Chapter 15: The Prison

"Huh??? B-but-"

'SLAM!', She shuts the door powerfully.

"But I only tried to calm her! What did I do wrong!?", Xin Suan talks alone in front of her room.

"Y-your Majesty..."

"What!?", He turns his head away to the direction where the woman's voice came.

It was Jiu Lan and her friends, cleaning the corridor of the left wing. The situation is awkward. They are all staring at Xin Suan, as if he did something wrong. Well, he did. But he didn't get why they were staring at him like that until he realized that it's ambiguous when he just left Ai Lie's room with her yelling at him pervert. Who wouldn't think that he was trying to do something inappropriate to her?

"N-no!! I-i-it's not like what you think!!", He is flustered.

"Ah... Of course... Forgive us. We didn't hear anything.", Jiu Lan bows at him awkwardly.

"Hey, but it's true!! I didn't do anything to her!"

The maids didn't reply anything and started to continue what they did. They pretended like there's nothing wrong.

"That girl....", His face darkened, "Hey you, don't ever spread a wrong rumor about me! I really didn't do anything, so if someone ever talk about this, I'll assume you are the one who did that! Understand!?"

"Understood, Your Majesty.", The maids answered him together.

"Grrr!! I need to talk to Yin Ling right now!"

"Your Majesty...", Jiu Lan stops him from going away.

"What now!?"

"Uh... What should we do with that?"

"Ah, right! What a bother!", He raised his hand to the direction where the secret passage is, and summoned a new wall, "Here!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty.", Jiu Lan bows at him.

'Swoosh!', He didn't reply a word and vanished within air. His mood is already ruined right now, what's in his mind is just he wants to meet Yin Ling immediately.

"Oh my! I can't believe His Majesty is actually did 'that' to that human!", One of the maid started to gossiping what was happened.

"Right? I thought he isn't intersted in woman! He never brought a girlfriend or anyone eventhough he has the lady killer face!", Her friend replied.

"Right, right? I thought he is into General Yin! They are always together like a chopstick! Hihihihi!"

"So he is actually interested in humans? Just like what the Lord Fire did?", Another maid replied.

"Haaa if the heaven knows about this, they will definitely punished him for breaking the contract!"

"Ahem...", Jiu Lan steps in to the hot conversation, "Stop spreading a false rumor. His Majesty isn't someone disgrace like him. Maybe there was a misunderstanding between that child and His Majesty."

"Yeah, Jie Jie Jiu Lan is right! That's why we should shut our mouths up, so that the heaven won't know that our Lord has actually bought a human child. And also, just to inform you guys if you haven't heard it, His Majesty said if there's a wrong information about him, he will kill us.", Fang Yin replied.

"...", The gossiping girls are now speechless hearing the word 'kill'.

"Now get back to work!", Fang Yin points her finger, asking them to go back to their own duites.

"Fang Yin, maybe I should check her.", Jiu Lan whispering to her.

"Oh okay, leave it to me!", Fang Yin's happily taking a broom from Jiu Lan's hand.

"Thank you, Fang Yin!"

In the other hand, Ai Lie went crazy in her room. She doesn't know what to feel right now. Yes, it's true, her fear and sadness had been vanished after what was happened, but the way he kissed was too much. She doesn't know whether to thank him or just punch him in his face.

"HAAAAAAAAAA!!!", She slaps both of her cheeks a few times.

"HAAAAAA!!! HE STOLE IT!! HE STOLE IT!!!! HE STOLE MY FIRST KISS!!"

"HOW MANY WOMEN HAVE BEEN KISSED BY HIM BEFORE UNTIL HE SHAMLESSLY DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?"

"YOU PLAYBOY! YOU STOLE MY LIPS'S VIRGINITY!! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR IT!!"

She can't erase the memories when her lips were being attacked. She feels so disgusted just by remembering how many times he stroked her tongue, but she couldn't deny that there was a sweet sensation when he did that, something that made her wanting it more. She feels so embarrased just by confessing her true feelings in silent.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!! DON'T BE LIKE THIS! YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG, AI LIE!!", She slaps her face a few times, doesn't want to admit her own feelings.

'Knock! Knock!'

"W-W-Who is that!?", Ai Lie turns her head to the door.

"It's me, Xiao Mei."

"Oh!", She immediately opens the door, "Hello, Jie!"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure!", Ai Lie welcomes Jiu Lan, and closes the door.

"Ah, sorry, you must be looking for me because I was absent in my duty... I'm sorry, but can I take a rest just for today?"

"No, that's not it, Xiao Mei... Of course you may take a rest. Beside, I wouldn't dare to force you to do the lowly duties, you are not a servant. Anyway, I heard you were being kidnapped by a ghost. Is that true?"

"Yes it's true, hahaha... But I'm alright now! His Majesty saved me...", She chuckles awkwardly. She hates the fact that Xin Suan helped her.

"Oh my... I'm so sorry, it must be hard for you..."

