After following Yin Zhelan back to his estate, I look around the lush gardens with no interest. He goes on and on about the gardens and even tries to impress me with all his gold and jade objects. When I yawn for the fifth time, he finally takes me to the natural spring.
Because the natural spring is located in his courtyard, we have to walk through his room. I ignore everything else as I head straight for the spring. If it indeed holds magic, Mango and I will hop back over to our world.
As we come up to it, Yin Zhelan comes to a stop and turns to look at me with hope. I lift a dark brow in question and he quickly says "If the natural spring is up to your standard, will you marry me?"
Both my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. He wants me to do what!? Wait... if it's up to my standards then we can go home. I could tell him that I'll give him the heavens and it wouldn't matter because I won't be here.
I tilt my head to the side a little, thinking for a moment before slowly nodding my head and saying "If it's good enough, I will marry you." Yin Zhelan looks at me with excitement before nodding and saying "Then please, have a look at my natural spring."
He pulls a sheer curtain to the side, instantly allowing me to see the steam rising from the spring. I walk forward and step into what looks like another world. The bright sky above shows that the night view would be to die for but what really sets off the space is the majestic cherry blossom tree that hangs over the spring.
It's bright pink petals fall into the spring, instantly giving the whole area a pleasing smell. I step up closer to the spring and look down into the jade-colored waters with a frown. It's indeed a beautiful spring with natural minerals that can aid in the healing of tired muscles but there isn't a drop of magic.
I look around the spring, hoping by some miracle the magic would jump out and yell "Surprise!" but nothing happens. It's just a beautiful natural spring. I sigh and turn around to find Yin Zhelan right behind me.
He smiles down at me and asks "Well? Isn't it beautiful?" I glance back to the spring before nodding my head in agreement. He smiles in triumph and says "Then we'll marry!" I frown at him and shake my head as I say "I'm afraid not."
He immediately freezes and turns back to look at me with confusion. He looks to the spring then back to me before saying "Is the spring not beautiful!? Why would you not marry me?" I point to the spring and say "While the spring is beautiful, it's not up to my standards."
I start to walk away as I say "If you remember, I told you that I would marry you if the spring was up to my standards." I take a single step before he reaches out and blocks me. I glance up to him in question to see him still looking at me in confusion.
His frown deepens as he asks "How is my spring not up to your standards?" I stare him in the eyes as I say "It's lacking." He instantly freezes, unable to think of what to say as I continue to walk. Why did he look like I just insulted his manhood?
Did men here compare their manhood to their springs? I shrug and keep walking but when I see all the soldiers blocking my way out of his room, my anger starts to rise. I turn to see Yin Zhelan walking up to me from behind.
He grits his teeth and says "You're just trying to back out of your word. You agreed to marry me." I tsk at him as I turn to him and say "If I was satisfied with it! I'm clearly not! It's lacking! Severely!!" All the guards behind me suck in while others outright snicker.
They cough and clear their throats, trying to hide their amusement but it doesn't go unnoticed by Yin Zhelan. He quickly looks to them and yells "The spring! She's talking about the spring!!" The men all nod their heads as they struggle to hide their smiles. They don't seem to believe him and I make no attempt in clarifying myself.
Yin Zhelan turns back to me and says "You're just trying to back out of your word! You're trying to take advantage of me!" I smirk at him and say "How so? I didn't even use it! I took one look at it and knew that it was useless! It's severely lacking and doesn't have what it takes to satisfy me at all."
The men all break down in laughter once again before quickly covering it up. Was I wrong for this? Maybe, but this guy deserves it. Suddenly, the pressure in the room changes, and all the guards fall to their knees. I look back to Yin Zhelan to see him clutching his chest in pain as I hear a deep voice say "What's this I heard about marrying someone over a spring?"
My face drops when I realize just who it is. I slowly turn to find Jinhai slowly walking into the room with cold, hard eyes. His black robes sway around him like he carries the night with him. I watch as his little servant closely follows him in and it clicks. He was watching me...
I look back to Jinhai and say "I told him if it satisfied me that I would agree to marry him, unfortunately, it was severely lacking." Yin Zhelan quickly says "The spring, she's talking about the spring!!"
Jinhai ignores him and says "Severely lacking, huh?" I nod once and say "Yes, one look at it and I could tell it was completely useless." Jinhai smirks at me as the coldness in his eyes begins to fade. Yin Zhelan throws his hands up and yells "The SPRING!! SHE'S TALKING ABOUT THE SPRING!!!"