Lian laughed awkwardly. "I just wanted to go check on the pills in the pharmacy, to see if they're ready or not. So, you don't want me to go check? Fine, I'll just sit here then," she said, a suppressed smile on her lips. She leaned in close to Long Wang, studying his face from inches away.
Long Wang frowned and waved his hand dismissively, his scolding forgotten.
"Go on, go," he said to Lian, sounding like a sulking child.
Lian broke into a wide smile and promptly left his room. The moment she did, Long Wang felt the strange throbbing in his chest return. It was the same feeling he'd had when Lian was in the bathing pool. The red thread on his pinky finger materialized, and when he looked to see where it led, it was connected to Lian's pinky. Panicked, he immediately rose from his bed and chased after her.
Luckily, she was still within his chambers, not yet at the door. Long Wang grabbed her arm and pressed her against the wall inside the room. A light shimmered on Lian's forehead, revealing a red mark that signified she was a Goddess of the Heavenly Realm.
Long Wang's Book of Destiny stated that a sacred fairy would come to save his life, but that sacred fairy was also the one and only Goddess he would love with his whole heart.
Lian was utterly confused. "Lord Long? Wh-why are you grabbing me? Didn't you say I could go check the pills?" she asked, bewildered.
Long Wang didn't want anyone else to know Lian's true identity. He used his magic to conceal the mark on her forehead.
In an instant, Lian understood. Her lips trembled as she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Lord Long... did you already know? That I am the sacred fairy destined to carry the Antidote Heart?"
Long Wang gazed deeply into her eyes. "Yes."
Lian's face fell, and she began to cry, overwhelmed by the fear and anxiety that Long Wang would now cut out her heart from her chest.
"D-do you want to take my heart? Is it because my heart is the antidote to the monster's horn poison? Is that why you saved me when the demon clan captured me in the forest?"
Long Wang fell silent. It wasn't that he couldn't answer, but he was reluctant to say more. His own feelings were still unclear, and his relationship with Lian had only been a chance encounter. Even though they had grown close and she had nursed him for a full week, how could he possibly fall in love in just a day and a night?
Long Wang released Lian and turned his back to her.
"Go. Don't worry. I won't cut out someone's heart just because I'm dying. Besides, the Antidote Heart for the monster's poison can only be used if its owner and I are bound by the ties of marriage. Not just any marriage, but a truly sincere one, willing from the bottom of the heart. The candidate must be fully willing to go through life-and-death trials with me." He turned to look at her reaction. "You can figure it out yourself. You must know what your feelings for me are right now?"
Lian nodded. She touched her own chest, feeling fortunate in her heart that she wasn't bound to Long Wang by anything. So, all that talk from the demon clan about the sacred fairy's heart must have been nonsense.
Long Wang could see the doubt in Lian's expression.
Lian doubted herself. Was she truly the one who had to give her Antidote Heart to Long Wang? Or perhaps there was another candidate who had sincere feelings for him and was willing to surrender her heart? It wasn't just one-sided; Long Wang himself also had to possess true love for the sacred fairy who would save him.
"Why? Are you still afraid?" asked Long Wang. "Lian, it's not just you. There are so many fairies in the Heavenly Realm and other realms, yourself included, who are from the mortal realm. So don't think about it too much," he continued.
Lian still felt nervous. She was reluctant to acknowledge her own feelings. Initially, she thought Long Wang, who had saved her from the demon clan, was just an ordinary human. But then she discovered the handsome man she had saved was the Dragon God who ruled the four realms—the very Dragon God the demon clan screamed would take her sacred heart as an antidote.
"Yes, Lord Long is right. Perhaps... perhaps another fairy will come. After all, I'm not the only fairy in this world." Lian walked away, leaving the room.
The red thread connecting her pinky to Long Wang's slowly faded.
Long Wang walked out, watching Lian's retreating back as she headed towards the pharmacy. Eunuch Song observed Long Wang staring after her until the girl disappeared from view.
"Your Majesty, is there something you wish to say? If you fancy Fairy Lian, can't you just make her yours? All the inhabitants of the four realms belong to you, Your Majesty. They would not dare refuse your command," he said.
