The Princess And The Lord

The restaurant quietened down after the Crown Prince's left. Lory returned the stool to its previous position and sat next to Zhao Li Xin.

"You not going to ask...about the contract… again?" Zhao Li Xin raised his eyebrows.

"You can tell me if you want," Lory tilted her head and placed her chin on her palm. She blinked her big beautiful eyes as she smiled at Zhao Li Xin. There was no way he could win with her looking at him like that.

Zhao Li Xin sighed as he gently placed his empty wine cup on the table, "The 'exclusive contract' is something I secretly proposed to the emperor for my benefit."

"What kinda benefit?" Lory asked with a curious face.

"Simply put, I can make my own rules in this place disregarding the rules out there," Zhao Li Xin said.

"Like kicking out the Crown Prince from the building?" Lory teased with a smile.

"Exactly!" He nodded calmly. "It also allows us to conduct our business the way we want, and no one can interfere with what is happening inside the Phoenix Hall building. This helps us protect our business from being taken by other princes?"

"Is royalty allowed to do that? Take someone's business?" Lory gasped.

"It isn't ethical, but they do it. It is usually done under the table since they need to keep their reputation after all," Zhao Li Xin shrugged his shoulders.

Lory was stunned. this world was more unruly than she thought, "I never knew this…"

Zhao Li Xin smiled, "Most people don't know this. Where do you think the princes get their wealth from?"

"The Emperor?" Lory crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Half of it, yes. However, they can't depend on it," Zhao Li Xin explained. "The Emperor has many children and their allowance depends on his favor. If the Emperor likes you, he will give you more. If he doesn't.. then you maybe get enough to live comfortably if you lived moderately."

"Is that what's happening to you, but I think you have quite lavish life?" Lory's blurted out her thoughts before realized she was overstepping the boundaries, "Oh… I'm sorry…I didn't mean…."

"It's fine. Everyone knows this or at least most officials know this, and you right I have quite lavish life, but it because I have another income" Zhao Li Xin gently tapped her shoulder as he moved to sit on the arhat couch.

Lory followed him and sat beside the small table on the arhat couch, "Good for you… and your health improved?"

"Yes, I've never been this great and it all because of you," He was genuinely grateful for her. She was relieved to see him smile genuinely.

"But the contract... It is supposed to help you grow your power, isn't it?" Lory suddenly got nervous, "Is it because the imperial family somehow threatening you?

Zhao Li Xin didn't immediately answer as a servant knocked on the door and he let him in to clear the table. The servant quickly removed everything including the wine jars. He then served Lory warm sweet flower tea and a sweet pastry as Zhao Li Xin reminded them of his savior's sweet tooth.

Zhao Li Xin's attention went back to Lory after the servant left. He said casually, "A prince can never be free. There is always a threat lurking in corners. Although I'm considered a useless prince, I'm still the Emperor's son so I'm still worth something…"

Lory felt awful as it sounded heartless. She couldn't understand why such a family would treat each other badly. The Emperor had many children, but they were still his own flesh and blood. Why would he treat them like a commodity? Then again, what could one expect from someone who let his own son be bullied and poisoned in his palace? It was no wonder Zhao Li Xin had a cold temperament.

Lory might have a harsh life but she had always been loved by her family and subordinates. The people in Harland adored her. She had never experienced what Zhao Li Xin was experiencing. Her heart ached for him.

"Is that why you hate people calling you 'Your Highness'?"

Zhao Li Xin smiled helplessly. His savior could be so keen at times. His words were cold as he remembered all the things that happened to him when he was a child. The beating… starvation and the poisoning. He would always remember everything. "He was the one who gave me the title 'Prince', yet no one treats me as a one. They barely treat me the way you treat a human."

"Every time they call me 'Your Highness', it sounds like they are mocking me," Blood lust emerged from within him as the room temperatures dropped. Mong Yi and Mong Ki who were hiding on the roof could also feel it. They wondered what had made their lord angry. Had Miss Luo infuriated the Lord? Then again it couldn't be. The lord pampered her too much.

"I promise to never call you 'Your Highness' ever again!" Lory held his hand tightly and swore with determined eyes.

Zhao Li Xin's bad mood disappeared. Her small and soft hands managed to disperse his anger. He was a little embarrassed that the childhood memory still influenced him. However, he felt better after he talked to Lory. He never talked about it before, not even to his own master. He always kept everything inside. It was the first time he talked to someone about how his past.

"Whose idea was it to call you 'Lord'?"

