"Blind?" Lingling was surprised and leaned closer to Lanlan, "Was he born blind?" Lanlan sighed, "I'll tell you when the party is over but no, he was blind after the war." The war. What war? Lingling suddenly remembered, "Lanlan, was it the war with the demon?" Lanlan looked at her, "So you do remember." Lingling shook her head, "My father told me stories and I only remembered a bit." Lanlan nodded, "Don't worry, I'll tell you lots after." Lingling was thankful for Lanlan. She's the first friend ever since she got dragged in here.
After presenting all of the presents, the other four handsome men stood in front of the Lord. Lanlan nudged Lingling, "These four men are the four dragon deities. From your left, Green Dragon of the East- Lu, second one is Blue Dragon of the West-Lan Xian, Third is the White Dragon of the North, Bingxue. And the last dragon is the Red Dragon of the South, Huoxing. These four deities are chosen by Lord Weijun to guard Wulong Palace. Each of them are powerful so it's better if you leave them alone or else trouble will find you. They all respect our Lord Weijun and will listen to his command only." Lingling nodded as she listened but will forget their names within few seconds.
The four deities all presented their special gifts from their homeland. Lingling felt disappointed because Lord Weijun was blind, it would be wonderful to see the gifts with his own eyes.
Now, there were musical performances, dancing, plays, and laughters. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Lingling was in deep thought when Lanlan poked her, "What were you thinking? Here, eat this." Lanlan shoved a dessert into Lingling's mouth. Lingling carefully chewed and swallowed the dessert. It tasted wonderful. As she was about to take more desserts, someone came in running.
"My Lord, we found poison in your room. As you instructed us, we searched everywhere and found this." A soldier looked at Lord Weijun then bowed, "My apologies, I forgot you lost your vision." Lord Weijun got up and said, "You can leave." Lord Weijun signalled one of his assistant to examine the poison. His assistants tried to identify but all they did was shaking their head.
"My Lord, we cannot find anything wrong with this. This is clearly not poison. The soldier must've tricked you." Lord Weijun was enraged, "I told you to examine it! If you cannot, don't even think about keeping your head intact." Lingling got the shivers down her spine. Lord Weijun's voice was deep and it sounded like rushing water. When he gets mad, he gets real mad.
"Lanlan, does Lord Weijun usually get this mad?" Lanlan nodded, "Ever since Ling An passed away, he was in the dark. So, his temper was always up and down. That's what I heard from the maids." Lingling looked at Lord Weijun once again. His cold silver eyes were emotionless.
After few minutes passed, the palace assistants and doctors could not find what type of poison the soldier gave them. Lingling couldn't stand it anymore.
"Lanlan, forgive me. I have to do this." Lanlan looked at her, "What are you doing? Are you trying kill yourself?" Lingling looked at her, "I know this poison. I can tell." Lanlan tried to stop her but it was useless. Lingling was already walking toward the Lord.
"Greeting, Lord Weijun. I'm Lingling from the mortal world. Before you kill me, I would like to tell you that I know what type of poison that is." Lord Weijun replied, "Why is this mortal here? Get her away from me." Lingling struggled as the soldiers tried to drag her away. Then, Ming came out of nowhere and defended Lingling.
"My Lord, why not let her do it? If she fails, you can do whatever you want with her." Gee. Thanks a lot, Ming... Lingling sighed. Lord Weijun nodded, "If you fail, I'll kill you."
Lingling took a deep breath and started to examine the poison. She saw this type poison in the mortal world. It was clear, no smell and no taste. It was clearly arsenic. She looked at Lord Weijun and concluded her answer. Everyone was looking at her and was unable to say anything. Lord Weijun slowly went down the stairs with the help of one of his assistant, he walked closer to Lingling which made her heart skip a beat.
"You said your name was Lingling?" She said yes.
"You solved something no one can. What reward would you like?" He asked.
"I don't need anything. I just wanted to go home." Lingling replied. Lord Weijun stayed silent for awhile, "It will be very hard for you to go back. If you want to go back, you need to pass a test with three of the dragon deities which no one ever passed. A mortal like you would get killed instantly. If you don't want to die, I suggest you remain here." Lingling was disappointed but understood.
"My Lord, why don't you keep this young mortal as a palace doctor? Or you can keep her by your side." One of his assistant asked. Lord Weijun replied, "I trust her. Let her stay by my side. Miss. Ling, would you like to stay by my side or be a palace doctor instead?" Lingling was dumbfounded. Did she hear it correctly? He wanted her to stay by his side? She took a deep breath and replied, "Yes I will stay by your side." Oh heavens, Lingling sighed again.
Lord Weijun nodded and signalled her to go back, "My servant, Ming, will take you to my chamber." Lingling still couldn't believe what had happened. Too many things happened in one day.
"Lanlan, what should I do?" Lingling begged Lanlan to save her from the misery.
"Lingling, consider yourself lucky. No one else can stay close to the Lord. Go for it if you like him." Lanlan teased her. Like him? Who likes him? Lingling talked to herself.
"See, your face is blushing." Lanlan laughed. Lingling covered her face in embarassment.
That night, Lingling was called to Lord Weijun's chamber. Lingling clutched to her blue stone hoping it won't act up again. Ming looked at her and said, "Miss. Ling, where's your hairpiece?" Lingling felt her hair but the hairpiece was gone. She looked everywhere but it was gone. Ming sighed, "Looks like someone discovered our secret. Anyhow, you won't be going back soon. You won't need the hairpiece." Ming smiled. He patted her shoulder.
"Miss. Ling, do whatever you are told to do." Ming warned her. She nodded quickly.
As she entered Lord Weijun's chamber, there were two guards at each side. She slowly entered. Lord Weijun was sitting upright on bed. He carefully listened to the footsteps. Lingling walked closer to him and then paused. Lord Weijun stayed silent for a few seconds and said, "Ling An? Is that you?"