Chapter 25: A Puzzled Heart

"Woah... It's good this past few days His Majesty didn't annoy me...", Yin Ling sits at Yang Pavilion's terrace.

"Don't say that... It's very rude.", It's Jiu Lan, sitting next to him, "How is Xiao Mei doing? Is she doing fine?"

"That brat is obviously the worst. I've never trained someone so suck like her."

"Don't say that... It's very rude.", She is repeating her words, "She is just a human, General Yin."

"Yeah, I'm trying to understand her, but as you can see, my patience is rejecting that fact."

"... General Yin, you are close with His Majesty. You must have known what he did to Xiao Mei."

"Definitely! He is fucking stupid! Of course all girls in this world would feel assaulted if he suddenly does that to them! Especially they both barely know each other!"

"Ah... Your words... By the way, has he ever tell you something happened between them after that incident?"

"Hmm... Nope. Why?"

"Ah... Nothing. It's just... He misunderstood my words."

"Really? What is it?"

"So... I told him not to do that extreme way to eat her negative emotions. She is a human, she is still young and immature. I'm afraid she will fall in love with His Majesty if he keeps doing so. If she knows her feeling is one sided, her heart must be broken to pieces..."

"And? What did he say?", He turns his head to Jiu Lan.

"He... Ah... I was wrong, I unconsciously said 'if you kissed her without a warning'. He said that he doesn't mind if she fell for him, and he thought that I told him to give a warning to kiss her."

"HUH?? AM I DREAMING?", Yin Ling widened his eyes.

"??? No?"

"Since when did he became a womanizer like that? You know as well as I do that he was cold like an ice, and when he is angry, he is burning like flames."

"That's what I mean, General Yin. He wasn't that kind of person. But after her presence, he became more... Warm?"

"She must have put a spell on him.", Yin Ling shooked his head.

"I'm afraid... The two will begin to fall for each other."

"... I guess so. She is someone important to him anyway."

"But that's not right, General Yin."

"Why?", He turns his head to Jiu Lan once more.

"She is a mortal. She can die by illness, aging, or accident, while His Majesty is almost immortal. In addition, the danger in this world is beyond nightmare for a little girl like her, even I, the lowly preta could easily kill her. What kind of sorrow will he face if his beloved one died before him? And he has to struggle by keep living for a long time."

"...", Yin Ling takes a short pause, thinking about Jiu Lan's words, "... You are right. But sorry to say, that's none of our business."

"What? Why?"

"We have no rights to stop him, beside, who in this world has the power to againsts him? If only he ever fall for her, then let it be. He lived for a very long time, even longer than the both of us. He has suffering long enough, so he deserves to know that this rotten world has its own sweetness."

"You are right. I'm so selfish, forgive me."

"... By the way, It's just the two of us now. I have put a barrier so no one will see us. Put your mask off, I want to see your pretty face."

"... As you wish, General Yin."

Jiu Lan raised her hands, and removing the half cat shaped mask that was covering her upper face this whole time. Behind the mask, there lies a beautiful face. She has hazle brown eyes with pale skin, and pointed nose. Her lips are red like cherries. Her face appears to be older than Yin Ling, maybe around Xin Suan's age, late 20's.

"If only that stupid man can remember your name correctly, I could see your beautiful face everyday!"

"Don't say that... This mask is very comfortable to use. Beside, a lowly preta just like me has no rights to see His Majesty eyes directly."

"Ha... You really like those unimportant formalities. Why should you obey those old rules? His Majesty isn't someone like that anymore. But whatever...", He laid his head on Jiu Lan's lap.

"Finally, I get the time to chill with you alone, Jie Jie.", He is smiling at her.

"...", She didn't reply anything but a smile on her face, while her hand keeps stroking his head, as if Yin Ling is her little brother.

When the sun is almost set, Ai Lie went back to the manor using teleport with Xin Suan. He delivered her and her new pets to her room.

"Awww they are cute!!", Ai Lie brushes their small heads with her cheek softly.

'Thanks to those animals, she seems to be forgot to cut my nails.', Xin Suan's silently relief.

"Ai, you said you will build a house for them. What kind of house you want to make? I'll help you."

"Uh... Can you read my mind?"

