Li Jun cleared his throat with a raised brow at Tai Yang.
"Princess, you must certainly be exhausted after your long journey." He said. "We've prepared gifts for you, but we could place them in your room instead for you to go through after you've recuperated from the trip. For now, why don't you and your escorts freshen up, settle in and rest? Dinner will be in a short while." He said.
"Calling me Xiao Xia is fine, provided that I can address you all without your titles too." She smiled at Li Jun.
"That's perfectly fine." Li Jun said, smiling back, feeling satisfied with himself at having the tilt of her lips be directed solely at him.
However, Xiao Xia looked at Tai Yang with an even bigger, more endearing smile. "I've never met a human from a mortal Universe. I'd love to hear some of your tales if you'd let me. I'll be here for three days after all."
Tai Yang could practically feel Li Jun getting ready to strangle him. Before he could respond, Xiao Xia gasped.
"Your neck! What happened to it?" She asked, looking horrified at the angry-red marks.
"Urm… Well, you see…" He trailed off, forcefully keeping his eyes from glancing at the seething form of Prince Li Jun, in case he gave the violent man away.
"I was involved in a slight altercation." He said as Xiao Xia shamelessly pushed up his head and leaned closer to inspect it.
"These handprints are massive, Tai Yang." Gone was the eloquent language and gentle, princess-like tone. The way she spoke was suddenly informal as if she was speaking to a very close friend. "Practically like dinner plates. Who did this to you with their terribly fat, sausage-like fingers? Is it sore?"
Ji Ru accidentally let out a snicker at 'sausage-like fingers' before he could stop it, and his hands quickly shot up to cover his mouth. Li Jun would have his tail for laughing at him. Li Wei who couldn't stop the humored smile that formed on his lips tilted his head to the ground to hide the slip.
Meanwhile, Li Jun looked extremely affronted, and he self-consciously looked down at his very strong but beautifully elegant fingers, wondering if they were in fact sausage-like.
His ego had been wounded.
Xiao Xia didn't seem to notice and remained preoccupied with fussing over Tai Yang. "Xing YuRi, give me the medicinal ointment for pain and bruising." She said.
"Oh! No, no, your highness. It's really fine!" Tai Yang said quickly, worrying about his life. Li Jun was probably going to skin him once Xiao Xia left. He tried to push her hands back to her, but she firmly kept her hands on his neck and chin.
"Yes, your highness." Xing YuRi said. The handsome attendant standing behind her reached into his robe and unshrunk a container of purple ointment. Taking the container from him, Xiao Xia picked up some ointment with her fingers and started to rub it all over Tai Yang's neck.
To say the inhabitants and Cultivators of the castle were shocked was an understatement; they were gobsmacked. Xiao Xia's escorts however didn't seem very surprised. In fact, they looked confused at the flabbergasted faces around them. Hadn't they all seen how the princess had reached out to touch Ji Ru?
She was particularly touchy with those she liked.
Then again, it was the first time the people of Changying had met the princess, so it may have been alarmed at the princess's lack of understanding about personal space. Thinking along the same lines, all her escorts looked apologetically at the princes, Ji Ru, and the rest of the castle's occupants.
Ji Ru stared with wide eyes and looked worriedly towards Li Jun.
Needless to say, the prince looked confused and simmering with fury at the same time, all while his friendly smile remained plastered on his face.
"If you're the last one of you left, you need to take care of yourself better. You can't be getting into these situations, Tai Yang. You're a mortal human, and that means your body is weak and fragile. Look at you, what have you been eating to be this slender for a man? Look at Li Jun and Li Wei, you're as thin as chopsticks compared to them! And you're as pale as me, and I'm covered with aesthetic pigments and powders. Did you eat at all today? And don't lie to me." She said sternly as she rubbed away at his neck, clearly expecting an answer when she looked up at his eyes.
Actually, he hadn't eaten since his flight yesterday.
Feeling unsure of why he felt the need to listen to her, Tai Yang decided the best course of action was to be truthful.
"No… But I-I was going to make a pickle and peanut butter sandwich but then Ji Ru arrived, so I couldn't-"
"Pickle and peanut butter? What on Earth is that?"
"It's pickled vegetable such as radish or gherkin, and peanut paste in two thin slices of a loaf of bread." Ji Ru provided from his itinerary of Earth 72 knowledge.
Xiao Xia looked horrified. "Tai Yang, are you thinking of dying?!"
"W-Well, only the normal amount…"
"NORMAL AMOUNT?!"
Tai Yang was quickly becoming unsure of what to say. While he felt strangely comfortable with Xiao Xia, he was still unsure of how to interact very well with others who weren't asking him scientific questions.
"Ji Ru, is he going to be alright? Can you perform a medical examination on him, to be sure? I think he may need medical intervention. Can you?" Xiao Xia asked, whipping her head towards Ji Ru who slightly jumped into Li Wei at how quickly her head turned. Li Wei quickly steadied him.
