"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."