The Princess And The Lord

Lory lit a torch and started her journey. She was more aware of her surrounding this time around. The dormant survival instincts she had long honed with practice and experience were awoken with the near-death experience. The amulet given to her by Zhao Li Xin reduced her aches and bruises and also kept her body warm despite the temperature around her being cold.

[Lory, are you good?] Girsha couldn't stop worrying. The current Lory was not the same as the Lory who used to travel with him in the past. Lory was now weaker and he couldn't stop being anxious for her. The fact that he was also weak worsened his anxiety. He didn't think they could fight a strong beast by themselves if they encountered one.

[I'm well fed, have had enough sleep and my body feels warm. I'm good overall] Lory said in a perfunctory manner.

[Thanks to your boyfriend] Girsha commented.

[Yup, thanks to him] Lory couldn't agree more.

Girsha immediately put off the torch in Lory's hand when they heard a noise coming from the front. Her heart raced once again when she hears something tear flesh and grind bones as it chewed. She crept and hid behind a boulder and peeked. There was a Cimmerian wolf pack feasting on something. Lory's mouth twitched when she saw a wolf gnaw on a human hand.

She pulled back her head and cursed, 'Dammit! why must I see this?'

[Lory, there's a ledge above your head. We can sneak away without alerting them] Girsha informed her.

Lory looked up and realized needed to rock climb once again to reach the ledge that Girsha referred to. Lory took out her special strong dagger and pierced it to the wall. The dagger was another life-saving tool courtesy of Zhao Li Xin. She tied a rope around her waist and knotted the end on the dagger handle. It was to act as an anchor in case she slipped off the rock.

The wolves didn't notice her and it was all thanks to Zhao Li Xin's powder. She quietly climbed the wall as she tried to minimize any sound that could call their attention to her. Wolves had sharp hearing after all. They may be unable to smell her because of the powder but they could still detect sound. She pushed her body up the wall slowly as she gripped the stones with care. Her face was covered with sweat, her wrist ached and her breathing became fast but she couldn't lose her focus.

'Focus, Lory. FOCUS!' She chanted to herself.

It took her ten minutes to reach the ledge. She climbed it and stuck her back to the wall as she crept past the wolves as they feasted with gusto. The beast's feast was like a blessing in disguise to Lory as it made them lower their guard.

Lory's eyes flickered between the ledge and the wolves below as she moved. She hissed and held her breath as she accidentally hit some pebbles. The wolves were too focused on their meal to notice the pebbles crumbling down the ledge. She let out her breath slowly and continued moving once she was sure she was safe. She climbed off the ledge once she was away from the wolf pack. 

[I think we are safe now…] Lory sighed with relief as she reached the ground.

[Yeah, I think so…] Girsha didn't seem too sure. The place was swarmed with many beasts. One had to be vigilant as you could never be sure what beast you could stumble on.

Lory had taken a few steps when something growled behind her. Her body stiffened and her eyes widened at the sound. She took a peek at Girsha who also looked anxious. She turned around slowly and saw a wolf glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. The beast bared out its fangs as it growled at her. Lory cursed at everything she could think of in her head at her bad luck.

The wolf lunged at Lory but she quickly dodged its grasp. Girsha flew around the wolf to annoyed it and to give Lory time to draw out her arrows. She aimed a poisoned arrow at the wolf and released it. The arrow pierced the wolf's head and it howled with pain. Its distress alerted the other wolves. Lory aimed her other arrows at the other wolves as they swooped towards her in a circular formation. 

One wolf tried to attack Lory from behind but Girsha flew at it at a higher speed and gauged its eyes out with his small beak. The wolf jolted in pain as Lory killed it with another arrow. Lory knew she couldn't fight the wolves alone so she ran while she protected herself from the wolves at her heels. 

The wolves were quite powerful. A cultivator could not easily handle them thus it was much harder for a normal person like Lory to defeat them. Lory wrecked her brain for ideas as she needed a good strategy to overcome them. Salvation came when she saw a small shaft on the wall ahead of her. She hurled herself into the shaft without hesitation and tried to crawl further in. The shaft was too small for her small body as she could barely move in it. 

