Malleus walked into Lotus's room curious over the patient when he noticed that Lilia and the patient were already chatting calmly yet also in a serious manner.
"I see he is awake." Malleus walked over to the empty chair as Lilia got up acting as part of his role as retainer rather than caretaker.
"Could you be... the prince?" Huo Wei looked to him rather curiously.
Malleus raised a brow and nodded, "That's right. Not many question my identity when they usually know me through my appearance and my horns."
Huo Wei shook his head, "My apologies. If it was appearance, I have seen more than just the dragon race who bore horns. Your spiritual energy is very chaotic but it also contains a lot of power. With the nature of the aura you release, most can only assume you are of the dragon race, rather they believe it or not."
"Are dragons really so rare in your society?" Lilia questioned with a surprised expression.
"They are powerful enough to be considered gods in both benevolent and malicious natures just based on their character. Very few ever appear before humans as they prefer to live amongst themselves mainly due to their dislike for human if not that they would prefer to live amongst other dragons. I recall you calling our dragons loongs to differentiate themselves. However, in our society, they are basically the same. Just different body structure and race. So, please forgive me if I do address loongs as dragons."
"So there are other dragons in your society." Malleus looked to him in surprise.
Huo Wei nodded before he frowned, "However... They are very hostile towards humans, so you may have to be wary when you encounter one."
"Me?" Malleus looked to him in surprise.
"Yes." Huo Wei began, "My master told me that the world outside is not aware of the matters regarding our kinds. However, a long time ago, humans and other races lived in peace. However, conflict later began everything spiraled down hill. You may not know this, but beastmen in our society originated when beasts gain so much powerful mana in them that they would take on human form if they wished. However, in human society, they would still differentiate them from their original beast form and discriminate against them. Some beastman can even be from the rabbit family as well. Naturally, this created a conflict where humans would capture and take the lives of the beastman in their beast form just so they could still reap off what was left from their bodies. Eventually, this became a bigger problem when the imperial rulers of humans declared there'd be great rewards if any could bring back a dragon to them alive or dead."
"They dare..." Malleus huffed a sneer.
Huo Wei grimaced, "I'm afraid that was exactly what happened. As a result, humans began preparing many things in order to bring down dragons so as to appease the ruling family for riches, power or fame. Everyone was outraged by this. As a result, a split occurred within the human empire while humans who discriminate against the beastmen and human who choose to support them occurred. The imperial family saw this matter no different than a game and decided to aid those who discriminated against beastman with that order for dragon corpses. It wasn't just dragons. There were many other divine beasts. Qilin, vermillion birds, pheonix, winged tigers, chimera... However, they were treated as animals for the slaughter. In the end, those who supported the beastmen defected to the beast kingdom's side and, thus, a war between humans and dragons began. The dragons are strong and powerful beings with knowledge surpassing humans as they could also outlive human and retain knowledge of ancient arts. However, humans created many advancements and thus many powerful traps and weapons were created to take the lives of many who are as powerful as dragons, even at the costs of many people's lives. The result was a stalemate as a god-like figure descended and declared the end of the wars. The beastmen was given the power make agreements to create a contract with humans only if they are willing to do so and they are given the chance to fit back against a contract they did not desire if they are strong enough. They would also need to be tamed so as to not harm humans before contracting."
"Contracts." Lilia muttered, "You said that beastmen are able to be contracted as easily as it is using a wooden sword, breaking it, and finding a replacement."
Huo Wei whispered as he reminisced, "That's why I was very impressed with the princess."
"Princess Peony?" Malleus looked to him in surprise.
Huo Wei nodded, "Princess Peony probably does not reveal it a lot, but she also has contracted beasts. Most contracted beasts would hate the idea of surviving a human they do not approve of, but would only comply as their life was at stake if their contractor dies. However, when I met with a few of the princess's contract beasts, it is clear how well they got along regardless of who started the contract. Even the one who was forced to submit to a contract from lack of strength at an inopportune time said that they were fortunate that it was the princess instead of another human as they still retained their rights and were treated with great care by her personally. There are not many humans who still act this way with their contracted beasts nowadays. However..."
As they noticed his hesitation, Lilia decided not to question further and turned to Malleus, "I'll go outside for now. Sir Huo Wei is too weak to do anything, so I'll trust him. Let me know if you need anything."
"All right." Malleus nodded as they watched him leave the room before turning to Huo Wei, "What is it that you are worried about?"
"It's just that with the number of contract beasts she has. Do not misunderstand my words and, as you are aware, I serve under her now. However, I recall words my late mother would often share with me as a child. Those who contract many beasts under them usually has a number of reasons. One is that they are beast tamer capable of taming many beasts and uses them as his strength. Second is that they enjoy beasts as they would with a pet. Finally, is that they wish to become stronger and they could do so by taming a beast that can help them. To contract a beast, they need to be just as powerful as the beast's mana to tame them. Or else, they could suffer greatly and perish when the attempt fails. The more number of powerful beasts they have, the more ambitious their goals are. Though I am loyal to milady, I am worried about the dangers she is planning to face as she always told me that she has never changed her main goal from the beginning."
"So, whatever it is she intends to do was already very ambitious to begin with." Malleus surmissed.
"Or it may put her life in danger." Huo Wei nodded with a grimace.
"So, you want me to help her." Malleus looked to him curiously.
Huo Wei did not waver, "That's correct. Although this is all I will divulge about her for now. I will still put my life on the line if you come to break the deal and harm her instead. As long as you can ensure she does not get harmed, I will share what I know with you. However, that is taking into consideration of what I can be allowed to divulge."
"Oh?" Malleus sneered, "Are you threatening me?"
"If I was, I'd have died already from your aura." Huo Wei frowned, "This is a deal of benefits."
Malleus thought for a bit in silence pondering the motives of this man before nodding his head, "All right. I shall agree to this. From now on, you shall be my informer. If anything were to occur, I shall make certain that your princess is not harmed."
"Thank you." Huo Wei responded with a slight sense of relief in him.
"So, what do you think we should do with the assassin? He was your former leader correct?"
Huo Wei hesitated, "He's the commander... The leader is still back in the guild. Word has it, he has not returned for the last century, but elders has seen his face every so often."
"So, human cultivators really have longer lifespans."
Huo Wei nodded, "The commander is an impatient person, but he knows this. So, he would try to act patient. However, when he's threaten, he would be very cautious. Like my master said, he would think twice before pouncing at an opportunity."
"Is there really a powerful guardian here in this dorm?" Malleus looked to him in confusion.
Huo Wei nodded, "They've been here for many years now. It's unknown when it began. However, I have heard from the other guardians in Scarabia that the leader of the guardians resides in this dorm."
"So, from the conversation I had with your princess, I recall the direction pointing that the guardian is a powerful loong as well."
"That..." Huo Wei opened his mouth.
Suddenly, there was a heavy weight thrown upon them as Huo Wei was crushed onto the bed unconscious from the blow! Shocked, Malleus was luckier as he already sensed something was amiss and set up a barrier before hand! Yet, it was shattered and he was left with barely standing in place with a hunched back. The air knocked out of him, he struggled to breath much to his surprise! It reminded him much of his grandmother when some silly assassins tried to raise a hand at him during a cabinet meeting! This power! It may even exceed hers! He's never felt so overhelmed before in his life!