promised them a tour through hell if they fucked up in their job. It was a good thing that Mallow knew how to take care of the furnace, at least a little bit! Li Ming purified the ingredients one by one and placed them inside the refiner in order and closed the lid. She made sure the furnace was ready to go and closed her eyes to collect the right amount of spiritual qi that she needed to transfer to the ingredients. Since it was her first try of the day, she had not used much of the ingredients, it was barely enough to refine three or four low-grade pills. There were seven levels in pill refining and each level had three ranks. 1. Early Refiner 2. Intermediate Refiner 3. Advanced Refiner 4. Master Refiner 5. Expert Refiner 6. Profound Refiner 7. Divine Refiner The three ranks were - low, middle, and high rank. Li Ming had recently started practicing alchemy and currently, she was a low-rank Early Refiner. Her ranks and level would increase as she would spend more time in refining pills and elixirs. Li Ming pulled her hands near her heart and made an arc while crossing both of her hands. The fingers of her left hand were touching the veins of her right hand and the fingers of the right one were pointed at the refiner. A stream of spiritual qi started moving from the tip of her right-hand index finger and entered the refiner. This continued for quite some time. The total time required for making low-grade body cleansing pills was about ten minutes or so. They had already survived eight minutes without any incident but then the calamity hit them in the face of a white furball. Chapter 105 - Pill Refining - Part Two "Cough.....cough....!" Everyone was coughing as they tried to get away from the deadly smoke burning their lungs. Li Ming flicked her arm in a complete arc and with a glow of bright yellow light, the smoke suddenly disappeared from the room. As she looked around the room, her eyes immediately took in the refiner which was opened and filled with black ash-like material. She praised herself for not using all the ingredients in one go. She was sure that something would probably happen but never knew that actually, a blast would happen. Next, her eyes landed on the two little white furballs which had now turned black as they were the ones who were left unprotected when the refiner suddenly blasted. Li Ming had immediately pulled a shield in front of herself to keep the lid of the refiner and anything else hitting her. If she knew that the room would be filled with thick smoke within seconds, she would have gone with a full shield. With another flick of her fingers, the room was back to its previous self and so did Mallow. But Snowy was still covered in black soot. Li Ming folded her hands and gave Snowy a hard glare as she asked, "Mind to share exactly why you pulled such a stunt?" Her cold deep voice was enough to freeze anyone to death. "The furnace was about to die and the medicine wasn''t ready yet, so....," Snowy trailed off as Mallow facepalmed herself with her small paw. "Where did you find this idiot from?" Mallow asked Li Ming as she passed Snowy a hard glare. She couldn''t believe that such an idiot existed in the world. "Don''t ask me! All I know is that he loves to test my patience," Li Ming replied as she once again started setting the refiner on the furnace after making sure the refiner was completely cleaned and dirt free. After the equipment was set, Li Ming took out another batch of spiritual herbs and purified them. "Go and take a bath. Right now you are looking like the result of a very bad experiment," Li Ming told Snowy as she continued putting the herbs inside the refiner one after another in order. "Ungrateful people. Huff!" Snowy muttered under his breath as he trotted towards the portal which would lead him outside the library. Of course, Li Ming and Marshmallow heard his praise but decided to ignore him as they had a more important task in their hands. Mallow started the furnace and Li Ming covered the refiner with its lid. She once again channeled her spiritual qi into the refiner. This time the process went uninterrupted and without any accident. After ten minutes, Mallow turned off the furnace with a flick of one of her tails and Li Ming slowly opened the lid. Inside the refiner were four small round brown colored pills. They all rose high into the air above the refiner and settled on Li Ming''s outstretched palm. "Does it work?" She softly asked Mallow as her eyes kept trained on the four small round little balls in her hand. "Two of these are third rank low-grade pills. While the other two are completely useless. See those cracks. That means these pills we''re unable to consume spiritual qi and without any spiritual qi, they are not useful," Mallow explained as she pointed out the faults. Li Ming nodded her head but there was no disappointment in her eyes. On the other hand, she was actually happy about her small success after her four failed attempts. She put the pills aside and started preparing the ingredients and the equipment for another batch of pills. After fifteen minutes, she once again opened the lid of the refiner and inside were three third rank low-grade pills. This time none of them had any kind of cracks in them and all three pills passed Mallow''s inspection. "I think we should try these pills first before continuing to make more," Li Ming told Mallow as she put the five pills in a small bottle. "Alright! But whom are you going to test them on?" Mallow asked as she followed behind Li Ming and came out of the Library of Alchemy. "I''m going to the orphanage. I''ll test these pills on the children from the orphanage," Li Ming told the baby fox spirit. "But if the pills come out as defected? Won''t it be risky for the health of those children?" Mallow asked her Master with serious eyes. "What do you think of me as? Of course, I''m aware of this and don''t worry, I''ll make sure that nothing happens to any of the children who will test these pills. Wait for me, I''ll be back soon." Li Ming lightly rubbed the small cute ears of the baby fox who in return shivered under her touch and leaned to get more attention. Li Ming chuckled softly and with a last pat on the baby Huli Jing''s head, she disappeared from the view. ------ When Li Ming appeared in the front garden of the orphanage, she was once again wearing a light violet-colored dress rather than the black leggings and the yellow tank top that she had been wearing a few minutes ago. Her waist-length hair was falling loosely on her back, a single jade hairpin of high quality was set in her hair. A veil covered the lower half of her face but her eyes were enough to grasp anyone''s attention. The sky had already started darkening and the garden was illuminated by the several lamps that were hanging around. She went inside the living room and immediately was greeted by a group of children who were sitting around playing chess. The children greeted her and soon Old Madam too entered into the living room and greeted Li Ming. "Old madam, can you send Rou Rou and Liu Qiu into the study?" Li Ming asked the Old Madam and when the lady nodded her head, she went inside the study. After five minutes or something, two young boys around seven or eight entered into the study and greeted Li Ming. "Are you two afraid because I suddenly called you both here?" She asked in a soft tone as she took in their stiff postures. The two boys immediately shook their heads in negative as Rou Rou replied, "We are not afraid. You are not a bad person." Li Ming chuckled softly at his words and motioned the two boys to sit down. "I called the two of you here because I want both of you to test this pill and this potion for me," Li Ming told them as she tapped the bottle of pills and then the vial of potion. Her eyes were trained on the two boys who looked a little confused but there was still no fear in their eyes. "Don''t worry too much. I will make sure that none of you face any consequences." She promised and the two boys immediately nodded their heads in agreement. It was clear that none of the two boys was afraid. It was like they had their full trust in Li Ming. "This is low-grade body cleansing pills and potion. And these can only work on those whose cultivation level is below the seventh rank Basic Cultivator level. Do you two want to take this test? If not, I won''t blame you at all," Li Ming explained softly and assured the two that she won''t blame them if they refused. "I''m ready to take the test," Rou Rou said in a determined tone. Liu Qiu also nodded his head at Rou Rou''s words and picked up the vial of potion. Rou Rou also followed him and took out a pill from the bottle. Both of the boys looked at Li Ming who in return nodded her head. Liu Qiu drank the sparkly yellow liquid at the same time when Ruo Ruo gulped down the pill. Li Ming made both of them sit down in lotus position and trained her eyes on them. She waited for about a minute when the potion finally started working. Little black color particles started coming out of the pores of Liu Qiu''s skin and Li Ming directed them towards the open window. It took another minute before the pill also kicked in action and this time it was Ruo Ruo who was covered in a black oily substance that had started pouring out of his skin pores. Within the next five minutes, both the pill and the potion stopped working. With a flick of Li Ming''s fingers, both of the boys were once again looking clean and tidy. There was no more trace of the black oily substance on Ruo Ruo''s body or the black tiny particles that were released by Liu Qiu. Li Ming checked both of their pulses and hummed softly under her breath. Just like she predicted the potion was more powerful than the pill. If her calculations were right then at least six third rank low-grade pills would be needed to completely clean all the impurities out of the body. Moreover, the pills could be used by only those who were below the seventh rank of Basic Cultivator. In short, the pills were almost useless! Chapter 106 - Pill Refining - Part Three Back in the Library of Alchemy... Li Ming grabbed scrolls after scrolls as she looked through the shelves. She was currently on the fifth floor of the library. After the little test, she had her dinner in the orphanage and then returned back to Xiao Tiantang to start working on the new idea that had suddenly appeared in her mind. It was currently past seven o''clock and the moon had finally made its appearance. Shining brightly in the star-filled sky and illuminating the magical land of Xiao Tiantang. The pixie dust tree sparkled under the moonlight as the pixies also started closing their works to retire for sleep. As the calming silence took over Xiao Tiantang, Li Ming put all the scrolls on the coffee table. She settled down on one of the bean bags and started reading through the notes on Body cleansing pills. It took her nearly two hours to surf through all those notes as she herself wrote down some points on a parchment. It was past nine o''clock when she finished gathering all the information that she needed. She decided to take a breath of the fresh air of Xiao Tiantang when she felt the slight disturbance in the air. Since neither the portal nor Mallow alerted her, it was clear that whoever entered into Xiao Tiantang was either a familiar figure or someone who was accepted as a guest by the land of Xiao Tiantang on its own. Rather than using the portal, she directly teleported outside the library but to her surprise, there was no one as she had thought. The area was as silent and undisturbed as before but she sure had felt the disturbance in the air. A frown appeared on her delicate beautiful face as she tried to pinpoint exactly what could be the source behind the disturbance. After a long time, she still came out empty-handed. She could not find anything but the slight feeling that something or someone was there with her didn''t disappear. She closed her eyes and started casting a spell. A red fireball started forming between her hands which grew as her chants increased in volume. After five minutes when she finally finished casting the spell, the fireball in her hands had turned into a big ball of blazing fire. Li Ming launched the fire towards the sky and within a few seconds, the fireball reached high above the mountains and dispersed into tiny red sparks around Xiao Tiantang. Li Ming sighed and after glancing around for the last time, she once again teleported back inside the library. "Where were you?" Mallow greeted her with this question as soon as she appeared on the first floor. Li Ming raised her eyebrows and looked at the baby fox as she asked, "When did you come here?" "Just a few minutes ago. I thought you will appreciate some help. So, what are you planning to do now?" Mallow asked her while signaling towards the dozens of scrolls that were lying across or around the coffee table. "To refine more pills," Li Ming said as she folded all the scrolls one by one and neatly arranged them on the table. "You said that those pills are of no use. Then why are you planning to refine them now?" Mallow asked her in confusion. "Yep. Those third rank low-grade pills are indeed of no use for me. That''s why I''ve found a way to make them useful," Li Ming said as she picked up the parchment on which she had scribbled some notes. "What are you exactly trying to say?" Mallow asked with a slight raise in her eyebrows. "I told you that the pills won''t be of much use to us but on the other hand, the potion was twice as powerful as the pills. So, I researched a little about the body cleansing pills and finally came across a perfect idea," Li Ming said as she started taking out ingredients for pill refining. "I searched about the properties of each of the ingredients that are used in refining Body Cleansing Pills and then matched them with the properties of the ingredients that I used in making the potion. There are some similarities while there are some differences. So, I''m going to replace some of the spiritual herbs with the ingredients that I used in the potion and then we will try refining the pill. Let''s see if we get some better results," Li Ming explained as she once again set up the refiner. Mallow kept sitting on the bean bag, looking deep in her thoughts. After a minute or two, she jumped down and walked towards where Li Ming was working and said, "I like the idea. Let''s start." Li Ming smiled at the little baby fox and started purifying the ingredients. She filled half of the refiner with the water from the pond as it had a very dense amount of spiritual qi in it. Next, she added the spiritual herbs and a golden sparkling jelly-like stone which was barely the size of a candy. Mallow started the furnace and watched Li Ming who had closed her eyes and her hands were crossed in a lotus seal. A blue color energy string started coming out from both of her hands and joined in the middle. It grew to the same size as the jelly-like golden stone that she had added to the ingredients. The small energy ball was glowing brightly as Li Ming stopped channeling more energy into it. She dropped the energy ball into the refiner and covered it with the lid. She started the timer and fixed the flames, before dropping on one of the bean bags. The furnace had increased the heat inside the room and Li Ming was sweating so much that she wanted to get those long tight clothes off her body immediately. The timer went off and Mallow immediately put off the furnace. When Li Ming opened the lid this time, a waft of the fragrance of different spiritual herbs rose into the air. Inside the refiner were six black pills with a golden circle drawn through its center. The pills were looking perfect and without any defect. "Whom are we going to test this on?" Mallow asked as her golden eyes took in the unique looking pills. "If I''m not wrong then these pills should be more powerful than the potion. I drank three vials of potion last month and it only cleaned fifty percent of the impurities in my blood. Maybe, I should test this pill on my own. If something went wrong my healing powers would deal with it," Li Ming said as she took out one of the pills. "Well, that makes sense. Try it!" Mallow showed her approval of the idea. Li Ming gulped down the pill and settled down in a lotus position. Her eyes were closed and a calmness could be seen on her face. It barely took about ten seconds this time when the pill started acting. Black colored tiny particles started coming out of her body pores and dissipated out of the open window into the air. About five minutes later a bright yellow light covered Li Ming for a second and then vanished completely. Li Ming opened her eyes and seemingly looked at Mallow as she asked, "Did you see that? It barely took five minutes and a single pill to purify my body and blood from all the impurities!" "Let me first see what''s the rank of this pill," Mallow said as she completely ignored Li Ming''s excitement. The fox took one of the pills in her small paws and closed her golden eyes. A faint whitish light circled around the pill for a second and then Mallow opened her eyes. Her expressions were full of amazement. "What did you find?" Li Ming asked as she lightly poked Mallow''s cheek to bring her out of the dreamland. "This is so amazing, Master! It''s a third rank middle-grade pill and this pill can be used by a person who''s on a lower level of cultivation than the Fifth level of High Cultivator Rank. That means that in both Han and Wang Empire, the children who are in their teens could use it. There''s barely any prodigy here. Normally, an eighteen-year-old in Wang Empire could maximumly reach the third level of High Cultivator while in the Han Empire, it''s the ninth level of High Cultivator. Those who are above the fifth level of High Cultivator Rank would need to consume two pills. But consuming more than two pills would be fruitless," Mallow explained as she one by one checked the rank of all the pills. Only one out of the remaining five pills was a first-rank low-grade pill otherwise all of them were third rank middle grade pills. Just when Li Ming was about to reply, a loud screeching sound came from outside the tree. Li Ming immediately knew that the trap that she had cast, finally succeeded in capturing the intruder. Chapter 107 - Abducted Li Ming wasn''t expecting to see such a sight, to be honest. When she and Mallow heard the screeching sound, they both had come out of the library hurriedly. But rather than finding someone trapped in her bait, Li Ming found a note entangled in the firey net that she had set. The net made of firey particles was completely destroyed and there was nothing left of it except ashes. Everyone had heard the sharp screeching sound and they all had gathered around the entrance of the Xiao Tiantang, where the net or whatever was left of it, had fallen just a few minutes ago. The pixies looked like they all had dragged themselves out of their beds and Snowy was looking no different. They all looked at Li Ming with confusion and unasked questions visible in their eyes. But all their questions, confusion, and sleepiness flew away after watching what happened next. Li Ming took a deep breath as she bent down to pick the paper which was still perfectly fine even after getting caught in the firey net. A hiss left her mouth as a sharp pain hit her fingers the moment she touched the paper. She immediately pulled her hand back. A deep repulsive feeling took over her as her energy tried to distance her from the paper. But it was already too late! The crimson drops of blood rolled down her fingers which were suddenly burning with immense pain. Within a blink of an eye, Li Ming was on the verge of passing out due to all the pain. *********** Two hours ago before sunset... A silhouette in black and red-colored robes appeared in the Black Market of the Capital City of the Han Empire. His dark black hair danced in the winds as he continuously played with his flute by flipping it over and over. It was a miracle that even though the person carried a very powerful aura around him and his appearance, including his mask which was hiding most of his face, was on otherworldly levels, the passers-by never gave him a second look. Somehow, he was successfully diverting everyone''s attention from himself. The man stopped in front of the Herb Hall where the lilac scent was denser than the other parts of the black market but he didn''t enter. Rather his feet carried him towards the Black Jade Inn. According to the information that he had been provided with, the Black Jade Inn was under the ownership of his ''Sweet Prey''. He entered the inn and to his surprise, both the inn and its services were as great as the rumors he had heard from his shadow guards. After about ten minutes and a few plates of snacks and a couple of cups of coffee which he actually enjoyed, he left the inn. There was no point in staying there since his prey wasn''t there. In the next five minutes, the silhouette in black and red robes suddenly appeared near the fields of the Dongji village. He could clearly see the differences in the Dongji village since the last time he visited that place about a year ago to check on his brother''s condition. He stood there staring at the green fields for a few minutes when his eyes suddenly picked on the light movements happening in the sky above the Dongji Village. What he saw there was something he wasn''t expecting to ever see out of the Demon Realm. *********** "Did you find out anything about why Hei Long can''t recognize her?" Lord Yueliang asked as both Ruoshan and Zhang Yong settled down on their seats. The three of them had been constantly seeing each other since their soulmate had appeared in their world. Before that, it was barely once in a few years when they actually came across each other. Currently, all of them were trying to find the reason due to which the Second Demon Prince wasn''t able to recognize Li Ming. They were bound by the prophecy and that meant they could not tell him the truth about Li Ming''s identity directly. But that didn''t mean they were not going to help him. "Actually, I did find something," Ruoshan replied as a sigh left his lips. The other two looked at him and waited patiently for him to explain. "Remember when the prophecy was first made, he was the only one out of our circle who was happy to meet our future mate?" Ruoshan asked the Moon Deity who in return nodded his head. Zhang Yong wasn''t a part of their group at that time, therefore he had not seen everything with his own eyes, but throughout the years he had listened too much about that day that there was barely anything about the prophecy that he wasn''t aware of. Sometimes, he wondered if he also ended up as one of Li Ming''s soulmate if he had been a part of their circle. Zhang Yong shook his head to dismiss the thoughts and focused on what Ruoshan was about to say. It didn''t matter to him if he was one of her soulmates or not. For him, his own bond with her was as precious and unique as a soulbond. "At that time all of us were too confused and doubtful about the sudden prophecy. That''s why the Immortal of Prophecy had carved a mark on Hei Long''s shoulder. There were five tendrils joining with a single leaf of ivy. I checked it personally, one of the tendrils is no more attached to the ivy. It''s like someone or something has erased the part where it met with the ivy," Ruoshan told the other two about what he had found out. "Was it always like that? Maybe you guys never realized that." Zhang Yong voiced his opinion but even he didn''t sound convinced about his theory. It''s impossible that they didn''t realize such a thing in all these years. "No. I''m more than a hundred percent sure that it has happened recently. Maybe the rest of us didn''t get that mark but it''s carved in our memories and in it, all the five tendrils were joined with the Ivy," Ruoshan said and Lord Yueliang also nodded his head in agreement. "So, what do you think? Is it just some coincidence or there''s something deep behind this?" Zhang Yong asked after a few minutes of silence. "It''s hard to say. Let''s find more about this before coming to any conclusions," Lord Yueliang said. His deep cerulean eyes were full of so much experience and knowledge that it was impossible for someone to go against his words. The Moon Deity never needed to order anyone. No matter who his opponent was, it was impossible for that person to object against his words. Lord Yueliang was known as a wise and humble Immortal throughout the three realms. The women could die to see a single glimpse of the Immortal of the Night while the men respected him for his modesty even though he was one of the most powerful persons of their world. Even the Demons respected him for his righteousness and honest personality. A sudden discomfort in their souls immediately made Lord Yueliang and Ruoshan stand up. None of them wasted a single second and disappeared from the study of the Moon Manor, Zhang Yong following them as his own bond had alerted him about the danger. ********** Just as the drops of Li Ming''s blood were about to touch the note, four rays of different colored lights appeared out of nowhere and dragged the droplets of blood away from the note. Two hands grabbed Li Ming''s bleeding fingers and jerked them away from the note which had suddenly caught on fire. All this while it was made sure by the Immortals that not a single drop of Li Ming''s blood would touch the ground. Hei Long let his qi flow out of his hands that were covering the small bloody fingers of the unconscious girl. His qi circled around those bloody fingers and he felt how thirsty his powers were for her blood. What he didn''t expect was the sudden lust that appeared in his soul. He didn''t know exactly what was happening. Why was he helping the same girl whom he wanted to destroy? Why his powers were suddenly hungry for her? "Let''s take her to the Moon Manor," Lord Yueliang said as he healed the cuts on her fingers. Hei Liang nodded his head and without uttering a single word he teleported directly outside the Moon Manor. His hands tightly hugging the unconscious girl in his embrace as he carried her in his arms. On the other hand, it took Zhang Yong and Ruoshan a few precious minutes to calm down all the furious pixies, Mallow and Snowy, who were not happy with the fact that out of nowhere four gorgeous men had abducted their Master from under their nose. The last thing that Zhang Yong remembered before teleporting to the Moon Manor was how Snowy muttered a few lines for them as a warning. ''You guys are really delusional if you think she can''t handle this on her own. You will regret this when she will become conscious. Just wait and watch.'' And deep down somewhere even Zhang Yong was aware that Snowy was right but at that moment nothing was more important than his Ming''er, not even how they would answer her questions. Chapter 108 - Ancestors And Their Nonstop Complaints The night sky was illuminated by millions of stars but the land under that beautiful sky was even more gorgeous. Thousands of night flowers decorated the land which was surrounded by various water bodies, grasslands, forests, and mountain ranges. At every distance of a few hundred meters, a palace could be seen. Each palace was designed in its own unique way. Making them appear breathtaking. A grand palace stood at the top of one of the high mountains. It was sparkling due to the gold and precious jewels that were used in its creation. The other smaller palaces surrounded the majestic palace from all the four directions as it stood at the pinnacle. A huge waterfall was falling from the east end of the Majestic palace which then turned into a huge river full of spiritual water. On the opposite side of this river was a city built with white marbles and stones of the seven colors of the rainbow. The city was built in an organized way. The first section of the city consisted of large manors. The second section was a well-organized market and the third section was built of normal houses. Though in front of the palaces and manors, these houses appeared slightly less eye-catching but these houses could still give any noble officials manor on the Mortal Realm run for their money. Though it was night but the city was illuminated by the Light gathering stones. On the other hand, the palaces that were surrounding the Majestic Imperial Palace were also shining brightly, and among all these stood the imperial palace of the Heaven Realm. Currently, on the West tower of the Heaven Imperial Palace, a man in silky but simple golden robes was sitting in the lotus position on a high platform built in the center of an ice field. His long black hair was falling down on his back, a single dragon hairpin gleamed in his hair. A single look at that hairpin and everyone would be on their knees to bow to the Ruler of Heaven. His dark eyebrows, straight nose, pouty lips, and the sharp jawline could make anyone fall for him. His beauty was majestic and he appeared as glorious as the sun. His bright powerful aura could trample an entire realm. His eyes were closed as he channeled his energy to the half golden and half green leaf that was levitating in the air between his hands. A few minutes passed when a silhouette appeared at the ice platform and kneeled down on the bone-chilling ice as he greeted the Immortal. "Supreme Ruler, something unexpected had happened in the Mortal Realm." The man who was still on his knees said in a light voice. The Immortal stopped channeling his qi and the leaf disappeared. As he slowly opened his eyes they gleamed a bright golden for a moment before they returned to a beautiful pair of obsidian eyes. No one could dare to enter the West Tower''s Ice Fields. The fact that Heaven Emperor''s most trusted man had gone against this rule meant that the situation was really serious. The guard told the Supreme Ruler everything that his team saw in the Mortal Realm. By the time he finished, the High Immortal had already stood up. He elegantly walked down the ice platform and then entered into the West Wing of the Heaven Imperial Palace. "I''ll be visiting the other realms. Prepare for my departure." His melodious voice laced with power and authority boomed through the empty wing. The guard bowed and disappeared to fulfill his master''s orders. *********** "How can you be so careless? I still can''t believe that you ended up here twice in just barely six months? Are you seriously thinking about settling here? Don''t tell me that you actually liked this place. What''s here to even like? We had tried our best to give you a second chance of life but you just keep coming back here!" Li Ming listened to the sharp ear-piercing shouts that were starting to give her a headache. She stared around the room which appeared completely lifeless to her. But again, how could an empty room with grey walls with no ceiling and windows be anything but lifeless. Moreover, the voices of her ancestors boomed through the room like they were using microphones to punish her. Who knew that the moment she would open her eyes, she would find herself back on the cold floor of the same room where she first opened her eyes about five and a half months ago after she died in her world. These same annoying voices had greeted her then telling her exactly how foolish she was to trust the other clan heads and how hard they had to try to give her a second life. Then, bam! She transmigrated to a completely new world with a completely new identity and life. And in these past months of her new life, Li Ming actually felt thankful towards these people who called themselves as the spirits of the ancestors of Mages. And she would probably have thanked them and paid her respects by kowtowing if she had not been bombarded with nonstop lectures and questions. Now, thanking them and kowtowing was the last thing in her mind. All she wanted was to disappear from that place but unfortunately, none of her powers worked. Traitors! "It was not on purpose, I swear on your life!" Li Ming shouted out in frustration as she rubbed her forehead in order to lessen her headache. She no more remembered the exact amount of times she had tried to tell these oldies that she didn''t come to visit them on purpose but nothing worked until now. If she knew that swearing on their lives would make them believe her she would have used this idea way before. Oh dear, how naive is our FL! *sigh* "We have already died once to save the future generations of the mage and supernatural clan. We even saved your life twice but...you-you unfaithful young girl! How could you be so shamefull to swear on our lives?" The voice of an old woman boomed through the room and Li Ming wanted to hit her head on a wall as she heard the allegations of the woman. Of course, her idea of swearing on their lives backfired at her. A jar of wine appeared in front of her and the familiar childlike voice muttered softly in her ears that she would like to take a sip in the current situation. This same thing happened the last time when this same old ancestor had started counting all of Li Ming''s stupid decisions and mistakes of her life. That day Li Ming realized that more than half of her life was written on her mistakes and the rest half on her stupidity. That day too a jar of wine appeared in front of her out of nowhere and the voice of a child softly murmured to her that she should enjoy the drink while listening to the nonstop complaints of the ancestor. That day she didn''t drink it because she was too shocked by everything that happened to her within the span of a few hours. But right now, the situation was different. She was not in any shock and looking at the situation she knew that the so-called ancestors were not quieting down anytime soon. Therefore, our fl made another stupid decision and added it in her list of stupid decisions. She was idiot enough to drink the wine offered by a complete stranger who even was the spirit of a child ancestor. That''s called stupidity with a capital S. The wine was actually good and soon Li Ming had emptied the entire jar but the oldies were still going on with their complaints. How could someone have so many complaints? But again when one had nothing to do in their afterlife, finding faults in their future generations could become their favorite time pass and if by any chance they got a chance to let their frustration out even at a single person from those new generations of their family, that would be the best wish anyone could grant to those frustrated spirits. "Alright! Alright! I''m so sorry. I didn''t mean to upset any of you," Li Ming said in a loud voice which finally made the oldies to quiet down. Li Ming took in a deep breath as she tried to shake off the fuzziness that was trying to take over her mind. "I''m sorry that I''m failing you guys and your sacrifices. I''m really thankful to all of you for the second life that you all gifted me. I won''t lie that meeting you all was a nice surprise but it definitely wasn''t the worst. I''ll try to be more careful in the future and will make sure that I won''t end up here again anytime soon and if possible EVER. But I''m happy to know that whenever I''ll be fighting a war between life and death, you all will be there with me." Li Ming bowed and paid her respects to her ancestors. "Oh no! Now, I''m feeling bad for making her drink that wine. She''s gonna hate us!" A voice boomed through the room shocking Li Ming with their words. "What do you mean?" She asked in a slurry voice but before she could receive any answer, her world turned black. Chapter 109 - A Drunk Li Ming - Part One The four Immortals were crowding inside an enormous beautifully decorated bed-chamber. The silvery-white drapes fluttered in the cool night breeze, jingling the bells that were hanging on the windows. The melodious sound healing as it took away the tension out of the body and helped in relaxing. But unfortunately, it could not relax the four Immortal Lords that were panicking as they couldn''t take down the power barrier that had separated them from Li Ming. The moment Hei Long appeared in front of the Moon Manor, Lord Yueliang immediately directed him towards the guest bed-chamber. He softly laid her on the bed and made sure that she was comfortable. Li Ming was looking pale and her body temperature started decreasing. But before either Hei Long or Lord Yueliang could do anything, a powerful force pushed both of them away from the girl. And the next moment a power shield surrounded the bed on which Li Ming was currently lying unconscious. Both Ruoshan and Zhang Yong also appeared in the room and were greeted by this sight. As one by one, the others tried to lower the power shield, Hei Long also helped. He had no idea exactly what he was doing. He saved the same girl whom he wanted to destroy. He was even worried about her and now rather than stopping his brothers, he was also anxiously trying to break the power shield that was separating the lilac girl from him. Before any of them could attack the power shield, Lord Yueliang stopped them. When everyone turned towards the Moon Deity with confused eyes, he explained in a low tone, like he was afraid of disturbing the sleeping girl. "The barrier is protecting her. She''s healing." His words made the others looked at Li Ming and to their surprise, they watched as the color returned to her cheeks and the last remnant of the black power around her finally disappeared. Within the next ten minutes, the power shield disappeared on its own, finally letting the four Immortal get closer to Li Ming who was still sleeping. Looking at her sleeping form the four of them finally relaxed. Lord Yueliang still checked her pulse to make sure that she was completely fine. "Thank you so much for saving her," Ruoshan suddenly said as his eyes settled on his younger brother. The other two also turned towards Hei Long with the slightest glints in their eyes. No matter what was the reason for Hei Long to not recognize his chosen one immediately but his soul was still able to move when she''s in danger. That''s a good thing for all of them. It meant that there was hope for him, for them. He Long was taken back by Ruoshan''s sudden words. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath and when he again opened his eyes, all the worries and panic that he was feeling disappeared. His face was once again turned cold and his eyes lacked any kind of emotions. "I just felt you all panicking and just helped you. There''s no need to thank me. Moreover, just because I have helped to save her today doesn''t mean that anything has changed. The one who will torture her would be none other than me. I won''t let someone else take that pleasure away from me." Ruoshan just shook his head at his brother''s words. It was stupid how he couldn''t realize such a simple thing that Li Ming was his soulmate but then the erased mark pilled up questions that needed to be answered. Something that could stop the Demon Lord from recognizing his long-awaited mate, won''t be a simple thing. "Then what were you doing in the Dongji village?" Zhang Yong asked with raised eyebrows like he was trying to challenge the Second Demon Prince to pass his investigation without any flaws. "Sightseeing." His reply made the other three look at him with raised eyebrows. It was clear that none of them believed him and just when Zhang Yong was about to ask another question, Hei Long interrupted him. "I''m leaving now. There are some issues in the Demon Realm that needed to be taken care of. And you are coming with me." "Why I need to come with you? Can''t you..." Whatever Zhang Yong was going to say got cut off as Hei Long teleported back to the Demon Realm along with a protesting Shadow Lord. "Do you think he will really hurt her?" There was worry in Ruoshan''s voice as he asked the question. His eyes landing on his sleeping Xingan. "Don''t worry. No matter, whatever happens, his soul will never let him hurt her. He''s just frustrated with the fact that he''s getting pulled towards a girl who''s not his mate according to him. That''s why he''s behaving like this but what happened today made it clear that deep down his soul has already started realizing the truth of Little one." Lord Yueliang''s words calmed Ruoshan who also nodded his head. For the next few hours, Li Ming kept sleeping soundly. Neither Ruoshan nor Lord Yueliang tried to wake her up. It was past two in the morning when Li Ming finally came back to consciousness. Her eyes slowly opened to look at a large dark room lit by some lanterns. Her head felt heavy as she let out a deep sigh. She had no idea where she was and she was feeling claustrophobic in the tight and heavy dress that was clutching to her body. Li Ming clapped her hands and immediately her long heavy dress changed into a pair of sweatshirt and silky shorts. She clumsily fixed her hair in a loose bun which ended up with loose strands falling down her neck. A chuckle left her lips as she landed up on the floor after getting entangled in the sheets. Though her butt was crying in pain but her fuzzy mind was too busy to pay it any attention. On the other hand, Lord Yueliang was coming to check her condition and was currently outside the guest-chamber in which Li Ming was sleeping, when he heard the sound of someone falling on the floor. Though the next second it was accompanied by a melodious chuckle but his feet still led him urgently inside the chamber. But he stopped in his tracks at the end of the bed when his eyes fell on the girl who was giggling as she kept lying on the floor in a mass of sheets. His eyes took in her bare shoulder where her sweatshirt had slipped down. Li Ming noticed the handsome who was standing a few feet away from her. She quickly stood up and moved towards the guy who looked like an anime character. She completely ignored the way in which Moon Deity''s eyes enlarged as he took in her complete appearance. He immediately pulled a white robe out of thin air and draped it over Li Ming''s shoulder as he said, "Miss, the weather is cold here. Please take care of your health." Li Ming shrugged the robe off her shoulder as she glared at the handsome, "Mr. Beauty, what kind of thermometer do you use? It''s burning here and I''m dying because of this high temperature. Are you planning to kill me with so much heat?" Her voice was accusing as she looked at the Mr. Beauty with a pout plastered on her face. Lord Yueliang was completely unprepared for such a situation. He never thought that he would encounter his Little One in such a condition. Her lack of clothes was telling him to immediately leave the room but the fact that she was drunk and accusing him while looking so cute made him want to sweep her in his arms tightly so that he could protect her from everyone. It was like Li Ming heard his second thoughts because the next second both her hands were around his shoulders as she locked them behind his neck. She looked up into his eyes with a frown. "You are too tall. I think I should invent heels, otherwise, I''ll always need to look up while speaking to others. It will be the worst thing to happen while talking to my competitors. Yes, I definitely need to invent heels," Li Ming muttered as she gave the Moon Deity a sad look. But then a smile bloomed on her face. "You are tall but you are handsome too. You can definitely win the most handsome man''s title without any struggle. Tell me, Mr. Beauty are you already taken?" Li Ming asked and snaked one of her hands down to grip his hands and checked them closely to see if he was wearing any wedding rings. To her relief there was none. Good! She would take this Mr. Beauty for herself then. Her hands once again ended up in their previous position. The Moon Deity was so shocked and surprised by the sudden changes in Li Ming''s expressions and her words that he kept standing there staring at her. "What''s happening here?" The sudden question that came from behind them finally jerked Lord Yueliang out of his stupor. Chapter 110 - A Drunk Li Ming - Part Two Ruoshan looked at the scene in front of him and his eyes narrowed on the girl who was clinging on Lord Yueliang as she slightly dipped sidewards to look at him. "Oh no! Not this again!" Ruoshan muttered as he finally reached closer to the two of them. Li Ming was bending too much towards her left to look at Ruoshan that at one point she almost lost her balance. She probably would have ended up on the floor again within the span of a few minutes, if Lord Yueliang hadn''t pulled her tightly against his embrace to stop her from falling. "What are you talking about? Had she drank before too?" Lord Yueliang asked in a worried tone as he tried to control the over-energetic girl. "Wait, she''s drunk too?" Ruoshan asked in a surprised voice as he came forward to look at Li Ming more closely and sure enough, her flushed cheeks and dreamy eyes were the proof that she was drunk. "Now this explained why she''s in these clothes and clinging to you like this. She loves these clothes but never wore them out of her mansion or Xiao Tiantang," Ruoshan said as he lightly pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His soft and silky touch almost made her moan but somehow she only ended up leaning into his touch with closed eyes. A soft smile appeared on both Ruoshan and Moon Deity''s faces as they looked at her behaving cutely. "Maybe because she''s drunk she didn''t realize that she''s no longer in her mansion." Lord Yueliang muttered softly and in return, Ruoshan also nodded his head. He was about to take off his own robe to put it around Li Ming when he was stopped by the Moon Deity. "I already tried but in the end, she accused me that I''m trying to kill her with so much heat." His voice contained amusement as he gazed at the girl who was now snuggling into his arms. Ruoshan was shocked for a moment but then he laughed out loudly. "Are you sleepy Xingan?" He asked softly as he patted her head. Li Ming pulled her head back from the warm pillow and looked at the annoying person who kept disturbing her but when her eyes finally recognized Ruoshan, her soul burst into happiness. "You are here too? Do all the handsome guys of your world know each other? First you and Zhang Yong and now you even know Mr. Beauty. Please add me to your group too. I wanna meet more handsome men," Li Ming said with a cute pout as she clutched on one of Ruoshan''s hand tightly. Her words ended up darkening the mood of the two Immortals. Ruoshan looked at her with an intense gaze as he stepped a little closer to her. Li Ming was practically plastered to Lord Yueliang and Ruoshan was barely a few inches away from her. "Why? Are we not enough for you?" His voice was so deep that Li Ming shivered. Lord Yueliang''s hand tightened around her waist but he didn''t stop Ruoshan. He too didn''t like that his Little One wanted to know more Handsome looking men. "Of course not. How can you be enough? Why would you even ask such a stupid question?" Li Ming gave Ruoshan a look like he was someone stupid. Her words almost stopped their breathing. Were they really not enough for her? Would she want more men in her life except the five of them? Ruoshan''s eyes turned bright purple as he growled in his deep voice, "Why would you need so many men?" "For modeling of course!" Li Ming said as she tried to get out of the tight clutches of the two handsome men. "What?" Both Lord Yueliang and Ruoshan asked at the same time as they looked at Li Ming with puzzled expressions. "What''s so hard to understand? It''s simple. I''ll be the designer and they will be my models. Perfect. Add me to your group as soon as possible. I''ll need to first understand them and then I''ll need to prepare them for their first-ever ramp walk. All of this will take too much time especially since I''m a busy person. Yep, you should definitely add me to your group as soon as possible," Li Ming said as she nodded her head at her own ideas. The two Immortals didn''t know what to say. They had literally no idea what she had just spoken. The words were too foreign for them but it was clear that she wasn''t looking men for what they thought. Their mate was too innocent and naive. She was probably talking about something else. Both the Immortals ended up on this same conclusion. Ruoshan lightly kissed her forehead before he stepped a few steps away, giving her a little space. "What is this place? Where are we?" She asked as she looked around the room which was decorated beautifully. The two Immortals looked at each other, pondering on how to answer her question but before either of them could speak, Li Ming said, "Is it your place Mr. Beauty? This is so pretty just like you." Her childlike voice and sparkling eyes could melt anyone and these two Immortals were already wrapped around her fingers. Lord Yueliang just nodded his head lightly as he looked at his Little One with pure adoration in his eyes. "You should sleep Xingan." Ruoshan softly whispered in her ear and in return Li Ming immediately shook her head in denial. "No! I don''t want to sleep. I''m going to enjoy the moonlight," Li Ming said as she started walking towards the door but before she could take more than a few couples of steps, she was suddenly lifted up from the ground. Ruoshan chuckled at the glaring eyes of the girl whom he carried towards the bed and placed her softly in the center of it, tucking her beneath the blanket. He settled beside her and lifted her chin up but nothing prepared him for the tears that suddenly appeared in Li Ming''s eyes. He looked at the Moon Deity in panic and the Immortal Deity was on the other side of Li Ming within a second as he cradled the girl in his arms, lightly rubbing her head. Both the Immortals passed each other a distressed look as they tried to calm Li Ming who miraculously wasn''t crying even though her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears. "Little One, what happened?" Lord Yueliang asked softly. "I wanna see the Moon," Li Ming said in a whining tone as she looked at both the Immortals with her puppy eyes. "Xingan, there''s no Moon in the sky. There are only stars here but no Moon. If you still want to see the night sky, we will take you outside. Please don''t be sad," Ruoshan said softly. Li Ming looked at him with confused eyes as she asked, "Why there''s no Moon today?" Ruoshan looked at the Moon Deity before he replied, "Because today the Moon is busy in taking care of his love. That''s why there''s no Moon in the sky today." Li Ming''s lips formed an O as she heard Ruoshan''s words. "The Moon needs vacations too," She murmured as she nodded her head in understanding. She turned towards Mr. Beauty and her eyes landed on his breathtaking cerulean eyes. Her hands lightly caressed his eyes which he had closed at her touch. As her hands slipped to cup his cheek, the Immortal Deity opened his eyes and looked at the girl who was looking at him with astonished eyes. She then turned around slightly and one of her hands slipped into Ruoshan''s silky silver hair. Both the Immortals had stopped breathing as they watched their mate caressing them for the very first time. The light touches of her small soft hand were so soothing and gentle that their souls were suddenly filled with alarming happiness. But then Li Ming retracted her hands and huffed as another sad look appeared on her face, breaking the moment. "This is so wrong. Why I don''t have blue eyes and silver hair. Both of these are my favorites. There''s even no option for contact lenses and hair colors. Do I will need to invent those too?" She complained as her eyes took on a longing look. "Do you like them?" Ruoshan asked softly. It was clear that he was talking about his hair and Lord Yueliang''s eyes. "Are you kidding me? Like them? I freaking love them! They are my weakness. I will even sell Snowy in return for these two gifts," Li Ming said as she looked at Ruoshan with raised eyebrows. Both the Immortals shook their heads at her words. "You seriously don''t like Snowy, do you?" Ruoshan asked with an amused tone. "Don''t judge. I love my Snowy too much." Li Ming replied with raised chin, challenging Ruoshan to contradict her which he actually did. "But you are ready to sell him away?" Ruoshan asked as he looked at her with sparkling eyes which had started gleaming light purple in amusement. "Yeah, but then I''ll buy him back." Li Ming replied with a shrug. "And what if the person refused to sell him back to you?" Ruoshan challenged her again. An evil glint appeared in Li Ming''s eyes as she replied with a small smile, "Then I''ll kill him!" "Snowy?" Lord Yueliang asked in shock. "Nope! I''ll never hurt my baby. I''m talking about the idiot who will challenge me over my baby." Her reply was firm and steady. The two Immortals stared at the little girl for a while before they finally give up. She definitely loved her Snowy, just in a very very unique way. Chapter 111 - Marking Him "Alright! Alright! We believe that you love your Snowy the most," Ruoshan said with a chuckle as he softly patted her head. "Little One, you should sleep now. It''s too late and you will need your energy to work," Lord Yueliang said as he softly pushed Li Ming to lie down and covered her with the blanket. Except for the face, her entire body was covered with the blanket but not for too long as Li Ming immediately sat up and tossed the blanket away. This time both of her shoulders were bare and since her hair was tied in a bun there was nothing hiding her pure white skin from the eyes of the two Immortals. Without thinking Lord Yueliang immediately pulled her sweatshirt up to her shoulders, hiding the skin but unfortunately, that didn''t end up with a better result. Since the neckline was too big, it ended up making a deep V and suddenly a very large part of her collarbone was visible. If the two Immortals were panicking before because of her bare legs and shoulders then they were about to lose their souls now. Without wasting a single second both the Immortals immediately pulled her shirt down her shoulder on either side, fixing the problem of her collarbone but again ending up with the bare shoulders. Li Ming was so confused and frustrated with their stupid acts that she pushed both their hands away. "What''s wrong? Don''t you like this shirt? I can take it off if you have any problem with it!" Her hand went to grip the hem of her sweatshirt and just as she began to lift it up, two pairs of hands stopped her. "Wait!" "No. Don''t!" Li Ming looked at both men who appeared panicked and overly flushed at that moment, in confusion. "We-we...y-you don''t have to take it off. We like it and you are looking too pretty in it," Lord Yueliang finally pulled some words out of his dry throat and Ruoshan immediately nodded his head in agreement. "Is that so? Then okay!" Li Ming giggled as she softly patted her sweatshirt. "I''m going to prepare some soup for her. You should keep her company and don''t let her out of your sight," Lord Yueliang said as he patted Li Ming softly and stood up to leave as soon as possible. "Wait. Look you can''t...!" But before Ruoshan could complete his sentence, the Moon Deity already disappeared from the room, leaving Ruoshan and a drunk Li Ming alone. Before Ruoshan could even realize what was happening, a giggling Li Ming climbed up on his lap, straddling him as she put her arms around his neck. "W-what are you doing?" Ruoshan asked in a breathy voice as he grabbed the blankets in his fists and tried to move a little backward. "I wanna cuddle and you will be a perfect sweet soft teddy bear for it," Li Ming replied with a giggle. "Xingan, you are not sober right now. Let''s put you to bed so that you can sleep." Ruoshan tried to make her let go of him but she only tightened her arms around his shoulders and snuggled her face into his chest. "I don''t wanna sleep!" Li Ming whined as she hugged Ruoshan more tightly. A sigh left Ruoshan''s lips and he finally placed his own arms around her to stop her wiggling on his lap. "What do you want then?" He softly asked her. Li Ming looked at him with her dove-like eyes and then tilted her head while looking like she was thinking about what she wanted. Finally, her eyes sparkled as she said in a cute voice, "I want you." And with that, she nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck. "Xingan...!" Ruoshan gasped as he felt Li Ming''s lips on his throat. At first, they only brushed his skin lightly, and just when he thought that it was an accident, Li Ming pressed her lips tightly on his neck''s skin once more. Another gasp left Ruoshan''s lips as his eyes started gleaming light purple. His hands reached out to stop Li Ming but before he could do anything, her next movement left him and his soul writhing in want and desire. Li Ming placed soft kisses on the right side of his jaw and dragged her kisses down to his shoulders. She repeated the same process on the left side. Ruoshan''s hands were gripping her shoulders but he was no more in any condition to either think rationally or act. At some moment she had loosened Ruoshan''s robes which bared his shoulders and collarbone. Her lips traced every inch of skin that it could find and after a long period of torture, she stopped at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Ruoshan was already panting as he tried to get his mind under his control. He needed to stop the girl. He didn''t even realize that at some point he had ended up lying on the bed underneath Li Ming. "Xing-Xingan...y-you...you need t-to...stop!" Ruoshan finally said through clenched teeth as he felt her lips moving against his neck once more. Li Ming only moaned as her tongue darted out to lick the addicting skin that''s making her lose her sanity. If Ruoshan had succeeded in somehow getting a hold on the situation and himself, all of it disappeared as he felt her warm and wet tongue licking his throat. Both of them were moaning as Ruoshan tucked her more closely. One of his hands was circling her waist and the other one was placed on her nape as she continued the torture with her lips and tongue. He was no longer at a thinking phase, his mind, soul, and heart, all were busy in seeking as much of the pleasure from his mate, as they could. Li Ming gave another lick before her teeth bit into his skin tightly. She heard another gasp from him and this one was the loudest of all. She sucked on the skin tightly as she bit hard. The next second, her tongue darted out to lick that spot, soothing the skin that was starting to turn bright red. Ruoshan''s hands were grabbing the bedsheets so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. An emotion of ecstasy took over his expressions. His Xingan was marking him, claiming him as her mate. Though it was not exactly the mark of a soulmate but it was still a very intimate gesture between mates. Who knew how many marks she left on his nape as time continued to pass. Ruoshan was in no state to do or say anything. He was completely at her mercy as he let his mate overtook his body and soul. His eyes a dark shade of purple as they glowed in the darkness. Li Ming was no better. Not only she was heavily drunk because of the magical wine that she drank but because of her drunkness, she lost her control too. Her soul which was screaming to feel the closeness of her mates finally found the chance to mark one of them. She was still in a body that was yet to turn eighteen, therefore it was impossible for the mate bond to completely settle between them but since the soul was already much older, marking them won''t be too much of a struggle. On the other hand, four other Immortals were suddenly attacked by an emotion that left them breathless and surprised to their very core. Their souls were suddenly yearning for someone and at the very same time, all of them felt some kind of happiness seep into their souls. Zhang Yong too felt the sudden change as he too experienced a very little amount of happiness and content that Li Ming was feeling. But unlike others, rather than getting shocked a smile appeared on his lips. Lord Yueliang who was on his way towards the guest-chamber with a bowl of hot soup in his hands, immediately stopped in his tracks when he felt those sudden emotions. The next second he was inside the guest chamber. With a flick of his sleeves, Li Ming was snuggled into his arms safely. "Are you alright?" Lord Yueliang asked Ruoshan, there was a worried edge in his voice. "She...I...!" Ruoshan was unable to utter any coherent words at that moment. His body was barely able to move as he kept laying there in his disheveled and content state. He looked as drunk as Li Ming at that moment. "Don''t worry. I''ll take her back to her mansion. Calm down first and then you can visit her in the morning," Lord Yueliang instructed the Ever Night Lord, as the latter slightly nodded his head in agreement. Five minutes later, the Moon Deity was feeding Li Ming the hot soup as she rested in her warm bed inside her room in the magical mansion. "Good. Now sleep. I know you are tired," Lord Yueliang said in a soft tone after Li Ming finally finished the entire soup. This time the girl didn''t object as she snuggled into his warm embrace and closed her eyes, barely in a minute, she was deep in her sleep. Chapter 112 - Taking Responsibility Li Ming squirmed as the bright sunlight disturbed her, waking her from the deep sleep that she was enjoying. Somehow, she felt a weird but beautiful calmness in her heart. Her soul was feeling happy and excited for some unknown reason. She tried to shield her eyes from the bright light that was filtering into her room through the large window. As she sat up on her bed, the hangover finally hit her, making her grimace. "Ahh!" She rubbed her temples while crying out in pain. A fair and slender hand carrying a vial of a colorless liquid appeared in front of her eyes. Li Ming immediately recognized the potion and without wasting a single second she gulped down the entire vial. She was in no hurry to check who was the person in her bedroom, her entire focus was on getting rid of the headache that was killing her. After two minutes or something, the potion finally kicked in and she relaxed as a sigh left her lips. All this while Ruoshan was silently sitting on a chair beside her bed. Li Ming opened her eyes and finally looked at the man who for some reason was looking completely different from his usual self. He was still wearing light purple colored brocade clothes with silver designs sewn on them. By now Li Ming was sure that purple was his favorite color but what surprised her was the way in which his neckline and a part of his collarbone were clearly visible. His silver hair was combed neatly and rather than flowing down his back like usual, they were tightly held in a high ponytail by a silver headdress that gleamed in the morning sunlight. This new hairstyle gave his features a sharp edge and bared his entire neck and throat. What shocked Li Ming was the multiple hickeys that were adorning the right side of his throat, bright red, and purple bite marks. "What the...!" Li Ming was so shocked and out of words that she just remained sitting there on her bed, staring at the hickeys with huge eyes. "Do you like the art?" Ruoshan asked as he looked at her with emotionless eyes. "A-art?" Li Ming let out a shocked and horrified squeal as she gave Ruoshan an alarmed look. "En! Isn''t this an art? After all, you are the artist. I thought you won''t like it if I called your art anything else," Ruoshan said with the same expressionless face. Though there was a slight touch of mockery in his tone. Maybe his emotionless face was the exact reason why it took her almost an entire minute before the words registered in her mind. "I''m the what??" Li Ming almost shrieked as she looked at Ruoshan with her terrified eyes. "Did you already forget, Xingan? This isn''t fair. You assaulted me just a few hours ago, took away my innocence, and now you are behaving like you don''t remember anything. How can you do that to me? Are you going to pretend that you don''t remember anything because you will need to take responsibility for taking away my innocence?" Li Ming opened her mouth but then closed it. She gulped and once again tried to speak and ended up stopping at the last moment. She was so lost at that moment that she feared her mind had probably short-circuited. Something in Ruoshan''s eyes was telling her that no matter how extra his words sounded and how much she wanted to deny them, there was actually some truth behind them. And that''s exactly when the events of the previous night hit her in full force. The pill refining, the note, her blood, the person who saved her, the ancestors, the wine, and then the episode when she was with Mr. Beauty and Ruoshan in some kind of ancient-looking royal bedroom. She almost let out a shriek when the images of what she did with or, to be specific, to Ruoshan, appeared in front of her eyes. She wanted to disappear in some kind of hole as she cursed herself. Moreover, she wanted to immediately return back to those so-called ancestors to show them exactly how grateful she was feeling at the moment. Note the sarcasm! She bit her lips as she tried to ignore the eyes that were slightly gleaming purple as they kept trained on her. She was hundred percent sure that she would be looking like a tomato at that moment. "You never answered my questions, Xingan. Are you going to take responsibility for your acts?" Ruoshan asked and this time his voice came out a deep growl that gave Li Ming shivers. "I have some matters to take care of. I''ll be going now," Li Ming said as she hurriedly stood up from the bed and ran towards the door. But whom was she kidding? Was there even a chance for her to step her foot out of the room? Before she could be anywhere near the door, she was dragged into the embrace of the Ever Night Lord as both of his hands encircled around her waist, capturing her own hands in the process. "Let me go!" Li Ming said as she tried to get herself free from the hold of the Immortal who was making her soul sway in happiness. "Stay still." The voice was barely above a whisper and the tone was as soft as possible but the order hiding behind those words stilled Li Ming. She didn''t want to test Ruoshan''s patience especially when she was aware that his instincts were probably urging him to claim his mate. The fact that he had not tried to even lay a finger on her and didn''t take the advantage when she was drunk and throwing herself at him, made Li Ming Parise him in her heart. But she knew that one wrong move from her and all the patience and control that he had over his soul would shatter, most importantly when he had almost no idea about exactly how a soul bond worked. As far as she had searched about the soulmates of this cultivation world, there never had been any case like hers. Not even between two people, a bond between six was a far cry. That meant that this world carried almost no knowledge about soul mates and soul bonds, something that she had learned about since her childhood as a mage. After all, soulmates and soul bonds were the most common but most auspicious part of the supernatural world. "I won''t let you go until you will answer my questions," Ruoshan whispered into her ears making goosebumps appeared on her skin. "I was drunk." Li Ming finally let out a faint excuse after a few moments of silence. Ruoshan turned her around and made her look at him in the eyes as he held her chin between his thumb and index finger. "Do you regret it?" There was a vulnerability in his voice that made Li Ming''s heart clench in sadness. Without even missing a single second, she shook her head. "No. I don''t!" A small smile appeared on Ruoshan''s face which immediately transformed into a smirk with his next words, "Then take responsibility." "What responsibility? You are clearly exaggerating about what happened," Li Ming huffed as she glared at the Ever Night Lord. "How am I exaggerating? After what you did no one will agree to give their daughter to me even as my side wife. That''s why you need to take responsibility for your actions." Ruoshan defended himself. Li Ming almost growled at the mention of another female in his life but somehow she stopped herself from doing so. She let out a sigh as she muttered, "I''m too young to take your responsibility." Ruoshan looked at her with a soft smile on his face as he said, "Then grow up first. I''ll wait until you will be old enough to take my responsibility." "Whatever! Now, let me go!" Li Ming rolled her eyes and once again tried to move away from the Immortal lord but the arms around her waist only tightened. "You are prohibited from ever drinking too much wine in public. I don''t want you to go around assaulting innocent Young Masters," Ruoshan said in a tone that sounded like an order. "What rubbish are you spouting? I was drunk!" Li Ming glared at him with fiery eyes. How dare he throw profanities like this at her? "That''s exactly why you are not allowed to drunk so much in our absence. You are only allowed to drink a little bit but not too much." Ruoshan was firm on his words. No matter what, he would never leave her in the presence of any other male in her drunken state. He didn''t trust anyone with her except his brothers but he would also never stop her from doing something, rather he would make sure that she would be as safe as possible. "Don''t think that just because I agreed to take your so-called responsibility means that anything is going to change between us. That would be your biggest imagination," Li Ming said with her hands folded around her chest. "Never. I know that nothing is going to change between us." Ruoshan answered with a nod of his head. "Good! Also, you are not allowed to bring up yesterday night''s event in the future. If you did, I''ll make sure that you will regret it," Li Ming warned him. "En!" Ruoshan nodded his head, immediately agreeing. But then he hugged her tightly and kissed her on her forehead. Li Ming pushed him away as she gave him a final glare, "And don''t cling onto me. Otherwise, I''ll fry you in a boiling pan." Ruoshan only smiled at the girl as she hurriedly entered the washroom to hide her blushing face. But as she was standing under the shower spray, the face of the other man, Mr. Beauty, appeared in her mind and suddenly she had a lot of questions to ask from Ruoshan. Chapter 113 - Half Dead Li Ming Li Ming ended up wearing a light green tank top and black leggings along with her favorite pair of white sneakers. Her long hair was tied in a high tight bun. She was planning to confront Ruoshan about the identity of Mr. Beauty after her shower but when she left the washroom, clad in a baby pink dress, she found the Ever Night Lord absent. She had no plan of going out in the real world before completing her task of refining the pills. Therefore she changed into comfortable clothes and left the mansion. She entered in the Library of Alchemy and settled down on one of the bean bags as she started taking out ingredients for refining Body Cleansing Pills. If not for all the stupid things that happened the previous night she probably would have finished refining the pills by this morning but unfortunately the entire night was wasted first because of the note which no longer existed and then because of those so-called ancestors who made her end up drunk. "Are you going to refine pills?" Mallow asked as she too entered the room. Li Ming took a breath of relief when she didn''t found Snowy following Mallow. She didn''t want any kind of disturbances at this point. She needed to finish this task as fast as she could. "Yeah, Ready to help?" Li Ming asked Mallow as she started setting the refiner and furnace. The duo worked for the next five hours non-stop. Li Ming was initially on the low rank of Early Refiner but as she continued to refine batches after batches of middle-grade pills, her alchemy rank also increased. After nearly eight hours of constant hard work, there were finally six jars full of Body Cleansing Pills. Li Ming swiped the sweat from her forehead as she tried to gain a little bit of energy. She had used more than seventy percent of her cultivation energy in the past five hours. But a smile appeared on her face as her eyes landed on the jars sitting on the coffee table. "Congratulations Master! Not only you successfully refined hundreds of Body Cleansing Pills but you also broke through to the Middle Rank of Early Refiner." Mallow said in a proud tone. "Yeah, looks like there''s finally something good that happened!" Li Ming sighed as she said. She took out a black marker and picked up the first jar. This jar was a lot smaller than the others. There were barely ten or twelve pills inside the jar but this jar could be considered as the most precious out of all the jars. The reason was that this particular jar held the second rank Middle-grade pills. These were the highest rank of Body Cleansing Pills that Li Ming could refine at the moment. This pill could be consumed by those on Elder Cultivator Rank. People who were on a lower rank than Elder Cultivator couldn''t consume the Second rank Middle-grade pill because it would be too powerful for their internal energy and could damage it. While those who were above the rank of High Cultivator couldn''t consume Body Cleansing pills lower than the second rank of middle grade because though it won''t be harmful to their health but it still is of no use for them. Li Ming wrote down the rank of the pills on the jar and moved to the second jar. This one was a huge jar with over a hundred and fifty third rank Middle-grade pills in it, or to be precise there were hundred and seventy-two pills inside the jar. The third jar was as big as the second one and it also held about a hundred and eighty-nine pills inside it. All of them were first rank low-grade pills. The fourth jar was also a little bit smaller than the second and third one and it held about forty to fifty pills of the First Rank Low Grade. The fifth jar was as small as the first one and there were barely fifteen to twenty-something pills inside it. These were the lowest grade pills that Li Ming had refined. There was about three or four third rank Low-Grade Pills and the rest were Second rank Low-Grades. The last jar was also small and it held all those pills that came out as defected. There were twenty or something pills in it. Though they were totally useless according to Mallow but Li Ming who had been finding new things through her experiments had a feeling that she could definitely find a way to use those defected pills. IN SUMMARY: THIRD RANK, LOW-GRADE PILLS ¨C could be used by the beginners of spiritual cultivation. SECOND RANK, LOW-GRADE PILLS ¨C could be used by those who were on Basic Cultivation Level. FIRST RANK, LOW-GRADE PILLS ¨C could be used by those who were on Middle Cultivation Level. THIRD RANK, MIDDLE-GRADE PILLS ¨C could be used by those who were on a lower rank than the Fifth Level of High Cultivation (also those who were between fifth to ninth ranks of middle cultivator). SECOND RANK, MIDDLE-GRADE PILLS ¨C the highest rank of pills that Li Ming could refine at the moment. It could be used by those who were on Elder Cultivation Level. Even the early rank cultivators (1-3) of The great Elder Cultivation level could use this pill if taken two at a time. It was half-past five in the evening when she finally left the Library. The jars were safely stored in one of the secret compartments of the library. Mallow was tired and therefore she immediately sprawled on the Divine lotus and fell asleep within a few minutes. Li Ming was too tired but since she was in a good mood, she decided to pay a visit to the Black Jade Inn. She told Old Sir Liu and Old Mo to gather all the children of the Dongji village, who were between the ages of seven to twenty, at the foot of the Thundering Peaks Mountain Ranges the very next morning. Neither of the two Old men questioned her and immediately promised to complete her given task successfully. When Li Ming reached Black Jade Inn it was already six in the evening and the sun was shifting towards the horizon to finally end the day. If Li Ming knew that she would end up as a cook for the group of Young Masters that too decided to visit her Inn that evening, she probably would have chosen a different idea to spend her evening. Maybe she could have tried to find something about what happened the previous night or maybe she could have tried to find Ruoshan''s whereabouts to ask him questions that were constantly nagging her the entire day but of course, nothing like that happened. "Ming Ming, it''s been months since we last tasted the food prepared by you. Don''t be so cold-hearted. Please cook something delicious for us." Wei Min said while making his famous puppy eyes which had suddenly become the weakness of the Young girls of Capital City. Li Ming glared at the boy as she inwardly questioned the mentality of the young girls of the city. What were they even seeing in General Manor''s Fourth Young Master except that he was a person full of trickery and blackmails? "I''m seriously too tired. Just eat what you will be served later. Don''t you dare try those lousy tricks of yours on me, I''m not going to cook tonight no matter what," Li Ming said in a strict tone as she gave a hard glare to all the seven Young Masters that had come to visit the Inn. Two hours later, that was around eight-thirty o''clock at night, Wei Rong took out a pouch full of silvers and placed them in front of Li Ming who was looking half dead at that point. "Ming Ming, you should also eat your dinner and rest. You are looking too tired." Li Ming wasn''t sure which one was uttering the nonsense as she was literally on the verge of passing out. She straightened up and fixed her veil which had loosened a little. "Get lost. Right now." Her voice came out as a deep cold growl which made all the servants and even Elder Fu gulp in fear. They all had a feeling that if the Young Masters didn''t disappear immediately on their own then their Master would probably kick all of them out herself. "Ming Ming, we seriously didn''t know that you were so tired. If we knew then we would never have forced you for making dinner for us." It was Yan Jhong who spoke this time. Li Ming could actually see the remorse on their faces and in their eyes which were looking at her in worry for her health and guilt. She would probably not be so tired if she had only made the dinner for the Young Masters but the fact that she prepared an entire feast for over seventy people was enough to turn anyone into a half-dead. When the customers heard the Young Masters asking her to make dinner for them, they also started supporting the Young Masters. Their only condition was that Li Ming should prepare the dinner not only for the Young Masters but for everyone. Declining the Young Masters was one thing since they were her friends but how could she decline her customers, that''s how she ended up in the kitchen preparing dinner for so many people within the time limit of only one hour and she barely had five cooks to help her in the mission. Chapter 114 - Modern? Ancient? "Only one more week before you will be completely healed," Li Ming said as she poured the freshly prepared tea which was more of a healing potion, in one of the beautifully decorated cups. "Thank you, Miss Li. You have done too much for us. We won''t be able to repay you even if we tried for the rest of our lives." Madam Xia had tears in her eyes as she thanked Li Ming for all the goodness the Young Miss had shown to their family. Li Ming just nodded her head slightly. She didn''t dare to take too much credit for showing goodness, after all, whatever she was doing for them had been planned according to her own benefits. After Jin Jing drank the entire potion, Li Ming took out three Body Cleansing Pills. "These are Body Cleansing Pills. Since you are aiming to fight against your biggest opponent and enemy, you will need to be prepared as best as you can. Not only financially but also physically," Li Ming said as she signaled towards the pills. "Miss Li, you have become our benefactor. We can..." "Madam Xia, don''t be so formal. We all know that behind me helping you and your family, there are my own selfish needs. Don''t give me more credits than I deserve." Li Ming stopped Madam Xia before she could complete her sentence. Xiao Sheng looked at the Goddess and smiled as he admired her more and more as he got to know her better with each passing day. She was actually a real Goddess, a kind and pure-hearted person who wasn''t aware of her own goodness yet. Madam Xia, Jin Jing, and Xiao Sheng gulped down the pills and settled down in the lotus position following Li Ming''s directions. For the next two hours, Li Ming trained the three of them using some simple cultivation techniques. The spiritual energy in the Wang Empire was lower than the Han Empire, therefore by the end of two hours none of them had broken through. Xiao Sheng was on his initial stage of cultivation and he still had to break through the first level of Basic Cultivator Rank. On the other hand, though Jin Jing was a talented cultivator back a few years ago but due to the incident five years ago when she lost her ability to cultivate, her cultivation level stopped at the fifth level of Middle Cultivator. Madam Xia was also only at the seventh level of High Cultivation. After their short session of spiritual cultivation, all of them settled back in their seats. Li Ming was surprised to see that even though it was five o''clock in the early morning and she had kept them awake the entire night, none of the three looked a single bit tired. Not even Xiao Sheng had any hint of sleep in his eyes. On the other hand, they all looked energetic after having a taste of spiritual qi. Last night after the Young Masters finally left Black Jade Inn, she decided to cultivate a little bit to get back her lost energy. But around two o''clock she became bored and because of all the questions that were plaguing her, she found herself unable to either sleep or concentrate on cultivation. That''s how she found herself roaming through the Market street of the Capital City of the Wang Empire. She wasn''t expecting to find Jin Jing''s family awake and fussing over Jin Jing''s future. That''s how she ended up proposing her deal to the three of them. She would help them get back on their feet and in return, they would work under her. This deal was exactly same as what she proposed to Elder Fu and his family and looking at how well the later worked, she was ready to once again take the same path. Who knew that Madam Xia and her children were also thinking about this plan from the first time they encountered Li Ming. They were just too scared to voice it out in front of her. "Here''s the design that I was talking about last time." Li Ming said as she took out a scroll and opened it, placing it in front of Jin Jing to show her the design. The design was that of a long violet-colored shoulder off evening gown with a heart-shaped neckline, and a thigh-high slit on the left side of the dress. It was a relief that Xiao Sheng was still busy cultivating because as soon as Madam Xia and Jin Jing saw the design their previously curious expression turned into a horrifying one. "Miss Li, this...this..." Neither Madam Xia nor Jin Jing was able to form proper words as they kept staring at the design which gave too much exposure and then towards the Young Miss who was the owner of that design. "Don''t look at me like that. I know that the dress is too inappropriate to even exist, that''s why I want you to modify it into something that can have a touch of both the modern look and the ancient look." Li Ming told them with a sparkle in her eyes. "M-modern? Ancient...?" Jin Jing looked at Li Ming with confused eyes and Madam Xia also had similar expressions plastered on her face. Li Ming sighed as she tried to explain, "What I mean to say is that you need to find a balance between the design of this dress and the normal dresses that are worn by the women of the mainland. Design something new that would be appropriate to wear here but at the same time, it would have a touch of this one." She tapped at the design of the violet gown. Madam Xia looked a lot more relaxed after hearing Li Ming''s words and once again in the past six months, Li Ming questioned the world in which she had ended up after dying. Looked like she would need to work bit by bit. Jin Jing looked deep into thoughts and then finally said after a few minutes, "We can''t have that neckline, we would definitely need proper sleeves and that long cut...that''s the worst. How can we still have a touch of this one when there won''t be a single similarity?" Li Ming looked at the design and thought about Jin Jing''s words. After thinking for a short while finally, an idea struck her. She moved her hand over the scroll and the next second a completely new design was sketched on it. "What you think about this one?" Li Ming asked with a small smile on her lips. The surprise and amazement on Madam Xia and Jin Jing''s face were enough to answer her question. "This is such a beautiful design, Miss Li. In this way, the long cut at the side won''t be a problem," Jin Jing said with an excited tone. "True. I actually forget about this one. Let''s start with this one for now. We will find a solution for the previous one when you will be completely healed," Li Ming said and Jin Jing nodded her head in agreement. They wrapped up the scrolls and Madam Xia brought their packed items out of the small house in the backyard. For the next half an hour Li Ming repeated the same procedure that she had done at the Jewelry shop with the help of Madam Xia and Jin Jing. Li Ming had decided to rebuild the Clothes shop too as they were planning to open a new themed and bigger shop. But this time rather than making the shop disappear from the sight, she ended up setting up an illusion that showed that the shop was still there. The sudden disappearance of the shop not only would have caused an uproar in the general public but it would also become a problem if Ming Zhu or the General family decided to find out about the sudden disappearance of the shop. Too much attention before the opening of the shop would have destroyed the future reopening of the shop. So, to stay away from all these problems Li Ming decided to use the illusion array to make everyone believe that the shop was still there. It wasn''t like anyone was going to visit the shop. But to still be safe, she also placed an alarm connected to the array which would alert her immediately if someone unexpectedly ended up visiting the shop. After making sure that everything was set up perfectly, Li Ming teleported back to the Dongji village. The sun had already started to rise and the morning rays filled the environment with soothing warmth. Li Ming left Madam Xia with Old Madam at the orphanage to let the lady settle down and took both Jin Jing and Xiao Sheng with her as she teleported to the foot of the Thundering Peaks. Just like Old Sir Liu and Old Mo had promised her, they were standing there with a large group of children between the age group of seven and twenty. Li Ming motioned Jin Jing and Xiao Sheng to join the group of children. With the help of Old Sir Liu and Old Mo, Li Ming separated the children into fourteen different groups according to their ages. Then she asked the two old men to take their leave. On her advice, the children settled down on the ground in lotus positions. "In these past few months, you all have been training every day to make your internal force stronger. I think it''s finally the time when we should take your journey a step higher." With a flick of her fingers brown pills with a golden ring in their middle, appeared in front of each person sitting there. The pills were distributed according to their levels of cultivation and internal force. To solve the problem of finding the perfect rank pill for each child according to their cultivation level, Li Ming learned a new spell. The spell solved her problem by distributing the right pill to the right person. "Eat these pills and let your internal force relax. These pills will clean all the impurities from your body and blood. It''s the first step of your cultivation journey," Li Ming said as she looked at the group of hundred plus children in front of her. Her eyes landed on the high mountain peaks around them, unknown to the surprise that soon was going to greet her in the depth of these same mountain peaks. Chapter 115 - Are You Ready? The warm summer breeze drifted through the forest, rustling the previously silent leaves on their wake. The children were finally on their way to return back to the Dongji village after spending their entire morning in cultivating spiritual qi. The vast area of fields filled with greenery was visible at a distance from the foot of the Thundering Peaks. The houses were lined on the other side of the fields and the farmers could be seen working as they took care of the plants. "What''s wrong? You have been circling around here for the past an hour." The little pixie looked down from the high branch of the tree where she had been sitting for a while now, at the sudden question. "Li, don''t you feel that something is wrong with this place?" Alvina asked as she flew towards Li Ming and settled down on her right shoulder. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she herself settled down on a large rock. "It''s very clear that something is wrong here. The mystery behind the low spiritual energy in this forest is still not solved. Ruoshan was definitely not the reason because this problem is in existence much before the Ever Night Lord got captured here. Our theory that the White Pearl Lotus is the reason also failed. Because there''s no way the stones would have needed extra spiritual energy based on the fact that the entire Xiao Tiantang was full of nothing but spiritual qi. Moreover, according to what Mallow told me, Xiao Tiantang only used to appear in the Thundering Peaks on the day when the lotus flowers were about to bloom. In the end, it''s clear that the reason behind the lack of spiritual qi in the Thundering Peaks is because of some other reason," Li Ming said as her eyes wandered through the forest. Alvina flew in front of Li Ming. Her long pigtails and round green eyes made her look so adorable as she tilted her head slightly while asking, "Why didn''t you try to find out about it then?" "When did you think I have enough time to spend on solving out mysteries? I have my hands full at the moment. Whenever I think about the things that are still pending for me to complete, I start having headaches." Li Ming said while fixing her veil. She was starting to get irritated by the veils that she needed to wear every day to hide her identity but unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about it at the moment. "By the way, why you look so disturbed about this topic?" Li Ming asked Alvina as she started playing with the pixie''s pigtails, swinging them side to side lightly. "You know that I''m a garden fairy and that gives me a special connection with nature. Every time I''m around here, it''s like there''s something in this forest that calls me to it, asking me to unveil the mystery." Alvina answered as she looked at Li Ming expectantly. Li Ming smiled at the little fairy as she softly asked, "Do you want me to help you?" After a few seconds, the pixie finally nodded her head. "You are the only one whom I can ask for help. I know that we have caused you so many problems since we have met, constantly asking for your help and time, especially when you are so busy..." "Don''t be like this Al. If I didn''t want to help you I wouldn''t have let you stay with me. I''m not gonna say that helping you guys is an easy job but in the end, it sure is fruitful. I let you stay with me and in return, you are helping me in taking care of the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang. I can see the hard work that you guys are putting in taking care of the spiritual herbs. Also, when I helped you with the pixie dust matter, it''s not like I didn''t gain anything in return. So, in conclusion, helping you guys is my own choice and it will be my fate if my help led to a good ending or bad," Li Ming said as she smiled softly at the pixie. She got surprised when suddenly the little fairy flew near her face and adorably rubbed her head on Li Ming''s cheek, making the later laugh. "You are an angel Li," Alvina said with her sparkling eyes. "Oh God, stop calling me such things. I''m a demoness hidden behind this cute face. Don''t be bewitched by it and if you don''t believe me feel free to ask for Snowy''s confirmation," Li Ming said with exasperation, making the pixie laugh. "Let''s go then!" Li Ming said as she jumped down from the rock, strengthening her slightly ruffled dress. "Where?" Alvina asked confusedly. "Well, I have some time to spare. Why not use it to find something about this mystery?" Li Ming winked at the pixie as she hurriedly moved deeper into the forest. It took Alvina a few seconds before she caught up with Li Ming and both of them went towards the highest peak of the Thundering Mountain Ranges. --- About two hours later, the silhouette of a young girl in a white dress could be seen sprawled on a plain high rock on the second-highest peak of the Thundering Mountain Ranges. She was completely drenched in sweat and her long hair was sticking to her forehead and neck. Her veil had become undone at some point and her white dress had mud and green moss sticking on it, painting it in a disgusting design and smell. "I''m still not sure why you end up walking all this time. Were you dying to have a short hiking trip or were you missing some rock climbing session?" Alvina asked as she hopped from one stone to another, playing in the stream that was flowing through the deep dark forest. "I was just trying to check out my physical condition." Li Ming replied with a pout. "By using teleportation for nearly eighty percent of the route?" Alvina asked with a playful smirk. "Hush, I only used teleportation when I was too tired to walk or climb. If I have walked the entire way it would have taken us days to reach here." Li Ming said as she cleaned her dress and fixed her appearance with a spell. "Whatever you say Li, but it''s clear that your physical condition is worse than what I have imagined. You need to work out more." Alvina mockingly chuckled as she continued playing in the stream. Li Ming huffed at Alvina''s words but deep down in her heart she completely agreed. Taking care of her businesses was occupying most of her time and in the end, she wasn''t able to pay more attention to increasing her cultivation and internal force. She needed to solve this problem out as soon as she could. "Alright, stop playing now. We need to start our investigation again. You wanted to check this part and the top peak, let''s continue then." Li Ming called out to the little fairy as she prepared to teleport directly to the top peak. "Li, I can feel something here. Something different in the air. Can''t you?" Alvina asked suddenly. "Unfortunately sweetheart, I''m not an elemental witch. That''s why I''m still not that good when it comes to reading the nature and its elements." Li Ming told her as she looked around the area to see if she could pinpoint anything. "Is there a spell or something that could help you in connecting with the forest?" There was an urgency in Alvina''s voice. "What''s wrong Al?" Li Ming asked with a little worry. "Not exactly wrong, but here''s something which is different. Something that is calling for my fairy instincts. Something familiar or maybe...I-I don''t know exactly how to describe it." Alvina replied with a frown. Her little eyebrows scrunching as she looked confused by her own words. "It''s okay. Don''t pressure yourself. Can you tell me exactly what kind of vibes are you getting? Is it something dark?" Li Ming carefully asked as the thoughts of her dreams started to appear in her mind. These dreams were starting to frustrate her more and more. They started the exact day when she first visited the Demon Realm. She could also feel the darkness that accompanied those dreams but the worst part was that every time she woke up, she couldn''t remember those dreams anymore. The only person who could help her and tell her more about those dreams had, as usual, refused to help her. Moreover, if she could then Li Ming wanted to avoid coming across that person as much as possible. And she wasn''t able to revive those dreams on her own, no matter whatever spell or potion she tried. Even now, her mind was only reminding her about those dreams but nothing about the content of those dreams. "No, it''s not exactly dark. Maybe a little dangerous but not evil." Alvina answered after a few minutes as she focused more on the sensations that were piquing on her Garden fairy instincts. Li Ming sighed as she nodded lightly. She thought about possible ways that could help her in connecting with the forest. There was a spell that could do the work. It was the same one which she had used before in the Thundering Peaks while finding information about the Godly Maple Tree (now called Xiao Tiantang) and Moonstone. As she kept thinking about more options an idea finally hit her. "I think there''s a spell that could do the work but I''ll need your help. Are you ready?" Chapter 116 - How Are You Doing Little One? "Do you think it will work?" Alvina asked as she placed her tiny hands in Li Ming''s outstretched palms. "Yes, I''m sure that this will work. Now stop questioning me and close your eyes. It''s already past four. We don''t have many hours left before sunset," Li Ming said as she placed a white thread across Alvina''s right palm which was placed above her own. The pixie closed her palm around the thread and Li Ming did the same as she closed her fingers around Alvina''s tiny hand. "Remember what I told you. Concentrate on your instincts and let them flow through the forest. Focus on that exact pull that''s tugging you towards this part of the forest. Alright?" Li Ming asked Alvina as she prepared to start her spell. Alvina nodded her head and then closed her eyes to do exactly as she was told. As Li Ming started chanting the spell, the white thread in Alvina''s hand started growing as it slowly coiled around both of their hands, connecting the two of them through their powers. Li Ming felt a sudden change in the environment instantly. There was a presence there that indeed felt familiar and pulled her towards it. She let her powers flow through the area to find out the exact place from where the pull was coming. A few moments later, she opened her eyes which looked directly towards the stream. "The water! It has that presence in it!" Li Ming suddenly said as she pulled her sleeves up to dip one of her hands in the cool water. The water sparkled as she pulled her hand out of the stream. A soft golden light shined and the water droplets in her hand turned into three tiny sapphires and the next second disappeared completely. Li Ming felt her heartbeats racing as she felt that familiarity again. Her legs started moving on their own and Alvina silently followed behind her. After walking for about half an hour Li Ming finally reached the small waterfall which was flowing down at the foot of the highest peak of Thundering Mountain Ranges. "Can you feel it? It''s stronger here!" Li Ming looked at Alvina who in return hurriedly nodded her head. "Is it coming from the water? Maybe there''s something in the water!" Alvina said with a frown as she looked at the waterfall and then at the stream. "Maybe I should go and look down below?" Li Ming said with a little uncertainty in her tone. "I don''t think it will be safe. This world ain''t normal Li and who knows what''s waiting down there in the depth." Alvina immediately showed her disagreement with Li Ming''s plan. "Yeah, but we don''t have another option. Don''t worry, nothing is going to happen." Li Ming tried to assure Alvina though deep down she knew that the little fairy was right. The pixie was still not happy with the idea but she finally gave in because there was nothing that she could actually do to stop Li Ming. "I think you should..." A mind link from Mallow stopped Li Ming before she could complete her sentence. "What happened?" Alvina asked as she watched a frown creeping on Li Ming''s forehead. "Looks like we have some visitors. We need to stop the investigation for now but don''t worry, I''ll be back here to check this waterfall out as soon as I can." Li Ming answered as she grabbed the Pixie and entered the magical mansion. "I seriously don''t like the fact that these Immortals can enter into Xiao Tiantang at any time they wish. It''s just too unfair." Li Ming whined as she walked towards the Godly Maple Tree. "You can''t stop them?" Alvina asked as she flew beside Li Ming. Li Ming sighed as she replied, "I wish that I can. But unfortunately, I can''t. There''s no privacy here." "Li." Li Ming stopped in front of the portal and turned sideways to look at Alvina who suddenly sounded a lot more serious than normal. "Yes?" "All of them appear like nice people who actually care about you. You should give them a chance," The fairy said with a soft smile. "The others were there too that night, right?" Li Ming asked as she looked at Alvina expectantly. "Yeah, there were others too and we all saw the worry and fear in their eyes for you. But I''m not going to tell you more about it. You need to chin-up and face them. Don''t become the victim of negativity and doubts. You are far much better than that and most importantly, they need your help to understand this bond. It''s clear that they are already aware of this bond with you but they are stopping themselves from coming in front of you. Just like you are hesitating to do the same. Don''t stall for too longer Li. It''s such a beautiful and precious bond. Don''t let this time go waste, you won''t be getting it back again." Alvina''s words were so deep and genuine that Li Ming was unable to refute her. "You don''t understand Al. There are so many things that keep me..." Li Ming trailed off as she heard light chuckles of Alvina. She looked at the pixie with a deep frown plastered on her forehead. "What?" "What''s the problem Li? Are you afraid that they won''t accept you? How will you find out if you don''t even try? And if by any chance those idiots end up losing the best gift of their lives then you have just to make sure that they all realize the truth that they are the biggest idiots of this world." Alvina answered as she gave Li Ming a supportive smile. "As for the craving that your soul is suffering through at this moment, all it needs is the closeness and care of its mates. All the frustrations and loneliness that your soul is feeling, it will stop as long as you will have a basic link with them. The sexual frustration will disappear and it will be under control until you are ready for...!" "Stop, stop, stop! What are you talking about? You should not be talking about such things?" Li Ming hurriedly cut off Alvina mid-sentence as she tried to cover her flushed cheeks. "I''m just talking about the facts. By the way, they are getting restless. Let''s go inside before they decided to come here. After all, since they are your mates, I think that gives them a free pass into both the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang." Alvina said with a small smirk as she flew through the portal. Li Ming huffed and after making sure that she was no longer looking like a tomato, she too entered into the portal. On the other side of the portal, Li Ming found four hot as hell Immortals standing beside the pond. All four looked completely different from each other, their aura was dominating and powerful. The presence of the Immortals outshone the glamour of Xiao Tiantang. Li Ming couldn''t find a single soul there except the four Immortals, two of whom she didn''t even recognize. It was like the entire Xiao Tiantang was deprived of any living beings. There was no trace of the pixies, Snowy or Mallow. "Ming''er!" Li Ming was immediately engulfed into a tight hug. She pulled arms around Zhang Yong and patted him lightly on his shoulder, urging him to let her go. After a few seconds, Zhang Yong finally loosened his hold on her and dragged her with him towards the other three immortals. "What are you all doing here?" "How did you get your hands over the Godly Maple Tree?" The two questions ranged out through the silent Xiao Tiantang as Li Ming glared at the Immortal in black and red brocade robes who was looking at her with raised eyebrows. Li Ming watched from the corner of her eyes as Zhang Yong rolled his eyes and Ruoshan sighed with a little shake of his head. "Xingan...!" "No one answered my question." "Xingan? Seriously?" Li Ming once again drilled her eyes in the Immortal who was slowly getting on her nerves. "Calm down, both of you," Ruoshan said as he tried to pull the Immortal in black and red brocade robes, away from Li Ming. "Xingan, this is my brother, Qin Hei Long, the Demon Lord of Southern Province of the Demon Realm. And yes, she''s my Xingan." Ruoshan introduced Li Ming and the Second Demon Prince to each other. His last sentence was directed at Hei Long as be gave his brother a serious look. "And we all are here because we wanted to check how you are doing now?" Zhang Yong immediately jumped in trying to make sure that all of Li Ming''s questions were answered. Her eyes landed on the last person who had been silent all this time. She wasn''t prepared to directly came across deep cerulean eyes that threatened to drown her. It took her barely a second to realize that he was none other than the Mr. Beauty. "You..." Li Ming wasn''t sure exactly what she wanted to say and whatever was about to leave her mouth got stuck in her throat as the Immortal Deity started coming closer to her. "How are you doing, Little One?" Chapter 117 - Inviting The Immortals Into Magical Mansion "Huh?" Li Ming looked like a lost child at that moment. Her small dove-like eyes stared at the Immortal Deity who finally stopped a few feet away in front of her. "I...I-" Li Ming tried to muster up some words but her mind wasn''t functioning properly to form proper words. "Great! She can''t even speak properly." The sarcastic tone which was mocking her finally brought her out of her surprised and shocked state. Li Ming turned her firey gaze at the Second Demon Prince who was acting like he was bored to death standing there in his full glory. She did agree that the Demon Prince was as handsome and dashing as his brother, though both of them looked completely opposite to each other. But unfortunately, his good looks were not enough to save him from her wrath. She plastered a sweet smile on her face and started, "Your Excellency, no one invited you here. And more specifically, no one needs your sarcasm. You are really too bored here, please find your way out. I won''t be able to entertain you." All this time her voice was dripping with honey but her words were like a sharp slap on Hei Long''s face. Zhang Yong and Ruoshan covered their laughter while pretending to cough while Lord Yueliang looked at the two younger ones with a soft smile on his lips. "Don''t fight. We are here as guests. You need to remember that Little One is now the Master of Xiao Tiantang, don''t act rudely." Moon Deity''s tone was strict as he directed his words towards Hei Long. "Xiao Tiantang?" Hei Long raised his eyebrows at the new name of the Godly Maple Tree and looked at all the four people standing there, his eyes stopping at his Sweet Prey. In return, Li Ming raised her chin and folded her arms, clearly challenging him to spout some nonsense. "By the way, why did you only blame me for fighting? She''s being rude too!" Hei Long looked at Lord Yueliang with a betrayed expression. "Because she''s the youngest here and you are the mature one. Moreover, you started it first." Ruoshan replied smoothly as he gave his brother a pointed look. "You all are bewitched!" Hei Long huffed out as he shook her head with pitiful eyes. "And you are an idiot." Zhang Yong retorted back as all the three Immortals (Zhang Yong, Ruoshan, and Lord Yueliang) gave Hei Long a sympathetic look, leaving the Second Demon Prince completely shocked. "Ming''er, let me introduce you to the Moon Immortal. He''s the world-famous Lord Yueliang." Zhang Yong chirped happily as he introduced the Moon Deity. "You are the one...who helped me with the Blue Moon, right?" Li Ming asked softly as she looked into the deep cerulean eyes. The Deity only nodded his head slightly. Seeing him in the daylight was totally different. If he was the Moon during the night then he shined like a sun during the day. "Let''s go," Zhang Yong said as he tugged on Li Ming''s hand while walking towards the portal. "Where?" Li Ming asked in surprise as she looked at the Fourth Prince with a frown. "To your mansion, where else?" Zhang Yong replied and once again started dragging Li Ming. "Wait...!" Li Ming somehow succeeded in stopping the fourth prince and then hurriedly asked, "Why are we going to my mansion?" Zhang Yong looked at her in confusion and then peered at the other three immortals who were still standing on their previous location, staring at the two of them curiously. "Then what do you want to do now?" Zhang Yong asked as he let go of her hands. "I don''t know. I mean you came here to check on me. So, look I''m all fine, you can go back now." Li Ming shrugged one of her shoulders as she replied. Zhang Yong looked at her with a wide mouth, giving her an unbelievable expression. "What do you mean by we can leave now? It''s okay if you are only talking about me and Ruoshan but how can you be so rude toward Lord Yueliang and Hei Long? Not only they helped you but they also saved you. I wasn''t expecting you to be so cold-hearted." "..." Li Ming looked at Zhang Yong speechlessly. How did she ended up being the rude one? Weren''t these Immortals the ones who entered into her world unannounced and uninvited? "Well, umm...then...I-I''m not going to let them enter into my mansion. Ruoshan already has a free pass in both the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang. The others had a free pass in Xiao Tiantang. If they too get a free pass in my mansion, there won''t be any privacy left for me." Li Ming muttered with a cute pout. "Alright then, let''s stand here then." Zhang Yong shrugged his shoulder as he started walking back towards the other three Immortals. "Why would you say it like that? Can you stop making me the rude one here?" Li Ming whispered shouted at Zhang Yong as she hurriedly followed behind him. "I''m not doing any such thing Ming''er!" Zhang Yong replied back. "But...!" Li Ming stopped as she reached closer to the other Immortals. "Little One!" She looked up at the Moon Immortal who called her with that pet name in his cool spring-like voice. "Yes?" She asked, trying to appear as unaffected as she could though, in reality, her soul was about to jump down from the highest peak of the Thundering Peaks. The Moon Immortal walked towards her and took hold of her small warm hands in his large ones as he said, "Remember one thing, all you need to do is to just say the word and none of us will ever set our foot here. No one will go against your wishes. Okay?" Li Ming stared at the Immortal Deity silently, her eyes searching for something in his. The warmth, the care, the protectiveness, the closeness, and the touches that they were showing her wasn''t normal. Nothing about their behavior towards her was normal. But everything was explainable. Their closeness, protectiveness, care, every emotion was because of the precious soulmate bond between them. She could feel the tendrils on her wrist filling with warmth and she was sure that all of them would be shining in different colors. Her eyes roamed towards the other three Immortals. It was clear that Ruoshan was one of her mates and Zhang Yong was not. Though she also felt some connection with the fourth prince but it was clear that it wasn''t the soulmate bond. Her second mate was the handsome Immortal with cerulean eyes. The tingles running through her body, the happiness that her soul was feeling at his closeness was enough to make her realize that Lord Yueliang too was one of her five mates. Her eyes finally landed on the Second Demon Prince, wondering if he could also be one of her mates but other than touching him, there was no other way to confirm her doubt. Now, just picture Li Ming going over to the Second Demon Prince and suddenly grabbing him out of nowhere. Yeah, the outcomes didn''t look too favorable! "Alright! I''m gonna trust your words." Li Ming finally replied to Lord Yueliang, retracting her hands out of his warm ones. She didn''t wait for any of them to reply, just turned around and started walking towards the portal and this time leading the other four behind her. Even though Hei Long wanted to be anywhere but around the Lilac girl but he just couldn''t leave the other three alone with her, especially not after seeing the marks on Ruoshan''s nape. So, to protect his brothers from the Demoness, he would be going to keep glued to them. After ten minutes, all five of them entered into the spacious living room of the mansion. Li Ming looked at the four of them and directed them towards the sofas that were arranged in the beautifully decorated room. "You all sit here. I''m going to brew some tea for you all," Li Ming said as she started walking towards the kitchen. "Wait! You don''t need to do that." Ruoshan hurriedly stopped Li Ming. "It''s alright." Li Ming dismissed his words as she continued to walk towards the kitchen. "I should come to help you." Zhang Yong said as he stood up from his seat. "Don''t!" Li Ming hurriedly shouted at him, turning quickly around and glaring at him. The four Immortals looked at her in confusion and a little shock. "Don''t any of you dare to leave your seats until I''m back. I''ll be back in a few minutes. Just sit here without moving. Alright?" Her words were full of authority. Her eyes challenging them to go against her words. After making sure that all of them were not going to move and destroy her beautiful magical home, Li Ming entered the kitchen to prepare snacks for them. Little did she knew that her decision of letting the four Immortals enter into her mansion would be written as one of the biggest stupidity of hers in her ancestor''s record book. Chapter 118 - The Cave With Pink Flowers Li Ming stared at the empty living room. She had barely taken about fifteen minutes in returning back to the living room with a trolley filled with freshly brewed tea and snacks, but she got shocked to see the living area quiet and empty. No trace of any hot and dashing Immortal, moreover four. She went to search throughout the mansion to see if they had gone against her words to explore the mansion but she didn''t find them anywhere either inside or outside the mansion. They weren''t in the Xiao Tiantang either. "What the heck? Are these people for real? First, they came here uninvited, and now they disappeared without telling me, what kind of shameless and impolite behavior is this?" Li Ming asked out aloud to no one in particular as she stared at the trolley. She didn''t know exactly why suddenly she was feeling so frustrated and angry. And the fact that she wasn''t able to control her own emotions further irritated her. She let out a huff and picked up the flower vase that was somehow ended up on one of the sofas instead of its original place. As she was about to put the vase on its original position, a blue fist-sized ball of light flew out of it and a screen-like thing appeared in front of Li Ming. "We are apologizing for suddenly disappearing like this. Something important came up out of nowhere that needed the presence of all four of us. I hope you won''t hold this against us. Zhang or Ruoshan will probably contact you soon. In the meantime, please take care of yourself." The sweet soft spring-like voice of Lord Yueliang filtered into the room. Li Ming stared at the screen in front of her which was probably playing a saved video message from the Moon Deity. Well, video message was the best term to define what she was seeing. Just rather than a normal video, it was a magical one. "Wow, why did I never knew about this message thingy? These people sure know how to keep secrets. Huh!" Li Ming scoffed as she surveyed the screen like thing. Her eyes landed on the Immortal Deity on the screen. She shook her head a little before saying out loud while looking at the screen, "Tsk tsk, you should consider yourself lucky that I''m letting you all go this time. But that''s because I''m too busy to spend my time taking care of your childish act." The screen disappeared as soon as she finished speaking the words, leaving a frustrated Li Ming behind who was confused about what to do with the tea and snacks. After thinking for a while she decided to take the trolley to the Little Pixie Hollow in her backyard. The pixies would love to taste her wonderful snacks. Unknown to Li Ming, an Immortal Deity had heard her words as a small twitch appeared on his lips, increasing his charm to another level. Who knew that they all would suddenly get the information that a very important person would be visiting the Moon manor and that''s why all of them immediately teleported back to the Yueliang Manor. If not for this sudden visit by that person, none of them would have left their mate behind like that. The Moon Deity felt ashamed for suddenly leaving his Little One without even telling her and the fact that she forgave them so easily only increased his shame. He initially didn''t have any plan of visiting her but when it came to Zhang Yong it was impossible to say no to the Shadow Lord. Moreover, to be honest, he didn''t really try too hard because deep down he was also dying to meet her. No one knew exactly why Hei Long decided to tag along. Though it wasn''t actually a surprise that he was trying to find reasons to also meet her. But everything got ruined by a certain person who chose that exact day to visit the lower realms. "Seriously? You all are looking like you have been separated from your biggest happiness. Can you all behave like the Immortals you are?" Hei Long said with a bored tone and a little bit of irritation mixed in it. "You are the one who needed to behave." Zhang Yong retorted back at the Second Demon Prince''s words. "Stop saying that. I''m not a child!" Hei Long glared at Zhang Yong. His black eyes shone dark red for barely a second before they returned to their self. "Then stop behaving like one!" This time it was Ruoshan who responded to Hei Long. Before the two brothers decided to start a battle, Lord Yueliang finally stepped in to cool down the atmosphere. "Can you all stop fighting like little children? We are here to welcome our guest. Behave at least a little bit maturely." His voice was as usually soft and warm but it did its work as the Three Immortals calmed down. "Do you think Supreme Immortal would be coming too?" Ruoshan asked after a few moments of silence. "Not sure. Depends on exactly where he is at the moment and what he''s doing." Lord Yueliang replied as he took out his Zither and placed it on the table in front of him. His fingers lightly skipping over the strings and a light melody filled the room. "I wish he will come back soon," Zhang Yong said with an evil smirk on his lips. His mind going over the many plans that he had in store for the Supreme Immortal. ------ "Do you think it''s safe?" Alvina asked as she followed Li Ming around the spell room. "Stop asking so many questions, Al. Now stay here and wait for my signal. I''ll let you know if I need your help." Li Ming told the little pixie and without delay for a single second, she once again appeared at the foot of the waterfall. She had changed into jeggings and a tight full-sleeved top. Her hair we''re tightly secured in a bun and she had put on leather boots. She also had two sharp daggers from the weaponry secured in her boots. Li Ming took out a vial full of violet color liquid and gulped all of it down in one go. Looking at her face it was clear that the potion tasted disgusting enough to make her puke but she somehow managed to not do so. She took in a deep breath and started walking slowly into the water. The waterfall wasn''t too high not it was huge, therefore the current of the water wasn''t a danger. Li Ming finally reached the point where the water covered her till her neck. She looked at the sky and the next second vanished beneath the water. The water was cold and Li Ming could barely see anything despite the fact that the sun was still shining at his full glory. She took out a round ball-like thing and shook it, the next second a white luminescent light brightened the area around her. Li Ming closed her eyes and focused on the familiar pull that she had felt the last time. Though she was no more connected to Alvina but her powers had already grasped a feel of that familiar feeling and just like that she automatically started diving towards the place where the waterfall was falling. A few minutes later, Li Ming reached the area where she could feel the heavy pressure from the water falling from above the mountain peak. Beneath the water, Li Ming could see a small gap in the rocks. She dived into the gap and kept going forward. She could feel the tug getting stronger and stronger but what surprised her was the tiny pink shining flowers that were growing on the walls of the cave. And just by touching a single one, Li Ming realized that they were sucking in the spiritual energy from the water and the forest. Li Ming continued for a little bit longer and finally came across a wall. The cave suddenly ended with a huge rock placed in front of her. ''Impossible! How can this end here? There should be something more here.'' Li Ming thought as she started searching around the small cave for a sign or something that could answer her questions but after minutes of searching she ended up empty-handed. ''How can this be? What am I missing here?'' Li Ming was frustrated and insanely freezing because of the chilled water. She threw the light ball that she was holding on one of the walls of the cave and without any surprise, the ball ended up dividing into many tiny particles as it shattered. Li Ming cursed herself at her stupidity as suddenly the entire cave was engulfed in darkness. She was about to take out another magical light ball when her eyes registered the single beam of ray that was infiltrating into the cave from the top of one of the walls. Exactly what was waiting for her on the other side of the cave? Chapter 119 - The Enchanted Magik Forest Li Ming dived up towards the area from where the light was coming and at the top of the wall in front of her, she found a small fist-sized hole in the rocks. The sunlight was filtering in through the gap but because of the water that was pouring out through the hole and its small size, Li Ming wasn''t able to see past it. She tried to look around near the hole but other than that there was nothing else. After searching for a few more minutes she was sure that it was the only hole or gap in the rocks. She closed her eyes and the very next second she transformed into a purple light that in a few seconds passed through the hole. Li Ming felt like she had crossed through some sort of a portal as she landed on solid ground. The sudden sunlight blinded her for a few seconds as she covered her eyes to adjust to the sudden light. When her eyes were finally able to focus, she peeled her hands away to look at the area around her. It looked exactly the same as the Thundering peaks. A waterfall was falling down the mountain and turned into a stream. The area was covered with forest and the sun was running towards the horizon. Nothing looked different except the energy in the air. The familiarity in the air finally hit her with full force, almost drowning her in its wake. The magic surged through her veins, singing melodiously as it connected with the immense amount of magic that was present in the air. The area was covered with a mixed blanket of magic and spiritual qi. "How''s it possible?" Li Ming asked out loud to no one in particular. Her voice came out in a soft whisper as her eyes wandered around to take in everything around her. Before she could spend a single more second into wondering about the miracle in front of her eyes, a sharp piercing pain shot through her right shoulder, making Li Ming cry out. "What the-?" Li Ming stared at her shoulder which was covered with her bright crimson blood. The pain was so intense that her eyes were starting to tear up. "A mortal dared to step her foot in our world. Should I call you brave or an idiot?" A loud booming voice said from behind her. Li Ming turned around to look at the person who had spoken and came across a group of beautiful women clad in long white gowns. Their blonde or black colored long hair with dark green eyes was a direct contrast to the looks of the people of this world. Li Ming eyed the Woman who was carrying a bow in her hands and then at the arrow that had pierced through her shoulder. She pulled out the arrow and threw it at the feet of the woman, her blood running down speedily, and within a few seconds, her entire arm was covered in blood as it dripped down on the ground, drenching the soil in red. "Were you aiming at my heart or my shoulder?" Li Ming asked in a calm tone. Her expression was completely unreadable. The women were shocked to see the calmness of the girl even though she was losing blood and had a huge hole in her shoulder. "No, I was actually aiming at your head." The woman who was holding the bow said with a smirk. "Oh! Then I must say, your aim is really poor. You should practice more. Who knows if your next opponent won''t be a so-called mortal." The mockery was clear in Li Ming''s tone as she called on her healing powers and in front of the group of women, the wound healed within a few seconds as all the blood disappeared. "Who are you?" The woman with the bow asked in shock. The others had the same expression plastered on their faces. "Maybe you should rather ask the question - What I am?" To be honest, I wasn''t expecting to meet nymphs in this world but I''m getting surprised again and again." Li Ming said as she looked at the group of nymphs in front of her. The women looked shocked to hear the little girl''s words. The woman with the bow closed her eyes and after a few minutes, she opened them with surprise visible in them. "How? A witch and a cultivator?" Her words made the others gasp as they all looked at Li Ming with surprised expressions and questioning eyes. "When it comes to magic, nothing is really impossible. Just say that I''m an unexpected and unique case. Can you all tell me exactly what is this place?" Li Ming asked the woman with the bow. "It''s the Enchanted Magik Forest and the environment here is made of magical energy and spiritual qi. This place is the home of all the magical creatures who somehow ended up in this world." The woman replied as she passed her bow to one of her companions. "How did you entered the forest?" The woman asked as she looked at Li Ming with a little bit of suspicion in her eyes. "Well, let''s just say that I was trying to find the reason behind the lower amount of spiritual qi in the Thundering Peaks which led me to the waterfall which was shockingly has a high amount of spiritual qi in it. Not only that but I also felt a familiar tug which led to me ending up here. The tug of the magic, this familiarity of home." Li Ming replied as she took in a deep breath of the fresh air, letting the magical tingles brush her skin tenderly. "It actually explains a lot. No one except those who have magic in their blood could enter into the Enchanted Magik Forest. Your blood carries spiritual qi but your soul, it''s filled with immense magic, and that allows you to be a part of this forest." The woman said as she looked at the young girl, trying to read her but failing miserably. Not only the young girl had a vast root of magic in her soul but her cultivation and string internal force only made her more powerful. "Li, let us out." Snowy''s plea entered into Li Ming''s mind and she let out a sigh. She knew that her familiar too had felt the presence of the magic by now and currently he wanted to feel it. And that also meant the pixies had felt it too. Li Ming opened the link and the next moment, the previously somewhat quiet area was suddenly filled with the crazy reactions of the group of pixies who were flying around the waterfall and on the other hand, was Snowy who was purring while standing on a small rock. Mallow too was looking around the area with shocked eyes. "What-" The nymphs were completely unprepared for the sudden crowd that appeared there out of thin air. "I''m sorry. All of them are with me and they are also related to the magic except that baby fox. As soon as they felt the presence of magic they wanted to enjoy its feel. Sorry that I didn''t ask for your permission." Li Ming politely explained and then apologized. "No, it''s okay. We were not just expecting it. There''s no need to say sorry. Anyone who carries a part of the magic in them is welcome here." The woman said as she shrugged lightly. "Thank you for your understanding. I wasn''t expecting to find this place and especially not to meet you guys here. Now tell me, other than you guys what other groups of supernatural beings are here too?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. "Why would you think that there are other supernaturals too?" The woman asked with surprise. Li Ming only raised her eyebrows with a small smirk on her lips, she was clearly in no mood of answering the question. The woman finally gave up and with a sigh, she answered, "You will be surprised. We were the first one who came to this place, but after that many other species too came here. Over the years we have organized a small community of our own and this place provides us the home that we all needed." "How did you find this place?" Li Ming asked as she looked around the area. "I don''t remember too much. I was very little at that time and the leader of our group was the one who brought us to this place. As far as I know, this place was a gift for us nymphs from a very powerful woman. Our leader and some of our ancestors had helped that woman and in return, she gifted us with this place." The woman replied as she looked deep in thoughts, probably trying to remember more about the past and the story behind the Enchanted Magik Forest. "A woman who gifted this place in return of your ancestor''s help? That- well...., that only made it more mysterious. But if I''m not wrong are you trying to say that you guys or this Enchanted forest had been here for hundreds of years?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. That night Li Ming spent her time in learning more about the Enchanted Magik Forests and the supernaturals living there. At that time she didn''t know that the Enchanted Forest would become one of her most powerful possession and support. Chapter 120 - Meeting The Supernaturals "As far as I know, it''s been around millennia since our group of nymphs first ended up in this world. Everything was completely new and different for us. At that time we used to hide in the forests but soon realized that we can''t stay safe in those deep dark forests." "After a few months, we finally met that woman. I''m not aware of what was the deal that transpired between our late leader and that woman, but after another few months, we were given this place. At that time the mortal realm was still to be created, so this world was hidden in the Heaven Realm. After the deities created the mortal realm, that woman hide this world here in the Thundering Peaks." The woman, Lady Aislinn, who was the current head of the nymphs told Li Ming. Li Ming looked deep in thoughts as she contemplated about what she had learned from Lady Aislinn. The mystery behind the Enchanted Magik Forest and the woman, who created or gifted this world to the nymphs, was much deeper than what she had predicted. Her instincts were telling her that she needed to solve the mystery behind that woman, but why? She didn''t know that. Who was that woman? Was she from the Cultivation world or was she actually a supernatural? Maybe she was the first supernatural who ended up teleporting or transmigrating to this world and she was also the one who created the Enchanted Magik Forest. There were so many questions but unfortunately, Li Ming could see that it won''t be easy to find their answers. She was still skeptical about her instincts that were trying to involve her too much in the mystery behind the Enchanted Forest, especially when she didn''t want to delve deeper into something that wasn''t her problem. She already had too many problems in her hands and to be fair, she didn''t have a single second to spare. "Do you remember anything about that woman? Like, how she looked like or maybe you know her current location?" Li Ming asked. She couldn''t stop the curiosity that was taking over her sanity at that moment. "The late leader was the only one who saw her personally. We never got to meet her. And it''s been millenniums, we have no idea about her whereabouts," Aislinn replied to her question. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she lightly rubbed her arms over the jacket that had got torn at some point. Her fingers ended up grazing her mark which gave a soft tingle before returning back to normal. Her thoughts moved back to the four Immortals who had visited her unexpectedly and then left her in the same way, unexpectedly. "Beautiful." Aislinn''s soft tone brought Li Ming''s attention to her. She covered her wrist and gave the nymph a small smile. The nymph leader could see that Li Ming probably didn''t want to talk about the mark, so she didn''t stretch the topic. If it had been someone else, they probably would have killed that person by now for trespassing through their area, but Li Ming wasn''t someone. Not only she was half-witch but the nymph could feel the welcoming environment of the Enchanted Forest. Doubt and hope bloomed in her chest as the words of her late leader appeared in her mind, but she needed to confirm her suspicion first. "Do you want to meet the other sups too?" Aislinn asked after a few minutes of peaceful silence. The pixies were still flying around the area, trying to take in every single piece of this new magical world. Snowy was playing with Mallow and a few other animal pixies. "Well..., yeah sure. I mean why not?" Li Ming answered after a little hesitation. She really wanted to see what other races of supernaturals were present in the cultivation world, but something was telling her that she had invited problems her way the moment she set her foot in the Enchanted Magik Forest. And she was only making it worse by staying there longer. "Alright! Wait for a moment. We asked them to stay hidden until we called them out. I''m sure they all will be dying to find out about the new visitor," Aislinn said as she signaled something to one of her companions. The other woman let out a code like whistling tone and the next thing Li Ming knew, people were popping up around her from out of nowhere. The pixies, Snowy and Mallow, all got scared from the sudden appearance of so many people and hurriedly ran or flew towards Li Ming to get protection. Within a few minutes, they were surrounded by hundreds of supernatural beings. There was a group of around fifteen Nymphs, another group of seven Sprites, a group of about ten Mermaids too popped up from the stream. There were Gnomes, Daimons, five Lightning Birds, a small group of Nixies, and finally a family of four sirens. "What the -? Wow!" Li Ming was both surprised and amazed after seeing so many supernaturals. "All of them appeared here one after another during these past years while some have already passed away through the years. The latest addition is two sirens who appeared around seven or eight hundred years ago," Aislinn told Li Ming as the sups started either bowing or waving their heads in order to greet Li Ming and the others. Li Ming and the pixies returned their hello gestures while Snowy hopped around looking happy as he felt the presence of magic and magical beings around him after months. On the other hand, Mallow''s golden eyes were trained on the group of sups in the stream. "Why don''t you join us for dinner? Believe me, you will love the dishes. Through these years, we have learned a lot of skills and cooking is one of those." Aislinn offered the invitation to Li Ming and the other sups also clapped their hands while shouting their agreement. Before Li Ming could decide whether to agree or decline the offer, Snowy spoke up, "How delicious will it be? More delicious than Li''s cooking?" He actually looked curious, unaware, or either unbothered by the piercing gaze that was drilling holes on the back of his head. Li Ming wanted to kick the idiot in the running stream. He was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "Am I starving you?" She asked with gritted teeth as she tried to keep a smile pasted on her face. "Not that. Of course, you will never starve me. But it''s been so long since I have eaten something different or new. It''s getting boring to taste the same thing, I want to taste something new." Snowy immediately replied. His initial plan was to calm Li Ming by telling her that she was a good master, but the poor furball never knew that he would somehow end up insulting her more. He only realized his mistake after he ended up plunging in the cold shivering water of the stream. "Y-you...you are a M-monster!" Snowy screamed as he pulled his drenched self out of the stream, jerking his body to get rid of the water. "Good to know that you are finally aware of it." Li Ming replied to his monster comment, rolling her eyes. "Since there are people here who are getting bored of my cooking, I''ll happily accept this dinner invitation. Thank you for this honor." Li Ming clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head slightly to show her respect towards their host. Aislinn and the other nymphs also bowed in return as they all started departing towards the waterfall. They could see the outline of a cave as the falling water separated from the middle to allow the group of supernaturals to pass through. Just as they (Pixies, Snowy and Mallow) were about to follow behind the group of nymphs, Li Ming''s words halted all of them in their tracks, making Snowy gulp in pure terror and regret. "Next time when you want to ear the food made by me, make sure to check the price board in the Black Jade Inn so that you can prepare your money before placing your order." She didn''t wait any longer to see Snowy''s reaction and immediately followed behind the nymphs. Stepping towards her future glory as she entered into a cave behind the waterfall. ***** NYMPHS: A large class of inferior female divinities. The nymphs were usually associated with fertile, growing things, such as trees, or with water. -- SPRITES: Supernatural entities who are often depicted as fairy-like creatures or as an ethereal entity. -- MERMAIDS: A mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. They can shapeshift into human form. -- GNOMES: They are known as a symbol of good luck. They are thought to provide protection, especially to the buried treasure and minerals in the ground. -- DAIMONS: They are not the same as demons, rather they are tutelary spirits that watch over a person of place. They are just like guardian angels. -- LIGHTNING BIRDS: The lightning bird or Impundulu takes the form of a black and white bird, the size of a person, which is said to summon thunder and lightning with its wings and talons. -- NIXIES: They are water sprites and appears just like a mermaid who can transform into humans. -- SIRENS: Sirens are too water spirits who were famous for their melodious voice. Their musical voice is famous for luring anyone into their traps. ***** Chapter 121 - The Mysterious Person Is Back The evening had already started to turn dark and the open circular area of the cave where all of them were gathered, was now illuminated by dozens of lanterns that were hanging on the vines that were covering the walls of the cave. The pink glowing flowers too were growing inside the cave and the presence of the spiritual qi could be felt as it flew inside the cave through the flowers. The mouth-watering aroma of freshly prepared snacks was making the pixies and Snowy gulp their saliva. Mallow was snuggled into Li Ming''s lap as the little fox was still feeling a little bit weary in the presence of so many weird people. Li Ming picked up the wine glass from the table as she admired the beautifully excavated dishes. She could tell that the wine was of high quality and its very smell could make anyone swoon over it. She had already made sure that the supernaturals were not playing games with her. The area where they were currently sitting, the wine, the dishes used for serving them, and the food, everything was normal. Li Ming inhaled the fruity fragrance of the wine before taking a small sip of it. She was amazed by the pure rich taste of the wine. It could easily surpass the million-dollar wine that she had in store. "It''s so good, right?" Li Ming hurriedly nodded her head at the question as she took another sip of the wine but soon ended up choking as her mind registered the identity of the person who had just spoken to her. Miraculously, as she was coughing her life out, no one around her gave her a single glance. All of them were busy talking with each other as they enjoyed the wine and the snacks while waiting for the arrival of the dinner. At some point, Mallow too had left her side and she (the baby fox) was currently sitting beside Snowy and Terra, enjoying the bubble game that a siren was showing to them. "What are you doing here?" Li Ming asked through gritted teeth as she glared at the figure who was sitting beside her. It wasn''t a surprise that no one was paying them any attention. The mysterious person here was none other than the same person who appeared in the Magical Mansion a few days ago to warn Li Ming about her dreams and her mate bonds. If this person didn''t want someone to see them, then no one could see them and if they wanted everyone''s attention on them then no one would be able to move their eyes off them. "Hey, Win! Why are you always in such a bad mood? Don''t you feel happy after seeing me?" The person asked with a beaming smile as they flicked their shoulder-length brown hair with her hand in a dramatic manner. "Why do you even have this misunderstanding in the first place that I would be happy to see you? Have I ever failed during our past encounters to make it clear that you are the very last person I want to meet or talk to?" Li Ming asked with a roll of her eyes. "Ouch! That seriously hurts! But again, how can I let you enjoy such a party all alone? So, I''m here to have some fun." The person replied as they filled their empty glass with wine. "For goodness sake! Just tell me why are you here. Don''t keep me hanging!" Li Ming let out a frustrated sigh as she tried not to knock her head on the table. "If you insist. Well, the nymph leader is going to propose you a bargain after this meal. I''m just here to make sure that you don''t end up rejecting it." The person replied with a half shrug of their shoulders. "Wait, what?" Li Ming was completely shocked as she tried to form some words. After a few tries, she finally came up with a question to ask, "How can you be so sure that I''ll reject it?" The person gave her a sweet smile as they replied, "Because sweetheart, I know you and I''m well aware of your habit of making stupid decisions." "..." Li Ming just stared at that person with a scowl. She seriously didn''t know how to deal with this walking goddess of bad luck. How would you feel when your bad luck tell you that it''s there to help you in making some important decision of your life? "Well, what''s the deal then?" Li Ming asked as she picked up her glass of wine. "Should I tell you?" The person asked with a confused look as they looked at Li Ming for her reply. The later only raised her eyebrows as she tried to not let out a few very unique words out of her dictionary which would possibly not end in her favor. "Ok. I think I should tell you then. They are going to ask you to take over the ownership of this Enchanted Forest and..." The person stopped speaking as Li Ming once again choked on her wine. It took a few seconds but she got herself collected. "...take care of them. In return, they will serve you." The person finally completed their sentence. "But why?" Li Ming asked loudly but again no one paid her any attention. It was like all of them had already forgotten about her existence for the time being. "Isn''t it simple? This community though looked organized and small, they still are afraid of this cultivation world. The fear that any second a powerful cultivator can enter here and end all of them, is residing in the heart of every single of them. You are like a hope for them. Someone, who is a part of both the magical and cultivation world. They can sense the immense power inside you and that''s why they want you to take them under your care." The person calmly explained. "Wait, no. You are not getting my question. Why they even need someone to ensure their safety? I mean look at them. They are thousands and hundreds of years old supernaturals who are powerful and smart. Moreover, this world has been safely hidden from everyone for such a long time and no one found out about it." Li Ming tried to explain her point. "They are thousands of years old and powerful but at the same time, there are people in this world that are too thousands of years old and even more powerful. A few hundreds of supernaturals won''t last for even a day if the people of this world find out about this Enchanted Forest. And just because no one found out about this place before today doesn''t mean that it can''t happen in the future too." The person stopped as they took a sip of their wine before continuing, "In you, they are seeing a leader. Your soul carries that aura, Win. The aura that shouts that you won''t fail them as their leader, that you will always be there for them, that''s making them put their trust in you." "Well..., whatever their reason is, I''m not going to agree with this deal. And don''t even start with your stupid logics in order to make me agree with this stupidity. I already have too many problems in my hands, I can''t handle more at the moment." Li Ming shook her head as she tried to clear her mind. "See! I told you that you will say no to this deal the moment they will propose it. Win, you are a businesswoman. Don''t you think you should check the pros and cons of the situation before making the decision?" The person asked with a disappointed tone. "What prons and cons? I can''t see a single benefit, just a bunch of new problems," Li Ming said drily as she folded her arms. "True. There will be some problems that you will need to take care of. But if you can''t see the benefits then you are just blind and stupid." This gifted that person with a sharp glare from Li Ming. "Gosh, let''s just start with the wine. It''s clear that they had brewed this wine on their own because unlike you none of them have previously stocked wines. If you can launch this wine into the cultivation world, you can easily sell a single glass of it in thousands of silvers," The person said as they swirled the wine of their glass before taking a small sip. Li Ming totally agreed with every single word of that person but still, just the wine was not enough to get her to say yes to such a big decision. "Then let''s take a look at these dishes and cutleries. The cutleries that you have in your mansion are of top quality and you can probably sell them for millions but unfortunately, you have limited stock. But these cutleries are handmade by these sups. In short, you will always have a stockpile." The person said as they clinked their fingers on the plates of snacks that were now empty. Li Ming looked at that person with a frown. Just how many benefits would they be pointing out? But she''s not agreeing to this deal, right? Chapter 122 - The Song Of The Sirens "Are you seeing those long beautiful gowns?" At that question, Li Ming''s eyes flew to the supernaturals who were present in the room. "They were definitely made of fine high-quality materials. The design, the prints, everything is beautiful, comfortable, and eye-catching. The most amazing thing about all of this is that they have made these clothes on their own." Li Ming actually nodded her head because no matter what, even she was impressed. Of course, she noticed these things before too but it never came into her mind that the supernaturals had made all these things from scratch, no magical mansion, and no cheats. "And then look at these snacks. Even they are delicious and mouth-watering and I can guarantee you that the dinner would surpass it and you would be left wanting more." "Then there is that jewelry which is handmade by the sirens and the mermaids. Look at them, they already looked so unique and mysterious. I''m sure you can give this jewelry a last finishing touch and BOOM, they will become the love of the ladies of these Immortal Realms." As that person stopped after pointing out the fifth benefit, Li Ming immediately spoke up, "What''s next?" Her tone sounded a little bored and uninterested. "You are seriously something, Win! Five, you can already open five different businesses, and each will be a hit but look at you, still not convinced." The person said with a huff. "Next!" Li Ming was sure not going to listen to any stupid complaints. "You...! Fine! So, there''s wine, dishes, clothes, jewelry, and food. Now, take a look around. The drapes that are hanging here, the beautiful and differently designed lanterns, their boots, the furniture, the aromatic candles, and all those statutes that are placed around here. Can you see how talented these people are? They have mastered these skills throughout the past years, even when there was no one to guide them. These things can boost your business in the market of the Cultivation world." That mysterious person pointed out all the things one by one, giving Li Ming enough time to process the information. "You want me to take advantage of these people? How can I use them for my own benefits?" Li Ming asked with a frown. Her question gifted her with a smirk from the mysterious person. "I thought you are looking out for your own benefits here." There was a mocking edge in their tone. With a serious tone the person continued, "But since I''m trying to convince you for this proposal, therefore I''ll give you the ultimate reason for saying yes today." Li Ming just silently waited for them to continue. She was completely clueless that the said ''Ultimate Reason'' would actually make her say yes to the proposal. "This place can be a perfect place to open an Academy. You have already hundreds of children whom you needed to train and prepare for a better future. What could be the best solution than an Academy? The sects of this world train the children in cultivation, martial arts, alchemy, weaponry, and scholarly. But what about those who don''t want to pursue these fields? Shouldn''t there be more options for the coming generations? You don''t want to take advantage of these sups but in return for helping them, you can always ask them to work as the teachers and guardians of the Academy. You will train them in cultivation and the sups will train them in these skills." Li Ming was deep in thoughts as she pondered on the new idea of the Academy. She indeed needed to find a place and people who can train the children in her absence. The idea of building the Academy in the Enchanted Magik Forest was really a great suggestion. "Are you still having doubts?" That person asked Li Ming. "I..." Li Ming wasn''t sure how to reply. She actually could see the benefits of taking over the Sups and the Enchanted Magik Forest. But something was still making her a little suspicious about this entire situation. Like she was stepping her foot in a trap. "I''m going to leave now. I have already told you what I needed to and if you still are going to act like a stupid little girl, I can''t do anything about it then." That person said as they emptied their glass full of wine. Li Ming didn''t reply, neither she looked up from her own glass of wine. Her mind was full of many possibilities, plans, and questions. "Remember one thing, Win, you will need all of these people beside you when the right moment will come. They are an important part of your future and they have their own roles to play in it. Make your decision smartly." And with those final words, the silhouette of that mysterious person disappeared from the cave. Li Ming was about to throw the empty glass of wine on the floor in frustration when suddenly the area around her became lively once again. A Gnome came towards her table and took the glass from her hand, filling it with the wine once again and replacing the empty plates of snacks with filled ones. Were they trying to fill her up with the wine and those snacks so that she would be full by the time of dinner? Li Ming shook her head to get rid of the stupid thought. She needed to calm down before the supernaturals decided to propose the so-called deal. The last words of that person were still ringing in her head, giving her a headache. That''s why she never liked to come across that person. The fact that they knew too much about her future, past, present, and literally about anything and everything, just made her want to stay away. "Miss Li, there are some very talented people among us. If you will grant permission, may we start the entertainment show for this evening?" Aislinn asked after a few minutes. Li Ming''s eyes landed on the group of sirens who were preparing their musical instruments. "Yeah, sure. I''ll love it," Li Ming said as she smiled softly. With a flick of her index and middle fingers of the right hand, an invisible energy passed through the area and covered every single one of the pixies, Snowy and Mallow. She knew that the coming performance is a test. The sirens were known for their alluring voice which could take over the minds of the listener, taking complete control on their actions. They were testing her to see if she would be able to save herself and her companions from the sirens'' singing. Li Ming almost used up to seventy percent of her energy in casting the most powerful protection that she could at the moment. The lights suddenly dimmed as the group of sirens took their position in the center of the area. A few seconds later, the melodious tune of piano and zither filled the room. Li Ming was surprised to see the musical instruments which looked exactly like the ones made by a professionalist. The tune of the flute also joined the musical play, boosting it and making Li Ming''s mind travel to the thoughts of the Second Demon Prince. She remembered the black jade flute with golden carving that he was carrying with him. Her mind returned to the present when the first siren started singing. The others started joining the first one and soon, the group of sirens was singing a beautiful song. Their voice was so soothing and calming that the instant thought which crossed Li Ming''s mind was to close her eyes and let go of all her thoughts, just to enjoy the song and the beautiful melody. But Li Ming immediately shook her head to get rid of the temptation. Doing exactly that would be her biggest mistake. Her eyes traveled to the pixies, Snowy, and Mallow. They all looked perfect from outside but Li Ming could feel that the sirens were building their song which still needed to reach its peak note. She opened the mind link between herself, Snowy, and Mallow. "Don''t pay too much attention to the song. The sirens are trying to lure you all into their trap. Pull up your mental shields." Li Ming immediately gave the order through the mind link and she felt the two furballs following her directions without any delay. Now the pixies were left and unfortunately, Li Ming didn''t share any mind links with any of them. This just made the pixies even more of an easy target. And as soon as Li Ming saw the drowsiness in Fawn and Beck''s eyes, she knew that she needed to take actions immediately. Without any care, Li Ming settled down in a crossed leg (lotus position), her hands crossed together to form the lotus seal. The sirens too increased their tone as their notes started getting higher and higher. The first wave hit the cave as for the first time in thousands of years, both the magical and spiritual energy of the Enchanted Magik Forest felt a strong pull and both raced to reach the one who was behind that strong command. Just when the sirens hit their highest note of the song, a bright golden light boomed through the room, throwing everyone out of their seats. The lanterns dropped to the ground, shattering and leaving the area in darkness and complete silence. Chapter 123 - The Glowing Egg A small ray of light flickered for a second before once again everything went black once again, filling the area with darkness. The silence of the area was even more unsettling than the darkness itself. "What the hell is this now?" A loud voice filled with confusion and a little bit of shock boomed through the darkness. Suddenly, a purplish light started illuminating the inside of the cave. The area which somehow survived through the explosion of magical and spiritual energy a few minutes ago started filling with that purplish light that was coming from a round thing which Li Ming was holding in her hands as she stood in the middle of the area. The ball was about the size of a light bulb but Li Ming was holding it in both of her hands with so much care as if she was afraid that it would break any moment. When she didn''t get any reply to her question, she finally moved her eyes from the ball and glared right at the silhouette of the mysterious person who was standing in the shadows of the room. Once again, only the two of them existed at that moment while every single other supernatural being was deep in sleep or maybe just unconscious. "I think it''s an egg." The person finally decided to speak after a long moment of silence. "Whose?" This was Li Ming''s next question. Her voice was deep and to the point. "How can I know that?" The person asked with a frown. "Don''t test my patience. Tell me what the hell is this thing and why it suddenly appeared in my hands out of nowhere." Li Ming was on the verge of shouting at that irritating person who was trying to play innocent. "I already told you that it''s an egg and as for your second question, it''s because, in all those thousands of years that it has been kept in this forest, it never felt the presence of a person who holds spiritual qi inside them. But when you called on the energy of this forest a few moments ago, it felt your presence and appeared here." The person finally managed to speak out some important information. "Where does it come from? And what kind of egg is this?" Li Ming asked as she started at the egg with suspicious eyes. "Well dear, I''ll advise you to ask all these questions from these sups. They will be able to tell you about the history and geography of this egg better than me. I just came here back only to thank this egg for solving out my worry." The mysterious person said while pointing their chin at the lightly glowing egg. "What do you mean?" Li Ming asked with confusion evident in her tone. "What I mean sweetheart is that, even if you don''t want to agree with Aislinn''s proposal anymore, even if you are planning to reject all the benefits but now you don''t have a choice anymore." "..." Li Ming looked at that person with a frown. She didn''t understand a single thing. "Can you explain?" Li Ming asked in a monotone. "You can''t take that egg out of this Enchanted Forest. It''s forbidden." The person replied. For a moment Li Ming wanted to crush that person''s head in a wall to open it and see exactly what was filled inside it because she was damn sure she won''t find any brain in there. She took a deep breath and plastered a small forced smile on her lips as she asked, "Did I ask about that? Why would I want to take it out?" "No, no, no. You didn''t understand. Let me explain it a little bit more clearly. This egg is forbidden from taking out from here and now you are connected to this egg. So, in short, you will need to stay here because of this egg. That means you will need to agree with Aislinn''s proposal." The person tried to explain but the smirk on their lips was a clear giveaway that they were actually mocking Li Ming. "What rubbish are you spouting? What connection?" Li Ming asked with a frown. "Congratulations Win, you are now a guardian angel. The caretaker and keeper of this magical egg. Whatever resides inside it is a mystery that will only be revealed when this egg will hatch. I just know one thing and that is - you are bound to this egg and with that to the Enchanted Magik Forest too." The person said with a smirk playing on their lips. Li Ming felt the world spinning as her mind was suddenly overloaded with a lot of questions, but unfortunately, before she could voice out even a single one of them, the silhouette of that annoying person disappeared from the cave. Immediately, the area started filling with grunts and pained voices as everyone came back to their senses. Li Ming flicked her fingers and around a dozen lanterns lit up the cavern. The lightly gleaming egg itself was providing sufficient glow. "Miss Li..." Li Ming fixed her cold eyes on Aislinn and the nymph leader immediately stopped speaking. The pixies, Snowy, and Mallow, all had surrounded Li Ming as they tried to stay closer to their Master. "You need to realize when you should stop. Don''t take things too far when you are not prepared for the results." Her voice came out full of power and control. The sups bowed their head in shame, the sirens even shivered a little but all of them stayed silent. "Miss Li, they were following my orders. It''s none of their faults. I''m the one who went too far without even realizing that the outcome could be so horrible," Aislinn said as she turned her eyes downward, too ashamed to look directly in Li Ming''s eyes. "Weren''t you aware that those high notes will clash with the spiritual energy present here and will cause a blast?" Li Ming asked the group of sirens who in return immediately shook their head in negative. "Seriously? Let me tell you all one more thing. I wasn''t planning on saving any of you, especially when you would have been the reason behind hurting me and my family. It was pure coincidence that I decided to summon the spiritual qi to form a shield and it was accompanied by the magical energy it. I don''t know exactly how it happened but somehow the shield didn''t only protect us from the blast but you all too. I hope you all will learn something from this incident." Li Ming told all the supernaturals that were present there. Li Ming didn''t realize but the moment the word family left her mouth, something changed in the environment. The pixies looked at her like she was the Goddess herself, Mallow curled around her legs and Snowy rubbed himself against her left ankle. No one uttered a single word, nor they looked up. What made Li Ming calmed down was the guilt and embarrassment that was visible on all of their faces. Her ears picked on the lightest growling that could have been gone unnoticed if not for the pin-drop silence. "Are you still going to feed my poor familiar or should we already take our leave?" Li Ming asked loudly as she looked at the sups and especially the nymph leader with accusing eyes. It was like lives returned back in the supernaturals as everyone immediately started cleaning the room. Snowy gave her a toothy grin which Li Ming ignored completely as she pushed a little bit of her spiritual energy out in the air which formed a circle around the glowing egg, keeping it safe as it levitated in the air. Within the next five or so minutes the room was clean and ready for serving the dinner. As everyone settled down to eat the delicious dishes that the Gnomes had served on the table, Li Ming picked up a tray filled with food and a jar of wine. She signaled Aislinn to follow her and started walking out of the dining area. Both of them appeared at the entrance of the cave. Li Ming flicked her fingers for the umpteenth time that day and the rocks that were placed around the entrance formed a table and two smooth-surfaced rocks for them to sit on them. She placed her tray on the table and settled down on one of the rock made chair, Aislinn followed her and settled down too. As Li Ming uncorked her wine jar, she noticed that the nymph leader wasn''t touching her food at all, she was sitting there with her head down. Well, at least she brought the food with her and not followed behind empty-handed. "Let''s eat, you will need the energy to explain to me about this egg," Li Ming said as she started eating the dinner that alone made her take over the Enchanted Magik Forest if she would get to eat such delicious food often. The glowing egg accompanied both of them during their dinner as it kept floating around Li Ming. In another part of the cultivation world, the mysterious person was planning a new episode for Li Ming''s future. Chapter 124 - She Needs You As the night sky filled with the countless glowing stars and the bright shining moon, the silhouette of a man in white long brocade clothes could be seen standing at the foot of an enormous volcano. "What are you doing here?" Wen Guiyang asked the person who was hiding behind their dark red cloak and the shadows of the night. "Supreme Immortal, it''s been a very long time since we last met, I can see that you haven''t changed even a single bit. Still cold, tough, and straight forward. Will she like a cold-hearted person like you?" The silhouette in the red cloak asked with a smirk. Wen Guiyang almost pulled out his sword to slaughter the person who was trying to test his patience especially when he had no control over his soul who was dying to flew to the only person that mattered to it. "I don''t have time to spend answering your unimportant questions. If you don''t have anything serious to talk about then I''m taking my leave." Wen Guiyang told the person but before he could disappear from there, the next words of his visitor stopped him. "She needs you." The three words ringed repeatedly in his head. His fingers gripped his sword tightly as he tried to control his inner self. "She already has others taking care of her. I don''t think my absence will matter." He finally replied after a few minutes of silence. The person chuckled at the Supreme Immortal''s words. All of Li Ming''s mates were trying to avoid her like she was a plague. How accurate! "Don''t you understand? You just mentioned the very reason for which she needs you even when she has others around her, especially since she has others with her," The person said as they finally stopped chuckling. This made the Immortal to finally turn around and look at the cloaked person with a frown. The fact that he couldn''t see the face of the person also made it impossible to read their expression. If not for their history, Wen Guiyang would not even have given a second glance to such a skeptical person. "What are you talking about? You know it very well that I don''t like it when you start talking in riddles." Guiyang''s tone was cold and a slight edge of irritation could be heard too. The Supreme Immortal was known throughout the three realms for his high status as the Master of the Guixian Land. He was known as a cold-hearted and tough personality. It''s rumored that no matter what it''s impossible to make the Guixian Lord lose his calmness. But right now, Guiyang was anything but calm. His powers were trying to fight against his control. The same with his mind and soul as they were feeling an intense pain due to the distance that he had created between himself and the other half of his soul, his mate. But looking at his face, no one could even guess in their worse thoughts that the Guixian Lord was fighting with himself to stay sane. "And did I ever say that I care about what you like and what don''t? I''m not here to impress you. To be honest, you and your Ice Queen, both are probably carved from the same iceberg." The person replied with a scoff and a half shrug. Guiyang stayed completely silent, waiting for that person to finally get bored of their own nonsense and finally explained about what they were trying to say. Nothing in his expressions gave away what was he thinking inside his mind. The happy dance that his soul was doing after hearing the last sentence of that person, could not be guessed by looking at his cold expressions. "Well, I don''t have too much time to waste either. Let''s get directly to the point. As I said she needs you with her. Though she had the other four and Zhang Yong with her but unfortunately, that''s not enough." "Zhang Yong is already wrapped around her finger. I''m not going to say that he is completely useless but he definitely won''t be able to handle her temper." The person stopped to take a deep breath and then continued, "Ruoshan already has the Demon Realm in his hands and he would rather protect her than be tough on her. Though I have to agree that he has his own way of making her follow his orders." Guiyang stayed silent but his ears keenly took in every single word spoken by that person. "Then we have our Moon Deity. Let''s be honest, he''s the last person who will ever agree with me and my plans. If I even went in front of him in hope of explaining my point, I''m damn sure he would fry me in boiling oil the moment I''ll utter my first sentence. He''s the most caring and protective of her. He would rather kill everyone and anyone than seeing his mate in pain or any discomfort." The person shuddered at their own words, probably imaging being fried in the Royal kitchen of the Moon Deity. "There''s also the option of the Heaven Emperor and I''m sure he can complete this task without any difficulties. But he already has too many things to take care of. In between all his duties, I don''t think he would have enough time to spare." "The last but definitely not the least, the Second Demon Prince. To tell you the truth, according to me he could have been the perfect option for this task but unfortunately, everything got ruined due to the curse that someone had placed over him. Right now he couldn''t even recognize him and his only mission is to get rid of her before she destroyed his brothers and their soul bonds. He''s the last person right now, whom I''ll choose for such an important task." The person finally stopped talking. Guiyang was definitely surprised after hearing about the curse and Hei Long''s behavior towards Li Ming. But he didn''t show anything on his face, neither did he ask her about the curse nor to elaborate about what was happening with the Second Demon Prince and their mate. There was actually nothing to ask. That person was only trying to rile him up by giving only a little bit of information. If they really wanted to tell him more they would already have. "So, you are trying to say that whatever your plan is, I''m the perfect person to complete it." It wasn''t exactly a question but Guiyang''s voice could make anyone shiver under the imaginary cold. "Actually, I don''t have another option left. That''s why I have decided that you are the only one now who could do this." The person replied with a scoff. "What are you planning? What is that thing which according to you, is very important for her?" Guiying asked as he stared at the person, trying to get a hold on their energy. "All of the others are busy pampering her, making her feel safe, protected, and happy. I know that none of them would think twice before killing for her and nor would they let anyone harm her. But what they are forgetting is that they can only help her in her fight, they can''t fight it for her. She needed to be prepared for the coming future and for that she needed someone who would make sure that she''s preparing herself." Guiyang felt his throat dry at the mere mention of her being in any kind of danger. "She''s giving her entire time to the business world that she''s trying to establish which is actually a good thing. This world needs some changes and she''s playing her part in that change but in all that, she''s getting away from the cultivation." The person sighed and stopped working for a moment, the area became completely silent for a few seconds. "I know that you will be the perfect person to train her. You won''t become a prey to her emotional blackmail nor you will ever forget your goal. You can be that cold-hearted, strict, unmoving, and unforgiving instructor that she needed. But during all this, you will also be that mate who will always make sure that she''s been taken care of. That she''s not hurt, not mentally exhausted and she has her fair share of normal life. I''m giving you the most important task and placing my trust in you. Now, it''s up to you about how you gonna handle this." That person finally cleared everything and without wasting a single more second disappeared from the foot of the huge volcano. The Supreme Immortal was left standing there under the night sky as he progressed the words of that person. A sad smile appeared on his lips as the words of a certain person appeared in his mind. ''You can try to stay away. You can try to avoid the fate and run from your destiny. But no matter which way you will choose, she will be the only one standing at the end of those paths. You can run from your destiny, you can try to avoid it but you can not hide from it.'' Chapter 125 - The History Of The Glowing Egg Back in the magical world of the Enchanted Magik Forest, Li Ming and Aislinn eventually finished their dinner. A nymph took the dirty dishes away and left the two women alone to talk. "I''m seriously amazed to see the level of creativity of your people. Everything that I can see is so unique and beautiful. The fact that you have learned it all on your own and created everything from scratch without any kind of technology seriously deserves praise," Li Ming said after a few minutes of silence. "When you have not even the basic necessities of life and limitless time, I think it''s not hard for anyone to come up with their ideas to fill those necessities. When we first came here, we had nothing. We just used our knowledge and experiences to build and create whatever we can." Aislinn replied as her eyes looked like they were thinking about their past. Who knew how much struggle the sups had gone through in their starting days in this world. "Do you miss your life back on Earth?" Li Ming asked in a soft tone. "Not exactly. Back on Earth, we were afraid of the humans, feared that one day they would find out about our existence and a war would breakthrough. Here we are afraid that someday the Immortals would find out about our existence and swiped us out. On Earth, we mostly stayed away from human societies and lived in our closed protected worlds. The same is happening here too. We are staying away from everyone in this closed protected world. Back on Earth, we used technology to pass our times. Here we have found our own ways to do the same. The only difference that I can see is that back there the supernatural community was huge and vast but here we have a very small number." "So in short, no I don''t think I miss my life back on Earth too much. For me, there are not too many differences in either of these worlds. We aren''t accepted in either of them." Aislinn''s words were pure truth but at the same time, they held so much weigh in them. Li Ming cleared her throat to distract herself from the sudden sad feelings that had taken over them. She was also a supernatural and she knew too well exactly how painful it was to live your lives on eggshells. And being the Head of an entire supernatural clan increased that fear because then you were not responsible only for your own life but for all those lives that looked up to you for guidance and protection. "Well, then tell me about this egg which suddenly appeared in my hands at the time of the blast." Li Ming said as she looked at the nymph leader to start explaining about the glowing egg. The woman sighed as she looked at the egg. "It''s been around twelve thousand years since we have this unique egg with us here in the Enchanted Magik Forest..." At the mention of the number of years, Li Ming''s jaw almost dropped to the ground. Even an egg was thousands of years old and she was still a young teenage girl. Life could not have been more unfair! "...I still remember that morning when after setting my foot out of this cave, the first thing that appeared in my vision was a basket in which a small purple glowing egg was placed. It was accompanied by a letter that left our small group of supernaturals shaken to our core." Aislinn shuddered lightly as she talked about the day she first found the egg sitting in a basket at the cave''s entrance. "What was written in that letter?" Li Ming implored. "It stated that the egg is our responsibility from that day onwards. We all needed to keep it safe until the day it''s true guardian will appear. It was too mentioned that we can''t throw this egg out of the Enchanted Forest and that the egg would need a very heavy amount of spiritual qi to grow. A bag of seeds was also placed in the basket along with the egg and the letter." Aislinn stretched her right palm out and closed her eyes, the very next second a scroll appeared on her palm. She offered the scroll to Li Ming who immediately took it and started opening it. It was the exact same letter that Aislinn had found in the basket that day. The content was exactly the same as the nymph leader had told her. "At that time the Enchanted Forest had no spiritual energy inside it. As you can see there are some instructions written at the end of the letter about how to plant the seeds that I found in the basket. It took us a few days to finally digest that we suddenly have a new responsibility in our hands. After many failed attempts, we finally figured out about how those Qi Channeling flowers worked. We grew them all over the Thundering Peaks and in that way the problem of the lack of spiritual qi inside in this world finally solved. Come, let me show you something." Aislinn said as she stood up. Li Ming silently followed behind the nymph as they started walking deep into the forest. It probably took them around twenty minutes or something before they finally stopped outside another cave entrance. This one was much smaller than the other one. The nymph silently entered the cave with Li Ming following right behind her. After another few minutes of walking, they came across a ward. Li Ming looked at the nymph with unasked questions in her eyes. "The nymphs have a special gift. Ten nymphs who are older than five hundred years can use their collective powers to form a very powerful ward twice in their lives. This is formed by me and the others." Aislinn told Li Ming who was clearly surprised by this new knowledge. "Wow, I didn''t know about that. You used such a precious power to keep this egg protected." It wasn''t a question, rather Li Ming''s words came out amazed and with a touch of admiration in them. "We needed to do our best to protect it. Someone who could enter into our world to leave this egg in front of the entrance of the cave where we live, someone who knows about our existence in this world, who knew what would have been the consequences if something happened to this egg." Aislinn sighed as she told the reason behind her step of forming the ward. "Did that person ever returned?" Li Ming asked as they both crossed through the ward and entered into a narrow path that took them deeper into the cave. "Never. In the past twelve thousand years, no one came here looking for the egg. Once the Qi channeling flowers started working and we securely put the egg here, only I and a few others came here from time to time just to check that it''s alright. Everything has been going smoothly until an hour ago." Aislinn answered as they appeared inside a circular area at the end of the path. Li Ming noticed the pink flowers throughout the cave and as she entered into that circular area, her gaze landed on the floor, walls, and the ceiling which was covered with those flowers. In the very center of the room was a pedestal which too was covered with the pink flowers. Li Ming watched as the egg, which had been following both of them, circled around her once while giving her hand a soft passing touch before it finally settled down on the pedestal. Immediately, the pink flowers released the spiritual qi stored inside them, and the egg hungrily sucked the qi inside it. "So, this glowing bulb is the reason behind the disappearance of the spiritual energy from the Thundering Peaks." Li Ming said with a little shake of her head as she looked at the flowers and the egg. The mystery behind the lack of spiritual qi in the Thundering Peaks was finally solved. But in the end, she ended up with many new mysteries. How did the supernaturals end up in this Cultivation world? Since none of them died and transmigrated, then did they all got teleported here? Who was the woman who gave the Enchanted Magik Forest to the nymphs and what did she take in return? Who left the glowing egg in the Enchanted Forest and why? And exactly what type of egg was this glowing bulb? After solving one mystery, Li Ming was left with many as a gift. So many questions plagued her mind and she had no idea where she could find the answers. And the worst part in all this? She could no longer leave and pretend that nothing like the Enchanted Magik Forest existed because now she was bound to a fking egg. Talk about making your own life a hell! **** Wish our dear Li Good luck. She seriously needs some motivation! Sigh... Chapter 126 - The Academy "So...?" Aislinn''s question ranged through the silence of the cave room where all of them were sitting after dinner. When Li Ming returned to the dining area everyone had already finished their dinner and they were sharing some funny incidents of their lives. Within the next few minutes, Aislinn proposed the deal that the mysterious person had notified Li Ming about earlier. "Do I even have another option? I''m bound to that light bulb now and that means I''ll have to stay in touch with all of you guys," Li Ming said with a little pout as her expressions appeared a little tired and frustrated. "And that means...?" Aislinn pressed her question so that they all could hear the final words of Miss Li. "And that means I''m ready to accept your proposal..." She didn''t even finish her sentence before the entire space was filled with cheers and clappings. "...First, hear me out!" Her loud voice made the room filled with silence. Aislinn''s happy expression had turned into one of worry as she fretted over what Miss Li was going to say next. She had already told Li Ming everything about their own and the Enchanted Forest''s history. But there''s one thing, one secret that she hadn''t shared with her yet. That same secret was the reason why she proposed the offer to the Young girl. The sups and their little Magik Forest needed a Master and Aislinn couldn''t have found someone more deserving than the young girl whose aura shouted her status of a leader. "Though I''m ready to take over the ownership of this Forest and lead you guys in the future while keeping you all protected, but in return of that I want something from you all." Li Ming told the group of sups. The sups passed each other confused but curious glances, though none of them spoke. After a few minutes of silence, it was Aislinn who finally dared to speak. "What do you want us to do?" Everyone looked at Li Ming, waiting for the Young Miss to place her requirements on the table. "First, I want to open an Academy here." Li Ming said in a loud and clear voice which boomed through the room, leaving the sups gaping at her after hearing the words. "What?" A siren let out a confused and shocked response as everyone stared at Li Ming like she had suddenly turned into a two-headed monster. Li Ming sighed before telling them about the group of hundreds of children and what she was planning for their future. "Suddenly opening a sect in this world would bring too much attention to me and right now I don''t want that. That''s why I can''t open an Academy in the outside world. Moreover, the spiritual energy of the Han Empire is nowhere near good. This place would be perfect for the Academy." Li Ming told them. The sups though understood Li Ming''s good intentions but there was still some hesitation in their eyes. Li Ming already knew the reason behind their uncertainty but she kept quiet, waiting for one of them to voice it out. "Miss Li, we respect your decision but won''t that be dangerous for us?" A mermaid who looked the oldest of their group finally asked the question that was flowing through everyone''s mind. Li Ming smiled softly at the group of supernaturals as she replied with a soft but assuring tone. "Don''t worry. I already have a plan for that. I''ll make sure that your identity will not be revealed in front of them...but also, I want you all to teach them that just because you are not the same as them, doesn''t make you a freak or an abomination." Her words carried so much power and purity in them that the sups immediately broke into soft smiles, nodding their heads as they agreed with her words. "You all are skilled in different things and different areas. You all have your own perks and I want you all to share your knowledge with your future students." Li Ming said with a soft smile. "Future students?" A Gnome asked and everyone looked at Li Ming with confused eyes. "Of course, if not for you guys then who will teach my students?" Li Ming said while shaking her head at the stupid supernaturals who couldn''t realize something so obvious. "What will we teach them? We have no knowledge about this world or the cultivation thing that the people here do. How are we going to teach them something we don''t know ourselves?" Aislinn asked with confusion evident in her expressions. "Gosh! You are really stupid, aren''t you? When did I ever say that you will be teaching them the geography, history of this world, or cultivation?" Li Ming''s question only confused the sups even more as they looked at each other, trying to find if anyone was able to understand what Li Ming was actually trying to say. "Listen carefully, guys. You are not responsible for teaching them about these things. What you will be teaching them are your mastered skills. I don''t want these children to be limited to the option of the future that this world holds open for them. Rather I want them to learn the skill they want so that they could master it and make their own future." "We will let them choose what they want to do or what excites them, makes them happy as they spend their time doing it? There are limitless options. Of course, cultivation, alchemy, weaponry, and scholarly would be a part of it. If some of them want to pursue these as their careers, I''ll make sure to help and guide them. Though at the moment, I don''t have any teachers for them in those fields." "Then come those who don''t want to choose any of these fields. We will introduce them to the other options - agriculture, business, music, wood carving, jewelry making, cutlery making, fashion designing, architecture, cooking and there are so many more. Let them find something that they would love to do for the rest of your life and that''s where your duty will start." Li Ming looked through the several faces in the group as she spoke those words. All the sups looked deep in thoughts and after passing each other hundreds of glances, secret messages through eye gestures, and a few silent hours later...just kidding! Aislinn finally spoke, "If you can promise to try your hundred percent to never fail us or our trust in you, we are ready to help you in this beautiful idea of yours." "Perfect! Deal!" Li Ming shouted excitedly as she immediately forwarded her hand out for a handshake. Aislinn looked at the young girl who was beaming as she waited patiently for her to complete the handshake and Aislinn did exactly that as she clasped her hand around Li Ming''s small warm hand, sealing their promises. "Alright, then. From tomorrow onwards we will start our preparations. First, we will need to start building the Academy. Though there are only a few hundred children at this moment but the number will possibly increase in the future, therefore the Academy should be built by taking this point into consideration. I will also need a proper tour of this Enchanted Forest and the resources that are present here so that I can plan everything perfectly." Aislinn nodded her head in agreement as they all noted everything down in their minds that Li Ming was speaking. "Next, I''ll need to find a way to connect this place with my mansion. That will sort out many problems." Li Ming noticed the confused gazes of the sups at the mention of her magical mansion but she ignored them for the time being. "Also, you all will need to show me exactly how you guys work here. How you all have set everything up here? It will take some time for us to prepare the Academy and for that, I''ll need your help." The sups immediately nodded their heads as Li Ming looked at them and when she got their agreement she continued, "For now continue with your daily life. I''ll be busy in the outside world for the coming few days, so we can''t start with the Academy plan immediately but I will visit you guys soon to take a look around this area. In the meantime, I will bring some books which could provide you information about this world and how it works. It''s necessary to know your enemies or your friends." "The children will continue with their basic cultivation training for now. Let''s hope by the time the Academy would be ready to be opened, I would have a proper batch of teachers for my students." Li Ming said with a sigh. Aislinn touched her shoulder as the woman gave her an encouraging nod. "I''m sure you will find a way to achieve that." The nymph leader said with a soft smile. Li Ming only nodded her head and as it was already past midnight, she finally decided to take her leave. With final goodbyes, the young girl disappeared from the land of the Enchanted Magik Forest while taking the pixies, Snowy and Mallow along with her. Chapter 127 - The Scared Li Ming The sudden darkness that engulfed her started giving an ire vibe. One moment before she was safely tucked in her comfortable bed under a comfy duvet and the next second she found herself standing in the middle of a blank space. A loud gasp left her mouth as Li Ming felt something crawling around her ankle of the right leg. Her gaze landed on her bare feet which were getting engulfed by some creepers which appeared decayed and completely black. Their touch sending jolts of pain in her legs as she hurriedly stepped backward to get out of their reach. But that was probably not the best choice because then Li Ming ended up standing in a puddle of black glue-like thing. "What the-?" Li Ming''s eyes traveled from her bare feet to her surroundings. The darkness had shifted and she found herself standing in the middle of a place that looked like a forest to her. Everything, the trees, the plants, the bushes, the grass, every single thing appeared black and decayed. A sour rotting smell entered her nose, making her gag. She also noticed a very faint smell of burning sulfur but it was too faint, barely noticeable. Li Ming pulled her legs out of the gooey poodle. The sight making her sick. She wasn''t sure whether to be happy or sad for not knowing what was the gooey thing that was sticking on her feet. There was no moon or stars in the sky which appeared pure black with a little hint of red here and there. But even without any source of light, Li Ming could still see everything around her. Though everything appeared black and white. Li Ming didn''t know exactly what she was supposed to do. Should she return to her mansion and forget about this or should she try to find more about this place where she had landed out of nowhere? After a few minutes of mashing her limited brain cells, she decided to go with the second option. But before that, she needed proper clothes and shoes as the air was chilly and she was wearing only a thin pair of pajamas. She also had a feeling that the temperature would lower more and more as the time would pass. She imagined a pair of leather pants, jackets, and boots, and clicked her fingers but she was in for a surprise. Absolutely nothing happened. She was still in her light blue pajamas with bare feet. A frown appeared on her face as she first looked at her feet, then at her nightdress, and then finally glared at her hands. A sigh left her lips as she again tried the spell to change her outfit but the result was still the same. For the next few minutes, she constantly tried to use her spells and even spiritual qi, but it was like she had suddenly lost the ability to use them. She could still feel the presence of qi and magical energy inside her, therefore the reason behind their lack of response at her commands was not making any sense. She finally gave up after who knew struggling for how many centuries. If not for those creepy creepers that were once again moving towards her feet, then she probably would have wasted some more precious time. "What a traitor!" Li Ming cursed her powers as she kicked one of those creepers, immediately regretting as it burned her skin. With a deep sigh, she started moving forward, without any idea of where she was going. She probably walked for an entire hour before she came across a bridge made of huge black stones. Whatever laid below the bridge was completely hidden in the shadows. All Li Ming could pinpoint was that the fall would be steep and soul-wrenching. All this time, she didn''t come across even a single insect. The only moving things in that forest-like place were those creepers that were covering almost all the forest. But the silence of the forest and the drop in the temperature was giving her bad feelings. Though everything appeared silent but her instincts were telling her that something very dangerous was lurking in the shadows. A loud growl disturbed the silence of the forest. Li Ming even felt the ground slightly shaking beneath her feet. She looked around to find the direction from where the sound of the growls was coming, but without her powers, she was unable to pinpoint any specific direction. It was like the sound was coming from all the three directions except the one where the bridge would lead her to. Li Ming focused on the ring on her index finger which was carved in the shape of a half-moon with a sapphire set in its middle. But then she realized that since she wasn''t able to use her powers, she could also not use the weapon charm. Other than her internal force, she was left completely vulnerable and she sure didn''t like the situation. Something more powerful than her was stopping her from connecting with her powers. The sudden crack that appeared just a few inches in front of her finally made her feet move. She stumbled backward trying to stay away from the crack which was increasing in size with every passing second. The growling sound once again boomed through the area and this time it was even louder than before. Li Ming looked up and her eyes met with three pairs of red glowing eyes and three mouths with sharp teeth and saliva dripping from them. It took her a moment to realize that whatever that monster was it was more than twelve feet tall and she appeared like a ragged doll in front of it. "Holy moly, what kind of monster are you?" Li Ming let out her shocking question as her eyes tried to grasp the rest of the creature''s body but unfortunately, rather than the monster''s body, her eyes landed on the crack which was only a single step away from her. Li Ming immediately scrambled