"I-it's okay! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Here, I brought these for you...", Jiu Lan hands over some peach fruits, "I don't know what you like, but I choose this fruit because it has a delicious taste."

"T-Thank you so much for your attention, Jie Jie!", She bows at Jiu Lan. She puts the peach on the table.

"You're welcome, Xiao Mei.", a short silent breaking the whole room afterward.

"Speaking of His Majesty...", Jiu Lan is actually hesitate to ask.

"Yes?"

"Did he... Umm... Sorry if this is offending you, but did he does 'that' to you?"

"What's 'that'?"

"Uh... You know, 'sleeping together'.", Jiu Lan doesn't want to say it frontally.

"!?", Ai Lie is very surprised by hearing the question, "O-OF COURSE NOT!"

"Ah, thank goodness, I know he won't do something like that to a defenseless little girl..."

"W-W-Who said that??"

"This morning we saw you kicked him out from this room, and you were calling him 'pervert'. We thought that he did something inappropriate to you."

'Inappropriate!? Of course it is!', The memories of those battle of tongues pops in her mind.

"Then, was there something happened between you and him?"

"Ahhh... How to explain...", Ai Lie's actually wants to tell her the story. She wants to share the burden haunting her mind and ask for an advice how to deal with him. Especially Jiu Lan is a mature woman, she must be wiser than Ai Lie.

"Jie Jie, I'll tell you the story, but keep it a secret, will you?"

"Ah, do you really believe to share your secrets with me?"

"Of course I do! I believe in you! You are already like my own sister!"

"Very well then, thank you if you think that way about me.", Jiu Lan is a very polite person, just like Hei She.

"My pleasure, Jie Jie!", Ai Lie's smiling at her, "Huft! So this is how it's started....", She told her everything, about what she experienced during the kidnapping, about how terrified she was and cried in Xin Suan's embrace to calm herself. And the last but the most important part is about the kiss.

"What!? His Majesty did that to you!?", Jiu Lan couldn't believe what she said.

"Yes!! The that is not 'that', but still I feel... I dunno, I'm confused, Jie Jie..."

"...", Even Jiu Lan has no idea what to do if she is in her position.

"You know, he is kind... He tried to comfort me, and I thank him towards his good intention... But it's just... What he did was too much. I never have a boyfriend or whatever before. I have never kissed or being kissed by someone. This feels new to me, but who am I to him?? I don't care if in his past he often did that with other girls, but that was my first time! I feel like... He's stealing something from me."

"I see... I understand your feeling as a woman.", Jiu Lan hugs her, "But Ai Lie, something you need to know is His Majesty had never touch a woman before. He rarely in contact with other women, except the condition's forcing him to.", She stroked her hair softly.

"He really was trying to comfort you by eating your negative emotions, but he chose a wrong method. Maybe, he didn't know doing that via kiss would offend you.", She releases her embrace.

"But, Jie Jie, is that true that he can eat my negative emotions?"

"Yes. He is the only ghost, and the only asura, who can take the maximum advantages of humans. Anything can be a fodder for him, not only the flesh and blood. That's why he has the strongest power in the history of the demon's realm."

"Oh... I see...", She still can't believe that, but Jiu Lan is obviously not a liar. She tried to understand that nonsense reason.

"Then, what should I do after this? I will meet him again sooner or later, right? But I feel so awkward..."

"Just pretend like nothing happened."

"What?", She widened her eyes.

"You know, Ai Lie, not all problems can be solved by showing your true feelings. By showing your anger too much to him will make you looked like you were ungrateful by his help. Remember, behind those 'attack', there lies a will to save you from your pain. Beside, you have kicked him out and insulted him, so that's even."

'Ugh!', An invisible arrow pierced through Ai Lie's heart. Jiu Lan's advice is too wise, making Ai Lie looks like a whiny little girl. She feels guilty for her rude actions towards Xin Suan.

"Jie Jie.... Thank you so much!!" , She hugs Jiu Lan tightly until Jiu Lan feels her back is aching.

"Ugh! You're welcome, Xiao Mei! Just... please...", She hesitate to say that Ai Lie's hurting her back.

"Can I take you as my own sister?"

"O-of course!", Jiu Lan is flustered.

"Now, please go take a bath, you are dirty.", She stares at Ai Lie's dusty clothes.

"Oops! I didn't realize that!"

"I'll clean your clothes and your bed."

"Okay!", Ai Lie starts to clean herself.

In the capital city of the southern territory, there lies an ancient huge imperial buildings, called the Chang Huan Palace. It belongs to Xin Suan, but he doesn't like to live there. He prefered to stay in his 'small' manor, in the middle of the quiet forest. The design of the palace is elegant, but it also represents the darkness that possesed the whole realm. The buildings were made of black bricks, with the red lanterns to brighten up all over the places. The prison is in the underground of the largest building.

"PFFFTT AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!", Yin Ling laughs so hard until he shed a tear.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!", Xin Suan is somewhat blushing, his ears are red.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!", Yin Ling voice is echoing through the whole corridor that leads them to the prison.

