As Xuan Yan continued gently washing the medicated water across the wounds on Zhu Zhuqing's back, she suddenly drew in a soft breath as if preparing herself.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the mattress, and her shoulders rose slightly despite the pain. "There is… one thing I need to tell you,"
His hands paused mid-motion, the warm cloth hovering just above her skin. "What is it?"
He leaned forward a little, watching her from the side with calm eyes.
"I… I have a marriage contract."
Xuan Yan blinked once. Then he simply replied, "Oh,"
She turned her head sharply and narrowed her eyes "What do you mean 'Oh'?"
He shrugged lightly. "I mean exactly what I said. It's just a marriage contract. We can tear that."
Zhu Zhuqing stared at him, stunned by how lightly he treated something that had been crushing her for years.
After a moment, she took a shaky breath and whispered, "I am… the second young lady of the Zhu Clan. One of the two great noble houses of the Star Luo Empire."
"Ohhh," he muttered, repeating the same indifferent sound, as if she had told him her favorite food.
She clenched her jaw. "And my fiancé… is the third prince of Star Luo. Dai Mubai."
"I see." he replied instantly, without even a pause.
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head toward him fully now, glaring at him "What?! Aren't you afraid after knowing my identity and fiancé? That is the royal family!"
Xuan Yan only smiled, "Why should I be afraid?"
Zhu Zhuqing replied "My family has married into the Star Luo royal bloodline for generations. Our two clans are bound by tradition and politics. My engagement is… unbreakable."
Her voice wavered, and tears began gathering in her eyes before she could stop them.
The years of fear, duty, and suffocation rose to the surface all at once.
The next moment, he cupped her cheeks from behind as he turned her slightly toward him.
His thumbs softened the tears at the corners of her eyes as he asked quietly, "Why are you crying when I am right here?"
"I-I'm not crying… i-idiot…"
She swallowed and looked into his eyes again, "What… what will you do? About all of this?"
"What else? Go straight to the door."
She blinked. "My family will not agree,"
Xuan Yan's expression turned serious "Then destroy them."
Her breath hitched "D-Don't joke. Are you… serious?"
He leaned in slightly "Do I look like I'm joking to you? The Zhu Clan, the Dai Clan, the Star Luo royal family… They are nothing but names. If they stand in your way, then they will fall. Simple."
She stared at him, stunned into silence. 'Why is he so confident? just who is he?'
She thought he might be a genius from a wealthy family... perhaps the heir of some powerful sect.
But seeing the certainity in his gaze made her question his authority.
Gathering her courage, she asked quietly, "Just… who are you?"
Xuan Yan leaned forward until his breath brushed her ear. "Have you heard the rumors… about a certain boy with white hair and golden eyes?"
Her shoulders stiffened and she thought for a moment.
But then she remembered the rumors... white hair and golden eyes?
Her heart stopped.
She slowly turned to him as her mouth parted in absolute shock.
He smiled and reached forward to gently close her gaping lips with two fingers.
"So?" he asked softly. "Who am I?"
Her whole body trembled as she whispered, "Y-You're… the H-Holy Prince of the Spirit Hall…"
Xuan Yan chuckled at her expression, "Right."
Zhu Zhuqing sat there frozen for a moment, and her arms unknowingly loosened in her shock.
Looking down at her breasts, he replied "Zhuqing... your breasts."
Hm? She glanced down at her exposed breasts and her eyes quivered "You have seen them anyway... there is no need to hide them."
Upon hearing this, he smiled and continued tending to her wounds with quiet focus.
He rinsed the cloth again, wrung out the warmth, and brushed it gently along the bruised skin of her back.
Even injured, she held the poise of a seasoned fighter with a toned abdomen, a defined waist, and a natural grace that spoke of countless hours of training.
"Your body is stunning, Zhuqing."
The blush on her face deepened hearing his compliment, and he continued mending her wounds.
After finishing with her back, he moved around to kneel before her so he could treat her abdomen.
The gentle glow of the cave's firelight played across her skin, drawing out soft shadows and subtle contours as his hands worked.
Zhu Zhuqing, however, remained unusually quiet.
He applied the salve in smooth, steady strokes, wrapped the bandages around her midsection, and secured them with deft fingers.
The entire time she watched him silently, as she was still in shock that he is the Holy Prince.
At last, the treatment ended.
Xuan Yan exhaled softly and sat back on the floor "Done..." he said, dusting the remnants of herbal powder from his fingers.
Zhu Zhuqing was still processing the truth he had dropped on her so casually.
She slowly crawled to him and sat on his lap like a cat that had finally decided the offered lap was safe enough to claim.
Eh? Xuan Yan was dumbfounded for a moment "Don't move recklessly... you are still injured."
She leaned back onto his chest lightly, and with a sigh, he hugged her from behind.
The fire crackled low, throwing flickers of orange across the cave walls.
For a long moment neither of them spoke. Outside, wind hissed through the cracks in the stone, carrying the distant howl of spirit beasts that knew better than to come closer.
Eventually she broke the silence, "…You really meant it," she said. "About destroying them?"
"I don't say things I don't mean." His chin rested atop her head; strands of her black hair tickled his jaw. "Especially not to you."
Zhu Zhuqing's fingers found his forearm "The Zhu Clan has stood for four hundred years. The Dai have ruled longer. You talk like they're paper screens."
With a chuckle, he replied "Well, they are... they don't even have a Titled Douluo with them."
She gave a soft, disbelieving laugh that shook them both. "People have died for less arrogance, Holy Prince."
His hand slid up, slow enough that she could stop him if she wanted, and settled over her heart, just above the edge of the bandage "Feel that? That's worth more than every throne in Star Luo."
Her breath caught, and she turned her face into the crook of his neck, hiding the fresh blush in her cheeks.
"You're insane..." she whispered against his skin.
"Probably."
Looking up at him, she spoke "Ha... I spent my whole life being told I belonged to someone else..."
She reached up and her fingers threaded through his white hair "For the first time in my life, I want to take a decision for myself and Yan... please help me from the marriage contract and take me with you."
He leaned forward and brushed the little tears from the edge of her eyes "Anything you wish. I will surely help you."
he pinched her nose softly "... And make you mine."
"Idiot..." Zhu Zhuqing closed the last breath of distance and kissed him.
He was taken aback for a moment before he reciprocated the kiss.
Both of them were quite awkward, as it was their first time kissing.
When they parted, her lips curved into the first real smile he'd ever seen from her "So... that's how kissing feels."
He let out a faint chuckle and pinched her cheek gently.
She looked at his laughing face for a moment before reaching up and taking his hand, placing it over her right breast.
With a playful glint in her eyes, she asked "Wanna... try touching them?"
WHAT?
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