backward, first staring at the huge crack in the ground and then looking up at the monster. The monster let out a gruff like sound and immediately the crack started enlarging. Li Ming immediately started backing, she was already at the middle of the bridge when a cold chill on her back made her stop in her tracks. She looked behind and nearly got a heart attack as she looked directly down a huge gap in the bridge behind her, a dark abyss waiting to engulf her. She looked back to see that the bridge had stopped breaking a few inches away from her feet. It was a miracle that a small piece of the bridge was floating in the mid-air and she was standing exactly on it. But the relief was short-lived as another growl from the monster sent her tumbling down into the dark abyss. A loud shriek left her mouth as she felt several hands pulling her downward. The burning sensation returned to her body as she felt long sharp nails scratching her skin. The disgust and nausea returned as her powers tried to go away from the darkness where she was heading. The last thing that she remembered was a white glowing orb that was floating at the opposite end of the bridge, urging her to go towards it. With an ear-piercing scream, her eyes finally flew open, meeting a dimly lit room. She was back in her room in the mansion and looking at the soft sunlight that was peeking inside through the gap in the drapes over the windows, informed her that the morning had already appeared. "Are you alright?" The sudden question and the familiar voice made her look at the Evernight Lord who was standing beside her bed, a worried expression covering his handsome face. Without thinking twice, Li Ming immediately rushed towards the Immortal. Shocking him as she engulfed him in a tight hug. Her hands snaked around his waist as she pressed her face in his chest. She was shaking lightly as she breathed in the scent of her mate which immediately started calming her. Roushan''s hands were immediately around her. Pulling her closer in his embrace as he tried to calm her down. His soul-crushing as he felt the tremors in her body. He had known her for five months and all this time he never saw her scared or timid, not even when she nearly died. But seeing her shivering in his arms as tremor after tremor passed through her body, made him want to erase the existence of the reason behind her current state. "You are alright, Xingan. Don''t worry, I''m here with you. I won''t let anything or anyone harm you." Ruoshan promised her as he rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. Li Ming finally pulled back a little away from the Demon Lord and stared at him with scrunched eyes. "What nonsense are you spouting? What harm? Do I look like someone who is scared or something? I''m just freezing right now and I want warmth. Now don''t spout any more rubbish." And with saying these beautiful words she again snuggled into the arms of a shocked Evernight Lord. Chapter 128 - Breakfast Time "Are you sure that you are okay?" Li Ming almost banged her head on the cabinet filled with dishes as she once again heard Ruoshan asking the same question for the umpteenth time within the past two hours. Currently, she was in the kitchen, about to prepare breakfast. She had taken a long hot shower to get rid of the imagery dirt and that black glue-like thing. Imagery? Yeah, because when she checked her body after shooing Ruoshan out of her bedroom, she found that there was nothing on her skin. No dirt, no scratches, her feet were also completely dirt free. For a moment she almost thought that it was only a dream, probably a part of those dreams that were haunting her for weeks now. But then the coldness that had seeped into her bones and was still freezing her, didn''t make any sense. As she scrubbed her skin and hair under the burning water, her mind was busy to understand if whatever happened was only a dream or a reality. It took her around forty minutes before she finally felt that her body was not freezing anymore. By the time she turned off the shower her skin had turned bright red due to the scorching water. It was a miracle that she wasn''t crying her eyes out because of the pain. A hiss left her lips as she finally registered the pain of her burnt skin while drying herself. Looking at her body in the full-length mirror, she found herself looking at a living and walking tomato. With a huff, she let her healing powers do their work, and within a few minutes, her skin was back to normal. She put on a lemon yellow colored dress, accompanied by her favorite pair of white sneakers. After blow-drying her hair she pulled them up in a high ponytail and gave them the final touch by inserting a few clips designed in flower shapes, a few loose strands falling around, giving her a cute look. After applying lip balm on her lips to keep them moisturized she grabbed her veil to put it on later and left the bedroom. She was in for a surprise when she came downstairs and entered the kitchen. Not only Ruoshan but the Fourth Prince was there too and God knew what he was doing as he stared at the open fridge. At least he opened it without breaking anything. "What are looking for?" She had asked Zhang Yong as she opened one of the cabinets to get a cup. "What''s that thing?" Zhang Yong had asked as he pointed at something inside the fridge. When she moved next to him to look at whatever he was pointing, she realized that he was asking about a tray filled with fresh sweet potatoes. She turned around and stared at the Fourth Prince who was actually waiting for an answer. "You don''t know what that is?" She had asked the Prince who immediately shook his head in negative. She took a deep breath before asking, "Are you sure that you don''t know what that is?" "Xingan, we really don''t know what that thing is." This time it was Ruoshan who answered her question and supported Zhang Yong. "Seriously? Are you guys kidding me? You can''t recognize sweet potatoes. Can you even tell apart a potato and tomato?" Her tone was mocking as she glared at both of the Immortals. "Of course, we can differentiate between a potato or a tomato. Still, what''s that sweet potato is?" Zhang Yong asked after reprimanding her for her stupid question. "Yeah, I can see your knowledge about fruits and vegetables. Where did you two study? And please don''t tell me that you have got your degree from Guixian Land." Li Ming said while making a not so cute face. The two immortals were completely clueless about what was going on. Was she trying to say that they couldn''t recognize vegetables and fruits? And what that degree thing meant? And why did they couldn''t take it from Guixian Land? When none of them spoke for several minutes, Li Ming shrugged off the topic and made both of them sit on the chairs that were placed around the kitchen isle and then started making herself a cup of dark coffee. She was taking out utensils to start preparing the breakfast when Ruoshan asked that question. She closed the cabinet door with a bang and turned around to glare at the silver hair Immortal. "Will you please stop! Do I look like I''m not okay? Is there something wrong with me?" Her tone came out a little angry but mostly irritated. She didn''t want to lash out at him but his questions were constantly reminding her of the dream which she was trying to lock in the furthest corner of her mind for the time being. She still needed to spend the morning hours with the children of Dongji village for their cultivation classes and for that she needed her mind clear of any kind of distractions. Zhang Yong slipped out of his seat and cane around the isle to pull her softly in his arms. For a moment she wanted to pull away but the warmth and care that seeped into her body at his soft touch made her change her mind. But she still passed him a heated glare which made the Shadow Lord gulp down his saliva. "Ming''er don''t be so angry at us. We are just worried about you. First, we suddenly lost contact with you yesterday and we can''t find your location. Neither we were able to pinpoint the location of Xiao Tiantang. Then later in the night, we suddenly felt the discomfort..." Zhang Yong stopped at the coughing sound of Ruoshan who was glaring at him. His eyes were clearly warning to shut up which didn''t make any sense until the moment he looked back at the girl in his arms who was looking at him with a frown on her face. "What are you trying to say?" Li Ming asked as her eyes were plastered on the fourth Prince to take in every single change in his expressions. If it had been Ruoshan saying these words, she could have understood the reason for why he was feeling those things because it would have been the bond that alerted him and probably the others. But since it was Zhang Yong who said it, Li Ming was a bit confused. Was he talking about Ruoshan and the others? Maybe they felt the changes and told him about them? Zhang Yong looked surprised and out if words as he continued to stare at her, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly. "What he meant to say is that we wanted to meet you yesterday but couldn''t find your or Xiao Tiantang''s location. And when we finally connected back with Xiao Tiantang after midnight, it was passing a hint of negative energy which just gave us even worse feelings. So, both of us just rushed here to make sure that you are okay. We didn''t mean to make you uncomfortable Xingan." Ruoshan spoke softly from behind her as he gave her a back hug. Did she already tell you guys that back hugs were one of her weaknesses? Her anger and suspicion immediately melted under his touch and seeing that Li Ming was buying Ruoshan''s half-truth, Zhang Yong immediately nodded his head in confirmation. "Alright! But don''t worry, I''m okay. And most importantly, I''ll get late for the morning classes. Now, let me work." Li Ming said after a few minutes of silence as she finally pulled away from the comforting embrace of the two Immortals. She pulled out three packets of ramyeon from the storage and started preparing breakfast. "Can I join you?" "Can I accompany you today?" Both Ruoshan and Zhang Yong asked at the same time as they tried to help Li Ming set the table but were met with her glare which set them quietly sitting on their chairs. "Nope." Li Ming bluntly refused as she placed the bowls filled with hot spicy ramyeon along with hot steaming tea for the immortals and her cup of dark coffee. She completely ignored the pouty face that Zhang Yong was making at her. "It''s too spicy..." "...and hot..." "...but tasty..." "...yes, definitely tasty..." The two Immortals said as they gulped down the ramyeon which was making them turn red due to its hotness and spice. Li Ming only chuckled at their words as she finished her breakfast and then cleaned the dishes before putting them back in the cabinets. If not for her fear that the two would end up breaking her precious dishes, she would have left the two of them to clean up the kitchen but unfortunately, she didn''t trust them when it came to her mansion. She could see the wariness in their eyes as they departed after their breakfast. Them returning to only God knew where and she headed to the foot of the Thundering Peaks. She knew that both of them wanted to know about what happened the previous day but she was happy to see that neither of them pressured her to tell them the truth. Moreover, she didn''t think that she was obliged to share every single personal detail with them even though Ruoshan was her mate. The reason was clear, her mates had their secrets and pasts while she had hers. Of course, all of them would need to come clear at some point with each other about all those secrets but that day had still to arrive. Chapter 129 - Haunted Dongji Village When Li Ming reached the foot of the Thundering Peaks, the group of children was already there, waiting for her. She didn''t waste much time on unimportant things and immediately started directing them into the right postures. Though the spiritual qi in the Thundering Peaks was far too low for a mountain ranges covered in forest, but it still was higher than the spiritual qi present in the Capital City or the Dongji village. They started around seven in the morning and continuously practiced for two and a half hours before finally wrapping up. Only two children, one around eight years of age and another girl around eleven, were able to breakthrough. The children returned to the Orphanage and Li Ming went towards the vacant area of the town. There was a large portion behind the town which was completely vacated by the villagers. When Li Ming first stumbled into that part around a month ago while taking a stroll, all that she found was six or seven vacant houses which were almost at the point of crumbling down at any moment. "Why those houses are left in such a state in the back of the village?" She had asked that question to Sir Liu later that day but the answer that she received in return made her knock some sense in the villagers who could seriously be the stupidest person alive at some points. "Miss Li, that place is haunted." Yeah, this was the answer that she received in return from one of the old ladies of the town. And when she looked at Sir Liu for the confirmation, the old man only sighed and didn''t say anything. Well, she would not say that ghosts didn''t exist. Why? Because back on Earth, there was indeed a society of ghosts. Yeah, go figure! However, she wasn''t sure if there was actually a ghost or ghosts living in those houses or if they had built up their own theories. To check out the truth she visited those houses again that night. Well, ghosts were supposed to be active during the night, right? Yet, she didn''t find any kind of presence there except the insects and rodents. The very next day she formed a group of twenty people from the village and assigned them their new task. "I want the back area completely clean within twenty days. Get those broken houses cleared and pile all the debris. I''ll take care of it." She had instructed them. "B-but Miss Li, w-what about the ghosts?" A man in his early forties had asked and she had noticed that almost all of them looked a little afraid even though most of them tried not to show it. "Well, you will probably like to know that I''ve talked to that wandering spirit last night. Not only they agreed to leave this place but also apologized for scaring you all. Now, since we have their permission, do you think you can start your work?" The shocked looks on their faces told her that they were suspicious of her. Not sure if she was mocking them or actually telling the truth, but none of them dared to say anything. They just silently started working on their task, praying to every deity for their lives. Though she had already checked the area on her own but she still asked Snowy to keep an eye. Since everyone went off from their work between 5 am - 6 pm, there wasn''t much to worry about. The villagers too stopped worrying about the ghosts after a week since they found nothing abnormal there. Some of them actually thought that it was Miss Li who had made the ghost leave that place. The time limit of the twenty days had finished already the day before and currently, Li Ming was going there to look at the work done by the team. After a few more minutes, she finally reached the alley which led to the back area and came across a large area which was now completely barren. The workers were sitting in a group at the entrance as they all enjoyed the rest after completing their work. All of them immediately noticed Li Ming and started standing up to greet her. "Hmm. You all did the work efficiently and I''m happy to see your hard work and dedication." She said as she praised them for their hard work. She took out a pouch and handed it to the Yue Chen whom she had assigned as the Supervisor of the task. "But Miss Li, we have already got our payment two days ago from Sir Liu." Yue Chen said as he confusedly looked at the heavy pouch in his hands. "I know. This is a gift for your hard work. Distribute it equally among all of you." Li Ming told the man who thanked her immediately, followed by the rest of the group. He opened the pouch and after counting the silver taels inside it, he gave seven to each person. Li Ming dismissed all of them after that. She was the only one left in that silent area. Her eyes landed on the enormous pile of debris that was placed in the center of the clearing. As per her instructions, the villagers had piled up all the remnants of the broken houses. She took out one of those iron balls with special runes carved on it and placed it on the ground. She channeled a small bit of her spiritual energy to activate the ball and when the runes that were carved over it started to glow bright yellow, she stepped back and let the ball do its job. A huge beam of light came out of the ball and fell on the pile of debris. One by one all the broken pieces of the houses disappeared into that tiny iron ball, leaving a huge empty area that was nearly equal to more than half of a Football ground. Li Ming picked up the ball which had turned a lot heavier and placed it in one of the shelves inside the spell room. She dusted her hands to get rid of any imagery dirt and looked at the huge empty area in front of her. "Let''s see where the famous evil spirit is going to sleep tonight. Just hope you won''t haunt me for taking down your haunted houses." She said out loudly before turning around to leave the area. Before going to the Black Jade Inn during lunchtime, Li Ming made two more trips. One was to the Jewelry shop in the main market of the Capital city of the Han Empire. There she also collected the two iron balls that were lying on the ground. The shop and everything else had vanished from the area, leaving it completely barren, just like how she wanted it to be. Her second stop was Jin Jing''s clothes shop in the Capital City of the Wang Empire. There were also two iron balls lying on the ground. She picked those up and deposited them with the other three. The iron balls that she had used for the two shops were much more powerful than the one she had used in the Dongji village. It had taken three nights to work on those balls which were actually supposed to work on technology. She was no scientist and that''s why it took her two days to come up with a solution to make those balls work on magic or spiritual energy. Luckily, even if she was no scientist, she still succeeded in activating the balls with her magic and spiritual energy after changing a few things in them. Just when she was about to teleport back to the Han Empire, suddenly she decided to check the market. She was roaming on the streets when her ears picked on the conversations that were going on in a group of five men who were sitting around a table beside a tea stall. "Haven''t you noticed that in the past three or four days, many people have arrived here? Almost every single Inn is filled with customers right now." One of the men said in a hushed voice. Li Ming silently took a seat on the other table beside them with her back towards the men. She nodded lightly at the old man who immediately served her got steaming tea. Her entire focus back on the conversation that was going on the table behind her. "Of course, everyone has noticed. It looks like all the high profile families have sent someone to take part in tomorrow''s auction. Someone even noticed a group of disciples from the Guixian land. Looks like they are going to auction something rare and precious tomorrow." Another man said. "Well, we can only watch those rich families compete against each other with their money. Let''s see tomorrow what has lured so many hungry wolves out of their forests." Someone from the group said and the others chuckled while nodding their heads. After that their topic of discussion changed to the Imperial family. Li Ming finished her tea and after placing two copper wen on the table, she stood up and left the booth. She still had a few things left to prepare for the auction. Chapter 130 - Familiars And Spirit Beasts "Li, what are you working on?" Snowy asked as he strolled into the Library of Alchemy where Li Ming and Mallow had closed themselves for hours by now. After having her lunch, she returned to the Xiao Tiantang and started preparing a new batch of pills with the help of Mallow. This time she had chosen to refine healing pills. Just like the Body Cleansing Pills, she also combined the selected potion and pills ingredients together to get a better result. It''s already past six in the evening which meant that they had been refining pills for nearly six hours. When Snowy entered the library, Li Ming was lining the jars filled with pills on the coffee table. There were a total of four jars, each containing a hundred pills inside them. Two jars were stocked with Body Cleansing Pills, one with First rank low-grade pills and another with the third rank middle grade pills. The highest rank of pills that she could refine at the moment was the second rank middle grade pills but she was only able to refine about ten to twenty such pills. Therefore, she decided to not sell those pills until she could break through to the next level. Similarly, the other two jars were carrying Healing Pills. Just like the Body Cleansing Pills, one jar was filled with the First rank low grade Healing Pills and the second with third rank middle grade Pills. "I''m finding ways to earn more money so that I can keep up with your demands." Li Ming answered Snowy. The little furball gave Li Ming a disgusted look as he said with a huff, "Don''t put your greed on my head." Li Ming picked up the little Pomeranian in her hands and started walking out of the library, Mallow following behind them. "Don''t be so rude." Li Ming told Snowy with a pout. "So dramatic," Snowy said while shaking his head from left to right, emphasizing his point. "By the way, do you think that these pills will earn you enough money? I mean if I remember correctly they aren''t really of high grades." Snowy asked as he turned his head to look at her devilish face. "Well, you are right about the pills being of lower grades. If I will try to auction a low-grade pill, I would probably be kicked out and laughed off. But can you imagine hundreds of low-grade pills being available to a rich audience? Most importantly these pills are much better than the normal pills of this world because of the mixup of the ingredients. Maybe I won''t make millions out of it but that''s not a problem. Right now, my aim for this auction is a little bit different." Li Ming answered Snowy''s question. "What is the plan, Li?" Mallow asked her. "You both will know it tomorrow. Have some patience," Li Ming said and didn''t speak after that, leaving the two furballs confused. Li Ming left both Snowy and Mallow with the pixies. All of them had grown closer to each other and both Snowy & Mallow mostly ate with the pixies. She had no problem with that because this had taken off a lot of her worries. She had always felt bad for not giving Snowy enough of her time back on Earth as she was always busy with her work as the head of the mage clan. After coming to this new world, she got busy with the businesses and other problems, once again not spending enough time with her familiar. When Mallow became her spirit beast and she got busied with her daily life just like usual, her guilt only increased. She was really thankful to the fairies for the love and care that they were showing to both Snowy and Mallow. Her mother always used to tell her that a familiar, or the same could also be said about a spirit beast, was one of the most important bonds of a witchmage. Their bonds also needed the care and attention that a soul bond needed, if not more than definitely not less. Especially when the bond was newly formed, it was very weak and vulnerable, at that time the master needed to spend as much time as possible with their familiars. She tried her best to give Mallow the same attention and care that she had given to Snowy back when their bond was first formed. But she made sure to make Snowy a part of it. She didn''t want her little furball to feel left out. She bathed the two every night, blow-dried them, and combed their soft silky furs. She even let the two sleep in her bed. Made their favorite dishes and made sure to not lose her cool at any of them, though Snowy made it impossible. The two of them had been dining with the pixies for the last three or four days. Maybe they were giving her time to rest properly. One thing that she could say proudly was that both of her little furballs were as intelligent as they were cute. --- She returned to the magical mansion and entered into the dark living room which immediately lit up at her arrival. Her immediate stop was the washroom where she took a short shower and then changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a white tank top with a grey cardigan just to be safe. She was almost scared of wearing shorts at this point. She fixed her hair in a bun and left her bedroom to prepare a quick dinner. She ended up making mouth-watering creamy mac and cheese pasta with a glass of hot chocolate to give herself a boost. The fact that she liked...sorry, loved, both dark coffee and hot chocolate was beyond believable. After finishing her dinner and washing the dishes, she decided to start her cultivation. After the auction, her next mission was to build the new shops and the plan that she had prepared for the Dongji Village. For these new missions, she would need a lot of cultivation energy. If everything went with the flow, then all the three missions would be completed within a month. "Are you free now?" Li Ming almost got a heart attack at the sudden question when she was about to step onto the Divine Lotus. She looked at the man who was lying comfortably in the Divine Lotus, in her Divine Lotus. She was so busy planning her next few days that she almost didn''t notice him. She entered into the enormous lotus and stood a few feet away from the black and red-robed man. "What are you doing here?" Her voice came out irritated as she didn''t try to hide her feelings. The Demon Prince only smirked at her as he turned on his back and put both his hands beneath his head, looking up at the night sky as he replied, "I''m still curious to know exactly what method did you use to get your hands on this Godly Maple Tree. Mind to share?" He completely ignored her question and looked at her, waiting for a reply. Li Ming scoffed at his words and when she noticed him scanning her from head to toe, probably because of her otherworldly clothes, her irritation level only increased. "None of your business dude. Now, get lost from here. I don''t entertain strangers." Her tone was deep and full of authority, clearly stating that she was the owner of the flower where he was currently relaxing. The Demon Prince gave her one of his cold glare which did nothing to scare her and this only made him angrier. Before Li Ming could even blink her eyes properly, a cold gust of wind disturbed her balance and the next second, the Demon Prince was standing a few inches away in front of her. "You sure are a stupid little girl. But you can''t fool me like you had fooled my brothers. Maybe you are under their protection for now, but not for long. I''ll make you regret your existence." His voice came out cold and huskier as he warned her. If she was not distracted by the strong scent of the Prince, she sure would have given him a perfect reply for his delusions. But the musky scent of Hei Long with a little touch of citrusy fragrance in it made her head swoon. They were so close, barely a few inches away from each other and it was like her soul was trying to grab the handsome male in front of her. When the Demon Prince didn''t receive any response from the girl who was looking a little shaken as her eyes turned a little dreamy, he didn''t know what to do. At a point, Li Ming even swayed a little, and his hands immediately reached out to balance her. The cold-hearted Prince who was rumored to dislike the very mention of the word woman, first time touched a lady and immediately regretted. On the other hand, the warm and happy feeling that took over Li Ming as two hands, Hei Long''s hands, touched her shoulders immediately informed her about what was going on. As Hei Long tried to jerk his hand away, somehow his hand slightly touched the bare skin of her wrist, eliciting a sharp gasp from Li Ming and a curse from his mouth. What a contrast! Chapter 131 - Being Despised By Her Mate Mate! The word kept repeating in her mind as she tried to take in the realization that the Second Demon Prince was also one of her mates. Her breathing quickened and she finally looked up at the Demon Prince, but nothing could have prepared her for the disgusted look that was plastered In Hei Long''s eyes. He was glaring at her with cold eyes which were filled with anger. Rather than shining with love and care, his eyes were shining in resentment. "What..." Before she could complete her sentence she got cut off by his cold voice. "What kind of evil person are you? Even your touch burns me. I don''t know how my brothers are tolerating you. Why can''t they see the truth behind this pretty face of yours? But I''m warning you. If you don''t leave my brothers alone, I''ll make you regret it." His words were like sharp daggers stabbing her heart. Li Ming could feel her soul curling in pain and hurt. She looked at Hei Long with puzzled eyes. When a mate''s touch was supposed to be calming and loving, then why did he felt the complete opposite of that? Didn''t he realize the bond? Didn''t his soul recognize hers? She was probably about to voice out her questions when Ruoshan and Zhang Yong appeared there. She really deserved a big round of applause because the first thing that her mind registered in such a situation was the fact that all the three men were standing on her soft Divine Lotus while wearing boots, while she was barefoot. She promised the Divine Lotus to take its revenge from these three Immortals when the timing was right. Zhang Yong immediately rushed to Hei Long''s side and grasped his arm. That''s when Li Ming registered a slight glimpse of pain in Hei Long''s eyes. He was clutching his right shoulder tightly. Was his shoulder in pain? She thought as her eyes tried to find out the answer. Her legs automatically started moving towards the mate who was probably in pain, but two things stopped her. First, Ruoshan''s hands which circled around her waist and dragged her back in his arms, and second was the way Hei Long flinched as he noticed her coming towards him. She felt a heaviness settling inside her. Zhang Yong gave her a tight smile before he disappeared from there, taking Hei Long along with him. Everything was back to how it should be. The Xiao Tiantang was once again filled with silence. Li Ming kept standing there, still in Ruoshan''s arms. None of them spoke for minutes. Both lost in their own thoughts. "Are you alright, Xingan?" Ruoshan finally broke the silence which his soul wasn''t liking at all because it wasn''t a good kind of silence. It was the silence of his mate''s pain and he could feel that through their soulmate bond. Of course, their bond wasn''t as strong as a soulmate bond supposed to be because they still had to complete their bonding but the small link that was still connecting them was enough to inform him that she wasn''t alright and she hadn''t been alright since the previous day. "You really dared to stand on my lovely flower with your boots on. You seriously are something, Demon Lord!" Ruoshan was completely taken back by her words. She didn''t sound angry but definitely not happy either. He immediately looked at his feet and then at hers. A sigh left his lips as he contemplated about what to say next. Just like always, it didn''t take her long to lock all her emotions and put them somewhere in the back corner of her mind, burying them under the pile of collections. Completely closing herself for the time being. She didn''t say anything else. She just waited for the Immortal to reply and give another one of his lousy explanation. But to her surprise, rather than explaining his action, the Demon Lord walked in front of her and kneeled on the soft surface of the Divine Lotus. She noticed that at some point he had removed his boots as he too was bare feet. Ruoshan took her hands in his own and looked up at his shocked mate as he said, "Xingan, do I annoy you too much? I always tried to not cause you any discomfort but I always end up doing something stupid. I just can''t help it. I know I keep repeating that same question but I worry about you a lot even though I''m aware that you are very strong emotionally. Do you want to kick me out of Xiao Tiantang?" He was almost pouting as his eyes looked at her expectantly. Li Ming couldn''t control the smile that immediately appeared on her lips. And when Ruoshan''s eyes twinkled at her smile, she immediately broke into giggles. Ruoshan couldn''t explain the happiness that his soul was feeling at that moment. His mate was smiling because of him. Her soft giggles were like happy pills for his soul. "Will you stop breaking into my Xiao Tiantang and mansion if I''ll kick you out and forbid you from entering here forever?" She asked as she tried to keep her expressions hard. Ruoshan immediately shook his head as he replied, "Of course not. I''ll be here the moment I feel like you need me. I won''t leave you no matter how much you will try. Never!" Li Ming gave his hands a little tug and the Demon Lord immediately stood up from his kneeling position. Within a second, she was in his arms. Her head buried in his chest as Ruoshan pulled her in the safety and warmth of his embrace. She looked up at his face and could only find his eyes filled with love and care for her. To Li Ming, Ruoshan, and Moon Deity could be considered as the most soft-hearted people in the world. Only if she knew! These two could turn into the most ruthless people of the Immortal world when needed. "So? Are you kicking me out?" Ruoshan asked softly as he brushed his fingers through her loose strands. Li Ming chuckled softly but immediately shook her head. Except for her fear that he was capable of destroying her mansion, she really didn''t have any other problem with him having the free pass into the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang. As for her privacy, both Xiao Tiantang and Magical mansion were under her ownership. According to the words of the mysterious person, she (Li Ming) had the capability of stopping anyone from entering into any specific part of the two small spaces. "Let''s go," Ruoshan said after a few minutes. "Where?" Li Ming asked in confusion. A soft chuckle left Ruoshan''s lips as he replied, "There''s a particular deity who wants to see you again but also don''t want to disturb you. Let''s go and apply a break on his suffering." Li Ming chuckled at his words, her mind immediately going to the Moon Immortal, but then her smile disappeared as she replied, "I need to cultivate. I don''t think I can come today." Ruoshan lightly bumped her nose which gifted him a glare from the pouting girl but her eyes were carrying a soft look in them. "Don''t worry. It''s only half-past seven, it won''t take too long. Also, I promise to help you tonight with your cultivation. We all can cultivate together." Ruoshan told her. Li Ming thought about his proposal for a few seconds and then finally nodded her head in agreement. Ruoshan gave her a soft kiss on her forehead and then both of their silhouettes disappeared from the Xiao Tiantang. ***** On the other side, a person was cursing loudly as another peeled his robes off his upper body. The Imperial Palace of the Southern Province of the Demon Realm was filled with ire silence except for the loud angry shouts coming from the royal study. "Can you just stop it now? I need to take a look at your shoulder." Zhang Yong chided the Demon Prince, softly sliding his (Hei Long''s) long hair away from his right shoulder. "That woman...AHHHHHH!" The hands that were softly sliding his hair out of the way suddenly punched him on his already throbbing shoulder, making the Demon Prince shout in anger. Yep, it wasn''t the pain which was making him use his vocal cords so much, rather it was the person because of whom his soulmate mark had started to throb. This incident finally confirmed his doubts. That little girl was certainly some evil person who was trying to lure him and his brothers to her side. He felt disgusted as he realized that at some point his mind even thought about her being his mate. But of course, that''s not the truth. Because if it was then his soul mark would never burn like this at their touch. The Demon Prince promised himself that he would make that evil girl leave him and his brothers before she could destroy their soulbonds. Chapter 132 - Moon This was her second time at Moon and the first time when she got to enjoy the scenery from the outside of the Moon manor. Of course, there was no moon in the night sky, rather it was filled with countless stars. Some of which were shining too brightly to be real. Her eyes landed on the small pavilions that were built in the huge garden, decorated with lanterns. She could see many spiritual gathering stones jammed in the roof and pillars of those pavilions. Another thing that she noticed was the dense presence of the spiritual qi in the air but if she wasn''t wrong then there was something different in the qi, something special. Many flowers were growing along the path which gleamed in the starlight. She had a feeling that she wouldn''t be able to find these flowers in the Mortal realm. Her eyes landed on a particular flower. It was pure white in color with five leaf-shaped petals but what caught her attention was the small golden pearl that was growing in its center. Her hands automatically reached out to caress the flowers. "It will wither if you touch it!" The warning of Lord Yueliang came a little too late as her hands had already grazed the soft petals of the flower. Though Li Ming immediately snatched her hand away in panic but the deed was done. All three of them stood there in silence as they watched the flower closely. However, a miracle happened as rather than withering the flower gleamed in a soft golden light and the next second a bunch of new flowers blossomed. Where initially there was only one flower blooming in the entire plant, now around twenty more flowers were blooming, each carrying that same golden pearl in their center. "Aaah? Didn''t you say that it will wither?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the Moon deity with confused eyes. She noticed that softly the shocked expressions of both the Immortals transformed into that of happiness and...pride? The Moon Deity walked closer to her and replied with a soft smile, "They do wither at the touch, but looks like they liked yours. I have never seen this many flowers blooming in this plant ever before." Li Ming smiled as she looked at the flowers and then gave that soft smile to the Deity too. Lord Yueliang softly patted her head before he looked at Ruoshan who was standing behind her. "You seriously have stopped listening to my words, haven''t you?" His voice carried a hint of disappointment but no anger. Sometimes, Li Ming even thought that he wasn''t able to get angry no matter what. "Stop acting. We both know that I''ve done the right thing. Moreover, it''s a debt on you." She heard Ruoshan replying as he started walking closer to them. On the other hand, the Moon Deity only shook his head in exasperation. "I''ll be waiting in the study. Don''t forget about me." Ruoshan muttered softly as he kissed her on her temple and left the two of them there. Li Ming''s heart almost came out of her chest as she tried to control her fast-beating heart. She didn''t realize it before but the three Immortals (Zhang Yong, Ruoshan, and Lord Yueliang) always had been intimate with her in front of each other. Though they were limited to hugs, head pats, and forehead or temple kisses, but it was still not a normal sight in this ancient-looking world. The most suspicious part was that none of them reacted in a bad way when the other was being close to her. Did they know about the bond? And what''s with Zhang Yong and the way he always reacted around her? She didn''t even find it repulsive when he touched her. It''s common for a person to be repulsive towards body contact with other people who were not their mate or mates. Of course, it didn''t apply on family members and close friends. But if she remembered it correctly, she was never against him being too close to her even though they barely knew each other in the starting. Moreover, the vibes that she received from Zhang Yong were always of those like a best friend, one who cared about her and loved her dearly but not in a romantic way. Her mind was swarmed with questions after questions and finally, she decided to ask them away. To finally put an end to all the secrets. If they wanted to accept her, they would accept her with all her faults and if they were going to reject her, well she didn''t need others in her life to stay happy and strong. Just like Alvina said, if they dared to reject her, she would make them regret their decision for the rest of their lives. Make them realize that they had lost the most precious part of their happiness. "Do you..." "You are aware right?" Lord Yueliang''s question stopped her from asking her own question. His cerulean eyes were looking at her, trying to find the answer through her eyes. Li Ming didn''t need her ability of mind-reading to know about what he was asking. She just softly nodded her head, not sure what to say or how to respond. For a second she even felt guilty for hiding the truth about their bond but then all her guilt flew away when she realized that they also had done the same. Just like always, she was surprised when rather than questioning her, the Moon Deity immediately pulled her in a warm hug. She felt the softness of his lips on her forehead and when she looked up at his face she found him looking at her with soft eyes. Once again she thought that those deep cerulean eyes were capable of drowning her completely in them. "All this time we were confused about how we will tell you about this? How will we explain that you will be bound to five of us? We have thousands of years to accept it but you are completely new to this. We were worried that it will not work out? But looks like we don''t need to worry about that any longer." Li Ming chuckled softly at Lord Yueliang''s words. She realized that they were worried about the same things as her. The two of them were silent for a few minutes as they both observed the white golden pearl flowers. Her head resting on the solid shoulder of the Moon Deity as he kept her closed in his embrace. "What''s wrong with him?" Li Ming wasn''t sure how she ended up asking that question but she didn''t need to elaborate for Lord Yueliang to understand her. The worst part was that no matter how much she tried to control herself and be strong, that one question made her realize that she cared too much about Hei Long and his unexpected reaction than she was showing. If it had been someone else, she probably would have felt ashamed of herself for being so sensitive and vulnerable, but she was happy that she showed this side of her to her Mr. Beauty. Lord Yueliang softly patted her head as he replied, "He''s not a bad person Little One. To tell you the truth, he was the most excited one when we first learned about the bond. Everything was so new and sudden for us but he was so happy to know that he will have someone special in his and our lives who will be the one to keep all of us brothers bound to each other for eternity." Li Ming keenly listened to his every single word. Not giving up on the chance to learn more about her mates and their opinion about the soulmate bond that they were sharing with her. "But as centuries after centuries passed, there was no hint of your arrival. We have been told that our path will collide when the right time will come, so we waited. After thousands of years, most of us have almost started thinking that the Deities were playing with us and everything was a lie, but that little devil was still so confident that you will come." To be honest, it was a little bit hurtful that her mates were not really excited about their bond and that they even thought of it as a lie. But then Li Ming reminded herself that unlike her, they didn''t grow up listening to the beautiful stories of soulmates. That unlike her, they were not part of a society or a world where soulbond and multiple mates were a normal but also sacred aspect. The fact that even after being so new to this soulmate thing, they still accepted her, was already too much to be asked from them. Though she had only found three of her mates and the rest two were still lost somewhere. Her soul swayed in joy at the imagination of all her mates with her. "Why? Why was he so sure that I''ll appear?" She found herself asking. Chapter 133 - Soul Mark "Probably because of the soul mark!" Lord Yueliang''s reply made Li Ming gasp as she stared at the Deity with her doe eyes. "You all have soul marks? Then...then why only he believed in the bond? Why didn''t the rest of you?" Her soul jumped at the thought of seeing the soul mark carved on her mates'' body. "Not all of us. Only Hei Long has the soul mark." Lord Yueliang told her as he took in the excited expression on her face which turned into confusion at his words. "What do you mean? Why only him?" She asked the Deity. "Since he was the first one to accept the soulbond without any second thought, the Deity gifted him with the soul mark. He said that the rest of us will receive ours too by our mate when we finally accept the bond." The Moon Immortal answered her question truthfully, not wanting to hide it from his soulmate. "Oh! So, he''s the only one with the soul mark. But then his reaction...? It was like he felt disgusted by my touch...!" Li Ming didn''t know what to think about the situation and especially of Hei Long''s reaction. But her thoughts were disturbed when Lord Yueliang immediately shook his head as he cupped her face to make her look up at him. "No, Little One, no! It''s not you, neither it''s him." At her confused expression, the Moon Deity let out a sigh as he told her everything about Hei Long''s soul mark and how one of the tendrils was no more attached to the ivy, and how they all had come to the conclusion that that particular tendril represented his soul bond. "So, you are telling me that something is wrong with Hei Long''s soul mark and he can no longer recognize me?" Li Ming didn''t like what she was hearing. Did someone really dare to manipulate the soul mark? But if yes, then who and why? "I don''t think so. We have seen him worried about you. If my observation isn''t wrong he even feels a pull towards you. Somewhere deep down in his heart, he has already recognized you. Just something is not letting him believe it. I think we just need to find out about what''s wrong with his mark and then we will find a solution." Lord Yueliang told her with a comforting smile and warm eyes. "We?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the Deity with questioning eyes and to be honest, she did agree that she was expecting a positive answer. That her heart was beating excitedly at the thought of her other mates helping her in solving the issue with Hei Long''s soul mark. There was something about Lord Yueliang which called on her vulnerable side to come out in open. She somehow ended up muttering out all her problems and insecurities in front of him, maybe because he gave those vibes. That he would always be there with her no matter what, just like how he next replied to her question. "En! We. You will always find us beside you. In your sorrow, in your suffering, in your trials, and whenever you will need us." Li Ming was completely surprised but also happy with his words. She finally felt the happiness and contentment that a mate brought with them. "When we were told about the soulmate thing, that Deity also told us that even though it''s a very strong bond but none of us are obliged to accept it. Is it true? Can we reject the bond?" Li Ming tried to keep the negative thoughts at bay as she nodded her head while she replied, "Not all agree that it''s a fair thing for them to be bound to a complete stranger. Sometimes, it took years for one to find the other half of their soul, and during a long period of waiting sometimes they fell in love with other people. At first, breaking a soul bond or rejecting it was considered a crime but then people started understanding the situations in a better way. In the starting breaking a soul bond was very painful and even traumatic but with the passage of time and new inventions of spells, charms, and technology, now there are ways to make this as less painful as possible. If both the partners are against the bond then the rejection process can go very smoothly." "Let''s just take it as marriage. Back in ancient times, people were used to be bounded by an arranged marriage and there was no law of divorce. Some found happiness with their partners who were initially strangers to them but then slowly became close and they even ended up having a lovely and wonderful marriage life." "On the other hand, there were other couples who couldn''t find a base in their marriage. Sometimes they were in love with someone else and ended up cheating on their partner which led to the destruction of the lives of three individuals. That''s where the tradition of arranged marriage became a bane for many people. But now people have the right to marry the person they love or to divorce. The same can be said about the mate bonds. It''s a gift from the fate as they choose the best couples that can be paired with each other and can be happy even after their different personalities but at the end of the day, they have the right to accept or reject the bond." Li Ming finished her explanation and praised herself for her decent explanation. But all her happiness disappeared when she looked up back at the Moon Deity''s handsome face and came across his stunned expression. It took her almost ages to realize about what she had done. Inventions...charms...spells...technology...Ancient...Divorce...! Damn it!! "Well, I think I over-explained it. Let me put it in simple words - Yes! If you want you can end or reject a mate bond," Li Ming said as she tried to cover up her babbling. It took Lord Yueliang a few long seconds to come out of the deep and long explanation that his Little One gave. He actually tried to understand everything but at some point, he lost himself in all the weird words that she was using. Though in the end, he did get what she was trying to explain. "Little One, since there''s a way to break this bond..." Li Ming nearly stopped breathing as she waited for the Moon Deity to complete his words. "...then always remember this, we are and we will be beside you because we want to be. I can assure you that I''m accepting this bond not because it was already set by fate but because I really want to be with you forever and I know one day you will hear the rest of them saying this exact thing." Li Ming felt her throat closing up as she tried not to immediately jump in the arms of the Moon Deity. "You are kind, cute, smart, powerful, daring, loyal, caring, and have a beautiful heart. You can stand up for yourself and also for those whom you considered a part of your family. You are the worst nightmare of your enemies and a kind goddess for your friends. You can differentiate right from wrong. You know when to strike and where to lay low. You..." "Ssh!" Li Ming silenced the deity as she placed her index finger on his lips. Lord Yueliang softly smiled as he lightly grabbed her hand and linked their fingers together. Li Ming felt her cheeks flaming as she looked down at her feet which were no longer bare as she was wearing her bunny slippers. The cute slippers made her smile as she continued avoiding looking in Moon Deity''s deep eyes. "What about Zhang Yong? I know he''s not one of my soul mates but I can feel something different but as unique as the soulbond between the two of us." Li Ming asked after a few minutes of silence. Lord Yueliang stopped grazing her fingers and gave her hand a light squeeze. "I don''t think it''s my place to answer that question. And before you ask it, yes I know the rest two of your mates too. But I''m not going to tell you anything about them. It will be a better experience if you find them on your own. As for Zhang Yong, you should find out on your own." He said while softly sliding her loose strands behind her ear. Li Ming almost pouted but then nodded her head in understanding. She realized that her childish self always came out in front of Mr. Beauty. "There''s also one thing I wanted to tell you, Little One. Though Roushan and I are aware that you are our mate but we never tried to tell this to Hei Long. The deity told us to never disclose the truth of your identity if by chance one of us failed to recognize you and the bond on their own. We were advised to rather find a different way to discover the reason and then solve it. Not sure if it also applies on you, but it looks like you know more about this soulmate thing than us." Lord Yueliang stopped when his eyes caught a slight glimpse of a blue light on her wrist. His eyes were trained on her wrist as he slowly raised his hand towards it but then...! Chapter 134 - Moon Goddess Li Ming immediately snatched her hand away from Lord Yueliang''s reach. She placed her hands behind her back, stepping a few inches away from him. The Moon Deity was shocked at first by her sudden movement but then guilt dawn on him and he immediately started to apologize, "I didn''t mean to..." But before he could complete his apology, Li Ming stopped him. "No! It''s not your fault. It''s just...umm...actually, the soul marks are really sensitive to a mate''s touch." She could feel her cheeks turning slightly pink but she held her ground, not letting shyness overtook her again. It took merely a few seconds as the meaning behind her words hit him and if not wrong, Li Ming also noticed a pink tinge taking over his ears but due to the lack of proper lightning, she was not sure if she was seeing things. "Umm...I seriously didn''t mean to be rude. I just pulled away so that..." "It''s okay. You don''t need to be sorry. There are still some things that we all need to learn about this soulmate thing. It''s just that blue light felt so familiar and I lost my ability to think properly for a minute." Lord Yueliang said as he stopped her from apologizing. Li Ming smiled softly at his words. Of course, the blue light called him in after all, it was the link that she was sharing with her Mr. Beauty. "Maybe we should go and find Ruoshan?" Li Ming said after a few moments of complete silence. Lord Yueliang nodded his head as both of them started walking towards the Moon Manor. "How big is this place?" Li Ming asked as they reached a bridge that was built over a pond which was filled with beautiful lotus flowers and white lilies. She could even make out the outlines of a fish or two here and there. "Nearly more than half of the mortal realm." The Moon Deity replied to her question as he observed her eagerly taking in all the details of her surrounding. "Really?" Li Ming asked in surprise and received a nod from the Moon Deity. Lord Yueliang''s soul was filled with warmth as he felt the moon and the Yueliang manor happily inviting his mate, displaying affection towards her in their own ways. The lotus and lily flowers in the pond which were closed in their buds a few minutes ago were now beautifully blooming at her arrival. The fishes that were supposed to be resting were also swimming on the surface, eager to get a glimpse of their new Moon Goddess. The breeze which was previously chilly had now turned into a soft warm breeze. The Moon Manor was looking even more beautiful and well furnished. He even noticed how the drapes had changed on their own and had turned into light blue and violet colors with designs all over them. Though the servants of the Moon Manor had always kept the manor and its surroundings well preserved and perfectly neat & clean, but this was the first time in centuries when he saw the Moon itself taking the initiative to look ethereal to appease someone. "Am I seeing things?" Ruoshan''s question pulled him out of the trance and Li Ming also suddenly stopped in her tracks for a second in surprise before resuming walking ahead. She was too deep into praising the beauty of the Moon and the Yueliang Manor that she didn''t notice Ruoshan. "What do you mean?" She asked as they reached the other side of the pond where a lawn was taking over the area in front of the manor. Ruoshan was sitting inside the only pavilion in the entire lawn as he stared at the manor. "I never knew that a study looks like this." Li Ming teased as she took a place beside him at the table where he was sitting. Lord Yueliang took his seat at the opposite end of the table and Li Ming saw the soft twitch on his lips. It''s very rare for her to take the initiative of being close to her mates. That''s why when she sat down so close to him, Ruoshan looked at her with raised eyebrows. When he didn''t get any response from her he turned towards the Moon Deity who only gave him one of his assuring looks. "Why are you sitting here?" Lord Yueliang asked Ruoshan. "Why don''t you ask that question to your moody manor? It directly closed the door on my face and didn''t let me enter!" Ruoshan said as he lightly banged his palm on the table to emphasize his anger. Li Ming let out a chuckle which immediately evaporated all his anger and complaints. He gave her a soft look as the girl tried to not laugh out loud at the imagination of a manor closing its door on the face of the powerful Demon Lord. "Don''t be angry. Can''t you see the changes? I''m sure it was beautifying itself at that time." Lord Yueliang said with a light mocking touch in his words. "Of course, I noticed! That''s why I asked the question if my eyes are seeing things. I don''t remember the last time something like this happened." Ruoshan said as he gave the Moon manor a soft look. "What are you both talking about?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the two Immortals in confusion. "The Moon and the manor, both are more lively and active right now after your arrival. Maybe this also happened the last time but we all were too occupied to observe the changes. It''s like they are welcoming you here in their own way." Ruoshan answered her question and when Li Ming looked at the Moon Deity in surprise he also nodded his head in agreement. "They are welcoming their new Moon Goddess." If she would have been drinking or eating something, she was sure that she would have ended up choking to near death. Lord Yueliang''s words were like thunderbolts that hit her mind. A Goddess? The Moon Goddess? "W-what?" She was sure that her question came out in a sharp squeak. But she was not the only one who was staring at the Lord Yueliang with huge soccer ball-like eyes. Ruoshan was also left speechless. "What are you doing?" He let out a whispered shout at the Moon Deity and Li Ming gave him a puzzled look, not sure what he was trying to imply through his question. But when Lord Yueliang answered Ruoshan''s question, the realization dawned on her. "She already knows. She''s aware of the bond and that there are five of us." Ruoshan stared at the Moon Deity, not sure how to react at the revelation. His heart was about to pop out of his chest as it started beating faster. But then he felt a soft hand covering his own and giving it a tight squeeze. When he turned around he saw his beautiful mate smiling at him with her eyes carrying a soft look in them. Li Ming softly brushed his silver locks out of his face and cupped his left cheek, immediately feeling how Ruoshan leaned into her touch. That small affection from her soothing his heart and assuring him that she wasn''t going to distance them, not going to leave them. "How many have you already recognized?" He asked after a few minutes. "You two and that idiot brother of yours." Li Ming answered his question and immediately found herself tugged in his arms. "He''s actually an idiot, but don''t worry, he will regret his stupidity soon." Ruoshan softly muttered in her ear as he pecked her forehead. Li Ming moved her eyes towards the Moon Deity. She was expecting either jealousy or shyness in his expression at her or Ruoshan''s closeness but what she was not prepared for was the caring and satisfying look in his eyes as he watched the two of them. His soft smile explaining the happiness that he was feeling for them. "So, looks like the new Moon Goddess is already the favorite of the Moon," Ruoshan said as Li Ming pulled herself out of his embrace. The two immortals chuckled while Li Ming shook her head, still not sure how to take in the revelation that she was going to be officially crowned as the Moon Goddess alongside the Moon Immortal as his mate. Well, let''s not think about something that was still far away in the future. After all, she was only fourteen at the moment. "Yeah, the Moon Goddess and the Demon Empress," Ruoshan said as he looked at her proudly. Li Ming got another thunder shock at the second revelation. "Can you both stop it, please? You are going to give me a heart attack for heaven''s sake!" Li Ming let out a pained complaint at Ruoshan''s teasing. "Alright! No more teasing Ruoshan." The caring and protective mode of Lord Yueliang switched on immediately as he watched his mate in discomfort. Ruoshan nodded his head not daring to go against both of them at the same time. He stood up and pulled Li Ming on her feet too. "What?" She asked him and Lord Yueliang also gave him a puzzled look. "I thought you wanted to cultivate. Let''s go then." Ruoshan said as he started walking out of the pavilion. Li Ming nodded her head hurriedly as she followed behind him along with Lord Yueliang. Chapter 135 - Cultivating With Her Mates The rest of the night Li Ming spent her time sitting on a glass-like smooth platform on the top of the Second Tower of the Moon manor, as she cultivated along with Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang. In the very middle of the glass-like platform was a runic design that appeared more like a magical hologram to Li Ming. The three of them settled down in a sort of circle, a triangle to be precise, in the very center of the runic structure. As they started cultivating, she could feel that her soul was more calm and relaxed which helped her in focusing on her cultivation. The change that she felt in the spiritual qi was more clear as she felt it entering into her body. By the time night passed and the birds woke up to welcome a new morning, Li Ming was feeling full energetic. Not only that but cultivating with the new method which connected her spiritual energy with Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang''s spiritual energy, gave her cultivation a boost as she finally broke through to the level of High Cultivator. "I''ll be not in the Han Empire today. I''ll either be back tonight or tomorrow morning. If you have anything urgent, which I highly doubt, just find me in the Capital market of the Wang Empire." Li Ming told the two Immortals as they all stood up from their sitting positions. Li Ming did a few stretches to get her stiff muscles working again. The fact that none of the two men commented about her clothes made Li Ming satisfied. She wasn''t excited about answering their millions of questions just because of her comfy clothes. She still thought that even after centuries she would prefer to sleep in a pair of pajama bottoms rather than in those tight heavy gowns. "Are you going to attend the auction?" Ruoshan asked as he watched her making some unique poses. He could feel Lord Yueliang observing her actions too. To be fair, she could probably be performing some rare and secret techniques to increase her internal energy or physique, but all that his eyes could notice and his mind could understand was that she was looking so adorable while doing that. "Yep. I''m attending it. That''s why I''ll be away. And let me warn you, don''t you dare disturb me without any reason and that reason couldn''t be that you were missing me." Her tone was sharp and full of warning as she pointed her words directly at Ruoshan. She didn''t need to say anything to her Mr. Beauty because she knew he would not disturb her, but the same couldn''t be said about Zhang Yong and Ruoshan. These two loved to appear in front of her at the most expected and unexpected moments. Ruoshan gave her a hurt look but it didn''t do anything to change her mind which only made him huff in sadness. Li Ming walked up to the Moon Deity and circled her hands around his shoulder, locking them behind his neck as his hands lightly rested on her waist. "Thank you so much. I hope we will meet again soon. I want to learn more about you and your world, of course only if you are comfortable in telling me. If not then we can always wait." Li Ming softly spoke as she looked into those cerulean eyes. "As you wish, Little One. I want to know more about my mate too." Lord Yueliang replied in his soft melodic voice. "You two! I''m here too. At least don''t ignore me like that." Ruoshan called out from where he was standing a few feet away from them. Li Ming turned a little sideways and looked at the Demon Lord who was giving them a sad look. She signaled him to come closer and it took the Demon Lord barely a two seconds to reach them. The two of them, Lord Yueliang and Li Ming, adjusted slightly to make space for Ruoshan. When the Demon Lord was in her reach, she snaked one of her arms around his neck and gave him a soft smile, instantly making the Evernight Lord smile. "Why don''t you join us for breakfast?" Lord Yueliang invited. The mere thought of feeding his mate and taking care of her made the two Immortals happy but then Li Ming immediately rejected the offer with a sorry smile. "I would have loved to, but I still need to visit the Dongji village before leaving for the Wang Empire. Maybe next time?" She somehow convinced her two mates and after giving Lord Yueliang a goodbye hug, Ruoshan brought her back to the Dongji village and bid his goodbye. It was six in the morning when Li Ming entered into her magical mansion. She immediately freshened up and after changing into a baby pink dress and matching veil, she left for the morning classes. Just like every day, Li Ming trained the children through their cultivation practices. Some were doing pretty good, while others were struggling to even understand how to even absorb the spiritual qi. She was trying her best to keep her eyes on every single child and guide them wherever they were lacking, though it was a very hard job. Of course, there were other ways to accelerate their cultivation, for example - Pills, potions and elixirs, but she was in no hurry to use them, at least not yet. First of all, she was still new in the world of alchemy and at the moment there were only two pills that she could refine - Body Cleansing Pills and Healing Pills. And it''s not like she was going to send these children to war. That''s why she decided to let their cultivation progress as naturally as it could. As the class ended around eight-thirty, the children left to start their daily routines in the orphanage. When Li Ming reached the orphanage, she immediately called six children in her study on the second floor. After five minutes, someone knocked on her study door. As she asked them to come in, one after another, six youths entered into the room. Zhou Han, Lei Yong, Lei Xiao Ting, Sue Mei, Zi Yan, and Jin Jing, all of them stood in front of her in a straight line. What Li Ming liked the most was that all the six of them were looking either confused or curious but there was no hint of fear in their eyes. [Zhou Han, Lei Yong, Lei Xiao Ting, and Sue Mei were the four candidates that Li Ming had chosen for the roles of her assistants.] [Zi Yan was the girl whom Li Ming found in the Xiao Tiantang fighting with Mallow and Jin Jing was the girl from the Wang Empire.] "I have plans for you guys." Li Ming told them after a few seconds, letting her words sink in. All of them patiently waited for her to continue, no one showed either excitement or worry about what she was going to dump on them. Their patience made a soft smile bloom on her lips which were covered by the veil. She looked at her four personal assistants and said, "You guys passed your first test when last time you came up with the strategy for your job. Today, I''m giving you your second test and the chance to get confirmed for the job of my assistants." The four youths looked at each other and then at Li Ming, all of them nodding their heads. Li Ming took out six brown packages from the top drawer of her table and placed them on the table. "Your job will not only need your smartness but also your way around words and your appearances. If you don''t know how to talk to a certain person, you will lose. If you talked too politely with a rude person, you are finished and if you talked rudely with them, then again you are finished. Therefore, keep in mind, you need to be aware of your speaking sense and the words that you will use. You can''t appear bossy and arrogant but at the same time, you also can''t be someone who''s easy to push around." Li Ming advised and the four youths nodded their head as they tried to engrave each word of Miss Li in their minds. "Similarly, you can''t roam around in lavish clothes because that will bring too much attention towards you and that''s the last thing you all want, right?" Li Ming asked and the four of them hurriedly nodded their heads in agreement. "Miss Li, don''t worry. No one will notice us in our poor clothes." Lei Yong said with a soft chuckle. "And that''s where you are wrong. Do you really think that you can step foot inside any of those shops and inns inside the black market when you will be looking poor? The guards won''t even let you enter into the black market." Li Ming told them with a shake of her head. "Oooh!" It was quite noticeable that none of the four ever thought about this issue. Li Ming signaled them to come forward and pick one brown package each from the pile. Chapter 136 - Assistants On Work The packages had new clothes inside them. The quality of the clothes was obviously not the best but neither cheapest. Li Ming made sure that the clothes were comfortable to be worn in the summer season. The two girls also found simple but beautiful hairpins along with their dresses. "These clothes are perfect to give you entrance into any shop in the capital market or the black market and also to mix you with the normal crowd. You won''t stand out either as a rich or poor." Li Ming told them as the four youths immediately thanked her for the clothes. "These clothes are made by Jin Jing and her mother. You should thank them instead," Li Ming said as she took out four pouches and a token from one of the drawers. After the four youths showed their gratitude towards Jin Jing for the clothes, Li Ming handed the pouches to each of them with ten silvers inside each of the pouch and gave the token to Sue Mei. "Your task is to find out a name. The person who visits the capital market and the black market the most. They could be different people but also could be the same. Of course, you can try to find out about what''s the reason behind their visits but make sure to not overdo your first attempt. I won''t be present here today which means that I can''t save you all if you ended up in any problem. You need to give me a name tomorrow morning but I don''t want to take care of any mess. So, try to be cautious. Now go and get dressed. I''ll see you all in fifteen minutes to drop you all in the capital market." Li Ming dismissed the four of them. The four youths left the study, leaving Jin Jing and Zi Yen behind. The two girls had stayed silent all this time. Li Ming signaled them to pick up the rest two packages. "Get ready. You two will be accompanying me today. It''s time you guys come out of your shells and learn more about this world." Li Ming told the two girls who immediately left the room to get ready. Li Ming also entered into the magical mansion to get ready. She took a quick shower and blow-dried her long hair which she pulled up in a high ponytail with a golden hairpin. The heavy silky soft hair falling on her back as she curled them slightly to give them the final touch. After applying lotion, she pulled on a purple dress. Since she was still too short, Li Ming took out a pair of three inches black leather heels and put them on. After putting her lip balm and mascara, she put on a matching veil. The auction was really important for her. She would not have taken such an effort to look good, intimidating, and powerful to just attend an auction if it was actually just an auction. The heels gave her an extra few inches and she no more looked like a fourteen-year-old young girl though still someone in her teenage. After making sure that she was ready to go, Li Ming left the magical mansion and appeared in the front lawn of the orphanage. "Wow, Miss Li! You are looking so beautiful." One of the young girls who was playing in the garden with a couple of other children exclaimed with amazement after looking at their beautiful miss. Li Ming chuckled softly while she pinched the soft cheeks of the girl lightly, thanking her for the compliment. Barely a minute later, the six youths came out of the orphanage. All looking beautiful in their new clothes, more confident and bright. Old Mo and Old Madam also followed behind them and greeted Li Ming. "Miss Li, you are looking stunning." Sue Mei complimented her as she looked at her master in awe. Li Ming always had that confident and powerful aura around her, but due to her calm and kind nature and her humble appearance, it was easy for everyone to forget her status as the young miss of a noble family and that she was far more powerful than everyone living in the village. But looking at the young girl who looked far more mature for her age and was emitting a powerful aura, once again everyone realized just how modest their master was. Whenever she had used her powers in front of them, it was always to help them in one way or another. Never they saw her using it to control someone or to scare people. "Madam, these six will not be here for a day. Hope it''s not a problem." Li Ming said to the Old Madam with a polite tone. "Of course, not Miss Li. We know that they will be safe as long as they are with you and to be honest, these are one of the most sensible and smart ones." The Madam hurriedly replied. "Great then, we will be leaving now." Li Ming told the old couple who then returned inside the orphanage after ushering the other children inside too for their morning classes. "I''m going to blindfold you. Don''t take it off until I tell you to, alright?" Li Ming commanded the six youths and all of them hurriedly nodded their heads, though they looked a little confused. With a flick of her fingers, a blindfold covered all of their eyes, making sure that none of them could see anything except the darkness behind their closed eyes. She had just broken through the High Cultivator level but she was still not strong enough to teleport six people along with her, four to the Black market, and then two to the Wang Empire. Therefore, she first entered into the magical mansion along with the six blindfolded youths and then teleported to her favorite alley in the market of the capital city of the Han Empire. The moment her four assistants landed in the alley, their blindfolds disappeared, but unfortunately, they were not in any state to observe their surroundings. The four of them took a few minutes to get a hold of their spinning world. The nausea that had crept up at the weird feeling of getting sucked into a dark creepy hole, slowly subsided. Li Ming felt bad for the poor children, they reminded of her young self as a mage when she mostly ended up sick and sometimes even puking her guts out. "That was so..." When Lei Yong stopped and looked like he was searching for a word to fill that blank. "...scary, unbelievable?" His sister suggested as she stood up straight and went to look at Sue Mei who was still leaning against one of the walls of a shop. "Don''t worry, you will get used to it." Li Ming told them and took a chocolate bar out of her stock, handing a piece to each four of them. "Try it. You will feel energized." At her suggestion, all four of them hurriedly chewed down the sweet flavored thing. It was actually delicious, at least the girls loved it. "This alley is very close to the inn which opened into the black market. You will find the inn at the very end of this street, give four silver taels to the owner of the inn and you will be allowed to enter into the black market. Make sure to look confident and don''t draw the attention towards you. As long as you won''t cause a ruckus in the black market, the guards would leave you alone to do your business. I''ll suggest you guys to start from the main market first before going to the black market. Use your taels to eat lunch and last but not least, I want all of you to enter into the Black Jade Inn before the sunset. Show that token to Elder Fu and he will give you two rooms to stay and you will get the dinner too. Alright?" Li Ming asked to make sure that the four of them had listened and understood her words clearly. The four youths nodded their heads as they thanked Li Ming for her help. After saying their farewell, the four of them left the alley and entered into the bright and bustling market street of the Han Empire. Li Ming immediately teleported to the Black Jade Inn and informed Elder Fu about her four assistants visiting the inn later that day. Elder Fu assured her that he will take care of the four youths in her absence. Li Ming had done her best to make their first task as easy and safe as she could. Now the rest was left in the hands of the four of them. Let''s hope they won''t disappoint her. And after that, Li Ming finally teleported to the market street of the Wang Empire with two blindfolded girls, and surprisingly none of the two were looking nauseous. Chapter 137 - The Auction House "Miss Li, where''s the shop?" Jin Jing asked with a lump in her throat. When they appeared in an empty area, Jin Jing had no idea that she was standing on the exact spot where her shop was, a few days ago. That''s why when Li Ming answered Zi Yan''s question of their whereabouts, Jin Jing almost felt her heart stop beating. "Don''t panic. I took the old shop away so that we can build a new one. You will be able to see the new shop after a month or so." Li Ming assured the girl as she took a few things out of her space. It was around nine-thirty in the morning and the auction was supposed to start around one in the noon. That''s why Li Ming decided to start building the shop in the time being. She took out a large chart and opened it to show the two girls. "What''s this Miss Li?" Jin Jing asked as she looked at the chart with confused eyes as nothing made sense to her. "This is the design for the new shop. Initially, this area was divided into two parts, the shop in the front and then your house in the backyard. We don''t have much space but this entire area is twice of the Black Jade Inn. Therefore, I have decided to utilize it as much as I can." Li Ming answered Jin Jing. To be honest, she was more like making plans of her own than answering Jin Jing. But of course, her plans were based on the reality that at the end of the day it was Jin Jing''s shop she was talking about, that''s why the girl deserved to ask questions or interfere if she wanted. "Master, are you planning to take over the market of the Wang Empire?" Zi Yan asked as she looked at the young girl whose mind was full of plans and strategies. Zi Yan was sure that her father would have loved to include Miss Li in his military troop based on her intelligence and high level of cultivation. "Nah! I''m only planning to invest in two businesses here. One, of course, will be Jin Jing''s shop and the other one is a secret for now. You will know later." Li Ming dismissed the question as she took out a bunch of pens. Their body was made of iron and coated with a layer of steel. The two girls stood behind Li Ming, silently observing their master. None of them bombarded her with questions as to not disturb her even though they were dying in curiosity. Li Ming handed all the things to the two girls and only kept the chart and a square box in her hands. She went to the very center of the empty area and placed the chart on the ground and then put the box on the top of the chart. Just like always, she closed her eyes and pushed her spiritual energy into the box as she chanted a spell. A few seconds later, the box and the chart disappeared and a red outline of the design of the shop appeared on the ground. The design that was initially on the chart was now on the ground made of red threads. Li Ming again closed her eyes and transferred a small part of her spiritual energy into the design and soon the design took over the entire area of the shop, only leaving a small area in the front. The two girls who were standing in the far corner all this time were staring at those red threads in amazement. Li Ming took one of the pens from Jin Jing and searched for a small black button on it. She went to one of the corners of the design and placed the pen on it. As she pushed the black button, the pen transformed into a large iron beam as it started sinking deep into the ground. Li Ming kept doing the same process for the next fifteen minutes and finally, all the corners of the shop were secured by the iron beams. The next step was the basement. Though she was not planning to start many businesses in the Wang Empire, however, she still wanted to keep her eyes on the activities of the market. The basement could work as a perfect secret ground base for that. For the next hour, Li Ming spent twenty percent of her energy and powers on building the basement rooms of the shop. In total, there were four rooms in the basement. "I think it''s enough for today. I''ll start again another time. Let''s go." Li Ming said as she took out a water bottle from her space and took a large gulp. It was sure not easy to drink or eat something while wearing a veil. She passed two bottles to the girls and with a flick of her fingers, she once again polished her appearance. "Here, put on these veils. Just to stay out of the unwanted drama. I don''t want to confront some bitches just because they have nothing better to do." Li Ming said as she passed two veils to the girls who immediately put them on. "Let''s go." And with that, Li Ming stepped out of the protected barrier of the shop along with Jin Jing and Zi Yan. To those who were on the other end of the barrier, it appeared like three young girls walked out of the infamous shop of the Jin family. "Jin Jing, can you lead the way to the auction house?" Li Ming asked as they appeared on the market street. The girl nodded her head and started walking towards the auction house along with Li Ming and Zi Yan. The main reason behind Li Ming bringing Jin Jing with her was because the girl was initially from the Capital city of the Wang Empire and had already spent a few years in the market street. Jin Jing had told her that she was more or less familiar with many faces that visited the capital market to stop by the auction house. It was a perfect opportunity for Li Ming to learn about the powerful people of the mainland. Not only it would be beneficial for her business but she would also get to expand her knowledge. After a few minutes, Jin Jing stopped in front of a four-storey shop. Two guards were standing at the entrance of the shop. Li Ming stepped forward and reached the entrance when none of the guards stopped her, she entered into the shop with the girls. The first room that came into her view was actually a sitting area, with a table set near the entrance where a man in his late forties was sitting, writing something in his notebook. What Li Ming had noticed in the shops of this market was that almost all of them had a sitting area in the starting, more like a reception area in the modern world. Jin Jing coughed lightly to grab the attention of the man who was still busy in his book. At the voice of someone coughing, he looked up and came across three girls, one of them appeared like a Young Miss from a wealthy background while her other two companions also looked confident. "Oh, my bad! Please welcome. How can I help you?" The man asked with a polite tone. "Can I meet the manager of this auction house? I have something to auction in today''s auction." Li Ming told the man. "This...actually...I''m sorry to say this but it''s too late for us to take any new items for the auction. Maybe you can try next time." The shopkeeper replied after a few pauses. His tone was still polite. Li Ming took out one of the jars filled with the pills and placed it on the table in front of the man who looked at the jar in both confusion and surprise. "This...?" The man asked as he looked at the young girl in shock. Though those pills could be any normal pills of the lowest grade but still looking at an entire jar full of pills was not a normal sight, not even in their auction house. Even the herb halls only had two or three dozen small jars with two or three pills inside each of them. Therefore, seeing a huge jar filled with hundreds of pills was too much for the man to take in. "This is the first level low-grade Body Cleansing Pills. I have three more jars like this, a total of four hundred pills that I want to auction off today. Can I meet the manager now?" Li Ming asked as she answered his question. The two girls behind Li Ming were having a hard time to not show their surprise at the revelation. One being a part of the business market and another being trained in the military, had enough knowledge about medicinal pills and how expensive they were as it''s very hard to refine pills. But the man was not able to hide his surprise when he heard the total number of pills that the girl mentioned. If not for the jar that was already sitting in front of his eyes he would have thought that the girl was lying. Chapter 138 - Manger Of The Auction House When Li Ming saw the man with his hanging jaw and not replying, she just raised her eyebrows at him. "Well...?" The man finally came out of his shock at the girl''s raised eyebrows and questioning tone. It took him a moment to remember what she was asking for. "Oh...y-yeah...I-I mean that...that you can..." "Mister, please take a deep breath first." Zi Yan told the man as she got both irritated and amused by his stuttering. The man looked a little flushed but he followed Zi Yan''s suggestion and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. After a break of a few moments, he started speaking in a normal and calm tone, "Miss...?" "You can call our Master as Miss Li." Zi Yan told the man. "Yes, yes. Miss Li, please take a seat here. I''ll be here in a few minutes." The man said as he took the girls towards the sitting area and ordered a servant to serve them tea. After making another person stand at the reception table, the man disappeared through a small door in the second room which was visible to Li Ming from where she was sitting. Barely five minutes later, the man returned. "Miss, our manager wants to meet you. Please follow me." Li Ming stood up from her seat and followed the man through the same small door which led to a series of stairs, Zi Yan and Jin Jing following behind them. They finally stopped in front of a wooden door on the fourth floor. The man knocked on the door twice and a voice answered them, allowing them to enter into the room. The room was of normal size but properly furnished. A huge window was opened giving a view of the market street down below. What Li Ming wasn''t expecting was to see a girl in her mid-twenties sitting inside the room. Her high-quality clothes, golden hairpins, and the aura that was surrounding her were enough for everyone to realize that the girl had a high status. However, Li Ming could tell that the girl was also only at the first level of High Cultivator Rank, the same as her (Li Ming). "Miss Li, this is the manager of this auction house, Miss Bao." The man introduced the girl to Li Ming. "Eldest Young Miss, this is Miss Li and her two companions. She''s the one who wants to auction the pills." The man told the girl who was observing Li Ming and her group. Miss Bao nodded her head at the man''s introduction and dismissed him. "Please make yourself comfortable." Miss Bao motioned towards the empty seats around the table where she was sitting. Her behavior was polite but Li Ming still couldn''t tell what kind of personality the girl carried. She sat down on the empty seat opposite Miss Bao while Zi Yan and Jin Jing decided to stay standing by the door. "It''s not a normal sight to see a person carrying around hundreds of pills with them, especially a pill like Body Cleansing Pill. I don''t remember seeing something happening like this in this auction house in the past ten years." Miss Bao said as she poured the steaming tea into two cups and offered one to Li Ming. Li Ming politely thanked Miss Bao for the tea while saying, "I see. It explains why I suddenly got permission to meet you." She took out the four jars filled with pills out of her space and placed them on the table. "These two are filled with Body Cleansing Pills, one with hundred pills of First Rank low-grade pills and the next with hundred pills of Third Rank Middle-grade Pills." Li Ming told Miss Bao as she tapped the two jars while pointing out which one held which level of pills. "On the other hand, these two have Healing pills inside them. Just like the Body Cleansing Pills, one is filled with First Rank low-grade pills and the second with third rank middle-grade pills." This time she pointed at the remaining two jars. She was impressed by the control that Miss Bao had over her expressions. If not for the surprising flick in her eyes that was there for barely two seconds before Miss Bao covered her shock, Li Ming would have thought that her pills had made no impression in front of the young lady. "And each jar is filled with a hundred pills?" Miss Bao asked to confirm what she had learned through the shopkeeper. "Right! Each jar is carrying a hundred pills inside it, in total four hundred pills." Li Ming replied as she lightly knocked her knuckles on the glass jar. "Alright! We are ready to put these pills for auction this afternoon. But before that, we need to confirm the authenticity of these pills. I hope Miss Li won''t mind this. It''s just a precautionary measure." Miss Bao said as she tried to observe the girl''s reaction very closely. Looking at Li Ming''s high-quality clothes, her cultivation level, and her aura, and the two girls that accompanied her, it was clear that she belonged to the high society. But no matter how rich a person was, it''s still not a normal sight to see a young girl entering into an auction house carrying four jars of pills to auction. Though such a sight could be easily seen in the Empires like Song or Central Empire, but why would someone from these two Empires come to the Wang Empire to sell their pills. "Of course, Miss Bao. You can proceed with your tests. I don''t have any problems." Li Ming immediately dismissed Miss Bao''s words. She didn''t find anything wrong with the test. After all, it could be considered as a smart move from the auction house. Also, on other hand, at least it would be proved that her pills were real and authentic. Miss Bao signaled one of the servants and after five minutes that same servant entered into the room carrying a heavy wooden box in his hands and placed it on the table between both the girls, before leaving the room. Li Ming silently observed Miss Bao as the latter opened the wooden box. Inside the box were two cricket ball size holes, both covered with circular glass-like things. "Miss Li, can you please pass me one pill from both first rank low grade and third rank middle grade Body Cleansing Pills?" Miss Bao asked as she cleaned the box of any imagery dust. Li Ming passed two pills to Miss Bao, one from each jar containing the Body Cleansing Pills. Miss Bao placed one pill in the first slot and the second pill in the second slot. "When I signal you, please say the rank and level of the pills and tap both covers with the tip of your index finger while saying the ranks. If the rank and level told by you are correct, the balls will glow in golden color and if it''s wrong, then there will be no change in the balls." Miss Bao explained the procedure and Li Ming nodded her head in understanding. After closing the circular lids of the slots, Miss Bao placed her index and middle fingers on the two characters that were engraved on the box between the small gap of the two slots. As she channeled her energy into the characters, a white light illuminated the characters and spread into the two slots. Miss Bao signaled Miss Li to say the ranks of the pills as she continued to pass a very small but specific amount of her spiritual qi into the carved characters. Li Ming tapped the first cover and announced the rank and level of the pill. She did the same with the second one and settled down on her seat. Barely a few seconds later, the two glass-like circular lids glowed in a bright golden light, making Li Ming smile softly. While Miss Bao looked at the pills in shock. Though she assumed that Miss Li had a decent personality but she was still not sure about the pills, however, looking at the golden light there were no more doubts remained as it was confirmed that the pills were indeed authentic. The two girls performed the same procedure with the next two pills and by the end of the second test, it was clear that all the four pills were exactly the same ranked and level pills which Li Ming had told them. The number of pills was exactly four hundred, each jar filled with a hundred pills. "Miss Li, we are ready to auction the pills. The auction will start within two hours. Do you have some special requirements for the auction?" Miss Bao asked. "No. I don''t have any special requirements. You can decide the starting price of the bid and any other things if needed. I just wanted to sell these pills since I don''t have much use of them for now and I can always refine new pills when needed." Li Ming said as she sounded completely uninterested in the auction or the money that the pills would bring to her. After setting a few more things, Li Ming took her leave from the Auction House with Zi Yan and Jin Jing as she promised Miss Bao to be present for the auction. Our female lead was completely unaware of the things that were going to happen to her soon and would change her life forever!! Chapter 139 - Crown Prince Of The Han Empire While the three young girls were busy strolling through the market street of the Capital City of the Wang Empire, someone else was also heading towards the Capital City of the Wang Empire to take part in the auction. Li Ming bought a few hairpins for Jin Jing as she watched the girl looking at the stall that was selling hairpins with longing. "Miss Li, you don''t need to..." Jin Jing tried to stop Li Ming but of course, the young girl was in no mood of listening. After five minutes of searching through various hairpins, Li Ming grabbed a package full of beautiful hairpins and handed it to an embarrassed Jin Jing. "Goodness, you guys need to learn how to accept gifts. At least, you should never try to reject the gifts that I''m giving you. Firstly, because I''ll only gift you something if it was some special occasion or you have performed remarkably in your tasks. Secondly, because I won''t gift you anything that would not be according to your taste. For example, I only gifted the hairpins to you and not Zi Yan, that''s because I can tell that Zi Yan isn''t fond of beautiful clothes and hair dresses." Li Ming explained patiently to Jin Jing. "You are absolutely right, Miss Li. I was surprised when I saw that the dress that you gave was much different from the one that you gave the others. But this dress is something that I would have totally loved. This look suits my taste." Zi Yan said while agreeing to the words of Miss Li. Zi Yan''s current look perfectly suited her warrior persona. The white-colored upper part of the dress was exactly the same as an hanfu which was tucked inside a red-clothed belt that almost covered around six inches of her stomach area and then flowed down in five slits. The bottom was a red-colored high waist long trousers with maxi wide endings. The cuffs of the sleeves were covered with red belts and her dress was paired with white shoes. Zi Yan also combed her hair in a high ponytail and only inserted a single beautifully carved polished wooden hairpin which initially belonged to her mother. Her entire look and aura shouted warrior but Li Ming still felt that something was missing in Zi Yan''s look to complete it. They strolled through the streets of the market area, stopping at every other stall to either look at the interesting items they were selling or sometimes to even buy a few. Around twelve in the noon they entered into one of the most famous restaurants in the Capital City. The restaurant was full of customers as it was lunchtime and because of the auction, the market area was filled with more people than normal. Li Ming paid for a shared room on the second floor as they rarely had any private room left. The shared room was not actually that bad as the two parts were divided by a partition that provided both parties enough privacy. Li Ming settled down on her seat and motioned the two girls to take their seats as well. As soon as the servant left their side of the room after serving them freshly brewed tea, Li Ming flicked her fingers and a protective barrier formed around them, keeping them safe from the spying ears. Li Ming signaled the girls that it was alright to take off the veil as she also removed her own to enjoy the food without any struggle. As the two girls were taking off their veils, their gazes landed on their Master who had taken her veil off too. To say that both the girls were in shock after seeing their beautiful master would be an understatement. No. Li Ming was not the most beautiful lady in the Immortal world but there was something about the way she presented herself that left everyone in awe and shock. Li Ming noticed Zi Yan and Jin Jing staring at her with their mouths hanging open in surprise. She only dared to take off her veil in front of these two girls because none of them had ever seen Chang Chang, the previous owner of the body. That''s why she didn''t need to worry about them recognizing her face. "What?" Li Ming asked the two girls with her raised eyebrows. A small smile taking over her pink lips as she found the girls'' reaction funny and adorable. "You are so pretty, Miss Li." Jin Jing was the one who came out of her shock first and immediately let out the words. On the other hand, Zi Yan was only two seconds late to respond as she also nodded her head in agreement with Jin Jing''s words. Li Ming chuckled softly as she took a little sip of the tea which smelled and tasted like a specific spice that she couldn''t remember at that point but the tea was totally soothing for her throat. "Thank you for your compliment and I must have to say, you both are so adorable. I''m enjoying your company." Li Ming confessed as she thanked them. It wasn''t exactly like having a girls'' time, but it was sure the closest to it. She didn''t remember the last time she had a lunch or dinner with her girl friends or even friends. Even back on Earth, either she ate her food in the mansion or if it was in a restaurant, that was probably because of some business deals. That''s why spending alone time with Zi Yan and Jin Jing while shopping around the market street and eating food made her realize how alone and busy she had become even in her new life. The food arrived barely five minutes later and Li Ming noticed the difference in the aroma and its appearance instantly. The three girls started eating their lunch as they enjoyed the delicious food. "Miss Li, what are you planning to do about the new clothes shop?" Jin Jing asked after a few minutes to break the silence and also because she was curious to know Miss Li''s plans. "As you have already seen, there''s a group of children in the orphanage who are learning needlework. In the past five months, I have tried to broaden their knowledge about fashion designing. Not only they are learning the needlework, but they can also design and create beautiful dresses. Four children in that group are more trained than the new ones, while the others are still learning. In total, we have eleven children learning about fashion designing. I think that''s a fine amount of people to start for now as we are planning to open only one shop for now." Li Ming took a short break as she sipped her tea before continuing, "As for the fabrics and textiles that will be needed, I have some plans about that. Leave that part to me. I want you to completely focus on getting back on your peak again. Train those children along with you. You have around one month before the shop will be ready for reopening." Jin Jing nodded her head as she processed Miss Li''s plan. Everything sounded simple and doable, but she knew that the reason behind it was no one other than Miss Li since she was the person who was taking care of all the impossible tasks. "Did your brother decided what he wanted to do next?" Li Ming asked Zi Yan after a few moments. "Oh, I completely forgot about that. He wanted to talk to you about something. He didn''t tell me anything about what he wants to talk to you about, but I think it''s probably something related to his future plans." Zi Yan replied to Li Ming''s question. "Alright! I''ll talk to him after we will return." Li Ming told her as she refilled her bowl with the hot soup. Her gaze landed on Zi Yan and noticed the worried look on her face. She reached out to lightly pat the girl''s shoulder. The girl immediately came out of her trance and looked at Li Ming with her eyes filled with concern. "Don''t worry. I''m sure whatever he will choose, he will consider you first and foremost. Also, I won''t let him do anything stupid. Let''s first wait for me to talk to him tomorrow, alright!" Li Ming comforted her as she smiled softly at the girl. Zi Yan nodded her head once again and then the three of them continued with their lunch. Within the next twenty minutes, their table was completely cleaned of any trace of food. All that was left were teacups filled with steaming tea. Li Ming noticed that after coming to this new world, she had started drinking tea almost all day. But the good part was, the tea served in this world was good for health and psyche. It had taken her a few days to find a way to convert the coffee into a healthy drink. Yeah, she achieved the unthinkable! Just as when they were deciding to leave the room, a conversation from the other side of the partition caught Li Ming''s attention. "Are you saying that you saw the Crown Prince of the Han Empire here in the market area today...?" Chapter 140 - Meeting The Crown Prince Li Ming and her two companions came out of the restaurant on the busy street of the bustling market. They still got more than half an hour before the auction would start and for the very first time, Li Ming had nothing to do to pass her time. Moreover, her mind was still thinking about what she overheard back in the restaurant. The Crown Prince of the Han Empire was also present there somewhere in the market. Was he also going to attend the auction? To be honest, Li Ming didn''t care about what the Crown Prince of the Han Empire was doing there or the reason behind his visit to the Wang Empire, but the fact that he was Zhang Yong''s brother was giving her a weird feeling. She had stayed away from the Imperial family all these months even though she was so close to the Fourth Prince and thanks to that she knew nothing about the royal family of the Empire where she was living for the past six months. Just Great! They were walking towards the last street of the market area and were about to turn around a corner when loud shouts suddenly erupted in the street. People abruptly dispersed to make space on the street. Li Ming noticed someone running towards them at full speed. She couldn''t see the face of the person clearly but it appeared like a young boy probably in his early teens. A group of guards was running after the kid, shouting at him to stop. Her gaze wandered around and she noticed an old man dragging a handcart as he blocked the street. Either he did it purposely or he was completely oblivious to everything that was going on around him. Li Ming already knew that the kid was going to collide with the cart and could get hurt. This made her move in front of the cart as she shouted at the kid to stop running. But the kid ignored her and prepared to jump over the cart. Li Ming noticed the change in his body language and knew what he was going to do, but the problem was that even if he jumped over the cart there was no guarantee that he won''t get hurt. As the child neared her and the cart, she moved forward to pull him to a stop but unexpectedly the kid pushed her lightly which caught her off guard. She staggered backward and two pairs of hands grabbed her to support her. "Miss Li, are you alright?" Jin Jing asked worriedly. Li Ming nodded her head lightly as her eyes landed on the kid who, just like her prediction, had landed on his knees on the other side of the cart and looking at the way he was clutching his knees while trying to stand up, it was clear that he had hurt his knees during the landing. Li Ming shook her head as she watched the back of the limping figure of the boy as he disappeared into a small alley. The guards were unfortunately not as active physically as the little boy, that''s why they stopped running after him as the path was blocked by the cart. They were busy in shouting at the poor old man who had no idea exactly what happened in the past few minutes. Li Ming let out a sigh. She was only trying to save the child from getting hurt but looked like she couldn''t save everyone. Her hands accidently brushed against her waist and a frown appeared on her face as her mind registered something. Her pouch that she had hanged on her waist was missing. But she clearly remembered seeing it there a few minutes ago. It didn''t take her long to understand what exactly had happened. "Shit!" She cursed out loudly grabbing the attention of Zi Yan, Jin Jing and a few more people who were standing nearby. "What happened, Miss Li?" Zi Yan asked as she looked at her master with confused eyes. "That kid, I think he stole my pouch of money." Li Ming told the two girls. The guards had finally pushed the cart on one side of the street to make space to move ahead and Li Ming watched them disappeared into the same alley where the kid had gone a few minutes ago. "By the way, did any of you notice why the guards were chasing the kid?" Li Ming asked the two girls. "I think he stole someone else''s money too and the guards were chasing behind him to get the money back." It was an old woman who was selling masks at a stall behind them, who answered Li Ming''s question as Zi Yan and Jin Jing didn''t know the reason. Li Ming thanked the old woman and started walking away from the chaotic street where the crowd had gathered around to share their gossips. "Miss Li, are you not going to get your money back from that kid?" JIN Jing asked as the two girls followed their master. "Maybe the kid needed that money. There were only a few silvers in that pouch. And we still needed to be present at the auction which will start within twenty-five minutes." Li Ming replied. "But we still have around twenty minutes. And moreover, if the kid really needed money or any other kind of help, maybe you can help him. Isn''t that what you are doing nowadays? Giving such kind of children a better life?" Zi Yan knew exactly what she was doing. But the look that Miss Li passed her, made a soft smile appeared on her lips as she knew that she had succeeded in her plan. It took them barely two minutes before Li Ming found the location of the kid. The girls had no idea how their Master found the boy so soon but they silently followed behind Miss Li. As Li Ming neared the area where she was feeling the faint energy coming from the little kid, she noticed that the group of the guards, which was running after him, were also present there. However, she also noticed the silhouette of a man, wearing brocade clothes and a golden headdress. "Is he from the Imperial family of the Wang Empire?" Li Ming asked Jin Jing as they continued to walk towards the group of guards who hadn''t noticed the three girls yet. The girl tried to look closely at the man who was standing with his back towards them and the guards were surrounding him. Though a little of his side profile was visible. "No, he is not..." But before Jin Jing could complete her sentence, she got interrupted by the sudden gasp of Zi Yan. Both Li Ming and Jin Jing stopped in their tracks as they looked at the shocked Zi Yan who was continuously staring at the man in brocade clothes with large eyes. "What happened, Zi Yan? Do you know that person?" Li Ming asked the girl. Zi Yan moved her surprised eyes away from the man and looked at Li Ming with even a higher level of surprise in her eyes. "Can''t you recognize him'' Miss LI? He''s the Crown Prince of the Han Empire, His Highness Prince Zhi Ruo." Now, Li Ming knew why Zi Yan looked surprised when she (Li Ming) didn''t recognize the Crown Prince of the Han Empire. "I''m not really that interested in the Imperial family and their daily lives. That''s why I never paid attention to them. It''s not really that surprising that I can''t recognize him." Li Ming told the girls who nodded their heads in understanding. Their Miss Li was too focused on her businesses and taking care of her people, it was understandable that she was not interested in the Imperial family. This only made the two girls look at their Master in a new light, because as far as they knew, every girl of the noble families dreamed about marrying into the Imperial family and they would try their best to grasp out every single information available about the Imperial family to use it as their advantage. "By the way, are you sure that he is the Crown Prince of the Han Empire?" Li Ming asked. "En! Though we stayed in one of the farthermost villages of the empire but I have seen the Crown Prince three or four times when he visited in the past to survey the troops." Zi Yan answered Li Ming''s question. Li Ming nodded her head as they finally stopped a few feet away from the group of guards. One of the guards finally noticed them and signalled his partners. Within a few seconds the previously shouting group of men became silent as they all noticed the three girls. "What is going on?" A musical tone came from behind the guards who immediately parted to clear the view for their master. The Prince looked young, probably in his early twenties. Half of his dark black hair was held in a golden headdress while the rest were falling down his back. What surprised Li Ming was the Feminine touch that he held. His hair was falling around his face loosely. His thin eyebrows, long dark lashes, rosy pink full lips, and smooth milky skin was a clear contrast to his male body. Even the clothes that he was wearing were light pink in color with the slightest touch of black and golden in it. And the final touch in his feminine vibe was his thin musical voice. Li Ming wasn''t sure what to think of the Crown Prince, because all that her eyes could see was his facade that he had pulled. According to her, the Crown Prince of the Han Empire was carrying so many secrets behind his pretty face. Chapter 141 - Dislike For Destiny "And you are...?" The question ranged out through the deafening silence of the area as both the groups completed assessing each other. Li Ming gave a last assessing look to the Prince before along with the other two girls she clasped her hands in front as the three of them slightly bowed to greet the Crown Prince. It was not a greeting from a citizen to their Crown Prince, but a normal greeting from one person to another. "We are here in search of a kid who stole our Master''s money back in the market street." Zi Yan answered the Prince''s question. "Oh! May I know the identity of this lady?" The Crown Prince asked as he looked at Li Ming with curious eyes. A slight twitch appeared on her lips which was covered with the veil. "I''m sorry to tell you that I''m not a big fan of talking with strangers. Just let us talk with that kid. We need to be somewhere within the next half an hour." Her tone was completely straightforward. Not only the guards were shocked by her reply but so was the Crown Prince. It took them a few minutes to realize that the three girls were probably not aware of the identity of the crown prince. The air turned awkward as the guards contemplated whether to confront the three girls for being rude with their Crown Prince or whether they should stay silent and let their Prince handle the situation on his own. When she did?t get any answer for a few silent moments, Li Ming passed the group of guards and their Prince a questioning look with her perfectly shaped eyebrows. The Crown Prince coughed lightly to disperse the awkward situation. "Looks like both of us have become the target of the same thief. Here is that boy." He said while signaling towards two of his guards who were standing behind him holding the little boy. The boy was unexpectedly silent rather than squirming or trying to run away. He was just silently kneeling there with his head lowered down as he stared at the ground. Li Ming walked closer to the boy and crouched down in front of him. "Hey! Lookup. I''m not going to hurt you." Her tone was low and carried softness in it as she let out soothing energy. Trying to make the kid lower his guard so that he could be comfortable in opening-up with her. The kid stayed unmoved for the next few minutes. The silence in the air was thick enough to suffocate someone. Li Ming slowly raised her right hand towards the little kid. After she was sure that he was not going to flinch away from her touch, she finally rested her hand on his shoulder, giving his shoulder a little massage in the process. Everyone was staring at the bizarre scene in front of them as the Young Miss crouched down in front of the kid and was giving him a shoulder massage, the same kid who had stolen her money. Even the Crown Prince wasn''t sure what the girl was planning to do with the little kid, but he stayed silent along with everyone else as they waited for the scene to unfold. It took a few more minutes before Li Ming finally felt the stiffness disappearing from the shoulders of the little kid and the next moment he was slowly raising his head to look at her. Li Ming wasn''t sure how to react after seeing the most beautiful pair of eyes that ever existed. She didn''t have proper words to describe those eyes which held all the colors of the universe inside them. Before she could divulge deeper into the shock of seeing such kind of eyes in her real life, everything changed. She realized that they were no longer in the real world, the world of Immortals, or to be precise, the Capital City of the Wang Empire. She was now crouching on a glass-like surface. What she saw beneath that surface was an endless sea of a sky filled with stars and around a dozen moons. Her eyes directly looked around her and found that she was currently in such a place where she was completely surrounded by the sea of stars. It was like she was standing in the very middle of a universe, surrounded by millions of stars, moons, milky ways, and cosmos. She was abruptly pulled out of her shock when the little kid who was still kneeling in front of her, suddenly fell on the glass-like floor. She and the little kid were the only two-person present in this weird but beautiful place. Li Ming had no idea what she was supposed to do or what she was going to do. This situation was so similar to how she ended up in that dark world just a night ago, but at the same time, it was far too different. Rather than the dark black world, this one was filled with color and brightness. Unlike the ire silence of that dark world which could give anyone goosebumps, this one was not nerve-shattering with its silence. In short, where the previous dark world gave her bad and negative vibes, this new one was filled with comfortable and positive vibes. Li Ming was crouching down beside the unconscious kid, whose beautiful and breathtaking eyes were currently hidden behind his closed eyelids. As she was checking his pulse, the most irritating voice disturbed her making her cringe inwardly at the timing of that person and her bad luck for coming across that person so many times within less than a month. "You can''t help that kid, Win." The sweet honeyed voice came out of the dark red painted lips of that person. Rather than her usual cloak and dark color dress theme, that person was unexpectedly wearing a pretty yellow colored summer dress which ended just an inch above her knee. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was tied in a high ponytail and her eyes were decorated with a light touch of makeup. Li Ming raised her eyebrows after looking at the attire of the half seer, half-ghost, and half banshee, that had been stuck with her for the past ten years. Yep, that person was a huge package that got delivered to her address by fault but Li Ming didn''t find any way to deliver her back and ended up sticking with her, probably for the rest of her life. "What are you trying to say?" Li Ming asked as she continued to check the pulse of the kid. Her healing powers coming forward to find if the little kid was suffering through any injury. The mysterious...! [A/N: She can''t be considered mysterious since you all now know about her identity, right??] The woman didn''t reply as she watched Li Ming with a little smirk playing on her red painted lips. Li Ming suddenly let out a sharp gasp as her healing powers registered the differences in the body of the little kid. Her eyes which had closed on their own at some point suddenly opened and landed on the Banshee. "What...?" She was so shocked that her mind was unable to form words and she just stayed crouching on the floor, staring at the woman who looked too calm for the situation. "Just like I told you, Win, you can not help this kid because you are not meant to. This kid will come out of his pain but not now, not today. The person who is destined to heal him still has to make their appearance in the world of this little kid." The woman told Li Ming, her eyes roaming over the unconscious boy with no pity in her eyes. "But..." "Don''t get too deep into his matter, Win. It won''t be a good thing for this kid if anything went against his destiny. He doesn''t belong to this world, nor he will find his happiness here." The woman cut off Li Ming''s protest as she tried to explain the situation. "He''s not from this world?" Li Ming repeated the words of the woman but they came out as a question due to the surprise in her tone. "No. He is not. He belongs to a different world but that also is similar to this one. You have an important part to play in this kid''s life but he doesn''t belong to this world." The woman replied to Li Ming''s question. "What kind of role will I have to play? And how is he going to return to his world?" Li Ming asked hurriedly. She didn''t like it a single bit whenever that woman came in front of her eyes to remind her that their lives were preplanned by the so-called destiny. Though it could be true to some point but that didn''t mean she loved to hear it again and again. Her eyes landed on the unconscious kid and her dislike for the word destiny increased a few points. The woman smiled warmly at Li Ming, which was anything but warm, as she said, "Remember that special egg with the purple light from the Enchanted Magik Forest, which is currently under your guardianship...?" Chapter 142 - The Little Boy And The Egg "And what does that egg has to do with this kid?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. The scene looked like two of them (Li Ming and the Banshee) could slaughter each other at any moment, but I unbelievingly, both of them stayed at a proper distance from each other, and neither of them attacked the other. Li Ming waited patiently for the Banshee to answer her question and tell her more about the kid and that purple light egg. Suddenly the temperature decreased and a white silvery light started surrounding the Banshee, or better to say the Seer in this case. "Oh no! Not again, please! At least not now!" Li Ming was almost at the edge of whining when she realized what was going to happen in the very next few seconds. She hated these moments. In the past ten years in which she was bound with the Seer (Banshee), she had come across such situations about four times, and every time she cursed herself for being present at the wrong place at the wrong time. Little did she know that she never had a choice in this case. She was present there at that very exact time because she was meant to. And similarly, she was going to witness the fifth prophecy of her life which was about the little kid. It was not exactly a prophecy but the powers of a seer which allowed them to see the future of certain people at certain times. The only difference between a prophecy and a seer''s future sight was that the second one could be changed if planned correctly while the first one, prophecy, would always come true no matter how much someone tried to change it. As the silver light completely engulfed the woman in its embrace, she finally opened her mouth and let out words that sounded like at least five to six people were speaking at the same time. "That egg has everything to do with this kid and his future. The egg would become one of the most important parts of his life. He will be bound to it. He''s born to rule, to shine, and brighten his world but to reach that stage, he will need to go through various trials. His path to his glory won''t be easy. He will meet the most important person in his life at one of the lowest stages of his life. They both will bring their world to higher stages and will make it shine by pulling it out of the darkness that has surrounded it. May they find those who will be able to bond with these two as strongly as they both will be bonded to each other." The last sentence came out in a soft whisper and trust our female lead on this one, that it didn''t sound good or positive even a single bit. "What did I say this time?" This was the very first question that the Banshee asked after coming back to her senses. "Just rewind your memory and see for yourself. I''m in no mood to repeat your words which are still ringing in my head." Li Ming replied dryly as she lightly rubbed her temples. "You are really something, Win! You never tell me anything that I say during these future sighting episodes and I always have to rewind my memory to see what stupid words I let out of my pretty mouth." The Banshee scoffed at the little girl with an angry tone. Li Ming gave her meanest look to the woman. Her expressions were only implying one thought to the Banshee and that was ''are you fucking serious, woman?'' "Fine! Just give me a second!" The half banshee, half-ghost, and half seer woman decided to give up on fighting with the young girl because she knew it very well that Li Ming was not going to tell her anything. [A/N: Is that even considered half? How can she be half when she''s divided into three categories? *sigh* this is too hard!] There was silence for the next few minutes as the Banshee replayed her memory while Li Ming sat there on the floor. Her fingers were trying to separate the knots that had formed in the long hair of the kid. The kid was malnourished which was not exactly a surprise for Li Ming. His clothes and shoes were about to fall apart at any moment and his body was covered in dirt. But under all that dirt and rags, was a little boy who was born to shine brightly. And Li Ming could tell that all that kid needed was to open his beautiful eyes and everyone would fall in love with him. She just wished that he became the right person to deserve such a beautiful fate. Little did she knew that she was so wrong about the beautiful eyes of the little kid. Those beautiful globes that were supposed to become the source of love, would become the bane of his life. "Oh my Goodness! That was such an intense one. Looks like this kid has hell to pass and heaven to achieve." The Banshee let out a deep sigh as she opened her eyes after watching the full replay of her own show. "Should I think that this kid was sent here in this world only for your future sight?" Li Ming asked the woman, though it was clear from her tone that she was mocking the banshee. One of Li Ming''s way to show that she was getting impatient. The woman in question only rolled her eyebrows in reply but when she was attacked by the powerful glare of the mage queen, she immediately decided to speak. "Just like I said before, there''s a reason behind this kid being here in this world and also for him to meet you out of all people in this Immortal world. And before you ask, yeah I''m going to explain everything to you." Li Ming was actually going to interrupt the Banshee when the latter said the last sentence and made her (Li Ming) shut her mouth. "That purple glowing egg is connected with this kid somehow. I don''t know much about the details but the egg also doesn''t belong to this world. What''s the reason behind its presence in this world, I seriously don''t have any idea. But the egg was going to stay in this world for the next few ten thousand of years or so, and you will keep guarding it until then. When the right time will arrive, the egg will return to its rightful owner." The woman explained. On the other hand, Li Ming''s jaw was lying on the floor as the girl was trying to digest the words that had come out of the mouth of the woman. "A few ten thousand years???" Li Ming almost shouted out these words as she stared at the woman with huge eyes. "If you died before that, I''m sure the fate will find a new guardian for the egg. So, don''t worry about it." The woman replied while shaking her hands in dismissal. Li Ming wasn''t sure which news shook her the most, the first one where she was going to live for a few thousand years, or the second one where she wasn''t able to live for such a long period? Back on the Earth, the Supernatural community was also considered immortals but that was based on the fact that it was easy to kill them and most of them lived up to a few hundred years, sometimes even thousands. Even the nymphs were supposed to live for two thousand years at maximum, while the nymphs in the Enchanted Magik Forests are around millenniums old. The true difference between Supernaturals and Immortals were seen here, in their average lifespans. The average lifespan of a supernatural could be around five thousand years, while the average lifespan of the Immortals was around fifty thousand years. Li Ming shook her head and tried to listen carefully to whatever the Banshee was saying. "Can you bring the egg out here?" The banshee asked her and Li Mung shrugged her shoulders in reply. "I have no idea, to be honest. Didn''t try it before." The Banshee appeared like she was going to retort back but at the last moment, she changed her mind and her words. "Maybe you should try it now?" She suggested Li Ming with a tender voice, at least it was supposed to be tender. "Okay. Give me a minute. I''ll try it." Li Ming replied and retracted her fingers out of the boy''s hair which looked a lot smoother than before. She closed her eyes and let her hands rest on her knees beside the head of the little bit which she had pulled into her lap at some point during the prophecy. A few seconds later, a bright purple light shone a few inches above the heart of the little kid and slowly the egg started forming in the very middle of that bright globe of light. Within forty seconds, the purple shining egg was floating a few inches above the heart of the little kid. But this was just the starting, there''s more to come!! Chapter 143 - Gifting A Soul Mark The two women watched the egg closely. Their keen eyes were taking in every single detail. "Are you sure that the time in the outside world will still be the same when we will return?" Li Ming asked as she kept her eyes trained on the beautiful but also a bizarre scene that was playing on in front of her. Though there was so much going on with the little kid and the egg, but one part of her brain was still thinking about the auction that was supposed to start around five minutes ago, since it''s five past one pm currently and the auction was supposed to start at one pm. "I have already told you that when you will return to the real world, the time difference would barely be two - five minutes later than the time when you entered this space. Now, stop overthinking about it." The woman tried to calm the mage queen. Li Ming lightly nodded her head, trying to assure her mind that her plan for the auction won''t be ruined because she would be absent from it. The egg that was floating above the heart of the little kid for the past five minutes finally made some movement. A thread-like thing, which was also covered with the purple light, started coming out from the bottom end of the egg. Li Ming was almost on the edge as she watched the thread entering into the heart of the little boy. If not for the slight shake of the Banshee''s head which stopped her from making any moves, she almost had ended up destroying that thread with the sharp knife that was safely tucked in her sneakers. "Don''t worry. I don''t think the egg was going to harm the boy. Just let everything progress as it is. I''ll inform you when it would be your time to do your part." The Banshee told the young girl in a whispered tone like she was afraid to disturb the movement. Li Ming just nodded her head and stayed silent. She wasn''t sure about what was going to happen next, and she could only wish for the best for the little boy. Who knew how long it took. The thread kept entering into the heart of the boy none stop for a long time. It was like the thread was either going to fill his entire heart or probably going to wrap itself around it. And within the next blink of their eyes, the thread halted in its movement. Li Ming turned towards the Banshee with a confused look on her face. "It''s time for you to step in." The Banshee told the young miss. "Me? What I''m supposed to do?" Li Ming almost squeaked by the end of her sentence. She definitely was not prepared for it. "Put your hand over the heart of the kid and let your magical energy connect with the energy of the egg and the boy." The Banshee explained the steps to Li Ming in a calm tone. Li Ming took a deep breath and stretched her right hand over the heart of the little boy and let it settle on the warm body. The Banshee adjusted Li Ming''s fingers in such a way that the thread, which was entering into the heart of the boy, was passing through the gap between her index and middle fingers. She signaled Li Ming an ''all okay'' sign and stepped back to let the girl do her work. Li Ming closed her eyes and let her magical powers came forward to the surface. After a long time, her magical powers flowed through her veins freely. She felt a click when her energy got contacted with the energy of the little boy and the egg. What surprised her was that the energy of the little boy was far beyond her measures. His body was overflowing with the warmth and richness of the purple energy which she couldn''t pinpoint. Sometimes it felt like the purple energy was carrying the power of thunder in it, while the very next second it felt like rather than thunder it was carrying the power of water, then it again changed into fire power. It took Li Ming a few more seconds to realize that the purple energy was filled with the seven elemental powers. "Are you connected?" The Banshee asked in a low voice. Li Ming had closed her eyes during the process of connecting her energy with the other two. She lightly nodded her head in affirmative. "Alright, now let me ask you something. Do you still remember the special power that you received from the Oracle on your eighteenth birthday back on Earth?" The question was so random and unexpected that for a few seconds, Li Ming had no idea about what the banshee was talking about. And then, it finally clicked. The memories of her eighteenth birthday resurfaced and she remembered receiving one of the most precious and rare powers in the Supernatural world by the Oracle. It was the power of Soulbonds. In the supernatural world, the sups we''re supposed to find their mates when they turn eighteen. Though it won''t be possible if the other mate was an underage. When Li Ming turned eighteen back then, she failed to connect with her mate or mates. Since she was the favorite of the Oracle and the heir of the Mage Clan, the old lady gifted her with a unique power. The Oracle was the supreme head of the Witches or Mages. She was around eight hundred years old and far too powerful than the entire clan of the werewolves. Though, she rarely took part in the matters of the supernatural world. The power of Soulbond was only a one time power. It could allow Li Ming to gift any person of her choice, a soulbond which would connect him with his or her mate/mates. Li Ming was about to open her eyes when the Banshee stopped her. "Don''t let your connection with these two disconnect! It won''t be good for the boy." "Are you telling me to gift this little kid with the soulbond." It was not exactly a question but the Banshee still replied with a yes. "He''s here because of two reasons. One, so that he can connect with the egg, and second so that he can receive his soulbond mark." The Banshee told Li Ming. Everything was silent for the next few moments but then Li Ming slowly nodded her head, "Fine! I have no idea what to do with this power, but if I have to choose someone to whom I want to gift this mark, I''ll choose this little kid." Li Ming placed her left hand over her own heart and let a stream of white energy pass through her palm into her heart. The white light coming from Li Ming''s palm got mixed with the purple light. Li Ming started chanting the ancient spell of the Soulbond. After this moment, she won''t be able to use the soulbond power again in her life. The only people whom she could gift the soul marks were her mates but that''s something every mate could do. On the other hand, gifting another person, who''s not your mate, a soul mark was an unseen sight. Only a few people held this power and Li Ming was lucky enough to receive a chance to experience such a beautiful moment. It took ten minutes before the soul mark was completely formed. Li Ming slowly opened her eyes and looked at her hand that was still placed over the warm heart of the boy. She retracted her hand back and looked at the Banshee. Her eyes were looking for an answer which she received when the woman clicked her fingers and the upper part of the kid''s robe flew open, baring his chest to the eyes of the two women. Right where his heart was supposed to be, the faint outlines of a soul mark was present. All that Li Ming and the banshee could see was the two glowing parts of the mark. The upper part was glowing in white light while the lower part of the mark was glowing a bright purple. Since the kid was not eighteen yet, the mark was not visible to the eyes of strangers. And since Li Ming and the banshee were supernaturals, they could at least see the outlines. "That''s..." The banshee stopped and just stared at the mark. She was not sure how to express her feelings. "The most beautiful soul mark that we have ever seen, right?" Li Ming completed the sentence of the banshee with her own words. And the woman also nodded her head at Li Ming''s words. "Wait! Are you even allowed to say that? How can you say that some other soul mark is the most beautiful soul mark that you have ever seen. Isn''t the most beautiful soul mark for your eyes are supposed to be the soul narks of your mates?" The banshee asked as she gave Li Ming a curious look. Li Ming shrugged her shoulders at the words of the banshee as she replied, "I''m just stating facts. Though the soul mark that I''m sharing with my mates is beyond beautiful but the mark that is carved on his chest is the pure definition of the word beautiful." Chapter 144 - Li Mings Future Duties "Are you cursing me?" Li Ming shouted at the banshee at the top of her lungs. She was on the brink of throwing the woman into some black hole and to get rid of her forever. "Of course not, my darling! Cursing is the favorite time pass of you witches and fortunately, I don''t belong to the clan of witches. I''m just telling you about your future duties. There''s no need for you to misinterpret my words." The Banshee replied sarcastically. "I''m not a witch either." Li Ming said with gritted teeth and glaring eyes which were aimed at the banshee. "You know what? It''s seriously confusing to differentiate between witches, mages, and sometimes even wizards. You guys have made everything so complicated." The Banshee said while rolling her eyes. Li Ming just shook her head at the words of the banshee and completely ignored her. She was in no mood of explaining the differences between witches and mages to a mixture of a ghost, a seer, and a banshee. Please note the sarcasm! The only advice that Li Ming wanted to pass to others was that they should remember not to confuse witches, wizards, and mages as a single supernatural race, it won''t be a beautiful experience for sure. Because the supernaturals didn''t take it lightly when they were wrongly put into a different race, even if it was done by that person without any wrong intentions. "So, in short, you are telling me that I''ll be responsible for his future mate?" Li Ming asked as she pointed at the little boy. She was desperately praying for the banshee to answer negatively. To tell her that she (Li Ming) misunderstood everything and all her assumptions were wrong, but of course, nothing like that happened. "You are right. First, you will be responsible for the egg and will need to keep it safe as its guardian. Second, remember that this one is just a prediction, I''m not completely sure about this one..." When Li Ming half-heartedly nodded her head, the banshee continued. "So, the second responsibility could be helping the mate of this little kid when she would finally make her appearance in this world. And as far as I can predict, she or he will be the owner of that purple egg. In short, your second duty will begin the day your first duty will end." What an irony! A woman who was a descendant of a powerful seer and currently talking about the future was trying to say that she''s not sure about her predictions. Of course, there were many loopholes in her predictions and many things could be changed since it wasn''t a prophecy but there''s still eighty percent chances that when the right time would come, Li Ming would be bound to perform her duties. "And that''s not happening anytime soon, right?" Li Ming asked with her eyes filled with hope and excitement. "No...!" "Probably not for the next ten thousand years or so, right?" Li Ming again asked after she got a positive reply to her first question. "Probably..." The banshee was quite unsure about what Li Ming was planning in her evil but a smart mind. "Alright! Since everything is clear now and I have already completed my job here, what is next? Should we return to the real world?" Li Ming asked after a few minutes of silence. "Well, I think that''s the only thing we can do." The Banshee replied while nodding her head comically. "And what about him?" Li Ming asked as she signaled at the unconscious boy with her eyes. "Since he is not supposed to stay in this world for too long, just let him go. His fate will take him back to his world and his destiny." The Banshee said with a little shrug of her shoulders. "Wait! Just like that? I mean how can we let him wander around the streets stealing money from people? Will he be safe?" Li Ming asked. Her eyes looked at the boy a little worriedly. "Win, how can you be so unsure of your plans? On one hand, you are sad and angry about taking care of that egg and its future master, while on the other hand, you are worried about letting this boy go." The woman reprimanded the young girl. "I..., well I just can''t handle leaving a little kid, with no home, no money, and no food, on the streets of a city which is completely new for him." Li Ming replied with a huff as she folded her hands around her middle in a defensive pose. "Who said that you need to leave him with no money or no food? You can always feed her and leave him some money, but at the end of the day, you need to keep this in your mind that this kid is not your responsibility." Though the words sounded comforting and helpful the tone was completely commanding and strict. After all, the banshee was well aware that little helpless children were a weakness of Li Ming. The mage queen had always tried her best to help poor and homeless children and she could go against any rule or restrictions when it comes to saving an innocent life. Li Ming was completely silent for the next few seconds. Her heart was not liking the part of leaving the boy behind in an unknown city. Who knew for how long he had been stuck there and for how long he would be stuck there? But her mind had registered the deep meaning and warning behind the words of the banshee. After a long war between her heart and her mind, she finally let out a deep sigh and nodded her head, her fingers returning to comb the hair of the little kid. The Banshee straightened the clothes of the boy and clicked her fingers. When Li Ming opened her eyes again, which had closed on their own at the bright light that had engulfed them a few seconds ago, she was again met with the breathtaking sight of the beautiful eyes of the little boy who was looking directly into her eyes. Li Ming was completely taken back by the innocence and a slight glimpse of fear, which he was trying his best to hide, in his gleaming eyes. She once again felt her heart clenching at the thought of that little boy suffering through various trials just because destiny had chosen him for a better cause, to bring a change in his world. The sound of a person clearing their throat broke her out of her stupor. She slightly shook her head to get rid of her depressing thoughts. She took hold of both hands of the little boy and looked at his tightly clenched fists. The pouches which he was holding in his tight grip were peaking out through the gaps between his fingers. Li Ming kept channeling her calming energy into the little boy as she slowly tried to loosen his tight grip on the pouches. "Why are you stealing money like this? Is it for food? Or do you want to buy new clothes?" Li Ming asked in a soothing tone, But to her disappointment, the boy kept completely quiet, though his eyes were observing her every move very keenly. "You can tell me. I won''t hurt you." Li Ming said as she succeeded in opening one of his fingers but he immediately closed it again. "Do you know that it is a bad thing to steal money or any other things from other people? Good children should not be doing such things. Please, return this pouch to that Young Master and apologize. In return, you can keep my money." Li Ming said softly. The boy was still observing her keenly. For a moment it almost appeared like he was trying to understand what Li Ming was saying. Looking at his slightly confused expressions, another thought popped up into Li Ming''s mind. What if the kid didn''t understand their language? After all, he was from a different world, probably a different era too. Just when she was about to speak again, the same sweet voice disturbed her. "Miss, what exactly are you trying to do? You are wasting both of our time. Kids like these who only knows how to steal and beg, won''t understand your caring words. And even if they understood, they don''t care about it. So, don''t waste your time on such people." How could someone speak such words while coating them in honey and sugar? Li Ming let a little more of her powers resurface and with the single tug of her hand, the pouch of the crown Prince came out of the tight grip of the boy. She stood up from her crouched position and turned towards the Crown Prince. The very next second, the pouch of money of the Crown Prince left Li Ming''s hand and landed directly on the face of the Crown Prince. The air was suddenly filled with loud gasps and panicked shouts, while Li Ming felt a pair of hands tightly clutching her sleeves tightly. "Of course not, my darling! Cursing is the favorite time pass of you witches and fortunately, I don''t belong to the clan of witches. I''m just telling you about your future duties. There''s no need for you to misinterpret my words." The Banshee replied sarcastically. Chapter 145 - She Didnt Do Anything !!! "Oops!" She seriously didn''t plan that. After all, she was not an idiot enough to throw a pouch at the Crown Prince''s face when the act could be taken as an assault and she could more or less lose her life. The pouch slipped from her hand. Or maybe it just flew out of her hand and landed on its master''s face. That could be a possibility, right? Zi Yan and Jin Jing were instantly on her side, first looking at the Crown Prince who was currently surrounded by his guards and then turning towards her with both questioning and shocked looks. "What?" Li Ming whispered at the two girls while raising her shoulders in a questioning pose. "Why did you do that?" Zi Yan hissed at her Master, trying to see if the young miss had lost her mind or something. "Do you guys seriously think I did that on purpose? Why would I do that?" Li Ming looked at the two girls with wide eyes. Did she look like an idiot? She really didn''t throw the pouch! Before the three girls could continue with their argument, the guards which were previously surrounding the Crown Prince, rushed towards them and circled them with their swords drawn out. Li Ming once again felt the pair of hands tugging on her sleeves tightly. "What do you want now? Can''t you see that we are currently under a serious situation?" Li Ming whispered shouted at the boy who had been standing behind her all this time. In return, the kid kept staring at her with his beautiful but confused eyes. "Aish!!!" Li Ming felt like she was hitting her head on a wall as she tried to talk to the kid. To be honest, the boy was barely two or three years younger than her, that''s why calling him kid won''t be appropriate. But again, Li Ming still considered herself a twenty-eight-year-old mature woman, in that way all the children around her were kids for her. "You know what, forget everything. Just leave this place. They are currently focusing on a matter which is far much important and serious than you stealing their money. That''s why they won''t pay you much attention. Take advantage of it and disappear. Keep my money with you and buy yourself food and some comfortable clothes. Most importantly, keep eyes out and don''t get mugged yourself." Li Ming was busy teaching the little boy, completely unaware of her surroundings and what was going on around her. "Miss, are you trying to commit a second crime by helping a criminal in running away?" Did Li Ming already tell you guys that she was starting to dislike that honey-coated voice more and more with each time the Crown Prince spoke? "Did you know that it''s not a good etiquette to listen to other people talking?" Li Ming asked the Crown Prince politely. Though there was no politeness in her words. She was directly mocking the etiquette of the Crown Prince. "You...!" One of the guards pressed his sword closer to Li Ming as he appeared to be furious by the young girl''s mocking words. "Stop!!!" Amazingly, this time the sweet voice of the Crown Prince came out loud and commanding. "We are getting late for the auction. Let''s take these people along. We will discuss the rest later." His authority in his voice making the guards move immediately. Just as the guards were moving towards the girls and the little boy to drag them along, Li Ming''s raised her hand to signal the guards to stop moving forward. Though she was not their master, therefore none of them were obliged to follow her orders. But something in her eyes and her simple hand movement made all the seven guards stop immediately. "What a coincidence! We are going to attend the auction too. Let''s settle this account later." Li Ming said with an indifferent tone. There was no fear in her eyes, neither the other two girls looked panicked even after they were surrounded by nearly two dozen guards with a royal emblem on their uniforms. What was the most shocking was the smirk that was playing on the thin lips of the little kid who was still hiding behind Li Ming, silently observing everything. "Are you not aware of your crime, little girl?" A guard shouted at Li Ming, getting rolled up after seeing her audacity. "Don''t you know that you can be sentenced to death for the crime of attacking the Crown Prince of the Han Empire?" Another guard shouted. If all of them were expecting to see the shock and finally fear in the eyes of the three girls, then they were in for a disappointment. Since all the three girls were already aware of the Crown Prince''s real identity, they weren''t shocked after hearing the words of the guard, and as for them not being afraid of whatever was coming their way, the answer was very simple. Li Ming probably had some plan in her mind since she looked so calm and tension free. While Zi Yan and Jin Jing were looking completely normal due to their complete trust in their Young Miss. "There''s barely fifteen minutes left before the auction will start. And it will take us around ten minutes to reach the auction house from here. Let''s not waste important time on useless topics. Once the auction will be over, we will settle our accounts." Li Ming told the Crown Prince, completely ignoring the guards. It was like they didn''t even matter to her. Whatever nonsense they were speaking or the tactics they were trying to scare her, didn''t matter to her, and it only ended up ruling the anger and the ego of the royal guards. [A/N: Let me share a secret with you all. One of the secret powers of Li Ming is her ability to gift people with high blood pressures and lots of anger.] The Crown Prince silently observed the young girl. He had an instinctive feeling that she was not someone normal. He couldn''t detect her cultivation level, but the aura that was surrounding her told him that she was powerful. The two girls that were standing around her also held a strong aura around them. Their cultivation level was also hidden from him. Though none of the two held any weapons with them but they could always be carrying hidden weapons along. A sigh left his lips as he tried to think about his options. He could not take any action against them until he had no proper information about them. They could be anyone from anywhere. Though the royal families held one of the highest statuses in the mainland and were always greeted with respect, but note the keyword here. They were one of the highest statuses, which meant there were also some special clans, families, and individuals that were also equal to or above in status from the royal families. He didn''t want to upset or anger any higher status family by punishing one of their members. "You are wasting our time here, Your Highness! Can you walk out of your daydreaming so that we can attend the auction?" Li Ming said in a taunting voice. The Crown Prince cleared his throat at Li Ming''s words and signaled one of his guards to come closer to him. Li Ming noticed that three guards were wearing a dark blue-colored belt which was different from the dark brown belt that the rest of the guards were wearing. One of those blue belt guards walked closer to the Crown Prince and the latter whispered something in his ears. Li Ming noticed the guard passing her a quick glance before he nodded his head at the Crown Prince''s words and left the place after bowing to his Prince. "Let''s leave for the auction house now!" The Crown Prince ordered and the seven guards which were coming towards Li Ming and her group again started walking towards them and once again Li Ming stopped them with her hand signal. "We are completely capable of walking on our own. We don''t need some men to help us or to be more precise, drag us to the auction house. None of you will lay your hands on my people, and that also includes this little boy." Her voice was laced with authority and a warning which ringed into the air. The guards could be seen raking a few steps back as they felt the powerful aura of the young girl. The Crown Prince nodded his head towards his guards and all of them took their steps back a few more feet to give the three girls and the little boy a clear place. "Don''t worry. We are not going to run away from here. As for the guard whom you have sent to collect information about me, Why are you making that poor man do so much work? You could have asked everything from me directly!" Chapter 146 - The Auction (Part One) "Miss Li, you are finally here!" The same man, who previously met Li Ming at the reception, greeted their group at the entrance of the auction house. There was barely three minutes left before the auction would officially start. The Crown Prince really wasted a lot of time. They all greeted the shopkeeper and Li Ming said, "We apologize for making you wait here. We got stuck with some matters. Hope you won''t mind." The shopkeeper immediately shook his head negatively. How could he be angry at one of their special guests of the auction that was starting soon? Miss Bao had already informed him to treat Miss Li and her companions with respect and to make sure that she would be comfortable during the auction. What he was not expecting was to see an entire group of people to come along with the Young Miss. "Miss Li, are these people accompanying you in the auction?" The shopkeeper asked as his eyes roamed over the man who was wearing high-quality robes and nearly a dozen royal guards. "Oh! Actually, he is the Crown Prince of the Han Empire. We coincidentally met on our way here. We will be attending this auction together." Li Ming politely replied to the shopkeeper, without even giving any chance to the Crown Prince to open his mouth. She could feel his eyes glaring at her from her right side but she completely ignored it, pretending to be completely oblivious. The shopkeeper bowed to the Crown Prince while greeting him as he replied to Li Ming''s question, "Sure Miss Li. Also, the Eldest Young Miss has made sure that you won''t face any discomfort here. Please come this way." The shopkeeper took them towards the third floor where the private rooms were prepared for the high-status visitors. A faint smile appeared on Li Ming''s face as she followed behind the old man. If not for the veil that hid her evil smirk, the Crown Prince would definitely have noticed the trick that she just played, but fortunately, no one noticed anything. Everything went exactly according to Li Ming''s plan. After seeing the Crown Prince of the Han Empire with her, the shopkeeper was even more curious about the young girl''s identity. They already knew that the young girl belonged to a powerful background and after seeing her casually entering into the shop with the Crown Prince of an Empire, her identity had become a mystery. But the shopkeeper happily took the group to their private room as their auction house was already considering to invest in the Young Miss. The final decision would be taken after the auction. In short, according to the information that the old shopkeeper had received from Miss Bao, it looked like Miss Li would become one of their special customers and investors if her pills sold out at a high price in the auction. The smirk on Li Ming''s lips stretched into a soft smile as she heard the thoughts of the shopkeeper. Her plan was going exactly how she wanted. And though she couldn''t listen to the Crown Prince''s thoughts due to his higher level of cultivation, just looking at the frown that had appeared on his face assured her that her plan had succeeded in luring the Prince into her trap. Li Ming was definitely not wrong about the Crown Prince. Just like how the shopkeeper mistook Li Ming as a friend of the Imperial family of the Han Empire, similarly, the Crown Prince mistook her as a close friend or at least one of the VIP customers of the auction house after hearing the conversation between the shopkeeper and the young girl. He was currently in a dilemma. He could not punish the young girl if she really belonged to a high-class family, but he also could not let her go so easily otherwise his reputation would be at stake. They reached outside a room and he turned towards the young girl while saying, "Let''s leave your companions outside." Only seven guards were going to enter into the room while the other guards stood outside the room to guard the Prince. Li Ming folded her hands in front of her chest as she replied to the Crown Prince, "Thanks for the offer, Your Highness, but I''ll like to keep my people with me." And with that, she entered in the room along with Zi Yan, Jin Jing, and the little boy. The Crown Prince stood there with his mouth left open at the audacious behavior of the Young girl. It took them barely a few minutes before all of them settled down in the private room. Li Ming and the Crown Prince were sitting around the main table while Zi Yan, Jin Jing, and the little boy were sitting around another table that was placed behind the main table. The last table was placed a little far behind the main table where four royal guards were sitting. The rest of the three guards were standing at the door as they made sure to protect their Crown Prince. Li Ming looked at the crowd that was sitting down below. A platform was set at the center of the floor where a high podium was sitting empty. A few people who were wearing the same colored uniform were guiding the people around the room to settle them on their tables. This was the first time when Li Ming had seen so many rich people from various Empires of the mainland. Though everything was happening in her favor but there was still a problem that had surfaced. Since the Crown Prince unexpectedly by.ped into her and she ended up as his prisoner, for the time being, she couldn''t interact with Zi Yan and Jin Jing openly. Therefore, her plan of bringing Jin Jing along with her to learn more about the high families of the mainland was of no use. Unknown to her, exactly above their room was another private room. The highest level of VIP rooms of the auction house was present on the fourth floor. There were a total of three rooms on that floor and currently only one was occupied. Two men who appeared completely opposite to each other were sitting in the private room of the fourth floor. One of them was wearing a pair of beautifully designed golden brocade robes with a single golden hairpin decorating his silky smooth long hair. He was just sitting there silently looking at the crowd down below, observing the mortals as they prepared to start the auction. The shopkeeper of the auction house was currently standing on the platform, explaining the rules of the auction to the people who had come to participate in the auction. He could tell that many had arrived there just to enjoy the show that was going to start any second. These auctions were more like a chance for the high families to show off their wealth and power to the world and they were going to take full advantage of this chance. On the other side of the table was sitting the man in black and red brocade robes. Half of his hair tied with a red ribbon and a black jade hairpin was loosely inserted into it, while his hands were busy in playing with his jade flute. While one was emitting sunshine then the other was emitting the very essence of darkness. But even after carrying auras that were polar apart from each other, they still held a powerful bond of brotherhood that had been unshakeable through thousands of years. "What are you busy thinking about?" The golden robes man finally asked while breaking the peaceful silence of the room. He noticed that ever since the two of them had entered into the auction house a few minutes ago, the black robbed man had wandered off into his own world. "Nothing special. Just saw someone here whom I was not expecting to meet. But looks like that person is always appearing in front of my eyes no matter how much I try to stay away." The Second Demon Prince replied. His tone was neither cold nor warm, rather it carried a bored edge into it. A small switch appeared on the lips of the golden robed man. "Why it looks like it is really something special? You know that you are bad at lying, right?" Hei Long shook his head at the mocking words of his friend and brother. He just could not help himself from thinking about the lilac girl. She always pulled him towards her like a magnet. No matter how much he tried to stay away from her, but in the end, he always ended up meeting her at the most unexpected places and in unexpected situations. To distract himself from the thoughts of the lilac girl, he tried to change the topic as he asked, "Forget about me since it''s nothing important. But I''m still curious to know what you are doing here in this auction house. You are the last person to take part in the mortal affairs. Want to share the secret?" Chapter 147 - The Auction (Part Two) "I''m not sure either. I just felt a tug towards this auction house, as if something important is going to happen here today. That''s why I decided to attend this auction." The golden robed Immortal replied in an indifferent tone. Three people who were bound to each other with their souls were sitting under the same roof, unknown to each other''s presence. Though all of them were feeling that lightest tug in their hearts which was trying to enlighten them about each other''s presence. ---- In one of the private rooms on the third floor of the auction house, Li Ming was listening to the rules which the old shopkeeper was explaining. Within the next five minutes, the auction officially started and the first item that was brought up the pedestal for the auction was a scroll that carried the formula of sleeping pills. Li Ming sighed as she settled down in her seat. Her bored and uninterested behavior caught the attention of the Crown Prince. "You look bored." Li Ming looked at the Crown Prince, not sure how to reply to the Prince who either was a real idiot or was still trying to hide his true colors. Finally, she ended up replying with one of her snarky comments, "Thank you for telling me the obvious. Otherwise, I would have thought that I''m actually enjoying this." She really wanted to end up in the prison, didn''t she? But rather than the usual dumbfounded or shocked expressions, this time a small smile appeared on the lips of the Crown Prince which he did his best to hide. "You are really interesting, Young lady. It''s very rare to come across both daring and stupid people. You are a perfect combination of both." The Crown Prince said after a few minutes of silence. Li Ming watched two servants taking the scroll away from the pedestal as it was finally sold out on 5000 silver taels. A light chuckle escaped her mouth as she heard the words of the Crown Prince. "You also think so? Looks like I''m seriously a combination of both. Too many people have certified me as one." She said with a soft sigh, emphasizing on her words. The Crown Prince turned towards the Young Miss and watched her carefully before asking, "Are you mocking me?" His tone was neither shocked nor angry. He actually looked curious which was not the right emotion for the situation. Li Ming cleared her throat as she put on a serious expression on her face. The other people in the room were silently observing the auction that was going on downstairs. None of them had any idea what the two of them, Li Ming and the Crown Prince, were discussing about as a shield was placed around them to give them privacy. What was both shocking and amusing was that the royal guards were happy after seeing the Young girl not messing with their Prince, or at least that was what they were thinking after seeing their calmed expressions. On the other hand, both Zi Yan and Jin Jing were also reassured that their Young Miss had left the Crown Prince alone for the time being and had not sent him flying out the open window yet. In short, everything was going fine for the time being. Both the parties were praying for peace but the person from whom they wanted peace was none other than the precious Li Ming. (Didn''t you guys inform these people that our Fl had no idea what the word peace mean?) While these people were busy praying for peace, the auction continued to progress downstairs as the second item, which was a third level low-grade sword, was brought up on the podium. It barely took five minutes before the sword was sold out at merely 3500 silver taels. "Even my food costs higher than that." Li Ming murmured softly as she stared at the departing figure of the sword in both confusion and shock. She was seriously shaken after seeing a sword being sold only for 3500 silver taels. Though she had lightly whispered those words but of course the Crown Prince heard them. Her words made him scoff as he asked with an irritated tone, "Are you trying to boast about your wealth and family background now?" Li Ming turned towards the Prince with a scowl decorating her pretty face. "What are you trying to imply? Why would I have to boast? If I seriously wanted to boast about my wealth and family background, do you think I would have let you drag me here with you? Do you think I would be sitting here silently listening to your stupid questions? You seriously love to judge people, don''t you?" The Crown Prince was surprised to hear such words but the person who was the most shocked was Li Ming herself. She knew that something was making her a little antsy and she had been on edge ever since she entered into the auction house. The feeling only intensified with each passing moment but she ignored it as she thought she was only anxious about the auction and her plan that was being ruined by the so-called Crown Prince of the Han Empire. Moreover, she wasn''t exactly enjoying her company. But as she let out her frustrated rant on the Prince, the realization dawned on her. Nope, her heightened feelings were not caused by either the auction or the Crown Prince, rather there was another presence in the auction house that was making her trade on edge. "I..." The Crown Prince was about to speak but Li Ming just glared at him, making the Prince shut his mouth as he silently settled down on his seat, facing away from her. The Crown Prince didn''t know what to do with the girl. She was younger than him, could be of lower status than him, and also she was behaving pretty rudely as she kept insulting him. But he still could not make himself punish her. In the end, he decided to do the right thing. He was going to ignore her throughout the entire auction which would probably cover the next one and a half hours. He left the rest for later. His focus returned on the auction as the fourth item of the day was being placed on the podium to start its auction. He didn''t even realize that the young girl who had been sitting beside him, had very quietly and precisely, placed a barrier around herself which blocked her actions from being observed by others. To the rest of the people who were sitting inside the room, including the Crown Prince, they appeared to be silently sitting in her seat as she sipped her tea occasionally. While in reality, she had placed herself in a lotus position as she closed her eyes to focus on her internal energy to calm it down. But even after trying for the next several minutes, she failed in calming down her powers which were about to burst out of their bubble. Li Ming immediately entered into the magical mansion/space as she left a clone of herself behind in the private room of the auction house. As her legs touched the grassy floor of the backyard of her mansion, she was almost kneeling down while she tried to get a grip on herself. Her body was starting to get covered in sweat and her head was spinning. It took barely a few seconds before she was surrounded by a worried Snowy, Mallow, and the pixies. "Ming! What''s wrong?" Mallow asked worriedly, though she got no response from the young girl. Snowy and Mallow were the most worried as they could feel a little amount of pain and discomfort that their Master was going through. "Li, tell me what''s wrong? You are scaring us!" This time it was Snowy who shouted in panic as he felt a huge wave of pain hitting Li Ming on her spine. "N-nothing mu-much! Just leave m-me a-lone. I''ll be...alright in a f-few minutes!" Li Ming finally replied to everyone''s relief but her words brought anything but a relief to their panicked selves. "Wait! What are you doing?" It was Alvina, the little fairy in her beautiful white dress, who shouted at Li Ming in alarm as her keen eyes noticed something, something that none of them realized in the starting due to their panic. "Li! Are you purposely letting it cause you pain?" Snowy was almost on the verge of tears as he observed his Master going through so much pain. Li Ming closed her eyes tightly as another wave of sickness passed through her. She was not really in pain as she could bear it, but more like her body had lost all its energy. She wanted to assure the others that she was alright, but she could barely get a hold on her senses. She more or less missed what they were saying to her and from the little that she caught through her half-conscious mind, made her regret her decision of appearing into the magical mansion in such a state. "Don''t worry guys! I-I''m trying to find something. J-just give me...a fe-w minutes. I''ll b-be alright!" Li Ming tried to calm them down as she focused her mind on her plan. This time she was going to get some answers! Chapter 148 - Supreme Majesty After ten minutes, Li Ming was still lying on the grassy lawn as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. For a moment she had almost lost her control on her magical powers which were ready to shot out of her. "Did you find anything?" Snowy asked when he saw Li Ming settling herself in a sitting position on the ground. She looked anything but the definition of beautiful and perfect at that moment. Her hair was messy as they fell around her face in tangles, her face and body were covered in sweat, and her dirty dress was sticking to her body. A few specks of grass was also got tangled in her hair. "It was the same dark power that I found in the world of my dreams." Li Ming replied as she tried to clean the sweat off her face with a handkerchief. "And...?" Snowy knew that there was more that Li Ming wanted to tell, she was just not sure how to explain what she had found out. When she had felt that slightest brush of the dark powers outside the auction house, she just assumed that she was imagining things but then during the auction, she again felt the presence of the dark powers. It was trying to find something or someone. Was it there for some kind of item that was going to be auctioned or was it tailing her? She couldn''t let go of such a chance to find out more about that dark power and its secrets. That''s why after making sure that she was hidden from the rest of the world in her protection shield, she let out a very small portion of her energy and let it flow through the auction house. This was a new trick that she learned about recently. The energy was so low that most of the people, no matter how powerful they were, won''t be able to feel it. Her target was the black power and just as she planned it took her bait the moment it felt the positive essence of her energy. What Li Ming didn''t know was that though her plan of keeping her energy hidden from the other cultivators in the auction house did actually worked, however, there were two Immortals present in the auction house who couldn''t be deceived by such tricks. Their thousands of years of cultivation and experience almost made them invincible, almost! The two Immortals not only felt the presence of the euphoric energy that suddenly appeared in the auction house and then disappeared but they also felt the presence of the dark power that was about to enter into their private room but unexpectedly it changed its route and left. The two Immortals looked at each other for a second, contemplating whether to follow the energies or not. After a few seconds of silence, the man in the golden brocade clothes said, "I don''t want to leave this auction house without finding out what pulled me here." At his words, two golden shadows disappeared from the room as they trailed after the two energies. Hei Long nodded his head as he settled down on his seat. His mind was in chaos as he felt so many emotions and questions arising. His mind, without his consent, went towards the lilac girl. This was the second time in the past seven years when the dark mist had crossed the threshold of the Demon realm. The first one was when it attacked Li Ming in the Xiao Tiantang when she was in the Dongji village and the second one just happened. He was trying to find out the reason behind the black mist attacking the lilac girl as it went far enough to cross the boundaries of the Demon Realm. It wasn''t like he was worried about that girl but because the black mist was related to his Demon Realm and he wanted to open its every secret. The presence of that mist in the Wang Empire was questionable. It was trying to enter into the private room. Was it there for the Immortal Lord that was sitting in front of him? If yes, then why did it suddenly disappeared when the other energy appeared for barely a second? Didn''t know why but he felt some kind of familiarity with that second energy. Something deep that connected him with it. But that couldn''t be possible, right? "Did you...felt the presence of that other energy too?" The Demon Prince finally asked as he couldn''t hold his words inside. He needed to find out more about what just happened. He wanted to run after that energy and find its owner but his instinct was telling him to stay with the golden robed man. And in the farthest corner of his mind, a very little part of his senses was trying to remind him that the lilac girl was also present in the auction house. Could it be possible that the black mist was once again trying to attack her? Suddenly his heart started quenching in pain at the very thought of his lilac girl getting hurt. But a stubborn part of his mind started getting angry at him for thinking of an unknown woman who was trying to deceive his brothers with her pathetic charms and dark powers. He couldn''t let himself become a target of her darkness. He needed to save his brothers from her and at the current moment, he was the only one who was trying to find their real mate. "Of course, I did. It was..." The man in the golden robe stopped as he tried to find the right words to explain that energy. "Kind of familiar? Like we have known it for a long long time? Refreshing, healing, exciting, and an unimaginable pull that tugged you towards it?" Hei Long tried to help his friend while telling exactly how he felt about that energy. The golden robed man let out a sigh as he lightly shook his head as he asked, "Is that even possible to feel all those things in a mere second through a trail of an energy?" The Demon Prince looked at his friend as he asked with a small twitch on his lips, "Are you trying to say that you didn''t feel any of them?" The golden robed man passed the Demon Prince a heated glance. His eyes trying to find some answers in the depth of the beautiful eyes of Hei Long, but of course, he got nothing. After a few seconds, the Immortal finally replied, "I felt it too. Just amazed that it''s even possible to feel so many emotions through an energy in just a mere second. Do you know whom that energy belongs to?" This time it was the Demon Prince who got silent for nearly an entire minute before answering, "Though it felt really familiar, but I still can''t pinpoint anyone whom it could belong to." The two Immortals fell silent after that, both lost in their thoughts. After a few restless minutes, Hei Long stood up from his seat, making the other Immortal raise his eyebrows in confusion. "I will be back in a few minutes." And with that being said he rushed out of the room. Not caring about the several pairs of curious eyes that followed him. "What''s up with this kid now?" The man in the golden robe asked out loud to no one in particular as he watched the door through which the Demon Prince just disappeared. A man in white and royal blue clothes appeared beside the golden robed man, taking a seat beside him. Though his posture remained stiff and on guard. "How long will it take you to get used to being normal around me?" The golden robed Immortal asked the other man. The man in white and blue robes, who was known as Senior Shen throughout the Immortal world, immediately bowed down to his Master, apologizing for not being able to perform his task properly. "Aish! I told you to loosen yourself a little bit around me. To behave more like the childhood friends that we are, rather than my guard. But look at you right now, it looks like I''m asking you to kill yourself." The golden robed man said with a shake of his head. "Supreme Majesty, you can order me to spend an entire year in the depths of the devil''s volcano and I will take it happily without uttering a word, but this servant seriously can''t do what you are asking me to do." Guard Shen immediately replied as he kneeled on the floor with his head bowed down in apology. "You can''t complete such a simple mission. How can you boast about spending an entire year in the devil''s Volcano? The golden robed man said with a shake of his head. The devil''s volcano was one of the most dangerous places in the three realms and it resided in the depths of the Demon Realm. Senior Shen accepting an entire year''s punishment in that dark and horrible place just explained how difficult it was for him to act like a normal friend around the Supreme Being of the Immortal World. Chapter 149 - Made For Each Other The silhouette of a man in dark black and red robes was standing behind the oak tree in the backyard of the magical mansion. His keen eyes sharply observed the girl who looked like she had just survived a disaster. He found himself looking at her to find if she was hurt anywhere and to his relief, other than her not so good appearance and the frown that was plastered on her face, she looked completely fine. With a swift leap, he was sitting on one of the higher branches of the old oak tree, hidden from the sight of the girl and her weird creature friends. He only wanted to take a look at her in the auction house to find out whether the black mist was really after her or not. What he was not prepared for was to find a clone of the girl sitting in the private room of the auction house. Though the others in the room couldn''t find anything strange about the girl that was silently observing the auction from her seat, but his sharp eyes couldn''t be fooled by such a simple trick. Due to some unknown reason he didn''t like seeing her with a strange man, even though this stranger was the so-called elder brother of Zhang Yong. In the end, he made himself believe that the reason behind his dislike for seeing her with the Crown Prince of the Han Empire was because he knew exactly what kind of girl she was. He just didn''t want to let another man get himself entangled in her dark clutches. There was no doubt that she was collecting powerful men for some kind of her voodoo dark jinx. He was not sure what made him think to find her in the Xiao Tiantang but somehow he found himself at the entrance of the Godly Maple Tree. The moment he appeared in the spiritual dimension, the energy there rushed to inform him that the girl was not in a good condition. Without thinking twice, he rushed towards the Maple Tree which had the portal in its very center. He was not supposed to be able to enter into her world. If he remembered it right, only Ruoshan had the allowance of entering into her space without asking for permission. Of course, Xiao Tiantang was an exception since they all shared a history with that place. This gave them a free entry in that magical world as long as they didn''t have any bad intentions towards its Master. However, as he stepped his foot towards the other end of the portal, he felt the energy of the magical mansion too welcoming him with open arms. Though everything was so weird but Hei Long''s entire focus was on the girl, whom he found lying on the grassy lawn in the backyard. It was the words of the little girl with those amazing wings, who shouted at Li Ming in alarm, that stopped him in his tracks and made him hide himself out of their sight. He could see that she was struggling to even breathe properly and somehow it made him worried and panicked. All he wanted to do was to rush at his lilac girl and get her out of her discomfort but something was holding him back. Of course, it was the part of his mind which despised that girl with its entire being. "And...?" Hei Long focused his entire attention on the conversation that was going on between the little snowball and the girl. It was his first time seeing that furball speaking as most of the time it behaved like a normal puppy. "Remember what I told you guys about the Demon Realm? How there was a dark power that has taken over it and it''s sucking out all of its life energy every day?" Li Ming''s question caught Hei Long''s attention. He had no idea that the girl knew about the state of the Demon Realm, but again, looking at the way his brother was wrapped around her finger it was not really surprising that he finally let out his deeper worries in front of her. Scratch that! It''s more than surprising that the Evernight Lord told anything about the Demon Realm and its condition to someone. The fact that he, Ruoshan, told all these things to a girl who he had met barely for a few months was even more shocking. Situations like these only confirmed Hei Long''s doubts about Li Ming. He couldn''t see any other reason for his brother and Senior brother to suddenly show such trust and closeness to a strange girl. If it was their Chosen One, he would never have questioned it but she was not even their mate, then the only reasonable answer he could find was that the girl had used some kind of dark arts on his brothers and she''s even trying them on him. He shook his head, planning to confront his brother later as he focused back on the conversation. "Yeah, but what about that?" Snowy asked in confusion. "Well, that day...I felt some kind of familiarity in that black mist. Like either, I have encountered it before somewhere or if...I-I don''t know to be honest. I have been trying to remember or find out exactly why that dark energy feels so familiar but no matter how much I''m trying, the results are fruitless." Li Ming irritatedly brushed her hair away from her face. The mystery behind the black mist was slowly but surely driving her crazy. Neither did she succeeded in finding even a single lead about that mist nor was she able to completely forget about the mist and focus on her other important businesses. "Hey! Calm down. Just tell us everything. Maybe we can''t help you but sharing it will give some relief." Alvina softly murmured to Li Ming. The pixie had flown near to Li Ming''s face as she reached out with her small warm hands to lightly rub them against Li Ming''s cheek. Her actions brought a small but soft smile to Li Ming''s lips. "Thank you, Al." Li Ming softly whispered as she showed her gratitude towards the little fairy. Alvina just beamed in return before flying back to her initial position where she sat down on a wooden log along with two other fairies. On the other hand, the Second Demon Prince who had always disliked Li Ming from the very start was currently looking at his lilac girl with soft eyes as he took in her sweet interaction with the winged creature. But as the scene in front of his eyes changed as the fairy flew back to sit beside her other friends, the Demon Prince also came out of his trance. The soft look in his eyes immediately changed to an empty stare as he continued to listen to what Li Ming was telling her friends. "So, I told you guys about how that dark energy possibly got a taste of my energy that day. I didn''t think too much about that initially but from that very night, I started getting weird dreams." Li Ming looked at the group of pixies and then at the two little snowballs. All of them were silently listening to her, giving her the chance to share her worries with them. But what warmed her heart the most was the person who was currently hiding behind the thick veil of the leaves of the old oak that her great great great grandmaster had grown in the backyard of the magical mansion thousand of years ago. Though the two of them, Li Ming and Hei Long, were not really close to each other but that didn''t mean Li Ming couldn''t feel the very presence of her mate around her. Whatever was stopping Hei Long from recognizing her was only working on his side of the bond, while the bond that Li Ming shared with him was working perfectly fine. Since her senses and powers were already surfing on the edge and he was the only mate present near her, the soul mark that was etched on her wrist immediately recognized him. Also, both Xiao Tiantang and the magical mansion had alerted her about the presence of an Immortal inside her space, though they never specified which Immortal it was. A small smile appeared on her lips as a warm feeling took over her heart. No matter how much the Demon Prince tried to hate her but he couldn''t stop himself from loving her more and more with each passing day. His worry for her and her well being just spoke how much he cared about her even though he boasted about hating her and getting rid of her. This only made her promise herself to win her mate''s heart and make him fall in love with her. She was not going to give up on her mates so easily. They were hers, just like how she was theirs...! Chapter 150 - Target Or Companion After taking a deep breath, Li Ming continued, "At first those dreams were not clear. Other than those uneasy feelings I couldn''t remember anything about the dreams but then that day in the Xiao Tiantang when I was refining pills with Mallow and suddenly something tried to enter into the Godly Maple Tree, I felt the same dark presence there." Li Ming heard loud gasps from her audience. With a break of a few seconds, she once again continued, "That energy was probably not able to enter into the Xiao Tiantang but they left behind that note like thing. Unfortunately, that note got destroyed. By the time I returned back the next morning, all the traces of the previous night incident has evaporated into nothing. I tried to find out more about what exactly happened that night, but there was not much for me to do." The place quieted down as everyone was busy in their deep thoughts. "Did your dreams stop?" Mallow finally asked after a few minutes. The others also looked at Li Ming curiously as the later shook her head in negative. "Nope. Rather than stopping they increased after that incident. As the days passed I started remembering some of the scenes of those dreams but nothing ever made any sense." " Until that night a few days ago when I suddenly ended up in a completely different dimension. It was only black and white, full of decaying smell. There was even a hint of sulfur in the air. And the worst in there was a three-headed monster who appeared out of nowhere. Before much could happen, or before I could find anything about that place, I was back in my bed, completely fine. But I''m sure that the same dark energy was also present there." "Woah, are you saying that you got teleported into a different dimension in your dreams and then you were back here when you opened your eyes? Is that even possible?" Terra asked with a surprised tone. The little pixie''s words made Li Ming chuckled, "At this point, anything is possible sweetheart. Magic has no boundaries, it''s just we still have to explore it to it''s fullest. I think the same could be said about the spiritual cultivation and the secrets of this world." Everyone nodded their heads at Li Ming''s words. Indeed, after coming to this new world and finding more and more secrets that sounded impossible to be believed, now it was hard to say what was possible and what was not. Who knew if after some days, months, or years, they would find out that this new world also held the secret power which could turn a dead into a living person. On the other hand, even though there was such an important discussion going on but Hei Long''s mind was stick on only one word, sweetheart. For some unknown reason, he wanted to listen to the girl calling him that, but again he felt disgusted by his own thoughts. Why his mind got stuck on that particular word was beyond his understanding. But he didn''t like to see her using that word so casually for random people. The most confusing thing that he realized was that after getting to know the girl in the last weeks and listening to her talk with her friends, sometimes it appeared like she didn''t belong to their world. As if she had been sent in the Immortal world from another beautiful world which was quite identical to the three realms of the Immortal world but also different. He had found out about her past through his shadow guards who did their best to find more information about Li Ming, but other than her journey of the last six months, they were unable to find out about anything. It was like one day she appeared out of nowhere and started living a completely new life in the Han Empire. There were far too many secrets that Hei Long still had to unveil about his sweet prey. He''s just waiting for the right chance. He checked the situation of the auction that was still ongoing in the outside world. It had been barely twenty minutes since the incident of the dark mist in the auction house and in the meantime, not much had happened in the auction. The total of seven items that had been auctioned off so far was nothing much in his eyes. Though he didn''t confess it, but the reason behind him sticking with the Heaven Emperor to join him in the auction house was due to the pull that he too was feeling towards that place from the previous morning. All that came to his mind was that the auction house would probably be going to auction off something important and that''s why his instincts were telling him to attend the auction. What he didn''t prepare for was to come across the lilac girl, the young lady who had become a haunting spirit in his life. "That three-headed monster, was it a Cerberus?" Snowy asked Li Ming. His eyes sparkling with curiosity. And why not? After all, not everyone could get the chance to see the hounds of Hades. Li Ming looked at Snowy and after a second shook her head in negative. The spark in Snowy''s eyes immediately died as he once again started thinking about the current case. "It was more like a wolf than a dog. Not exactly a wolf, but if I have to compare it with a real-life animal then I''ll definitely choose a wolf. Moreover, just like I said it was a world built with a black and white theme, I was not able to see much of its body in the dark." Li Ming told everyone. Her eyes slowly looked towards the oak tree where she could feel the presence of the Demon Prince and within a second, she was again looking at the group of sups sitting in front of her. "I was too busy with all the work that I didn''t get a chance to visit the Demon Realm again, but I have a feeling that I can find many answers about the black mist and my dreams there. I was planning to visit it a few days after this auction. However, I didn''t expect that dark power to suddenly appear in the auction house." Li Ming told them as she lightly rubbed her temples. "What about today? Did you find anything important?" Mallow asked. Her question made everyone straightened up as they looked at Li Ming, waiting for her reply. Hei Long also put his complete focus on the young girl. Was his doubt right? Did that evil mist appear in the auction house of the capital city of the Wang Empire to attack the lilac girl? He felt his anger rising as his qi tried to break out and finish whatever or whoever was trying to harm his lilac girl. For a moment, he couldn''t recognize his own self as all his heart, soul, and most of the mind was thinking about destroying the enemies of his sweet prey. It took him a few seconds to get a hold on himself as he heard the girl replying. "The dark energy that entered into the auction house was too weak. It was like someone intentionally send only a lightest essence of it for some purpose. I couldn''t catch it but for the few seconds where I got my hold on it, I saw some vague images. Like it was trying to find someone in the auction house." After a break of merely two seconds she continued, "What I saw was very blurry. I couldn''t make out the face of that person but I got the slightest glimpse of their getup and aura. I think I will be able to recognize that person if they came in front of my eyes." A frown appeared on Hei Long''s beautiful face as he heard Li Ming''s reply. According to her, the dark power was looking for someone else, but who? "What do you think? That mysterious person for whom the dark mist was searching, are they a target or a companion?" Hei Long heard the little furball asking the question to his Master. "Looking at the aura of that person, it was full of positivity and righteousness, is it even possible for someone like that to be a partner of something so dark?" Li Ming asked out loud as she looked at the pixies and the two furballs in front of her. In return of her question, she received a raised eyebrow from the blonde. Li Ming rolled her eyes as she replied, "Fine! Fine! Anything is possible when it comes to this world and the word magic." This made everyone chuckle softly. The light bickering environment between Li Ming and Terra had always been a medium of entertainment for everyone. Though the environment cooled down a little at the sweet chuckles, the seriousness of the situation still could not be ignored. Chapter 151 - Demon Prince Is A Stalker In the next five minutes, Li Ming finally succeeded in calming down her sweet family and made them leave her alone as she has to return to the auction. It had been more than forty minutes since she had left the auction house and a complete hour since the auction had started. However, since she didn''t get any signal from her clone, she was not worried about missing the auction of her pills. After everyone returned to their own business, Li Ming immediately casted a spell on herself to make her appearance look just like before. After that, she teleported exactly in front of the Demon Prince who was still hiding in his secret spot on the oak tree. Hei Long was waiting for everyone to leave so that he could also leave the place without getting detected, but he almost got a panic attack when the lilac girl appeared in front of him out of nowhere. Before he could lose his balance and plant himself on the ground, the small hands of his lilac girl reached out and caged him between them as she placed her hands on the thick branch behind him, on either side of his shoulders. Her sudden movement immediately made his body stiffen and he found himself sitting on the branch with perfect balance. He would not be able to show his face to anyone if he ended up falling from the branch in front of the young girl. "Tsk tsk! The High Demon Prince stalking a young teenage girl like this that he even became shameless enough to barge into her space. Truly unbelievable!" Li Ming said with a wondering tone, though it also carried a touch of disappointment, a perfect dramatic combination as she mocked Hei Long. Her words melted the initial shock in which Hei Long was stuck at the moment and immediately his shock changed into irritation and anger. Couldn''t blame the poor Prince! After all, Li Ming had a special power of making people lose their calm and sanity. Some people could bring out your best version and some your worst. In ninety percent of cases, Li Ming worked as the latter. "You...!" Hei Long wasn''t sure what he wanted to do. Either he should disappear from there and save himself from facing the very reincarnation of the devil, or maybe he should just strangle the girl and just finish her forever. He almost felt like losing his soul as the second option entered into his thoughts. His hands unconsciously moved towards his heart to clench it because of the intense pain that hit him, but he stopped in midway. Li Ming noticed his movements. Though it was barely visible in his expressions but the slightest tremor in his hands as he clenched it in his lap, gave him up in front of her. She gulped down her saliva as the thought of backing up entered into her mind. Her first mission in solving the mystery behind the problem in Hei Long''s soul mark was to get a look at his soul mark. If she could see what was wrong with the mark, maybe it could give her some lead on the problem, and to complete this mission, she needed to come closer to him. After all, getting him half-naked won''t be an easy job. But if her nearness would give him pain then she didn''t think she could handle it. Seeing your mate in pain because of you was the worst experience possible and Li Ming had no wish to go through that experience. Just as she was thinking about backing down, her eyes fell on her wrist where the soul mark was carved, hidden beneath the sleeves. The most simplest way of telling the Demon Prince that she was his mate was to just show him the soul mark that she carried on her wrist, but none of them were aware of the consequences. Just like they were not sure if the rule of not telling him the identity If his mate if he failed to recognize her, applied to Li Ming too or not, similarly, they were not sure if revealing the soul mark on her hand to him would also end up in a disaster or not. Right! She couldn''t give up like this. She needed to fight through this trial. Who knew if whatever was wrong with the soul mark could also be dangerous for the health of Hei Long. With a short inhale of the air which brought in the delicious scent of her mate, she replied, "En! Me. I thought that you hated me, but looks like I''m wrong. If you hated me why would you be stalking me like this? Have you finally fallen for me?" Her sparkling eyes looked at him curiously, like she was actually waiting for his reply. "Rubbish!" Hei Long almost felt his blood boiling as it threatened to burst out of his mind after hearing her ridiculous words. "Aaah! Are you shy? You don''t want to confess now? It''s okay, just tell me and I won''t tell anyone else. We can always date secretly until you will be ready to reveal our relationship." Li Ming excitedly introduced the idea. "..." Hei Long had no idea how to handle the girl who had suddenly started spouting nonsense. "So? What is your reply? Are you ready to enter into my harem? I already have some hot sexy Immortals in my harem, you will be a nice and perfect addition to it." Yep! She had definitely lost her mind. "Have you lost your mind, woman?" Hei Long finally let out his shock. He stared at the girl with his beautiful eyes which had turned into small soccer balls. "Keep your dirty claws away from my brothers and also from me!" His words came out deep and threatening. There was barely a distance of few inches between their bodies as they both sat on the tree branch. Li Ming retracted her hands from around the Prince and started looking at them with a sad pout. Hei Long had no idea what the girl was doing but his mind was telling him to run away from the demoness when he had the opportunity. After inspecting her perfectly manicured nails for a few seconds, she looked at the Demon Prince with a firey glare pointing at him. All of a sudden, she thrust her hands right in front of his eyes, once again making Hei Long almost lost his balance. He stared at the girl with confused eyes, not understanding what she was trying to do. "Don''t your eyes work properly? How are my perfectly manicured nails are looking like claws to your NOT PERFECTLY WORKING eyes?" Li Ming shouted angrily at the Demon Prince, almost making him cover his ear to save them from the calamity of her shouts. With his jade flute, he pushed her hands away as he said in a strict tone, "I need to return to the auction. Can''t waste my entire day here on you. Just remember my words clearly, don''t mess with me and my brothers. Stay far away from us." Li Ming stared at him for a moment before she beamed happily unexpectedly. "Are you not going to tell me why you have suddenly turned to my stalker? You even dared to enter into my spaces without my consent. What a daring demon you are!" Hei Long smirked softly at her words. His eyes boring directly into the dark obsidian eyes of his lilac girl. Li Ming stared at those sensual lips that looked even more alluring with that smirk on them. Her fingers itching to caress them but she stopped her train of thoughts before she could end up doing something stupid. "Maybe you are the master of these two spaces but unfortunately, I don''t need your permission to enter. In this case, you can''t stop me." His voice came out into a whisper as he inched a little closer to her. If it was some other situation, Li Ming would have even forgotten how to breathe after looking at her mate trying to intimidate her. However, the situation was different. Here, she was an equal partner in this game and she needed to win it, for both of their better future. Therefore, rather than getting intimidated, she closed the gap between their bodies, only leaving a slight gap so that they won''t be touching each other. Though Hei Long definitely forgot how to breathe as he felt her warm breath hitting his face. "Trust me, my Prince, if I accepted that challenge I have the best way of making you stop at my every command. So? Don''t test me." Her voice was breathy and carried the slightest touch of sensuality in it. With a wink, she returned back to her original position, once again leaving plenty of space between the two of them. "Unfortunately, I also can''t waste my entire day here talking to you as I have important business to take care of at the auction house. See yourself out my Prince. Bye!" And with a light wave of her fingers as a bye, she disappeared from the magical mansion. Returning to the auction house and leaving a dumbfounded Demon Prince behind. Now, it was officially the time for the entertainment to start in the auction house. Chapter 152 - Money!!! Li Ming looked at the platform down below on the ground floor of the auction house where Miss Bao had just made a special appearance to reveal the next item that was going to be auctioned. The chaotic auction hall had quieted down to listen to what Miss Bao was about to say. "We are going to present the most unique item of the day to you all now. It is probably easy for almost all of you to buy two or three spiritual pills in the Herb halls, but today one of our special contacts has brought four jars of spiritual pills to auction off here. Let''s bring the first jar." Miss Bao signaled and two servants brought a big box covered in red cloth and settled it on the podium. "This is the first jar containing first rank low-grade Healing Pills." Miss Bao told the crowd. Listening to her words the crowd reacted in indifference. Though the presence of Miss Bao had caught their attention but nothing was interesting about a few pills that were not even of high grade. They could always buy these pills from a herb hall. None of them could understand why the auction house was including something like this in the auction when it was nothing rate or unique. Miss Bao immediately understood the thoughts of the crowd and a soft twitch appeared on her lips. In the private room on the fourth floor, the two Immortals were sitting in complete silence. The Heaven Emperor was interestingly listening to Miss Bao''s words. Unlike the rest of the crowd that was present there, the Heaven Emperor was not an idiot. He could tell that there was still more to come about the pills. He turned slightly sideways and looked at the Demon Prince who was still looking like he was about to slaughter someone. He had waited for almost an hour for Hei Long to return from wherever he had gone out all of sudden. But he was surprised to see a fuming Demon Prince who appeared in the private room after fifty minutes and settled on his seat. His face covered with dark lines and there was a light glow in his eyes that made them shine red. In that particular moment, the Second Demon Prince appeared exactly like the rumored Demon Prince. A lethal beauty full of dark aura who could kill with both his charisma and his high demonic cultivation powers. The Heaven Emperor was really interested to know exactly what happened to the young Demon Prince that made his dark aura surface like this, but he stayed completely silent. In the last fifteen minutes as the auction progressed, though the dark aura around the Demon Prince subsided but he still looked ready to kill. "What do you think about this one?" The Heaven Emperor asked as he finally tried to break the silence that had taken over the room. For a few moments, the Demin Prince stayed completely silent but then said, "No idea. Let''s just see what happens next." Though he tried to sound uninterested but the Heaven Emperor could see the slightest glimmer in his eyes which told him that his interest was actually piqued by the pills. The only reason behind his dey reply was the distraction that had kept him under its command for the last few minutes. "Alright! Let''s see!" The Heaven Emperor replied as he interestingly looked down at the platform. --- Miss Bao gave a last look to the audience as she settled her lean milky hands on the top of the red cloth that covered the box. "Let me present to you a hundred first level low-grade Healing Pills. The starting price is 10,000 silver taels. Let the auction begin." With those last words, Miss Bao disappeared through the back door, leaving a chaotic crowd behind. As the red cloth was taken off the box which was actually a big jar filled with a hundred pills. No one was expecting to see so many pills. They all thought that box had all the four jars with three or four pills inside each of them, no one predicted that only one jar would be displayed. Not containing three, ten, or twenty pills but a hundred pills in it. Before people could get a better grip on the situation, a loud voice was heard from the front row of the crowd which was sitting in the open area of the ground floor. "11,000 silver taels!" And with that, the war started. Where no one was going to buy the pills, now everyone wanted to get their hands on the huge jar which held a miracle in it. The pills were actually the most important item that was being auctioned in the entire auction. "11,500!" "13,000!" "13,500!" "20,000!" Li Ming sipped her tea leisurely as she listened to the rising number of silver taels. She was actually not aiming for the money when she first planned to auction her pills. Her main plan was something else, but looking at the rapidly rising number of taels, she felt her heart filled with excitement. Well, there was nothing wrong with more money. "25,000!" "30,000!" "70,000!" Li Ming almost choked as she heard the number. The entire auction house was filled with silence as everyone tried to look at the person who had unexpectedly shouted such a high price. Li Ming also shifted in her seat to see the person who offered such a price for her pills. 