Wu Jian didn’t have much to do after the battle concluded. He wasn’t an important figure in the grand scheme of things. To everyone involved, he was just a talented cultivator who was courting Hou Jingshu. Talent was important in the cultivation world. However, it had very little to do with ruling a nation. He had neither the training nor the knowhow to be of any help.

That was why all he could do was helplessly watch on as Hou Jingshu worked tirelessly to get her affairs in order after the battle.

If he was being honest, Wu Jian was incredible frustrated with himself. He had learned a bit about managing lands when he was growing up. His father and Wu Taohua had made sure he knew everything he needed to, but a good portion of those memories were gone now, burned away by the flames of that night. He didn’t even want to remember them. They wouldn’t help him get revenge. Even if he did have those memories, it was doubtful someone who learned how to rule a small clan like his could help with ruling a nation.

That was why he silently watched over her. Yōuměi also remained by her side. They seemed to have grown close in the time he had been apart from her, but she was still a child. It made sense that she would cling to someone. He wasn’t jealous. Of course not. It wasn’t like he raised her since she was just a cub. She still called him master and still gave him affection. It was a good thing that she also had someone else to rely on.

Four whole days had passed, and Hou Jingshu worked herself until she was ready to pass out on her feet. Yet she still refused to sleep. Even after she got all the general affairs of the Shang Kingdom in order, there was still one thing she needed to do.

That was how he, Hou Jingshu, Yōuměi, and Zhou Lihua found themselves inside of the emperor’s bedchamber. They were not alone. The fourteen--now thirteen--clans charged with helping govern the nation were also present, as was Yu Chenguang and Fengli Cai. Even Hua Xue was present.

Emperor Hou Gun looked even worse than Wu Jian remembered. The man was a twig, his body emaciated, skin sunken around his ribs, collar, and face. All the muscle was gone, leaving nothing but a skeletal figure.

He glanced at Hou Jingshu, who clenched her fists so hard they bled, whose teary eyes had not left her father’s face. He reached out and gently undid her clenched hands. Then he firmly gripped them.

“It’ll be okay,” he said.

Hou Jingshu’s face contorted, but then she smiled and nodded once. “Hmm. I’m sure you’re right.” She looked at Zhou Lihua. “Do it. Administer the medicine, please.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Zhou Lihua said with a martial bow. Right now, she was acting in her capacity as an alchemist rather than a friend. She walked up to Hou Gun, summoned a small bottle with a single pill inside, and glanced at Yu Chenguang and Fengli Cai.

“Hold his mouth open, please.”

“Of course,” Yu Chenguang said.

Fengli Cai said nothing as she helped open the emperor’s mouth, so Zhou Lihua could place the pill inside. Emperor Hou Gun had trouble swallowing the pill. He lacked the strength for even simple tasks now. Zhou Lihua was forced to use her chi to force the pill down the Emperor’s throat and even break it up.

“In most cases, the gastric acid within the stomach does the job of breaking up a pill’s outer shell… but Emperor Hou Gun is too weak even for that. His stomach acid isn’t doing it’s job. I suspect his body shut the process down to conserve energy,” Zhou Lihua said as she placed her hands over his stomach and channeled chi into it.

Hou Jingshu clung tightly to Wu Jian’s hand. His fingers made ominous cracking sounds. This girl was not holding back. His fingers were going to break if she held on any tighter.

Zhou Lihua eventually stepped away, and everyone waited on baited breath to see what would happen next. Several seconds passed. Then a full minute went by. Wu Jian glanced at the others to see them furrowing their brows or biting their lips. He could practically see their thoughts, hear them wondering why the emperor wasn’t waking up.

“Please be patient,” Zhou Lihua assured them. “The poison has been running rampant through his body for a long time. It will take a while for the pill to remove every trace of poison.”

Her assurance did wonders for him and Hou Jingshu, though everyone else remained tense. They stood in that room for what felt like hours. Wu Jian didn’t know how much time actually passed, but it was definitely a long time.