"Ah! Uh… Yes," He coughed to seem less of a cowardly, whimpering dog. "I will, princess. I was planning to this evening… But I'm certain he's fine, he only vomited a bit earlier, unused to transmigration, I think."
"Vomited… After not eating…Then he must be very hungry." Xiao Xia said. "Let's have dinner now." She said.
Li Jun blinked. "Do you not want to lay down for a while and freshen up?" He asked, immensely staggered at her sudden change of behavior, more so, her behavior towards Tai Yang who had barely said anything at all.
"No. Tai Yang is hungry." She said, unblinking.
If steam could shoot out of Li Jun's ears, Tai Yang was sure it would have when his smile became eerily bigger.
"…Yes. He must be positively famished." Li Jun said, looking at him with a dangerous smile.
Tai Yang quickly shook his head and forced Xiao Xia's hands back to her sides.
"N-No, I'm not… Actually had to… Go… look at the laboratory this evening! Yes… A-And Ji Ru wanted to check me so…" Tai Yang said.
Xiao Xia frowned.
"You aren't dining with us?"
Tai Yang shook his head. He wasn't risking his mortal existence over dinner.
"I have a lot to do… I apologize." He said.
"You've only just arrived here; you must be as exhausted as I am. You should rest too and replenish your energy. I insist." She said.
Tai Yang looked very trapped.
"Yes, Tai Yang, she insists." Li Jun said, smiling with a raised brow, tilting his head, and blinking twice.
Tai Yang swallowed. 'He's planning to execute me after dinner. I can see it in his eyes. Oh my god.'
And that was how Tai Yang found himself sitting between Xiao Xia and Ji Ru at the massive dinner table overflowing with food; with Xiao Xia piling his plate high with many different kinds of meats.
It was especially uncomfortable seeing that Li Wei was doing the same thing for Ji Ru, like lovers tended to do, while Li Jun sat at the head of the table, sipping on his red wine, and staring icily at Tai Yang.
Tai Yang glanced up at Li Jun and felt his bowels drop out of the sky. He quickly averted his gaze in panic. "Princess, I do not think I will be able to eat this much." Tai Yang said in a timid voice.
"And that's exactly why you're so tiny." She said, adding three more pieces of meat onto his plate. "Eat." She said. Li Wei seemed to find the entire situation extremely funny as he raised his glass to Li Jun who shot him a pissed-off glare.
"Now, how is life on your Earth? I hear the continents are called the same as ours, but the territories and Kingdoms are named differently."
"I don't know much about this Earth… But I'm from the continent of Asia; I live in a place called Beijing which is in-"
Xiao Xia clicked her fingers with an excited look on her face.
"China! That's in a place called China, isn't it? I read it in one of the books you wrote with Ji Ru!" She said.
Tai Yang nodded, not knowing when he'd written such a book.
"Well, your predecessor's book… But you're basically the same." She said, looking slightly forlorn before smiling.
"You probably don't know this, but I was supposed to visit the Kingdom of Changying about 7 years ago, before your… untimely death. I've always been fascinated by research, and from all your publications and discoveries, I knew you were very good at it. Atarah has always been envious that Changying had both you and Ji Ru and I'd always wanted to meet you both." She laughed.
"But then you passed away." She said, looking haunted suddenly. Ji Ri who was watching as Li Wei put more pork on to his plate, glanced at Xiao Xia. She inhaled and then exhaled slowly.
"Just our luck, Changying found the last one of you too." She said, taking a large, unladylike gulp of wine. On the way to the Dining hall, Ji Ru had let the detail slip.
Tai Yang watched, not knowing what to say.
"But then again, no place had a cultivator like Ji Ru to figure out transmigration, not even Atarah, so nothing could have been done." She pouted and turned towards Li Wei.
"I don't suppose I could you'd let me borrow him to show our Cognitive Cultivators the level of intelligence they need to work towards?" She asked.
Li Wei smiled. "Respectfully, no, I cannot."
Xiao Xia laughed. "A lady can try." She said, then looked at Tai Yang. "Enough about your past self. You, how has your life been on your Earth? I heard that in this Universe, you were an orphan. Do you have a family on your Earth?"
Tai Yang fidgeted with his sleeves. "No. Not that I remember anyway... I was an orphan on my planet."
Li Jun who had been pretending to be uninterested raised a brow.
"Who raised you then?" Xiao Xia asked.
"There were a few people, here and there. Mostly foster care until I was old enough." Tai Yang said, unsure if she knew what foster care was. Indeed, she did not and looked at Ji Ru for an explanation.
Ji Ru swallowed what he was chewing then said, "It's a temporary care and housing system for children of Earth 72 who have not been adopted. The leaders of Earth 72's countries aim to provide safe lodgings for the children until they have either gotten adopted or become old enough to live on their own."
