The sky was filled with millions of shining stars but there was no hint of the beautiful moon which filled the Mortal Realm with darkness. A soft cool breeze blew across the garden which was illuminated by the lanterns that were lit around the manor.
Xiang Ling stood up and stretched her limbs a little bit to get rid of the soreness. In the meantime, her eyes quickly scanned the five men who were present in the garden along with her. Finally, she had seen all five of her husbands.
"Are you feeling alright?" Wei Guang broke the awkward silence and asked as he stood up from his seat and moved toward her as if to get a closer look at her.
Xiang Ling hummed a positive response along with a barely noticeable nod. However, all her attention was focused on the man with long white hair and dazzling sapphire blue eyes. Li Xian was sitting with his back facing her and while the other men had turned their attention toward her, he was still the only one not paying her any attention.
All of a sudden, the man started coughing and Wen ZheYuan quickly handed him a cup of hot water. "Brother Xian, you are in such poor health. Why did you not look after yourself?"
The moment Xiang Ling's ears registered the words - poor health - she felt her world coming to a standstill all over again. The Crown Prince of the Heavenly Realm couldn't be in poor health even if he was a mortal for the time being.
She quickly used her power to scan his body from afar and even such a quick survey was enough to tell her that Li Xian was indeed suffering from poor health. Her stress level started rising and she found herself panicking. The Crown Prince was not only the dearest son of the Heavenly Empress but also the next heir to the Heavenly Throne, if anything happened to him during his life tribulation in the Mortal Realm, she wouldn't be getting away from the punishments no matter what her identity was.
Her body got to work before her brain and she found herself hurrying over to where the man was sitting. The moment she reached him, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to stand up. This finally made him turn to face her with a very confused and surprised look on his face.
"This-"
Wen ZheYuan exchanged glances between her and Li Xian before looking at her hand that was grabbing the man's arm.
"Lingling, is something wrong?"
Instead of answering, Xiang Ling turned her attention toward Wei Guang who was just as confused as the others, and asked - "Where is my room?"
The man looked surprised by her question for a moment but then he quickly answered, "Ah! Fu Xiao said that it's the first one on the left-"
"Thank you." She didn't let him finish talking before she pulled on Li Xian's powerfully enough to make him stand up and follow her. She dragged him toward the direction of her room and shouted back at the four very shocked men. "I'm retiring for the night. You all should go and rest as well. Also, don't worry about Li Xian, I'll take care of him."
"..."
Her words were meant to relieve everyone from their worries but they either shocked them or made them furious.
"How is she going to take care of him?" Wen ZheYuan asked as his gaze curiously followed Xiang Ling and Li Xian.
"Audacious! This woman is finally showing her true colors. Li Xian is in such poor health and she is still thinking about-" Xin Cheng looked mad as he called at the departing figure of Xiang Ling.
The other two men - Wei Guang and Dao Ming, remained silent but their gazes also followed Xiang Ling and Li Xian until they disappeared from their sight.
* * *
Xiang Ling entered the room and pulled Li Xian inside before closing the door and locking it with a quick spell without alerting the man who was busy looking around the room.
Once assured that she wouldn't be disturbed without warning, she turned her attention toward Li Xian who looked as if he was a pig ready to be slaughtered.
"What do you want?" His voice was soft yet carried a cold touch to it. His beautiful eyes were looking at her with suspicion as she stepped toward him.
Before the man could have stepped back to increase the distance between them, she grabbed his hand and took hold of his wrist, stopping him from struggling. She pressed her fingers against his pulse and after giving him a hard glare that finally made him stop struggling, she closed her eyes and paid attention to his internal force.
There was no spiritual qi in his body which confirmed that he was born as a mortal just like the Night Immortal. Yet, his body carried the cold internal energy. His pulse was weak and his body was in poor condition. He wasn't in any direct danger but if not treated properly, his health could worsen.
Realizing that the situation wasn't too bad, Xiang Ling opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She had found him. Now, all that she needed to do was to protect him until he completed his life tribulation in the Mortal Realm.
"What are you doing?" His voice was barely a whisper as he asked the question, pulling his hand away the moment Xiang Ling let it go. His eyes carried not even an ounce of trust as he looked at her.
Letting out another sigh, Xiang Ling looked straight into his eyes and answered, "Zhe Yuan said that you are in poor health. So, I just wanted to check. It's not too bad. You have probably exhausted yourself these past few weeks while helping the refugees. A little bit of care and you will recover."
Li Xian opened his mouth to say something but before he could speak, Xiang Ling's next words almost made him spit out blood.
"Take off your clothes."