51 Discussing the Man in the Drawing

By the time Paoxiao had gotten back, night had already fallen. He tried to look around for some servants to ask where Nastasia might be but found no one. Thus, being that its night, he decided to head over to her room first. If she was not there, then he would go over to the study. She had the habit of staying late to practice her words and writing.

The contract and deed were still resting snugly alongside her coin purse, but that wasn't the only reason he was so eager to find Nastasia. The event earlier was still weighing heavily on his mind. He still felt like he might have done something wrong, but Jiang Ya Lin was too nice to say it.

So, Paoxiao wanted to get her opinion on it.

As he walked through the door, a murderous feeling came tumbling down around him. Startled, Paoxiao looked toward the bed, to find dual-colored eyes glaring at him heatedly. He did not expect to find Li Yu Rong in Nastasia's bed, with her curled up at his side and using his arm as a pillow.

It was the beginning of Xu Shi. Usually, when Li Yu Rong snuck into her room, it was around the end of Xu Shi and the beginning of Hai Shi.

"U-Umm, I..." Paoxiao stuttered a bit as he tried to carefully, but quickly, respond. He felt that if he said the wrong thing, he was going to suffer.

"You?"

"I-I-I was looking for you!"

The stifling air decreased by half. Paoxiao's chest heaved with a sigh of relief, but from this, he came to understand something. Li Yu Rong, that barrel of vinegar! If he had claimed to be here looking for Nastasia, he probably would have been drowned to death.

"For?"

Ah, was there any need for these one-word questions asked so intensely? Did that guy really need to look at him with that one red-eye glinting so sinister-like? He didn't understand why Li Yu Rong was so upset. It's not like he was climbing into her bed every night; unlike a certain person!

Although those of the Spirit Realm were more liberal, especially the demons, even they would have been upset by this thoughtless intrusion to the one they liked by a member of the opposite sex. However, one couldn't blame Paoxiao too much for not realizing this. His sister, his only family, had been snatched from him while he was still quite young. The rest of his years until the present time had been dedicated to training and forcing his way past the gate into the Mortal Realm.

He knew that Li Yu Rong was Jealous, but merely thought it was like a child being upset at its favorite toy's attention being snatched away. From the beginning til now, Paoxiao had not recognized Li Yu Rong's actions as one pursuing the girl he liked.

As he was put on the spot, it took a moment to remember that he had a valid reason to seek out Li Yu Rong. He had to talk about that man in the drawing. "The one that she drew, that she's looking for, I know him. I need to talk to you about that." He cried out once the memory struck.

Heart-stopping and jumping up to his throat, Li Yu Rong swallowed hard, but it was difficult to bring down. That was the last thing he expected to hear from Paoxiao. He considered, briefly, to kill the witness to silence the words, but soon tossed the idea aside. Asya would probably morn his loss.

He really didn't want to hear about the man that might know how Asya could get back to her own realm. Although he's made progress, it was only a bit; hardly making a dent in her will go home.

Li Yu Rong was completely unwilling to have found this guy so soon. He was torn about whether or not he should even give the knowledge notice. If he pretended it didn't happen, he would have more time. Paoxiao's silence was easy to obtain. Li Yu Rong could easily ensure it by using the Slave Binding Contract to seal his lips.

He wanted to lay back beside Asya, close his eyes, and pretend that he never heard the words.

Yet, there was no way that he could.

So, as he repositioned Asya and tucked her in, he kissed her forehead before reluctantly leaving her warmth. As he left the room he carried with him such a heavy atmosphere that Paoxiao couldn't help but regret everything since he decided to pay Nastasia a late-night visit. Not wanting to re-visit this situation, this would also be the last time he'd step through here at night.

No words were spoken between them as they exited the room. Being that Li Yu Rong didn't want to go too far, he decided to have the conversation after firmly shutting the door behind him. His attention was split between Paoxiao and the one sleeping inside the room.

"What about this man?" He asked. Paoxiao slid a glance toward the door, seeming hesitant to speak, thus he said. "It's fine. I'll know it when she wakes."