"Very well.", He raised his hands above her head. It was a wooden cage. Big enough for them to live until they are grown up.

'Swoosh!', "Like this?", He summons the wooden cage that she thought in her mind.

"Whoa!! You are the best, Ge Ge!"

"Anything else you need?"

"Umm... Their cotton bed?"

"Huh!? Are they even need a bed??"

"To make their bodies warm and comfortable, of course... They are still babies..."

"Fine. As you wish. A small bed is enough, right?"

"Yeah!"

'Swoosh', He summons a very small wooden divan with a soft bed and a small blanket inside the cage.

"Kyaaa!! It's so cute!!! Let's put them there!!", She lays each of the bunnies on that small bed.

"....", He couldn't believe the nonsense he watched right now. And what makes it more stupid, he is granting every nonsense that she wants.

"Awww they are cute!!", She puts the blanket on the top of the bunnies body.

"Ah... They are still babies... What should we feed them? A rabbit's milk?"

"Hmm... I don't think it will be easy to get that kind of milk, but I will try to find one."

"Kyaaa!!! You are the best!!!", She hugs him tightly.

"....", He is actually a bit unsure of his own promise.

"Ge Ge, hold my hand!"

"Why?", Xin Suan is confused. She drags him to her bed, and leads him to sit on it.

"What is this? You really want to do it with me, huh?", He teased her. This kind of scene has ever happened before.

"Wait here.", She searched for something in her bag, and sit beside him after she found it, "... Of course, I want to do it with you.".

"R-Really?", All of the sudden, he become nervous. His sinful desire starts to pop in his mind.

"Sure. Let me take a look of your hands."

"Uh... Here?"

"Ta-daaa!!!", She shows her nail clipper.

"... Shit.", His sinful desire fading away in one second. He hides his hands away behind his back immediately.

"C'mon! Don't be a rebel!", She tried to pull his arms back to her.

"I said I don't need that!"

"But I need it, Ge Ge! I don't want you to scratch me anymore! Be a good boy, will you?"

"Who!? Who the hell you called 'a boy'!?", His pride hurts. He is obviously a mature man, by his age and by his appearance.

"C'mon give your hands, or I will be angry to you!", Ai Lie flinches her eyebrows.

"... Okay.", He surrendered unconditionally after hearing the word 'angry'.

'Click! Click! Click!', Everytime the nail clipper reducing the length on each of his nails, his right lower eyelid twitches. He could easily grow them back, but He is terribly scared of Ai Lie's anger. His fear has been fully controlled by her without his knowing. But Ai Lie is well aware of it, so she takes some advantages on his fear.

"Voila! Now your nails are neat and clean!", She smiles widely. Satisfaction is written all over her face.

".....", His face darkened as he scanned every of his 'neat' nails.

"Oh my, you are looking more handsome!", Ai Lie teased him.

"... Really?"

"Definitely!", She nodded a few times.

"Who is more handsome? Me or Yu Wen?", He remembered the way Ai Lie agreed to Bai Wu that her son is handsome.

"... Whoa that is a tricky question. Umm...", She take a short pause before answering his question, "... Ge Ge Yu Wen?"

"....", His heart starts to burn with jealousy, not only because of her answer, but also by the way she called Yu Wen 'Ge Ge' also.

"Ahahahaha I'm just joking! You both are handsome anyway!"

"Choose one.", His face become darker than before.

"Fine, fine. Umm... Ge Ge Yu Wen? Hahahaha!", Ai Lie knows that he is jealous, her answer isn't what he expected, but she keeps playing with his anger.

"That's it!", He stands up from her bed.

"Ahh!! Don't be angry, you short tempered man! I'm just kidding! Of course you are more handsome!", Ai Lie pulls him back to sit beside her.

"...."

"Oof! Burning with jealousy... How cute of you! Hihihihi!", She pokes his cheek and bumps her shoulder to his. She keeps teasing him.

Xin Suan immediately grabs her wrist and pressed her upper body to lay on the bed. 'Badump!', Ai Lie's heart beating faster as Xin Suan lowers his face to hers. The situation become more dangerous, the two are alone in a locked room, and the sun has been long gone, the world is covered by the darkness right now.