However, finally, the emperor’s eyelids stirred, and then he opened his eyes. He furrowed his brow, then looked around at all the people present. Not a single person in that room could remain blank-faced. Many of them trembled with emotion upon seeing the emperor awake again, though none were as pronounced as Hou Jingshu, who gasped and held a hand to her mouth as tears leaked down her eyes.

“… I feel like I have just awoken from a very long dream,” he mumbled.

“Your Majesty,” Yu Chenguang croaked even as he bowed. “It is… so good to see you awake.”

“Chen… you look like you’ve been through a war,” Emperor Hou Gun said.

Yu Chenguang merely smiled. “You have no idea.”

“I see… you’ll have to tell me… what happened… later…”

Everyone’s faces paled when Emperor Hou Gun closed his eyes again. The thirteen clans whirled on Zhou Lihua, their faces drawn in anger.

“What is going on?! I thought you said the emperor was cured!”

“Is this what you call cured?!”

“How dare you assure us that everything is all right!”

“You talentless hack! I knew it! You’re just another pretty face! I bet your accolades are all falsified because of your beauty!”

Before even one more word could be uttered, an overwhelmingly dark aura swept through the room, causing all those under the Human Limit Realm to fall to their knees. A few tried to resist. Their attempts were futile. The pressure increased and they found themselve falling onto their faces. Yu Chenguang, Hou Jingshu, and Zhou Lihua looked over at Wu Jian, who eyed the noble clans with cold indifference.

“Those who have no understanding of alchemy should keep their mouths shut,” he said.

“Jian Wu… I understand your anger, but can you reign in it?” asked Yu Chenguang.

“Fine.”

Wu Jian snorted in disgust and stopped emitting the intense killing intent. The thirteen noble clans sighed in relief, though they quickly stopped breathing when Wu Jian looked at them again.

“Lili… what is going on? Why is father still asleep?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Zhou Lihua smiled. “Don’t worry. This is normal. The poison might be gone, but his body is still weak. I’ll need to prescribe him several pills to help him recover, and he’ll also need to be given a strict diet. Alchemy pills can do many things, but they can’t give you all the nutrients your body needs.”

“But he will be okay?” Hou Jingshu asked for confirmation.

“Of course.”

“That’s… good…”

Wu Jian was by Hou Jingshu’s side the moment her knees gave out. He caught the woman in his arms, almost dropping her when her entire body went slack. Wu Jian felt a moment of panic, but he soon realized she was just sleeping, which caused him to sigh in relief and turn to everyone.

“Her Highness is exhausted, so I’m going to take her to her residence. Yu Chenguang, can I leave the rest of this to you?”

“You may.”

“Good. I’m going then.”

Wu Jian walked out of the room, Zhou Lihua and Yōuměi following close behind him.

***

Wu Jian entered Hou Jingshu’s residence. Yōuměi padded in after and Zhou Lihua closed the door behind them. He took in the familiar sights as he walked down the hall and slipped into the living space. It felt like he hadn’t seen this place in so long, though he knew it had only been a few months at the most.

“Where should we place Hou Jingshu? On a bed?” asked Zhou Lihua.

Wu Jian shook his head. “No. I’d like to be there when she wakes up.”

“So you plan to do what? Have her sleep on the floor?” Zhou Lihua raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not.”

“Then what?”

“Lap pillow.”

“...”

Zhou Lihua pursed her lips as Wu Jian put Hou Jingshu down, then sat down, and then placed the young woman’s head on his lap. The Shang Kingdom’s princess shifted a bit, then smiled as she got comfortable on his thighs.

“Haaaaah. You certainly know how to make a girl jealous,” Zhou Lihua muttered as she sat down beside him.

“Master, Yōuměi wants a lap pillow too,” Yōuměi said suddenly.

“Sorry, but I only have one lap.”

“But you have two thighs.”

“And both are in use.”

“Grrrr.”

Zhou Lihua smiled as she patted her lap. “You can use my lap if you want.”

“Okay!”

Wu Jian shook his head as Yōuměi flopped down on her stomach, her head on Zhou Lihua’s thighs.

“Yōuměi likes your thighs,” she muttered.

