4 Safe and Sound

Satisfied with her answer, the demonic beauty released her chin to pat her head in praise. He even rewarded her with another grape. By the time Nastasia found out what she had agreed to, it was far too late for regrets.

The general wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight before him. Yet, his voice held neither the disgust he held for the immoral scene in front of him nor the contempt he held for the prince. He was merely a concerned provider of public safety.

"即使是这样的情况下, 以前的事件在你的前任的- (Even were that the case, with the previous incidents during your predecessor's-)"

"白将军, 你在质疑我的能力吗?(General Bai, are you questioning my capabilities?)" He cut in softly. His eyes were devoid of warmth though he still sported a lazy smile. Although he held the girl in his arms gently, he put forth such a dark and dangerous aura that the soldiers felt their hearts chill.

"当然不, 你是殿下! (Certainly not, you're Highness!)" The general was quick to deny. "这只是, 鉴于过去的恶魔从精神领域逃离的案件相当大的损害, 我不能只是看看这个恶魔的逃生的事实, 因为它是你的宠物的帐户. (It's just that, given the considerable damages from past cases of demons escaping from the Spirit Realm, I can't just overlook the fact of this demon's escape on the account of it being your pet. Even if it is you, you're Highness.)"

"哦, 是这样吗?(Oh, is that so?)" The demonic beauty responded languidly as he ran his fingers through the red tresses of the girl he held against his chest. He said nothing more, waiting for the general to continue.

General Bai shifted his gaze upon the girl being lovingly caressed, his eyes holding a trace of desire that he quickly squashed. It was, however, not soon enough to go unnoticed. Now, this wasn't a look of sexual lust, rather it was one of greed.

An uneasy trill went down Nastasia's spine and she looked down at the demonic beauty's hand around her waist to avoid those eyes. 'Such nice long and slender fingers,' she thought while trying to distract herself. Not being able to understand a single word being said while being powerless to prevent what may or may not happen was a truly unsettling thing.

However as this beauty caressed her head, and she distracted herself with his fingers, her heart began to settle slightly.

"一个没有及时修补的小洞会变成一个大洞, 很难修补. (A small hole not mended in time will become a big hole much more difficult to mend.)" The general cautioned. "人民真的害怕这件事, 因此, 以防止他们失去信心, 我可以建议殿下释放恶魔进入我们的监护权? (The people were truly frightened by this matter, thus to prevent them from losing faith, might I suggest his Highness to release the demon into our custody?)

Lips twitching to contain his amusement, the prince asked. "一旦你拥有了恶魔你会怎么做? (And what will you do with the demon once you have it.)"

"回应陛下; 为了平息恐惧和恢复信仰而进行的公共处决. (To respond to his Highness; a public execution to assuage the fearful and to restore faith.)"

This time the prince really did laugh, yet not a trace of that laughter found its way to his eyes. "暗影 (An Ying,)" he called, "将将军送回李部长官邸, 并通知好大臣, 他应该更好地训练下属, 以克制自己的舌头不受这种愚昧的侵害. (Return the general to Minister Li's residence and inform the good minister that he should better train his subordinates to curb their tongues from such foolishness. If he cannot, then don't blame this prince for not giving him face as I will not allow there to be a repeat.)"

Seemingly out from nowhere a tall man, dressed in dark robes and a topknot, appeared before the kneeling soldiers. Without saying a word, he gestured for the men to follow him out. General Bai, completely unwilling to leave, tried to reason with the prince.

"殿下, 请重新考虑一下! (Your Highness, please reconsider!)" He tried as a last stand. "如果你忽视, 而不是倾向于人民的恐惧, 这件事可能- (Should you ignore and not tend to the peoples' fear, this matter may-)"

"暗影 (An Ying,)" the prince cut in, "塞住将军, 把他扔在部长的门前. (gag the general and toss him before the minister's gates.)"

An Ying cupped his fists and bowed toward his master before carrying out his will. He pulled a silk cloth from his robes and crammed it into the general's yapping mouth that was still pleading for his master to see reason. An Ying then effortlessly tossed the man on his shoulder and headed for the exit. As he passed the stunned and still kneeling soldiers, he curtly gestured with his head for them to follow suit.

No amount of General Bai's pitiful struggles could free himself from An Ying's grasp. So, he could only content himself with a free ride back to the minister's estate.

Nastasia watched the proceedings with such relief that she became light-headed. She continued to stare after them until the very last one disappeared from sight. So that meant that she was now safe and sound, right?

Her attention was brought back to the demonic beauty as he patted her head comfortingly. Ah, so she was safe. This realization slowly brought down her adrenaline and made her keenly aware of the poor state of her own body.

After giving the beauty in front of her a brilliant smile of gratitude, she promptly lost consciousness.

A/N:

Just a quick curiosity, but...

Would you all prefer a chapter every day during the weekdays, with none on the weekend or my current release schedule? (Which is a couple chapters on Wednesday and a couple on the weekend.)

For the moment I only have free time Wednesday and the weekend for writing, but I'll try to write a bit extra and stock up on some chapters so that I can do mass releases here and there.