The wolves tried to bite off Lory's legs as they couldn't enter the shaft. Lory huddled herself as she tried to squeeze herself further into the shaft for protection. She hit a snag when she reached the end of the shaft. She pulled her legs away from the entrance and curved herself into a fetal position. Dirt crumbled all over her face as the wolves tried to get her by banging the shaft entrance. Lory coughed hoarsely as she inhaled dust and was unable to open her eyes from the excessive dust that poured over her eyes.

The wolves abruptly stopped their assault. They seemed scared stiff as they pulled their snort away from the shaft and took off with loud whines. The ground trembled as the wolves' whines increased. Lory wiped off her eyes and tried to look around with bewilderment at the wolves' temperamental change. 

[Girsha, what happened?] Lory asked through their telepathic link. Lory was restless and she could feel Girsha's panic through their soul connection.

[Lory... I have bad news and good news…] Girsha sounded shocked and helpless at the same time.

[What is it?] Lory asked nervously.

[The good news is…the wolves are all dead…the bad news is...] Girsha gave a dry laugh.

[Remember the giant beast we met at the ruin entrance? The one that fell in the hole…]

[The one that is supposed to be dead?] Lory prayed the beast was dead and it was not what Girsha was trying to convey.

[Yeah… The thing is…it's not dead. The giant beast is here...] Girsha hid behind a stalactite with a perplexed expression. He couldn't help but curse, 'Why the hell is that thing not dead?'

The beast roars were deafening like thunder. Lory's breath stopped at the familiar sound.

'HOLY SHIT!'

She wondered if she was meant to die in the ruins. It seemed like she would be killed by a mere beast after all that she had been through. No! She told herself. She couldn't die easily. Besides, Lory couldn't leave that man alone. Her man was not like Lucas as his heart was more fragile than her brother. There was no way her man would be alright if she left him. 

If Bei Li Yan and others could hear her thoughts. They would agree with her and scream at the top of their lungs simultaneously, 'NO, HE WILL NOT!'

'No! She was not going to die by the beast!' Lory refused to die in a hole like a rat.

[Girsha are you out there?] Lory contacted him.

[Yeah, you have any idea?] Girsha listened to her calm voice. He could tell she had thought of something. Her mind tended to be sharp when faced with a dire situation. Her determination and resilience would make her conquer the most impossible situation.

[Do you see any cliff?] She asked as she took out the three bamboo tubes filled with the fire monkey. She dipped three of her arrows into the tubes. 

Girsha avoided the beast's eyes as it flew to search. The fall had injured the beast as it limped and was covered with blood. The giant creature moved slower than it did before but Girsha remembered what people said, 'there was nothing more hostile than a wounded animal'.

[Lory, there is a cliff ahead and I can also see a cenote below!] Girsha flew over the cliff and the blue ripple below it. His experience reminded him of his princess' reckless and crazy nature as he spoke [But it's too far, Lory. Don't think of diving off the cliff as you'll be dead in a second!]

[Cenote? Huh, that's good…] Lory took out another arrow and tied it with a rope before he twisted the rope around her waist. The idea she had could be seen as crazy and stupid but it was the best stupid idea she had come up with so far.

[Girsha, I have an idea!] Lory explained her idea to Girsha. The bird listened carefully and got a headache the more she talked. Was it even possible for a bird to get a headache? Yes, it was possible once a bird spent too much time with Princess Lorient.

[There are too many loopholes, Lory. It's…stupid] Girsha could not hold back his thoughts anymore.

[Well…birdie, do you have a better idea? I'm all ears] Lory rolled her eyes with exasperation.

Girsha was tongue-tied. His voice sounded weak as he said [No…]

[Then do what I say! My choices are to die in the hole and become the beast's lunch or bet my life on the cliff!] Lory grumbled.

[Okay, okay, okay!] Girsha sighed. He needed to be positive as they had been in worse situations before.

[Let's do this S**T!]

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