"Ge Ge...?", Her face is blushing red.

"....", He didn't reply anything and keeps bringing his face closer to her.

She shuts her eyes tightly and throws her face away from his. Her body is froze, she couldn't even lift a finger. With his upper body above her, she could only surrender and letting him to do what he wants.

"....", He throws a soft kiss on her forehead, "What were you thinking about, Ai?"

"H-huh?", She opens her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to touch you if you are still unready."

"E-eh??", Her face grows redder than before, "I-I-I-I wasn't think about that!!"

"Really? Then why weren't you fighting back?"

"B-Because... Because....", She doesn't know why she didn't even think to fight him back. Maybe, some part of her wants something that exactly the same as what he is thinking right now.

"Because of what?"

"... I don't know, I'm confused."

Xin Suan lifts Ai Lie's legs up, and leads her whole body to lay on the bed. He embraces her tightly. Xin Suan is trying so hard to hold his sinful desire back. This innocent girl should be protected and remain pure, but he almost let his dirty mind fully controling him.

"G-Ge Ge?"

"Let's be like this for a while....", He presses her head to his chest. They are laying on the same bed, hugging each other. Xin Suan tries to calm his mind.

"... Ge Ge, do you.... Do you really want to do that with me?", She collects her courage to ask him bluntly.

"....", His ears are red, "... To be honest, I certainly want to. I'm just a man, Ai, of course I couldn't control my mind well in this kind of situation."

".... H-how can you feel something like that towards me? I-I mean.. I'm not pretty, or sexy, or whatsoever... I'm unattractive..."

"Who said that? You are attractive and beautiful. You are small, cute, and harmless, just like those bunnies that you brought here."

"...", Her face keeps growing redder. This is the first time a man compliments her appearances.

"... H-How many women have you slept with, Ge Ge?", She baits him to talk about his ex-lover.

"What the hell kind of question is that!? Of course none! I have never sleep with anyone!"

"S-So does that mean..."

"Yeah. I'm still a virgin. Why would I share my body to the girls that I don't like? Beside, I didn't have the time to play with women, you know? Or... Do you really think I am a womanizer?"

"E-eh?? N-No... Of course not... I'm sorry, my question must be insulting you..."

"I'm being like this only to you, Ai. I will never touch you if you aren't ready, or if you don't want me to do that.", He strokes her head.

Xin Suan keeps sending signals to Ai Lie that he is really into her. Ai Lie is really aware of it, but she doesn't know how to act. This is the first time she's falling so deep for someone and it seems her feeling is not one sided. She doesn't want him to know that she loves him deeply in less than a month, but her ego is controlling her to make him hers only.

'Even... Even if your ex is still in your heart... I will try to make you mine. I will try to make you think only about me... But what should I do? I never know how to attract a man's heart...', She is silently discussing with herself. Then, she has an extreme idea how to make Xin Suan only for her, not sharing with anyone, even his ex-lover.

"Then... If I am ready.... Will you do it with me?"

"H-HUH!?", He widened his eyes and immediately pushed Ai Lie's body to see her whole face. His ears grow redder.

"...", She shuts her eyes tightly, she is too embarrased to face him right now, "... I can't pay back the money you gave me for my loan and for my family's saving... And I can't pay back your kindness to me too. You have done everything for me. Think of it as a way of my repayment... But, will you wait for me until I am ready?"

"W-W-What are you talking about!? Ai Lie, are you sick!?", He couldn't believe his ears.

"Just answer me!", She speaks louder than before.

"... I never ask you to pay me back in the first place, Ai. I'm helping you by my own will. I didn't mean to put a heavy burden in your heart just like this. Please, think carefully before you deciding something."

"But I...", her palms clenched his robe tightly, "But I really want to pay you... And also, I don't mind to do that with you. I will be very grateful if you are my first."

"H-huh!? What do you mean...??"

"It's not only my way of repayment, but also my own wish."

"....", He is stunned for a while, ".... Then, we have our agreement, I hope you won't regret this. I will gladly waiting for you to pay me back."

