The Princess And The Lord

The next day came and news on the Emperor exiling Yuan Shao spread like wildfire. The Liu Yan citizens were shocked by this revelation. A few understood the Emperor's reason but most were dissatisfied with it. Yuan Shao was their hero. His character was good and he never had any bad rumor. His reputation was as clean as a mountain's water spring. He was a General that everyone was proud of. They didn't understand why the Emperor exiled him for refusing to marry a vicious woman like Qian Mu Ting. They deplored the Emperor's decision but everything was irreversible as Yuan Shao had already left. 

The Emperor caused a ruckus in his living quarters when his spies told him the assassin the had sent after Yuan Shao were all dead. This is also meant no one knew the direction Yuan Shao took when he left the city, and he could no longer sent other assassins. The Emperor then sent his people to search for Yuan Xue An's whereabouts without success. He had his spies investigate everyone with a close relationship with Yuan Shao from his family to subordinates but there was no news on Yuan Xue An. It was like the Yuan family brother and sister had disappeared without a trace.

The livid Emperor destroyed everything around him when he got this report. He wanted Yuan Shao dead as he worried Yuan Shao would come back one day to settle scores with him. The Emperor asked his daughter, Qian Qin Wei, about her stepchildren but she was also clueless. Qian Qin Wei also tried to probe Yuan Fei for information but Yuan Fei didn't know where his children where but he believed they were both safe and well.

The Emperor's investigation on the Yuan brother and sister met many roadblocks because Bei Li Yan and his vermillion palace hid their information. The secret traders in the kingdom also stayed mum as they needed Bei Li Yuan's permission to speak. Failure to follow this protocol meant facing the Hei Shen Sect's wrath.

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Lory arranged several gemstones on the table inside the armory chamber. There were rubies, sapphires, diamonds, pearls, and more in different colors. Lory invited the four King Palaces and Ming Yue Yin to the armory to watch them work as promised. Jiang Jin Wei and Wu San Bo were the only ones confused by the summons. The only thing they knew was Bei Li Yan had told them to keep everything that happened inside the room as a secret and assured them he would explain everything later.

"Xin, come here," Lory beckoned Zhao Li Xin. Lory took his hand and let it hover over the gems on the table once he approached her. Her voice was low when she said. "Choose a gem that has an affinity to you. There will be a slight cold and tingling sensation at the tips of your fingers once you hover over the right gem. Come on, try it."

The King Palace and Ming Yue Yin moved closer to the table as they couldn't hold in their curiosity. Zhao Li Xin's hand hovered over the gemstones while Lory stood across the table and watched him closely. Girsha who was perched on the table took in everything with amusement. Although Lory made it sound like it was easy to create a curse protection amulet, Girsha could count them all with one hand as they were very rare. 

Lory was among the talented. She excelled at making the spells but failed at weapon enhancement, which was Lucas' expertise. Lory's broad knowledge of spells, especially ancient spells was the reason they could forge the magic amulets in a world that didn't have magic. It was also a little complicated as everything had to be done from scratch.

Zhao Li Xin's hand stop over a blue diamond. There was a slight tingling sensation at the tip of his middle finger. He only noticed it as Lory had told him what to look out for. His middle finger wiggled a little and his palm became slightly cold yet the back of his hand still felt warm. It was a weird feeling. Zhao Li Xin picked the blue diamond and passed it to Lory.

Lory accepted the blue diamond with a smile. Her gaze shifted to Ming Yue Yin, "You are next!"

Ming Yue Yin's hand stopped over the red emerald. Jin Hao picked the pure green jadeite stone, Bei Li Yan the red ruby, the black opal was chosen by Wu San Bo and the grey sapphire was picked by Jiang Jin Wei.

Lory kept away the remaining gemstones and used a brush to make a circle on the table. She inscribed runes inside the circle and made six-pointed stars at the center. She then drew a crescent moon in the middle of the star and added more runes on the inside line of the circle.

She then placed the six stones on each end of the pointed starts once she was done with the brush. The rest watched her in awe. Wu San Bo and Jiang Jin Wei kept exchanging glances and wondered if their sect had decided to get involved with witchcraft. Being a witch or being involved with anything associated with witchcraft was a taboo in their world as it was connected to evil.

"This…is young madam a whit…" Jiang Jin Wei, the most upright man among them was disturbed by what he saw.

"Don't you dare say that word!" Ming Yue Yin glared at him. She scoffed with anger, "Lory is a God messenger. Her bloodline is more noble and honorable than any king and queen in this world. God chose her lineage to protect and rule their world. I will not let you degrade her by calling her what you equate to a witch. She is Princess Lorient of Harland, the daughter of the Great King Marcus!"

"She is a Princess?" Bei Li Yan asked.

"She is not just a princess but also a guardian of her people. You should have seen how people worshiped her," Ming Yue Yin took a deep breath as she recalled her dreams on Lory. She had never seen people worship their kings and the royal family as they did.

Jiang Jin Wei and Wu San Bo were still confused. They didn't know who Ming Yue Yin was talking about. Jin Hao leaned towards them and said in a low voice, "I will tell you everything... First things first, you need to know Luo Ri Yi is not from this world. It is the reason her body is unable to store Qi and cultivate it. However, she has her own power. A supernatural power she calls Gift. Creating this is also one of her powers." 

Jin Hao tried to quickly summarize Lory's story as he didn't want them to be suspicious of her.

[Girsha] Lory called the bird.

The bird pierced his own wing with his beak and blood flowed from his white feathers. Lory used a small cup to collect his blood. She only got three droplets of blood but it was enough to fill the six gemstones with mana. She used a finger to smear the blood on each gemstone and a dim light engulfed them, waking the stones with mana. 

Lory also needed to do the same to the magic circle. She took out her dagger from the insides of her sleeve and quickly slit both of her palms. This stunned Zhao Li Xin and the others as it was unexpected. They watched as blood dripped onto the table from her palms. She closed her eyes and placed her bloodied palms over the circle.

[With this blood I call the power of light. In the name of Lucient I beseech thee O Lord of heaven…]

The blood from her hands was suddenly sucked into the circle and a red light emerged from it. The ground shook like there was an earthquake and the red light turned white and finally into a soft purple light. A gush of wind burst from within the circle as the six-pointed stars shore brightly.

They all covered their eyes from the blinding light with their wide sleeves. It took a few seconds for the light to gradually dim. The crescent moon illuminated with a purple light was left, and the light kept shifting to each stone. Lory gasped for breath and slightly staggered. Zhao Li Xin was quick to catch her.

"Are you okay?" Zhao Li Xin was anxious when he saw her pale face. The purple iris in her eyes slowly darkened.

"I'm fine…" Lory answered weakly as she placed her head on Zhao Li Xin's shoulder. The spell didn’’t consume a lot of mana but she forgot she didn't have much of her powers. Her body only a little mana which she had exhausted. 

"Put the stones inside the amulets and give each amulet with the stones to their selected owners," Lory fainted in Zhao Li Xin's arms after she said that.

"Aunty!"

"Madam!"

Their voices were faint as she fell into a deep sleep.