The steamy hot spring situation was a fiasco. Zhao Li Xin frantically carried Lory back to the villa, roughly kicked the door to her room, and asked Mong Ki to immediately call Jin Hao. Lory was still in a daze when a number of elderly maids entered the room and wiped her dry, dried her hair before changing her to new warm robes. It was a wonder how they were able to warm her clothes. All she knew was she was smelling good.

Lory lay on the bed with a blanket covering her as she tried to wipe off the dried blood from her nose. It had stopped bleeding but Zhao Li Xin was still not sure she's okay and insisted Jin Hao needed to see her. Lory couldn't stop him because he and his subordinates had reacted fast.

​​

'What the hell is happening?'

That was the first thing on her mind when everything calmed. She blinked and stared at the bed canopy above her. Zhao Li Xin sat on a stool beside her bed with worry and looked at her like she's dying. Lory let out a long sigh of embarrassment. She wondered what was wrong with her as it was not her first time seeing a naked man. She accidentally once visited a nudist island but ended up being traumatized. Anyone would be traumatized if they saw a butt naked sixty-year-old man.

She also used to spend her summers on beaches killing beasts and saw many half-naked handsome men with great bodies but she never reacted to them as she did with Zhao Li Xin. Her recent experience made her feel like an innocent teenager…wait! She was currently a teenager so her behavior was excusable.

"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Zhao Li Xin's handsome face was only an inch away from her. He had worn his robes in a hurry and seemed a little untidy. She could take a peek of what lay beneath the robes. Heat rushed to her head once again and she covered her nose with a handkerchief out of reflex.

"Are you bleeding again?" Zhao Li Xin got anxious again and placed his forehead against hers to check her temperature.

"I…I'm fine….can you move a little? I need some air," Lory lightly pushed his chest with an awkward smile. She felt like he deliberately torturing her.

'My mind needs peace!'

Zhao Li Xin obediently moved back. He only relaxed when he saw her smile. Lory who still felt stuffy she raised her back on the bed to relax when Jin Hao anxiously entered the room. He was worried she had contracted another mysterious illness but quickly caught on to what was wrong when he saw her in bed with an awkward smile.

He blamed his worrywart Lord but he did not dare say it aloud. Zhao Li Xin rose from his seat and let Jin Hao check Lory's condition. Zhao Li Xin hoped she did not have a mysterious illness that Jin Hao couldn't handle.

Lory was unaware her recent habit of fainting and laying in a coma with no cause had turned Zhao Li Xin into the biggest worrywart anyone could find.

Jin Hao placed a clean handkerchief on her wrist and checked her pulse. He was more relaxed this time around and did not forget the basic etiquette between men and women. Lory smiled apologetically at him and Jin Hao responded with an understanding smile. They both knew how to have tacit communication.

"Young Miss is fine, Milord. She just had too much exposure to heat. She will be fine after we nourish her 'yin' to make her body cooler," Jin Hao smiled amicably as he was glad it was nothing serious.

Lory heard Jin Hao's explanation and agreed secretly, 'It was too much heat, indeed…'

Zhao Li Xin sighed with relief as she did not look ill.

"You must spend less time in the hot spring," Zhao Li Xin stroked her head gently.

"Oh, is the hot spring the cause?" Jin Hao chuckled lightly while staring at her like she was a fool.

Lory's mouth twitched slightly, 'No, your naked Lord is the cause…'

Zhao Li Xin left the room with Jin Hao after a while to let Lory rest. Girsha flew into the room from the window and perched on the table and stared at her with disappointed eyes the moment they left.

[You let me down, girl…]

Lory looked regretful [I made a mistake…]

[I thought you could handle it…]

[Me too, I think I underestimated his charm] Lory rubbed her chin and murmured to herself [I should have known that I need to level up before against the last boss, I mean Zhao Li Xin] Lory decide to slowly get used to Zhao Li Xin naked body, she worries what would happen when eventually they go all the way, is she going to die from blood loss?

[...]

[...]

[That sounds sad... even by beast standards]

[Yeah…I'm sad...]

_________________________________

Zhao Li Xin went into the study room in the villa with Jin Hao and Bei Li Yan who joined them after they left Lory's room. All of Zhao Li Xin's residences had a study room design in the same manner, according to his 'depressing' preference.

The room was similar to the one in Nin Jing manor. It was stoic, cold, and intimidating. Zhao Li Xin sat on a big armchair behind a black wooden table with his usual indifference while Bei Li Yan and Jin Hao stood opposite the table and reported the news from the capital.

Everyone who lived near the Nin Jing manor was scared of the place after the Heavenly Jade Pavilion bloody massacre. They claimed there was an ominous air around the place if they dared to walk too close.

People who had land or houses near the manor were selling their property in a hurry and cheaply. Wu San Bo being a businessman quickly bought these properties since the location was one of the best places in the city. The throwaway prices, however, did not stop Wu San Bo from pushing for a cheaper price. He wasn't called shrewd for nothing.

The Emperor had also discovered he had lost his tiger tally and was searching for it like a mad man. He first suspected Fu Xiao Jin had taken it but he could not blame a reputable general like Fu Xiao Jin without proof. Things got worse for him when the rumors of the supposed missing princess suddenly appearances. Someone claimed to have seen her in Jing An city and spread the word, but he could not tell if it was really her or an imposter. The news shook the capital despite the lack of validity.

The Emperor kept walking in circles around his room. He was not stupid enough to dismiss the connection of the recent events. The missing Princess, the loss of the sacred tree, the destruction of the Heavenly Jade Pavilion sect, the Hei Shen Sect involvement, and the loss of his tiger tally were all connected. However, he still didn't understand why it was happening.

Was Ming Yue Yin still alive? Had she given the sacred tree to Long Ming to make him help her? Was their collaboration the reason Long Ming killed the Heavenly Jade Pavilion Sect members? If this was the case, what was happening with Fu Xiao Jin? Was the General going to rebel? No, he dismissed these thoughts. This couldn't be happening as he was so close to completely obtaining the Kingdom.

"Any news from the Moon Tower Sect?" The Emperor turned to his eunuch and asked.

The Eunuch answered nervously. "No, Your Majesty… There's no news."

The Emperor pushed the vase from the table in anger. It scattered in pieces all over the floor as he heaved with exasperation. Everything was falling apart. Huang Yi Yi had even died in a gruesome way and he could not rely on the Heavenly Jade Pavilion Sect anymore. He also couldn't command the royal army without the tiger tally. He had nothing.

He turned around when he heard something fall on the floor and saw his eunuch lying on the floor. He was stunned but before he could comprehend the situation, a woman wearing red roped stood in front of him with a devilish smile.

"I'm home, father."

The Emperor's heart stopped. His eyes grew wide with panic but found he could not breathe when he tried to say something. He gasped for air but someone had covered his nose and mouth with a cloth forcing him to inhale a strong smell from it. He started to feel weak before everything gradually became dark.

The unconscious Emperor was dragged from the room while Ming Yue Yin watched the man she had called father for sixteen years with mixed emotions. There was a time she trusted him with all her heart but in the end…he was the one who had betrayed her the most. Her heart still ached despite this. However, she knew she couldn't back down from her decision. Not now…not ever!

She calmly walked to the window and slowly opened it. A crescent moon was hanging in the dark sky with grey clouds floating slowly next to it. The cold wind blew her long dark hair as she got a sense of melancholy. She wondered if this was how Lory felt every time she gazed at the night sky. There was a sense of loss and hope merged together as one. It made her want to cry… It was maybe okay to cry now as she could not cry the next day or any other of the following days. After all, she had a Kingdom to rule.