70,000 silver taels were almost her two months of income from the Black Jade Inn. The old shopkeeper waited for someone else to place their price, but for the next thirty seconds, no one spoke. "Since no one is going to..." Before the shopkeeper could complete his sentence, another loud voice came from one of the rooms on the second floor. "100,000!" The high price made the audience erupt into whispers and Li Ming just stared at the drapes of the private room on the second floor which just offered 100,000 silver taels. Looked like she was surrounded by a sea of wealthy people. If you looked at the rare and unique masterpieces in her magical mansion, she could be considered a billionaire. However, since Li Ming was set on not using any of those things, she barely had five hundred silver taels in her deposit for the time being. In short, she didn''t have even a million taels in her treasury, being a billionaire looked like a farfetched dream. "150,000!" "300,000!" Li Ming stared at the Crown Prince of the Han Empire who had just shouted the last price. Li Ming felt her limited brain cells spinning inside her brain as she just admired the wealth of these people. Of course, the so-called Crown Prince of the Han Empire would have hundreds of silver coins in his deposit. After calming herself down, she just settled down in her seat, looking forward to see exactly how much she was going to earn from those four hundred pills. After the Crown Prince''s price, the others continued to increase their price but it was like they were planning to play a game as they all started increasing only one or two teams in the last price. "300,005!" "300,006!" "300,010!" "300,011!" Li Ming stared at the crowd down below with a frown plastered on her face. Were these people actually serious? How childish! Her eyes wandered towards the Crown Prince who was whispering something to one of his royal guards. It would make her look greedy but in honesty, she was praying for the Crown Prince to add another hundred thousand taels to the current price only so that they could move on to the second jar. Really! But to her dismay, the Crown Prince stayed completely silent. He even looked uninterested in whatever was going on. Li Ming was confused by his behavior but if course she stayed silent. "300,100!" Well, at least someone broke the stupid chain and added a few more taels than just one or two. "300,101!" "Seriously!" This time Li Ming actually lost her cool. These people had made her pills a fucking game. Did she just call them wealthy? Let her correct her misunderstanding, these people were fucking misers! "Something wrong?" Li Ming turned to look at the Crown Prince who was staring at her with confused eyes. It took her a few seconds to realize that she actually had spoken out loud this time. "Nothing! I''m just shocked to see these people making this auction a gameplay. They are increasing one, two, five, of ten silvers like they are so poor. Why not just keep quiet if they don''t have the money to buy the pills?" Li Ming replied with a shake of her head. A chuckle left the lips of the Crown Prince which made Li Ming look at him in confusion. "Is this your first time attending an auction?" The Crown Prince asked her. Li Ming hesitated to answer and just kept staring at him. "This is just a normal thing in auctions. It happens almost every time. Just wait and watch, this is just the start." The Crown Prince answered her. Li Ming just folded her hands and huffed at the situation. These people were just wasting everyone''s time. The stupidity kept going on for the next five minutes and Li Ming was almost about to doze off when a deep loud voice came out of the private room on the fourth floor, leaving the entire hall in shock. "500,000!" Chapter 153 - Becoming A Millionaire Li Ming stared at the teacup in her hands in a daze. If she had any idea that the past twenty minutes were going to be the most boring and irritating minutes of her life, she would probably have formed some ideas to keep herself entertained. The first jar of the pills was sold to the person in the private room on the fourth floor in 500,000 silver taels. The crowd had probably given up on the first jar thinking that there were still three more jars left for them. Unknown to the fact that they all were in for a surprise. As the next jar of the third level middle-grade healing pills were announced to be brought to the podium for its auction, everyone was surprised after knowing the grade of the pills. Not only that but the starting price of the auction was set at 100,000 silver taels. For the next twenty minutes, the crowd kept raising the price at a snail''s speed. Neither were they giving up on the pills nor were they placing a high price to buy it. The auction of the pills turned into a time pass. The worst part was that they wasted twenty minutes in their stupid game. At the very last, the same person from the private room on the fourth floor ended up buying the pills at 500,000 silvers again. Li Ming just couldn''t take this bullshit anymore. She once again left a clone behind and teleported into the backroom behind the platform that was arranged to exhibit the items during the auction. In short, it could be called backstage in the modern-day era. She made sure to stay undetected as she appeared out of the thin air at the entrance of the room which was mostly surrounded by the darkness. Just like she had predicted, she saw the silhouette of Miss Bao sitting inside the room around a table where she was working on an account book. The people were running in and out of the room as they took care of making sure that the money and the items were given to their rightful owners. Miss Bao noticed the girl that was standing at the entrance of the backroom. "Miss Li, is everything alright?" She immediately asked as she walked over to where the young girl was standing. "Actually I have a request." Li Ming replied to Miss Bao''s question. The two girls discussed something for the next two minutes before Li Ming left the backroom and returned back to the private room that she had been made to share with the Crown Prince. --- "My friends, now we are going to announce the next item of the day." The old shopkeeper said out loud to the crowd. Two men brought another large box covered in red cloth and placed it on the podium. Miss Bao came forward and took off the red cloth, making the audience gasp after seeing not one but two jars placed on the podium together. "These two jars are carrying the last two hundred pills of the auction inside them and on the special request of the owner of these pills, we have decided to auction both these jars together." Miss Bao announced to the audience. The crowd erupted into whispers at the sudden revelation. Whoever was going to get their hands on these jars would get two hundred spiritual pills. A person having two hundred rare spiritual pills in their hands could be considered a powerful person in their society. Now, everyone was waiting for Miss Bao to reveal the level and grade of the pills so that they could decide if the pills were worth their money or not. At the signal of the old shopkeeper, the audience finally quieted down to listen to what Miss Bao was going to say next. "This jar contains a hundred pills of first level low-grade Body Cleansing pills." Miss Bao said in a large booming sound while tapping the first jar. It was like the air was sucked out of the auction hall as for once again that day the crowd became deathly silent at the shocking revelation. Healing pills were a common type of pills used by the cultivators but on the other hand, the Body Cleansing Pills were one of the precious and rare kinds of pills available in the Cultivation world. Even the lowest level Body Cleansing Pills were costlier than a first-level low-grade Healing Pills. Before the crowd could come out of their shock, Miss Bao smashed the second bomb. "And this one..." She tapped the second jar filled with pills as she continued, "...this one contains the third level middle-grade Body Cleansing Pills. Both of these jars will be auctioned together and the starting price is 500,000 silver taels. Begin!" The people sitting on the ground floor barely got a chance to absorb all the shocks that they had received from Miss Bao when the auction hall erupted in loud booming voices coming from the private rooms of the second and third floors. "600,000!" "600,500!" "600,600!" "600,601!" "700,000!" "800,000!" Li Ming tapped her fingers lightly on her empty teacup as she watched the price rising rapidly. Who knew she would become a millionaire thanks to the spiritual pills and the auction. Her gaze moved to the Crown Prince of the Han Empire who was sitting beside her. It was like the man had only come to join the auction to pass his time since other than placing his money only once, he did not show any other interest in the auction. "Have you planned to even buy anything or are you just sitting here passing your time?" She finally ended up asking the Prince. The Crown Prince turned towards the young girl and looked at her with raised eyebrows, "What about you? Have you also joined the auction to pass your time? After all, I haven''t seen you participating even once in the last two hours." He retorted back at her. Li Ming cleared her throat as she straightened in her seat. With her raised chin she replied in a haughty tone, "Who said that I''m here to buy something?" Her tone was filled with mockery as she gave the Crown Prince a side look before turning towards the ongoing auction. The Crown Prince stared at the girl for a few moments before he replied while shaking his head lightly, "Well, I also never said that I''m here to buy something." His reply made Li Ming raise her eyebrows at him. It was impossible to tell if he was telling the truth or just returning her words back to her. She didn''t try to inquire anymore and focused her attention back on the ongoing auction. The price had risen to 900,000 silver taels. "1,000,000!" Li Ming stared at the old lady who was currently sitting inside one of the seven private rooms on the second floor. The drapes of her room had lifted to let the audience see the owner of the voice which had just raised the price to one million. Li Ming wasn''t prepared to handle so much money. She had no idea that the pills could bring so much money to her. Also, the high price of her pills would help her in her initial mission of getting the Auction House to give her a privileged membership in all its branches. The more benefits she would bring to the Auction House, the more closer she would get to them. "2,000,000!" This time the cup dropped from her hands and shattered on the floor in tiny pieces. An hour ago, she barely had 500,000 silvers in her treasury and now, she had earned almost three million silvers. The best part? The money was still increasing. She paid no attention to the Crown Prince who was staring at her or the maid who was cleaning away the broken teacup. To be honest, she had no idea about what was happening around her in the private room as her entire focus was on the people who were placing their silvers to buy her pills. Looked like she would need to spend more time in alchemy. Now, she had a perfect idea about how to earn a lot of money in a short time. All she needed to do was to refine a rare and high-level spiritual pill and she was good to go. --- "Why did you buy those pills? You are the last person who needs these low-grade pills." The Demon Prince asked the Heaven Emperor. The golden robed man turned towards the Demon Prince as he replied, "Can''t you see that these pills look completely different from the normal Healing pills?" Hei Long looked at the pills closely as the Heaven Emperor took out one from the jar. He smelled the pill and even let his energy flow over it to grasp what was different about it. After a few seconds, he nodded his head as he replied, "I can see what you are talking about. Some of the ingredients used in this pill are different from the usual ingredients that the other alchemists use. Moreover, the pills are stronger than the normal pills of their levels." "Exactly!" The Heaven Emperor clapped his hands as he agreed with Hei Long''s words. Chapter 154 - Li Ming Became A Millionaire! "So, did you buy these two jars of pills just to find out what was different about these pills?" Hei Long asked as he played with the pill in his hands. "That and also because there was no loss in spending a few silvers for these treasures. I want to know who''s the one refining these pills. That person sure has some talent in the field of alchemy." The Heaven Emperor replied to the Demon Prince''s question. A few silvers???? Of course, those millions of silvers were only considered as a few silvers in the eyes of the Heaven Emperor. "Alright! Let''s see if we can find this talented person." The Demon Prince replied as they both returned their attention back to the ongoing auction. The price of the pills had risen to 3,000,000 silvers by now. This time rather than increasing only one, twenty, fifty, hundred, or even thousand silvers, everyone was adding another million silvers into it. "5,000,000!" This time the person who raised the price was a man in his mid-twenties who was sitting inside the room opposite to Li Ming''s private room. "10,000,000!" "..." Not only Li Ming but almost every single person in the auction hall turned to stare at the private room on the fourth floor. Exactly who was this rich man who was hell-bent on buying all the four jars of the spiritual pills? For the next few minutes, the auction hall was only filled with light murmurs as everyone planned about what to do next. Just as the old shopkeeper was going to open his mouth to start the counting, the Crown Prince of the Han Empire who was sitting silently beside Li Ming all this time suddenly shouted. "50,000,000!" Who knew how many centuries passed before Li Ming finally raised her trembling right hand to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming or if everything was a reality. And when she almost cried out in pain, a huge beaming smile took over her face. At that moment she wanted to jump up from her seat and hug the sweet Crown Prince tightly to show him exactly how happy she was at that moment. No man, literally no man had ever made her feel so excited that she almost felt like passing out. The auction hall erupted into loud whispers this time. No one tried to hide their shock or their disappointment in the situation. "Do you really want to buy those pills that much?" Li Ming softly asked. She had no idea that the Crown Prince of the Han Empire was such a rich person that he would happily give away 50 million silvers just to buy two hundred spiritual pills that were not even of high grades. The Crown Prince turned towards her as he replied while shaking both his head and the two hands, "Of course, not! I have no interest in those pills." If Li Ming was shocked after hearing the number 50 million then after hearing the Crown Prince''s reply she certainly lost her ability to think or understand anything. "W...." Li Ming cleared her throat to make her voice more audible as it suddenly had gone low on its own. "What do you mean by that? Why are you buying it if you don''t even need them?" The Crown Prince looked at the young girl and sighed before answering, "I''m past the level of High Cultivator, that''s why these pills won''t work on me. Also, I have no way of using these pills. Buying them would only be wasting my money." Li Ming wanted to put out the fact that he could always distribute the pills to his military troops as it would not only help in increasing their military''s strength but would also make his position as the Crown Prince stronger in the eyes of the nobles and the citizens but in the end, she stayed completely silent. Instead, she asked, "Alright! But you just raised the price to 50,000,000 silvers. If the pills are not worth your money then what''s the point in buying it at such a huge price?" The Crown Prince chuckled at her questions making Li Ming stare at him in confusion. "You really are very new to this, right? Well, let''s just say that I''m helping the person who is the initial owner of these spiritual pills." He calmly replied. Li Ming looked at the platform downstairs where the old shopkeeper was whispering something to one of the servants. Looked like no one was going to increase the price anymore. She turned back towards the Crown Prince and asked, "How?" The Crown Prince kept looking at her face for a few seconds before he replied, "Remember that person on the fourth floor. He''s trying to buy all the jars and he also sounds like a wealthy person. Since he wants to buy the jars he will buy them no matter how much he will need to pay. Now I have raised the price from 10 million to 50 million. Most of the people here will back down and whoever will buy those jars at the end, they will need to pay more than 50 million. In short, because of me, the person who gave these pills to the Auction house would get a lot of money." Li Ming was calmly listening to the Crown Prince''s explanation and it actually made sense. In his own way, he indeed helped her. Now she would be getting 50 million silvers for the two jars. But suddenly a new thought popped up in her mind, making a small twitch appear on her lips which were hidden under the purple veil. She turned around to look at the Crown Prince once again, catching his attention as she asked, "What if no one raised the price anymore? Not even that person on the fourth floor." A very evil part of her mind, which was full of craftiness and trickery, wanted her thought to come true. She wanted to enjoy the helpless state of the Crown Prince as he would lose 50 million silvers from his treasury for buying something that, according to him, was completely useless for him. Least did she expected to find out that the Crown Prince of the Han Empire could give her a good challenge when it comes to craftiness. "Well, I can always buy them and then sell them in the auction house of the Song Empire. I''ll get more than double the amount of those 50 million silvers there." The Crown Prince replied with a soft shrug of his shoulder as he returned his focus back on the auction. Li Ming just kept staring at the Crown Prince with amazed and surprised eyes. She wanted to give the man a standing ovation. Just like she had guessed, he was far smarter than what he was showing. She also returned her attention back to the auction. This time praying for the man on the fourth floor to buy her pills. In no way would she let the Crown Prince enjoy the fruit of her hard work. More than five minutes passed, but no one made any move to raise the silvers to buy the pills. The old shopkeeper even started the final countdown. Li Ming was almost on the verge of giving up as the old shopkeeper was merely a few seconds away from hitting the last countdown, when suddenly once again a deep voice came from the private room of the fourth floor. "100,000,000!" This time Li Ming just kept sitting in her seat without any expression on her face. She almost looked indifferent from everything that was going around her. However, the truth was that her soul almost left her body when the huge number entered her ears and then registered into her brain. She had never imagined that after falling from the throne of a billionaire to a little peasant, she would fly to the chair of a millionaire within a few hours. The emotions that she was feeling were far too dramatic for her to reveal in front of others. She was saving them for later to let them out when she would be alone. The Crown Prince let out a proud laugh as he said, "See! I helped the person behind the scene. Now, they should be thanking me for the rest of their lives for making them so rich." Li Ming didn''t even pass him a single look. Her eyes were trying to look past the drapes of the private room on the fourth floor. But due to the angle of the room from her seat and the fact that the blinds were tightly shut, she could not even tell if that room was filled with light or darkness. After a few minutes of straining her neck and almost falling from her seat in front of the Crown Prince and another bunch of people, though she saved herself at the very last moment, she finally gave up. If she was fated to meet the person who just bought her four jars of spiritual pills, then they would certainly meet someday or sometime. Little did she knew that she would fall in the arms of that person very soon. On the other hand, the Crown Prince, who was praising himself for playing smartly in the auction and helping the admirable refiner of the spiritual pills, was also going to regret being so smart very soon. He was stuck with, or to say, against Li Ming for a long long time. Chapter 155 - Need To Learn Etiquette "You should let me go right now!" Li Ming immediately covered her ears to protect them from the shrieks of the Crown Prince. "You should remember that you are the one and only Crown Prince of the Han Empire. Don''t ruin your reputation here by behaving like this," Li Ming said as she was finally done with the last knot of the rope that was binding the Crown Prince to his seat. No matter how much he tried to get himself free from the normal-looking rope, he was unable to call out his cultivation powers. Suddenly something or someone was blocking him from reaching his qi and there was only one person present in the room who could be responsible for that. He scoffed at Li Ming''s words as he replied, "Woman, you are the one who needs to remember my position and status. Ever since we have met, you keep crossing your line. How dare you do this to me?" "What nonsense are you spouting? That pouch thing was totally an accident. I never meant to hit you. Do I look like an idiot who''s too eager to die?" Li Ming asked while pointing her index finger at herself. The Crown Prince looked at her face for a minute before replying, "Fine! Let''s just say that you have some issues while talking with the Imperial family. That''s fine, you can always learn those etiquettes..." Li Ming just gritted her teeth as she controlled her hands which were itching to land a punch on the beautiful face of the so-called Crown Prince of the Han Empire. How dare he say that she was lacking in etiquette? It wasn''t like she outrightly disrespected him. She just could not handle people who wandered around showing off their status to bully the weak. "...and I can even accept that you didn''t hit me on purpose. But, what about this? Are you not disrespecting me by doing this? You also did something to my guards. You can be killed right this moment for an assassination attempt." The Crown Prince continued to rant out his frustration. "Well, that''s kinda serious," Li Ming said with a thoughtful tone. She looked deep in thoughts as a frown appeared on her face. Her expressions made the Crown Prince think that she was finally regretting her actions and was also scared. Therefore he said, "Right! This is very serious. You need to let me go instantly. I''ll probably forgive you." Li Ming looked at the Crown Prince and scoffed at his stupidity in her mind. The Prince had taken her very lightly for his own good. "I definitely can not let you go now! I pulled on this stunt to get myself out of your clutches easily. Of course, there was no way that you would have believed that I didn''t hit you with the pouch intentionally and I''m sure you would never have let me take the little boy with me. That''s why I thought that after tying you up here with your sleeping guards, I''ll get enough time to get away from this place with my companions." Li Ming shook her head from left to right with a depressed and sad face as she continued, "I never knew that I would end up with such a criminal tag. Now, I can''t let you go. You will definitely kill me." She sounded so afraid and confused, giving the impression that she had no idea what to do or what exactly she was going to do next. For a second the Crown Prince felt his heart stop beating at her reaction but then he shook his head to get himself together. The young girl couldn''t be too dangerous for him, right? "Listen to me. Untie me immediately and I''ll let you go with your friends. You can even take that young boy along with you. Just hurry and untie me," he said in an urgent tone. His tone sounded like he was trying to soothe a crying baby which made Li Ming almost glare at him but she controlled her urges at the very last second. Rather she hurriedly shook her head, making her long hair dance around her face. "Nope. I''m not going to believe you. There''s no guarantee that you will actually let me go after I release you. I can''t take such a huge risk. I won''t set you free." Li Ming immediately refused. The Crown Prince stared at the young girl with huge eyes. For a moment had no idea about how to reply to her but then after a few seconds of silence, he said, "If you won''t set me free then what are you going to do? Do you seriously think that you can run away from me? I''ll catch you sooner or later and then you will receive even a much harsher punishment." He was trying to get a hold on her fear to get her untie him. Unexpectedly, he still had no plans for punishing the girl even though she had crossed her line many times. Something inside him just could not accept the idea of harming the young girl and no matter how much he tried, he could not get rid of that intuition. "See! You just proved me right. No matter if I let you go or not, I''ll be the one who will be the one facing difficulties. Therefore, you have not left many options open for me," Li Ming said as she looked at the Crown Prince with sorry eyes. The auction that was still going on downstairs was nearing its end as the last item of the day was brought up to the podium to be presented to the audience and soon enough the people started placing their price. The entire auction hall was unaware of the drama that was going on in one of the private rooms on the third floor. Li Ming needed to leave the private room as soon as possible so that she could meet with Miss Bao and receive her money. She didn''t want to reveal her identity as the alchemist who refined those four jars of spiritual pills. Though she had never tried to hide her powers before but this time the situation was a little different. Before this, all those people who witnessed her powers were not harmful to her. She had always known if she could deal with them or not. However, this time the situation was different. The auction hall was filled with powerful people from all around the mortal realm. Her current cultivation level and magical powers were not enough for her to save herself and her people from such powerful people. That''s why she decided to keep her identity as the refiner of the spiritual pills a secret for the time being. Therefore, here she was, trying to get rid of the Crown Prince of the Han Empire so that she could get out of the room. "What are you planning to do?" This time the voice of the Crown Prince came out hoarse as he tried to show an indifferent expression. Suddenly the previous worrying expression vanished from Li Ming''s face and her eyes lit up with an evil smile. "I seriously didn''t want to do it, but you have left me with no other choice. I hope you won''t blame me for this. After all, I''m just trying to save myself from your royal clutches." Her tone was filled with maliciousness. Her aura had suddenly become dark and cold, making it hard for the Crown Prince to breathe. "Who are you exactly?" He asked and this time his eyes were actually filled with worry. "I''m just a mere citizen, a no one in front of your royal self. Now, it''s time for us to say our goodbyes." Li Ming replied softly as she straightened up and smoothed her dress. After the guards had lost their consciousness, she had immediately made Zi Yan and Jin Jing leave the room along with the young kid. She took out a silver lighter from her space and flicked it open. Rather than the normal red and yellow flame, the flame of the lighter was silver and blue. "What..." Before he could complete his sentence, Li Ming brought the flame extremely close to his eyes, making him halt. She closed her eyes and called on her compulsion powers. Since the Crown Prince was at a higher level of cultivation than her, she could not compel him directly. Also, there were the royal guards and the old shopkeeper who had seen them together, she would also need to remove herself from their memory too. Doing it individually would drain her completely, therefore, she was using one of the ancient charms that she found a few years back on the Earth. She looked directly into the eyes of the Crown Prince over the flame and whispered lightly, "You won''t remember meeting me. You never caught the kid who stole your money. You attended the auction alone..." After a few seconds, she ended up reciting all the memories that she needed to evaporate from their memories, and just as she stopped saying the words, the flame flew out of the lighter and dispersed into thousands of sparkling particles and fell on the body of the people inside the room. A tiny ball of the sparkles flew downstairs and poured on the old shopkeeper. Now, she was ready to leave! Chapter 156 - The Young Boy Disappeared Li Ming walked out of the room, leaving a dazed Crown Prince and his group of guards behind as they all tried to get a hold of their surroundings. She wanted to meet the person who ended up buying all the four jars of the pills but looking at the situation she just decided to give up. It took her barely fifteen minutes before she emerged out of the auction house along with Zi Yan, Jin Jing, and the young boy. Her treasury was filled with millions of silvers and a golden token that she received from Miss Bao. The token was used by the VIPs of the auction house. By using it she could get a free pass in all the branches of the Auction house in every Empire. Also, she would get a discount of twenty percent whenever she would buy anything from these Auction Houses. Not only that but the best perk that she found about the token was that whenever there would be another auction in any of the branches of the Auction House, she would receive an invitation and a list of all those items that would be going to get auctioned. As the three of them entered into one of the Inns of the Capital city, a satisfied smile was decorating Li Ming''s lips. She completed her mission of the day. Not only she ended up becoming a VIP customer of the Auction House but she also earned a lot of money. It was around four in the evening and they still had some hours left before night. Li Ming sent the two girls to take some rest and brought the young boy along with her to the dining area of the inn on the ground floor. The Inn was not too much crowded as most of the customers were still roaming through the market after leaving the auction house. She found an empty table set for two people in one of the farthest corner of the room and sat down. The young boy silently followed her and sat down opposite her. A maid approached them to take their order. Li Ming noticed the woman passing weird glances at the kid, probably because of his dirty appearance and torn clothes. "Is there something special that you want to eat?" Li Ming asked him in a soft tone. Unfortunately, she didn''t receive any reply from him as the kid stayed completely indifferent to her presence. Li Ming sighed and just ordered on her own, making sure to pick tasty dishes for the child. After the maid left, Li Ming turned towards the young boy and while using her thumb and index finger of the right hand, she pulled his face upwards and made him look directly at her. "Stop being bratty. I''m asking you questions so you need to answer me. You can''t live with that attitude, especially to someone who just saved you from that Crown Prince." Her tone was warm but strict. This time the boy stared directly into her eyes and Li Ming immediately dropped her hand down. "I didn''t beg you to help me." Well, what could she say to this? The boy had a soft tone but it came out a little hoarse. "Alright! You are not wrong about that. I think it''s my fault that I thought about helping you." She replied with a disappointed tone. She had already used a large portion of her powers due to all the unexpected things that happened during the entire day. But looking at the appearance of the kid, she couldn''t control herself. With a deep breath, she put her hand on his head. The boy tried to dodge her hand but she made him sit still with her free hand and closed her eyes. After muttering a simple chant she opened her eyes and found the kid transformed into a decent looking appearance. His clothes were black and blue in color, paired with leather shoes. All the dirt disappeared from his body. His long hair was tied with a black ribbon and was falling down on his back. Li Ming took out a dark green pouch with black prints on it. The pouch was emitting the slightest fragrance of Lily and sandalwood combined. She tucked the pouch in his belt and protected it there with a charm, making sure that it won''t come out accidentally. "What are you doing?" The kid asked as he stared at the pouch and then looked up at her. His eyes were devoid of any emotions but Li Ming noticed how his fingers lightly grazed over the pouch like he was trying to keep it there protectively. "You look much better like this." Li Ming replied with a soft smile as the maid returned with their order. The look of surprise on the woman''s face was visible even though she tried her best to control it. Her hands even trembled as she poured the tea into two cups before scurrying away. Li Ming realized that the woman''s reaction was due to the surprise at the change in the kid''s appearance and also because of fear. It took her a few minutes to realize what made her afraid. It was that beautiful pair of eyes that were glaring at her currently. Li Ming raised her eyebrows as she looked at the boy. When he didn''t say anything for the next few seconds, she just ignored him and raised her teacup to take a sip. "Are you hitting on me?" Li Ming choked on her tea as the question, more like an accusation, registered in her brain. She stared at the kid with her jaw hanging open. "What?? What kind of thoughts are filled in your brain, you brat?" She reprimanded him as she set the cup down on the table. "If not that then why would you want me to look good?" The kid asked as he crossed his hands in front of his chest. His beautiful eyes glaring at her as he hurled accusations after accusations at her. "I didn''t tidy you up for myself, nor for the rest of the world. I did it for you. Don''t you feel bad in those torn and dirty clothes? Don''t you want to wear clean clothes and stay neat and tidy?" Li Ming asked him as she tried to explain her actions. If she was expecting to see the boy realize his mistake and agree with her words, then she was probably disappointed by his reply. "I love being dirty all the time and those torn clothes were my treasures!" This was the reply that she received from the boy and she almost wanted to bang her head on the table. Somehow, she plastered a smile on her lips as she said through gritted teeth, "My bad! I should have asked you first before taking such a step and assuming things on my own." She was amazed to see the boy nodding his head as if he was accepting her apology. "Good to know that you at least realized whose fault it is." He didn''t say anything more and picked up the chopsticks to fill his bowl with the dishes and started eating. "By the way, don''t go around stealing money. Not everyone is going to let you go easily," Li Ming said softly as she picked her teacup once again. "They will need to catch me first to let me go." The boy replied as he continued to eat. Li Ming almost rolled her eyes at his words but didn''t comment. She was in no mood to argue with a little boy at the moment. Therefore, after a few minutes of silence, she again said, "That pouch which you stole from me, use its money for now. It''s enough for you to buy food for more than three weeks and if you want I can book a room here for you for an entire month..." "Do you want it back?" The kid asked as he cut her off. "What?" Li Ming asked in confusion. "Do you want your money back? Is that why you keep reminding me that I have stolen your money? Maybe you are too shy to ask for it straightforwardly..." "You little brat! You seriously need to control both your tongue and your hands. Just finish this food and get lost from here before I change my mind and return you to the Crown Prince of the Han Empire." Li Ming whispered shouted at the boy as she stood up from the seat and stormed out of the Inn, leaving behind three silver coins as the payment for the food. She was almost fuming in anger. The kid was really daring. She had barely spent two minutes standing at the entrance of the Inn when the manager came looking for her. "Miss, please complete the payment for the food." The old woman said in a polite tone. Li Ming looked at the woman with confused eyes as she asked, "What do you mean? Didn''t you find money on the table where that little boy is eating?" "Miss, no boy is sitting there on your table. He probably left too and there was also no money there." The woman politely told Li Ming. Looked like the young boy disappeared! Chapter 157 - Dont Come Closer Li Ming stared at the empty table. The boy didn''t only take the three silvers with him but he also grabbed almost all the food and fled. The question was how did he leave. Since she was already standing at the entrance, it was impossible that he left through the main door. No one passed by her side in those two minutes. For a moment she thought about asking the woman if there was a back door or something like that in the Inn, but then she changed her mind. There was nothing that she could do. After all, she couldn''t keep him with her. That''s why Li Ming decided to forget about the little kid, just hoping that he would safely return to his world without getting into another problem. She paid for the food and went to look for Zi Yan and Jin Jing. She found both the girls sitting inside their room as they practiced cultivation. A soft smile appeared on her face as she looked at the hardworking girls. Deciding to not disturb them, Li Ming silently left their room and decided to visit the market. The main market street was bustling as the sun prepared to slowly end the day. She passed through an alley and felt an indescribable feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes immediately turned towards the south. She was almost at the end of the street and a few meters away she could see the City gate. Beyond that gate was an endless field. Her eyes could see the slightest impression of a mountain or probably a forest far in the south. She once again felt that little tug. Something from that side was calling her. She stopped an old woman who was walking past her with two little boys. She looked like someone who actually belonged to a village. "Old Madam, can you tell me what is that place?" She asked while pointing towards the faraway mountains. The old woman looked in the direction where Li Ming was pointing and replied while nodding her head, "Miss, that''s the Whispering Pinnacles." "Whispering Pinnacles?" Li Ming asked curiously. The name grabbed her attention. "Those mountain ranges are not very long but there''s a strong ward around it which prevents everyone from entering into the forest." The woman pointed at the mountains and continued, "Most importantly, on the other side of these ranges are the Snow Fields. No one knows who put the wards around the mountain and why, but for centuries other than the Immortal Deities no one was able to enter into it." Li Ming looked at the slightest glimpse of the mountain pinnacles far in the south. Still feeling that tug towards it. The woman told her that there was a small fishing village near the foot of the pinnacles at a walking distance of one day. Li Ming thanked the woman and after giving a final glance to the mountain tops, she turned around and left. --- "Miss Li, why are you suddenly changing the plans?" Zi Yan asked as they followed Li Ming inside the auction house. The worry was visible on the faces of the two girls. They were not expecting Miss Li to barge into their room suddenly and tell them to get ready to leave. "I suddenly got some urgent work to finish and for that, I will need to leave the Capital city. I can''t leave the two of you here. That''s why I''m sending you guys back." Li Ming replied as they made their way towards the teleportation array in the back of the shop. Li Ming paid the silvers and after two minutes, the three of them appeared in the Xi Qiu City of the Han Empire. It took Li Ming some time to find a carriage that could take Zi Yan and Jin Jing to the Dongji village. "I''ll probably not be able to return early tomorrow. Don''t wait for me and don''t skip the morning lessons. Alright?" Li Ming asked as she ordered the two girls who immediately nodded their heads. "Take care, Miss Li." "Be safe, Master." Zi Yan and Jin Jing both shouted as the carriage started to move forward. A sigh left Li Ming''s mouth as she stared at the back of the carriage which disappeared from her vision after a few minutes. The day was ready to end and Li Ming once again started to walk towards the teleportation array to return to the Capital city of the Wang Empire. She originally planned to return to the Dongji village after the auction but now she was once again stuck with an unplanned problem. The tug that she was suddenly feeling towards the so-called Whispering Pinnacles, only increased with each passing minute. Making it hard for her to concentrate on anything else. She needed to go there as soon as possible, but the question was, how? After another five minutes, she returned to the Capital city of the Wang Empire. She grabbed a map of the Wang Empire from a stall and returned to the Inn where she had booked the rooms. Her head was starting to feel heavy as she registered that her body was drained of energy. Unknowingly, she ended up overusing her powers, and due to that, she was now struggling to even open her eyes. "Damn it!" She cursed lightly as she almost lost her balance at the top of the stairs. The fact that her body had suddenly lost all its energy was not a good thing. It took her spinning head a few minutes to realize that the pull she was feeling from the Whispering Pinnacles was also sucking out her energy. Somehow, she made her way towards her room and opened the door. However, the very next moment her feet got entangled in the rug that was spread on the floor and lost her balance. "Aaaaaaahhh...!" Li Ming closed her eyes tightly as she let out a scream at the sudden gravitational pull on her body, waiting to land on the hard floor. Though it never happened. Rather than the cold hard floor, she found herself engulfed in the arms of the one and only Second Demon Prince. Her body which was drained from all the energy suddenly felt alive at the touch of her mate as he held her protectively in his arms. However, she also realized something, something that made her immediately push the Demon Prince away. Hei Long scurried back a few steps at the sudden push from the young girl. A frown appeared on his face as he looked at her disarrayed form. He had no idea what he was doing here in her room. He just saw her figure entering into the inn and his leg automatically brought him here too. When he caught up with her, he found her about to fell on the ground. Without thinking twice, he immediately ran forward to protect her. "W-what are you doing here?" Li Ming asked the Demon Prince. Her tone though a little hoarse but it carried no hint of warmth in it. The sudden change in her behavior made Hei Long raise his eyebrows at her. "I just saved you from breaking your fragile bones. You have a nice way of saying thank you." The mockery was clear in his tone as Hei Long smirked at her with his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Thank you so much for your help. Can you please leave now?" Li Ming asked as she pointed at the door which was closed now, enclosing the two of them inside the room. Suddenly his eyes gleamed bright red and the very next second Li Ming found him standing right in front of her. There was barely any space left between the two of them as his hot breath caressed her cheeks. Li Ming relaxed on the wall behind her as she tried to put some distance between the two of them. Her mind was struggling between the fight of the pull that she was feeling from the Whispering Pinnacles and the pull that she was feeling from the mate bond that was binding her to Hei Long. "What''s wrong, Sweet prey? Are you suddenly afraid of me?" Hei Long asked in his husky voice as he closed the distance between the two of them that Li Ming had created. Li Ming sucked in her breath as she once again felt the same imbalance in her energy. The pull that was sucking out her energy was also trying to get its hand over the energy of Hei Long. That was exactly the reason why she pushed him away before. "Don''t come closer." Li Ming said hurriedly as she pushed herself more into the wall. She couldn''t let anything happen to her mate. She felt dark spots appearing in front of her eyes and the wall behind her was the only thing that was keeping her from falling on the floor. "What happened to you suddenly? I thought you wanted me to enter into your harem." Hei Long asked with a soft smirk on his lips. However, his eyes were observing the way Li Ming''s complexion had suddenly paled, and the way her eyes appeared dizzy. He could feel that she was struggling to even open her eyes. Something was very wrong with her. Chapter 158 - Im Not Your Servant "Calm down. I''m not here to hurt you." Li Ming almost didn''t recognize his voice. She was used to hearing him talk in his usual rough, deep, dangerous, and dark tone that had suddenly turned soft and smooth. She looked up at the Demon Prince and came across the worried expression in his beautiful eyes. A small twitch appeared on her lips as she asked, "I thought you hated me. Why the sudden concern?" In return, she watched his eyes taking in a darker shade as he replied, "That''s because there is only one person who can hurt you and that is me. This Prince won''t allow someone or something else to take my happiness away from me." Both of them kept staring into each other''s eyes for quite some time. No one wanting to back down first. Out of nowhere, Li Ming suddenly winked with a soft smile on her face. She had taken off her veil when she reached the top of the stairs to make her breathing easy. Therefore, Hei Long watched as her soft rosy lips spread into a beautiful smile, making his heart flutter inside his chest. He lost his calm the second she winked at him. The girl really was weird and unique. She had no boundaries when it came to boldness. Unknowingly, he shifted a few steps back at her sudden actions. A soft chuckle left her lips as she said, "You talk about making me suffer but in reality, you can''t even handle me for a few minutes. Are you forgetting my Prince that I can make your skin burn with a single touch?" Her tone was filled with mockery as her laughing eyes tried to hide her exhaustion from her mate. Hei Long took in a deep breath as he kept staring at the girl. He almost wanted to take out his flute and finish the girl off for mocking him. But of course, his hands didn''t even move from their places. Instead, he found himself checking her for some sign of discomfort or pain. Something in his heart was telling him that she was hiding something behind her facade. He almost asked her about what was wrong with her but then caught himself at the very last moment. Knowing her personality he was sure that rather than telling him the truth she would only use his question as a reason to taunt him. Therefore, he went towards the table that was placed in the very center of the room and sat down. Li Ming watched as the Demon Prince sat down with that carefree expression on his face like he was in his own room and not in hers. She was patiently trying to wait for him to leave her alone but the man was hell-bent on sticking with her. What an irony! Till a few hours ago, she was the one who wanted to be close with him and he was the one trying to get rid of her and now, he was the one sticking to her and she was praying for him to disappear immediately. "What are you doing?" Li Ming asked as she watched the Prince taking out a wine bottle from his space. Hei Long replied as he didn''t even look up at her, "Can''t you see? I''m enjoying my free time here." If not for her spinning head, she would definitely have rolled her eyes at him. "If you want to enjoy your free time then please do it in your own room. You should leave immediately." She said in a calm but strict tone. Though, her words did nothing to make the Demon Prince leave the room. Rather he turned to look at her and said, "I like this room. So, I''ll be staying here. If you want you can find another room or maybe another Inn according to your comfort." Li Ming wanted to argue with the Immortal but then thought better of it. She didn''t give enough energy to waste it on the Demon Prince. She was barely able to keep her eyes open and it was clear that Hei Long was trying to irritate her, probably taking his revenge for their previous encounter. She just let out a sigh and turned around to leave the room. She wanted to get to a bed as soon as possible. She was barely a few inches away from the door when it suddenly closed right on her face, making her stop immediately in her tracks. "What the -" Li Ming tried to pull the door open but suddenly she wasn''t able to even open a door. She turned around to look at the Prince who was pretending to be busy playing with his beautiful flute. "Open the door!" This time there was no softness in her tone, rather it carried a hint of anger in it. Hei Long looked at the girl and replied with a scoff, "What do you mean? I''m not your servant. Why would I open the door for you? Open it on your own." Li Ming once again felt another heavy wave of dizziness passing through her and it made her blink her eyes rapidly a few times to not fell asleep there and then. "Listen, we can continue this argument some other day. For now, please open the door. I need to leave." Li Ming said as she placed one of her hands on the door behind her for support. If not for her drained state she would never have begged the hot-tempered Demon Prince but her current situation left her completely helpless. When she got no reply from the Demon Prince it made her lose her mind. Couldn''t he find some other time to continue with his animosity? Why did she have to end up with him in such a state? She stepped forward to let out her frustration on the Demon Prince but once again she hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. This time she didn''t get the chance to pull herself together as her world started spinning around and blackness appeared in front of her eyes. Just as she thought that the darkness would engulf her in its depth, her world suddenly filled with sparkling red dust that surrounded her from all around. Giving her drained body an energy boost. The coldness that had started seeping into her body was slowly leaving her as it got replaced with warmth. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked directly into two dark orbs that were surrounded by glowing red rings. Her hands itched to touch those beauties but just as the fog of darkness disappeared from her mind, she realized that it was Hei Long who was carrying her in his arms. Once again! "What are you doing? Let me go!" She said as she tried to wriggle out of his arms that were clutching her tightly. "Cut the crap. You are the last person who would be feeling uncomfortable in my arms. So just stay silent and let me see what''s wrong with you." Hei Long said in a dark tone. She didn''t even realize it but she was half lying in his lap and half on the carpet that was spread on the floor. She again tried to get herself away from the Demon Prince but didn''t succeed. "If you don''t calm down, I''ll put a binding seal on you that will leave your body unable to move for a few hours. If you want me to do that then you can continue with your stupid dance." Hei Long threatened as he looked directly into her eyes. Somehow, Li Ming knew that he was not bluffing. But she also couldn''t stay close to him as she could feel that weird thing trying to pull on his powers. "Listen. I''ll take care of myself. You don''t need to worry about me. Just leave me alone for now." She once again tried to get her words in his thick mind. However, the Demon Prince pretended like he didn''t hear a single word that she said. He put his palm over her forehead and was about to channel his qi inside her when Li Ming caught his hand in a tight grip. "Wait!" The Demon Prince was actually getting angry because of her childish behavior. He was trying to help her but she was not listening to him. "What now?" He sure sounded irritated. Li Ming had no more choices left, therefore, she decided to go with the truth. "Something is suddenly sucking out all my energy. If you mixed your energy with mine, it can also affect you. So, don''t. Don''t waste your energy on me. Just leave me on my own. I''ll find a way to get myself out of this situation." Her voice came out hoarse and tired. Hei Long stared at the girl in shock. Was she worried about him? "Just let me take a look. Maybe I can..." "No! I said don''t." Li Ming immediately cut him off as she clutched on his hand tightly. "You are freezing. We can''t leave you like this. At least let me warm you up. I won''t do anything else." Hei Long promised after the silence of a few minutes. "H-how? How can you help me get warm without using your qi?" Li Ming asked with confusion. She got her answer as she watched with wide eyes as the outer robes of the second Demon Prince came undone. Chapter 159 - Fifteen Is A Marriageable Age "W-what are you doing?" Li Ming asked in a shaky whisper as her eyes slowly take in the way the robes were falling from his shoulder. Her eyes grazed over the bare skin that appeared in her vision. His chiseled collarbone was suddenly making it hard for her to breathe. Her eyes traveled towards his right shoulder where she could see the slightest glimpse of the soul mark but it was hidden underneath the inner robe. "Keeping you warm." Hei Long softly answered as he lifted her in his arms, making Li Ming clutch him tightly. She was still too shocked to process what was happening around her. Her mind wasn''t as foggy as before but it had still to start working. Hei Long softly laid her on the bed on her side and after a few seconds, Li Ming felt the bed shift behind her. She was about to turn around to see what the Demon Prince was doing but the very next second she found herself pulled into his arms as he laid behind her. "What-" Li Ming almost squealed at the sudden shift as she found herself pressed to Hei Long''s chest. His hot breath fanned over her neck sending electric tickles throughout her body. The dizziness, the weird pull, and the lack of energy that she was feeling a few minutes ago, suddenly disappeared. Her mind was full of thoughts that she was lying in the arms of one of her mates who didn''t even like her that much. She had no idea what was the reason behind this sudden change in Hei Long''s behavior. The only reason that she could find was that he probably was doing all this because the bond was making him worried about her. "Now relax and keep silent." Hei Long softly whispered in her ear as he inhaled her sweet lilac fragrance. Li Ming was about to reply when her eyes landed on the hands that were circling around her waist. Within a second she was out of Hei Long''s arms as she sat up on the bed and turned towards the Demon Prince. "Why are you naked?" Li Ming asked in a surprised tone. Her doe eyes turned into small round balls due to shock. Hei Long only raised his eyebrows at her words. A soft smile grazing his lips as his beautiful eyes kept looking at her. "I mean...you are completely naked from the waist above. But why? Wear your clothes." Li Ming somehow fished out the words. Her heart was beating rapidly and she even felt her breathing quickening. The image that the half-naked form of Hei Long was presenting to her eyes was too much for her to take in. His body was built like that of a well-built model. His long dark hair cascading down his shoulders and collarbone as a direct contrast to his milky skin. And the most lethal was his eyes and that soft smirk that played on his lips most of the time. Rather than following her words and covering his naked upper body, Hei Long pulled her back into his arms. "Looks like you are already feeling better than before." He softly said as he brushed her long hair behind her ear. Though Li Ming wanted to find more about the sudden pull that she felt and the energy loss that followed it, but currently she had a more important problem in her hands. Hei Long''s behavior was not normal anymore. The sudden change in his attitude, the warmth in his tone and eyes, could no longer be categorized as a result of the soulbond. Her eyes traveled to his right shoulder to look at the soul mark but after looking at the ending curve of only one tendril, she realized that the soul mark was carved on the back of his shoulder and not in front. She had a perfect chance to look at the soul mark. Who knew that she would not have to do much to make the Demon Prince took his clothes off? "Yeah, I''m no longer feeling dizzy. You can let go of me." She replied in a normal tone this time. Hei Long started tracing some kind of character on the back of her right hand. The light touch of his fingers made butterflies emerged in her stomach. "What if you start feeling dizzy again when I let go of you?" Hei Long inquired. Li Ming had no idea how to deal with this attitude of Hei Long. She had a very bad feeling about the sudden change in his behavior. She took in a deep breath as she asked, "What do you want?" This time her tone and her expressions were back to their original cold and indifferent self. "I like the way you can suddenly change your attitude within the blink of an eye. One moment you are flustered and confused, and the very next minute you can be your proud, confident, and controlled self. You really amaze me, Sweet Prey," Hei Long softly said as he continued to carve the imagery characters on her wrist. "Thanks for the compliment. Now, answer my question. Don''t try to avoid it," Li Ming said in her icy tone. A soft chuckle left Hei Long''s lips as his eyes sparkled with the bright red rings. "Your question doesn''t even make any sense. What I''m going to answer to then?" He asked with his raised eyebrows. "As far as I know you don''t like me at all. Why are you suddenly being so caring? It doesn''t make any sense." Li Mung muttered as she tried to look anywhere but at the man lying beside her. His closeness...especially, his naked closeness was making her uncomfortable in a very wrong way. "Not everything needs to make sense in this world." This was the reply of the Second Demon Prince. Now, someone please tell Li Ming how she was supposed to deal with this person. "Please wear something first. How can you be so shameless?" Li Ming said as she ridiculed him. "It''s not easy to get you so flustered. Never knew that my naked appearance can have such a strong effect on you. The pink tinge in your cheeks and ears looks good on you." Li Ming felt his hot breath on her nape as he said those heart-wrenching words. Her hands immediately flew to cover her cheeks and her ears. Though it was hard to cover both with only two hands. "Stop it! How can a Demon Prince be so shameless? Do you love to go around and flirt with little young girls?" Li Ming asked as she tried to change the topic from her flustered form. "Who''s little and young here?" Hei Long asked with an actual confused look on his face. "Of course, it is me. I''m barely fourteen and a half years old. Show some morality." Li Ming replied with a scoff. However, Hei Long''s next word made her choke herself to death. "In the mortal realm, fifteen is a marriageable age. You are already there, so you can''t be categorized as a young girl anymore." Li Ming stared at the Immortal with her mouth hanging open in shock and her eyes staring at him. "Are you kidding me? What rubbish! Getting married at fifteen? You guys are fucking insane for goodness sake." Li Ming ranted out her frustration. She was seriously lucky to not end up transmigrating into the body of some fifteen years old young miss of some family. Who knew if she would have ended up as a wife of some weird psycho. The mere thought of some other man as her husband made her recoil from inside. "Why are you calling us names when you aren''t much better yourself?" Hei Long asked with a scoff. At Li Ming''s questioning eyes, he continued, "To remind you, you are the one who offered me to join your harem just a few hours ago. A girl like you who is already collecting men to fill her harem at the age of fourteen and a half, should not be complaining about the marriageable age." Li Ming had no idea how to reply to this. He wasn''t completely wrong but there was also the fact that she was not actually going to do anything with her mates. After all, her body was still in the puberty phase. She felt the fingers that were grazing her hand punching her lightly to get her out of her thoughts. After seeing his smirk and the satisfaction in his eyes, Li Ming had enough. "You know what, I''m not that free to waste my time here like this with you." She was seriously losing her cool as the Demon Prince continued with his stupid behavior. She tried to crawl out of his arms to get out of the bed but with a sudden jerk, she was back in Hei Long''s arms. However, this time she saw something far too different in his eyes which made her breath stuck in her throat. Someone, please save her! Chapter 160 - Hot Sexy Piece Of Meat Li Ming tried to take a deep breath but the tight grip around her throat made it hard for her to breathe. She looked directly into the glowing eyes of the Demon Prince. Her hands lightly clutching his wrist, though she didn''t try to make him lose his grip. "I told you to stay still. You don''t know how to listen, right my Sweet Prey?" His voice was deep and full of fire as his eyes stared deep into hers. Never had she imagined that Hei Long could be the dominating type. But the fire in his gaze and his hand that was circling around her throat made her see her mate in a new light. She should not be thinking about those things since she was technically a fourteen-year-old girl, but the images surfaced in front of her eyes, almost making her moan. Though she caught herself at the very last moment and started coughing lightly to cover that lewd sound. She felt the grip around her throat loosening as the Demon Prince softly whispered in her ears, "I don''t like it when people disobey me. You better not move anymore. Just relax and sleep." It was like he was so worried about her that he wanted to keep her with him at any rate and that didn''t make any sense. She was about to retort back when a very disgusting voice entered her ears. "My my, never knew someone can turn you into a submissive. Must I say that I''m impressed with this Devil boy." The tone was filled with amazement and mockery as the irritating smirk played on the red-coated lips of the banshee. ''What are you doing here?'' Li Ming asked through their mind link. Since the banshee was also a ghost she could not be seen by those whom she didn''t want to see her. In short, the Demon Prince was unable to see the banshee, neither could he hear her. "Nothing. I just came here to ask you to accompany me somewhere. Wasn''t expecting to see such a hottie here in your bed. Tell me, how much fun did the two of you had in my absence. Wanna share some with this friend of yours?" The banshee asked as she eyed the half-naked Demon Prince. Hei Long was observing Li Ming''s expressions very keenly since she had suddenly turned silent. He saw as a frown appearing on her face. She immediately turned towards him and stared at his body. "Let''s go to sleep." Li Ming said to the Demon Prince as she pulled the duvet over the two of them, snuggling closer in his arms as she made sure that he was completely covered. "It''s you who is freezing even though the winters are still a month and a half away. Why are you covering me up then?" Hei Long asked as he tried to get the cover off him. But of course, Li Ming didn''t let him take off the duvet. How could she? There were horny witches in the room eyeing her mate as if he was a piece of hot meat. "Since you are keeping me warm, let the duvet keep you warm too." Li Ming said as she again pulled the cover up to his neck. "But I''m not cold." Hei Long replied as he once again tried to take off the cover but again got stopped by the lilac girl, his lilac girl. "Don''t you dare take off this cover. I don''t want anyone leering over your naked body. I mean half-naked body." Li Ming said with an authoritative tone. The Second Demon Prince stopped as he stared interestingly at the girl. She never stopped to amaze him. Her words, her actions, her boldness, her kindness, and even her cuteness was too much for his heart to take in. She was like a mystery box, filled with limitless mysteries and puzzles. Always surprising everyone with her actions. "What about you then? Who will save me from you? After all, in this closed room, you are the only person who is a danger to my chastity." Hei Long asked with a questioning raise of his eyebrows. His words made Li Ming scoff. "Let me remind you. It was your idea to take off your clothes. I never asked you to do that. I even asked you to put them back on several times. That''s why you don''t have any threats from me." She replied while rolling her eyes. "Hard to believe. After watching you almost salivating at my bare chest, I''m seriously not believing in your words." Hei Long said as he shook his head lightly. He was lying beside her on his side facing her as she laid on her back. He had put his head on his hand as it gave him a better angle to look at her face. His dark hair gliding around his shoulder and collarbone, making Li Ming''s finger twitch to run them through his long smooth silky hair. His words made Li Ming''s hand fly to her lips as she tried to check if she was actually drooling. To her relief, she was not, but then she realized that she was tricked by the Demon. She turned her face sideways as she glared at the Prince who was smirking at her. Though, his smirk looked more like a soft smile this time. "Go find someone else to play with." She said as she turned around to face the opposite side from him. However, the hand that suddenly circled around her waist stopped her and even made her turn to face him fully. "No, I''m not finding anyone else. You are much more fun to play with." He said with that rare soft smile as he pulled her closer in his embrace, tucking her face against his naked chest. All the words that Li Ming was about to hurl at the Demon Prince for his last comment died as she realized that her lips were barely a few centimeters away from his naked chest. "Can you stop making out and come with me? You already ruined my scenery of his hot sexy body. Now, you can''t go around kissing his naked form in front of my eyes." The banshee whispered somewhere from behind her, making Li Ming curse in her mind. ''Then leave.'' She replied with an irritated tone. "Not until you will follow me too." The banshee shrieked into her ears, making Li Ming push her face closer to Hei Long''s chest. ''Just go. I''ll follow behind you in a minute.'' Li Ming said as she tried to distance her face from his chest but got stopped by the warm hand that was resting on her nape. "You will owe me for this babes." The banshee replied with smoky laughter as she disappeared from the room. "I told you to not move." Hei Long softly whispered in her ears. "I''m almost about to kiss your chest. Do you still want me not to move?" Li Ming asked with her raised eyebrows, though Hei Long couldn''t see her face. A soft laugh escaped Hei Long''s lips at her words, making a soft smile appear on her lips too. It felt good to know that she could make the cold-hearted demon laugh. She was still not sure what to think of his behavior. Something was telling her that she was not being able to look past the reality of the scene. However, after trying so many times, the Demon Prince didn''t let a single word escape through his mouth. Since her powers were drained because of that sudden pull, she also couldn''t use her powers to try and find out what was wrong with the Demon Prince. The last resort that she was left with was the soul mark. But how could she take a look at it without alarming the Demon Prince? Hei Long''s reply dragged her out of her thoughts. "Just sleep. It''s already turning dark outside. You will get a few more hours to rest today." Li Ming didn''t try to speak a single word this time. She just let out a deep breath and relaxed in his arms. After closing her eyes, she concentrated on leaving her clone in her space and entered into her magical space. Since her energy was already depleted, it won''t be easy for the Demon Prince to recognize that the person in his arms was no longer a real person. If not for her drained powers, it won''t have been easy for Li Ming to fool the Demon Prince with such a trick. But again, if not for her depleted energy she would not have ended up in his arms in the first place. Should she be happy then that she ended up draining her energy? After all, due to this, she got to enjoy the warmth and closeness of her cold-hearted devil. ---- "My Lord, are you going to visit him?" The man in the white long robe asked as the two men flew over the Snow Fields at the border of the Wang Empire. The Immortal sighed as he replied, "Not today. He won''t be happy to meet me only for an hour or two. I''ll probably need a few free months to visit him. Let''s head back for now. I''m planning to visit him soon." And with that, the two men converted into two shining balls of light and disappears into the night sky. Chapter 161 - Turning Fifteen In Two Months "What do you want from me?" Li Ming asked the Banshee who was sitting near the fountain in the front garden of the magical mansion. "Are you angry at me because I disturbed your sexy moments with your devil boy?" The Banshee asked curiously. Li Ming sighed as she lightly shook her head and settled on the other end of the bench where the Banshee was also sitting. The night air was a little chilly, reminding her that the winter would be knocking on their doors soon. The huge rolls of fabric that she had wrapped around herself did nothing to keep her warm, making her immediately change her outfit. One second she was wearing the long purple dress, with perfect hair and makeup looking like a beautiful princess in the moonlight. And the next second, she changed into a pair of warm pajamas with her long hair tied in a loose bun. Her feet were covered in fluffy Pikachu slippers, making both the ladies giggle. "You are such a baby sometimes, Win!" The Banshee said with a softness in her tone. Li Ming didn''t reply but let the woman continue with whatever was making cramps form in her stomach. "I''m here to stop you from visiting the Snow Fields the coming morning." The Ghost woman said after the comfortable silence of a few minutes. Li Ming turned to look at the woman with a frown on her face as she asked, "Why?" The Banshee let out a sigh before replying, "The pull that you were feeling belongs to a very powerful object. Your current cultivation level isn''t enough to control that thing. I''m suggesting you to raise your cultivation level first to a certain limit before visiting the Snow Fields." Li Ming calmly listened to the Banshee''s explanation before asking, "What is that object?" "You know that I can''t tell you everything, right?" The woman asked with a light laugh. Of course, Li Ming knew that. She was just trying her luck. Unfortunately, in all these years she still hadn''t succeeded in tricking the banshee even once. Sad life! "How long before I can finally visit the Snow Fields then?" She asked after a few moments. "Let me put it like this. I can''t tell you why but when you will finally visit the Snow Fields, you won''t be able to return immediately. It can take weeks and probably months." The Banshee said. "You have a lot of important works to finish currently. I will suggest you to return to the Han Empire and continue with your plans for now. I''ll let you know when you can finally visit the Snow Fields. But there is one very important thing that you need to keep in your mind." The Banshee continued to explain. At the last sentence, Li Ming looked at the woman with a questioning gaze. "Your cultivation level is not going to increase on its own. So, please start paying more attention to it. In your plans of spreading your business, you are completely forgetting about keeping up with the cultivation." The Banshee told the girl, more like reprimanded her. "Oh, okay." Li Ming nodded her head as she replied with a barely audible tone. "What okay? You need to remember that the body in which you are currently residing is not as powerful as your mage body. That''s why whenever you get in contact with a more powerful object or energy, you end up half-dead." This time Li Ming was sure that the banshee was angry at her. It was not like she did not want to increase her cultivation level but in all the chores she always ended up forgetting about keeping up with her cultivation. "Fine. I promise to dedicate five out of seven nights of a week to either cultivation or alchemy." Li Ming promised in a serious tone. "Why five? What are you planning to do on the other two remaining nights?" The Banshee asked with raised eyebrows. "I have a lot of business-related works to handle during the day time and the nights will be taken away by the cultivation practice. In the middle of all these, I have to make sure to stay in contact with my mates and there is also the issue of the Demon Realm and Hei Long. I can''t neglect them either." Li Ming explained with a little pout. It was like she was explaining her actions to an elder so that she would not be punished or wronged. And in some way, it was actually true. Though the Banshee was not her elder but she was someone who was very important in Li Ming''s life. No matter how much she didn''t like the presence of the Banshee, but it was also a fact that the woman had always been there to support and lead Li Ming during her difficult times. Her, Li Ming''s, mother even used to joke about how they thought that the Banshee was some kind of guardian angel who was assigned to look after Li Ming. "Look at you. Already thinking too much about saving the Demon Realm and the Demon Prince when you are not even able to handle one percent of that black mist." The Banshee scoffed at Li Ming''s stupid explanation. The girl needed to pay attention to herself but rather than doing that, she was busy saving lives here and there. It was like the teachings of her father, that as the leader of a group she needed to look after all their requirements and make sure that they all were living a comfortable and happy life, were deeply engraved in Li Ming''s mind. The world had changed, the lives had changed, the body had changed, the people around her also changed, but the Mage Queen was still the same. However, looked like the young girl had forgotten one of her father''s teachings, that a leader needed to be strong and powerful to keep his/her group protected and collected. After hearing Banshee''s taunt Li Ming passed her one of her disgusted looks. "By the way, can''t you tell me something more about that black mist?" Li Ming asked after a few seconds. Her tone suddenly turned soft as she looked at the older woman with her doe-like eyes. In return to her question, the Banshee only passed a smirk and flicked her hair as she adjusted her overcoat. Li Ming almost wanted to kick the woman and get rid of her, but somehow she remained still, not giving in to her urges. One thing was for sure, her self control had surpassed the highest point after coming to this Immortal world. She had almost mastered the skill of controlling herself from punching people or even firing her words at them. She should get an award for her self control, right? "Well, though I can''t tell you much about the black mist. I''ll suggest you to master the Angel Protection Shield before entering into the Demon Realm again." The Banshee said as she looked seriously at Li Ming. The Angel Protection Shield was an array-like protection charm that was designed by the very first head of the Supernatural Council back on the Earth. Since the shield was created by an angel, it contained the power of protecting its creator from all the dark powers. The level of power of the Protection Shield depended on the level of the power of its creator. "You are becoming better in merging technology, magic, and spiritual qi together to build even more powerful objects. I''m sure you will come up with something similar for the Angel Protection Shield." The Banshee continued to explain. Li Ming softly nodded her head in understanding. "The last help that I''m going to provide you tonight..." The Banshee said as she stood up from the bench. She was carrying something in her right hand which was currently hidden inside her coat pocket. Li Ming silently waited for the woman to continue. "...after tonight, the next time you will get to see me will be the day when you will finally be prepared to visit the Snow Fields. Until then, keep working on your plans. You are doing far too good in such a new place than expected." Li Ming again had a sudden urge to roll her eyes but just like usual, she suppressed it. The Banshee took out her hand from her pocket and Li Ming''s gaze landed on the cell phone in her hand. The banshee passed the phone to Li Ming as she started to drift away into the air. "Check the gallery. Also, stop calling yourself a fourteen-year-old child, you will be turning fifteen in two months." And with these departing words, the silhouette of the banshee completely disappeared from the front lawn of the magical mansion, leaving a surprised Li Ming behind who was staring at the screen of the Cell phone in her hand. She wasn''t expecting to receive such a huge help from the Banshee. Though she was happy to know that the Banshee had solved a big problem of hers, but as she looked at the screen she felt like someone had stabbed her heart with a sharp knife as it throbbed in pain. Chapter 162 - Planning Murder When Li Ming woke up the next morning, she was alone in the room. There was no trace of the Second Demon Prince anywhere. However, she didn''t waste her time in worrying about his whereabouts. After nearly eight hours of sleep, her body was feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day. Rather than immediately returning to Dongji village, she teleported inside Xiao Tiantang where she cultivated her qi for the next two hours. She didn''t make any breakthrough but nearly eighty percent of her power energy returned after that. "You are looking pretty, My Lady." Snowy whistled as Li Ming came out from the magical mansion after taking a shower. She was wearing a plain light green dress with sky blue printed flowers near the hem of the dress. A token, which belonged to the Black Jade Inn and represented her status as the Master by the little golden carving in the very middle of the jade, was tied at her waist in her belt. Her long hair was loosely falling on her back, only a single light green color jade hairpin was tucked into it. A veil was covering half of her face, leaving only her eyes and a little bit of forehead visible. Li Ming had put on mascara to give a little highlight to her eyes and once again she was wearing a pair of two inches heels, though the long dress covered her feet and hid the heels from the prying eyes of others. "You are such a flirt, Snowy." Li Ming said as both of them started walking towards the Maple Tree which would lead them inside the Xiao Tiantang. She was already a little late for the morning cultivation classes, by little she meant five minutes. That''s why she decided to take care of a few important matters before returning to the Dongji village. "If not you then whom am I gonna flirt with?" Snowy asked with a cute pouty face. Li Ming laughed lightly at his words before replying, "Don''t say that. You can always have Mallow to flirt with. I''m sure you both will look good together." "What nonsense! She''s a fox, not my race." Snowy immediately replied. "Oh come on! I''m sure it will be alright. Just imagine how cute your babies will be. They may probably look like you but with nine foxtails. Or maybe their eyes would be golden just like Mallow. Try it Snowy. After all, cross-breeding is possible." Li Ming said excitedly as she even stopped in her tracks to give Snowy her full attention. "Pervert! Pervert! Pervert! What kind of thoughts are filled in your mind? You are such a perv, Li!" And after hurling these words at her, the little Snowball ran away from here, leaving a laughing Li Ming behind. It took her a few minutes to stop laughing. The image of Snowy, as he listened to her crossbreeding talk, was hilarious. She had laughed so hard that she even felt her stomach hurting. Her eyes had also turned moist. As she entered into Xiao Tiantang, she was greeted by the group of pixies and Mallow. "Let''s head to the fields." Li Ming told them and they all headed towards the fields. As they entered into the clearing at the other end of the small forest, Li Ming was attacked by the tens of fragrances that were mixed in the air. The barren fields that they had come across a few weeks ago were now covered in greenery and colorful flowers. At one side of the fields were standing three stalls where a line of small jars filled with various kinds of herbs. On another end of the fields, Li Ming saw a group of three pixies preparing the soil so that the next batch of herbs could be grown. Li Ming walked towards the stalls and picked up a jar. She opened it and took a deep breath of its fragrance. "I''m so proud of you guys. You have produced nearly a hundred jars of these herbs just in a period of two-three weeks. Really amazing!" Li Ming praised the pixies for their hard work. The little fairies were delighted after hearing their Miss Li praising them. "Miss Li, do you wanna change the next batch of the herbs and spices that we are going to plant soon?" Alvina asked as they helped Li Ming pack all the jars. "Oh! I almost forget." Li Ming lightly palmed her forehead as she hurriedly pulled out a bag full of little black round seeds. "The nymph gifted me this bag back that night before we left the Magik Enchanted Forest. Try to plant them. Maybe try a smaller portion first. If it will be a success you can use the entire bag." Li Ming explained as she passed the bag to Alvina. It took her barely ten minutes before all the jars were safely placed inside the new storage of the magical mansion. She had specially prepared this new storage to store all the spices and herbs that they were planting in the Xiao Tiantang. Li Ming finished her work in Xiao Tiantang and headed towards the Dongji Village. It was time for her to continue with her business plans. ---- While in the Black Jade Inn... A man with dark black robes and a silver mask that covered almost his entire face, only leaving his thin lips visible was sitting in the far corner of the sitting room. The hoodie of the cloak that he was wearing hid his face in shadows. Even though he had a strong and powerful air surrounding him but still no one noticed him. It was like he was completely invisible to them. One of the maids served him hot freshly brewed coffee and a plate full of snacks. "How can you enjoy all this alone? You should have invited me too." Another person draped in a dark red cloak appeared beside him and without asking for permission, settled down at the opposite end of the table. "Why are you here?" The man asked with a sigh. It was clear from his tone that he was not happy about his company. "Aww, don''t be like that. You guys are so mean. All of you react to my presence like I''m some evil enigma whom you want to kick out of your lives." The red cloak person complained with a pout. Only if that person knew how correct they were! The black-robed man didn''t reply. He just silently sipped the delicious coffee. After hearing the praises of the Black Jade Inn for a long time, he finally got the chance to confirm the rumors. The Inn was indeed different and unique from the other inns. It was an Inn in the black market but it carried a soft and almost pure environment inside it. The decorations, the food, and refreshments, and even the service that was provided by the Inn were of high quality and extremely good. The manager and the staff were respectful and humble. They treated everyone equally neglecting the background of the customers. For the staff of Black Jade Inn, all the customers were just customers. Nothing more and nothing less. "When are you going to start your task? I have been waiting for quite some time to hear from you, but unfortunately, you haven''t made a single move in these past few weeks. What are you waiting for exactly?" The person in the red cloak asked the man. The black-robed man kept quiet as he continued to sip his coffee. After a few minutes of silence, he finally replied, "Since I''ve taken over the task, you don''t need to worry about it. I know what I''m doing." The red-cloaked person scoffed at the black robed man''s words as they said, "Are you kidding me! You know what you are doing? Rubbish! You aren''t doing anything at all." However, a single dark glance from the black robed man left the red-cloaked person in silence. "Like I said, you don''t have to worry about that task anymore. I know what I''m doing. You just wait silently and patiently for the result. And don''t come to meet me unnecessarily. I don''t like to waste my time on unimportant things and people." And with these words, his silhouette disappeared from the table. The red-cloaked person kept sitting there with folded hands. They barely get angry at others but at that moment, that person had a strong urge to strangle the black robed man. Unfortunately, he disappeared before the calamity could strike him. The urge to strangle the black robed man changed into slaughtering him when a servant approached the red-cloaked person with a bill of seventeen thousand silver taels. "What the-? How can it be seventeen thousand?" The red-cloaked person asked, more like squealed in shock. "Umm...! Well, he said that he will be treating all the customers today, and just before leaving he told us to collect the money from you..." The maid replied smoothly. The red-cloaked person had a new mission of their own now. How to kill the black robed man? Let''s plan a brilliant murder scheme! Chapter 163 - Meeting A Poet One month later... "Nothing is working!" Li Ming stated frustratingly. She threw the crystal balls on the ground which immediately broke into tiny pieces due to the hard impact of the ground. The group of demons surrounding her looked at the young girl with sympathy. All of them knew that nothing could change the sad reality of the Demon Realm. However, they had watched how Miss Li had been trying to find a way to help them throughout the last entire month. She would often visit the Evernight Province with a lot of packed warm and delicious food and clean water. The demons really enjoyed her visits as she always brought lots of happiness with her and even hope. As the winter was almost about to approach, Miss Li had even started bringing warm clothes for them. They noticed how the young girl walked away from them. Though she always tried her best to stay positive and calm throughout her past failures, but they all could see that the constant failures were taking a toll over her. Throughout the entire month, she tried to find a way to start agriculture in the Demon Realm but even after trying numerous tactics, nothing worked. She also tried to find a way to free the demons from the tight hold of the black mist but so far she wasn''t able to find any help from the hundreds of books and scrolls that she had read while staying awake throughout her free nights. And as for trying to build new houses, unfortunately, even that wasn''t going anywhere. Whatever she built came crashing down at dawn, leaving crumbles behind. She had not seen Moon Immortal and Hei Long even a single time in the entire month. Even Zhang Yong came to meet her only twice, as he wanted to make sure that she wasn''t tiring herself out too much. As Li Ming stood on the same bridge where she had listened to Ruoshan telling her about the past of the Demon Realm and its Rulers, her thoughts drifted to the Evernight Lord. How did he succeed in staying calm and strong in such situations? She was only failing for a month and she already felt sad and frustrated. On the other hand, Ruoshan had been going through this for years and he still looked calm while facing his people. Just how much hurt, sadness, and pain that man was storing inside himself, keeping it hidden from everyone. However, due to some unknown reasons, she hadn''t seen him for the past week. Her soul had already started aching to feel the warmth of her mates. The distance that had grown between them was also contributing to her restless nights. She had been out working herself for weeks by now. During the day time, she mostly stayed either in the Dongji village or in the Black Jade Inn. For the past month, she had been focusing on building the agriculture and Inn businesses. She regularly participated in the morning cultivation classes with the children and on some days when she wasn''t busy in the fields or in the Inn, she spent her time teaching the children more about various new things. Some children were doing extremely well while the others had still to come out of their shells, but she had made sure to give all of them her equal focus. She herself had broken through a couple of cultivation levels due to constant six hours cultivation for the past thirty-three days. She was currently a fifth rank High Cultivator. Though there was no breeze blowing around her, but as she stood on the bridge looking down at the running water she felt goosebumps appearing on her skin. Her hands automatically moved to rub her arms to keep herself a little warm. However, out of nowhere, she felt someone putting a cloak over her shoulders. Her nose was assaulted by the light smell of the ocean mixed with some kind of sweet herbs. She was too possessed by the mind-blowing fragrance that it took her mind quite a lot of time, basically three minutes, to register the unknown presence beside her. As she turned to look at her left, she came across a man dressed in dark black brocade robes. What amazed her was that even though his entire clothes were black but the belt at the borders of the long robe was of white color with golden carvings on it. It was such a contrasting combination of colors but it suited the man perfectly. His long hair was combed and neatly tied in a bun inside a golden coronet. His face was covered in a silver mask, only leaving his obsidian eyes and thin pink lips visible. Li Ming was so engrossed in observing him that she was taken back when his deep cold voice entered her ears. "Looks like you liked the cloak." Li Ming came out of her trance as she skeptically looked at the man with a frown. Her hands clutched the cloak tightly in her tiny fists. Due to some unknown reason, she didn''t want to return the cloak back to the man. "Who are you?" She asked as she eyed the man, trying to observe him. Her eyes took in how his thin lips curved slightly at one end at her words. Though, his eyes were completely blank as he stared back at her. "You need to be patient. Not everything can be as easy and simple in life as you want. Sometimes you need to work hard and for a long time to get better results," The man said as he completely ignored her question. Li Ming looked at the man in confusion. Exactly what he was trying to imply? "Who are you and Why are you here?" Li Ming also ignored his deep statements as she again repeated her question. This time adding another question along with the previous one. The man turned a little sideways to look at the horizon at a far distance. Though the entire Northern Province of the Demon Realm was in chaos but still at that moment, the horizon looked amazingly beautiful. The red, black, and maroon colors of the sky molded together to give a wonderful view of the horizon. "See, even such a place can hold such beautiful scenery in it. The question is whether you have the eyes that can recognize the lotus in the center of a dirty pond." The man lightly whispered. It was like his words were especially for her ears. Though his words sounded so poetic and amazing, but Li Ming wasn''t someone who had studied poetry. Therefore, she just kept staring at the man, whishing for him to start speaking in human language so that they could converse, or more like so she could finally get the answers to her questions. "Are you a poet?" Li Ming suddenly asked as she broke the moment. She had this sudden thought and seeing his way of talking made her doubt that the person was indeed a poet or something. The silver mask man turned to look at the girl, though he stayed silent. "You are a poet, right? I mean it makes sense. Hearing your poetic lines, I should have guessed it soon but I was a little taken back by your sudden appearance." Li Ming chuckled softly as she shook her head at her slow brain cells before continuing. "By the way, are you here to take some motivation? Like...you are a poet, you can find motivation anywhere and from anything. Only people like you can come up with such amazing lines in a place like this." The man was still silent as he listened to her sweet voice. "I love to write a few lines sometimes, but I''m nowhere near the great poets of the mainland." He finally replied softly with a little smile on his lips. "Aah! Look at you being so humble and all. You are actually good. I''m not into poetry and all but still, I think with a little more practice you can improve." Li Ming motivated the man. "So? Are you trying to say that I should not give up?" The man asked her. In reply, Li Ming immediately nodded her head as she said, "Of course, you are already doing so good. You need to work hard to reach your goal. If your goal is to become the best poet of this world, then you have to improve your faults and with time you will see better results." The man looked like he was thinking deeply about her words before he suddenly asked, "But what if I keep failing and failing again? What if no matter how much I try, I can''t succeed? Should I still keep trying?" Li Ming took in a deep breath as she started, "Everything depends on how much you want to reach your goal. If you want to give your hundred percent to it then don''t settle before reaching it. Of course, you won''t succeed overnight. Maybe it will take you a long time, but the first thing you need to learn to achieve your goal is to never give up." "But what if even after giving my hundred percent to it, I don''t achieve it?" The man asked her again. Li Ming shook her head as she looked directly into his eyes as she replied, "If you haven''t reached your goal yet, it means that you haven''t given in your hundred percent into it." Chapter 164 - Li Ming Found Another Mate "It applies to everyone, right? Even on you?" The man asked suddenly. Li Ming finally realized what was happening. She was caught in her own words. Her shoulders slumped as a sigh left her lips. "Just forget it. It''s easy to say these things but real life sucks," she said with a soft sad smile. "You haven''t even tried yet. I thought you are going to help the Demon Realm, never knew that you will give up just after a month." The man in the black robe looked at Li Ming as he said. Li Ming folded her hands and turned to give a mocking look to the man. "I never said that I''m giving up. I''m just sad for not seeing a single good result so far but that doesn''t mean I''m giving up." "That''s good to hear then." The man replied with that usual twitch on his lips. Due to some reason his company comforted her and this only led to more confusion. Why would she be comfortable in the company of a stranger? But before she could voice out her doubts, a huge wave of the black mist came flying towards her from the sky. By the time Li Ming noticed it there was barely any time left for her to take action. However, she felt the mist passing behind her. Her hair flew dramatically due to the breeze that was created by the lightning speed of the mist. Li Ming''s breathing had quickened due to the adrenaline rush and she closed her eyes for a moment to balance her breathing. "Are you alright?" The soft but deep voice entered her ears, making her realize that the man was standing close to her, so close. As she slowly opened her eyes, the first thing that met her gaze was his deep obsidian eyes. They looked like a deep abyss and she could fall into it any moment. But as her senses returned to their works, she realized the other things too. The reason the mist missed her and blew past her was because the man had pulled her into his arms, getting her away from the path of the black mist. Her hands were resting on his shoulders and both of them were standing so close to each other. Their body weren''t pressed against each other but there was barely any space left between them. The strong arm was holding her from her waist. And as she kept looking into his deep obsidian eyes, her mind and soul finally registered something and a voice whispered in her mind. "Mate!" The shock was evident on her face and looking at the way he was too staring into her eyes in a trance without blinking, explained that he was also living in that sweet moment as his soul recognized its other half. Li Ming''s hand automatically moved towards his face, as if they were going to take his mask off. But before her hand could touch the mask, a loose but firm grip stopped her hand. "Not today." He softly whispered, not taking his eyes away from her. "Why?" Li Ming asked in confusion. "Because I don''t want you to be distracted. You need to pay attention to your plans. Can''t have you thinking about me all the time." A chuckle broke out through her rosy lips that were hidden behind the light blue veil. But the man was too occupied by her twinkling eyes to pay attention to anything else. "I''m happy that I made your eyes twinkle like that because who knows when I''ll be able to do it again." The man softly whispers as his hand which was previously gripping her wrist, cupped her face. Li Ming immediately leaned into his warm touch, feeling her soul replenishing with joy and contentment. "Why are you saying that?" She asked as she tried to read his eyes but she was failing poorly. "You will know soon. Just let me hold you for a while." The man softly replied to her question as he stepped closer to her to fill the slight gap between them. Within a blink of her eyes, Li Ming found herself snuggled in a warm embrace. The fragrance of the ocean and herbs entered into her nose making her inhale deeply. "You smell like lilacs." She heard him say as he softly glided his fingers through her locks. His words brought a smile to her lips as her mind immediately put up an image of Hei Long calling her ''Lilac Girl''. She pulled her head away to look up at his face. See! That''s why she hated being short. Her neck always suffered due to her constantly looking up while talking to any of her mates as all of them were tall. She really gotta invest in heels and maybe try to increase her height first by doing some exercises and all. "Hei Long always calls me Lilac Girl because of this," she said as her eyes keenly tried to observe his reaction. She no longer wanted to hide that she had more than one man in her life and that''s why she decided to come out clean in front of her new mate. She was expecting to see confusion, or maybe anger in his eyes, what she didn''t expect was for him to break out into a huge smile. "That devil is good in coming up with names. I expected this from him." The man said while shaking his head in humor. "You know him?" Li Ming couldn''t stop herself from asking the obvious. In reply to her question, the man nodded his head as he said, "Who doesn''t know the famous Demon Prince Hei Long? However, I know them, all of them." Li Ming knew that he was talking about the rest of her mates and she finally released the breath that she had been holding. "I''m happy to know that you are aware that there are more than just one of us who are chosen to accompany you for the rest of our lives." The man said as he looked at her with his soft but deep dark eyes. Li Ming smiled at his words as she replied, "I''m happy too to know that you all are aware that there are more than just one of you guys in my life." The Immortal smiled at her as he said, "It doesn''t matter. The others are like brothers to me. If I''ve to trust someone with you then they are the only people whom I can trust with my eyes closed. I know they will always be there for you, to keep you happy, protected, comfortable, satisfied, and will always support you. As long as I''m a part of this, I''m happy." Li Ming felt like her heart was about to pop out of her chest. How could someone speak such things so casually? "I thought most of you were not happy about being bound to a single girl. What changed?" She asked the question to stop her too excited heart from filling with too much warmth for the man. In reply to her question, the man said, "When you have over 50,000 years of loneliness and you only think about the girl who will finally bring happiness to your life, I think I am not brave enough or let''s say, I am not idiotic enough to give you away. To give my happiness away." The Immortal knew exactly how to win a girl''s heart with his words but unfortunately, Li Ming''s mind had stopped working at a certain point of his reply. "50 what? Exactly how old are you guys?" She asked as she stared at the man with her round shocked eyes. Her expression made the man break into a beautiful smile. He rubbed her hair softly as he said, "All of us are over 50,000 years old and you my mate, you are still a little child." Li Ming wanted to bang her head on something, so she ended up banging her head on the solid chest of her mate. His arms closing around her once again to cover her in the protection and warmth of his embrace. On the other hand, Li Ming was left completely speechless. She couldn''t even point out that she wasn''t actually a fourteen...sorry, almost fifteen-year-old child but rather a twenty-eight-year-old mage who somehow ended up in the body of a child. But what''s the point? That would make no change to the fact that she was literally a kid in front of her ancient mates. "You guys are ancient." Li Ming muttered after with a pout. "Is our age going to bother you?" The man asked her as he pulled back a little to look into her eyes. Both his eyes and his voice told her that he was serious about his question. Li Ming knew exactly what he was trying to ask her through that question, therefore she replied honestly, "Of course. It is already bothering me..." She watched as the deep obsidian eyes of her mate darkened and a hint of sadness and worry appeared in it. Chapter 165 - Getting Kissed "...in front of you all, I''m feeling like a kid. It will take me forever to reach your current age." Li Ming finished her sentence and watched as the worry and sadness evaporated from his beautiful eyes. The man shook his head slightly as he bent down towards the girl, shocking her. Li Ming was completely taken aback by the sudden closeness of the Immortal. Her eyes took in as his face slowly inched closer to her own. In the next blink, she felt something warm touching her skin just right at the corner of her lips, making her gasp. Her eyes immediately closed and her hands gripped his shoulders as she tried to control the trembles that were shaking her body. Her breathing had already quickened as she savored that great feeling of getting kissed by her mate. The Immortal watched the expressions of the girl and he wanted to capture it forever. How much he wanted to stay in that exact moment with his mate, but unfortunately he had a mission to complete. "You are right. We all will need to wait for a long time for you to grow up. I heard that you don''t consider fifteen as a marriageable age. Now we have to wait until you reach the marriageable age. By the way, you never told us what is the right age for marriage according to you." Li Ming''s eyes flew open as the words of the man entered her ears. "Why you need to know that?" Li Ming asked him. The man swiped some loose strands behind her ear as he replied, "Because, in that way, we will know exactly how long will it take before we can finally bind you to us legally." Li Ming felt her cheeks turning bright pink as she tried to cover them with her hands. The man observed how slowly her milky white skin turned into a shade of bright red. "By the way, you haven''t introduced yourself yet. So, who are you?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the man with curious eyes. Little did she knew that her curiosity about the identity of her mate would lead to the worst days of her new life. ----- Eight Months Later... "You need to focus! FOCUS!" Li Ming wanted to cover her ears as the loud booming voice nearly broke her eardrums. "I''m trying!" She shouted back but immediately regretted as a huge wave of current hit her feet, sending tremors all over her body and she almost lost her balance. Currently, she was standing only on her left leg above a high iron pole. She had lost the track of time by now. No idea for how long she had been standing there like a dancing statue. It had been months since she first started the physical training with the Supreme Immortal as her Coach. Never even in her dreams had she thought that the Supreme Immortal could be one of her mates. The warm-hearted, soft, and sweet Supreme Immortal whom she met in the Demon Realm eight months ago had completely disappeared. She remembered how he said that he won''t be able to make her smile anytime soon after that day and now she finally knew what he meant by that. After they both left the Demon Realm that day, the warm and sweet Supreme Immortal changed into his rough, cold and indifferent self. He was there to lead her through her training and Li Ming silently allowed him because she knew in that way she would learn so many new things quickly and efficiently. But just as students loved to hate their teachers even though the teachers were only helping and preparing them for a better future, similarly Li Ming hated her training sessions with the Supreme Immortal. These training sessions were pure tortures for her. She always came out of the training ground with her body aching badly and covered in sweat and dirt. But in these past eight months, Wen Guiying, the Supreme Immortal never gave up on her even though sometimes she burst out in anger, and similarly, Li Ming also never backed down no matter how hard the task was. It was like Wen Guiying loved to test her breaking points and also challenging her and at the same time, Li Ming loved to prove him wrong whenever he thought that she won''t be able to perform a certain training or task. While these two were busy in their own world of challenges, the other four Immortals, Zhang Yong, Ruoshan, Hei Long, and Lord Yueliang were left to silently observe the chaos. "The six hours are over. You can leave now." The moment these words, spoken by none other than Wen Guiying, entered into her ears, Li Ming finally let out a deep sigh as she let her body relax. But unfortunately, she lost her balance and with a loud shriek, she prepared herself to land on the snow-covered ground. The idea of using her powers to save herself from falling on the ground didn''t even cross her mind. She felt her body being surrounded by something soft and fluffy. She slowly opened her eyes to see snow white tails of Mallow carrying her. The little fluff ball had grown into a twelve inches tall fox. Her golden eyes were still as sparkly as they were for the first time when Li Ming met the furball. "Thank you, Mallow." Li Ming said as she safely landed on the snow-covered ground. They were currently at the highest peak of Thundering Mountain Ranges. It was the middle of May and the summer was about to reach its peak very soon. With a flick of Wen Guiying''s fingers, the snowfields disappeared and the area returned to its original form. Without any other word, the Supreme Immortal disappeared from there, leaving Li Ming there with her two fluffy balls and Zhang Yong. Li Ming was about to say something to her two little companions when she was suddenly pulled into the warm embrace of Zhang Yong. The Shadow Lord kissed her temple sweetly as he whispered in her ears, "You are doing great, Ming''er. You were absolutely amazing today and you rocked today''s training session." Li Ming felt her mind and body relaxing at his words as she let her spiritual energy come out to the surface to play with Zhang Yong''s spiritual qi. She still remembered the day around five months ago during the Winters when Zhang Yong finally revealed the connection that he somehow managed to form with her. She visited the Moon Manor that day for the first-ever meal with her mates. It was during the dinner when she let out a small wave of her spiritual qi to roam through the Moon Manor when she suddenly felt it being dragged towards a certain presence of qi. At the end of her search, she came across none other than the Fourth Prince but it looked like he had pulled on their bond on purpose. "I don''t want to keep this a secret anymore, Ming''er. I hope you will welcome me with an open heart." He had said that day as they both stood on one of the highest towers of the Moon manor. "Sure. You have always been a best friend and a powerful support of mine. You never judged me, nor did you ever interfere in any of my decisions. I admire and respect this friendship of ours and let me tell you, I don''t care if you guys have any kind of past. Because I won''t judge to according to your past, rather I''ll learn about you through your behavior and the present Zhang Yong whom I know and consider a member of my family is too dear to me to lose." This was Li Ming''s reply which almost made the Dragon Shifter break down into tears of happiness and pride. That was how she came to learn that whatever spiritual pull she was feeling towards Zhang Yong was due to their spiritual bond. The very first time when she met with Zhang Yong in the Black Inn, their energies somehow ended up connecting with each other. And on the other day when the two of them cultivated spiritual energy together, the connection between their energies finally merged together to form a spiritual bond between the two of them. They were not exactly soulmates but the bond between the two of them was as special and pure as the soulbond that she shared with her mates. Li Ming was actually happy after finding out that Zhang Yong would also be a confirmed member of her happy family. She had found everyone, just one member was missing. No one was telling her the identity of her fifth and the final mate and she didn''t try to bother them too much about it. "Little One, if you want we can make Wen Guiying stop his training sessions immediately. If you don''t want to continue this, we can understand. No one is going to force you to do something that you don''t want to do." Li Ming was surprised but also pleased when Lord Yueliang confronted all of them about the training sessions that she was taking with the Supreme Immortal for the previous three months. Chapter 166 - Minghue Tea House "Absolutely correct. I know that I was not on my best behavior before. I was too worried about you all the time and even tried to make sure that you don''t do certain things, but I''m not gonna do that anymore," Ruoshan had confessed as he agreed with Lord Yueliang''s words. "After learning more about you, we all now know that you are strong enough to face any challenge. You are smart enough to make your own decisions. Of course, we will share our views on certain points but no one will force them on you. In the end, you are free to go along with your own choices." The Evernight Lord had continued. Li Ming was so shocked by their words back then, but seeing how they all supported her had brought a smile to her face that night. However, when she finally replied, she had noticed the soft twitch on Wen Guiying''s lips which indicated that he was also touched by her reply. "I''m really thankful to you all for understanding and supporting me. But, I''m a part of our training session because I want it that way." She remembered the surprising look that had crossed Hei Long''s eyes. The Demon Prince had been also present there during the dinner, though he didn''t speak to her even once. "I may be a smart, intelligent, hard-working, and powerful person according to you, but there is still a lot more that I need to learn. Though I''m both mentally and spiritually strong but physically I''m very weak. I need to improve my physical and cultivation levels and the Supreme Immortal is helping me in the best way that he could." Her eyes had roamed over her mates as she had continued, "I''m a part of this training session because I want it, not because I''m being forced. I know all of you are worried about me and whenever you ask me to stop from doing something, that''s for my own good and I respect that." She had always known that whenever any of them pressured her to do or learn something, it was because they knew that she would need it for her future. Moreover, none of them ever threatened her to agree with their demands. They never hurt her and neither did they get angry at her. She knew that they needed to create a balance in their bond. She needed to listen to them and respect their opinions even if she would not always agree with them. Similarly, they would also need to learn to listen to her decisions and respect them, even if they did not always agree with them. That night all of them promised to respect and support each other''s decisions, though they were also allowed to voice out their opinions whether did they agree or not. ---- "Miss Li, this is the copy of customers that visited the Breezing Flowers Inn during the last month." Sue Mei said as she passed Li Ming a notebook. The four assistants of hers, Sue Mei, Lei Xiao Ting, Lei Yong, and Zhou Han, had been a very strong and perfect addition to her business. The four of them had been officially working for her for the past five months. The four of them helped her business a lot. Li Ming had made sure to train them as perfectly as she could and she was happy with the results. The three of them, Lei Yong, Lei Xiao Ting, and Zhou Han, were as fluent in their job as any professional. And Sue Mei made sure that the final report that they presented in front of Li Ming was as flawless as possible. Li Ming checked the data that the three assistants, Lei Yong, Lei Xiao Ting, and Zhou Han, had collected throughout the past month. Sue Mei''s duty was to make sure that the final report that they would be presenting to Li Ming, was correct and perfectly detailed. Within the next half an hour, Sue Mei had explained the entire data of the notebook to Li Ming with some additional information. "You guys are doing so good. Well done." Li Ming praised Sue Mei and took out four spiritual cores out of her space and handed them over to the young lady. Each spiritual core was red in color. There were a total of seven colors in the spiritual cores - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The Red-colored spiritual core carried ten days worth of spiritual qi stored in it. The Orange-colored spiritual core carried six months worth of spiritual qi stored in it. The Yellow-colored spiritual core carried one year worth of spiritual energy stored in it. The Green-colored spiritual core carried five years worth of spiritual qi stored in it. The Blue-colored spiritual core carried ten years worth of spiritual qi stored in it. The Indigo-colored spiritual core carried a hundred years worth of spiritual qi stored in it. The Violet-colored spiritual core carried a thousand years worth of spiritual qi in it. Lord Yueliang had taught her how to create the spiritual cores around two months ago when she spent a night in the Moon Manor cultivating in the strange but powerful and dense spiritual qi that flowed through the atmosphere of the Moon. "Alright, I''ll add the data to the previous ones. These spiritual cores are a gift for the four of you. You can leave now." Li Ming said as she dismissed Sue Mei. Her office which was built on the fourth floor of the Minghue Tea House was overflowing with the sweet and spicy fragrance of the tea that a maid had just served her. Minghue Tea House was built exactly where the Jing family''s Jewelry shop had been previously. When she first visited the Jin Empire around ten months ago, that day she went to the herb market to buy different herbs, spices, and different kinds of teas. She also got a pouch of tea seeds from the nymph leader. Since the pixies were already taking care of the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang, they immediately had taken over the tea farming. By the time the new four stories shop was ready to be opened during the month of December, the little fairies had already filled a storeroom with jars of different kinds of teas, spices, and herbs. Li Ming also created a little supplement that appeared like a small round white pill. It was refined by adding various herbs which strengthened the meridians in the body. The supplement was added to the tea before being served to the customers. She also created another supplement back in winter which helped in keeping the body warm during the cold weather. She had made sure that the supplements never left any side effects. The second supplement was specially made for the poor citizens of the Capital City, who couldn''t afford warm clothes or food on their own. The tea was served to them throughout the winters completely free. Not only the poor citizens but anyone was allowed to grasp a cup of warm tea from the ground floor of the Minghue Tea House. "Are you busy right now?" A soft voice attracted her attention as Li Ming''s eyes flew to the open window of the room. She watched the little black dragon, which was barely the size of her palm, sitting there on the window sill. She didn''t even get the chance to reply before the dragon landed on her table. His cute small adorable eyes looked up at her with pure innocence. However, Li Ming couldn''t be fooled by that look of the dragon. "Am I not cute enough, Ming''er? Why are you not petting me like you do to Snowy and Mallow?" The dragon asked as he gave her his best puppy eyes. Yeah, imagine a dragon giving you puppy eyes! Li Ming shook her head at Zhang Yong''s cute antics. The two of them had grown even more closer after he revealed the truth about his identity and their bond. At Wen Guiying''s suggestions, the two of them, Li Ming and Zhang Yong, had started cultivating together. Since their spiritual energy was combined with each other and her spiritual energy was weaker than Zhang Yong''s spiritual energy, cultivating together was a great option for her to increase the strength of her spiritual energy. For the past ten months, the two of them had been cultivating together without skipping even a single day. Though their places for cultivation changed from time to time. For some time they cultivated in the Xiao Tiantang, then they cultivated at the foot of a mountain ranges in the Jin Empire. Another time, they cultivated on the land of the beautiful moon. On some rare occasions, Lord Yueliang also joined them during their cultivation time on the Moon. Currently, Li Ming was a first-level Master Cultivator. In these past eight months, she had developed in many areas. Her alchemy levels had increased as she experimented on various new and unique ideas of important and rare pills. Her physical power was far better than before, though she still had a very long way to go. She had played around with nearly thousands of spells and charms to create things that would help her and her people. And with the help of these experiments she had ended up forming two brilliant ideas back in winter. One idea was for the Dongji village as during the entire winter season, the village usually got covered in snow. While the second idea was for Prime Minister Zhu as his people had once again headed towards the Dongji village. Chapter 167 - No One Allowed As Li Ming took care of Minghue Tea House''s business, the little dragon accompanied her throughout the entire morning. He was perched on her left shoulder as he slept there snuggled in her nape. Li Ming had cast a spell around him so that he would be invisible to others, and also to save him from falling. However, she knew exactly why he was sleeping there. After the training session in the early morning with Wen Guiying, her left shoulder was one of the body parts that was experiencing pain. The potion that she drank took care of her body pains but even after that she was feeling a slight discomfort in her shoulders. But since the moment Zhang Yong had snuggled there, his dragon heat was seeping into her shoulder, miraculously completely taking away the discomfort and pain. Minghue Tea House had very soon become a popular teahouse throughout the Capital City of the Han Empire due to it''s unique and rare varieties of teas, the special supplements that were a part of the teas, the customer service provided by the tea house, and for the beauty of the tea house. It had taken Li Ming almost three months to built the tea house. The architecture was a mixture of ancient and modern crafts. If people were surprised by the unseen decorations of the Black Jade Inn then the tea house almost took their breath away. Nearly every single noble family of the Capital had already visited her tea house to taste the authentic taste of the teas. Even some members of the Imperial family also visited the Inn during the last two months, including the Third Princess and Fifth Prince. As noon appeared, Li Ming finally decided to leave the Minghue Tea House. Manager Yuan bid Li Ming goodbye as he followed her to the entrance. Yuan was Zi Yan''s twin brother. The twenty-year old youth had asked her to take him and his sister under her care when she had talked to him about his future plans. Li Ming immediately agreed as she already liked the two of them. Zi Yan was a well trained martial artist. She either accompanied her, Li Ming, during her important visits or mostly she worked as a coach for the younger children who wanted to learn martial arts. Though Yuan too was a great martial artist but he wanted to do something different and peaceful in his life, therefore Li Ming proposed to him with the idea of taking care of the Minghue Tea House. Yuan agreed immediately. He was even excited to start the work. During the three months when Li Ming was building the Tea House, she was also busy training a lot of people. She trained nearly twenty five girls who were in their early or mid-twenties, about how to serve customers and how to remain professional during every situation. Also, seven servants were trained to keep the Tea House clean and comfortable all the time. There were eight men in their late twenties or early thirties whom Li Ming trained for the work of guards. An entire team of ten cooks, out of which five were skilled in brewing all kinds of special teas, was also formed. There were also six more people working under the chef team. The fact that the entire Tea House was in the hands of fifty-seven young people and it was doing so well in business, was a miracle on its own. Because of the opening of the Tea House, many children from the Dongji village finally got the chance to step forward in their lives. Li Ming even made a new rule which stated that only fifteen percent of the income of the children would be allowed to hand over to their families back in the village and the rest would be left in their hands. She had made sure that every family in the Dongji village was employed under her businesses. She was even coaching their children without any charges. After all this, if they still wanted money from the hard work of their children then she was not going to support that. All the fifty-seven people who were working in the Minghue Tea House were living in the three storey Inn that was standing right beside the Tea House. Li Ming had booked the Inn for an entire year so that her employees didn''t have to struggle for finding a place to rest during their break time. The owner of the Inn, Madam Chen, an old lady in her mid-fifties had also become a close acquaintance of Li Ming in the past few months. --- Li Ming had barely set her foot inside the ward that was surrounding the Dongji village when a loud booming sound echoed throughout the area. Without even checking, she already knew that someone had set off the booming balls. As she walked towards the farmhouse where all the animals were kept, she saw three children being scolded by their mother for playing around with the booming balls. "It''s alright Madam Wu. The construction work of the seven shops is almost over. I''ll take down the balls today. No need to be so harsh on them." Li Ming said as she ruffled the hair of the young boys who were seven or eight years old. The boys immediately ran away towards the orphanage which was now a newly constructed four-storey Academy. For the rest of the day, Li Ming helped the workers in completing the final touches on the seven brand new shops that were lined across the Academy. By the time the watch on Li Ming''s wrist stated 3:00 pm on it, the shops were already ready to start the business. "Miss Li, thank you so much for this. We will always be grateful to you. You have given so much to us villagers that we would never be able to pay back even a short percent of this kindness." The seven families who were assigned as the host of the seven shops were standing in front of Li Ming as they all bowed to Li Ming in gratitude and respect. Li Ming nodded her head lightly, showing her acceptance towards their courtesy. All the seven shops were two storey buildings, each with a basement. These seven shops were - Garments Shop, Furniture Shop, Jewelry Shop, Footwear Shop, Herbs Shop, and a Kitchen Utensils Shop. The last one was actually a small restaurant as in the past eight months, a lot of visitors had started visiting the Dongji village to buy fresh vegetables and fruits rich with spiritual qi. With a small opening ceremony among the villagers, the seven shops were opened for the public by 4 pm. Li Ming entered into the farmhouse and went straight towards the clearing behind the stables. The dragon which was sitting on her shoulders all this time flew straight towards the ground and the very next second, a handsome devil was standing in front of Li Ming. A pair of strong hands pulled her in a warm embrace from behind as Li Ming felt her back hitting a firm chest. "Missed you so much, Xingan." Ruoshsn softly whispered in her ears, making a smile appear on her rosy lips. "You just spent the last night spooning me in your arms. How can you start missing me in such a small time?" Li Ming asked while making her voice sound a little strict. However, the slight smile that was playing on her lips gave her away immediately, making Ruoshan squeeze her tightly in his arms. "Why I can''t miss you? It''s been hours since I last saw you early this morning before you left to meet that Wen Guiying." Roushan replied with his purple eyes showing disgust at the Supreme Immortal''s name. Li Ming laughed after hearing the contempt in the Evernight Lord''s voice towards the Supreme Immortal. Nearly all her mates were angry at Wen Guiying and there were two reasons behind it. The first one was obviously due to the hard training that he was making her go through and the second one was because he restricted the Immortals from being too close to her. According to him, Li Ming was still too young and the Immortals needed to keep some distance from her. He almost restricted them from meeting her as they were only allowed to meet her once a month. It was only when Li Ming confessed that she needed the physical touch from them to keep the bond balanced, did he allowed them to meet her twice a month. However, they were still not allowed to do anything more than hugging and holding hands. Of course, not all her mates were happy with Wen Guiying''s decision. Zhang Yong did a lot of begging and only after he promised to stay in his dragon form almost ninety percent of the time, did the Supreme Immortal allowed him to stay with Li Ming. However, the others were not as lucky as the Shadow Lord and the worst part was when Lord Yueliang also agreed with the Supreme Immortal. Chapter 168 - Li Ming And Ruoshan Being Shameless "Xingan?" "Hmm?" "You are so beautiful." "Thank you." "Xingan?" "Hmm?" "You are so soft and warm." "...umm, thank you." "Xingan?" "Yes?" "Do you love me?" Li Ming''s hands, which were busy in separating fruits in different baskets, immediately stopped in their tracks as the question registered in her mind. She turned to look at the Evernight Lord who was bringing two baskets filled with ripened oranges. He stopped beside her and crouched down to look at her eyes. "Do you?" A soft smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips and her eyes started sparkling at his question. The way he was holding his breath and the slight nervousness that only she could notice in his eyes, was too adorable to look at. She raised her hands to cup the warm but soft cheeks of the Evernight Lord as she asked, "Can you wait a little for my reply?" Ruoshan smiled softly at her question as he slightly bent forward to kiss her lightly on her forehead. There was no judgment or sadness in his eyes. He was just smiling at her with his eyes filled with warmth and fondness. "I''ve waited for 50,000 plus years for you. A few more years doesn''t matter that much. I can always wait for your reply because deep down our souls already know the answer." His sweet words were enough to make her heart melt. Therefore she didn''t even notice as she leaned forward and kissed his cheeks. Zhang Yong, who was back in his dragon form, stared at the two blushing figures who were not even able to look straight into each other''s eyes. "Can you two be any more shameless? For Heaven''s sake, you are not in your bed chamber but in an open field where anyone can see the two of you." The dragon spoke as he reprimanded the two of them. It was cute seeing a palm-sized dragon being angry at two grown-up humans...err...immortals. Li Ming was pulled away from the Evernight Lord with a strong force and she nearly lost her balance. "Aah! It''s time for me to retire for my night tasks. See you later!" She didn''t give Ruoshan any chance to stop her before teleporting inside the magical mansion. Zhang Yong followed behind her and the wards around the magical mansion immediately closed to keep the Evernight Lord from following her. It took her quite some time to understand exactly how the wards around the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang worked. She had her doubts about why only her mates were able to enter into her spaces but she finally got her answer while reading an ancient book on soulmates. Since Li Ming was the master of both these spaces and the wards that were protecting the magical mansion and Xiao Tiantang were connected to her through her energy and soul, they also recognized the Immortals as her mates. Her soul and energies which were connected to both her mates and the spaces opened a connection between her mates and her spaces. Since they were her mates and didn''t pose any kind of danger to her, the wards immediately surrendered to them, allowing them to enter into her spaces. After searching for some more and asking Mallow about it, she finally found out that she could stop her mates from entering into her spaces if she wanted, because in the end, she was the actual owner and the spaces needed to follow her orders. Though she decided to not use this newfound power. She wasn''t actually unhappy at the thought that they could enter into her spaces without her permission. However, she informed them that she would put the wards up against them whenever she would need extreme privacy. No one raised any question against her decision nor did they show any unhappiness about it. They just silently listened and accepted her decision. "Do you have any special plans for the evening?" Zhang Yong asked as he changed into his human form. Li Ming raised her eyebrow at him as if asking ''What are you doing?'' "I''m tired of the dragon form, I want to be a human for some time. Also, I''m not sticking to you like the Evernight Lord." Zhang Yong replied while shrugging his shoulders. Li Ming shook her head as she continued walking towards the front porch of the mansion. The sun appeared bright orange as it reached the horizon, showering the area in its last few golden rays of the day. "I''m going to take a look at the Prime Minister''s manor. It''s been quite some time since I last paid them any attention." Li Ming replied to Zhang Yong''s initial question as she entered into the mansion. The two inches high heels immediately disappeared, covering her feet in fluffy slippers. Her long white dress also changed into a long-sleeved sweatshirt and a pair of pajamas. The temperature inside the mansion immediately adjusted according to her clothes so that she would not feel uncomfortable due to too much heat or cold. Zhang Yong silently followed behind her as they reached the third floor of the mansion. A soft smile playing on his lips as he thought about watching the poor state of Prime Minister Zhu. The Shadow Lord had never liked the Prime Minister but he was too lazy...cough cough...busy to pay any attention to him. Finally, his Ming''er had finally taken care of the monster. At least she was already halfway there to push him over the cliff. During last December when the people of the underground slave market appeared in the Dongji village for a new batch of children, Li Ming was already prepared. With the help of Wei Rong, she planned a meeting with General Wei. She collected all the evidence that she had found about the slave market. The list of the names that Old Mo provided her. The map of the Xi Qiu market and the Slave market. The information about the number and placement of guards around the Slave market. The shops and people in Xi Qiu City who were either involved in the Slave Market or at least knew about it, and the list of the orphanages that were selling children to the slave market, Li Ming collected all of these before her meeting with General Wei. It took her nearly a month to collect all this information. She always ended up draining all her spiritual energy as she had to use teleportation powers and invisibility spell almost all the time. Zhang Yong and sometimes even Ruoshan accompanied her during these days to help her find as much information as she could. Though taking care of this wasn''t a big deal for either of the Immortals, but Li Ming had already informed them to not involve themselves in her matter. The two of them were only allowed to accompany her to take care if she somehow failed to teleport out of the city due to losing too much energy. The day Li Ming finally met with General Wei she had collected a lot of information about the slave market. Only two days were left before the arrival of the people from the Slave market and Li Ming had to make sure that she could save her people from the clutches of those monsters. As she presented all the evidence in front of General Wei, she was surprised to see that the General was not even shocked by such a huge revelation. He already had his doubts about the crimes of Prime Minister Zhu. General Wei had also succeeded in collecting some evidence about the Prime Minister''s corruption and fraud during his period as an official. Though that evidence was not enough to put Prime Minister Zhu in any kind of danger. Li Ming also got to know that General Wei was working on the mission of finding more evidence about Prime Minister Zhu''s crimes at the Emperor''s order. Of course, General Wei was shocked to see a young girl carrying so much information about the secret activities of Prime Minister Zhu even when it was hard for even him, General Wei, to find these evidence. But since Miss Li was introduced to him by his own two sons and they both promised that the young lady was a nice and good-hearted person, he didn''t ask any question to her. After helping General Wei and his second in command in planning a perfect timed raid on the Slave market, Li Ming took her leave. Just as a group from the slave market were preparing to visit Dongji village, an entire troop of around three hundred soldiers surrounded Xi Qiu City. General Wei had already sealed the teleportation array house and all the escape routes of Xi Qiu City. It was almost impossible for Prime Minister Zhu to get out of this situation unharmed. Little did they expected the Prime Minister to come up with a way to drive most of the harm out of his way, though he lost too much that day to stay sane anymore. Chapter 169 - Bondmate "He looks like a man who is about to kill someone." Zhang Yong chuckled as he stared at the screen that was plastered on the huge wall of the tech room on the third floor of the mansion. Both Li Ming and he were sitting on leather chairs as they watched the old man on the large screen. Prime Minister Zhu looked like he had aged almost ten years in the past six months. His white hair and wrinkled face cried out loudly about the state of his mind and health. A satisfied smile appeared on Li Ming''s face as she watched the old jerk shouting and beating his servants as he took his anger out on them. They were receiving what they deserved. Actually, they deserved far much harsher punishment than what they were going through currently. And Li Ming would make sure that they would receive exactly what they deserved. Nearly every single person related to the surname Zhu was involved in some kind of illegal activities, and if not that then every person of that family was corrupted from their heart. The Zhu family couldn''t be called a family at all. Each person in that family could betray the other to save their own ass. "Are you planning to do something?" Zhang Yong asked as he watched Li Ming in shutting the screen off along with the lights of the room as they left the tech room and headed downstairs. It was time for them to prepare the dinner before they continued with their daily cultivation routine. The huge screen on which they had just watched Prime Minister Zhu was one of Li Ming''s new experiments. She wanted to build something similar to CCTV''s so that she could keep her eyes on the Prime Minister Zhu and his family member''s movements. It took long hours of research, at least dozens of failed and ruined attempts, and many drained nights before she finally came up with a perfect merge of technology, magic and spiritual qi that solved her problem perfectly. Li Ming placed the little cameras all over the Zhu Manor one night and for the last five months, she had been keeping track of Prime Minster Zhu''s movements. That day, six and a half months ago when General Wei and his team raided Xi Qiu City and the Slave Market at the Emperor''s order, the General went there with a fullproof plan. His team had already sealed the teleportation array house and all the escape routes of Xi Qiu City. No one was able to set their foot out of the boundary of Xi Qiu City that day. The team of General Wei almost caught every single person in the Slave market and those shop owners of Xi Qiu City who were involved in the dark business. That day nearly three hundred youths were rescued from the slave market and nearly dozens of lives were saved because there was going to be a human auction that day in the slave market. The condition of those children was too much even for Li Ming to watch. She couldn''t bring all those children under her wing, therefore with the help of General Wei, Wei Rong, Wei Min, and the rest of her friend circle, she arranged an entire hospital where those youths could be treated properly. She knew that it was going to take a long time before those youths would be able to move forward and she did her best to be present there for them through these hard days of their lives. She prepared healing pills and sleeping potions for them. She tried to make sure that they were not left with any physical scars and started working on the mental ones. She brought a group of children who were training under her in the cooking section, to cook for these youths. She had always made sure that the children who were officially employed in her businesses were of legal age, which meant officially eighteen or above. Though, there was nothing like a legal age kind of thing in the Immortal world. She also tried to find their interests, which was a very hard thing, and after two months of knowing them and spending a lot of time with them, she finally got to know what interested each of them. For the last two months, she had been trying to train them in their interested fields. Though the speed was slow but at least, most of them were showing interest. Li Ming had formed a few groups of the children of the orphanage who were assigned to train the youths. The owner of the hospital was someone related to General Wei''s family and because if that Li Ming wasn''t worried about the behavior of the hospital''s staff. "I''ve enough footage and evidence now to make your father pass the decree which started the clearance of the entire Zhu Clan from the surface of this continent. I''m just going to pass these evidence to General Wei tomorrow morning. He will take care of the rest." Li Ming replied to Zhang Yong''s question as he took out ingredients for the dinner. "What about your plan of saving those thirteen young children of the Zhu family?" Zhang Yong asked as he took out a pan from the cabinet. "I still want the Emperor to exempt them. They are so small and they don''t deserve to pay a price for the crimes of their elders." Li Ming replied as she looked at Zhang Yong with her eyes filled with hurt. She knew that one look at her sad eyes and the Fourth Prince would dissolve in a panicked mess. Zhang Yong took Li Ming''s hands in his own as he tried to explain his point to her. "I know exactly how and what you are thinking and I completely agree with your points. Though there is one very important point that you are forgetting about, Ming''er." Li Ming looked at Zhang Yong with puzzled eyes and at her confused reaction, the Shadow Lord continued. "Though these children are innocent but we are talking about killing their entire family here. What do you think will happen to them? This society won''t let them get away from the crimes of their elders." "They would be trolled from left and right, taunted for their family background. You won''t be able to hide their family''s past and their end from them." Zhang Yong started rubbing circles on the back of her hand as he continued, "What if even a single one of them grew up with layered and contempt filled in his/her heart? Do you know how dangerous it is? Every child supports his family no matter how wrong they actually were. There''s one out of thousands who could actually go against their family to support righteousness." "The hatred in his/her heart could take the form of revenge at any moment. And revenge is the most dangerous feeling, if not above love then neither below it. That revenge could kill hundreds of innocents." Li Ming opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. "I know that right now they are innocent and that they don''t deserve to be killed without any crime. But this rule was formed so that we could save order hundreds of lives in the future." Zhang Yong said as he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "No. You can''t take one life to save hundreds of other lives. That one innocent life is just as important as those hundred lives. I don''t agree with this." "Look, just give me a chance. I''ll make sure that they will never stray from the right path. I''ll do everything in my power to keep them away from the malicious comments of people. Just give me a chance." Li Ming looked at Zhang Yong with hopeful eyes. Of course, Zhang Yong couldn''t handle letting her down and deep down in his heart, he knew that she was right about her points. The difference was that he had become cold-hearted in the thousands of years of his life and such killings didn''t affect him as much as they should. But his dear bondmate, his Ming''er, his best friend, was so different from him and his other cold-hearted brothers. She was not cold-hearted, rather she carried the warmest and kindest heart inside her. She was born to see through the norms of the society. And as her mate, it was his responsibility and his wish, that he should support her in her decisions, especially in such good ones. "Fine. But remember that you are not alone. You have six people in your life who will always be there to support you. Leave this to me, I''ll make sure the Emperor will exempt these children." The Shadow Lord said with an assuring smile. Li Ming smiled brightly at her bondmate. She was happy to see him supporting her even though her demand was hard to complete. "I still need to know what kind of thing you are keeping over the Emperor for him to agree with all your actions as the Fourth Prince of this Empire." She said as she once again started preparing for the dinner. Zhang Yong just chuckled at her words but didn''t reveal his secret. Chapter 170 - Ready To Visit The Snow Fields "It''s time for you to finally head towards the Snow Fields." This was the first sentence Li Ming heard as she returned from her morning training sessions, to get ready for the day. "I can?" She asked the banshee in surprise. The banshee only nodded her head in reply. But Li Ming was in a panic mode. "What happened to you now?" The banshee asked as she watched the girl chewing on her lips with a frown plastered on her face. "There are so many things that I still needed to work on. How can I leave suddenly? I mean, last time you told me that I won''t be returning immediately. But then who is going to look after all the work?" Li Ming looked at the woman with worried eyes. The banshee let out a deep sigh before asking, "Can you state these...problems or unfinished businesses of yours one by one, please." Li Ming stared at the banshee for a few seconds before nodding her head as she started, "Ok. So..., umm...the very first one is who is going to take care of Black Jade Inn, Dongji Village, Jing Garments Shop, and the Minghue Tea House in my absence?" The Banshee lifted her right hand and started eliminating her problems one by one. "Black Jade Inn, Minghue Tea House, Jin Garments Shop, and the Dongji Village, each of these have one Manager who takes care of the business in your absence. I don''t see a problem with you staying away until or unless your employees are not good at their jobs." Li Ming glared at the banshee but since she didn''t have a good response, so she decided to stay silent. To be honest, the banshee was right. Both Black Jade Inn and Dongji village had been taking care of their own businesses in her absence. And the people of her three new businesses were also trained to work smoothly in her absence. She only had to make a few adjustments and then it''s up to them to take care of the businesses. "What about the morning classes of the Academy students? And those people whom we rescued from the slave market?" Li Ming asked the Banshee. Li Ming had turned the orphanage into a small academy. Due to some reasons, she wasn''t able to open the Academy inside the Enchanted Magik Forest. "First, In the past one and half years, you have taught those students of yours a lot of things. Right this moment there are currently seven or eight teams of some of the most outstanding students assigned by you to teach the younger students while they continued their own training." Banshee gave Li Ming a questionable look as she asked, "I can''t see any reason for you to worry about the Academy?" Li Ming was once again left speechless. Well, the Banshee somehow again was right. Before she could ponder more about it, the woman continued. "Second, the facilities that you have provided to those rescued people are already top-notch. I think it won''t really be a problem if you won''t be able to visit the hospital every week or so for the next few months." Li Ming nodded her head lightly, not able to find any reason to contradict the woman. "But there''s also the Prime Minister''s case..." Li Ming wasn''t even able to complete her sentence before she looked at the raised eyebrows of the banshee. "If I''m not wrong then I think you are going to handover all those evidences to General Wei today. The rest is not your headache. As for the children whom you want to save, Zhang Yong can at least make sure that they will be sent to the Academy safely. Once there, the Academy community will take care of them. Problem solved." It was like the Banshee had appeared after making sure that Li Ming won''t be able to find any excuse. "Fine. I think you are right about all of these, but there''s one more..." Li Ming said as she raised her index finger of her right hand, emphasizing on her one last problem. "What?" The Banshee asked with a little impatience. "I''m having training sessions with..." Li Ming once again didn''t get the chance to complete her line as the Banshee already started answering. "Your mates are Immortal Deities and Demons. There''s nothing in this world that they can''t do. Just go and tell them that you will be leaving for the Snow Fields immediately. They can always visit you there so that the bonds between you guys will stay balanced." The woman stopped for a mere second to stare at Li Ming before continuing, "As for your training sessions, I think the Supreme Immortal was currently training you on Snow Ground techniques. The Snow Fields would be a perfect place to continue with your training. Anything else?" Li Ming slowly shook her head in negative. She was out of excuses, but at least she now knew that she could leave for the Snow Fields without any worries. "Then go and prepare, you will be leaving the first thing tomorrow morning. Make sure that all your businesses, the Academy, and the hospital, are prepared for your absence. Also, tell your mates." The Banshee told Li Ming who immediately nodded her head. "See you later!" The banshee bid her goodbye and her figure started disappearing. "Wait! How am I going to reach there?" Li Ming asked hurriedly as the question popped into her mind. "Ask your mates." These were the last words before the figure of the banshee completely vanished from her vision. Looked like Li Ming had a lot of urgent works to finish immediately. She took a quick shower, grabbed an apple, and after making sure that she had all the evidence with her, she left the mansion to meet with General Wei and his two sons. --- Heaven Realm... "Your Highness, The Great Supreme Majesty, the Water Immortal is here." The Heaven Emperor was getting ready for his journey when the guard alerted him about the arrival of the Water Immortal. A man who appeared to be in his late thirties, but was actually millenniums old, entered the Golden Dragon Chamber. "Uncle!" Heaven Emperor acknowledged the presence of the Immortal with a slight nod of his head. "My dear nephew, look at you. After looking at your current appearance no one can tell that you are actually the Ruler of the Heaven Realm and the Guardian of the Mortal Realm. Are you heading towards the mainland again?" The Water Immortal asked as he helped his nephew in getting dressed. Heaven Emperor nodded his head at his Uncle''s question. The maid added the simple golden hairpin in his loose hair. The two Immortals left the Golden Dragon Chamber and headed towards the Gates of Heaven. "Have you already found her?" Water Immortal''s question surprised the Heaven Emperor, as he later stopped in his tracks. "I''m not sure. Something had changed since the last time I visited the mortal realm but I''m not able to pinpoint what. If it''s her then I can''t waste any more time." He finally confessed his thoughts to his uncle. The Water Immortal smiled softly as he patted his nephew''s shoulder while saying, "My eyes are waiting to see the five of you once again together with that chosen one beside you all. You all deserve happiness and love. I''m sure you will find her soon." A small smile appeared on the perfectly shaped lips of the Heaven Emperor as his soul gave a happy cheer at his Uncle''s words. It was time when he should finally meet with the other half of his soul and to reunite with his brothers. --- "I don''t have any problem. We can continue with your practices in the Snow Fields. But can you tell us why are you actually going there?" Wen Guiying asked her as they all sat in the living room of her magical mansion. Li Ming had spent her entire day taking care of all her important businesses. She handed over the evidence against Prime Minister Zhu to General Wei. She checked through Black Jade Inn''s business to make sure that they won''t need anything in her absence and alerted Elder Fu and Madam about her absence. She did the same with Dongji village, Minghue Tea House, Jin Garment Shop, and the hospital where the rescued people from the Slave market were being treated. She was currently sitting in her living room surrounded by four of her soulmate and a bondmate, after dinner. "I have some important business there. That''s why." That''s how she replied to the Supreme Immortal''s question. The five Immortals passed each other serious glances before Lord Yueliang decided to ask another question from her. He was the only person whom Li Ming could neither mock nor could she neglect his words. It was not because he was strict or anything. Nope! His character was exactly the opposite but probably that was the exact reason why she could never bring herself to upset him with her attitude, words, or actions. "How are you planning to go there?" The Moon Immortal asked. Li Ming kept silent for a few moments before she raised her right hand and pointed her hand towards the person who was sitting right in front of her. "I want him to take me there!" Chapter 171 - Alone Time With Demon Prince "This is ridiculous!" Li Ming heard Hei Long cursing under his breath as he stood up from his seat and moved towards the door. In a few seconds, he was out of her Moon manor. "Try to ignore him. Just focus on your journey, Little One. Also, make sure to read those scrolls to have a better understanding of the Snow Fields." Lord Yueliang said as he softly patted her head. Li Ming softly nodded her head. She gave him a quick but tight hug and received a soft kiss on her forehead. The pure happiness that was visible on her face was too much for the fragile hearts of her mates. "If I knew that with only a kiss we can make you smile like this, I would have been showering you in it," Ruoshan said as he planted a bunch of feathery kisses on her forehead and cheeks, making Li Ming giggle cutely. "You guys are behaving like you won''t see me for months. Stop being so dramatic." Li Ming said with a smile. "She''s right. Stop overreacting. Now, go before that devil leaves you behind." Wen Guiying said to her. His behavior towards her was almost neutral. He was strict during the training sessions, but out of the training ground, he always acted indifferently. He was neither cold towards her but he also didn''t show any warmth. When Li Ming first asked him the reason behind his behavior, his reply shocked her. According to him if he started behaving like her other mates and started showing softness to her, she would start taking him lightly. Though to be honest, he was not wrong. If he indeed acted soft towards her there were ninety percent chances that Li Ming would have never accepted him as her coach. She knew that he cared about her as deeply as the others, but she never tried to cross the line that he had set. Therefore, she gave Roushan, Zhang Yong, and the Moon Immortal, a tight goodbye hug and left the manor with just a soft nod of her head towards the Supreme Immortal. The night sky which was filled with millions of stars looked so ethereal that it could trap anyone in its charismatic beauty. And under that shining blanket stood an even more ethereal figure who was definitely not happy about the fact that he had been stuck with the task of taking her to the Snow Fields. Li Ming almost felt bad for him. But again, she decided to take him with her and there was a reason, a very important reason. As she walked closer to the Second Demon Prince who was standing at the edge of the cliff that looked down at the valley, she noticed that he was deep in thoughts. Since his back was mostly towards her, she couldn''t see his face clearly, just a slight glimpse of his side profile. Her eyes landed on his shoulders and a sharp pain erupted in her heart. Since the day eight months ago, when the banshee left her with a range of pictures of Hei Long''s soul mark in the phone, Li Ming had always found her dreams full of that angry red burning soul mark. Because of the weird dreams of the Black mist and Hei Long''s soul mark, she had almost stopped sleeping. She was getting tired of the first one while scared of the second. She hated that the mark which represented their bond was giving him so much pain. In the last eight months, she had thought numerous times to ask him to let her take a look at his mark, but she knew that the result of her demand won''t be good. "Are you that eager to die?" Hei Long''s sudden angry remark made her stop in her tracks. She was so deeply emerged in her thoughts that she didn''t even realize that she had reached the ending of the cliff. One more step and she would have gone tumbling down the cliff. Goodness! She stepped back to make some distance between herself and the steep edge of the cliff. "Why didn''t you let me? After all, you hate me enough that I don''t think you will even feel bad at my death." Her tone was definitely taunting. The Demon Prince walked closer to her, making her chew on her inner lips to stop herself from backing away. This Immortal intimidated her the most. With him, she felt like a prey and she was sure that he saw her exactly as that. Li Ming felt his hot breath on her cheek as he stopped right in front of her, though he was close to her, too close. She almost let out a shocked cry as she felt a hand making its way around her waist. She looked at the Demon Prince in confusion, but before she could ask him anything, the scenery around them changed and the very next second they were standing inside her bedroom in the magical mansion. "Go, get ready for bed. We will leave early the coming morning." He softly said before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. Li Ming was left completely speechless. She just couldn''t understand that man. He could be a piece of burning sun one moment and the very next instant, he could behave like a warm soothing autumn breeze. She just let out a deep sigh and moved towards her closet to find a pair of comfortable clothes. Just as she was searching through her stocks of clothes to find something appropriate to wear, a sudden evil idea popped up in her mind. She picked up the wrapped box that had caught her attention and a smirk appeared on her lips. Coming out of the closet with the box and a red cardigan in her hands, she headed towards the bathroom to take a shower. Within ten minutes she was out of the bathroom, applying moisturizer to her body. She put on the clothes that she had selected for the night and put on a pair of five inches sparkling red heels. She curled her butt length long locks and let them bounce on her back in a freefall. With the lightest touch of foundation, a smoky look of eyes, and the finishing touch of red lipsticks, she pulled on the red cardigan to give the final touch to her getup. It was time for her to check exactly how much her dear Prince hated her. She came out of her bedroom and started walking down the stairs. Her high heels making loud clicking sounds that echoed through the empty mansion. The Second Demon Prince who was sitting in the living room on one of the comfortable sofas heard the weird sound. He turned around to look at the stairs from where the sound was coming, and it was like he almost lost his heart the moment his gaze landed on the Goddess who was coming towards him. "Would you like to drink something? Maybe tea, juice, water, or probably wine?" Li Ming asked the Second Demon Prince as she reached the living room. His eyes hadn''t left her for a single second since he first noticed her and he wasn''t even trying to hide that she had taken him by surprise. "W-what are you wearing?" Hei Long finally found his voice and immediately asked, not because he actually wanted to know what she was wearing but because it was the only thing that came into his mind. Li Ming feigned a confused look as she looked down at her shiny red shorts and matching red crop top which left a lot of her cleavage and her belly exposed. "This? Oh..., this is mostly what I wear at MY home. By the way, tea or wine?" She could be savage as hell when in the mood. Her emphasis on the word ''my'' when she said home, clearly stated that Hei Long stood no chance to ask her to change her dress. She was currently fifteen and a half years old. Her height had increased since she first came to this world. She was almost 5''3" and the five inches heels gave her legs a perfect aid. Her body had bloomed in the past one and a half years. Her flat chest was no more flat as carried a B cup size. Overall, she could kill people with her current look. "Nothing..." Hei Long replied as he finally came out of his trance. His eyes looked deep into hers and Li Ming noticed the red ring that always started sparkling around his irises whenever he was experiencing extreme emotions. Li Ming didn''t say anything and just shrugged her shoulders, immediately making the cardigan slip from her right shoulder. She pretended to be oblivious about it and the fact that the Demon Prince was staring at her, as she made her way towards the open kitchen. She started preparing a cup of coffee for herself, completely ignoring the presence of the Demon Prince. Somehow, she got too focused on her coffee that she didn''t even notice when the Demon Prince came to stand behind her. She almost lost her balance on the coffee machine as the warm body of the Prince engulfed her in his arms from behind and a sharp pain emerged on her right shoulder, making her shudder as a hiss left her lips.1 Chapter 172 - The Demon Prince Confessed Another gasp left Li Ming''s lips as Hei Long bit her shoulder lightly. His hands roaming over her bare arms, igniting fire in their wake. "Why are you doing this to me?" Li Ming heard him softly whispering into her ear. He sounded pained and hurt, making her heart clench with sadness. She didn''t get a chance to respond as the very next second, his strong fingers were grasping her around her throat, making her groan because of his firm hold. "Why can''t I hate you? Why can''t I stop myself from worrying about you? Why can''t I stay away from you? Why?" He kept asking those questions though he didn''t give her any chance to reply. His hold on her throat was firm but he wasn''t hurting her. "I was supposed to keep you away from my brothers, to keep them safe from you. But look at me, look what I''m doing. I''m failing them, and I''m failing her too." His voice carried too much hurt and disappointment like he almost hated himself. Li Ming''s mind registered the ''her'' in his sentence, making her heart skip a beat. She didn''t want to overthink but she couldn''t stop her mind from forming one after another worst scenarios. Was he in love with someone else? Was there already a girl in his life? Her mind was overflowing with these questions and her heart was filled with sadness. He was her mate but he wasn''t obliged to accept the bond if there was already someone else in his life. Would she let him go if there was someone else in his life? Yes, she would never stop him from finding his happiness, even if she had to give up on her bond. But would she be happy about it? Of course, not. How could she stay happy after losing one of her mates? Trying to clear those stupid thoughts out of her mind, she tried to turn around so that she could look at him directly. It took her quite sometime to get his fingers away from her throat and to turn around to face the Second Demon Prince. She wasn''t expecting to be greeted by a strong smell of wine grazing her nose and the red gleam in Hei Long''s eyes which told her that he was overpowered by his feelings at the moment. "A-are you...drunk?" She was too shocked by what she was seeing. Wasn''t he completely sober a few minutes ago? How could he become drunk within a few minutes? Her eyes flew towards the living room and she almost got a heart attack after seeing at least seven or eight jars of wine sitting there. But there was no jar on the table when she first came downstairs. She was a hundred percent sure about that. He looked completely fine and normal. No trace of wine fragrance was present in the living room, then how? It took her mind a few moments to realize that he probably hid everything with his powers. And since he was completely in the drunken slumber, he had lost his control over his powers. The Devil! He sure was brave! "Are you that much mad about accompanying me to the Snow Fields that you are now drinking to forget your anger? I can''t believe this!" Li Ming almost shouted at the Prince who, of course, neglected her words like a passing breeze. "Why are you not answering my questions? You need to answer them. Come on, tell me, exactly who and what you are?" Hei Long asked as he took hold of her two hands in his large ones. They both were standing too close to each other. Li Ming had her back against the kitchen counter and she was completely entrapped by him. To be honest, he was looking kinda cute in his drunken state but his questions only made her groan. "How many times are you going to ask this question? I don''t know about you, but I''m pretty tired of it." She said with a scoff. However, looking at his indifferent face it was clear that he hadn''t heard a single word that she just said. Was it even possible for him to get drunk? Exactly how strong was that wine? Li Ming thought as her eyes flew to the jars that were scattered around her coffee table. "You are so good. You are beautiful, sweet, cute and so soft..." Li Ming stared at Hei Long with wide eyes as he stopped talking to lightly caress her cheeks. His index finger softly and slowly slid down her cheeks to her chin, then to her nape, and then to her collarbone, stopping at the edge of her top. She gulped down to relive her dry throat as she looked up in his deep dark gleaming eyes which were ready to engulf her in their neverending abyss. "...you are smart, intelligent, powerful, productive. You are kind, understandable, and full of goodness. Even after knowing you for more than a year, I can''t find a single bad thing about you, except that you are a tease." He chuckled at his last words as his eyes roamed over her body, coming back to rest on her eyes. "See! I should not like you. I should keep you away from me and my brothers, but here I am. I can''t make myself stay away from you. You keep haunting me all the time." Li Ming was so taken aback that her mind had stopped working. She just stood there listening to him. "I love it when you contradict the others, it''s so rare to see someone going against my brother and the Supreme Immortal. I love it when you melt under Lord Yueliang''s softness. I love it when you bicker with Zhang but the respect and friendship that you both have. I love it when you smile. I love it when you tease Snowy and the others. I love to see you caring about everyone. But there''s not one single thing that I hate about you." Hei Long''s eyes were filled with warmth, affection, and....love. Li Ming never thought about coming across such expressions in his eyes. She felt a single tear rolled down her left cheek, but Hei Long immediately caught it before it could drop on the ground. "I hate seeing you cry." Hei Long suddenly said with a sad face, making Li Ming burst out into soft giggles. "I can''t make myself hate you, that''s why I have started hating myself and my brothers. We aren''t supposed to like you in this way. We aren''t supposed to be this close with you, and we all are failing very badly." Hei Long said softly as he caressed her cheeks lightly. "We are failing her too..." Here! The mention of that ''her'' again. This time Li Ming couldn''t control herself from asking, "Whom? Whom are you all failing?" For a few moments, the Second Demon Prince didn''t answer but then he softly said, "The chosen one. We are failing her. What we are feeling for you is supposed to be for her. I know she will never forgive me but I can''t make myself hate you. I just can''t. I think.....I''m already....in love with you." Li Ming looked at her mate with shock evident in her eyes. She wasn''t expecting that. Not only his coldness towards her because of herself, but he also confessed his love for her. How was she supposed to answer? Would he even remember any of this the coming morning? Would her reply matter when he would gain consciousness the coming morning? Her head was starting to ache due to so many questions that were taking over her brain. Never in her dream did she imagined that Hei Long would be the very first one to confess to her. "I''m not going to pretend to hate you anymore. I won''t try to hurt you with my words anymore. I won''t try to keep you away from my brothers anymore. I''m going to accept that I can''t stay sane without you." Hei Long started saying as he cupped her face with both of his hands. "I''ll always be guilty of not waiting for her, for not staying loyal to her. But I can''t lose you too. Am I a bad person, lilac girl? Am I a bad person for betraying her?" Li Ming immediately shook her head to answer his question. How much she wanted to tell him that he wasn''t betraying his mate. That he wasn''t guilty of anything, but unfortunately, she couldn''t. "I''ll probably be going to sin because of what I already did today. I think it won''t be a bad idea to add another one to the list." He softly whispered. Their faces were so close to each other''s and Li Ming could clearly see the glowing red ring around his irises. She didn''t know what he was talking about, making a confused look appear in her eyes. However, every single thought left her mind as the soft warm lips of Hei Long landed on her already parted ones. Chapter 173 - Their First Kiss Li Ming stared with wide eyes at the man who was nibbling on her lips with his teeth, biting it and making her gasp. She was definitely not prepared for it. His eyes were closed as he continued playing with her lips. She was not sure how to react, she just kept standing there dumbfounded, not even enjoying the soft warm lips that were sending tingles all over her body. She finally got a hold on herself as she put her hands on Hei Long''s shoulders to stop him. He was drunk, who knew if the next morning he started blaming her for taking advantage of his drunken state. Nope! She couldn''t give him such a chance to put another blame on her head and add another point against her in his list. But before she could push him away, the Second Demon Prince grabbed both of her hands and pulled them behind her back, holding them tightly. His mouth became fierce as his lips moved against hers intensely, making her finally let out a soft moan. All her worries about what was going to happen the coming morning flew out of the window, as she let the demanding warm lips of her mate take control. Her soul was emerged in the ocean of happiness and content at the closeness of her mate and the intimacy between them. Never in her life, she had felt so much comfort and joy. The mere touch of a mate was supposed to cure all the tension and sadness. Right at that moment, Li Ming was in her own world of escasity. Who knew for how long they kept kissing, though it was only Hei Long who was kissing, Li Ming was only standing there with her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feelings that had taken over her soul. As their lips finally parted, Li Ming felt herself breathing heavily. But if she was expecting some kind of response from the Demon Prince after his bold move, then she was in for a surprise. Because as she opened her eyes, she watched Hei Long''s body falling against her. His face landed on the crook of her shoulder as his hands became loose. She immediately moved her now free hands to support his body. The Prince had passed out, just great. "Are you kidding me?" She whispered as she looked down at the face of the Prince who was resting on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and teleported both of them to one of the guestrooms beside her bedroom. It took her a few minutes to get him settled on the bed as she took out his outer robe and shoes, covering him with a duvet. As she sat beside him on the bed, her hand immediately traveled to caress his face on their own accord. She brushed his hair out of his face, making the Prince exhale as he leaned into her touch and kept sleeping like a baby. His cute sleepy face made a smile appear on Li Ming''s lips. "I wish I can find the cure of your curse as soon as possible. It''s so hard to see you being so harsh on yourself. I''m happy to know that at least you don''t hate me. Hope everything will be fine soon." She softly whispered to the sleeping Prince. After caressing his forehead and smooth long hair for a few more minutes, she bent forward to leave a soft warm kiss on his forehead. She inched backward to look at the sleeping face of the Prince as she said in a struct tone, "I swear if you wake up tomorrow and start spouting nonsense about me kissing you forcefully or taking advantage of you or something else like that, I''ll make sure you won''t be able to kiss anyone for the rest of your life." She gave his sleeping form a hard glare before standing up and leaving the room. Hei Long opened his eyes as he looked at the closed door of his room. His eyes were completely devoid of any kind of emotions. He didn''t even look drunk anymore, rather he looked like someone who was completely sober. His hand grabbed his right shoulder as a shaky breath left his lips. He was about to sit up when he heard the clicking sounds of Li Ming''s feels returning back towards his room. Immediately he was back to his sleeping position, his eyes closed and his breathing even. It looked like he was actually sleeping. Li Ming opened the door and walked inside. After thinking for a few seconds, she decided to take off her heels and her cardigan, placing them on the desk beside the bed. She was carrying a big wooden box in her hands and she sat it on the bed beside the sleeping Demon Prince. She looked at the Prince with a guilty expression on her face as she whispered, "I''m sorry for doing this, but I have to do it this way. I hope you won''t be mad at me looking at the fact that I''m doing it for your good, for our good." With a deep breath, she walked closer to the bed and started undressing the upper robe of the Prince. All this time, Hei Long stayed completely still, not making any kind of movement. Finally, she slipped the robe down from his right shoulder. The only thing left was to turn him on his left side so that the back of his right shoulder would be visible to her. She somehow managed to turn him and a heavy breath passed her lips, showing exactly how tense she was during all this. She climbed on the bed and sat down behind Hei Long, the wooden box resting beside her on the bed. Her hands were trembling as she started moving his robe away from his shoulder, along with his long hair. As the robe came undone, the seen in front of her eyes made Li Ming gasp in shock as she clasped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from shrieking at the sight. The soul mark which was supposed to overflowing with silver shine was currently covered in bright red blood which was running down his back and staining her bed cover. Li Ming felt sick in her stomach. Her eyes blurring as tears of hurt and sadness appeared in them. The bond which was supposed to be a source of joy and comfort was giving Hei Long so much pain and sadness. She couldn''t even imagine how he appeared so calm and collected in front of everyone when he was actually experiencing such intense pain. Her hands itched to touch the mark, to make sure that her mate was alright, but a short groan of pain from the unconscious Prince stopped her. Reminding her that if she touched the mark it would only worsen the situation. She took in a few deep breaths and blinked back her tears that were about to break loose. It wasn''t the right time to show her weakness. Rather she needed to find the cure of his curse as soon as possible. And she could only find a cure when she knew exactly what kind of illness she was dealing with. She first needed to find exactly which curse was it. "I''m sorry. It''s all happening because of me. I should have made sure to stay away from you to keep the curse from worsening, but I didn''t do anything like that. But don''t worry, I''ll find out something very soon, I promise. I won''t give up before that." She softly whispered to the sleeping Prince. She opened the wooden box and took out a small candy sized glass crystal which had golden carvings over it. There was also a small purple feather inside the box, accompanied by a very old scroll. "I once watched my father using this spell but I''ve never tried it myself. I''m not sure if I would be able to perform it or not, but at least I''m gonna give it a try." She whispered as she bound the feather with the crystal and let it fly towards Hei Long''s soul mark. The blue feather belonged to a blue and red raven. It had the properties that it could not be touched by any kind of powers. Since Li Ming''s energy was harmful to Hei Long''s soul mark, the feather would be the perfect asset. As the feather hovered over the bleeding soul mark, Li Ming let her spiritual qi laced with a little bit of her magical energy, enter into the crystal ball. She then opened the scroll and started chanting the spell that was written on it. Unfortunately, as she neared the end of the spell she noticed that her first attempt had failed. Not giving up yet, she repeated the procedure but once again she failed. This kept happening for the next few tries too. Since it was a very powerful spell, Li Ming had used quite a huge amount of her powers in her failed attempts. As she was silently reading through the spell to make sure that she didn''t miss anything, her eyes landed on the bottom corner of the scroll. She wasn''t expecting to find out such a high secret! Chapter 174 - Setting The Cherry Plant On Fire "Are you ready?" Hei Long asked as he stood up from his seat. They were currently in the Capital City of the Wang Empire and it was around nine in the morning. They had stopped at an Inn to have some warm drinks before setting off to the Snow Fields. Li Ming watched her mate who was acting like nothing had happened. He still acted cold towards her, mostly indifferent. She should already have known. A drunk man uttering garbage about how he was in love with her and how he won''t be going to be cold towards her anymore, everything was pure nonsense. To say that seeing him behaving indifferently like he just didn''t confess to her the previous night was making Li Ming sad would be a straight-out lie. She was rather happy that at least he forgot everything and did not remember a specific part to blame her for taking advantage of him. Scratch that! She felt like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on her. Just first let her get him free from the curse. The day he would come to her begging for her forgiveness, she would be ready to kick him right on his face and would make sure to take her revenge. Thank Goodness that she succeeded in casting the spell the previous night. At the very corner of the spell, parchment was a hidden message. The blood of a pureblood mage could be used to perform the spell. Since Li Ming was a pure-blood mage, she did exactly as advised, and miraculously the spell worked. The raven feather pulled in a small portion of the energy of the curse and locked it inside the crystal ball which was safely tucked in a wooden box inside her spell room. Both of them came out of the Inn and headed towards the capital gate. Hei Long made sure to stay a little ahead of her. To be honest, Li Ming had her doubts about his ignorant behavior. There was an equal chance that he remembered everything and was just pretending to save himself from embarrassment. But who cared? He could pretend all he wanted. She only wanted to reach the Snow Fields as soon as possible. She had started feeling that weird pull again and as they moved closer towards the Snow Fields, the pull only grew. "We will teleport from here." Hei Long said after they had come a little far away from the City gate. No one could be seen around them as they were surrounded by never-ending barren fields. She just looked at him with her bored eyes. She had no idea where they were going since she had never been to the Snow Fields before, therefore it was Hei Long''s task to take them both to their destination. However, they won''t be teleporting directly to the Snow Fields. Lord Yueliang had told her that the Snow Fields was surrounded by a protection ward and it won''t be possible for them to teleport directly there. They would provably teleport to someplace near the fields. Hei Long looked at her with impatient eyes, in return of which Li Ming stared at him with her raised eyebrows. He was the one who was going to teleport them, then why was he also the one getting impatient, wasn''t it supposed to be her right. Letting out a deep sigh, Hei Long moved his right hand towards her and with a single jerk pulled her in his embrace. How could Li Ming let go of such a great chance? Li Ming pushed him away lightly which made a frown appear on the Second Demon Prince''s face. "You don''t need to always take advantage of me. We just needed to be connected while teleporting. Me holding your robes would be enough, of course, unless you decided to get them off during the teleportation process." Her tone was filled with sarcasm and so was the smile that was playing on her lips. She watched as the frown of Hei Long''s face changed into the realization of what she had just done and the lightest flicker of red appeared in his eyes. Though he didn''t say anything. Making sure that she was gripping his sleeves tightly, he teleported both of them at the outskirts of the Snow Fields. "Here you go! This path will take you to the east entrance of the Snow Fields. You will find a shrub full of red berries, just put it on fire and wait for an old gatekeeper to appear. He will open the portal and you can enter the Snow Fields." The Demon Prince told her as they both stood in the middle of a path that was covered in