Over to Ji Ru's.

After a while longer, there was a unanimous decision to spare their buttocks and thighs. And so, 

everyone returned to the castle. By that time, Xiao Xia's servants had gotten everything ready for her departure and were waiting outside the palace gates. 

It didn't take long for the group to get to them, and soon it was time to say goodbye. Rai Lin and Wu Ju were about to leave too.

"I won't stay away too long. You can expect another visit from me in the near future." Xiao Xia said to Li Jun and Wu Ji.

The brothers smiled and gave her a bow. "We'd be delighted to have you." Li Jun said.

Tai Yang stared at the royals.

'I wonder what they'd do if they knew that the other party was not as poised and eloquent as they make themselves out to be.' He thought. 

After his conversation with Xiao Xia, he was sure that she preferred speaking casually; or at least to him. Perhaps the way they spoke and behaved around each other was royal etiquette and expected of them. 

Quite suddenly, Rai Lin poked her finger into Li Wei's ear and ran off cackling. The man gave no indication that he felt anything and simply moved Ji Ru to his right side when Rai Lin tried to shove the same finger into Ji Ru's mouth.

'... On second thought, maybe etiquette isn't something they all acknowledge.' He thought when he saw Wu Ji sniffing Ji Ru again, very unsubtly. 

Li Wei sharply pulled Ji Ru away and glared at Wu Ji.

"You really smell different." Wu Ji said to Ji Ru, ignoring Li Wei.

"Do have a safe trip, and don't feel pressured to return any time soon." Li Wei said to him with a curt smile. 

"Don't worry, it's no pressure on us at all. We'll be back when Xiao Xia is." Wu Ji said to him with an equally cold smile. Ji Ru laughed slightly nervously and lightly pulled Li Wei away.

"That's... wonderful gege. For now, please be careful on the way back, and you too, your majesties." Ji Ru said, bowing politely to Wu Ji, Rai Lin, and Xiao Xia.

"Of course, little wolf." Rai Lin said, lightly bopping Ji Ru lightly on the nose. "Don't forget, you can visit us anytime. We'd love to have you and Tai Yang."

"Just don't bring your plus-one." Wu Ji muttered under his breath.

Xiao Xia smiled. "We'll be safe Ji Ru. Goodbye Tai Yang. I'll see you very soon." She said, bowing. "Have a safe trip, Xiao Xia. It was great to meet you." Tai Yang said, bowing in return. 

"I hope next time we could become better friends. I'd love to know the side of you that Ji Ru does." Xiao Xia said, flawlessly keeping her front. 

Tai Yang nodded. "I'll do my best."

Wu Ji winked at him. "See you soon, four-eyes." Rai Lin whacked him for the comments, then looked at Tai Yang, suddenly winking herself. "If you ever want to become the King of Valor, my uterus is at your service."

Wu Ji snorted. "What kind of pick-up line was that supposed to be?"

"As if your, 'Oh I'll see you soon, four eyes' was any better. At least mine is direct. With men, you have you tell it to them. Isn't that right Tai Yang?"

"Uhh..."

"Look, he looks like you slapped him with a raw fish." Wu Ji said, rolling his eyes. Xiao Xia grinned. "We should leave now. Let's all go back to Atarah." She said to Wu Ji and Rai Lin who shrugged.

Wu Ji turned to look at Ji Ru. 

"Bye-Bye, Wolfie-darling. I'll see you very soon. Send me a Whisp if you ever need anything or want to talk."

"That will be highly unlikely." Li Wei smiled in a synthetically good-natured way. Wu Ji's nose twitched and his dilated pupils switched to slits and he changed his line of sight from Ji Ru to Li Wei. 

He looked back at Ji Ru, exhaling. Then he smiled and blew a kiss at him. 

Ji Ru smiled awkwardly as Li Wei placed his hand in front of Ji Ru and flicked away the invisible kiss. 

