"What are you doing? What did I do wrong?"
"You are a fox spirit who has eaten our Dragon God! Confess!" the soldier demanded.
Lian shook her head. "What Dragon God? I don't understand what you're talking about!"
"Enough! Explain everything at the God Realm's royal court!"
Lian was dragged away and brought
before Guseng.
"General, this woman's body carries the scent of His Majesty!" the soldier reported. Lian was forced to kneel on the ground.
Guseng drew his sword and pointed it at Lian's neck, asking her, "Answer honestly, where are you hiding our King?!"
Lian shook her head. She remembered the man who had helped her. Long Wang had used magic to hide his identity, so Lian didn't know that he was the king of the God Realm.
That foolish man who just sleeps and daydreams all day in my house can't possibly be a king, right? If I tell them he's at my house, these people might kill him! No-no! I must not say that man is at my home!
"I don't know who your king is. I also don't know what you mean," she answered.
Guseng almost slashed Lian's neck but was stopped by one of his subordinate soldiers.
"General, why don't we just take her to the Heavenly Court? When she is interrogated there, she will surely answer all questions truthfully!" suggested one of Guseng's subordinates.
For some reason, he felt pity for Lian. If Lian had really killed Long Wang, her power would have increased dramatically, and she wouldn't have surrendered so easily.
The tip of Guseng's sword grazed the side of Lian's neck, causing her blood to drip onto the ground.
"Take her to the kingdom! Lock her in the underground prison! Torture her until she confesses her crime!"
Guseng ordered.
Lian was terrified. The soldiers dragged her onto a flying ship. With the speed of lightning, her body was whisked away by them, heading towards the Heavenly Kingdom.
***
Meanwhile, Long Wang was resting on
a dry log in front of the residence—the very log Lian had felled for him to use while she gathered medicinal herbs.
Evening was approaching, and Lian
still hadn't returned. Worried she might be lost, Long Wang decided to search
for her.
He trudged through the forest, grumbling under his breath.
"That foolish woman... It's
getting late. Why isn't she back yet? Did the demon clan capture her again?
What could they possibly want with her?"
As he reached the forest border, he
noticed traces of Heavenly Soldiers. His expression immediately darkened.
"Heavenly Soldiers? Don't tell
me they took Lian!"
He had originally planned to return
to the Heavenly Realm only after a full recovery. Thanks to Lian's care, he was already much stronger.
He had also kept his whereabouts secret to prevent palace officials from panicking and swarming Lian's home.
For her safety, he needed to keep
his identity hidden. And if he was honest, he wasn't in a hurry to uncover
Lian's secrets either.
But then he spotted drops of blood
on the ground. Now certain the soldiers had taken Lian to the palace, he could
wait no longer and rushed to the Heavenly Realm.
His arrival caused an uproar.
Everyone who thought he was dead was thrown into panic.
Long Wang's cold, imposing aura filled the hall. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.
The officials trembled, swallowing hard, afraid they would be blamed and severely punished.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, thank the heavens you're safe!"
Meanwhile, Guseng heard of Long Wang's return and hurried to the main hall.
There, he found Long Wang standing—not on his throne—but amid a crowd of officials kneeling and begging for mercy. Fear was etched on every face.
"Your Majesty!"
"Guseng, where is Lian?"
Long Wang demanded.
The court fell silent. Never before
had Long Wang mentioned a woman's name. No one dared to speak.
Guseng knelt, head bowed.
"Your Majesty, we searched for you for days and found a little fairy carrying your scent... so we—"
"What did you do to her?!" Long Wang roared.
"We detained the fairy named Lian for interrogation. We... beat her, but she refused to talk," Guseng replied, pale.
"Lian found me in the forest. She nursed me back to health these past few days," Long Wang said, his voice dangerously low.
Guseng quickly signaled the soldiers to bring Lian forward.
They went to the dungeon and
unshackled her. Lian felt half-dead—thirsty, bruised, and battered from the beatings. When the soldiers released her, she panicked, convinced they were taking her to execution.
"W-wait! What's happening? Why are you untying me? I told you, I don't know your King! I don't know any Dragon God!"
When the soldiers remained silent, she continued protesting.
"You've got the wrong person!
I'm just a mountain hermit! I gather herbs in the forest! I've never even met your king!"
The two soldiers escorted her to the main hall. As she entered, she saw Long Wang standing proudly amid the officials, with Guseng kneeling respectfully before him. Everyone in the room regarded him with deep reverence.
Hearing her footsteps, Long Wang turned. His gaze fell on her trembling form in the doorway.
Tears welled in Lian's eyes. She ignored the kneeling crowd, overwhelmed with self-pity for knowing nothing about the man she'd saved.
She shook her head and tried to leave, realizing everything the soldiers said was true. She had been living with Long Wang without knowing who he really was.
But Long Wang strode toward her. As he approached, she backed away, bowing her head.
Memories of the demon clan's taunts
flooded back—they had called her the fairy destined to save the Dragon God's life. They hunted her for it, and the man who saved her was the very Dragon God she wanted to avoid.
"You... You're really the Dragon God? King Long?" she asked, studying him from head to toe.
"Yes."
Guseng stirred, offended by her disrespect, but Long Wang raised a hand, stopping him.
Fearing for her life, Lian decided to plead for permission to return to her forest home.
She knelt and clasped her hands.
"Lord Long, I saved you, so we're even. Please let me go home."
Guseng could no longer hold his tongue.
"How dare a lowly fairy like you make demands? You've shown disrespect to His Majesty! You deserve beheading!"
"What?!" Lian stared in disbelief.
"They beat me, demanding I confess to kidnapping the Heavenly King! How was I supposed to know this clueless man was a king? He doesn't look like one! Is this how the Heavenly Realm repays kindness? You want to chop my head off?" she muttered under
her breath.
Long Wang heard her. He wanted to scold her, but Guseng, growing impatient, drew his sword. Long Wang blocked him with his arm.
"General Gu, unless I give the order, no one is permitted to act. Even if this foolish woman is guilty, only I may punish her. Is that clear?"
Guseng knelt at once.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Long Wang raised a brow and waved his hand.
"Everyone, rise."
They all stood.
"This matter ends now. Do not concern yourselves with this woman any further."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" they chorused.
Lian remained kneeling. Seeing no other option, she decided to fake tears. She crawled forward, clinging to Long Wang's leg, even dabbing saliva under her eyes for effect.
"Your Majesty, have mercy! You are wise and just! Please spare me! I promise, if I ever see you passed out on the ground again, I won't save you! The dogs and pigs in the forest—they'll starve without me! Please, let me go!"
She thought her performance was convincing, but her words came out absurd and disjointed.
The entire court stared in stunned silence. Some soldiers struggled not to laugh.
"Is she mad?"
"Nothing she says makes sense."
"She must have a death wish."
Long Wang pulled her up, ignoring her rambling. His eyes lingered on the whip marks and bruises covering her body. His heart ached to see her like this—the woman who had helped him, now punished in his stead. But he couldn't show concern openly.
He drew her closer until they were almost touching.
Lian grew nervous.
"Y-Your Majesty? Wh-why are you pulling me?"
"Since when do you feed dogs and pigs in the forest?" he asked.
Her face paled.
"Uh... well... I—"
He leaned closer, his voice a whisper only she could hear.
"It seems my soldiers went easy on you. They usually use iron rods for interrogation, not wooden clubs."
Lian shuddered.
"Easy? My body is broken! I'm practically dead!" She rolled her eyes and feigned fainting.
Long Wang caught her and lifted her into his arms. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.