Although she no longer had the stomach to eat, despite being hungry, Li Yu Rong still sat with her in his arms. Among them were the others waiting for breakfast. As soon as he sat, a tray with steamed stuffed buns, congee and a bowl of rice atop it was placed in front of him.
Before partaking of the meal Li Yu Rong made sure that Asya ate well. She found it difficult to eat under the eyes of the others around them. Why couldn't they focus on their own meals rather than look at her with strange gazes? A gaze that almost made her too bashful to lift her head.
It was beginning to make her skin itch.
Despite that, Nastasia decided to hold her head high and pretend that the eyes glancing at her here and there didn't exist. Although she was incredibly embarrassed by the knowledge that everyone around her knew what transpired between her and Li Yu Rong, she acted as if she wasn't.
While she thought her pretense was going smoothly, red-tinted her cheeks and dusted her ears, showing her true state of mind quite clearly. The sight was so endearing to him that Li Yu Rong wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed the tip of her red dusted ear.
Now that she had given her assent, agreeing to be his, he couldn't help showering her with affection. Even more so than in the past. Wanting nothing more than to remain like this, with his nose in the crook of her neck, taking in her sent, while his arms held her securely to his chest.
Unfortunately, she wouldn't be comfortable finishing her breakfast like that and thus reluctantly pulled away from her.
Though this display of affection brought an even deeper bashfulness to flip around her insides, at least it caused the spectators to return attention to the delicious meal in front of them. Afterward, she was able to breath easier and found much more enjoyment in the food she was eating.
Once breakfast came to an end, Paoxiao, Hui Se Ying, and Lu Se Ying were already standing beside the cart ready to leave. As the leader of the caravan allowed them to take a few blankets, the side of the cart where Li Yu Rong placed her, was very warm. It was much better than when she curled up beneath Hui Se Ying's robe, trying to pull some semblance of warmth to her body.
During the journey Nastasia, quite drained from the other night's exercise, fell asleep to the gentle rattling of the cart. After she had fallen asleep, Li Yu Rong placed a spell over her to prevent her from being disturbed from slumber. Although she wasn't too light of a sleeper, it would be difficult for anyone to rest well as they carried the cart, making use of lightness step techniques.
Their speed of travel quadrupled.
Though, due to the weight they carried, the speed wasn't quite the same as when Li Yu Rong and Lu Se Ying were racing to find Asya and the other two. Either way, they would be able to make it to the teleportation array before night completely fell.
As they raced through the Ice Forest, the wonders of living ice that can only be found in this one-of-a-kind ice wonderland were passed by without even a glance. As their master demanded they be quick, the wouldn't dare lose themselves in anything else.
Being asleep as she was Nastasia wasn't aware of it but, as they sped through the Ice forest, she was rather curious about, she missed all sorts of interesting sights. Many of which were detailed in the book she read that provoked her interest in this region that housed living ice.
Though it was a merely a flight of fancy, she couldn't help but wonder if there were creatures like Olaf running around, or like the little ones shown in the Frozen shorts on the Disney Channel.
If she had been awake and had they been moving a bit slower, she would have seen the familiars of frost fairies frolicking about to collect things for their masters. These familiars that looked rather similar to cute, bubbly, cartoonish snowmen. Alas, this will be a sight that she will have to wait until sometime in the future to finally get her chance to see.
After a few hours of such running, a journey that would take a day or more at a normal speed, the teleportation array was finally in sight. Li Yu Rong didn't remove the spell he placed over Asya as they walked over the stone slabs, leading up to the circular platform that held the equation for instant transportation.
Although there wasn't a need to run anymore and therefore the cart wouldn't be jostled, he still didn't want her to wake just yet. As they went through the array they materialized into the midst of a bloody carnival.
The two Gate Guardian, along with the minions at their back, were faucets dropping blood to the stone slabs below their feet. Li Yu Rong took steps forward, his booted feet making wet taps, uncaring of the partially congealed blood he treaded through.
"An Ying." The name was uttered softly but laced with heavy command.
An Ying, in the midst of ripping another finger from the hand that was already short two, paused. He turned to his master and murmured apologetically. "The subordinates have all died."
Li Yu Rong swept his dual-colored eyes across the corpses that were forced upright due to the array he trapped them in. There were slight signs of torture before a deciding strike took their life, speaking of An Ying's impatience as the victim refused to speak.
While he knew that this would be the result, he still heaved out a suffering sigh. "You need to work on that temper of yours but, well, you've done well to hold back from killing them all." He praised and then added. "Have they spoken anything that would allude to why they've acted against me?"
An Ying's dark eyes darted to the one he had been in the midst of torturing; Ruang Ning. Those bottomless eyes of his that sucked you in a void of cold feelings and death swept across the bodies bearing his handy work before resting upon his master. "I wrote down the confessions, but they didn't contain the information master cares for."
Hearing that Li Yu Rong rose a brow before tossing a look to Ruang Ning. "Continue, if no confession arises than what use is there to keep them."
Before An Ying could nod and return to his assigned task, Wei Ping began to shout madly. Fear of pain and torture that would visit him next brought him to frenzied action. "I'll talk, I'll tell you, just please let me go!"