Missing Comfort

Lei Mingxing unblinkingly observed the two people in front of her.

They had been constantly traveling for over two weeks now.

First, via horseback, and after reaching another town, they changed to a well-made carriage.

Still, no matter how long the journey, most hours passed in silence. They only communicated the bare minimum.

Of course, at the start, Xia Beilian and his father, Xia Zhentao, still tried to act civil and polite toward Lei Mingxing. After all, amongst royalty, there was a certain tone to be used with each other.

But after their repeated attempts at meaningless and flattering small talk were met by animosity and brisk responses from Lei Mingxing, they stopped feigning interest and began to mostly leave her alone.

And Lei Mingxing was glad they stopped trying, this way she didn't have to force herself to entertain the two people she hated most in this world.

Even in retrospect, after considering everything that had been done to her and her friend, there was no one she detested more. Not her family, not the people who abused her for a decade, not even Mu Yinxian who left her to rot warranted that much hate from her.

Because it had been these two who were the first to discover her Chaos Physique.

The worst part?

It had been a complete accident.

It was when she finally reached the age at which it was proper for her to marry, that her family sold her off as fast as they could to the biggest bidder which turned out to be Xia Beilian, the Prince Regent's son of Xia Principality. But despite the steep price the Xia Family paid for Lei Mingxing, it was clear neither of them held any affection for the other and they knew this would never change, after all, this was just a marriage arranged by their families for their mutual political benefit.

Lei Mingxing with her ancient royal ancestry that was rumored to have existed several centuries before even the Zhou Empire claimed its first emperor, assured that the bloodline of the Xia Family retained its purity, while Xia Beilian and his father gave Qingshui's King the promise that they'd rush to help them would their rule ever be threatened.

Looking back, that promise was worth less than horse manure and would be broken barely three years later.

Still, the few months Lei Mingxing spent peacefully in this loveless marriage in Xia Principality, she had to admit, had been some of the most pleasant months she enjoyed in her entire past life.

No one came to mistreat or abuse her, as everyone saw her as a regular royal princess, she even felt quite pampered.

That was until the fateful day, Lei Mingxing and Xia Beilian went on a short horse ride together.

They had just returned to the gorgeous gardens of the estate after riding through the many wine slopes of Xia Principality for several hours, when suddenly Lei Mingxing's horse got frightened by a snake and reared up. Falling heavily on its back with Lei Mingxing still on top, crushing her waist and leg.

The pain from this accident was so intense that Lei Mingxing unconsciously attracted all the Qi in the garden.

Just recalling it made Lei Mingxing's stomach twist in regret.

And although the whole memory in her mind was shrouded in intense silence, she still vividly remembered the way that, through her crying and shouting, Xia Beilian just looked at her, with eyes so deep and cold it chilled her heart and made any sound she wanted to make die in her throat.

His gaze, as if no longer looking at his wedded wife and princess who had just been on a relaxing horse ride with him, but a writhing animal on the ground.

Maybe even less than that, just an insect.

And with that, her fate was sealed.

A decade of the worst torment, ending in her untimely and unwilling death.

Suffice to say, the resentment Lei Mingxing held for them was immeasurable. They were at the very top of her revenge list.

But at this moment in time, despite the hate filling her very soul, Lei Mingxing didn't have the slightest urge to jump them, no, her heart was actually racing in fear on the inside.

She was no fool, naturally, she had connected the dots. 

The two 'mercenaries' who had saved, attacked and abducted Chang Liuyun and herself were none other than the two in front of her.

They had connections to the monster or rather monsters while possessing an oppressing amount of strength that could crush her with the wave of a hand if they willed it.

She knew that from first-hand experience.

But if it was only that, Lei Mingxing would have been able to deal with it. Granted, she would still be anxious and fearful but at least she wouldn't feel as paralyzed and helpless as she did now.

However at this moment?

Lei Mingxing had lost her entire cultivation base.

She didn't even know when or how, after all her Dantian was fine. Still, all her Qi was unresponsive and no matter how much she tried to conjure a flame, nothing happened.

Like this, traveling with Xia father and son was equal to a lamb sitting in a cage with a pack of lions who had yet to realize it was there.

An absolutely horrible feeling to have. Constantly. For 16 days straight.

Considering this, the fact that Lei Mingxing had actually dared to try to persuade them to turn back and let her go, should be pretty commendable. Unfortunately, the Xia father and son were adamant about bringing her back to Swaying Peony City, the capital of Qingshui Kingdom, and to her family, no amount of persuasion or begging could change that.

This meant that Lei Mingxing was forced to sit day in and day out with her sworn enemies in a small carriage with no way of escaping until she reached her childhood home which was akin to one of her two personal prisons...

The only thing that was somewhat fortunate about the current situation and absence of her Qi, although it did make Lei Mingxing feel incredibly vulnerable, was the fact that it caused her travel companions, who had of course realized her predicament, hesitant to ask any questions concerning Qi, cultivation or artifact creation.

So, they left her mostly alone, to help keep her dignity as princess to at least some extent.

Thanks to this, Lei Mingxing was allowed some amount of privacy to occasionally dress her non-existent wounds and wash up in relative peace on her own, as if they wanted to give her some time to think, although Lei Mingxing just used it to come up with possible escape plans.

Losing her cultivation really cut down her options though.

And Lei Mingxing had not even once encountered a single opportunity that would have allowed her to escape.

Not even until the very moment they passed the gates of Swaying Peony City and Lei Minxging finally felt the small hope she had had to flee and return to the Jing father and son, and most importantly Chang Liuyun, silently die inside her heart.

It also forced her to realize just how silly her hope had been, as they were probably all dead already, killed at the hands of these horrible monsters. And even if they were still alive, it wasn't like she would ever get out of the palace again now.

So, all Lei Mingxing had left in her heart was a feeling of desolation and hopelessness looking out of the carriage's window and seeing the packed and gorgeously decorated streets of Swaying Peony City.

Tears of frustration were welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall, but she forced them down, curling her hand into a fist and digging her nails into her palm, her expressionless face turned toward the market outside.

It took quite a while, in which Lei Mingxing did not move her head even once, before they finally crossed half the city and reached the ornate white and silver gate of the Qingshui Royal Palace that was lined by the most beautiful and pristine fields of Immortal Fairy Peonies on either side, without the hint of even one wilting petal.

Behind the fields of peonies, followed deep trenches of clear green water that stretched out far to surround the entire grounds of the Royal Palace, but even the moat that should exist as a measure of security, was delicately decorated and separated from the remaining city by elegant silvery railings, light pink lotus flowers floating on its surface.

Right before the gate, they were stopped by two royal guards but after Xia Zhentao revealed his personal jade pendant, the guards quickly allowed them to pass through with elegant bows.

The view inside was even more blinding, with all the buildings matching the same white, light pink and green color scheme accompanied by silver accents, while carefully pruned and selected greenery, along with countless other decorations, enchanted your eyes using its seemingly 'natural' beauty.

No matter where you looked, flowers, especially peonies, enticed you to take a stroll and admire them, to get lost in the endless and heavenly garden that was Qingshui Kingdom's Royal Palace.

But Lei Mingxing only felt disgust and contempt looking at it.

This beauty, renowned all across Ren Continent, couldn't touch her heart even in the slightest, in fact, it only turned her mood even gloomier.