small dried wild plants and shrubs. She wanted to ask him where he was going but then decided against it and kept quiet watching as his silhouette disappeared in front of her eyes in red and black smoke. Though he didn''t show any concern about her well being but at least he was caring enough to share how she could enter the Snow Fields. Only if she knew! *** "My Lord, Supreme Majesty, are you leaving for the Snow Fields?" The white-robed man, who had been following his Master all this time as a shadow asked. "En! Stay here and keep your eyes on the Western coast of the Wang Empire. I''m sure at this rate, we will soon find something." The man with the golden hairpin replied. The white-robed man bowed and left the room, leaving his master behind who also disappeared from the room with the flicker of a golden smoke. At the same time, two people were standing outside the protective barrier surrounding the Snow Fields. While one was at the Eastern part, the other was exactly on the opposite end, the western part. The man with the golden hairpin formed a little ball of his spiritual energy and let it fly towards the barrier where it collided straight into the barrier. Unlike him, at the eastern end of the Snow Fields, a girl took out a lighter and a bottle of whiskey out of her spatial ring. She emptied the entire bottle of whiskey on the little shrub filled with small cherry-like things. After stuffing the empty bottle back in her kitchen, she clicked in the lighter and lit the bush on fire. Immediately the cherry-like things started craking with loud popping sounds, making Li Ming retreat back to place some distance between herself and the crackling tree. The worst part came when a stale and foul smell rose in the air attacking her nose in full force. Li Ming almost gagged as she hurriedly covered her nose, though it was not much of a help. When the two figures had first appeared outside the ward of the Snow Fields, an old man who was sitting inside the kitchen of his small hut had immediately noticed them on the mirror which was hanging on the wall right in front of him. After passing a swift glance at the two figures, he again got busy with his cooking. Even after millenniums of years, he couldn''t make a single dish properly. A few seconds later, a golden ball of spiritual energy flew inside the hut, alerting him of the presence of the Heaven Emperor before it disappeared into the thin air. However, the old man stayed indifferent as he continued to chop the long pink leaves of some kind of wild plant. The very next second he got a panic attack as loud popping sounds entered into his ear, making him accidentally spill the boiling water on his feet. "What...?" The man stared at the figure of the girl who had set the blood cherry plant on fire. Forgetting all about his lunch which still had to be cooked and the Heaven Emperor who was still waiting outside the wards, the old man grabbed his fur cloak and flew straight towards Li Ming. On the other side of the ward, the Heaven Emperor smiled as he looked at the wards. The old man was probably taking his anger out on him. He could smell a weird scent in the air but it was too light for him to pay it much attention. He just kept standing there waiting for the old man to open the wards. --- Li Ming had started coughing due to the smoke that was starting to surround her. It barely took the fire three minutes to make her regret setting the shrub on fire. Right that moment she heard a sound coming from the wards and the next second an old man wrapped in a fur cloak came running out of the Snow Fields. Finally! Li Ming didn''t miss a single second as she immediately ran inside the wards, away from the smoke and foul smell that were trying to kill her. She watched as the old man stopped the fire with the flick of his sleeves and then immediately closed the wards to stop the smoke from entering inside the wards. "Thank goodness. I was about to die out there." Li Ming said with a sigh as she pulled out a warm fur coat from her collections and draped it over her body to keep herself warm. Just like its name suggested, the Snow Fields were completely covered in snow. Not a single trace of any other color could be seen except the dark brown and a little green of the trees that were also covered in the snow. "How dare you!" Chapter 175 - The Old Mans Hut "...." Li Ming stared at the old man who looked like he was about to kill someone. "Huh?" The questioning and confused look on her face made the old man''s anger rise even higher. "How dare you to set the blood cherry plant on fire? Little girl, don''t you have any other important things in your life to do than setting plants on fire?" The old man shouted at her. Li Ming folded her hands in front of her chest as she replied to the old man with her usual icy tone, "If not for setting that plant on fire, would you have come to open the ward for me?" Her question left the old man shocked for a few moments but how could he be outdone by a little girl, therefore he started again. "Even if I would have not come to open the ward, that doesn''t mean you can go around setting plants on fire. And what do you even want to do here in the Snow Fields?" Li Ming scoffed at the old man''s overreaction. "Whatever! I don''t have time to waste here talking to you. I have things to do. Now, if you would please excuse me." She could barely have taken a few steps forward when the old man stopped her. "Where do you think you are going? I''m asking you something. What are you even doing here in the Snow Fields?" The old man asked as he finally took the time to analyze the girl. "What''s your problem, old man? I''m here for some personal businesses and even if I''m here to roam around that''s none of your business. Now, leave me alone." She needed to get away from the old man as soon as possible. "I dare you to roam in my Snow Fields. Not anyone can just enter and invade my Snow Fields!" The old man was not going to give up that easily. Before Li Ming could reply, a large golden ball of spiritual energy bombarded into the snow that was piled in front of them, making it scattered around. "What the-?" Li Ming shouted as she tried to get the snow out of her hair and eyes. "This little devil. How dare he?" The old man shouted as he stomped his foot on the snow-covered ground. The snow that had covered Li Ming suddenly returned to its original position. "Why do I have to take care of two idiots at the same time?" The old man shouted in anger. Before Li Ming could give the old nan a reply to his question, she was grabbed by her arm, and the next thing she knew she found herself flying high in the air. She was too shocked to let our a single word. Did she mention before that she was afraid of heights? Her experiences with flying and heights had not gone too good and she absolutely hated these two terms. That''s why currently her heart was about to pop out of her chest as they both flew over the fields after fields of snow. Who knew how long it took before they finally landed in front of a two-storey hut. It was completely covered in snow but it looked so beautifful. Without giving her any chance to speak, the old man threw open the door and pulled her inside the house. If the outside looked beautiful then the inside was as horrible as possible. Not a single space was left clean and tidy. Li Ming noticed some kind of weird smell in the room which was probably a living room but due to its current situation, it was hard to find out. "What kind of hell is this place?" Li Ming couldn''t stop herself from asking. She didn''t exactly have OCD but such a horrible place was just too much for her to stay there for even a single minute. "You know what, maybe we should talk outside. I''m not really that comfort..." Before she could complete her sentence she was pushed into a chair that looked like it was about to give up on its life any second. She looked around and found the old man muttering something under his breath as he discarded items after items from a closet that was placed near the window. He was probably trying to find something and was failing miserably. Li Ming had had enough. She tried to stand up and leave the house instantly but found that she couldn''t. The old man chuckled as he neared her. She saw that he was carrying a rope in his hands. "Little girl, no need to be scared. There''s someone else too waiting outside the wards. Though he didn''t set any plant on fire but he sure is getting impatient now. Just give me a few minutes and I''ll be back soon. I need to know why suddenly out of nowhere I''ve two guests who want to visit the Snow Fields." The man said as he started tying her with the rope. "..." Li Ming just stared at him with her cold eyes. Did he seriously think that a rope will stop her? She got her answer when after tying the rope, the old man brought out a sliver of his spiritual qi and transferred it into the rope. The rope was glowing bright green and even though he used only a small part of his qi, which was not even near to one percent, Li Ming could tell that it won''t be easy for her to untie it. "It won''t hurt you. Just wait here, I''ll be back soon." With these words, the old man rushed out of the house and in the next blink, Li Ming saw his silhouette flying into the sky. Li Ming tried to wriggle her hands which were now bound behind the chair. She didn''t have much time. Who knew when the old man would be back. He almost appeared to her as a lunatic and she had no plans of dealing with someone like him. She was here to find the thing that had been calling her towards it and to find out what was the reason for which she needed to stay here for months. The banshee had told her that she would feel it when she would find the answers to both of her questions. That something inside her would know that she was here in the Snow Fields for that particular reason. Well, other than trusting Banshee''s words there was nothing that Li Ming could do. But there was a new problem. The moment she entered the Snow Fields, the slight pull that she had been feeling all this time suddenly disappeared. Now, she was completely clueless about what she was supposed to do? Should she roam around the entire Snow Fields to find out where that thing was hiding? She definitely didn''t like the sound of this idea. Roaming around a huge Snow Field won''t be a good idea, right? But again she had her magical space with her. She won''t have too many problems roaming around the Snow Fields as long as she had her magical space. After trying for some time, she still wasn''t able to figure out the knot of the rope. She became still and closed her eyes, relaxing her body. As she let out her spiritual qi to resurface and it reached her bound hands, an image of the knot started appearing in front of her closed eyes. Li Ming pulled out a ball of magical power combined with her spiritual qi and started chanting the unbinding spell. The problem was that her hands were bound and it won''t be easier for her to use her power ball, therefore she needed to use her powers from inside her body than the outside, which was actually difficult. After a few moments, her power ball finally landed on the knot. She faced the instant resistance from the rope. The old man was actually powerful but the good thing was that he probably underestimated her. It took her around four minutes but Li Ming finally completed the spell and with that, the rope that was binding her hands came undone. "Thank God!" Li Ming whispered with a sigh of relief. She rubbed her wrist lightly as she looked out of the window to see if the old man was returning yet or not. As far as her eyes could see there was no one coming towards the hut. The sour smell inside the hut was getting heavier and she wanted to get out as soon as possible. Who knew exactly what that old man was doing that made the hut filled with such kind of foul smell. Li Ming rushed towards the door but before she could touch the door handle, a sharp electric shock pushed her back, making her yelp due to the sudden attack of electricity. "What the heck?" Li Ming looked at the door closely, though she made sure to keep enough distance between herself and the door to not get electrocuted once again. After not finding anything with her naked eyes she took out a small ball of her spiritual power and let it land on the door. Immediately, green sparks flew out of the door landing all over the place and one even landed on the stack of parchments that was lying on the floor near the window. Shit! Chapter 176 - Challenging The Old Man Li Ming let out a ball of her energy that surrounded the stack of parchments before they can completely disintegrate. She hurriedly crouched down beside the parchments and started mumbling a spell, a few seconds later the parchments were back to their original state. A sigh of relief left her lips as she watched the parchments which looked completely fine once again. She stood up and looked around the room. The door was protected by some kind of ward and the same went for the window. Just like the ward around the Snow Fields, this ward was also very powerful. There was no way that she could break it given her current cultivation level. Giving up on fleeing, she started walking towards the attached area at the other end of the living room which looked like a kitchen. And if her guess was correct then that sour smell was coming from that place. --- "I thought you will be happy after seeing one of us nearly after seven or eight years. Who knew that you will be traumatized by our visit?" The Heaven Emperor said to the old man. To his surprise, the old man didn''t say anything. It was like he was too deep in his thoughts that he didn''t even hear his words. The Heaven Emperor was curious to know exactly what had suddenly taken over the mind of the old man. Unknown to him, the thoughts of the old man were filled by a little girl who was currently left behind in his precious hut. He was going crazy after realizing that if she could set the blood cherry plant on fire to enter the Snow Fields then who knew if she would set his entire hut on fire to get out of it. Though he had tied her to a chair before coming out but he had a feeling that he had underestimated the girl. That''s why currently his main focus was on reaching back to his hut as soon as possible and due to this, he didn''t even realize that the Heaven Emperor was talking to him all this time. It took them around eight to nine minutes to reach the hut from the western end of the Snow Fields. The old man landed in front of his hut and relief washed over him after seeing his house still standing there without any trace of harm. But he still needed to make sure that the girl was still bound to the chair and had not fled. Therefore, he hurriedly rushed inside the hut. The Heaven Emperor who was getting more and more confused by the old man''s behavior also entered the hut. As they both entered the house, the old man''s eyes immediately landed on the chair. But to his horror, all he saw was the crumbles of the rope which was supposed to be tied around the girl''s hands. "You are finally back. Were you planning to kill me?" The sudden icy voice that greeted them from the kitchen, surprised both the old man and the Heaven Emperor. A girl in a dark blue dress and a fur cloak draped over her, was standing at the counter of the kitchen. She was carrying a basket in her hands which were filled with things to the brim. Her long black hair was tied high on her head with a single golden hairpin in it. Her simple blue jade earrings were long enough to reach her shoulder. And her beautiful cute face was a direct contrast to her icy gaze which was currently trained on the old man. "Are you going to answer or not? Normally it''s impossible to make you stop talking then what happened now?" Li Ming asked the old man as she walked towards him and dropped the basket at his feet. The eyes of both the men followed the basket and after realizing that the basket was filled with the ingredients for his lunch, the old man hurriedly started crouching down to pick it up. "Don''t you dare touch it! I can''t believe you were planning to eat these. Well, it''s more like you were planning to kill me when you left me behind trapped inside this foul-smelling hut." Li Ming said in an icy tone. "What smell? There''s no smell...oh!" Just when he was going to say that there was no smell, Li Ming took away her hold from the smell, and immediately the entire hut was filled with that sour foul smell. She was quick to place a charm on herself which saved her from breathing in that smell. On the other hand, the Heaven Emperor wasn''t expecting to be suddenly attacked by such a smell. He too immediately flicked his sleeve and the smell vanished from the room. His movements finally made Li Ming take notice of his presence in the house. Her eyes took in the man who was draped in a golden fur cloak. His hair was swept back neatly and a single golden hairpin was peeking out from it. His chin had a hard edge and his sharp black eyes were now also looking directly at her. It was like the world stopped at that moment as the two looked into each other''s eyes. Li Ming could tell that there was something special about that man but before she could find out what it was, the loud booming voice of the old man crashed their moment. "What do you think you are doing?" The old man asked her in his usual angry tone as he looked at her like he was looking at a little spoilt girl. "How dare you barge into my kitchen and touch my food? You even dared to throw them out." Li Ming neither flinch nor did she back down at the old man''s angry words. She had already taken enough of his shit. "Listen to one thing very carefully old man. It was you who brought me into your house against my wish and left me here tied to a chair with that foul smell. You should be happy that I just cleaned up your so-called kitchen a little bit and not ended up setting your entire house on fire. You better not test my patience." Li Ming''s tone explained that she wasn''t kidding even a little bit. Well, of course, she would never have set his house on fire, but he didn''t need to know that, right? The old man was left completely speechless. Looked like he was not completely wrong when he thought that the girl could end up setting his house on fire. On the other hand, a small twitch appeared on the lips of the Heaven Emperor as he watched the little girl and the old man bickering. "You-you...How...These are the ingredients that I was going to use in the lunch!" The old man finally found the words that were refusing to come out of his mouth. "Huh! Are you kidding me? You are going to eat this poison. Can''t you find something better to eat?" Li Ming asked with a scoff. At her words, the old man huffed with ridicule. "What do you think this place is? In this place filled with nothing but snow, you can barely find anything to eat. Ever heard of Beggars can''t be choosers?" "I didn''t know that you are a beggar. Also, you can always grow vegetables and fruits in this place, seeing that you are a high-level cultivator. Just don''t find excuses for your laziness." How could Li Ming back down so easily? Of course, being the boss of the agriculture business and after earning millions during the winter season even when the Dongji village was covered in snow, she had a vast knowledge about how to farm in snow. "Do you think that it''s that easy? Go home, little girl. Don''t stand here insulting my food and house. You can only understand if you have been living here like me." The old man didn''t miss a single second to retort. "What if I can do it?" Li Ming asked with a smirk plastered on her face. For a moment, the old man was left shocked but then he got a grip on himself. The girl was probably trying to play with him. "Don''t talk big when you are not even going to do it. Now go back to your home and don''t wander around such places again in the future." The old man said. "Will you let me do whatever I want in the Snow Fields without any interruption if I end up proving myself right?" Li Ming asked with a raised eyebrow. The challenge was clear in her eyes, making the Heaven Emperor look at her with curious eyes. She was getting more and more interesting with each sentence that was leaving her lips. "Do you seriously think that it''s that easy to build a house in this place and live here happily? Alright then! I will be willing to watch you eat your own words when you will fail badly. I''m giving you my words if you end up proving my lifestyle in this place as a result of my laziness, I''ll let you do whatever you want in the Snow Fields." The old man declared. Chapter 177 - The Image Of The Heaven Emperor "Wait! Why are you throwing me out too? I didn''t say a single thing." The Heaven Emperor asked as he looked at the old man who had just thrown him out of his house. "Right! You just stayed quiet as this girl kept insulting my house and my food." The old man shouted as he stood at the door of his hut looking down at them. "Hey! I just said that you could have been living a better life in this place if you have tried. I insulted your lack of effort and your excuses, not your food and house. Don''t lie!" Li Ming said with a huff. Heaven Emperor pursed his lips tightly to drop the smile that was about to form on his lips. Who knew that he would find another person after thousands of years who dared to challenge the Master of Deities. As far as he knew the girl had no idea about the real identity of the old man, probably the reason behind her brazen behavior. However, it wasn''t fair for his Master to kick him out too just because he was angry at the girl. "Y-you...! Fine, fine, fine! I''ll see exactly what kind of lavish life you are going to live. Now, get lost from here and keep this man with you. Until or unless you two have a house to live in, don''t show me your face. Most importantly, don''t even think that I''ll give you any space inside my house when you both will be covered under a bundle of snow tonight." The old man glared at the two of them before closing the door with a loud bang. Li Ming was surprised to see that it didn''t come tumbling down due to the huge force, probably the old man''s powers were keeping it intact. Of course, that old man didn''t have enough brain to use that same spiritual power to live a nice and happy life. Of course, living a lavish life wasn''t a necessity but living a hygienic and normal life definitely was. And did that old man seriously think that she was not able to even build a house on her own? Just let him wait and watch. She was ready to blow his ancient brain away. But exactly why did he assign her as the babysitter of the Immortal who looked like he had come there to sightsee? Just as she was going to tell the Immortal to mind his own business and stay away from her, the door of the hut opened and the old man''s silhouette appeared there. Without even sparing her a single glance, he set his eyes on the Immortal as he said, "Don''t you dare to help her with your powers. You won''t die even if you got buried inside an iceberg for thousands of years." And with these words, he again closed the door with a bang, leaving both Li Ming and Heaven Emperor staring at the closed door. "He really is something." Li Ming snorted as she turned around, her eyes landing on the Immortal who was looking at her with curious eyes. She raised her eyebrows at him which brought a small twitch on his lips. However, after listening to the old man''s words she had changed her mind about pissing off the Immortal too. After being surrounded by high-rank cultivators and Immortal mates, it had become easier for her to tell if the person in front of her was a mortal, demon, or an immortal. Just a single glance at the golden robed man and she knew that he too was an Immortal, exactly like the old man who was currently humming some weird tone inside his kitchen. Smoke was coming out of the small kitchen window as it drifted above into the grey sunless sky. "Are you going to keep standing there or you have plans to help me?" Li Ming asked. Heaven Emperor looked at the girl with a surprised look. What was she expecting him to do? Did she forget that he was prohibited by his Master from helping her? "What am I supposed to do?" He finally asked curiously. Li Ming let out a small sigh as she said, "Just follow me." With that, she turned around and started walking in the opposite direction of the old man''s house. --- "Are we done yet?" The Heaven Emperor asked as he followed behind Li Ming with his hands filled with piles of thick woods. Who would have thought that one day the Ruler of the Heaven Realm and the Caretaker of the Mortal Realm, would be collecting woods in the Snow Fields while following the orders of a young girl? The sight was both humorous and shocking. It was a good thing that except for a certain number of people no one was watching them. It was currently eleven-thirty in the morning as they roamed around the Snow Fields, looking for broken timbers. Li Ming turned around to stare at the Immortal as she said, "Listen dude, you can put that bundle down if your fragile body isn''t able to take the load. Don''t irritate me." Without waiting for a single more second she turned around and started walking back towards the old man''s hut. The Heaven Emperor stared at the back of the girl who was walking away from him. What did he do wrong to deserve this? He followed behind her silently, carrying the wood in his arms. His clean shiny golden robes were now covered in dirt and scratches. They stopped directly in front of the old man''s hut, who peeked out of the kitchen window and smirked at them after seeing the piles of wood that they had collected. "Are you guys planning to eat those wood today? I thought you were going to eat a lavish meal." The old man taunted from his small kitchen as she showed them his red long leafed herbs which were the source of the sour smell. "You should worry about your own lunch, old man. No need to worry about us. I thought a cultivator like you did not need to eat food. Looks like I was wrong." Of course, Li Ming was ready to taunt the old man in return. How could she let him make fun of her? She turned towards the piles of wood and started setting them up to start a fire. A few minutes later there was a sizzling fire burning outside the house of the old man. She took out a pack of spaghetti, ingredients for the sauce, and utensils and started cooking. As time passed, a light aroma started filling the air. Soon both the Heaven Emperor and the old man were staring at the girl who was busy in cooking something which smelt delicious as heaven. Around forty minutes later, Li Ming took out a small table and a mat from her magical mansion and set them up on the snow-covered ground. After that, she served the hot saucy spaghetti into two plates and placed them on the table accompanied by one of her treasures, the delicious wine. "Are you going to join or not?" Li Ming asked seriously as she looked at the Immortal. Though the Heaven Emperor had no plans to eat any human food, being a cultivator he had left the need of eating food far behind, but looking at the delicious food prepared by Li Ming, he immediately changed his mind. The only thing that was stopping him from giving into his urges were the people who had trained their eyes on him. He had no idea why these people were keeping their eyes on him but he needed to keep his image as the Ruler of the Heaven Realm, therefore, with a heavy heart, he decided to decline the girl''s offer. Li Ming watched as the Immortal shook his head softly as he declined her once in a lifetime offer. Well, some people were just born idiots. They had no idea what they were missing while saying no to certain things. "Suit yourself." Li Ming shrugged her shoulders as she settled down on the mat, bringing both the players in front of her, and started eating. She could feel the two pairs of eyes that were drilling holes in her spaghetti. ---- "He''s an idiot." A man with a beautifully decorated fan in his hand, said as he watched the Heaven Emperor declining the great offer of eating the food cooked by their Ming''er. "He definitely is. He is going to regret it soon though. Can''t you see his eyes which are trying to ignore that luring food but failing poorly?" Another man draped in fine purple-colored brocade robes asked as he also looked at the Heaven Emperor. "You both need to stop." Hei Long said with a bored tone as he shook his head. He looked up from the chessboard at the extreme silence that had taken over the room, and he immediately came across his four senior brothers who were drilling daggers into him. Who knew that he would end up in so much trouble for helping Li Ming? Setting the Blood Cherry plant on fire was actually the fastest way of bringing the old man out of his so-called hut, really! Chapter 178 - The Modern Day Cabin "What?" Li Ming raised her eyebrows at the old man who had been staring at her for the past two hours. After finishing her lunch and cleaning everything up, she sat down to draw a rough sketch of a two-bedroom cabin. Since she was not really great in the field of architecture, therefore it took her quite a lot of time to think of ideas. Finally, she ended up drawing a modern-day cabin. She knew that the two men were keeping their eyes on her every movement but she did not pay them any attention. It was already past noon and she needed to build a house for herself before the sunset, though there was no sun in the Snow Fields at that moment. The old man just huffed at her question and settled down on his doorstep. Li Ming decided to ignore him as she clapped her hands and the space in front of her became plain. She placed the sheet of her rough sketch of the cabin on the ground and transferred her spiritual energy unto the paper. The paper disappeared and the sketch made by black thread-like wire appeared on the snow-covered ground. Within the next two minutes, the entire sketch of the cabin was placed on the ground and Li Ming started inserting the iron beams. The two men stared at the girl who was performing miracles in front of their very eyes. How come they never knew that such things existed? By the time the watch on Li Ming''s wrist hit five pm, a brand new cabin was standing in the very front of the old man''s hut. She even created a small lawn in front of her cabin which was surrounded by a small fence. "This...! How? You are only a first-level Master Cultivator. How can you create an entire house within a few hours? It''s impossible!" The old man kept shaking his head as he first stared at the beautiful cabin and then at the girl who was standing there smirking at him. "Come on, old man. It''s just the beginning. You will need to be calmer to get through the rest of the challenge. Good luck!" Li Ming didn''t wait for a single more minute as she immediately entered the cabin. The Heaven Emperor clasped his hands in greetings as he bowed slightly as he said, "Master, I''ll be going to enjoy a good night''s sleep since I have a home now. See you in the morning. Good night!" And with these words, the Heaven Emperor too entered inside the cabin. The old man was flabbergasted as he was left there at the doorstep of his hut. Did he really underestimate the girl? --- Currently, two Immortals who were sitting in the East Pavilion of the Moon Manor were laughing so hard that they were almost about to fall out of their seats. Three more Immortals were also present in the room, though they too were smirking after looking at the expressions of their Master, but they were nowhere near falling from their seats. They just sat on their seat as they looked at Li Ming leaving the one and only Master of Immortals speechless. "I can''t wait to be present there with her." Zhang Yong said as he finally calmed down and settled on his seat. "Me too." Ruoshan showed his agreement as he nodded his head. "You two...." Hei Long immediately shut his mouth off as the others passed him death glares. "You all can''t be serious. I was just helping her!" The Second Demon Prince groaned out as he looked at the circle of brothers. Were they seriously going to be upset at him just because he taught the girl the simplest and fastest way to enter the Snow Fields? Just when Ruoshan was about to say something, a handsome face appeared on the magical mirror through which they all were watching the drama that was taking place in the Snow Fields. "I''m curious to know exactly why you guys are spying on us. Any special reason?" The voice of the Heaven Emperor filled the East Pavilion of the Moon Manor. "Huh? Oh no, nothing like that. We just wanted to see exactly how the Master will behave after seeing you. After all, we have to make our appearance there too." Ruoshan immediately answered. The Heaven Emperor looked at the Immortals with a suspicious gaze but he didn''t say anything else on the topic. "Don''t worry. The worst that he could do is to put you all in the dungeons present in the depths of the Snow Fields." With these words, his face disappeared from the mirror and it became completely empty. "What happened?" Zhang Yong asked as he let his spiritual energy flow over the mirror but nothing happened. "We can''t see what''s going on there any longer through this mirror. He probably cut off our spiritual connection." Wen Guiying answered as he stood up from his seat. He needed to set up a new array for the next training session the coming morning. "Why would he do that? How are we gonna watch Ming''er?" Zhang Yong asked with a huff. "When are we going there?" Ruoshan asked the Moon Immortal. "Soon!" They just wanted to give the Heaven Emperor enough time alone with Li Ming. All they were waiting was for him to recognize her and they all would instantly be there with her. ---- The Heaven Emperor entered into the cabin and came across the living room where dark blue colored sofas were placed around a wooden coffee table. A pot of bonsai tree was sitting on the cabinet which was placed under the small window beside the sofas. On the other side of the room was an open kitchen attached to the small dining area where a table was arranged with a bouquet of fresh roses in the center of it. A small hall led to two rooms and a bathroom, which obviously was modern. Li Ming doubted that the Immortal would need to use the bathroom, therefore she built it according to her own requirements. She hurriedly set up the two bedrooms. There was a huge bed, a closet, a bean bag, a pot filled with lavender, and a window in each of the two rooms. A bright red colored carpet made of soft silk was placed on the floor, giving the final touches to the simple but elegant rooms. "Are you going to eat dinner or not? I''m not interested in wasting any food." Li Ming asked the Immortal as she entered the kitchen. She started taking out ingredients for the dinner. Until she could grow vegetables in the Snow Fields, she was going to use them from her magical mansion. The old man prohibited the Immortal from using his powers to help her but he said nothing about her using her own powers. The Heaven Immortal was quiet for a few seconds before he asked, "What are you going to cook?" Li Ming answered his question by taking out a freshly cleared chicken. She raised her eyebrows at him as she waited for his reply. The slight nod of his head was the only answer that she got but it was enough for her to start with her work. She started cooking the dinner as she listened to Snowy and Mallow complaining about her being heartless as she had not cooked for them in quite some time. Letting out a sigh she decided to cook for those two devils too. It took her more than an entire hour to finish the cooking. By the time she finished, it was already eight in the evening. A light snow had already started falling outside and the inside of the cabin was slowly starting to freeze. Li Ming sat down in one of the sofas and settled down in a the lotus position. She closed her eyes and channeled her powers to increase the temperature of the insides of the cabin. The very next second, the entire cabin was filled with warmth even though it was freezing outside. The Heaven Emperor watched silently as the girl performed one after another miracle in front of his eyes. It was not like what she was doing was not possible, but the fact that a very young girl who was only at the Master Cultivator Rank was the one behind all these, was the main reason behind their curiosity and shock. For the next half an hour they ate their dinner in silence. It had been years since the Heaven Emperor last tasted mortal food and he would be lying if he said he didn''t enjoy every single second of it. He watched silently as Li Ming took care of the dirty dishes. He wanted to offer his help but didn''t know exactly what to do or say. The Heaven Emperor was feeling nervous for the very first time in his life as he watched the girl put a cup of freshly brewed herbal tea in front of him as she also settled down on the chair opposite to him. "Who are you?" "And exactly who you are?" They both asked at the very same moment, making a soft smile appear on both their faces. "Hi. I''m Li Ming." Chapter 179 - Snowy Knows Her The Best "I''m not sure what this young girl is doing, but I''ve to say this, in the entire last week she made me keep my eyes trained on her like a hawk." The old man muttered as he settled down on his seat after getting tired of standing in front of the small window that opened towards the backyard of Li Ming''s cabin. Miraculously the sun was shining brightly up in the sky over the Snow Fields, though it did not melt the thick snow which was covering the ground. "All I know is that she has been working very hard for the past entire week. She alone cleared away the snow from the backyard, built that tent-like thing, and currently, she is getting the soil ready. I think you are going to lose poorly Master." The Heaven Emperor said with his voice filled with admiration for the girl. He had been observing her for a week now. She hadn''t left his thoughts for a single second this entire time. She would come out of her room early in the morning around six-thirty and would immediately start preparing a delicious breakfast. Being an Immortal, the Heaven Emperor wasn''t used to eat food daily. He would barely eat once or twice a year on special occasions but for the past entire week, he had been eating three times a day without skipping once. The food that she cooked was beyond delicious and so were the teas and wines that accompanied the food. After breakfast, she would immediately start working on the backyard work which she referred to as a nursery. She would work there till noon before taking a short break to prepare the lunch and after eating she would once again return to work on building her nursery. She barely took any rest as she worked till five in the evening before finally stopping the work to take a long bath. She would start preparing dinner at six-thirty and by eight o''clock she would retire to her room and could only be seen the next morning. The two of them had barely exchanged ten sentences between them in the past week, though there were moments when he felt an immense pull towards her. Moments where he could not move his eyes from her, moments where he wanted to glare at his Master for making fun of her hard work and taking her lightly. Though, he could see the appreciation in his Master''s eyes. Of course, the old man had also observed Li Ming''s hard work. He was just too proud to say it loud. On the other hand, the Heaven Emperor was sure that he was not the only one who was feeling those strong emotions. He could see in her eyes that she was also going through these same sensations. A doubt had started taking over his heart and brain as those feelings were increasing with each passing day. He just needed to confirm his doubt but wasn''t sure how to do that. The voice of his Master finally brought him out of his thoughts. "...think that growing vegetables in this place is possible? How stupid! We barely get any sunlight here and even if there is sunlight, it won''t be enough to keep the plants alive. They will soon die in this chilling temperature." The old man was not actually wrong. It was surely not easy to grow something in the Snow Fields but at the same time, it also wasn''t impossible. This only made the Heaven Emperor more curious to know exactly what the young girl was going to do to win the challenge. Out of nowhere they suddenly heard a loud angry sound coming from the nursery. The two men passed each other a quick surprised glance before they both rushed towards the backyard of the cabin to see what had happened. As they both entered the nursery the first thing that came into their view were beautifully and neatly prepared rows of beds. Fresh manure was mixed properly with the soil and there was some weird kind of crystal balls hanging all over the roof of the nursery. "Are you two really tired of your lives? How dare you to step into my nursery without my permission? I have really spoiled the two of you!" Both the men immediately stopped in their tracks as the sharp angry voice of Li Ming entered their ears. The old man even gulped down his saliva as he imagined the girl setting another thing on fire because he dared to step into the nursery. The Heaven Emperor wasn''t worried about the girl setting something or anything on fire. Rather, he was feeling bad for upsetting the girl by entering into her nursery without her permission. As the two men were busy in their world of thoughts, they suddenly heard two sharp shrieks coming from the second part of the nursery which was separated by drapes. Next second, two white as snow fluff balls came running out from behind the drapes as they kept shrieking. "Master, please hear me out. It was Snowy''s plan. He was the one who wanted to surprise you and made me accompany him. I didn''t do anything, really!" Mallow cried out desperately in order to save herself as she took shelter behind a pair of legs draped in golden robes. Snowy did the same as he also hid behind the golden robed man, not caring whoever the owner of those legs was and at the same time glaring at Mallow for putting all the blame on his head. He now regretted including Mallow in all his tricks and naughty plans. At first, he was the boss and she was the assistant but in the past year, the little fox had grown up and become smart. The Heaven Emperor looked with surprise at the two snowballs who were hiding behind him and then turned to look at the girl who had also emerged out from behind the drapes. Li Ming didn''t pass a single glance at the two men who were standing in front of her like statues. Her eyes were trained on the Heaven Emperor''s legs where she could see two of Mallow''s tails wagging. Yeah, she knew the real identity of the golden robed man. He introduced himself and the old man on the very first night when they were having dinner. She almost choked when she realized that the person sitting opposite her was the Ruler of the entire Heaven Realm and was also titled as the caretaker of the Mortal Realm. On the other hand, the real identity of the old man was almost as shocking. She initially had no plans of challenging the Master of Immortals, but who knew that she would end up doing exactly that. Since the deed was already done, she had no other choice but to continue with her challenge but she made sure to not upset the Heaven Emperor in any way. After all, the Heaven Emperor was the one with the highest authority in the three realms. She would become the definition of the word idiot if she ended up upsetting the ruler of the Heavens. "You two, come out right now. I neither have the time nor the patience to deal with the two of you." Her tone did not sound angry anymore but it wasn''t warm and soothing either. When the two devils didn''t make any move to come out from behind the Heaven Emperor, Li Ming let out an irritated sigh. "I''ll leave both of you out in this chilling cold tonight if you two don''t come out right now." Li Ming threatened with a strict tone. The old man was busy staring at Li Ming and then at the two fluffballs. The little puppy looked like a normal one but on the other hand, the little fox was a fourth rank spirit beast. There were a total of ten ranks in the spiritual beasts with the tenth rank as the highest and strongest. To see a fourth rank small spirit fox was a surprising sight, not an impossible but definitely a rare one. "You have become more cold-hearted than before," Snowy muttered as he slowly came out from behind the golden robed man. More than anyone else, he knew exactly how cold his Master could be when she was angry. It won''t be shocking if she really left him and Mallow out during the night to freeze in the cold. Mallow followed his steps and also came out from her hiding spot, though she remained completely silent, just staring at Li Ming with her puppy eyes. Of course, Li Ming heard Snowy mumbling. "And you are becoming more and more disobedient. Just because I''m not punishing you for your pranks and games that you go around pulling on the pixies and the sups, doesn''t mean that I''m not aware of them. You are taking too much advantage of my busy schedule and my love." For the very first time, Mallow actually saw Li Ming getting angry at them and one look at Snowy''s guilty face made it clear that he too was aware of it. It was actually true that Snowy had become more naughty in the past few months but it was nothing more than his usual self. But of course, if there was anyone who could understand Li Ming through her facade, it''s only Snowy. Chapter 180 - I Know Right...!! Snowy slowly started walking towards Li Ming followed by Mallow. The Immortals watched in silence as the two daring fluff balls walked towards their doom. Snowy approached Li Ming and rubbed his head on her ankle, making her glare at the little Pomeranian. "What-?" "Are you tired Li? I can feel your energy depleting. Is this because you are overworking yourself again?" Snowy''s question and the sadness that was covering his eyes, left Li Ming speechless. She opened her mouth but then immediately closed it, not knowing what she should say. "Do you seriously think that you can fool me by acting like you are angry at me? I know you are just tired and missing them. You know that you can always share your pain with me, right?" Snowy''s questions left everyone surprised. Mallow knew that Li Ming was overworking but even she had no idea that she was going through so much. The young girl had a strong wall built around her which prevented people from knowing things about her that she didn''t want to show. Mallow felt bad for not being able to understand her Master''s true emotions unlike how Li Ming always knew what Mallow wanted. Meanwhile, the two Immortals were also going through the same thoughts. Only now did they realized that the constant hard work that she had been doing for a week all alone, was depleting her energy. What they didn''t know was that Li Ming wasn''t only struggling with the constant up and downs of her spiritual qi, but also the heaviness that her heart had started to feel. Normally, she should not be affected by the absence of her mates since it was barely a week. During the morning training sessions, she always met with Wen Guiying but since they never had any kind of physical contact after the first day of their meeting, his presence was only making her soul go crazy. But if Li Ming was not wrong then the main culprit behind this was the person standing in front of her. How could Li Ming not recognize the signals that both her soul and heart were giving her for the past week? Even she wasn''t sure why she had not confirmed her doubts yet. Probably because she knew that the Heaven Emperor too was aware of the pull that existed between the two of them but he hadn''t said anything. The presence of her two mates around her and at the same time, the distance that they had between their souls had started to take a toll on her. She let out a deep sigh as she looked at Snowy. She could not stay angry at him for more than a few minutes even if she tried her best. "I''m fine, really. I''ll take a break tomorrow. Don''t be worried about me." Li Ming told her two fluffballs as she crouched down to rub their ears. The low purs that came from Mallow and Snowy filled her heart with warmth and softness. "I''m sorry for shouting at you guys. I should not have done that. I should rather have punished you two by locking you both in the treehouse that Tera had made in the backyard." Both Snowy and Mallow looked up to stare at their Master. Indeed, a devil would always be a devil, no matter what. A small twitch appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she watched the horrified expression on their faces, but what she wasn''t expecting was Mallow''s next word. "But we still love you, a lot." Mallow wrapped her tails around Li Ming''s neck and tugged her face downwards. As Li Ming followed her demand and lowered her face, she felt two wet licks on both of her cheeks. "Hey!!!...." Before she could do or say anything else, both the fluffballs disappeared back into her magical space. "These little monsters!" Li Ming huffed as she wiped her cheeks with a handkerchief. "Now you are even bringing your pets in my Snow Fields without my permission." Li Ming heard the old man huffing but she completely ignored him. She knew that he would be more irritated by her indifferent behavior and that was exactly what she wanted. As she turned around to go back inside the second section of the nursery where she was working, she heard the footsteps going out of her greenhouse. A small satisfied smile appeared on her rosy plump lips, but the very next second her entire body became stiff as she felt someone walking towards her. She already knew who it was before she even turned around to look at that person. Her senses had already started overleaping the moment the Heaven Emperor started coming closer to her. She watched as the Ruler of the Immortal world stopped a few feet away from her, his dark eyes looking at her without any emotions in them. Another reason why she had no idea what were the thoughts of the Heaven Emperor about her. All her mates were champions when it came to be cold-hearted, indifferent, and strict. It was next to impossible to see any emotions in their eyes unless they want you to see it. "Do you need som..." "Take a break." Li Ming didn''t get the chance to complete her question as she was left entirely surprised by his words. "Huh?" The questioning sound and confused face was the only thing that she gifted him with in return. "Don''t overwork yourself. Take a break tomorrow. You won''t be able to beat Master in this challenge if you can''t even stand on your feet properly." The Heaven Emperor said but then looking at the girl''s expression he started doubting his words. His voice sounded cold and indifferent but at least it didn''t come out angry. His face was also emotionless but at least he wasn''t glaring at her. He told her to take a break the coming day even though he heard her saying the exact same thing to her spirit beasts, but at least in this way, he sounded worried. He did great, right? Li Ming wanted to introduce the Heaven Emperor with some chosen favorite words of hers, but then thinking about the consequences, she decided to keep her mouth shut. After plastering a ''fake as hell'' smile on her face, she nodded her head. In her anger, she even imagined the flicker of a smile on the Heaven Emperor''s lips, but of course, it was her stupid mind playing games with her. The Immortal didn''t waste a single more second as he turned around to leave the nursery. Within less than a minute, his silhouette disappeared from her vision. "Is this man for real? He''s telling me to take a break tomorrow when he already knows that I have already planned to do that. Amazing!" Li Ming made sure that her voice wasn''t too loud as she spoke the words out loud that she had initially planned to speak on the face of the Heaven Emperor. "I know right!" Li Ming almost jumped at the sudden voice that softly whispered in her ear but the hand, that had suddenly grabbed her from around her waist, stopped her. "What are you doing here? And let me go!" Li Ming whispered as she broke out from the arms of the banshee. "I''m here to share a plan which will lead to your happiness." The banshee chuckled softly. Li Ming eyed the woman suspiciously. She had trust issues when it came to the banshee and her plans. "If I''m not wrong it was you who came to me with the plan of mixing aphrodisiac in the wine of the Vampire Clan head, and I''m pretty sure that it had led to no one''s happiness." Li Ming said as she folded her hands in front of her chest. "Oh come on! Don''t talk about the things that happened back on Earth. Trust me, you will be going to love this plan." The banshee said as her eyes sparkled with happiness. "Whatever, shoot!" Li Ming rolled her eyes at the banshee''s words as she prepared herself to listen to the plan. Little did she knew that the banshee was only the messenger who was tasked to pass the plan to her, the actual owner of the plan was currently busy in their own preparations. --- "Did you tell her to take a break?" The Heaven Emperor barely had set his foot inside the old man''s hut when he was suddenly attacked by the question. "Why would I do that?" The Heaven Emperor asked with confused eyes. "Haven''t you seen how tired she looks? She needs to take a rest." The old man said as he looked at the Heaven Emperor. "So? Why would I need to tell her that? If she''s feeling tired then she will rest on her own." The Heaven Emperor replied with an indifferent tone. "How ungrateful have you become? The girl gave you a place to sleep, you eat the food cooked by her and you dared to talk about her like that. How shameless!" The Master was definitely not happy about his former pupil''s behavior. Chapter 181 - The Banshees Gift "What''s wrong with you?" The Heaven Emperor could not stop himself from asking. "What''s wrong with me? I should be the one asking what is wrong with you? You stayed there longer than me. If you were not going to tell her to rest then why did you stay there?" The old man asked the Heaven Emperor angrily. "I just told her to keep her pets in check and also to not scare us by shrieking out of nowhere." The Heaven Emperor''s acting was top notch. There was not a single soul that could guess that he was lying. "What rubbish! Rather than telling her to rest, you talked about stupid things like these. Where are your morals?" The old man was about to throw his hands. "If you are that worried about her why don''t you go and tell her to rest on your own? Don''t take out your frustration on me." At the Heaven Emperor''s words, the old man became completely silent. "What worried? I''m not worried about her. Don''t go around talking nonsense." The old man was quick to respond. At the raised eyebrows of the Heaven Emperor, the old man shut down his array formation book and stood up from his chair. He was being suspected for caring about that outrageous girl, how stupid! He was not worried about her, not even a single bit. He just didn''t want to deal with a dead body in his previous Snow Fields, that''s all! Mumbling under his breath the old man went out of the hut and shut the door behind him with a bang, leaving a smirking Heaven Emperor behind. The old man headed straight to the deeper parts of the Snow Fields to find ingredients for his dinner. --- Li Ming closed the crystal ball softly as if she was afraid to break it accidentally. A huge cartoon which was placed at her feet beside her chair was filmed with similar crystal balls. She let out a sigh as she picked up another half crystal from her table and started working on it. She had no idea for how long she had been working on the crystals. She had started right after having dinner with the Heaven Emperor. She didn''t even realize that it was already half-past five in the morning and that she had missed half an hour of her morning training session with the Supreme Immortal. She was too deep into her work that she didn''t even notice the presence of the Immortal behind her. "Are you planning to sit here for the rest of your session too?" The cold and deep voice that suddenly entered her ears, surprising Li-Ming and in her shock, the crystal from her hands fell down on the floor, breaking into hundreds of pieces. She looked at the Supreme Immortal who was standing at the entrance of her spell room. Her eyes immediately searching for a watch to see the time and to her horror, it was showing five thirty-three at that moment. "I''m so sorry. I think I lost the track of time...., it won''t happen again. I promise." Li Ming hurriedly said as she tried to explain her lack of punctuality. Wen Guiying looked at the girl who was standing in the shadows, only a small portion of the table lamp light was shining on her face. However, he could still see the tiredness that was clear in her eyes and her stiff body which appeared like it needed rest immediately. "Let''s head for the training grounds." Without wasting a single more second, he turned around and left the room. Li Ming didn''t waste any time as she too hurriedly ran after the Supreme Immortal. Their current training ground was at the Southern end of the Xiao Tiantang, in short, it would take you around forty twenty minutes to reach there by foot. Little did she knew that the Supreme Immortal was in the mood for a morning walk. Normally they would transmigrate there but right now, Li Ming was following behind the Immortal as they walked through the uneven path that led to their training grounds. By the time they reached their destination, black dots had started appearing in front of Li Ming''s eyes. She only prayed that the reason for which she was going through so much, would not disappoint her. "Are you already tired?" Wen Guiying''s question brought her out of her sad thoughts. She took in a deep breath before replying, "No." Though her answer was in negative but even she could hear the slight tremble in her voice and the worst was her heart which was beating as if she had run a marathon. To her relief, the Supreme Immortal didn''t comment about her shaky breath and trembling voice. "We will start from where we ended yesterday." The Immortal said as he took out his sword. Of course, it was not his actual sword but a normal one. Li Ming still had not picked a weapon. It was not because she didn''t want to but because there wasn''t a single weapon that pulled her to it. She had been to numerous weaponry shops, auction houses, and weaponsmiths but nothing worked. The weapons that her mates introduced to her didn''t work either. She was currently practicing with her daggers that she used back on Earth. Everyone thought that there was a certain weapon waiting for her, she just needed to find it while she was not really that confident about this theory. As she watched Supreme Immortal getting into his position, she took out her favorite daggers. The steel blade sparkling in the brightness of the early dawn. She took her own position, her body filling with the adrenaline rush even though she was tired as hell. Wen Guiying pulled on his qi which traveled to the sword that he was holding. With a single move of his blade, three balls of energy came rushing out of the sword, aiming right at Li Ming. Just as the first energy ball reached her, Li Ming bent down backward to let the ball pass over her, at the same time the dagger that she was holding in her left hand came crashing on the second energy ball, immediately shattering into tiny sparkles. The third energy ball was also met with the same fate as the second one. However soon many new energy balls were rushing towards Li Ming. She kept crushing them with her blades or either avoiding a few of them, but soon enough her body started getting tired. It had been barely eighteen minutes since they started their training when Li Ming suddenly dropped to her knees, breathing heavily. Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands were resting on her knees, her entire body was covered in sweat as she shook her head tightly to get rid of the blackness that was calling her name repeatedly. Wen Guiying was immediately by her side as he watched her dropping on her knees with shocked eyes. He knew that she was tired but he had no idea that the situation was this serious. "Are you alright?" He asked as he crouched down in front of her. His hand reached to hold her by her shoulder but soon stopped before he could touch her. When he didn''t get any reply from her his tension increased. He immediately tried to send a message to his brothers, to call at least one of them there to help her. What he didn''t expect was for his message to get blocked due to some reason. He tried again but the result was the same. This only made him more tensed. Was there something trying to harm her? The thought made him glare at their surroundings. Li Ming finally succeeded in opening her eyes and the first thing that came into her view was the worried face of Wen Guiying. "I-I''m alright, just a-a little...tired. Can w-we continue t-tom...orrow?" Her breathing was still shaky and uneven, making it harder for her to speak. "What''s wrong with you? Are you alright?" The Supreme Immortal was getting more worried with each passing second. He didn''t like the way Li Ming appeared pale and tired. Li Ming nodded her head in reply to calm the Immortal down. She pushed herself up and stood up on her shaking legs. "I''m heading b-back to the m-mansion." She told the Supreme Immortal as she started walking. She barely had taken a single step when her legs gave up on their work and she felt the abrupt decrease in her energy. Before her body could land on the hard ground, of course, she was engulfed by the strong arms of Wen Guiying. Her eyes were struggling to stay open and feeling the warmth and relief that suddenly took over her body, she decided to give her eyes some rest. Just before she could close her eyes, her gaze landed on the banshee who was standing in the shadow of the trees. Her red-painted lips gave her a warm smile and with a wink, she disappeared. Chapter 182 - Li Ming In Trouble Li Ming felt Wen Guiying lifting her body in bridal style and soon enough the feeling of passing through a void took over her hazy mind. A minute later, she found herself being lowered to something soft by the Supreme Immortal. The sudden qi that surrounded her immediately told her that she was laying down on the Divine Lotus. "Can you hear me, Ming?" The Supreme Immortal asked in a worried tone as he shifted her in his lap. Her face resting on his shoulder. He watched as she slowly blinked her eyes. Her hands were freezing and he immediately held her small hands in his own to warm them. "I''m just tired. Y-you can leave me here. I''ll be back to my normal self by t-tom...orrow." Li Ming replied as she looked at her worried mate. Her heartbeat had calmed down and her breathing was slowly returning to normal. She didn''t realize when it happened but she was now wearing a new type of dress. It was baby pink and white in color. The outer robe was made of chiffon and both of her entire arms and belly were visible through it. Her long hair was falling down on her back in curls and her feet were bare, but her pink painted toenails were visible. "What happened to you?" The Supreme Immortal''s question brought her out of the shock that had taken over her after seeing the change in her appearance. "Huh? Oh! It''s nothing. I probably overworked myself in the past few days." Li Ming replied softly. She tried to stand up from his lap but with a single jerk of his hand, she was again plastered to Supreme Immortal''s chest. "Don''t you dare move! Now tell me exactly why you are in this state." His cold and deep voice made Li Ming''s temper rise. If he really wanted to know the reason behind her current state then she would happily let him know. "Because of you and Heaven Emperor." She replied with a huff. "Why me and the Heaven Emperor? What did we do?" The Supreme Immortal was surprised. "My soul is imbalanced because of the closeness of both of you. You two stay close to me but never touch me and I have already told you all that until our bonds are complete, I''ll need physical contact from you guys to keep my soul in balance." Li Ming told him in a soft voice. The Immortals only shared one bond with her therefore their souls only felt the absence of one part. On the other hand, Li Ming was sharing five bonds and because of this, her soul was feeling the absence of five of its parts. In short, she was suffering five times more than her mates. Also, the exhaustion of her morning training sessions and the constant use of a lot of her powers in the nursery were not helping much to her health. The Supreme Immortal silently listened as Li Ming told him everything. After the silence of a few seconds, he finally asked, "So, you already know that he''s also your mate?" It was clear that he was talking about the Heaven Emperor. "How will I not know when every time he''s around me, my soul wants to jump in his arms and never let him go?" Wen Guiying was not expecting to hear such a reply from her. He looked down at his young mate who was toying with his collar. Her small soft hand was so close to the bare skin of his collarbone and suddenly he noticed that his heartbeat had increased. It only took him a second to return to his indifferent tone which confused Li Ming who was wondering if she had imagined his fast heartbeat. "Did you two have confronted each other yet?" The Supreme Immortal asked. In reply to his question Li Ming only shook her head lightly. A sigh left his lips which made her look at him with raised eyebrows. "Fine. Just rest for now and I don''t want to see you like this ever again, okay?" Wen Guiying asked in a strict tone. "Why are you guys so demanding? It''s not like I have tired myself out on purpose." Li Ming scoffed. "No one is demanding here, Ming. We are all just worried about our little mate. You will understand when you will find one of us in your situation." Wen Guiying''s words shut her up immediately. How could she contradict this because she was aware of how it felt to see one''s mate in pain. "Also, I''m letting you go this easily only because you didn''t do this on purpose, but let me warn you if I somehow find out that you are purposely ignoring your health. I''ll make sure that you will regret it." She could clearly hear the threat in his voice. It was a warning which she needed to keep in mind. However, what scared her was the thought of him finding out about what she had done. Was he already aware of the truth? The sudden thought left Li Ming horrified. "I asked you something, Ming. Did you understand?" Wen Guiying asked her when he saw her lost in her thoughts. Li Ming lightly nodded her head once but didn''t dare to look up. She felt Wen Guiying''s fingers on her chin which made her lift her face up to look at her mate. "I want you to look right into my eyes when answering, Ming. Now, is there something you want to tell me? Remember I won''t give you another chance no matter how much you will ask for it. So?" Wen Guiying''s eyes were penetrating directly into her soul. It was like he was reading her clearly without her even being aware of it. Her brain was shouting at her to tell him the truth about what she had done, but her heart and soul were liking the dangerous aura of the Supreme Immortal which promised punishment. Her brain wanted her to be sensible and her soul wished to play with her mate. She didn''t even realize that her soul had won until she found the words spilling out of her mouth. "No, there''s nothing like that." Li Ming wanted to hit her head on a wall for her stupidity. She already knew that she was going to regret lying to her mate. Wen Guiying looked at the girl in his arms as he asked softly, "Are you sure, Ming? There is really nothing?" When someone kept asking you again and again if you are hiding something from them or if you want to confess something, it could mean only two things. One, that person was doubting you and wanted you to confess by pressuring you. Second, they had already found out the truth and were giving you the last chance to confess your guilt. There was a ninety percent chance that Li Ming was currently facing the second one. However, she still somehow succeeded in assuring herself that the Supreme Immortal was only playing with her. Therefore, she ended up once again shaking her head in denial in response to Wen Guiying''s question. She wasn''t prepared for the sudden move by which she found her back plastered to the Supreme Immortal''s firm chest and his arms placed around her belly in a tight grip. "Guiying...!" Li Ming let out a sharp gasp but immediately quieted down when the Supreme Immortal pressed his index finger on her lips. The sun was about to rise at any moment, but Li Ming watched as the petals of Divine Lotus started closing, shutting them inside. "Since your answer is no, I want you to tell me what this is." With these words, the Supreme Immortal flicked his sleeve and a screen appeared in front of them. To Li Ming''s horror, the screen was playing the conversation that she had with the banshee in the nursery. "Why did you do that?" Li Ming heard Wen Guiying whisper the question in her ear but she was too shocked to answer. She should have known better. How could she not see that he already was aware of everything? "Did you endanger your life only because you wanted my attention? Because you could not stand the distance that I have placed between the two of us?" Wen Guiying''s questions made Li Ming even more embarrassed but she knew that he was waiting for her reply, therefore, with a heavy heart she nodded her head. "I promise that from now on I''ll give as much of my attention to you as you want. I''ll no longer stay away from you. I''ll not make you suffer by staying away from you. But before that little mate, you needed to be punished for lying and playing with your health." Li Ming watched as Wen Guiying took hold of both of her hands. His words had increased her heartbeat and she felt her breathing accelerating too. But what made her gasp in surprise was the moment when she felt her outer robe slipping from her shoulders and her almost bare back hit a naked chest. Chapter 183 - Wen Guiyings Punishment "Fuck!" The curse was already out of her mouth before she even realized it. However, she had no time to pay attention to her language. The soul mark on her wrist was shining brightly as it enjoyed Wen Guiying''s closeness. "Don''t touch it. It''s..." "...sensitive. I''m aware of it." Wen Guiying cut her off as he completed her sentence. Li Ming felt his hot breath on her nape and soon electric currents were passing throughout her entire body. "Let''s see exactly how much sensitive it is. Shall we?" Li Ming was left completely confused by Wen Guiying''s reply. But her heart was already aware of what was coming. Her breathing increased as she watched the Supreme Immortal gliding his fingers from her shoulder towards her soul mark. "Guiying...!" "Sssssssh! Keep quiet and take your punishment. If you pass this punishment then I''m all yours. Now, you can decide whether you want me to stop or continue." Wen Guiying softly whispered in her ear. He watched as his little mate closed her eyes tightly. Her cheeks were painted bright pink and he could see her pulse quickening as he watched her slender long neck. Her silence was his answer. A smile appeared on his face as he bent his face forward and planted a kiss on her nape, making her gasp once again. Li Ming wasn''t prepared for the attack of kisses that she received on her nape and shoulder. Other than her soul mark, her nape was one of her most sensitive body parts. "Mmmn...!" She couldn''t control the small moan that finally left her lips. Her moan probably gave Wen Guiying a green signal as his mouth started moving on her nape. Planting soft kisses from her shoulder to her jaw. By the time he reached the corner of her lips, Li Ming was almost out of breath. Her face was turned back towards the Supreme Immortal, leaving the left part of her neck completely exposed. She closed her eyes as she felt him nibbling at the corner of her lower lip. Her entire body was engulfed in that euphoric feeling. Wen Guiying''s fingers were running down her exposed arms while his mouth was busy nipping her jaw and the corner of her lips. The moment she was waiting for never came as his lips again started trailing down her jaw and then down towards her nape. Her lips were left completely disappointed as they waited to be engulfed by the soft warm lips of Wen Guiying. A pout almost made its way to Li Ming''s lips but before that could happen, another groan left her mouth as she felt Wen Guiying''s fingers gliding across her belly. "You are so sensitive, Little mate. It warms my heart to see your body shining with joy and satisfaction." At the Supreme Immortal''s soft words Li Ming opened her eyes slowly to look at herself and what she found was beyond astonishing. Her entire body was shining with silver light, small silver sparkling particles were floating around them, filling the inside of the Divine Lotus with silver light. "See? You are the light that is sent here to guide us and the rest of the Immortal world. You are so precious, Little One. So precious." Wen Guiying softly whispered in her ear. His words were filled with amazement and happiness. He still could not believe that they had finally found their mate after waiting for millenniums. She was everything that they could have asked for in their partner and the most precious was her heart which was filled with love, kindness, forgiveness and understanding. Li Ming was still looking at her shining body when suddenly her entire body erupted in tingles. It was like electric currents were running through her veins. She felt soft lips trailing down her shoulder towards her elbow, but rather than stopping there, Wen Guiying continued to trail down kisses towards her wrist. She even felt a wet touch below her elbow which made her eyes fly open in surprise. It took her a few moments to realize that the reason behind the electric currents that were running through her body was due to Wen Guiying''s lips that were getting closer to her soul mark with each passing second. "Please...!" She had no idea why she was saying please. Was it for him to stop or to hurry? Her soul was enjoying the attention that it was getting but it was also desperate to get even closer to Wen Guiying. Her pleading made the Supreme Immortal stop immediately, making Li Ming groan in frustration. A smile appeared on the Supreme Immortal''s lips as he watched his frustrated mate who was looking so cute and adorable with her glaring eyes that were trained on him. He couldn''t control himself from lightly nipping at her lips which made a sigh leave her lips. Li Ming was busy in enjoying the moment when she suddenly felt something trailing towards her upper body. It took her a few minutes to get herself out of the elation that her soul was enjoying. She stared at her feet and another gasp left her mouth as she watched vines creeping over her legs. By this time Li Ming had completely lost the count of her gasps. It was like for the past half an hour she had done nothing else than gasping at every few minutes. "What is happening?" She asked as she called on her powers. It took her a second to realize that her body barely had any energy left. Well, at this another sigh left her lips. "Don''t worry, Sweet mate. It''s a part of your punishment. All you have to do is to make sure that you won''t harm the vines. If you end up harming them your punishment would restart, alright?" Wen Guiying asked her as he made her face him. His dark eyes looking deeply into her eyes. Li Ming felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest anytime soon. She found herself softly nodding her head in agreement. Not even knowing what was coming next. However, she could feel the excitement of her soul. She silently watched as the vines crawled up to her hands and engulfed her wrists. Li Ming didn''t even realize how it actually happened but soon she was lying on the soft surface of the Divine Lotus. Both of her hands were tied above her head in a loose but firm grip. "What are you going to do?" She couldn''t help but ask as she watched Wen Guiying who was standing near her feet. His entire bare chest was shining in the silver light that was illuminating Li Ming''s body. His long black hair was gliding down his shoulder and back. "Don''t worry, Sweet mate. You will be going to enjoy it." Li Ming wasn''t sure exactly what he meant by those words as she watched him lower down on her. She watched as his face came closer to her own. His warm breath was touching her cheeks. Wen Guiying''s eyes trailed to her lips and then back to her eyes which were staring at him. He repeated his actions a few times before finally lowering his face towards her lips. Her eyes automatically got shut as she waited for the moment that she wanted to experience. However, rather than his soft lips meeting her lips, she felt his lips on an entirely different part of her body. The gasp that left her mouth this time was louder than all the previous ones. Her eyes flew open and a loud groan accompanied it. **** "How long is it going to take?" The East Tower of the Moon Manor was currently in chaos. Four Immortals were crowding the tower and two were behaving like they had been separated from their most precious thing. "Can you two please shut up? You are not helping the situation at all. Stop creating more problems." Hei Long couldn''t help from letting his frustration out at the two Immortals. Of course, his action of showing his frustration wasn''t received by others happily as he soon was gifted with the glares that came from Ruoshan and Zhang Yong. "Stop being such an idiot. Don''t pretend like you are not affected by her absence. The truth is that you want to be there with her as much as the rest of us. Just accept it." Zhang Yong said through gritted teeth as he glared at the Second Demon Prince. For a moment he imagined a flicker of remorse in the emotionless eyes of Hei Long but within a second they were back to their normal cold and indifferent look. The very next second, the silhouette of the Second Demon Prince disappeared from the moon manor. "He''s being a coward!" Zhang Yong shouted as he shook his head but soon the entire tower felt silent at Ruoshan''s next words. "No. He''s not being a coward. As far as I know him, he''s trying to hide something. Something that is going to bring a tsunami in our lives." Chapter 184 - Sweet Sweet Mate Warm lips engulfed her index finger, making Li Ming moan loudly. She was not sure for exactly how long she had been going through this torture. Those pair of lips had been roaming all over her exposed nape, shoulders, collarbone, and arms. His warm lips made their way towards her soul mark and soon enough, she felt pleasure soaring throughout her entire body. Her body was experiencing the best feelings at that moment as Wen Guiying''s lips planted kisses on her soul mark. She was nothing more than a moaning mess at that moment. "Guiying...!" "What Sweet mate? Is there something you want?" The Supreme Immortal whispered lightly in her ears as his eyes twinkled with mischief. "I hate you!" Li Ming declared as she glared at her mate who had been teasing her for such a long time. Her angry words made a big smile appear on the Supreme Immortal''s face. "And I can finally say that I''m in love with you, Sweet mate!" Li Ming stared at the Supreme Immortal with her huge eyes, her lips were parted as she was left shocked. Did another one of her mates just confess to her? "Ar...you...I-no...we..." She had no idea what she wanted to say or what words were coming out of her mouth. She didn''t get the chance to ponder much on the topic as the very next second her lips were engulfed by the soft warm lips of Wen Guiying. "Mmmmn..." A moan left her lips as the warm lips of the Supreme Immortal covered her soft ones. Her entire body and soul were filled with the pleasure of being so close to one of her soul mates. Her hands immediately made their way around Wen Guiying''s shoulders on their own. One of her hands found the long smooth locks that were falling around them, forming a drape that secluded the two of them. One of Wen Guiying''s hands was cupping her cheek while the other one was placed on her waist. The Supreme Immortal inched back a little to let both of them take in a few quick breaths. Li Ming looked at his dark eyes with softness. Her entire body was surrounded by a powerful energy that was trying to make her burst into tiny particles. The next second his lips were back on her soft ones with even more power and control. The vines that were previously tying her hands were now scattered around the flowery room with soft twinkling leaves on them as they acted as another source of light in the dark lotus room. Moan after moan left her lips as the commanding lips of Wen Guiying made her experience extreme pleasure. It was probably only a few minutes later or it could also be years later when their lips finally parted. Li Ming was completely out of breath but looking at the Wen Guiying he appeared as calm as his usual self. His swollen rosy lips were the only evidence of the deed that they had done. The picture of them French kissing entered Li Ming''s mind, making a couple of other thoughts made their way too. She immediately shook her head to get rid of her dirty thoughts. Her cheeks were flaming red with embarrassment. She had been kissed by two of her mates and neither of them used their tongues. Looked like she would be the one introducing them to the world-famous French Kiss. "You are looking like a cherry, Sweet mate. At least, you taste like one." If she was not embarrassed enough because of her dirty thoughts, then Wen Guiying''s words definitely made her red as a tomato. She glared at the Supreme Immortal who chuckled softly as he planted a soft peck on her lips before moving to lie down beside her. Her body immediately moved on its own as the very next second she found herself in his warm embrace which surrounded her with protection. Her head was lying on his chest where she could hear his normal paced heartbeats. Her long hair scurried all over the soft surface of the fluffy lotus. The two of them with their open hair and half-dressed, half-naked form was making an ethereal sight. Wen Guiying''s fingers were dancing over her wrist making the soul mark glow. "Is it still sensitive to my touch?" Wen Guiying asked as he moved her wrist towards his lips and planted a soft kiss in the very middle of her soul mark. In the reply to his question, he heard a soft grown from his sweet mate which made a twinkle appear in his obsidian eyes. "Hmm. Looks like it still is. But I like your moans. They sound like the most amazing music to my ears." Li Ming heard him whispering in her ear, his warm breath caused shivers to run down her spine. "How many hickeys have you left on my body?" Li Ming asked as she tried to distract her mind from the dirty thoughts that were still lingering in her mind. "What hickeys? Oh! Do you mean these precious love marks? They are looking even more beautiful on you." Li Ming stared at the Supreme Immortal with suspicious eyes, but suddenly a huge role made its way to her lips. Now, it was Wen Guiying''s turn to be suspicious of his Sweet mate who was looking at him with those cute adorable shining eyes of hers. "What happened?" He couldn''t help himself from asking. Li Ming shifted a little in his embrace as she turned to fully look at him. It was kinda tiring to turn her head upwards to look at him. After making sure that she would be able to look directly into his eyes, she asked, "Did I pass the punishment?" Wen Guiying was left surprised for a few seconds but soon a twitch appeared on his lips. "Why are you curious to know? Anything special?" He asked in a way as if he wanted to hear something particular in response to his question. "En! I am just curious to know if you are yet mine or not. I should know if I own you yet or not, or do I have still to work hard to get you." Her words were so innocent and naive and so were her tone and expressions. Wen Guiying wanted to engulf her in his embrace and never let her go. He lifted his head up and planted a butterfly kiss on her forehead, making her close her eyes as a sigh of contentment left her. "Let me tell you this, you passed your punishment with flying colors, Sweet mate. Now, you have all your rights over me. As long as we are not on the training ground, you can make me do anything according to your wishes." Wen Guiying''s reply made her eyes sparkle with happiness as a smile bloomed on her lips. For the first time in her new life, Li Ming took the initiative of bending down and placing a warm soft kiss on one of her mates'' lips. Her lips lingered on his warm soft pair for a few seconds before she finally moved back to look at the Supreme Immortal. "Thank you for accepting me. Thank you for giving our bond a chance and thank you for loving me as a person, as your mate. I''ll try my best to never let you down and I promise to listen to you when we are on training grounds." Li Ming looked straight into his dark eyes as she whispered her promise softly. Wen Guiying shifted his fingers through her long locks as he gazed into her eyes with adoration and love visible clearly in his own. "No, my Sweet mate. I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for accepting me as one of your soul mates and thank you so much for giving our bond a chance, for giving us a chance. I''m hoping that you accept me as your mate. Am I being too confident?" At Wen Guiying''s questioning look, Li Ming immediately shook her head as she replied, "No, you are not being overconfident. I have already accepted you all as my mates. There''s no denying it." Without even a single more word spoken, the two of them immediately sealed their words with a warm and soft kiss. "You are so soft, Sweet mate." Wen Guiying said as he adjusted her back in his embrace. "Why do you keep calling me Sweet mate?" Li Ming asked with a soft smile on her lips. She liked all the names by which her mates used to call her. They always filled her with warmth and happiness. "At first because you are sweet as a person, but now I''m going to call you by this name because you taste so sweet, so so sweet." Wen Guiying couldn''t stop himself from stealing another soft peck from his cute mate who was making him feel complete for the very first time in his entire Immortal life. Chapter 185 - Did The Deed "If you are about to faint then you should consider immediately leaving this place. I''m not interested in dealing with a corpse." The voice echoed through the empty valley of Snow Fields where Li Ming was currently trying to break through the thick ice that had covered the trunk of a huge tree. According to the old man, the young girl had gone crazy. For the past hour, she was trying to break the frozen ice, and meanwhile, he was rummaging through his memory and dozens of scrolls to find out exactly what tree was that. So far, he couldn''t found a single use of the Sunleaf tree. Rather than its leaves being bright orange in color, nothing was exciting or unique about the tree. Moreover, the old man could not remember if he had ever seen a single leaf on that tree in the past millennium. Therefore, he could not understand why Li Ming was wasting so much energy and time on that tree. Or was it the ice that she wanted? Li Ming ignored the old man and his stupid talks as she continued to remove the ice from around the tree. "Are you planning to pass your time like this by doing nothing? Rather than utilizing your time and working on your challenge, you are trying to waste our time by doing stupid things. Do you think I can''t see through your crafty tricks?" Only Heaven knew what was more frustrating for the old man more, him not understanding Li Ming''s current actions or her constantly ignoring him. Deep down even he knew that the girl was working hard to remove the frozen ice from around the tree because there was really something important that she was planning to do, but the fact that he couldn''t find any reason for which the tree could be used made him frustrated. How could a young girl be aware of the importance of a tree which was growing in the Snow Fields for hundreds of years while the Caretaker of that very same place wasn''t aware of it? As usual Li Ming ignored the old man and his nonsense. She had many important works to finish than wasting her time in arguing with a crazy elder person. The Heaven Emperor who had been watching both the old man and Li Ming from his high position on the high cliff finally decided to interrupt. "Master, why don''t you return to your house to prepare the dinner? I''ll stay here to keep an eye on her." The Heaven Emperor said as he walked closer to the duo. At his words, the old man glared at him as he said, "Why? Is there a problem if I stay here? Or are you feeling pity for her and want to help her behind my back?" Here came the accusations! The old man seriously needed to get a hold of his temper and mouth. Both kept slipping and irritating others. The Heaven Emperor was about to reply when they were disturbed by the mocking laugh of Li Ming. "What?" The old man asked with a raised eyebrow. "You need to keep your temper under control old man. Your unbalanced temper and unnecessary bickering have started to give me headaches." Li Ming replied politely with a fake smile plastered on her lips. She watched the expression of the two men that changed immediately. A twitch appeared on the Heaven Emperor''s lips while the old man kept standing there glaring at her in anger. "You are really something. You dare to call me short-tempered and overreactor! Just wait for the day you will come begging for my forgiveness." The old man huffed in anger as he scurried away from there, but not before passing a hard glare at Li Ming. However, just as usual, Li Ming didn''t give any importance to either the old man or his angry glares. She had almost become immune to him in the past two weeks. It had been an entire week since the day when she was sealed inside the Divine Lotus with Wen Guiying. Many things had changed in this one week. The Supreme Immortal had actually become a soft mate unless they were inside the training grounds. He had also started to always bid her goodbye with a soft peck either on her lips or on her forehead. Though, nothing more than that happened. He didn''t tease her soul mark again in the entire past week. Yet his closeness was enough to calm down Li Ming''s soul which was getting more and more desperate to see her other mates. And the Heaven Emperor''s closeness was not helping her situation even a single bit. She had even started to avoid coming too close to him for the last few days. However, as he stood so close to her at the moment, Li Ming was suddenly surrounded by his strong aura and the fragrance which reminded her of a warm sunny day. She tried to distract herself as she pushed away the last bucket of ice that she had filled just a few minutes ago. Finally, after the hard work of the last few hours, she succeeded in getting the tree free from the freezing ice. She took out a few materials from her magical space and started piling them at the foot of the tree. "What are you doing?" The Heaven Emperor asked as he watched her taking out weird things from her space. He was getting tired of the silence that was building between the two of them for the past few days. He had finally realized the previous night that for the past few days, Li Ming had created a distance between them, and for some reason, he wasn''t liking it. Li Ming looked at him with a questioning look as she asked, "Are you planning to start like that old man now?" The Heaven Emperor opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. "I''m actually curious," he finally said after the silence of a few seconds. Li Ming sighed as she settled on the cold ground and patted the space beside her while looking at the Heaven Emperor. The Immortal Lord looked at the smiling girl and then at the space beside her. He had no idea about what she was planning but with a sigh, he stepped forward and settled down beside her. Li Ming could feel her heartbeat accelerating, not because of his closeness but because of what she was about to do next. She settled in a lotus position and signaled the Heaven Emperor to also do the same. She started creating a rune at the bottom of the huge tree. The end of the rune was connecting with the bottom of the trunk. She placed the grey crystal-like gem in the center of the rune and dropped a few pinches of snowflake powder. The last thing that she added was an orange leaf which looked fresh and beautiful. It also had a few dewdrops visible on it. The Heaven Emperor had no idea about what was going on but he still stayed completely silent, not uttering a single word. "The spell that I''m going to perform next is very powerful. I''m not sure if my energy will be enough to complete it or not. Will you allow me to use a little bit of your energy?" Her words were barely above a whisper but the Heaven Emperor heard every single word clearly. Though he stayed silent. A person asking to use the powers of the Heaven Emperor was the last thing that any soul in the entire Immortal realm would have ever imagined. However, there she was! A young fifteen and a half-year-old girl who dared to ask the forbidden. Yet, the most surprising part was not her request but the fact that the Heaven Emperor found himself nodding his head as he moved his right hand to place it in her open palm. He had no idea what took over him in that particular moment but all he wanted to do was to agree to any or every request of the young girl. If it had been someone else, talking nonsense like using the powers of the Heaven Emperor, that person would have taken their last breath by now. Nonetheless, Li Ming was not someone else. She was the Chosen One. The only person in the entire universe who could be daring enough to ask for such things and who could also be granted such requests. As the Heaven Emperor placed his hand over Li Ming''s open palm, his entire body erupted in currents of pleasure. His head immediately turned to look at the girl who had closed her eyes as she chanted something under her breath. The Heaven Emperor kept watching the girl with shocked eyes, his face was a mask of amazement and surprise while his entire being was drowned in the ocean of contentment. After ten minutes, Li Ming opened her eyes slowly and with a soft smile, she first looked at the tree and then turned to look at her surprised mate. If the Heaven Emperor was already not left speechless then the soft lips that landed on the corner of his lips definitely did the deed. Chapter 186 - Sunleaf Trees The softness that had covered the corner of his lips disappeared too quickly for his liking. A strong desire took over the Heaven Emperor as all he wanted to do at that moment was to pull her back into his embrace, but of course, he did nothing like that. The Heaven Emperor was left completely shooked by the sudden kiss. He was not prepared to deal with something like this. Li Ming looked at the Heaven Emperor who was currently looking like a tomato. His cheeks already had turned bright red and the tips of his ears were also changing their color. What surprised her was the shyness that was evident under the shock that was currently visible on the Heaven Emperor''s face. The reality behind the Immortal Lord''s expressions finally dawned over Li Ming. A soft smile bloomed over her rosy lips as she observed her mate. "Are you going to stare at that tree? I thought your main focus will be your mate who is currently sitting beside you." Her voice was soft and it performed its magic as the Heaven Emperor immediately turned to look directly at Li Ming. "You are...really...." The Heaven Emperor didn''t complete his sentence as he gazed at the girl whom his soul was trying to pull towards it. The attraction, the pull, the tingles, the excitement, and every other emotion that he was feeling for the past two weeks was because of none other than his...mate! "En!" Li Ming nodded her head as she confirmed the truth of his incomplete sentence. "I''m sorry if I overstepped. I was just too confused and...didn''t know how to confront you..." Li Ming let out a deep sigh as she apologized for her actions. Even though he was her mate but since they both were not in any relationship at the moment, it was actually rude of her to perform such an act. Moreover, the fact that the Heaven Emperor was completely pure in this area, she felt more guilty for her action. Heavens! She needed to get a grip on her lusting soul before it would end up devouring her mates. She had already lost her control over her soul once before and thanks to that she ended up harassing the Ever night Lord. Who knew what would happen if a situation like that arose again. "Oh! It''s alright. I was just not prepared for it. I should be the one asking for your forgiveness. I already had my doubts but I never dared to confront you. I hope Miss Li will forgive me." The Heaven Emperor immediately replied. Li Ming also hurriedly shook her head to make it clear that she had no hard feelings for the ruler of the Heaven Realm. The atmosphere was turning awkward as both of them quieted down. It had already started to get dark as the night was approaching. Li Ming was biting her lips as they completed twenty minutes of complete silence between them. The cold ground and the chilled air of the Snow Fields had started their mission of turning her into an ice sculpture as she kept sitting there silently. She was taken aback when something warm covered her shoulders, immediately surrounding her in warmth and the addicting fragrance of the sunny warm days. She turned to look at the Heaven Emperor who was back to his normal self. The only difference was the softness in his eyes that was apparent as he looked at her. "Thank you." Li Ming said with a soft smile as she pulled the fur cloak tighter around her shoulders. "Let''s return to the house now, otherwise you will catch a cold." The Heaven Emperor helped her in standing up and Li Ming happily let him, even though she was very much capable of standing up on her own. They silently walked towards the cabin but the Heaven Emperor once again asked the same question which made Li Ming chuckle. "You are really curious to know what I did with that tree, right?" She asked as she eyed her mate who tried to hide his embarrassment. She was seeing the cold, indifferent, calm, confident, and collected Heaven Emperor in a new light. He had gone from shy, shocked, surprised, embarrassed to even flustered in the past half an hour and Li Ming definitely was not expecting to see such a cute side of her powerful mate. "Well, you will receive the answer tomorrow morning. Have a little patience." Li Ming told him as they entered the warm cabin. "Fine. I won''t ask anymore and will wait for the morning to see it on my own. By the way, what are you going to cook?" The Heaven Emperor asked. "Hmmm...not sure. Let''s see what I''ve in stock." The two went into the kitchen as Li Ming started preparing the dinner. The two of them settled down in a comfortable conversation as the night progressed. Unlike her other mates, the Heaven Emperor did not immediately open his arms for Li Ming but at the same time, he also did not ignore her. It was a progress to some level and she was ready to take it slow if that was what he wanted. The magic that she performed on the Sunleaf tree left both the Heaven Emperor and the old man amazed to their core. When the next morning the three of them came out of their respective houses to start with the day, neither of the two Immortals were prepared to come across a view filled with freshly blooming Sunleaf trees throughout the entire Snow Fields. Li Ming had used her powers accompanied by a powerful spell to bring the ancient Sunleaf Tree back to life. With the help of that tree, she linked the rest of the Sunleaf trees with her spell. There were a total of five hundred and sixty-three Sunleaf Trees in the Snow Fields. That was the main reason why she needed the help of the Heaven Emperor in completing the spell. "This...how did you...?" The old man was out of words. A huge smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she flicked her hair while replying, " This is one of my presents to you and your barren Snow Fields." "But how did you do that?" The Heaven Emperor asked with curiosity visible in his voice. "There are a few trees in the Snow Fields which are powerful enough to survive the cold temperature of this place. All they need is just a boost of energy that can help them. I just transferred that energy into them and here is the beautiful result." Li Ming explained briefly. The Heaven Emperor looked impressed while the old man was looking at her like she had just spoken in some foreign language. "Are they never going to die ever again?" The old man finally came out of his trance as he asked. "They will at some point. You will need to continue boosting them with external energy every ten years to keep them blooming like this." Li Ming replied as she took out a pair of gloves from her magical space. "Are you planning to do this with other trees too?" The old man asked her. His eyes were brimming with curiosity as he waited for the reply. Li Ming raised her eyebrows at the old man''s question. The smirk that was playing on her lips was the clear evidence that she was moving him and his stupid question. "Come on, old man. I just wanted to show you that the reason behind this barren Snow fields is not its lower temperature but the fact that no one ever tried to bring this place back to life." Li Ming took in a short break of a few seconds before she continued. "It''s not like I don''t want to do my best to revive the lost beauty of this place, but what I really want is to see that what will you do now." The Heaven Emperor looked curious while the old man was left completely puzzled. "What do you mean, little girl?" Li Ming let out a soft breath as she replied, "I have already proven it that there is a possibility that the trees inside the Snow Fields can also exist in their full glory. It was not like I knew about this two weeks ago. I had no idea that something like this is even possible. But I persisted to see colors in this place and found a way to do so." She moved a few steps closer to the old man who was made to lift his head to look at her. Li Ming''s five inches high heel leather boots gave her a perfect benefit as she appeared far more intimidating at that moment. "Therefore, if someone like me, who is barely at the cultivation level of Master Ranks and has so little knowledge of the Snow Fields, can do this miracle then why the caretaker of this place who is far more knowledgeable and powerful than me couldn''t do it?" Chapter 187 - Double The Trouble: Part One "To be honest, I have no idea how she did this. I have been trying to find out about anything that can help us in bringing those trees back to life but even after two weeks I have found nothing." The old man said as he settled down in his armchair beside the small window in his living room. The dark and chilled night was filled with complete silence. The two Immortals we''re currently sitting in the small living room of the old man''s hut. The Heaven Emperor sighed as he looked at his Master. The old man was really a drama king. Even though he wanted to expose the old man and his hidden motives but after thinking about the ending result of his daring stunt, he decided to stay silent. However, there was another person present in the living room who was not as smart as the Heaven Emperor. "Master, you have seriously become shameless. How can you even look in our eyes directly while lying straight to our faces?" Zhang Yong asked as he made a disgusted face. The old man turned sideways to glare at the Shadow Lord who was currently munching on the delicious pastry that Li Ming had sent for the old man. "What did you just say?" The old man looked scary as he asked the question through gritted teeth. Zhang Yong could see the warning look that the Heaven Emperor was passing him, but our dear Shadow Lord had already chosen his side. How could he let the old man trick his little Ming''er? Therefore, he ignored the signals of the Heaven Emperor as he replied. "I''m just stating the truth. Do you seriously think that we won''t be able to see the truth behind your words? There''s no need to hide your crafty plans behind lousy excuses. No one is going to fall for them." The veins in the old man''s temple almost burst at Zhang Yong''s words. His eyes were about to burn the Shadow Lord alive right at that moment. "Think before speaking out such outrageous words. Don''t go around spouting nonsense!" The old man said as he glared at the Immortal. Zhang Yong was about to retort when the Heaven Emperor decided to speak up. "Are you not going to meet Miss Li? After all, it has been over a month since you last saw her. She will feel happy to see you here." Zhang Yong looked at the Heaven Emperor and after a few seconds, he closed his open mouth while nodding his head lightly. He passed the old man a heated glance and then turned to look at the Heaven Emperor as he said, "Fine! I''m going to see my Ming''er but let me make it very clear, there''s no way I''m going to let you play your dirty tricks on my Ming''er." Of course, his words were directed at none other than the old man. Before the old man could leash his anger out, the silhouette of the Shadow Lord disappeared from the small living room. "This boy...he is becoming more and more outrageous. He is not even pretending to be on my side. It''s not like I''m planning a murder or something. I''m just trying to find out some answers." The old man huffed in frustration. The Heaven Emperor looked at his Master for a few seconds in silence. He looked deep in thoughts before he finally replied, "Just make sure not to anger the Future Empress of the Heaven Realm." With these shocking words, the silhouette of the Heaven Emperor also disappeared from the living room, leaving a surprised old man behind. --- The dirty road kept going on without any end. She had been running on it for hours by now, but unfortunately, all that she could see around her was darkness. Except for that dirty road nothing else was visible to her eyes. Her legs were on the verge of giving up due to the weakness that was taking over her. ''Come here....Don''t stop...!'' The husky voice whispered in her ears, making her legs start walking once again. She was too tired to think straight at that moment. All that she wanted was to reach that voice that had been calling her for the past several hours. She wanted to rest, to sleep, to let go of everything, and to succumb to the darkness that was trying to evade her consciousness. However, the voice was not letting her stop. It kept calling her whenever her legs started slowing down. ''You can''t stop...I need you...come to me...!'' "Ming''er...!" In that dark abyss and on that neverending road, she finally heard a voice that sounded familiar. Someone was calling her name and miraculously it was not that husky voice. "Ming''er, are you awake?" She felt the darkness recoil as it started leaving her. Her mind started feeling light as the dark hold her it started to leave her. "Ming''er...!" ** Li Ming woke up with a loud gasp as she sat up straight on the couch on which she was lying down in her cozy living room. "Ming''er...?" The familiar voice once again entered her ears as she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness that was present in the room. Except for the fireplace where a light fire was burning and for the five candles that were glowing on the other side of the room, the living room was basking mostly in shadows. "Are you alright, Ming''er? Is something wrong?" Zhang Yong''s worried voice entered into her ears and she immediately looked towards the man who was crouching beside her. "Zhang...!" Li Ming softly whispered as she looked at the familiar face in front of her. Zhang Yong looked worriedly at the girl who was looking pale even in the darkness. He could sense her discomfort and her fast heartbeat. He was about to say something when suddenly the girl threw her hands around his neck and hugged him tightly. He was taken aback for a second but soon his hands went to pull the girl tighter in his embrace. "I missed you!" Li Ming whispered softly as she snuggled her face in his nape, inhaling his strong scent which immediately calmed her down. "I missed you too, Ming''er. It''s the most difficult thing to stay away from you." Zhang Yong replied as he rubbed her back softly. After a few minutes, Li Ming finally pulled out of Zhang Yong''s warm embrace. She scooted a little on the couch to make space for the Shadow Lord. As Zhang Yong sat beside her, she immediately snuggled back into his arms, needing the comfort of their bond in order to keep her from returning to the memories of her dream. Zhang Yong didn''t ask any questions as he silently brushed his fingers through her silky locks. "I have something amazing to share with you. I''m hoping that you will listen to it and say yes in the end." He finally said after a long silence. Li Ming pulled back a little as she looked at the Immortal with curious eyes. "What is it?" She asked as she straightened up a little to look at him. "Well, I was wondering if you will allow me to help Snowy and Mallow change into their human form." Zhang Yong hurriedly said. For a moment, Li Ming kept looking at the Immortal with shocked eyes. "What did you just say? They can change their forms?" Li Ming was definitely shocked after discovering such a huge news. "En! Since Mallow is a spirit beast, she can change into human form and I have a feeling that we can find a way to help Snowy do the same too." Zhang Yong immediately answered. Li Ming looked at the Shadow Lord with surprised eyes. It took her a few minutes to come out of her shock. "Of course, it''s such a great thing. Can we seriously do that?" She asked curiously. All her worries, tension, and bad feelings about her dream flew away as she and Zhang Yong started discussing about the possibility of his plan. "Then it''s confirmed. I''ll start my work immediately. Hope we will hear some good news soon." Zhang Yong said after their long discussion. Li Ming nodded her head in agreement. She too was excited about the results. If Zhang Yong was sure that there was a high chance for the success of this plan then she was sure that she would probably hear good news. "By the way, how''s everyone? And what about the Demon Realm? Is everything alright there?" Li Ming asked after a few minutes. "Everyone is good and so is the Demon Realm. Since you started to help them, their situation has become better." Zhang Yong replied with a soft smile. "Oh! That''s good news. Umm...I have a favor to ask from you." Li Ming said as she looked at Zhang Yong with hopeful eyes. "What is it? Just say it and it will be done." The Shadow Lord said in his cheerful tone. A small smile made its way to her lips at his words. "I want to meet with Ruoshan!" Chapter 188 - Double The Trouble: Part Two Li Ming watched as the snow slowly started covering her boots little by little. It was around nine-thirty and the dark chilled night filled with silence was making her feel sleepy. Her hands were freezing even though she had increased her body temperature to keep herself warm as the snow kept falling. She still needed to find out exactly why the Snow Fields kept covered in snow throughout the year without any break. She rubbed her hands together to help them warm up a little. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms snaked around her waist and hugged her tightly from behind. What shocked her was the identity of the person who was hugging her. It would be normal if it was Zhang Yong, Ruoshan, When Guiying, or for a moment, even Hei Long. However, Li Ming was amazed to find the Heaven Emperor back hugging her tightly as he placed his chin on her shoulder. "My Lord...?" She was not sure how to react, therefore, her words came out more like a question. She turned her face a little to look at the Immortal but almost forgot to breathe as she realized exactly how close their faces were. "I saw you standing here in the cold. Unfortunately, I don''t have a cloak with me. So, I found another way to keep you warm." The Heaven Emperor replied in a serious tone as he kept looking at their dark surroundings. A smile broke out on Li Ming''s lips as she looked at the side profile of her mate. In the past month, she had come to know the Heaven Emperor a little bit more than what she heard in the rumors. What shocked her the most was that he was a very shy and modest when it came to the matter of intimacy. Except for the kiss that she gave two weeks ago, they barely had any physical contact between them. She wanted to give him space and let him develop their bond at his own pace. However, to make sure that it won''t increase too much distance between them, she made sure to gave him a few quick hugs here or there. That''s why suddenly being back hugged by the Heaven Emperor and him being so intimate with her left her a little surprised. Not like she was complaining. "That''s really a great excuse. But let me tell you this, you don''t need to make excuses to hug your own mate. Am I right, Lilac Girl?" The sweet voice disturbed them suddenly, making both Li Ming and Heaven Emperor turn around. "Hei Long..." The two Immortals nodded at each other lightly, however, Li Ming was standing there looking at the Second Demon Prince in confusion. She asked Zhang Yong to send her message to Ruoshan, then why it was Hei Long who came there to meet her? She was standing in front of the Heaven Emperor. Though they were no longer hugging but one of his hands was resting on the small of her back. "You..." "You didn''t answer my question. We don''t need excuses to stay close to our own mate, right?" Hei Long repeated his question as he cut her off before she could even speak two words. And finally, his words registered in her mind. Her eyes grew huge as the realization dawned on her. Her eyes kept looking at the Second Demon Prince who was standing a little further away in front of her. His dark obsidian eyes were staring right at her without blinking. Li Ming felt her throat drying as she tried to speak, not even knowing what she wanted to say at that point. "Y...y-you...k-know...?" She finally managed to ask even though she already knew the answer. She barely got the time to blink and there he was, standing right in front of her. His warm breath fanning her cheeks as he gazed into her eyes. It was like the entire world stopped functioning at that moment as the two of them kept staring into each other''s eyes. Li Ming opened her mouth a few times to speak but the words were not ready to leave her mouth. It was like they got stuck in her throat and refused to come out. Li Ming thought that the gap between their faces was decreasing with each passing second but her mind was over lowing with too many things to pay attention to one thing. It wasn''t until a warm pair of lips engulfed her cold ones in their warmth, that she realized exactly what had happened. Unexpectedly, Hei Long''s lips moved against hers slowly and lovingly. One of his hands grabbed her from her waist and the other one found its way into her long hair. Li Ming watched the closed eyes of Hei Long as his hand grabbed the back of her nape. The warmth of those lips that were playing with hers, made her close her eyes too. She felt the moment, their bond started overflowing with pleasure. Her legs were starting to grow weak as the Second Demon Prince continued to play with her lips. Li Ming felt Hei Long stepping even closer to her and since there was barely any space between them, she instantly moved backward. However, the Second Demon Prince took another step closer to her, and once again she found her legs moving backward. Her body hit something...no! someone, as she moved back for the third time. She was about to lose her balance when suddenly a pair of arms came around her waist to support her. The fragrance that belonged to none other than the Heaven Emperor filled her already fuzzy senses as her back hit with his chest. She probably imagined it but she felt like for a moment, Hei Long was smiling as she ended up plastered against the Heaven Emperor. Though she got no time to pay attention to her suspicion as the lips that were slowly and softly giving her pleasure till now, became a little fierce as Hei Long nipped on her lips, making a gasp finally leave her mouth. Li Ming found one of her hands grabbing the collar of the black robe of the Second Demon Prince. Her fingers grazing against his bare chest beneath the robe. Meanwhile, her other hand made its way towards the person who was standing behind her. Her hands met with the smooth silky hair that was falling around his shoulder. His warm bare neck that came in contact with her hand made the Immortal let out a shaky breath. She was completely sandwiched between the two of her mates as they pleasured her. Her senses were overflowing as two of her bonds filled with warmth and joy. It was probably after an eternity when Hei Long finally pulled back a little to let her breathe. It was complete darkness around them but the shadows failed to hide the blushing cheeks of Li Ming and her state which looked satisfied after feeling the closeness of not one but two of her mates. "I heard that she starts to glow when her soul is satisfied. Will you help me?" Hei Long asked as he looked directly at the Heaven Emperor. Li Ming had no idea what was the reply of the Immortal Ruler but the very next second, she was picked up by Hei Ling in his strong arms. The daze that was covering her mind immediately flew away as her hands went to lock around Hei Long''s neck on their own. She looked at the Second Demon Prince with her huge eyes, not knowing what was happening or more like what he was planning to do. "Have you let him inside Xiao Tiantang yet? Or maybe your mansion?" Hei Long asked her as he pointed at the Heaven Emperor with his eyes. Li Ming looked at her other mate who was standing beside them. His eyes were trained on her and Li Ming could see that his soul was making him crave to be closer to her. She returned her eyes back to the Second Demon Prince as she slowly shook her head. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask from Hei Long but at the same time, she didn''t want to ruin such a beautiful moment. Therefore, she decided to stay silent for the time being, promising herself to bombard the Second Demon Prince with her questions soon. "Alright! Let''s take him there then!" With these words of Hei Long, Li Ming found herself passing through the void. The very next second they were standing exactly in her master bedroom of the magical mansion. Hei Long moved closer to the bed and placed her right in the middle of the huge bed. She felt her robes leaving her body which made a gasp leave her lips. Thankfully, her robes only changed into a warm pajama set, and not left her naked there. Well, she would have killed the Second Demon Prince right then and there if he dared to pull such a trick on her, mate or not! But exactly what he was planning to do to her? Chapter 189 - Double The Trouble: Part Three Li Ming stared at the ceiling of her bedroom as she kept lying on her bed with two of her mates accompanying her. Hei Long was lying on her left side while the Heaven Emperor was on her right side. "Why are you so silent, Lilac Girl? I was expecting you to bombard me with questions. However, you have not said a single word. What happened?" Hei Long asked as he turned to look at her. His robes had come undone slightly which made the skin of his collarbone visible. Li Ming felt her eyes ogling his bare collarbone as she felt her hands itching to feel his warm and smooth skin. She let out a deep sigh as she shook her head lightly to get rid of her craving thoughts. "How? And when?" Her gaze penetrated his dark eyes as she asked the questions that were making cramps appear in her stomach. She was not expecting tingles to erupt throughout her body as a warm hand engulfed her wrist where the soul mark was shining in pleasure. A soft groan made its way out of her mouth as Hei Long rolled up her sleeve and his fingers made the direct contact with her mark. "All you needed to do is to show this to me and all my suspicions, anger, frustration, and fears would have flown away. If not for me seeing it accidentally, I would have never known the truth of your identity." Hei Long asked as he looked at her with seriousness covering his expressions. "I...I-well, I thought...I mean we were not sure what will be the consequences of showing it to you. I mean..." Her words were cut off as Hei Long suddenly sealed her lips with his own. His one hand was supporting his weight while his other hand once again snaked around her waist. What Li Ming didn''t expect was the hand that started caressing her cheeks and nape. The Heaven Emperor pulled her hair away from her shoulder which left her nape completely at his mercy. Li Ming closed her eyes as her hands snaked around Hei Long''s shoulders and her fingers tightly gripped his long smooth hair. For the first time, she decided to partake in their sweet moment. She needed to make her mates also experience exactly what pleasure felt like. Her hands gripped Hei Long''s hair tightly as she moved her face, even more, closer to his face as she pushed her lips tightly against his. Her lips parted as she engulfed his soft warm lips within her own. The gasp that left Hei Long''s lips due to the shock that he received was enough for her to move her tongue into his warm cave. The Second Demon Prince was completely taken aback by his mate''s sudden actions. He felt the sweetness of her tongue invading his mouth as it tangled with his tongue and made his hand around her waist tighten. Nothing had ever prepared him for the pleasure and comfort that took over his entire being. The agony that he was suffering through paled in front of the pleasure that his Lilac Girl was giving him. His heart was beating faster as he felt her nipping on his lower lip. He took in a deep breath before smashing his lips against her with full force. Their lips were moving against each other as the fire of passion and the need to be closer to their mate overtook them and their soul. Their tongues were playing with each other as they tried to engulf the other one in extreme pleasure. A groan left Hei Long''s mouth as Li Ming finally pulled away to take a deep breath. His dark eyes were filled with want as he stared right into her eyes. Li Ming moved forward and planted a soft kiss on the forehead of the Second Demon Prince who immediately closed his eyes to bask in the pleasure of love that his mate was showering on him. She pulled back and passed him a soft smile before turning towards her right side to look at the Heaven Emperor. The Immortal Ruler''s eyes were also filled with want and a fire that she could see burning through his entire body and soul. But what made him look adorable was the punk tint that had taken over his cheeks. His fiery gaze and his rosy cheeks were a direct contrast and it only made him appear cuter. Li Ming turned her face to look at Hei Long who gave her a supporting nod. His eyes mischievously looking at the Heaven Emperor who was suddenly feeling like he had become a deer caught in the headlights. A smile appeared on her lips as she sat up in the bed. Her outer shirt slipped from her shoulder making her bare skin visible to the eyes of the two immortals. She made no effort to cover her shoulder. Sometimes she loved her clothes since they had a habit of slipping off from the right places at the right time. She moved towards the Heaven Immortal as she lightly pushed him on his back and made him lie flat on the bed. The Heaven Ruler stared at her in a transfixed manner. His eyes were gazing into hers as if he was trying to find out her motives. Li Ming put one of her legs over his legs as she sat down on his thighs while straddling him. Since her robe was already falling down from one of her shoulders, somehow the three buttons of her outer shirt also came undone which made her inner crop top visible. Li Ming bent down forward as she placed both of her hands beside either of his shoulders. Her face was inched closer to his face and she could see him gulping down as his eyes anticipated what was coming next. Her smile broadened as she gazed at her adorable mate. "What''s wrong, My Lord? Are you feeling uncomfortable because of me?" Li Ming asked with an adorable face. Her eyes had suddenly turned naive and her expression was like she had been denied her favorite candy. The Heaven Emperor was taken aback by the sudden change in her expressions. Although his mind was aware that she was only playing with him but his soul could not help but fall for it. "I....n-no..." His words came out broken and his tone was hoarse. Hei Long suddenly let out a beautiful laugh as he shook his head while saying, "Can''t believe that the first senior brother is not able to speak properly. I think I have just watched an impossible sight. Well done, Lilac Girl." He moved closer to them as he planted a soft kiss on her temple. He gave the Heaven Emperor a small wink as he returned back to his original position on the bed. Li Ming turned the Heaven Emperor''s face back towards her with her thumb and fingers gripping his chin lightly. "Does that mean you are okay with whatever I''m doing? Am I allowed to pleasure you, My Lord?" Her tone came out husky as her dark eyes stared right into his obsidian orbs. The Heaven Emperor found himself nodding his head. His hands moved on their own as they landed on either side of Li Ming''s waist. His eyes closed as Li Ming started closing the gap between their faces. With a swift move, her lips landed on the soft lips of the Heaven Emperor. Her eyes also closed as she let out a satisfied sigh and allowed herself to enjoy the precious moment. "Mmmmn..." The moan left the Heaven Emperor''s lips as he too was suddenly filled with immeasurable happiness and a feeling of satisfaction that he could not describe in words. Li Ming moved one of her hands to place it behind his neck and the other gripped his robe. She found the belt that was keeping his outer robe securely attached to his body. With a soft tug of her magic, the belt immediately undone into her hands. The robes started falling away from his chest, leaving smooth and creamy skin behind. Li Ming moved her fingers to grip the robes and the very next second they disappeared into thin air leaving the chiseled upper body of the Heaven Immortal visible to her thirsty eyes. Her lips dominated the Heaven Immortal as she lightly nipped on his lips. However, he didn''t open his mouth to give her tongue the access that it wanted. This made Li Ming''s mind came up with another plan. She let her hand glide down from his cheeks to his jaw, neck, collarbone, chest, stomach, and finally to the outline of his pants. She could feel Hei Long''s eyes penetrating into her as he followed the movement of her hand closely. She suddenly let her fingers crawled under the outline of the pants and immediately two hands gripped her hand to stop it from moving further. However, in the midst of all this Li Ming got access to the Heaven Immortal''s mouth as a gasp had left his lips when he felt her fingers at his lower abdomen. Chapter 190 - Double The Trouble: Part Four Her tongue immediately made its way into the warm mouth of the Heaven Emperor. Her mouth savoring the sweetness that belonged to her mate. "She''s a real demoness!" Li Ming heard Hei Long mumbling softly as he started pulling off her outer shirt. She didn''t resist and even helped him in getting rid of the shirt. As she lowered her stomach on the Heaven Emperor''s body, a groan left the Immortal Ruler''s mouth as her bare belly came in direct contact with his bare stomach. Their breathing had accelerated as they continued to savor each other and the pleasure that their closeness was bringing to them. Li Ming felt Hei Long''s fingers on both of her shoulders as he softly pulled her long hair back which was falling like a curtain around the Heaven Emperor and her face. She felt a soft kiss on her nape which made a sigh leave her. Her soul was flying through the sky of euphoria as two of her mates showered her in their love. She finally pulled away from the kiss and gazed at the Heaven Emperor with her eyes filled with warmth and a small smile playing on her lips. The Heaven Emperor was a blushing mess. His cheeks had turned bright red and so did his ears. A haze was covering his eyes and it appeared like he was still reminiscing through the pleasurable memory of their kiss. However, it was short-lived as the very next second, the Heaven Emperor sat up straight as he stared at the Second Demon Prince who was sitting behind her. A chuckle left her mouth as Li Ming realized that Hei Long was also sitting on the Heaven Emperor''s legs. "What do you think you are doing?" The Heaven Emperor asked as his previously soft eyes turned into cold ones. Hei Long snaked one of his hands around Li Ming''s belly. His palm resting in the very middle of her belly, making tingles rise throughout her body. "What? I''m just enjoying my time with my dear mate. And it''s not like your legs are going to break since both of us are light as feathers. But if First Senior Brother still wants to get rid of me, I can leave. However, I''ll take away my Lilac girl too." Li Ming watched as the Heaven Emperor''s eyes turned deadly. He looked straight into her eyes while she felt another hand circling around her waist. "Are you two for real?" Li Ming asked as she rolled her eyes at their antics. "What? You can see that First Senior Brother started it. You can''t blame me for this, Lilac Girl." Hei Long complained into her ear as he placed his chin on her shoulder. Before the Heaven Emperor could open his mouth to contradict the Second Demon Prince, Li Ming stopped him. His young mate placed one of her hands lovingly on Hei Long''s left cheek as she said, "Is that so? But I think it''s you who is actually trying to trigger him." Hei Long turned his face slightly to look at his mate who was softly smiling as she looked at the Heaven Emperor, who in return was also smiling at her. His hand that was resting on her belly tightened around her which made her back hit his front, while his free hand landed on her right jaw. "Are you already picking favorites, Lilac Girl?" His voice was deep and husky as he asked. Li Ming''s free hand cupped his hand over her jaw as she brought it to her mouth and planted a light kiss in its very center. "What do you think? You have known me for quite some time by now. Do you think I already am, or maybe in the future, will pick favorites out of you guys?" She asked as she entangled her fingers with his. A small twitch appeared on Hei Long''s lips and the same went for the Heaven Emperor. Due to some unknown reason, both of her nates were feeling proud of her. The two Immortals passed each other a secret glance and the very next second, Li Ming felt two soft pairs of lips landing on either of her cheeks. "My Lilac Girl is just too smart. She knows how to counter back smartly. I have taught you well." Hei Long said as he planted another soft kiss on her cheek. Li Ming turned her face to look at the Second Demon Prince with raised eyebrows but she was welcomed by a deep kiss that lasted for a few seconds. "I''m feeling really bad for disturbing you guys like this." The sweet voice which was filled with warmth and affection disturbed the three of them and made Li Ming pull away from the kiss. "Roushan...!" Li Ming stared at her silver-haired mate who was standing at the entrance of her bedroom. His dark purple robe matched the purple gleam in his eyes. The Evernight Lord watched as his two brothers and his sweet Xingan glowed in the light of satisfaction and happiness. The three of them were surrounded by a silver light which explained exactly how happy their souls were at that moment. He watched with a soft smile as his sweet Xingan came running towards him and threw her hands around him, immediately snuggling into his embrace. Ruoshan didn''t waste a single second before his arms were pulling his Xingan tightly into his embrace. His soul immediately calmed down as it felt the closeness of its other half. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You are finally here to ruin our precious moment, how sad!" Hei Long sighed dramatically as he lightly shook his head. "Trust me, I also didn''t want to interrupt you guys like this if not for my Xingan. You know that she wanted to meet me. I can''t make her wait for too long, now can I?" Ruoshan asked in reply. Hei Long stood up from the bed and straightened his clothes as he walked towards the pair of Ruoshan and Li Ming. Li Ming also watched the Heaven Emperor who took out a red robe and draped it over his shoulders, hiding his chiseled body from her sight. A pout automatically made its way to her lips which made both Ruoshan and Hei Long burst out laughing as they also stared at the Heaven Immortal who was looking at the three of them with confused eyes. "What?" The Immortal Ruler was completely lost here and had no idea about what was going on. "You should stay naked around her. See, how sad she has become because you hid your body from her. Tsk tsk, you have no shame First Senior Brother." Hei Long said as he shook his head dramatically. Li Ming immediately nodded her head to show her agreement which left the Heaven Emperor completely speechless for a moment. "What have you guys been teaching her behind my back? You have spoiled her in a bad way. Did Yueliang never stopped you guys?" The Heaven Immortal asked as he pulled away Li Ming from Ruoshan''s embrace. Even though she lost the warmth of Evernight Lord''s embrace but she didn''t complain as the very next second she was engulfed into the Heaven Emperor''s arms. "Brother Yueliang and you, both of you guys are made of the same thinking. Why you guys have the wrong image that it''s us who are soiling her? Can''t you two see the truth behind this demoness facade?" Hei Long asked as he pointed an accusing finger at their mate. Li Ming turned her face slightly to glare at the Second Demon Prince who immediately retracted his finger. "Don''t you dare blame, Miss Li. Just because she doesn''t say anything, you guys are not allowed to take advantage of her innocence at every chance you get." The Heaven Emperor was quick to support his innocent mate. His arms tightened around her as he protectively pulled her closer into his embrace. "...." ".....?" Both the Immortals, Ruoshan and Hei Long, were left speechless at the Heaven Immortal''s words. Was that man for real? "Only my Lord knows me the best." Li Ming said as she nuzzled her face into the Heaven Emperor''s chest. "What''s wrong with her?" Hei Long asked as he looked at Li Ming with confused eyes. "She''s behaving a little like how she behaved when she got drunk. Did you guys....?" Ruoshan looked accusingly at the Heaven Immortal and Hei Long. However, the two Immortals were quick to shake their heads to deny the accusation. "Wait! Did she get drunk before? How? And what were you guys doing at that time?" The Heaven Emperor asked as he looked at the girl in his arms with a little worry. "I am not involved in that one either. Spare me from your accusations. But don''t you guys think that we should rather focus on the current situation?" Hei Long asked as he inched closer to Li Ming. "Are you alright, Lilac Gir...." Before he could complete the question, his lips got sealed by a scorching kiss that came from his little mate. Chapter 191 - Li Ming Being High Hei Long watched with shocked eyes as the girl pulled away from the short but sweet kiss that she just gave him. "You talk too much. You should not waste too much of your energy in talking about nonsense things. Can''t you see that we have already lost too much of our precious time? We should waste no more time on silly things." Li Ming said softly as she let her fingers brush through his long smooth hair. Since the Heaven Immortal was standing just behind her, his arms securely placed around her waist, she let her head fall back and rested it on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Xingan?" Ruoshan asked worriedly as he watched her suddenly getting totally quiet. "Umm-hmm! I just hate it!" Li Ming replied with her eyes suddenly becoming a little moist. The three Immortals were left completely disturbed and shocked by the sudden change in her expressions and behavior. None of them could pinpoint exactly what was wrong with her. However, all three of them were pretty sure that something wasn''t right about the situation. "What do you hate? Or is it a person whom you hate?" The Heaven Immortal asked softly as he lightly patted her head. Even though his voice sounded calm and collected but only he knew that his heart was about to burst out of his chest as he waited for her reply. And somehow, he knew that behind the calm facade of Ruoshan and Hei Long was also the fear of her reply. Li Ming pulled away from the Heaven Immortal and fixed her hair before she replied with a sigh. "I hate the fact that I''m so much younger than you guys. It''s going to take me years before I''ll finally be able to have s...uhh...y-yeah, that''s it. I hate that I''m still so young." Li Ming caught the word from slipping at the very last moment but looking at the relaxed expressions that suddenly dawned over her three mates, told her that they paid no attention to her slip up. "Let''s forget about all this. Right now I have a perfect idea for our entertainment. Let''s go." Saying this she started walking towards the door of her bedroom but unfortunately or maybe fortunately, Ruoshan was quick to stop her. "Where are you going, Xingan?" The Evernight Lord asked as he tried to keep her still in his arms. However, Li Ming was in no mood of listening to anyone. She glared at the silver-haired immortal as she said, "Let me go immediately. You are trying to ruin my plans." Ruoshan looked at Hei Long and the Heaven Immortal with questioning looks. Of course, the other two also were as clueless as the Evernight Lord. Hei Long walked closer to his brother and little mate and stood right in front of an upset Li Ming. "No one will ruin your plan. We just want to know about it so that we can also participate. Lilac Girl, please don''t be mad." His voice was soft as he looked into the most beautiful pair of eyes that existed in his world. Since the day his Lilac Girl had entered into his life, she had become the main focus of it. His entire existence had been circling around her for the past one and more than a half years. If not for that coincident night a month ago when he first saw the soul mark on her wrist when he lost his control on his drinking and ended up kissing her, he would have never got to know that she was his mate. He always had his doubts about her being their mates. The reason behind his doubt was simple. Not only him but all his brothers were attracted to her and the only girl who could have such power over them could be no one other than their chosen mate. However, since her direct touch on his skin made his soul mark burn, he always thought that she was not their mate but some dark power who was trying to take advantage of his brothers. The day he accidentally watched the soul mark on her wrist he was filled with happiness. He could finally understand the reason behind the attraction and protectiveness that he was always feeling for her. His first thought was to confront Li Ming and tell her exactly how much he wanted to be with her. However, there was something more important. First, he needed to find exactly what was wrong with his mark. After the night when he confessed his feelings to her and kissed her, he acted like his cold self the very next morning. Later when he dropped her at the outskirts of the Snow Field and ensured that she was safely inside it, he started his search for his answers. What he found during the entire past month of his search was not only shocking but also beyond repairable. He couldn''t fix everything even though he wanted to but he had found a way to enjoy the present with his mate and his brothers. He could still feel the fire that was burning through his soul mark, making pain run through his entire body. However, the girl who was now looking at her with her glowing eyes made him neglect all his sufferings because even though his body was suffering but his soul was experiencing the best pleasure of its existence. "Promise?" Li Ming asked cutely as she looked at Hei Long with her doe-like eyes. The Second Demon Prince smiled at her as he planted a soft and sweet kiss on her forehead as he replied, "Promise!" While these four people were busy showering each other with love and affection, another person was about to puke after seeing their so-called lovey-dovey show. "For Goodness sake! Can''t these people just stop? I''m having Deja vu." The banshee said as she fanned her face dramatically. "What wrong with her?" Wen Guiying asked in a serious tone as he completely ignored the banshee and her overacting. His eyes were trained on the girl who was currently giving Hei Long, Ruoshan, and the Heaven Immortal a tight hug one by one respectively. The banshee sighed as she bumped the table with her palm to show her unhappiness, though the Supreme Immortal didn''t pay her any attention. "She''s just high, that''s all." The banshee replied in a bored tone. Wen Guiying turned around to look at the woman with a questioning gaze. "High?" "Yes, high! Just like getting drunk." The banshee explained. However, it only puzzled the Supreme Immortal more and more. "Wait, but she didn''t drink today. Then how did she end up like this? Are you trying to play smart with me?" The Supreme Immortal stared at the banshee with his cold dark eyes. The woman was smart enough to not test the patience of the Supreme Immortal as she hurriedly explained. "Even though she didn''t drink today but alcohol isn''t the only thing that could lead to a person being like this. This is the result of her being high on the pleasure that her soul is receiving because of the three Immortals that are currently surrounding her." She watched as more confusion appeared in Wen Guiying''s eyes. A sigh left her lips as she decided to explain more. "When she is with one of her mates, she''s receiving pleasure and comfort for one. When with two, the amount of pleasure and comfort doubles, and when with three, it becomes three times and so on. The high increase in pleasure is the reason behind her current state." Wen Guiying finally understood at least the reason behind Li Ming''s state but there were still some questionable points left. "Are you trying to say that whenever she will be with more than one of us, she will end up like this?" He asked the banshee. "Yep. And even in a situation worse than this. All that matters is that if you could make her reach the highest point of pleasure. Once you succeeded in that she will be saved from ending up like that when she''s with more than one of you guys." The banshee replied. She thought that she had made everything very clear and explained all the points. What she didn''t expect was for the Supreme Immortal to ask his next question. "What do you mean by making her reach the final or highest point of pleasure? How can we do that?" Wen Guiying actually appeared curious and ignorant about his question. However, the banshee could not believe that someone like him was not aware of the hidden meaning behind the words that were just spoken. "Are you trying to play with me now? Do you seriously don''t know what it means? Or maybe you are not that knowledgeable in the field of sex." The banshee couldn''t help herself from spouting out her shock. Yet, the shocked expression on Wen Guiying''s face and the anger that followed next told the banshee that she had just invited her death, even though she was already dead. Chapter 192 - Dealing With An Angry Mate "Have you completely lost your mind? What nonsense are you spouting woman?" Wen Guiying''s voice boomed throughout the silent room of the inn and the banshee was forced to recoil a little at his anger. His eyes were like a sea of burning lava which was ready to sweep her existence at any moment. "Wait, wait, wait! I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to cross my line. It''s just that your question made me frustrated. But you need to hear me out." The banshee spoke hurriedly. "The highest point of pleasure is indeed the one from the sex but you don''t need to have sex with her to make her cu..., damn it, I mean you can try other things according to your comfort level..." The banshee trailed off as she watched the Supreme Immortal getting angrier by each word that left her mouth. She gulped down her saliva as she hurriedly stood up from her seat. "Hehe...I think this much information is enough for today. I just realized that I''ve some important work left to do. I won''t be entertaining you anymore and please take care of Win before the situation can get out of control. Bye bye!" Saying that hurriedly, the banshee didn''t take even a second to disappear from the private room of the Black Jade Inn. The Supreme Immortal who was left behind in the room was now observing the mirror which was showing the profile of his mate and three of his brothers. His hands were closed into a tight fist which made his knuckles turn white and his eyes were still filled with anger and worry. He placed a pouch on the table and the next second his silhouette also disappeared from the room. --- "Xingan, the outside is very cold. You need to be dressed properly before going out, otherwise, you will catch a cold. Now, be a good girl and don''t move." Ruoshan said sweetly as he tried his best to close the buttons of the jacket that he somehow had draped over her. The three Immortals somehow succeeded in getting Li Ming packed in warm clothes and shoes. No idea, why they didn''t use their magic to complete this hard task. Probably because their mind was too focused on their mate to pay attention to the fact that they were Immortals with a huge amount of powers. "Now we are ready to go!" Hei Long declared as he pulled Li Mung securely in his arms and made her head rest on his chest. The three Immortals passed each other glances which were filled with worry for their little mate. Neither of them had any idea about what was wrong with her. She wasn''t actually drunk but that was exactly how she''s behaving. "Alright! Let''s go!" Li Ming shouted in excitement. The three immortals were quick to hold her because within a second she had teleported out of the magical mansion as she stood at the porch of the wooden cabin in the Snow Fields. It was around midnight but coincidentally there was no snowfall. Li Ming got herself out from the hold of her three mates and started walking towards the hut of the old man. The Heaven Immortal, Ruoshan, and Hei Long, all three of them kept standing in their original position as they watched their mate marching towards their Master''s house. Li Ming reached the door and looked at it with her twinkling eyes. She was about to finally get her frustration out on the old man and just thinking about that made her excitement rise. She raised both of her hands to bang the door with all her might, but unfortunately, before her hands could even touch the door, someone grabbed them from behind her and she was pulled into the embrace of that person. Li Ming was about to shout in frustration but a hand immediately covered her mouth and stopped her from speaking. The smell of the ocean entered her nose and immediately her body relaxed a little as she realized that another one of her mates had appeared. But no matter how happy she was after seeing the Supreme Immortal, her frustration of not getting her anger out at the old man was much stronger at that moment. She was in the process of turning around in Wen Guiying''s arms to face him and show him exactly how mad she was at him when her ears picked up the disturbance that was coming from inside the old man''s hut. Her eyes twinkled as she realized that the old man probably heard the noises from outside his door and was currently making his way towards them. However, she was not the only one who registered this fact. The Supreme Immortal and the other three Immortals too were aware of it. Wen Guiying pulled Li Ming tightly in his arms and turned to look at his brothers. ''I''m taking her away. Deal with the Master.'' He sent them the silent message which the three immediately received. Without waiting for their reply, Wen Guiying took his leave from the Snow Fields with an angry Li Ming clutched tightly in his arms. As his silhouette disappeared the door of the old man''s hut opened and the three Immortals who were standing there awkwardly were the only creatures that came into the old man''s sight. "The three of you, follow me!" The loud sharp and angry voice of the old man entered the ears of the three Immortals. After passing each other a comforting glance, all three started walking towards the house of their master. They were definitely in for a lecture and a long one on that. After all both Ruoshan and Hei Long had entered into the Snow Fields without even asking for permission. It was not like the six Immortals were not powerful enough to enter the Snow Fields on their own but since the guardian of the Snow Fields was none other than their Master, they needed to show respect to the old man. That''s why none of the six had ever set their foot inside the Snow Fields in the past thousands of years without first getting permission from the old man. Even though there were times when the old man refused to let them in for days and they needed to wait outside the ward of the Snow Fields for days and at some times even weeks and months, they never broke into the Snow Fields. However, what they never did in the past thirty thousand years was finally done by them now and they sure would be going to receive a reward for that from their Master. --- "Don''t be mad. I''m doing it for your own good, trust me." Wen Guiying said in a soft tone as he looked at the girl in front of him. He already knew that he was going to pay heavily for what he had done to her, but he also knew that this was the only way to stop her. However, looking at the sharp eyes which were trained on him with the fire of anger and frustration burning in them, made him recoil and shut up. "What do you think you are doing? Have you completely lost your mind?" The sharp angry voice of the Moon Deity entered into the bed-chamber as he appeared inside the room. His eyes were filled with shock as he looked at the girl who was tied to the bed with a spiritual rope and her mouth shut with a cloth. His eyes immediately turned to glare at the Supreme Immortal who was sitting beside her. "Oh, don''t be mad Brother Yueliang. Let me first explain." Wen Guiying said as he hurriedly stood up and faced his Senior Brother. "What kind of explanation are you going to provide for such an act? Get lost from here right now!" Lord Yueliang was definitely angry and both Wen Guiying and Li Ming were shocked to see him like that. He was the most calm and collected person of their group and Li Ming had never seen him ever raising his voice at anyone. To see him being so worried about her made warmth fill her heart. Her already moist eyes were suddenly on the brim of losing their control. But she still tried her best to not let those irritating tears spilled out without her permission. She thought that she succeeded in keeping them in. However, how could her mates not see the sparkle in her eyes which was caused by the unshed tears? Wen Guiying felt like someone crushed his heart as he watched her eyes filled with tears and her trying to keep them in. He wanted to get her out of her binds and just engulf her in his protective embrace. And he could see the same emotions and desire to protect their mate in his Second Senior Brother''s eyes too. However....., "No! You can''t untie her. Not before I say so." Wen Guiying said as he dragged Moon Immortal away from Li Ming. "What exactly is wrong with you, Guiying?" Chapter 193 - Who Would Save The Moon Immortal? "You can''t be serious!" The Moon Immortal was not ready to believe what he had just been told by the Supreme Immortal. "I''m not. Otherwise, why do you think I''ll do something like this to her. The only reason behind this misbehavior of mine is the drunken state of our mate." Wen Guiying replied. He was trying to make the Moon Immortal understand the seriousness of the situation and the reason for which he, Wen Guiying, needed to take such a huge risk of angering their mate by trying her with a rope. Lord Yueliang looked at the Supreme Immortal for a few seconds, his eyes boring straight into the pleading eyes of his Junior brother. Just when he was about to nod his head, his eyes traveled to Li Ming who was sitting on the bed with her body tied by a spiritual rope. She was no more paying them any attention as she kept gazing at her lap without blinking. "No. Look at her. We can''t tie her like this." Lord Yueliang immediately shook his head as he said to the Supreme Immortal. "Why are you not understanding, Brother Yueliang? Do you seriously think you will be able to handle her in her current state? She would devour us and we won''t be able to do anything." Wen Guiying said with a shake of his head. "Don''t talk like this about Little One. She''s just not in her perfect state of mind, otherwise, she would never misbehave." Of course, the Moon Deity was quick to stand up for his mate. "I''m just stating facts, Brother Yueliang. You already know what happened to Ruoshan the last time when she was drunk and today not only one but the First Senior Brother, Ruoshan and Hei Long, all were about to become her prey." Wen Guiying said as he looked at the girl who was sitting in the center of the huge bed with her eyes closed. "And you know what is the worst part of all this?" He asked softly and when he turned back to look at his Second Senior Brother, his eyes had a glint of bright blue in them. "...that none of us can stop her because deep down in our hearts, none of us wants her to stop. Because we are craving for her even more than what we are showing. And the main reason behind us staying away from her for months is because we don''t want to lose control." Wen Guiying''s every word was the definition of truth at that moment. Even if the Moon Immortal wanted to deny it, he could not. Because even he knew that the Supreme Immortal had just revealed the deepest secret of all of Li Ming''s mates. "Then, let''s find if there is a way to make her normal." Lord Yueliang said after the silence of a few moments. The Supreme Immortal let out a sigh as he replied, "There is one, but unfortunately we can''t use that method." The Moon Deity looked at the Supreme Immortal with puzzled eyes as he asked, "Why? What''s that method?" Wen Guiying moved his eyes away from the Moon Immortal as he replied, "Since her current situation is the result of too much pleasure, we can only make her reach the highest point of pleasure to bring her back to her normal self or maybe wait until this effect will wear off on its own." "Highest point of pleasure? How?" Wen Guiying wasn''t expecting his brother to ask such a question. "This...well...come here..." Wen Guiying pulled the Moon Immortal closer and whispered something in his ears. Immediately, both the Immortals turned embarrassed, not even looking directly at each other. "Well, let''s find some other way. You should stay here and keep your eyes on her. I''ll go and brew some soup." Lord Yueliang said as he hurriedly turned towards the door. However, Wen Guiying was quick as he immediately stopped the Moon Deity. "Brother Yueliang, let me go to find a cure. I have medicinal knowledge and it will be helpful. You should stay here and watch over her. Don''t worry, I''ll be back soon." The Supreme Immortal didn''t even wait for a second as his silhouette immediately disappeared from the bed-chamber, leaving a surprised Moon Deity behind. He turned to look at the girl who had not made a single movement throughout his and Wen Guiying''s conversation. He let out a deep sigh as he made his way towards his mate. He sat down on the edge of the bed beside her as he looked at her long hair which had fallen around her bent face. His right hand immediately moved on its own accord to pull her hair aside, but before he could even touch them properly, Li Ming moved her face to the side, avoiding his approaching hand. The Moon Immortal was stiff for a moment but he finally gained his senses back as he asked in a soft tone, "Little One, are you mad at me and Guiying?" Of course, Li Ming didn''t utter a single word. Although her mouth was covered by a cloth, he was waiting for her to either make some kind of noise it to move her head in reply. What he didn''t anticipate was the silence that greeted his question. His soul was filled with fear at that moment. He immediately moved his hands and pulled her hair back and moved his right hand at her chin to make her look up at him. As her face raised, Li Ming made sure to keep her eyes away from the Lord Yueliang. She was not going to give up so easily. The Moon Immortal couldn''t take her silence anymore, therefore, he immediately pulled the cloth away from her mouth. "Little One, don''t be mad. Please forgive us for our misbehavior. We just don''t know how to handle this situation. You will understand once you will be back to normal." No idea if the Moon Deity was trying to make her understand the reason behind their actions or if he was trying to make himself believe his own words. Li Ming still stayed completely silent, successfully avoiding to look straight into his eyes. "I have never been treated like this before in my life. Never knew that you will be the one who will make me suffer like this..." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she finally spoke after a long silence, but her each word was like a sharp sword to the Moon Immortal''s heart. "No, Little One. You are misunderstanding us. We are just trying to..." Lord Yueliang trailed off as he watched a single tear rolling down her soft cheeks and landing directly on the back of her hand. Her tear was the final stroke to his heart and it was beyond his capacity to see her in such a state. With just one flick of his sleeve, the spiritual rope disappeared and Li Ming was pulled tightly into his embrace. The Moon Immortal tightened his arms around his Little mate. His nose immediately inhaling her lilac fragrance. "Let me go." Li Ming''s voice came out in a whisper but the Moon Immortal heard it very clearly. Rather than releasing her, he pulled her even more tightly into his embrace. "I said let me go!" This time her voice came out louder and a little angrier. However, the Moon Immortal was in no mood of listening to her demands. He just wanted to keep his sad and hurt mate close to him. "Can''t you hear me? I said..." "Please, don''t be mad, Little One. I''ll do anything to make up for my fault as long as you won''t be mad at us." Lord Yueliang said hurriedly. Li Ming was silent for a few seconds but then she slowly pulled herself out of his embrace and looked straight into his eyes which were filled with regret. "Anything?" The Moon Immortal looked at the seriousness in her eyes as she asked the question and without even any delay he replied, "Anything." A snort left Li Ming''s mouth as she lightly nodded her head as she said, "Alright then. I''m going to ask you some questions and if I felt that even one of them is a lie, I won''t talk to you." Her tone was promising and her gaze told him that she was not joking. Gulping down his saliva, the Moon Immortal nodded his head. "So, you will do anything for my forgiveness?" Li Ming asked her first question. Lord Yueliang didn''t waste a single second as he replied, "Yes, anything." "And what if I asked for something inappropriate?" Li Ming asked her second question. "What''s appropriate and what''s not depends on the situation. And I know that you will never ask for something that I won''t be able to give you with a happy heart." Lord Yueliang replied softly as he gazed at his Little One with his eyes filled with warmth. "What if I want you to kiss me?" Chapter 194 - Drink! Drink! Drink! "I will be happy to comply with." The Moon Immortal replied softly. There was only sincerity in his deep cerulean eyes. Li Ming was silent for a few seconds before she asked, "And if I want more than just a kiss? Will, you still grant my wish?" There was pure curiosity in her eyes which were waiting for his reply. The Moon Immortal was definitely taken aback by her question. Though, he was quick to hide the surprise from his eyes. He reached out for Li Ming''s hands and held them gently in his palms as he replied with a soft smile. "If you seriously want that then I''ll not let you down." Li Ming stared at the Moon Immortal in shock. Did she hear it right? Or was she hallucinating? "You..., you won''t get mad at me for making you do something like that?" A small twitch appeared on the Moon Immortal''s lips as he replied, "Why would I be mad? It''s not like you are really going to ask for it and even if you do, then I don''t have a problem." Li Ming could not believe her ears. Although the Heaven Emperor was the shyest one of her mates, but it was the Moon Immortal who was the most conservative. Hearing him agreeing to her shameful demands was making Li Ming dizzy from the shock that she received. "Wait, do you think that I''m just joking and won''t really ask you to do it?" She asked with a huff. This time a small smile made its way to the Moon Immortal''s lips as he replied, "If I''m not wrong then it was you who said that fifteen is considered a very young age..." "What fifteen? I''m about to turn sixteen in the next few months." Li Ming was quick to add as she cut off the Moon Immortal before he could complete. "Fine, fine! Soon to be sixteen. Anyway, I believe that the drunk Li Ming could cross any boundaries and demand anything as long as she gets her happiness. However..." The Moon Immortal trailed off as he looked at her with his gleaming eyes. Li Ming could not control herself from asking, "However what?" "However, the sober Li Ming will never do anything like that. That''s why you don''t have to worry about making anything." The Moon Immortal completed. "What sober..." Li Ming trailed off as she finally realized that she was back to her normal self. The haziness that had previously taken over her mind had disappeared. "This...How?" She asked as she looked at Lord Yueliang, waiting for him to answer her question. She got the answer, however, it didn''t come from the Moon Immortal. "This is the miracle of these herbs. I put some in the incense burner and you inhaled it. And look at you, barely in a few minutes, you are back to your normal self." Li Ming turned around to look at Wen Guiying. The Supreme Immortal was standing beside her with a beaming smile on his face. A sigh left her mouth as she looked at both of her mates. Since she was again back to her normal self, the embarrassment of what she had done in the past few hours was taking over her mind. However, she was in no mood to become a red tomato in front of the two Immortals. "Whatever! I''m in no mood of talking to either of you. I can''t believe that you tied me up like that," she said as she folded her hands and huffed in anger. The smiles that were previously playing on both the Immortal''s lips immediately disappeared. "Wait, I thought that you agreed to forgive me if I will grant you a wish. Are you going back on your words now?" The Moon Immortal asked her as he looked at her with shocked eyes. "When did I say that I''ll forgive you? And it''s not like I''ve asked you to do anything yet." Li Ming scoffed at the Moon Deity and passed a similar look to Wen Guiying. "Sweet mate, don''t be like this. We already agreed to do anything you will ask for. Also, we are really sorry for our behavior. We will not repeat it again. Please, don''t be bad anymore." Wen Guiying said with soft eyes as he pulled on her sleeves. Li Ming silently observed both of her mates for a few moments. Their eyes seriously held regret and a promise in them. "Are you sure you want to do this? If you end up refusing later, I''ll make sure that you both will regret it." Her voice promised consequences. But the two Immortals did not waste a single second before nodding their heads. "Fine! Since you both are that sure about this then I can''t make myself refuse such a wonderful offer. Come on, follow me." Saying that Li Ming didn''t waste any more time as she started walking out of the room and the two Immortals were quick to follow her. Both Lord Yueliang and Wen Guiying had no idea what Li Ming was planning to do, but neither of them had any plan of backing down. They were set to earn forgiveness from their mate and they were ready to prove their sincerity. --- "Alright, everything is set perfectly." Li Ming announced as she took her seat at the table where Lord Yueliang and Wen Guiying were already sitting. There was a huge glass jar filled with wine sitting in the very center of the table. "So, are you both ready?" Li Ming asked the two of her mates excitedly. The two men passed a glance to each other and the Supreme Immortal finally asked, "Is this really what you want us to do?" Li Ming rolled her eyes at her two mates as she let out a sigh before replying, "Yes! You guys have made so much fun about my drunk state. It''s time for me to get my revenge. Therefore, you two have to finish all the wine from this jar tonight." Her eyes were twinkling with mischief and satisfaction as she stated the reason behind her request, or more like the demand. "But Little One, you are aware that it''s not easy for us to get drunk, right?" The Moon Immortal asked. Li Ming looked at her Mr. Beauty as she replied with a sweet smile, "Of course, I am well aware. That is why I have prepared a surprise for you guys. Now, if you say should we start?" The two men again passed a quick glance to one another before both nodded their heads lightly. Li Ming beamed happily as she uncorked the wine jar and lifted her left hand and let out a thread of her spiritual energy towards the jar. The stream of wine rose from the jar and soon the two wine glasses that were resting in front of each of the two Immortals were filled with the wine. "Go on! Drink." Li Ming said as she looked at the two of her mates as they both slowly pucked up their glasses and after giving her a quick glance, both gulped down the wine. "Ah! There''s no rush. You guys should enjoy the process too." Li Ming said as the two Immortals placed their empty glasses on the table. Soon the glasses were again filled with the rich wine and the two Immortals delved into the drinking frenzy. Little did Li Ming knew that she was going to regret her decision very soon. --- "Finally! It''s empty. Good job both of you." Li Ming praised as with a single sweep of her sleeve, the empty jar, and the two glasses disappeared from the table. "Your collarbone is very beautiful. It''s calling me towards it. So.....alluring." Wen Guiying said in his husky voice as he stared at her. Wait, he was not staring at her. Rather his eyes were trained on her exposed collarbone. Li Ming was shocked for a few seconds but she soon returned back to her normal self, hurriedly tightening her cloak around her and hiding her exposed skin. "Well....umm...let''s just..." "No!" Li Ming was taken aback by the sudden shout that came from the Supreme Immortal. "W-what?" She asked with confused eyes. "No. You can not hide yourself from us like this. This is not right. You should not hide yourself from us." Wen Guiying said with a pout. "..." Li Ming was left entirely speechless. She could not even blink as she was left shocked. "Why? You both are too hiding your body from me. How can you ask such things from me?" Li Ming quickly retorted. The two immortals looked at each other and then turned to look at her with soft smiles plastered on their lips. "You are right. We should be fair." Lord Yueliang said as he stood up from his seat. Wen Guiying quickly followed behind and also stood up from his seat. Li Ming watched with shocked eyes as both the Immortals dropped their robes and stood in front of her in their half-naked glory. Heavens! Where did she go wrong? Chapter 195 - The Drunk Mates Li Ming stared at her two mates with her mouth hanging open in shock. Why she did not realize that her stunt of punishing the two Immortals could also lead to such results? Her eyes took in their exposed chiseled upper body which instantly made her throat dry. "Well....I....umm, I-I think..." Li Ming could not find proper words to speak as her mind was still struggling to overcome the shock that she just received through the two Immortals. "Little One, why are you not looking at us? Is there something wrong?" Li Ming looked up at the Moon Immortal who was gazing at her with his soft eyes. Damn it! Were these two tricking her or something? They could not be really drunk, right? She hurriedly brought out the wine jar which still had a few drops of wine left in it. "What are you..." "Ssssh!" Before Wen Guiying could complete his question, Li Ming signaled him to stay quiet. The Supreme Immortal quickly shut his mouth as he stood there watching his mate playing with the last few drops of the wine. The drop of wine rose into the air and stopped at her eye level. Li Ming made a small circle in the air with her right hand and pointed her index and middle fingers at the wine drop. A beam of silver light shot out from her fingers and entered the wine drop. She observed the wine drop in silence. Her eyes trying to detect even the slightest change in the wine. However, she was left both shocked and confused when the color of the wine changed to bright gold. "What the..." She stared at the golden drop hanging in the air. With a click of her fingers, the drop vanished from the view. Li Ming banged her small fist lightly on the table as she tried to figure out exactly how did such a thing happen. When she increased the alcohol level of the wine before serving it to the Immortals, she had made sure that the two of them would only end up getting slightly drunk even after emptying the entire jar. However, the current wine showed that its alcohol level was above ninety-five percent. Since they were Immortals, they sure did not have to worry about their health. They were safe even after consuming the wine, but that didn''t mean that she was safe too. Of course, with such a high alcohol percentage, the two Immortals ended up drunk. Exactly how she was going to take care of these two? She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone pulling on her hand. "Come on, Sweet mate. Let''s enjoy the night beauty of the lovely moon." Wen Guiying said as he pulled her out of her seat. To be honest, the idea of roaming around the beautiful moon was alluring. But she knew that it won''t even take a second before her bad luck would make its appearance to greet her. So, in the end, the best choice was to return to the Snow Fields as soon as possible. "Umm..., I would have loved to accompany you. But you can see that it''s already past midnight and I''m feeling so tired. I''ll be leaving now. Let''s meet later, okay?" She was about to teleport away when Wen Guiying stopped her. "Right! That''s a good idea. Let''s all head to bed since our mate is sleepy." Li Ming looked at the Supreme Immortal with a horrified look evident on her face. Even if she teleported away, there was no way she could enter into the Snow Fields on her own. Of course, she could always set another blood cherry plant on fire to bring the old man out of his hut and made him open the wards, but then she would need to answer his hundreds of questions. Not only that but there was actually no point in returning to the Snow Fields or even hiding inside her magical mansion. No matter wherever she would go, her mates would easily find her. Especially the two drunk mates. "What''s wrong, Little One?" Li Ming suddenly found herself circled in the warm embrace of the Moon Immortal as he whispered the question in her ear. "N-nothing!" She managed to answer as her body erupted into tingles and warmth. "You smell so good..." Maybe she imagined it but his voice almost sounded like a purr. "Really?" She had no idea why she asked such a stupid question. "En! So good..." A gasp left her lips as she felt warm lips pressed on her nape. She almost lost her soul as she felt his tongue swept over her skin, sending an electric current throughout her body. "...and so sweet." The Moon Immortal completed his sentence as he rested his chin on her head as he hugged her tightly. It took her a few moments to get herself in control. But then her eyes landed on the Supreme Immortal. "What? You finally remembered that I''m also here. Why Brother Yueliang is the only one getting to kiss and hold you? I want to taste my sweet mate too." Holy Goodness! Did these words seriously come from those kissable lips of the Supreme Immortal? Her mates sure had dual personalities. One moment they were their cold, calm, collected and harsh selves and the very next moment, they could turn into the most adorable people living on the planet. A sigh left her mouth as Li Ming stretched her hand towards Wen Guiying, asking him to come closer to her. As the Supreme Immortal started walking towards her, Li Ming pulled on her magical energy and mixed it with her qi to cast a spell on herself. No way was she ready to end up high once again just because her soul was too weak to control itself. As the Supreme Immortal got closer and stood right in front of her, Li Ming placed her hand around his neck and pulled him even closer. "You have exactly the same rights as the rest of my mates. Nothing more and nothing less." She softly told him as she gazed at her mate with soft eyes. Wen Guiying''s eyes sparkled at her words as he inched closer and planted a soft peck on her forehead. "Come on, let''s sleep." He said as he took hold of one of her hands. However, before he could start walking towards the bed-chamber, Li Ming stopped him. She looked at both of her mates as she said, "I kinda changed my mind. Will it be okay if we spent a few moments enjoying the night view of the Moon? Even though I have visited this place many times but I never got to properly see it." A smile broke out on Wen Guiying''s lips which made him look even more ethereal if possible. "Alright! Whatever you want. I''m happy as long as I am with you." The Supreme Immortal said as he tightened his fingers around her small hand. This time it was Li Ming who took the initiative to plant a soft kiss on Wen Guiying''s cheek. "Fine! Let''s go." Lord Yueliang said as he teleported the three of them to the front lawn of the Moon manor. The two Immortals had covered themselves with their robes again and it made Li Ming nod her head in satisfaction. The three of them spent the next hour wandering around the Moon manor. The Yueliang manor and its surroundings were probably the most beautiful places that Li Ming had ever set her eyes on. Everything was gorgeous. The neatly trimmed lawns, the flowers that were blooming even in the darkness of the night, the streams and ponds that were filled with lotuses, lilies, fishes and other water animals, the trees that stood in their full glory, and even the mountain ranges that she could see at a distance. However, just when she was about to voice out her appreciation for the beauty of the moon, the most devastating sight came across her eyes. "This-" She had no words to explain her feelings and the confusion that she was feeling after looking at the scene in front of her. She turned to look at the Moon Immortal when she heard him sigh. "Only the part of Moon which is used by a life source could stay green and blooming. Since there are not many people living here except me and a few of the servants, it''s not possible to keep the entire moon in its full glory." The Moon Immortal told her. "The servants have turned the moon manor and its surroundings into a beautiful place with their hard work. However, they can''t do the same with the rest of the land." Wen Guiying added as he looked at the barren lands with softness in his eyes. Li Ming was silent for a few minutes as she gazed at the complete barren lands in front of her. "Why you never brought people from the other three realms to stay here then?" She ended up asking. Chapter 196 - The Two Portals "Let''s just say that we never came across anyone who was interested in living on the Moon for the rest of their lives..." These words kept repeating in Li Ming''s mind as she gazed at the star-filled sky in a daze. The soft sound of breathing that belonged to Wen Guiying and Lord Yueliang was the only sound present in the ceiling less bed chamber where they were currently sleeping. Well, only the Supreme Immortal and the Moon Deity were sleeping. Somehow, she still could not relax her mind enough to sleep. Moreover, she didn''t want to face those dreams again. She barely slept as she needed to cultivate during the night times. However, in the past year, she had dreamed about that darkness and weird places whenever she had closed her eyes. As long as her eyes were open and her mind was busy, she was safe from the darkness. That''s why she barely slept except once or twice a month and that''s too when she was exhausted beyond words. Her thoughts were disturbed as a hand snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to the warm body of the person sleeping on her right side. Li Ming turned on her right and looked straight to the sleeping face of the Moon Immortal. His long silky hair was falling down his shoulder and chest, while his long eyelashes appeared alluring as they cast shadows on his cheek. The dozens of candles that were beautifully decorating the chamber in their soft glow, provided enough light for her to appreciate the hot sleeping figure of Lord Yueliang. She felt her other mate shifting behind her and soon enough she was engulfed by the warm embrace of the Supreme Immortal as one of his hands came to rest on her belly. Her back was flushed against When Guiying''s chest and his face was resting in the crook of her shoulder. His warm breath fanning her nape. It had taken her quite some time to make the two drunk immortals fell asleep. Of course, most of the credit goes to her sleeping pill. Even though she had no plans of sleeping but how could she fight against the slumber that was taking over her. Soon enough, the even breathing of her mates and their warm protective embrace pulled her into a deep sleep. --- She stood in front of the two portals which were a direct contrast to each other. While one was emitting silvery-blue light and positive energy, the second one was completely dark and filled with negative vibes. She had no idea how she ended up there but for the past several minutes she had been standing there in silence as she fought with the two voices which were trying to pull her towards them. There was a soft velvety voice speaking in a husky tone in her mind as it invited her to step into the silvery blue portal. Meanwhile, the second voice too was husky but also filled with darkness and malicious intent as it forced her to enter into the dark black portal. ''Girl, don''t think too much. Just come here...'' The dark voice whispered into her mind making her cringe. ''No! Don''t go there. Come here...'' This time it was the sweet velvety voice that shouted into her mind in a panicked tone. She could feel a headache coming over as the tone of the two voices kept increases with each passing minute. Her eyes looked at the two portals. Although, the silvery blue portal was giving her good vibes but she still could not make any stupid moves by stepping into it. Portals were one of the most powerful but also dangerous magical existence. One moment she was enjoying her time with her mates and the next moment she could be sealed into a completely different world because of a portal. She raised her hands and made an arc in the air, letting her hands cross directly in front of her chest before she moved both of her hands towards the two portals. Silver beams emitted from both of her hands and rushed towards the portals. She wanted to find out what was lying behind those portals. But even before her qi reached the portals, a huge wave of energy, that belonged to the silvery blue portal, pushed her away. She stumbled back at the force. Her eyes immediately landing on the silvery blue portal as she stared at it with her dark gaze. Looked like neither of the portals was good for her. ''Don''t act foolishly! Immediately enter this portal and leave that place...'' The voice from the silvery blue portal hissed at her and immediately the dark voice followed behind. ''Why would she follow you? You just tried to hurt her. She''s not an idiot. She will come to me...'' ''I was trying to save her from you and your darkness. I won''t let you corrupt her. She will never choose you above me...'' The two voices erupted into a catfight which only worsened her headache. She clutched her head as the two voices kept shrieking at each other. It was like they nearly forgot about her at that point and only care about proving one another the real evil. Her hands were covering her ears but it made no difference since the voices were arguing in her mind. Her entire body started to get covered in sweat and her breathing was also increasing as the headache kept rising. Black dots appeared in front of her eyes as the pain became unbearable. She was in so much pain that she could not even get a hold of her powers. Her legs gave out and she landed on the cold floor. The sudden fall made pain ran throughout her body, especially her knees which were the first ones to come in the contact with the hard floor. Beads of sweat trickled down her face and her nape. Her face had paled as her hands grabbed her long hair in a tight grip which made the previously perfectly combed hair became a mess. ''Girl listen to me. Come here...'' ''No! She won''t listen to you. She will come to me...'' ''Shut up! She''s mine...'' ''How dare you? Don''t even think about such nonsense. She can never be yours. Don''t fool yourself...'' ''You are...'' ''Shut uppppppppp!'' "Just Shut up!" Li Ming sat up on the bed with a jerk which only made her head spin and increased her headache. Her hands immediately went to her temples. She didn''t even notice that her shout had awakened the Supreme Immortal and the Moon Deity. The two Immortal looked at the state of their mate which left them both shocked to their core. Not only her appearance looked like someone who had survived some great internal retribution but the blood that was covering the corner of her lips was the most terrifying sight for them. "Little One, what''s wrong?" Lord Yueliang finally found his voice and immediately moved towards his mate. Li Ming wanted to assure her panicked mate that she was fine but she could barely move her body. The pain in her head was still trying to kill her and because of it, she couldn''t command her healing powers. "Hold her!" Wen Guiying instructed as he launched into movements. The bed was immediately gotten rid of all the covers and Lord Yueliang moved Li Ming in its very center. He sat right in front of her as his hands tightly held her by her shoulders. Her hands were still gripping her hair and her clothes were stuck to her body due to the sweat. Wen Guiying settled down behind his mate and moved his hands in a perfect arc as he called in his inner qi. Immediately a high beam of green light emerged from his hands and entered into Li Ming from her back. Her previously dropped posture became straight and then the Moon Immortal too was channeling his inner qi into her. The sweat from her body disappeared and her hair settled down into its smooth silky appearance. The blood from the corner of her lips also vanished as slowly and steadily the color returned to her face. Li Ming''s eyes were shut but she felt the headache leaving her as she was engulfed in the warmth of two different but very familiar energies. Her head was becoming light-weighted with each passing second. The exhaustion took the place of the headache but she refused to sleep. The two energies gradually slowed down and finally stopped. Li Ming let the gravitational pull work on her body and the next thing she knew she was engulfed in the warm embrace of the Supreme Immortal. "Sweet mate, are you alright?" Wen Guiying asked her as he brushed her hair softly. "I don''t want to sleep." Li Ming said in a hoarse voice as she managed to slowly open her eyes. The two Immortals looked at each other with worried glances before Lord Yueliang spoke to her in his warm and calming tone. "You are very exhausted at the moment. Cultivating right now won''t be good for your health. You should take a short nap at least." But Li Ming was in no mood of listening. She could not handle such a headache again so soon. "No! Please, please. I don''t want to sleep. Don''t let me sleep." Both her eyes and voice were begging them to not let her sleep and to say that both the Immortals were speechless would be an understatement. Li Ming was the strongest person they had encountered in their lives and to see her so vulnerable was so new to them. Chapter 197 - Master Vs Li Ming "Will you sleep if I''ll be there with you?" Lord Yueliang asked her in a soft voice. However, Li Ming immediately shook her head in denial as she said, "You guys are not understanding. I don''t want to dream. I can''t handle it right now. I''ll..." "Sssh! It''s alright. We get it." Wen Guiying lightly whispered into her ears as he brushed her hair with his hands. "What he means is that he will be there with you in your dreams while I''ll also look after you here." The Supreme Immortal told her after she calmed down a little. Li Ming was puzzled as she looked at the two of her mates, waiting for them to explain exactly what they were talking about. "I can enter into your dreams and change them according to my wish. I''ll make sure that you will have a peaceful sleep. Will you let us take care of you, Little One?" Li Ming stared at the Moon Immortal for a few seconds as he waited for her answer. She then turned her face to look at Wen Guiying who gave her hand a little squeeze in assurance. "You can trust us, right?" He asked her as his eyes bored into her. She finally nodded her head as she replied, "Alright!" The two Immortals were quick as they once again placed her in the center of the bed as they both laid on either side of her. Wen Guiying flicked his sleeve and the next second they were covered by a soft duvet. "Now, close your eyes and let your mind relax." Wen Guiying guided her as he kept sliding his fingers through her hair. Though she was feeling even more tired than before but Li Ming still could not make herself close her eyes. The Moon Deity placed his hand over her eyes to cover them and this made Li Ming finally shut her eyes. A beam of blue qi entered into her brain as the Moon Immortal helped her to relax enough to give in to the sleep. Li Ming found herself relaxing and her brain finally succumbed under the pressure of tiredness. "Rather than diverting her mind to some beautiful dream, make sure that she doesn''t have any dreams at all. This will be more relaxing for her mind." Wen Guiying whispered to the Moon Deity as his eyes kept watching his sleeping mate intently. Therefore, thanks to her two wonderful and caring mates, Li Ming finally enjoyed a peaceful and dreamless sleep for the rest of the night. The dawn was only a few hours away and she had a lot of work to finish. While these three were enjoying a peaceful time, her other mates, Ruoshan, Hei Long, and the Heaven Emperor, were receiving their punishments from their master. --- Li Ming tied her boots and stood up from her bed. After checking her appearance in the mirror she pulled a fur cloak from her closet and started walking downstairs. "What is the news that you are planning to share with us in the evening?" Snowy asked her the moment she set her foot inside the kitchen. Both Snowy and Mallow were perched on the kitchen counter as they stared at the cookies that she baked before getting ready for the day. Wen Guiying had canceled their morning training session which allowed her to sleep for two more hours. Then after waking up around six o''clock she spent an entire hour cultivating inside the divine lotus to rejuvenate her spiritual qi. It was around nine-thirty or something as she finished getting ready for the day. Li Ming picked up a few cookies from the tray and gave them to the two furballs. Who would believe that a dog and a little fox enjoyed eating cookies as much as a normal human do? "As far as I know it''s still morning. So, we will talk about this in the evening." Li Ming said as she covered the tray with a lid. "Come on, sometimes you should share a thing or two," Snowy said as he munched on the cookie. His eyes sparkled with joy as he enjoyed the rich taste of chocolate. Li Ming kissed the two furballs on their head as she replied to Snowy, "I''ll share them in the evening. For now, I''m leaving. Bye-bye." She waved at the two and immediately teleported to the wooden cabin in the Snow Fields. ---- "You should believe me. She''s not in danger as long as she can control her dreams." "Stop with your nonsense! She was hurt right in front of her eyes. I just want to know what is going on. Why she got hurt?" Wen Guiying''s angry and frustrated voice boomed through the silent Thundering peaks. Even the wind had stopped blowing the moment everyone realized that the Supreme Immortal was angry for some reason. "I have told you many times that there are some things in her life that are meant only for her to handle. The only thing that you can do is to be there for her as she takes care of them." The banshee tried to explain. "I know that you are worried about her, but don''t worry, she''s not in danger. If you want to help her then continue to train her and you can also work on teaching her how to control her dreams. To be honest, she''s still not ready to face her biggest mission yet." Wen Guiying calmed down a little as he heard the worry and care that was evident in the banshee''s voice as she talked about his mate. They knew that she was also trying her best to help his mate but his worry for his little mate made him lose his calm. "Alright! I trust you and that''s exactly why we are working together." Wen Guiying said to the banshee and the woman nodded her head lightly. How could he not trust the person who brought their mate to them? If not for the banshee, the five of them would have never met their mate. Zhang Yong would have never found another bondmate and their world would have never found a gem like Li Ming. Just then Wen Guiying received a message. The white seal with a snow pattern on it immediately told him who had sent the message. Looked like he also needed to visit the Snow Fields and that too immediately. --- Li Ming stood there with raised eyebrows and dropped jaws as she watched six Immortals, in short, all of her mates, cleaning the old man''s house. Hei Long and Zhang Yong were trying to fix the dirty living room while Ruoshan and the Heaven Immortal were busy in the kitchen doing only God knew what. She watched as Lord Yueliang and Wen Guiying swept the snow that was covering the courtyard. The six Immortals were so deeply immersed in their work that none of them noticed the girl standing at the entrance of the hut clad in a beautiful white dress accompanied by a white fur cloak. The Immortals finally took notice of her when the chirpy voice of the old man, who was relaxing in his chair near the entrance, disturbed the silence. "Look who has decided to grace us with her presence." Li Ming didn''t even spare a single glance to the old man. Her eyes were busy taking in the shocked appearance of her mates. "Little One..." "Who told you guys to stop? Don''t waste time and finish your work quickly. There''s still a lot of other pending works." The old man quickly cut off the Moon Immortal as he shouted the orders. "No! Since you guys are already here, let''s come with me to help in my nursery." Li Ming said in her cold and demanding tone. "How dare you to order my disciples? They will work on my orders!" The old man shouted furiously as he glared at her. "And they are my mates. They will be ready to help me. I don''t need them to order around like you!" Li Ming huffed at the old man. The old man gritted his teeth as he passed a glare at his disciples. He just came to learn about the girl being the chosen one for his disciples and he still needed to digest it. However, how could he let the little girl won over him? He needed to show her that even though she was his disciples'' mate, he was still their master and had more authority over them. The Immortals passed each other glances which were filled with dread as they finally realized what was going to happen next. "They would never go against my orders. I''m their master. They would never dare to oppose me and let me down like this." The old man said proudly. "I''m sure they won''t. But I''m also sure that they won''t let me down either." Li Ming replied with equal confidence in her voice. The two of them kept glaring at each other for a few more seconds before the old man broke the silence. "Fine! Let''s see exactly who is right about their trust in them. Don''t cry when you lose." Li Ming huffed as she replied, "You don''t have to worry about me, old man. Let''s see who is the one going to cry." And with that, the two of them turned to look at the six Immortals. Who was going to win? The Master or the mate? Chapter 198 - Cookies "..." Li Ming could not believe her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she looked at the empty place where initially all of her mates were standing just a few minutes ago. "Did they all just disappear?" The old man asked as he looked around the room with a confusing glance. Li Ming turned to glare at the old man as she said, "Looked like you also taught them how to flee when under fire. I see! You have really taught them well." Of course, the old man was pretty offended by her words and accusing tone. "Why are you getting angry at me? I''m also as shocked by their behavior as you are. Their disappearance proves that they can''t choose either of us over the other. But...I''m not feeling happy about it." The old man said as he played with his beard. "Same." Li Ming also added with a sour tone. "What''s your opinion about their behavior then?" The old man asked her interestingly. Li Ming gave a single glance to the old man before replying, "Well, they could have used some other tactics to get themselves out of this situation without offending either of us. But them fleeing like this just proves that they don''t care about our image and self-respect." She took a deep breath before continuing, "Today they have fled but are they going to do the same when a third party will ask them the same question? How many times are they going to avoid answering? It''s a good thing that both of us matter equally in their lives but they need a better way to tell us that." There was silence in the room after Li Ming finished her speech, more like let out her frustration as she complained about the Immortals behavior to the old man. "Ah! Here, sit down. Don''t keep standing. Come, come..." The old man hurriedly called her to sit on the chair that had appeared beside his own. Li Ming didn''t waste any time as she immediately planted herself on the chair. "Hey, girl! Don''t be so heartbroken. I know that those brats were not too smart with their move but at least they also didn''t choose me over you." The old man told her in a soft tone. She looked at the Master with a raised eyebrow as she asked, "Are you trying to console me, or finding excuses for your so-called disciples?" "Aah! Why would I find excuses for them? It''s not like they chose me. I''m just telling you not to ruin your mood over those brats." The old man hurriedly explained. Li Ming slowly nodded her head and then suddenly her eyes sparkled. She took out the tray filled with cookies and handed it to the old man. "What is this?" The old man asked as he watched the girl taking off the lid. "These are cookies. I baked it early this morning for the guys. However, I''m in no mood of giving these to them anymore. Come on, taste it. I think you will like it." Li Ming said as she took a cookie from the tray and bit into it. The rich flavor of chocolate covered her tongue and she let out a satisfied sigh. The old man quickly took a cookie from the plate and started munching on it. He had no idea that the strange thing would taste so good. "Mmmm...., It''s really good...actually too good. Your cooking skills are really something." The old man praised as he bit into another cookie after finishing the first one. "Alright, since this is the first time you have praised me I''m giving these cookies to you as a thank you. Don''t always eat those tasteless things. Go, go, eat them. You need to enjoy your life as you are already so old." Li Ming said with a chuckle as she picked another cookie from the tray for herself. "Huh? Whom are you calling old? And don''t you dare touch my food." The old man said strictly as he pulled the tray away from her reach. Li Ming scoffed at the old man''s actions as she replied, "Of course, it''s you whom I''m calling old. Can you see someone else here? Nonsense!" "You.....!" The old man stopped as he watched her staring at him with raised eyebrows as if daring to contradict her. The two continued to bicker as they sat there in the small living room enjoying the sweet cookies. --- "I''m not liking it even a single bit." Hei Long muttered as he stared at the huge screen which was showing Li Ming and the old man enjoying the cookies. "Those are looking so tasty..." Zhang Yong said with a sad face as his eyes kept staring at the tray of cookies. "She''s definitely angry at us," Ruoshan said as he looked at Li Ming on the screen. "Ah! Don''t give up. Let''s continue with our plan. We should not waste any time here. She will be coming soon." Wen Guiying said and immediately all the other Immortals started moving as they all started working on their plan. They were planning to give a surprise to Li Ming. Poor Immortals! Little did they knew that they would be the ones receiving a surprise from their angry mate. --- "Alright, alright. It''s already about to reach noon. I should be leaving now. I have a lot of work to finish." Li Minh said as she stood up from her hair. "Ah! Are you going to prepare lunch?" The old man asked as he picked out another cookie and started munching on it. There were barely four cookies left in the tray. The old man had gulped them down without any break and it felt like the tray would be spotless within a minute or two. "Nah! I''m not hungry since I just had a couple of cookies. I would be heading to the nursery now." Li Ming replied in a soft tone. "Really? Then what about your mates?" The old man asked as he continued to munch down on the cookie. "What about them?" Li Ming asked in an indifferent tone. "I mean are you not going to prepare lunch for them? You usually make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the Heaven Emperor." The old man asked as he finally looked at her. "Didn''t I just say that I''m busy and have a lot of work to finish? As far as I know, all of them are Immortals who don''t need to eat or sleep like a normal mortal anymore. I don''t see any reason for me to waste my time on them. Also, if they will be hungry then they can always cook to feed themselves. Right?" The old man stared at the girl with his mouth hanging open as he was left in complete shock. "Am I right old man?" Li Ming once again repeated her question and this time putting a lot of pressure on her words. "Oh! Yes, yes. Of course. You are right, absolutely right." The old man said as he modded his head lightly. "Good to know that you too agree with me. Well, see you later." Li Ming waved lightly at the old man and walked out of his hut, heading straight to the nursery. As she neared the greenhouse which she had built with a lot of hard work, she started hearing faint voices coming from inside. This made her confused. She hurriedly walked inside the nursery and stopped dead in her track as her eyes landed on the scene inside. She took in the six Immortals who were now standing around the first part of the nursery as they all had noticed her entering. She could feel her anger rising as her eyes took in the crystal balls with small plants that the men had planted in the beds that she had prepared two days ago. Not only that but they also tried to water the plants by using the water from the huge drums that were placed in a corner. Well, it was them who thought that the drum had water in them, but only Li Ming realized what the Immortals had actually done. Her eyes landed on the men who were now looking a little worried as the smiles had disappeared from their faces as they realized that their mate was not looking even a single bit happy after seeing the nursery. "What are you guys doing here?" Her voice was calm, so calm that it scared the Immortals as they all passed each other worried glances. "Well, Xingan.....we just wanted to surprise...." Ruoshan didn''t get to complete his sentence because he was immediately cut off by Li Ming''s deep angry voice. "Who allowed you to enter into this nursery?" Once again the Immortals looked at each other, not sure what or how to reply. "Was it me? Did I tell you guys that you can enter into my nursery, especially in my absence?" Li Ming asked as she looked at each of her mates one by one. Her eyes were filled with coldness and for the first time, the Immortals felt like they had done something wrong this time. Chapter 199 - Confessions "Well, looks like you guys have started to invade my privacy. Tsk tsk...I''ll appreciate it if you guys can stop messing around my places." Ouch! Her words definitely didn''t sound pleasant to the Immortals. "Miss Li, we are aware that you are unhappy about what we did back in Master''s house. But that''s because we wanted to surprise you. We wanted to tell you that you are the most important person in our lives." The Heaven Emperor tried to explain. The rest of the Immortals were quick to nod their heads. They were not liking the angry little mate who was looking at them with her cold gaze. Li Ming shook her head lightly as her lips twitched into a small side smile which appeared more like a smirk. "Yeah, it is right that I was initially mad at you guys for leaving me alone without answering the question. However, I am angry now because you guys have started to cross your limits." The Immortals kept looking at her with confusion and fear as Li Ming continued. "Do you know that the crystals that you have buried in the soil were actually supposed to be placed at the roof of this nursery?" Her question was answered by several gasps and shaking heads. "Do you guys know that the liquid that you have used to irrigate the plants was actually a potion that I was experimenting on? Even I have no idea what will happen to these plants now!" Her voice was rising as she kept pointing out the things that the Immortals had ruined because of their surprise. "Do you guys know that I have worked hard for weeks to prepare these beds, the plants, the snow essence crystals, and the potion? Do you know that you have ruined almost half of my work within an hour?" Li Ming stopped to take in a deep long breath. She did not want to hurt them but she needed to tell them when they should stop. On the other hand, the six Immortals were completely shocked and heartbroken after realizing that they had ruined so much. They could tell that she was keeping herself from letting out her anger at them and somehow, it only made them felt worse if even possible. "Sweet..." Li Ming didn''t let the Supreme Immortal speak as she raised her right hand in a stop signal. She was in no mood of listening to their explanation or any other thing that they were going to say. She would not be able to keep her anger in control for much longer. Maybe she would listen to their side of the story when she would calm down but at that moment, she just wanted to be left alone. "I mostly keep you guys away from my things because I know you all are not familiar with them. Well...., just forget it.....!" Li Ming covered her eyes with her hands for a few seconds while taking in a deep breath. Somehow looking at the guilt and sadness that was covering their faces succeeded in calming her down. She uncovered her eyes to excuse herself, however, she was soon engulfed in a warm hug from behind. Zhang Yong snuggled his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her fragrance. He didn''t say anything but silently stood there hugging her tightly. It didn''t take much time before Li Ming could feel herself relaxing into his touch. Her mind, her body, her anger, everything calmed down slowly. It was not until a few silent moments had passed when she realized exactly what the Shadow Lord was doing. "Did you just used your dragon powers to calm me down?" Li Ming asked the Immortal who was tightly holding her in his arms. However, her tone was no longer sounding angry. Zhang Yong just nodded his head slightly but didn''t say anything. She was about to speak when suddenly her attention was pulled towards the rest of her mates who were coming towards her. Were they all planning to hug her too? Li Ming''s mind was suddenly filled with images where she was engulfed in a group hug by her mates. She shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. How could her anger suddenly convert into want? The Immortals stopped in front of her and before she could even react at their proximity, her shocked gaze watched the five Immortals kneeling in front of her. She was not expecting to see something like that. What was she supposed to do? "W-what are you guys doing?" She asked while trying to get herself out of Zhang Yong''s arms. However, the Shadow Immortal didn''t loosen up his hold on her, making her turn to glare at him. Meanwhile, the Moon Immortal took hold of one of her hands while Ruoshan held the other one tightly. "We are aware of our faults and we are also guilty. We should not have interfered with the things that we do not know about. Little One, can you forgive us? We are ready to work on our shortcomings. All we need is for you to be there for us." The others were quick to nod their heads to show their consent. "Yes, Xingan. We are very sorry for what we did. We have no idea that something like this is going to happen. We just wanted to tell you that you are the most precious one to us." Ruoshan said as he kissed her palm softly. "You are everything to us. We have waited for so long just to be with you. No one could take your place in our lives and hearts. You never have to question that." This time it was Wen Guiying who spoke as he looked at her with his eyes filled with love and warmth. "We respect our Master. He has been our greatest support and guardian for thousands of years. He had taught us so much. We can never repay him even if we try for the rest of our lives, but......but he''s not you." Li Ming turned her eyes to look at Hei Long, the one who was speaking at the moment as the rest listened. "Even though I''ve known you for a short time, but you are someone who has brought meaning to our Immortal lives. We are grateful towards our Master but when it comes to you......it''s just pure love." Hei Long stared right in her eyes as he said those deep words that surrounded Li Ming''s heart with so much affection. "I''ve known you for the shortest period, but I have waited for you just as long as them. The one and only girl who can make us feel complete, who can make us feel happy. And that''s exactly what you make us feel. If you are happy then we are happy. If you are sad then we are sad. If you are worried then we are worried. We are one with you." The Heaven Emperor was the one who spoke in the very end. However, his words were just as touching as the others. Li Ming realized that she had a.ost forgot how to breathe. She was enjoying the best moment of her life as her mates showered her with their love. Yes! Pure love. She could see in their eyes that all of them love her. There was a long silence and no one spoke for the next few minutes. The Immortals were still kneeling in front of her and Zhang Yong was standing behind her as he circled his fingers softly on her belly. "When was the last time you guys kneeled in front of someone?" Li Ming asked suddenly out of nowhere. Looking at the expression on the Immortal''s faces, it was clear that they were not expecting her to ask such a question. "I imagined you guys kneeling down in front of me like this while proposing to me. This is quite different from my imagination, but I think it will work since it''s your first time. Looks like I will need to train you guys so that you can propose to me in the right way when the time is right." Li My g said as she tapped her finger on her chin. The Immortals were looking completely lost. However, she could see their expressions changing as they stared at her slightly smiling face and the sparkle in her eyes. Even Zhang Yong had loosened up his grip on her as he tried to look at her face. "Wait, are you trying to say that you forgive us?" Ruoshan asked as he looked up at her face with hopeful eyes. "I can forgive you guys..." Li Ming watched as their eyes suddenly filled with happiness at her words. "...but you will need to help me in my work since you are the one who ruined it. I''m in no mood of exhausting myself again and this time I''ll guide you all." Just as she finished, a pair of warm lips landed on hers as she received a sweet and quick kiss from Ruoshan. Chapter 200 - The Dinner Party (Part One) The next few weeks passed as Li Ming once again started working on the nursery and this time her mates were also there for her. By the end of the second month of her stay in the Snow Fields, her nursery was filled with small plants of various kinds of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and spices. The monsoon had arrived in the outside world. However, inside the Snow Fields, there was only snow as far as one could see. The nursery initially consisted of two different sections but later, Li Ming decided to divide it into five sections. This also led her to increase the size of the nursery. But since her mates were there with her this time, she received a lot of help from them. The Immortals mostly helped in building the nursery, plowing the soil after removing the thick layer of snow, making beds, and then finally mixing manure and potions in the soil to increase its efficiency. While the men were busy in the nursery, Li Ming was taking care of the research department. What amazed her that even though they barely had any free time left in the past few weeks, Wen Guiying never forgot about her training sessions. And she was thankful for that. If not for him she would totally have forgotten about giving time to her cultivation and physical training. "And these are....?" The old man asked as he pointed at the small plants that were covering the first two beds of the second section of the nursery. The first section of the nursery was filled with vegetable plants and the second one was for the fruits. "This is strawberry and the next one is cherry. The one next to it is plum, peach and then there''s apricot." Li Ming explained with a soft smile. All the men present there were looking completely clueless about half of the fruits and vegetables that she had told them about so far. The old man turned to look at the Immortals who just replied with shrugs. "Well...., these are edible at least, right?" The old man could not help but ask the question that was running across his mind from the moment the girl started reciting vegetable and fruit names that he never heard in his Immortal life. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she rolled her eyes at the old man''s reaction. "Don''t worry. They are qualified to be in the category of edible fruits." She scoffed at the old man as she started walking towards the flower section. They all took a tour through the last three sections of the nursery as Li Ming explained about the different species on which she had experimented. The last section of the nursery was filled with various spiritual herbs. There were many species that she failed to grow before in Xiao Tiantang because the herbs needed a colder environment to survive. The roof of the nursery was covered with hundreds of crystals with small pink and purple colored seedlings in them. The seedlings were a magical spell that absorbed the essence of the sunlight and transferred it inside the nursery. On the other hand, the crystal balls were covered in runes which absorbed the essence of the snow and converted it into the water which entered the nursery through the small pipes that were hanging all around the nursery. "Hmm. I must say that you are halfway towards your goal. However, there is going to be no rewards before results. Let''s wait and see if your hard work is going to pay off or not." The old man said as they all stood in a circle in front of the nursery. "Fine. I''ll invite you to visit my nursery again by mid of the next month. I''m hoping that you will be prepared." Li Ming replied with a sweet tone, even though there was nothing sweet about her words. "One and a half months will be enough for you to get ready to accept your defeat, right Master?" Zhang Yong asked mischievously and soon was awarded by a sharp glare from the so-called master. "I''m leaving now. I have a lot of work to do." The old man muttered as he immediately disappeared from there. As soon as the silhouette of the old man disappeared, Li Ming was immediately attacked by Ruoshan who pulled her into his arms. She had slowly come to realize that all of her mates loved to keep her in their arms as much as they could. Not like she was complaining. She enjoyed these warm and comfortable moments just as much as they did. "Xingan, since we finally got some free time today let''s spend the rest of the day together." Ruoshan offered as he placed a soft peck on her cheek. Li Ming looked at her other mates and saw the yearning in their eyes too. They didn''t want alone moments with her, rather they just wanted to enjoy some relaxing time with her as a group. In the past month, they barely got any time to relax properly. She decided to complete their request as she had something in her mind. "Alright! Let me bring you all to a beautiful place. I''m sure that you guys will love it there because that place is so pure. There are some people whom I want to introduce to you guys. All I want is for you all to trust me. Okay?" Li Ming asked as she looked at her mates. The Immortals didn''t waste any time as they all agreed quickly, making a sweet smile appeared on her face. "We trust you and always will. We are also excited to meet these friends of yours and to see this new place. After all, you never fail to surprise us." Hei Long said as he brushed his fingers lightly on her cheek. Li Ming felt her eyes going towards his shoulder but she soon stopped herself. She knew that he didn''t like it whenever she brought up the topic of his soul mark. She wanted to see how it was. If there was any change in it or not, but Hei Long always refused to let her see it. She still didn''t know what to do about that matter. She had found absolutely nothing so far about the curse and even though the Second Demon Prince never failed to assure her that he was not in pain, but her soul was not believing his words. The sudden nip on the right side of her neck brought her out of her thoughts. She felt Ruoshan leaving soft kisses on the exact so it where he had bitten her just a few seconds ago. "What are you thinking about, Little One?" Lord Yueliang asked her in his warm tender voice. Li Ming shook her head lightly as she replied, "Nothing much. It''s just that since it is your first time meeting my friends, therefore, you guys should put extra effort into getting ready today." The Immortals started looking at their clothes and adjusting their hairs which made Li Ming burst out into giggles. "Goodness, you guys are just too adorable sometimes. Come on, I''ll help you guys get ready today." She said and brought the six immortals inside the magical mansion. After making the Immortals sit in the living room, she sent a message to Snowy through their mind link. Li Ming waved her hand and six boxes appeared on the coffee table. She looked at her mates as she asked in a small voice. "I have a special request...." As she didn''t say anything else next, the Heaven Emperor finally divided to speak. "Don''t worry. You should never hesitate to tell us about something or even asking for anything. Just say it." Li Ming nodded her head lightly as she took in a deep breath and then opened her eyes with confidence filled in them. "I want you guys to try on some clothes that I have prepared for you all. It''s just a request which means that you can decline it if you are not comfortable with these clothes." She explained as she passed on the boxes to their respective owner. The Immortals opened their boxes with brand new suits in them. The Heaven Emperor got a suit in crimson color with a white shirt accompanied by a black tie and black shoes. The Moon Immortal got a deep blue-colored suit that matched the color of his eyes. The suit was accompanied by a white shirt, a black printed tie, and white shoes. The Supreme Immortal got a green suit, white shirt, black tie, and black shoes. While Ruoshan got a purple suit. Hei Long was gifted with a black suit and Zhang Yong got a complete white one. Li Ming waited patiently to see their response. After a few seconds, Hei Long was the first one to break the silence. "I want to try it but don''t know how." The Second Demon Prince looked at Li Ming with his cute eyes. The others also agreed with Hei Long as they all had no idea how to deal with their new clothes. Li Ming clicked her fingers and the next second, there were six sexy and hot male CEOs standing in her living room. "Now, let''s deal with your hair." Li Ming said as she started working on her mates'' hair one by one. She let the Heaven Emperor, Lord Yueliang, and Wen Guiying''s hair fall freely on their back after giving soft touches of styles at the front. While she styled the hair of Ruoshan, Hei Long, and Zhang Yong in a high ponytail. To say that she was left shocked by their new appearance would be an understatement. Now it was time when she would leave them speechless with her looks. Chapter 201 - The Dinner Party (Part Two) Li Ming watched as her long diamond earrings sparkled in the light. She decided to leave her neck bare and started putting on rings and bracelets instead. She was very happy about the outcome of her one and a half-hour of hard work. She was wearing a hemline floor-length blue-green tulle gown with a sweetheart neckline. It was sleeveless and that left her entire collarbone, shoulders, and arms bare for her mates to gawk at. Her long hair was beautifully arranged on her left side as it fell down her shoulder in curls. Her makeup and five inches silver high heels were the final touches to her killing look. Li Ming smiled at her reflection in the full-length mirror as she admired her barely sixteen years old self. With a deep breath, she turned towards the bedroom door. It was finally the time to give her mates the shock of their lives. She was dressed to kill and she was ready for her mission of the night. The Immortals were still in the living room as they waited for their mate to finally came downstairs. "What is she doing up there? It''s been so long." Ruoshan asked his brothers as he played with the buttons of his suit. "Maybe she got distracted by some work and decided to finish it first before getting ready?" It was more of a question from Zhang Yong rather than an answer. "Come on, she never took this much time in getting ready before this. There is probably something wrong. I should go and check." Ruoshan started getting up but was stopped by his younger brother. "Let''s wait for a little bit more." Hei Long said as he pulled the Evernight Lord back towards his seat. None of the Immortals could understand why it was taking Li Ming so long to get ready. Just as they all started getting impatient again just after ten minutes, the Moon Immortal finally heard some kind of weird sound coming from upstairs. The other Immortals also heard the noise and turned to look at the stairs. Little did they expected to be attacked like that as, within a minute, a Goddess appeared at the top of the stairs. Li Ming watched as shock and awe took over the expressions of her mates who were looking ethereal in their new get-up. She started walking downstairs but made sure to be slow enough to torture the Immortals as they took in her appearance. She walked towards the living room and stood on the other end of the coffee table as she admired the expressions of her mates. "What? Not going to compliment me? After all, it took me an entire and another half hour to get ready." She asked as she twirled a little to show them her bareback. The dress left not only her collarbone and shoulders but also half of her back open and bare. Just as she straightened to listen to what her mates had to say about her appearance, she saw the Heaven Emperor coming towards her with a golden robe in his hands. She was just too shocked to even open her mouth. She stood there silently as the Heaven Emperor draped the robe over her shoulders. "Now, you look perfect. Just as beautiful and stunning as always." The Immortal Ruler said as he planted a soft peck on her temple, his cheeks and the tip of his ears immediately turning red in embarrassment. If not for the fact that she was distracted by the cloak that had ruined her getup, she would definitely have loved to tease her shy mate some more. "I think we are ready....." Wen Guiying didn''t get to complete his sentence as they all watched their little mate taking off the cloak and throwing it on the couch. "What...?" The Heaven Emperor looked at her with confused eyes. "You must be kidding me right? Are you seriously expecting me to wear a cloak over this beautiful dress? No way!" Li Ming said as she folded her hands in front of her chest. "B-but.....then.....y-you have....your shoulders....they are...." Even the Heaven Emperor himself was not clear about what he wanted to say. He just kept babbling while pointing at her shoulders and arms. "Xingan, you have so much.....umm....you know.....that...." Ruoshan let out a sigh as he found himself unable to voice out the words that were clearly visible in his and his brothers'' minds. "So?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows as she looked at the Immortals with questioning eyes. She knew exactly what was going through their minds. However, if she gave in to their request then how would she torment them? Therefore, she kept her expressions completely indifferent and cold as she waited for at least one of them to say something. However, the Immortals were too afraid to utter a single word. None of them wanted to anger her even in their dreams. "Since none of you have any problems anymore let''s head towards our destination. It''s getting late." She said with a smile that appeared on her lips out of nowhere. The Immortals could only nod as they all circled around her and the next thing they knew, all of them were traveling through the dark void, and then within a few blinks, they were standing next to a stream. The change in the environment of the new place was so clear that it didn''t take long before the Immortals noticed the two different energies that were flowing through the air in sync. "Wait, I have felt this energy before. It''s...Xingan!" Ruoshan looked at the smiling girl with surprised eyes. Li Ming nodded her head as she said, "You are right. As you all know that there is a different energy present inside my body other than qi. The same energy is also present in this place. This is the Enchanted Magik Forest." "Enchanted Magik Forest?" Hei Long asked as he looked around the nature that was surrounding them. "En! I came across this place last year while trying to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of spiritual qi from the Thundering Peaks. Ever since then I''m in touch with the people who were living here in seclusion for millenniums." Li Ming explained further as she started walking towards the forest which would lead her to the case where everyone was waiting for them. "What do you mean by them living in seclusion, Little One?" Lord Yueliang asked her. That''s how she told them everything about the day when she stumbled across the magical world and how she later ended up becoming their friend. She was not really the owner of the Enchanted Magik Forest but at the same time, that''s exactly how the supernaturals saw her. "Wow! Now you have another small but beautiful world other than the mansion and Xiao Tiantang. Let''s include Dongji village in it too since you are now the Head of the village." Zhang Yong said with admiration and respect in his eyes. The rest of her mates were also looking at her with the same expressions as the Shadow Lord and that made Li Ming blush a little. "Alright! We are already here." She announced to distract the Immortals as they appeared in front of the caves. At the entrance of the cave, six candles with matching colors of the Immortals'' suits were arranged on a candlestick. There was no one at the entrance which made everything even more unexplainable. The Immortals turned to look at Li Ming who just shrugged her shoulders in reply. Even she had no idea what was going on. As they neared the entrance, she noticed a note sticking on the candlestick. She picked up the note and read the words written on it. ''The Six Immortals should light the candle that matched their outfit before entering. You can leave the candles at the entrance after lighting them.'' "Alright, here goes nothing. To be honest, I have no idea why they want you guys to do this but yeah, just light the candle of the same color as your clothes, and then we can...." She didn''t even complete her sentence before all the candles were glowing in a mixup of yellow, orange, and red fire. She turned to look at the Immortals who looked at her in return. "I think we can enter now." Li Ming said before turning back towards the entrance and marching in. The Immortals followed behind her. The path was decorated with red carpet and the ceiling of the cave was glowing as hundreds of fireflies illuminated their path. Rather than the Immortals, Li Ming was the one who was the most surprised after seeing the level of preparation that sups had done for the dinner party. She had known them for nearly a year but she never received such high-quality treatment. The thought made her scoff at the discrimination that the sups had shown towards her. The world truly was not fair towards her! Chapter 202 - The Dinner Party (Part Three) "Wow!" Li Ming sighed as another voice of amazement belonging to one of her mates entered her ears. What was so beautiful about the cave that they could not even move their eyes away from it? She should be the center of their attention, but who knew that she would be defeated by a dark and cold cave. Who would have thought that she would be jealous of walls and ceilings made of stones? "Welcome!" A chorus filled the silence as all the supernaturals appeared out of nowhere and welcomed Li Ming and the group. "You guys sure are something? In all the time that I have known you guys, I never got to know that you all are skilled in interior designing too. Brilliant!" The bitterness and annoyance were clearly visible in Li Ming''s tone as she stared at the group of supernaturals standing around the opening where the dinner party was going to take place. "Aww, come on Win. Don''t be jealous. We have done all this so that we can please your mates. Should not you praise their hard work?" A voice suddenly spoke. Everyone turned to look at the person who had spoken out of nowhere. The banshee walked out from behind pink drapes that were hanging on the far left corner. Li Ming wanted to roll her eyes and that was exactly what she did. "What are you doing here? Who invited you?" She asked the banshee who came floating towards them in her pink floral gown. "You." The banshee replied with a soft shrug. "Me? When did I invite you?" Li Ming asked as she stared at the woman who was looking at her with her puppy eyes. "Win, your exact words were ''everyone who is a part of your big supernatural family is invited to the dinner party'' and as far as I know I''m one of them. So, here I am." The banshee replied with a twinkle in her eyes. Li Ming scoffed at the woman. She was about to open her mouth but then a pair of arms snaked around her neck and shoulders from behind and a sweet voice whispered in her ear. "Don''t waste your energy, Sweet Mate. Let''s start the party." Li Ming immediately relaxed and nodded her head lightly, signaling the head nymph to start the party. Of course, she made sure to warn the banshee. "Just because I''m letting you stay here today does not mean that we are on the same page. Absolutely not! I still think that you bring too much bad news for me." The banshee passed her a sweet smile and flew away towards a table full of sweets and candies after passing a fly kiss towards Li Ming. "Goodness!" They all took their seats and within a few minutes, their tables were covered with various snacks, sweets, and wine. A group of sirens walked to the center of the hall with their musical instruments and after a few moments, a beautiful melody started filling the air. One after other, different groups of supernaturals kept performing and showing off their skills. As the evening finally turned into a beautiful night, the dinner was served and Li Ming could tell that the sups had made the best dishes that they could and it tasted absolutely amazing. She was afraid that after eating these delicious dishes, all her mates would no longer enjoy her cooking. However, she could do nothing about that. Little did she knew that all this time, the Immortals had enjoyed only one thing and that was her. From the moment she appeared in front of them dressed like a Goddess, they had been unable to move their eyes away from her. Every single change in her expressions, the way her eyes twinkled at certain points, the way her long lashes formed shadows, the way she smiled softly with warmth at the people around her, they noticed everything. And many people noticed the way in which the Immortals were looking at their Ming. How their eyes were trained on her as they observed her, how smiles bloomed on their lips as they watched their mate smiling, how their eyes filled with fire whenever Li Ming moaned after eating something delicious. They were completely in love with her and there was no doubt about it. "I''m happy that she found her happiness," Snowy said with twinkle in his eyes as he admired the image in front of his eyes. "She has found her happiness but not achieved it." Both Snowy and Mallow turned to look at the banshee who just spoke up from behind them. "What do you mean?" Mallow asked the woman as she looked at the banshee with a suspicious gaze. "Don''t worry Mallow, Kara is not a bad person," Snowy told the little fox spirit. "But master treats her like one," Mallow said in a cute voice as she looked at the Pomeranian with questioning eyes. Snowy stopped chewing on his chicken leg as he turned his head towards the fox spirit as he said, "Well, she treats me like one too." This made the little fox spirit shit up. After the silence of a few minutes, she finally said, "Alright! I got it, this Kara woman is not bad. Go on, tell us what you mean by your words." The banshee let out a deep sigh as she put down her wine glass before saying, "Even though now she has her mates with her, but there are still many problems that she will need to solve in her relationships. Also, the biggest trial of her life still has to make its appearance. She will not leave a happy life until the trial is over." Both the furballs quietly listened to the Banshee''s words. "It was her destiny to come to this world and share a bond with these Immortals. Then why does she have to go through a trial?" Snowy asked the woman. "It is indeed her destiny, but someone tried to ruin it. The trial is the punishment for that interference." The banshee told them. "But why she had to go through this trial? She was not the one who interfered in it and what about the person who is the real culprit?" Mallow asked with worry covering her cute little eyes. "Of course that other person will be punished too. And Win is being punished because it is her destiny that''s been interfered with." The banshee replied. "But it''s not fair! Why would master be punished for something she had no control over?" Mallow was definitely not happy with the banshee''s answer. "Nothing is fair in this world, my love. You need to pay with your tears to enjoy the happiness of a few moments. Nothing is as simple as it seems. Everything in this world is full of mysteries and carries a past. At least our Win has so many people to guide and help her." The banshee said softly as she looked towards Li Ming who was talking with a mermaid as they examined a box full of pearl jewelry. "You are so knowledgeable, Miss Kara," Mallow said with admiration in her voice. The banshee chuckled softly as she once again picked up her wine glass as she said, "Let''s not dwell on this matter anymore. You two should start paying more attention to your training sessions with the Shadow Lord. I''m sure your Master will be happy to see you both in your human forms. For now, let''s enjoy the party." The banshee walked away towards a group of met and who was telling some kind of story. On the other hand, the dinner was almost over and everyone was either busy talking in groups or enjoying the wine and the sweet melody that the sirens and mermaids were playing. Li Ming stood up from her seat and went towards the person who was sitting next to her. The Heaven Emperor straightened up in his seat as he watched his little mate walking towards him. He could feel his heartbeats rising. He could not help himself and immediately stood up from his seat as his mate stopped right in front of him. "May I dance with you?" Li Ming asked with a soft smile playing on her lips as she stretched her hand towards her mate. "I...., dance?" The Heaven Emperor was left speechless as he stood there completely confused. A chuckle left Li Ming''s lips as she shook her head lightly before replying, "My Lord, don''t tell me that you are too ashamed of dancing with your mate." "Of course not. It''s just.....I don''t know.....how?" The Heaven Emperor could feel the red color taking over his cheeks and the tip of his ears as he looked away in embarrassment. Li Ming put her fingers under his chin and made him look at her as she said in a soft voice, "Don''t worry, I''ll teach you. Just follow my lead, okay?" The Heaven Emperor slowly nodded his head as he put his hand in the awaiting hand of his mate. The focus of the entire hall was turned towards them as they all heard the conversation between the two. Now everyone was anticipating what was coming next. Chapter 203 - Something Is Wrong With Miss Li Li Ming positioned both herself and the Heaven Emperor in the very center of the hall. She could tell that her mate was nervous but he pretended to be as calm and collected as always. Even though he could deceive everyone in making them believe exactly what he wanted but she was not just everyone. She was his mate, the other half of his soul. Her eyes could see all those things that her mates tried their best to keep hidden from her. Like she could see the tension but also happiness in the Heaven Emperor''s eyes. She could see that even though Hei Long appeared completely fine but there were moments when he was struggling. His shoulder was killing him in pain but he was pretending to be fine. She didn''t approach him because she was afraid that he would start ignoring her. She also didn''t want to increase his suffering by doing something stupid. Therefore, she decided to wait till the end of the party before talking with her mates about it. The Second Demon Prince won''t be able to go against his senior brothers, right? She also saw the glaring competition that was going on between Wen Guiying and the banshee. She had seen all of these but she just stayed silent, letting the things flow on their own. "Here, give me your other hand." She told the Heaven Emperor as they both took their position. The Heaven Emperor placed his other hand in her palm and was immediately taken aback as she placed it on her waist. "Don''t let go!" Li Ming hurriedly ordered as she felt his hand slipping from her waist in his shock. The Heaven Emperor was quick to follow her command as he placed his hand back on her waist. "That''s good." Li Ming praised him with a beautiful smile playing on her rosy lips which made the Heaven Emperor''s heartbeats accelerate. "Now, look here..." Li Ming told him and then raised her other hand a little in the air which was holding his other hand. "This is the posture in which we will dance. Now follow me...One...two...three...Again, one...two...three..." Li Ming kept leading the Heaven Emperor as she showed him the steps. It didn''t take the Immortal Ruler much time to grasp the basics and soon they were dancing around the hall on the sweet melody. A chuckle left her lips as the Heaven Emperor twirled her around and then brought her back in his arms with a pull. What made the moment so adorable was the slight blush that was covering his cheeks. Li Ming had a great urge to move forward and bite his rosy cheeks but she somehow controlled herself. They danced for twenty minutes straight, both giggling and smiling, enjoying one of the sweetest moments of their lives. But then she felt the presence of someone else behind her and a deep voice whispered in her ear. "Will you mind dancing with me, Sweet mate?" Wen Guiying''s warm breath brushed her nape making her skin tingle. The Heaven Emperor planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand and let her go as he passed her a soft smile before returning to his seat. She turned around to look at the Supreme Immortal and placed one of her hands in his large one while resting the other on his shoulder. Wen Guiying did not hesitate to put his palm right on her waist. He even pulled her a lot more closer to his body. After watching her dance with the Heaven Emperor for such a long time, the rest of her mates had already grasped the idea of how the dancing style worked. As the melody started, both of them moved in sync. One after the other, Li Ming danced with each of her mates as the party progressed. The last one was Ruoshan and as they both enjoyed the final dance of the night, some other supernaturals also joined them. "Thank you for bringing us here today. We all enjoyed it very much." Ruoshan whispered softly in her ear as he planted a sweet kiss on her jaw. Li Ming smiled at her mate as she replied, "Thank you for accepting my people. I know they are completely different from the rest of your world but they carry good hearts within them." Ruoshan cupped her jaw with one of his hands as he looked at her with soft eyes. It was like he wanted to say something but then decided against it. He just pulled her in his arms and rested her head on his chest as he circled his arms around her. "Let''s return to the mansion." Li Ming heard Lord Yueliang''s voice speaking softly to them and she found herself nodding her head. --- "Miss Li, why are you not saying anything?" Sir Liu asked in a barely audible tone. None of them had any idea that the Young Miss would be visiting the Dongji village this early in the morning. Therefore, seeing her standing at the edge of the fields so early in the morning as she inspected the fields left everyone in surprise. Of course not in a bad way because everyone was happy to see their Young Miss after two and a half months. She inspected the fields, took a tour through the farmhouse, visited the shops, and then spent her afternoon in the orphanage where she examined the training of the students. All the day she remained mostly quiet, not saying much except asking questions or giving out more orders. It was not until all the shop owners, the head of the farmhouse, the person in charge of the fields, Old Mo and Old Madam, and Sir Liu came to attend the meeting that Li Ming organized in the evening, that they all noticed that their Young Miss was barely showing any reaction. Her face was not cold nor her eyes held any anger or sadness, but at the same time, there was something off about the entire situation. Even though she didn''t appear cold but she also didn''t hold the warmth that she usually emitted while meeting with the people of the Dongji village. Not only that but she also showed no emotions when she interacted with the children of the orphanage. Currently, Sir Liu had given the final account book of all the businesses of the Dongji village to Li Ming so that she could take a look. As they all waited for the Young Miss to praise them for their hard work, they realized that the girl was not even looking proud after seeing the account book. Her expressions remained completely neutral all the time and after a few minutes, she closed the account book and put it aside. Old Sir Liu could not stop himself from asking the question that was plaguing the mind of every single person who was present in the room. Therefore after mustering some courage he voiced out the question. Unfortunately, his courage was met with complete silence as Li Ming totally ignored his question. The Old Sir passed quick worried glances to his fellow companions. No one knew what to to do. Therefore, in the end, everyone decided to stay silent for the time being. "Alright! I have taken a look at all the accounts and other matters. Everything is going on fine. I''ll be heading towards the Capital city now. You all are dismissed." Li Ming announced as she stood up from her seat. The sentence ''everything is going on fine'' was like a sharp blade that pierced the side hearts of all the people present in the meeting room. They worked so hard to bring such good results, but their Master was too cold-hearted to see any of that. Everyone passed worried glances to each other. Now, they all were pretty sure that something was wrong with their Young Miss. Miss Li was the kind of person who never failed to praise the hard work of her people. She would always pay attention to each little detail and would make sure to motivate the person to keep doing their good work. She always interacted with the children with smiles and kindness but for the first time, they noticed her acting completely indifferent towards them. The change in her attitude was too much for the people of the Dongji village to not worry about their Young Miss. "Miss Li..." "Yes?" Li Ming stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Old Mo as he called her. "...it''s...just that...are...are you okay?" Old Mo finally found the courage to voice out the question. "Yes. Why? What''s wrong with me?" Li Ming asked while raising her eyebrows. The lack of any kind of emotions on her face made the people in the room gulped down their saliva. "N-nothing! Absolutely nothing. Everything is fine. You should continue with your work. We won''t disturb you anymore." Old Mo hurriedly said as bowed down his head. The rest of the people in the room followed him and also bowed their heads to with their Young Miss goodbye. Something was wrong with Miss Li. Very very wrong! Chapter 204 - How To Find A Good Husband Li Ming stared at the group of people who were sitting around the table where she had been resting just a few minutes ago. Looked like she won''t be able to have peace at all. The entire day was a struggle for her as she first visited the Dongji village, then the Capital city of the Wang Empire, and then the Tea house. She was currently in the Black Jade Inn and finally had gotten some time to rest after taking a look over the business data of the past two and a half months. Who knew that as soon as she closed her eyes to have some rest, a group of seven Young Masters of the Noble families of the Han Empire would storm inside the Black Jade Inn to find her. Who the hell even told them about her return? It was becoming harder for her to keep the facade up. Almost everyone had noticed the change and she could notice the suspicion and worry in their eyes. She let out a frustrated sigh as she glared at Elder Fu who immediately disappeared from her sight in the name of bringing refreshments for the Young Masters. Did not she order him to not let anyone disturb her even if the entire Inn was under fire? Then why he could not follow such a simple instruction? It was around seven o''clock in the evening and the Black Jade Inn was bustling with customers. During the winter season the previous year, she had expanded the area of the inn as the number of customers kept increasing rapidly. Currently, there were two dining halls in the black jade inn. The one on the ground floor was always open for regular customers and could accommodate around fifty to sixty people at one time. On the other hand, the dining area on the second floor was a little bit expensive as it provided more privacy and could only be used by the special guests of the Inn. The living quarters were located on the third, fourth, and fifth floors. "Are you gonna say something or just going to keep sitting there like a statue?" The sudden cold voice that entered her ears brought her focus back to the Young Masters as each one of them stared at her with questioning eyes. It was Wei Min who had spoken. His eyes staring at her accusingly. Yep! All of them were unhappy about her sudden disappearance even when they were the ones who shared the details about the Snow Fields with her in the first place. She wanted to stay silent, to complete the dare that was given to her by Ruoshan, but looking at the accusing eyes of her best friends she was suddenly facing a dilemma. She could choose to stay quiet and indifferent and end up with a bunch of angry friends, or she could toss the dare out of the window and end up losing the challenge. After thinking for a while she decided to save herself from the anger of her friends. "Don''t be so angry guys. I''m too tired after working my ass off the entire day. You should not be passing me those glares, it almost broke my fragile heart." Li Ming said while making puppy eyes. Since her veil was back and they could not see the lower half of her face, therefore pouting was a completely useless tactic. Thank God, she had another weapon in her possession, her puppy eyes. "Aish! Stop pretending and you are becoming more and more brazen by the day. You should act like a Young Miss. If you keep acting like this then how will we find a good husband for you?" Wei Rong reprimanded her immediately. A smile formed on Li Ming''s lips but of course, it was hidden from the eyes of her friends due to the veil. "Brother Rong, why I would need a husband when I have so many brothers? Or are you trying to imply that you can''t take care of me for the rest of your life? Have I become baggage on you?" Her tone came out filled with sadness and her eyes which suddenly appeared glossy due to the unshed tears played their part perfectly. "You...!" Wei Rong was left completely speechless by the sudden change in her expressions. "Alright! Stop acting. I can see that you have finally become a master in acting. No need to play your games anymore." The Eldest Young Master of the General manor said as he shook his head. A chuckle broke out from her lips as Li Ming''s expression returned to its normal self. "Brother Rong, you are forgetting about the main reason for which we came here." Jing Lin suddenly spoke out as he looked at Wei Rong with worried eyes. Li Ming raised her eyebrows at Jing Lin''s words as she asked, "Huh? I thought you guys came here today to meet me since it''s been quite some time since we last enjoyed each other''s company. Who knew that all of this was just my wishful thinking. Tsk tsk, my fragile heart is really on the verge of breaking down into tiny tiny...OUCH!" She suddenly shouted as a cherry hit her directly in the center of her forehead. She glared at Wei Min as she picked up the cherry which almost gave her a concussion. Alright, that was too much, right? "Now you have also started hitting me. Huh!" She muttered in a low voice but it was loud enough to be heard by each of the Young Masters. "I don''t know why such rumors were traveling across the city about you. As far as we can see you are completely fine. Except for your overacting, there''s nothing wrong with you." Wei Min said as he looked at her from head to toe as if checking something. "What do you mean?" Li Ming asked him curiously, completely neglecting the part where he called her an overactor. "Girl, you have no idea but there are weird rumors about you that are spread across the city. I was passing by the Minghue Tea House when we heard some people talking about how most of the staff members of the Teahouse were looking worried. I decided to visit the Teahouse after talking to the young manager I find out that they had experienced something weird in your behavior." Wei Min told her. "Then I met with the others and told them everything. We got to know from the young manager that you are here in the Black Jade Inn, so we immediately came here to make sure that you are alright. But even Elder Fu and Madam were looking worried when we asked about you." Jing Lin added. "Yeah, but looks like everything is alright. You are completely fine." Yue Zhe also added his part. The rest of the Young Masters quickly nodded their heads as they all agreed. "But I still can''t understand why such rumors are spreading about you? And more importantly why everyone was looking so worried and even afraid? Hey girl, be honest and tell us exactly what you have done." Wei Rong asked as he looked at her with suspicious eyes. "How would I know that? As you can see I''m completely fine and I have done exactly nothing to anyone. I don''t even know that there is such kind of rumors spreading about me." Li Ming quickly defended herself. It was not the first time when she had become a hot topic for the people of the city. The first time was when she opened the doors of the Black Jade Inn for a special lunch for the very first time. She instantly became a hit topic that day. The second time was when the Forth Prince of the Han Empire visited her inn. Then when she opened the Minghue Tea House and ever since then she had become a constant topic of their discussion. "Don''t know why but I am not able to make myself trust you this time. We have known you from the very time when you appeared in the black market and we have seen your craftiness with our own eyes as well as been victim to it too. There''s no way you are a complete innocent in all this. Nope!" Wei Rong shook his head as he looked at her as if trying to read her mind and find out what was actually going on. Unfortunately, it was Li Ming who had the ability of mind reading and not the Eldest Young Master of the General manor. Li Ming scoffed at Wei Rong''s accusations as she replied, "You guys are really something, calling me crafty and other such things. What kind of brothers are you all?" "Miss Li!" Suddenly a loud shout pierced the calm environment, making everyone jump in fright. Li Ming turned her hand to look at the old madam who came running towards her with eyes filled with tears. What on earth was going on? Chapter 205 - Want To Learn Array Formations "Madam...." Li Ming barely uttered a single word before she was attacked by the Madam as the older woman engulfed her in a tight hug and started crying loudly. The Young Masters stared at Li Ming with questioning eyes as they all moved a little bit away from her and the wailing woman who was crying her heart out. But how could Li Ming know what was wrong with the Madam? Therefore, she just gave a little shrug in response to the questioning glares of her friends. Elder Fu and the Huang sisters also appeared upstairs as they all looked at the Madam and then at their Young Miss in confusion. However, no one dared to come closer to the both of them. Li Ming patted the Madam''s back softly as she tried to calm her. "Alright, alright. What''s wrong Madam?" She asked the woman in a tender tone. The woman pulled back from the hug and looked at their Young Miss with tearful eyes as she said, "Young Miss, I have always taken you as my own daughter from the very start. Today we the first time when I actually felt worried about you and I almost got a panic attack..." The madam stopped for a few seconds to let out heartfelt sobs before once again continuing. "You have a cheerful personality and you love to interact with customers and the staff. But today you looked as heartless and emotionless as a stone. I could not bear to see you like that." At these words of the Madam, Elder Fu and the Huang sisters too nodded their heads. "Mother is absolutely right. None of us want to see you like that ever again. You must always stay happy and cheerful just like your normal self, Young Miss." Huang Qing said as she looked at Li Ming with soft eyes. All the Huang siblings were older than her and for the past one and more than a half years they had treated her like their younger sister. "Fine! Don''t become so emotional now. Just forget about what happened today. Alright? Now come, give me a group hug." Li Ming signaled the girls to come closer. The two girls hurried towards Li Ming and their mother and the four of them shared a warm group hug which made smiles appear on everyone''s faces. Li Ming looked at Elder Fu who nodded his head with softness covering his eyes. The old man had always considered her as a Goddess who was sent to help them and other people. He and his family initially pledged a lifelong service to the Young Miss to repay her kindness but they never imagined that the girl would give them a dream-like life to enjoy. They were living the best life that they could ever have asked for and it was inky because of Miss Li. She was never their boss, rather she entered their lives a friend and stayed just like that, as a dear friend who cared about them. After talking for a few minutes, the Madam, Elder Fu, and the Huang sisters took their leave after promising the Young Masters about a delicious dinner. "I seriously miss your cooking, Junior Sister Ming. Even though the cooks in the Black Jade Inn and the Minghue Tea House are the best ones in the entire Han Empire, but there''s still no one who can match your level." Jing Lin said after the Huang family left the room. Li Ming just shook her head at Jing Lin''s words. But then her eyes landed on Wei Rong who was looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Aish! Just forget about today. I''m already too tired, don''t make me recite useless things." She hurriedly said while relaxing in her seat. "Fine! I''m letting this go because I know you actually have worked a lot today." Wei Rong said in an Elder brother tone. "By the way, Ming Ming, why are looking troubled?" Wei Min asked her after a few minutes. His words caught everyone''s attention and they looked at her as they waited for her to answer Wei Min''s question. "What nonsense! Who said that I''m worried about something? You are assuming things." She immediately played dumb even though she knew very well that she won''t be able to fool them. "We have known you for nearly two years. Even though that''s not a lot of time but it was still enough for us to get to know the real Li Ming. You can''t hide things from us." Wei Rong said with a challenge in his tone. "Whatever!" Li Ming mumbled as she rolled her eyes at the boys. "Come on, tell us what is going on in your huge brain. As far as I remember, we have always solved your problems to some certain levels." At Jing Lin''s words, Li Ming''s eyes suddenly twinkled as she said, "Of course! You are actually right about this. Most of the time you guys have helped me with my issues. Let''s see if you can keep up this time too." She looked too excited for someone who was suffering under the pressure of problems. The Young Masters passed each other quick glances before once again returning their focus on their younger sister. "I want to learn Array formations." Li Ming finally dropped the bomb after making everyone wait for a few very long minutes. For the next few moments, everyone was completely silent as they kept looking at Li Ming. Finally, it was Wei Rong who broke the silence, "That''s a good thing. The more knowledge you will have, the more beneficial it would be for your future. What''s there to worry about?" A sigh left her lips as she replied, "The problem is the word ''How''. How am I going to learn it? Who is going to teach me?" The Young Masters looked at each other with smiles covering their handsome faces. "My little sister, Ming Ming. Why you are worrying about such trivial matters? Your brothers have a perfect solution for this problem of yours." Wei Min said in a proud tone. At his words, Li Ming immediately perked up as she hurriedly asked, "What is it?" At that same moment, a knock was heard and then a group of servants entered into the room holding trays filled with delicious food. It barely took a few minutes for the maids to set up the table. "Let''s first dive into the food. I''m too hungry to care for other things now. We will discuss about them after we finish. Come on, dive in." Li Ming said as she started taking off her veil. She hated the veils a lot as they proved a great headache when she needed to eat or drink something. However, she still was not ready to reveal her identity in front of the people of the Dongji village, especially the orphanage. But at the same time, none of the Young Masters were from the Dongji village. Therefore, there was no need for her to keep wearing the veil in front of them. She wanted to enjoy the food without any headache, thus, getting rid of the veil was a must. As she removed her veil and placed it on the table she noticed the silence that had suddenly taken over the room. She looked up at the Young Masters and found all of them staring at her with open jaws. Their reactions made her raise her eyebrows in question as she waited for them to come out of their trance. "Woah! Our Ming Ming is such a beauty. Quick! Put that veil on. We can''t let people see your face. Otherwise, the whole world will be in chaos..." "Stop it, Brother Lan! How can you tease your little sister like this?" Li Ming accused him with an angry look in her eyes. The Young Masters broke into fits of laughter at the adorable expression of Li Ming. "Come on, let''s eat." For the next forty minutes, their group enjoyed the delicious dinner as they caught up with each other''s lives. After the dinner was over, the servants served them with the rice wine that was prepared by the Madam. "So, ready to hear the solution to your problem?" Wei Rong asked as he took a sip of his wine. Li Ming nodded her head as she curiously waited to hear what he had to say. "The answer to your question is - The Guixian Island." Li Ming stared at the Young Masters for a few minutes in silence. Her mind was still processing the reply that she had just received. "Guixian Island? The one which us under the rule of the Supreme Immortal?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "Ming Ming, there''s only one Guixian Island in the three realms and yes, it''s under the regulation of the one and only Supreme Immortal." Wei Min answered with a shake of his head. Li Ming chuckled as a weird thought appeared in her mind. Was she going to become the disciple of her own mate? Chapter 206 - Kissing Her Mates For the next few days, Li Ming spent her time taking care of her business Empire. Everything was going as perfectly as it can. Even the people whom she rescued from the Slave market were showing improvements in their health. But even though everything was sailing smoothly, one could tell by looking at her face that something was worrying her. And no, it was not about her learning array formations or the idea that she received from her friends about participating in the Guixian Island''s entrance exams which were going to be held three days after her sixteenth birthday. Rather it was about her mates whom she had not seen for the past five days. The day she failed in completing the dare that she received from Ruoshan, she was actually excited to see what would be his reaction. But when she returned to the Snow Fields that night, not a single one of her mates were present. She just found the old man who handed her a spiritual message note from her mates. The note said that the six of them were given a small mission by the old man and they would be away for almost a week. She was becoming used to have at least one of her mates around her which kept her uncompleted bonds contended. However, all of them suddenly disappearing left her with an empty feeling. As she sat on the swing in the front lawn of the orphanage, which was actually a small academy, watching a group of five-eight year students who were playing with clay, her eyes appeared distant as she was lost in her own thoughts. "You can''t be serious." Snowy''s mocking tone and the sigh that followed behind brought Li Ming out of her thoughts. "What?" Li Ming asked the little furball with raised eyebrows as she picked him up to settle him in her lap as she kept swinging. "You are acting like this when they have been away for only a few days and on the other hand, you are thinking about joining the Array Sect of the Guixian Island where you will need to stay away from all of them until your studies will be over." The little furball replied as he looked at his Master with his sharp but adorable eyes. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she looked at Snowy. "It just feels a little bit empty without them. But don''t worry, I''ll get used to their absence if I stayed without them for a few weeks." "But what about your soul? A few weeks or months without any contact with them is one thing but staying away from them for years without any physical contact would be harmful to you. Have you ever thought about it?" Snowy''s tone reminded her of Wei Rong as he talked to her like she was a little child and he was her father. "What you even know about it?" She tried to divert the little furball''s attention by mocking him. "I know enough to be aware of whether you will be in any danger or not." Snowy was quick to defend and his reply actually shut her up. "What''s so hard about this topic that you guys need to fight? All she needs to do is to complete at least one of her bonds. One complete bond will be enough for her to survive half of a decade without her mates with very little or almost no harm." Kara''s sharp voice disturbed the pair of Master and her familiar. Before Li Ming could say anything the banshee, Snowy''s excited voice stopped her. "Of course! Kara is right! You can complete one or maybe two bonds just to be safe and then you will be good to go." Li Ming slumped down on the swing as she lazily tried to move the swing. "Completing a bond with only one of them is not a simple thing. It''s such a precious feeling and the most beautiful moment between mates. I don''t want to ruin it because I''m in hurry. Also, it will be like I''m being selfish." She told them in a soft voice. "Then what are you going to do?" The banshee asked her. "I''m not sure at the moment. But there are still more than two months before my birthday, I''ll find a solution by then. You guys don''t have to worry." Li Ming said as she looked deep in thoughts. The banshee opened her mouth to say something but then decided against saying anything. Her silhouette just disappeared from the lawn and at that exact moment, a beautiful blue butterfly came flying towards Li Ming who immediately recognized it. She stretched her right hand forward, offering her palm to the butterfly. The moment that beautiful butterfly made contact with her skin, it transformed into a magical message. It was a message from the Moon Immortal who had asked her to return to the Snow Fields as soon as she would be free. A huge smile appeared on her lips as she flicked her sleeve and the message disappeared into tiny blue particles. "Look at you! It''s like I''m looking at some lovesick person. Aish! I''m going to continue with my training. I have to recite the Form Transformation mantra." Snowy scoffed at her before disappearing inside the magical mansion. Li Ming just rolled her eyes at her little fireball as she stood up from the swing and made her way inside the building to take her leave from the Old Mo and Old Madam. After ten minutes she was standing outside her cabin where she could hear faint sounds coming from inside. With a bright smile on her lips, she entered the cabin and immediately was pulled into a tight embrace by Zhang Yong. "Missed you so much, Ming''er." He said adorably while pecking both of her cheeks multiple times. His actions made her heart filled with warmth as she took hold of his face in both of her hands and planted a huge kiss on his forehead. The smile that bloomed on the Shadow Lord''s face made their bond flow with happiness and a feeling of calmness. "Aww, come here and give us kisses too. We missed you too, Lilac Girl." Hei Long''s voice pulled her out of the beautiful feelings that she was enjoying in Zhang Yong''s arms. One by one she planted soft kisses on the cheeks of her mates, starting with Lord Yueliang, then Hei Long, the Heaven Emperor, Wen Guiying, and then she was finally standing in front of the Evernight Lord. However, the expression that was covering Ruoshan''s face stopped her in her tracks as she looked at him with a racing heart. His eyes were filled with fire as he stared at her. The thought of receiving the punishment for failing the dare made her breathing accelerate. "I....I.....AHHH...!" She let out a short scream as she was suddenly pulled against a firm chest by her Immortal mate. She was so startled by his sudden actions that it took her mind a few moments to realize that both of her hands were pinned behind her back. Ruoshan bent forward and whispered in her ear, "I know that you failed the dare which makes me the winner of our truth and dare game. As per rules, you are aware of the punishment that you will be getting soon, right?" Her cheeks were suddenly turning red even though there was no reason for it. He was talking about normal punishments, right? Yep! That was probably what he meant by punishment. However, her dirty mind was back in its full potential, and wanted to be a pervert for the time being. "What are you thinking, Xingan? And why are your cheeks so red?" Li Ming cursed under her breath as Ruoshan suddenly asked these questions out loud. If her other mates had already not noticed the blush on her cheeks then they definitely did now. However, none of them said anything which made her relax and squirm out of Ruoshan''s arms without even giving him his kiss. Although she noticed the small smiles and little switches that were playing on the lips of the rest of her mates. "What? Are you not going to kiss me? How can you do that to me?" Ruoshan asked her while making a sad face. It was more of a complaint but everyone in the room knew that he was just messing around with Li Ming. At first, she wanted to ignore him but knowing him she was aware that she would not be able to get out of the situation easily. She turned to look at the Evernight Lord and passed him a sweet smile as she walked closer to him. She could see as his eyes turned serious as he watched her closing the distance between them. She placed her left hand on his right cheek and moved her face closer to his. It was clear that rather than a kiss on his forehead she was aiming for his lips. She felt tingles erupting all over her body as her lips landed on the soft pair of lips of her mate. And very softly she let her tongue skimmed over his lower lips, making a surprised gasp left Ruoshan''s lips. Chapter 207 - Spirit Honey Balls Just the slightest touch of her tongue on his warm lips gave her tongue the perfect entrance in his mouth. Her tongue collided with his and just like that with a final slide she pulled herself away from the Evernight Lord. It was hard, to pull away from the warmth and happiness that his arms hold, it was very hard for her. An evil smile was playing on her lips as she watched her breathless mate who was looking at her with his eyes filled with so much passion and fire that she was afraid to be drowned in them. "Enough! Don''t kill each other. We still want to spend the rest of our lives with the two of you." Hei Long said with a chuckle as grabbed her from around her waist and pulled her on his lap. Li Ming chuckled at his words which made Ruoshan calm down a little. However, rather than returning to his seat, he came closer to his brother on whose lap she was sitting. She didn''t even get any chance to react as the man grabbed her face and planted a huge kiss on her forehead. With a final look at her as a teasing smile played on his lips, he finally returned to his seat. "Looks like my brother won this round." Hei Long whispered in her ear as he placed a soft kiss on her nape making her soul flutter with contentment. "Where did you all disappeared these past few days?" She asked as she rested her head on Hei Long''s chest while the Second Demon Prince brushed his fingers through her hair making a relaxed sigh leave her lips. She was trying to divert their attention from the current situation and her question did its trick. "There''s a weapon stored in the weaponry collections which has suddenly started showing weird signals. As if it is trying to break out of the wards that are keeping it inside. We just went to calm down its energy and make sure that the wards have not become weaker in these past few centuries." Lord Yueliang answered her. "Oh! So, how is the situation now?" She asked curiously. "It is better now. When we left the forbidden grounds the weapon had already calmed down and the wards were perfectly fine. We will keep observing it for the next few weeks to make sure that everything has really settled down." The Heaven Emperor said as he pulled out a pouch from his space. Li Ming nodded her head. There were too many questions appearing in her head. However, she did not want to appear nosy. Therefore, she didn''t ask any more questions. Her attention was now on the pouch that the Heaven Emperor offered her. She took the pouch from him and opened it to take a look. There were small yellow cherry-like fruits in it. The whole pouch was packed with those fruits. She looked at the Heaven Emperor with raised eyebrows as she asked, "What are these?" "It''s called Spirit Honey Balls. These taste similar to honey and have a very high percentage of spiritual energy absorbed inside them." The Heaven Emperor answered her. "It''s one of the treasures of the Heaven Emperor. There are only seventeen trees of this spiritual tree in the Heaven Realm and it''s impossible to grow them in any other place. These are not only filled with a high level of pure spiritual energy but also useful for providing balance to the inner force. They are also used in the refining of the Core Formation Pills and therefore are considered a treasure that is cherished by the Heaven Realm." Zhang Yong provided her with the rest of the information. There were too many amazing points in all the things that the two Immortals just told her about the fruits. However, there was only one thing that her mind grasped out of all those points. She turned to look at the Heaven Emperor and asked with an unbelievable tone, "Who named it as Spiritual Honey Balls?" "Spirit Honey Balls, not Spiritual Honey Balls...I...I...m-mean Spiritual and Spirit there''s not too much difference, right!" Zhang Yong was quick to change his own words as Li Ming''s sharp eyes landed on him. He did not care about those fruits and their names more than his one and only Ming''er. There was nothing more precious for him than his lovely mate. "So? Who named it?" Li Ming again asked as the Shadow Lord quieted down. The Heaven Emperor passed the other Immortals a nervous glance but soon realized that no one was going to utter a single word in his support. "Why? Is there something wrong with the name?" He asked her after a few seconds. The question was a good idea for directing her attention away from her question. However, he was also afraid of hearing her answer to his own question. "Something? Everything is wrong with this name. It sounds like a writer who was writing a story and could not come up with any name for these fruits so they just ended up naming these fruits with whatever stupid words came first to their mind. Because this name is just so ridiculous." Li Ming shouted at the Heaven Emperor as she tried to make him understand exactly how stupid the name ''Spirit Honey Balls'' sounded for a fruit. The Immortals passed each other quick glances before the Heaven Emperor said, "Actually.....the person who named these fruits as ''Spirit Honey Balls'' was actually a writer." A sigh left her lips as she opened the pouch once again and took out a single fruit. "I knew it. Poor baby. A damned writer ruined your entire existence because their limited brain cells decided to no longer support them. Tsk tsk, what a pity." With that being said she popped the fruit into her mouth and bit into it. Immediately, a sweet honey-like flavor covered her tastebuds making an instant moan escape her lips. She immediately took out another fruit and bit into it. It was so juicy that a few drops skipped her tongue and glided down from the corner of her lips and towards her chin. She was too busy savoring the fruits that she had no idea about the sudden change in the environment of the room. The moment another moan left her mouth, both the fruit that she was about to eat and the pouch holding the rest of the fruits were snatched out of her hands. Her eyes that got closed on their own at some point immediately flew open as her mind registered the attack on her fruits. Hei Long stuffed the fruit inside the pouch, tied the pouch once again, and threw it at the Heaven Emperor. Li Ming was about to give the Second Demon Prince a piece of her mind when his next words made her blush like a tomato. "Keep these with you and give them to her when you two are alone. None of us are interested in being tortured by the sounds that she''s making." The Second Demon Prince said as he glared at the Heaven Emperor. Li Ming bit down on her lips as she realized what was going on. Suddenly a hand grabbed her chin and made her look at her mate whose dark obsidian eyes were looking at her with power that almost succeeded in intimidating her. "You are not allowed to make such noises again like this without our permission. Do you have any idea what these sounds of yours do you us? Don''t test us, Sweet prey." Hei Long whispered in her ears. Li Ming could feel her cheeks flaming bright red. How much she wanted to have a veil covering her face at that moment? Unfortunately, there was no veil, and her blushing cheeks were visible to her mates. Just when she thought that she was about to die in embarrassment, Wen Guiying came to her rescue, and she thanked the Supreme Immortal in her heart. "Alright! Enough of your nonsense. I''m taking her away for the training sessions." The Supreme Immortal said as he stood up from his seat and walked closer to her. "Training? In the middle of the day?" Li Ming could not help but ask. "Yes, training. We missed our sessions for the past five days. You have a lot to catch up on. Come on!" He said as he pulled her away from Hei Long and teleported to one of the high cliffs in the Snow Fields. She barely got any time to shout a goodbye to her other mates before she was standing on the Snow-covered ground with a group of armor-clad people surrounding her. "You want me to kill them again?" She asked the Immortal who was standing behind her with one of his hands resting on her waist. She felt him stepping closer to her and within a second there was barely any space left between their bodies. "Yes, you have to kill them again today. But there''s a change.....you have to kill them with your eyes closed." Chapter 208 - Secrets Of The Snow Fields "I must say that I''m really impressed. It has only been three months but the appearance of my Snow Fields had changed drastically." The old man said while praising Li Ming as they took a tour through the nursery. The evidence of her hard work was on display in front of their eyes as for the first time in a millennium, flowers were blooming in the Snow Fields. "I''m actually flattered. It''s a rare chance to hear you giving compliments to anyone." Li Ming replied with a soft smile. The old man broke out into chuckles as he replied, "Well, you have earned this with your hard work. I can already imagine fruits and vegetables growing in those plants very soon. I''m ready to accept my defeat." Li Ming stopped in her tracks as she turned to look at the old man in surprise. She did not expect him to suddenly announce her as the winner of their challenge. The old man followed her and also stopped as he said, "To be honest when I was assigned with the job of this place''s caretaker I was not that enthusiastic about it. I just wanted to enjoy a peaceful life in my old age. However, I got stuck here. I never paid attention to this place more than what was needed." "But....is not this place perfect for a peaceful life? There no one or nothing, in general, that could destroy your peace." Li Ming asked him as she looked around her surroundings. "Of course not! This place is filled with..." The old man suddenly trailed off as he realized that he was about to reveal the secrets of the Snow Fields. "Though for the rest of the world, this place is just a closed world filled with nothing else but snow. However, it''s holding so many secrets and mysteries inside it. How can I have a peaceful life while I have to protect all these mysteries and secrets?" The old man looked at the deep valley down the cliff and a sigh left his lips. Li Ming stayed silent for a few minutes but then asked, "Why are you telling me about this? After all, I''m not someone whom you have known for a long time and can trust." Her question made the old man laugh as he turned to look at her with a serious gaze while replying, "Even I''m not sure about why I''m doing all this. I just have a gut instinct and I''m just following it." Li Ming stared at the old man for a few seconds, trying to read his eyes since she could not read his mind. All that she found in his eyes was confusion but also a sense of trust and the presence of these two feelings at the same time did not make much sense to her. Was he confused because his heart and mind were suddenly placing their trust in her? "Oh! This reminded me. When we first set this challenge I promised to fulfill one of your wishes. Since the result is already clear, you can go on and claim your prize." The old man''s words made her eyes shine as a huge smile made its way to her lips. "Really?" She could not help but ask to just make sure that she would finally be able to do the thing for which she decided to come to the Snow Fields. "Are you doubting my words, Young Lady?" The old man asked with his eyebrows raised high on his forehead. "Nope, nope! Nothing like that." Li Ming quickly shook her hands to deny. She did not want to incite the old man and ended up losing her winning prize. "So? What do you want to ask for?" The old man asked her. "Actually, it''s not something big. I just want to look around the Snow Fields, it''s every single part without missing anything." Li Ming replied as she waited for the old man''s permission. The old man was taken aback as he asked, "Are you sure this is exactly what you want? I know that you told me this before too but I thought that you were just trying to play safe. Are you really willing to waste this chance for something like this?" The old man was seriously having issues with believing her. His surprised expression made Li Ming roll her eyes. "Don''t worry. There''s nothing else that you can give me besides this. So? Are you giving me permission to look around the Snow Fields or not?" She asked the old man with her challenging gaze. She was definitely ready to murder the old man if he dared to go back on his words and refused to allow her. Thankfully she was saved from the charges of the murder of the Master of the Deities as the old man nodded his head while giving his permission. "I think there is no danger in allowing you to roam around the Snow Fields freely. I''m giving you my permission. You are free to do whatever you want." The old man told her with a huge smile on his lips. Li Ming raised her eyebrows as she asked the old man, "Why? What about the secrets of the Snow Fields? Are you not worried that I would somehow end up finding out about those secrets?" The old man chuckled a little before replying, "No, I''m not worried about it. The secrets of the Snow Fields are very well hidden. You will never be able to reach them on your own." Li Ming nodded her head slowly. "Alright! I''m very thankful to Master for granting me my wish. I''ll not take any more of your precious time. See ya!" She said while bowing a little in greeting before she disappeared from the nursery. A figure came out from the shadows and stood beside the old man. "I did exactly what you asked me to do. I''m just hoping that everything is going to be fine in the end." The old man said to the figure. "Don''t worry. Everything is set. Now we just need to wait." The silhouette of the other person replied as they both started walking out of the nursery. On the other hand, Li Ming appeared in the magical mansion. It was finally the time when she could find out about the source which had been pulling her towards it for such a long time. In the last three months of her stay in the Snow Fields, she had experienced that pull every bow and then. Though it was not as powerful as the first time when she felt it, nowhere near it, But it was still there, making her realize that she had not imagined everything. It was the chance for which she had worked so hard during the past few months. She took a quick shower and put on black jeans, a matching sweater over a tank top, black leather boots, and a warm cloak. Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail and she put on a cap to cover her ears from the cold. Putting on a woolen face mask to save her nose from the cold and a pair of gloves were the final touch to her all-black outfit. If it was even possible, she looked both cute and dangerous in that outfit. Just as she was observing herself in the full-length mirror, a figure appeared behind her and soon she was pulled into the tight embrace of the Evernight Lord. "You remember that your punishment is still pending, right?" He asked her in a soft voice as he snaked one of his hands towards the hem of her sweater. "Did not you say that you will give me the punishment after a few years? It''s only been a few weeks. Are you already changing your min.......FUCK!" Li Ming could not stop the curse from leaving her mouth as her entire body was shaken from the tingles that suddenly erupted all over her body as Ruoshan''s cold fingers grazed the bare skin of her belly. "You can curse! That''s new." The Evernight Lord chuckled as he started forming circles on her belly with his cold fingers. He felt the shiver that ran down her body as his hands made proper contact with her bare skin. "A-are......are y-you trying to kill me?" Li Ming asked him as she grasped his roaming hand in her own, making his hand atop in its track. "Why are you saying that, Xingan? What I did to make you say something like this?" Ruoshan sure knew how to okay innocent. "Get your hands out of the sweater right now!" Li Ming told him as she was finally able to get a grip on her body which was about to melt under the caresses of the Ever night Lord. "And if I did not?" Ruoshan dared her as he inched his hand higher on her belly. Li Ming was on the verge of losing her control over her body which wanted to succumb under the love of her mate. However, she took a deep breath as she replied in a cold tone, "If you do not let ne go this very instant, I will make sure that you won''t be able to touch me for the rest of this year!" And immediately she was standing alone in her bedroom and there was no Evernight Lord present there with her. Chapter 209 - Fallen Into A Rabbit Hole "Maybe I should not have threatened him." Li Ming muttered under her breath as she looked up at the opening of the rabbit hole in which she had ended up falling around ten minutes ago. "What? Already missing your mates? Can you please focus on the more important matter? We need to get out of here soon, or maybe you are planning to spend the night here." Snowy taunted her as he also tried to look at the faintest light that was visible through the mouth of the pit. They were stuck forty feet under the ground with no light or magic. It was a miracle that Li Ming ended up forming a protective shield around them which saved them from breaking their bones or probably also from losing their lives. But that protection spell was the last magic that she was able to do before losing contact with both her magical and spiritual energy. No matter how hard she tried, she could not make her powers emerge at the surface. Her powers had returned deep into the magical oceans and they refused to follow her command. "Can you just stop it? We are stuck here because you suddenly started somersaulting through this mountain slope out of blue. If not for you we won''t have ended up here." Li Ming retorted back at the Pomeranian. She was definitely regretting listening to the furball and letting him out to play around in the snow. "It''s not my fault that your powers decided to let you suffer when you needed them.....OUCH!" Snowy shrieked as a huge ball of snow hit him on his head. He looked at Li Ming with accusing eyes after giving a deathly glare to the snowball which was now scattered all around him. "What? Why are you looking at me like I''m the one who made the snowball fall from above and hit you on your head? Remember, I can''t use my powers right now!" Li Ming showed him her empty hands as if they could prove her innocence. Not like she was actually guilty or something! "Can you find the reason because of which your powers are not working?" Snowy asked her while changing the topic. A sigh left the girl''s lips as she looked around at the walls of snow around her. "No idea, I could not feel any kind of magical presence here. Though there are traces of spiritual energy on these walls as if some kind of spell was used here at some point, strong enough to last for such a long time." She said while taking off her right-hand globe to trace the walls with her fingers. Just then a faint sound entered her ears, making her fault in her steps as she looked at the walls and then slowly pressed her ears to the wall of snow. There it was! The same sound that grabbed her attention. "What is it? Did you find something?" Snowy asked her as he started walking closer towards her. Li Ming nodded her head as she signaled at the snow walls with her index finger, urging Snowy to listen to the sounds that were coming from behind those walls. The little furball followed his master''s instructions and pressed his small ears to the cold walls. At first, he could not pick anything special as all his attention was on the snow that was covering the expensive boots of his master. "You know what, if we were back in the modern world and any girl or woman saw you ruining such a luxury like this, they would surely have cut you into thousands of pieces and sold your soul to Satan..." As his eyes moved from her boots to her eyes which were glaring daggers into him, his voice automatically refused to come out from his mouth. His voice was probably smarter than his brain since it knew when to stop working to save his life. "Hehe! Win win, you should not pay much attention to my nonsense. You are already aware of the problem from which I''m suffering. Forget that I even opened my mouth." Snowy quickly said in a sweet begging tone as he looked at the girl with his puppy eyes. "Really? What kind of problem are you suffering from? Please enlighten me because it looks like I can''t remember even though according to you I''m already aware of it." Li Ming stared at the little furball with s fake smile plastered on her lips. Snowy chuckled nervously as he stepped a few steps back to create some distance between himself and his master who surely was not looking happy. "Oh! I have a huge problem that I''m dealing with currently. As you can see my tongue is just too loose and it mostly ended up slipping and uttering nonsense. Please don''t pay me any of your precious attention. Though I''m struggling with this problem at the moment but I''m pretty sure that I will get control over the situation very soon. Really!" "Enough of your nonsense! Now pay attention to what I''m trying to show you if you are interested in getting out from here. Otherwise, I think I won''t really mind leaving you behind in this beautiful place." Li Ming ordered Snowy while giving him a soft smile which was filled with nothing but evilness. Snowy scoffed at his heartless master but thankfully stayed silent as he once again pressed his small ears to the chilled walls of ice. As he concentrated his attention to grasp on any kind of sound coming from the opposite side of the walls. ".....is....this what you are talking about? The sound of flowing water?" Snowy asked his master as he tried to grasp any other kind of sound. Li Ming hurriedly nodded her head as she replied, "Yes! Exactly that. There''s either a lake or stream behind this wall." "There is something else too....!" Snowy suddenly said after the silence is a few seconds. Li Ming looked at Snowy with serious eyes as she asked, "What is it? Did you hear anything else too?" The little pomeranian pulled away from the cold wall and looked at Li Ming as he nodded his head. "Yeah! There''s some weird type of sounds mixed with the sound of flowing water, like that of fluttering of wings or movements." Snowy replied to her question. Li Ming once again placed her ear against the wall to see if she could grasp the other sounds too. However, even after five entire minutes, she got nothing except her ear turning chilled because of the cold ice wall. "What are we going to do now?" Snowy asked her. "Not only I can''t get access to my powers but we are also unable to link with the magical space or Xiao Tiantang. There''s nothing with us to use for craking this wall." Li Ming said as she appeared deep in thoughts. "Are you sure playing around with such a high ice wall would be a good idea? I mean there are too many chances for us to end up buried under this much ice." Snowy looked at her with uncertain eyes as he questioned her sensibility. "We have no food, no water, no light, no fire, no place to live, no magic or spiritual energy, and nothing that could save us from this chilled weather. If we didn''t keep moving I''m sure our ending would be no different than ending up burying under these ice walls. In both cases, we would be dead." Li Ming replied to the little furball''s question. "Fine! But how are we going to crack this huge wall of ice?" Snowy asked as he stared around the small space. Li Ming was quiet for a few minutes as she pondered on her options. Well, there was barely any options for her. She needed to get out of that deep pit as soon as possible. She reached her hand out to her ponytail and unfolded the dark blue ribbon which was holding her hair up. The ribbon had silver designs carved on its border and a huge silver moon in its very center. Li Ming took both the ends of the ribbon, each in one of her hands as she started twirling the ribbon speedily around her index finger. With two continuous turns, she positioned herself in the center of the pit and signaled Snowy to take cover behind her. With all the strength that she had in her body, she flung the ribbon towards the ice wall that was standing in front of her. "What are you doing? There is no time for playing around. Should not you be paying more attention to.....WOAH! Where did it go?" Snowy ran towards the ice wall and tried to look at the spot where the ribbon had just disappeared. Unfortunately, he was too short to get s better look at the wall. One moment the ribbon was still wrapped around Li Ming''s fingers and the next second it disappeared through the ice wall. "What did you...." Snowy did not get to complete his question as that exact moment a loud cracking sound disturbed the silence of their small cavern. Chapter 210 - Are You Ready? "Oh my! Ming SAVE MEEEEEE!" Snowy was almost on the verge of losing his soul as he watched cracks appearing in the ice wall that was standing right in front of him. As small chunks of ice started falling, Snowy watched in horror as he realized that soon he would be covered in tons of ice and there would be no way left for him to escape a tragic death. How could God be so cold-hearted towards him? He was such a pure, sweet, innocent, and angelic living being and he was about to be buried deep inside ancient snow. As his dramatic mind started overacting, Snowy was left completely still in his tracks. Just the very exact moment the ice wall was about to collapse, a hand grabbed him from his neck and pulled him out of the way. Snowy closed his eyes tightly as he prayed to every single deity that was listening to him to save him. For the next several seconds, his ears kept ringing with the sound of falling ice, and then suddenly everything became silent. Snowy slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. His eyes took in the ice walks that had suddenly become so close to each other. It took his stunned mind a few seconds to realize that he was hanging at a little height from the ground and someone was still holding him by his neck. Though the grip around his neck did not hurt him as it felt almost nonexistent to him. "Why are you holding me like this? Win, why don''t you treat me fairly?" Snowy started complaining the moment he got his voice back. As a result the very next second he was spread face down on the thick pile of ice that had covered the bottom of the pit. "You sure knew how to be ungrateful. Maybe I should have left you there on the ground to be crushed under those heavy ice rocks. Stupid!" Li Ming scoffed at the little furball as she jumped down from the small gap in the upper wall. Since she could not use her powers therefore she used the Sizzling Ribbon which was a gift from Wei Min. The Ribbon could grasp spiritual qi from its surrounding when continuously rotated with high speed and it could be used to pierce even an iron bar based on the level of the ribbon and the one using it. The Sizzling Ribbon that she used was of high grade and since her internal force had become much stronger in the past year because of her continuous training with Wen Guiying, taking the ice wall out of her way was just a piece of cake for her. "I''m not going to wait here. You better follow me. Don''t expect me to return here to find you later." Li Ming said as she started walking towards the gap that had appeared in the ice wall. Snowy quickly stood up and after looking around his surroundings one more time he starred following his master. Li Ming used her hands to knock more ice out of her way and soon there was an opening of a snow cave in front of them. The master and her familiar passed curious glances at each other before both of them rushed inside the cave. They barely walked for two minutes when the cave opened into a small area where a pond was located. What was most surprising was the clear sky and the blue and white colors of the sky that could be seen. The pond was huge, filled with clear water and there was a cherry blossom tree standing in the very center of the pond. The small area of ground around the tree and even the water was covered with the fallen flowers. The pond was surrounded by nearly a hundred feet high ice walls and a single stream was falling from one of the walls that was filling water into the pond. "Wow, this is so beautiful. Is this place even in the Snow Fields? It looks like a place more from the Heaven Realm than the Snow Fields. Win, I''m going to drink that water. It is calling my name to go forward and taste its sweetness." Snowy said happily as he started walking towards the pond. "STOP!" Li Ming ordered as she looked around the small clearing. Her sharp eyes were trying to take in as many details as she could. "What now, Ming? Cant, you cut me some slack? You are being so harsh on me today. I do agree that we ended up in that pit because of me and my foolishness but there is also a good thing that happened because of it, we found this wonderful place. Don''t you think you should drop holding grudge against me?" Snowy watched his master as he waited for the young girl to finally bring out her sweet and kind heart and forgive him. However, nothing like that happened. "You have started living on the clouds too much. Maybe if you will finally start using your eyes and brain properly then you can see the truth behind the scene that is being displayed in front of you." Li Ming said with a shake of her head as she started taking out the rings that she was wearing in the fingers of both of her hands. "What are you talking about?" Snowy asked as he looked at her with confused eyes. "A waterfall is here and it keeps providing fresh water to the pond but since the pond is so small and there is no stream connected with this pond then where is all the water from the waterfall is going? How cone the water level is the same as before even though there is no outlet for water from the pond but freshwater keeps filling in it?" Li Ming asked as she stared at the waterfall and then at the pond. "We heard the sound of flowing water but the only sound present here is that of the waterfall." Li Ming then pointed at the tree as she said, "The cherry blossom tree here in this weird place is already a signal of the presence of some kind of mystery. This place is just too perfect and suspicious to be real. Just look at the sky, it''s as fake as one can be." "Then this place is....." Snowy looked around the area as his eyes finally noticed all those details that he missed previously. ".....a trap? I don''t know. But this place sure is hiding something." Li Ming finished Snowy''s incomplete sentence. The two of them stayed silent as they observed the ''too perfect to be true'' sight that was in front of them. "What are you planning?" Snowy asked after the silence of a few minutes. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she stopped in front of the little furball. For the past several minutes she had been trying to find some kind of loophole in that place. But she found exactly nothing. Her eyes landed on the water of the pond that was perfectly still even though there was a waterfall falling into it. "I have searched everything that is present above the ground and found nothing, but what about the things that are present below this water? Maybe we can find some clues there." Li Ming said out loud. Her mind was suddenly busy in analyzing the data and coming out with plans and theories. "You are not planning to jump into this pond, right?" Snowy asked his master even though deep down in his heart he was already aware of the answer. Suddenly, both the beautiful place or the sweet looking water of the pond stopped impressing Snowy. He had no interest in jumping into a pond that was full of mysteries and he also did not want his faster to do anything like that either. However, even though he was not impressed by her idea but he could not say anything. If he opposed to the idea too much then she would leave him here and go on alone and he could not leave her alone in such conditions. After all, as her familiar, it was his duty to ensure her safety at all the time. "You are not looking impressed by my idea!" Li Ming said as she started taking off her cloak. The heavy cloth would only make it harder for her to swim and thus she needed to get rid of them. Since she could not link to her magical mansion it was not possible for her to take out things from her space or even putting them back. She folded the cloak and placed it beside a rock. Her eyes landed on the little furball who was looking at the pond as if it was some kind of demon. She did not want to bring him along with her since she was not aware of the dangers that would be waiting for them in there. But at the same time, she could not leave him behind either. Even that could be dangerous. "Are you ready?" Chapter 211 - The Forbidden Grounds The day was coming to an end and all the Immortals were snuggled in front of the small fireplace that was built in the living room of the cabin. It was not like they were feeling cold or anything. However, staying with their little late they had learned to do a lot of things that they used to never do before. "Where has she gone? Is not it already time for our evening snacks? Yet I can''t see her anywhere." Zhang Yong complained as he looked out of the small window to see if Li Ming was anywhere near the cabin. "Are you missing her or the snacks?" Hei Long asked in a teasing tone which made smiles appeared on everyone''s faces. The Shadow Lord quickly turned around to glare at his bondmate as he replied, "Of course, it''s my Ming''er whom I''m missing. I was just trying to say that she always returns at this time for the evening snacks but not today." "Oh! So, it is like that. It''s good that you explained otherwise all of us would have thought that those snacks are more important to you than your mate." Hei Long continued with his teasing. This time the Shadow Lord sure was triggered as he took out his fan and started fanning himself as he replied in a sweet tone, "Don''t worry, Second Prince. There''s only one Important person in my life and she is well aware of this. Most importantly, I''m the one who has spent the longest period with her compared to all of you." The smug smile on his lips was the indicator that he was well aware of the fact that the Immortals were always get triggered whenever he mentioned the last part. "It''s enough, Zhang. You have been bragging about meeting her the first for a long time. You should not tease all of us when you need to get even with Hei Long. This is not fair." Ruoshan said or more like complained. "Who said that I''m trying to get even with the Second Prince? He is not that important for me to waste my time on him." Zhang Yong said as he continued fanning himself. Miraculously the fan was producing warm air rather than a cold one. "You...!" Hei Long stared at the Shadow Lord as his dark eyes promised revenge. Whether the Shadow Lord was interested in taking revenge or not but Hei Long was sure eager to get even with him. "Enough of you two. You two have known each other for thousands of years. Can you two just behave like grown-ups and stop trying to kill the other one with your words? It''s so annoying." Wen Guiying reprimanded the two younger Immortals. "Why? Are you suddenly feeling protective of your bondmate? It''s so rare of you to say something about our bickering." Hei Long sure was in a bad mood or something. The Supreme Immortal glared at the Second Demon Prince who just chuckled softly while shaking his head. "What''s wrong with you today? It''s like you are purposely trying to trigger one of us. Please, don''t end up saying something stupid in front of Little One. And you can always share your problems with us." Lord Yueliang said ss he looked at Hei Long with serious eyes. Just like Li Ming, he too was aware that something was going on with the Second Demon Prince, and as far as he could tell the rest of the five Immortals were also aware of that. However, they all knew very well that if they tried to pry too much into his personal space, he would create a huge gap between himself and the others. The last time something like that happened, they had lost contact with him for more than seven years. But now they had Li Ming with them. For the Immortals, seven years was equal to a few seconds but for their mate and the bonds that they were sharing with her, seven years was a long period. For a moment it looked like Hei Long was about to say something, probably reveal a part of the problem that he was struggling to deal with. However, right at that moment, the gate of the cabin opened and they all heard footsteps. They were waiting for their mate but the person who entered was their Master who looked a little tensed as he made his way into the living room. The Immortals quickly stood up to greet the old man, their whole focus was on the man who sat down on the couch. "Is she not back yet?" The old man asked as he looked at his disciples. "No! Not yet. Do you know where she has gone?" Ruoshan asked. "She wanted to take a look at the entire Snow Fields, so I allowed her. It has been three or four hours since she left. I''m starting to worry about her well being." The old man said as he looked tense. "Why are you worried? It''s just the Snow Fields. She''s smart enough to save herself from the snow." Zhang Yong said with a light chuckle. "Yes, master. No need to worry. She will probably be back soon." Wen Guiying also tried to assure the old man. However, there was something that was making the old man worry about the safety of Li Ming and the Immortals were still unaware of it. "If it has been a normal day, I would not have worried about her. I know that she is both powerful and smart enough to stay safe. But..." The old man trailed off as he looked at the snow-covered scenery outside of the cabin through the small window. His words piqued the attention of all the Immortals as they all felt suddenly worried about their young mate''s safety. "But what Master? Is something wrong?" Wen Guiying immediately asked. The old man sighed as he started explaining, "There is again disturbance in the Forbidden grounds, and this time it''s even stronger than the last few times. I''m afraid that girl would come across some harm. Not only that but the wards at the North end of the Forbidden grounds are also sending signals of an intruder. But the signals are of first grade, meaning that whoever is near those wards is not a person carrying any malicious intent towards the Forbidden grounds. If I''m not wrong then I think that person is probably the girl." "How did she even end up at the north end of the Forbidden Grounds? Even we have not gone to that side for years." Ruoshan was amazed at Li Ming''s capacity of ending up in the center of problems all the time. "I think she is safe. The wards at the north end are build inside an illusion array. As long as she stayed out of the pond she will be safe." The Heaven Emperor told everyone and his words made the others relaxed a little. "You are right. The wards canceled the link between a person and their powers, making the person a mere mortal. Right now she is unable to use her spiritual qi, she won''t jump into the cold water knowing that she would end up freezing without her powers. In the meantime, we should go and get her out of there." The old man said as he looked at the Immortals. However, he found that most of them had anxiety plastered on their faces. "What''s wrong?" He asked as he looked at them with confused eyes. "Master, as far as I know her, she is not someone who will sit still and wait for someone to get her out of there. She would try her best to get out on her own and if that needed her jumping in that chilled water, she would do it." Zhang Yong told the old man. Suddenly, the room was filled with tension as everyone''s mind registered the meaning of the words that the Shadow Lord had just spoken. As much as they wanted to deny with Zhang Yong''s words, deep down in their hearts they all knew that he was speaking the truth. "Then what are you morons doing here? Go and get her out of there before it''s too late. Don''t forget that the Northern part of the Forbidden Grounds is the most dangerous part. It would be a disaster if she ended up there." The old man looked horrified as he spoke those words. The Immortals didn''t need to be told twice. Before the old man could even blink, the silhouette of all the six Immortals disappeared from the living room of the cabin. ---- "You know what you have to do. Make sure that none of them can reach her before my orders. We can''t let anything go wrong today." A person in crimson ted cloak ordered the shadow that had been standing behind them. The shadow quickly bid goodbye to the red cloak person and disappeared into the vast land of snow. "I have waited for such a long time for this day. We all have waited. The Immortals will need to wait for a little before meeting their mate. You should not ruin the destiny." The person in the crimson cloak muttered in the silence as they looked at the silhouette of the old man who was walking towards the entrance of the Forbidden Grounds. Chapter 212 - Finding Snowy As she finally started returning to consciousness, Li Ming could feel her entire body shivering. The cold had seeped inside her bones making her suffer as she felt like a corpse. She was feeling so cold that at first, she did not even notice the pain coming from her right ankle. She slowly tried to open her eyes, attempting to focus her sight on the gloomy area around her. She was lying at the snow-covered bank of what looked like a huge sea. In front of her was a huge ice cave and behind her was a sea filled with chilled water that would probably succeed in killing her if she ended up there. "Aaahh!" A painful cry left her quivering lips as she tried to stand up. The pain that shot out from her right ankle finally succeeded in diverting her attention from the cold that was killing her. As her eyes landed on her right leg, she took in the torn shoes around her ankles through which blood was seeping out. The snow around her right leg was drenched in her blood. There were several cuts and scratches all over her body and her clothes were also torn from many places. As she slowly took in her appearance, the memories of all the things, that happened to her after jumping into that pond, returned. After she jumped into the pond, everything was calm for the first few minutes. The only problem was the cold water of the pond that immediately started making her regret her impulsive decision. But within after five minutes of her swimming underwater in search of any hidden clue, the first vine covered with weird-looking white flowers, came in front of her sight. Before she could even grasp what was happening, the attacks started. One after other several vines covered in that similar white flowers surrounded her, each one suddenly shooting tiny needle-like things in her direction. Without her powers, it was already hard for her to swim in that cold chilling water and those attacks just increased her problems. Though she tried her best to dodge as many needles as she could but a few eventually succeeded in scratching her skin, at least, not a single one ended up piercing through her skin. She had no idea what those needle-like things were. However, they sure were not something harmless. Even though she somehow succeeded in getting away from those vines but soon there were huge pieces of rock aiming towards her with huge force. By the time she saw the light coming from above the surface, she was already injured very badly. Somehow, she succeeded in getting both herself and Snowy out of those dreadful attacks and reached the bank. She was too tired, injured, and cold that the moment she had land under her feet, her consciousness left her, bringing her into the world of darkness. "Snowy..." Li Ming softly whispered as she realized that the little furball was nowhere in her sight. When no one replied to her soft call, her heart started getting heavy as her eyes looked around her surroundings to find her little familiar. "Snowyyyy!" Li Ming shouted at the top of her lungs in hope that her familiar would hear her call. However, her current state was too weak and her shout ended up in barely a meek call. Her hands flew to her throat as she cursed her luck. It was futile to keep calling for Snowy. She would need to look for him to find him as soon as possible. She tried to stand up but immediately landed on the cold ground with a painful scream as pain erupted in her ankle. Her breath was coming out in short gasps as she tried to get her body under her control. She tried to call her healing powers but even though her powers were still present there but it was not responding to her calls. At the same time, she could also feel the bond that she shared with Snowy. It was there, giving her warmth and spreading calm over her. Although, she could not activate her link with him to know his current location or to talk to him through their mind link, but knowing that he was safe gave her strength. It took her quite some time to settle in the lotus position. Although, she could not use her spiritual or magical powers for the time being, but she could cultivate to regain at least a little bit of her energy. The spiritual qi that was present around the area was not the most powerful one. However, it was far much better than the ones present in the Han or Wang Empire. She closed her eyes and focused her attention on the spiritual qi that was surrounding her. She let her body and mind relax while trying her best to not let her focus return to the unbearable pain in her ankle that was making her grit her teeth. For the next twenty minutes, Li Ming cultivated the spiritual qi to regain some of her energy. By the time she again opened her eyes, the pain in her ankle had become bearable and the cold was not making her crumble into dust. She relaxed and once again tried to stand up. Even though the pain immediately exploded in her ankle but this time she succeeded in keeping it under her control. Slowly she started walking towards the huge cave that was standing in front of her. Other than ice there was nothing else in her sight. "Snowy...!" Li Ming once again tried to call for her familiar but she was again met with dead silence. She could tell that she was on the other side of the wards that she came across at the mysterious waterfall. However, the world that was present in front of her eyes appeared like a completely different magical realm. It had been around half an hour since she was walking in search of her familiar. And that''s when she finally picked the very faint sound that was coming from her left side. She turned towards her left and came across a huge wall of ice. Another wall! A sigh left her lips as she dragged her body towards that ice wall. She once again pressed her ear against the cave wall. And it didn''t take her long to recognize the sounds of wings and animal feet moving on the ground covered with a thick layer of ice. She started following the voice against the wall and it led her to an opening in the wall which was covered by a huge ice rock. "What''s this now?" She asked out loud to no one in particular. Her eyes quickly roaming around the ice wall to find a way to get on the other side of the wall. And somehow she did find her way. But little did she knew that the thing waiting for her was going to become the reason for her getting tied to the Snow Fields for the rest of her life. ---- The Immortals split into two teams to reach to their mate as soon as possible. The first team, consisting of The Heaven Emperor, Hei Long, and Zhang Yong, headed towards the main entrance of the Forbidden Grounds in case if Li Ming was already inside the caves. The second team with Wen Guiying, Ruoshan, and Lord Yueliang headed towards the Northern Entrance of the Forbidden Grounds to look for their young mate. None of these six Immortals were ready to be suddenly attacked by a group of people dressed in dark robes. Both the teams were busy in dealing with those weird attackers who kept coming no matter how many they killed. And then suddenly an intense feeling took over their souls, making panic erupt between them. It did not take them long to realize that the feeling that they were experiencing was because of Li Ming. "S-she''s hurt...!" Ruoshan said as he swiped his sword through the three attackers who were going to attack him. His mind was suddenly filled with worry and tension for his mate who was probably injured. The Immortals started fighting with double force to get rid of all the attackers as soon as possible. Their young mate needed them. "Yueliang and Guiying, both of you should go ahead and find her as soon as possible. We will take care of these attackers." The Heaven Emperor ordered the two Immortals. The two did not need to be told twice as they immediately left to continue with their mission of finding their mate. While these Immortals were doing their best to get to their mate and safely pull her back to the safety of their arms as soon as possible, another force was trying to pull the injured and powerless Li Ming towards it. The young girl was surrounded by hundreds of spiritual beings as she stood in the center of the opening where Snowy was currently sleeping inside a spiritual ball. "Looks like we have a guest here today." Chapter 213 - The Healing Little Cubs "Y-you...!" Li Ming stared at the weird creatures that were surrounding her and her little furball who was completely lost in his dream world. There was one foot to twelve feet tall flying white lions with a dark red fire symbol carved on their forehead, adding to their already marvelous beauty. Another group of obsidian black colored tortoises with such unique eyes that could almost be called as hazel, were also present there. However, what was the most surprising about those tortoises was the shocking scene when she noticed two baby tortoises sprinting in the back. Yep! They were sprinting. Not walking in their usual slow mode but sprinting and hopping at full speed. Another flock of birds, from babies to almost seven feet tall, was also there. Holding black, brown, white, red, orange, and yellow color in such an extraordinary way on their body that it was almost impossible for her to remove her eyes from them. These were just a few of those amazing and unique creatures that were currently swarming the small opening of the huge cave. As her eyes roamed over the hundreds of spiritual beasts that were surrounding her, she realized exactly how unique and rare they were. She had never seen such beasts before in both of her lives and neither heard nor read about them. "Wow!" That''s the first word that came to her mind when she finally decided to open her mouth. She should be afraid of so many beasts who could turn her into their food within a few seconds seeing that she was currently completely powerless in front of them. However, due to some unknown and weird reason, she was not even a little bit afraid of them. "What have you all done to my familiar?" She asked the twelve feet tall flying lion who for some reason looked like the leader of the group of all the spirit beasts that were present there. She looked so small in front of that huge dangerous beast who held the power of turning her bones into powder with just one of his feet. "Your familiar?" The huge lion beast asked her in confusion, probably not understanding the meaning of the word familiar. "Umm-hmm! It''s something similar to a spirit beast. In your words, you can say that he is my spirit beast. What have you done to him?" Li Ming asked after explaining the meaning of familiar to the beast. The beast stayed silent for the next few seconds as he keenly observed Li Ming whose neck had started aching because of her continuously looking up at him. "Your spirit beast is completely fine. He was injured so we have made him cultivate in the Healing Qi Ball which would help him in healing quickly." The beast finally replied and noticed how the young girl''s shoulders relaxed at his words. "What are you doing here and what happened to both of you?" The lion beast asked the young girl who was trying her best to not give up under the wrath of cold and pain that was attacking her powerless body. "We were roaming around the Snow Fields and ended up falling into a very deep pit. There were traces of some very powerful and ancient ward that sealed my link with all my powers. And then we found our way to a weird pond with an equally weird waterfall and cherry blossom tree. And when we tried to find a way out through the water, we got attacked underwater and ended up here...like this." Li Ming answered his question. She had no reason why she told him everything truthfully but her instinct, which were still working thankfully, were telling her to tell them the truth without any lies in it. "And that''s how you and your familiar got injured, right?" The lion beast asked her. Li Ming could see curiosity in his eyes as he tried to read her. Unfortunately for him, she was one of those people who could not be read at all, no matter how much one tried. "Of course! If not for my current powerless state I would never have ended up like this and would have never allowed my baby to get hurt." Li Ming replied with a huff. "Baby?" The lion beast asked as he looked at her with confused eyes, probably trying to figure if she had a baby who somehow got injured. "Oh! I''m talking about my familiar. He''s my baby." Li Ming replied as she looked at Snowy with tender eyes. "Ohhh!" This time the reply came out in chorus as all the spiritual beasts nodded their heads in understanding. "How...ah?" Li Ming let out a surprised tone as her eyes immediately flew towards her right ankle where she had suddenly felt the warm touch. Two flying lion babies were surrounding her feet as they lapped on her injured ankle, making soft tingles erupt over her right feet. "This...?" Li Ming asked out loud as she looked at the lion beast in complete surprise. She just stared at the two babies who kept lapping her ankle and slowly her pain started disappearing. "Our saliva contains healing elements. And the young cubs have a special gift of fast healing." The lion beast replied as he looked at the two little cubs. "I''m not feeling cold anymore." Li Ming said as she crouched down on the ground and settled in a sitting position. She took out her right boot and let the two little cubs lap at her ankle. The wet touch of their tongue on her injured skin was so soothing and gentle that she soon started feeling relaxed and the pain completely disappeared. She watched in amazement as the large and deep gash around her ankle started healing on its own. Within a few seconds, the injury completely disappeared from her feet, leaving scarless skin behind. Soon, little cubs, baby tortoises, the colorful birds, little serpents, and the other baby spirit beasts had surrounded her as they started playing with her. "Looks like they are liking your company." One of the spiritual bird said as she too observed the babies playing with the young girl. "By the way, you guys never told me exactly what this place is and....what kind of....spirit beasts are you?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the lion beast. "This place is called Forbidden Grounds and we are the most unique, rare, and some of the most powerful species of the spiritual beasts." The lion beast replied. "Forbidden Grounds? I think I have heard Lord Yueliang and the others telling me something about this place. Are we still in the Snow Fields?" She asked with curious eyes. Her words left the lion beast and the other matured spirit beasts, who were standing close to her, amazed and surprised. "Yes. The Forbidden Grounds are built deep under the Snow Fields, so you are still in the Snow Fields. But how do you know the Moon Immortal and who are these other people you just referred to?" A large tortoise who had been observing her quietly from the very starting finally opened its mouth and asked the question which was currently running through all of their minds. "Oh! Well, the Moon Immortal is one of my six mates and the other people whom I mentioned are The Heaven Emperor, the Supreme Immortal, the Evernight Lord, the Second Demon Prince, and the Shadow Lord. They told me about how they needed to visit the Forbidden Grounds to take care of some matters a few days ago. I was not expecting to end up in this place too." Li Ming answered as she looked around the cave. "The six Immortals are the pillars of the Forbidden Grounds while the Master of the Deities is the Caretaker of the Snow Fields as well as the Forbidden Grounds. The entire Snow Field is filled with illusion arrays and traps to ensure the safety of the Forbidden Grounds. Only a selected few are allowed to roam through the Snow Fields. And no one can break into the Forbidden Grounds, exactly why we did not attack you immediately and decided to talk first." The spirit bird told her. "I''m thankful to you all for taking care of my familiar and also for treating me justly rather than pouncing me the very first moment you all noticed me." Li Ming bowed her head lightly to show her gratitude to the Spirit beasts surrounding her. The little spirit beasts'' babies that were still playing around her immediately started jumping on her and finally, a little cub came out as the winner as it settled down in her lap and started rubbing its head on her thigh. "But....then why you are here?" She asked them as she rubbed the soft fur of the cub that was sleeping on her lap. "A long time back, a dark and mysterious power started killing our species. By the time we realized that the situation was getting out of our control and we went to the Heaven Realm to ask for their help, many of our species had been already swept away entirely by that darkness, and those species that survived were not in any good state. After a long time of the investigation, there was no result and finally, the Forbidden Grounds was created to save those who were at the highest risk from that darkness." Chapter 214 - Towards The Weapons "There are more than just spirit beasts here?" Li Ming asked as she looked around the cave in hope of finding those other rare and powerful things that were kept inside the Forbidden Grounds for their safety. The moment the lion beast mentioned the dark mysterious power, her mind instantly went to the dark power present in the Evernight Province of the Demon Realm. Whatever or whoever was behind that dark force, that thing or person sure had spread their reaches all over the Immortal World. She did not need any genius to tell her that the dark mysterious power that was hunting these spirit beasts was the same that is present in the Demon Realm and killing it. She was still trying to find something or even a single thing about that mysterious force from the books that were filling the library of her magical mansion. "Other than the spirit beasts with rare and unique abilities, that dark mysterious power also attacked rare spiritual herbs, plants, and trees. Just like we lost a lot of our races, the spiritual herbs also suffered from this same problem." "There are several columns in the Forbidden Grounds, each storing different rare species or items in it. This place is the home of us spirit beasts, next to us is the column of spiritual herbs, then there''s a column of rare treasures like jewels and stones, next to it is the column of sacred books and scrolls which are storing the knowledge and answers of certain things in them, and the last column of this Forbidden Grounds held some of the rarest and most powerful weapons of the three realms." Li Ming listened to the lion and the tortoise as they explained to her the reason behind the creation of Forbidden Grounds and all the things that were kept inside it. Although, her mind was contemplating about all the things that she had learned about the Forbidden Grounds but deep down, her heart had already realized the destiny that was waiting for her. "Where''s the Weapon Section? Can you show me the way?" Li Ming asked the lion beast. A sudden sound disturbed them as their attention was pulled towards the sleeping Snowy who was now back to consciousness and was trying to get out of the spiritual ball. The lion beast clicked his feet on the ground and the spiritual ball disappeared as Snowy landed safely on the ground. The very next second he was in Li Ming''s arms as he immediately started licking her face. "Looks like your spiritual beast loves you just as equally as you love him." The lion beast said as he looked at the little furball jumping around her as he tried to assure himself that his Master was alright. "You did not answer my question." Li Ming looked at the lion beast as she patiently waited for the huge spirit beast to answer her question. "Why do you want to go there?" The lion beast asked her. There was a slight flicker of curiosity in his eyes. "I think the reason behind my visit to the Snow Fields can be found there." Her eyes held only sincerity in them which made the lion beast nod his head in understanding. "Since you have already entered into the Forbidden Grounds and has been accepted by our younger ones, I think you can be considered someone who can be trusted. The only thing that I''m seeing in your eyes is honesty. Also, that mark on your wrist speaks on its own." The lion beast said ss he looked at her with tender eyes. Li Ming''s eyes immediately went towards her wrist where her soul mark was visible through the torn sleeve. She touched her mark with such tenderness that she immediately started missing her mates and the warmth that always followed them everywhere. She looked up at the lion beast and her eyes started right into his dark ones and for a moment she thought that she saw something in his eyes, something that was beyond her recognition. For a moment she wanted to ask something but as soon as she opened her mouth to ask that her mind turned completely blank. After a few seconds, she just shook her head and shut her mouth. "Let''s go then." The lion beast said as he stood up and after a nod from Li Ming started walking towards the opposite end of the cave. "Why don''t you offer him the position of your third spiritual beast? Trust me, with a spiritual beast like him beside you, we will be living the safest lives ever." Snowy whispered in her ears as he snuggled his wet nose in her nape. "He can hear you." Li Ming replied as she continued to follow behind the lion beast. Snowy''s eyes popped up suddenly as he first stared at her and then at the back of the lion beast who kept walking ahead as if he had heard nothing. "Let''s forget about whatever nonsense I just spouted. As you already know, I love to joke around." Snowy said as he rested his head on her shoulder and immediately closed his eyes. Even though Li Ming was looking far much better than her previous injured and frozen condition but only he knew that her soul and body were still in a far worse condition than what she was showing. Her pulse was not in control and neither was her breathing. Her spiritual and magical energy, both were resting somewhere deep inside her and were not able to fight against the spell that the powerful wards of the Forbidden Grounds had cast on them. She needed to get out of the Forbidden Grounds as soon as possible and the little furball feared that the thing towards which they were currently heading would only worsen her situation. "Can''t we leave this place first and return at some other time? I''m not feeling really well." Snowy gave a try even though he already was sure that it was not going to work. "Don''t worry. I won''t let anything happen to you this time." Li Ming replied in a soft tone. This time it was a promise not to only Snowy but also to herself. The guilt of letting her familiar get hurt because of her carelessness was eating her up and she was very well aware of the fact that whatever was waiting for her in the weapon section of the Forbidden Grounds could crush her into tiny dust particles, especially in her current situation. They kept walking for a long time and on their way towards the most dangerous and protected part of the Forbidden Grounds, they came across various sections where Li Ming caught a quick glimpse of the other treasures that were kept securely inside the protected wards of the secret underground ice cave. "Here we are." The lion beast said as they stood in front of a huge opening which was guarded by two illusion arrays and a protection ward. "How are we going to enter? Both the arrays and ward are too powerful to be dealt with in your current condition." Snowy said as he looked at his Master with worried eyes. The cold had once again started attacking her powerless body as the long walk through the Forbidden Grounds had abolished almost all the energy that she had regained previously. Li Ming''s eyes landed on the lion beast who kept standing in front of them facing towards the front at the opening of the cave. Somehow, she had an inkling that the lion beast was aware of her body''s current state. However, none of them voice out their thoughts. Rather, Li Ming decided to thank the lion beast for his help as she walked in front of him and said with a slight bow of her head. "We are really thankful for the help that we received from you and your people. We would always be grateful to you all. If you have anything that we can help you with, please free feel to tell me. I will make sure to do my best as long as I can." The lion beast looked at the young girl with tender eyes as he replied, "There is nothing that any of us want. If there''s one in this world that we ever want is to return to a world where we won''t need to hide to save our lives, a place where our younger ones can roam freely. But that''s only a wishful dream of ours. You don''t have to return any favor to us. Just stay happy and keep spreading your positive vibes throughout this world. That would be enough." Li Ming watched as the lion beast gave her and Snowy a last warm look before turning around as he started walking back towards the direction of the northern end of the Forbidden Grounds where the column of Spiritual beasts was located. "How are we going to enter, Ming?" Snowy again asked after a few moments as he looked at the Weapon Section that was standing right in front of them. "With this..." Li Ming replied as she showed Snowy the answer to his question. Chapter 215 - Suffering Of The Souls "This is cheating, Ming. You can''t leave me here!!" Snowy kept complaining as he stood in front of the opening of the Weapon Section of the Forbidden Grounds. Li Ming betrayed him as she suddenly put him down on the ground and hurriedly entered into the column of Weapons using her soul mark. The soul mark carried the essence of her six mates who were also connected with the wards and portals of the Forbidden Grounds. Since she was carrying the essence of her mates, the Illusion arrays and the protection ward created at the opening of the Weapon Section did not stop her from entering inside the section. "Ming! Are you listening? Come back and take me inside with you. Are you planning to freeze me to death here?" Snowy shouted at the top of his lungs and his voice boomed through the high walls of the ice cave. "Ming!" However, no matter how loudly he shouted there was no trace of Li Ming anywhere. His cries were met with dead silence. "If you once again tried to trick me and ended up dying, I''m not going to forgive you. No matter whatever excuse you would make later, I won''t listen to you." Sobs were leaving Snowy''s mouth as he stared at the protection ward in front of him with teary eyes. For the first time, he regretted existing as a mere puppy with no powers or use. He had always been the naughty and tricky familiar who never paid attention to any important stuff. Only if he had given more attention and importance to learning magic and spells, rather than having fun all the time then he probably would be able to accompany his Master through all her ups and downs. The poor furball sat outside the Weapon Section as he waited for his Master to return and take him along with her. ---- Li Ming rubbed her hands as she tried to save her body from the cold that was about to kill her. If the rest of the Forbidden Grounds were cold enough to freeze her into ice then the Weapon Section was chilled enough to make her suffer through a hell of ice. Her hair was covered with white powdery ice just like her face, eyelashes, and eyebrows. Her teeth were making a chattering sound as she kept walking towards the familiar pull that had once again taken control over her body. The pull that she was feeling at that moment was far more powerful than what she felt before. Probably hundreds of times more powerful. It was like a siren''s song that was luring her towards her death and she was spellbound, completely unable to do anything against the wish of that song. Her eyes landed on the flicker of bright blue light that started going on and off at a little distance in front of her. Actually, it was quite far away from her, probably at the very end of the Weapon Section. She could make out dozens of ice stairs that were leading to a high platform and in the very middle of that platform was that blue shining light levitating in the air at some height from the ground. "You are finally here..." It did not take her even a second to recognize that velvety soft voice. It was just as she remembered. "W-wh...w-who....?" Li Ming somehow succeeded in letting that one word escape her lips even though it took a lot of her energy to just whisper it. She was sure that not a single soul was able to hear her question but then she got surprised when that velvety voice answered her. "How can you forget me so early? It''s not that long since we last met in your dreams. Though I must say that you are even prettier in real life." Li Ming was too exhausted to pay much attention to anything and thus she could not focus on the blue light that was hiding the answer to many of her questions. "W-what.....what d-do.....y-you wa-want?" Li Ming asked as she stopped at the foot of the staircases. Her entire body was trembling under the chilliness that had once again succeeded in penetrating inside her body. "You are actually more or less ready for what is waiting for you here. However, looking at your current state it''s very hard to say anything about the results. You are too weak to survive a bonding at this moment, but we don''t have any time left. Now everything is up to your fate." The velvety voice whispered in a soft tone. Its words were really nerve-wracking, however, Li Ming suddenly started feeling lightheaded at that very moment and did not get the chance to pay any attention to whatever nonsense the voice was muttering. "T-this..." Her hands went to clutch her head as the ice walls around her started spinning in a circle, making her head taken over by heaviness. "There is no time left to waste. Even though you can barely understand whatever is happening here but you need to step forward and grasp that blue light before it''s too late. Don''t waste any more time. Hurry!" Li Ming felt her legs started moving up the stairs as she slowly started getting closer to that blue light. At first, she thought that the velvety voice belonged to that blue light but then she realized that it was not. The voice never belonged to that light, not there in the middle of an ice cave, and neither it did in her dream when she first encountered that blue light and that velvety voice. "Hurry up! Don''t hesitate. Don''t think about unnecessary things. Right now, in this very moment, only one thing matters and it is that blue light shining right in front of you. Get closer to it and grasp it. Mark it as your own..." The velvety voice kept talking and directing her as she climbed up the dozens of stairs that suddenly started feeling like hundreds. And then she was standing right in front of that blue light. She still could not see anything except that blue light. She did not even realize what she was doing until her hand closed around that shining light and for a few seconds, the entire cave was filled with darkness. And as after the count of three seconds, the light returned in the huge cave, a loud ear-piercing scream boomed through the ice walls of the cave carrying enough power to cause a little earthquake. --- "What are you doing? We don''t have much time to waste. We need to get to Little One as soon as we can. I''m having a heavy feeling in my heart." The Moon Immortal started moving back and forth as he watched the Supreme Immortal who was sitting at the ridge of the small pond with the cherry blossom tree in the very middle of it. They reached the northern end of the Forbidden Grounds around half an hour ago but unfortunately, they were met with two bad news. The first bad news was that there was no trace of their little mate. However, they found her fur cloak resting there beside some rocks which told them that she was also present there at some point. The second bad news was that a group of those attackers succeeded in following them which made them delay in their search of their mate. No matter how many they killed, the number of attackers never decreased. Right at that moment, the Moon Immortal had formed a barrier around themselves which kept the attackers away from them. However, looking at the cracks that started appearing in the barrier it was clear that very soon the attackers would succeed in taking it down. "Trust me. I know how to take care of these assailants. If I did not stop them now then they would only keep increasing by every minute." Wen Guiying replied to the Moon Immortal''s question as he started forming a balk of energy between the palms of both of his hands. It was not an easy task for him to focus his attention on the task of creating the spell which would help them in destroying those weird attackers since her mind kept filling with the thoughts of his young mate. The mere thought of her getting hurt was making panic arise in his soul that wanted nothing but to get to his mate as soon as possible. Somehow, the Supreme Immortal succeeded in completing the spell and as he launched the huge energy ball filled with green light, it barely took a few seconds before all the attackers, that were previously trying to take down the protection barrier, suddenly disappeared. "What did you...." The Moon Immortal never got to finish his question as the very next a tremor appeared throughout the Forbidden Grounds and the area around her and an ear-piercing scream entered the ears of all the six Immortals. However, what left them in terror was the person behind that scream and the pain that suddenly shot through all of their souls. Chapter 216 - The Trial (Part One) The inside of the Weapon Section of the Forbidden Grounds was ringing with the painful cries coming from the girl who was kneeling in the very middle of the high platform. Her torn clothes, disheveled and sweaty hair, the cuts all over her bare arms, feet, and hands were covered in blood. The most shocking scene was the blood that was coming out from the palm of her right hand. In all the blood that was dripping on the floor from that deep gash of her palm, tiny blue sparkling particles could be seen in that blood. When she first closed her fingers around that blue sparkling ball of light, she had felt it penetrating her skin as it traveled up her arms and towards her shoulders. It barely took a few seconds before that energy met with her heart and that was the exact moment when Li Ming let out that terrifying scream as her heart suddenly erupted in pain. It was the worst kind of pain that she had ever suffered through in both of her lives. Her already exhausted body was not prepared to deal with such intensity of pain that took over her body, leaving her in a mess. Li Ming bit her lips as she tried to stop the screams of pain that were ready to slip from her lips. For a moment she thought that she heard some kind of disturbances at the gate of the Weapon Section but as her ears piqued nothing when she tried to concentrate, she just shook her head and started paying attention to her own situation. She could not wait for someone to appear there and help her. She knew her body and as far as she could tell, both her body and soul had suffered through so much in the past few hours that they won''t be able to stand against the pain that was trying to kill her. She felt like something was separating every single cell of her heart and then binding it together after adding something new to it and of course, the pain was beyond bearable. It was like going through surgery without any anesthesia. Li Ming grasped her chest with her left hand right above her heart as her breathing started getting completely out of her control. It was becoming harder for her to breathe due to the pain that was making her want to get lost in the darkness and never return. Unknown to her, the Six Immortals and the old man were quick to reach the Forbidden Grounds as soon as they heard her scream and felt the tremor that shook the ground. It did not take them long to locate the sobbing Snowy who was scratching at the ice walks of the Weapon Section as the little furball tried his best to find a way to get to his Master as soon as possible. Within a mere second, both of the illusion arrays and the protection barrier at the entrance of the Weapon Section were taken down by the Heaven Emperor. The Immortals accompanied by a worried Master and a panicked familiar entered the Hall of Spiritual Weapons. No one was prepared to come across the scene that greeted their eyes inside the Hall of Spiritual Weapons. "Master.....!" "Ming''er!" "Sweet..." The newcomers stood there at the entrance in complete shock as they took in the condition of Li Ming who looked even paler than a vampire even though her body was covered in her blood. She probably did not hear them because she kept struggling with the pain that was driving her insane. Wen Guiying and Hei Long were the first ones to come out of their shock as the two immediately started running towards the high platform where their mate was suffering. However, they never got the chance to even came across anywhere near the staircase that led to the top of the platform. A huge energy wall appeared in front of them, creating a barrier between them and their mate. But the thing that left them most surprised was the person that stood in front of that energy wall, stopping the Immortals from getting to their mate. The person in the dark crimson cloak stood there with a sword in their hands. The message was clear. That person was there to stop the Immortals from helping their young mate. "What the hell do you think you are doing? What kind of prank is this? Move out of our way." Wen Guiying shouted at that person as he glared at them with deadly eyes. Unfortunately, the person in the crimson cloak made no move to step aside, and this only ended up infuriating those who were aware of that person''s identity. "What are you doing? Can''t you see that Ming needs us? Don''t play your dirty tricks right now. Move away!" Snowy shouted at the red cloak person as he also glared at them with his small teary eyes. "Kara...!" There was a warning in the Supreme Immortal''s eyes as he glared at the banshee who did not give away her true feelings. Her face was as emotionless as possible and when she spoke her voice held power, a warning of her own. "I have warned you before too. There are some circumstances where you can''t help her. This is one of those situations where she needs to deal with it on her own. Don''t interfere." It was like she was trying to make them understand something but the Immortals were far too panicked at that moment to pay attention to the meaning behind the words of the banshee. As the Immortal Deities and Rulers of different provinces, all of them were aware of the word destiny and the rules that surrounded it. However, at that particular moment, nothing was more important for them except for their young mate who needed their help. "You too are aware that she is not in a state where she could deal with the power of the Lightning Whip. Not only she will need to tame the extreme power of the Spiritual Weapon but she will also need to absorb the lightning energy that soon will befall her. We can''t take any chances seeing that she''s too weak at this moment to go through something like that." Wen Guiying shouted angrily at the banshee as he and the other Immortals started walking towards the staircase. However, the banshee stroke her sword through the thin air, and it created a huge wall of fire right in front of the Immortals. "I''m well aware of what is going to happen next. But just like I said, this is one of those situations where you need to trust her. Maybe she is not in a condition where she could pass this trial without any harm but it''s too late to change anything. I know exactly what will happen if you all tried to interfere and you all know it too. But remember, I also know what will happen if you don''t interfere." Banshee''s words made the Immortals stop in their tracks as they looked at their mate who was shivering due to the cold. And just like that, from a single glance towards their suffering mate, they decided to interfere even though the consequences of their actions would not be good. The banshee was quick to see the resolve that took over their eyes and a sigh left her lips. "You all are not giving me any other option. I''m not asking you to trust me, rather, I''m asking you to trust your mate, to trust the bond that ties you all with her. Yes, she would suffer but we all know that she''s powerful enough to pass through this. Maybe her body and mind were not in the state of fighting against what is coming but there''s always her soul. If you really want to help her, then you can do that without interfering with this trial." This time the Immortals actually stopped for real as they looked at each other. The banshee was strong, powerful enough to give at least one of the Immortals run for their money at a time. However, she was no match to the group of all the six Immortals together. The six of them formed a group with too much power to even exist. It won''t take them long to swipe the banshee out of their way and reach to their mate. "I think she''s right. Rather than interfering with the plan of destiny and creating even a greater problem, you all should think about helping her in a way that won''t backfire." The old man finally broke the silence that had dawned over the huge chamber of the ice cave. The Immortals quickly settled down in lotus positions forming a circle, more like a magical hologram. They all turned their eyes towards their mate who was still oblivious to their presence. Just when a sudden darkness started taking over the ice cave, the six Immortals pushed their purest spiritual qi out as the six different colored energy rays collided with each other and created a symbol. Chapter 217 - The Trial (Part Two) "It''s working!" The replica of their soul mark of the Ivy leaf and its five tendrils was shining brightly in six different colors as the Immortals kept transferring their energy into it. Everyone watched in amazement as the soul mark on Li Ming''s wrist also began shining in those similar six different colors that belonged to her mates. Zhang Yong - Orange Ruoshan - Purple Hei Long - Black Wen Guiying - Green Lord Yueliang - Blue Heaven Emperor - Gold The Ivy leaf was colorless with the orange light creating its edges while the five tendrils were shining with the colors that be linked to her soul mates. If Li Ming also put her qi into the replica then rather than six colors there would be seven, the last one would be silver which would fill the colorless Ivy. As the Immortals worked on transferring energy into their mate through the soul mark, the old man was also doing a brilliant job. He attached the essence of Li Ming''s spiritual energy with the Wards that surrounded the Forbidden Grounds. This made the wards accept her as one of the residents of the Forbidden Grounds and as a result, the link between Li Ming and her powers was once again opened. "Master, are you alright?" Mallow''s worried tone that immediately boomed through their shared mind link was the first thing that made Li Ming focus on her surroundings. Due to the transfer of six powerful spiritual energies into her body, the pain suddenly started retreating and her mind was once again trying to gain focus on her surroundings. That was when she noticed the group of people that were present in that ice cave along with her. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she took in worried expressions on all the seven people and the little furball that was present there. Even though the banshee could appear heartless to most people, Li Ming could clearly see the glimpse of worry in her eyes as she kept looking at her. Li Ming struggled a little but finally succeeded in adjusting herself in the lotus sitting position. She closed her eyes and let her consciousness enter her body where she could find the ocean of her spiritual energy. "I''m alright. No need to worry. Tell the others to not worry too." Li Ming replied to Mallow through their mind link as she surveyed both of her energy oceans. The first one was filled with her magical energy while the second one was filled with spiritual qi, only separated by a thin waterfall-like thing which was actually the mixture of spiritual qi and magic. "Master, what is happening outside? Why are you in such a condition? Is Snowy not raking care of you?" Mallow asked again as she still was worried about her Master. Even though the wards closed the link between Li Ming and her spiritual beast but that did not mean Mallow did not feel the pain through which Li Ming suffered just a few minutes ago. Not only Mallow but the pixies were also worried about their young master. They all just wanted to get to their master as soon as possible and get her out of that terrifying pain. "I told you not to worry. No matter whatever happens next, don''t do anything impulsive without my orders. Alright?" Li Ming ordered the little fox. Even though Mallow was reluctant to agree to such kind of order of she really did not have many choices, therefore, she just gave a half-hearted reply. "Alright." "Good." Li Ming was very well aware that even though the little fox sounded reluctant and not very happy with her, Li Ming''s, decision but she would never go against her order. Li Ming called on her healing power and immediately felt the warm rush of energy that soared through her body as it searched for all the injuries that she had received. It barely took two minutes before all her injuries, internal or external, started disappearing into the thin air one after the other. The cut on her right palm also closed and bright blue colored sparkling spots appeared beneath its skin. Li Ming did not even realize that the area around her was suddenly changing, that her surroundings were disappearing into a complete into a completely new space. By the time she realized that something was wrong her consciousness was already stuck in that new but familiar place. She was still sitting on the high platform but rather than the high ice walls and her mates along with Snowy and the Master of the Deities, everything around her was covered in darkness. Nothing was visible except the platform where she was sitting in her full glory. "You are finally here..." The same velvety voice spoke from somewhere in the darkness, breaking the ire silence that had taken over the place. "What''s going on?" Li Ming asked calmly as she tried to look around herself to find the source of that voice. Of course, she was well aware that no matter how much she would try, she would never find the source of that voice until that person did not want to reveal themselves. "Are you not going to ask about my identity this time?" The voice questioned her in a curious tone which made Li Ming scoff in return as she replied, "What''s the point in repeating the same question when there is no hope of receiving an answer? It is just a waste of time and energy." A chuckle broke out through the silence of the dark place as the voice praised Li Ming. "I can see why you are the chosen one snd I think you deserve that position. You are powerful but not over powerful. You can turn impossible things into possible but there are still many things that are beyond your control, this makes you human." "Being too much powerful is not healthy, not for that person and neither for the rest of the world. There should always be space for improvement." "Other than being powerful, you are also smart but then there are cases where you can act like the stupidest person alive. You know when and where to use your kind heart and when to reply with coldness." "But the best trait? You are not selfish. You have a heart big enough to spread love and kindness among countless people. You have the perfect trait to become the chosen one." Li Ming stayed silent for a few minutes as she thought about the praise that she just received from that unknown source. "You said that I have the perfect trait of becoming the chosen one. What is that?" She found herself asking. There was silence for the next few minutes which made Li Ming think that she won''t be receiving any answer to her question but miraculously the voice replied after a few seconds. "If the destiny wanted to bound a powerful, kind, and cheerful girl with the Six most powerful Immortals of this world, then there were countless options. However, the Immortals were not the only ones who needed a mate in their lives. There were five provinces taken over by darkness that needed to once again experience the warmth of light." "Are you trying to say that Zhang was also destined to become my bondmate from the very starting?" Li Ming could not help but ask as she started getting confused. "There are countless mysteries in this world. Some can be revealed and explained while others can only be left behind the shadows. Not everything is meant to be known. And as for your fate that is tied with the Shadow Lord, I''m sure you will get all your answers when you will finally hear the prophecy with your own ears." "I can hear the prophecy?" Li Ming asked hurriedly as she tried to calm her excitement. Who would not want to hear the prophecy that changed their life once and for all? "Of course, you can. But looking that you have already formed plans for the next few years of your life, it will probably take some time before you can finally hear it." The velvet voice replied and the answer made Li Ming realized that there were still too many people out there in the Immortal world who had their eyes trained over her. They already knew about her future plans when even she was not completely sure about what her plans exactly were. "Why have you brought me here?" She asked the voice as she found that she was almost a hundred percent recharged. "Are you aware about the identity of that blue glowing light that is currently trying to settle down right beneath the waterfall of magical and spiritual energy that separates the two energy oceans inside you?" The voice asked in a curious tone and their words made Li Ming went still like a statue. Why did she not notice? She could feel the presence of an external energy in the very same position that the velvet voice just described but what surprised Li Ming was the fact that she did not notice any kind of blue light when she surveyed her energy oceans just a few minutes ago. Chapter 218 - The Legendary Weapon Of The Thunder Lord "This whip belongs to whom?" Li Ming stared at the darkness that surrounded her with shocked eyes as she hurriedly asked the question. "It belonged to the Thunder Immortal around twenty thousand years ago. However, a sudden calamity struck, and this world lost its Thunder Immortal. Even though the position was later got occupied by the daughter of the Thunder Lord but she failed in taming the Lightning Whip. As a result, the Legendary Weapon went out of control and it became impossible for any deity to control it. That was the moment when it was decided by the Immortal Deities that the weapon should be sealed." "From that very day, this weapon has been resting here in the Forbidden Grounds sealed by various spells. But then you appeared and the moment it felt your essence in this realm it wanted to reach you as soon as possible." The voice stopped for two seconds before continuing, "At first it was easy for the Immortal Master to tame the weapon on his own but when you appeared in the Wang Empire last year, the weapon got another taste of your essence and that was when everything started going out of control." Li Ming listened silently as she tried to cope with numerous questions that were popping up in her mind one after the other. "Why it started reacting towards me like that?" She asked while looking at the blue sparkling dots on her right palm. "Well, there is a very interesting explanation for your question. Wanna see who was the Thunder Immortal?" The voice sounded excited as if they were about to enjoy whatever was going to happen next. "Who?" Li Ming asked as she felt a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. For some unknown reason, she was quite not that excited to see that so-called Thunder Immortal, as if both her mind and soul were already aware of what was coming next. The voice did not reply verbally, rather a magical screen started forming in front of her. It barely took five seconds before a photo of an Immortal Deity with long black hair pulled up in a high ponytail and secured by a jade hairpin, clad in dark grey and white clothes appeared in front of her. Li Ming stared at the photo as her mind went blank instantly. She would never have predicted to come across such a thing. The silence that took over for the next several minutes was filled with tension and shock. "D-dad?" The word finally slipped out of her mouth as she kept staring at the man in the photo who looked exactly like her father. The only difference was the long hair and ancient clothes instead of his usual official suits. "According to the Soul data, the Thunder Immortal''s soul got reincarnated in a different world where he was born as the successor of a race known as Mages. The data also shows his family chart with a daughter as his only heir." Li Ming could not believe the words that she was hearing. It was just too much for her to digest. As the days were passing and she was coming across new revelations, it looked like she had always been bound to the Immortal world for a long long time. "Are you trying to say that my dad was the Thunder Immortal of this world in his previous life?" Li Ming asked as she kept gazing at the photo of her father. She still remembered the last time when she met with her dad, right before she left for the hunt of the rogues, and was killed in betrayal. He had looked at her with eyes filled with love and support. He had always been strict with her from the very day when she started learning magic at the age of five. He was never lenient with her and she was always punished for slacking or breaking rules. At that time she thought that his strict rules for her were because she was the only heir of the mage clan and he wanted her to become the strongest to lead their race in the future. However, no matter how strict he was on her during her training time but she also witnessed his fatherly affection from time to time. Though these were very rare occasions but she already learned to cherish them from a very early age. "That''s exactly what the Soul Data says and the information inside Soul Data can never be wrong. Moreover, seeing the way the Lightning Whip is reacting towards your power essence I do not think that there is much space left for doubts." The voice answered her question in a very calm tone. However, on the other hand, Li Ming was struggling to keep calm. It was like her entire existence was pre-planned and she was just fulfilling the wishes of those who had written her destiny. "But why is it reacting towards me? Is not there another daughter of the Thunder Immortal who is currently ruling that position? Why this weapon did not choose her?" Li Ming asked with her voice filled with confusion. "Your question does make sense. However, there''s a truth about the current Thunder Immortal of which you are still unaware. Even though the current Thunder Immortal is known as the successor of your father but in reality, she has no blood relation with your father." A frown appeared on Li Ming''s face as she heard the words spoken by the mysterious voice. She was struggling with many questions but decided to stay silent as the voice continued. "The previous Thunder Immortal, your father, and his wife were unable to have a child even after thousands of years of their marriage. The maternal Grandmother of the Thunder Immortal was the bondmate of the Heaven Realm''s Empress Dowager. After seeing the unhappiness of having no child that was taking over the Thunder Immortal and his wife and also because of her relation with his Grandma, the Empress Dowager gifted them with the Elixir of Eternal Happiness." Li Ming raised her eyebrows at the fancy name of the elixir. She was still struggling to understand the long relation chart that connected the Thunder Immortal, his maternal grandmother, and the previous Empress Dowager of the Heaven Realm. As a result, her brain was a mess of hundreds of questions, unsolved mysteries, and puzzles, and most importantly answers and discoveries that made no sense to her. "The Eternal Happiness Elixir can grant one wish to its consumer and that''s how the wife of the Thunder Immortal asked for the happiness of a child. The daughter that was born after nine months was a gift of the Eternal Elixir and not the result of the sexual intercourse." "Since the present Thunder Immortal has no blood relation with your father and her soul does not share the same essence as your father, the Lightning whip never recognized her as its new master. On the other hand, you are carrying the same energy essence as your father and that alone is enough for the Lightning whip to choose you as its Master." As the voice stopped explaining, Li Ming finally understood the reason due to which she was feeling the pull towards the Snow Fields. "What now? It''s not over yet, right?" Li Ming asked as she let out a deep sigh. "Of course not. The Lightning whip was the weapon of the Thunder Immortal, a third rank Immortal Cultivator. Since the Master was so powerful, it''s normal that his weapon would also be one of its kind. While on the other hand, you are only a fifth rank Master Cultivator. It won''t be easy for you to take the weapon of an Immortal deity. However, it is too late to back down." The voice explained. "Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to survive this? The energy that barged inside my body can kill me within a few seconds and you are telling me that I''m supposed to control it. Ridiculous!" Li Ming sure was not happy with what she was hearing. It was like she was trapped inside a puzzle and except for solving it to win her freedom, she had no other choice, not even of backing down. "It''s not like anyone forced you to visit the Snow Fields. It was your own decision to find out the source that was pulling you towards this place." This time the crisp and cold voice belonged to the banshee who was standing in front of her at some distance. "You could have told me about the Lightning whip and its story that very day when you told me about the Snow Fields and that I needed to prepare myself before coming here. I would have loved to stay away from this place for the rest of my life." Li Ming scoffed at the banshee while complaining. "Since you love to forget let me remind you once again, we are not allowed to speak about your future or anything related to it. I can only give you clues, not spoon-feed you. If I have told you to stay away from the Snow Fields without giving a perfect explanation you would never have listened. So, stop complaining." Kara sure was not in the mood of hearing Li Ming''s complaints. "It''s easy for you to just get angry at me. It''s not like you are the one facing your death for a second time." Li Ming mumbled as she stared at the photo of her father which started disappearing into thin air. Chapter 219 - Mother-In-Law "Stop mumbling. It will be more beneficial if you start preparing yourself for this trial." The banshee reprimanded her as she took out a golden color chalk and started drawing a hologram on the floor. "There is going to be a trial?" Li Ming asked with her face covered in an expression of pure shock and terror. She had heard very terrifying stories about the cultivators who needed to survive through their trials to reach Immortality. However, she was nowhere near becoming an Immortal or a deity, then why did she need to pass a trial? "You are going to become the master of the Lightning Whip. How are you supposed to control a weapon of thunder when you have no control over the thunder itself?" The banshee asked her in return making Li Ming realize the depth of the situation. She still had to wrap her mind around the revelation of her father''s true identity and that she was lured into the Snow Fields by a weapon that was too eager to take her as its master. In her training sessions with the Supreme Immortal, she had indeed learned about the part where a person needed to have control over a specific element if they were going to use a weapon that was bound to that exact element. For example, if a cultivator was using a sword that used the energy of the water to attack then the cultivator needed to learn how to control water in order to control their weapon. The same goes for fire, wind, land, or any other element. Since she was about to become the owner of a weapon that used lightning to work, then it was obvious that she would need to have control over thunder to control and use the Lightning whip. "Normally you would have needed to learn the Thunder Controlling Skills to create a connection between your qi and the essence of thunder. However, since the spirit of the weapon has already entered your body there is no time left for that. The only solution is to take this trial which will gift you with the ability to control thunder." The velvety voice spoke and brought Li Ming''s attention out of her misery. "What is exactly going to happen n this trial?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. There was no point in regretting her decisions anymore. It would be far much better if she actually prepared herself for the upcoming trial. "Nothing much. You would sit inside this hologram and there would be lightning bolts striking the circles that are connected with the hologram. All you need to do is to absorb the essence of more than 100,000 lightning bolts. As soon as you will finish absorbing the required number of essences, the trial will be over." The banshee replied with seriousness. "Even though this looks like an easy task but it is far from that. Absorbing the essence of 100,000 lightning bolts can be completed within a week, especially when the lightning is not striking you directly. However, the moment you will start absorbing the essence of lightning you will need your spiritual qi to balance the essence inside your body. It means the longer you will take to complete the trial the more spiritual qi your body will expel ." "Meaning there will be a point when your body will be completely out of spiritual qi and you won''t be able to control the essence of lightning inside your body. Losing control over such a powerful element residing inside your body won''t lead to a happy ending." Li Ming stared at the banshee as her mind repeated the death sentence that the mysterious voice and the banshee had just announced to her. "Come on, don''t sit there like a vase waiting to be broken. Quickly sit down in the center of the hologram. Don''t worry, your mates and the two of us will be here looking over you. There are still many works left for you to complete. N chance of dying so quickly." The banshee said as she pulled Li Ming up on her feet and made her sit inside the hologram. "Your words are not even a little bit comforting." Li Ming said as she adjusted herself in the lotus sitting position. "Why do you have the misunderstanding that I was trying to comfort you? I''m trying to comfort myself." The banshee scoffed as she started placing candy sized iron balls in the circles that were surrounding the hologram. "..." Li Ming watched Kara with utter shock. There was no doubt why she was not that fond of the banshee and her uninvited company. Kara held the power of frustrating any person to their death and this was probably her greatest ability. "Close your eyes and follow my words. I''ll teach you the way to settle the essence of lightning that you will absorb later." The mysterious voice said. Li Ming gave the banshee a final look before closing her eyes and letting her mind relax. As her body and mind relaxed she started feeling the presence of the spirit of the Lightning Whip inside her body as well as the energy collection that belonged to her mates. Her soul mark was still sparkling in the six different colors which meant that her mates were still connected with her through the replica of their soul mark. The only other person who owned the soul mark except for Li Ming was the Second Demon Prince while the others still had to receive theirs. "Each of your mates controls a different element. Bring the energy collection of your mates near the spirit of the Lightning whip and let them stabilize the spirit while covering them with your own spiritual qi." The voice directed Li Ming who immediately started following the directions that she was receiving. She kept doing exactly what the mysterious voice continued telling her to do. It did not take her long to feel the change that started occurring in the spirit of the Lightning whip. It was becoming more stable with each passing moment and the harsh cold aura around it started disappearing. It was around half an hour later when she finally opened her eyes at the banshee''s call. "It''s time for the trial." The banshee said as she pointed at the iron balls with her eyes. Li Ming followed her gaze and watched as the little iron balls started producing white sparking. "Remember to absorb almost all the lightning bolts without missing any of them. If you absorbed all of them then it will barely take two days for you to finish the trial. Since your mates'' energy will be used in keeping the spirit of the Lightning whip stable, therefore it won''t be possible for them to assist in keeping your energy level maintained. At this rate, it will take seventy-three hours before you will be out of energy." The banshee gave her a bit of quick last-minute advice followed by a sudden and unexpected peck on her forehead before her silhouette disappeared from there. Li Ming was too shocked to utter a single sound. Her mouth was hanging open as she rubbed her forehead where she just received the most disgusting kiss ever. Ewww! Fine! The banshee probably knew some other tricks too that could help her in killing people. Kissing someone out of the blue with her bright crimson painted lips could make anyone vomit blood in horror and disgust. "That was.....sudden! By the way, make sure to follow the procedure of absorbing the lightning essence that I taught you. Pass this trial with dying colors so that I can finally get over with this job." The mysterious voice said and Li Ming was sure that she also heard a soft sigh. "Job?" She asked as she waited to experience the Live show of real lightning. "En! The job of handing over the Lightning whip to its rightful owner. You know I''m not that young anymore and doing such energy-consuming jobs are making me feel twice my age. I just want to stay in my manor and play with my grandchildren as soon as possible." The mysterious voice answered. Li Ming sure was surprised since she was not expecting the mysterious person to be so old. "Oh. I''m sorry that because of me you have to go through so many troubles. I know that I am not in a position for saying this but still if there was anything that you needed my help in, I will be more than happy to help you." Li Ming said as she both apologized and showed her gratitude for all the help that she received from this mysterious person. "Actually I''m very happy to be chosen for this job. If not because of this job, I would never have got the chance of learning about you on such a deep level. Now, after finding out about your true personality, I am more than ready for the wedding to take place." The mysterious voice said with a soft chuckle. "Wedding?" Li Ming asked in confusion. "Oh right! Let me introduce myself. I''m the current Empress Dowager of the Heaven Realm, the mother of the Heaven Emperor and your soon to be Mother-in-Law." Chapter 220 - Never Be Able To Have Babies... Mother-In-Law... Mother-In-Law... Mother-In-Law... Li Ming was not able to get these words out of her mind no matter what. The mysterious voice.....or, the said Mother-In-Law, disappeared right after dropping the bomb on her. It was like hours had passed when in reality it had been only two minutes. Just as she was busy making her mind calm down a little, the first bolt of lightning descended from the sky and landed on the iron ball that was sitting right in front of her. Li Ming was definitely not prepared but she immediately pulled the essence of the bolt towards her body. Miraculously it worked, and soon she got busied in absorbing the essence of the lightning bolts. As time kept passing, everyone was waiting for Li Ming to return to the ice cave. Right after fifty-nine hours since the trial began, the Immortals suddenly felt a sudden barrier that stopped their powers from transferring into their mate. "What is going on?" Snowy asked as he looked at the six Immortals with confused eyes. "Don''t worry. The trial has passed. Your master is completely fine. We just have to wait for her to return." Zhang Yong told the little furball. The days kept passing and just like that, an entire week had passed. It was the end of the week when an unconscious Li Ming finally returned to the high platform of the Weapon Section in the Ice Cave where all her mates, Snowy, Immortal Master, and Kara were waiting for her. A Huadian, or a forehead pattern, of bright dark blue color, was visible on her forehead, confirming her status as the bearer of the Thunder power and the Master of the Lightning Whip. ---- "Congratulations on breaking through the Grand Master Cultivator Rank. You are doing fabulous, dear." The Heaven Immortal said with a sweet smile as he landed a soft kiss on her forehead. It was the only thing that he was comfortable in doing with her, kissing on her forehead, except for hugging her. But even that made his ears turn bright pink in embarrassment. "At this rate, we would never be able to have babies, Your Highness." Li Ming said with a shake of her head as she looked at her shy mate. "..." "....cough...cough...cough!" "...WHAT?" Her mates were left completely shocked and baffled by her words. Ruoshan, Wen Guiying, and Lord Yueliang stared at her with their jaws hanging on the floor. While the Heaven Emperor looked like he was about to dissolve in dust right that moment due to embarrassment. "Babies?" Ruoshan asked as he looked at her while waiting for her to say something. "Of course, babies. Wait, are we not having any?" Li Ming asked with a horrified look on her face. She was well aware of what she was doing to her mates but their reactions were just too funny to not take advantage of. Wen Guiying was the first one to recover as he hurriedly pulled her away from the Heaven Emperor as he said, "Don''t you all have anything important to do? Just scram all of you from here." The other Immortals were quick to disappear, they were not ready to deal with their mate and her sudden bombs that she loved to drop on then every now and then. After the living room of the cabin emptied and she was left alone with the Supreme Immortal she turned to glare at her mate. "Stop playing with us." Wen Guiying said in a strict tone. "What do you mean? Did I say something wrong?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. Wen Guiying wrapped his arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, barely any space was left between their body. "You are very well aware of what I''m talking about. Stop teasing us, Sweet mate. We also have a limit and your teasing is making it even harder for us." Wen Guiying softly whispered in her ear as his warm breath fanned her nape. The tingles started waking up as they ran freely throughout her body, a normal reaction of her body due to the closeness of her mate. "Good. Maybe now you all can finally understand at least a little bit about how I have been feeling for such a long time." Li Ming said with a scoff. Wen Guiying''s fingers dug a little harder in her waist, almost making a groan skip her lips. "Fine! Go on. Tease us as much as you want. But remember, Sweet One, the day our patience snapped you won''t be able to run away." Wen Guiying''s eyes held promise in them as he looked at her with an intensity that held the power of devouring her. "Who said that I want to run?" Li Ming asked with a smile playing on her lips as she mocked the Supreme Immortal. She was well aware of the dangerous game that she was playing with him but her naughty soul was enjoying the moment too much to care. "You...!" Wen Guiying''s grip on her waist tightened even more as she watched a fire taking over his beautiful eyes. She could feel her heartbeat increasing as she waited for her mate to snap, but she was left amazed when just in a blink he returned to his calm self. He pulled himself away from her as he turned his back towards her to calm down himself. And this made her soul''s anger rise. Somehow, no matter whatever she did, she was never able to break through the control that her mates were carrying within them. She should be happy that her makes were respecting her decision of waiting for the time being before completing their bonds and she was. However, her damn soul had its own unique ideas. The thought that her mates were not attracted to her even a single bit because of her child-like body was trying to settle in her mind. For the first time in both of her lives, Li Ming was feeling like she had two minds. One that was under her control while the second one that belonged to her soul. Her current appearance was not that bad. She was 5''3" in height with her usual three or sometimes four inches heels. Her figure was not model-like but it definitely did not look like one that of a child. Within the next two to three years, her body would be fully matured and would be at its peak. "You don''t have to pretend to be attracted to me when in reality you can''t even stand to hold me in your arms." Li Ming found herself saying as she let out her frustrated soul''s feelings. "Wait, what?" Wen Guiying immediately looked at her with confused eyes. Li Ming rolled her eyes as she started walking towards her room. Of course, the Supreme Immortal was quick to follow her. She was picking up a book from her bedside desk when a group on her arm made her turned towards her mate who was looking at her with a little bit of anger and frustration in his eyes. "I''m asking you, Ming''er? Why did you say something like that?" He asked her with seriousness. Li Ming pulled her hand out of his grip as she replied with a sigh, "Nothing. Just forget it. I was not in my right mind. I''m sorry." The longer she looked at Wen Guiying''s eyes that were penetrating her soul, she started feeling her anger and frustration retreating back in some back corner of her mind. Wen Guiying stepped closer to her and it took everything in her to not step back. "I''m asking you something. Don''t try to avoid the question, Sweet One. Why did you say that I can''t even stand you being close to me?" His eyes bored into her, making her gulp to moisten her suddenly dry throat. For a moment she thought about avoiding his question again but knowing him she was well aware that he won''t let go of this matter without getting answers. "I''m really sorry about that. It''s just what my soul is making me think and I''m getting frustrated because of it. I....I just lost control...and....." She trailed off as she looked at him with sadness and guilt visible in her eyes. Li Ming did not get the chance to even blink before her lips were covered by the soft warm lips of her mate. She was expecting the kiss to be fierce because of his anger, however, it was so slow and warm that all her worries immediately melted away. His hands wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer to his body, wrapping her in his warmth. The kiss lasted for a few minutes and when they finally separated, all that she saw in his eyes was love and warmth for her. "It''s okay, Sweet One. It is okay." He said softly while placing a peck on her forehead and at that moment she knew, it was actually okay as long as she had her mates with her. But what about when they won''t be with her? Chapter 221 - Ice Cleaving Skill "Lower your spiritual qi and let the essence of the snow enter your body. Let it flow through your body to get acquainted with it..." "Just like that. Let the essence of thunder create space and fill it with the new essence..." Li Ming followed the directions of the old man as he repeated the steps of the process of how to yield the power of the ice. For the past few weeks, she had been learning the Ice Cleaving Skill from the Immortal Master. Ever since a month ago when she became the Master of the Lightning whip, the Immortal Master had started entering her to learn some of his very unique and rare cultivation skills that he had in his possession. At first, she did her best to deny and stay away from the old man, however, the old man was not in the mood of giving up any time soon. It was not until the banshee talked with her about the benefits that learning those skills of the old man would be bringing her, that Li Ming finally decided to give in to the old man''s pestering. At least this was what everyone thought when a smiling Li Ming appeared in front of the Immortal Master with an equally happy Kara, and the first one agreed to become the disciple of the Immortal Master for the time being. "Well done! Just in the past three weeks, you have already succeeded in completing five out of seven total levels of the Ice Cleaving Skill. At this rate, by the end of this month, you will become a young master in using this skill. And as you will keep using it in the future, there will be a day when you will be the most powerful user of Ice Cleaving Skill." The old man praised her as he beamed at her in happiness. In the history of the Immortal world, he would be known as the Immortal Master whose all six disciples would be great cultivators of high ranks and would be respected by the people of all the three realms. This thought was the reason behind the sudden and extreme happiness of the old man. Li Ming slowly opened her eyes and her vision was immediately filled with the snow-covered ground and tall trees and colorful shrubs that were at their peak and were creating a breathtaking scenery. "You still remember your promise right?" She asked the old man with a small smile playing on her lips. Her sparkling eyes, dark purple dress, long black hair, the soft smile that was decorating her rosy lips, and the dark blue forehead pattern, all these things made her look like a Goddess that just descended from the Heavens. The old man let out a sigh as he shook his head. He took out a scroll from his spatial ring and passed it to Li Ming. "How could I forget about this? Since you have already passed the fifth level of the Ice Cleaving Skill, now you are the owner of this scroll that is holding one of the most powerful and dangerous spiritual spells in it. I''m sure you will take better care of it." The old man said as he shook the snow off that was covering his clothes. He was really impressed by the young girl. Her sight was always placed at something which could be described as impossible by the rest of the Immortal world. "Sssh...! Your disciples love to eavesdrop. Don''t you dare speak about our deal out loud." Li Ming hurriedly reprimanded the old man. Even though everyone thought that the reason behind her agreement of becoming the disciple of the Immortal Master was the banshee and her pursuing skill, however only the Immortal master and Kara knew about the real reason. Ever since Li Ming came out of the Forbidden Grounds a month ago after mastering her control over Thunder essence and the Lightning Whip, her mind was set on another mission. She had created a complete plan to achieve the next goal that she was thinking about completing before her sixteenth birthday. However, at that time she had no idea that her new mission was one of the hardest ones that she had come across in life. It was already mid of October month and her birthday was barely at a distance of a few weeks. And by so far, she had only succeeded in earning the scroll from the Immortal Master, meaning that there was still a long time left before she would be able to complete her new mission. But as she tried to manage her daily life filled with training sessions, managing her business empire and her mates, there was another important matter that she was struggling with. The entrance exams of the Guixian Academy were coming closer and she still had a lot to prepare. The library in Xiao Tiantang and the Immortal Master was her only source of help in her preparation for the exams. Li Ming shook her head as she tried to bundle up her thoughts and focus on the present. "Thank you very much, Master, for your generosity. This disciple will take her leave now. Have a nice day, Master." Li Ming smiled softly as she bowed. She did not waste even a mere second to give the old man any chance to stop her, as her silhouette disappeared from there within a blink. "Aish! This child is only becoming more and more evil by each passing day." The Old man scoffed as he also took off towards his cabin. ---- "So, you finally succeeded in getting your hands on the Realms Merging Skill. I''m impressed." The banshee said with a smirk as she plopped down on the bean bag that was resting beside Li Ming''s huge mahogany desk where she was currently sitting. "Yep! But after looking at the technique I finally realized the reason behind your and that old man''s stupefied reaction. I get it why you both thought that I''m an idiot for thinking that I can master this skill." Li Ming replied with a sigh. She closed the scroll and placed it on the table. Her head was aching because of all the research that she had been doing for the past five hours without any break. At the current moment, she needed coffee and that too as soon as possible. "What? Already thinking of giving up on the idea of learning it?" The banshee mocked with a sweet smile as she stood and made her way to the coffee maker that was sitting on the opposite side of the office. In response, Li Ming glared at the back of the banshee''s head. "Nothing like that. I''m damn sure that my plan is the best thing to do for all those who are a part of it. However, it definitely is going to take quite some time before I will be able to accomplish it." Li Ming said as she let out a deep sigh. "As long as you are not giving up everything will be fine. To be honest, this is the best idea that you have ever come up with in both of your lives. I''m still shocked that you were able to think of something like this." Kara said in a teasing tone as she passed the coffee mug to Li Ming. The latter just rolled her eyes but decided to not fight with the banshee for the time being. Fighting needed a lot of energy and at that moment she had none. "But there is another major problem in my plan." Li Ming said as she took a small sip of her coffee. "And that is?" The banshee asked with raised eyebrows. "This skill is really a hard one to learn and even harder to master. It won''t be easy for me to learn it on my own. But since I''m heading to the Guixian Island, I''m not sure who can help ne with this." Li Ming shared her problem. "Tsk tsk. It is like I''m the only person in this entire world who has a brain that actually works. Why don''t you appoint me as your advisor, Win? After all, I give you mind-blowing ideas." The banshee chirped excitedly as she looked at Li Ming with curious eyes. "Don''t be too excited. I would rather rot in hell than giving a boost to your ego." Li Ming replied with a huff. The banshee scoffed at the young girl as all the excitement disappeared from her face and she gave Li Ming one of her meanest looks. "Wait! Do you mean that you have a solution to my problem?" Li Ming suddenly asked as she looked at Kara. However, looking at the smirk on the banshee''s lips, she was sure that it was not going to be easy to make the banshee share her idea. "Of course. I not only have the solution of this problem of yours but of another one too. However, I''m not in the mood of sharing." And saying that, the banshee trailed out of the study. "Damn it!" Li Ming kept looking at the door of her study as she cursed herself for never being smart enough when it came to Kara. Chapter 222 - Hickeys! "Do you think this will do?" Li Ming asked as she swayed the pink floral dress in front of the banshee. Kara gave the dress a distasteful look and with a scoff returned her focus painting her nails. