99 Attempting Damage Control

With the physical differences between a human and a demon, it was rather easy for Paoxiao to surmount the distance to catch up to Nastasia. At first, he only planned to follow her and prevent any trouble from walking into her path. Yet, as he thought about it, Paoxiao felt that allowing her to stew in anger over untrue facts was something he couldn't idly do.

In the beginning, his fixation on her was merely out of the sense of familiarity to his sister she invoked in him. In the time he had gotten to really know her, that thought slowly morphed into the sense of her truly being his sister. Not the one that he had lost, but her as herself that he had gained.

He cared about her.

Though he was less than thrilled in regards to Li Yu Rong, he had to admit that most of his distrust and reservations toward him came from their years of battling at the gate. He wanted through it, to save his sister Xianmei, and Li Yu Rong prevented that. For many years he had been the devil that taunted him in his dreams.

It was for this reason that he couldn't reconcile the thought of Li Yu Rong actually caring for Nastasia without an agenda. This half-human had been a wall he couldn't smash through; the evil that prevented his heart's desire with a sense of taunting him from on high.

After being forced in servitude to Li Yu Rong, Paoxiao found a side to this devil that was contrary to his expectations of a tyrant. Granted, there were times when he wanted nothing more than to shred the face of his domineering master that loved to mess with him, he wasn't all that bad to work for.

What was most surprising was the gentle and protective way he doted upon Nastasia. Paoxiao, from his perspective of his unwanted master, couldn't bring it in himself to believe that Li Yu Rong was sincere in his actions when it concerned that dear girl. He was always looking out for the hidden agenda, especially since he couldn't figure out the reason for the mark on her wrist.

As he reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from running and turning her to face him, Paoxiao tossed aside his prejudices and gave their days together with some deep thought. Without viewing it through the eyes of bias, it was rather clear Li Yu Rong cared deeply for her. There were no hidden agendas.

Paoxiao cared for her and wanted her to be happy. That feeling went beyond any negative thoughts he held for Li Yu Rong. Therefore, as he held her back, he was determined to make things right.

Although Nastasia's lungs were heaving as her moist reddened eyes found his own, Paoxiao was as calm as if he had only walked a bit. Being a demon, his athletic abilities were many times better than a human. So when he spoke, he wasn't winded at all.

"Take a deep breath and listen well." Nastasia took a breath and gave him the attention he demanded, though somewhat impatiently. At the moment, she didn't want to hear anything. She just wanted to find a quiet place to sit and think.

Though he could tell that her attention was given restlessly for her want to find a haven in solitude, he wasn't daunted from his self-given mission of clearing this hefty misunderstanding. His finger hooked into the fabric of his robe that climbed up his neck, pulling it down for her to see. The scrawling symbols wound around him like a collar, filled her eyes.

"I may not be the best at the art of crafting arrays, and I'm not quite sure what yours mean," it had been a source of frustration as he pondered over them and how they benefited Li Yu Rong, "but I can assure you, it's not as Elder Liao Xing says.

"This part here," he points to the place where his pulse beat strongest, "is what binds the contracted's will. It has to be put around the neck, resting over this specific artery running directly between the heart and brain in order to take control as it should."

His hand reached out to grab her left wrist but stopped. Instead, he pointed toward it, dragging her contemplating eyes toward her left hand dangling at her side. "If you look closely at the symbols he placed on you, you should be quite clear they're not the same. I don't know what yours are for, other than protection, but I can assure you that everything you've felt or done wasn't manipulated against your will."

While Paoxiao spoke, Nastasia looked at her wrist, hand, and ring finger and then at the symbols revealed around his neck. They were vastly different from each other. Knowing that Paoxiao wouldn't lie to her, the heavy rock smashing her heart and lungs lifted a bit. Though she was still uneasy over the markings on her wrist and finger, it was a relief to be told that all her actions and thoughts were her own.

Honestly, after hearing the confirmation, she felt a bit silly needing it all. If Li Yu Rong could control her, or if he had been controlling her, then so many things would have either happened or not at all. The greatest incident that came to mind was the time he took touching her too far. Recalling it set her mind even further at ease.

Nastasia's fingers traced over the symbols. A frown of thought marked her visage as she gazed at them. The notice hadn't crossed her mind before, but the scrawling black twisting around her flesh looked familiar. However, her mind couldn't place them.