"....", She hides her face away to his chest. Ai Lie couldn't bare to reconsider about what she said. Love has made her blind, crazy, and impulsive. If someone ever heard about this, they would definitely call her a slut for willingly selling her own virginity to a man she barely know yet. Who knows what Xin Suan said were all just lies?

The silence breaks between the two. Awkwardness and embarrasment are filling up the whole situation in the room. The two don't even dare to face each other, but they keep their embrace tightly without parting their bodies away. Such an inappropriate scene with an inappropriate conversation too. If the heaven ever known about this, Xin Suan and Ai Lie will definitely going to be erased from the world by its wrath.

'Grooowl', Ai Lie's belly starts to moan, "A-ah!! I-I-I'm sorry!!"

"It's time for your dinner after all. Let's go.", He raised from her bed.

"Ah wait... I need to take a bath. I'm very dirty right now."

"A bath....?"

"Hmm. I will take a bath first. Ge Ge want to wait for me?"

"A-Alright...", He feels nervous. An improper imagination pops inside his mind.

"Okay. I'll be back soon."

Ai Lie left him alone sitting on her bed, and Xin Suan started to feel frustrated towards himself. He feels guilty for staining the pure innocent girl's heart. Finally he got what he wanted. He wanted her heart, and his dirty mind wanted her body. Now, he won both of them, but at what cost?

"I am... Really a sinner. I deserve my death... Ah, I'll ask Yin Ling to kill me."

After they had their dinner, Xin Suan delivered Ai Lie back to her room. In the process, they didn't talk much. He asked Ai Lie to take enough rest. He went to his own bedroom and spent his time with his favorite drink. He called Yin Ling by telepathy to come to his room.

"What now...? This is already late....", Yin Ling opens the door, "Wait, what happened to you!? You look miserable!!", He rushingly run near Xin Suan to check on his condition.

"Hicc... Yin Ling.", Xin Suan is drunk, "Ask Jiu Lan to find.... A rabbit's milk."

"Huh? What for? It's not a common food, it will be hard to find that."

"My goddess... She saved two baby bunnies from the forest... They need to eat."

"WHO THE FUCK YOU CALLED A GODDESS!? AI LIE?? THAT BRAT IS A GODDESS!?", Yin Ling can't believe what he just heard.

"Hicc... Just find one, or I will kill you.", Eventhough Xin Suan is heavily drunk, his mind is still clear.

"Fine!!! You really are blinded by her!!"

"Hicc...", He summons his large crimson blade, "... Yin Ling, before you go, kill me.", He hands over it to Yin Ling.

"Huh!?? What kind of randomness is this!?"

"Please, chop my head off from my body. I'm a sinner... I'm really sinful... I don't deserve to live..."

"What the hell!?!? We all are sinners, Your Majesty!! What the hell is going on with you!?", Yin Ling takes a short pause and trying to guess what was actually happened to his master, "... Does that child threatening you or something?"

"Hicc... Of course not. Here, take this, and kill me. You will be the next asura's king."

"WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THAT!? I DON'T WANT TO BE GIVEN A HEAVY BURDEN LIKE THAT!!"

'SLAP!!', Yin Ling slaps Xin Suan cheek hardly, the sound crispily echoing through the entire room, "Here, I don't know what kind of problem between you two, but I hope this is enough to make your consciousness back to your head!!"

"Wow... That hurts a lot....", Xin Suan brushes his cheek. His skin is scratched and bleeding a little.

"Uh-oh...", Yin Ling realises he landed his palm to the wrong person.

"....", Xin Suan stands up, his face grows darker then before. He grips the hilt of his blade powerfully, readily to smack Yin Ling's head with it.

"F-Forgive me, Your Majesty! It was an accident!"

'CLATTER!', Xin Suan and his blade fell to the floor in a sudden. Instead of regaining his consciousness back after receiving Yin Ling's hard slap, he lost it.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?", Yin Ling tried to lift Xin Suan's heavy body up, and dragged him to his bed. Xin Suan is taller and heavier than Yin Ling, making it harder to lay Xin Suan's whole body on his bed.

"THIS MAN! HE IS REALLY A TROUBLESOME! UARGHH!!", He finally succeeded, "Phew...! He is very heavy! Now what... Ah right! A rabbit's milk!? How to find that kind of shit in this world!?"