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she suppressed the groan that was about to leave her lips. She dropped the dress back in the closet and looked through the collection of the dresses that were hanging in there. She herself barely got the chance to read any of them as most of them were too revealing. Her mates would always become a bunch of flustered teenagers whenever they saw her bare skin and would always try to cover her up. Therefore, she barely touched the beautiful sexy gowns that were resting in her closet. She picked up a black sleeveless gown with a sweetheart neckline and showed it to the banshee. "How about this one? I''m sure you will look fabulous in this. Come on, have a try." She said with a beaming smile as she pushed the dress towards the banshee. "Can you just stop it? I have already told you, no matter what, I''m not helping you. So, stop pursuing me." Kara said with a huff as she pushed back the gown towards Li Ming. The latter gritted her teeth but displayed a very fake smile on her lips. "I know I was wrong that day. But it has been more than a week since then and you are still angry at me. Come on, we have been friends for such a long time, we should ignore such little matters, right?" Li Ming looked at the banshee with hopeful eyes. Kara was silent for the next few minutes as she kept looking at the girl who was giving her puppy eyes. "NO!" The banshee suddenly said ss she stood up from the table and disappeared from the private room of the Black Jade Inn. "Hey...!" Li Ming shouted at the banshee but by that time the woman had already disappeared into thin air. "Why is she being so dramatic? She''s taking too much advantage of my helplessness!" Li Ming huffed as she slapped her palm on the table. It was not intentional but the force behind her slap was too much for the poor table as a crack appeared exactly where the slap landed and the teacups rolled down on the floor, most of them shattering into pieces. "What the..." Li Ming was so shocked that her mind just froze, not wanting to believe that she caused such destruction with barely a half-hearted slap. "You should keep in mind that you are no longer the same Miss Li as before." A soft and musical voice interrupted her. As Li Ming turned her eyes towards the source of the voice, her gaze landed on the Supreme Immortal. Li Ming felt her entire body stiffening as she immediately went on alert mode. For the past three days, she had been trying her best to avoid coming across the Supreme Immortal as best as she could. However, this was the fourth time in three days when she failed poorly in her mission. No matter how hard she tried, it was like there was no way of avoiding him. As if while she was avoiding him, he was trying to find her. "Hehe. You are here." She said with a nervous chuckle as she watched her mate calling out a little bit of his spiritual qi to fix the table and the teacups. The Supreme Immortal did not reply, rather he just gave her a side smile, more like a smile that was saying ''I know you are up to something, but you can''t hide from me''. She had still to tell her mates about her decision of joining the Guixian Academy. There was no idea how long she would need to stay there before she could be able to pass. Moreover, according to the rules of the Academy, the disciples were prohibited from stepping out of the Academy for the first three years. In short, once she passed the entrance exams and became a disciple of the Guixian Academy she won''t be able to meet her mates for the next three years. The Supreme Immortal could be counted as an exception since he was the Master of the Academy. She knew that her mates won''t try to stop her even though they would probably not like her decision, but seeing them sad was the reason behind her hesitation of telling them. "Oh, well...What do you mean by that I''m no longer the same Miss Li?" Li Ming asked in order to dissipate the awkwardness of the situation. "Well, before you were a young cultivator. However, now you are a second rank Great Master Cultivator with a spiritual weapon under your command. Not only that but you now have ice, thunder, and wood essence inside you. It''s normal that even a mere slap of yours can create huge cracks in this table." The Supreme Immortal replied as he settled down on the seat beside her. "Oh!" Li Ming nodded her head at his words that actually made sense. Looked like she needed to control her force while using it. "Well..., umm...is there something I can help you with?" She asked the Immortal. Her instincts were telling her to disappear from the sight of the Supreme Immortal as soon as possible. "No." Wen Guiying replied as he looked at her with the same expression covering his face as before. It was completely impossible for her to read him. She could not decide if he was angry, sad, hurt, happy, or just neutral at that moment. "Oh! Well..., Why don''t you rest here? I''ll ask the servants to bring some snacks and tea for you. I still have some things to take off. See you later." She hurriedly said and jumped up from the seat. Her destination was the door that appeared as if it intentionally moved to the farthest corner of the room to not let her escape from the clutches of the Supreme Immortal. She had barely taken a few steps towards the door when she was suddenly pulled against a hard chest as two strong arms closed her in their embrace. A sigh left her lips as she cursed herself for carrying such bad luck around. She already knew that something like this was going to happen. "Are you avoiding me?" Wen Guiying asked in a soft whisper as he rested his chin on her right shoulder. His silky hair and warm breath teasing her sensitive nape which made her bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from shuddering. "I don''t know what you are talking about. Why would I be avoiding you? That''s ridiculous." She somehow found her voice and replied hurriedly. "Is that so? Then why I''m feeling like ever since I caught you asking around about the entrance exams of the Guixian Academy a few days ago, you have set a goal of avoiding me at all cost?" Wen Guiying asked her as he faked a curious and confused tone. Li Ming cursed inside her mind as she controlled herself from knocking her head on a wall. She was trying to avoid him so that he could not get the chance of asking her about this matter. However, here they were. The Supreme Immortal was indeed very clever. No doubt that he was chosen by the Celestial Council for the position of the Head of the Guixian Island. "Hehe! You are overthinking. There''s nothing like that. I was asking about the entrance exams because I recently learned about the upcoming exams and it picked my attention. That''s it. There''s no other reason." Li Ming hurriedly explained. The arms that were wrapped around her belly tightened as Li Ming felt the lightest touch of something very soft on her nape. This time she was not able to control the shiver that shook her body. She did not even realize that her breathing was becoming heavier by the minute. "Should I believe you? What if you are lying? You know that lying is not a good character trait, right?" Wen Guiying asked her and this time he did not play around. His warm soft lips directly landed on the crook of her nape making a gasp left her lips. It was a body instinct as her head already rolled on the other side to give more access to the warm lips that were trailing all over the right side of her slender neck. "I asked you some questions. Are you not going to answer them, Sweet One?" Wen Guiying asked as he stopped trailing kisses on her neck. It took a lot of her energy to control her heavy breathing ss she replied, "I....I-I am not...AAAAH! Mmm...!" She never got the chance of completing her sentence as Wen Guiying''s lips returned on her nape and this time rather than a soft kiss, she felt him biting the tender skin of her neck. She sure was going to get some hickeys! Chapter 223 - Sharing The Essence Of Her Soul "Let her go. NOW!" Li Ming could feel the reluctance in Wen Guiying as his arms around her waist tightened. However, unfortunately, he was not able to go against the command that he just received from the Moon Immortal. It was not until Wen Guiying had decorated the entire right side of her neck with his love bites and she almost became a puddle due to all the pleasure that her soul was basking in, that the Moon Deity decided to appear. "We should have a little privacy, right Sweet mate?" Wen Guiying asked me as he rested his chin back on her shoulder. Li Ming was quick to shook her head in negative. How could she sacrifice herself in the hands of the Supreme Immortal? "Guiying, let go of her immediately. Just because you want her to reveal her plans, doesn''t mean you should use such tricks on her. Don''t forget that she''s still young." Moon Immortal was sure not happy with the Supreme Immortal''s actions. "It''s not like that.....at least, not completely. She just makes me lose control sometimes." Wen Guiying murmured softly in her ear. There was silence for the next few minutes as both Li Ming and Lord Yueliang waited for Wen Guiying to let go of her. Finally, with a deep sigh, the Supreme Immortal retracted his arms from around her. Li Ming quickly hid herself behind the Moon Deity as she peeked at the Supreme Immortal from above Lord Yueliang''s shoulders. Her cute actions made a huge smile appear on Wen Guiying''s lips and even though the Moon Immortal was trying to remain serious but the twinkle that appeared in his deep cerulean eyes did not go unnoticed. "Since Second Senior Brother is here, I''ll take my leave for now. But don''t worry Sweet Mate, I''ll find my way back to you soon." Wen Guiying said as his dark obsidian eyes bored into her. Li Ming found her fingers closing around the sleeves of Lord Yueliang''s long white robes as she gulped down saliva to moisten her suddenly dry throat. With a slight now of his head to the Moon Immortal, Wen Guiying gave a last look to her and then disappeared from the room. Li Ming let out a deep sigh of relief but before she could enjoy her freedom, she was looking right into those deep ocean-like eyes of her mate. "Are you aware of my plans?" Li Ming asked cautiously. To be honest, she was well aware that her mates had hundreds of ways to find out about what she was up to if they really wanted. The fact that none of them intervened in her personal space and were rather trying to make her reveal on her own, made her happy. "No! None of us have any idea about what you are planning to do. We just know that it''s probably related to the Guixian Island. But don''t worry, no one is going to force you to tell us about your plans. Guiying is just playing with you." Lord Yueliang said as he softly patted her on her head. "Really? What if you won''t like my plans?" Li Ming asked as she tried her best to observe his expression as he replied. The Moon Immortal smiled softly as he looked at his mate. He never knew that his life would suddenly be filled with so much fun and happiness. He had not changed even a single bit ever since she appeared in his life, however, the young girl had completely changed his life. He no more needed to sulk in his manor all alone since now he had a cute and naughty mate who loved troubles. Even his Moon Manor had become more lively after her appearance. It no more felt gloomy and cold, rather it gave a warm and welcoming feeling. The servants of the Moon Manor had also become enthusiastic ever since they got to know that the future empress of the Moon had appeared. Now all he could think or see was his Little One. The only person who mattered to him other than his brothers. The person who never thought about the word love ever before in his thousands of years of Immortal life was suddenly falling for his mate. "Really. Even though we won''t like some of your decisions but as long as they are important and not dangerous for you, none of us will ever stop you from following them. We are here to be your support, to be your strength, not to be your opponent." He replied softly as he looked at his mate with adoring eyes. A smile made its way to Li Ming''s lips as she looked at her mate who was so talented in winning her heart with his sweet words. She moved her hands over either side of his shoulder and closed them around his neck. Lord Yueliang''s hands were quick in their actions as the very next second she felt them lightly sitting on her waist. He probably not even realized that his hands were resting on her waist as the action was too natural and also because he was busy in gazing at his lovely mate. "How strange? A few minutes ago I was dying to get away from one of my mates and look, here I am, trying to make myself understand that you are not a candy which I can devour. It''s really amazing, right?" Li Ming so casually that it took a few precious seconds before the Moon Immortal caught the meaning of her words. Even though he was not a shy person like the Heaven Emperor but he also was not open like the rest of her mates. The way he quickly averted his eyes from her as he tried to look anywhere but at her made him look even cuter. And at that moment, Li Ming just could not control herself as she pulled his face back towards her and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "I will tell you guys about my plan the day after my birthday. And even though I have a feeling that most of you are not going to happy after listening to it but trust me, it''s really important for me. I''m counting on you to support me." Li Ming softly said ss she gazed at her handsome mate with cherishing eyes. Lord Yueliang moved one of his hands and placed it on her cheek, cupping one side of her face in his big warm palm. "You can always count on me. No matter what, I''ll never leave you alone. Never!" It was like he made an oath to the Heavens at that moment as he promised to always be there for her. Li Ming could feel the words that were almost at the edge of her lips to come out and announce her feelings for her mate. But she suppressed them, knowing fully well that it was still not the time. She wanted to announce her feelings to each of her mates when she could gift them the soul mark and that needed some time. Therefore, she stayed silent as she just nodded her head. She again placed her lips against his soft ones and this time she felt him reciprocate as his hand around her cheek angeled her face so that he could devour her sweet mouth. The arm around her waist moved to wrap around her as she was pulled closer to the warm body of her mate. The fire that had settled down after she separated herself from Wen Guiying, was once again started to flare. A very soft gasp left Lord Yueliang''s lips as Li Ming swiped her tongue against his warm soft lips, giving her an entrance into his mouth. Li Ming let one of her hands traveled down to his collarbone where she found a little of his bare skin. The physical touch of his bare skin giving her soul a much-needed relief. At that moment, she knew that she had found the exact place where she wanted to mark her mate. As she deepened the kiss, the fingers of her other hand found their way into the long and silky soft locks of the Moon Immortal. As Li Ming felt her soul enjoying the love and warmth of Lord Yueliang, she pulled on a little bit of her soul essence mixed with her qi. The energy rose higher into her body and entered her arms traveling towards her hand that was resting on Lord Yueliang''s collarbone. The presence of that energy was almost negligible but it was more than enough for making the Moon Immortal shudder in pure pleasure the moment it touched his skin and then entered him. A moan was about to make its way out of his mouth but Li Ming suppressed it as she kept kissing him with all the love and warmth that she held in her heart. She only stopped when she felt the energy, carrying the essence of her soul and qi, settling inside Lord Yueliang''s heart. Chapter 224 - Vulnerable Mates The Moon Immortal snagged against Li Ming, both of his arms loosely circling around her waist as he rested his face in the crook of her neck. "Are you all right?" Li Ming softly asked as she rubbed one of her hands over his back to soothe him, while the other remained tangled in his long silky hair. The Moon Immortal did not reply for a long time as he kept breathing heavily, trying his best to calm his soul and body down. He felt so warm and comfortable in the arms of his little mate. She smelled so good, almost intoxicating him and he just wanted to lose himself in her scent. He inhaled her lilac scent a few times which finally made him soothe down a little. "I...I have never been better. This feels so good, Little One." He whispered finally after a few minutes and his warm breath tickled the skin of her nape. A very small smile made its way to her lips as she asked, "Don''t you wanna know what I just did?" "Only if you want to tell. Whatever it is, it feels so good and feels like a part of you. It''s soothing my heart and soul in a way that I never knew was possible." Lord Yueliang replied as he tightened his arms around his mate. The mighty Deity of the Moon was currently looking like a sated baby as he clung to Li Ming like a baby koala. His already cerulean eyes still held the blue glow of light that had taken over them ever since the kiss that they shared a few moments ago. Li Ming chuckled softly as she kept patting his head warmly as she replied, "I just transferred a little bit of my soul and qi essence into you. Though I can''t give you the soul mark yet but this is also something sacred that is shared between mates and it will help us strengthen our bond." Just like Lord Yueliang''s bright blue glowing eyes, the soul mark on Li Ming''s wrist was also glowing. One of the tendrils glowed in blue color as it matched the brightness of the Moon Immortal''s glowing eyes. "Don''t worry. I''ll cherish it with all my heart for the rest of my life." Lord Yueliang softly whispered as he placed a very light kiss on her nape, making a soft sigh left her lips. The two of them kept standing there in each other''s warm and protective embrace inside the private room of the Black Jade Inn for the next several minutes, each of them lost in their own world of thoughts. Normally, when it came to finalizing the bond between mates, it was usually the males who marked their female mate and completed the bond. The newly completed bond and the process of marking always left the female in a submissive and deprived state, who needed all the attention and affection of her mate or mates. Sometimes, both the males and females needed to mark each other, and even then the females were the ones who ended up more sensitive and submissive than their male partners. There were very rare cases where the females were the ones who marked their mates and completed the bond, and the only cases where males were the ones who ended up in the submissive state no matter how dominant their actual personalities were. Due to some good luck, Li Ming ended up being one of those rare females who would get the chance of marking her mates. She could not wait to see them in their submissive and most vulnerable phase. Not because she wanted to see them weak and helpless, rather the reason behind her wish of seeing every single one of her mates in their submissive form during their bond completion was totally different. The pleasure and contentment that a person received while taking care of all the needs of their mate during the bond completion could be counted as one of the best moments of their lives. That few days when she would be busy in taking care of them after the completion of their bonds would make their bond more powerful and strong. She would make sure to take care of all the needs and wants of each one of her mates. However, that day was still far away and she needed to wait quite some time for that day to finally arrive. --- "Master, out of all those people who were saved from the slave market, around twelve youngsters and four women along with two men in their mid-forties, have been discharged from the hospital. What''s your next plan for them?" Sue Mei asked as she one by one returned all the account books in the huge wooden box. Each account book was related to the different businesses running under Li Ming''s authority. "Don''t worry, I have already passed my orders to Old Mo. It''s a good thing that most of them are on their way towards recovery while some have already recovered. But we still need to stay calm around them. It will take them some time to readjust to their new lives. Keep your eyes on their situation." Li Ming told the girl who looked far more beautiful and mature in her yellow dress with silver hairpins adorning her long hair than the first Li Ming met her when she returned from the Iron mines. "Yes, Master!" Sue Mei accepted the task as she bowed in greetings as she stood up from her seat and left the room with all the account books. Only a few days were left before her sixteenth birthday that was approaching very rapidly. And with that, her tension was also increasing. The banshee was still ignoring her even after Li Ming had tried various ways of calming her anger down. However, nothing worked. And as the days passed and it was already the end of the October month, the winter season was once again about to knock on their doorsteps. For the past few days, she had been busy in preparing a new plan for the coming Winter season and the next year that was only at a distance of a few months. Although she could not plan everything in advance for the next few years, but she still wanted to create a rough draft that could help her people in focusing on the main objectives of the businesses. The good thing was that she now had an entire team of talented people under her who mostly took care of all the businesses. All that she had done in the past seven or eight months was to take a look at the account books and some important data collections. Other than that, there was barely any need for her in any of the businesses. According to her team of talented associates, the only that she should do was to either cultivate the entire day and became an Immortal cultivator or she could just sit on her throne of the Young Miss of the Li Empire that she had created. However, no matter how good everything was going on. As the boss of all the businesses and workers, she could not help but worry about them. The knock on the door of the room disturbed Li Ming''s thoughts. "Master!" A young boy in his late teens entered the room as he bowed to greet the girl who was busy in making notes. Li Ming nodded her head as she looked up at the boy in front of her. The boy took out a bag from his spatial ring that was gifted to him by his generous and kind Master the day she took him in under her wing along with his old mother and nine-year-old cousin brother. He still remembered the day nine months ago when he was running around the streets of the capital city of Wang Empire in the chilled weather to find some food for his mother and little brother. He had stayed away from his family for almost a year as he went to learn martial arts from the Daoist master who lived a few miles away from the Dark Valley Mountain Ranges. Though he made sure that his mother and younger brother won''t face any problems in his absence, little did he knew that just a few months after he left their house caught fire. Though both his mother and younger brother were saved by the neighbors but their house got completely destroyed along with those few possessions that they held. His mother refused to notify him because she did not want to become baggage for him, therefore she started working as a maid in one of the noble families. His mother was already old and the constant labor made a very bad impact on her health. By the time he decided to return and pay his family a short visit, his mother''s health had already declined while his younger brother looked malnourished. The day he returned back to his home which somehow looked like a collection of wooden planks and hay, he found out that his family had barely eaten anything for the past two days. And as he was running around the streets in the heavy snowfall to found any open shop or inn to find food for his family, he bumped into a Young Miss who changed his and his family''s life forever. Chapter 225 - A Helping Guide Of Guixian Island Li Ming opened the bag that the young boy just gave her and looked at the contents inside it. "Master, there is all the information that you wanted me to collect. Though it took me so much more time than I thought but I have made sure to collect as much information as I could." The boy said as he watched Li Ming looking at one of the maps. Li Ming nodded her head as she passed him a warm smile. She was very happy with his work. She took out a wooden box from her magical space and placed it on the table before pushing it towards the young boy. "You have worked hard. This is a gift from me for your excellent performance. I will be happy if you accept it." Li Ming said as she looked at the boy with soft eyes. "Master...this..." Li Ming could see the hesitation in the young boy''s eyes. "Ji Tian, you have done a lot more than what you were told to do. I trusted you with this very important mission because I believe in your capabilities. The fact that you succeeded in your mission without alerting the Crown Prince or any of his guards is really remarkable. You deserve this. Please don''t refuse." How could the boy say no to his Master when she was using such techniques to make him accept the gift? Therefore, the boy thanked his Master sd he picked up the box. As he felt the weight of the wooden box his shocked eyes immediately looked at his Master who gave him a little nod. The boy promised himself to buy something good for his Master for her upcoming birthday. The Black Jade Inn had already started preparing for the celebration that would start around four in the evening. At the same time, a small party was also being organized in the Dongji village that would start around nine in the morning. There were still two days left in her birthday but everyone had already busied themselves in the preparation for her birthday celebration. It was not long after Ji Tian had left, that a large flower with dark blue petals with white interiors, dropped in the very middle of the map that was spread open over the desk in front of Li Ming. A sigh left her lips as she looked at the flower with an unpleasant look in her eyes. She pulled on her spiritual qi and let it transfer into the flower, the very next second the beautiful blue flower turned into shining golden words that appeared on the map. "Don''t even think about skipping your lessons! Meet me on the Western Peak of the Snow Fields." She wanted to curse the old man to death as she read the message that he had sent her. Just as she finished reading the last word, the characters disappeared from the map. With a deep sigh, Li Ming started putting everything back safely inside her magical space as she prepared to visit the old man. It took her barely five minutes to clear up everything and then she was off to the Snow Fields. --- "Just because you mastered the skills of cultivating ice, wood, and thunder, that does not mean you don''t need my help anymore." The old man definitely was not looking happy as he glared at the young girl. "Why do you want to see me? You wanted to teach me five cultivation skills and I have already learned all five of them. Did not you say that all that is left for me to do is to master those skills which will happen when I''ll use them frequently? Then what now?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the old man with a frustrated glare. She had so much work left to finish before her birthday but she just could not find enough peace and free time to do that. "Don''t act so rude and impatient. At this rate, you will ruin my reputation as your Master." The Immortal Master said as he reprimanded his youngest disciple. His words made Li Ming scoff as she looked at the old man with unbelieving eyes. "I will ruin your reputation? First of all, except you and the rest of your disciples, no one is aware of the fact that you have taken me as your new disciple. And Second thing, if someday people actually find out about our relation there''s no doubt that they sure would be shocked. After all who would want to believe that the famous Young Miss of the Li Empire has such an old freak as her master." "You...!" The old man felt like he was almost about to puke blood due to anger. His young disciple was way more talented in increasing his blood pressure just with her words. If there was anyone in the entire Immortal Realm who had the power of killing the Immortal Master then it was probably Li Ming. She just needed to throw her gut-wrenching and blood-boiling words at the old man and whew!!...he would be dead due to puking so much blood. "Forget it! There''s no point in talking about these topics with you. Let''s focus on the reason for which I have called you here." The old man said as he rubbed his temples lightly. "En!" Li Ming hurriedly nodded her head so that the old man could hurriedly start with whatever he had in store. After all, she had a lot to prepare for her entrance exam, and there was almost no time left. "Do you have any knowledge about Guixian Island?" The old man asked her with a serious tone. Li Ming also became serious as she slowly shook her head in negative. However, before the old man could speak, she hurriedly said, "But I have found this book in the library of Xiao Tiantang. I think I''ll get a rough design for it after reading this book." She took out an old-looking book from her space and handed it to the old man. As the Immortal Master took a look at the book, Li Ming started getting cramps in the pit of her stomach due to nervousness. Although she was set about entering the Guixian Academy, but it was the first time when she was nervous about her mission. "Hmm. This book can give you the basic knowledge of Guixian Island, but that place is filled with traps and mysteries. Here, take this with you. It will be of great help." The old man said as he passed a blue-covered thick book to Li Ming. "Are these the smaller islands that surround Guixian Island?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the map that was drawn on the first two pages of the book. "Right. And this..." The old man said as he tapped at the sketch of an island that was quite bigger in size than the rest of the other islands that were surrounding the main island. It was also the farthest island out of all of them. "...this one will play an important role in your entrance exam." The old man finished his sentence. "This one...?" Li Ming looked up at the old man with a confused look visible in her eyes. "The entrance exams of the Guixian Academy are divided into two parts. The first exam is very simple. Since Guixian Island is located in the middle of a huge water body, in the first task all the disciples who would come to participate in the exams would need to find a way to reach Guixian Island on their own. You all will get only twenty-four hours to complete the first exam. Those who would succeed in reaching the main Island within those twenty-four hours would pass the exam, the rest could return to their homes." Li Ming nodded her head as she listened to the old man''s words very carefully. It was a golden chance for her to collect as much information as she could about Guixian Island and the Academy from the old man. "After reaching the Guixian Island, you all will need to select the sect that you want to join and according to your choice your second exam would be given to you." The old man continued explaining. "In your case, your second exam would take place on this island." The Immortal Master once again tapped his index finger on the map showing her the exact location of the island. "The task is very simple. Since you want to join the Array sect you will need to save yourself from the hundreds of arrays that are placed all over the Array Island. Even though you have no experience in this field but as long as your cultivation level is good and you have the capability of becoming a master in Array formation, you will be able to succeed in this exam too." Li Ming nodded her head in reply with a soft smile on her face. The old man let out a deep sigh as he said, "However, even though the entrance exam is not a big deal for you to clear, there''s actually a bigger problem waiting for you in the Guixian Academy. As far as I can see that stubborn old man will never agree to take you as his disciple. Your real challenge is to get that man accept you as his disciple." Chapter 226 - The Birthday Party (Part One) The entire central street of the Dongji village was bustling with happiness as all the gathered people enjoyed the happy moment. It was finally the day of their Young Miss'' sixteenth birthday and the residents of the village had given their all for the wonderful preparation. After all, the Young Miss was the reason why the Dongji village was no longer a poor area unknown to everyone. Within the past eighteen months, Dongji Village had developed into a smaller city, and it was all thanks to their Young Miss. The previous old and outdated houses now looked far new and were systematically built alongside the street roads that were made of concrete. The village now had a small school in it where their children could hone their skills. No matter what kind of future they wanted to pursue, the school provided them with proper help and a wonderful environment. There was also a small market built around a small park that was situated at the very center of the town. There was a five storey Inn, a three storey Garments Shop that is under the partnership of the Jin family, a bakery, a book store, a four storey building where all the final products of the farming were stored and deported, and many others. There were even a small clinic and a spiritual herb shop located in the village. Many maple trees were standing around the town and the houses. The street roads had street lights and benches were sitting beside them at every three hundred meters distance. The Fields no longer looked barren and unorganized, rather it looked very well organized, and the beautiful sight of the ripen fruits, crops and vegetables could fill anyone with awe and admiration. The farm that was standing at some distance from the fields was also at the peak of its business. There were chickens, fishes, ducks, pigs, horses, sheep, honeybees, silkworms, and many other animals inside the farmhouse. An entire team of hundred and fifty-two people worked there to keep the farm business running smoothly. In short, the Dongji village could be called a miracle village when looked at the changes and progress that had appeared there within such a short time. The thousands of people who had visited the Dongji village in the past ten to twelve months to buy the fresh and spiritual qi rich vegetables, fruits, crops, meat, clothes, and even herbs, were always left in amazement. Although, the village was almost at its peak but there was still something that was lacking between all these miracles. Since the transportation system of the mortal realm was mostly carriages, it wasted a lot of time of their customers when they came to visit the village. Even Li Ming herself was tired of the long processes that took in shifting goods or even people from one place to another. The only solution to this problem was teleportation arrays and this was the exact reason why she was adamant about joining the Array Sect of the Guixian Academy. As she sat at the Long table that was sitting at the top of the platform that the villagers had set up in the small park, she looked at the people who were sitting in groups and enjoying the celebration. What Li Ming was not expecting was to see the different groups of the students of her Academy as they climbed up the small platform, that was sitting in the middle of the park, and showed off their skills one after the other. There was also a group of young girls that performed a beautiful dance and then there was another group of students who amazed the audience with their martial arts skills. "I must say, If by any chance the Father Emperor got to see your birthday celebration, he would probably suffer through a panic attack." Zhang Yong whispered to her as he watched a group of students showing their cooking talent. The Fourth Prince showed up at the park very early in the morning when the villagers were busy in the last minute touch-up of the decorations. The villagers were more than happy to invite the fourth prince to attend the celebration as they all were aware that the prince was a close friend of their Miss. Li Ming sure was shocked to see him there but she was not going to complain. It was a good thing that she was in the company of at least one of her mates. Other than Zhang Yong none of her mates had personally wished her Happy Birthday yet. She only got magical messages from them at midnight. She knew that they were busy in preparing their own birthday surprise for her, but looking at the fact that she had two more parties left to attend, Li Ming was not sure about how much energy would be left in her body by the time she would be able to visit the Moon Manor. "Maybe you should share this secret with the people who are gathered here. I''m sure it will be the best compliment for their hard work." Li Ming teased her bondmate who just shook his head with a soft smile playing on his lips. Some of the elders sitting below the platform noticed the warm interaction between their Miss and their Fourth Prince. Their young miss was wearing a beautiful blue dress with pearl earrings with matching bracelets and rings. Her long hair was falling on her back and around her shoulder with white jade hairpins sitting on the crown of her head. A white veil was covering her face but her eyes shone like two beautiful stars. On the other hand, the Fourth Prince looked far too handsome as he sat beside their Miss clad in dark red and white brocade robes with golden touches here and there. The golden coronet that was sitting on top of his head held his long silky hair high as they fell on his back like a mesmerizing waterfall. His warm eyes had been trained on their Young Miss ever since the celebration started. How could those elders who had seen all the ups and downs of life and had years of experience, not see the meaning behind those warm eyes of their prince? "They look so good together, don''t they?" One of the Grandma asked her companions as she pointed towards the pair sitting in front of them with her eyes. "Of course, they do! Grandma Fei, just look at them. One is the great and marvelous Fourth Prince of our Empire, the one who is the favorite son of our Emperor and holds the military power in his hands. While the other one is our gorgeous and powerful Young Miss, the sole owner of the Li Business Empire that is known throughout the Mortal Realm. If the two of them ended up together, it would be a day of a high celebration." One of the madams said happily as she was left awed by the beautiful couple that was sitting in front of her. Li Ming almost choked on the tea that she was sipping as she heard the words of Grandma Fei and Madam Shen. Zhang Yong hurriedly took out his handkerchief and started wiping her lips and chin. This time the group of women, who had been observing the two of them, could not stop but let out a chorus of swooning squeals. Their sudden squeals of happiness attracted the attention of the other villagers as they started looking at what had happened to make them squeal. Li Ming also noticed what was about to happen and she immediately snatched the hanky from Zhang Yong''s hands and with a click of her fingers the two of them looked as normal as if nothing happened. That''s why when the other people looked at their table they found nothing special, just the two of them talking normally and enjoying the feast. The group of madams was left embarrassed as they realized that everyone was giving them weird looks. After that, they stopped staring at their Miss and the Fourth Prince, not wanting to anger them with their childish antics. "Are you purposely trying to fuel their wild imaginations?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the Shadow Lord with raised eyebrows. "Of course, not. I was just worried that you will ruin your image in front of your people with that tea covered face of you....OUCH! Get a grip on your legs woman! Are you planning of crippling me?" Zhang Yong definitely was not expecting her pointy heels hitting him hard on his right feet. The pain that shot through his feet almost made him cry out. Though his qi immediately made the pain disappear but those two seconds were still enough to make him see stars. "It''s good that you are aware of my abilities." Li Ming said as she smiled brightly at the prince. "Aish! You are becoming more and more feisty with time. You should start learning how to behave like a lady. Even though we have already excepted you with all your faults and drawbacks but what if our mothers rejected you.....ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I''m sorry, sorry.....really sorryyyyyyyy!!" The Shadow Lord was bound to die. Chapter 227 - The Birthday Party (Part Two) "Just look at my waist. It''s full of bruises. Oh, my poor waist...!" Zhang Yong''s complaints ranged throughout the magical mansion and Li Ming almost threw the Shadow Lord out from the window. "Will you just shut up for a second! Let me take a look." Li Ming said a little strictly as she moved towards the fourth prince who was sitting at the end of her bed. Zhang Yong immediately followed her command and became completely silent. A smile played on his lips as he watched the young girl frowning as she looked at the purple bruises that were decorating the right side of his waist. "Are you sure these are the results of my pinching? I was not that harsh after all." She asked while looking at him with suspicious eyes. "You really underestimate yourself. Do you think I have pinched myself to create these bruises?" Zhang Yong asked her as his eyes filled with hurt. He was acting like Li Ming had just accused him of some massacre. "Alright! I accept that I''m the culprit behind this condition of yours. I was not thinking straight at that moment. But tell me, how come these bruises did not heal in the past two hours? You are such a powerful cultivator after all." Li Ming stared at the Fourth Prince with her hands folded in front of her as she waited for the crafty Shadow Lord to answer her question. If there was anyone out of all of her mates who had the capability of giving her competition in craftiness then it was definitely the Shadow Lord. The man was just full of as many wicked ideas as Li Ming. If the two of them someday decided to open a business or some spy agency then would definitely become the thorn of many eyes. "Of course it was me who stopped my powers from healing these bruises. Otherwise, how would I have shown you exactly how cruel you have become?" Zhang Yong scoffed at her as he moved his palm over the bruises and they immediately disappeared. "..." Li Ming was left completely speechless. "Forget it. We are getting late for the party. Let''s go." She said while picking up her veil from the dresser and once again putting it on. As she turned away from the mirror her eyes landed on the Fourth Prince who was busy in putting his clothes back on. She smiled softly as she walked over to him and started helping him. No matter how much they bicker, their friendship was just as solid as one could be. And their bond only made it much stronger. After the Shadow Lord was once again back to his formal glory, meaning his clothes were back to their formal glory, they decided to leave the magical mansion. As Li Ming was walking down the stairs towards the dining hall on the first floor of the Black Jade Inn, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned towards Zhang Yong. "I never knew that you are hiding such a magnificent body beneath these robes. Maybe, just maybe, I would love to enjoy a gym session with you. Look forward to it." She winked at the puzzled and mostly baffled Fourth Prince before continuing walking downstairs. "G-gym? Wait, Ming''er!" The Shadow Lord hurriedly walked behind the young girl who had left him confused with half of her words, while the other half left him a little embarrassed. For the next two hours, they enjoyed their time at the birthday celebration that was beautifully organized by the people of the Inn and Minghue Tea House. From just two of the parties, she had collected enough gifts to fill an entire room. Even though she had clearly forbidden every single person from Dongji Village, Black Jade Inn, and Minghue Tea House to not buy any kind of gifts for her, everyone still brought gifts for her. Also, there were hundreds of others who came to join the celebration that was going on in the Black Jade Inn. She received treasures from all over the mortal realm and even she agreed that if the Emperor would have, by any chance, seen her birthday celebration then he would have puked blood in terror. Her next birthday party was organized at the Enchanted Magik Forest by the Sups, pixies, Kara, and her two snowballs. By the time she finally was free from all the three parties it was already around five-thirty in the evening and she was feeling dead tired. In all the things that she received as birthday presents, a particular golden envelope had caught her attention. It was a gift from Kara but she asked Li Ming to only open it at the first ray of the dawn. Even though Li Ming was getting cramps in her stomach because of her curiosity that wanted to know exactly what was in that envelope, she could do nothing but wait. However, before that, she had another birthday party left to attend. She hurriedly kicked out Zhang Yong from her magical mansion and prepared a bubble bath for herself. She added some energy-boosting spiritual herbs in the bath to make her energy less body feel a little bit more alive. It took her nearly half an hour to finish her bath and another ten minutes to dry her hair. This time she took a huge tulle ball gown out of her collections that was too heavy to even hold. It carried spaghetti straps with a black beading bodice. There were huge handmade flowers attached at the hem of the tulle ball gown. The blueberry color evening gown was sticking to her body like a second skin. This dress was far much bolder than the one that she wore the last time. This one had a clear split in her neckline that ended right above her navel, leaving the curve of her C cup breasts a little visible. The spaghetti straps also left her shoulders and arms completely bare and unlike the front, her back was left completely bare. She pulled her long hair in a high tight bun with a few loose curls that decorated her face and nape. Her makeup was light but her rosy lips were shining brightly as the light shone on them. Long silver earrings, bracelets, and rings were the only jewelry that she wore, and the five inches heels were the final touch to her smoking look. Let''s see exactly how her mates were going to survive through the night! Chapter 228 - The Birthday Party (Part Three) "Oh, look! They are here!" Li Ming heard Ruoshan shouting with excitement from a distance as she and Zhang Yong entered the front lawn of the Moon manor. It was just as beautiful as she remembered. Everything looked grand and otherworldly beautiful. "Aah! Why are you dressed like this? It''s your birthday and you are looking like an assassin with your face and clothes covered with this robe. Come on, let''s take it off..." Everything happened so suddenly in the next few seconds that no one got any time to think. Ruoshan untied the bow of her robe as he prepared to take it off and at the same time, Zhang Yong suddenly shouted for him to stop. However, it was already too late. By the time the Shadow Lord succeeded in shouting in alarm, the cloak was already slipping from her face and body. Li Ming watched with a smirk as the confused expressions on her five soulmates'' faces suddenly turned into horror. And at the same time, Zhang Yong facepalmed himself as he muttered something under his breath. "Can''t you listen? It took me a lot of effort to make her wear this robe and now look!" The Shadow Lord huffed and just walked off. "W-what are you wearing?" Hei Long asked when he finally got control over his voice. "Umm...a gown? It''s pretty right? I''m feeling so good, confident, and relaxed after wearing it. I can''t wear it in the mortal realm but at least I can wear it now. Come on, let''s not waste any time. I''m excited to see what you guys have prepared." Li Ming expertly used her words making sure that none of the five Immortals would be able to say anything about her dress and how she should cover herself. The funny thing was that they had still to see her back which was even more on display than her front. The Heaven Emperor who was already looking like a tomato turned even redder, if possible, as his eyes landed on the milky white skin of Li Ming''s back. "She..." "Our little mate sure loves to test our self-control. She is a real monster." Wen Guiying said as he shook his head lightly. His normally black eyes were suddenly filled with fire as they stared at the departing figure of his mate. The others were no different. Their eyes also held the same fire and struggle in them. It was taking too much of their energy to calm their souls which kept yearning for their little mate. However, Li Ming''s constant teasing was proving it far harder for them to succeed in the battle that was going on inside them. "Let''s not say anything to her. Didn''t you listen to what she just say? She felt comfortable and happy wearing those clothes around us. We should respect her decisions." Lord Yueliang said as he looked at his brothers. "It''s not like we don''t respect her choices. Of course, we do! But...but how are we going to survive through this party? And what if she caught a cold in this chilly wind?" The Heaven Emperor asked as he looked at the others with questioning eyes. A silence fell over the group of Immortals as no one spoke for the next few minutes. The silence was broken when a soft chirpy voice interrupted them. "No need to worry. I found something far more comfortable to wear. I think I''m loving this one far much better." Their heads turned to look at the girl who was standing at the entrance of the East courtyard with a flustered Zhang Yong behind her. Their eyes took in the new appearance of their mate. She was wearing soft silky black pajama with an equally soft silky shirt. Her hair was pulled in a loose ponytail at the base of her nape. Other than her shining baby pink colored lips there was no trace of makeup left on her face and her feet were covered in fluffy slippers. "Little One..." A feeling of guilt took over the Immortals as they realized that their mate probably heard their talk and that''s why she ended up changing her outfit. "You don''t need to..." "Come on! You guys ate really something." Li Ming muttered under her breath while shaking her head from left to right as she marched over the place where they were standing. "Listen! I''m not angry nor I''m sad. To be honest, pajamas are really way more comfortable than gowns and I don''t think I need those clothes to get your attention, do I?" Li Ming looked at her mates one by one as her eyes sparkled with honesty and love. It was just a last-second decision of hers to change her gown into pajamas. First, because the night was actually freezing, and Second because she did not want to make her mates feel uncomfortable. And who said that pajamas were inferior to those designer gowns? Ruoshan pulled her in a tight hug as he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now, now! Are you all ready to experience your first time in these comfortable and classy pajamas?" Li Ming asked as she excitedly looked at her confused mates. "What do you mean?" The Heaven Emperor asked her. The redness had started to fade from his cheeks and now they looked more pinkish. "What? Are you guys thinking that you will get away from this so easily? Definitely not! You all are going to accompany me to my pajama party. I want to enjoy this night to my fullest." As she ended her sentence her voice became a little serious as she looked lost in her own thoughts. "She''s right. These are actually comfortable and feel good, so silky." At the voice of the Shadow Lord, everyone turned to look at the Immortal who was wearing yellow pajamas. He looked so different but absolutely cute in them and Li Ming once again cooed at how cute he was looking. "See! Look how handsome my Zhang Yong is looking." As soon as these words left her lips, her soulmates immediately shouted in unison. "We are ready!" Li Ming almost received a shock at the sudden burst of sound that made her jump away from them. "A-aah! Yeah, r-right, right!" Li Ming patted her chest a little to calm it down. She clapped her hands three times and muttered a silent spell. The very next second there were a total of six handsome Immortals standing in the front lawn of the Moon manor as they looked so cute in pajamas. The Heaven Emperor in golden, the Moon Immortal in blue, the Supreme Immortal in green, the Evernight Lord in purple, the Second Demon Prince in black, and the Shadow Lord in yellow. Hei Long was extra happy as the color of his clothes was matching with Li Ming''s pajamas. "Let''s go. We have already wasted a lot of time." Ruoshan said as he grasped Li Ming''s hand in his own and started running towards the inner courtyard. For the next three hours, they drank, ate, joked, laughed, told interesting and embarrassing stories of each other and the Moon Immortal and Hei Long even played a beautiful and heartwarming song for her. By the time it turned ten o''clock and the night was just two hours away from approaching its peak, the seven of them found themselves comfortably sitting around on the carpet-covered floor of one of the chambers in the West wing where all the bedrooms were located. The room was filled with thick bedcovers and cushions and they were sitting in a circle covered with blankets. "You are sitting too far away for my comfort. Cone here!" Li Ming did not even get the chance of squealing properly at the sudden pull before she found herself in Hei Long''s lap. His arms found their way around her waist as he pulled her tight against his firm chest, his chin resting on her head as he breathed in her lilac scent. However, the two of them never got the chance to enjoy each other''s closeness as soon the room was filled with complaints from the rest of her mates. "This is not fair!" "Definitely not fair!" "Why only he got the chance of holding you?" "What about the rest of us?" "You should take turns!" "..." The room immediately went silent as the words of the Heaven Emperor ranged into everyone''s ears. They all turned their eyes towards the Ruler of the Immortal World who suddenly was too embarrassed to even look up from his lap. Li Ming could clearly see the redness that was once again decorating the tips of his ears and his cheeks. It was probably the alcohol that was made him voice out his thoughts. A smile made its way on her lips as she asked in a soft but curious tone, "What did you just say? I should take turns? Like, I should sit in all of your laps one by one? Is this what you want?" Chapter 229 - Never Have I Ever Just as the Heaven Immortal was about to become a puddle due to embarrassment, the room suddenly went quiet leaving him confused. He was about to look up when his eyes landed on the little Snowy who was about to climb up on his lap. He watched in pure surprise as the furball sat down comfortably in his lap while looking completely at ease. His eyes immediately looked at his mate who was staring at her familiar with a dropped jaw. "You can sit in that Demon''s lap as long as you want. In the meanwhile, I will keep the mighty Heaven Lord entertained over here. No need to worry and make your wrinkles appear earlier than destined." "..." Li Ming stared at the little Pomeranian as he taunted her with no care in the world. "Alright then!" She replied haughtily as she gave the furball one of her famous death glares. However, Snowy completely ignored her as he rubbed his face against Heaven Emperor''s warm stomach. "He even smells much better than you. Almost reminds me of a sunny day, of light and warmth." Snowy muttered as he inhaled the fragrance surrounding the Heaven Emperor. The little furball was completely unaware of the fact that everyone in the room also heard his words, especially his master. As Li Ming fisted her fingers tightly to control lashing out at the little brat, she found the Second Demon Prince tightening his arms around her. She felt his breath on her nape before his soft words entered her ear. "Don''t listen to him. He''s just teasing you knowing that the First and Second Brothers would probably save him from your anger. As for your fragrance, there''s a reason why I call you my lilac girl. Don''t forget that for the six of us, your fragrance is the most beautiful and sweet in this entire world. Nothing can change that." Li Ming found her body relaxing but she did not let her expression changed much as she replied with a scoff, "You sure have a silver tongue." A small smile appeared on Hei Long''s lips as he replied, "I''m going to take that as a compliment." She felt a soft kiss landing on her nape and all the words that were about to spill from her lips died immediately. However, Snowy''s next words almost made her kick the furball out of the room like a football. "Please keep everything under PG-13. I''m a baby here." Snowy was looking at her with raised eyebrows as if he was waiting for her to agree with his stupid demand. "Why the fuck are you even here if you can''t stand this situation?" Li Ming asked him with gritted teeth. "Oh! It''s not like I have any interest in wasting my time here. But unfortunately, I have been chosen as the one who will need to keep eyes on you so that you can''t take advantage of these poor men." Snowy replied with a sigh. "Wait, wait, wait! Let''s not get violent, alright! Let''s play the game that you were talking about at dinner." Ruoshan was quick in stopping his little mate who was sure about to murder the furball. The little Pomeranian sure had some guts to keep testing Li Ming''s patience every now and then. The Evernight Lord was not sure whether he should call the furball confident or foolish. "Yes! We should start playing the game that you were talking about before." It took the Immortals some precious time to calm down their mate and persuade her to start the game. The game that Li Ming proposed in front of them was called ''Never Have I Ever''. The rules were pretty simple and clear. It took them barely anytime in setting up wine bottles and glasses as they all bundled up to start the game that sounded so interesting. "Alright! Since you all are playing this game for the very first time, I will start with the first round." Li Ming announced after they filled their glasses with wine. The Immortals nodded their heads as they all agreed with her. "So..." Li Ming looked a little lost as she tried to come up with something interesting and barely after a few seconds her eyes were sparkling with mischief. "...Never have I ever seen a man naked!" She shouted and smirked as she eyed her mates who all looked flustered after hearing her sentence. "Don''t you think it''s a little bit awkward to ask such questions? I mean..." The Heaven Emperor trailed off as he watched his mate looking at him with raised eyebrows. "Come on, guys. Don''t ruin the fun of the game. Since you all have seen naked men, drink up!" Li Ming ordered ss she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Why do you think so? We never confessed that we have ever seen someone naked." Roshan asked as he looked at her with a frown decorating his handsome face. "Are you trying to tell me that in your hundreds of thousands of years, you guys did not even see each other naked? Like really? You want me to believe that?" Li Ming scoffed as she rolled her eyes. The Immortals passed each other quick glances as one by one their hands reached towards their wine glasses. However... "Then you should drink too!" The room became dead silent as everyone stared at Snowy who was looking at his shocked Master. "Me? Why me?" Li Ming was definitely not sure why her little familiar would utter some nonsense like that. "If we are talking about them seeing a naked man then you, my dear, have seen hundreds of naked men. So, you should drink too." The Immortals turned their eyes towards her as they stared at her with their shocked eyes. Too many emotions were surrounding those beautiful eyes that had become a part of her daily dreams. She felt Hei Long''s grip tightening around her waist and it made her once again started speaking. "Wait! Guys, don''t believe him. He''s trying to set me up. It''s not like what he''s saying. I have never seen a naked man. Please trust me." Li Ming desperately looked at her mates who had become a little less tensed by her words but the fire in their eyes still had to calm down. "And you! What rubbish do you think you are spouting? When did I..." "What about watching porn?'' " Wait! What?" She could not grasp a single thing that was going on. Did her little familiar was out to take revenge on her? "Are you kidding me? Watching someone naked in porn doesn''t mean that I saw a naked man in real life. That can''t be counted as a real-life experience. Don''t you dare lie to my mates!" Li Ming glared at the furball and the warning bells could clearly be heard. However, Snowy was really out to destroy her relationship with her mates. "It''s you who is lying, not me. Don''t blame me for speaking out the truth. Keep them in dark as much as you want." The Pomeranian huffed as he once again snuggled his face against Heaven Emperor''s stomach. "You..." Li Ming almost lost her mind due to the anger that was covering her brain with the need for dumping her familiar into a pot of boiling water. But before she could listen to her brain and actually take any action, the sudden pain that erupted in her shoulder made her focus returned to her mates who were staring at her. Their eyes were filled with questions and even anger. She did not even need them to voice out their question. As a smart person, she hurriedly started explaining. "As I said, don''t listen to him. He''s really trying to make you guys angry at me. I seriously have not a naked man in real life, I swear." She was not lying. Watching naked people in videos could not be considered seeing them naked in real life, right? As her mates looked at the sincerity in her eyes and the fact that she went as far as swearing on her words, therefore, it did not take them long to calm down. Li Ming felt Hei Long''s hold loosening around her waist as he again planted a kiss on her right shoulder, the exact place where he bit her before. "We trust you." The Moon Immortal said with a soft smile as the warmth returned in his beautiful cerulean eyes. Li Ming felt herself relaxing against the Second Demon Prince''s warm and well-built chest. It was like she just survived through an apocalypse. The mere thought of what would have happened if they had believed in Snowy''s nonsense rather than her, made a cold shiver ran down her spine. "Right! We trust you and we believe that you won''t lie to us." Ruoshan said as he gave her a soft smile. Li Ming hurriedly nodded her head as a small smile also made its way to her lips. "Complete idiots!" Snowy muttered as he scoffed at the Immortals before walking at the other end of the room to sit. Thankfully, the Immortals paid him no attention as they emptied their glasses filled with wine. Little did Li Ming knew that Snowy wasn''t done yet! Chapter 230 - Kissing A Girl "Never have I ever...fought with a sword!" Li Ming groaned out loud to express her misery. Who would have thought that her mates were even capable of turning such a fun game into the very definition of boredom? She just wanted to finish the game as soon as possible and went to sleep. The amount of alcohol that was swimming through her system was making her head and mind hurt every time the Immortals started shouting at each other. And Snowy''s constant mocking and ridiculing remarks were not helping her either. The little furball was acting like a nonstop nagging mother who just could not stand her children having a good time. "Is something wrong, Little One?" Lord Yueliang asked as he emptied the wine from his glass. However, Li Ming''s attention was pulled towards the Second Demon Prince who was the only one that did not drink the wine. "Why are you not drinking?" She asked as she finished her own wine and placed the empty glass back in its initial position. It was a struggle for her to crane her neck backward to look at the face of her handsome mate who was holding her protectively in his arms. "Because I never used one. From the day I was introduced to the world of weapons at the age of five, I realized that not a single one out of that vast ocean of weapons was able to pull at my spiritual qi and that''s why I refused from using any kind of weapon." Hei Long answered her question but his answer only led to the rise of her curiosity. Her eyes landed on the jade flute that was still lying beside him, sparkling in the darkness that was covering the room. "It''s a long story. I''ll tell you at some other time." Hei Long softly said as he rested his chin back on her shoulder and her fragrance take over his senses. Li Ming lightly nodded her head in return. She had a feeling that the story behind the jade flute was not just a simple one. Just a single glance at that shining musical instrument and she knew that it was more than what it appeared. She wanted to be fully sober while listening to that story and currently she was nowhere near being sober. "By the way, can you guys stop running this game? How can you ask such boring questions?" She huffed as she gave her mates one of her most bored looks. "Fine! I''ll ask the next question. Ready?" Zhang Yong asked as he looked at everyone excitedly. When everyone nodded their heads in reply, the Shadow Lord continued. "Here we go then. Never have I ever been to a brothel!" Once again the room was filled with silence. No one knew what most surprising, Zhang Yong asking such a question or the Heaven Emperor picking up his wine glass before gulping down its contents. Li Ming sure was surprised you see that out of all of her mates it was the shy and modest Heaven Emperor who had been to a brothel. But who she was to question because soon enough she would be the one being questioned. "I actually went to one when we were on a mission in the Jin Empire. These guys tricked me and I ended up taking the task of finding clues in a brothel. That''s all. Never before or after that day have I ever looked at such a place." The Heaven Emperor quickly tried to explain the situation to his mate who was carrying a funny expression. "Oh, there''s no need for you to explain. A-actually...." Li Ming trailed off as her eyes landed on Snowy who was also looking at her. ''I don''t think a strip club and a brothel is the same thing, right?'' She asked Snowy through their mind link. Her eyes were filled with hope as she tried to not make it obvious that she was talking with her familiar while she waited for the little furball to reply. ''To be honest, they can actually be portrayed as the same thing. A brothel in this world not only provides pleasure to its guests but also entertainment with music, dance, and drinks, exactly what a strip club is like in the modern world. Looks like you need to drink too.'' Snowy''s mocking reply made Li Ming curse her bad luck in her heart as her hand slowly inched towards her wine glass. And without even looking at her mates, she gulped down all the wine of her glass. Being the head of a supernatural clan, it was very normal for her to meet with her spies and informants in bars, clubs, or even in a strip club. Those meetings were the only reason behind her visits to such a place, but how was she supposed to explain that to her mates. If she had known that playing this game would end with her innocent image being completely ruined in the eyes of her nates, she would never have made such a huge mistake of suggesting this game. "As you all are already aware that brothels can provide a lot of secret information, it''s normal that I would visit them if I want some kind of secret information. There''s no other reason." She softly spoke while looking down at her empty wine glass. She felt fingers on her chin as she was made to look up and the very next second, the warm lips of Ruoshan covered her soft ones. It was only a quick small peck but it was enough for her to relax a little bit as she looked into the beautiful eyes of her mate who gave her one of his warmest smiles. "It''s okay. No need to explain. Let''s end this game here. If we continued drinking then none of us will be able to control the consequences." This time Ruoshan''s words were directed at the rest of his brothers who immediately nodded their heads. Just when they were about to stand up from their sitting positions to clean up the room and leave, Snowy interrupted them. "Can I play the last round of this game? Please!" Li Ming felt like someone was trying to pull her soul out of her body. What the hell the little Pomeranian was planning to do? Li Ming''s thoughts and mind were full of panic as she tried to find out what Snowy was about to do next. She had no idea if she had any other kinky secret left but looking at the little furball''s face, she was getting a very bad feeling in her heart. Just when she was about to refuse, she heard a commanding voice beat her as it ranged into her ears. "Sure. Go on and be quick!" Her eyes stared at Wen Guiying as she watched him digging a grave for her. What kind of mate he was? Could not he see that the little furball was about to utter dome otherworldly level nonsense? Her eyes hurriedly turned around to look at the rest of her mates, however, she found each of them looking at Snowy as if they too were anticipating what her familiar was about to speak. "Okay. Here it is, Never have I ever kissed a girl on her lips!" The Immortals immediately groaned as they realized that they had been played by their mate''s little familiar. They all poured wine into their glasses and gulped it down to finish the game. The only one who remained I''m bothered by Snowy''s words was Zhang Yong as he was the only one who did not drink. Li Ming slowly reached out for the wine jar in Ruoshan''s hands as she snatched it and without even carrying about pouring it into the glass, she took a huge gulp straight from the jar. Her eyes were tightly shut as she listened to the silence that had fallen over her surroundings. Her heartbeat was so fast and loud that for the next few seconds her mind could only concentrate on them. "Y-you..." "...kissed a g-girl?" Zhang Yong asked and just by hearing his voice, Li Ming could tell that the Shadow Lord was beyond shocked at that moment. A sigh left her lips as she slowly opened her eyes while nodding her head slightly. "It was when I was younger...well..., I mean... let''s say it happened a long time ago. I ended up in a challenge with some people and unfortunately, I lost. As a punishment, I was needed to kiss a girl..." She stopped when she realized that a particular pair of eyes were boring into her as she was trying to explain. She looked up and found the Supreme Immortal staring right into her eyes as his own was covered in dark fire. "So, just because you lost that challenge and the winner asked you to kiss someone as a punishment, you agreed to do it?" Wen Guiying asked as he kept staring at her. Li Ming clicked her fingers and Snowy immediately disappeared from the room, leaving her alone with her mates. "Yes! I agreed to complete the punishment. I could not go back on my words no matter what." This time her voice came out more than a whisper as her confidence returned. "What if rather than a girl, they would have punished you by making you kiss a boy? Would you still have done it?" Chapter 231 - Things Were About To Go Down "Well..., I would still have completed the challenge..." The shouts of shocking complaints almost made her cover her ears as she looked at her mates who were glaring at her. "What? At that time I was not aware of you guys being my mates. You can''t hold that incident against me." She immediately defended herself. "B-but...still...how can you k-kiss another m-man?" Ruoshan asked as he looked at her with a horrified expression. "Well..." "No need to answer that question. We don''t want to hear your answer. Let''s finish this game." Wen Guiying said as he hurriedly cut her off. "..." Her mates quickly took care of all the wine jars and glasses and without even saying a single more word they hurriedly left the room. "Hey! Are you going to leave me here?" Li Ming shouted at them but unfortunately, not a single one replied. "Whatever!" She scoffed as she took out a robe from her closet and put it on. As she walked out on the balcony of the West wing, the cold wind made her shiver as her ears and nose started turning red. It only took a single flick of her fingers and a warm shield covered her body, protecting her from the chilly wind. "Here." Li Ming''s eyes landed on the cup of hot coffee that was shoved in front of her. She turned to look at the Fourth Prince who was standing beside her. "I thought you guys were planning on ignoring me. How did you end up here, then?" She asked him as she accepted the coffee. "They are just jealous and no matter how much they trust you in their hearts, they could not help the jealousy that immediately took over them whenever you mentioned other men. You can understand that way better than anyone else." Zhang Yong simply replied as he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. Li Ming felt her body relaxing as her soul was suddenly filled with warmth and love that it felt coming from her mate. "I know. If it has been the other way around, I''m sure my reaction would have been the same as theirs. Maybe even worse. The jealousy that a mate feels is a hundred times more than the normal jealously felt by a human. The fact that they handled the situation in such a better way, is really admiring." She said as she sipped the warm coffee that made her taste buds dance in happiness. "Don''t you think you should do something to make them feel better?" Zhang Yong asked as he started swaying from left to right, with her still in his arms. "I don''t think there''s any point in doing that..." Li Ming replied with a sigh as she placed the coffee cup on the railing beside them. "Huh?" Zhang Yong stopped moving as he made her turn to face him. "What do you mean?" He asked as he looked directly into her eyes. "I think by now you are already aware of how I was trying to find information about Guixian Island and the Academy..." She waited until the fourth Prince nodded his head in agreement before she continued. "...well, there is something I want to tell you and there''s also a favor I want to ask from you." There was silence for the next few minutes as she waited for Zhang Yong''s response. The fourth prince kept looking at her as if he was trying to see into her soul. But then a smile suddenly bloomed on his lips as he cupped her face in his large warm hands. "No matter what you need me for, no matter what you want to tell me, you can always trust me, Ming''er. I will never disappoint you, no matter what. Before being bondmates, we are best friends, and you are the most precious person in my life. I''ll do anything for you." Li Ming smiled softly as she felt her heart filling with love ss she stared at her handsome bondmate. He was still childish, funny, and even irritating sometimes, but over the months that they had spent together she had come to recognize the serious, kind, and helpful nature of the fourth prince. "You are pretending like I''m about to ask you to gift your life to me. Don''t overreact. Even though I''m not going to ask for something impossible but still what I''m going to ask from you is not a simple thing. And I can understand if you don''t want to agree. But first, you need to promise not to shout at me after hearing what I''m about to say, alright?" She waited for a while and when she finally got the promise from the Shadow Lord, did she started explaining her plans to him. **** Li Ming turned to once again look at the group of immortals who were standing around the table that was placed inside one of the pavilions in the Water Courtyard. The pavilions that were standing around them were also filled with teenagers, aging from seven to nineteen, and their family members. The loud chatter that was filling the surrounding was making it hard for her to concentrate on the constant glaring that she was receiving from her mates. They sure were not happy and did not even try to hide it. Though no one was paying any attention to their pavilion due to the invisible spell that was cast around them, but Li Ming was praying for someone to appear and whisk her away from her angry mates. "You sure are something. I thought that you were avoiding us because of the matter that happened on the night of your birthday, but never have I ever thought that you were actually hiding something like this from us. Good, really good!" Li Ming cringed as the harsh mocking words of Hei Long entered her ears. "I know that you guys are not that happy about my decision but can you put aside your anger and focus on the fact that I''m about to take the entrance exam of Guixian Academy? Should not you all be motivating me?" She asked as she looked at the group of her mates, waiting for them to finally push their anger aside and shower her in their warmth. "No way! You have started taking too much advantage of our love and trust. It''s a different matter that you are planning about joining Guixian Academy and will probably be away from us for the next few years. But the fact that you did not even tell us about this matter is a completely different thing. There''s no way I''m going to forgive you so easily." This time it was Ruoshan who too showed his disagreement on the topic of her keeping the matter of her joining the Academy a secret. "At first, I did not want to create tension between us before leaving for the Island. But then the incident of my birthday night happened and if I have told you about my plans then, it would only have led to more tension..." "Enough! There''s nothing that we can do now. Rather than fighting and getting angry, we should think about helping her with the exam." The Moon Immortal, always the calm and collected one, said as he tried to calm the situation before it could turn worse. Even he was not happy with Li Ming''s decision of hiding such a huge thing from them and disclosing it at the very last moment, but he was never going back on his promise. He had promised her to be always there for her, no matter what and that''s exactly what he would be going to do. The others slowly started nodding their heads, but before any of them could speak, a cold and commanding voice boomed through the pavilion. "No need! Since she has informed us at the very last moment, I''m sure she is already preparing for whatever going to happen next. Let''s not waste her time." Li Ming looked into the dark eyes of Wen Guiying as he stared directly at her, his eyes held no warmth and kindness in them. "Sure! Let''s leave now. We will see you on the other side of the sea." And with those departing words of the Heaven Emperor, her mates disappeared from the pavilion, leaving their young mate behind. "Why did not you tell them about your second plan? It will only make their anger rise when they will come to know of it in the future." Zhang Yong appeared beside her the very next second and a sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she listened to his words. "Did they even give me the chance? There''s nothing that can be done. Right now I have to put my entire focus on the exam. I can''t let their anger at me, ruin my plans. I''ll find a way to make up for them. I''m sure once their anger will calm down, they will understand." Even though Zhang Yong nodded his head, there was a doubt that was blooming in his mind. For some reason, he had a feeling that things were about to go down between his mate and his brothers. Chapter 232 - The Promise Li Ming listened closely as the group of Senior disciples of Guixian Academy explained the rules of the first part of the entrance exam. She was already aware of every single thing related to the entrance exam thanks to the Immortal Master and the extra information that she found out through a specific person. A movement beside her pulled her attention away from the lecture that was going on in the front. She was standing in the very back of the group of children who had appeared to participate in the entrance exam. "What are you doing here?" She asked the Moon Immortal in surprise as he appeared beside her. Lord Yueliang did not reply as he wrapped his long warm fingers around her wrist and teleported her away from the coast. Li Ming was so shocked that she did not even get the chance to protest against being abducted by one of her own mates. A few seconds later she found herself standing on the outside pavilion of the Back Courtyard in the Yueliang Manor. She turned around to look at the Moon Immortal but suddenly found herself pressed against the cold pillar as warm lips landed on her cold ones, engulfing not only her mouth but her entire being in the warmth that one could always feel in the moonlight. Her fingers found themselves clutching the collar of the brocade white silky robes that the Moon Immortal was wearing. If not for the thought of the exam returning to her mind and reminding her that she could not afford to be late, who knew for how long she would have kept kissing her mate. It took all her self control to push Lord Yueliang away as she tried to calm down her breathing. "I don''t know why but I''m feeling like I won''t be seeing you for a long time. Even though you are only going to join the Academy and we can always come to meet you once in every month, but that strange feeling in my heart is not letting me relax." Li Ming felt like her heart shattered into a hundred pieces as she recognized the uncertainty in Lord Yueliang''s voice. The beautiful cerulean eyes which were always calm, collected, and confident, were currently looking at her with hope. It was like he was waiting for her to promise him that he was overthinking, that she was not going away from them. However, Li Ming could not find the courage to lie to her mate, no matter how much she wanted to take away the pain that was currently haunting him. And her silence answered all of Lord Yueliang''s questions. His left hand that was resting on her shoulder slipped away as he stared at her with his beautiful eyes filled with nothing else but hurt. The hurt and pain that she gifted him. If she could then Li Ming would have decided to not join the Academy right then and there, however, she had no other choice left other than entering the Academy to work on her future plans. "It''s alright! I know that you have your own plans and we should not be reacting like this. We promised to always be here to support you and look at us right now, reacting like little kids who can''t control their tempers." Lord Yueliang chuckled out mockingly as he shook his head. His hands returned to Li Ming''s shoulders as he pulled her a little closer to himself before continuing. "They all are a little bit angry but that does not mean they don''t care about you. Trust me, Little One, we all are waiting for you to shock everyone at this entrance exam and enter the Guixian Academy with your head high." He moved his left hand to cup one side of her face in his palm. The warmth and smoothness of her skin filling his heart with a strange but pleasing calmness that only she could provide. Li Ming stayed completely silent all this time as she let her Mr. Perfect memorize this moment in his mind and heart, just like she was doing. "I know that I''m also wrong in my decisions of keeping these things from you all and I''m really sorry about that. I won''t act like such an idiot ever again in the future. I promise." Li Ming whispered as she looked at Lord Yueliang with her eyes filled with sincerity. The Moon Immortal did not waste any time before he pulled her into his arms and snaked his arms around her small frame to cover her in his warm and protective cocoon. "It''s okay, Little One. It''s okay. Right now, all you need to do is to put all your focus on the exam. I promise to meet you at the Academy with the rest of the guys. No matter what your plans are for the future, I promise to give you a chance to sort out this situation before you will carry out your main plan." There was no doubt that he would keep his promise at all costs. And the thought that she would be able to explain and apologize to her mates before separating from them, made Li Ming relax. She nodded her head hurriedly as she planted a soft kiss on the warm palm of Lord Yueliang''s right hand. Neither of them had any idea exactly how disturbed her bonds with her mates were about to turn. Not because they were currently a little upset with each other, but because someone was busy in brewing a conspiracy against her. While Li Ming was busy in making everything work around the Immortal World with one step at a time, someone else was planning on taking down everything. The coming years were about to change everything in the Immortal World, even though at the current moment no one was aware of the tsunami that was moving towards their world, except one! There was a certain someone around Li Ming who knew way much more than what they were telling and the result of this silence was not going to be something small. Chapter 233 - The Entrance Exam (Part One) "Maybe we should try swimming?" To say that Li Ming was the only one who wanted to facepalm at the stupid suggestion would be a complete lie. Nearly every single person around her let out a groan as they showed their frustration at the idea that came from the Second Young Miss of the Marquis Chen of Wang Empire. Their first part of the exam started twenty minutes ago and currently, they all were still standing at the shore of the vast sea that held both the scariest monsters of their nightmares and the beautiful prize of their dreams. Except for the group of children under the age of twelve who left with the Senior disciples of the Academy, the rest of the two hundred and fifty-five children were left behind to find their way to the Island on their own. In the last twenty minutes, many smaller groups also separated away from them to find their way to the Guixian Islands on their own using whatever ideas they had in stock. Currently, only thirty-nine children were left at the store including Li Ming, and to her complete surprise, the group of these young children were trying to find solutions to pass the first stage of the exam. She was not expecting them to work in a team, especially when they were not familiar with each other. "What about building a boat?" Another boy suggested and it actually grabbed the attention of others. "Not a bad idea. We can try and build a couple of boats." A Girl around thirteen or something said excitedly. "This idea is far much better than the previous ones. But there are too many issues regarding this idea which makes it just as useless as the others." This time the person who spoke was a Young Master, around sixteen or seventeen years in age. He held a very heavy sword in his hands while a jade pendant with a white and blue colored bird carved on it that almost appeared like a Phoenix was hanging on his waist. He had the most powerful aura among all the children that had appeared to take part in the entrance exam. "Who''s he?" Li Ming asked the two young girls who were standing closer to her. They did not look like the Young Misses of any noble families but their eyes held a sharpness in them. "He''s the heir of the Chong Ming Clan, Chong Luo Ying. He is one of the most talented and powerful cultivators among the young generation cultivators. He''s already a Master level cultivator at the age of sixteen and now he is also the owner of the legendary blade of the Chong Clan." One of the girls answered her question. "Chong Ming Clan?" Li Ming asked out loud to no one in particular. Her voice was barely able to be heard by anyone. The girls already had walked away from where Li Ming was sitting on a high rock at the very back. She tried to remember about all the information that she had gathered about the High clans living in the Central Empire. As far as she could remember, Chong Ming Clan was the name of the clan that held the position of the Head of the Central Empire. Chong Ming was actually the name of a spiritual beast that looked exactly like a Phoenix was completely different at the same time. A Chong Ming was a white and blue colored huge spiritual bird that looked almost exactly like a phoenix. The Chong Ming Clan held the power of taming these spiritual birds and in the entire Immortal World, only the Chong Ming Clan held this power. Not only taming but the people of the Chong Ming Clan were also born with special powers that connected them with the spiritual bird. In short, the Chong Ming Clan was the most powerful existence in the entire Mortal Realm. The head of the Clan was a third rank Divine Cultivator while there were four or probably five elders who were at Prime Cultivator levels. The good thing was that the Chong Ming Clan was known throughout the Mortal Realm not only for their powers and unique abilities but also because of their righteousness and kindness. Li Ming looked at the Young Master Chong as a small smile bloomed on her rosy lips. She was still wearing a veil that covered half of her face from the eyes of the spectators. "Young Master Chong, why do you think so? What''s the problem with the boats?" The same boy who suggested the idea of building the boats asked the question. The other children were also looking at the heir of the Chong Ming Clan as they waited for him to answer the question. One thing that Li Ming noticed in their eyes was the respect that they held for the Young Master and the Chong Ming Clan. But there were also those who held jealousy and contempt as they stared at the Young Master Chong. Li Ming just shook her head as a sigh left her lips. She just once again closed her eyes and started cultivating her inner force. She was almost about to break through the fifth rank of the Great Master level and she wanted to breakthrough before entering the great hall of Array Sect. But even though she was cultivating her internal force but that did not mean that she was not paying attention to whatever was going around her. "First of all, none of us knows exactly how to build a boat. No matter how much we try, we won''t be able to build a perfect boat. Second, a boat can carry only two to three people in it at a time, meaning we will need to build around fifteen boats which will take hours. It will take us around seventeen hours to reach Guixian Island by boat and we haven''t thought about the problems that we will be facing throughout this journey." Chapter 234 - The Entrance Exam (Part Two) "The sea is full of monsters and illusions set by the Academy to test our limits. Even if we succeeded in conquering those monsters and illusions, we have no idea exactly how long it will take. In short, the time taken to build the boats and reaching the Island exceeds the twenty-four hours limit that is given to us." Young Master Chong explained. It looked like the other children agreed with his statements because they all started either nodding their heads or voicing out their agreements. "What Young Master Chong is saying truly makes sense. It will not be easy for us to get through all those waiting traps. It will definitely take us quite some hours given that we are not too many in strength." Another Young Miss who looked like a high-level martial artist from her attire and attitude said. "You are right..." Another one added. Just like that, murmurs of agreement ranged throughout the group as they finally realized the complications that stood in front of them. "Don''t forget that along with those monsters, there will also be storms and huge waves in our path. Our little boats won''t be able to stand in front of those huge waves." This time it was another young boy in his early teens who voiced out his opinion. "We are not even capable of building small boats. How are we supposed to build large ones?" Li Ming felt as the feeling of tension and anxiousity started taking over the children standing near her. Although she was not planning to interfere with their ideas initially but seeing their dedication to the teamwork, she changed her mind. It won''t be too much to help just a little bit, right? Just a tiny tiny bit! "If you guys can assemble materials, I can build a big ship in less than an hour." As the soft but powerful voice ranged into their ears, one by one all the children turned towards the back where huge rocks were piled up. On one of those huge high rocks was a girl sitting in a white brocade dress as her long black hair danced in the wind along with the veil that was covering half of her face, only leaving her mesmerizing eyes visible. However, almost everyone felt a sudden sadness taking over them as they realized that not only they were not able to see the face of that person but since their eyes were closed shut, they could not get the honor of watching their eyes. "Less than an hour...?" "A big ship?" "How big?" "Who''s she?" This time the whispers that erupted through the group of children were no longer in control. One after the other new questions surfaced and Li Ming felt like soon she would be surrounded by only questions. "Why are you are guys asking so many questions? Should not we all be paying attention to the most important matter that we have in our hands?" Li Ming asked out loud as she kept her eyes closed. Even though some felt her behavior a little bit offensive and shameless, most of them paid attention to Li Ming''s words. "Miss is right. We will get the chance of knowing about each other once we will be in the Academy but right now we should be more focused on the exam." A girl said and others followed suit. "Miss, are you trying to say that you can build a big boat?" A young boy asked curiously. "Right! Currently, I''m sketching a rough draft of that ship in my mind so that I can link it with my qi which would help me in constructing the shipway faster than it should take. As long as you all can bring the sufficient amount of wood, iron, fabric, and ropes, I can manage." Li Ming replied as she kept her eyes closed. "How is that even possible? Can you sure do this?" As this question entered Li Ming''s ears, her eyes immediately flew open, leaving the crowd shocked. "If you have a better solution for this situation, please carry on! I will not disturb you all." Her tone was not exactly mocking but everyone got the message. Her eyes landed on the Young Master Chong who was looking directly at her. For a moment she felt like there was something different that was present around them but before she could even recognize what it was, everything was back to normal. Her eyes hurriedly roamed over her surroundings as she tried to look for the source of that weird but unique feeling. However, she found nothing. When her eyes again landed on the Young Master Chong he was no longer looking at her. "If this Young Miss says that she can build a big ship as long as we will provide her with the required materials, then we are putting our trust in you." Young Master Chong said as he kept his eyes on the wall trees that were standing at some distance on their right. "Worry not! I will not disappoint you all. Out of twenty-four hours, forty-seven minutes has already passed. We need to start working quickly. Can''t afford to lose any more time." Li Ming replied as she looked at the incense stick that was burning beside the Young Master Chong. Her words made the children hurry as they all formed a tight group around the Young Master who started giving them orders on how they could get all the required materials. Li Ming had a feeling that under the supervision of the Young Master they would definitely be able to bring all the materials. Therefore, she once again closed her eyes and started preparing the sketch of the ship. It took her barely twenty more minutes to complete the sketch and connect it with her spiritual and magical energy. By that time only a few wooden planks had been piled up at the good of the huge rock where she was sitting. Li Ming did not waste much time before she started working on the huge ship that was about to become the weapon that would help dozens of children in passing the first entrance exam. Within two hours, the children completed their task of bringing all the required materials, and in the next five minutes, they all were gawking at the huge ship that was standing at the shore of the high sea that laid in front of their eyes. Chapter 235 - The Entrance Exam (Part Three) "We are about to enter the first Illusion Array set by the Array Sect. Remember that it''s an illusion. All you need to do is to keep that in mind!" Li Ming could hear people shouting and giving suggestions as well as orders as she sat inside one of the cabins of the ship. There were a total of seven cabins on the ship, but they could barely occupy a single king-size bed in them. One hour had already passed since they set off and they were finally about to enter the traps that were set by the Academy to hinder their mission of reaching the Guixian Island. Out of twenty-four hours, only twenty hours and seventeen minutes were left. "Maybe you should go out and take a look at the array. It will give you some idea about how the arrays of the array sect work." Snowy said as he appeared on her lap. "I''m already planning to do that. But what about you? Are you skipping your training again?" Li Ming asked as she looked at her familiar with raised eyebrows. "Of course, not! We just received a little break and I decided to take a look around. Even though you have still to officially declare me as the Supervisor of all your businesses, that does not mean that I will lack in my job. Nope! I will still do my best even though you never praise me." Snowy replied with a scoff. "That''s good. This gives me a reason to tolerate you for a few more years. Now scram!" Li Ming replied sarcastically as she pushed the little furball off her lap. "Devil!" Snowy murmured as he gave a glare to his master before once again disappearing into the magical mansion. Li Ming let out a deep sigh as she walked out of the cabin. As her eyes landed on the scene in front of her eyes, she could barely see anything. A dense fog had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and currently their ship was surrounded by that fog. Just as Li Ming was about to cast a spell to form a bubble around her, a loud sound of the splash was heard, and then started the screamings. "Help! Help!" "Somebody fell into the water!" "It''s the Fifth Young Miss from Prime Minister Feng''s Manor!" Li Ming found her way towards the area where the shouts were coming from. But it was completely impossible to see anything. It did not take her much time in casting one of her spells. However, this ne was to make it possible for her eyes to see through the dense fog that was present around her. Just as her vision became sharp and pierced through the fog, her eyes landed on the small crowd that was looking down at something...more like someone, as they all stood against the railing. "Give me that rope!" She heard someone shouting and watched as a boy hurriedly picked up a rope and handed it to the Young Master Chong. It barely took them five minutes to pull the Fifth Young Miss of the Prime Minister Feng''s Manor, out of the chilled water of the deep sea. "Take her inside." Young Master Chong ordered the two girls who had been following the Fifth Young Miss from the very starting. The two girls immediately nodded their heads as they disappeared downstairs in one of the cabins along with the Fifth Young Miss who was about to faint at any moment. Li Ming''s gaze once again returned to look at the crowd of the teenagers who were standing in a closed-form group when her eyes once again met with the black orbs of the Young Master Chong. He too was looking straight at her and it took her a few moments to realize that had had also used some kind of spell to sharpen his vision. And if she realized this then it was perfectly normal that he also realized the same fact about her too. She was expecting him to once again ignore her. However, the next second she found him walking straight towards her. To say that she was not left baffled for even a few seconds, would be a lie. However, Li Ming was totally outstanding when it comes to look indifferent no matter what she really was feeling inside. Young Master Chong stopped right in front of her and after a second of silence, he asked, "What''s your opinion about this fog?" She kept looking at the Young Master Chong for a few seconds, trying to see if she could find something, anything through his eyes or expressions. However, the Young Master of the Chong Ming Clan was just as good at keeping his true emotions in check as she was. His black eyes were just as expressionless as one could be and since he was almost about to break through into the Great Master Cultivator level, it was not easy for her to read his mind. Moreover, she had never used her mind-reading power too much. For some reason, she did not like to invade the privacy of others, except when the situations were dire or if that person held vicious intentions. She sighed as she looked around the ship for a second and then once again returned her gaze towards the Young Master as she replied. "The fog is trying to harm the ship." It was clear by the shocked expression of the Young Master that he was not expecting her to say that. "What?" The Young Master Chong asked out loud as he looked at her with puzzled eyes. Li Ming pointed at the mast with her eyes. If one could focus there then they would find that the rope which was binding the mast with the sail, was slowly coming undone. "That''s not the only one. If you will pay attention to different parts of the ship you will find that the fog is trying to destroy other things too." She said while pointing at the wooden planks on the floor of the deck and the barrels that were standing in one of the corners of the deck. Before she could even finish pointing out all those things, she found a bunch of spiritual rays coming out of his hand and fighting off the fog that was trying to destroy the ship. She watched as the rope which was about to come undone, once again looked exactly the same as before. The holes that had appeared on the floor of the deck also disappeared. However, even though the Young Master Chong''s sudden spiritual qi attack was successful in dispersing the fog and stopping it from destroying the ship, but it did nothing to pull them out of the sea of the fog. "If this continues then we will soon lose our way to the main island!" One of the boys shouted in frustration. "Young Master Chong, what are we going to do now?" A girl in her mid-teens asked as she looked at the handsome boy like he was a God in human form. However, the said Young Master was once again looking at Li Ming as he asked, "What are we supposed to do now?" "Why are you asking me? Are not you the one who is leading this group? I''m just a passerby. Don''t rely on me too much." Li Ming hurriedly said with a scoff. "I''m not leading them. I''m here on this ship for the exact same reason as yours. And I know that you have a plan that can help us get out of this situation. We led them here. Now we can''t leave them alone when they needed us." Young Master Chong said in a serious tone. "What the heck do you mean by that we led them here? I never did anything. It was their idea of building a boat and I just helped them by creating a ship. That''s it!" Li Ming said as she defended herself. "But if you have not built the ship then they would never have ended up here in the middle of the sea surrounded by this fog." Young Master Chong said as he grabbed her arms a little more tightly than needed. "What the-? Are you trying to put the blame on me? Am I becoming a villain for helping you guys? Can''t believe this!" Li Ming shouted in angry whispers as she jerked her arms out of his hold. "No! I''m not blaming you. I''m just trying to pursue you to help them." Chong Luo Ying said as he looked at her with serious eyes. "Your pursuing skill sucks. Moreover, if you want to help them this much then do it on your own. I''m not interested." Li Ming said as she glared at the young man. "I would have if I could. Sadly, I''m not that smart nor powerful. But I have a feeling that you can get us out of this fog. That''s why I''m asking for your help." Luo Ying said as his dark eyes looked at her with hope in them. Chapter 236 - The Entrance Exam (Part Four) "So? Are you ready to help us now?" Luo Ying asked her after the few moments of silence that had fallen over them. "I have not made up my mind yet. I''m going to think about it. Don''t disturb me for the next few hours." Li Ming said as she started turning around towards the staircase that would lead her back to her cabin. However, even before she could take her first step towards her destiny, her arm was once again locked in the unnecessary grip of Luo Ying. The Young Master was completely oblivious to the five Immortals who were currently going insane in their jealousy as they watched a tiny little boy touching their precious mate at every chance that he got. The Pavilion where the five of them were sitting was filled with a dense cold and killing aura that was coming from the Immortals. The guards that were stationed around the courtyard where the pavilions were located, were about to faint as they felt cold shivers running down their spines. They had no idea about who those high profiled Young Masters were who currently resided in one of the pavilions. However, each one of them was praying for them to leave the pavilion as soon as possible. It was becoming harder for the poor mortal guards to bear the intense aura that was taking over the area and making them suffer to even breathe properly. While these guards were quivering outside in fear, the Immortals were busy in their plannings. "Why don''t we just throw him in the sea? We can get rid of him within seconds." Hei Long suggested as he glared at the young boy, more likely at his hand which was holding his Lilac Girl''s soft arm. It was a good thing that Li Ming was wearing a long-sleeved dress, otherwise, the Chong Ming Clan would have lost their heir by now for sure. "Good idea. In that way, he won''t be able to clear the exam on time, and Xingan would be free from his dirty claws for the rest of her years in the Academy." Ruoshan said as he showed full support to his brother''s idea. "Or maybe we can just let him enter the Academy so that we will be given the chance to torment him for a long long time." Wen Guiying''s words were as cold and evil as they could be. His eyes were also trained at the Young Master of the Chong Clan and the Supreme Immortal could not hide the killing aura that was taking over his mind and body. Even though both the Heaven Emperor and the Moon Immortal stayed silent but there was no doubt that they too were planning different ways in their minds to torture the Young Master Chong. Even though they did not mind when anyone out of the six of them touched their mate but that did not give everyone a free pass to get close to Li Ming. Only the six of them were allowed to touch or be close to her, and no one could steal that right from them. While her mates were surrounded by the fog of jealously and anger, the situation on the ship was worsening. - "Are you seriously not going to help?" Luo Ying asked as he once again stopped a bubble of fog destroying the railing around the deck. Li Ming jerked her arm free from the clutches of the Young Master Chong as she stepped back a little to create some distance between the two. "First of all, stop touching me...!" Li Ming said through gritted teeth as she glared at the young man in front of her. Even though she was not completely connected with any of her mates, but the soul mark that she shared with the Second Demon Prince, and the soul & energy essence that she shared with the Moon Deity, allowed her to feel a little bit of their emotions. Although, she could not grasp the depth of their emotions but her weak connection with two of her mates was enough to make her realize that if she let Luo Ying touch her even a single more time, then there was a huge possibility that the Chong Ming Clan would lose their heir. Luo Ying felt his cheeks turning bright red as his mind registered the cold words of the girl and he immediately looked away in embarrassment. He did not even realize that he was continuously touching the young lady in front of him. "I a-am sorry. I did not mean to..." Li Ming could tell that he was sincere about his apology and just to get over the topic as soon as possible, she stopped him from apologizing any further. "It''s alright. Just make sure to not go around grabbing girls in the future." She said as she watched the Young Master Chong turning even redder. At that moment, the poor boy wanted to sink into the depths of the deep cold sea as he found himself in the most embarrassing moment of his life. "By the way, tell me the truth. Why are you so desperate to help these people? They are not your companion except those three boys. Is that because you too are trapped on this ship? But that does not make any sense either. As far as I can tell, you already had a plan for passing the first exam. Then what''s the reason?" She asked as she looked at the Young Master with curious eyes. "Because I can''t help it." Luo Ying replied in a barely audible voice. "Huh? What do you mean?" Li Ming asked in confusion as she looked at the young bit in front of her. There was something about the Young Master Chong that was making her want to help him even though that was the last thing she wanted to do. "It''s my nature. I can''t stop myself from helping those in need. No matter whether I''m capable of doing so or not, but my entire being urges me to help them." Luo Ying finally answered her question as he looked at her with his soft dark eyes. Li Ming had no idea what to say or do at that moment. She definitely was not expecting to receive such a response in return. "So? Are you going to help?" Luo Ying asked her after the silence of barely two minutes. What else she could do? A sigh left her lips as she pointed her finger at the Young Master Chong as she said, "This is the only time when I''m making an exception only because I''m in a good mood today. Don''t even think about coming to me for help after this." Saying that she turned around and walked towards the center of the deck. "I can form a protective barrier around the ship which will keep the fog away from reaching the ship. But for that, I need help from all of you. I want you all the channel five percent of your spiritual qi into me while I will cast the spell. Are you all ready?" As Li Ming finished, a loud chorus of ''yes'' boomed throughout the ship. She settled down on the deck in a lotus position and closed her eyes as she prepared to cast the spell. She started by slowly pushing the fog away from the ship. It took her around five to six minutes to push the fog away at a satisfying distance before she nodded towards the dozens of children standing around her. Since the fog was no longer proving as a hindrance to their sight, the children were quick in channeling their energy into Li Ming. It was not like she was not capable of casting the barrier on her own. However, she wanted to save as much of her spiritual energy as she could for the second stage of her exam. That''s why she decided to take help from the children who were present on the ship. Within a few minutes, the ship was surrounded by an invisible protective barrier that stopped the fog from coming anywhere near the ship. After that Li Ming merged around seven crystal lotuses on different parts of the ship with her powers and asked the group of teenagers to channel their energy into those lotuses. "What are these for?" A girl asked after they finished filling the crystal lotuses with their energies. "The protective barrier around the ship is only powerful enough to fight off smaller enemies like the fog and other smaller water beasts. But it won''t work when facing powerful opponents. The power inside these crystals is like a backup energy plan. They are connected with the barrier. When they will feel that the barrier was about to get destroyed, they would release their stored energy to strengthen the barrier. It will give us some time to come up with plans to survive the situation." Li Ming explained as she finished the rune that she was drawing on the hive mast. The rune was another backup plan. "We all are thankful towards the two of you for all the help and guidance that you provided us with." The Young Master who came up with the idea of the boat said with sincerity as he bowed to pay his respects. The others followed his suit as they all thanked Li Ming and Young Master Chong. Chapter 237 - The Entrance Exam (Final Part) "I...swear....that...I.....w-wanna...kill you...right...now!!" Li Ming said through her gritted teeth as she tightened her hold around the rope which was attached to the dead body of the huge sea monster that had attacked them a few hours ago. However it had not come alone, rather, it bought an entire army of monsters with it to attack the poor ship and its little passengers. It took them over four hours to fight off the monsters and save their ship from sinking into the depths of the sea. Currently, a group of seven children was busy fixing the broken parts of the ship. Another group of four children was taking care of those who got injured badly. Some were busy cleaning the ship while Li Ming and a group of five others were trying to get rid of the huge monster, that looked like a giant octopus, who was still clutching the ship in its tentacles even though it had been dead for past an hour. Not only this but currently there were three people, a young lady from one of the noble families of the Jin Empire and two young boys, who were missing from the ship. Li Ming was barely using her energy at the moment since she already ended up using twenty percent of it while fighting with the group of sea monsters that suddenly attacked them out of the blue. She was completely drenched from head to toe and the chilly wind was making her shiver as her wet clothes got stuck to her body. Her long wet hair was currently a mess as seaweed and only God knew what other things were tangled into them. She smelled even worse than how she looked and the headache that was slowly growing only made her situation worse. "Miss, it was....not....intentional. I....was...not..." The Young Master of Chong Ming Clan did not get the chance of defending himself properly as right at that moment, the huge rope slipped from their hands and the body of the sea monsters dropped into the deep sea. "Finally!" ---- Four Hours Ago - "There''s something wrong with the sea!" The loud shout of a young boy and the panicked squeals that followed his words, disturbed Li Ming as she sat inside her cabin. It was like she was not going to get a break anytime soon. Whenever she somehow succeeded in getting out of one problem, the second one would appear soon enough to disturb her cultivation process. With a soft sigh she stood up and walked out on the deck to look at whatever was the source of the panic that had taken over the others. "What''s wrong?" She asked the very first person who came into her view and due to some sick coincidence, it was none other than Luo Ying. "We are not sure. But something is definitely wrong. The waves are ten times more powerful than before and there''s something strange going on over there." The boy answered as he pointed at something. Li Ming followed the direction of his hand and watched the sudden dark clouds that had started to cover the sky. She could clearly see the huge waves that were aiming towards the ship. "Ask them to immediately turn the ship towards the south. We need to get as far as possible from here and that too real quick!" She ordered Luo Ying as she let a single stream of her spiritual qi to investigate the danger that was moving towards them. Luo Ying nodded his head as he hurriedly moved towards the three young guys who were given the task of sailors. However, in the next few seconds, Li Ming received two bad news. The first one was that they could no longer revert the direction of the ship since an invisible barrier was stopping them. Second, the dark clouds and the huge waves were bringing chaos with them. Everyone knew that everything happening around them was a part of the illusion array set by the Academy. Li Ming too was aware of this fact. Even if someone died in the illusion, after the twenty-four hours time limit of the exam would be over, everyone would safely return to the shore. If she remained on the ship and decided to help the others, she would definitely have lost a great amount of her spiritual qi which was not a good plan. But before she could disappear from the ship, she was once again facing the Young Master of the Chong Ming Clan. "You can''t leave them like this. They will die!" The boy whispered shouted in alarm as he looked at her with panicked eyes. Li Ming was getting irritated by his constant nagging. It was like he purposely was trying to involve her in unnecessary matters. However, since she could not feel any bad intentions coming from the young boy, she decided to give him the benefit of doubt. "We both are very well aware that nothing is going to happen to any of them. The worst that can happen is that they will fail the exam. Even though I want to help them but for that, I''m not going to ruin my own chances of entering the Academy." Li Ming replied as she started walking away from the crowd of children standing on the deck. But once again she found her arm locked in the tight grasp of Luo Ying''s hand as he tried to stop her from walking away. "Please! This is the last time. I promise that I''ll make it up to you. Just one more time, please!" The young boy was almost looked like he was going to cry at any moment ss he looked at Li Ming with begging eyes. "You...!" Li Ming felt like she was about to go insane. Even though she knew that she was being a complete fool but she still found herself nodding her head. This gifted her with a quick hug from the Young Master Chong. However, before she could dump him into the child water of the sea, he already disappeared in the crowd. That was how Li Ming found herself directing a bunch of panicked teenagers as they prepared for the upcoming battle. The moment the first huge wave hit the ship and almost succeeded in sinking it, Li Ming knew that she was done for. Storm, lightning, hail, whatever suited the situation, it was like the nature was trying to erase their entire existence as it poured its anger on them. First appeared vines like monstrous creepers out of the sea as it tried to pull either the children or the ship into the depth of the sea. Then appeared weird creatures of the sea that attacked their ship and the final was the huge monster octopus that left them wrecked. By the time they found their way out of the storm and the illusion array that was set by the Academy, they were nothing more than a complete mess. --- "Are we going to leave the three of those..." The next second, the Young Master Chong found himself pinned to the railing of the deck as Li Ming tightened her fingers around his throat. "Young Miss...!" "Please stop!" "What''s happening?" Panicked shouts emerged around her as everyone was left shocked to their core by the sight in front of their eyes. "Shut up!" The loud booming voice of Li Ming silenced everyone within a second. No one dared to even breathe loudly. "Other than shouting and crying out in misery, can you all do anything productive at all? If not then make sure to stay completely silent around me!" She did not even turn to look at the group of teenagers around her as she threw those words at them. When no one spoke for the next several moments, Li Ming finally turned her attention back to the Young Master Chong. Her hold around his throat was making it hard for him to breathe and his face was looking a little pale as he tried his best to get her hand off his neck. What shocked her was that he did not attack her to save himself. The young boy was confusing her more and more by his behavior but she was not interested in his game. "Make sure to stay away from me as far as possible. If you want to go around helping others then be my guest. Just stop begging others to do that for you. Even though you look like a hero to others, in my eyes you are nothing more than a sore loser who just wants to grab attention and praise." She threw him on the floor as she let go of his throat. Luo Ying landed with a loud thud as he started rubbing his throat and inhale long deep breathes. Li Ming did not wait for a single more second before she teleported away from the ship. As she landed on the shore of the main island of Guixian Islands, she prayed that her harsh words would keep the boy away from her. Chapter 238 - Elder Quinyang "Did she really appeared here through teleportation?" A man who looked almost in his late fifties asked the disciples that were guarding the entrance of the Academy grounds. His long white hair and beard matched the long white robes that he was wearing. A single wooden hairpin was holding half of his hair in a small bun. He was carrying a wooden staff with a blue colored gem in its center. His appearance clearly stated that he had a high status in the Academy. "Replying to Master Gong, she indeed teleported here half an hour ago." One of the disciples replied immediately. The said Master Gong nodded his head lightly as he played with his long beard while looking at the young girl who was sitting outside the Academy gates on a high rock. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was cultivating in the dense qi that was present all over the Island. "And she has been sitting there ever since she appeared here?" Master Gong asked the disciples as he kept looking at the young girl. All the disciples nodded their heads in reply. Everyone was shocked because it had barely been eight hours since the first exam started and there was already someone who passed the exam which should have taken at least fifteen or more hours to pass even for a prodigy. "Such a genius child! Looks like this time one of the sects is going to get a present in the form of a rare talent from the young generation." Master Gong muttered as he smiled softly at the young girl before turning around to return to the Hall of Elders. "Focus on your job. Let the child cultivate. I''m sure she''s preparing for the coming exam." He said to the disciples who were assigned with the job of guarding the gate. "Yes, Master Gong." The group of disciples immediately accepted his order as they once again returned to their posts while the old man walked away. The huge entrance of the Academy once again returned to its peaceful silence. On the other side of the entrance, Li Ming finally took in a deep breath as she let her body relax a little. She only had fifty percent of her spiritual energy left and she needed to cultivate the rest of the fifty percent before the second exam. Her initial plan for passing the first exam was to simply use her teleportation ability which was far more better and powerful than what it used to be at the time she ended up in the Mortal realm. The Immortal Master had shown her the image of the entrance of the Academy through his memories when he was the head of the Academy. She printed that image in her mind as she practiced for long hours on her teleportation power. However, she never thought that she would end up as the victim of a young boy and his group of teenage companions. But since the deed was done, there was no point in crying over her bad life choices. Rather, she decided to put her entire focus on increasing her energy level as soon as possible. The Spiritual qi that was present on the Island was a hundred times denser than what she used to have in the Han Empire. Though it still could not match the density of the spiritual qi inside her Xiao Tiantang, but it was still enough for her to cultivate the rest fifty percent of her vital energy. It was a rumor that the only reason why the creators of the Guixian Academy decided to build the Academy on an Island in the middle of the vast sea, was the presence of the dense qi on the island that could help the disciples in cultivating and breaking through levels way faster than normal. Of course, Li Ming had no faith in this rumor. Even though it was true that the Guixian Island held the densest presence of spiritual qi in the entire mortal realm, but she was sure that it was not the only reason behind the presence of the Academy on that Island. However, she had no interest in diving into the secrets of the Academy or the reasons behind its presence on the island. She only had one reason behind her decision of joining the Academy and that was to learn array formations. No matter how hard it was going to reach that goal, she was not going to give up. The hours kept passing as Li Ming sat there on the high rock in front of the Academy entrance while cultivating her spiritual qi. The day was about to turn into the night when a sudden movement in the bushes around her, made Li Ming open her eyes. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to her surroundings but her senses were already on alert. The sun had already set but there was still some time left before the darkness would completely take over the island. Li Ming felt its presence around the hem of her long dress that was hanging around the rock even before she saw it. It was a mixture of golden and red color, and she had a strong feeling that it would even sparkle a little in the sunlight. Its eyes were a combination of red and black while it had a cute crown of two small feathers on its head. Even though Li Ming was not fond of the reptile family, especially a snake, but the little golden red snake that was crawling over the hem of her dress, was looking too cute and pretty for her to despise it. Its big round almost cartoonish eyes looked up at her the exact same moment as she lifted it up with her powers and brought it closer to her face. "What a little cute thing you are! How come you are lurking around here?" She asked the little snake as she rubbed her index finger of the right hand lightly on its soft head. If it was a normal day and a normal snake, she would never have dared to touch it even in her dreams. But currently, she could not help herself but rub the head of the little snake some more as it closed its beautiful eyes and started making noises that were almost like a soft purr. "Looks like it is liking your touch." A soft low voice spoke out from behind the cluster of trees that were standing on her left. Li Ming turned her face to look at the woman, or a young lady in her mid-twenties, who was walking towards the rock on which she was sitting. She felt the snake struggling to get itself free as it looked at the lady. She softly lowered the little snake on the ground and watched as it hurriedly crawled towards the young lady who picked it up in her hands. Li Ming jumped down from the rock and stood in front of the stranger who was looking so pretty in her dark yellow dress and long black hair which was styled beautifully. "You are....?" Li Ming asked as she eyed the girl who looked as soft and pure as the cool fresh flowing water of a spring. "Ahh! Sorry for my poor manners. I''m Quinyang, an elder here in the Academy under the medicine sect." The young lady introduced herself as she smiled warmly. Li Ming was left shocked for a few moments as she looked at the beautiful lady standing in front of her. However, she soon realized that she was staring at the Elder and had still to speak. "Elder Quinyang, please forgive me for my insignificant behavior. I''m Li Ming, one of those youngsters who are taking the exam to enter the Academy this year." Li Ming hurriedly replied as she bowed in greetings. "Oh! So you are that child who passed the first exam in barely a few hours. Everyone is currently discussing about which sect you will be joining." Elder Quinyang said as she shook her head with a soft chuckle. "Ah! Well..." Li Ming had no idea how she was supposed to reply. Therefore she just ended up trailing off while looking at the little snake that was peeking its head from under the sleeves of the Elder. "It''s cute and pretty too." She said out loud as she stopped her hand from rubbing her fingers against the soft skin of the little snake. "Thank you. It really likes you which is very rare since it does not like to interact with strangers. If you want you can always come to the medical sect and play with it." Elder Quinyang said as she patted the little snake on its head. Li Ming looked at the Elder with confused eyes as she asked, "Why do you think that I''m not going to choose the medical sect?" The Elder smiled softly as she replied, "To be honest, I have no idea. It''s just somehow I know that you will not be choosing my sect. But I still wish you all the very best. May you succeed in making your dreams come true." And with that being said, the Elder gave the confused Li Ming a soft pat on her shoulder before she walked away towards the entrance gate of the Academy. Chapter 239 - Master Gong: The Great Elder Li Ming picked up the wooden pendant from the table of the Array Sect disciples and returned to her position in the rows of disciples who succeeded in passing the first exam. Out of five hundred students that appeared to participate in the exams to fight for their admission in the Academy, only three hundred and eighty-eight students passed the first exam. And there was still the second part of the exam left which was going to be even harder than the first one. "You want to join the Array Sect?" A boy who looked around seventeen years old and was carrying a pollaxe, a really interesting choice of weapon in the world where swords ruled the weapons, asked her as soon as returned. Li Ming just lightly nodded her heads, not saying anything else. The whispering and murmurs around her came to an end as they all watched the Head of the Hall of Elders, Master Gong, standing up from his high seat. The pollaxe boy who was about to say something more to her also stopped as he watched the Head Elder walking down the stairs that led to his high seat. Li Ming and the rest of the children were currently standing in the Hall of Elders while the Elders were sitting on their respective seats around them. She could feel the eyes of those elders passing over each student as they predicted and analyzed which one was worthy of becoming a disciple and which one not. "It''s time for you all to enter into the second stage of your entrance exam. All of you are brilliant children with a bright future ahead. This second exam will not only test your strength and ability but also your weaknesses and fears. I''m wishing you all good luck. May you all come out as winners and join this Academy." Master Gong smiled softly as he finished. "Thank you, Master Gong!" A chorus echoed throughout the Hall of Elders as the children thanked the Elder Head for his best wishes. A group of Senior disciples entered the hall and made the participants divide into different groups according to their chosen sects. One by one, the different groups started leaving the hall with two seniors from their chosen sect. By the time it was the turn of the Array sect, the hall was almost empty. "Li Ming, will you mind staying back for a few minutes?" Li Ming stopped in her tracks as she heard Master Gong calling her name. She turned towards the Elder Head and looked at the curious eyes of all the Elders that were present in the Hall. Did she even have the choice of saying no to the Elder Head? Of course, not! Therefore, she gave a last quick glance to the departing figures of her chosen sect before turning back towards the Elder Head and bowing her head a little in acceptance. "Don''t worry. We will not take much of your time. We just want to ask something." Another Elder said as she also stood up from her seat and walked a little closer to Li Ming. "Little girl, why did you chose that Array Sect? Is my Sword Sect not worthy enough?" Another Elder who looked even older than Master Gong asked her as he looked at her with complaining eyes. "..." Li Ming just stared at the Elder of the Sword Sect without saying anything. What was she supposed to say? "Elder Bai, can''t you see that she does not use the sword as her weapon?" The Lady Elder scoffed at the other elder from the Sword Sect as she shook her head with a soft sigh leaving her lips. "Huh? What do you mean? How can you tell that she doesn''t use a sword?" Elder Bai asked the Lady Elder as he looked clearly offended by her words. "Looks like the people carrying a sword really have their eyes closed in ignorance. How could you not recognize the huadian that''s clearly visible on her forehead?" The Lady Elder asked as she frowned at Elder Bai and his ignorance. "What huadian? What a huadian have to do with her using or not using a sword? Elder Nian, have you lost your mind because this year your sect is not getting any peerless genius?" Elder Bai mocked. "You...!" Lady Nian was sure not happy with the behavior of Elder Bai. However, before she could say anything more, Master Gong stopped her. "Enough both of you! A child is standing in front of you and you two can''t even act like the Elders that you are!" Master Gong reprimanded the two Elders who just glared daggers at each other but stayed silent. "Hehe! Little girl, don''t mind these two. They just love to entertain everyone for free." Master Gong said sweetly to Li Ming while passing a hard glare to both the Elders who clearly were not happy after being called entertainers. Li Ming just smiled softly. Her entire focus was still stuck on the part where Elder Nian talked about her huadian. Did they know? The thought popped up in her mind making her nervous. It was really not easy to fool the great elders of the Guixian Academy. Their immense knowledge and high cultivation levels in addition to their hundreds of years of Immortal lives was clearly something that she could not fool. "Little girl, are you really the new master of the legendary Lightning Whip?" Master Gong''s question filled the already silent room with a new kind of silence. Li Ming could feel the eyes of every single elder on her as they observed the beautiful blue colored huadian on her forehead. She knew that Master Gong was already aware that she indeed was the owner of the Lightning whip. The reason behind him asking the question our loud was probably to see how she was going to reply. Since half of her face was still hidden behind the veil, no one could see the little twitch that appeared in her lips as she observed the Elders around her. "Replying to Master Gong, I''m indeed the new master of the Lightning Whip." Li Ming replied as she bowed her head with her hands clasped together. She decided to not lie in front of all the Elders of the Academy. She could not take any risks with her future plans and there was no way that she could have filled the Great Elders. "Good, good! Looks like you have already passed the examination of the Senior Immortal Master. You are really something!" Master Gong said as he chuckled at his own words. His eyes were filled with curiosity and also pride as he looked at her. She could feel the other elders passing each other curious and shocked glances as they all controlled themselves from talking their thoughts out loud. "Little girl, how was your experience with that old fox? As far as I can tell, he sure would not have been easy to please." Master Gong said as he waited for her reply. "The Immortal Master is someone who only had great immortals as his disciples in the past. He has high standards and requirements when it comes to cultivation and knowledge. How can it be an easy task to meet his requirements?" Li Ming said as she let her eyes sparkle with pride and awe. "To be able to pass into the exams of the Great Immortal Master and earn his praise is like a dream come true for me. However, to be honest, it was the generous heart of the Great Immortal Master who found me worthy enough for such a treasure, otherwise, how can someone like me have the chance of becoming the Master of the Lightning Whip. It''s all thanks to the kind-hearted Great Immortal Master." Li Ming could feel honey covering her tongue as she kept praising the old fox. While her words confused the rest of the elders who could not understand exactly when the Immortal Master became so kind and generous, Master Gong burst out into laughter as he pointed at her with his eyes brimming with amazement and pride. "Now I can see how you succeeded in taming his temperament. You are just like the five great immortal disciples that he used to have. This is the exact attitude and personality that one needed to face that old man. Very well done, Little girl." Master Gong praised her as he finally calmed down. Li Ming once again bowed her head slightly but stayed silent, waiting for the Elder Head to finally dismiss her so that she could join the rest of her team. --- In the cozy living room of his small cabin, the Immortal Master was sitting in his chair as he watched the scene that played on the huge mirror hanging on the wall in front of him. "This little brat is becoming more and more sinister with her acting skills. Good, good! Let''s see how they all are going to handle her." He muttered out loud as he watched Master Gong finally dismissing her with a good luck wish. It was only the mere beginning of what was coming next for the Great Masters of the Guixian Academy. Chapter 240 - Her Fears Li Ming finally reached the shore at the South end of the Island where the rest of the participants, who chose the Array Sect, were waiting for her. "This junior asks for forgiveness for being late. Hope the seniors will forgive this young junior of yours." Li Ming said as she greeted the three Seniors that were standing at the front of the group of participants. "Little sister, it''s alright. It was not like you are late on purpose. Don''t be so harsh on yourself." One of the seniors said as she smiled sweetly at Li Ming. "You all will use this teleportation array which will drop you into different parts of the Array island." Another senior told them as he signaled towards the teleportation array that was standing at some distance from them. "You all have only one task....., to find the core of the array and destroy it. As soon as you will find the core and destroy it, you will pass the exam." The senior continued passing more information about what was waiting for them at the other end of the teleportation array. "Also keep this in mind. Even though all of you will be facing the same array formation in this exam but the struggles will be based on your strengths and fears." The lady senior said as she looked at all of them with serious eyes. The teenagers around her started whispering among themselves as they tried to discuss the hardships that they would be facing on the Array Island. "Once again you will have twenty-four hours as your time limit. We are hoping to see all of you as winners, but only your performance in this exam will decide whether you will join the inner sect, the outer sect, or would rather return to your home. Good luck!" The head Senior wished them luck as he started directing them towards the teleportation array one at a time. Li Ming was not really nervous, mostly because she had no idea what was waiting for her in the exam. There was no point in racking her brain on something that was out of her power. However, she could tell that the seniors were properly trained in making sure that they would succeed in scaring all the participants with their words. She took in a deep breath before falling into the line that was walking towards the teleportation array. There were nearly fifty teenagers in her group who chose the Array Sect as their future and due to some weird coincidence, she found Young Master Chong standing right in front of her in the line. She raised her eyebrows in question as soon as Luo Ying turned to look at her. However, seeing her cold look he immediately turned back towards the front, running towards the array. But Luo Ying was not the only person present in her group whose presence surprised her as the person standing behind her In the line was the same pollaxe guy whom she met in the Hall of Elders. Li Ming just sighed at her luck as she moved towards the teleportation array that was waiting for her. She had no idea how the exam was going to work but she was wishing to not come across any of the other participants, especially that Young Master Chong. The entire process of teleportation barely took a minute before she found herself standing near the edge of a high cliff. "This was not what I was expecting." Li Ming said out loud as she looked at the beautiful scenery of a deep valley down below the cliff. "So exactly what were you expecting to see here?" The mocking tone that belonged to none other than Hei Long disturbed her thoughts and as she hurriedly turned towards the direction from where her mate had spoken, she was surprised to find all of her mates standing there. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked as she looked at them with confusion. "Why? Are you not happy to see us?" Ruoshan asked with raised eyebrows as he walked closer to her. Before Li Ming could grasp what was about to happen, she found herself standing at the very edge of the cliff. The rock beneath her feet was shaking under her weight and it won''t be long before she would be free-falling down the high cliff. "W-what are you doing?" Li Ming asked the Immortal who was holding her from around her waist. One of Ruoshan''s strong arms was wrapped around her waist as he kept her from falling down the cliff. All her mates were aware that she was not really fond of heights and she had always avoided anything that had anything to do with heights. Even though one part of her brain was aware that she was not a mere mortal and falling from the cliff won''t hurt her as long as she would use her powers, the bigger part of her brain was taken over by her fear of heights. "R-Ruo-Ruoshan.....p-pull me back. STOP JOCKING!" Li Ming could not help the tremor and the stuttering in her voice as she shouted at the Evernight Lord. However, rather than pulling her back into the safety of his arms, the Immortal gave her a little shove which almost made a cry leave her lips. He did not let her fall but he also did not pull her back. He moved his lips closer to her ears as he muttered, "Did you seriously think that you won''t face any consequences for lying to us? Are you really that naive?" Li Ming could not find any kind of warmth in Ruoshan''s voice. Her always caring and soft-hearted mate was suddenly acting so cold towards her. Although she could not see the rest of her mates who were standing behind her and Ruoshan, but the fact that none of them stopped Ruoshan made something burst inside her. Her face was looking as pale as one that belonged to a ghost. Sweat was covering her forehead and her breathing was quickening with each passing moment. And if all of this was not enough to torture her, then she soon found a familiar presence around her. The very familiar black mist appeared in front of her as it started surrounding her from all around. Li Ming felt light-headed as she tried to make sense of the sudden things that were happening around her. Nothing was making sense. The weird behavior of her mates, the presence of the black mist inside the most powerful wards that were surrounding the Guixian Islands, and the way her body was reacting. However, before she could ponder much on that part of her current situation, a painful whimper left her lips as weird images started appearing in front of her eyes. It was making her head throb in pain and the worst part was that she could not see anything clearly in those images. She just knew that the images carried unhappiness with them. Right when she thought that she would finally pass out due to immense pain that had taken over her head, she found herself being turned around with a force that almost made her head spin. One after the other, the faces of his mates appeared in front of her eyes. They looked at her with their eyes filled with anger, accusation, hurt, sadness, and the worst....hate. Their eyes were filled with hate for her as they accused her of being a liar, for plating with their love and trust. Li Ming felt like someone was crushing her heart as each accusation that was covering her mates'' eyes made a deep cut into her heart, making it bleed in agony. She could not understand exactly why they were being like that. How could they hate her? She had always thought that they loved her too much to let any issue ruin their relationship. Then why did everything change? And that''s the question that got stuck in her mind. The why. And as the question kept repeating itself in her mind she soon found her entire mind focusing on that very question. Since her mind finally found something to concentrate on, the dizziness that was trying to take over her, finally started to disappear. "Exactly! They can never hate me! They never will. Even though I was wrong with my judgment this time but that doesn''t mean my mates would start hating me. Never!" The strong and determined voice that left her lips made a cold look appear in her eyes as she started once again regaining control over her body. She finally knew exactly what was happening. Her fear of height, fear of losing her mates, the black mist that kept chasing her, and the nightmares that had made her fear the very sleep that was once one of her favorite things to enjoy, these three were what she feared the most in her life. She was facing her fears and now she was struggling to get herself out of their clutches. She was facing the deadly array set by the Array sect. Chapter 241 - The Deserved Privacy On top of the high cliffs in the Southern parts of the Array Island, a girl in a light blue dress was standing at the very edge of the cliffs. A handsome Immortal was standing right behind her as one of his arms was wrapped around her waist. That sight could have been beautiful and mesmerizing if not for the fact that the Immortal was carrying a sinister look and it looked like the girl was having a hard time. Her complexion had turned pale and her entire body was covered in sweat. Not only that but she was shivering as if she had been left inside an ice cave to suffer in its cold environment. Her hands were covering her temples as she was constantly shaking her head as if trying to get rid of whatever was going through her mind. The island was filled with silence, not a comfortable one, rather a silence that provoked the protective instincts of a person. Just like that girl in the blue dress, dozens of other teenagers were also trapped inside their fears all over the small island. Some were crying out loud for help. Some were writhing in pain as they knelt on the ground. While some were fighting using their powers and weapons in the thin air, mostly unaware of the identity of their enemy. And on top of the Southern cliffs of the little island, Li Ming was getting more and more frustrated with every passing minute as one after the other, bad memories from her past and present resurfaced. Although she succeeded in looking through the trap that the Array Island had set up for her, but she still had to find a way to get out of the trap. If she could succeed in building a wall around her mind then the trap would no longer be able to fill her brain with any of its nonsense. However, the tight grip around her waist was not letting her build that mental wall. Whenever she tried to build one, the fake Ruoshan behind her would move her body to make her lose her focus. In short, first, she needed to take care of the five fake Immortals around her before progressing to do the same with the Array. The question was exactly how she was going to get rid of those fake immortals. **** "It''s been three hours. Why she''s not out already?" Hei Long asked out loud as he continued to feast on the watermelon seeds that were left in the bowl. "Can you stop eating them?" Ruoshan asked in a complaining tone as he continued to fan the burning coals to accelerate the process of brewing the tea. "What is your problem? Do you want to starve me to death?" Hei Long asked as he pulled off a shocked expression while giving his brother an accusing look. "You...! Even if you don''t eat anything for centuries, you would never end up starved. Whom are you trying to make a fool of?" Ruoshan scoffed as he continued with his task. "Fourth Junior, maybe you should also stop with your fanning. The coals have gone completely cold. There''s no way we will be able to drink this fine tea at this rate. Stop it, stop it!" The Heaven Emperor said as he tried to grasp the fan that the Evernight Lord was holding in his hands. The chuckles that broke throughout the room did not sit right with the Evernight Immortal as he glared at all the other four Immortals that were trying their very best to cover their laughter. "First Senior Brother, you can mock me all you want. But remember, once I succeeded in brewing this tea it will become the most wanted and praised tea on the continent. And even if the four of you come to me begging for even a single sip, I won''t give in to your tears and pleads." Ruoshan replied as he tried to ignite the coals. "Sure, sure. We will wait for that marvelous day to appear as soon as possible." Wen Guiying said and once again the rest of the four Immortals burst out into soft chuckles that sounded like the most beautiful music present in the universe. "Enough! Stop pulling his leg." Lord Yueliang said after a few moments as he looked at the pouty face of his fourth junior brother. "Right! Let''s focus on Lilac girl rather than my marvelous brother." Hei Long added as he continued to chew on the poor seeds. "By the way, no one answered my question. Why she''s not out yet?" He again asked after the silence of a few moments. "Fifth Junior Brother, it has only been a few hours since she entered the Island. Show some patience and wait! We will soon be seeing her." Lord Yueliang replied as he kept his eyes trained on the scroll that was left open on the table. "Can we really not see what she''s doing right now?" Hei Long asked as he looked at his senior brothers with hopeful eyes. "No! Let''s give her the privacy that she deserves. Spying on her on normal days is a different thing, but using this chance to spy on her fears and past memories is not the best thing to do." The Heaven Emperor replied as he looked at the Second Demon Prince with serious eyes. "Right! I don''t think that Xingan would be happy when she will get to know about us spying on her during the exam. I know that you are worried about her, but let''s not cross our limits in the name of caring for her." Ruoshan added as he gave his brother a warm look. Hei Long was silent for a few seconds as he thought about what his brother and the Heaven Emperor just told him. Finally, he passed them a warm nod as he returned to chew on the seeds. They were waiting for their little mate to come out of the Array Island as a winner. Chapter 242 - We Dont Have It! "What....a-are....you....d-doing?" The fake Ruoshan asked as he stared at the young girl with his eyes popping out like small candies as he kept stepping back to create some distance between himself and the weird girl. Everything was going fine just ten minutes ago. The girl was under his control and she was almost at the very edge of giving up. However, what he never expected was for that dead tired girl to suddenly muster out a bit of her strength which was enough to take him by surprise and she succeeded in pulling herself out from his arms. By the time he and his even lazier companions realized what was happening, five Li Ming were standing in front of them rather than just one. Each one carrying a deathly dagger in her hands that shone with silver light covering them from tip to hilt. As those five girls kept closing in towards the five fake Immortals, the latter had no other choice but to retreat. They only know how to torture their prey mentally. Unfortunately, they had no idea how to deal with a weapon. Therefore, since the young girl succeeded in escaping from the mental torture that they prepared for her after looking through her memories, now they were the ones who were in danger. They were not humans, so they did not fear about dying. However, it looked like they would going to be defeated by the young girl. A small smile appeared on the lips of the fake Ruoshan as he realized that the young girl in front of him was actually a genius as she succeeded in breaking through the mental barriers within just five hours. The rest of her companions were still locked under the illusions of their own mental tortures and were nowhere near breaking out of the arrays. However, the fake Ruoshan still needed to try at least one more to tame the girl and once again took control on her mind. It was a pity that no one was able to see what was going on with Li Ming and her illusion array. Not because they missed the chance of watching a young generation genius using her cultivation and internal energy in the best way possible. Rather, it was because they missed the chance of finding out exactly what kind of danger was waiting in the shadows just for the right moment before it will pounce on the three realms to destroy them. Even though Li Ming herself had no idea what her dreams were about and what kind of meaning they held, however, if someone had watched the entire episode of her second exam when the illusion array succeeded in taking control over her, then they would have seen those dreams with clarity. Unfortunately, such a great chance slipped away, and with that, the darkness once again succeeded in keeping its intentions hidden. Similarly, the five fake Immortals who were a part of the illusion array also had no idea about the dreams that they pulled out from Li Ming''s memories to build a torturous illusion for her. They only knew that they were supposed to test the mental power of the one that was sent to them. Other than that, they did not care about what was happening to the rest of the world. The mere reason was that they had no brain, no heart, no feelings and that''s why they did not realize the information and importance that the dreams held in them. "What? I''m just making you test your own medicine. Why? Don''t you like it?" The Li Ming that was in the middle and was aiming her dagger towards the Moon Immortal asked Ruoshan with an evil smile in her eyes as she continued to stare into the fake cerulean eyes of her Mr. Perfect. "Wait! T-this was not a....p-part of the exam. You were never supposed to threaten us. You should just find the core of the array and destroy it. There''s no need for threatening us with such a huge weapon." It was the fake Hei Long who spoke this time and looking at his big round eyes that actually were trained on the dagger that was aimed at him, it was clear that he was not fond of the weapon. "Really? So you are trying to say that none of the five of you has the core?" The Li Ming that was standing at the very end on the left side asked as she titled her face a little to look at the fake Heaven Emperor with curious eyes. "No. We don''t have it. The core is not that easy to find." The Immortal answered in a barely audible voice as he played his shy and nervous role. The five girls suddenly merged into one and a few blinks later, once again the real Li Ming was standing in front of the five fake Immortals. However, unlike before, now she looked way more powerful and focused as her deep and cold eyes passed over the five figures who were carrying the handsome faces of her precious mates. "Even though you all are of no use to me, but I still can''t let you all go. Letting you all off means giving you a chance to attack me once again while I''ll be at my lowest. I can''t do that now, can I?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the five illusions that were standing in front of her. "Are you planning to kill us?" The fake Wen Guiying asked as he looked at her with a small twitch visible on his lips. "Is that even possible? You all are a part of this array. As long as the array is intact you all will keep coming back no matter how many times I kill you. Meaning that I''ll be exhausting myself if I kept on killing you all again and again." Li Ming replied calmly as she let her spiritual energy channel through her veins. Soon enough her energy reached the tips of her fingers and within a blink, a rope surrounded by snow and wind essence was visible in her right hand. "To make sure that you guys won''t create problems for me as I look for the core of the array, I''m going to make sure that you will have something else to do in the meantime. Have a nice time!" Li Ming said in her chirpy tone as she flung the magical rope at the fake Immortals who immediately got bound together by the rope. She gave them a last quick glance before turning around and walking away from the edge of the cliff. It was time to end the second exam! Chapter 243 - The Lethal Python "This is the one, right?" Li Ming asked the five fake Immortals as she toyed with the palm-sized stone that was lying on the ground in front of her. Who knew that it would take her more than an hour to find the core of the array in which she was trapped. First, she encountered a dense mist that made it almost impossible for her to see anything. And when she succeeded in taking care of the most with one of her spells, she found herself face to face with a seven feet tall Python that had huge fangs that were sharp enough to pierce through rocks. The battle that started between her and the python left her clothes torn and her body full of scratches. The python was just an illusion created by the array but that did not mean that it was not as lethal and dangerous as a real python. It was a miracle that she found its weak spot and killed it within an hour, otherwise in reality, the fight could have lasted for hours. Somehow, she made her way towards the powerful presence that was present at the very center of the array and that was when she found the stone that was the core of the array. "Why are you playing with it?" The fake Hei Long asked as he observed her toying with the stone. Li Ming stopped tapping her knuckles on the stone as she raised her head to look at the Immortal who was still bound to others with the magical rope. "I''m a little confused. Isn''t it too obvious and simple to put the core of the array in a stone that could be found so easily?" She asked as she titled her head a little. Her eyes staring at the stone as if it was going to answer her question. However, she did receive an answer but rather than the stone, it was the fake Moin Immortal who replied. "If a person can succeed in fighting off the fears that are lurking in the corners of their mind, if they can succeed in making their way out of the fog illusion and if they can also succeed in killing the python, there''s no need to test that person''s potential anymore." "The quickly you can pass these three stages, the easier it will be for you to find the core. Since it took you barely a few hours to pass these tasks, you found the core easily." Li Ming was silent as she thought about what she just learned from the fake Lord Yueliang. "Well, that kind of makes sense. However, I''m feeling a little bad for destroying this array." She said with a little shake of her head. "Why?" The fake Heaven Immortal asked as he and the rest of the other four Immortals looked at her curiously. "Destroying the array means killing the five of you. Even though you all are not my real mates, but your faces still resemble them." Li Ming replied as she picked up the stone in which the core of the array was installed. She walked towards a huge rock that was resting near the edge of the cliff and placed the stone on the middle spot of its top. She turned her head back towards the five Immortals who were sitting on the ground, bound together by her magical rope. It was still hard to believe that the five of them were not able to untie the rope even after more than an hour had passed. "I would have loved to say that it was nice meeting you guys. However, I don''t like lying. Goodbye!" She waved her fingers a little to emphasize her sincerity in wishing them goodbye before she again turned her focus on the stone that was resting on the top of the rock. The sapphire bracelet that was wrapped around her right wrist started crawling into her palm and within the next blink, a magnificent whip was visible in her hands. Li Ming flicked the whip once and immediately it transformed into a dagger with its blade covering in a light blue glow. She did not waste a single more second as she pierced the dagger right into the center of the stone and a powerful wave washed over her and her surroundings. The sudden power rush made her cover her eyes and face with her arm and when she finally opened them after a few seconds, she found the stone scattered around into hundreds of pieces and there was no trace of the fake Immortals. Immediately a teleportation array appeared a few feet away from her and without wasting any more time, Li Ming entered the array and landed on the same spot where her seniors were waiting. *** "She''s out!" Hei Long was the first one who shouted in excitement as he watched his mate appearing at the front gate of the Array Sect. "Wow! She''s quick." Ruoshan commented as he looked proudly at his sweet little mate. The Heaven Emperor and the Moon Immortal too nodded their heads in agreement as they stood up from their seats to walk closer to the mirror that was showing exactly how surprised the senior disciples of the Array Sect were after seeing Li Ming. "Let''s go! We can finally meet my Xingan." Ruoshan said excitedly as he looked at the rest of his brothers who nodded their heads in agreement. However, that very moment Hei Long let out a painful grunt as he staggered on his feet. "What''s wrong?" Wen Guiying was immediately by his side as he helped his youngest junior brother. The Moon Immortal and the Heaven Emperor also looked a little worried. However, no one noticed the changes that appeared in the Evernight Lord. Ruoshan stood there in his spot as his eyes gleamed bright purple as he tried his very best to control his powers that were threatening to burst out of his body. It was Lord Yueliang who noticed Ruoshan before the others. "Exactly what is going on? Are you two alright?" Suddenly the previously happy and exciting environment of the pavilion turned gloomy and worried. Something was wrong, very very wrong! Chapter 244 - The Queen "Something is wrong in the Demon Realm!" This was the first sentence that Ruoshan spoke as soon as his eyes returned to normal. His forehead was covered with a few beads of sweat and even though it was next to impossible to detect but his breathing was a little bit quicker than normal. "What do you mean?" The Supreme Immortal asked as he looked at the Evernight Lord in confusion. "Something or someone is trying to destroy the demon realm. We need to go!" It was Hei Long who spoke this time. To others, he could have appeared as majestic and strong as usual. However, his brothers could tell that he was left just as shaken as Ruoshan. "Fine. Let''s hurry!" The Heaven Emperor said as he pulled Hei Long beside him, ready to teleport any second. "You guys don''t need to come. Let me and my brother handle this situation. You guys go and meet Xingan." Ruoshan said as he looked at the magical mirror with his eyes full of longing. "Stop talking nonsense! If we all will go then we will be able to handle the situation in much less time. We all will go and meet her together." Wen Guiying said as he pulled the magical mirror into his space. The next second, the silhouette of the five Immortals disappeared from inside the pavilion. The guards that were struggling for such a long time due to the powerful auras of the Immortals finally took deep breaths to calm themselves down. *** "What is going on here?" The Immortals stared in surprise at the sight that they came across as soon as they appeared in the Northern Province of the Demon Realm. The dark mist that had always been lurking around the province had suddenly thickened in density. Everything was covered by that mist. They could see the demons struggling to breathe as the mist kept suffocating them. However, the most surprising was the army of thousands of weird-looking creatures. Their lower body resembled that of a huge snake while their upper body looked exactly like that of a human. They had four horns on their heads and their eyes gleamed bright red. Long sharp fangs like a lethal snake and sharp claws that gleamed even in the darkness. "What are these things?" Ruoshan asked out loud to no one in particular as he took in the army of those weird creatures that were about to attack the already dying demons. "Let''s not waste our time. Hei Long, you should go and check the situation of the southern province. Ruoshan and Yueliang will try to force out the dark mist away from this place. While I and Guying will take care of those creatures." The Heaven Emperor hurriedly ordered his brothers who immediately followed his commands without any questions or objections. The Second Demon Prince immediately teleported away to the southern province of the demon realm to see how the situation was there. Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang pulled on their spiritual qi to form a huge spiritual force that started pushing the mist away from the demons. Meanwhile, the Heaven Emperor and the Supreme Immortal flew towards the army of thousands of creatures that looked hungry for blood. Soon enough, the Evernight Province was filled with the sound of chaos and disaster as bodies after bodies of those snake-like creatures fell on the ground. The painful cries and scent of the sulfur filled the air of the Northern part of the Demon Realm. While on one hand, the Heaven Emperor and Supreme Immortal were busy killing the enemies, Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang too succeeded in distracting the mist as they kept pushing their energy into the force that was battling with the mist. At that moment no one knew that this small battle that would last for weeks was just a mere starting. The enemy was busy in planning a massacre that was going to leave the three realms in chaos and dread. *** "My Queen, our army has already succeeded in grabbing the attention of all the five High Immortals. However, there''s no trace of the Shadow Lord among them." A man who was wearing leather pants and cut sleeves leather shirt accompanied by a long black cloak whose hoddie was hiding most of his face, said as he bowed a little to the woman sitting on the high throne. His fingers were covered in leather gloves while his bare arms were decorated in tattoos that were covering the skin of his neck too. On the other hand, the woman who was sitting on the high throne made of black colored roots, flicked her fingers over the candle that was burning beside her. Her long dark red painted nails were as sharp as daggers that could pierce through human skin and kill them within a second. "Good. Make sure to keep them in the Demon Realm as long as possible. As for the Shadow Lord, I''m sure if he''s not with the rest of his brothers then he''s with the Little Princess. I''ll take care of them." The woman said as she played with a strand of her long black hair. "Yes, My Queen." The man bowed before he disappeared from the dark throne room. A small tiny string of black mist materialized in front of the woman as soon as the man disappeared from the room. "Leave for the Guixian Island to deliver my message to our pawn. Remember that you will have barely ten minutes to complete this task before the pure spiritual energy of the island would finish you off. Don''t even dare to fail." The woman ordered the little ball of black mist which shook a little as if to show its obedience before it too disappeared from the room. The woman closed her eyes to guide the mist ball inside the barriers of the Guixian Academy. It was surely not an easy task to fight against the ancient and powerful barriers of the Academy, but it was surely not an impossible task. As soon as the mist ball succeeded in passing through the powerful barriers of the Academy, the woman''s eyes flew open. Even though a trail of blood seeped out from the corner of her lips but her dark black eyes were gleaming with the taste of victory. The three realms were no longer as safe and powerful as they used to be. The darkness had succeeded in seeping into all the realms of the Immortal World and now it was planning to take over. Chapter 245 - Disciples From The Medical Sect Li Ming finally took in a deep breath as she made her way into the backyard of the abandoned courtyard that was built just at a little distance away from the Array Sect. She was initially waiting for her mates after she completed the second exam. However, she got attacked by curious seniors and teachers of the Array Sect as soon as she stepped out of the array. It took her hours to get herself freed from their curious questions and tight clutches that were ready to tear her apart to see what kind of spiritual ocean was present inside her body. Only ten hours were left before the second stage of the entrance exam would also come to an end, however, she could barely find any trace of even a single one of her mates. "Looks like we are fortunate enough to come across the genius disciple that the Array Sect has earned this year." Li Ming''s attention was pulled towards a group of disciples in light lemon yellow clothes who were standing a little bit away from her. The one who had spoken was a girl in her late teens and Li Ming did not need to be a genius to recognize the challenge and haughtiness that was visible in the girl''s sharp eyes that were glaring at her, Li Ming. At first, she thought about ignoring those little children and continue waiting for her mates while cultivating her internal force that had suffered the most during her fight with the python. However, before she could close her eyes she noticed three figures hiding at the corner of the entrance of the abandoned courtyard. A small twitch appeared on her hidden lips as she immediately recognized the three elders that were secretly spying on her and the current situation. Although she was not familiar with the Academy and its teachers yet, but she was a quick observer. She remembered seeing those three elders sitting in the medical sect section behind the Great Elder of the Medical Sect when she was in the Hall of Elders. And if she was not wrong then the group of children that were marching towards her with haughtiness and confidence, was actually sent by those three elders. She knew that human nature could not change, no matter if its in ancient times or in modern. One could always find those students who were bitchy, ignorant, egotistical, and dominating. They were present in the Middle and High School that she attended back in the Modern world as well as in the Magical Academy. And even after transmigrating to a completely new and different world, she still ended up finding a bunch of similar students. However, what surprised her was the attitude of the teachers. No matter how bad the education and school system was in her days, the only competition between the students. She barely found teachers competing with one another. However, what she had observed in the Immortal world was that the teachers were even more thoughtful about their images, and they were always in competition to show themselves and their sects as the best. Li Ming just slowly shook her head as a soft sigh left her lips. Who would have known that her performance during the entrance exams would bring so much extra and unwanted attention to her? Not like she actually tried to stay low-key during the exams but at that time she was only worried about getting through the exams, the thought of attracting unwanted and irritating flies never crossed her mind. She would have loved to ignore those flies but since the elders were also included, it was not going to be an easy task. She could not be bratty and thoughtless because it would leave a bad impression on her image. And at the same time, she could not allow her opponents to insult her and the Array sect. She needed to keep her image as perfect and profound as she could. There was already next to no chance that Great Elder of the Array Sect would accept her as his disciple, but if she somehow caused problems for the sect then her chances would go down to negatives. "Are you ignoring us, junior sister?" Li Ming was pulled out of her thoughts when the same girl once again spoke up and this time her tone was carrying a mocking edge in it. Li Ming stood up from her sitting position against one of the broken walls and started walking towards the group of seven children who were standing a few feet away from her. "This junior greets the senior sister and the rest. Senior sister, you must be kidding. How come someone like me is capable of ignoring you. I was just a little exhausted after the exams and was trying to rest a little. This junior will apologize for not paying attention to you and your group soon enough." Li Ming could perfectly play the role of a smart and crafty female lead in a drama based on her acting skills. Even though her lower face was hidden by the veil and others could not see the warm smile that was covering her lips, but the sincerity and softness in her eyes were enough for the group of children to hesitate a little to counterattack her words. The girl, who was clearly the leader of the group, smirked a little as she took in Li Ming''s appearance. Looking at Li Ming''s appearance it was completely hard to tell exactly what kind of background she had. Her light violet dress was made of high-quality fibers and the design was similar to those dresses that they had only seen the high nobles and Imperial family members wearing at special occasions. However, her hair was normally designed with only a single jade hairpin in it. Unlike a young miss of some high novel family who would love to wear a lot of head jewelry, Li Ming appeared quite normal. This contrast in her get-up made the group of disciples from the Medical Sect confused about her background. They had never heard of any big noble family in the Mortal Realm known by the name of Li. However, looking at the results of the entrance exam it was clear that Li Ming was really good at cultivation. Only the high sects, noble families, and Imperial families had the power of helping their children in their cultivation to level them up. In the end, Li Ming''s identity had become a mystery for the disciples and also for most of the teachers. "Junior sister, we have a favor to ask from you. Hope you won''t mind." The same girl said in a soft tone as she gave Li Ming a small fake smile. Chapter 246 - The Drama Was About To Start! "Of course! If this junior can help Senior Sister in any way then I''m more than happy to comply." Li Ming answered in a polite tone. She was actually interested to know exactly what those three elders had planned for her. "Alright then! Since Junior sister is ready to help us then we would like to ask you to accompany my group on a short trip." The girl said with even more softly than possible. "A trip?" Li Ming asked as she eyed the rest of the members of the group. There were four girls and three boys in total, including the girl who had been talking since the very starting. She could see the excitement that they were trying to hide, the excitement of playing with her. A small twitch appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she pitied the poor teenagers in front of her who were being used by their teachers in vain. "As you can, I and my group is heading to the fourth circle of the Medical Sect Island. The fourth circle is not the most dangerous part of the island but it still has many traps and spirit beasts hiding. We need some spiritual herbs but unfortunately, none of us is good in combat. If Junior sister won''t mind, then can you please accompany us. We heard that your martial arts skills are very top-notch." The girl gave her best to appear completely innocent and sincere as she looked at Li Ming with hopeful eyes. It immediately dawned on Li Ming that the group of disciples of the Medical Sect and those three elders had formed a perfect plan to embarrass her in front of the entire Academy. How could she not know exactly how dangerous the Medical Sect''s Island was? Just like the Array Sect''s Island, the Medical Sect''s Island was also divided into five circles. The outermost circle, or simply the fifth circle, was the region that was used during the second stage of the entrance exams. It was the safest region of the entire island. The fourth circle of the Medical Sect''s Island was probably not the scariest and most dangerous part of the island but if someone from the other sects with no knowledge about spiritual herbs and poisons would enter the fourth circle, they sure would end up in a mess. And as one kept moving towards the innermost part of the island, meaning the first circle, they would find the level of danger increasing with each step they would put forward. Li Ming was about to answer when suddenly she was cut off by the girl even before she could speak a single word. "Junior sister, you don''t have to worry about the poisonous herbs that are present on the island. As long as you will stay with us, we will make sure that you are safe from those plants. All you have to do is to keep your eyes on the other dangers that would be coming towards us on this trip." Li Ming was silent for a few minutes as she appeared deep in her thoughts. After the silence of a few minutes, she finally let out a small sigh as she nodded her head. "Alright! It''s not like I''ve anything else to do for the time being. I can use this time for some good cause. Lead the way please!" The glow of a little victory that immediately appeared for a mere second in the eyes of the girl was not hidden from Li Ming. A few moments later, she was walking behind the group that was heading towards the Medical Sect that was situated at the very end of the West coast of the main Guixian Island. They made their way towards the teleportation array that sent them right to the outskirts of the fourth circle of the Medical Sect''s Island. "What if we disturbed the disciples who are going through the second stage of the exam?" Li Ming asked the girl as they started moving towards the stream that separated the fifth and the fourth circles. "Don''t worry. As long as we stayed away from the fifth circle, we won''t create any problems for them. Here, we are about to enter the fourth circle." The girl, who was actually known as Miss Wu Ying, replied as she once again took the lead and prepared to cross the stream. These seven teenagers were the third year disciples of the High Medical Sect of the Academy and all were between eighteen to twenty years old. Every Sect was divided into two stages - Lower Sect and Higher Sect which were further dived into outer and inner sects. Children below the age of fifteen years were disciples of the Lower Sects while those over fifteen years of age fell under the command of the Higher Sects. Only very rare exceptions were present when someone below the age of fifteen years had made their way into the Higher Sects. The minimum age required to join the Academy was ten years. However, one could stay as a disciple under the Guixian Academy for hundreds of years if they want. Li Ming silently followed behind the group of medical sect''s disciples as she took in the changes that distinguished the fourth circle from the fifth one. Somehow she got too occupied in observing her surroundings that she completely missed the signals that the seven members of the group exchanged among themselves. By the time Li Ming''s attention returned on them, they were busy in taking out baskets from their spatial rings to collect the herbs. Miss Wu Ying took out a little porcelain bottle from her spatial ring and passed small peach-colored pills to her companions. "Junior sister Li, this is a spiritual pill that will keep your body fragrance closed in a bubble for the next three hours. It''s a safety measure to keep the hidden beasts of the forest from finding out about our presence." Wu Ying said as she passed the pill. Li Ming looked at the pill for a few seconds and then her eyes took in the smiling face of Miss Wu. She slowly nodded her head before gulping down the pill. After everyone ate those peach-colored pills, the group started their journey of finding the spiritual herbs that they were looking for. The drama was about to start! Chapter 247 - Doomed! "Are those.....mushrooms? Like.....giant mushrooms?" Li Ming was left completely shocked as she stared at the huge fungus standing in front of her at a little distance. The Medical Sect''s Island was even more mysterious and surprising than what she first assumed. In the last hour, she had seen a variety of unique spiritual herbs that had taken her months to get her hands on when she first started learning medical skills. "A what?" Miss Wu asked in confusion as she first looked at Li Ming and then around their surroundings to see exactly what had caught Li Ming''s attention. "A mushroom! Moreover, a giant one! Are they also considered as spiritual herbs...or probably...spiritual fungus?" Li Ming hurriedly asked as she replied to Wu Ying''s question. However, looking at the confused expressions that were visible on the faces of all the seven members of the group, it was clear that did not understand a single thing. "Umm.....it''s that big white thing over there. Near the foot of that tree!" Li Ming tried to explain as she pointed at the mushroom. "Oh! That''s a pretty normal herb on this island. Even though it''s very hard to find it in the five Empires, but our Island has a large variety and numbers of this herb. Unfortunately, it is one of those herbs that barely has any use in the medicines." Wu Ying told her as she pointed at a few other mushrooms growing around the area, all in different colors and sizes. Li Ming slowly nodded her head as she took in the information that she just received about the giant fungus. "We are about to reach our destination. Junior sister, you can go around and take a look at the surroundings to make sure that there are no hidden beasts in the shadows once we get there." Wu Ying said as she kept leading them towards a tunnel that stood at a little distance away from them. They stopped at the entrance of the tunnel and Wu Ying turned to look at Li Ming as she waited for the latter to step in into the tunnel. "Alright! I''ll go and take a look at the area first. However....." Li Ming trailed off as she looked a little hesitant with the current situation. "What happened Junior sister? Are you scared to go alone since this is your first time on the Herb Island? Don''t worry! The pill that I gave you will keep your presence hidden from those beasts and poisonous plants." Wu Ying said in a soft comforting tone. If seen by normal people, everyone would have considered Miss Wu, a well educated and caring Senior sister. However, people who had observed human nature for years could clearly see through the facade that she had placed over her real intentions. "It''s not like that. I know that you guys won''t let me get harmed. However, what I''m worried about is that if a spirit beast attacked you here in my absence, then what will we do?" Li Ming showed her concern in return as she played her part pretty well. "Oh! You don''t have to worry about us. Piercing Blue Spirit Grass is growing around this small cave and its strong smell keeps the dangerous animals away from this area. We will be safe here. Just go and take a quick look around the other side of the tunnel." Wu Ying hurriedly replied. Li Ming looked at little blue-colored grass that was covering the ground around the area at every few meters of distance. She nodded her head before turning towards the cave and stepping inside the tunnel. The group of teenagers watched the silhouette of the young girl disappearing inside the tunnel and soon she vanished into the darkness that was covering the inside of the tunnel. "Sister Ying, do you think our plan will work?" One of the boys asked as he kept staring at the entrance of the cave. "Of course, it will. This little girl has barely set her foot inside the Guixian Island and everyone is already worshipping her like she is some goddess. Who knows what kind of methods she has used to reach such a high cultivation level at such a young age?" It was another girl from their group who replied instead of Miss Wu. Her tone and the covetous look in her eyes were clearly stating exactly how much she despised Li Ming. "Sister Min min is absolutely right! Have we ever before heard the name Li in the upper circle of any of the five Empires? Out of nowhere, a girl who keeps wearing a veil, popped up here in the Academy to claim the position of the most genius prodigy of our generation. How could something like this happen?" Another girl supported the first one''s statement while adding her own thoughts into the jumble. "You all are actually right. We don''t know about the background of this girl and there''s nearly impossible for someone from a small family to become such a high-level cultivator at such a young age no matter how capable they were born in the arts of cultivation. The lower family lacks the resources that a cultivator needs. Either this girl ended up getting her hands over some mysterious possession or probably she used some dark methods." One of the boys summarized as he looked at the rest of his friends to see their expressions. Of course, the rest quickly nodded their heads in agreement. "Sister Wu, how long will it take for the pill to start working?" Another boy asked as he looked at the beautiful young lady who had kept quiet all this time. The others too turned their attention towards the girl as they waited for her reply. They all were aware that the pill Wu Ying had given to Li Ming was different from what she gave to the rest of them. The pill that they all ate was actually used for keeping their body fragrance locked for a few hours. However, the pill that they gave to Li Ming was actually used for attracting the attention of those dangerous beasts that were lurking around the area. The two pills looked exactly alike but their effects were polar opposite. All that it took was the addition or subtraction of a single spiritual herb that caused all the changes in the pills. They were very near to the outskirts of the third circle and the possibility of encountering a high-level ferocious spirit beast at the opposite end of the tunnel was quite high. Moreover, the pill will make Li Ming''s body emit such a sweet fragrance that would succeed in attracting those beasts towards her. "It already would have started taking effect by now. Let''s not waste any time. Quickly cover the mouth of the tunnel." Wu Ying ordered as she took out two small porcelain bottles from her spatial ring. The bottles contained second-grade Middle-Level dizziness powder inside them. As soon as the boys covered the mouth of the tunnel with the massive rock that had been sitting beside the entrance, Wu Ying covered the area with the dizziness powder. "Our work is done here! Let''s head back." She ordered as soon as she finished her job of sprinkling the powder. The rest of her team nodded their heads as they followed behind Wu Ying, leaving Li Ming to fend herself from the ferocious beasts that were already about to approach her any minute. *** "Master, should we...." The young man in light sky blue dress trailed off at his Master''s signal. He was really feeling bad for the poor girl who was currently about to become the meal of hundreds of beasts that had surrounded her. However, seeing that his Master still had to make any move, he kept completely still in his place, not daring to say or do anything. Who would have known that the moment he would come out of the Nine Lotus Courtyard with his Master after two months, they would encounter a huge spiritual ball flying past the Lotus Pavilion? The spiritual ball was flying towards the Hall of Elders but with a single flick of his Master''s sleeves brought the energy ball in front of them. And as soon as he opened the spiritual ball, they ended up witnessing the drama that was going on in the Medical Sect''s Island. "M-master....s-should I in-inform the Great Elder about the situation?" The boy once again dared to voice out his question as his fear and sympathy for the little girl increased. Just like usual, his Master did not bother to answer his question immediately. After all, one thing that made his Master popular throughout the entire Guixian Island was his hobby of not answering people''s questions. One could keep shouting their questions at him at their loudest pitch and he won''t even blink. He would only answer when he wanted. Otherwise, asking him any question meant wasting one''s energy and testing their patience. "Xiao Heng, do you have nothing to do? Go to the Study Hall and copy the First three themes of Qi Arrays." And just like that the future days of Xiao Heng were doomed. All thanks to Li Ming! Chapter 248 - The Lotus Pavilion Master "Master...." Xiao Heng almost whined but soon stopped himself. His actions could have granted him even worse punishments. In the end, he just bowed to his Master and after giving a final glance at the girl, he walked away from there. However, the Master kept standing there in silence as he watched the girl. To others, the girl appeared scared and nervous in her current situation. Not because she actually was scared but rather because that''s what everyone wanted to believe. But unlike others, he could see the twinkle in her eyes. The confidence and calmness that was present in her even though she was surrounded by hundreds of dangerous beasts. As the man stood on the high terrace at the edge of the little cliff that showed the beautiful view of the ocean, the setting sun, and soft breeze gave his already ethereal appearance another boost. His sharp jawline and dark obsidian eyes gave him a strong and powerful appearance that matched his position and title perfectly. While he was busy in observing the girl and her next move, Li Ming had no idea that she was being stalked by a particular person. "Aaah! Why so many of you are here? I can only deal with one at a time and if necessary then maybe five to seven. But look at you all, being totally shameless. Huh!" Li Ming said with a scoff before she settled down on a small rock. "What''s so special about this smell that it can lure so many of you here? Will I need to become a beast like you to know the answer? Or maybe I can use it on Snowy or Mallow to make them answer this question!" She kept muttering on her own while observing the different races of spirit beasts that had gathered around her. It was a surprising thing that not a single one of them had taken the initiative to attack her yet. It was more like they were waiting for something. Li Ming took out a huge basket from her space. The basket was filled with grilled chicken that held stored spiritual qi inside them. "Since it''s our very first meeting, consider this as my gift. You all will owe me a favor for feeding you all such delicious food. Since you can''t pay me with money, don''t think that I''ll let you all enjoy free food that has taken a lot of my hard work." She kept muttering while pointing at the groups of beasts around her while preparing a spell that would distribute the food to the beasts at the same time. Li Ming was completely oblivious that her cuteness had succeeded in bringing an almost unnoticeable smile on the lips of the man who had been observing her actions all this time. The smile only helped in increasing his charisma and beauty. It was almost impossible for anyone to make him show emotions other than indifference and coldness. However, Li Ming even succeeded in making him smile even though it was for a few mere seconds. If Xiao Heng would have seen his Master smiling just now, he would even have forgotten how to breathe in shock. Li Ming watched in silence as the beasts around her hurriedly gulped down the chicken pieces. Soon enough they were looking at her with hopeful eyes as they waited for more food. "Nope! Don''t give me those puppy eyes. I''m not giving you more. It''s already late evening now, I should be leaving this forest." Li Ming said as she stood up and dusted her dress. Just that moment, a little raccoon-like baby beast walked out of the group and wrapped its body around her feet. A smile bloomed on her face as the little baby rubbed its head against her ankle. Its cute way of showing affection made her heart filled with warmth. She crouched down and rubbed its head softly before planting a sift kiss on its forehead. "Be good. When the next time we meet each other, I want to see a more powerful and better version of yourself. Alright?" She said as she smiled softly. The little baby nodded its head before turning around to return to its group. Li Ming gave them all a soft polite nod before disappearing from the forest. Just as she left one after the other, each of the spirit beasts started breaking through their current cultivation levels to reach the next one. They all felt gratitude towards Li Ming in their hearts for the beautiful and amazing gift that she had given them. In all this, the preparation that Wu Ying and her team did to stop Li Ming from fleeing away from the forest went completely useless. They really underestimated their opponent. How could they never thought that she could always teleport away, especially when everyone knew that she used teleportation to pass her first exam? *** "Sister Wu, you don''t have to worry. There''s no way that little girl can make out of the forest unscathed. And if she somehow succeeded in failing our first plan, then we also have our second plan." Wu Ying and her group were already back inside their Sect grounds as they whispered about their plans. They all walked towards the three elders who were sitting under the biggest pavilion of the Medical Sect while playing ''Go''. "Your disciples greet the Elders!" The group chorused as they greeted the three elders. "You all did a nice job. You all can go and receive your spirit points from the Study Hall." One of the elders said as he kept his attention on the board that was set up on the table. "Thank you Elders for your generosity." The group again chorused as they passed each other quick excited glances. "Your elders are indeed generous...!" The sudden cold and powerful words disturbed the calm and exciting environment of the pavilion. The three elders immediately stood up from their seats as they watched the man slowly walking towards them. He was the last person they all expected to see. Moreover, the presence of that person in their medical sect was definitely not good news. "Se......uhh-Lotus Pavilion Master, these mere humans greet you. It''s been quite a bit of time since we last get to see the Pavilion Master. We never knew that you will be coming out today." One of the Elders hurriedly said as he smiled at the man. The rest of the two elders also followed the suit of their friend and greeted the man. While Wu Ying and her group immediately kneeled down on the floor to greet the man with the utmost respect. Only two people in the entire Guixian Island held the status and power that could make ninety-five percent of the Island''s population kneel down on the ground to greet them. The first one was undoubtedly the Ruler of the Island and the head of the Academy, the Supreme Immortal - Wen Guiying. And the second person was none other than the Lotus Pavilion Master, the Sect Leader of the Array Sect. It was known throughout the mortal realm that the Lotus Pavilion Master was actually a royal from the Heaven Realm, but very few people were aware of his true identity and his relations with the Heaven Realm. Nonetheless, he had earned this respect not only because of his high status but also because of his actions and contributions to the Academy. He held the most powers in his hands after the Supreme Immortal. These two people, Supreme Immortal and Lotus Pavilion Master, together formed the most formidable and powerful team of leaders in the entire Immortal World. The only other team that came anywhere near these two was the team of Ruoshan and Hei Long. However, since the Demon realm was not really in any shape to compete with the Guixian academy, the Demon Princes couldn''t snatch away the title. "Sect Leader Lu, how come you decided to visit our lowly Medical sect today out of nowhere?" Suddenly another person appeared there in the pavilion and asked the question while bowing her head to greet the man. "Madam Bao, it will be a good thing if you can keep an eye on your sect and what''s going on in there." Sect Leader Lu said in an indifferent tone as he did not bother to either reply to her question or return the greetings. "This- Sect Leader Lu, did something happened? If my disciples have somehow offended you or your sect in any way then don''t worry, I''ll make sure to punish them." Madam Bao immediately replied. Her tone and eyes both were serious as she looked at the great man in front of her. "Since you say so then I''ll let you interrogate these people here to find out exactly what they are up to. I don''t like meddling in such dirty plans but I also won''t sit back and watch others attacking my disciples." Sect Leader Lu said in a cold tone that made everyone shiver in fear. They were not prepared to handle this formidable Immortal and his anger! Chapter 249 - Building An Army Of Enimies As the morning sun shone brightly in the sky and the birds chirped happily as they flew around the courtyards, a group of young disciples in white clothes were seen standing in front of the entrance gate of the Academy. "Since the Supreme Immortal is unable to attend the sorting ceremony this year due to some important reasons, unlike the other years this year we decided to arrange the sorting ceremony within the Sects." The moment Master Gong stopped talking, the teenagers around Li Ming burst out into whispers and murmurs. Her mood was just too down to pay attention to whatever was going on around her. She waited for hours the previous day and then the night, just in the hope of seeing her mates. However, the only thing that she got in return for her waiting was the information that the Supreme Immortal was not going to join the sorting ceremony of this year. It was the first time in more than five hundred years when the head of the Academy was not present for such an important ceremony. But what made her lost her calm was the message that she received only a mere seconds later after opening her eyes at the first ray of sunlight. The shining blue lotus symbol that had appeared in front of her eyes was too familiar for her to not recognize and as she read the message that the Moon Immortal sent, she felt like someone had drawn her into a lake of chilled water. ''Little One, this Lord promised you that I''ll bring all the rest of your mates to meet with you after your exams. However, Guiying and others are still not over their tantrums. Moreover, a sudden emergency needs our attention for the time being. As soon as we will take care of this task, I''ll bring the others to meet you immediately. Don''t be upset. We will meet soon and remember to take care of yourself. Love Mr. Perfect." As the words of the message reappeared in front of her vision, Li Ming almost felt like scoffing out loud in mockery. "Ming''er, if you want I can drag all five of them here right this instant. Just let me out once and see how I''ll teach all of them a lesson for ignoring you like this." Zhang Yong said with confidence as he stood behind her with his arms securely wrapped around her waist and belly. He was completely invisible to others and since Li Ming was standing at the very end of the group, they were not afraid that someone would end up bumping into them. The only reason why Li Ming allowed Zhang Yong to cuddle her like this in the broad daylight was the feeling of calmness and assurance that he was providing her. His powerful presence and warm embrace had made her agitated soul calm down. However, her mood was still down. "It''s alright. I''m sure that they are actually busy. It''s just.....just that...I have no idea when I''ll see them next. What if they won''t make it back in time? It will only create problems and misunderstandings when they won''t find me here." Li Ming replied in a very small voice even though the spell that she cast over the two of them unable others from listening to them. "Ming''er, don''t worry. Remember that no matter what happens, they will never be able to stay angry at you. Everything will be fine. I''m here with you." Zhang Yong softly whispered into her ear as he checked one of his hands around her shoulders to pull her closer into his embrace. The Shadow Lord never liked to see his best friend in such an awful mood. He was used to her cheery self and his mate so quiet and sad made his mood dampen too. Li Ming found herself slowly nodding her head as she let out a soft sigh before turning her head slightly towards her bondmate and giving him an assuring blink. The two stood there like that throughout the gathering as different Masters and Elders came forward to congratulate the children and share a few words with them. It was only after several hours had passed when Li Ming finally found herself moving towards the Array Sect along with the rest of her sect disciples who succeeded in passing the exam. It was finally the time when they were going to be sorted out in outer and inner sects based on their performance in the exams. She was so nervous about the sorting ceremony that her heartbeat had increased and her palms were covered with sweat. She was not worried about being chosen in the outer or inner sect. She was confident enough in her performance during the exams that she would easily be selected for the inner sect. However, what she was afraid of was whether she would succeed in making the Sect Master accept her as his disciple or not. Just as she was about to enter the front courtyard of the Array Sect, her path got blocked by a group of senior disciples whose faces were too familiar to be ignored. "Senior Sister Wu, how can this junior sister help you today?" Li Ming asked in a polite tone as she greeted her seniors. Her tone was soft and warm. There was no hint of bitterness in it even though she was talking to a bunch of children who tried to harm her just a few hours ago. "Junior Sister, this Senior sister, and her friends are here to ask for forgiveness. We should not have asked you to accompany us to the island and not should have we left you there all alone. Seeing that junior sister is not hurt, this Senior sister is relieved." No matter how polite and guilty Wu Ying tried to look, she still was not able to hide her contempt and anger towards the girl in front of her. Who would have thought that the bitch would somehow catch the attention of the Array Sect Master and it would land Wu Ying and her group in trouble? They had planned to first make Li Ming suffer on the Medical Sect''s Island to make everyone realize that she was not really as powerful as everyone thought. While their second plan was to humiliate her in the sorting assembly in front of the entire academy. However, not only they failed in their first plan but their second also got ruined since now the sorting ceremony would be held within the Sect Halls of each sect. But what infuriated Wu Ying the most was the fact that because of that bitch Li Ming, the Lotus Manor Master had looked at her (Wu Ying) with disdain as if she was some sort of filthy thing. How could Wu Ying and her years-long crush on the Array Sect Master, tolerate to be looked down upon by the very person who had been the ruler of her heart for years by now? If Xiao Heng would have got the privilege of listening to Wu Ying''s current thoughts then he would surely have lost his mind because of laughing so hard. How could the dignified and honorable Master Lu spare enough time to pay attention to some mere lowly princess of an empire? It was a mere coincidence that they stumbled upon the energy ball that showed them the live broadcast of the incident that happened on the island. Otherwise, there was no way that the Lotus Manor Master would have wasted his time and energy in watching some stupid teenagers making a fool out of themselves. "Senior Sister Wu, there''s no need to be so polite and humble. One should only try to act when their acting skills can work. Otherwise, the outcome of poor acting skills leads to very bad results. If you guys don''t mind then this junior sister will like to take her leave." Once again Li Ming was as polite as possible while her eyes looked at the young lady with warmth and softness. However, her words almost made a volcano burst inside Wu Ying who just stood there with her hands clenched in tight fists and her teeth gritting together. "Just you wait, Li Ming. Only ten more days and Master Lu will enter his close door cultivation. Let''s see who''s gonna protect you then. This princess will show you exactly how good her acting skills are!" The contempt and anger that was visible in Wu Ying''s tone could also be seen in her eyes as she glared at the back of Li Ming''s figure. The rest of the members of her group were also shocked to see such maliciousness in her eyes but they did not dare to voice out a single word. "What a surprise! You have been here barely over twenty-four hours and you already succeeded in building an army of your enemies. I''m really proud." Zhang Yong said with his tone full of teasing as he lightly bumped his bondmate''s shoulders. "No need to flatter me. I''m just born with these otherworldly powers." Li Ming replied back with a soft smile on her lips as she placed her first step inside the Great Hall of the Array Sect. Chapter 250 - High Senior Disciple Li Ming stood in front of the group of children that were now officially known as the Inner Sect disciples of the Array Sect. The Elder, that was standing at the foot of the stairs that led to the high platform where the Head of the Sect was sitting, rolled up the scroll in her hands and passed it to the Senior disciple standing behind her. "As we all know that out of all the dedicated and hardworking children that entered the exams this year, there is a particular person who aced both the exams. As an award for their good performances during the entrance exams, Li Ming is allowed to ask for one thing that she needs. The Elders and Sect Head would make sure that we can fulfill your request." Li Ming slowly stepped forward a little before kneeling down on the ground and bowing in respect to all the Elders that were present in the Sect Hall. "Since Elder mentioned about this and you all are freely allowing me to ask for one thing, this disciple would be shameless to ask for something." She said as she looked up at the Lady Elder who clearly looked a little shocked. Li Ming did not try to push away such a golden chance. Rather than acting like she did not need anything, she decided to take advantage of this opportunity to get what she desired. The whispers that erupted in the group of disciples behind her clearly told Li Ming that nearly everyone was expecting her to deny this present that the Heavens bestowed on her. "Sure! Voice out your wish." The lady elder said after a few moments of silence when she finally found her voice. Li Ming''s eyes landed on the person who was sitting on the seat of the Sect Head. According to what she heard from the Immortal Master, the image that she had of the Array Sect Leader in her head was that of an old man with long white hair and a similar beard. In short, someone almost similar looking to the Immortal Master. However, when she finally got to see the head of the Array Sect, what she saw was completely opposite to what she imagined. Rather than looking old and unfashionable like the Immortal Master, the Lotus Manor Head looked like the most handsome Immortal God that she had seen except her mates. The Array Sect Leader was so handsome and good looking that he could easily give her six mates a run for their money in terms of hotness. What a pity that she already was tied to her mates! Li Ming thought as a sigh left her lips. However, the next second she straightened her spine as she noticed that somehow she had succeeded in pulling the attention of the handsome Sect leader towards her. Their eyes met and for a moment Li Ming felt like she saw something in his eyes. However, it was gone merely in half a second and what she found was cold and indifferent gazes that were observing her silently. "This disciple is grateful towards the Guixian Academy and the Array Sect for accepting me as one of its disciples. Getting the opportunity of learning new skills under your guidance is one of the best things that could have happened to me. However, I came to the Academy with a promise to myself. Either I''ll fulfill that promise or I''ll return back to my home." Li Ming said as she kept her eyes on the cold gazes that were still looking at her. She could barely pay any attention to what was happening around her. The curious and mocking glances that were aimed at her hardly mattered. All her attention was pointed at a single person, the one who was going to write an important chapter of her life. "Disciple Li, don''t keep us waiting. Why not say out loud what you want?" It was one of the Lower sect elders who spoke this time. Everyone present in the Sect Hall was currently waiting to hear what the genius girl, who passed the entrance exams within no time, was going to demand from the Elders and Head of the Sect. Some were curious, some were mocking her for overstepping her limits, some saw her as a shameful girl who could not control her greed, while there were some who were completely indifferent about the entire situation. Two important people who fell in the latter category were the boy with the pollaxe and Young Master Chong. They both were selected as the Inner Sect disciples based on their good performances in the exams. "I want the Sect Head to take me as his disciple." Li Ming finally announced her wish in a loud and confident voice before bowing her head as she waited for the result that would decide her future. Unlike the previous times when her words caused the people around her to burst out into whispers, this time the hall was filled with complete silence. It was so silent that one could hear the heavy breathing of the short and fat elder who was sitting at the very end of the elders'' sitting section. Li Ming felt like the silence kept growing as time passed at such a slow pace that a second felt like a year. It was not until she was almost about to give up when a voice finally broke the never-ending silence that had fallen over the hall. "Hahaha...! Li Ming, you really like to dream. Huh! How can you ask for something that is impossible in front of all the elders and your seniors? Are you not afraid of losing your face?" It was another one of the lady elders of the outer sect who was the one that spoke. Her eyes were filled with ridicule towards the girl who was kneeling at the foot of the stairs. A few chuckles from the people around the hall followed the lady elder''s words. However, Li Ming paid them no attention as she kept quiet and patiently waited for the right person to answer her wish. "You are really something! Even though you did pretty well in the exams but that doesn''t mean that you should forget your place. How could you ask for such a thing? We all know that the Sect Head has refused to take any disciple and here you are - dreaming to get your hands on impossible." A girl who was also chosen to be a disciple of the Inner Sect mocked Li Ming. There were many like her who had started despising Li Ming since she took away all the line light from the very starting. The rest did not even get the chance of shining in the eyes of the seniors, elders, and the Sect Head and even before they were gotten chosen as the disciples someone took away the opportunity from them. "Sister Yen is totally right. Even Senior Xiao Heng who has been following the Lotus Manor Master for the last ten years has not gotten the chance of becoming the disciple of the Sect Head. How come someone like you who just entered the sect is thinking about becoming the head disciple of the entire sect?" Another one added. "Li Ming, you are either an idiot or a beave girl who''s not afraid of being ridiculed and looked down upon. It would be better if you can realize your place." The comments kept coming but Li Ming paid no attention to them. There was no need in engaging in a debate with them to save her face. She would only end up ruining her image in front of the Sect head. Moreover, she was too lazy to fight with a bunch of children who knew nothing more than spouting nonsense out of jealousy. The hall suddenly quietened down as out of the blue a cold and suppressing aura took over the room. It was so intense and powerful that most were not able to even breathe properly. The aura disappeared as soon as it appeared. All this time, Li Ming showed no difference in her appearance. It was like she was not affected by that aura even a single bit. Everyone watched in silence as the man sitting on the seat of the Head of the Sect, stood up from his high seat and descended a few stairs. His movements were so light that it almost appeared like he was floating in the air rather than walking. His long white brocade clothes fluttered lightly even though there was no wind present inside the hall. His jade-like smooth skin and long back hair did not succeed in keeping his powerful and cold aura hidden from the eyes that were keenly trying to engrave him in their minds. "Since there are still some people present here who are not aware of this matter, I would like to use this opportunity to make this clear to everyone. The Array Sect won''t have a High Senior Disciple, no matter whoever is trying to reach that position." Chapter 251 - Not Sincere Enough "Master, this is a special dish that I prepared. It''s rich with spiritual qi and the soup can help soothe your inner force. Here, have a taste!" Master Lu watched in horror as the young girl once again presented a huge bowl filled with a delicious steaming soup with lotus seeds floating in it. The past few hours had been the most torturous moments of his life. Never had he known that some mortal dishes would cause an uproar inside his always calm mind. Someone like him who was past the point where his body needed to consume food regularly, it was quite shocking that he had been craving to taste those delicious dishes that Li Ming had been presenting to him for the last four hours. The entire day was full of chaos and unexpected surprises. And it all started because he refused to take the girl as his disciple. She was indeed a genius among the young generation. However, Master Lu was still not eager to take her as his disciple. Everyone thought that she would be embarrassed after his rejection and would try to stay lowkey for the coming days. However, no one expected to see a completely chirpy and determined Li Ming starting the day with a fresh fragrant tea that she presented to the Head of the Sect during the morning assembly. Even though her determination to win the Head Master over to become his disciple surprised everyone, they all burst out into laughter as they witnessed Master Lu once again rejecting her. But if they expected this second rejection to destroy Li Ming''s determination then they were all in for a surprise. Not only she served the delicious tea to all the elders and the disciples, but they also got to enjoy never seen before snacks. After that Li Ming joined her very first class where they learned about the basics of Array formations. She was pondering about what to do next to impress the Master when the chance landed right in her lap. Master Lu needed someone to assist him in the library and the boy who was supposed to help him got stuck with some work. Li Ming was short to offer her help to the boy who was somehow completely oblivious to her identity and accepted her help, directing her towards the library to help the master. However, Li Ming had no idea that she would be assigned to clean the dusty books and shelves that were piled up in one of the last portions of the hall. It was a tough task seeing that it was forbidden to use spiritual qi inside the library, study hall, and the great hall. However, Li Ming persisted to not fail in the very first task that she was assigned by the Head of the Sect. Somehow, she succeeded in completing the task within the given time, and even though Master Lu was once again left surprised by her persistence to succeed and determination to achieve her goal, he still refused to acknowledge her hard work in the way she wanted. After that Li Ming got no other chance to show her determination to the Head of the Sect. It was finally evening and most of the elders were gathered in the Sect Array''s main pavilion to enjoy an evening tea. Although it was very rare for the Head of the Sect to take part in such gatherings but due to some miracles, the Elders found Master Lu sitting on the head seat. They all were waiting for the disciples to bring the tea and snacks to the pavilion when they all noticed Li Ming leading a group of young disciples towards the pavilion. The elders were actually happy to see Li Ming bringing them the tea and snacks since they all enjoyed the morning surprise. However the same could not be said about the man whose face looked as dark as the clouds that used to cover the sky during rainy days. The elders eagerly started savoring the fragrant tea that filled their bodies and minds with a new kind of energy while enjoying the wonderful snacks that were prepared by the young girl. Despite her young age, the girl was filled with numerous surprises. She was not only a genius in cultivation but she could also cook wonderful dishes that could make anyone hungry in one single glance. Some pitied her persistence for trying to win over Master Lu as they knew that the result would never be in her favor. While some were actually impressed by her determination even though they too knew that she was unlikely to succeed. As she served the tea to Master Lu, the man stayed completely oblivious to her presence as he kept his attention on the chessboard. It was Xiao Heng who took pity on her and told her that the Master was not that fond of tea. As they all watched the departing figure of Li Ming, no one thought about seeing her again that night. But once again they all were left speechless when they saw her again approaching the pavilion after half an hour or so. This time she brought a light soup that looked as delicious as it was nourishing and full of spiritual qi. However, once again Master Lu ignored her and her hard work. But Li Ming kept kneeling on the hard ground as she waited for the Head of the sect to show some reaction. Time sped by and nearly everyone was feeling bad for the little girl who had been kneeling on the hard ground for nearly two hours. They could neither help her nor could they leave the pavilion. They just kept sitting there in silence waiting for Master Lu to finally show some mercy on the girl. And it happened! However, what he said was not what everyone was expecting to hear. They could not decide whether it was a win on Li Ming''s part or if once again she got rejected and this time in even a harsher way. Master Lu asked her to prepare a soup that could help his tired muscles to relax and at the same time nourish his inner force while providing his body with spiritual qi. In short, he wanted Li Ming to make a soup that could only be prepared by a top-class chef. As everyone waited for Li Ming to finally give up on her, they found out that she was nowhere near giving up. All this brought them to the current situation. The young girl had succeeded in cooking the soup that the Master had asked her to. Now everyone was waiting in silence to see what Master Lu was going to do. Everyone had their own assumptions about what the Master was going to do next to skip the predicament that he had landed himself in. Some predicted that he was going to neglect her presence to skip the situation, but then some thought that he won''t do that seeing that he was the one who asked Li Ming to make the soup. The theories and assumptions carried from person to person. However, not a single one thought about the possibility that Master Lu would accept her hard work. Master Lu stood up from his seat as he gave a quick glance to both Li Ming and the delicious soup that was resting on the table. "Since you have worked so hard to make this soup, it would be a pity to waste it. Xiao Heng!" "Master..." Xiao Heng quickly kneeled down as soon as Master Lu called his name. "Don''t waste your junior sister''s hard work. However, you are not allowed to ask her to cook it again even if you liked it so much." With these words being said, the silhouette of Master Lu disappeared from the pavilion. The elders sighed as they pitied the young girl that had tried her best throughout the day to impress the Head of the Sect and to show him his sincerity. However, she was only met with the harsh reality. It was clear that she was still lacking in her sincerity. Xiao Heng picked up the bowl of soup as he took the first sip. Immediately his eyes shone with sparkles telling Li Ming that he liked the soup. The elders too had left the pavilion since it was already past eight o''clock in the evening, leaving Li Ming and Xiao Heng alone. After ten minutes, the boy put the bowl back on the table before cleaning his mouth with the back of his sleeves. "You are a good cook." Li Ming turned her attention towards the young man as she heard his whispered words. She raised her eyebrows in return as she eyed him while asking, "Only good? And here I was thinking that I''m fabulous when it comes to cooking." A sigh left her lips as she shook her head lightly. Her eyes filled with sadness over the fact that she was still only a good cook. Chapter 252 - Found The One "You are actually good. It''s very rare to find someone who could make Master second guess his decisions. However, as far as I can see you are far closer to your goal than you are thinking." Xiao Heng said with a soft smile as he looked at the young girl whose eyes immediately started glowing up at his words. "Really?" Li Ming asked as she tried her very best to not show the excitement that was bubbling inside her. A small chuckle skipped Xiao Heng''s lips as he shook his head at her excitement. "Umm-hmm. I would advise you to not listen to others who are trying to demotivate you because, in reality, you are so close to your goal that if you kept fighting for it, I''m sure you will soon get some good results." He said while playing with the spoon that was resting in the empty bowl. Li Ming was silent for the next few minutes as she pondered on what she just learned from Xiao Heng. She took out a jar of wine and offered it to the boy who lightly shook his head in refusal as he said, "I''m sure your wine would taste just as good as your food. Unfortunately, Master doesn''t allow us to drink." Immediately Li Ming closed the jar and threw it back inside her magical space. Xiao Heng again chuckled softly at her behavior but did not comment. "By the way, why are you so confident that I''m going in the right direction. So far I have only observed Master becoming colder and colder towards me. I''m even afraid that if I dared to do even one more thing to test his patience then he will bury me deep in the scary ocean." Li Ming said as she looked completely lost in her thoughts. There was a slight uncertainty in her eyes. However, Xiao Heng had no idea if it was because she was uncertain about Master''s reactions or about her own plans. "I have been following Master for the last fifteen years. Even though I never succeeded in becoming his disciple, but you can say that I''m one of his most trusted disciples. I can tell when he''s not being his normal cold and indifferent self." Xiao Heng replied. Silence took over the pavilion as both Li Ming and Xiao Heng settled down in a comfortable silence. It was only after an entire hour had passed when Xiao Heng finally stood up and dusted his clothes to get rid of imagery dirt. "It''s time for me to go and assist the master. I''ll see you around. Remember to find me when you are being bullied, though I doubt that it''s possible." He said with a soft smile. "Thank you." Li Ming softly muttered as she looked at him warmly with her eyes filled with sincerity. "Sister Li, even if you ended up becoming my Senior sister, I won''t call you senior. Consider it as a repayment for my help. I''ll boast around the entire academy that the High Senior Disciple of Array Sect''s Master is my friend." Xiao Heng said in reply before turning around and leaving the pavilion. At that moment, somehow Li Ming knew that she had found another person who would enter her list of favorite friends. *** Days after days kept passing as Li Ming kept trying her very best to not give up and continue fighting for her goal. It had been nine days since she was selected as the disciple of the Inner faction of the Array Sect and also nine days since she announced that she wanted to become Master''s disciple. Nine days filled with one after other failed attempts, never-ending mockery, halls, and classrooms buzzing with teasings and laughter as everyone pointed out exactly how overconfident and stupid Li Ming was. The elders also tried to talk some sense into her since they all did not want to lose a brilliant student like her only because she was still locked in her dream of becoming the High Senior Disciple of the Array Sect. But even though Li Ming kept fighting for the position of the high senior disciple with all her might, even she was losing her confidence. Moreover, she only had three hours left because just as three hours would end, Master Lu would be entering his closed-door cultivation. According to what she had heard from the elders and Xiao Heng, it was a rumor that Master would be in closed-door cultivation for more than three years. All this meant that she won''t get any more chance to learn array formations from him for the coming three or so years. She was currently sitting at the foot of the stairs of the Lotus manor, the exact same pavilion where Master Lu was residing. She had set her mind, there was no other option than to succeed in her aim. She could not fail and that only left the option of moving forward. "Are you going to leave or not?" A cold and heavy voice break through the silence that had taken over the Lotus courtyard. As far as one could see, the lotus courtyard was filled with smaller ponds where lotus flowers were blooming in their full beauty, filling the air with their fragrance and developing a breathtaking scenery. Very few people were allowed to enter this courtyard and Li Ming was certainly not one of them. However, she still found her way inside the courtyard after Xiao Heng helped her a little to distract the guards that were stationed at the entrance of the courtyard. The person who just came out of the manor to take a look at her was one of the few senior disciples that were allowed to enter the Lotus courtyard and it was only so that they could take care of the beautiful manor. "I''m not leaving!" Li Ming replied as she kept kneeling there on the hard cold floor that was poking holes in her knee with the stones that were scattered around. She knew that someone had intentionally spread the sharp stones all over the porch but she still kept bearing the pain as she felt the sharp edges of the stones piercing through her dress and then her smooth skin, making blood ooze out of the cuts. "Little girl, there''s no need for punishing yourself. No matter how much you try, Master would never accept you as his disciple." The young man tried to reason with the girl whose body was clearly at the edge of giving up. If he was not wrong then the hours that Li Ming had spent kneeling in the past ten days could easily surpass the hours that he had spent kneeling in the entire year. Not only that but it was also clear that since she was busy in making Master Lu see her sincerity and dedication twenty-four by seven in the last ten days, she had barely spent any time cultivating, leading to the depletion of her internal energy and spiritual qi. "Even if I won''t succeed, I want Master to answer one of my questions before he leaves for his close door cultivation." Li Ming answered as she let her body absorb the spiritual qi that was flowing through the lotus courtyard. "And what''s that?" This time the person who asked the question was definitely not the young not who immediately bowed in greetings and steeped back a little. Li Ming could felt the pressure of cold eyes that were piercing her through the back of her head. It took almost all her energy to move her body so that she could face the man who was standing behind her. However, her gaze met not only the Head of the Array Sect but almost all of the elders of the sect and even some of the senior disciples. She could clearly see the disappointment and sympathy that was covering the expressions of all the elders and seniors. They all were feeling bad for her, not only because she finally failed completely in her goal but also because she still was not able to give up on her dream. But unlike all the rest of them, the expressions of Master Lu were completely empty. He was neither curious about her nor he showed any sympathy. "Why are you not ready to except a disciple?" Li Ming''s question ranged throughout the silence of the courtyard as everyone looked at Master Lu as they waited for his answer. The man kept looking at her coldly for a few moments before he finally replied. "Initially it was because I never found someone who was worthy of this position. Over the years I have seen many who were even more persistent and stubborn than you. But none of them was the one I was looking for....." The silence that met his answer was filled with a different kind of emptiness. It matched the feeling of emptiness that also started settling over Li Ming until -- "You should start preparing. We will be entering the portal in less than three hours. There''s a long way to go and you will need all your energy to survive the coming few years." Chapter 253 - She Is Returning FIVE YEARS LATER... The mortal realm was in an uproar ever since a piece of particular news made its way out of the closed grounds of the Guixian Academy. "Did you all hear? Master will soon be returning!" "Really?" "It has been years!" "You are right. We have not seen Master for so many years." "We miss our Miss Li so much!" "She''s finally returning!" "..." "Wait! Are you guys talking about Li Ming? The young lady who runs the entire Li Empire and has not been seen for the past five years?" "Yes! We are talking about that exact same person. She''s soon returning." And just like this, the words spread throughout the entire black market and soon made their way to the capital city. Dongji Town, Xie Qiu City, Capital city of the Wang Empire, Herb market of the Jin Empire, and the entire Moon manor was filled with anticipation and a never before seen happiness as they all prepared to welcome their beloved Miss Li. Everyone was excited to surprise her with the improvements and progress that they had made over the past few years in her absence. And just like these people who were eagerly waiting for their young miss to return to them, five Immortal Lords were far more excited and nervous about the news of her returning. "You are sure that this is not a fake news, right?" Ruoshan asked as he looked at the Supreme Immortal with hopeful eyes. "What do you take me and my academy as? How can someone just spread rumors like this if it''s not true? Of course, this is true news. Lotus Manor Master and Sweet Girl are indeed coming out of their closed-door cultivation." Wen Guiying replied with a small scoff. "Alright! Let''s go and reside in the Academy for the coming few days so that we can be there right the moment she came out." Ruoshan said excitedly as he tried to control his happiness. It had been so long since he last felt the warmth of his Xingan in his arms, since he last felt her soft heartbeats. It had been so long since he last kissed her senseless and cuddled her when she could not fall asleep at night. He definitely had missed her a lot in the past five years that had felt like five thousand years to his immortal self. He had never missed someone like this. He never craved the presence of someone before this and he definitely not woke up in the middle of the night countless of times as he dreamt about her. It really had been so long since he last saw her beautiful smiling face and played with her. And just like him, his brothers were too missing her. "None of you are allowed to set foot inside the Guixian Island!" The sharp cold words that came from Wen Guiying stopped the others in their tracks as they all turned to face the Supreme Immortal. "What do you mean?" Hei Long asked with a small frown decorating his ethereal face. The others too were waiting for the Supreme Immortal to answer the Second Demon Prince''s question. "If all of you appeared in the Academy out of nowhere, it will bring unwanted attention towards you all. I don''t think our mate will appreciate the extra attention." Everyone was silent as they thought about what Wen Guiying just said about them bringing extra unwanted attention to their mate. After a long time of pondering, none of the rest of the four immortals were able to find an excuse to make the Supreme Immortal agree with their plan of visiting Li Ming at the Academy. "Fine! We won''t go to the Academy but only on one condition." Roshan said after a few minutes of deep thinking. "And what is that?" Wen Guiying asked as he looked at the Evernight Lord with slightly raised eyebrows. Ruoshan gave a quick glance to the rest of his equally puzzled brothers before he returned his focus to Wen Guiying and replied, "If we are not allowed to meet Xingan before she returns to this side of the ocean, then you are not allowed to meet her either before that." As soon as his words were out, it was clear from the sudden frown that appeared on Wen Guiying''s face that he was not that pleased with the condition. However, before he could voice out his objection his eyes landed on the rest of the three Immortals, and unfortunately, it looked like they fully supported Ruoshan''s idea. All his objections died inside him before they could make their way out of his mouth. "That''s not possible. As the head of the Academy, I would need to attend the feast that the elders are organizing for Master Lu. It''s obvious that as his sole disciple, she will also be there." The rest of the Immortals looked at each other and after passing each other some silent ideas and instructions, the Heaven Emperor decided to break the silence. "Fine! You can join the feast. However, you are forbidden to go anywhere near our mate. You can neither talk to her nor can you touch her. And it''s not a request." His commanding tone did not give Wen Guiying any chance to object even though he was certainly not liking the idea. "Alright! I''m ready to accept your condition if you all promise to not appear in the Academy." Wen Guiying said as he looked at his brothers with equally sharp eyes. Only one nod from each of the five Immortal Lords and the deal was set. None of them were allowed to meet Li Ming before she returned to the mainland. *** Small but sharp and pointy pebbles drifted down the cliff as the entire pack of snow wolves stomped their feet on the snow covered top of the cliff. Their sharp eyes were glaring directly at the girl in the crimson red and black dress that shone directly in the snow covered forest. She was hanging from a branch of a tree that had grown out in the cracks of the high ridge. However, by hearing the cracking sounds that the branch was making, it was clear that it would no longer be able to bear her weight. Even though she was currently in such a bizarre situation, but her looks could still succeed in leaving anyone mesmerized. Her dark long black hair now no longer looked entirely black, rather there were dark crimson colored strips hidden beneath the blackness. The light blue color was so little that it could almost skip the attention if not for the waves that put them on display. Overall, the previously simple black hair was carrying a new look, a combination of both fire and water along with the darkness. Dark obsidian eyes, sharp eyebrows, small nose, doe like beautiful eyes, soft pink glistening lips and jade like smooth skin, her face could make people forgot to breathe. The blue colored head decoration was the final touch to her mesmerizing beauty. Her body was fully grown and was at its peak. Her clothes fitted perfectly around her curves and at the height of five four, she no longer looked like the girl who died in the Thundering Peaks around seven years ago. Even the people from orphanage could no longer recognize her given the fact that she had nothing similar to that dead girl. "You all are really looking forward to be beaten by this big sister of yours. Fine! I won''t disappoint you then." Li Ming shouted out loudly at the pack of Snow wolves that had been chasing her around the Forbidden Peaks ever since she entered the forest. She was there for a particular treasure and she needed to get it before it was too late. There was never an option of failing and trying next time. Just then a loud creaking sound echoed through the valley and before the branch could even break away from its trunk, Li Ming loosened her grip on it. However, rather than falling into the depths of the snow covered valley at the bottom, she flew up towards the top of the cliff. Even before the Snow wolves could understand exactly what was going on, there was a number of dead bodies of those snow wolves lying around. As the wolves saw the dead bodies of their family, anger took over their already hungry for blood senses and immediately, a group of seven huge wolves jumped at the girl who was now standing right in front of them. For a moment it appeared like the wolves succeeded in burying Li Ming under their hundreds of pounds of weight but then a huge wave of spiritual force came out from the girl and it sent all the wolves flying around. Next second, the initially silent air of the third cliff of the Forbidden Peaks was filled with crying sounds of the snow wolves as one after the other they became a prey of the legendary Thundering Whip. Chapter 254 - Ice Petals The ''Ice petals'' was nothing like what Li Ming imagined it as. The rare flower that was supposed to bloom only once in every fifty years at the highest peak of the Forbidden Mountain Ranges, was completely opposite to its name. Rather than icy or blue white-colored petals, the flower had dark purple and pink colored petals with a little round crystal stone shining in its very center. The crystal felt a little jelly-like at the touch as well as icy cold. Touching it for even a few seconds could cause one''s veins to freeze. Li Ming picked up the flower from the luke water that was filling the small pond at the top of the highest peak of the Forbidden Mountain Ranges. A tree with silver and grey leaves was growing at one end of the pond. Even in the snow-covered vast area, it shone as a beautiful sight that could catch anyone''s attention and build an illusion around them. She outstretched her right hand towards the tree and within a few blinks, the tea along with the entire pond disappeared, leaving a space behind covered in pure white snow. "Are you out collecting all the treasures of the Immortal World?" A soft voice asked out loud as that very second a silhouette of a boy around sixteen or seventeen years of age appeared next to her. Unlike most of the men of the Immortal World, this boy had shoulder-length black hair with a light touch of brown in it. He was wearing black jeans, leather boots accompanied by a bright blue cardigan over a black t-shirt. On his left wrist was a tattoo of a wand-like thing with a huge violet crystal at its very tip. "You can say that. By now I am totally prepared to start with the present that I want to gift the Moon Immortal at his birthday this year. I can''t wait to start working on it." Li Ming replied excitedly as she safely placed the ''Ice-petals'' flower inside her magical space. "What about the others then? Are you preparing similar amazing presents for them too?" The boy asked again as he looked at her with raised eyebrows, a trait that he definitely picked from her. "His birthday is the closest and there''s no way I can gift the same present to all of them. I will plan about others'' presents after Lord Yueliang''s birthday." Li Ming quickly defended herself as she hurriedly started descending the mountain peak. There were seven stars circles present around the Forbidden Peaks that made it difficult for her to use her teleportation power. She needed to cross at least three seven stars circles before she could safely teleport back to the Lotus Manor without hurting her internal energy. "No matter how much you defend yourself, it already looks like that you are picking favorites." The boy said as he followed the girl in red. Li Ming suddenly stopped in her tracks as she turned to look at the young boy with a sharp look in her eyes. "No matter whatever form you are in, you will never be able to change, right?" She asked while glaring at the boy who suddenly became as meek as the cutest and most innocent puppy in the entire world. "Master.....!" The boy whined softly as he looked at Li Ming with soft gleaming eyes. "Alright! Let''s not waste any more unnecessary time here. Master is waiting for us." Li Ming said as she grabbed the arm of the boy and jumped down the high cliff. *** "Master, the medicine is ready. Please drink it." The young maiden, who was now wearing a light yellow dress with dark green colored embroidery on it, said as she entered the darkroom where a handsome but very tired looking young man was resting. The previously ethereal and magnificent Master Lu was now looking exhausted. His eyes no longer held that same sparkle. However, his aura was still as strong as before. Just anyone couldn''t see any kind of difference in his cultivation energy. "You have been going through so many hardships for the past one year just to find these antidotes. I have told you many times not to waste your time and cultivation on this matter...." "You are my Master. I must look after your health. It''s the least that I can do. These mere hardships are nothing compared to the immense knowledge that you have bestowed over me." Li Ming said as she cut off her Master. She slowly fed the medicine to her Master and after that, she helped him channel his yang qi with her pure yin energy. It was not until the sun was already about to set that the two of them stopped cultivating and took a short rest. "You are fully prepared for tomorrow''s celebration. No one will be able to find any flaw. You can trust me with the rest. I won''t let anyone tarnish your name." Li Ming said as she picked up the dirty dishes and started cleaning them at the farthest corner of the room where a modern washbasin was installed. "Only my face? What about the rest of the Array Sect and the Academy?" Master Lu asked as he watched the young maiden taking care of the dirty dishes. The first rule that he made her follow, the moment they set foot inside the cave where they were going to cultivate in closed doors, was not to use her powers for the normal day works. After that day, Li Ming started doing all the household works without her powers. She helped her Master clearing the cave and setting up everything. She started cooking, cleaning, and washing all by herself. She would wake up early before dawn and would sleep after midnight. But Master Lu was fully aware that she never used to sleep in the night. She would spend the entire night sitting on her bed with her eyes closed as she cultivated. However, most of the time it felt like even though she was present there physically but mentally she was venturing in some faraway places. "Why would I care about the Array sect and the Academy? Many people are in there to take care of these unnecessary matters. I don''t have to worry about that." Li Ming replied as she finished washing the dishes. She dried them one by one and then put them back in the rack before washing her hands and drying them on the towel that was hanging beside the rack. "Why are you saying something like that? You are also a disciple of the Array Sect and Guixian Academy. No matter how much you disliked them, you still have to be thoughtful about them." Master Lu said as he opened the scroll that was sitting on top of his table. "I''m only responsible for you. Wither than that, I don''t care about anyone else in the Academy." Li Ming replied as she started working on the dinner. After spending seven years in the Immortal World, Li Mung had finally found a great talent of hers. She was a good enough cook who could make anyone crave her handmade dishes. No matter whether it was the Heaven Emperor, the Head of the Immortal Academy, or even the rulers of the Demon Realm, no one could stop themselves from wanting to taste more of her dishes. "You are really the most interesting person that I have ever come across. No wonder that you are the chosen one." Master Lu said as he slightly shook his head. Li Ming just scoffed lightly but did not waste her energy in replying. She just kept working on the dinner. *** "Are you ready for your tomorrow''s task?" A man in a dark leather outfit asked another young man who was playing with the beads that were wrapped around his neck. "Of course! This is not only about your mission. This is also about my self-respect. I can''t let that Master Lu do as he wishes. He needs to answer my questions and I''ll not settle for anything less!" The young man with beads said in a harsh tone as he glared at the bright flame of the huge candle that was the only source of light in that dark room. "Good. As long as you don''t fail tomorrow''s mission, we don''t care if it''s for our deal or for your own personal matters. Just don''t fail this task. You sure won''t like the consequences." The man in the leather outfit said as he took out a ball of black mist and passed it to the young man. "Do not worry, Dark Lord. As long as the Queen will keep her end of the deal, I''ll make sure to keep up with mine. No backstabbings, no failures." The young man said as he accepted the ball of darkness. "The Queen will definitely not let you down. Just make sure to not end up in our wrong books." The man in the leather outfit gave a last warning before his silhouette disappeared from the room. Chapter 255 - Tiao Chens Challenge The Great Hall of the Array Sect was beautifully decorated with handmade lanterns and silk ribbons that fluttered in the soft breeze. The hall was filled with buzzing as disciples and elders started piling up into the beautiful and well-organized hall. "The Array Sect welcomes the Sect Master." "The Array Sect welcomes the High Senior Disciple." Choruses rang throughout the hall as elders and disciples greeted Master Lu and Li Ming. Soon everyone was settled in their seats and the feast officially started. Being the sect of array formations, there were several groups of disciples that came forward to showcase their talents on this occasion. As usual, Master Lu was sitting on the head seat at the very top while Li Ming stood directly beside him with a straight posture and an indifferent look covering her face. For the first time in the past five years, the residents of the Array Sect had finally gotten the chance to see Li Ming''s complete face. None of them were prepared to witness such an ethereal beauty. She had peerless skin with equally mesmerizing eyes. Her simple but elegant sky blue dress along with the simple silk ribbon that was keeping her hair held in a high ponytail and the weird bracelet wrapped around her right wrist gave her a simple, elegant, and powerful appearance. But the most eye-catching was her forehead decoration, a fire like symbol in bright blue color. Just as a group of the second year disciples finished showing their array formation skills, the silhouette of a certain person appeared at the entrance of the hall. The low buzzing of chatters that was previously filing the Great hall, immediately quietened down as everyone started standing up to welcome this new guest. Li Ming''s eyes keenly followed the person who entered the hall and started climbing the stairs that would lead him directly to her. Even though she knew that he was coming up the high platform to take his place on the seat of the Academy Head that was always placed a few steps above at the right side of the Sect Master''s seat, she could not help but feel her heartbeat started building up. But soon the excitement that had started bubbling inside her came to a halt when Wen Guiying kept walking towards the seat of the Academy Head and did not spare her a single glance as he passed from beside her. It took all her self controlling power to not turn around and look at him or to not show any kind of reactions. To the eyes of the rest of the sect members, she was still looking exactly how she was ten minutes ago, cold and indifferent. However, Master Lu could see the slightest slimmer in her eyes while Wen Guiying noticed the way her body went stiff the moment he entered the hall. The celebration picked up speed after that as everyone enjoyed the delicious feast and the amazing talents of the young generation, completely oblivious to the tsunami that was approaching them. It was not until the celebration was almost approaching its end, that Li Ming felt that same presence in the room that had been haunting her for so long. "What a wonderful sight we have in here. Not only the Supreme Immortal and Master Lu is present here, but the famous High Senior Disciple of Array Sect is also here." The happy buzzing of the Great hall quietened down as everyone turned their focuses towards the entrance of the hall. A young man around five-four in height, loose clothes, and beads covering most of his upper body, was standing at the entrance. "Who dared to cause troubles in the Great Hall of the Array Sect? Are you looking for trouble kid?" One of the elders shouted out loudly at the man who just laughed in reply, marching inside the hall with haughtiness. "Today I''m here for the High Senior Disciple. The others can continue with their celebration. It would be better if you guys can stay away from this matter." The Young man said in arrogance as he stopped in the very center of the hall. Before anyone else could respond to this shocking revelation, Master Lu already took the reins of the situation in his hands. "Tiao Chen, I never expected to see you again. Moreover, definitely not in the Great Hall of my Array Sect. What business do you have with my disciple?" Everyone turned their shocked eyes at the Sect head before once again returning their focuses on the young man who was probably known as Tiao Chen. "Master Lu, seven years ago you refused to take me as your disciple because you made a promise to yourself not to pass over your talents and knowledge in undeserving hands. But suddenly we have a little girl of unknown background who not only got the chance from learning from you, but is also the sole successor of the ''Qi Formation Technique''." As soon as Tiao Chen mentioned the words ''Qi Formation Technique'' it was like something exploded among the people who were gathered in the Great Hall. Everyone had heard about the legendary stories of the Lu family''s legendary Qi Formation Technique and the legends that followed it. Unlike normal array formation techniques where one needed physical materials to form an array, the Qi Formation Technique used spiritual qi to form an array. It was the most precious array formation technique that had ever existed in the entire Immortal World. "Since I accepted her as my sole disciple, it''s obvious that she would be the only descendant of the Qi Formation Technique. Now it''s up to her what she wants to do with all this knowledge and skills." Master Lu said while he sipped the hot tea that Li Ming had served him. "Fine! I''m really curious to see exactly what''s so special about this girl. Today, I, Tiao Chen, challenge the High Senior Disciple of the Array Sect to have combat of formation with me. Let''s see whether this so-called sole disciple of Master Lu is even worthy of her title or not." Tiao Chen''s announcement of the challenge was followed by silence but then one after the other, the elders and senior disciples started nodding their heads in agreement. They were not supporting Tiao Chen but at the same time, they also wanted to see the exact potential of their High Senior Disciple. Even though they all knew from the very beginning that Li Ming was a rare genius among the young generation, but five years had passed and she had been training under Master Lu''s guidance. Now almost everyone in the Academy was curious to see what changes and progress she had made during these five years. "Do you all want your High Senior Disciple to accept this challenge?" Master Lu asked the elders that had been whispering among themselves. "Sect Master, the High Senior Disciple can always reject this challenge since she''s not obliged to accept every unnecessary challenge thrown at her..." It was one of the senior elders of the inner sect that stood up from his seat to reply. "...however, since it''s the very first challenge and it''s targeting not only her capability to hold her position as the High Senior Disciple but also your decision of accepting her as the sole successor of your skills, it will be a better option to accept this challenge. The rest is up to you and the High Senior Disciple." The elder finished and after bowing in respect he returned to his seat. Even before the others could come forward to tell their opinions about the issue, Li Ming quickly kneeled down on the floor while facing Master Lu. "Master, do you want me to accept this challenge?" The meaning behind her question was crystal clear. The opinions of the rest of the sect and the Academy meant exactly nothing to her. There was only one person whose opinion mattered to her and it was the one and only, Master Lu. A small smile broke out on Master Lu''s lips as he very slightly shook his head at the actions of his disciple. "Go on! Even I want to see how good you have become in handling your opponents, especially an opponent like Tiao Chen." Master Lu said as he watched the young man with sharp eyes. There were dozens of cultivators present in the Great Hall of the Array Sect who were considered as geniuses. However, only three out of all these so-called geniuses were able to see the presence of the dark most around Tiao Chen. It was not too strong but enough to alert these three people who were observing every single move of the young man. "This disciple will obey Master''s wish. I won''t disappoint you." Li Ming replied as she stood up and gave a quick nod to Master Lu. Her eyes briefly landed on Supreme Immortal, who had been looking only at her ever since he entered the hall, before she turned around to face her opponent. It was time for the challenge! Chapter 256 - Back To Her Modern World Thunder roared in the vast clear blue sky as Li Ming stood on the high concrete platform that was built in the Lotus Manor''s courtyard. People watched in awe as the thunder essence kept channeling into the bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist. Those who were still not aware of the fact that she was the owner of the legendary Lightning Whip, now were fully aware of this truth. "Li Ming, just wait and watch. I''m going to ruin your fake reputation and confidence. You will be nothing more than just a topic of mockery after today." Tiao Chen said as he laughed out loudly. Li Ming just silently kept watching the young men. With a small now at the elder''s signal, she was fully prepared for the upcoming battle. The rule was simple. Both Tiao Chen and Li Ming were needed to build an array formation to trap the other. The first one who succeeded in destroying their trap would be the winner. Li Ming called out her snow, water, air, thunder, and wood essence to combine it with her qi and started creating the formation. Within five minutes, her formation was ready and so was Tiao Chen''s. At the elder''s signal, both Li Ming and Tiao Chen launched their formations. However, by the time Li Ming and others noticed the black mist covering Tiao Chen''s array, it was already too late to react. *** Li Ming watched as the city lights twinkled at a distance. The small stream that separated the city into nearly two equal parts was connected by a beautiful bridge. Right at the current moment, she was standing on that exact bridge which was completely empty, unlike the usual rush. She was shocked to such a level that for quite a long time she was unable to move her limbs as they totally refused to coordinate with her mind which was in equal shock. "What the hell is going on here?" She asked out loud to no one in particular as she stared at the city, her own world. Who knew how long it took her to cross the bridge and reach the west end. A huge billboard was displaying a commercial for one of the most successful automobile brand endorsed by the biggest and most popular band of their world. It was not until her eyes caught a glimpse of a certain person that her mind finally started functioning. Her feet automatically started following that person and as she reached the corner of the street, she collided with a huge bulky person. However, she did not receive the impact that she was expecting. It took her a few seconds to realize that rather than a physical body, she was present there in a soul like state. She was completely invisible to the eyes of the people around her and she watched in amazement as the bulky man passed right through her body. "Wait...!" Due to this short but sudden interruption, she lost track of the man whom she was following. She closed her eyes to find if she still had excess to either of her magical or spiritual energy. But unfortunately, she could not find any kind of energy in her body. To be fair, she could feel nothing except thin air. "Damn it!" She cursed out loud as she tried to stomp her feet on the concrete floor. ''You are only here to witness a part of your last life that has been kept hidden from you. You will understand everything by the time you will reach the end of the formation.'' A cold but light voice spoke out of thin air and made Li Ming stop in her tracks and out of the blue, she found herself standing in an alleyway within a blink. "The King is going to announce her banishment today. There''s no way this is going to end in a good way." A man who was wrapped up in a long fur coat muttered as he tried to keep his body warm in the chilly wind that was blowing. "I''m still unable to understand the reason behind her banishment. Killing her would be far easier, but if she is banished, then who knows what chaos she will bring in the future." The second man, who was clad in leather robes and was carrying two sharp katanas with him, said as he worked on the heater that was sitting between the two of them. "Banishing her means giving her a future full of sanity. She will lose her control over both her mind and her powers, leading to a blood bath and violence." The first man added with a soft sigh. Before Li Ming could understand exactly what was going on, she once again found her surroundings changing, and in the next blink, she was standing in a familiar hall. She had been there once. When she was in her late teens, her father let her enjoy a short experience of the Valkyrie court. She was currently standing in that exact palace hall where she first got the chance of witnessing a Valkyrie wedding. It''s one of her most beautiful memories. As Li Ming was busy in remembering her past, figures finally started appearing in front of her eyes. It took her mind a few moments to realize that she was watching the banishment ceremony. She stared at the scene as the King declared the banishment and ordered someone to destroy her wings. The hall was filled with shrieks and cries of the Valkyrie as she begged for mercy. However, it was soon over as she lost consciousness because of the unbearable pain. Next, Li Ming found herself in some dark forest, and after taking a good look at her surroundings she realized that she had seen this forest before, in the dreams that had been haunting her for years by now because of the black mist. It was the same black and white forest with a foul smell filling the air, making it hard for her to breathe properly. And then she was witnessing something that made goosebumps appeared on her body. There was a young girl, around seven years old, standing there in front of a shadow. And only after taking a closer look did she recognized that shadow. It was the same Valkyrie, the one who got her wings cut and was banished from the land of Valkyries. The same black mist that had taken over the demon realm, was surrounding the Valkyrie. She looked nothing less than an evil insane woman with black powers. The little girl approached the Valkyrie who was seething in anger as she glared at the girl. "Hello, aunty..." The little girl started speaking but immediately stopped as the Valkyrie grabbed her right wrist in her tight clutches. "No one is allowed to have this. No one is allowed to enjoy this pleasure. No one can be this lucky when I am not!" The Valkyrie shrieked in anger as her sharp dirty nails pierced into the smooth milky wrist of the little girl, making blood appear on the surface. "Aunty, y-you a-are hurting me...!" The little girl cried out in a very low tone as she tried to get her wrist free from the painful grip that would probably turn her bones into crumbles. "Let me destroy you just like I was destroyed. Won''t you like to spend the rest of your life in my company, little dear?" The Valkyrie asked as she pulled the little girl closer to her. Li Ming watched as the mad Valkyrie started channeling her dark powers inside the soul mark that was carved on her small wrist. She watched as that black mist-like thing seeped inside the soul mark and started turning it black. The little girl was writhing in pain and so was Li Ming. Even though she was not feeling the pain physically, but watching that scene caused pain to erupt not only in her heart and soul but it was like her soul mark was too going through the same thing. However, before the entire soul mark could turn black, someone appeared. Someone too familiar to Li Ming to not recognize in just a glance. A huge ball of red spiritual qi hit the Valkyrie and caused her to flee seeing that her opponent was far too powerful than her. The man in black and red brocade robes did not spare a single more glance to that evil woman, rather he rushed towards the little girl who was now lying on the ground, writhing in pain. The man pulled the girl securely in his arms as he carefully observed her wrist. His eyes then looking up at the woman that was standing a few feet away from them. "It''s too late and at the same time it is not." The woman spoke as she looked at the little self of Li Ming lying in the arms of that man. "What are you talking about? Just tell me if there is a way I can save her." The man said through gritted teeth as he glared at the banshee who just lightly nnodded her head in reply. "Actually, there is.........." Chapter 257 - The Sacrifice "She''s out of danger, but..." "But? What is wrong with my princess?" A woman wearing an elegant green evening gown with long silver hair asked the doctor. Her eyes were filled with worry about her little daughter who was sleeping behind the closed door of her bedroom. "Even though we succeeded in saving her life..., her soul mark has gone cold. There''s a possibility that it will stay in that state forever." As soon as the doctor''s words registered in the mind of the lady, she staggered on her feet, bumping into her husband who immediately held her by her shoulders. "Not only this but it feels like she has also forgotten about what happened to her in the Death Valley. All that she can remember for now is that she went to the arena yesterday night around eight o''clock." The doctor further informed about the little girl''s condition. "I''m sure she can survive through this. It''s definitely not an ending for her. Rather, I think this will lead to a new beginning for our daughter." This time, it was the father who spoke. Both his eyes and voice held such confidence and composure, making the others believe in his words. Two pairs of eyes were keenly observing the scene unfold. One belonged to the same man who saved the life of the little girl, while the second belonged to Li Ming. Her eyes held confusion but in addition to that, she also looked depressed and worried. After she watched the black and red robed man using Kara''s suggested method to save the life of the little girl, many of her questions had been answered. However, with some answers, there came many more questions. Just as troublesome as the first ones. Not only that but her mind, soul, and heart, all were suffering terribly as she realized that one of her mates had paid a very high price for saving her life, something that she never got to know till now. Her eyes met with the piercing gaze of the black and red robed man who was staring directly at her. A small soft smile appeared on his lips as he gave her a slight nod and with that, his silhouette disappeared from the room. Next, she found herself standing inside a cave-like place and her eyes landed on the silhouette of the Valkyrie. The evil woman was sitting on a throne like thing as she kept staring at the red crystal ball that was sitting on the table beside her throne. There was a very sinister smile plastered on her lips. One that could give goosebumps to anyone. "Do you want to know what this is?" The Valkyrie suddenly asked out, making Li Ming turn around to look at the person the Valkyrie was talking to. However, she found no one. There was only the Valkyrie present in that cave physically. "Of course, there''s no one here except me. But you are really lucky to have such a good fate in soul mates." The Valkyrie again spoke up with her eyes still trained on the red crystal ball and this time, there was no doubt left that she was actually talking to Li Ming. "You can see me?" Li Ming could not help but ask. It was a miracle that she was still able to speak even though she was not present there in physical form. "Are you insulting me, girl? Definitely not a good idea seeing that we are not on good terms with each other. Right?" The Valkyrie finally turned her eyes towards the area where Li Ming was present. The sinister smile on her lips only grew as her eyes stared at her with hatred. "Do you really think that you can have all those hot sexy mates to yourself? What a childish assumption! Just see how I''m gonna snatch them away from you. They will be mine. SOON!" With that being said, the Valkyrie grabbed the crystal ball, and immediately her body started disappearing from that cave. Her eyes held that same sinister evil expression in them till the very moment she vanished completely from the cave. Li Ming felt her surroundings changing once again and this time she did not even bother to get a grip on the dark spell that was working on the array. She just let the dark abyss pull and push her soul through different spaces and just like that she was back in her physical body at the Lotus Manor Courtyard. Her eyes immediately flew open and her ears registered the sound of joy that erupted throughout the courtyard. Both the Elders and disciples of the Array Sect were filled with happiness and pride as soon as they registered that it was Li Ming who won the challenge. The respect that they had for their High Senior Disciple only increased. They were more than happy to have her as the sole heir of the Qi Formation Technique as long as she did not cause any shame to Master Lu, Array Sect, or the Guixian Academy as an entire. As soon as one of the elders announced Li Ming as the winner of the challenge contest, Tiao Chen finally came out of the array that had kept him trapped for so long. As the eyes of the young man flew open, they were filled with anger, fear, and a lot of frustration. While on one hand, Tiao Chen kept complaining about how Li Ming played dirty by tricking him, the elders and others paid him no attention. Their entire focus was on the young lady who had been sitting in her lotus position ever since she came out of the array. Her face was completely expressionless as she stared at nothing in particular. Before any of the elders could make any sound to spout praises for their High Senior Disciple, everyone was left completely baffled as they watched Li Ming suddenly vomiting dark blood. Her complexion turned pale as sweat started appearing on her forehead and started dripping down her cheeks and chin to her collarbone and down. Her mind could no longer get a grip on the situation. Shivers were running all over her body. Her mind was filled with the image of the black and red robed Immortal transferring the black mist to his own soul mark. Her soul writhed in pain as it remembered the moments she had seen her mate going through immense pain because of his broken soul mark. Her own soul mark was also suffering remembering the condition of the Second Demon Prince''s soul mark. All the pain that she was feeling mixed with the effects that the evil array left on her caused an imbalance in her spiritual ocean, making her meridians fight for balance. Before she could pass out due to the immense torture that was driving her insane, she felt a warm pair of arms circling around. Immediately warmth and comfort started covering her body and seeping into her soul, lifting a little bit of sadness from her heart. If the elders and disciples were not shocked enough to see their High Senior Disciple vomiting blood all of a sudden after winning the challenge, then they were definitely shocked after witnessing what happened after that. Master Lu was the first one to make a move as he instantly stood up from his seat. However, it was the Supreme Immortal who left everyone in real shock as he was the first one to reach the young lady. Not only that but the next second they all watched their Academy Head pulling the girl in his arms as he looked at her with worried eyes. The Elders passed each other quick surprised glances while the disciples did the same. No one knew exactly what was happening but no one dared to ask anything. On the other hand, Wen Guiying cared about nothing else except his Sweet Mate. His arms tightened around her as he swiped his fingers across her sweaty forehead. His eyes quickly roamed all over her writhing body as he tried to find out exactly what was wrong with her. He did not waste any more time there as he picked her up in his arms and disappeared from the courtyard. He took her to his chambers and placed her on the huge bed, making her sit in a lotus position. Immediately he pulled out his spiritual qi and started channeling it into Li Ming as he made her spiritual qi calm down and stop fighting. It took hours before Li Ming''s soul, heart, and spiritual qi, all calmed down and she succumbed to sweet dreamless sleep. As she rested in the powerful but equally comfortable arms of her mate, a calm and serene expression took over her face. The Supreme Immortal kept looking at his Sweet Mate with adoring eyes as he listened to her steady breathing. Her heartbeat matched his own and this made his previously chaotic soul to finally calm down. He was completely oblivious about the fact that their relationship was going to change forever from the coming day. Chapter 258 - Can We Get Married? "You are really careless! How can you accept a random challenge thrown by a jealous teenager in the very first place? And even if you accepted it, how can you not fight once you were inside the array? Do you have any idea exactly how much worse this situation could have been?....Wait!....Are you even listening to me?" Wen Guiying wanted to shake the girl, who was staring at him constantly with her dreaming eyes, to get some common sense into her. "You are looking even more handsome now." Li Ming said in reply as she kept gazing at her hot mate in trance. "You...!" Wen Guiying could not control the anger that only increased after seeing her completely ignoring the important matter. Li Ming stood up from the edge of the bed where she had been sitting for the past two hours while getting reprimanded by her furious and worried mate. She expected him to be angry at her because of all that happened five years ago. However, all his anger was directed towards what happened the day before at the Lotus courtyard. His anger was filled with worry for her and even when he was letting out his anger at her, the way his eyes were observing her keenly to make sure that she was really okay, clearly spoke out his heart to her. As Li Ming approached her mate, there was only calmness and warmth visible in her expression. She snaked both of her arms over Wen Guiying''s shoulders and locked her hands together around his neck. "What do you think you are doing?" Wen Guiying asked with one of his eyebrows slightly raised as one of his hands immediately went to circle her waist on its own. "Loving my soon to be husband." Li Ming didn''t hesitate for even a mere second before she answered. The room suddenly became dead silent as the two of them stared into each other''s deep eyes. There was no shock visible on the Supreme Immortal''s face. Rather, it appeared as if he was pleased with her words. He pulled her fully into his embrace as he wrapped both of his arms around her soft and smaller frame, covering her completely in his warmth. "I''m no longer fifteen." Li Ming said in a small voice as she inhaled the familiar ocean fragrance of her mate. A small twitch appeared on Wen Guiying''s lips at her words but he did not say anything in response. It was not until minutes passed in complete silence and he registered the stiffness that had seeped inside the body of his Sweet Mate, did he decided to speak. "What do you want, Ming ming? There''s no need for you to hesitate to ask for anything that you want from us. You know that, right?" Li Ming was silent for a few seconds as she listened to the rhythmic sound of Wen Guiying''s heartbeat. Very slowly she pulled her face back a little bit to look directly into his eyes. It was clear that she wanted to say something but her nervousness was stopping him. Li Ming bit on her lower lip nervously as she looked into the deep dark orbs of the Supreme Immortal. She had never felt this nervous about anything before in both of her lives. Her heart had started beating so hard that it was about to escape the cage of her chest and run away. Wen Guiying pulled her tighter in his embrace as he said in a soft tone, "Say it, Sweet Mate. Just say whatever you want to say." It was as if his words gave strength to her because Li Ming did not hesitate anymore as she spilled out all that was currently occupying her mind. "I-I want to complete our bond. I want us to be fully connected. No matter how far we would be in the future at some specific moments, I want to feel you as if we are standing right next to each other." She stopped to take a deep breath before she continued. "I''m....I-I am tired of bearing with the immense pain that my soul suffers through every time we are far away from each other. I''m tired of the fear that one day I will lose you. I don''t want to feel hurt and afraid anymore." Her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she looked into the eyes of her handsome mate. She did not need to pretend to be strong in front of her mates. She did not need to try to be perfect or flawless to impress them or to earn their praise and love. Rather, they were the only ones in front of whom she could let out all of her worst fears and concerns. They were the only ones in front of whom she could be vulnerable and be her true self. She could be free and open, without worrying about her image. "Are you hurting right now too?" Wen Guiying asked hurriedly as he looked all over her to see if he could find any kind of discomfort that she was suffering through. Li Ming slowly nodded her head as she sneaked her right hand in his long hair and tangled her fingers in his soft locks. However, she got no reply from the handsome Immortal who was standing still as he watched her silently. Suddenly, all that Li Ming could feel was embarrassment as she realized that under the pressure of the need to complete the bond that her soul was feeling, she ended up spouting her deep wants without even considering what Wen Guiying wanted. "Forget it." Li Ming said as she pulled her hands away from around his neck and stepped back to create some distance between the two of them. "Forget it." She again repeated while fixing the loose strands of hair that were covering her face. "I-I should return to the Array Sect to.....AHHHH!" Just when she was planning to flee away from the embarrassing moment, she was once again pulled into the warm embrace of the Supreme Immortal. Her body was pressed against his and this time there was no space left between their bodies. But what made her eyes bulge in surprise was the hardness that was pressed against her lower abdomen, clearly stating that her mate was just as aroused as she was at that moment. "What-?" She stopped as she had no idea what she exactly wanted to ask. The sudden attack on her mind had left her totally devastated. "Where are you planning to run away? Did not you just say that you want to complete our bond? Then why are you not doing that?" Wen Guiying asked in a whispered tone as his soft lips grazed the skin of her temple. Goosebumps immediately appeared all over her arms as she tried to calm down her running heart. "Y-you...!" Li Ming was not able to speak properly as she found a pair of soft warm lips planting a very soft kiss on her temple. "My sweet sweet mate, do you really want our bond to be complete? Do you want to feel whole? Do you think you are ready?" Wen Guiying asked as he planted another soft kiss on her right cheek and then proceeded to do the same to the left one. "Y-yes." Li Ming found herself answering in a barely audible voice. Her heartbeat only accelerated while her breathing also started picking speed. "I can''t hear you, love. Say it out loud. Say whatever you want." Wen Guiying said in a warm tone as his fingers grazed her waist and pulled her even closer to him. The hardness that was poking her stomach and the warm breath that was fanning her cheeks almost made it hard for her to think straight. "I-I want us t-to complete our bond. I want our souls to feel whole. I........I want you. I need you. My body, soul, mind, everything needs you." Her voice was filled with the same want that was visible in her eyes too. "I need you too, love. Can''t you feel it?" Wen Guiying asked her as he lightly licked her ear tips and then placed a warm kiss there. "Guiying...!" Li Ming groaned out loud as she tried to get a grip on her needy body that had already started succumbing to her mate. "Don''t you want to wait for others? And what about waiting until our marriage?" Wen Guiying asked as he suddenly stopped planting those soft kisses on her face that were making her knees tremble. "Are you guys going to fight over who is going to be my first?" Li Ming asked in a small voice as she still was under the effect of his warmth and magical love. "Never. We decided to let you choose your first, second or third on your own. We will respect your decision because we know that all of us are equally important and dear to you." Wen Guiying replied softly. "Good. This answered your first question. Since I''m allowed to choose my first freely then I''m choosing you. As for your second question, can we get married right now?" Li Ming looked at Wen Guiying with her doe-like adorable eyes while a small pout was visible on her pink lips. A twitch appeared on the lips of the Supreme Immortal as he inched forward to taste the warm soft lips of his mate. Chapter 259 - Mating (Part One) WARNING: A LITTLE BIT OF SMUT SCENES IN THE CHAPTER A husky groan left Li Ming''s lips as she bit on her lower lips to stop any more sound escape through them. Her entire body was writhing with such an intense need that she could barely feel the happiness that her soul was enjoying. All that she was feeling at that moment was the aching need that was running all over her body. A gasp left her lips as the warm soft lips of Wen Guiying planted a soft kiss on her nape, making her soul want more of this familiar but at the same moment a very foreign feeling of euphoria. "Do you want me to stop now, Sweet Mate?" Wen Guiying asked in a whispered tone as he kept drawing circles around her soul mark. Coming so close to touching it but at the same time doing his best to not touch it accidentally, making the ache inside her increase. "Please!" Li Ming moaned out in pain as she looked at her mate with tearful eyes. "Please what, Sweet Mate? You need to tell me exactly what you want. Say it." Wen Guiying said as he planted a feathery kiss behind her ear. Li Ming did not say a single word at first as she kept looking at the Supreme Immortal with her needy and innocent eyes. She was lying on the soft silk bed cover as her long mesmerizing hair covered the pillows in beautiful waves. Most of her body was hidden beneath the well-built body of the Supreme Immortal. His long silky hair was falling around his shoulders and down towards Li Ming''s face, creating a cover that hid almost both of their faces. "Just fuck me for goodness sake! Or are you waiting for me to make the first move?" Even Li Ming herself was not ready for her sudden outburst and as soon as the words left her lips both of her hands flew to cover her mouth as if they could stop the disaster that she already had succeeded in bringing. Her eyes were staring at the Supreme Immortal in total shock as she tried to understand exactly what took over her to say such a thing. Of course, it was nothing else but the need and ache of mating that was causing pain and sadness to both her body and soul, making her brain focus on nothing else but to complete the incomplete bond between her and her mate. While the shock on her face was just as evident as it could be, on the other hand, other than a slight raise in Wen Guiying''s eyebrows there was no more change in his expression. He appeared as if he was completely unaffected by the words that suddenly burst out of his Sweet Mate. "As your mate, I''m committed to fulfill any and all of your demands. Since my love wants to complete the bond between us and want me to make the first move, I''ll do exactly what you want...." Li Ming was already having a hard time getting a grasp on what Wen Guiying was implying by his words but before her mind could fully process that, her eyes met with the dark orbs that suddenly became as serious as they could possibly be. "...However, you need to remember one thing, my love. There''s no stopping once I started. Think before you answer what is the thing that you exactly want. I have waited for so long for you and just as you said, you are no longer a fifteen-year-old young child. Except for your permission, there''s nothing else stopping me from making you mine forever..." Even before Wen Guiying could finish his words, his face was pulled downwards and a pair of soft warm lips engulfed his own in a euphoric experience. His arms snaked around the waist of his girl as he brought her little body closer to his own. Her perfect curves fitting completely against his well-built body. He let her enjoy a few seconds of pleasure before he took charge of the kiss and snaked his tongue inside the warm cave that was filled with sweetness. Soft moans started filling the room as the two of them continued to pleasure each other with all that they got inside them. The kiss was not fierce but it was not a soft and slow one either. It was at a pace that showed exactly how much the two of them needed to be with each other. Wen Guiying''s hands were wrapped safely around the frame of his mate while Li Ming''s hands were tangled in her mate''s long silky hair as she gripped them tightly every time the Supreme Immortal deepened the kiss even more than the previous one. They kissed for a long time, completely neglecting the fact that they were not able to breathe properly due to their intense but sweet kissing. "In the end...I''m still the one who made the first move." Li Ming said in a little voice as her eyes sparkled with happiness and a little bit of teasing intent in them. "You sure did that and I''m more than happy that you have permitted me to proceed. Now there''s no returning back." Wen Guiying said as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then started trailing more kisses down her cheek. He covered her entire face with soft leather kisses. First her forehead, then her eyes, next was her nose and then her cheeks, then the chin, and finally on her already swollen lips. The latter one lasted for quite some time as it was not possible for him to not savor more of that honey-like sweetness. Slowly but steadily Li Ming''s hands trailed down from Wen Guiying''s shoulders and towards his collarbone and then to his chest. It was a matter of seconds before she ripped off the outer brocade robe of the Supreme Immortal that was made of fine high-quality silk. Since the outer robe was already out the inner robe barely held any chance before the needy and determined hands of Li Ming. And soon enough, she was enjoying the warmth of the skin that felt amazing beneath her fingers. As Wen Guiying placed hickeys all over her left side of the neck, Li Ming worked on getting her mate undressed as soon as possible. Everything was going fine until the Supreme Immortal felt her hand directly over his hardness. Even though there were a few layers of clothes separating his hardness from savoring a direct touch from the soft hands of his mate, it was still enough to cause tremors to run through his entire body. He grabbed both of her hands and placed them above her head, pinning them on the pillow while he smirked at the daggers that she was shooting at him with her furious eyes. "You sure are needy, my dear one. But don''t dive into deep water when you are not prepared enough." He continued while placing another soft kiss on her lips. "I thought we are going to have sex tonight." Li Ming said with a big pout on her lips as she looked almost on the verge of tears. A small chuckle left Wen Guiying''s lips as he shook his head slightly before replying, "We will, dear one. We will. But first, we need to prepare you for what you want. Let me get you ready." With that, he again dived in to take her lips in his own while one of his hands started working on her clothes. One after another her clothes and accessories started leaving her body while Wen Guiying made sure to shower her in thousands of kisses. By the time Li Ming felt the cold air on her soft smooth milky skin, she was almost naked. What was left on her body in the name of clothes were her bra and panty. A red tint made its way to her cheeks as she realized that she was almost naked in front of one of her mates. Her eyes lowered down to stare at the vases that were sitting on the high shelf in the far corner of the chamber. Wen Guiying placed his thumb and index finger on her chin and made her lookup. His eyes were filled with warmth and there was only pride visible in them. "You are so beautiful my sweet sweet mate. Far too beautiful to believe. I''m one of the luckiest persons in this world who got the pleasure of having you as my mate." His words held sincerity while his eyes held immense love, only for her. It was like she was the center of his universe while everything rotated around her to stay alive. Li Ming smiled softly as her soul danced in happiness after hearing the sweet words of her mate. Before she could register, her bra was already sliding away from her body leaving her plump bossoms visible to the eyes of her mate. It took a lot of effort for Li Ming to stop her hands from covering her breasts but just after a second a loud gasp left her lips as she felt something warm and wet on her left nipple. Chapter 260 - Mating (Part Two) WARNING: THE CHAPTER CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEX SCENES Li Ming could feel something starting to flutter in her lower stomach as the Supreme Immortal kept devouring her nipples with his intense licking and biting. Whenever she thought that he would stop, the licking and sucking only got more intense, making her squirm as the need that had taken over her entire being increased even further. "They are so perfect. Just like you." Wen Guiying said as he finally pulled his face away from her breasts that were still trapped in his long slender fingers. Due to all the intense biting and sucking, her nipples had turned so hard and were standing upright in their full glory. "And you taste even better than honey. I can never get tired of savoring you again and again and again..." Wen Guiying placed his lips on hers and with ease slipped his tongue inside the hungry cave of his mate. This time the kiss was slow, sensual, and perfectly paced as the two tongues molded perfectly against each other, getting drunk on the sweet taste of each other. "Mmmm...!" The moans that were escaping through Li Ming''s lips were like a siren''s song for Wen Guiying. The more she moaned, the more he got lured to pleasure her. "So sweet..." Wen Guiying whispered as he started trailing his warm lips towards her collarbone, leaving love bites behind. His mouth again reached her breasts that were still trapped inside the car that hid hands created around them. First, his tongue expertly made circles around her areola, making sure to tease her and increase the level of want in her that had already surpassed its highest peak. The moans of pleasure that were previously filling the room suddenly turned into frustrating groans as Li Ming glared at the man who was busy teasing her, forgetting entirely that he was supposed to pleasure her and complete her wishes. While one of her hands was covering the large hand that was needing her left breast, her other hand made its way to press Wen Guiying''s head more on her breast. She was expecting him to continue his torture but she did not expect the sudden warm flick on her nipple that made her body tremble with pleasure. However, she did not get the chance to get accustomed to that first flick before her nipple was facing a tsunami of flicks and sucks. Wen Guiying''s warm tongue worked skillfully on the nipple that was aching for his attention but was also ready to escape the extreme attention that his tongue was providing it. Li Ming was so lost in enjoying the warm and fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach that she completed lost the trail of time. The moment Wen Guiying''s tongue left her right nipple, she almost let out another groan of frustration but it was soon turned into a moan as his tongue wrapped itself around her left nipple. His warm wet gave the same wonderful treatment to her left nipple that it gave to her right one. By the time his tongue left her nipples and started trailing wet kisses down towards the smooth skin of her belly, Li Ming was already a mess of moans and groans. Her body writhed as she tried her best to control her body that was about to burst due to the immense pleasure that it was receiving. She was not aware that she had closed her eyes until she felt hands on her hips and her eyes flew open. Her gaze landed first on the slender fingers that were grazing the bare skin of her waist, lightly brushing her panty. And then very slowly her eyes traveled upwards and then her gaze landed directly on the dark orbs that were staring at her with an intense glint in them. She felt herself squirming as she tried her best to not get intimidated by the intensity by which her mate was observing her and her body. Her cheeks were probably looking red as a watermelon as she fumbled with her hands that were gripping the bedsheets that were lying beneath her. "U-ummm..." Her eyes were still dancing with the pleasure that she received just moments ago landed on the lower half of her mate and immediately a giggle escaped through her plump swollen lips. The already intense gaze of Wen Guiying became even more intimidating as a frown appeared on his face while his eyes looked down at his own lower body to see what had made his sweet mate giggle in a way that almost sounded like teasing. As his eyes landed on the huge bulge that was clearly visible in his white trousers, a small twitch made its way to his lips while he looked up back into her eyes. "Someone''s hungry for you." He said in a soft tone while placing a soft kiss on her bellybutton. His hands that had stopped moving and were now resting on her thighs once again started moving and this time there was no foreplay. The slender fingers grazed the skin of her thighs as they worked upwards to reach her hips. They stopped right below her bellybutton as they slowly worked on the hem of her panty. A lone finger snaking inside the panty and sampling the smooth skin beneath. Li Ming bit her lower lip to keep the moan that was ready to escape her lips anytime soon. Both of them kept staring into the deep eyes of each other as if they were challenging the other to give in first. However, both of them soon realized that none of them was ready to give up, at least not yet. Wen Guiying suddenly gave a quick wink to her before his fingers were trailing inside her panty. Li Ming could not help her racing heart that was almost on the very edge of popping out of her chest. Her panty was already wet due to all the dripping that was caused by the teasing and licking that she had received. A gasp finally escaped through her lips as Wen Guiying''s fingers almost grazed her throbbing clit that was aching with an intense need. And just as she was on her way to recovery from the first attack on her aching clit, she was bombarded with even more intense and fast flicks on her clit. The fingers that were playing with her clit were so expert in what they were doing that soon Li Ming felt a huge bubble of pleasure cascading over her body and soul. The warm intense feeling that she was experiencing in the pit of the stomach only increased with each passing second and with every flick that her pleasure point was receiving. "Guiying...!" Li Ming moaned loudly as she felt one of the fingers, that was playing with her clit, inching towards the soaked cave that was pulsing with need. Wen Guiying coated her index and middle finger in the nectar that was flowing out of her deep cave before he started pushing one of them inside that same cave. She was so tight that it was a struggle for the Supreme Immortal''s finger to inch forward anymore after entering just a little bit. He let her inner walls adjust to the size of his finger before he started inching it even deeper into her dripping cave. At the same time, he started using his thumb to flick her throbbing clit. The double attack on her needy pussy was enough to make her a moaning mess. The chamber started filling with her moans and groans as the pleasure started filling her body, soul, and mind. She could feel the intense feeling in the pit of her stomach reaching towards its peak as she bit on her lower lip to stop the groans that were escaping her lips without any break. "Gu.....G-Guiying.....!" A moan made its way out of her lips as a second finger made its way inside her pussy, her inner walls immediately closing them in a tight hug. "Moreeeeeeeeeeee!" There was no hesitation or embarrassment in her voice as she asked for exactly what she needed at that moment. The Supreme Immortal was more than happy to comply with her demand as he started working his third finger inside her. The nectar that was seeping out of her pussy had soaked almost all of her panty. Wen Guiying started placing kisses over her bare shoulders before making his way towards her waiting breasts. His hands kneaded them skillfully as they fitted in his hands perfectly. His tongue attacked her already hard nipples as it swarmed her with another wave of intense pleasure. Li Ming could feel the heat inside her building more and more as the pleasure that she was receiving kept increasing with every passing second. "Love, it''s time for me to gift you what you deserve. Are you ready?" Wen Guiying asked as he kept playing with her nipples and pussy at the very same time. Even before Li Ming could reply she felt the volcano of pleasure inside the pit of her stomach burst. Chapter 261 - Mating (Part Three) WARNING: EXPLICIT SEX SCENES IN THE CHAPTER The warmness that erupted inside her was way more than what her body and soul could handle. She writhed on the bed as the waves of pleasures kept attacking her. The orgasm lasted for some moments, giving her enough time to enjoy the highest peak of pleasure. As her eyes finally opened to look at the person who gifted her with such a beautiful moment, she noticed that her mate was no longer warring his trousers. Her greedy and pervert eyes immediately went downwards to look at the hard cock that was definitely more than nine inches long. The veins that were covering the base of the hard cock and the purple head with precum oozing out of it, made her wet her lips in anticipation. She did not shy away from as she keenly observed the prize that she had succeeded in scoring. Her eyes slowly but very reluctantly traveled upwards to look into the dark orbs that were, as usual, looking directly at her. The eyes of the Supreme Immortal were filled with the same hunger and intensity that was present in Li her eyes too. Both of them kept their eye contact as one of Li Ming''s hands started grazing the soft warm skin of Wen Guiying''s thighs. It played similarly with him as his fingers were playing with her a few minutes ago. Even before the Supreme Immortal could process what was happening, he was flipped on his back with a powerful force that made him plop on the soft fluffy bed. And his sweet mate was straddling him as she sat on his thighs while her hands started working on his chiseled packs that were waiting for her. While her hands were busy in caressing the smooth and lust-worthy body, her pussy was rubbing the bare skin of his thighs. Her warm, wet, and dripping pussy was plastered on the smooth skin of his thighs and soon it started covering them with its nectar that was only dripping more and more as time kept passing. While Wen Guiying let his Sweet Mate enjoy her moments he brought his right hand towards his mouth. His fingers were covered with the nectar of his mate''s needy pussy and Li Ming watched with transfixed eyes as he put his fingers in his mouth one by one and sucked them clean of all the honey-like sweetness. "You tastes likes heaven, Love." Wen Guiying said softly as he grabbed her right hand that was playing with his almost hard nipple. Nothing on his face showed that she was anywhere near making him moan or groan in pleasure. Moreover, it was also clear that she only succeeded in plastering him on the bed beneath her because he let her do it. He dragged her hand lower from his nipple and towards his stomach and soon they were nearing the area where the long hard and dripping cock was located. Wen Guiying placed her hand right on his hard cock and if not for the twitch that she felt in his cock, Li Ming would have thought that she was not affecting him at all. That little response from his cock was enough to give her the courage that she needed to torture him in the same way that he used on her. Her grip on his cock tightened and she felt another twitch in his cock in response. She let her fingers and thumb caress the veins of his cock that were clearly visible due to the hardness that it was carrying. Her hand started pumping the hard manhood of her mate in a very slow but steady rhythm. Her thumb even went far enough to caress the throbbing head of the cock that had already turned purple due to all the need it was experiencing for a release. She let her index finger lightly caress the tip of his cock where the precum was oozing out of but then suddenly her hand left his cock alone and empty. The next moment her lips were sucking the life out of the Supreme Immortal as both of her hands attacked the small nipples that were still a little hard that showed his arrousement if it was already not clear from the hardness that was now poking into her stomach. Her tongue made its way inside the warm cave like the mouth of her mate as she savored the sweet taste of the one and only Supreme Immortal. Her hands continued to play with the nipples of her mate and all this made him test his self-control as he did everything to not move his arms and wrap her into his embrace. Li Ming kissed him for a few minutes and it was as passionate and loving as it could and then her lips started trailing downwards. She kissed his chin and then started savoring the skin of his nape. Soon enough, his collarbone and nape were also filled with hickeys just like hers. Her lips finally found the nipples that were entrapped in her hands till this very moment but now they started receiving extra attention from a warm tongue that started passing waves after waves of pleasure as it licked the hard tiny nipples. By the time Li Ming''s mouth reached the hard cock of her mate, Wen Guiying already lost his control over his groans of pleasure that he was receiving from the sweet mouth of his mate. Just as her lips were about to touch the throbbing cock of the Supreme Immortal, once again she was flipped on her back, and then she was back under her mate, pressed on the bed with a naked Immortal Lord hovering over her naked body. "You...FUCK!" Li Ming forgot completely that she was supposed to get angry at the Supreme Immortal as the tip of his hard cock came in direct contact with her aching and throbbing clit. The sudden shocks that erupted inside and all over her body were almost similar to the pleasure waves that she received on her very first orgasm of the night. "Tonight is all about ne serving you. I let you play a little because that was also me serving you as I let you enjoy what you liked. However, it is time that we return to the main part of this night. I will be patient and slow. Promise, my love." Wen Guiying said in a warm tone as his eyes shone with warmth while his hands rested around her shoulders, caging her inside his arms. The hard dripping cock that was already poking her clit lightly, only inched a little more forward to rub its head against her clit that started erupting shocking waves of pleasure. Li Ming watched with intense and warm eyes as her mate kept pleasuring her with his cock without even entering her. He already knew how to use her body to pleasure her on their very first time without taking much time to understand her body and her sweet points. It was like he just knew exactly what and where he should touch, suck or lick to pleasure it. Li Ming was totally not prepared for the sudden stretching that she felt in her pussy and as her eyes hurriedly went downwards to look at her pussy through the gap between her and Wen Guiying''s body, her eyes encountered the seen where the hard long cock of her mate was penetrating her pussy. It was only half an inch of the cock that was pushed inside her cave and it already made her pussy drip like crazy and created a mess. "Aaaah!" The groan of discomfort but mostly pleasure escaped her lips as she felt her inner walls getting ready to welcome the entire cock inside it. Her eyes looked into the dark orbs of her man who gave her a soft smile before he retracted his cock out of her aching pussy. "No!" Li Ming cried out in anger, even though her voice sounded more like a plea as her eyes requested the Supreme Immortal to not let her hanging there without ending what he had started. Wen Guiying did not give her enough time to complain as his cock once again returned to wrest on the entrance of her pussy but rather than keeping his hard dripping cock rest there, he pushed it inside. This time it went even deeper than the previous time. Li Ming could not contain the moans that escaped her lips. Her head was fuzzy and so was her thinking capacity. All that she could feel and think was that the warm dripping hard long cock of her mate was finally inside her and it was only a matter of time before it would finally penetrate get and own her pussy. "I will be gentle. Alright? Just let your walls relax and adjust to my hardness." Wen Guiying said in a soft voice as he gave her the time to adjust to the feeling of his cock inside her sweet cave. Chapter 262 - Mating (Part Four) WARNING: THE CHAPTER CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEX SCENES Sweat was covering their bodies as the two persons kept moaning and groaning as the pleasure erupted throughout their bodies. The Supreme Immortal was struggling to not move as he let his mate get comfortable about the presence of his cock inside her pussy. "You can move." Li Ming whispered out softly as she gave an encouraging nod to her mate. Wen Guiying looked deeply into her eyes to make sure that she really was feeling comfortable. As he got the confirmation that she was ready for more of his cock, he started moving his hardness slowly as it inched deeper inside her wet pussy. The inner walls of her pussy were gripping his hard cock in tight clutches that made Wen Guiying groan out as he almost felt like releasing that very moment. It took all his willpower to control from spilling his seeds inside her cunt. His cock kept slipping inside and finally, it met with resistance, making him stop immediately as he gave her more time to adjust to what was coming next. He moved his face downwards to plant a soft kiss on her forehead before engulfing her lips in his hungry mouth that was ready to devour her and mark her as his own. As the kiss deepened, Wen Guiying finally started moving. He moved his cock out of her pussy till it reached the opening and then with a single thrust he entered his cock deep into her wet pussy, breaking through her hymen and making Li Ming moan out due to the pain and the pleasure. She was so lost in the intense sensations that were emerging from her pussy and were running throughout her body. "Y-you....are....s-so big....!" She said out loud as the inner walls of her pussy were once again gripping the hard cock that had started moving inside her pussy. Wen Guiying pulled her face closer with one hand so that he could kiss her once again, stifling the moan in the process that was about to escape her lips. His lips parted as his tongue poked its way into her mouth while one of his hands started caressing her right breast, fondling them as well as punching them now and then. His hard cock already was creating a slow rhythm as it started moving inside her pussy though very slowly. All this was so much stimulating that soon enough, Li Ming started feeling the tingling sensation in her pussy that made her moan out loud while the inner walls of her pussy clutch the cock tightly. The Supreme Immortal slid one of his hands between their bodies to caress the throbbing clit. As soon as his fingers pinched the hard throbbing clitoris of Li Ming, she felt the wall of her orgasm breaking as she immediately found herself soaring high into the Immortal sky. The pleasure that served throughout her body was so intense that she writhed on the bed for the next few moments. It took forever before she finally descended from the peak of pleasure that she just conquered. Wen Guiying pulled his cock out of her cock completely as he looked at her with eyes filled with warmth and a fire that had only increased with her orgasms. He parted her legs that gave him and his cock a better view and access to her pussy. In one swift move, his cock was buried deep inside her pussy that started shuddering with excitement as a loud moan escaped Li Ming''s lips. There was no pain. Only unlimited pleasure and an indescribable need to mark the Supreme Immortal as one of her mates. This time he did not stay still for long, rather started thrusting in and out of her dripping pussy with long steady strokes. His balls slapping against her every time he buried his cock completely inside her pussy. He leaned forward to kiss and muzzle her neck while his hands kept kneading the aching breasts that wanted his attention, as his thrusts became faster and more urgent, fucking her harder and harder. A squeal left Li Ming''s lips as she felt the tingling sensation once again start in the put of her stomach while her clit started throbbing. She was utterly consumed by passion, and every nerve ending seemed to be on fire. She closed her eyes so that she could concentrate on the sensations that were coursing through her body, and everything, the entire world disappeared as she bathed in the golden rays of the pleasure that was seeping into her soul and filling her insatiable thirst for her mate. They were both sheathed in a thin film of sweat and Li Ming could feel that her face and even chest were flushed, visual evidence of her arousal and the pleasure that she was receiving. The hard throbbing cock of the Supreme Immortal was filling her pussy completely, taking her to new heights of pleasure while marking her and her soaking pussy as his own. The hard fast thrusts continued for the next ten minutes and she felt it throb and harden even more with each passing second. It started to stiffen and swell even more and then started to jerk and pulse. The hard cock that had been filling her pussy and making her hot cunt drip once again succeeded in awakening a new orgasm in her. As Li Ming felt her pussy pulsate as the orgasm broke through her body, making her reach her climax, she did not even realize that her pussy was gripping the hard cock so tightly that it finally made her mate lose his control. Suddenly she felt his hot semen spurting deep inside her as a loud groan of pleasure left his lips. The spurts kept coming as Li Ming felt another small orgasm break through her as she joined her mate on the peak of the pleasure. The intensity of the pleasure that she received from constant orgasms was too much for her to take as she almost found herself on the very brink of losing her consciousness. Li Ming nuzzled her face into the crook of Wen Guiying''s neck as she started kissing him there. Her hands were circling his waist as her legs were tied around his hips as she kept him stuck to her. Her kisses made the Immortal Lord moan out as he enjoyed the attention that he was receiving from his sweet mate. Li Ming let her hands roam all over his back before they slipped between their pressed bodies and stopped right above the left side of his chest, very near to where his heart was located. She again flipped the Immortal on his back as she sat straggling him which made his cock buried inside her cunt and making a loud moan slip her lips. It took all her willpower to not start moving her hips and fucking his brain off. Her doe-like eyes were filled with a dreamy look ss her face flushed due to all the orgasms that she had received. Her hair was a mess but a kind of mess that looked good on her flushed image. Her plump lips were swollen due to all the kissing that they had done while her nipples looked like they had been sucked and licked the way they needed and deserved. She let her head fall back a little as she let the pleasurable shock pass that she received when her pussy got implanted on the cock of her mate that was once again starting to get hard. Once she had enough control over her body, she got ready to listen to her soul and heart to gift them with something that they had been wanting for a long time. "Thank you for coming into my life. I''m really happy that you are one of those people who are destined to be my lovers for eternity. I promise to be there for you no matter what. In your happiness as well as your misery. I will help you pass through all your hardships and would never leave you alone to face problems. I''ll always trust with both of our secrets. And I''m more than willing to accept you as my mate and as one of my life partners. And I''m doing this because..." She inched her face closer to his face as she looked into his deep eyes while her own was filled with warmth and love. "...I Love You!" She whispered these words softly before planting a soft kiss on his warm and swollen lips. Even before Wen Guiying could get the chance to deepen the kiss or talk about the confession of love that he just heard from his sweet mate, he found her lips leaving his own as they slid down his chin and towards his collarbone. They kept traveling until they reached the exact same place where one If her hand was resting on his chest. She looked up to wink at him once before planting her lips on his chest and sinking her teeth in his skin. Chapter 263 - Gifting The Soul Mark Her teeth sank deep into the warm soft skin of Wen Guiying''s chest. One of her hands rested on his right nipple while her other hand caressed his face. Her teeth pierced the skin of his chest and even though she did not have fangs, she succeeded in drawing out the sweet warm blood that belonged to her mate. As the blood entered her mouth and then in her system, it was like something beautiful burst inside her. A warm and sweet feeling that was indescribable in words took over her soul as she felt one of her five bonds starting the process of completion. The half and incomplete soul bond that she was sharing with the Supreme Immortal for years by now was finally about to get complete. She could not explain her happiness and the level of pleasure that was running through her entire body. While she was filled with the feeling of contentment, Wen Guiying was feeling no different than her. The moment his blood left his chest and entered his sweet mate''s mouth, he felt like everything around and inside him changed. He could feel the blood seeping out right from his heart and traveling to the heart of his little mate. His hands immediately went to grasp the back of Li Ming''s head as he pulled her face closer to his chest. He wanted her to never stop sucking his blood, to never stop the pleasure that she was gifting him. His eyes were closed but he still could see the soul mark that had started forming on his right chest. And if not for the fact that he was past the point where his body could work according to his wish, he would definitely have chuckled at the end of the orange tendril that ended right on his right nipple. As her index finger touched his right nipple with the fresh tendril on it, he felt a massive wave of pleasure hit him. He finally understood exactly how his little mate felt every time he or any of his brothers played with her soul mark. The level of pleasure and need that it created was beyond the words that could describe these feelings. As the feelings of immense pleasure that he was experiencing resided in a calm feeling of love and warmth, he felt the soul mark coming to its final tendril. It barely took a few seconds before the soul mark was complete and the previously smooth and bare skin of his chest no held a newly formed soul mark on it. One that resembled the soul mark that was carved on Li Ming''s wrist. It was not until Li Ming felt her own soul filled with contentment that she decided to pull back from his chest. She felt like one part of her soul was finally complete. She let her soul filled with the pleasure that her mate was experiencing. As she looked up into the dark orbs of her mate that was filled with warmth and love for her, she felt a huge smile blooming on her own lips. However, the Supreme Immortal was too lost in the pleasurable feelings that the competition of the bond brought to him that he was unable to respond to Li Ming''s eager eyes that were observing him. As Li Ming felt the lack of his attention, a wicked and evil glint made its way into her eyes. Very slowly but steadily she started moving her hips. By that time the cock that was buried deep inside her pussy was already hard. As soon as her inner walls once again started contracting against his hard cock, Wen Guiying finally found his attention returning to the girl that was taking his pleasure to new heights. His hands rushed to her waist as he held her close to his body. Her small warm and perfect body was flushed against his own, another reason why his soul was dancing with happiness. He let her play for a few minutes, meanwhile, he let his mind return back on the track. As soon as he got full control over his soul and mind, he flipped the girl on her back and started thrusting into her wet pussy with harsh steady strokes. His hard and stiff cock reached certain points inside her warm dark cave that made her moan out in immense pleasure. Her legs were wrapped around his waist while her hands were clutching his shoulders in a tight grip. She let her spiritual essence mixed with her life essence drew out from the pit of her life essence ocean. It traveled through her veins and reached her soul mark and rested there for the time being. The two kept pushing and thrusting, making each other moan out in pleasure. They were ready to experience another climax and as Wen Guiying''s hard thrusts continued, it barely took them ten minutes to reach their orgasms at the same moment. At the same moment, the life and qi essence that was stored in her soul mark rushed out of her wrist and entered the soul mark that was now glowing on Wen Guiying''s chest. Just like how she shared a small part of her life essence with the Moon Immortal, she also shared another small part of her life essence with the Supreme Immortal. By the time the orgasm came to an end, Wen Guiying was no longer in a state where his Immortal and usually calm mind could work perfectly. All he felt, experienced, and could think of was the pleasure of the complete mate bond that he now shared with his sweet mate. It was like he had got everything that he ever wanted in his life. He got his Li Ming, completely and in every way possible. The soul mark and the mate bond that he shared with her was the most precious possession that he had ever held in his entire Immortal life and the very day he realized that he was in love with her, he pledged to keep her happy and safe for the rest of his life. She mattered the most to him and he could do anything for her. He could die for her as well as kill to keep her safe and away from any kind of dangers that resided in her life. As long as she was beside him, he held the power to fight with any kind of problems and dangers. He let his soul live in the pleasurable moment that had taken over his entire existence as he let his body drop on the warm body of his little mate. He was heavy but he knew that his mate could easily carry her around without breaking a single drop of sweat. Li Ming pulled the Supreme Immortal closer into her arms as his totally spent cock slipped out of her soaked pussy. She let the Immortal rest in her embrace as she softly brushed her fingers through his long silky locks that were still looking as perfect as if they were just perfectly combed and designed. They both were content with the feeling of being one. They had two different bodies but their souls had long merged as one. Li Ming kept awake the entire night while she took care of her sleeping mate who looked as calm as stilled water. "Mingming?" Wen Guiying suddenly spoke out but his voice was so soft and filled with warmth. "Umm-hmm..." Li Ming answered as she looked down towards her mate who was looking up at her with his small dreamy eyes. "I love you so much. More than anything and anyone. You are my everything." He softly whispered as he looked at her with his shining eyes. A huge smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she softly caressed his warm smooth cheek with her fingers before cupping one side of his face before replying. "I love you too, my love. I have always wanted to say it out loud for so long and now, I can finally tell you exactly how special you are to me and exactly how much I love you." As soon as she finished, she moved closer to her mate''s face before engulfing his lips into her own. They shared a warm sweet kiss before both succumbed to the sleep that was pulling them into the dark abyss. *** The morning sunlight shone on the pair of mates that were busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen inside the magical mansion. However, in reality, it was Li Ming who was the one preparing the breakfast while Wen Guiying kept following her everywhere. "Guiying!" "Yes, baby?" Wen Guiying immediately answered as he tightened his hold around her shoulders. He was back hugging her and as she moved around the kitchen to grasp different items to cook the breakfast, he followed her without letting go of her. As for the endearment ''baby'' that he was suddenly using for her, Li Ming already knew that it was definitely Snowy who was behind this. "Why don''t you sit at the counter and wait for me to finish preparing the breakfast?" Li Ming asked warmly. "Yeah? Why don''t you sit at the counter and explain to us exactly how we are supposed to kill you?" Chapter 264 - Not Angry The painful screams filled the lower royal chamber as one after other waves of immense pain kept attacking the Immortal who was covered in sweat while his complexion appeared pale. The guards that were standing outside the chamber were completely oblivious to the current state of their Prince. Due to the barrier that was placed around the chamber, the guards were not able to listen to the painful screams of the Prince who had locked himself inside. Hei Long gripped the pole tightly in his hands as he fought to not cry out due to another wave of pain that rocked him on his feet. "Are you seriously planning to not drink this medicine? You are very well aware that if you did not take the medicine to suppress this attack of the curse then you will be needed to suffer through its pain for more than twenty-four hours. There are still eighteen hours left before the time limit would be over." Kara said in a serious tone as she pushed the bowl of medicine in front of Hei Long''s face which she was holding. The Second Demon Prince looked up at the banshee who was staring at him with sharp eyes. However, he also succeeded in recognizing another emotion in her eyes and it was worry for him. No matter how cold the banshee tried to appear in front of them all, they were well aware that she actually cared about them. At least a little bit. When Kara realized that her words did not succeed in making the Prince drink the medicine, she decided to use her final card. "Let''s not forget about Li Ming. After last night, she definitely needs you by her side. Of course, I won''t interfere if you have decided to stay away from her starting to....." She did not even get the chance of completing her sentence before the bowl of medicine was snatched away from her hands. Even though Hei Long''s hands were shaking and he could barely make his eyes stay open, he succeeded in gulping down the entire content of the bowl. "Thank you...." Hei Long said in a soft whispered tone as he put the empty bowl on the table that was placed in front of him. "There''s no need for thanks. I''m doing all this so that I can complete my job. Otherwise, I have no interest in interfering with others'' personal issues." The banshee replied as she gave Hei Long a final look and then disappeared from the dark chamber that was filled with the light coming from the dozens of lit aroma lamps and candles that were placed all around the room. Hei Long walked towards the mirror that was standing in one of the corners of the room before he let his inner robe slip from his shoulders. The scene that came into vision after that could make anyone recoil with shock and terror. The front of Second Demon Prince''s left shoulder was covered with red, black, and purple holes. A large area above his left chest had turned black and blue where the holes were present and a few injured veins could also be seen through the web of these holes. But the most shocking sight was not the front of his shoulder. Rather, it was the back that succeeded in making even Hei Long close his eyes in horror. His soul mark was burning. There was barely anything left of the once beautiful and blooming soul mark that was carved on the back of his left shoulder. Looking at that burnt soul mark it appeared as if one was looking at the depth of burning hell. Just then a message appeared in front of his eyes. The golden glowing letters that belonged to the message sent by the Heaven Emperor himself, notified him that they were about to confront their traitor brother. A small smile bloomed on his lips as with just a flick of his fingers, his distraught condition returned to the usual demon immortal image that he carried. Once again he was looking as perfect and handsome as an Immortal Demon Prince should be. With a quick glance towards his reflection in the mirror, his silhouette disappeared from the chamber. *** Li Ming watched as the Supreme Immortal kept glaring at the rest of his brothers who were the cause of his current state of unhappiness. He was supposed to enjoy his entire day with his sweet mate in his embrace while they both enjoyed their newly completed soul bond. However, rather than doing exactly that, he was made to sit far away from his mate while his heartless brothers glared at him. "Do you want to be closer to him?" The sweet voice that entered her ears and the warm breath on her nape brought her out of her trance. She turned her face slightly towards the handsome Immortal who was standing behind her while he securely held her in his protective embrace. His purple eyes that held immense love and warmth for her were looking down at her with softness in them. Even though the rest of her mates were fully showing their anger towards the Supreme Immortal, not a single one of them questioned her about what happened the night before. They were not angry at her for choosing Wen Guiying as her first. They were not angry at her for not talking with them before completing her first bond. All that they showed her was the love, warmth, devotion, and tenderness that they held for her. The main reason behind their angry behavior towards the Supreme Immortal was not the fact that he was the first one to complete his bond. Rather, the reason behind their anger was the fact that Wen Guiying broke the promise that he gave them all. Li Ming slowly nodded her head as she looked at the Demon Lord with her soft eyes which were looking a little wet as if she was about to cry. Her soul was not happy with the fact that so soon after completing the bond, it was made to experience distance from one of its completed bonds. Ruoshan planted soft kisses on each of her cheeks before he brought her tighter against his body. "Okay. Since you want to be with him, I''ll personally fulfill your wish." He softly whispered in her ears as he started moving towards the group of Immortals that were surrounding the Supreme Immortal. "Move aside!" His loud and commanding voice made the Immortals look at him in surprise but the moment their eyes landed on the little girl that he was holding in his hands, their expressions softened. "Little One..." The Moon Immortal started saying as he moved towards her but Ruoshan stopped him. "Right now, the one she needs the most is sitting right there. Now, don''t become a hurdle in our path, and let them be together." He informed his brothers as he walked closer to the Supreme Immortal whose eyes were trained on his sweet mate. The moment Li Ming found that she could freely move once again, she ran towards her waiting mate and plopped down on his lap. Her face going straight into the crook of his neck as she nuzzled her nose in his nap while inhaling his scent. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck while Wen Guiying''s arms were securely holding her against him as he enjoyed the feeling of completion that she brought along. The rest of the four Immortal''s observed this heartwarming scene as they all tried their best to not let their cold exterior crack and let the Supreme Immortal see the warmth and happiness that was filled inside them for the two of them, Wen Guiying and Li Ming. It was not until several minutes had passed when the two clinging mates finally decided to separate from each other. Li Ming turned her face towards Ruoshan before she asked in a small voice, "Are you not mad?" The innocent and confused look that was covering her face made her look so adorable that it took all of Ruoshan''s self-control to not pull her into his arms and away from the Supreme Immortal. He let out a soft sigh before he plopped down on the seat in front of them as he replied, "Of course, not! Rather, I''m more curious to start my classes with the Supreme Immortal." "Classes?" Li Ming asked in confusion and the same expression could be seen on the faces of the rest of her mates faces. "Right, classes! After all, right now he''s the only one who knows the best about your body and how it should be pleasured. Until my turn comes, I''m going to learn exactly how to become a master when it comes to pleasuring you. What do you think about my plan, Xingan?" Ruoshan''s reply made blush emerge on Li Ming''s cheeks as she bit down hard on her lower lip to stop the dirty images that had started to fill her mind. Chapter 265 - Devour Them "That''s...really a good idea. I''m in too." All the eyes turned towards the Heaven Emperor who suddenly spoke up. His eyes were trained on the Supreme Immortal and the girl in his arms. It took a few moments for Li Ming to come out of her shocked state and when she was finally back to her normal self, an evil smile bloomed on her lips. She signaled the Heaven Emperor to come closer to her and as he complied with her order and inched closer to her, he lost his balance when the little girl pulled him suddenly in her embrace. As he landed on her it made the Supreme Immortal lose his balance. If not for his quick reflexes, the three of them surely would have ended up on the floor. "What are you doing?" Wen Guiying asked as he tried to push the Heaven Emperor away. "She''s the one who pulled me!" The Heaven Emperor immediately replied in his defense. But before these two deities could have continued with their bickering, they both were left speechless when Li Ming planted a soft kiss on Heaven Emperor''s lips. The kiss was short but it was still enough to make the Emperor of the Immortal Realm lose his sanity and lose himself in the pleasurable world that belonged to his mate. He settled beside the Supreme Immortal as he rested his face in the crook of Li Ming''s neck while inhaling her sweet fragrance that made his soul cry out for its other half. Li Ming turned her attention towards the rest of her mates as she said with a soft smile, "You all are more than welcome to learn from Guiying. He''s actually good and I don''t think it will be easy for you guys to beat him. Because of him, my standards have increased and I don''t want you to disappoint me. So, good luck!" It was like her words made the Immortals lose their souls as they stared at her in utter shock and amazement. Even the Heaven Emperor had pulled away from her as he stared at her with his cute big eyes. "Y-you.....h-how can you....." Ruoshan could barely make words leave his mouth and those that succeeded in escaping through his lips barely made any sense to anyone. "What? Is there something wrong? Are you not going to take any classes from Guiying?" Li Ming asked as she put on a completely innocent look on her face. The room was filled with silence for the next few seconds as the Immortals looked at each other with questions in their eyes. After a few minutes of silence, it was Hei Long who finally broke the silence, and his words made the red color return to Li Ming''s cheeks. "I''m more than ready to accompany both Demon Lord and the Heaven Emperor in the classes. However, the real question is if you are free enough to help us. After all, you are the person whom we are going to practice on. Right?" This time it was the Immortals who had the upper hand in the situation while Li Ming was completely silent. "Y-you.....!" She could not find a proper retort and that made her blush increase as she felt the piercing hot gazes of her mates trained on her. "We won''t disturb you this entire week so that you can enjoy your time with brother Guiying. However, once this week will be over, you are all ours since we need to start our training classes." Ruoshan said as he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Li Ming only pushed her face into Supreme Immortal''s nape as she tried to not look at the rest of her mates. Wen Guiying''s arms immediately pulled her closer into his embrace as he wrapped his hands around her. "As for you. Just one week. You have only a week before you will be facing the punishment for breaking your promise. You need to learn a lesson for betraying us like this." The Heaven Emperor said in a cold tone as he stared directly at the Supreme Immortal. "Wait! I''m not the only one who broke the promise. You guys also promised to not set your foot inside the Academy grounds but here you are. Aren''t you all supposed to be punished too?" Wen Guiying asked as he tried to look cold and harsh. Ruoshan folded his hands in front of his chest as he replied, "Have you lost your mind or something? When did we enter the Academy?" His question made a frown appear on Wen Guiying''s face as he looked at all of his brothers and tried to understand exactly what the Demon Lord was trying to say. "We are in the magical mansion that belongs to our mate and for entering into this mansion we don''t need to enter your academy grounds." The Moon Immortal cleared the confusion. "So.....it means that..." Wen Guiying trailed off as he stared at his Immortal brothers with an almost sad-looking face. ".....that you are the only one who broke the promise. The rest of us are still in clear waters." The moment Hei Long completed the sentence, the room once again filled with silence. Li Ming pulled her face away from Supreme Immortal''s nape as she looked directly into the dark orbs of her mate. One of her hands cupped his face as she softly whispered to him, "Even though you broke your promise and you should take the punishment but don''t you think that in the end all of this is worth it?" Her question made Wen Guiying look at and as his eyes observed her doe-like soft eyes and her pink lips that were glistening, a huge smile bloomed on his lips. "Of course, everything is worth it when it comes to you. Everything!" Immediately his lips engulfed her soft one''s in their embrace as he pulled her face closer to deepen the kiss. "Aww, look at them. They are looking so cute together. I wanna join too." Ruoshan cooed as he looked at the two kissing birds. "At least let us say a quick goodbye to her. We promise to not take too long." Hei Long said in a loud voice to make the Supreme Immortal hear. It still took almost two minutes before the Supreme Immortal and Li Ming separated from each other. Li Ming was breathing a little heavily. Even though the kiss was short but it was intense enough to shake her till her core. Wen Guiying helped her to stand up and then moved a little far away from her to give his brothers enough space. The first one who pulled her in his embrace was none other than the Evernight Lord. "I missed you too much, Xingan. So so much. Every single day without you felt like hundreds of years. I don''t want to stay away from you even for a single more day. No matter wherever you are going to disappear in the future, I''m going to tag along. And it''s final. No negotiations!" A smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she tried her best to not giggle at Ruoshan''s words. "Alright! Then I''m looking forward to our future trips. I''m sure we will have so much fun together." She said as she snakes both of her arms around his neck. The smile that was visible on Ruoshan''s lips was just as sweet and sincere as it could. The fact that she accepted his offer made his soul filled with happiness and contentment. He did not waste a single more second before he dived to once again taste the sweetness that belonged to his sweet Xingan. The longing of the past five years that he and his soul had done through finally started disappearing as the pleasure of being in the company of his mate started taking over his soul. He deepened the kiss as his hands pulled the girl closer to his body. The need that was always present in his soul only increased as the sweet taste of his mate entered his system. It took all his willpower to pull away from the kiss and separate himself from his Xingan. But it was not before he planted a quick kiss on her forehead and temple. If she was not short on breathing before then Ruoshan''s kiss definitely left her shooked. The next one who pulled her in their embrace was the Second Demon Prince. But what surprised her was the presence of the Heaven Emperor behind her. She was sandwiched between the two of her mates. While one pulled her into a slow sensual kiss, she felt the hot warm lips of her other mate on her nape. It almost made her moan out loud as she felt the need and desire awakening inside her. It was like she wanted to devour the two of her mates while letting them do the same to her. It was like her entire being was consumed by that very need that was making her panties soaked with the nectar that had started seeping out from her pussy. Chapter 266 - Work In Progress.... "Don''t be lazy, you all! We need to finish this work as soon as possible. So stop wasting the time!" Li Ming shouted at the supernaturals who immediately started working with more energy. "Li, we just started on this project barely three days ago and you are already talking about finishing it. Have you forgotten that building an entire castle is gonna take at least more than a few weeks?" Snowy immediately retorted as he adjusted his shoulder-length wavy brown hair. Because of all the cultivation that Zhang Yong made Snowy and Mallow practice in the past five years, both of them were now able to regain human form for at least eight hours a day before turning back to their spirit form. At first, Li Ming was really happy about this news. But then she slowly started realizing that the human Snowy was even worse to handle than the little furball Snowy. The boy had not only increased the number and level of his taunts and mockery aimed at her, but he even dared to pretend that he''s no longer afraid of her. "If you don''t want me to throw you in the fire cauldron then you better disappear from my sight." Li Ming said as she glared at the boy. Snowy looked like a young teenage boy around fifteen or sixteen years old, however, he already appeared a few inches taller than her. This only made Li Ming more frustrated because according to her, this was making her intimidating aura falter. "What if I don''t? Are you planning to torture these poor souls behind my back? Just keep dreaming!" Snowy immediately retorted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked straight into her eyes. "You...." "Snowy!" Li Ming stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling out Snowy in a deep and commanding tone. "Shifu!" Snowy whined as he looked at Zhang Yong with a pouty face. But of course, it did not work. "What I told you about talking rudely with your master? Have you learned nothing all these years?" Zhang Yong asked in a strict tone which only made Li Ming roll her eyes. Snowy just huffed and with a little bow to both of them, he disappeared from their sight. "Ming''er, don''t be angry at him. You do know that he loves you the most. Don''t worry, I''ll teach him a lesson later today." Zhang Yong immediately tried to calm down her anger. However, he immediately became the victim of a fiery glare that was about to set him on fire. "Ming''er..." "Don''t even try! Do you think I''m not aware of the reason behind his bratty character? Before he was still controllable but now, thanks to you, he barely listens to me." Li Ming said through gritted teeth as she turned her focus back at the group of pixies that had taken over the task of carving beautiful designs all over the castle. Rather than going with the traditional view of Academies and Sects of the Immortal world, she had decided to build a magical castle. The castle was not the current work in progress on the beautiful land of the moon. The Moon Manor was located in the very center of the landmark. It was the only area of the moon that was filled with greenery and beauty, leaving the rest of the landmark barren. The only river that flowed on the Moon was attached to the boundary of the Yueliang Manor. One would definitely be shocked to see the view attached to both sides of the river. While one side was filled with greenery, the other was left barren with not even a speck of grass in sight. That''s why, with the help of the ''Realms Merging Skill'' that she learned from Master Lu, she succeeded in bringing the entire Xiao Tiantang out of her magical mansion and merged it with the spiritual energy of the Moon. It took her an entire night to complete the process. By the time she finished, she was barely able to open her eyes, but seeing a huge portion of the barren land at the edge of the river suddenly turning into a beautiful sight, she was beyond happy. After resting for two whole days, she then set to work on merging the Enchanted Magik Forest with the Moon. It took her even more time but she did succeed. Now, the Moon looked a lot better and beautiful than before. The spectacular Moon manor was sitting in the very center, surrounded by beautiful gardens and a river of freshwater. On the other side of the river was the home of the pixies. It did not cover as much area of the barren landmark as the Moon Manor, but to make up for the loss, the pixies promised to convert a very large portion of the barren land into gardens. A beautiful bridge joined the Moon Manor with the Pixie Garden. The Pixie Garden was located on the North of the Moon Manor. While the Enchanted Magik Forest was located on its South. The forest was double the size of the area covered by the Moon Manor and the Pixie Garden combined. The Waterfall and the small lake that was present in the Magik forest became the second source of water on the Moon. The Mountain tops that were located on the West side of the Moon Manor was the location where the Sups were currently building the Academy castle. There were a few miles left barren between the Moon Manor and the Mountains, Li Ming decided to build a farmhouse there. Since the number of residents of the Moon was going to increase, it was clear that the demand for food would increase rapidly. She was even planning of building a market and a resort, but those were the plans for the future. Currently, she needed to focus on the Academy. "Ming''er...!" Li Ming was brought out of her thoughts when she found herself pressed into the warm and rigid chest of the Shadow Lord. "Don''t be mad anymore. My sweet Ming''er." Zhang Yong was literally rocking her from left to right as he tried his very best to bring a smile to her face. What were the chances that he would not succeed? Chapter 267 - Tortured Soul Of Li Ming It had been a week! An entire week full of torture that almost consumed all of Li Ming''s tiny brain cells. She had spent the past seven days taking care of her business empire, currently known as Ming Business Empire. The Black Jade Inn was known as the headquarters of the Ming Business Empire, the place from where everything started. The entire black market, Dongji Village, Xi Qiu City, Minghue Tea House, the most famous garment shop of the Qi continent located in the capital city of Wang Empire, and the Herb Market of Jin Empire, all were under the ownership of the Ming Business Empire. Having such a huge business empire, there''s no doubt that Li Ming had a lot of work piled up for her since she was away for the past five years. Currently, she was in the kitchen of her magical mansion as she brewed a fresh cup of tea for herself. She had spent her entire day at the Dongji Village and that left her tired and energyless. The sweet electrical tingles that erupted within her made a small smile appear on her lips. Within a second, she was surrounded by muscular arms as a familiar scent of the ocean took over her senses. She turned around in the arms of her man to face him, her eyes landing on his handsome face. She let her arms snake over both of his shoulders as a huge smile bloomed on her lips. All the tiredness evaporated, leaving her body in a relaxed state. Her energy level once again reaching its peak. "You don''t need to do this. It would barely have taken a few hours to cultivate the energy level back to its peak." She softly whispered as she let her right hand trail towards the long black hair of her mate. "It''s the least I can do. I missed you so much." Supreme Immortal whispered back as he pulled her closer to his body. They barely had any space left between their bodies, not like either of them minded. Li Ming chuckled softly as she said, "It''s been only a few hours since you last saw me. We were together the entire previous night and even in the morning. How can you still miss me?" "A few hours is enough for me to miss you. Why? Did you not miss me?" Supreme Immortal immediately directed the question at her without missing a single beat. Li Ming made a small pouty face as she replied, "Unfortunately I was too busy with all the work that I did not get the chance of missing anyone." Wen Guiying raised his eyebrows as he stared at his little mate. She was in the mood of playing around, and he could easily sense it. "Shouldn''t I make up for my incompetence? Don''t worry, I''ll keep in mind to miss you from tomorrow onwards." She said in a sweet low voice. "I think I know some other interesting ways for you to make up to me. Maybe we should try them out." Supreme Immortal''s hot breath fanned her face as the two of them were so close to each other that there was almost next to no space left between the two of them. Just before their lips could finally meet, Li Ming''s attention was pulled towards the sound of a throat clearing. Her gaze landed on the Immortal clad in long golden and black robes as he stood at the entrance of the kitchen. His eyes stared directly at hers and Li Ming recognized the fire that was filling them. She felt her throat drying as she returned her attention to Guiying to put some space between the two of them. However, as soon as her eyes met with his, she felt the soft plump lips of her mate on her own, and within a second she was drowning in the sea of pleasure and contentment. The bond that both of them shared, flared to life as Guiying deepened the kiss, making Li Ming gasp out softly giving him enough space to snake his tongue into her warm cave. A moan tore out of her mouth as she let her mate take control of the kiss. She just enjoyed the sweet moment and the tingles that were sending electric jolts of pleasure within her body. They kissed for a long time and the Supreme Immortal only pulled away when he realized that his love needed a break. Her lips had become plump and swollen because of so much kissing and the needy and unsatisfied look in her eyes made a growl escape Heaven Emperor''s lips as he took a place behind her. His hand snaked around her waist, just above Guiying''s hands, and he pushed his front flushed against her back. His lips immediately found their way on her nape as he placed soft feathery kisses there, making the girl hiss as she arched her neck to give him more space. "It''s wrong to leave her unsatisfied like this." The Heaven Emperor told his junior brother as he looked up at him. Guiying looked no different than Li Ming. His eyes were filled with the fire of need as he gazed at his mate. "Don''t worry. She won''t be unsatisfied by the time this will end." Guiying replied as he once again started closing in towards their mate. However, this time he was stopped by the Heaven Emperor. Both Guiying and Li Ming turned their attention towards him to know exactly what was wrong. None of the two of them looked angry. Rather, they were looking at him with curious eyes. "Trust me. I would have loved to take this chance to join the two of you to sharpen my skills under Guiying''s guidance, but I think there''s someone else who is in more need of your attention for the time being." His words were directed at the girl and it made a little bit of the haze disappear from her eyes as she looked at him with questioning eyes. A soft smile appeared on the Heaven Emperor''s lips as he answered her unasked question, "Someone is sulking inside his manor for not being able to see you for the past two weeks. I think you have already punished him enough. Should not you end his punishment now?" Chapter 268 - Time Alone With Moon Immortal (Part One) "Are you sure you don''t want me to accompany you?" Wen Guiying asked the question probably the hundredth time. They just arrived at the Moon Manor and he definitely did not want to get separated from his mate so early. Li Ming looked at the Heaven Emperor for help and the Ruler of the Heaven Realm immediately understood. He snaked his hand around one of Wen Guiying''s arms before pulling the Supreme Immortal away from their mate. "Don''t worry, brother Wen. Instead of accompanying our mate, you can keep me company tonight. I have a lot of important work piled up. Why don''t you lend me a helping hand?" Li Ming covered her mouth with her hands as she tried not to burst out into giggles at the horrified expression of the Supreme Immortal. "But...." Wen Guiying did not get the chance to finish his objection since he was dragged away from his mate by the evil Heaven Lord. "Bye!" Li Ming waved her hand as she smiled at the two bickering figures of her mates who were walking away from her. With a final look at them, she turned to walk inside the manor. The servants greeted her as she moved towards the west wing of the manor. From her experience, she already knew where to find the Moon Immortal in that huge manor of his. As she reached her destination, the warmth that started surrounding her soul told her that her mate was somewhere near her. It was not until she was on the third floor when her eyes caught the sight of a figure clad in white brocade robes as he sat in the center of the open space built on the third floor of the building. A huge smile appeared on her lips as she slipped out of her shoes and started walking quietly towards the figure. As her feet touched the icy cold floor of the spirit circle where Lord Yueliang was sitting, she felt electric tingles shooting into her feet and all over her body. However, rather than feeling pain, the tingles turned into the spiritual essence of ice and merged into her spiritual qi. Ever since she mastered the spirit essence of Ice, she no longer had any problem in dealing with cold things. She was about to succeed in her sneak attack when suddenly she felt a hand grabbing her right wrist and she found herself being hauled towards the cold ground. Everything happened too fast and the force was too much for her to grasp the situation. By the time she was in control of her mind, she found herself pressed on the ice floor as a handsome Immortal Deity loomed over her. Her breathing was shallow as she stared into the deep cerulean ocean which was staring back at her. She felt her back and clothes getting wet along with her hair but she paid them no attention. A beautiful smile appeared on Lord Yueliang''s lips as she looked at the beautiful creature beneath him. His heart and soul, both suddenly were filled with happiness and all the loneliness that he had been suffering through all this time evaporated just like that. Li Ming snaked her hands around Moon Immortal''s neck and with a swift move, he had both of them in the sitting position. She moved to sit in his lap as she straddled him. Their bodies were pressed against each other while Lord Yueliang''s hands were wrapped around her waist. "What are you doing here?" Li Ming asked as she looked up at the sky and found it filled with countless shining stars. "Missing you." The reply was quick and full of sincerity. Li Ming could not help the smile that broke out on her lips as she returned her focus on those beautiful eyes. "I''m sorry for locking you inside your manor like this. I promise to make it up to you." She said as she let one of her hands travel to his face. Lord Yueliang let himself enjoy the warmth of the hand that was placed against his cheek before he replied, "I won''t mind lifelong confinement inside this manor as long as I got to see you every day." Li Ming felt her heart flutter at those sweet but sincere words. She could see the seriousness in his eyes. As the two of them kept gazing into each other''s eyes, she started realizing the changes in the Moon Immortal. His heart rate was increasing along with his breathing. His hands that were wrapped around her waist tightened their hold on her and the heat that was clearly visible in his eyes. And above all, she could feel his need. The one that matched hers. Both of their souls were eager to complete themselves by merging with each other and she was more than happy to comply. She let her face inched closer towards those luscious lips that belonged to her mate. And as soon as their lips met it was like fireworks covered their surroundings. The feeling was so intense that instantly a moan escaped Li Ming''s lips. Her hand traveled across his face and gripped his long silky hair as she angled his face to deepen the kiss. At the same time, her other hand found its way to one of Lord Yueliang''s hands and she guided it towards the belt that was keeping her outer robe in place. She knew that she needed to take action when it came to the Moon Immortal. He had always been the sweetest one of her mates, always putting her needs first and making sure that she''s comfortable. Unlike the others, he would never initiate an intimate relationship with her even when his soul was crying for it. She closed his fingers around the ribbon of her belt and pulled it with a little force, making her belt came undone as her outer robe slipped away a little. A gasp left Lord Yueliang''s lips as he realized what was happening, making him pull away from the kiss even though his soul protested. Chapter 269 - Time Alone With Moon Immortal (Part Two) Li Ming dragged Lord Yueliang''s hand to her shoulder and rested it there on the neckline of her outer robe. "Take it off!" Even though her voice was soft and smooth, the Moon Immortal did not miss the commanding edge in her tone. A small smile appeared on his lips as he started dragging the robe down her shoulders and soon enough it was lying beside them. Li Ming let her hands entangled in the long silky hair of her Mr. Perfect as she closed the gap between them. However, before her lips could touch his soft and plump lips, she found him pulling his face away to put some distance between them. "What''s wrong?" She asked softly as she looked into those deep cerulean eyes, a beautiful color that had become her favorite one. "I won''t be able to keep myself in control if we continued. I don''t want to disappoint you." The sincerity and love that was visible in the Moon Immortal''s eyes made her heart filled with warmth for him. "You don''t need to control yourself tonight. And you can never disappoint me. I trust you........because I love you." Li Ming let her emotions take control over as her as she left both herself and her heart bare in front of her mate. And that was because she knew that she could trust him with her vulnerability. Because she knew that he would never let her down. "Little One....." Lord Yueliang''s voice was hoarse and his eyes were full of the fiery need that had started to consume his entire being. "Your Little One needs you. Can you bring her out of the craving that is trying to draw her into an ocean of want?" Li Ming asked as she moved her hands to his outer robe but then stopped. She was waiting for his reply, for him to say yes before she took the next step. What she did not expect was for the Moon Immortal to slowly pull her hands away from his clothes. She felt a sick feeling suddenly emerging inside her and when in the next blink she found herself standing on her feet all alone, that feeling only increased. Her eyes landed on the Moon Immortal who was standing in front of her at a distance of a few feet. His eyes stared back at her and for a moment Li Ming could not make any sense of the darkness that was taking over them. But then she watched in utter shock as her beautiful mate started stripping in front of her. The anxiety that had erupted inside her immediately changed its form and started transforming into the feeling of want and desire as she realized that the Moon Immortal wanted her just as much as she wanted him. She watched as the outer robe slipped down his slender figure and was soon followed by the inner robe, leaving him only in his trousers. His upper body which was now fully bared to her greedy eyes made her throat dry as she tried to take in the beauty of her mate. Lord Yueliang started closing in the distance that he had previously created between the two of them. Within a second, Li Ming found herself trapped in the cage of her mate''s strong arms that immediately circled around her waist and pulled her directly against his body. She let both of her hands rest on either of his broad shoulders and very slowly she started to roam them over the smooth muscles that her mate was packing. She felt his breathing accelerating along with the rapid beats of his heart as her hands explored his bare chest and back. She did not spare even a single inch of his chiseled upper body as she made sure to memorize it in her mind. "You are so perfect. So beautiful and charming. I''m kind of regretting for not making you strip out of your clothes before today. What a loss I have suff...mmmffhh..." She was silenced in the middle of her sentence when suddenly a pair of soft warm lips attacked hers. She let out a small moan as she let her mate deepen the kiss. Her hands moved towards his back and she made sure that their bodies were flushed against each other. The kiss was neither slow nor sweet this time. Rather it was fierce, needy, and showed exactly how much he craved for her. A feeling of ecstasy took over Li Ming as she lost herself in the feeling while her tongue was being dominated by her mate. Lord Yueliang was just as much affected as his mate. The feeling of completeness that started taking over his soul and the feeling of contentment that he got from having his woman in his arms, just made him filled with happiness and warmth. Their fierce kiss slowly turned into a soft and slow one as they enjoyed the moment. None of them ready to let go first. It was after a long time when the two finally took a break to grasp their sharp breathing. Li Ming snuggled her face into the crook of Moon Immortal''s neck as she placed soft kisses on his smooth skin. The shudder that ran through his body made a smile appear on her lips while she felt his hands tightening their grip on her waist. She muttered a charm under her breath and the next second they were standing inside the massive and beautifully decorated bed-chamber of the Moon Immortal, instead of the Ice platform under the starry night. Li Ming pulled away from the warm embrace of her mate and intertwined her hand with his before leading him towards the huge bed that had fine blue-colored silk drapes covering it. When they reached next to the day, Li Ming made the Immortal Deity sat on the bed before she pushed him to lie on his back. Lord Yueliang looked at his mate as he waited to see what she was about to do and surely her next words made his throat dry and his breathing to stop for a moment. "Just relax and let me take care of you. I will to make you feel good." Chapter 270 - Time Alone With Moon Immortal (Part Three) [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] "Aah!!!" The groan escaped Lord Yueliang''s lips as he tried to hold himself down while his Little One teased him without any mercy. A smile bloomed on Li Ming''s lips as she dragged her hands down his knees and towards his ankle. By the time her hands touched his feet, there were no longer any clothes hiding his body from her craving eyes. The Moon Immortal did not realize what had happened until he felt her fingers caressing the underside of his left thigh. And when he opened his eyes and looked at what is happening, he could not stop the blush that appeared on his cheeks while he wiggled a little to hide away from her. But how could Li Ming let him succeed? She stopped caressing him as she pulled herself directly to his eye level as she asked, "What are you trying to do?" Her voice did not sound soft or sweet, rather, it was the voice filled with a demand for an answer. "Little One...." Lord Yueliang trailed off as he gulped down his saliva in nervousness when he noticed her sharp eyes staring at him. "It''s not fair. You have still your clothes on. And remember that you will need to take my responsibility after this." Li Ming could not help the smile that immediately melted her rough facade because of his cuteness. She lowered herself down on his chest as she replied, "Don''t worry sweetheart, I''m more than ready to take your responsibility." She brushed her lips lightly against his already swollen lips but before she could pull away, the hands that had suddenly made their way around her neck pulled her in for a deep kiss. The kiss lasted for a few minutes and when Li Ming finally pulled away herself from the passionate and warm kiss, she did not miss a single beat before getting out of her inner robe, crop top, and her leggings. "Do you want me to take these off too?" She asked in a soft voice as she showed her dark blue lacy bra and matching panties to her mate. "No. Please don''t! Keep them on for a while." The need was clear in his voice and even in his cerulean eyes too that were taking her in from top to bottom, not missing anything. "You are beautiful." Lord Yueliang whispered as he watched his Little One coming closer to him. Li Ming knew that he was not talking about only her outer beauty. Rather, his words were dedicated to both her inner and outer persona. "So are you." She whispered back as she planted a soft kiss on his forehead. One of his hands snaked around her waist and stopped on the curve of her spine as he looked directly into her eyes and said in a soft voice, "I have fallen for you, Little One. I think I''m still falling in love with you. Every day it feels like my love for you is only increasing. I''m so happy to be chosen as one of your mates. We all will together keep you happy for eternity. Promise!" Li Ming almost felt her eyes blurring for a second as tears appeared in them. But she did not let them fall as she cupped Moon Immortal''s face as she replied, "I love you too. And I''m so happy to have you as my mate. The six of you are the best gift that I''ve received ever and I''ll cherish you all with everything that I have." She inched closer to him for a deep passionate kiss to which the Moon Immortal surrendered completely. He could feel that his soul was finally going to connect with its other half, that they were going to become one forever and he could not wait to receive her marking, the one that would officially claim him as one of her mates. Li Ming pulled away from his sensual lips as she started trailing soft kisses on his cheeks and jaw, making her way towards his neck. Her tongue came out to play with his bobbing adam''s apple and she was almost sure that she felt something twitching against her hip. Lord Yueliang''s heartbeat and breathing, both were competing against each other regarding their speed. He felt his body starting to tingle with sweet electric sensations whenever her lips landed kisses or tongue came out to play with him. He was definitely not ready for her tongue to start playing with his left nipple and the most that left his lips declared exactly how good he was feeling at that moment. Li Ming gave both those small pearls equal attention before taking her teasing a step further as she bit on his right nipple, making him hiss in pleasure. She moved her eyes towards his face while she continued to trail her kisses down his chest and towards his stomach. The fire that she saw in his eyes that were staring right back at her made a pleasurable sigh escape her lips. It was not until she planted a soft kiss a little below his navel that the Moon Immortal finally found his voice. "Little One...." He had forced himself on his elbows so that he could face her more easily but all that he said was to call her in a breathy tone. "Just let me take care of you. All you need to do is to enjoy this moment." Li Ming whispered to him as she turned her focus back on her task. Her eyes finally landed on the long twitching rod that was craving for her attention. She almost lost her breath when she realized that the Moon Immortal was packing an almost nine inches long dick, though it was not as thick as Wen Guiying''s. "Looks like you are trying to test my skills. But I''m sure I can handle you too." She softly muttered to herself as she kept her eyes trained on the cock that was standing erect and beads of pre-cum were visible on its tip. Before Moon Immortal could realize what she was up to, he felt his body erupting in pleasure as he felt her wet warm tongue on the tip of his pulsating rod. Chapter 271 - The Ocean Of Pleasure [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] "Mmmphh...." Lord Yueliang could not stop the groan that once again escaped from his lips as he felt himself sinking in the depth of the ocean of pleasure. While the Moon Immortal was experiencing the magic of the world of ecstasy, Li Ming was also filled with pleasure. To see her mate enjoying her skills, she felt more than happy and fully content. She let her hand slide to fondle his balls as she bobbed her head on the huge cock that was covered in her saliva. She let his cock popped out of her mouth and started trailing her tongue over the veins that were clearly visible on his cock. When she reached the bottom she let her tongue trail towards his balls and started licking and kissing them. His groans and moans of pleasure were like a siren''s alluring song to her ears and soul. She once again took his cock in her mouth and started going deeper. It was not until seven inches of his cock were already inside her mouth that her gag reflection took over and after a few seconds she finally pulled away to take long deep breaths. Lord Yueliang was panting so hard as he tried to find his voice. However, before he could even open his mouth, he felt her mouth once again taking him in. One of her hands was still fondling his sack while the other gripped the base of his cock and started jerking him. He knew that he could no longer control himself. "Little One....y-you sh-should...you should stop.....AHHH!" He was moaning more and more as she increased her speed. His hands clutching the bedsheets as he tried to control himself. "I''m...I-I''m about to.....to...Oh!" Li Ming knew that he was close but rather than listening to him, she only increased her speed. And it barely took a few more seconds before she heard her mate groaning out loudly and immediately warm salty thick liquid landed on her tongue. She did not stop until his orgasm ended and his hands, which were clutching the bedsheet relaxed their holds. The cock slipped out of her mouth as she looked up at the mesmerizing look that was covering her mate''s face. Li Ming put her legs on either side of his thighs as she settled down on his thighs in a straddling position. Her wet but covered pussy was almost touching his balls as she lowered her upper body on him, making her stomach came in contact with his cock that had already started to harden once again. "You did not need to do that. I''m the one who should be taking care of your needs." Yue Liang said as he watched her smiling face. "Why? Was I that bad?" Li Ming asked with a pout as she fluttered her eyelashes. "Of course, not! You were...you are good. Actually, more than good." He was quick to reply but then his cheeks started turning a lighter shade of pink when he realized that the girl had tricked him. Li Ming burst out into soft giggles as she took in the cute but sexy appearance of her mate. She knew that out of all of her mates, the Heaven Emperor and the Moon Immortal were the most conservative and shy. However, she had no idea that she would actually be able to dominate at least one of them when it came to sex. Somehow, she was sure that the Heaven Emperor would be no different from his second brother. Two mates whom she could dominate in the bedroom while three others would dominate her. She was actually not sure about Ruoshan. He definitely was not a submissive but she could not guarantee that he was a dominant either. As for both the Supreme Immortal and Hei Long, well there was no doubt that they would love to dominate her during sex. Though Wen Guiying acted nothing but sweet, warm, and considerate during their one week - kind of ''honeymoon period'', she knew that the next time was going to be nothing like that. The thing that made her filled with need and craving the most was the thought of spending her night with both Wen Guiying and Hei Long together. She sure would not be able to survive that! Only if she knew that there were countless of nights coming towards her like a tsunami which would not only test her survival skills but also her strength and her bond with her mates. Soon her world was about to turn upside down and she sure was not prepared for it! Or was she? *** The sunlight filtered into the room through the open window along with the light breeze that had arrived along with the new day. Li Ming slowly opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust to the brightness of the room. It was probably reaching noon seeing the intensity of the sunlight that was able to enter the room. "Morning, Xingan." The sweet and soft voice of Ruoshan entered her ears and made her open her eyes to look at the man lying beside her. She had her back against Lord Yueliang and his warm chest was plastered against her back as one of his hands was wrapped around her waist. And right in front of her was her other mate who was looking at her with a soft smile on his face. "Morning." She said as she let her eyes take in the way his outer and inner robes were left loose to show a lot of his collarbone. "Wanna see more?" Ruoshan asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Would love to." Li Ming replied softly as she let her right hand trail over his exposed collarbone, making the duvet slip a little leaving the top of her breasts exposed. "Looks like Second Senior brother showed no mercy to you last night," Ruoshan said with a chuckle. But Li Ming noticed the fire in his eyes that were staring at her chest. She looked down at her boobs to see what he meant by those words only to see her right breast covered in hickeys. What a beautiful sight indeed! Chapter 272 - Pleasured By Two [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] "Are you jealous fourth brother?" Li Ming heard Lord Yueliang''s voice as he placed a soft kiss below her ear before facing his junior brother. Ruoshan did not reply as he kept his eyes trained on hers. She was not prepared for the moment when he suddenly slipped out of both his outer and inner robes in just a second and the next moment he was lying beside her in only his white trousers. "What are you doing?" Li Ming asked as she watched him inching closer towards her, not stopping until his body was almost plastered against hers. "Do you two want me to leave? I promise I did not mean to ruin your time together. It''s just that..." Suddenly Ruoshan was not looking really too sure about his actions. The moment morning arrived, the only thing that he could think of was to see her. And before he could realize what he was doing, he already was inside the Moon Immortal''s bed-chamber where both his second brother and Xingan were sleeping soundly. He did not want to disturb their slumber so he just sat on the edge of the bed, observing their mate sleeping in the arms of the Moon Immortal with a serene look on her sleeping face. Li Ming was actually not bothered by Ruoshan''s presence but she could not decide on her own. She turned her face around to look at the Moon Immortal and the latter placed a soft kiss on her lips before answering Ruoshan''s question. "Actually, I would love to have a helping hand. I''m sure she will love it." The smile that bloomed on Ruoshan''s lips made Li Ming giggle as she let the Immortal behind her play with her long hair. "It''s been a long time since I last saw the mark from this close. It still looks as unique and beautiful as before." The Evernight Lord muttered softly as his eyes landed on the soul mark that was covering the front of Lord Yueliang''s right shoulder. "It''s breathtaking, right?" Lord Yueliang could not help but ask out loud as he caressed the mark which reminded him of the passionate night that he shared with his Little One and they finally completed their bond. "It is." Ruoshan agreed as he let his eyes return to the girl who had been silently observing them with a smile playing on her lips. He found one of his hands pulling the duvet below her breasts which were big enough to occupy his hands completely. He let his index finger trail around one of her nipples which made her inhale sharply. Her eyes almost closing as the pleasurable tingles erupted through her breasts. "How does it feel like to officially become one of her mates?" He found himself asking as he continued to slowly play with her nipple. "It''s the best feeling ever. There are no words that can describe how good and right it feels. You will understand once you will complete your bond with her." Lord Yueliang replied as he planted a soft kiss on her nape. His hand that was wrapped around her waist pulled her a little to make her lay on her back. Li Ming followed his action and settled down on her back. And before she could even blink her eyes, two wet and warm tongues were playing with each of her nipples. Her hands immediately found their way in their hair as she struggled to keep the moans to a minimum. Getting pleasured by one of her mates was already enough to leave her in a mess of moans and groans. However, suddenly being pleasured by two of her mates was making her lose control of her body. A gasp left her mouth when she felt fingers on her lower belly that soon made their way towards her already wet cunt. It took her a moment to realize that it was actually Ruoshan''s hand that was currently playing with her labia. She pulled Lord Yueliang towards her and soon their lips were busy in a deep passionate kiss. The completed bond that the two of them shared woke up to the sensations of pleasures that were running through their bodies. Since their bond was new, it was sensitive and the pleasure that she was receiving only got multiplied because of the sensitivity of the bond. She moaned into their kiss as one of Ruoshan''s fingers entered her pussy, making her drip with want. The tongue that was still busy playing with her nipple finally pulled away which made Li Ming also pull away from the kiss as she looked at the Evernight Lord to know what he was planning to do next. "Pull away the cover," Ruoshan told his senior brother as he slipped another finger inside the warm and wet cave of his Xingan. The way her inner walls were greedily sucking his fingers made him groan as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. "She''s so wet." The Moon Immortal found himself saying out loud as one of his hands made its way towards her throbbing clit. The duvet that was hiding him and his Little One, was now lying on the floor. He barely touched her before Li Ming''s hold around his arm tightened as she let out a loud moan. "Oh God! You...you two are about to kill me." She said in a little breathless voice as she watched her two mates pleasure her. Ruoshan made his third finger slip inside her at the very same moment when Lord Yueliang decided to increase his speed. "Oh, Fuuuuuuckk...!" Li Ming cursed out loud as she felt like she was about to lose her consciousness. The pleasure was too much for her sensitive body and she could feel that she was so close to her climax. Lord Yueliang lowered his head and took her right nipple in his warm mouth. As his tongue circled her areola and touched the sensitive hickeys that he gifted her the previous night, Li Ming felt her climax approaching. "Don''t hold it in, Xingan. Don''t keep yourself deprived of the pleasure that your body needs." Ruoshan whispered into her ear as he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Everything became too much to the point that Li Ming finally lost her control and with a scream of pleasure she reached her climax, the powerful orgasm left her shaking. Chapter 273 - Marking Ruoshan (Part One) [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] "Beautiful." Ruoshan whispered softly as he watched his mate who was still writhing because of the intense orgasm that she just experienced. He looked up at his second senior brother and it was like they were talking through their eyes because the next moment, Lord Yueliang climbed up to position himself between Li Ming''s legs. On the other hand, Ruoshan pulled the girl in a soft kiss which was filled with his love and care for her. Li Ming felt the head of the Moon Immortal''s cock lined against the wet walls of her vagina and with a swift push, he was inside her. The gasp that left her mouth gave the perfect opportunity to Ruoshan to slip his tongue inside her warm cave. The slow but steady strokes along with Ruoshan''s constant playing with both her nipples and her clit, made her reach her climax very soon. "Fuck! I''m.....I''m close." She shouted as she felt her orgasm reaching. Her eyes locked with the cerulean eyes that were looking right into her dark ones and she felt his cock throbbing inside her, making her realize that he was also close. Lord Yueliang dropped forward to capture her lips into a deep kiss as he increased his pace. Their moans were filling the room as the two of them felt the volcano of their pleasure reaching its limit. With a loud grunt, the Moon Immortal felt himself reaching his peak as his orgasm washed over him. And just like he predicted, the moment he reached his climax, his Little One did too. The two of them continued kissing throughout their orgasms as they felt their souls connecting and creating a new ring of essence inside them. Their soul marks were glowing as the two finally separated from their kiss, both completely out of breath. His cock slipped out of her warm cave, immediately making him regret the loss. He settled down beside his mate who was glowing in a beautiful silvery aura that made her look like an Immortal Goddess. "Did you just make a breakthrough, Xingan?" Ruoshan''s sudden question made him look at his Little One closely and he finally realized that he did miss the meaning behind that silvery glow. "I just entered the Overlord Cultivator level. I was unable to make a breakthrough for more than half a year by now. This....." Li Ming was left bewildered by what just happened. Did she really make a breakthrough while having sex? The thought made her cringe and smile at the same time. Both Ruoshan and Lord Yueliang moved at the same time to plant kisses on her cheek and as two soft and warm feathery kisses landed on either of her cheeks, she giggled fondly. "I''ll go and tell the kitchen to prepare lunch for the three of us. Rest here for a while. I''ll be back when the lunch will be ready." Lord Yueliang said as he planted another kiss on her temple. "Take care of him." He whispered against her lips before he planted a sweet and affectionate kiss on her lips. The Moon Immortal gave a quick encouraging look to his younger brother before he pulled on his robes and left the bed-chamber, giving Ruoshan the privacy that he deserved during his first time with their mate. "He''s such a sweetheart." Li Ming could not help but praise her thoughtful mate. "I really ruined your time together, didn''t I?" The guilt that was suddenly taking over Ruoshan did not remain hidden from Li Ming. She pulled her mate closer to her and let her hands snake around his shoulders as she answered his question. "If you were actually going to ruin our time, trust me, I would have kicked you out of here the moment I woke up. But it''s a fact that neither I nor the Moon Immortal is bothered by your presence here." She placed a soft kiss on the tip of his nose which made a sweet smile bloomed on his face. "Thank you, Xingan. I just don''t know what took over me and all that...." "Sssh! No more guilt talk. I''m sure that I''m going to enjoy the company of two of my mates for the coming few days." Li Ming cut him off as she placed the index finger of her right hand against his lips. A gasp left her lips as Ruoshan''s tongue came out to lick her finger and before she could pull her finger away, it was already sliding into his warm wet mouth. "Ah Shan!" Li Ming''s breathing started accelerating as her mate made out with her poor finger. She was so observed in feeling the sensations that were originating from her finger and then spreading all over her body, that she did not even realize that Ruoshan was no longer wearing his trousers. It was not until he finally let her finger slip out of his mouth with a pop sound and moved to position himself between her legs that she realized what was coming at her. Her eyes hungrily took him in and when it finally landed on his pulsating cock, she almost felt her breathing stopping. He was not as long as Wen Guiying or Yue Liang, probably around seven and a half inches in length. But it was thicker than theirs. "Oh damn. It''s going to hurt." Li Ming could not stop herself from stating the obvious. "No, it will not," Ruoshan stated with a huge smile on his face as he took hold of her right leg and stretched it over his shoulder, giving him a new angle to enter her. "Are you kidding me? Look at yourself..." Li Ming scoffed but then trailed off as realization dawned over her. She almost felt embarrassed. Almost! "I...I''ll do it." She hurriedly said and closed her eyes. The smile on Ruoshan''s lips only increased as he waited for his cute Xingan to complete her spell. As soon as she opened her eyes and gave him a nod, he pointed his hard rod against her wet lips and let it slid inside her warm cave. Chapter 274 - Marking Ruoshan (Part Two) "Oh!" The moan left Li Ming''s lips as she felt the head of his cock entering her pussy. Just like she thought, it felt so huge inside her and he was barely two inches in so far. Ruoshan took his time as he very slowly slid his cock inside her wet pussy, stopping every now and then to let her adjust to his size. He dropped his body on her which made her right leg, which was still resting on his shoulder, to stretch in a way that made him went deeper inside her. "Aaah! Fuck!" Li Ming cursed out as she felt her pussy stretching itself to take in the huge cock of her mate. Her body was filled with those familiar pleasuring tingles which were making her soul filled with want for her mate. Her soul was desperately trying to make her mark him, to claim him as her own. "Baby, y.....y-you need to move or I''ll lose it." She whispered to Ruoshan as she pulled his face closer for a kiss. Their tongues played together as they poured their love for each other into their kiss. The moans that kept slipping out of Li Ming''s lips and the groans of pleasure that belonged to the Evernight Lord filled the bed-chamber. Ruoshan increased his pace when he was sure that his Xingan was ready for it. The pleasure consumed the two of them and it did not take long before the need of their souls took over them. Ruoshan took her left hand into his and moved it over the left side of his chest. A smile bloomed on Li Ming''s lips as she felt his heartbeat beneath her hand. She planted soft kisses on his lips, cheeks, and then on his jaw. A growl left Ruoshan''s lips when he found her tongue playing on his nape. The electric tingles that were already roaming throughout his body only increased as her licks and nips increased on his nape. It was not until he felt her teeth biting down on the crook of his neck that he finally lost control over his need. His pace increased as Li Ming tasted his sweet metallic blood on her tongue. The two of them were covered in an orange glow as the magic of the soulbond started taking over them. Little by little, the soul mark started carving itself beneath her hand which was still resting on his chest. It did not take both of them long before they were reaching their climax. Li Ming gave a last soft lick on his nape, sealing the cut and stopping his blood from flowing out. When she pulled back to look at her mate, all that she found in his dreamy eyes was his love for her. Ruoshan buried his face in the crook of her neck as he shifted his hand between their bodies to play with her clit. The moans that left his mate''s lips were like the most beautiful music to his ears. As her walls started closing around his throbbing cock, he knew that she was close and so was he. It did not take too long before Ruoshan gave a last quick thrust which buried his cock deep in her pussy and both of them reached the epitome of their pleasure. Li Ming found the world stopping around her as her third soul bond shifted into place, making her feel a little more completed than she felt before. The three completed bonds that she shared with the Supreme Immortal, Lord Yueliang and Ruoshan, were filled with contentment and love for her mates. The two of them stayed there in bed with her safely wrapped in Ruoshan''s strong arms. "What are your plans after brother Yueliang''s birthday?" Ruoshan asked as he continued to play with her soul mark which still was glowing. "There are still two of your brothers left, so I''ll make sure to complete our bonds too." Li Ming replied but immediately the smile on her face lessened as her mind started thinking about Hei Long. Since she was resting her face on Ruoshan''s chest, the Evernight Lord did not saw the worried look on her face. "That''s perfect. The seven of us will finally be tied to each other by the spiritual thread of Iove and fate. But what about after that?" He asked as he tightened his hold around her. Li Ming was silent for a few seconds before she finally replied, "After that, I''ll be putting my entire focus on the Demon Realm and Hei Long. We need to get rid of that black mist and the curse that your brother is carrying on him." The happiness that was clearly visible on Ruoshan''s face also dimmed as she mentioned the black mist and the curse. Li Ming finally pulled her face away, from its resting position in his chest, to look at her mate. "In the past five years, the five of us have tried to collect as much information about the black mist and Hei Long''s curse as we could manage. But to be honest, it always felt like my brother has been hiding something very important from us, and no matter how hard the rest of us tried, he never revealed anything." Ruoshan''s eyes were filled with worry and sadness as he talked about his younger brother. Li Ming cupped his face in her hands as she said, "I know. Even though he tries to appear as normal as usual, but I can still sense that something is very wrong. I just don''t know how to confront him about that because before this whenever I''ve tried to talk about his curse, he has always ignored the topic. But I have a feeling that we can no longer ignore it." Ruoshan planted a soft kiss on her forehead before he softly promised her. "Don''t worry, Xingan. I''ll always be there to support you. We all will work together to save our realm and get rid of Hei Long''s curse. And I''m sure that we will succeed." Even though his words comforted Li Ming to some level, she still could not get rid of the feeling that something very bad was about to happen and she''s too late to do anything. The clock had started ticking! Chapter 275 - Ming Elite Academy After spending an entire week with Lord Yueliang and Ruoshan as "Honeymoon Period", Li Ming finally returned to her daily life. Everything was ready before the full moon arrived along with the Moon Immortal''s birthday. For the first time in eternity, the Moon was sparkling during the night as everyone celebrated Lord Yueliang''s birthday who was too overwhelmed after seeing the changes on his land. After the birthday was over, Li Ming started taking care of officially starting the Academy. She called a meeting of all the parents asking for their permission. Of course, everyone was more than happy to agree