Lory was standing in front of a giant big tree. The tree had purple leaves and a white trunk. The leaves rustled gently at the blowing wind. She glued her eyes on the tree. There was something familiar about the tree. Something that filled her with sadness and longing. Her hand reached out to a falling tree but she was startled awake before she could grab it.
Lory looked around only to realizes she was in her room in the underground palace. She was lying in her bed while Girsha was on the table pecking grapes like usual.
[Girsha!] She called him.
[Hm…] He responded carelessly.
[Have we ever encountered a tree with purple leaves before?]
Girsha gave her a 'are u still sleeping?' look before he responded [No. Are you dreaming or something?]
Lory's mouth twitched [I think I'm dreaming…]
[Get up! How long do you want to sleep?] Girsha scowled at her.
[Girsha…] She called again.
[WHAT?] He annoyed that she kept bothering him while he was eating grapes.
[What happened to me...?]
Girsha looked at her with ridicule [You mean… Why you are wrapped like a dumpling?]
[Uh huh...] Lory was wrapped neatly and tight like a dumpling. The good thing was she didn't feel cold, the bad thing was she was now hot but she couldn't get out of the blanket. She could barely move her limbs.
[That's because you are a bad girl…]
[I'm a what?]
There was someone who had soaked himself for hours in a frozen chamber on the other side of the palace. Mong Ki and Mong Yi didn't understand what was happening to their lord. They wondered if he had another breakthrough but then again, he had been soaking in the frozen pool for over six hours which was unusual. The other thing they could think of was there was something wrong with his cultivation.
While his servants were worrying about him, a certain lord was also worrying about his new problem. For almost twenty years, his lower part had been in deep slumber to the point he assumed it might never wake up. Then again, Zhao Li Xin never placed much thought over it. It was a small problem and he didn't think he would need to use the lower part anytime soon. He was a person who never let any woman get closer than one and a half meters. So he never saw the point of having an 'active' member like other men.
However, his sleeping member decided to wake up on this particular day in full glory. It woke with a vengeance as he had to soak in the frozen pool for hours for 'him' to calm down. Although the temperatures in the room were minus zero, Zhao Li Xin still felt hot. He had to circulates his Qi to calm his mind and body for it to work. He sighed deeply when everything went back to normal. He made a note to himself to never climb his savior's bed again.
Meantime, Lory managed to get out of her dumpling wrapper with the help of a certain bird. The bird only decided to help when he couldn't stand watching her whine and wiggling like a giant caterpillar. Lory was covered in sweat when she finally managed to free herself. She decided to take a hot bath before waiting for Zhao Li Xin but hours passed and he didn't return. Bored, she entered Zhao Li Xin's luxurious bedroom but it was empty. She thought the massive bedroom with dark wooden furniture and yellow curtains was a waste of money as she knew Zhao Li Xin rarely slept in his own room.
He was either working or cultivating. When he was not doing either of the two, he would spend his time in Lory's room. Zhao Li Xin was weird no matter how you looked at the way he did things. Lory saw his gigantic bed in the corner of the room. It was behind the wooden partition cover with yellow curtains. The bed was big enough to sleep six people of Zhao Li Xin's size. She didn't understand why he needed such a big bed when he barely used it.
Lory couldn't help but lie on the bed as it looked clean and neat. It seemed new like no one had ever slept on it before. The bed felt good. It wasn't too hard or fluffy but perfect for sleeping. Lory couldn't help but yawn despite having slept a lot. She gave in to temptation and decided to have a power nap while she waited for Zhao Li Xin...
Zhao Li Xin changed his clothes and his expression was back to his stoic and indifferent expression. Seeing his normal behavior calmed his two subordinates who were initially worried.
"Milord, Master Bei Li Yan says someone from the Liangzu Kingdom may know about this matter," Mong Yi kneeled on the floor as he uttered the news. "This man works for Lady Tang Yi Mei and is under her protection. We didn't dare press on judging from Lady Tang's relationship with Milord."
"What relationship do we have? Be careful with your words!" Zhao Li Xin warned sternly. Mong Yi's words strongly irked him. Although Zhao Li Xin's words were calm and quiet, the pressure from his aura was enough to drop the Mong brother to the floor. They knew they had angered their lord so they immediately kowtowed.
"Apologies, Milord. It won't happen again!" Mong Ki and Mong Yi pressed their heads on the floor.
"Don't say stupid things in front of her!" Zhao Li Xin's face remained the same but his anger wasn't dissipated. His words sent chills to their spines. When he mentioned 'her', the Mong brother knew who he meant. There was only one 'her' worth of his attention.
"Yes, Milord!"
"Inform that woman I want to speak to that man. Let her not get in my way as I don't care if her master is my master's best friend. I'll do what is necessary…" Zhao Li Xin's 'necessary' meant threatening, torturing, killing or whatever worked.
"Yes, Milord!" The Mong brothers cupped their fists respectfully.
Zhao Li Xin flicked his robes and left the room without adding anything further. The Mong bothers limped off the floor when they had heard their lord's receding footsteps. They sighed in relief as they had gotten away with infuriated the Demon Lord.
"You are stupid, brother!!" Mong Ki berated his younger brother.
"I know. I'm sorry..." Mong Yi touched his sweating forehead. "I thought they were at least good friends."
"Are you stupid? Other than Miss Luo, there are only two kinds of women for our Lord. The ones he has killed and the ones he has yet to kill. Miss Tang Yi Mei is the second kind. Do you think the lord would hesitate to kill her if she pushes his limits one day?" Mong Ki wanted to smack his younger brother's head. "You need to remember this… Apart from Miss Luo Ri Yi, the other women are like bugs to him."
"I know…I know…" Mong Yi admitted his carelessness.
The lord was bewildered once he entered his room. The person who forced him to soak in a frozen pool was now sleeping comfortably in his bed. She hadn't covered herself and her loose robes gave him a glimpse of her smooth collar bone. The robes were also slightly parted revealing a small part of her thighs. Zhao Li Xin froze and unconsciously gulped. The strange feeling he had before returned once more. He averted his gaze with much effort, looked up the ceiling and lament to God.
'Why do you hate me so much...?'