The Princess And The Lord

They walked inside the main building and then they went through a long hall, there's a room as they reach the end of it; Yang Xi Ying knocked twice, after opening the door, she then invited both Lory and Zhao Li Xin to enter. Lory immediately smelled the light scent of incense, Jin Hao is standing at the end of the bed while talking to a pale young man who is sitting weakly on the bed while covered with a blanket.

"Brother Li, Miss Luo, and Lord Long Ming are here," Yang Xi Ying said gently.

Li Mong Zi's faces brightened up when he saw Lory and Zhao Li Xin, "Miss Luo, I don't know how to thank you for your kindness." Li Mong Zi is genuinely thankful for her.

"Save it for later, Master Li. The relief of your situation is only temporary, and it will only hold on for a few days. Only after finding the source can you be released from this…affliction," Lory reminds him.

"Still, you gave me a chance to say my last words to my loved ones," Li Mo Zhen smiled peacefully without sadness or fear.

"Brother Li, please don't say something like that, the elders would cry if they hear you!" Yang Xi Ying glared angrily at him, but her eyes were filled with sadness.

"She's right, Master Li. We still have a few more days to save you so don't give up yet." Lory encouraged him, "Now tell me, did you touch anything that might seem weird or dangerous?"

Li Mo Zhen sighed, "I…found a sword on a ruin."

"Ruin?" Lory frowned.

"Yes, not far from here actually, but it's not that old of a ruin, perhaps only a few hundred years old," Li Mo Zhen pinched his chin, "I heard about the Sword Master Clan that resides there a few hundred years ago, someone called the 'Immortal Sword Warrior' lived there with all his family but then something happened, the place was burned down, and everyone died."

"Then, did you find the sword?" Lory's eyebrows creased deepen.

"Yes, but then everything became a blur after that, do you think the sword is the cause?" Li Mo Zhen was astonished, the worst a divine weapon can do is kill the person who wanted to touch it but not drive them crazy. He already examined the weapon and he didn't feel anything wrong with it.

"Let me see the sword." Lory got suspicious.

"I'll get it for you," Yang Xi Ying turned around to leave but suddenly Lory called her.

"Make sure not to touch it with your bare hands," she warned her firmly.

Yang Xi Ying becomes uneasy, she nervously said, "But I… I've already touched it, and so did the elders…"

Lory pinches her temple then heaved, "Okay… Just don't touch it again then."

Yang Xi Ying nods her head before leaving the room, Li Mo Zhen became apprehensive, "Miss Luo, what would happen if they touch it?" He feels guilty because he is the one who brought back the sword.

Lory shakes her head helplessly, "I'm not so sure."

'I hope I'm wrong' Lory lamented to herself. When magic becomes useful it's called 'Gift', but when it harms you, it would become 'Curse'. There are so many types of curse; some low-level curse can be easily handled but high-level ones are almost impossible to handle.

The way to break the curse depends on how the curse was created, you must know the reason and the source of the curse, only then will you be able to break the curse.

Not long after, the three elders and Yang Xi Ying returned, all of them were eager to know what caused Li Mo Zhen to become like this. Elder Wang came with a long wooden box, he put down the box on the table carefully then they all looked at Lory with a puzzled expression, Lory didn't take notice of their questioning look since her eyes were focused on the box as soon as they carried it in.

"Ri Yi, what's wrong?" Zhao Li Xin, being aware of her sudden change, asked.

Lory didn't know how to explain it but there's something wrong with the box, more precisely, what's inside the box. Lory took a deep breath, Girsha flew inside the room and perched on Lory's shoulder, his clear blue eyes became darker as he can feel a threat from the box.

[Lory, there's something bad inside the box.] he hissed.

[I know.] Lory sighs deeply.

Zhao Li Xin hid Lory behind him, he didn't know anything about magic, but he can feel some malice from the box, he suddenly has an urge to smash the wooden box into pieces.

Lory shoves Zhao Li Xin lightly, "Don't get too close to it," Lory is also worried for Zhao Li Xin's safety. Some curses can affect people who get closed to the source, she's worried that the box might be the source, so she needs to protect everyone first.

"Then you don't get close too!" Zhao Li Xin becomes tensed, he was worried she would do something dangerous again and he's right!

"I promise I'll be fine," she calmed him down.

Zhao Li Xin sarcastically says, "We both know that is the promise you cannot keep." he smiles but it didn't reach his eyes.

"…"

Well, he's not wrong, even Girsha's cheering for him, if only Zhao Li Xin could understand his chirping.

Lory scratches her head, "If I don't do this all of you will be in danger." she explained.

"So?" Zhao Li Xin asked indifferently.

"..."

There's a long silence in the room, they want to say something, but nothing came out. Zhao Li Xin's expression genuinely shows that he does not care for everyone's safety. They feel wronged, only the Hei Shen Sect members didn't change their expression as they're already used to it.

"If it's dangerous to everyone then I'll be in danger too," it's a lie but she needs to coax him.

Fortunately, her little trick worked, Zhao Li Xin wavered but still not convinced, "Really?" he scrutinized her expression.

'Sorry…'

"Yes." she said as firmly as she could.

Zhao Li Xin clicked his tongue with annoyance, "Fine."

Lory smiles widely, she pushed him to the side before walking closer to the wooden box, the closer she gets, the more animosity she feels. Girsha landed on the table beside the box, his beautiful appearance draws everyone's attention, they have never seen such a beautiful bird like him, but they can feel some kind of power from it, the bird didn't look ordinary too, it feels odd for such extraordinary bird to be with Lory. Their eyes went back on Lory as they all concluded the same thing, 'This girl is more than meets the eye'

Meanwhile, Girsha and Lory talked through telepathy, and like always, they were bickering about what should and shouldn't be done.

[You're going to make a blood rune to trap the malice, aren't you?] Girsha grimaced.

[With my condition, what else can I do?]

[You can just do... nothing.] he scowls at her.

[Not when I can do something.] she rebuked.

[Hmp, he's going to be very angry!] he reminds her.

[...] Lory froze.

'Sh*t, I forgot all about him!' she glanced at Zhao Li Xin who's standing a few steps behind her, arms crossed on his chest. He looks stern and very unhappy. Lory felt guilty making her turn her gaze away but it only made Zhao Li Xin even more suspicious. To make a blood rune, of course, it's going to need blood but not just ordinary blood but 'Gifted' blood which means she will have to make use of her blood.

'Mana', which is the source of magic, comes from within their blood. It is something they are born with, and the stronger their 'Gift' is, the stronger their blood will be. Lory can't use her power but that doesn't mean she had no power. Her power is only blocked by a curse, that's why she has no access to it, but that doesn't change the fact that her power is still with her. Inside her, her 'Gift' is flowing in her blood and her blood is more special than any other 'Gifted' blood.

She has the Lucient blood running through her veins.

Lory contemplated, for someone who can only use ten percent of her power, it's a joke for her to make a shield, she won't be able to even make the low-grade type. Blood rune is her only option. It's an ancient practice that creates magic by manipulating the blood, this practice has long been abandoned because of the difficulty and the impracticality.

Lory found an empty bowl not far from her, she took the bowl and placed it on the table before taking out a dagger from her sleeve, she looked at Zhao Li Xin with an expression as if apologizing and all of the sudden, Zhao Li Xin felt a bad premonition that something bad is about to happen before he had the time to ask, Lory made a deep cut on her hand.

"RI YI!" Zhao Li Xin shouted.

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