with her idea. The people of the Dongji Village already considered her as their Master while the citizens of the Han Empire viewed her as an Immortal who carried a pure and kind heart in her. Ever since she returned from the Guixian Academy, Li Ming became the most powerful cultivator of the Han Empire. Her close relations with the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince of the Imperial family, along with her friendship with all the Young Masters and even Young Misses of the noble families, made the Imperial family and the noble families respect her as they had seen her kind and noble nature with their own eyes. The normal citizens respected her just as much as the Imperial and noble families. After receiving permission from the parents, Li Ming called a meeting of the students to tell them about the good news. Since it was currently the month of August, she decided to officially start the Academy in September. The term would start in September and would continue till June and after their final exams in June, the students were allowed to return to their homes for two months, July and August. Along with that, Li Ming also allowed the parents to visit the Academy once in three months if they wanted to see their children. She also planned to conduct parent-teacher meetings at the end of every term so that the parents could see exactly how well their children were performing. The students and parents were more than happy with her plans. It was the first time they heard that the parents were allowed to meet their children so often and would even get to see their performances. The news about the Ming Empire opening an Elite Academy on the Moon spread like fire all over the mortal realm. All the high official families around the Qi continent suddenly started fighting to get seats for their children. Even the Imperial families of various Empires were trying to find out about the entrance exams. Li Ming almost got a headache with all the ruckus that was caused by these morons. It was not until the Ming Elite Academy officially announced that there would be no entrance exam for new students since they already had more than five hundred students studying under their academy, did the ruckus stopped. Everyone was left in complete shock when they learned that even before the Academy officially started, it gained over five hundred students. This news made everyone feel helpless as they realized that they were late in grasping seats for their children. During the third week of August, the Ming Elite Academy released another official statement with information about the topics that were a part of their education system. At first, everyone was shocked to see that along with cultivation and martial arts, the Academy had classes like - cooking skills, Stitching skills, Wood, Clay or Iron Crafting, Jewelry Making, Farming Skills, Husbandry skills, Music, Dancing, Writing, and Speaking Skills, and many more. Initially, no one understood exactly what the Academy was trying to do by providing such kinds of classes but when the Ming Academy released another statement two days later, the shock and surprise only increased to another level. The new statement provided the answer that the people were looking for. There was brief information about how the Ming Empire was training children for the last few years in the areas which the children liked the most. There was a list of students name who surpassed the age of eighteen and were now working under the various businesses of the Ming Business Empire. The list showed the skill that a particular student decided to pursue, their cultivation level, and the salary that the Ming Empire provided them for their skills. The surprise that everyone received after realizing that nearly ninety percent of the students on the list of those hundred and forty-seven students, were of Great Elder Cultivator rank only increased their helplessness. It was hard to find children or even elder people in the Han Empire with such a high level of cultivation, but the Ming Academy succeeded in nourishing more than a hundred students who were already on Great Elder Cultivator Rank in their late teens. Not only that but the people were also surprised to see that all the students on the list were earning more than fifty silver taels each month, with a bonus of hundred taels at the end of every year. It was even more than what the officials of the fourth and fifth rank of the Han Empire were earning. There was even a mention that a group of students with high and unique skills was even promoted as either managers or supervisors of various shops under the Ming Business Empire. The salary of this batch of students was somewhere between three hundred to five hundred silver taels per month with additional bonuses. This time there was no mention of names but the list did mention that some of these students were even on higher cultivation ranks than the Great Elder Rank. The uproar that these official statements created throughout the Empire and even the entire Qi continent left everyone in great shock. No one dared to question the authenticity of the official statements for two reasons. First, everyone had seen the achievements of Miss Li and the grandiose of the Ming Business Empire, and Second, because the official statement mentioned about Miss Li conducting a personal meeting in front of everyone with those who doubted the sincerity of the statements where she would provide proof for every single statement of the Academy. No one wanted to enter into the bad books of the Ming Business Empire. In short, no one wanted to become an enemy of Miss Li. Just like Li Ming predicted, the statements released by the Ming Elite Academy not only helped in creating a good image of the Academy among the citizens but it also succeeded in completing her main mission. Even though cultivation was still viewed as a priority in the Qi continent, but for the first time, the people were realizing that the lives of the young generation were not limited to that. The Ming Academy brought the biggest hope to the lower class people when they realized that their children could finally fight fairly for a better future. Chapter 276 - Married Friends TWO MONTHS LATER~ Black Jade Inn... "Elder Fu, you are becoming more and more heartless. How can you charge us with such a high amount? After all, we are MingMing''s family. Even though you don''t treat us in free but at least, you should not be acting so shamelessly." It was none other than Wei Min who was complaining about the unfairness that he was facing. "Young Master Wei, you are well aware that Miss Li..." Before Elder Fu could complete his sentence, he noticed Li Ming standing at the bottom of the staircase. Since Wei Min''s back was facing her, he did not saw her and continued to complain. "Of course, it''s none other than Mingming herself. She has started bullying poor people like us." Wei Min once again looked at the bill that he was holding. Looking at the total of eighteen hundred silver taels that he was supposed to pay according to the bill, only made him more miserable. "Brother Min, is there any problem?" Suddenly Li Ming''s soft and calm voice rang through the room. The customers who had been leisurely enjoying the service of the Black Jade Inn, all focused their attention towards the silhouette of the beauty who was slowly walking towards the group of Young Masters and Misses of the noble families of the Capital City of the Han Empire. "Sister Ming, you are finally here." The Second Young Miss Liang shouted happily as her eyes landed on the lady who was looking as elegant and beautiful as ever. "En! Did you guys enjoy your time here?" Li Ming asked as she softly patted the girl on her head. "Sister Ming, we always love to spend our time here. It''s just a pity that we only get to see you once in a while." Ji Jin said with a sad look in his eyes. They all cared about Li Ming as if she was a part of their families. If not for her, almost half of the Young Masters and Misses of the noble families of their Empire could never have become such close friends. "I wish that I could turn back the wheels of time and return to those carefree days. Unfortunately, we all have grown up now and we all have responsibilities towards our families and jobs." Wei Rong said as he gave Li Ming a soft smile. "Brother Rong, how''s Xiao Kai doing these days?" Li Ming asked as she signaled Elder Fu to take his leave. The old man was more than happy to obey her as he quickly disappeared from the hall. "He''s as good as possible. You have been spoiling him ever since you returned from the Academy. It''s just everyone at home misses you a lot. Why don''t you find some time to visit mother and father? Li Qi and Xiao Kai will also love to see you again." Wei Rong suggested. In those five years when Li Ming was busy learning array formation skills with her master in the isolated mountains, many things changed in the Imperial City. One of those important changes was that nearly all her friends had gotten married. Not only that but they even had little kids along with beautiful wives. Xiao Kai was Wei Rong''s three years old son while Wei Min''s wife was five months into her pregnancy. In the past years, she also got introduced to the sisters of her friends. Not all of them were carrying pure hearts but Li Ming still succeeded in finding a few who were actually good human beings. That''s how the circle around her improved. She no longer was surrounded by rich men or handsome boys, rather there were also rich ladies and beautiful girls surrounding her now. "Alright. I promise to soon visit the General''s Manor." Li Ming promised as she took a seat beside her friends. "Mingming, look at this." Wei Min said as he put the bill on the table in front of the girl. "What is this?" Li Ming asked as she looked at the man with raised eyebrows. "Exactly! What is this? How can you charge us so high? Since we are your close friends and family, should not we receive extra benefits? But all that I can see are extra charges." Wei Min was almost on the verge of crying as he complained about the unfairness that was poured on him. "How shameless you are, brother Min? When you were young and carried pouches of silvers and golds that the old General earned with his hard work, you never once cried after seeing such high prices. Moreover, you even dared to boast about your wealth." "But now since you have to earn your livelihood on your own and you still are a wealthy person, how come you are acting like a miser?" Even though her words made everyone laugh at Young Master Min and his distressed state, but they all understood the deep meaning that her words held. "In the future, you should teach all my children how to become successful in the business sector at such young age. In that way, I won''t need to be worried about them emptying my family''s little treasury." Ji Jin commented as he looked at the girl with hopeful eyes. But the scoffs and sneers that he received from his friends made him roll his eyes, something that he learned from Li Ming, before he turned his focus on the fruit salad which was sitting in front of him. Li Ming just shook her head at their childish acts before she turned her attention to Wei Min. The poor man could do nothing other than taking out two big notes from his sleeves and giving them to her with a heavy heart. She did not waste even a single second grabbing those notes. When it came to business, she won''t spare anyone. She was about to excuse herself so that she could leave for her evening visits to the Demon Realm when one of her guards entered the hall in a hurry. "Master, one of Heaven''s gatekeepers is here with a Golden Royal Decree!" Chapter 277 - Silence Before The Storm "This can''t be real.....!" Li Ming mumbled as she glared at the stream flowing below the bridge. The black water of the stream stared back at her as it mocked her for her constant failures. It already had been years and she still was not able to change anything about the condition of the Demon Realm. The worst part was that she could feel the power of the darkness that was growing inside the Demon Realm. The black mist had been silent for quite some time by now, however, Li Ming knew in her heart that something big was about to happen. It was the silence before the storm! "You are acting as if you have been summoned to war rather than an Imperial banquet in the Heaven Realm." Zhang Yong commented with a chuckle as he pulled her back against his chest, securing the girl in his embrace. "Easy for you to say. It''s not like you are the one who''s going to meet your in-laws." Li Ming muttered back in reply as she relaxed a little against his warm body. A soft chuckle escaped the fourth Prince''s lips. He rubbed her hands with tenderness as he spoke, "You have already met with First Senior Brother''s Mom and Brother Wen''s sister. Not only that, but the two of them also think highly of you. There''s really no need for you to be this nervous. Moreover, it''s impossible for anyone to not like you." A small smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips but her heart and mind were still not ready to calm down. Her eyes landed on a group of little demon kids who were collecting stones from the bank of the stream at some distance from the bridge. As she noticed their malnourished states, a sigh of exasperation escaped her lips. "You are worried about the Demon Realm, right?" Zhang Yong questioned her when he noticed the sadness that was evident on her face as she gazed at the group of children. "It''s the first time I''ve failed completely in finding any kind of solution. No matter how hard I tried, it''s never enough. I can see the worry that''s eating up Ruoshan and Hei Long even though both of them pretend to be normal around me. I can see the poison that this black mist is spreading here. I can see how the darkness is on the verge of destroying this realm. But I can do nothing about all this." The Shadow Lord''s arms tightened around her as if he was trying to protect her from the sadness that was destroying her happiness. "That''s not true. We all have seen you working so hard just to find a way to provide a better life to the people of this realm and you have been doing this from the very beginning. If not for you, this realm would be in even worse condition now." He was not only trying to console her, in fact, he was speaking the truth. He believed what he was saying and he knew that his brothers had the same thoughts. A chuckle broke out through Li Ming''s lips. However, Zhang Yong could tell that there was no happiness hidden behind it. "If not for me, the Demon Realm and its Rulers would never have suffered this much." Her voice was filled with raw emotions. She hated herself for the current condition of the Demon Realm. And whenever she noticed Hei Long trying to hide his pain, her hate for herself only increased. Zhang Yong pulled the girl to turn and face him. He could feel her pain, sadness, discomfort, and helplessness through their bond. "What are you talking about, Mingming?" He asked as he tried to read her eyes which were brimming with emotions. Li Ming took a deep breath as she started telling Zhang Yong about the Valkyrie who tried to curse her and how Hei Long saved her from the curse. By the time she finished, silence had taken over their surroundings. The group of children could no longer be seen anywhere and Li Ming could feel the heaviness of her story settling over her. "How can you tell that what you saw was not a trick and a reality that you forgot?" Zhang Yong asked after the silence of a few minutes. His hands were still protectively wrapped around her waist and the soft circles that his fingers were drawing in her waist were helping her relax a little. "Because after watching this portion of my past, everything is making sense. Also, I can easily recognize my own segment of memory. Moreover, I have already confirmed it with Kara. There was no trick in this. The Valkyrie wanted to me know exactly what was happening here and why." Li Ming answered his question as she looked around their surroundings. She could feel the dark mist laughing at her for her helplessness. "From the very first day, I came across this black mist, I found it familiar. However, no matter how hard I tried, I just could not recognize it, not until I got to see my locked memories." She softly spoke as she sneakily tried to get a grip on the black mist. However, the darkness was way much smarter than she thought. It successfully avoided her spells and power to stay hidden. "Damn it!" Li Ming cursed out loud when she felt a sizzling fire attacking her spiritual qi, making her hiss out in pain. Zhang Yong immediately pulled her closer to his chest as he pulled a protection ward around both of them. His eyes eagerly looking around their surroundings. "It''s alright. I was trying to pinpoint the location of the core of the black mist and I think it did not like my invasion." She told the Prince with a small smile on her lips. She watched as Zhang Yong''s shoulders relaxed a little at her words. The Shadow Lord looked straight into the deep eyes of the girl as he spoke, "Don''t try anything stupid. We will work together to fight this, okay?" He wanted a promise from her, a promise which stated that she would not endanger her life. She felt warmth surrounding her heart as she realized how protective her bondmate had become. With a soft smile on her face, she nodded her head in agreement. First, she needed to pass the trial of the Golden Banquet that would be taking place in the Heaven Realm, and then, she would kick out the damn Valkyrie from the Immortal World! Chapter 278 - The Golden Banquet "Let me take a look....yes....that''s right.....just this one too.....yeah! Perfect!" Li Ming let out a deep sigh of relief when she finally got the green signal from the banshee who had been playing the role of her stylist of the day. It was past four o''clock in the afternoon and barely two hours were left before the Golden Banquet was supposed to start officially. She could feel nervousness settling inside the pit of her stomach when she thought about meeting Heaven Emperor''s mother and Wen Guiying''s elder sister at the banquet. Even though she had already met the two women before for short moments but that realization did absolutely nothing to calm down her nerves. "You are looking so pretty, Ming," Mallow commented with sparkling eyes as she clapped her hands with excitement. "This little fox is telling the truth. You are looking like a beautiful goddess right now. There''s no doubt you are going to blow away your mates'' minds." Kara added as she fixed the diamond bracelet around Li Ming''s wrist. After giving a lot of thought to the topic, Li Ming decided to not overdo her look for the Golden banquet. It won''t look good on her part to glam up like a freaking princess while meeting her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law. But since it was a grand banquet, she could not look too simple either. After all, she would be joining the banquet as the partner of her six handsome and powerful mates. Rather than wearing a dress of the Immortal World, she decided to wear a gown. But a decent one that covered her body properly. It was a light peach-colored gown with golden work on the neckline and left shoulder. The long fluffy skirt of the gown covered her five inches high heels. Her long black and dark purple hair were curled and left loose. A pearl hairpin was attached on the left side of her head, giving her simple hairstyle a little boost. The only jewelry that she wore was her dangling pearl earrings that reached her shoulders and the diamond bracelet that matched with her rings. Her makeup was light and her overall look came out as elegant and pure. A knock on her closet door disturbed the three of them as they turned to look at the person. It was none other than Snowy who was standing there in an elegant white brocade robe with a single jade hairpin in his shoulder-length brown wavy hair. "You are looking so pretty, Li," Snowy commented as he walked closer to his master who was looking like a goddess at that moment. "Oh my! Am I hearing things now? Or my little furball is actually complimenting me?" Li Ming could not help but tease her familiar. "Ugh! I should have known better." Snowy shook his head in a way that made him looked like he was totally disappointed with his master. "Alright! I won''t tease you anymore. Promise!" Li Ming told him with sincerity filling her twinkling eyes. "That''s good. But you know what, this get-up of yours is a little deceiving." Snowy remarked as he assessed her from her to toe and back. "Why? I mean, how?" It was Mallow who asked the question. The little girl tried to follow Snowy''s idea as she too looked at her master to see if she could find the flaw. On the other hand, both Li Ming and Kara were aware that the little brat was about to speak some utter nonsense. A smirk appeared on Snowy''s face as he moved back a few steps and looked at Mallow first before turning his attention back at his master. "Well, if she''s going to attend the banquet in this sweet and elegant looking get up, how can her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law would be able to see the crafty and evil woman that is hiding behind this facade? Come on, tell me!" Snowy smirked as he winked at his Mallow before giving a huge smile to his Master. "You stinky brat! You are totally hopeless!" Kara commented with a shake of her head. "Alright! Let''s not waste anymore time. The Immortal Lords are waiting downstairs for her." Snowy immediately tried to divert the attention of the ladies and it worked. "Have a wonderful time tonight, dear. Who knows what''s gonna happen tomorrow?" Kara softly said to Li Ming with a soft smile that did not reach her eyes. The way her voice sounded deep and heavy, made Li Ming stop in her tracks as she stared at the banshee. For a moment, she almost considered that the banshee was giving her a heads-up. A signal that the coming day won''t be as good as the current day. However, when she looked directly into Kara''s eyes, all that she found in them was happiness and pride. It confused Li Ming more than she wanted to admit. Somehow she knew that those words of the banshee meant something. "Come on, Li! Let''s not waste anymore time." Snowy decided to pull his master towards the door when she kept standing there like a statue. "Have fun, Master." Mallow shouted before she disappeared from the closet with a puff of white smoke. Li Ming''s mind was still a mess as she descended the stairs. It was not until she felt Snowy nudging her with his elbow, did she turned her attention towards the handsome men who were standing in the center of her living room. All her tensions and confusions disappeared as a huge smile appeared on her lips. Snowy had already left, meaning that she was alone with her hot and adorable mates who were looking ethereal. As she walked towards the six men, she let her eyes took in their forms, carving each of them in her memory. And she knew that they were doing the exact same thing as she could feel the intensity of their gazes which were running all over her. "You are looking so beautiful, Xingan." Ruoshan whispered into her ear as soon as she reached their group. One of his arms snaked around her waist, sending sweet tingles all over her body, as he moved to plant a soft kiss on her temple. Chapter 279 - The Heaven Realm Li Ming was definitely not prepared for the grandiose and elegance of the Heaven Realm. The entire realm was filled with power and beauty. Whether it was in nature or in the Immortals that were appearing out of teleportation arrays to join the banquet. The luxurious life of these Immortals was beyond her imagination. But while there were a lot of Immortals clad in luxury, her eyes detected some others who appeared simply dressed yet still elegant. She felt a pair of hands circling her waist from behind and soon the very familiar scent of the Heaven Emperor entered her nose. "Are you alright?" He asked her softly as he too looked down at the grand entrance of the Golden Palace. They were currently inside the East Tower of the Palace and Li Ming had been looking down at the Immortals who were appearing to attend the banquet. "I don''t know. I can''t even remember the last time when I was this nervous." She replied truthfully as she let her body relax against her mate''s body. "You will be fine, trust me. And we all will be there for you." The Heaven Emperor told her as he planted a soft kiss in her hair. Li Ming took a deep breath before she pulled away from the window and her mate as she walked towards the other side of the room where the rest of her mates were sitting. Their presence helped in calming down her racing heart and she found herself relaxing. "Want to share exactly what is making you so nervous?" Hei Long''s sudden question made everyone quietened down as they all turned to look at their beautiful mate. They all had felt her anxiety and the tension that was present in her body, but none of them wanted to pressure her to talk. But looked like the Second Demon Prince was no longer able to take in her distressed state. "It''s nothing. I''m just nervous about meeting everyone at the banquet, that''s all." She tried to make them believe her but one look at their faces and she knew that she failed very badly. The Moon Immortal stood up from his seat as he moved to stand next to her. As soon as his hand went to wrap around her shoulder, Li Ming found herself leaning against him for support. "Can you really not share it with us?" He asked her softly as he took hold of both of her hands and entangled their fingers together. She turned her face to look at him and all that she found in his eyes was pure love and concern for her. The same emotions she could see on the faces of the rest of her mates. "I''m really worried about the banquet...." She was silent for a few seconds before she started speaking again, finally letting them know about the fear that had been making her anxious ever since she first got the invitation. "We are going to attend the banquet as couples. But....what if....if they won''t accept this? As much as I know, something like this has never happened in your world before. While it''s common for a man to have more than one wife, it''s not common or acceptable for a woman to have more than one partner. Are we really going to be an exception?" Her question was followed by a silence that did not sit right with her already tensed mind. "The prophecy which was made thousands of years ago is known by everyone. The three realms will be more than happy to accept you. They will never judge our relation since everyone believes so strongly and positively in fate. Almost everyone in all three realms is aware of our relationship. The only difference is that we are going to make it official today." It was who decided to speak. He walked to her other side and placed one of his hands above her and Moon Immortal''s entangled hands. "I know that you are worried about how everyone is going to react to bonds. But you have to trust us, everything is going to be fine." His words held power and comfort, and most importantly they held a promise. He would not let anything destroy their beautiful relations. Li Ming found her heart and soul finally calming down a little. While her concerns were still present but she believed her mates. "Now, can you finally show us your beautiful smile? I''m really dying to see it!" It was Zhang Yong who decided to lighten the mood by teasing her. His trick worked to some points because immediately Li Ming chuckled at his words as she shook her head at his antics. Her eyes landed on the Second Demon Prince who was staring right back at her and as she noticed the fire in his eyes, she felt her body and soul reacting to him. It had been so long since she last felt his touch. They had barely interacted within the past few months. He was always present at their dinner gatherings or other times when all seven of them decided to spend some quality time together, but he never came too close to her. And even though her soul, body, and heart wanted to feel his nearness, she never tried to do anything like that. She did not want to increase his suffering and her pain was almost nothing when compared to what he was going through. "We have a banquet to attend, Little mate. That''s why you need to control yourself. We can''t be distracted at this point." She heard Supreme Immortal whispering those words in her ear and his hoarse voice made her realize that her desire for Hei Long was affecting the rest of her mates too! Well, one part of her mind wanted to forget about the banquet and just enjoy a beautiful time with her mates! However, a great surprise was waiting for her! The Golden Banquet was going to change her life and she was totally oblivious to it! Chapter 280 - Meeting Sister-In-Law The liveliness of the banquet filled everyone with good vibes as soon as they set their foot inside the Great Hall. Li Ming entered the hall with her mates. The fact that the Heaven Emperor was walking beside her made everything very clear to all those who were present inside the hall. As everyone took their seats after greeting the Heaven Emperor and the rest of the five Immortal Lords, Li Ming also took her seat beside Zhang Yong. While the Heaven Emperor moved to sit on his throne and the rest of her four mates took their seats among the High Immortals. The hall quietened down as the Empress Dowager of the Heaven Realm made her grand entry. Li Ming followed the others and stood up to greet the woman who was the mother of the ruler of the Heaven Realm. She found Ruoshan giving her a quick nod of encouragement when their eyes met. She returned a soft smile as she once again settled down in her seat. She finally took some time to take in the beautifully decorated hall. Whoever was responsible for making arrangements for the Golden banquet, had done a superb job according to her. Her attention was pulled towards the entrance of the hall where a group of ten people appeared, almost all of them were in fade blue clothes except for the Elder who was wearing grey robes and the young man beside him who was looking elegant in white silk clothes. Their eyes met and she found surprise and amazement filling his eyes as he continued to look at her. Li Ming was so taken aback by the sudden change in his cold expression that she was not able to immediately pull her attention away from him. She felt a throat-clearing beside her and when she turned her face towards Zhang Yong, she found the man busy in talking to some other Immortal deity. Her eyes once turned to look at the group of people who were with the white-robed man and saw them taking seats where the guests from the mortal realm were sitting. She was still surprised that she was not sitting in that same section even though she too was from the mortal realm. Her attention was pulled towards the high platform when the guard standing beside Empress Dowager pulled everyone''s attention towards the woman who appeared to be in her mid-forties even though she was clearly too old to be believed. "It''s such a good feeling to see all of you present at this banquet. I want to show my gratitude towards all the guests present here for giving this old lady some face and accepting my invitation." The hall burst out into soft chuckles as everyone toasted to the Empress Dowager and her good health. The banquet officially started as servants started pouring into the hall with snacks and wine while a group of musicians occupied the platform that had appeared in the center of the hall. One after the other, various groups of skillful entertainers kept taking over the platform to show their skills. "Are you enjoying your time here?" Li Ming was taken by surprise when she heard a familiar voice asking the question. She pulled her attention away from the group, who were playing musical instruments, and turned to look at the woman who was standing beside her table. As soon as her eyes landed on the figure of the woman who was looking just elegant in her light green dress and simple jewelry as she looked the very first time they stumbled across each other, she immediately stood up to greet the woman. "Elder Quinyang!" Li Ming greeted the lady while clasping her hands and bowing her head. The woman standing in front of her was none other than the Elder from the Medical Sect of the Guixian Academy. They encountered each other on the very first day when Li Ming entered the Academy grounds and was preparing for the second round of the entrance exam. After that, she saw the Elder very rarely since she was not in the Array sect and also because Li Ming was in closed-door cultivation with her master nearly for all her time in the Academy. It wasn''t until she came out of the closed-door cultivation that she got to know that Elder Quinyang was Wen Guiying''s elder sister. The level of shock that she received was similar to the one that she got when she first met Heaven Emperor''s mother. "You don''t need to be so courteous. Especially since we are going to become a family." Elder Quinyang said with a smile on her lips as she looked at her brother''s future wife with warm eyes. She was more than happy to know that Miss Li was the ''Chosen One''. In the past five years, she had observed the young lady very carefully. She was kind, polite, warm-hearted, helpful, someone who believed in equality. She was brave, powerful, strong, and knew how to fight for her loved ones. But most importantly, she loved Wen Guiying with all her heart. In the beginning, Elder Quinying was worried that whoever would be the ''Chosen One'', she won''t be able to love five men equally. This always made her worry about her brother. However, Li Ming succeeded in proving her worries wrong. She loved all her five makes equally and her love for her bondmate was just as strong as her love for her soulmates. She was a hundred percent sure that Li Ming was the best girl for the position of the ''Chosen One''. "I''ll love it if you can call me Sister Ying in the future." Elder Quinying added as she took the girl''s hands in her own to show her affection. Li Ming almost choked on dry air but somehow she succeeded in staying calm. She pulled on a small smile as she hurriedly nodded in reply to her suggestion. After all, it was a good thing that her sister-in-law had accepted her, right? Chapter 281 - Crowned As A High Immortal "That was scary." Li Ming could not help but mutter as she let out a deep breath. Her eyes followed Elder Quinying''s figure as the latter returned to her seat beside her brother. Wen Guiying looked at her with a soft smile on his lips but she barely had the energy to return that smile. "How can this be scary? Sister Quinying is so polite and full of warmth. Then why are you looking like you escaped a death warrant?" Zhang Yong actually dared to look genuinely confused as he asked the question. Li Ming turned her attention towards the Shadow Lord as she replied, "Easy for you to say. It''s not like you are the one meeting my family. I would have loved to ask the same question if it''s the other way around." A horrified look appeared on Zhang Yong''s face as he imagined meeting the late Thunder Immortal as his daughter''s bondmate. "Alright! I kind of get it why you are so nervous about meeting the Great Empress Dowager of the Heaven Realm." Zhang Yong was quick to change his view and words. Li Ming just shook her head at his words but decided to not comment. She was in the middle of enjoying the rich taste of the wine that had been served when someone again reached her table to disturb her peace. When she looked up to see who that person was, her eyes landed on the familiar figure of the man in white silk robes. She stood up in order to stay polite as she waited for him to speak. For a moment she thought that the young man appeared a little flustered as he rubbed his fingers together. He was actually cute. Even appeared like someone who was either nineteen or twenty years old. His cheeks were puffy and had a light pink touch to them due to the time that he had consumed. She could tell that he was a high-level cultivator, properly just a few levels below her current cultivation level. But even though his aura screamed power and strength, there was a hint of naiveness and innocence there too. "Miss Li, I''m Gao Zhen from the Central Empire. It''s a great honor of mine to finally meet you here at this banquet." The young man finally spoke as he greeted her. "Young Master Gao, the pleasure is mine. I have heard a lot about the Gao Clan that rules the Central Empire. Moreover, who doesn''t know that Young Master Gao is a prodigy among the young generations?" Li Ming very carefully returned the pleasantries with a soft smile on her lips. Little did she knew that after seeing her beautiful smile and eyes full of life, the young man found his heart beating way too faster to be normal. "Young Master Gao, are you alright?" Li Ming asked with a little confusion coating her voice as she looked at the dumbstruck expression of the young man. "N-no! It''s n-nothing. I was just not prepared for the praises. But looking at you, we are nothing. You have achieved such heights in such a small period. Especially when you have no one to support you. Your courage and strength are really impressive and worthy of every praise." Li Ming just decided to accept his humble politeness, rather than starting a never-ending game of - ''You are better and No, you are better!'' She suddenly felt a chill running down her spine as she realized that she had become the focus of a few of the Immortals present in the hall. She did not move her eyes away from the young man in front of her who was still going on about how much he respected her. She already knew the identity of those who were currently staring at her and probably at the young man too with coldness. Who else they could be other than her mates? It took everything inside her to control the smile that was threatening to spill on her lips as she realized that her dear mates were jealous. It was a new feeling but a great one. It was probably the first time when she found them jealous. "Miss Li, when are you planning about visiting the Central Empire? It''s really a great place. I''m sure you will enjoy your time there. I can personally show you around our city and you can stay at our Clan house. " Young Master Gao looked at her with hopeful eyes. Li Ming tried to think of a way to humbly decline the young man''s offer when once again the guard standing behind the Empress Dowager pulled everyone''s attention towards them. "Since all of you are present here, I''ll like to take advantage of this banquet to announce a few important matters." The Empress Dowager said in a loud and powerful voice that traveled across the hall, bringing everyone''s attention towards the said matters. "The first important matter that I would like to bring to everyone''s attention is the Ascension Ceremony of the new Thunder Immortal." As soon as the Empress Dowager announced the first matter, the hall burst out into discussions. Looked like no one was prepared to suddenly see someone taking over the empty position of the Thunder Immortal. Li Ming had heard about all the Immortals who tried to grasp that position by going through the thunder trial. However, no one succeeded in passing the trial and getting to the throne along with the Lightning Whip. Until her! She found her heart racing as the realization of what was happening dawned over her. Her eyes landed on the woman who personally watched over her trial and was currently looking right back at her with prideful eyes. "The Sacred Seven Elemental Deities Positions are the highest positions among the Immortals of the Heaven Realm, and it''s also known that these positions are passed on to the next heirs of the previous holders unless there''s no heir." The Empress Dowager addressed and her eyes once again landed on Li Ming. "Today, we have the sole heir of the late Thunder Immortal present in this banquet. She has successfully passed the Thunder Trial to earn the trust of Lightning Whip and position of the next Thunder Immortal." Chapter 282 - The New Thunder Immortal Once again the hall was filled with chatters as everyone found themselves shocked by the discovery. No one had any inkling about the heir of the Thunder Immortal but since it was the Empress Dowager who was disclosing the secret, none of them dared to question it. Li Ming felt a little tug on her right elbow and when she turned her face to look at Zhang Yong, the man signaled towards the Dragon Throne. Her eyes landed on the Heaven Emperor who gave her a little nod, sending her a message with his eyes. She found herself nodding in reply before she closed her eyes to take in a deep breath. "I never thought that I will get to see the Ascension of the new Thunder Immortal. Miss....." Young Master Goa trailed off when he noticed the Heaven Emperor standing up from his Dragon throne. The rest of the people present in the hall followed suit as they all stood up from their seats. "On this auspicious day, the Golden Palace is going to assign the only heir of the late Thunder Immortal and the current owner of the Lightning Whip as the new Thunder Immortal who will join the rest of the six Elemental Immortals in the ranks of the High Deities." The Heaven Emperor announced and at that same time, everyone watched in surprise as a young lady dressed in a beautiful white dress, walked towards the staircase that led to the high platform where the Dragon Ruler was standing. They watched her elegance, the sharpness in her eyes, the beauty that she held in her every cell, the powerful aura that surrounded her, and most importantly, they noticed the blue forehead print which was currently shining, clearing any doubts about her identity as the heir of the late Thunder Immortal. "Miss Li Ming, the sole heir of the bloodline that has been ruling the thunder element for millenniums, and she''s also the founder of the Ming Empire. Six years ago, she successfully passed the Lightning Trial under Empress Dowager''s observation and earned the title of the next Thunder Immortal." The Heaven Emperor''s eyes were filled with pride as he started descending the steps as he walked closer towards the girl who was standing at the foot of the stairs. Li Ming''s eyes were trained on the smooth floor while her hands were clasped in front of her as she quietly listened. "Miss Li, are you eager to take the position of the next Thunder Immortal and complete your father''s last wish?" The Heaven Emperor asked her as he finally stood in front of her. Li Ming loosened her hands before she once again clasped them in front of her while bowing as she accepted her destiny. "This is the least that I can do for my father." Her reply was clear, she''s not leaving the position of the Thunder Immortal for others to grasp. A smile appeared on the Heaven Emperor''s lips as he nodded his head before a bright blue light shone above his outstretched hand and the very next second, he was holding a very beautiful staff with a crystal ball on its top. As Li Ming looked at the crystal closely, she realized that it had the purest essence of thunder stored inside it. "The Lightning Whip was personally crafted by your Grandmother when she passed her position of the Thunder Immortal to your father and now it''s in your possession." The Heaven Emperor told her before he moved his eyes towards the staff in his hand. "This is the weapon which has been passed on from the very beginning. The Collector of the true essence. From today onwards you are the new owner of this legendary weapon and the new Thunder Immortal of the Immortal World." The announcement was followed by clapping and congratulatory shouts from everyone around her. A powerful musical harmony filled the hall as Li Ming felt the weight of the weapon in her hands. Her hands moved over its smooth body made of black obsidian as she felt the power that it stored. She held the staff beside her as she closed her eyes to absorb the countless rays of spiritual energy that the Immortals present in the hall transferred into her body. She was suddenly filled with immense power but since it was her Ascension as the new Thunder Immortal, her body was more than ready to accept such a huge amount of the energy. Her cultivation ranks jumped and rose as she absorbed the spiritual energy. By the time Empress Dowager and the Heaven Emperor finished the ceremony by transferring their own share of spiritual energy, she was already on the third rank of the Prime Cultivator level. "Let''s welcome the new Thunder Immortal among the ranks of the High Deities. May she have a bright future and becomes an example for the coming generations." Everyone followed the Heaven Emperor''s lead as they all welcomed her and blessed her for a marvelous future. This time, she was directed to sit in the section of the High Deities who were sitting on the right side of the Empress Dowager. But before she could move towards her new seat, the Empress Dowager stood up from her seat and signaled her to stop. "Before we start the welcome celebrations for our new Thunder Immortal, there''s another important matter related to this young lady that I would like to announce." As soon as Li Ming heard these words, she found her heart sinking as nervousness took over her. She had no idea about what was going to happen next. Or maybe she just wanted to pretend that she had no knowledge of what Empress Dowager was talking about. Everyone present in the hall was also surprised as they could not understand exactly how many secrets a young girl was holding. They were left shaken after the first discovery and still had not gotten the chance to recover. Somehow, they all knew that the second discovery was going to leave them shaken to their core! Chapter 283 - Thank You Mother "Every person who is present in this hall today has at least some level of knowledge about the prophecy that the Immortal of Fate made during the birth of the current ruler of the Golden Dragon Throne." Empress Dowager''s voice came out clear and full of power as she addressed the people who were present in the hall. Li Ming could feel her heartbeat increasing as she struggled to stay as calm as possible. When no one commented about her appearing at the banquet with the group of the Five Greater Immortals and the Shadow Lord, she thought that she probably won''t be facing this kind of situation during the banquet. However, she had no idea that it would be the Empress Dowager who would bring the topic in front of everyone. "The prophecy was about the ''Chosen One'' who was destined to accompany the Five Greater Immortals in their lives as their sole partner to bring happiness and goodness in our world." The Empress Dowager Continued without any care in the world. "It was a shocking prophecy. However, it was still a prophecy made by destiny. Thousands of years passed and we never found the Chosen One. Not until very recently." The uproar that took over the quietness of the hall this time was far much stronger than before. Li Ming felt her body relaxing as her soul registered the presence of her mates near her. She looked up to find all six of them standing around her in a protective circle as they all almost glared at the Empress Dowager. Looked like they too were not aware of the second announcement. Neither of them came too close to her, nor they touched her but she knew that they were there for her. "The Chosen One is far better than what was said in the prophecy. She is powerful. She''s is pure and true. She follows the path of justice and she cares about the mankind. I''ve seen her growing into a beautiful woman with a strong backbone. I''ve seen her strong bonds with my children." The way Empress Dowager''s voice turned softer as she gazed at Li Ming with eyes filled with warmth, left no space for questions. Almost everyone in the hall realized exactly who was the ''Chosen One'', the next ruler of the entire Immortal world. And if Empress Dowager failed to identify that person then the presence of the Five Greater Immortals and the Shadow Lord around the new Thunder Immortal, was enough to answer their questions. Exactly how good a fate this little girl was carrying? This was the question that appeared in everyone''s mind as they waited for the Empress Dowager to confirm what they already knew. "Let me introduce to you all, the Chosen One who is destined to share this lifetime with the five most powerful Immortals of our world along with the Shadow Lord - Immortal Ming." Li Ming felt her heart stopping as the Empress Dowager finally decided to end her suffering. This time there was no cheers from the audience, rather her ear registered a deadly silence. Or maybe there were really cheers ringing around her but her mind was just not ready to hear them. "Since we have everyone present here, I''ll like to use this opportunity to announce a very happy and important news." Li Ming felt her mates becoming alert around her as if they were expecting the Empress Dowager to announce something bad. Their reactions did nothing to calm her already racing nerves. "At the time of the prophecy, everyone accepted it as an order from the fate and for a better future of the Immortal World. Since the day of their birth, the ruler of this realm, the Supreme Immortal, Moon Immortal and the Two Lords of the Demon Realm were bound together in a bond of fate to share the same life partner. Since the Chosen One has finally made her appearance after such a long wait, I don''t want to waste anymore time." Every single word that was leaving the Empress Dowager''s lips was making her nerves dance like crazy. She had no idea how she kept on that calm and collected facade in front of everyone. "Five years from now, these six lives are going to officially tie their bond in front of the Heavens and the earth, on the auspicious day of the Golden banquet." Li Ming felt her heart stopping as those words entered her ears. She felt the shock that descended over her mates and the rest of the people present in the hall. But soon the hall erupted into cheers as everyone shouted their agreement with smiles plastering over their faces. However, what made tears appear in her eyes was the feeling of happiness that took over her soulbonds that she shared with her mates. They were happy, actually beyond happy as they did their best to control their emotions and not engulf her into their arms. "And that same day, the Shadow Lord will be appointed as your closest friend and guardian. He will always be with the six of you." The Empress Dowager bestowed her last gift upon them and Li Ming was more than thankful towards her for not separating Zhang Yong. Along with the six of her mates, she bowed to show her gratefulness and acceptance towards the decisions of the Empress Dowager. "Thank you, mother!" The Heaven Emperor whispered to his mother who smiled at all the six of them with stars in her eyes. "What are you thanking me about? Huh? Are you thinking that I''m doing this for you? Don''t even dare to have such misconception. I''m doing this because I''m tired of having no to take care of this old body of mine. In this way, not only I''ll get such a sweet daughter by my side but having such five powerful husbands, I''m sure my daughter-in-law will soon give me little grandchildren to play with." The elegant Empress Dowager suddenly turned into a complete new person as she outrageously spoke out those words in front of so many prople. Li Ming felt her face turning bright red as she tried her best to not use a teleportation array and disappear from there. Chapter 284 - Her Jealous Mate "Miss Li!" Li Ming stopped walking as she heard someone shouting her name. As she turned to look at the person who was standing near the statue of the Phoenix at the end of the beautiful garden, she recognized him immediately. The man hurriedly walked towards her and as he reached the entrance of the corridor where she was currently standing, a bright smile appeared on his face. "Young Master Gao!" Li Ming politely greeted the young man as waited for him to speak. "Miss Li, I....Oh! Congratulations on becoming the Thunder Immortal." Young Master Gao hurriedly congratulated her as he was too nervous to think of anything else to say to the beautiful young lady. "Thank you, Young Master Gao." Li Ming once again stayed polite even though she was getting a little impatient with the way he was reacting. "I.....I...well....." When the man kept stopping without speaking anything understandable, she decided to speak. "Is there something that I can help you with, Young Master? Otherwise, I will be heading to find the Supreme Immortal since I have something important to discuss with him." That was a lie! She did not have anything important to discuss with Wen Guiying but for the sake of getting rid of this young man, there was no harm in lying. "Oh!....well...It''s quite surprising that we finally have the ''Chosen One'' among us. Your life probably....." Young Master Gao trailed off as his eyes landed on a familiar figure who was approaching them. The frown that had appeared on Li Ming''s face only deepened as she noticed the weird expression of the Young Master. She noticed him looking at something over her shoulder and as she turned to follow his gaze, she found her eyes landing on a very familiar figure. "Are....mmmm!" To say that Li Ming was taken aback when her lips were sealed in a fierce kiss, would be an understatement. She was aware that Young Master Gao was still standing there beside them and the realization that she was being kissed in front of him made her push her mate away. But whom she was kidding? Her push barely got registered as her angry mate deepened the kiss with a low growl. Her body was filled with those very friendly sensations that she had started to love and enjoy. Her soul was filled with happiness while she could feel the soulbond that they shared fluttering with life. "This...." She was pulled out of her haze when her ears registered the shocked voice of Young Master Gao. This time she succeeded in pulling away from the heart-melting kiss but only because he let her. The angry Immortal whose hands were gripping her body tightly turned to look at the young man with anger-filled eyes as he shouted, "SCRAM!" Young Master Gao did not need another order from the deadly Immortal to flee from there in order to save his life. His silhouette immediately disappeared from the corridor, leaving Li Ming alone with her angry mate. "What''s wrong with..... Ahhhh!" She did not get to complete her question as she was immediately pushed against the wall of the long corridor and her lips were once again sealed in a fiery kiss. It was not a slow or sensual kiss, rather it was filled with fierceness and full of anger. She could feel his anger and jealousy through the bond that the two of them shared and all that she wanted to do at that moment was to make him feel better. However, a part of her brain was aware that they were still out in the open and it won''t be a good thing if someone saw them in such an intimate situation. But while her mind was aware, her body had already started betraying her as it greedily sought for the closeness of her mate. Before she could lose herself completely, Li Ming cast a powerful spell that hid them from the prying eyes. And as soon as the spell was completed, she finally let go of herself. Her body went jelly in his embrace as she parted her lips to allow entrance to his prying tongue. She let him take over her body, heart, and soul as she enjoyed the closeness for which her soul had been crying for so long. Her hands landed on his muscular biceps and then they slowly started moving towards his shoulders. However, another low growl left his lips as he captured both of her hands in his own before playing them against the wall above her head. His body pushed her against the wall before it was plastered against her small profile as he once again attacked her already swollen lips. She felt one of his hands on her waist as his fingers glided across her belly before gripping her gown as if he was contemplating whether to tear that beautiful dress off her body or not. "We....are...o-outside." Li Ming spoke through short gasps as she pulled away to look at the red gleaming eyes of the Second Demon Prince. She gave a tug to her hands which were still captured above her head in one of his hands. She was gifted with a frustrated growl from her mate but he still let go of her hands. A smile bloomed on her lips as she cupped his face with both of her hands while looking into his red glowing eyes. "For some utterly stupid reason, I''m so happy after seeing you so jealous like this. Do you think I''m losing my mind?" She asked while tilting her head to one side as she watched his eyes returning to normal. She loved his unique eyes. The red fiery ring that outlined his irises was so alluring and mesmerizing that it was impossible to look away. "I need to go." His voice came out so low that it was barely audible, however, Li Ming heard it very clearly. She watched with a heavy heart as he pulled her hands away from his cheek as he again whispered. "I''m sorry. I know I''m not the best mate out there. But I''m relieved to know that the others are taking care of you. And don''t you dare to talk to that child again!" He planted a kiss on her forehead before he pulled away from her, watching with a broken heart as a single tear rolled down her cheek. But he could not stay any longer! Chapter 285 - Im All Yours... [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER] *** Li Ming stood against the corridor wall as she tried to calm down her emotions which were ready to spill. "Are you alright?" Heaven Emperor''s voice made her turn towards her right to look at the man in long golden robes whose entire persona screamed power and control. "I think so." She replied as she breathed out a sigh before straightening up to fix her hair and gown. She felt fingers trailing down her temple to her chin before her mate entangled their hands and within the next minute, they were no longer standing in the corridor. "Thank you." She whispered with her voice filled with softness. "Are you busy right now?" She asked as they entered a spacious sitting area. "Since the banquet is over, I think I have enough free time in my hands to spend with you right now. The others would join us in the next few hours." Heaven Emperor replied. Li Ming did not waste any more time as she immediately circled her hands around his waist as she let her head rest on his solid chest. As strong arms came to pull her tightly in his warm embrace, she felt her body relaxing, followed by her heart and soul. "Everything is going to be alright. Don''t burden yourself, my love." Heaven Emperor told her as he rubbed her back softly. Li Ming raised her head to look at her handsome mate as she replied, "For some reason, my heart just could not calm down. No matter how hard I''m trying to make myself believe that we will sort out everything together, it''s no longer able to make my soul calm down. I''m really worried about Hei Long and Demon Realm, even Ruoshan. I....." She trailed off as a long slender finger landed on her lips. The Heaven Emperor let his finger linger on her soft pink lips as he planted a soft kiss on his fiancee''s forehead. "Let''s call a meeting with the others in the evening and we all will head to the Demon Realm tomorrow morning to talk with him. Alright?" Li Ming stayed silent for a few minutes before she nodded her head softly. She knew very well that the Second Demon Prince was not going to appreciate their surprise visit, but at this point, she no longer cared. They needed to find a cure to his curse soon and the demon realm could no longer stand the darkness that was on the verge of taking over. "You look tired." The Heaven Emperor spoke in a soft voice as his fingers caressed her soft cheeks. His eyes settled on her lips that immediately created an urge to claim them. He took in a deep breath to pull himself together before he looked into her eyes which were looking back at him with so much warmth and love. Li Ming let one of her hands cup his jaw as she spoke, "You don''t have to stop yourself. Especially when I''m all yours." As soon as these words left her lips she found herself pressed against his hard and warm body as his lips finally claimed hers in a warm embrace. She let both of her hands circle his shoulders before she plastered her frame against his, deepening the kiss in the process as her tongue asked for an entrance. Her mate did not shy away this time as he immediately parted his lips to grant her tongue the access that it wanted. A moan escaped her lips as the two of them indulged in their kiss that was making their needs for each other became far too stronger for them to ignore. Li Ming found her hands traveling across his shoulders as they rested on the collar of his outer robe. She pulled lightly on his robe before she separated their lips to ask, "May I?" Her eyes were filled with the dark fire and need that clearly represented his feelings for her. The two of them were experiencing the same hunger and want for each other. Their souls calling each other to complete their half bonds. "Are you sure?" Heaven Emperor asked as he stopped himself from giving in to his need. Li Ming immediately nodded her head in reply to his question. "I''m more than sure. It''s time that we should complete our bond too. I need you...!" Her lips were again attacked by the wet and warm tongue to her mate, making her moan as her body started reacting to his proximity. The Heaven Emperor let a huge golden ball of spiritual energy flew from his hands, immediately covering the room with a protective ward. He helped her in taking his outer robe off before his hands wrapped around her waist to pull her against his body. Li Ming''s hands loosened the collar of his inner robe before taking off his belt, making the robe came undone. Her palms immediately touched the bare skin of his collarbone, making both of them moan at the contact with made pleasure run through their bodies. Their kiss deepened as one by one they shed their accessories and clothes. Their hands caressing each other as they enjoyed the tingles of pleasure that were running through their bodies. It did not take long before the of them found themselves laying on the huge bed inside the guest bed-chamber where Li Ming was currently staying as a special guest of the Golden Palace. "Mmmmm..." The moaning and harsh breathing of the Heaven Emperor filled the bed-chamber as his hands grabbed the bedsheets while he let his mate devour his body. Her lips trailed down his jaw to his neck before her tongue and teeth decided to come out and play with the tender skin of his nape. His collarbone and nipples also got proper attention from his woman before her soft warm lips once again started a journey towards the south. The Heaven Emperor felt his body erupting in flames as her slender fingers found their way around his hard rod, giving it a slight tug before they started moving up and down, making him groan due to pleasure. Looked like his junior brothers had already ruined their mate. He thought as he looked at the beautiful girl who was pleasuring him with her eyes sparkling with happiness as he groaned at the sensations. Only if he knew! Chapter 286 - The Golden Soul Mark [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT IN THE CHAPTER] ** Li Ming''s soft giggles filled the room as she straddled the man laying on the bed. Her already dripping pussy coming in direct contact with his hard cock. A moan left her mouth as she slowly started sliding her lower body on his rock-hard cock which twitched as it felt her warmth and wetness. She let her body drop over Heaven Emperor as she snuggled her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his sweet musky scent. "It feels so good...." She whispered into his ear before she let her tongue came out and play with the tender flesh of his ear. The groan that slipped through Heaven Emperor''s lips immediately disclosed that his ears were sensitive, making a huge smile bloom on Li Ming''s face. She pulled back her face a little bit to look into the eyes of her mate, finding them filled with warmth, love, and a lot of happiness. "You know that after this you will be mine forever, right?" She asked as she slowly started sliding her pussy towards the tip of his cock, making her eyes flutter a little as she felt pleasure filling her body. The Heaven Emperor cupped her face as he replied with a soft smile playing on his lips, "I''ve always been yours. Always!" Li Ming felt her heart filling with warmth at those sweet but sincere words. She dropped a soft feathery kiss on his palm before she let her tongue explore the softness of his luscious lips. She moved her pussy over the tip of his cock, aligning her entrance with the hard rod that had turned angry red due to her constant teasing. She did not waste any more time as she slowly let her pussy down on his cock. As soon as it started entering her wet warm cave, both of them let out moans of pleasure. Heaven Emperor''s hands came to wrap around her waist as he let her set the pace. The room was soon filled with moans and groans of pleasure as the two continued to make love. Their bodies filling with immense pleasure that threatened to drown both of them. Li Ming increased her pace as could feel the bubble of pleasure growing inside her. Her long black and purple curls were falling around her shoulders and back, making her look so beautiful. Her eyes were filled with the emotions of love and pleasure. Her cheeks were coated with a pinkish tinge and her rosy lips were swollen due to all the kissing. "Aah.....!" Li Ming let out a cry of pleasure as she felt fingers pinching her already hard nipples. Her eyes were closed and it only made the pleasure intensify. Heaven Emperor pulled her body closer before he let his lips close around her right nipple while he gave another pinch to her left one. "Oh, my...mmmm....!" She was a moaning mess as her pleasure kept building and building, taking her to heights that threatened to consume her completely. She could feel that both of them were close to reaching the peak of their pleasures. She pulled away and made her mate look into her eyes as she asked, "I''m going to mark you as mine. Are you ready?" She looked into his eyes which were looking right back at her with so much love that she felt like melting in those obsidian orbs. A smile broke out on Heaven Emperor''s lips as he replied in a soft tone, "More than you think." That''s all she needed to know. She placed a soft kiss on his lips before she let her lips trailed down towards his nape. Her right hand went towards his left bicep where she let it rest as she teased the tender skin of his nape, making him groan out loud. It did not take her long before her teeth were piercing the tender skin of his nape and she tasted the essence of his power. A golden light surrounded the two of them as the soul mark started carving itself beneath her hand that was resting on the Heaven Emperor''s left bicep. Li Ming squeezed her pussy walls around the hard cock as she drove it deep inside her vagina, making both of them reach their climax together. Their souls connected completely with each other as the bond completed between them, marking them as each other''s soulmates for the rest of their lives. The newly formed soul mark was glowing brightly as it was filled with their mingled powers. It took quite some time before Li Ming''s body stopped writhing because of her mind-blowing orgasm. She let her body fall against his mate, his now soft cock slipping out of her dripping pussy. The Heaven Emperor immediately pulled her against his chest as his arms surrounded her frame. With just a click of his fingers, their clothes which were scattered around the room disappeared and their bodies were clean from all the liquids that were covering them a few moments ago. A soft silky quilt draped over their frames as he dimmed the lights of the bed-chamber. "Are you alright?" He asked her in a tender voice as he let his fingers rub circles on her belly, making her sigh in contentment. "It''s weird. I''m kind of tired. But I never felt tired with others..." It was becoming hard for her to keep her eyes open as drowsiness took over her, calling her to succumb to the sleep that wanted to pull her into an abyss. "It''s because you consumed so much spiritual qi today during the banquet. The overflow of qi in your body is asking for you to take a break and to give your body some time to get accustomed to the presence of such a high amount of spiritual energy. You will be alright just in a few hours." The Heaven Emperor informed her as he let his face rest against her nape, planting a soft kiss on her shoulder. "They are here..." Li Ming spoke in a very soft voice before she let sleep take over her. Chapter 287 - Divine Cultivator The early morning wind blew through the high towers of the Golden Palace, bringing the scent of the morning dew and fresh greenery along with it. "Congratulations for breaking through to the first level of Divine Cultivator Rank," Ruoshan said with a proud smile on his face as he planted a soft kiss on his mate''s temple. Li Ming smiled softly before she looked at the others who were also moving towards where she was standing with the Evernight Lord. "I succeeded in breaking through the third level of Prime Cultivator rank all because of you guys. You all spend the entire night helping me in my cultivation. Thank you!" She was genuinely thankful towards all of them and the way they cared for her. It made her filled with warmth and a lot of love. "Anything for you, Little One." Lord Yueliang whispered in her ear as he came to plant a feathery kiss on her forehead. She loved their ways of showing affection. They treated her like she was the most precious person that they had in their lives. "Alright! I''ll pay a visit to the Empress Dowager before leaving with Zhang. See you guys in the Demon Realm later today." She informed them as she gave each of her mates a quick hug. They all had decided to visit the Second Demon Prince''s palace during the afternoon. And in the meanwhile, Li Ming was planning to use some ancient magic spells to learn about the black mist. She and Zhang Yong took their leave as the two of them headed towards the West Wing where they were staying at the moment. Li Ming did not waste too much time as she hurriedly took a bath, put on a light green dress with her long hair styled simply with a single jade hairpin. She still ended up wearing her heels since she loved the boost that those heels gave to her height. After putting on simple makeup, she met the Forth Prince as they headed towards the courtyard where the Empress Dowager lived. As they entered the courtyard, Li Ming noticed the hundreds of Cherry Blossom trees that were filling the scenery. The ground was covered with the beautiful flowers while the air was filled with its fragrance. "Wow!" She could not help but be in awe of the beauty that greeted her eyes. A group of maids was standing near the fountain that stood in the center of the front lawn. "Your Highness, Her Grace the Empress Dowager is waiting for you in the back garden. This way..." The elder woman who was leading the team of the maids greeted them. Li Ming smiled softly as she and her bondmate followed the woman towards the road that led them to the back garden. Being referred to as a part of the royals was still new for her in this world. She needed time to adjust to her new identity as the Immortal of Thunder and...the future queen of the Immortal World. A sigh left her lips as she realized that these new positions had brought new duties with them. She was going to be hella busier in the future, that was for sure! Her eyes landed on the pond which was filled with various colored lotus flowers. She even spotted lilies and another water flower that she could not recognize. Standing at the edge of the pond was a beautiful pavilion crafted with white marbles and golden gemstones, making it sparkles as the morning sunlight fell upon it. The figure in dark blue royal robes who was sitting under the pavilion while enjoying her morning tea made Li Ming halt in her steps for a second. Zhang Yong tugged at her to make her start moving again. Goodness! She was about to meet her future mother-in-law once again. Moreover, this time it would almost be a one-to-one conversation. "Your Grace, Her Highness Immortal Ming, and the Shadow Lord are here." The elder maid notified the Empress Dowager before she moved aside to make way for the two of them to enter into the pavilion. Both Li Ming and Zhang Yong bowed to greet the Empress Dowager before the woman hurriedly made them sit. Li Ming felt her heart bursting out when the woman pulled her hand to make her sit right next to her. "Your Grace...." Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off by the older woman who was looking satisfied for some unknown reasons. "What Grace? You don''t have to be so formal with me. Just call me Mother and you will make me feel so happy. Look! Even dear Zhang calls me mother. Even all of your mates call me mother." Empress Dowager emphasized the importance of the matter as she waited for her daughter-in-law to finally call her mother. Li Ming looked at the Shadow Lord who immediately nodded his head. What else she could do than beating the order of her future mother-in-law? Hence, she took in a soft but deep breath as she replied, "Yes, Mother." "Hoho! My daughter-in-law is so beautiful and filial. She knows how to make her mother-in-law happy. Very good. Hurry, pour tea for my beautiful daughter." The current Empress Dowager looked complete opposite to the one that Li Ming met the day before at the banquet. The cold and calm aura that she held during the banquet was nowhere to be seen and all that she could see was a happy and excited woman who was filled with joy after meeting her future daughter-in-law. A small smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she stopped the maid in order to serve the tea to her mother-in-law with her own hands. The older woman smiled as she looked at the young lady in front of her. She was so happy for her sons. They had waited for so long but as she looked at their future bride, she knew that their wait was worth it! Chapter 288 - The Hidden Book "This is so beautiful." Li Ming whispered as she softly caressed the jade hairpin that her Mother-in-law just gifted her around half an hour ago. She had seen her fair share of unique and rare jewelry. She even had many talented jewelers working for her but she still never found anything as beautiful and spiritual as the jade hairpin that she received from the Empress Dowager as a gift. Its stick was made of white jade while five different colored twines (golden, blue, red, purple, green) were wrapped around each other before they joined with the little phoenix at the top which was also made of white jade. The small feathery crown of the little Phoenix was made of orange-colored jade while the phoenix''s body had a touch of silvery sparkles. Whoever carved the hairpin, he/she was really a talent that needed to be praised and look up to. A smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she realized that the jade hairpin in her hand carried the colors of all of her mates. "She knows how to win your heart." Zhang Yong praised the Empress Dowager as he watched Ming''er setting the hairpin inside a wooden box. She safely tucked the hairpin in the enchanted box before putting the box away, making sure that the precious gift was as safe as it could. "So, what are you planning to do now?" The Shadow Lord asked her as he looked at the huge library where they were currently sitting. No! It was not the library that she had in Xiao Tiantang, rather, it was the library inside her magical mansion. The one which was filled with the books that held secrets of the supernaturals and history of the Mages. Li Ming stood up from her seat as she started moving towards the huge shelves that were covering almost eighty-five percent of the area of the entire library. Zhang Yong followed behind her and soon found that they were moving towards the farthest corner of the library. "I got this mansion when I turned twenty-one back in my previous world. I have known since then that this library and mansion held the answers to almost all the questions related to our kind. But I never needed to really use this information." Li Ming told him as she stood in front of a wooden shelf that was standing against the wall in the very back of the library. There was a candlestick standing in one of the compartments and when she turned it around, the shelf started moving. Soon enough, the shelf opened into a new small room about the size of an elevator, and they found three more shelves lining the walls. Even Zhang Yong could feel the air of ancient powers and secrets that were present around those shelves and the old huge books that were sitting in them. "This hidden compartment holds the secrets of some of the most powerful supernaturals. Since our opponent is a Valkyrie, I''m sure that we will find something here." Li Ming said before she muttered a luminous spell and the compartment filled with light, making it possible for her to find the book that she was looking for. It took her a few minutes to locate the book that she needed. It was a very old but thick and heavy book, covered in dust and cobwebs. Zhang Yong took the book from her as he helped her out before they once again closed the hidden compartment. As they returned to the study table where they were sitting before, the Shadow Lord settled the book on the table before he cleaned it with his spiritual energy. The book fluttered a little as it felt the presence of something very similar to magic. After making sure that the book was no longer covered in dust and cobwebs, Zhang Yong took his seat beside his mate. Li Ming took in a deep breath as she looked at the carvings that were visible on the cover of the book. They were written in ancient mage language, guiding her to the spell that would eventually help her to open the seal that was placed on the book. "Ming''er..." Zhang Yong called her name as he too looked at the book with a serious look taking over his handsome face. "Hmm." Li Ming responded in acknowledgment before she turned her face to look at him. "What exactly is a Valkyrie?" Zhang Yong finally asked the question that he wanted to ask ever since she told him about how Hei Long saved her from the curse and that she was aware of the identity of the person who had ruined the Demon realm. Li Ming relaxed in her chair as she decided to answer his question, forgetting about the book for the time being. "They are known as the ''Choosers of the fallen''. They are the female warriors who work for a very powerful God. They are elegant and noble maidens with wings. Their duty is to collect the souls of the dead heroes and take them to the Afterlife Hall where they train together to serve their master. The Valkyries are one of the most powerful and respected warriors of our world and are known for their loyalty towards their master." The library was filled with silence as Zhang Yong thought about what he just learned. "So, these Valkyries are supposed to be good-hearted?" He asked his mate as soon as the question popped up in his mind. A sad smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she slightly shook her head before answering his question. "Not necessarily. They are not only the collectors of souls of the dead heroes. In fact, they are the ones who decide which person was going to die in the battle and which one will live on. They are definitely not the cruelest ones of our kind but they are also not the most kind-hearted ones." Zhang Yong nodded his head in understanding as a sigh escaped his lips with another question. "What made this Valkyrie end up with such darkness in her heart?" Chapter 289 - The Enemy Zhang Yong''s question made Li Ming recall the memories that she obtained during her challenge against Tiao Chen. "She was banished from the Valkyrie court. Her wings were destroyed and she was sent to the Forbidden lands. But I have no idea why she was banished in the first place." Li Ming told him what little she knew and it was clear that she was just as confused about Valkyrie''s past as Zhang Yong was. A sigh escaped her lips as she once again turned her focus towards the thick old book that was resting on the table. She let the lights of the library dim before she moved her fingers over the carvings on the book cover. The Shadow Lord was observing her very carefully, making sure that she was alright. He was ready to aid her if or when she needed him to. Li Ming let her mind calm down before she focused it on the carvings, letting the magic of the book connect with her own as her mind tried to find the right spell to unseal the book. It did not take long before she was muttering a small spell in the ancient language that belonged to the ancestors of the Mage Clan. The book flew open as soon as she finished the spell. The green light that illuminated the characters and sketches made it easier for her to understand what was written or drawn on the pages. She immediately looked through the index, her fingers, and eyes searching for the same word. It took her quite some time but eventually, she found exactly what she was looking for. She spent almost an hour reading through the section which was completely based on Valkyries, learning about their strengths and weaknesses. After she finished reading the book, she looked not even a little bit relieved. Rather, her frown had deepened and there was worry in her eyes. "What''s wrong?" Zhang Yong asked as he took one of her hands in his own, rubbing them softly in order to soothe her body and mind. Li Ming let out a soft sigh as she felt Zhang Yong''s touch working magic on her body. His mere touch was enough to help her relax. She was silent for a few minutes before she finally spoke. "If it was only a Valkyrie, it won''t be so hard to deal with her. But this is no simple Valkyrie. She has been in this world for millenniums. She knows the dark spells and demonic cultivation. We have no idea how strong she has become in such a long time. How many people are working for her? And that black mist. The mist that has ruined half of the Demon Realm, I''m sure it is way more powerful than we think." Zhang Yong''s fingers stilled for a few seconds before he once again resumed to draw soothing circles in her palm. "You are right, Ming''er. Our biggest drawback is that we have no information about our enemy while she is perfectly aware of us and our movements." He looked so serious at the moment, completely different from his usual carefree self. He noticed her watching him and as he turned his eyes towards her, he found her eyes filled with so much warmth and affection for him. He could not help but smile at her as he entangled their hands while speaking, "No matter what happens, I''ll always be by your side. I promise." Li Ming stood up from her seat and engulfed the Shadow Lord in a tight hug. "I''m so lucky to have you in my life, Zhang. You are the best friend and family that I could have wished for. I love you just as much as the rest of my mates, and I hope that you will stay by my side for the rest of my life." She placed a soft kiss on his forehead as she spoke those words from the depth of her heart. Zhang Yong mattered for her just as much as the rest of her mates. Even though the two of them were not in a romantic relationship but that did not mean that she cared less for him. She loved him just as much as she loved her soulmates. The two hugged each other tightly as Zhang Yong found himself filled with her warmth and love. Not knowing that the coming days held so much pain and suffering for the two of them. - "Why it looks like you are planning something really scary?" Zhang Yong asked as he followed her towards the little bridge that stood over the black stream in the Evernight province of the Demon Realm. He had noticed that she visited this bridge frequently during her trips to the Demon Realm. But he had no idea about what was so unique or secretive about that bridge. Li Ming passed him a small smile as she looked around her surroundings, immediately noticing the high density of the black mist that was present around her. It was the only reason why she used to visit this place time and again. The amount of evil darkness was more around this bridge than it was in the town. It was probably because of the stream but she was not a hundred percent sure about her assumption. She just needed enough evilness around her to connect to the black mist and find the answers to her questions. "What are you planning to do, Ming''er?" Zhang Yong again asked when he found that she had almost ignored his first question. "I''m gonna try to find some answers about the Valkyrie by using the dark mist and evil aura that is present here." She finally told him about her plan as they reached the bridge. Zhang Yong was left surprised for a few seconds before he shook out of his shock and stopped her as he asked, "Is it safe? You are not going to take any risks with your safety, right?" Chapter 290 - Ill Support You Li Ming smiled softly as she took his hands in her own before she answered, "To be honest, I''m not sure what''s going to happen when I''ll use my spells on the black mist. It is indeed a dangerous idea but an essential idea too. We need to take this chance but I promise that I''ll look after myself." She was hoping for him to understand that she could no longer back off just because she was not aware of the dangers that were waiting for her. She could no longer risk the safety of the Demon Realm and Hei Long. She could feel it in her heart that both of them were drifting away from her and if she failed to save them now, then it was going to be her biggest regret. How could Zhang Yong not see the emotions and desperation that were swimming in her eyes very clearly? A sigh escaped his lips as he pulled the girl into his warm and soothing embrace, making her relax immediately. "If this is what you want to do then I''ll support you. I''ll watch over you while you perform the spells. Alright?" Li Ming did not waste any time as she hurriedly nodded her head, happy for his understanding and support. Soon after, she settled down in lotus position in the very center of the small stone bridge while Zhang Yong sat just a few feet away, facing her as he called out his dragon spirit to watch over their surroundings. His eyes were fixed on her as his spiritual energy came out to surround both of them in a protective barrier. Li Ming channeled a little amount of her spiritual essence into the barrier, adding more strength to it. She spared a quick look at the Shadow Lord and found him looking back at her. She could see the concern in his eyes. He was worried about her safety but he wasn''t planning to stop her. She gave him a small nod before she closed her eyes and called her magical essence. Her soul which was now connected to both magic and spiritual qi was far more powerful and stronger than it was a few years ago. She let out a very small amount of her qi in the air. It was so small in amount that it was barely noticeable. She could have cast a hiding spell on it to keep it hidden from the black mist that was present around her but she did not. The reason was simple - she wanted the black mist to notice her spiritual qi and attack it. While her spiritual qi was wandering around to grasp the attention of the evil mist, Li Ming decided to cast some spells that would save the rest of her body and spiritual ocean from the attack of the evils. It did not take long before the black mist noticed the presence of her pure spiritual essence trying to pass through unnoticed. Just like Li Ming predicted, the evil mist took her bait as it immediately launched an attack on her spiritual energy. She waited until the mist was close enough before she started chanting the ancient spell that she had learned a very long time ago. Even before the black mist could realize exactly what was happening, Li Ming already had it under her control. She connected her spiritual qi with the essence of the black mist as she continued to chant the spell, her body, soul, and powers suddenly started fighting as they tried to pull away from the darkness and evil that the mist carried. However, Li Ming persisted, and soon enough her spiritual qi was connected with the black mist and was completely hidden under the darkness and evil that it carried. Since that single patch of mist was under her control, she directed it towards its core. She wanted to find the source of the black mist. For some reason, she had a feeling that this black evil mist would be one of the greatest obstacles in her path if or when she decided to fight against the evil Valkyrie. Li Ming found the surroundings darkening as the black mist took her towards the Death Valleys that were located at the southern end of the Evernight Province. She tried to look past the fog and when her eyes finally landed at the landscape down below, she was completely taken aback. Everything was black or white. There was not a single shade of any other color anywhere in the sight. She recalled the dreams that she used to see about the darkness that was present in the Demon Realm. The same black and white world used to appear in those dreams. She felt her heart filling with pain as she watched the current state of the Demon Realm which was completely under the darkness of the Valkyrie. Though it felt like hours had passed when they finally reached the outskirts of the Death Valleys, it had probably been just a few minutes in reality. The first shock that she received was when she watched the black mist, whom she was controlling, transforming into a soldier. Her eyes hurriedly looked around and she watched in complete horror and shock as more black balls of the evil mist landed near the entrance of the Valley and transformed into soldiers. Before her mind could process exactly what her eyes were seeing, they were already moving towards the Valley entrance. They came in front of a mystical door made of stone and she watched as one of the soldiers used some kind of ring to open the door. She found her mist (soldier whom she was controlling) entering inside the dark passage and soon they were moving down the stairs. ''Turn into your mist form and take a tour through all the areas of this place where you are allowed to enter.'' Li Ming ordered the soldier and soon she found herself moving through dark stairways and passages. She could tell that they were moving deeper into her enemy''s lair and what are the chances that her enemy was already waiting for her arrival? Chapter 291 - The Black Crystal Ball Li Ming watched the army of thousands of soldiers who were training in a large open area that was completely hidden by a thick red and green colored smoke. She was surprised to finally see some colors in the evil lands of the Valkyrie and she could also tell that the green and red fog was a normal fog that was used to hide the army from invading eyes. The realization made her fill with a little bit of relief. Seeing thousands and thousands of soldiers forming from the black mist, she was already worried enough. It was really a great relief to know that the red and green smoke was also not going to turn into another batch of thousands of evil soldiers. As they continued their tour, Li Ming found various powerful demonic beasts roaming around the cave-like structure where their base was located. There were several rooms filled with weapons, paper puppets who appeared to be far more powerful than they should be, and there were even zombie-like creatures lurking around. It was like the Valkyrie was fully prepared for a battle. The thought made Li Ming nauseous as she tried to calm herself down. The mere thought of the results if the Valkyrie suddenly decided to attack the Demon Realm, was filling her with a lot of anxiety. She finally arrived in a dark room which was lit by a dozen of candles. A huge black throne made of what appeared like roots was sitting at the very back with a black carpet-like thing spread over the floor that was leading the way towards the great throne. The room was empty and she could not see anyone else. What her eyes noticed was the black crystal ball that was sitting on a pedestal beside the empty throne. Li Ming made the mist walk closer to the crystal ball and even though she felt its reluctance, she paid it no attention as she fueled her order with power. The mist was not strong enough to counterattack her order and finally gave in, walking towards the throne where the crystal ball was sitting. Li Ming could feel the evilness that was filled in that ball but she also knew that the ball held the answers to many of her questions. As they finally reached the pedestal, she once again ordered the mist to put its hand over the ball. Once again the mist tried to fight but in the end, it still gave in to the powerful hold of Li Ming. As she felt the Black Crystal Ball connecting with the mist, Li Ming immediately channeled her own energy to connect with the ball. She received powerful electric shocks in return as her body repealed the evilness of the ball but knowing that it was the only chance for her to learn more about her enemy, she persisted. It took her quite some time to get used to the pain that her body was going through as she invaded the secrets that the ball was hiding. She poured her questions into the Crystal, demanding answers in return as she chanted a forbidden spell. Since she was no longer in the Modern World of the Earth, it barely mattered exactly what kind of magic she was using as long as she did not lose her hold over the goodness and positivity. As she waited for the Black Crystal to answer her questions, she felt her body draining because of all the powers that she was using at that moment. She was not sure exactly how long it took before the Black Crystal finally gave in and showed her exactly what she was demanding. She watched the scene where the Valkyrie was spending a beautiful time with two of her mates. She recognized her mates, they were the Crown Prince and his twin brother from the land of Elemental Faes. The next scene showed as the Princes were drugged and made to forget about their bond with the Valkyrie by the Fae King. The next scene was the one where the Valkyrie was banished from her realm and sent to the Forbidden lands. Li Ming watched how her hatred grew towards all those who destroyed her beautiful life. Her thirst for revenge grew with time. But then everything changed when she saw Hei Long saving the little Winter when the Valkyrie tried to curse the girl''s soulbonds. She watched how the Valkyrie ended up in a world that was completely different from her own. She was devastated when she realized that the man whom she was searching for was nowhere in this new world. Her hatred grew and it ended up making her even eviler than before. She was ready to kill everyone and conquer this new world. But then she came across a little demon prince and when she tried to look into his future, she saw the man whom she was searching for and also Li Ming. The next scenes were filled with the images of the powerful evil army that the Valkyrie had successfully developed over the years. The evil woman had only one plan - to snatch away Li Ming''s mate from her and to conquer the Immortal World. Li Ming felt sick when she realized Valkyrie''s motives towards Hei Long. Just when she was ready to pull away from the ball, the scene once again changed and this time Li Ming''s ears were filled with ear-piercing screams that made her blood became chilled as ice. She recognized that voice immediately. Her eyes searched for the man but she could barely see anything past the black fog that was creating a barrier in front of her eyes. She heard more whimpers and screams of agony as her mate tried to bear the pain that was killing him. She felt her eyes welling up as she realized exactly how helpless she was at that moment. "It''s time for me to finally take back what''s mine. Just a few more minutes and the bond will be severed forever and he will finally return to me." A cold evil voice spoke through the darkness, making Li Ming''s world still.... Chapter 292 - The Bleeding Soul-Mark Li Ming pulled away from the Black Crystal Ball as she looked at it with horrified eyes. The words of the Valkyrie kept ringing in her ears as she felt her soul mark burning. Her skin around the mark had turn angry red and the tendril of the ivy, which was supposed to be her connection with the Second Demon Prince, was starting to bleed. She could feel their bond weakening and once again the evil words of the Valkyrie ranged in her ears. Li Ming did not waste any more time as she immediately started chanting a spell to return her spiritual essence to her body that was still present on the bridge. It took her barely a minute before she was back in her own body which was trembling. Her wrist was covered in blood while her entire body was burning in a fire that was ready to consume her. "Ming''er...!" She heard Zhang Yong shouting her name in panic as he pulled her in his embrace. Somehow, his touch was cold against her burning skin and it provided her with much-needed comfort. The physical touch immediately made her calm down a little. "We n-need to g-go.....we h-have....to find him!" She succeeded in whispering out those words to the Shadow Lord who did not waste a single second as he nodded his head and picked her up in his arms. He did not need her to spell out exactly whom she was talking about. He knew pretty well that something was wrong with the Second Demon Prince. He could feel the wrongness in the moment and he knew that the rest of his brothers would also be able to feel it. The world around them shifted and the dark abyss took over their surroundings but it was merely for a few seconds because soon they were standing in front of the huge black obsidian gates of the Palace of the Second Demon Prince. No-one stopped them since as far as Li Ming could see through the haze that had taken over her, there was no one present in the Palace. There was not even a single demon present as far as one could see. Zhang Yong did not need someone to lead the way, he knew very well where to find the Second Demon Prince. Since he was not only connected with Li Ming through their bond but because he was also connected with Hei Long and the Supreme Immortal. They walked through long and empty hallways, descended several staircases that led them downstairs under the ground, and entered the secret passage that eventually led them to their destination. Finally, they stood in front of a huge door made of some kind of red and black colored metal. It was surrounded by a powerful ward that stopped anyone from entering the room where the Second Demon Prince was currently present. "Put me down. I''m much better than before." Li Ming softly whispered in his ear and it was not until Zhang Yong was completely sure that she was not going to pass out as soon as he would place her down, he did exactly what he was told. However, one of his hands was still safely wrapped around her waist as he kept her by his side. "I''ll handle this. Don''t use your powers." He told her and Li Ming immediately nodded her head, not trying to argue or negotiate. She was fully aware that she would need her powers after passing through the door and she needed to conserve as much of her energy as she could. Her soul and body were still filled with pain but because of Zhang Yong''s presence around her, she was no longer on the verge of collapsing. The Shadow Lord called out his spiritual energy. His dragon spirit appeared behind him, filled with immense power that threatened to crumble the entire Palace in just a few minutes. He moved his hand towards the door in a sharp blow and a huge beam of spiritual energy flew out of his hand, landing against the big doors that flew open immediately. And all that their eyes could see was the black mist that was surrounding the entrance, creating a barrier to stop them from entering the room. A sudden pain shot through her mark, making Li Ming whimper as she tried her very best to not cry out from the intense pain that had returned to torture her. "Ming''er....." She heard Zhang Yong calling her out but the arms that surrounded her and stopped her from falling on the cold hard floor belonged to the Moon Immortal. His entire body was filled with an icy essence, providing comfort to her burning body. She could feel the pain increasing and with that, she felt her bond with Hei Long dying. She knew that she needed to move, she needed to stop whatever was happening with her mate but the pain was too much for her to do anything other than crying against Lord Yueliang''s chest. She felt someone taking her injured hand in their own and immediately a cry left her lips as she felt the pain intensify but the very next second it calmed down a little as her soul recognized the person who was holding her hand - Wen Guiying. She could hear cries in the background and from the sound of it, the Valkyrie was the one who was shrieking in agony as one of her mates battled with her. "Take her out of here. I''ll take care of everything." Someone was saying these words, probably shouting but she was no longer in a state to recognize the voices. Her soul was crying because it knew that they were going to lose him. The tendril that was the symbol of her connection with the Second Demon Prince had turned completely black and it was just a matter of minutes before she would lose him forever. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt her body finally giving in under the pain and suffering. She was crying because of the pain, she was crying for the loss that she was suffering. She wanted to be with him, to save him, to touch him, to feel that he was still there but neither her body was complying nor her mouth permitted her to utter a single word to Lord Yueliang who was carrying her in his arms. She felt another surge of pain that made an ear-piercing scream leave her lips. This time the blow was far too powerful and painful for her already weak body. And before her consciousness dumped her in the abyss of misery and agony, she felt the link finally breaking between the two of them. It was too late! In the end, she still failed to protect her mate. Chapter 293 - The Dragon Spirit When Li Ming finally came out of the dark abyss and her consciousness returned, she found herself laying on a soft mattress. The room was dimly lit with dozens of candles and with just one look around the bed-chamber, she could tell that she was in the Moon Manor. She slowly sat up and immediately a sharp pain shot through her body, making her hiss but then her eyes landed on her right hand. Everything that happened before she lost her consciousness, started appearing in front of her eyes. The pain, the loss, the heartache, the helplessness, everything was once again clearly jammed into her mind. She felt her body shivering as the dark memories returned but what stopped her from immediately fleeing from the room to find her mate, was the condition of her soul mark. The skin around the soul mark was red and bruised. However, all five tendrils were safe. The connection between her and Hei Long had not disappeared yet. "How?" The question was out of her mouth as she slowly climbed out of the bed. She could feel something breaking inside her heart but she could tell that Hei Long was definitely no longer in danger. Her emotions were so messed up that no matter how hard she tried, she just could not tell exactly what was wrong. Her body and mind were still exhausted. She could barely walk but she needed to find her mates as soon as possible. She followed the connection that she shared with them and it made her realize that all of them were present in the next room. She made her way towards the room and as soon as she stepped inside, she stumbled, and her body was immediately pulled towards the ground. However, before she could land on the hard cold floor, a pair of strong arms stopped her fall as they pulled her against a solid chest. Her eyes immediately flew open as her soul and heart immediately recognized the man who was holding her. "Y-You.....you....a-are...alright! You are....!" She could barely speak as tears started rolling down her cheeks. Her hands immediately moved to cup his cheeks as she looked at his disheveled state. He looked exhausted. His hair was scattered all around, his clothes were wrinkled, his face looked pale and his eyes had lost their usual red glow. But she could tell that he was no longer under the hold of the Valkyrie. There was no trace of the dark magic in his body. "Xingan....." Li Ming heard Ruoshan calling her name in a soft tone and when she turned her eyes to look at him, she found that he looked no better than his brother. But another thing that she noticed was the grief that was filled in his eyes just like the one that she had also observed in Hei Long''s eyes. Her eyes immediately scanned the room, noticing all of her soul mates who were looking at her with eyes filled with sadness. "What''s wrong?" Li Ming asked as she tried to look for her bondmate but could not find him. She could feel the bad feeling inside her heart increasing with each passing second and when her mates decided to suddenly part ways to make whatever was behind them visible to her eyes, she felt like once again her world came to a standstill. "Zhang Yong!" She shouted as she ran towards the bed where her mate was currently laying. His condition was even worse than Hei Long''s and that was because she could feel the presence of dark mist inside his body. "What happened? What''s wrong with him?" She asked with worry coating her voice as she took a seat beside him. Her hands immediately find his hands and she realized that his body was freezing. "He used all his power to separate the curse from me but the moment I was freed, the curse took over him." Hei Long replied to her question. His voice was filled with regret and sadness. But he was not the one who should regret. Tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on Zhang Yong''s hands that she was still holding tightly as if she was afraid that he would disappear the moment she would let go of him. His eyes slowly fluttered open and she felt her heart breaking into millions of pieces as she watched how lifeless they looked. "I want to talk to her....alone." His voice came out low, barely audible but all her mates nodded their heads before they left the room. Hei Long was the last one to leave and Li Ming knew that he was suffering from guilt. "It''s not your fault. Don''t punish yourself." She whispered those words for him but he was already walking out of the room. She turned her attention back towards the man who looked completely different from her ''always energetic and full of life'' bondmate. She pulled his sleeves up to look at his hand and it took every single ounce of her self-control to not cry when she saw his hands covered in black veins. There was not even a single thread of spiritual energy present in his body but what shocked her the most was that she could not feel his dragon spirit inside him either. It was like he read the question in her eyes because the very next moment, he dropped a crystal ball in her hand. She immediately recognized the dragon spirit that was present inside the crystal. "Why? Why did you separate it from you?" Li Ming asked as she looked at her mate with horrified eyes. The level of pain that one had to go through while separating their animal spirit from their human form, was beyond imaginable. If losing a mate was seen as the most painful experience of the magical world, then separating one''s animal spirit from their human body was clearly the second most painful experience. "I can''t let the darkness destroy it too. It was the best decision." Zhang Yong replied to her question with a small smile on his lips, one that never reached his eyes. "I want you to pass this spirit ball to that person of my clan who''s capable enough to become the next leader. I''m leaving this responsibility to you." Chapter 294 - The Goodbye "Don''t do this..." Li Ming begged him as she tried to control the tears that were constantly running down her cheeks. She could feel everything inside her falling apart as the realization hit her. No matter how much she wanted, Zhang Yong had left her no option for saving him. He not only lost his spiritual energy entirely but he also separated his spirit form. Li Ming hurriedly wiped away her tears as she called out her energy. Even though she herself was exhausted because of all the suffering and pain her soul and body were going through, she had to try to save her mate. She could not just sit and watch him leaving her forever. But before her hands could move, Zhang Yong stopped her. "Why? Why are you doing this to me? At least let me try!" Li Ming could not control her tears that once again started running down her eyes. The Shadow Lord placed one of his hands on her cheek as his fingers softly rubbed against her skin. "The result will be the same no matter how hard you will try. I know my body and it is ready to succumb." He told her as his own eyes became hazy because of the unshed tears. "Zhang....please don''t do this. Please! I''m begging you. Let me try. This curse was for me. It won''t resist my pull." She begged him as she felt the bond between them weakening with every passing second. He really did not have much time left. Zhang Yong immediately shook his head in denial. He knew very well that as soon as she would try to pull out the curse, the dark evil thing would try its best to destroy her and he won''t let that happen, not at any cost. "Please don''t hate me for breaking my promise. I was supposed to accompany you and the others for eternity but I need to leave now. I''m sorry for not fulfilling my promise. I''m really sorry, Ming''er." He finally could no longer hold back his tears. He could feel her breaking down as their bond shattered little by little. He knew that he was leaving her in pain but he also knew that his brothers would be there for her. It was safer for her to lose a bondmate than a soulmate. Her cries tore his heart into pieces as he tried his very best to hang on for a few more minutes. "Ming''er..." His voice came out tired, exhausted, and full of sadness. His body had turned too cold and his breathing was slowing down as his end neared. Li Ming grasped his hand tightly as she placed warm kisses all over his cold hand before she turned her entire attention towards his face. "Will you stop crying if I promise to return?" He asked softly as he looked at her broken appearance. He could not bear seeing her in such a helpless state. He could not bear to see her suffering like that. "Though I broke my previous promise, I swear I''ll not do the same again. I promise to return by your side. Will you wait for me? Don''t pass my position to someone else in the meantime. Okay?" Li Ming could not reply as she just shook her head. She took in a deep breath before she cupped his cheeks with both of her hands as she replied. "There''s no one else in this world who can ever take your place in my life or heart. No one! I trust you with all my heart but I don''t want you to leave me alone. Maybe I''m being selfish but I don''t care. You can''t do this to me...." She choked on her words as tears kept pouring out of her eyes. Her grief was too much for her to handle. The last time she felt this much sadness breaking her was in her previous life, when she lost her father. However, it felt like this time something inside her was dying too. "I don''t think that I can hang on for much longer. I''m just happy that you are not eager to pass my position in your life to someone else..." Zhang Yong tried to chuckle but ended up coughing and Li Ming immediately passed a little bit of her spiritual energy in his body to provide him comfort. "Are you....." She was about to ask him if he was feeling okay. However, she trailed off when she realized how stupid her question was. "I''m taking your silence as a yes, Ming''er. I''m pretending as if you have agreed to wait for my return. And I hope when I return, this world will be far much better than how it is right now. I hope you will be happily married and I will love it if there will be a few little toddlers running around you...." There was a smile on his lips, one that could also be seen in his eyes as if he was picturing his words and seeing a glimpse of the future. It took everything inside Li Ming to stop herself from breaking down completely. She placed another warm kiss on his hand that she once again holding in her warm ones before she moved to place another warm kiss on his forehead. He had closed his eyes as he enjoyed the last touch of his mate''s warmth. "Ming''er, can you do me a favor? I want to recall all our memories together. I wanna leave with those happy memories..." His voice was low, but she heard him very clearly. She moved to sit against the headboard before she pulled his head in her lap and started stroking his hair. Her eyes were also closed as she pulled out those memories and started sharing them with him. From the day they first met to all those days when they were together, when they fight to solve problems together, and when they had fun together. He was always there for her, no matter what. And as the memories came ho an end, she felt the link between them finally breaking as her mate left her alone with the promise to return one day. Chapter 295 - Sulking In Sorrow "You should stop torturing yourself like this. It''s been more than three weeks since you have trapped yourself inside this library. How long are you going to continue ignoring everyone? Can''t you feel that your mates are worried about you?" Snowy asked the girl as his eyes roamed around the area which was filled with darkness. The only source of any kind of light was the full moon which was glowing outside in the night sky. Li Ming was sitting on the cold ground in front of the floor-to-ceiling length glass window as she stared at nothingness. She showed no reaction towards her familiar as if she did not even notice his presence in the room beside her. Snowy felt his heart filling with misery after seeing his master in such a poor condition. It was not the first time he had entered this dark and lifeless library to pursue her to come out. He had tried countless times in the past three weeks along with Mallow, to help their master in the period of grief that had suddenly taken over all of their happiness. Just a month ago, everything was going perfectly and fine in their lives. They were happy, content and were continuously fighting for a better future. But all it took was a single blow from their hidden enemy and the castle of happiness that they had created after years of hard work, just ended up shattering into millions of pieces, leaving misery and pain in its wake. Zhang Yong''s death shocked the entire Immortal Realm. From the Heaven Realm to the Demon Realm, no one was expecting to receive such shocking news. The dragon clan was in an uproar as they had lost their leader. The Mortal Realm was in shock after finding out that the Fourth Prince of the Han Empire was actually the famous Shadow Lord - the leader of the powerful and ancient black dragon clan, in disguise. The Demon Realm was in shock because they had lost a very close friend, one of those few people who actually cared about their realm. They were aware that the Shadow Lord lost his life to save their Second Prince because Hei Long told them. They needed to know why the great Dragon Clan head lost his life all of a sudden. But while the rest of the Immortal world was in shock, the people close to the Shadow Lord were left in an ocean of grief and regrets. Snowy and Mallow had spent a long time with Zhang Yong during their training. He was their teacher and someone dear to them. Since all three of them were related to the spirit world because of their shape-shifting abilities, the bond between the three of them was unique. The two little spirits were also filled with sorrow but what they were most worried about was their Master. Li Ming had shut herself inside the library of the magical mansion and except for Snowy and Mallow, no one else was able to enter the mansion, not even her mates who were going crazy in the outside world. On one hand, Hei Long considered himself the reason behind Zhang Yong''s death, and on the other hand, Li Ming thought that everything was happening because of her. The curse was created for her and Hei Long stepped in to save her, leading to the destruction that the Valkyrie and her madness caused in the Immortal Realm for thousands of years and which eventually led to the point where she lost one of her mates. Snowy immediately transformed back into his spirit form before he ran towards his master. Li Ming did not avoid him this time as he immediately jumped into her lap and snuggled his head against her belly to provide her a little bit of comfort. Her hands immediately pulled the furball closer and he snuggled his head in the crook of her shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of his master as he too sought comfort. ''They all really need you right now. All of them are waiting for you in the outside world. I know that you are in pain but you need to be strong for yourself and those whom you love.'' Snowy spoke through their mind link, sharing his thoughts with her. After that, the two of them were silent, neither of them spoke. They just let the silence take over them as they both tried to cope with their current painful situations. It''s been a long time since Snowy had last heard his master speaking and all that he could do was just to wait and hope that she would finally pull herself together and return to the outside world to continue with the life that was waiting for her. - "Are you sure about this, Ming?" Mallow questioned the girl who was clad in a white dress with a minimum of jewelry. There was no sparkle in her beautiful obsidian eyes, no hint of happiness on her face, and her aura was no longer filled with intense power. But even then, she looked beyond beautiful. "I thought you guys were eager to pull me out of the mansion. Then why are you looking so worried now?" Li Ming questioned as she put on a random pair of white sneakers and stood up to leave her bedroom. It was currently the next morning after the day when Snowy went into the library to spend some time with his master. At that time, he had no idea that she would eventually listen to him and would decide to return to the outside world. Mallow followed her master downstairs and then into the kitchen where Li Ming immediately started preparing a cup of coffee for herself. "I just want to make sure that you are alright. I''m really worried about you." The little fox girl muttered as she grasped an apple from the fruit basket sitting on the kitchen counter. However, instead of eating it, she just stared at it as if she was waiting for something. Li Ming patted the girl in her head softly before she planted a soft kiss on her forehead as she whispered, "I''m alright. It''s time that I should shoulder my responsibilities. I''m going to trust him and wait for his return." Chapter 296 - The List Will Never End... "Xingan...!" Ruoshan''s voice was barely a whispered tone as his eyes landed on the figure of his mate. She looked nothing like her usual self and just one look at her current state made him feel like his heart was shattering into thousands of pieces all over again. His eyes had been dying to see at least one glimpse of his soul mate for weeks and due to some miracle, she finally had come out of her seclusion. The rest of his brothers, who were also present there along with him, immediately started turning to look at the girl who had just stepped inside the garden of the Moon Manor. He felt Hei Long''s presence just behind him and on his left was the Supreme Immortal. He could feel that they all were slightly anxious and on the edge, as they had no idea what to do at the moment. None of them wanted to do anything that would end up with their mate completely distancing herself from all of them. It was the last thing any of them wanted to happen. Li Ming looked at her mates standing in front of her. She felt her soul awakening as the bonds between her and her mates started experiencing their proximity. She felt something inside her relaxing, calming down as her bonds returned to life and her soul came out of the depth of the ocean of suffering and pain. "I...I think I-I can''t move...right now....Can you guys come closer?" She asked in a small voice as her eyes looked at them with hope. It barely took a second before she was securely wrapped in Moon Immortals'' arms. Her head landed against his chest and she found her arms immediately circling his waist. She felt hands on her shoulders and back, making her realize that the rest of her mates had also surrounded her in a protective circle. She stood there in silence for a long time ss she let their presence and closeness file her soul mark with the sense of security and warmth. None of them spoke as they were content just in each other''s presence. "I''m sorry. I should not have left you all like this, shutting myself inside the library and refusing to let you all inside. I won''t do anything like this again." She finally spoke as she pulled herself a little away from Moon Immortal to look at all her mates one by one. "As long as you are safely back with us, nothing else matters." The Heaven Emperor said as he placed a soft kiss on her cheek, making a soft smile appear on her face. Her eyes finally landed on the Second Demon Prince who had been silently standing beside his brother, observing her from a distance. Li Ming smiled softly at him as she raised one of her hands towards his direction, asking him to come closer without even speaking the words. It looked like he was hesitating as he kept staring at her outstretched hand but she waited patiently. "Go! Or you will regret it later." Ruoshan told his brother as he patted him on the shoulder, giving him a slight nod of encouragement when Hei Long looked up at him. And just like that, she found herself wrapped safely in his arms the very next moment. His familiar scent filled her system and made her realize that their bond was still half unlike the others. She felt a soft kiss against the left side of her nape and it made her shudder slightly. "I''m sorry..." She heard him whispering against her ear and it made her pull away from him slightly so that she could look into his eyes. The red rings of fire were back in his eyes as his physical health had returned to its peak in the past month. She cupped his face with her hands as she looked directly into his deep eyes before speaking. "Please don''t! If we start apologizing for all the things that we are currently feeling sorry or guilty for, the list will never end. That''s why, don''t indulge yourself in self-guilt, it''s only going to destroy you and the people around you." She felt a hand on the small of her back and realized that it was Wen Guiying. He was standing behind her, telling her in silence that he was there for her and the others. Li Ming took in a deep breath as she spoke again, "He promised to return and I''m going to trust him. Let''s fulfill all his wishes and wait for his return. Alright?" This time her eyes looked around her towards all her mates and in their eyes, she found exactly what she was looking for. "It''s the last promise of a dragon lord. Trust me, he will fulfill it at every cost. You just have to be patient enough." The Heaven Emperor told her as he too came closer to stand next to Hei Long. His eyes told her that he was telling the truth. "Fine! Let''s then focus on completing his wishes so that when he returns, he will be happy to find a happy and beautiful world waiting for him. You all will support me, right?" She asked as she looked at each of her mates. Without wasting any time, they all started showing their support for her idea as they nodded their heads one by one. In the end, her gaze returned to the Second Demon Prince who was stayed silent. She watched him taking in a deep breath before he looked up straight at her. "Alright! I will do exactly what you want." - And just like that, Li Ming and her mates started preparing for the upcoming battle. Their enemy was strong and so was the army that their opponent possessed but that did not stop our girl from giving her all into the upcoming war. It was the time when she should finally take care of all the issues related to her previous and current life. Chapter 297 - The Next Dragon Lord (Part One) "Wow!" To say that Li Ming was left in awe of the Obsidian Peaks that were standing in front of her eyes would be an understatement. Her eyes hurriedly roamed all over the scenery to take in all the beauty of the area. The black peaks were covered in white snow and the morning sunlight shone on the beautiful mountain, making it glow in natural light. The grass that was covering the ground and the purple, red, and lime yellow-colored bushes and trees that were standing around the area made her admire the beauty of nature that was present in front of her. "Wonder why he never brought us here?" She muttered to herself as she walked closer towards the entrance of the huge cave where a group of people in white and black clothes were standing as they waited for her arrival. All five of her mates were present with her, along with Snowy and Mallow. These people had refused to leave her and at all, not only because they were afraid that she would once again let the grief take over her but also because most of them were worried that the Valkyrie would use this chance to attack her (Li Ming) since she was not really in a great mental and physical state. But the weird thing was that their said enemy had gone completely silent after the incident a month ago. Probably because she got badly injured that day when she fought against Wen Guiying and Ruoshan, or maybe she was busy planning her next move. But Li Ming really did not care anymore. She was well aware of what she had to do in order to deal with the evil Valkyrie. It was finally the time to end her evil empire and save the demon realm from her clutches. But before that, there was another important matter that she needed to take care of. She finally approached the group of people waiting for her. Her eyes landed on the five elders who were standing in the center, two women and three men. Mallow helped her as she kneeled on the ground and kotowed to the elders. From the loud gasps that ranged through the group of people in front of her, she knew that no one expected this to happen. "Immortal Ming, please don''t embarrass us in this way. There''s no need for you to this." One of the elders hurriedly spoke as he looked at the girl who was still kneeling on the ground and the five Immortal Lords behind her who were also bowing their heads. "Elder Song, we failed in protecting one of our own. We failed in protecting your leader. I hope that you..." "Immortal Ming, our Lord was not only our Lord, but he was also your mate and a close friend. None of us ever blamed you or the Immortal Lords for what happened that day. If someone has to be blamed for all these bad happenings, then it''s that evil woman who resides in the dark corners of the demon realm." The elder''s voice turned full of anger by the end of her sentence as she mentioned the Valkyrie. Mallow helped Li Ming to stand up and then stepped back to stand next to Snowy. "Before Zhang left, he asked me to help with an important task. Today I''m here not only to ask for your forgiveness but also to fulfill my promise. The five of you are the elders of the Dragon Clan, I want to ask for your permission to choose the next leader of your clan." She said as she bowed her head with her hands clasped together in front of her. What she did not expect was to see the joy and sparkle in the eyes of the elders and the same happiness was resonating in the eyes of the rest of the people of the Dragon clan. Li Ming turned to look at her mates with a slightly confused expression covering her face. "I know that you are surprised by our reactions. But it''s because we all thought that there won''t be a next leader in our clan. But we forgot that our Master would never leave us without a leader. Immortal Ming, please.....you can do whatever you want in order to find the next leader of our clan. The future of our clan is in your hands now. Since Master put his faith in you, we will support you." One of the elders spoke as he moved aside to let her see the younger generation standing behind him. So in enough, four different groups were standing in front of them. One was of all the elders and their second-in-commands. Then there were those who were over forty years of age. The next group was of the young generation, mostly teenagers and those who were in their twenties. The talented ones, those with higher cultivation levels, stood in the front of the group. And lastly, the group with the youngest generation. The ones who were younger than thirteen years. Her eyes keenly observed every single person of the Dragon Clan, from the elders to the toddlers, but she could not find anyone who stood out for her. She moved one of her hands behind her back and took out Zhang Yong''s spirit crystal. But she found it just as silent as it had been ever since that man left them. Her brows furrowed as she tried to once again assess all the people present in front of her. It was not about who was powerful or at a higher cultivation level. Nope! A leader was not all about power even though power was one of the important aspects. But she knew that power was not what she was seeking, and she knew that Zhang''s spirit was also not interested in power. She knew hundreds of ways to turn a complete trash into the most powerful person in his group. That''s why she did not worry about finding a powerful candidate. "Immortal Ming, is something wrong?" One of the elders asked as she noticed Li Ming''s unimpressed expressions. Chapter 298 - Miracles "Are you sure that everyone from your clan is present here?" Li Ming asked after the silence of the next few seconds. Her eyes were still busy roaming over her surroundings as if they were searching for someone. The elders were quiet for a few moments as they hurriedly looked around the groups as if to make sure that indeed everyone from their clan was present. "All those with potential and good cultivation bases are present here, Immortal Ming." One of the Elders replied after they completed their survey. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as she tried to stop herself from shaking her head. "Elder Chen, can you call everyone from your clan here. No matter whether they can cultivate or not. Their status in the clan also doesn''t matter." The Heaven Emperor spoke as he put forward his request in front of the Elder who looked a little bit confused and taken aback. But no one dared to question the mighty Heaven Emperor, they did not dare to. It took around five minutes before around thirty people walked out from the cave and stood separately in a group of their own. The contrast between this new batch of people and the rest of the clan was clearly visible, whether it was regarding their appearance, clothes, physical state, or cultivation levels. Li Ming''s eyes landed on a particular girl who was hiding behind a tall boy as she peeked from behind him to see what was happening. She looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years old. Her long black hair was scattered around her face but it gave her already cute appearance another boost. Li Ming felt the crystal ball turning a little warmer in her hand as she started walking closer to the group where that girl was hiding. Everyone watched in confusion as she stopped a few feet away in front of the group of the servants of the Dragon Clan. "That girl in the dark green dress, can you please step forward?" Li Ming softly called the girl and her eyes noticed how the boy, who was around fifteen probably, immediately moved his body to shield the girl as he stared back at her (Li Ming) with suspicious eyes. A small smile appeared on her lips as she watched the defensive body language of the boy. Li Ming pulled her hand in front of her and opened her palm to let everyone see the spirit ball that was shining brightly at the moment. The gasps of surprise that she heard from the Elders and others who knew exactly what she was holding in her hand, made her smile broaden as she kept her eyes on the young girl who was still peeking from behind the boy. "Is it her?" Ruoshan asked in a small voice as he came forward to stand next to her. "That''s what I want to confirm. If it is really meant for her then it will pull her towards it." Li Ming answered in a similarly low voice as she spared a quick look at her mate who gave her a quick nod. It felt like hours kept passing by as all of them stood there in silence, waiting for some kind of miracle to happen. And finally...that little girl stepped out from her hiding place and started walking towards Li Ming. Her eyes were fixed on the spirit ball that was glowing like a beautiful firefly. "Do you want to touch it?" Li Ming asked softly as the girl finally approached her. She was standing right in front of her, looking down at the glowing spirit ball. The girl looked up at Li Ming with her eyes full of curiosity, amazement, and a little bit of confusion - probably because she was unable to understand exactly what was happening. Li Ming smiled softly at the girl as she brushed a few of the loose strands of her hair away from her face. "It''s a precious gift that your late Lord left with me. He wanted me to gift it to someone who''s just as pure and kind as the spirit inside this ball. Do you want it?" She asked the girl in a soft tone as she looked at her with warm eyes. "C-can.....I-I have....it?" The girl asked in a small voice as she looked at the spirit ball with sparkles in her obsidian eyes. "Of....." "Immortal Ming, it''s not like we don''t want someone from the lower class to end up with the sacred spirit in their possession. If that person will have the capability of ruling this clan, none of us will oppose it. But this little girl here, she can''t even change her form. Her dragon spirit is no longer connected with her. You can''t expect us to let a little girl become the heir of our dragon clan when she can''t even change into her dragon form. We will become a laughing stock for this entire mainland." One of the Elders immediately spoke, stopping linking from answering the girl''s question. This time, Li Ming didn''t control the sigh of disappointment that escaped her lips. She stepped back a little from the girl and turned towards the group of Elders who were keenly looking at her. "Elder Quan, I can understand your worries and I know that you wish for the happiness and prosperity of your clan. But trust me....., I know exactly what I''m doing. Sometimes, it''s necessary to step away from the rules and laws to see a miracle taking place in front of your very eyes. Because miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your faiths as you do to your fears." Her tone was soft but it was loud enough to be heard by every single person present there. "Do you believe that this girl is the right choice?" Elder Shen finally asked after a few long moments of silence. Another small smile appeared on Li Ming''s face as she answered, "I do.....because I can feel the acceptance of the spirit that I''m currently holding in my hands." Chapter 299 - A Little Bit Longer "I know that you can do this. I''m supporting you. Fighting!" Li Ming cheered the little girl, Xiao Wu, who was about to step into the world of cultivation and power. The little girl turned her face towards the boy standing beside her, as her curious and anxious eyes searched for something in the expressions of the person whom she trusted the most. The boy smiled softly at the girl and nodded his head to answer her unvoiced question, encouraging her to move forward and accept her destiny. As if that was all she needed to make up her mind because the next second she took a deep breath before returning her attention to Li Ming as she spoke, "Your Grace, I''ll give my best to become the next Dragon Lord. I won''t disappoint you and the late Shadow Lord. I promise." A small smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she nodded her head and lightly patted the girl''s shoulder. "I know. I can already feel it. You are going to be one of the greatest Dragon Lords of this world. Both of you have my blessings with you. May you conquer all the difficulties and become a winner." Her words sounded like a true blessing, one which was unconsciously filled with power and a promise. She took out the dragon spirit ball and showed it to the girl as she spoke, "Remember, you have five years to prove that you are the rightful owner of this divine spirit. On your eighteenth birthday, not only yours but the fate of this divine spirit and the dragon clan''s would change too." The girl nodded her head as her eyes glanced at the glowing spirit ball for a mere second. "It''s time." This time, it was one of the mermaids who had spoken to remind them that their discussion time was over. All the supernaturals of the Magikal Enchanted Forests were now working as either teachers or guardians of the Ming Academy. Li Ming watched as the girl and her companion stepped into the teleportation array and then disappeared from her view after a few seconds. A soft sigh left her lips as she turned towards the arcade where the Supreme Immortal had been waiting for her. "Immortal Ming, our clan would always be grateful towards you for all your help and protection. All you need to do is to voice it out and our clan would work day and night to..." "Elder Shen....., there''s no need for you and your clan to do anything to return this favor. I''m only doing my job. Don''t think too much about this topic. Your clan is waiting for your return. There''s too much that you and the other Masters need to do." Li Ming immediately stopped the old man politely as she reminded him of his duties. "Right, right! There''s too much work left pending. Then I''ll be taking my leave now." Elder Shen said with a nod of his head and left the place, leaving Li Ming alone with her mate. "Finally!" The Supreme Immortal said with a sigh as he wrapped his arms around his mate and pulled her in his embrace, immediately feeling his soul calming down as their bond filled with positive energy. "Are you alright?" Li Ming asked as she looked at him with worried eyes. Her hands started rubbing his back to soothe him down a little bit. She could clearly feel the tension in his body but it was leaving with every passing second. "En! Just let me hold you for a little bit longer." The Immortal replied as he closed his eyes and rested his face in the crook of her shoulder, inhaling her familiar scent which immediately helped him to relax. They just stood there in silence for the next few minutes as they let their bodies and soul relax. "Why are you so tensed today?" She finally asked after a few minutes of silence. The Supreme Immortal did not reply immediately as he just tightened his hold around her and pulled her closer in his arms before eventually whispering the reply, "We all wanted to keep you away from any kind of troubles.....but we failed. The war is inevitable now." They both were silent as they got lost in their thoughts. After a few minutes, Li Ming finally pulled away a little as she looked at her mate who was also staring back at her with warmth and sorrow filling his eyes. "If given a choice, I would also choose to never confront a situation like this. But unfortunately, we don''t have a choice. It''s not only about taking revenge for Zhang. The Demon Realm can''t hold on any longer and I don''t want to lose anyone else. I won''t be able to stand another loss. Also, we all know that she will not stop there. If she succeeded in destroying the demon realm then she will attack the rest of the two realms. That''s why....we can''t avoid this war anymore." The Supreme Immortal observed the emotions that were hidden deep in her eyes. He knew that she was speaking the truth. No matter how much they all wanted to avoid the upcoming war, but none of them could avoid it anymore. He moved his face closer to hers and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead before consuming her plump lips in a slow but sweet kiss. A sigh left Li Ming''s lips as soon as their bond escalated with pleasurable tingles, filling both of them with the positivity that they needed the most at that moment. The kiss lasted barely for a minute before Wen Guiying pulled away but not before pressing another soft kiss on her lips. "If getting rid of that evil woman means I''ll get to hold you and love you with all my heart for the rest of Immortal life, then I''m more than happy to face this upcoming war. Let''s prepare our best for the worst." Chapter 300 - The Risky Plan "Are you sure that you want to do this? I mean...what about your mates? If they found out then..." Kara did not need to finish her sentence as both she and Li Ming were clearly aware of what would happen if the Immortals found out about the stupid plan that the latter had come up with. But the current situation demanded Li Ming take this risky bait. She was hundred percent sure that her plan would work as long as Kara could successfully do her part of the job. "They are currently busy in the Heaven Realm. Both of us know that they will never allow me to take this risk since there are many casualties, but I need to do this. Since they are not here, this is the best time to start our plan. Now stop questioning and help me complete this hologram." Li Ming explained as she kept her focus on the hologram that she had been trying to draw on the floor of her living room in the magical mansion. "Li, can you please not do this?" Snowy could not hold anymore as he begged his Master to stop before it was too late. "Did not I tell you to accompany Mallow for Academy''s inspection?" Li Ming asked as she kept her attention on her work. There was silence for the next few moments but her familiar eventually answered her question, though it was not an actual answer. "You just want to keep both of us away so that you can continue with this stupid plan of yours!" The accusation and complaint were clear in his voice while his face was covered in a sad expression. "Since you know then why are you wasting my time? Please return to your work. I''ll call you back after I''m done here. You will only worry if you stayed here." Li Ming said as she finished drawing the last circle of the hologram. "I''ll still worry if I won''t stay here. Why are you not listening to..." Snowy did not get the opportunity to finish his question because with a single flick of Li Ming''s sleeve, his silhouette disappeared from the living room. "Why being so mean? He''s just worried about you." Kara could not stop herself from pointing out as she looked at the girl who was busy setting up the magical charms around the living room. "Because if he would have stayed here, I won''t be even able to finish all his in time. That''s why it''s better for him to not be here during the next few hours while we are busy." Li Ming replied as she settled the last piece of charm on the small coffee table. When Kara did not speak at all even after a while, Li Ming decided to explain as she let out a sigh before speaking, "I''m well aware of his worry for me. You don''t have to remind me of how much Snowy loves and cares about me. After all, he''s been by my side for the longest time. No one knows me better than him, no one understands me better than him. He''s the first one who got bonded with me." She was silent for a few seconds as she appeared to be thinking about something. A sad but determined expression was visible on her face as she continued, "Even though I understand his worry and protectiveness towards me, I don''t have the privilege of backing down now. We don''t have time to waste." The living room was filled with silence for the next couple of moments as neither of the two women spoke for a while. They both were lost in their thoughts at the moment but then after a while, the banshee eventually sighed as she nodded her head in acceptance. "Alright! Let''s get started!" *** As Li Ming''s eyes slowly fluttered open, she found herself looking at a dark emptiness that was stretched to miles. She immediately recognized the ceilingless room with grey walls and hard cold floor where she had met her ancestors a few years ago. Her eyes flew around the room to see or hear any sort of movements but unfortunately, she found nothing. At least, the first part of her plan was successful. She had safely landed in the world of the dead and would probably complete her second part too. The problem was the third and the final part of the plan - bringing her soul back to the Immortal World and in her body. And all that depended on how well the Banshee would perform. "Look who''s here!" Li Ming finally heard the familiar voice of the old woman who kept reprimanding her the last time she was here. Though she could see no one in the room, she knew that her so-called ancestors had finally appeared. She bowed her head and greeted them as politely as possible even though she kept hearing the giggles of a child and murmurs of the others who were complaining about exactly how impulsive she was. "I know that you all are not really happy to see me here. After all, I''m wasting your efforts of saving my life again and again. But I really need to ask some very important questions from you," Li Ming said as she kept her eyes trained on a spot on the grey wall in front of her while she kept her expressions neutral. There was suddenly a deep ire silence before the old woman decided to speak, "You have a seer halfling as your companion. There''s barely anything that she doesn''t know. Then why you have to take such a big risk to come here?" A small, almost unnoticeable twitch appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she heard the question. "Just like you said, she''s a seer. There are things that she can''t tell me even if she wants. That''s why I''m here. I can''t step into this war with half the information. It will not only end me but the rest of the Immortal World too." Again there was silence for a few seconds before the old woman once again spoke, "Alright child, tell me what you wants to know." Chapter 301 - The Army "Mallow, pass me the RZ-100 boxes." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Li Ming found dozens of crystal balls tumbling across the table where she had been sitting for the past four hours, trying to merge the essence of the magical and the RZ crystals. "Any progress?" Ruoshan asked as he entered the science lab and placed the boxes of shurikens that he just brought from the academy. "Almost there." She replied before quickly looking in the direction of the boxes. "This is the new batch that the sirens have wielded this morning. They said that these particular weapons are charmed by them in the process." Even Ruoshan had no idea what his words meant. He was just a messenger between the two parties. Li Ming noticed the confusion in his alluring purple eyes as she explained with a soft smile playing on her lips, "What they meant to say is that the charm is not cast over the weapon but is installed inside the weapon. It will be handier in the war compared to the former ones as their magic will last longer." Ruoshan nodded his head in understanding as he watched his mate once again returning her attention to the crystals she had been working on. Three months had passed since the five of them, he and his brothers, found her soulless body laying on the floor over a weird magical circle while Kara was sitting beside her with closed eyes as she kept the magic of the spell alive. If not for Snowy who stopped them at the right moment, they would have killed the banshee that day and would probably have lost their mate forever. The next few hours, as they waited for her to return to them, were one of the worst experiences that they went through. But eventually, she did return. The first thing that he found himself doing was sweeping the girl in his arms as he hugged her tightly against his heart, making sure that she was alright. And soon enough the rest of his brothers had also surrounded them as they all shared a group hug. That night they all took their time to make her realize exactly how stupid and impulsive she reacted. Even though her plan worked without any complications but it did nothing to hide the fact that she could have easily lost her life if anything would have gone wrong. By the time night came to an end, she had successfully made their anger dissipate as she promised to never do anything like that again. However, Ruoshan along with the rest of his brothers were aware that there was no guarantee that she would keep her promise, especially since the promise was related to her own safety. The fact was that they could not leave her alone ever again and they did not plan to. - "Here! It''s finally done!" The happy and excited shout of his mate pulled Ruoshan out of his thoughts. He looked at the girl who was cheering happily as she stood up to test her invention. After all, she had been working on this for more than two months, constantly failing but still not giving up because she knew that she could do it. He watched in amazement as a bright silvery light started surrounding her. His eyes could separate each molecule that was made of the pure essence of magic. All the light disappeared from the room and it took him some time to realize that the outside world of the magical mansion had also turned pitch black even though a few moments ago it was filled with the bright sunlight. A few more seconds passed before everything was back to normal. The darkness disappeared and the sunlight once again grazed the magical world. "I wish we could make the darkness of the outside world disappear just like this, within a few blinks and without any casualties." Li Ming murmured as she looked at the crystal ball that she was being in her hands. Ruoshan moved closer to his mate as he pulled her against his side before patting her head with soft and affectionate strokes. "It will." She looked up at the familiar eyes that hold so much love for her. A smile bloomed on her lips as she slowly nodded her head. Everything was prepared. They were prepared. The army was prepared and so was the battleground. They had spent the past three months preparing for the ultimate battle against the evil that was planning to destroy the Immortal World. What she never anticipated was to receive the support of so many people from around the Immortal World for the upcoming battle. The first one to join her and her mates for the war was her own people - Dongji village, Xi Qiu City, Ming Academy, Supernaturals, Pixies, her friends from the Han and Wang Empire, and General Wei with his military forces along with the Crown Prince who came with an Imperial edict that stated the support of the Emperor towards the upcoming battle. Heaven Realm sent a troop of five hundred thousand elite soldiers with five deities and the Heaven Emperor himself. Guixian Academy was also there with a team of three thousand elite cultivators along with Master Lu and Wen Guiying. The Demon Realm was also prepared with its own army. But she got the biggest surprise when the Central Empire send a letter to tell her that a team of two hundred cultivators would be joining the battle, out of which three were Divine ranked cultivators, seven were Prime Cultivators while the rest were on different levels of the Overlord rank. In addition to these, the old man from the Snowfields would also be joining the battle with the hundreds of sacred spiritual beasts that had been sleeping in the depths of the ice cave. But even though they were fully prepared for the battle.......was it enough for them to win? Or would she need to use the ultimate weapon to save the world from the chaos or darkness? Chapter 302 - The Great Battle (Part One) "Are you all ready?" Li Ming asked the team that was standing in front of her including her mates. The immediate nods made a proud smile appear on her lips as she spoke, "Remember, this battle will define the future of our world. There''s no other choice than to win it. Hope to see you all at the celebration banquet when all of this is finally over." She could see the promises and determination that were filled in the eyes of the generals and sect leaders who were present there. She had no idea what her makes did to make them came out of the fear that had been visible in their eyes when they first appeared, but it sure worked like a magical spell. She could see the hunger for victory in their eyes, the courage that was surrounding them like another coat of aura, and the eagerness of getting their world rid of the evil that had been residing there for ages. They were currently positioned in the southern province of the Demon Realm near the barrier that separated the realm into two different provinces. Hei Long and Ruoshan had already got the children, women, and older demons out of the realm. Only the demon army was left behind while the rest were safely sent to the moon for the time being. "Then let''s head out. It''s time for the Great Battle. The enemies are waiting for us." She announced as she looked at the portal that her Master was creating in the barrier. If there was anyone in the Immortal world who could find a door between the two provinces without damaging the ward in the process, it was only her master. None of them wanted to destroy the ward that was protecting the Southern province and the rest of the Immortal World from the wrath of the Valkyrie and her darkness. Though the ward was weak from places and the Valkyrie could use that to her advantage, Li Ming and her mates had already made sure to not give her the chance. It had been her future Mother-in-law''s duty to strengthen the ward and she hoped that the Supreme Empress Dowager won''t let them down. "It''s ready." She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard her Master''s voice as he finished creating a huge portal between the two provinces. As she looked straight at the world on the other side, her eyes noticed the dark mist that was waiting for them. But beyond that mist was the evil army of the Valkyrie who was sitting on a large eagle-like demonic beast as her black glowing eyes stared back at Li Ming. "Let''s go!" - The lightning whip, that was wrapped around her left wrist like a bracelet, started glowing as Li Ming watched the black mist approaching them with a great speed. It was Valkyrie''s first bait and strategy to stop them from attacking the evil troop that was hiding behind a wall of black fire created by the Valkyrie. Li Ming raised her right hand up in the sky in a carefree manner, signaling the army behind her to be prepared for the dark mist that would be attacking them within a few seconds. Just before the mist was about to approach them, she flicked her hand slightly - signaling the men behind her who immediately popped green color pills in their mouths. She too swallowed the same pill that was specially refined by her and the number one pill refiner of the Heaven Realm. The pill was supposed to keep their consciousness from giving under the illusions of fake worlds and memories that the black mist was starting to create around them. Since she had encountered the mist several times by now, Li Ming was aware of the different tactics that it used on its predators to defeat them and because of that knowledge, she was fully prepared this time. The mist and its owner soon real?zed that they were failing in their strategy as even after several minutes, not even a single soldier or cultivator was seemed to be disturbed by the mist. Though they were miles away, Li Ming''s sharp eyesight still caught the anger that riled up in the Valkyrie''s eyes before it disappeared as she muttered a few words under her breath. The very next second black mist changed its tactic as it started flowing around with a great speed, making whistling sound as its sharp and speedy movements created wind. Li Ming''s turned towards Ruoshan who was standing in front of the middle battalion of the students from the Ming Academy. Her mate gave her a quick nod before he returned his attention on the mist which was starting to gather in a single spot as it was ready to initiate its second plan. As Ruoshan raised one of his hands out, a bright light illuminated over his open palm before a bow appeared in his hand. He positioned the bow that had no string but as his fingers stretched the non-existent string, a magical string actually started to form. Not only that but an arrow made of blue colored energy was also forming. The row of cultivators behind Ruoshan pulled their arms out as they all channelled their spiritual energies into the arrow that was about to be launched. Everyone watched as the arrow absorbed all the spiritual energy before it left the bow and went straight towards the huge cloud of black mist that was ready to scatter. Li Ming was fully aware that as soon as the mist would scatter, every single particle of it would turn into a demon, meaning - if she let the mist to complete their formation, there would be thousands or even millions of demons attacking within a second. Fortunately, she was prepared! The exact second Ruoshan''s spiritual arrow hit the cloud of black mist, Li Ming jumped down in front of the mist as she took out a huge crystal ball from her magical space. The crystal ball was half made of glass while the other half appeared to be made of some sort of steel like material. Obsidian stones were attached to the top of the glass part while the entire ball was covered in powerful ancient runes. Chapter 303 - The Great Battle (Part Two) Li Ming closed her eyes as she stretched her arms out and started chanting a very ancient spell as she called the black mist which was trying to get a hold on the situation after being attacked by a powerful spiritual arrow. Though the attack from the arrow caused no physical damage to the mist, it was still enough to break the connection between the mist and the Valkyrie. Li Ming took advantage of that short moment as she immediately started chanting, calling the mist to listen to her command and enter the crystal ball. It took Valkyrie only a few seconds to realize exactly what was happening and she soon resumed her own chants. However, those few seconds were enough for Li Ming to get an upper hand but that wasn''t enough at all. Just when the mist was finally about to give up struggling under Li Ming''s command, its broken link with the Valkyrie started to flutter to life, causing it to be confused as suddenly there were two different people trying to compel it at the same moment. "Mallow!" Snowy called the nine tailed spirit fox who had been patiently and excitedly waiting for her turn to act. As soon as her name was called, her silhouette disappeared from beside the Heaven Emperor and appeared next to the eagle like demonic beast. Since the Valkyrie''s entire attention was focused on getting the black mist back under her control and also because everything happened within a blink, no one noticed a nine tailed spirit fox appearing out of the blue, scratching the eagle''s left eye with her sharp claws before disappearing immediately. They noticed nothing until the demonic eagle''s painful cry resonated through the area, pulling everyone''s attention towards it. The Valkyrie, who was barely a few seconds away from getting her control back on the mist, suddenly found her spell breaking as the demoic eagle started shaking its body vigorously, causing her to almost lose her balance. "What''s going on?" She shouted in anger as her black glowing eyes looked around the finally adjusted on the face of the eagle where she found a huge scratch across its left eye. An angry growl left her lips, causing the eagle to still while the evil army around her shivered in fear. Her eyes immediately returned to look at the mist, only to find a smirking Li Ming looking back at her with a huge ball filled with the evil fog in her hands. "If you think that by caging it you can stop me, then it''s your biggest mistake. The shadow fog is mine to command and it will come back to me." She screeched as she glared at Li Ming. But when the latter showed no response to her threat, it only tipped her anger more. A sharp shriek left her lips as she took out her machete and slashed it across the demonic eagle''s neck, killing it in one move without a second thought. Immediately, another demoic eagle beast steeped forward and crouched to let the Valkyrie mount it. Li Ming already knew that the Valkyrie was going to try once again to took over the black mist, but she was not going to let it happen. Just as the Valkyrie started chanting the spell, Li Ming launched the crystal ball in the air, muttering another spell that was in some foreign language. Within the next blink, the crystal ball disappeared in the thin air and took the evil mist along. The Valyrie and her army were not the only confused ones, even her own people, along with her mates, were looking at her curiously. She did not answer as she kept looking at the spot where the crystal ball was levitating a few moments ago. It was as if she was waiting for something. It seemed like her short waiting period came to an end as a green symbol appeared at that spot, causing a soft smile to appear on her lips as she watched the symbol disappearing. "What''s happening? What did you do to my shadow fog?" The Valkyrie asked or more like shouted in anger as she glared at Li Ming with her dark evil eyes. "It was never yours to begin with. I have sent it to the place from where it came." Li Ming replied with a calm tone even though she knew that any time soon the Valkyrie was going to lose her sanity which would lead to a grand battle between the two armies who had been waiting in the sidelines till now. "No! It''s.......It''s impossible! You can''t do that! You are not capable of doing that. It belongs to me! ME!" The Valkyrie shouted in anger as she threw her head back and let out an ear piercing cry. Even Li Ming grimaced a little at its sharpness. Just like what she predicted, as soon as the Valkyrie stopped screaming and screeching like a mad bird, she signaled her army to march forward. Li Ming turned to look at her mates before settling her eyes on the Heaven Emperor. The latter blinked his eyes as a signal before he too signaled his men to move forward. She watched as their army divided into seven different batches and started creating a formation as they kept marching towards the enemy. She turned her eyes to look at Snowy and Mallow who were also standing beside her. "Surprise me today." She murmered to both of them with a smile to which they both immediately nodded with determination. With a last glance at them, she jumped on the back of the red dragon that had appeared beside her and the two of hem flew straight towards the Valkyrie and her demonic eagle beast. - FLASHBACK... "Is there anything else that you want to ask?" The voice of the old woman asked when Li Ming did not leave after a while if getting the answers to all her questions. "Actually.....there''s a favor that I need because you are the only one who can help me with this problem." Li Ming told the voice as she thought about how to reveal her request. "Go on, child. We are listening." The voice told her with a hint of warmth in it which absolutely surprised her. "The black mist that''s present in the Demon Realm -" "The Shadow Fog." The voice of the child immediately corrected her causing her to stop. "Yeah! The shadow fog. I''m aware that it''s made of the void molecules of the primordial space and the Valkyrie has mixed her evil energy in it. She probably got her hold over the void molecules when she ended up in this world for the first time." "I''m also aware that no power could destroy anything related to the primordial space, including those void particles and only the dead ones can connect with the primordial space." Li Ming stopped talking for a second to take in a deep breath before she continued. "I want to ask that if I can capture the Shadow fog, can you help me to send it back to the Primordial space? We don''t need to worry about the evil energy because it will get destroy as soon as it will enter the primordial realm. You are the only one who can do this. Please." Her request was genuine and the others seemed to realize it too. "Of course, we can do it without any problem. But are you sure that you can capture it? And why should we help you?" The voice of a man questioned her. Li Ming smiled softly as she replied, "I''m positive that I can find a way to capture the Shadow Fog. As for why you should help me - I''ll let you guys leave." Her words were followed by silence for the next several minutes but she made sure to stay as calm and collected as possible, not showing any kind of impatience or anxiety on her face. "Alright! We will help you a very last time but you have to keep your promise. You will release us after this." The voice of the old woman finally spoke, causing a small twitch to appear on Li Ming''s lips. "Deal!" Chapter 304 - The Great Battle (Part Three) Li Ming watched as the two armies clashed down below. The ground was starting to turn red from so much blood as one by one, people from both sides lost their lives. Her grip on the scales of her dragon tightened as her gaze shifted to the Valkyrie who was attacking a group of senior students from Guixian Academy. "Are you ready love?" The dragon asked as it turned its head sideways to look at her. Li Ming smiled as she nodded her head in reply. Who would have thought that the Second Demon Prince was also a dragon shifter and not just any dragon but one of the most powerful and rarest dragons born in the Immortal World in its entire history? As soon as Hei Long got her reply, he let out a loud screech that could have given perfect competition to the Valkyrie. The dragon''s screech worked as both the Valkyrie and her eagle beast turned their attention towards Li Ming and her dragon. An evil smile appeared on Li Ming''s face as she moved her hands out and called on her powers, creating an arrow above her head which immediately started diving into tens, hundreds, and then thousands before she launched it towards the evil army that had successfully surrounded a group of students, immediately taking them all down and making the Valkyrie as angry as possible. The evil woman stopped attacking the useless things in front of her as she flew towards the woman whom she hated more than possible. "Take care of the eagle and its friends. I will deal with her." Li Ming murmured to her mate who gave a nod of its head before diving straight towards the eagle. At the same time, Li Ming leaped in the air and let her lightning whip pull the unprepared Valkyrie off her ride. Both of them landed on the top of one of the high cliffs at the south end of the battleground while at some distance, Hei Long along with other dragon shifters from the Dragon Clan was battling with the demonic eagle beasts. "Do you seriously think that you can win? You are so stupid if you are imagining returning to your palace after this battle. I won''t give you the pleasure.....but I''ll make sure to keep you alive till the very end. You will only get to die after you have watched every single of your mates dying in front of your eyes. That will be my goodbye gift for you." The Valkyrie spat with malice filled in her voice. The image of Zhang Yong appeared in front of Li Ming''s eyes for a moment, filling her heart with immense anger and sadness. But she was quick to get a hold on herself. The Valkyrie was obviously trying to make her lose her sensibility so that she could use the chance to attack. However, Li Ming was not such an easy bet. She was probably not more powerful than the Valkyrie but neither was she weaker. The two of them were on par whether in terms of power, strength, or even viciousness. The lightning whip in her hand started throbbing as it felt the emotions of its master changing. One moment everything was quiet and peaceful, and the next moment, chaos broke through as Li Ming and the Valkyrie clashed with a loud booming sound that caused dust and rocks to fly all around. For a mere second everyone''s attention was pulled towards the two of them but then they were back to fighting their own battles as there was no space for distractions. "She can handle it. Trust her!" Lord Yueliang told his brothers when he saw the worry for their mate that was taking over their expressions. The other nodded their heads before they once again returned their attention to their fights. Ruoshan and Wen Guiying teamed up to merge their spiritual energy, causing a large portion of the evil army to combust into flames. On the other hand, the fight between Li Ming and the Valkyrie turned fiercer with each passing minute. The two of them were clearly out for each other''s blood as each of their blows was fiercer than the previous one. A hiss left Li Ming''s lips as the Valkyrie succeeded in spilling the first blood. Though it was a mere scratch on the former''s arm but it was still enough to make her realize that a whip was probably not the best choice of weapon in such close combat. The cut healed immediately and then the whip started transforming. Soon enough, a beautiful sword with a silvery glowing sharp blade was visible in Li Ming''s hand. All this took barely a few seconds, not giving enough time to the Valkyrie to use the chance as Li Ming was constantly jumping around. "Let''s see who''s gonna win in this dual." She told the Valkyrie as she channeled her spiritual energy in her sword and then immediately moved it towards her opponent. Clash after clash of blades ranged as the woman fought against each other. Throwing spells, casting charms, and even using dirty tricks, they used every method to take down each other. "What are you trying to do? Are you thinking about dying together with me? Your tactic will only end up exhausting both of us!" The Valkyrie shouted at the idiot woman who had been constantly dozing and attacking but had not made a single fatal blow yet. A small but purely evil smile appeared on Li Ming''s lips as she once again charmed her sword with a powerful spell and attacked the Valkyrie. She could clearly see the frustration, anger, confusion, and even a little bit of fear that was evident on the latter''s face and body language. Rather than answering, she kept attacking the Valkyrie, putting all her energy and power to make the evil woman give up. The fight kept going on. Down below, her mates were fighting with thousands of evil demons that kept rising after dying and up on the cliff, Li Ming and the Valkyrie were still going on as neither of them was about to quit first. No one even realized that more than forty-eight hours had passed since the battle started. Even though they were not mortals but even they had limits when it came to such fierce battles. They were not fighting one on one, rather, they were fighting as one against hundreds. Everyone was covered in dirt, blood, cuts, and bruises. Their energy levels were depleting, their bodies were tired, but they were not stopping. They could not stop! Not until the war was officially over. The only ones who looked in a slightly better state were the five Immortal Lords since they were far more powerful than any Immortal, demon, or cultivator. However, they were surrounded by the undead army of the Valkyrie that kept attacking without any rest. But Li Ming was not as lucky as her mates. Even though she was already a Divine ranked cultivator in addition to the Immortal of Thunder, the amount of spiritual energy that she had used against the Valkyrie was too much. Her body was covered in bruises and cuts. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were torn, and her body was out of energy. A loud crash of energies between the two women sent both of them flying towards the hard rocks as they both hit and fell down on the ground, spitting blood as their internal organs received severe injuries. Chapter 305 - The End An evil laugh left Valkyrie''s lips as she dragged her body against the rock wall behind her to stand on her feet. She turned her eyes towards the woman who was still sprawled on the ground a few feet away. She could tell that her opponent was weak enough at the moment for her to finish her off. The realization made another evil smirk appeared on her lips as she dragged herself towards Li Ming who was also trying to pull her exhausted body upright. "I must have to say...you are indeed a fierce and powerful opponent.....However....., it''s time for you to say goodbye to this world." The Valkyrie drawled in a low but scary voice as she pulled out a dagger with a pure black blade. "I thought you were planning to keep me alive till the very end. Why the sudden change?" Li Ming asked with a smirk plastered on her face as she wiped the corner of her lips, erasing the trace of blood. "Because I''m not an idiot like you. I won''t give you the chance to regain your energy. And once you are dead, your mates will be filled with so much sadness that I could finally pull them under my compulsion." The Valkyrie answered with a sneer as she shifted closer to where Li Ming was kneeling on the ground. "Do you seriously think that I used all my energy to tire you out only to die in the end? Are you sure you are not dumb?" Li Mng asked with a chuckle that made her cough out blood. "You.....!" The Valkyrie moved forward to finally push the dagger in the heart of the woman whom she had hated for so long. But before her dagger could reach anywhere near her enemy''s heart, a huge ball of magical energy threw her away. Her body once against hit the rocky walls and the dagger flew out of her hands. She landed harshly on the ground after hitting the wall, once again spitting blood as she felt her own body giving up. The Valkyrie closed her eyes for a few seconds to call on the last reminiscents of her dark powers as she was hell-bent on killing Li Ming at all costs, even if it meant that she would also die in the end. The trick worked as her body started healing, filling most of her injuries as she stood up to face whoever had dared to step between her and her prey. But nothing could have prepared her for the scene that greeted her vision. A very familiar figure was standing in front of her with eyes full of hatred and anger. "You..." "It''s been so long and you are still as evil as you were back then, or maybe even more." Kara spat with malice filling her voice as she glared at the familiar Valkyrie in front of her. "H-how.....what...what are you doing here?" He Valkyrie asked as she was still not able to pull herself out of the shock that she just received. "Why? Do you think that you are the only capable one who can find a new world to destroy? You tried to steal Ming''s destiny and I became Ming''s companion to end your destiny. Now it''s finally the time. It''s time for you to face the fire of the hell and return the peace of this world," Kara declared as she glared at the evil woman who was frozen in her place due to fear and shock. The Valkyrie was the reason why Kara lost her mate and went through the pain of a broken soulbond. The evil woman was so despicable that she compelled her mate to become her sex slave and when he tried to break through her spells, she killed him. Though she got punished for her deeds when she was thrown into the forbidden zone, Kara was not satisfied at all. She needed to revenge her mate and herself, and Li Ming was the only person who could help her. "Impossible! Haha.....it''s IMPOSSIBLE! You can''t kill me. No one can kill me except for myself. I''m not from this world and no one from this world can kill me. You..." The Valkyrie pointed at Li Ming who was standing beside Kara. ".....You are now also from this world. Your body...it belonged to this world. Even you can''t kill me. No one can kill me. NO ONE!" The Valkyrie started laughing crazily as she appeared like a total maniac. She was so busy in early celebrating her victory that she did not notice the smirks that were visible on the faces of the other two women. "You are looking like a complete stupid, you know?" "SHUT UP!" The Valkyrie shouted as she turned her fiery evil gaze on the woman, only to find the other one missing. She hurriedly looked around but did not found the banshee anywhere. "Where''s she?" She finally asked as she returned her sharp gaze on Li Ming. "You are right! I can''t kill you because this body of mine belongs to this world. Mates can''t kill you because they are also from this world...But let me share a secret with you...Kara is the same as you. She didn''t transmigrate here. She''s still in her original body..." Li Ming softly whispered the last few lines, watching in pure satisfaction as a horrified look took over the Valkyrie''s face. But before that evil woman could do or say something, a sudden gasp of pain and shock escaped her lips when someone stabbed her from behind. The same blade, that she was going to use to kill Li Ming, was now pierced through her heart. "It''s time for me to leave too. You were a great companion, Ming. May you never encounter such days ever again in your life." Kara whispered while a smile playing on her lips as she looked at Li Ming with warm eyes. A tear rolled down Li Ming''s eyes as she gave a nod, bidding farewell to the woman who had been by her side for so many years - helping and guiding her through the ups and downs of her life. But no matter how sad she felt, she knew that it was time for her to let the banshee decided her own future and Kara had decided to leave. Just like cultivators, Supernaturals could also use the self-destruction spell which was not only one of the toughest spells to break but also a forbidden one. A bright light shone on the top of the cliff as the banshee pulled the already half-dead Valkyrie in her arms and let the forbidden spell destroy both of them along with all the evil energy that was present in the realm. The battle that had been going on for days immediately came to an end as the Valkyrie disappeared from the Immortal World, taking away all her evilness with her. The army of evils and undead also disappeared along with the end of their Master, making Li Ming and her people winners of the Great Battle. Finally, it all ended! Chapter 306 - Wife And Husbands The streets of the Black Market of the Han Empire were bustling as there was a sale going on throughout the black market for the very first time in its history. The entire area was beautifully decorated as everyone was filled with joy and unmarkable cheerfulness. But the Black Market was not the only place that was decorated like it was a festival. Dongji Village, Xi Qiu City, along with all the major cities of the Mortal Realm, Guixian Island, Demon Realm, Moon, and the Heaven Realm, all these places were full of decorations and joy. Just a day before, the Immortal World had witnessed the grandest wedding that had ever taken place in the three realms. Lady Ming/Goddess Ming had finally become Supreme Empress as she was officially married to her five mates - Heaven Emperor, Moon Immortal, Supreme Immortal, Evernight Lord, and the Second Demon Lord. The people were still celebrating as they all imagined the beautiful and happy days that were waiting for them in the future. After the Great Battle that took place in the Demon Realm nearly five years ago, the entire Immortal Realm changed for good. Even though many lives were lost, the evil had finally left their world. As soon as Li Ming was healed completely after the battle, she focused all her time and energy to bring everything back on track. She started from the black market, capital market, Dongji Village, Wang Empire, Guixian Island, Snow Fields, Ming Academy, and then finally the Demon Realm. After the battle, countless businessmen wanted to partner with her, and she ended up selecting some of the best ones from all around the five empires as she was ready to expand her business empire even more. Guixian and Ming Academy also established a friendly environment. Both the Academy started sending their disciples to the other one so that they could learn about other important aspects of life. While Guixian Academy still focused on teaching cultivation, medicine, array formation, and other spiritual knowledge, Ming Academy continued to teach that there were still so many options available for those who could not cultivate or did not want to pursue cultivation. While the Guixian Academy was for rich and talented students, Ming Academy was opened for anyone who sought its help. Li Ming even went as far as to open jewelry and clothes shop in Heaven Realm. She was completely shameless when it came to business. But the toughest job was to rebuild the Demon Realm. The good thing was that she got to start from scratch. Though it took her an entire year and a lot of planning, the result was beyond spectacular. The Demon Realm was nothing like the other two realms. It was properly planned and organized. There were towns where beautiful houses were built over mountains and fields of grains and farms were surrounding them. There were towns built near rivers for fishermen. There were small cities made for those who wanted to live their lives away from the Imperial Cities. Though there was no longer any ward separating the two provinces, the Princes decided to keep the Provinces separated so that they could easily look after their people. Both the Imperial cities were as beautiful and grand as they could ever be. The Royal Palaces were the gem. The cities and towns were joined through teleportation arrays all around the realm. The place where not even a single tree could be found half a decade ago was ow filled with millions and billions of trees, plants, bushes, herbs, and spiritual plants. Many spirit and demonic beasts resided in the forests of the demon realm and there were fields over fields of crops visible in the realm which was barren at some point of its history. The changes that Li Ming brought in the Demon Realm were nothing less than pure magic. - The only new thing that got added on the Moon was a grand resort. But worry not! In typical Li Ming style, she had created a resort that was even expensive to look at from afar. People needed to pay like crazy if they wanted to step anywhere near the resort. Currently, the entire resort was empty except for a couple of people. But the place was decorated so beautifully that it appeared totally mesmerizing. Especially the garden area where a pavilion of white silk drapes was created next to the huge fountain. A big teddy bear was sitting under the pavilion with a red heart in its hands. "It''s so pretty." Li Ming just could not help herself as she once again spoke those words out loud while keeping her eyes fixed on her wedding ring. She still remembered how each of her mates put a ring on her ring finger, making her finger fill with five golden bands but then the magic happened when the five bands merged together to create a single beautiful marriage ring with their soul mark carved on it. She felt someone moving behind her as a hand slipped across her shoulder and pulled her back against their warm and totally naked chest. Hei Long nuzzled his nose near her nape as he planted soft kisses all over her cheeks, ear, and shoulder blade. Their bond escalated with pleasure and a fiery need for each other, making Li Ming moan as she rested one of her hands on his bare shoulder, gripping it tightly when the man suddenly nipped on her nape before licking the place with his tongue to soothe the pain. "Wifey, look there." She heard the Heaven Emperor speaking from her other side as he too put one of his hands around her waist, bringing both of their bodies closer. She was almost sandwiched between the two of her mates. Her eyes flew open and landed on the rest of her three mates who were finally returning after disappearing for the past two hours. "What''s that?" She asked with curiosity filling her voice but she already knew the answer before anyone could reply. Chapter 307 - The Crown Princes Or Princesses Lord Yueliang placed the glass box on the mattress in front of her as he along with the other two took a place around her. "Oh my! Did you guys baked it?" She asked as she moved her hands towards the beautiful Vanilla cake that her mates had brought. "Brother Yueliang did. We just helped him a little." Ruoshan replied with a smile on his lips. "It''s the first day after our wedding and we vowed to cherish and love you for the rest of eternity. The five of us will never let.....mmmph...!" Lord Yueliang got silenced before he could finish as his lips were sealed in a slow but got kiss by his wife. It ended too soon for his liking but when he saw the love in her eyes, he could not stop himself from pulling her closer once again as he kissed her again. "Let''s taste the cake. It''s the first time our Moon Immortal has stepped inside a kitchen to cook or bake something. Let''s see how bad his culinary skills are." Hei Long said with a teasing smirk on his face, causing the rest of his brothers to laugh while the Moon Immortal only became a little more anxious than he already was. Li Ming shushed everyone with a playful glare before she opened the box and took out the cake, taking a spoonful and putting it in her mouth. The instant moan that slipped through her lips as she tasted the rich flavor of the cake immediately put a huge smile on Lord Yueliang''s face. "It''s so good!" Li Ming complemented as she took another spoonful and once again put it in her mouth, enjoying the delicious cake. "It''s good that you liked it. I''ll make it again for you." Lord Yueliang promised and his wife immediately nodded her head in agreement. "Empress, can we also have a bite? Please!" Ruoshan requested with a cute face as he looked at his wife who was staring at him and the others with a weird expression on her face. "Alright! But only one. Each of you can only have a single bite. The rest is mine." She made sure to explain that she won''t be sharing her cake more than needed even though they were mates, her husbands. The men did not argue at all, all of them just dived in to take a bite from the cake that not only looked good but also smelled delicious. And as soon as they tasted the sweet rich flavor of the cake, one bite was no longer enough. But no matter how hard they tried, their wife did not allow them to touch her cake again. "Nope!" Li Ming stated as she made the cake disappear to a safe place because she could tell that Ruoshan was definitely planning something weird. "You are being a bad wifey. You need to be punished." The Evernight Lord stated as he took off his purple cloak before kneeling right in front of Li Ming who was suddenly breathing a little harshly. Her eyes suddenly moved towards her other mates who were looking at her and Ruoshan with amusement filling in their eyes but there was something more in them - there was a fire of need that burned all of them equally. Her attention was pulled back on Ruoshan when he suddenly captured her lips in a scorching kiss, making her moan as her toes curled at the beautiful sensations that were filling her. Ruoshan deepened the kiss as he pulled their bodies closer. Li Ming was wearing a very thin silky nightgown which did absolutely nothing to hide her erect nipples that were begging to be noticed. She felt the rest of her mates inching closer as Ruoshan softly pushed her down on the mattress before he lowered his own naked body over her. Unlike the rest of her mates, Heaven Emperor mostly preferred to have her all for himself whenever they were making love. But in the past five years, he had opened up enough to enjoy the group moments. Hei Long and Wen Guiying were the dominant alphas who loved to make her cry out in pleasure and they also loved to double team her.....a lot! Lord Yueliang was just as soft as his personality. The man treated her like she was his most precious treasure. While Ruoshan was a combination of all the rest of the guys. He could be soft, hard, dom, or even a sub. It all depended on what she wanted. And at the current moment, she just wanted to cherish her husbands and love them as much as she could. Li Ming felt hands traveling all over her body as moan after moan of pleasure escaped her lips that were still locked in a hot kiss with Ruoshan. The pleasure that they brought her was beyond measurable and it was as beautiful as the word itself. *** The Golden Palace, Heaven Realm... - "Your Grace, should we send a message to His and Her Majesty? Their presence is compulsory for this event." One of the High Deities asked as he and the rest of the High Immortals present in the Great Golden Hall, all looked at the Empress Dowager. "No need! This event can wait. My sons and daughter-in-law are currently busy. After all, they are working hard for the future of our Immortal World. No one is allowed to disturb them during their honeymoon period. Let them work hard for my future grandchildren." Empress Dowager immediately answered as she stared at a blank space with a happy expression on her face. What else could anyone say? They all just quieted down as none of them could find words to speak in front of Empress Dowager who was keenly waiting for the day when she would finally get to play with her grandchildren. But they also remained silent because just like the Empress Dowager, they all were also waiting for their Crown Princes or Princesses. Chapter 308 - Epilogue (The Return) FIVE HUNDRED YEARS LATER... - "Your Majesty, please walk slowly. It''s not good for the baby if you keep running around like this. Aah!" Only Madam Fu knew how hard it was to take care of the Heaven Empress during her pregnancy period. She never listened to their advice and would keep giving them anxiety. "Aunt Fu, there''s no need for you to be so worried. After all, this is not the first time I''m carrying a hot potato in my belly. Look at those two little monsters. They are the proof that I''m good with kids and can take care of myself during this period." Li Ming said in a lazy tone as she signaled towards the two five-year-old twins who were playing with a bunch of pixies. They were a pair of brother and sister, the boy carried the spirit power of Ruoshan while the girl carried the spirit power of Hei Long. Madam Fu sighed as she shook her head at Li Ming''s choice of words. "Mommy!" The little boy shouted happily as he pulled a Pixie by her hair and shook it in front of his mother. "Baby, don''t be like your father. You can''t hold pixies with such aggressiveness. Be gentle." Li Ming told her baby boy as she made him gently drop the poor little creature who was on the verge of losing its beautiful Auburn hair. "What do you mean by - don''t be like your father? What are you trying to say and which father are you mentioning here? It''s not me, right? I''m not aggressive at all." Wen Guiying defended as he came to stand next to his seven months pregnant wife. Madam Fu took the cue and left the garden along with the two little Prince and Princes so that the pair of husband and wife could spend some time together. "Of course, my dear hubby is gentle and thoughtful. What are you going here, by the way? You should be at the Academy." Li Ming reprimanded him even though there was a soft smile visible on her lips. Wen Guiying immediately wrapped his arms around his wife before planting a soft kiss on the corner of her lips as he replied, "I missed you and my babies. So I''m here. I''ll gonna spend the rest of the day with my dear wifey and my three precious little stars." "What a coincidence, Brother Wen! I also have a similar plan." The Heaven Emperor said as he appeared in the garden, wearing a normal golden and white robe with his hair left to lose - something that happened very rarely. But Li Ming loved it when he left his hair loose like this. "And I''m sure the other three will be coming here soon enough. You all just can''t seem to stay away from me, can you?" She asked before she received a full kiss on her lips from her Heaven Emperor. "We just love you so much to stay away from you and we love our babies too. Don''t want to miss these wonderful moments." Wen Guiying said as he crouched down on the ground to plant a kiss on her belly that was carrying their unborn child. A smile appeared on her lips, making her eyes twinkle with love and warmth for her mates and her children. "Let''s go and have a walk around the lake." Heaven Emperor suggested and the three of them set off towards the back garden of Yiling Palace where a lake and a waterfall were located. They were halfway towards the waterfall when suddenly, something small jumped out of the lake and landed right in front of Li Ming and her mates who immediately moved to protect their mate and child. A bright light shone and just when Wen Guiying was about to shot his spiritual energy towards the mysterious light, it disappeared. Instead of the light, they all found a young man standing in front of them while looking at them with awestruck eyes. "Y-your Majesty! Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not mean to frighten Her Majesty. It was my first time testing my power to transform into the human form. I just completed five hundred years of cultivation to reach the Divine Rank and got the chance to transform into a human. This little water elf is stupid. I did not notice that Her Majesty....." All the words got stuck in his throat when he found a sharp blade positioned directly against his neck. His eyes moved up to look at the owner of the sword, only to find the Supreme Immortal glaring at him with a twinkle in his eyes. "Wen....." It was Her Majesty who spoke in a soft voice, as she kept her eyes trained on him. He got confused when he found her looking at him with amazement and a lot of emotions filled in her beautiful eyes and as he watched a single tear rolling down her eyes, he felt something moving in his heart. He did not want to see her sad. "Your Majesty, you can punish me if you want. I''ll even accept a death sentence but can you please not cry? It''s making me sad too." He didn''t even realize that he was speaking until he felt the Heaven Emperor and the Supreme Immortal chuckling. He was slightly taken aback by his words but he knew that he meant them. No matter whatever weird emotions had taken over him, but he could tell that he really cared about the Heaven Empress like she was his closest kin, a close friend. Maybe it was because, for the past five hundred years, she was the only person whom he got to see every day as she walked past the river in the evening. Li Ming shook her head slightly to get rid of the emotions that were piling up inside her. Seeing the familiar face of her bondmate, she sure was not prepared. Her eyes moved towards her mates who were also looking at her with smiling faces. "See! He completed his promise," Heaven Emperor said as he wiped away her tears. Li Ming nodded her head before she returned her attention to the water elf who looked just like her Zhang Yong. "Alright! I won''t cry anymore. Come, I have a perfect punishment for you in my mind." She said with a smile on her lips as she stretched her hand out towards the man. Though he was completely clueless about what was happening, he did not waste much time in thinking. He just knew that he needed to accept her hand. He was born to be by her side and he would stay by her side. - THE END *** It''s been a long journey and we are finally at the end. I''m really thankful to every single one of you who followed me throughout this story. Thank you so much for your love, support, and encouragement. I love you guys, a lot!