The Princess And The Lord

Zhao Li Xin was still burning with fire, both figuratively and literally. Every beast near him was burned to a crisp before they could even get closer to them. He lost his temper and vented at anything available. His own subordinates didn't dare to walk to close to him. Their master was like a ticking bomb and they did not know when he would explode. The only people to blame for the current predicament were the Huang siblings. Zhao Li Xin's subordinates wished they could resurrect the siblings just to kill them once again.

Jin Hao fanned himself with a special fan imbued with snow crystals. It helped him relieve some of the steam blowing his way from his lord. Bei Li Yan watched his selfish brother as he only seemed to care about his own wellbeing. Bei Li Yan wondered how his selfish brother could not see him sweat and not offer him a fan.

Zhao Li Xin ignored everyone as his mind had gone crazy. He asked himself where Lory was and if she was alive. He wondered if she was hurt and prayed she was not dead. His heart was too distraught for him to think properly. He had the map but it was still taking too much time for him to get to Lory's location. He also could not tell if she was still in the same location or she had moved elsewhere.

She had been lost for about a day but it felt like forever to him. He had yet to rest since she left. He kept moving as he knew he would go crazy from distressed. They followed the winding road and intricated maze before they reached the place where he and Lory got separated.

"Milord, I think this is the way out of the tunnel," Mong Yi said.

Zhao Li Xin couldn't see anyone but the cold stone wall. His heart begun to race as he entered the tunnel slowly. His steps turned heavy as he felt a bad premonition. His fists clenched and his expression became more tensed. There was something very wrong with the picture. He halted his steps in front of the crumbled floor and looked down at the iron spikes. His heart dropped as he saw the corpses pierce by the spikes.

He wondered if he could find Luo Ri Yi's corpse among them. His hand trembled as everything became dark around him. His legs became soft and he felt faint for the first time in his life. He was tempted to fall on his knees with despair. He gritted his teeth as he reminded himself he couldn't give up now. Lory could still be alive. SHE HAD TO!

"Milord, I think Miss Luo went this way!" Mong Ki shouted. He never shouted at Zhao Li Xin but he could see Zhao Li Xin's chaotic Qi and knew he had to capture his attention before it was too late.

Zhao Li Xin didn't care who shouted as all he heard was his little savior's name and the possibility of her being alive. He ran to Mong Ki and found Jin Hao crouched in front of the boulder with a rope tied around it. Jin Hao found the knot was strange.

"I think she went down there," Jin Hao said after he made sure the rope was the same as the one Zhao Li Xin gave Luo Ri Yi. Zhao Li Xin never gave Luo Ri Yi ordinary things. The simple rope was made out of a special material uncommon to common people.

Zhao Li Xin recognized the weird knot as his savior's knot. He had seen the same knot at Lao Manor when he first met Luo Ri Yi. She had tied the knot to a broken hoe that she used to climb over the Lao Manor wall.

Zhao Li Xin sighed with relief. The robe was a positive sign she had escaped. His chaotic heart calmed slowly and his mind cleared. He realized he needed to find her fast before she encountered anything more dreadful.

Zhao Li Xin jumped down without warning and the others followed their lord. The distance was not too far for Zhao Li Xin and the others but they knew it was not an easy task for normal people. The jump would easily drain their stamina. They all admired Luo Ri Yi's resilience and strong will in the depths of their hearts.

Their hearts shrunk when they saw the small bridge and wondered if Luo Ri Yi made it across in one piece. They looked at each other as their minds thought the same thing. Zhao Li Xin had the same fears but didn't want to dwell on it. He leaped onto the bridge and looked around to see if there was any sign of her survival.

The rest also spread out and looked for clues without being ordered. Jin Hao was the first to see something. He shouted, "Someone was here!"

Zhao Li Xin and the others half-run toward Jin Hao. They could all see the boot marks on the ground. The marks were made by small boots. Their imprints made the boots look new and they could tell it belonged to a woman from the size. Luo Ri Yi was the only woman they knew who had entered the tomb with boots.

The footprints led them to the pitch-black cave with a slippery ground. fortunately, high cultivators like them could see well in the cave. A bad premonition overcame them when they were hit by the awful smell.

