What?

Bai Lei walks me to Zhen's courtyard and tells me a little bit about the palace and what to "expect" to see while here. It wasn't a lot of information given but I think he didn't want to overload me or cause me to become overwhelmed. 

To be honest, I was already overwhelmed but I tried to play like everything was cool. When I came back... I wasn't aware of who Bai Lei really was. I just thought we'd be like before... I knew there'd be challenges but... A King?? 

One step at a time... I can still go back if things went south, right? I just need to focus on getting stronger, that way, I can survive more than a day in this world and also take back my necklace. "What's on your mind?" Bai Lei asks in a low voice pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turn to him and give him a small smile while saying "Your Mother is not only beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside." Bai Lei gives me a warm smile before saying "I planned to introduce you two once you settled in more... thank you again for saving her."

I nod my head and keep walking in silence as Bai Lei frowns. I look over to him in question but he waves me off. His dark eyes seemed bothered by something... 

"There she is! I was just about to come get you." Zhen says walking over in all his foxy glory. I want to pet him... I give Zhen a large smile and run over to give him a tight hug. I use the hug as an excuse to run my fingers through his snowy fur. 

Zhen chuckles and says "This Grandfather truly missed you, child. Don't ever disappear like that again!" I chuckle and hug him tighter as I say "Never again." If I ever do leave, I will make sure to tell Zhen, no matter what.

"I will leave you two to it, let me know if you need anything." Bai Lei says behind me. I release Zhen and stand up to see Bai Lei quickly leaving. I frown in his direction until his entire body disappears mid-step. My eyebrows shoot up and I turn to look at Zhen with excited eyes.

I point in the direction Bai Lei just left in and ask "Will I be able to do that too??" Zhen looks at me with a strained smile and says "You have to learn to walk first..." I frown at him as he turns to walk back into his courtyard. 

He was using that as a metaphor, right? I can walk just fine! I follow after him until we come across a sandpit. He stops next to the round pit and says "Take off your shoes and walk to the middle." I nod my head and quickly take off my shoes. 

As I step onto the white sand, I feel as though I'm stepping on silk. The sand was so smooth!! I dig my toes into the sand a bit as I walk to the middle with a large smile. This was some high-grade premium sand! 

I turn to face him with a smile as I reach the center but the look on Zhen's face has my smile slipping. "What?" I ask in confusion. Zhen doesn't say a word as he looks back to the mess I've made in the otherwise smooth sand.

"Was... was I not supposed to leave footprints? You told me to go to the center... how am I supposed to do that without stepping on it??" I ask in confusion. Zhen's face falls even more as he says "You're supposed to walk but you made it look like someone carried a dead body through it!" 

This time my face falls as I look at him in disbelief saying "Oh, now you're just being dramatic! I just dug my toes in a little..." Zhen snorts at me and says "Make it smooth again and we'll start." I narrow my eyes on him as I slowly start erasing the footsteps. 

I ease my way back and cover my footsteps until nothing but smooth sand is left. I look up to see Zhen watching me with a bored look. "Is there some kind of importance to the sand being smooth?" I ask brushing the fine sand off my hands. 

Zhen shakes his head and says "I just didn't like the way it looked. Now, we can begin." My jaw nearly hits the ground as my eye starts twitching. I quickly snap my mouth shut and take a few deep breaths to calm myself.

Zhen turns to hide his smirk but I still caught a glimpse... "Now, I want you to leave the sandpit without making a single mark on the smooth sand," Zhen says stepping back to watch me. I frown at him and look around the sandpit. It was entirely too large for me to jump out of... 

A smile comes to my face as I turn around and place my butt up in the air. I go to take a step back and cover my footsteps but Zhen quickly says "You can't walk out." My frown grows as I quickly stand up and turn to look at him in confusion.

I was going to use the same technique I used to get in... but now I can't walk out? "Zhen... you know I can't fly, right? I can't do the disappearing thing either... how do you expect me to get out?" Zhen gives me a knowing smile as he says "That's for you to figure out."

He then walks over to a large tree and lays down to watch me in a comfortable position as I stare at the sandpit with mixed emotions. I look to Zhen one last time before slowly nodding my head and sitting down. I clearly needed to think... 

Zhen watches Liling with a growing smile. She's smart and even though she has a temper, she seems to know how to control it. He has a feeling she will soon be growing by leaps and bounds.