Wu Ji, more than pissed off at Li Wei at that point huffed and stepped forward. Rai Lin caught his arm. "Come on, we're leaving. You've almost got the Jumpies. You're going to lash out if we stay here longer. Come on." Wu Ji pursed his lips and stepped back. 

"Fine." He said, starting to transform. 

Xiao Xia smiled one last time at everyone, then entered her palanquin. 

Soon, they were all gone. 

Every servant, guard, and member of the royal family collectively let out a massive sigh. It was so synchronized that Tai Yang looked around at everyone in alarm. Ji Ru straightened up after his sigh. "We survived." He said. 

"Not yet." Li Wei said. "Everyone, search every inch of this castle for a trap. Those two are capable of anything. Check EVERYTHING thoroughly, from the Dungeons to the lake and the Keep too. Leave nothing unturned. Move out."

"Yes, your majesty." Everyone chorused, starting to scamper into the castle, and around it too.

Li Jun crossed his arms and pointedly looked at Tai Yang. 

Tai Yang avoided his eye contact, suddenly finding his sleeve to be quite interesting.

Li Jun clicked his tongue. 

"Well?" He asked. Li Wei and Ji Ru glanced at Ji Ru. They were also curious. "You. Mushroom. I'm addressing you." Li Jun said, turning to face Tai Yang fully. The bespeckled man glanced upward at Li Jun.

"Yes?" He asked. Li Jun scowled. "Stop being annoying. What did Xiao Xia say?"

"Oh. Well...about that." Tai Yang scratched his cheek. "There's not much I can say about it really."

Li Jun, Li Wei, and Ji Ru looked at him oddly. 

Li Jun was the first to snap out of it, harshly grabbing the thinner man by the front of his robes. Giving him a violent shake that made Ji Ru yelp in worry, Li Jun narrowed his eyes at Tai Yang. 

"And why is that?" He asked. 

"It was a private conversation." Tai Yang said simply. Li Jun blinked as he stared down at the shorter man. Tai Yang blinked. Li Jun blinked twice. Tai Yang blinked three times. 

Li Jun let out a loud growl of irritation. "You little shit! I demand to know what you two spoke of right this instant!" He said, shaking Tai Yang. Tai Yang lifted his hands to hold his glasses in place as Li Jun threw his tantrum. 

"Li Jun, stop. His neck will snap at this rate."

"Let it snap! How dare he withhold information!"

"Wait, your majesty! There must be a reason he said that. There's a reason, right Tai Yang?"

"Yes."

"THEN WHAT IS THE REASON?!"

"Li Jun, even without him giving you a reason, there's no reason for you to shout at him. Look, you're scaring him."

"Yeah, you're scaring him!"

"Be quiet! Both of you! What reason does he have to hide the contents of a conversation with someone he only just met? Isn't that suspicious?" Li Jun snapped. 

At that statement, both Li Wei and Ji Ru paused and turned their attention to Tai Yang. "Why don't you want to say it, Sunshine?" Ji Ru asked. 

Tai Yang glanced over at him. He was quite on the edge after Li Jun's harsh shaking. 

'Perhaps it would be better to make an excuse. This sporadic man looks like he will really execute me if I don't give him an answer.'

He swallowed and pursed his lips. Tai Yang was not a man of a million talents, he was barely a man of ten. Needless to say, lying was not his greatest skill. Whenever he did lie, he would become red and flushed. Not unlike a juicy tomato.

'What should I say?'

"Hey. Speak up if you want to keep your tongue." Li Jun said, shaking him again for emphasis. 

Tai Yang shifted his gaze to Li Jun's amber eyes. He swallowed starting to turn red. "I didn't want to talk about it because you would take it the wrong way. We only spoke about her interest in my research, and how we look. She told me she'd help me if I needed help with mastering any techniques, and she asked me to go with her."

'It's partly the truth.' Tai Yang thought as he grimaced with his entire soul.

Li Jun tilted his head.

Tai Yang wanted to squeak in horror. 'What is that face? Is he really going to take me down to the gallows now?'

