Chapter 124- Trust and Allegiance...

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"You are right." Adori spoke as she let out a long sigh.

Liu Guanyi was indeed correct. Without the hardships and the hard times she had experienced in her childhood, Adori knew that she wouldn't be able to mature so quickly.

Without the harsh circumstances in the slums and after being expulsed, she wouldn't be able to develop her intelligence, awareness, latent talents, and emotional control under the ever-present threat of death hanging above her head.

This was also one of the reasons why Adori had bloomed when she was picked up by the Zahard family.

Unlike the other candidates of the princess of Zahard who were born in the ten great families, she wasn't born strong with an established and orderly life, and seniors to guide and train her.

Although many members of the ten great families had rough lives, especially the branch members, such as the compulsive training they had to go through in the Khun family, it was nothing compared to what Adori had experienced.

Even what Xin experienced was pale in comparison to her.

Rather than feeling forced to train, Adori had always zealously sought to improve herself intensely on her own. Hence, when she saw Liu Guanyi trained even harder, she had come to respect him and spurred her desire to improve even more.

This was obvious as she had never relied on her monstrous strength as a princess of Zahard to fight her opponents nor overwhelm them with greater shinsu quantity.

Instead, she had always been using her sword skills to fight even those far weaker than her, intending to keep refining her techniques and abilities rather than powering through brute strength.

Only when fighting against powerful opponents like Liu Guanyi had she ever gone all out.

In essence, her style was similar to Liu Guanyi who had also focused on techniques rather than sheer power despite his monstrous, overwhelming physical abilities that could put a princess of Zahard like her to shame.

"It's alright, we all have something we regret in life. However, no matter how much we think about them, it won't change the fact that they had already happened nor the fact that we are unable to change them at all."

"We only need to learn what had happened in the past and leave it peacefully. Rather than being bogged down by what's already irrelevant today, isn't it better to free our chest to prepare and embrace the tomorrow?" Liu Guanyi spoke with a relaxed smile.

"I guess you are right again. It seems that I have still a lot to learn from you, Liu." Adori had a little smile on her face and said with a relaxed tone.

Liu Guanyi didn't say anything and only smiled back at her.

"Anyway, you still need a lot of rest to recover. Since you are already awake, it's better if you take care of the bandages by yourself."

"You don't want to be exposed and seen by others, no?" Liu Guanyi said as he placed a fresh roll of bandages on the bed.

Adori thought for a second and was about to say something before she stopped herself and closed her mouth, then nodded curtly.

"Alright, to help you to move easily around the house, you can use the lighthouse to sit. Also, don't forget to use the ointment before changing the bandage, and consume the pills to quicken your recovery." Liu Guanyi said as he took out a lighthouse and a few small bottles.

Adori listened to him and nodded in understanding.

Liu Guanyi looked at her eyes and spoke with a solemn tone. "Let's continue to climb the tower and seek the answers together, Adori."

Adori stared back at him, seeing his determination in his eyes, and replied back with an energetic response. "Let's do it, Liu."

Liu Guanyi smiled at her and went out of the room. As he was walking away from the room, his smile vanished and his eyes instantly turned cold.

Even though there were some variables that somewhat diverted his plan, Liu Guanyi had observed them with his own eyes, and deemed them to be working as expected.

The events on the Hell Train were something that was unexpected.

He didn't that there was someone who could recognize irregulars with a glance, making his situation spiraled a bit out of his control.

Fortunately, he had managed to quickly adapt on the fly and prevented his plans from going awry.

Liu Guanyi didn't plan to expose his identity to his teammates, especially Adori, that early, but the God of Guardians had leaked it so he didn't have much of a choice.

Adori was smart, he knew that very well.

Since she had overheard what the God of Guardians said, sooner or later she would be able to connect the dots eventually.

Hence, it was better to look like he had trusted them a lot and told them directly rather than appearing distrustful of them even after traveling and experiencing many things together for decades and keeping them in the dark.

He didn't care about Xin since he was already "nurtured" with his own hands and his fate was pretty much tied to him.

However, Adori was a different case. She was still a princess of Zahard in the end. Once she changed her mind, she could betray him easily.

She could simply send a message to the higher-ups in the Zahard family about his true identity and he was absolutely done for.

That was why it was very important to make sure Adori didn't have any funny thoughts or a change of mind.

It wasn't because Liu Guanyi didn't trust her.

No, that was not the case at all.

It was simply because of the gravity and importance of the matter of her allegiance to him.

Although Adori was cold, ruthless, and indifferent, she was certainly not a sinister and scheming woman to the ones she cared, that was what he had learned over the years.

However, rather than simply trusting her as it was, Liu Guanyi was more assured of his own judgment.

And from his conversation with Adori, listening to her story, and the expression she made when he was about to go, Liu Guanyi was quite appeased.

He had deemed Adori as trustworthy enough, and her stable character had strengthened the validity of his judgment.

Adori wouldn't change her mind without a very solid reason, and even with a solid reason, she would find it incredibly hard to betray him as her own feelings would stand in her way and protect him.

Liu Guanyi's mouth curled up into an unnerving, yet charming smile.

His efforts over the years weren't wasted.

Now, Adori was already firmly in his grasps.

Like a helpless prey that was stuck on the spider's web, she was akin to a marionette that would dance to his tune, the glorious puppet master.