Breath of Fresh Air

Lei Mingxing felt numb all over but at the same time her insides were seething, as was every part of her body that made any kind of contact with the person next to her. Even if it was just a casual brush, it sent a sharp impulse through her body, almost making her flinch back from sheer repulsion and the longer she was forced to endure the worse the sensation got.

Unfortunately, Xia Beilian wasn't prepared to let her endure the journey in silence.

"You were trying to escape... did you want to return to that backward town?"

There was genuine curiosity and interest in his voice as he asked this question, and when it took Lei Mingxing a while to respond, he glanced at her, although Lei Mingxing purposely evaded his gaze, only staring straight forward. Stubbornly pressing her lips shut , feeling annoyance and disgust continue to boil inside her.

Noting Lei Mingxing's unwillingness to respond, Xia Beilian turned away and looked ahead as well. Still he couldn't help but open his mouth once more.

" The town is gone. There are no survivors."

Lei Mingxing froze, all blood draining from her face and she whipped her head around. Before she could stop herself, the question had already left her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

Xia Beilian didn't answer immediately but had also halted in his steps. Staring and examining her expression, looking her up and down with the same peculiar sparkle that had suddenly appeared when he had discovered her at the willow. 

It made an uncomfortable shiver run down her spine despite the anxiety that was already turning her blood to liquid ice, still she continued to maintain eye contact, breathlessly awaiting his answer.

Endlessly long seconds passed before Xia Beilian was satisfied and unhurriedly replied.

"Dark Spirit Town doesn't exist anymore," his voice was eerily calm as he continued," those things don't leave any survivors, they have all been devoured."

"Your lover as well."

The confirmation of Chang Liuyun's death through Xia Beilian was the straw that broke the camel's back, leaving Lei Mingxing feeling queasy, as if she had just received several ruthless strikes to the stomach. Shudders shook her body as the long-repressed thought that she had once again lost everything without any way of preventing it made her heart squeeze painfully. Her cultivation was gone, her ability to forge was gone, Jing Jiang and Jing Hai were gone, Chang Liuyun was gone... and she was in the clutches of her family once more. It was almost as if the months spent in Dark Spirit Town had been nothing but figments of her imagination.

But the worst part was the fact that she believed Xia Beilian, she had witnessed the monsters herself after all. Deep inside she had always known the chances of her companions surviving were slim at best. Still, feeling the tiny sparks of hope that had remained, crushed just like this, left her with only hopelessness.

Unfortunately, Xia Beilian did not care for Lei Mingxing's despair and inner conflict, he just observed her for a moment before continuing.

"Our fathers have been discussing this matter as well."

A foreboding feeling rose inside Lei Mingxing as Xia Beilian said this, she fixed her dark eyes on him once more.

"They felt that the best way to preserve your honor and repay the favor, was for us to be wedded."

This left Lei Mingxing speechless, momentarily ripping her attention from her soul-crushing despair. Now she finally understood the whole talk of in-laws and joining families, to think she had believed it to be about Lei Xinyi! But thinking about it now, it almost seemed too obvious if her father still wanted to get at least some value out of her. What she couldn't wrap her head around was why the Xia Father and son would agree to such a deal.

Regardless, the shock from this revelation was enough for a familiar hate to set in that exploded the moment Xia Beilian tried to take a step forward while pulling her along.

Jerking her arm back, Lei Mingxing glared at the 'gallant' prince in front of her. 

"No, I will never marry you! And they are alive!" she hissed through grit teeth, her hands clenched to fists, her knuckles white as she struggled to suppress her overflowing emotions, but when she saw Xia Beilian's familiar apathetic face, her anger erupted and she couldn't help shouting while waving her finger at him, "Leave! Go back to our fathers and join their ridiculous discussion! It's not like it will ever change anything."

Her entire being shook with rage and hate, but her eyes were ice-cold as she spoke the final sentence: "I will not marry you. In the entire world, you are the person I resent most!"

With that Lei Mingxing stomped away, passing by Xia Beilian, not sparing him another glance.

Missing the faint intrigue in his eyes as he watched her disheveled figure turn a corner and disappear between the artfully arranged plants and bushes. 

Meanwhile, Lei Mingxing's heart was drumming against her chest, feeling elated to have blown off some steam but dissatisfied at the same time by how insignificant and hasty it had been, a twinge of fear in face of the consequences it could have scratching the back of her mind. Still, she didn't regret it. In fact, boldly confronting her enemies instead of cowering at the mere possibility of them appearing before her, was like a breath of fresh air after drowning in a sea of uncertainty for years. Almost addictive in how thrilling it was.

So, Lei Mingxing didn't notice the approaching palace guards until they took ahold of her arms and forced her to the ground in one swift motion. She couldn't even scream, only letting out a shocked gasp, as they roughly bound her arms with rope, the leader of the group shouting directly into her ear to the point her head was ringing.

"Second Princess, in consideration of your various violations of the Palace Laws you will be brought before Her Royal Majesty the Queen to receive appropriate punishment!"

Small Theater:

Author: Xie Beilian or group of guards sent by the Queen?

Lei Mingxing: Guards! Group of guards!

Xie Beilian: ...

Xie Beilian: ...interesting...