Xiao Xia frowned and looked at Tai Yang. "Why would anyone not wish to adopt you? You're wonderful."
Tai Yang scratched behind his ear.
"I don't… Talk very well." He said.
"He has a stutter. It's not there when he's alone or very comfortable with a person, but it can be slightly debilitating if he's scared or uncomfortable. Don't worry Tai Tang! You'll talk very well in a bit; I'll make sure you're comfortable. Besides, you don't stutter here because of those handy pills you invented so everything will be okay." Ji Ru grinned and looked at Xiao Xia. "He's actually quite a character; very funny and especially clumsy. His problem is his lack of self-confidence and anxiety, but once he gets used to you, he's the most fun to be around. OH! And it used to be a joke between us that he cackles and laughs like a fox! It's the funniest thing! You have to hear it!"
"Is that so?" Xiao Xia asked. "Well then, you must get used to me too Tai Yang, I would like to see that fun side of you! I'll have to make plans to visit more often then, in that case." She smiled excitedly.
Tai Yang looked very uncomfortable at the thought of prolonging his stay. This strange experience had gone on long enough.
"I… You have been very kind and gracious despite not knowing me at all, your highness-"
"Xiao Xia," She corrected with a bright smile.
"…Xiao Xia. Please forgive me, but I think I may have to return to my Earth… I will not manage here, it's too different and not at all like the life I'm content with and used to." Tai Yang said honestly.
Everyone who'd heard him stopped eating and Xiao Xia's face fell. Even Ji Ru lowered his turkey leg in alarm.
Li Jun leaned forward in his seat and glanced between Xiao Xia and Tai Yang. He'd been trying to get Xiao Xia to come to Changying for centuries, unsuccessfully.
Now, with Tai Yang present, she seemed more than willing to visit. Li Jun didn't understand why, but 'Why is she so openly interested in Tai Yang? She only just met him this evening.' He wondered. '…Whatever it is, I can use this development to my advantage, but I'll have to interrogate that pesky little mortal soon. Is there a Xiao Xia that he knows on his Earth?'
While it did perturb him, keeping Tai Yang in Changying seemed like the most effective way of getting Xiao Xia to return.
He was terribly attracted to the woman and had been ineffectively pining after her for years, despite never having met her. All they'd done was exchange a customary letter every year. Everyone across the different continents was probably aware of his feelings for her at that point.
However, not once did she ever accept his invitation to visit nor did she try to invite him to Atarah. When she did, it was upon hearing about Tai Yang and Ji Ru, but once Tai Yang had passed on, her visit to Changying was postponed for years; until finally, she decided to keep her word.
That was why she was eating dinner with them at that moment.
And again, because Tai Yang was there, she seemed to want to visit again.
There was no helping it. It seemed he'd have to make use of the mortal.
"Are you uncomfortable here? Did someone here mistreat you? Is that why you have those marks?" Xiao Xia asked, her face was evidently upset.
"N-No. I… I have a different way of life on my Earth. It's simple… But I enjoy it. I like the research I do, and the professors." He said.
Ji Ru's ears flattened, and he started to involuntarily let out a low whine while his puppy-dog eyes started to sparkle with saddened tears.
"Tai Yang, you died in this Universe. An immortal Universe. That means if you return to Earth, you will die." Xiao Xia said, trying to make him see reason.
'But maybe that was meant to happen. That's life. People die and we all end up alone as we came.' Tai Yang thought.
"Don't think like that! I know that look." Xiao Xia said. Tai Yang's eyes widened, wondering if she somehow read his thoughts. It wasn't impossible, he'd seen dishes floating and food appearing out of thin air on the table all evening, so mind-reading couldn't be that far of a stretch.
Xiao Xia looked at him seriously. "I understand how hard this must be for you, but there are many people who want you here, they will keep you safe till you reach immortality… And if not, then you are more than welcome to return to Atarah with me. I will personally place you under our Kingdom's protection."
"That's not necessary." Li Jun said. Everyone looked at him. Throughout dinner, he'd been quiet, drinking his wine and observing the interactions between Xiao Xia and Tai Yang.
He placed down his goblet.
"Ji Ru brought him to Changying in an attempt to save him from imminent death on Earth of Universe 72. While Ji Ru and I do not always see eye to eye on matters involving transmigration, I know that he would not do something without a valid reason. With that in mind, I've decided to keep Tai Yang here, whether he agrees or not, for his own good. And don't worry, he'll be tremendously safe because he'll be under my *personal* protection." Li Jun said, staring at him with a great big smile.
Tai Yang gulped. 'Now you've done it Tai Yang. You should have kept your mouth shut and escaped on your own. You've orchestrated your own death, you silly thing.'