Doubts Behind Her Existence

"Prince Huang Lidan?!"

Inside the main meeting hall, almost everyone's jaw dropped as they immediately got onto their knees as they welcomed the lost prince back with excitement clearly written on their faces.

"Long live Prince! May your presence bless our kingdom with happiness and prosperity." All the ministers dressed in red robes gave their respects, their mouths chanting the words of good fortune in unison.

Li dan who had long been accustomed to the short greetings of the human world, found the greetings of his minister to be ridiculously long.

"You may all rise," said Lidan, his authoritative voice making all the men straighten their backs in an instant. Their eyes glinted in anticipation, the excitement of seeing their king after a long time clearly painted on their transparent faces.

"I've imposed on you all this time. My apologies, and, there will be no repetition of past mistakes." Lidan spoke, his tone apologetic.

Did the prince just apologize?

Are their ears hallucinating?

Where did their arrogant prince go?

The group of the old and wise ministers glanced at each other, their visages reflecting the puzzlement in their hearts.

Sweeping his eyes across the group of bewildered men in the room, Lidan let out a sigh. Well, they couldn't be blamed because he was the most arrogant phoenix in the history of their tribe.

If his younger sister, Huang Lian was the epitome of bravery and humbleness, he was the second name for foolishness and arrogance.

It seemed that his previous reputation was clearly engraved in their hearts.

If his splendid performance after his younger sister's death and the ten thousand years of his untimely absence was not enough to clear the suspicion in their hearts, then nothing could change their opinion of him.

"I'm tired from the journey, you may all leave now. Advisor Huo, stay here, I need to discuss something with you."

Parting his lips, Lidan dismissed all the men in the room except the old advisor Feng Huo.

"Y-yes, we will be taking our leave, Prince Huang." Breaking from their daze, the ministers stuttered, wondering if they pissed off their prince by their momentary hesitation as they left the palace.

"Young brat!" After the last of the men left the palace hall, Feng Huo who had been as still as a rock, bellowed- the deep voice sending tremors down Lidan's spine.

If there was anyone Lidan was absolutely scared of, then it was old Feng Huo. Even the proud and arrogant him in the past was roasted by this wrinkled old man. After all, Feng Huo was the oldest phoenix in the entire race and there was no need for him to bow to anyone. He was the strongest phoenix and it was only because of his disinterest that the throne was passed on to the younger generations.

Even now, after thousands of years, Lidan still feared the man whose strength seemed to increase with age.

"O-old man Huo, don't anger yourself lest you burn the palace again..."

"Don't you dare speak! You left the palace and I had to rule in your stead for a damn thousand years! Did you know what a hassle it was for an old man like me to manage the kingdom? You toured around the mortal world all this time and with what face did you return here?"

Feng Huo couldn't help but spill out all his grievances like a kid complaining to his mother. With a heaving chest and bright red face, Feng Huo looked like a cooked shrimp, making Lidan purse his lips tightly so as not to let out a laugh slip.

Feng Huo whose eyesight had not diminished caught on to that slight movement of Lidan's. Only God knew how he hated ruling a kingdom, he was the one to enjoy wine and rain. How could a lazy man like him be expected to rule a kingdom? But, the impossible happened all thanks to the great-great-great-grandson who was currently standing before him without an ounce of remorse.

"Are you laughing at me?" Completely riled up, Feng Huo started to fold his sleeves as if wanting to start a fight.

At the old man's actions, all traces of laughter disappeared from his heart. Feeling alarmed, Lidan started to coax the old man, who can turn anything into ash with a single flick of his fingers.

"Please pardon me, old Huo. There will no next time, you can rest assured."

Pausing his actions in the middle, Feng Huo stared at Lidan with a raised brow.

"In the name of Agni, I vow not to cause any more trouble." Seeing the doubts on Feng Huo's face, Lidan hurriedly vowed.

Finally, the old man's heart calmed down and his expression eased, all the traces of doubt and uneasiness disappearing at the mention of the Fire God, the god their race worshipped. Lying in front of the gods was a Blasphemy and so, Feng Huo totally believed in Lidan this time.

Finally, the brat seemed sensible and mature!

On seeing that the old man calmed down by a few degrees, Lidan finally found the courage to speak.

"Old man, Lian is in the mortal world."

After Huang Lian's unexpected death, Lidan left the god's realm saying that he would return only after he found his sister again. So, it was not that difficult to guess the reason behind his return. But, Feng Huo had his own doubts.

After Huang Lian's death, her soul was shattered into many parts and sealed away by the Demon king. Later rumours have been spread out that even the Demon King had failed to seal a few parts of her soul. The rumours might or might not have been true, but the people of Phoenix race held on to the last threads of their hope and went out to search for any traces of her broken soul.

They had searched all over the realms for any traces of her diminishing soul, all their searches to be in vain. So, the entire phoenix race had buried their hopes of seeing their princess again. It was only Huang Lidan, who did not lose hopes and left God's realm saying that he would only come back after finding her.

A few years back, Feng Huo heard from Lidan that a girl named Xia Lian resided in the mortal world, who had the same appearance as Huang Lian. But, the girl was sickly and always seemed at the brink of death. After hearing the news, he had personally rushed to the mortal world disguised as a monk to see the girl for himself. After examining her, he had concluded that the girl is indeed the reincarnation of a part of Huang Lian's soul. But, the soul force within the girl was too weak to keep her alive.

The girl could live no longer than a few weeks in the God realm, which was equivalent to twelve years in the mortal world. As per the reason, the girl should be dead by now.

So, how come the girl was alive?