Long Wang set Lian down on the ground outside the royal palace. No one was around except for the two of them. He released her waist, turned, and walked several steps away.
"Lian," he began, his voice calm but serious.
"Did you ever stop to think what would happen if you died falling from the Heavenly Realm? Did you ever consider the consequences I would have to face as its ruler?"
Lian hung her head. "I didn't think about it... because I didn't know," she admitted.
A faint, wry smile touched Long Wang's lips. "Then, if you wish to end your life, you cannot do it here."
He turned to leave.
Lian felt there was something wrong with his words. Before she jumped, she remembered it was his suggestion. He was the reason she had jumped without a second thought!
"Hey! Wait! Lord Long!" she yelled, running after him. "Are you blaming me now? This is your fault! You were the one who
suggested it!"
She caught up to him and walked alongside him, wanting to explain her reasons for wanting to leave. But suddenly, Long Wang clutched his chest, his face contorting in pain. He pressed his palm hard against his left
breast. His face began to pale, and a sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Lian was startled and immediately moved to support him.
"Lord Long, what's wrong? Don't tell me the poison has flared up again!"
Long Wang couldn't answer; the pain in his heart was too intense. He collapsed, unconscious, and Lian cradled his head in her lap on the ground.
"What do I do? What should I do?" she murmured in a panic. "I've never lived here. I don't know if the medicinal herbs I need to ease the pain in his chest even grow here!"
Meanwhile, Guseng and his soldiers were searching for Long Wang. They soon found him, unconscious in Lian's lap, not far from the palace grounds.
They rushed over in a panic.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
Guseng shot Lian a suspicious glare before checking Long Wang's wrist. His pulse was weak; the monster's poison in his heart had flared up, causing his condition to deteriorate rapidly.
"What happened?" Guseng demanded of Lian.
"Why has His Majesty collapsed?"
Lian looked at Long Wang's pained face and then back at Guseng. "The monster's poison in his heart has reactivated. A few days ago, it improved because I brewed medicine to suppress its effects. We must save him, but I don't know if you have the ingredients I need here. Can you provide the materials to concoct the antidote? I need them to neutralize the
poison."
Guseng nodded grimly. Long Wang was immediately moved to his private chambers in the palace.
Inside the clinic, Lian got to work. She scanned the shelves of the palace's medical wing, reading the labels on the drawers. To her relief,
she found all the ingredients she needed. She measured them out and began the process of brewing the remedy.
Guseng watched from the side, and the palace physicians stood by, observing Lian's every move. The potion she was making concerned
their king's life, so every step had to be meticulous and under strict supervision.
Lian saw everyone just standing and watching silently while she did all the work of preparing the medicine alone.
She was getting tired. She needed help to grind the herbs into a fine powder. She planned to make pills, as they could be stored and
taken whenever needed.
"Are you all that free?" she finally said,
exasperated. "Instead of standing around idle and watching, I have work for you! Come here and help me!" she commanded, waving them over.
One physician moved to help, but Guseng stopped him, blocking his path with a sheathed sword.
"No one is to interfere with the medicine-making! Do you want to be sentenced to death if you mix the formula incorrectly?!"
Lian let out a long sigh. "General Gu, then you come here! Help me grind these ingredients until they're fine! If you only rely on my strength alone, when will this medicine ever be finished, huh?! Don't you want to see your King recover? I'm trying to make pills. If you still refuse to help, fine! I'll just return to the mortal realm! King Long already told me how to get back!" she bluffed deliberately, hoping to spur the onlookers into action.
Guseng didn't seem suspicious; her words made sense. The work did require more manpower.
"Very well, I will help you," he said. "The
rest of you, assist as well!" he ordered the pharmacy attendants in the room.
Lian directed her measurements and guided the attendants in forming the pills. Everyone watched her carefully. Once the pills were shaped, Lian arranged them on a special tray and placed them in a steaming pot, lighting a small spiritual flame beneath it.
When that was done, she gave instructions to the attendants, with Guseng still present.
"Pay close attention to the temperature," she
said. "The heat must be kept stable. It will take about four hours for the process to complete perfectly!"
She then poured the liquid decoction into a bowl, intending to take it to Long Wang's private chamber.
"Fairy Lian, where are you going?" asked the head pharmacist, who had been watching her work. "Shouldn't you stay here and
wait with us?"