"HEY I SAID SHUT IT!!", He feels embarrased.

"Hahahaha... Huft...", He wiped his tear, "Your pride must be hurt... Have you ever been humilliated like that before?"

"Of course not!! Not once ever, not even when I was a human! I have never been called pervert, especially in front of so many people like that!"

"But it's your fault! She must had feel assaulted!"

"I told you, I only tried to eat her energy!"

"No, I mean, why should you do it at her mouth?? You can just grab her hand, or pat her head, or whatever..."

"Mouth is the strongest portal to enter the human's mind! I used the fastest method to get rid of her negative emotions.", Xin Suan stubbornly defending himself.

"What kind of logic is that?? Ohhh righttt.... So in your past, you kissed all of your preys too, huh?", Yin Ling teased him.

"Y-YOU!!! I HAVE NEVER KISSED SOMEONE BEFORE!!"

"Well, you've already broke the record just now. How did it taste? Was it good?", Yin Ling smirks at him.

"... Insult me once more and I'll cut your tongue.", He throws a death glare to his general.

"Hahaha alright, alright! I was just joking, you hot headed man!"

"Grrr!!", Xin Suan walks faster, down the stairs to the prison.

"Your Highness!", The two soldiers suited full armors greet him. It seems they are in charge to guard the prison.

"Where is he?"

"In the isolation cell, Highness. Do you want us to bring him here?"

"No, I'll go there by myself. Let's go Yin Ling."

"Yes."

The place is very dark and creepy. They only used a candle to lit their way. From the entrance, they can hear the sound of eerie cries. Everytime they were passing through the cells, there would be some human hands, trying to reach them.

"It.. It's him!! It's His Majesty!", a prisoner that sensed Xin Suan's presence starts to yell.

"HELP MEEE!!"

"YOUR MAJESTY!! GET ME OUT FROM HERE!!"

"YOUR MAJESTY!!"

"PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE!!", A group of hands reaching out between the cole irons. The faces of the prisoners are blurry, the place is too dark.

"Shut up, you sinners!!", Yin Ling kicks the iron bars.

"Huft... I hate this place. Let's be quick and get out from here.", Xin Suan closed one of his ear hole with his finger.

"WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM US!?", A loud voice coming from one of the cell. The two paused their steps.

"ESPECIALLY YOU, XIN SUAN!!!! YOU ARE ALSO A SINNER, EVEN THE CRUELEST CREATURE THE WORLD HAS EVER HAD!! YOU HAVE EATEN SO MANY HUMANS, EVEN MANY MORE THAN US!!! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOCKED US DOWN HERE!?", He punches the iron bars a few times.

Xin Suan moves closer to that cell, and Yin Ling raises the candle to see his face clearly. It was an ugly fat young man, his mouth covered with black thick blood.

"WHAT THE- YOU ATE YOUR OWN ROOMATES!?", Yin Ling widened his eyes.

"He...lp.", Someone inside there is still alive, but his body is already torn apart, exposing his half eaten organs and his ripped intestines.

"... Didn't we give you enough food?", Xin Suan stares at the dried dead bodies and that unlucky alive man.

"NOT ENOUGH, YOU ASSHOLE!!! YOU FEED US WITH GARBAGES AND YOU HOPE THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH FOR US!? YOU CLEARLY A DEMON!", He tried to reach Xin Suan robes.

"Hehehe... I have heard such opinions before... Not many, but from some of greedy pretas like you. So the vegetables and the meats aren't enough to fill your gluttony?", Xin Suan moves closer to the young prisoner. "Then, eat your own shit."

"Yin Ling, tell the guards not to give him anything, not even water. Let him taste his own death."

"Understood."

"XIN SUAN YOU ASSHOLE!! FUCK YOU, AND FUCK THAT SO CALLED "PEACEFUL" CONTRACT!! IT'S YOUR FUCKING WAR, NOT OURS!! WHY WOULD YOU DRAG US PRETAS INTO YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS!? HUMANS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OUR PREYS, YOU FUCKING STUPID SELFISH!!"

"Watch your tongue, you filthy rat! Do you understand your position!? Look who you talking to!", Yin Ling kicks the iron bars once more.

"Do you know why I sealed this realm away? Because there are so many lunatics like you that deserve to be starved to death.", Xin Suan pulls the young man's robe by the neck until his face hits the iron bars.

"And you are staying behind this cold iron, it means you were one of those rebellions that was trying to attack humans even after that contract was made right? Do you know what will happened if one of us is caught breaking the contract?"

"I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T GIVE A SHIT EITHER! ARGHH!!", His face hits to the iron bars one again.

"They will erase this whole realm. Both you and I don't want to die, right? Do you understand me?"

"BAH, SO WHAT!? WE ALL WILL DIE SOONER OR LATER YOU STUPID!! UAGHH!!", His body is thrown away, crashed hardly to the brick wall.

"Then, go die alone.", His eyes are glowing red, "Let's go, Yin Ling. This shit is wasting our time."

"Yeah.", They are continuing their way.