Long Wang waved his right hand dismissively. He touched Eunuch Song's shoulder and said something near his ear, "Taking something simply because I fancy it, without giving them the freedom to choose? Do you think that is justice? Using my position as ruler of the four realms to get what I want? Hahaha! Eunuch Song, this teaching of yours is utterly absurd!"
Eunuch Song swallowed hard, not daring to rebut Long Wang's words. He had intended to incite Long Wang to make a mistake and abuse his power. He hadn't expected Long Wang to be so sharp, able to see through his cunning plan. If Long Wang had been successfully provoked, his position as ruler might not last long, especially now that his heart was wounded by the monster's poison and his life couldn't be saved without the antidote.
Eunuch Song promptly withdrew and left; his plan to manipulate Long Wang had failed completely.
***
Meanwhile, Lian saw that the pills she had made were ready. They were all taken from the tray using sterilized tongs.
As she worked, the events in Long Wang's room replayed in her mind, and without realizing it, her cheeks flushed red. Lian tried to reason with her own heart.
What is wrong with me? Since when did I become so... lewd? Constantly thinking about how Long Wang acted when we were alone? Wake up, Lian! Wake up! I must not have any feelings for Long Wang! I must not! I also need to leave the Heavenly Realm soon. Staying by Long Wang's side for too long will only drive me insane.
Guseng and the pharmacy staff were still there, supervising.
"Fairy Lian, is it finished?" he asked.
"Yes. Once the pills have cooled, just put them in medicine bottles."
Guseng looked at the numerous bottles and the large quantity of pills. "All of this is for His Majesty?"
"Yes, that's right!" Lian replied with a nod.
"But... why did you make so many? Shouldn't he only take two or three a day?"
"Just twice a day. One pill in the morning and one at night," she answered.
Guseng looked at the large stock of medicine bottles. He felt that Fairy Lian planned to go far away after these tasks were finished. However, he restrained himself from asking.
Lian had used special ingredients. The Heavenly Realm had many precious medicinal plants, unlike the mortal realm where Lian lived, which offered only a few rare herbs. The previous formula had been incomplete, which was why the pain in Long Wang's chest flared up so easily, especially when he used his power to fight enemies.
Yet, none of the pharmacists in the Heavenly Realm knew the exact composition for creating the poison-suppressing remedy to alleviate Long Wang's pain.
"General Gu," Lian said, "I've written down the recipe for concocting the medicine. There are two types in these notes: one for the decoction and another for making the pills. You are His Majesty's trusted right-hand man, so I entrust these notes to you!"
Guseng looked at Lian with a serious expression. "Are you doing this because you're upset with me for blaming you all this time? I was the one who ordered the soldiers to capture you. I know I was at fault. Seeing how much His Majesty trusts you, you must be a good fairy, not the evil one I thought you were all along."
This was the first time Guseng had admitted his mistake in front of a low-class fairy like Lian.
Everyone in the pharmacy was also shocked to hear this statement.
"This has nothing to do with the past," Lian explained to everyone. "I'm helping His Majesty because he saved my life. This is just my way of thanking him."
After the medicine pills were packaged, they were all stored in a special place to keep them safe.
***
In the Spirit Realm, rumors about Long Wang being saved by a low-class fairy reached the King of the Spirit Realm, Weihong.
He was intensely curious about the peach blossom fairy who was said to have successfully created a remedy that suppressed the monster's horn poison. For hundreds of years, not a single physician had managed to counteract that vicious poison. Moreover, Long Wang's body was no ordinary god's body; he was a true dragon who had been elevated to Dragon God and became the ruler of the four realms because of his ability to resolve conflicts across them for thousands of years. With Long Wang as ruler, wars had ceased, and the four realms had prospered until now.
"What kind of lowly fairy could possibly catch the Dragon God's eye?" he asked the officials in his court.
"I heard they met by chance on his way back from the Spirit Realm, Your Majesty," answered the Left Minister.
Weihong frowned. His daughter, Rong'er, approached and clung to his arm.
"Father, you promised you would make me a consort in the Heavenly Realm! When will you send me there?"