A cocoon fell from the ceiling with a heavy thud as they looked around. They all frowned with disgust and Mong Yi quickly stabbed through the cocoon. A gooey liquid flowed out of the cocoon and they realized they were inside a worm nest cave.

Cave worms were Spiritual Level beasts. The strength of spiritual beasts was not much for them but they could not say the same for Luo Ri Yi. It was hard for her to survive a spiritual beast if she was to encounter one. Cold sweat drenched Zhao Li Xin's subordinates' backs as they thought the worst. They scattered away from their lord and prayed for a miracle. They hoped the Great Lady was alive or there was a fat chance they would all be killed if their lord went into a frenzy.

"Milord, there are more boot marks…and I think someone fought here!" Mong Yi reported to his lord. He shouted loudly as he was no longer concerned about his manners around his lord.

Zhao Li Xin would have minded this type of behavior on a normal day but he no longer cared in the current situation. He didn't even realize what Mong Yi did and the rest didn't care as they all had one goal which was to find their fire extinguisher before they were fried. 

Mong Ki joined his brother and examined the footprints on the ground. The angle of the footprints and the distance between them showed the young madam was running away from the cocoons. There were other marks on the ground that showed something big was chasing her and one didn't need to be a genius to guess what it was. Then burn marks on the ground made them hopeful as it increased her chance for survival. 

The footprints led them to the end of the cliff. Their hearts dropped once again and Bei Li Yan almost cursed out loudly. The fluctuating feelings they kept getting would kill him. He had been through a lot but this was the first time he felt distressed.

Zhao Li Xin forced himself to stay calm and reassured himself his little savior was still alive somewhere. She had to be alive as he didn't know what he would do if he lost her. His keen eyes detected another entrance across the cliff. He looked up and noticed the hanging tree vines on the ceiling, some of which looked disturbed. 

Zhao Li Xin ignored his subordinates and grabbed a hanging tree vine and swung across the cliff. The others followed him without question. They could not see Zhao Li Xin's expression as he moved as he was not facing them, but they assumed it was not the best. 

Zhao Li Xin suddenly chuckled and murmured, "She's alive…"

"Milord?" Mong Ki was afraid his lord had lost his mind. He approached him nervously and scrutinize his lord's expression carefully. His Lord didn't look sad or crazy but instead looked relieved. Mong Ki followed his lord's gaze and saw the half-eaten grapes and a small meat bun on the ground.

Mong Ki overjoyed by what he saw as it meant Miss Luo Ri Yi had been there in the past few hours. It seemed both her and her pet were alive and well.

"What's wrong?" Mong Yi nervously asked.

"Miss Luo is still alive. Look!" Mong Ki pointed to the ground and the rest were elated by what they saw when they followed his finger.

"She is really is alive!" Jin Hao was shocked because Luo Ri Yi was not a cultivator. He thought being a cultivator increased a person's chance for survival. He forgot to think of the stupid Liangzu princess who was a cultivator. If the Liangzu Princess Ming Ru Yi was in the same position as Luo Ri Yi, she won't have managed to survive for long. When faced with an unexpected situation, the survived didn't need to be a strong cultivator as all they would need was a clear mind. Someone who could make quick and smart decisions while under pressure without giving up easily.

The other thing Jin Hao failed to realize was a survivor also needed to be strong-willed and experienced especially when put in a situation where they lacked an upper hand like Luo Ri Yi. Jin Hao only wondered the type of mental strength she possessed to be resilient as he believed it was not something one was born with. It was something honed by life. The question at the top of his mind was what kind of life Luo Ri Yi had gone through to be how she was.

"I think she rested here," Bei Li Yan stated. "The footprints show she camped under the big stones."

"She ate and had time to rest… She's patient, calm and careful. Our future madam is not ordinary after all," Jin Hao smiled with satisfaction.

Bei Li Yan also agreed with Jin Hao. Luo Ri Yi looked easy-going and frail on the outside but she was a decisive person on the inside. She was also quick-witted and smart. Although she was a waste with no cultivation, she was not weak and never acted pitiful. She might have hailed from a lowly background but she had no greed for wealth or power. She was the best candidate for their future madam, not to mention that she was the only one who could move the Demon Lord.