'How could I kiss without cloth with Prince Dwei?' Ying Hua thought, caught between fear and awkwardness. She had kissed him, and honestly, she felt a strange, pleasant oddity. She seemed to float and fly until she pierced the layers of the sky in the universe. Even she didn't need internal energy, and it was all because of Prince Dwei's lips.
She knew this sounded stupid and crazy. Everyone, including Old Man Mo, would laugh at her. But that's exactly how she felt. Even Prince Dwei's soft lips were like rubbing her lips, pressing against his with impressive shrewdness.
'Did Skeleton Crow read my mind?' Ying Hua thought again. 'No. He can't do that. He does not have the power to steal other people's thought waves. Then what did I just see?'
"Princess?" Old Man Mo patted her on the shoulder while tilting his head to confirm her condition. Moreover, her face was still a little pale. "Are you all right? Why are you daydreaming? Are you in pain?"
"I-I'm fine." For the first time, Ying Hua spoke stuttering. "Old Man Mo, will you make some porridge for me? My stomach is uncomfortable to eat something rough." She glanced at the roast beef and some vegetables in front of her.
"Alright, Princess!" Old Man Mo nodded without fighting back. His hair fluttered as he got up. "I will prepare immediately." Then glanced at Skeleton Crow. "Take good care of Princess Ying! If she gets hurt because of you, then I'll cut you off!"
"Hey!" protested Skeleton Crow, then grumbled as he crossed his arms. His hair was stiff and sticking out, looking like thorns in the room. "What do you want to ask?" He suddenly asked Ying Hua.
"As expected. You must know something, or maybe have something," Ying Hua whispered. "You're the one who broke my emergency protective move right? How did you do it?"
"Old Man Mo can explain it to you. If you're curious and want to ask me for an autograph then you'd better think about it. Because I'm not just any celebrity." He grabbed a plate of grilled meat that was on the table. "You don't want to eat this because your stomach is pretending to be ache, right?" He ate very voraciously. "Then I'll eat it. So, you just eat your porridge! You won't get any answer from me. Don't expect to get anything easy just because you're Emperor Heng's daughter and Emperor Liang's favorite goddess! I'm not one of their followers. So, I won't obey you."
Skeleton Crow immediately got up, then put his arms crossed in front of his face. In an instant, he turned into a crow, and then went somewhere. The croaking sound of his invited lots of birds. They flew in flocks for fun.
Old Man Mo appeared who was still cooking porridge for Ying Hua. His old body appeared from behind the door. "Princess, would you like me to put some sugar in your porridge?"
Before Ying Hua answered, he was already wide-eyed when he saw the room. "Where did he go? Where did that naughty crow go? I asked him to take care of Princess Ying!"
"He ran away with his friends, probably looking for the females," Ying Hua replied, grabbing the vegetables in front of her and eating some.
Old Man Mo snorted in annoyance. "I won't forgive him! If he comes back then I'll bake him for dinner!"
"Old Man Mo!"
"Yes, Princess?" His tone turned very calm. "Do you need anything else?"
"I wonder if Skeleton Crow can steal other people's brainwaves?"
"He? Of course not, Princess. He's just a lousy ex-crow king."
"Then… then can he read the future?"
"Reading the future is a very powerful force, Princess. Even sorcerers have to perform a heavy ritual to obtain it. But if you ask me that then I will answer, and the answer is no. He can't read the future."
"Then how did he break my emergency protective move?"
"He has a whistle that can awaken the Zen Dragon."
"Zen Dragon?" Ying Hua clenched her fists. "He has god blood. And he fell asleep due to Emperor Liang's great mission. If Skeleton Crow can wake him up, then he is very strong."
"Zen Dragon is strong, Princess."
"I mean Skeleton Crow." She turned to Old Man Mo. "He must be very strong. If we're looking back, we don't know for sure about his past. Unlike you who left behind many witnesses and family. He doesn't have any family or friends."
"That's because he was dumped by his group, Princess. You don't have to think about it too much. The whistle must have been stolen. In other words, he stole it from someone."
'But still, this is suspicious,' thought Ying Hua. 'Who exactly is Skeleton Crow? Is he hiding something from me? But how can I find his true identity? Is he father's spy?'
Meanwhile, Skeleton Crow and the other birds continued to fly while fighting. They fought over the branches and also the hays that had fallen in several places. Lately, the harvest season had arrived, but many farmers are losing money due to crop failure.
Skeleton's Crow's head tilted a few times when he saw a flock of female birds at one point. In his eyes, he saw a female bird with green feathers that had blue fingerprints.
'She has that fingerprint. It means that I will find someone important if I approach her,' he thought. So, he crowed while signaling the other small birds to approach the females. "The one with the green fur is mine!"
Then came the groans of the other birds.
"Why do you always choose the prettiest? You are so selfish!"
"And a liar too! You said you'd give us a bowl of caterpillars and worms. Where's the proof? You're just a liar!"
"I'm still developing an important task from the celestial emperor. So, stop nagging! Just follow my orders so that you will receive blessings! Have you forgotten that I can be an excellent demon? I can do anything. And I heard that you are interested in following in my footsteps."
And the nagging stopped.
They all charged at the females, who seemed to be looking away while clawing at the ground, looking for food.
Skeleton Crow flew to various points around the place, then found a spot that had quite a lot of food. After tidying his fur, he approached the female bird with green feathers.
"Hi, Beauty! I found a place that has plenty of food. Would you like to have a little chat with me?"
But the female bird looked away again, and even gave her only a rough tail stroke.
Skeleton Crow growled in annoyance. He flew away to swallow a few grains of rice, then returned to the female bird and sprinkled it in front of her. "Do you believe it now? Come chat with me for a while!"
"I think this grain is food that I found myself," said the female bird proudly. "But I refuse to accept your love. I only like male birds with dark green feathers, not black."
"I didn't come to ask you out, or to mating." Skeleton Crow rolled its eyes. His beak gleamed for a moment. "But to ask who you just met before you came here? I'm sure she has a limp leg."
The green female bird immediately raised her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "How did you know? Have you been following me all this time? Tch, so you want to mate with me huh?"
"I am the Skeleton Crow, the king of the mighty crows. I am a demon. And I have no interest in ordinary females like you. So don't be too confident! I only came to ask about the crippled girl. Where did you meet her?"
"If you know I just met her, then why don't you look for her yourself? Why do you have to ask me?"
"Because I respect your privacy."
"Privacy?"
"I can steal your thought waves, get into your brain system and steal all the information you have. But I chose not to do that because I know you're not my enemy. I don't want the other birds to know that you're not a race from kind of bird…"
"Stop!" said the female bird irritably, her cheeks flushed red. "Okay! I'll tell you where the girl lives."
Skeleton Crow grinned, then listened to what the female bird was whispering.
After getting the information, he rushed to find the crippled girl. Passing several settlements, and crossing a small clear river, he finally found a smaller settlement that was only inhabited by ten houses.
One of the houses was inhabited by a limp-legged girl whose body seemed to emit a blue soul.
Skeleton Crow grinned. "Another reincarnated soul. Before Ying Hua finds her, then I have to go see her."
***