Zhou Lihua smiled. “Well, I’m glad.”

“They’re nice and juicy,” the cat added.

Zhou Lihua’s smile became fixed. “Is… that so…?”

“I personally like your thighs, too,” Wu Jian added.

“I’d be very cross with you if you didn’t,” Zhou Lihua said, easing up on her irritation.

They continued speaking, though it was mostly banter. Wu Jian was still dealing with the knowledge that he couldn’t help Hou Jingshu all that much. She was struggling under the burden of ruling a kingdom, and all he could do was stand on the sidelines. It galled him.

“You shouldn’t think about what you can’t do,” Zhou Lihua said suddenly.

“Excuse me?” asked Wu Jian.

Zhou Lihua chuckled at his expression. “You’re feeling guilty because you can’t help Jingshu deal with the fallout of the invasion, since you don’t know enough about managing a country, right?”

He sighed. “You’ve always been able to see right through me, haven’t you?”

“Of course I can. Who do you think you’re talking to?” Zhou Lihua idly scratched Yōuměi’s ear, watching it twitch before she continued speaking in a soft voice. “There are always going to be things you’re not good at, things you can’t do no matter how much you might want to. If you focus on all the things you can’t do, you’ll never be able to accomplish the things you can.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Wu Jian said.

“I am.” Zhou Lihua confirmed with a nod. She placed one hand behind her and used it to support herself as she leaned back. “Do you know why I became an alchemist?”

“Because you love alchemy?”

The woman shook her head. “I respected alchemy, but I didn’t love it. I became an alchemist because I have the talent for it. Very few people in this world are born with both a wood and fire element. Since I was one of those few, it was obvious I would go on to learn alchemy. However, I really wanted to be a cultivator. I wanted to grow strong with you, Mei, and Jingshu… but I realized a while ago that I don’t have the talent for combat and cultivation like I thought I did. I could have wallowed in despair, but instead, I decided to focus on becoming the best alchemist I can, so that I could support you three in your cultivation. This is something only I can do.”

“I see.”

Wu Jian hadn’t even considered Zhou Lihua’s point of view before, and now that she had told him about her own struggles, he realized how self-deprecating he was being. That wouldn’t help Hou Jingshu either. If he wanted to help her, then he needed to figure out how he could use what he was good at to her benefit.

Sadly, the only thing Wu Jian was good at was cultivation. He had never thought about doing anything else, especially after his clan was destroyed. Wait. Didn’t that make him a boring person? Was he boring? Now that he thought about it, he had no hobbies other than cultivating, and he did nothing but cultivate… well, he also had sex with Hou Jingshu, but that really couldn’t be called a hobby, could it? Also, if he was good for nothing but cultivating, what did that say about him?

“I get the feeling you’re starting to overthink things again,” Zhou Lihua said with a smile.

“Ugh…” Wu Jian grimaced.

“You don’t need to feel pressured to figure out something right away.” Zhou Lihua removed her hand from Yōuměi’s head, causing the cat to twitch and look at her. Yōuměi did not look pleased to have her headpats taken away. While the cat pawed at Zhou Lihua with a pitiful expression, the beautiful young alchemist placed the hand on Wu Jian’s. “Take your time and think about what you can do for her. Right now, I think the best thing you can do is support her though.”

“”Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Wu Jian nodded. He still wanted to do more, but he understood there was little he could do right now. He smiled at Zhou Lihua. “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome,” Zhou Lihua said, then grinned. “I also hope you’ll support me when I need you.”

“You know I will,” Wu Jian took Zhou Lihua’s hand, brought it to his lips, and placed a kiss on it.

Zhou Lihua’s cheeks turned pink as her smile widened. She turned her hand over in his grip, so that her palm could rest upon his cheek. Wu Jian continued to place tiny kisses on her skin. He wondered if he should stop? He was beginning to get hot and bothered, and the last thing he wanted was to, uh, poke Hou Jingshu while she slept on his lap because he got aroused.

The matter was taken completely out of his hand when the door was flung wide open and Loong Chen stepped into the room.