Unaware attitude

"So, you are a Fire Spirit Descendant," Xiana again asked to confirm.

"Yes," Licheng nodded. He lifted his hand and the flame of fire surrounded his hand. Xiana widened her eyes and her mouth opened in awe.

Licheng closed his hand and put it on the table. "Xiana, I know you have a lot of questions in your head after I told you about me," he said.

"Yes, I have," Xiana stated with an astonished look. She did not let him speak this time. "How am I related to all this? Have I also taken rebirth to protect you?" She asked as she began taking the interest in this. "How can the fire appear in your hand? It appears as if I am in a dream," she muttered. She forwarded her hand to the table and pinched the skin of his hand.

Licheng asked her what she was doing and slowly moved his hand back.

"I was confirming that I was not in any dream," Xiana replied and told him to answer her question.

Licheng ended up smiling at her. "Xiana, I took the first step. There are many steps we have to take toward each other. Today, you showed your faith in me, so I told you about me. I will give the answers to your remaining questions slowly," he asserted.

"You have not taken rebirth to protect me. I will not tell the reason to you this early. Now, comes an important part. You need to get trained under my guidance," he advised her. Xiana was good at fighting, but her skills did not match any of the martial warriors. To fight the demon spirit, she needed to sharpen her skills.

"I am ready to get trained," Xiana said with zeal. "Will you give me my sword back?" she asked.

"You need to win it from me, Xiana. The day you will defeat me, I will give you your sword back," Licheng pronounced.

"Don't lie, Licheng. It is impossible to defeat you," Xiana stated. "So, when do we need to begin this training? From today onward?" She was way more enthusiastic about this because she would learn new ways from Licheng to fight.

"From the next week," Licheng replied.

"Next week? That is too late," Xiana said, "I will wait patiently for the next week," she immediately changed her statement after she saw him arching his brow.

"Can you show me once more the fire around your hand?" She requested him.

"No," Licheng plainly refused and asked her to clean the yard.

Xiana stood up from her place and went to his side. She sat down beside him, "Please only once. I would like to touch it. You increased the curiosity in me."

"Fine," Licheng agreed to her and focused his gaze on his hand. On the top of his index finger, a small flame appeared and it made Xiana's mouth open. Her eyes glistened to see the fire and she decided to touch it. However, when her index finger came in contact with the flame, it distinguished.

"Why did you do that?" Xiana scolded him and tilted her head to face him.

"Your finger might have burned," Licheng said. "I could not risk that," he added.

"Oh," Xiana turned her head to the front and touched her index finger with his. "Your hand is special, I believe," she murmured and continued to tap on his finger.

"Do you feel something?" Xiana asked him.

"What do I need to feel?" Licheng inquired.

"How soft my finger is," Xiana again tilted her head to look at him and placed her hand above his, "while yours is so rough. Did it get rough because of the vigorous training? Did you not miss anyone when you were away for seven years?" She queried with a bit serious tone.

"I did miss them," Licheng said.

"What did you do when you feel lonely?" Xiana asked.

"Nothing," an instant reply came from Licheng.

"Did you never feel lonely?" Xiana modified her question.

"Was I supposed to feel lonely?" Licheng muttered and scrunched his brows.

"Ahhh!" Xiana screamed with annoyance, which shocked him. "Licheng, you never felt lonely without your family. You annoy me with your unaware attitude. You do not know how a heart flutters around a woman and you do not know a person feels lonely too," she stated.

"Am I supposed to learn that?" Licheng asked her.

"You do not learn these things. These are within you," Xiana said with a calm tone.

"I see," Licheng fell into deeper contemplation. Before she could ask him, what he was thinking, the door opened with a bang. They both heard the Empress's angry voice and looked in her direction.

Xiana found Empress Yunxian gaze on the table and she looked down. She immediately pulled away her hand from Licheng and stood up. Licheng also rose to his feet and bowed to see his mother.

"What is this Crown Prince?" Empress Yunxian asked with bewilderment. "Why did the Crown Prince lie to me? He clearly told me that he had no intention," she turned her gaze for a brief moment at Xiana, "to marry Princess Xiana."

"I also did not expect Mother to tell a random woman about my return to the palace," Licheng remarked.

"Ji Anning is the daughter of the—"

"I do not care, Mother," Licheng cut off his mother's words before she could finish the sentence. "I request Mother to not do such things in the future. I may have to look for another place to live," he affirmed.

Xiana's eyes grew big to hear that statement. She understood when Licheng did not care about her mother's emotions toward him, then he could not care about other people's emotions. He returned after seven years, so he should not be saying that.

"What did the Crown Prince say?" Empress Yunxian asked as her eyes turned misty.

"I may have to leave if Mother forces me to do those things which I do not want to," Licheng again clarified to his mother. Empress Yunxian looked at Xiana and then left the chamber, without uttering a single word.