"I'm going to deliver this to your King," she
replied.
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
Guseng quickly spoke up, issuing an order to a subordinate.
"You, escort Fairy Lian to His Majesty's private quarters!"
"Yes, General!"
Lian went to Long Wang's room, accompanied by a soldier.
When they arrived, a eunuch on duty led her inside. Long Wang was still unconscious.
As Lian entered with the bowl of medicinal soup, the maidservants inside promptly withdrew. The eunuch, however, remained to keep watch.
Lian set the tray on a table and tried to help Long Wang drink. He was still unconscious, making it difficult to get him to swallow the
liquid. Back at her cottage, she would have used a special tool to funnel the medicine down his throat. But if she used such a method here, the supervising eunuch would surely protest the impropriety towards the King, and she would likely be punished for it. She had no such tools in the Heavenly Realm. The only method available to her was to use her own lips to help him drink. And she definitely didn't want the eunuch to see that.
"Eunuch," she asked, "can you help me make
him drink this?"
The eunuch shook his head. "I'm sorry, Miss. I
cannot."
"Then, can you step outside for a moment?"
"Miss, what do you mean? I am here to supervise. If anything happens to His Majesty, can you bear the consequences?"
"Then you stay here and tend to your King yourself. I'm leaving!" she said with an annoyed expression.
The eunuch's face showed conflict. "Alright... I... I will leave," he finally said, exiting the room and closing the door.
Lian immediately took a mouthful of the decoction, holding it in her mouth. She then bent down and pressed her lips against Long Wang's.
This method was easier and more practical. She gently released the medicine into his mouth. She touched his throat, and he reflexively swallowed. The medicine went down successfully.
But Long Wang, who had regained consciousness during the process, opened his eyes to find Lian's lips pressed against his as if in a kiss.
His initial shock made his eyes widen, but he could feel the medicine flowing from her mouth into his.
He felt the soft touch of her lips. Lian, intensely
embarrassed, felt her own face flush scarlet. As she tried to pull away, Long Wang deftly held the back of her neck and gently sucked, drawing every last drop of the medicine remaining in her mouth. The process took a while, and Lian's bent-over body almost collapsed on top of him on the bed.
The eunuch outside grew anxious and decided to peek inside.
But what he saw was Long Wang kissing Lian's lips, and the kiss looked far from
ordinary.
"I thought she said she was going to give him
medicine?" he muttered to himself, closing the door again. "Why are they kissing?"
Long Wang was well aware the eunuch had been spying; he had intentionally let it happen. This would make it easier for him to justify
keeping Lian by his side later.
Lian felt her lips were almost being devoured. She struggled and broke free. Long Wang gave a low chuckle and gently pinched her chin.
"Little fairy," he said, his voice a low murmur,
"do you know the consequence of kissing a king?"
Lian shook her head, her expression utterly innocent.
Long Wang gazed deeply into her eyes and whispered, "You must be willing to become my wife."
Lian immediately shook her head in a panic. "I-I was just using my lips as a conduit for the medicine! I had no other intention!
Lord Long, don't act as if I was taking advantage of you! You were unconscious,
there was no funnel, no tube... I was forced to use my lips!" she stammered in her defense.
Long Wang leaned closer, his arms caging her in on the bed.
Now Lian was the one lying beneath him.
"L-Lord Long... I-I mean, Your Majesty! I-I truly
didn't mean any of it... Please forgive me..."
The eunuch outside heard the conversation and entered, witnessing the compromising scene.
"Who gave you permission to enter?!" Long Wang roared.
"My apologies, Your Majesty!" The eunuch, Song, swiftly closed the door again.
With the act over, Long Wang withdrew from atop Lian. His face was still pale; although his condition had slightly improved, the poison
in his heart could flare up again at any time. Lian studied his expression; he didn't seem like he was actually going to force himself on her.
She climbed off the bed and bowed respectfully. It was the proper action to take before a king.
"Lord Long," she asked quietly, "may I go
now?"
"Go where?" he asked, his voice weary. "Do
you still plan to jump off a cliff to return to the mortal realm? Do you realize that the poison in my body flared up because I saved you? If you die, I, the ruler of the four realms, will be held responsible. I would have to accept punishment and face the heavenly lightning as penalty. In my current condition, I would not survive it. Would you be happy to see me die right after you?"