Nodding, Paoxiao took a reflective moment to consider how to begin this conversation. It was difficult to speak about one's wounds with another. Especially when that other person wasn't exactly one you held complete faith in.

He didn't hold complete faith in him, however, he did trust that Li Yu Rong had the intention to protect Nastasia for the moment. So, having that in mind, Paoxiao started the conversation like this: "You know why I wanted to go through the gate so badly, right?"

Li Yu Rong said nothing but gave a slight nod. Curious as to what this had in common with the man in the drawing whom Asya wanted to find. The one that spoke the same words as those from her realm.

"I can't say it with a hundred percent certainty, but I'm at least ninety percent certain. That day, all those years ago, I'm sure that he was the one that took my sister."

Humans can't enter the Spirit Realm, the concentration of spirit energy would destroy their bodies. While it's not impossible for demons to enter the Mortal Realm the vital energy, without a contract to protect them, would make them slaves to violence.

The reason the Mortal and Spirit Realms connected is, currently, unknown. However, that the two are inexorably tied together cannot be denied. Many things regarding this had been researched and recorded by the previous Gate Guardians.

One of which is that when a living thing dies, it enters the Spirit Realm. The vital energy within it leaves the spirit after it enters while it's on its way to the Wheel of Reincarnation. The energy that leaves undergoes a type of change, becoming the spirit energy that fills the Spirit Realm.

This is why that, while a human cannot enter the Spirit Realm under any circumstances, a demon can still enter the Mortal Realm. Because, essentially, spirit energy had been vital energy when it was alive.

Whether the residents of the Spirit Realm fall to insanity or not depends on their level of spirit energy. The lower the level the less likely they are to be afflicted. One could also avoid it so long as they had a contract with a human.

This being the case, and for the fact that the man Asya drew was clearly quite young, then the person in question isn't human.

"A demon?" Li Yu Rong asked.

Paoxiao shook his head. "I don't get it either. The day that he took my sister and destroyed the village protecting us, though incredibly strong, he was clearly human. The drawing that she drew, he looks exactly as he did then! The similarities are too spot on, from what I remember of him, for that guy in the drawing to be a descendant or someone with a similar face."

Frowning, Li Yu Rong opened his mouth but shut it as his gaze slid to the door. He waited a moment for the rustling sounds to settle and her breathing to even out before responding. "You said that you were only ninety percent sure? So then, there's a ten percent chance he could be someone else?"

However, Paoxiao shook his head. "The drawing isn't in color... it's that thing she called a sketch. The drawing is really good and very life-like, but it happened more than fifty years ago. If the drawing was in color, I might be able to be more sure about it."

"Fine," Li Yu Rong placed his hand on the door, poised to open it and enter the room once he finished saying what needed saying. "Then, under the excuse of having a better portrait for gathering information at that shop of hers, have her make a copy in color."

"We'll discuss it more after you've done that." Not waiting for a response Li Yu Rong entered the room, eager to be back within the bed, sharing Asya's warmth.

Paoxiao frowned.

He hadn't even told Nastasia about how Jiang Ya Lin had gotten the Magistrate to agree to their purchasing the shop, yet Li Yu Rong already knew about it. More and more, Paoxiao felt that nothing could escape that man's notice.

As he stared at the door, he disappointment washed over him.

Although he wanted to go back into the room and demand to know what he intended to do to ensure Nastasia's protection, Paoxiao held back. There was no benefit to annoying Li Yu Rong. Once he was able to confirm it from a colored picture, and once again have this conversation, he wouldn't back off until this point was properly discussed.

Not wanting to be too far from her room so that he could find her easily early the next morning, he jumped into a nearby tree. Settling down as comfortable as one could be on a branch, Paoxiao fell into a light sleep.

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A/N:

I'm finally free from school! Until the end of August, but until I go back, I'm going to use some of the extra time for a mass release. Once I get a good amount of chapters stacked up, I'll let you guys know what day they'll be released. XD

I'm also going to be making a character and term glossary. Since there are so many characters and terms that it's hard to keep track -especially if they haven't shown up for a while- I thought that it might help to have one.