"If I'm taking it the wrong way, why are you so flustered talking about it? Huh?"

Well, to be fair, the reason was two-fold. Aside from his lying, with Li Jun's face shoved into his personal space, how could he or anyone else in that sort of position not be flustered?

Li Jun hmphed and let go of him abrubtly. "Fine, if she likes you so much, perhaps I should trade you so that you can be her concubine in exchange for her hand in marriage. With the way you both are canoodling, I bet neither of you would be opposed to it."

Tai Yang scrunched up his face. 'Who says 'canoodling' in this day and age?'

"Your majesty, Tai Yang is the least possible candidate for anyone to canoodle." Ji Ru said.

'I don't know if I should be offended or thankful for that statement.' Tai Yang thought, simply nodding vigorously as Ji Ru spoke. 

"Think of him as an innocent child. Look at his face. Does it look like the face of someone that would try to steal your woman?" Li Wei tried as Ji Ru assisted in gesturing to Tai Yang's red face.

Li Jun raised a brow. 

"He looks the damn woman herself! How should I know?" He scowled.

"Trust me, Tai Yang has been celibate since birth, there's no way he would do something like courting someone." Ji Ru said.

'This is very true. I was born celibate. I will definitely die celibate. Perhaps I should become a monk. I wonder if monks eat chicken feet though. Is that considered eating meat to them? It's part of the chicken so probably. Oh, but dang, I do enjoy a good spicy chicken foot every now and then... Could you pick up something with a chicken foot, or use it as a spoon? Or fork? A spork? Why have I not tried that?' Tai Yang thought, and his eyes became unfocused as he fell into a daze.

Li Wei nodded. "He'll most likely die that way too." Ji Ru nodded quickly.

"He's the most innocent and oblivious adult man you'd ever find." Ji Ru said.

Li Jun glanced at Tai Yang who had a blank look on his face.

'I mean... They aren't wrong. Look at that stupid look on his face. I bet he's thinking of something weird again.' Li Jun thought. He let out a puff of air. 

"Even so, Xiao Xia is very beautiful. Even he isn't immune to her charms."

"He sees her face every day in the mirror. I'm sure he can resist her charm quite well. Look at this," Li Wei said and then stared at Tai yang. He tapped his arm and Tai Yang broke out of his daze, blinking a few times. 

"Huh?"

"Tai Yang, do you think you're the best-looking person in existence?" Li Wei asked.

Tai Yang's eyes widened. "What? No, of course not. There are many more people with more refined features than I have." He said, waving his hands slightly. 

Li Wei and Ji Ru looked at Li Jun.

"See, he thinks Xiao Xia is ugly." Li Wei said flat out.

Tai Yang's eyes widened further. "What?"

Li Jun suddenly looked quite affronted. "You wretched man. How could you say something like that about her?"

"Wha-Wait, I think there's some sort of confus-"

"It's too late. As her future husband, I must let her know about your dark, demeaning inner thoughts. Maybe then she'll realise you aren't worth her time." Li Jun crossed his arms.

A green whisp flew closer and moved into Li Jun's temple. 'Your majesty, the castle and the vicinity are clear of any traps or tricks.' The voice of Lan JiRen said.

Li Jun sighed. "Alright then. Come on." He said, grabbing Tai Yang's wrist to haul him along. 

"Not so fast." Li Wei said, grabbing Tai Yang's other wrist. Tai Yang and Li Jun looked at him in surprise. However, upon seeing a sparkling-eyed Ji Ru and his wagging tail, there was no need to ask why Li Wei had stopped them. 

Li Jun rolled his eyes, let go of Tai Yang's wrist, and unceremoniously pushed him onto Ji Ru. "Li Wei. You better make sure this one stays put. And make sure the guards are there if you aren't there. Nobody knows what's going on in that head of his."

Ji Ru broke into a toothy smile. "Of course! He won't go anywhere." Li Wei nodded.

Tai Yang simply kept silent. 'For now.' He thought.