Zhao Li Xin tried to recall, "At first I forbid Mong Ki and Mong Yi from calling me 'Your Highness' outside the palace. They then started calling me 'Young Master'... this changed after I become the Sect Master as they started calling me 'Lord'."

"You are a Sect Master?" Lory gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Yes, I'm the Hei Shen Sect Master," Zhao Li Xin said casually like it was not a big deal. He gazed at Lory with an expressionless face, "I forgot to tell you..."

"..."

_____________________________________________

 They left the Phoenix Hall restaurant once Lory was done with her food. Lory also wanted to see how the Martial Competition was held in this world. Zhao Li Xin took her to his private box with the best view on the second floor.

The big field had a square shape stage and she could see two men competing against each other. Both men seemed quite young. One wore a blue uniform while his opponent wore a bright green uniform. Lory couldn't help but be excited as she had never seen cultivator's fights before. Girsha was too tired to watch humans fight. He perched on the soft cushion and slept.

The competitors started fighting while other people in the same uniforms as the competitors cheered loudly. Five elderly people standing by the podium watching them fight. Lory tugged Zhao Li Xin's sleeve and pointed at the podium, "Hey, who are they?"

"They are elders of various sects," He glanced at the group of elders in front of him with a boring look.

The elders were from different influential sects from the whole continent. No one dared to slight them, even the Emperor had to be polite when met them. The elders attended such events to choose new disciples for their sect.

They hoped to discover a good seed for cultivation. This year, they heard about several talented youngsters, one of who could be an alchemist, they want to know if the person was as good as the rumors said.

"How many sects are out there?" Moving in with Zhao Li Xin made Lory realize she didn't have much knowledge about her new world.

"They are many. I also don't know all of them," Zhao Li Xin said. "But they are seven big sects on this continent spread through every Kingdom."

"How many continents do we have?"

"I'm not sure… As far as I know, they are five..."

Lory squinted. It seemed Zhao Li Xin was also not sure about the number. "How many Kingdoms are on this continent?"

"Four. This includes our Jiang Wei Kingdom."

"Oooh... Okay," Lory unconsciously nodded her head.

Zhao Li Xin didn't think it was weird for her to ask many questions. It was normal for someone who was brought up in a remote village and they didn't know much. Mong Ki and Mong Yi were stunned to hear their lord's eloquence as they listened in from outside.

Not only was he explaining everything to Lory with patience, but he was also more chatty than usual. Those close to him knew the lord didn't like talking and only gave instructions. He never had long conversations with anyone, not even his master.

However, it was different with Miss Luo. Not only did he speak like a normal person, but he also smiled quite often too. This was an exhilarating development for the Mong brothers who had served him since his childhood. They only hoped Miss Luo was a good person who wouldn't disappoint their lord.

"So, why are they here?" Lory munched on the kumquat candies she bought earlier. She offered Zhao Li Xin some but the man shook his head. He didn't like sweets and also amazed by the number of sweets she could consume.

"They want to recruit talented people for their sects," Zhao Li Xin responded.

"You don't want to recruit anyone…?" Lory tilted her head and asked casually. If it was anyone else asking, he might have thought she was trying to incite him. However, all he had to do was look into her clear beautiful eyes to know she was being naïve. He used to hate naive women as he found them stupid and careless, but it was different with Lory. He found her adorable.

He patted her head softly, "Only people I trust can enter the Hei Shen Sect."

"What about me? Can I be a Hei Shen Sect member?" Lory half-joked as she pointed at herself with her index finger. It was not like she knew what the Hei Shen sect was as it was her first time hearing about it. However, she thought a sect having a leader like Zhao Li Xin meant the sect couldn't be bad. Lory was never suspicious of anyone close to her due to her upbringing.

Once she trusted someone, she would trust them fully. It was a flaw that Fred always warned her about. Fortunately for her, the first person she trusted in this world was Zhao Li Xin.

"You are definitely a Hei Shen Sect member!" Zhao Li Xin gave her dazzling smile and Lory giggled happily at his reply.

Mong Ki and Mong Yi were perplexed by the response. Many people wanted to join the Hei Shen Sect and they would bribe and beg with no results. They knew of people willing to give away their wealth while others were ready to give away their daughters as bed warmers, a proposal that infuriated Zhao Li Xin. Their Lord denied them all. However, Lory jokingly asked to be part of the Hei Shen Sect, yet the lord quickly accepted her. They were unsure whether they should be glad or sad by the outcome.