[[~?????? P.o.v.~]]: Somewhere deep into the mountain...
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! HELP ME!!!"
A loud scream interrupted my reading. I stood up in shock at the noise and decided to investigate where it had come from. I had left my mansion in the care of my trusted servant, Yin Yu.
Minutes later, I stumbled upon a horrifying scene: a pack of wolves was feasting on their dead meal. As I turned to ask the human nearby if he was alright, I noticed a small child, around three or four years old, rushing toward her side.
She was whimpering in fear, and I could see green veins beginning to spread across her skin to her neck, a clear sign that the poison was taking hold of her soon if she wasn't treated. Three deep wolf bites marred her face, legs, and arms.
My crimson eyes widened in shock. I whistled for the wolves to come closer and shot them a fierce glare. To my surprise, they bowed their heads in shame.
"Leave. Now." I growled.
The wolves started to run away from me while leaving the child alone, walking closely to their meal I immediately saw a pool of blood in front of me, only this time it wasn't a bride; It was a little girl.
"Are you alright, little one?" I questioned her in worry in my voice, she looked up to get a better view of me, but I noticed her vision was getting blurry so she couldn't see me well; As well as the bite wounds had already gotten into her system just now.
The little girl coughs out blood all over her ragged clothes and tries to reach out to me with her small hands which were nearly to drop on the red pool of blood also, I manage to hold her hand gently essentially to be sure she isn't hurt in which, she spoke in a stuttering sentence:
"H-h-h-hell-lp..me, please.." Those were her last words before going unconscious, her big green eyes were beginning to lose the balance of staying awake and falling asleep. Instead, she slowly closed my eyes and fell into the endless hole of darkness.
"I will help you, little one," I told her in a whisper, still kneeling at her side I slowly carried the little girl bridal style, the blood pole was dripping all over my robes but I didn't care about it; What matters is that she needs to survive and be taken care of as she keeps breathing in and out rapidly.
Time skip~Paradise Manor
After hours of walking back to my Paradise Manor, I carried the little girl in my arms as she began to feel a sharp pain in her chest. I knew I would need to examine it soon, but for now, she needed rest after all the dangers we faced in the Ghost Realm. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to handle this kind of poisoning.
"Gege.." She whimpers over and over while tears start falling down her face.
While they were close, I never complained about it, although this one is interesting...somehow, kept thinking about it whenever I should or shouldn't have to worry so much:
'She's too young to die! What was a little girl doing alone on the dark path? Her parents must have been naive to let her wander into the woods!'
Questions raced through my mind, unanswered as I awaited his Highness's return to the mortal realm.
My heart pounded, and I halted my steps toward the Mansion.
"Welcome home, Mast—" I interrupted him before he could finish his welcoming bow and ordered him, "Yin Yu, I need you to take care of her while I'm out." He noticed my urgency and immediately understood what I meant.
As I was still holding the injured girl in my arms, one who had nearly been eaten alive by wolves, Yin Yu seemed a bit confused but asked, "So, where should I place her, Master?"
"Oh, while I'm out." Completely ignoring his question, and continued, "Make sure to tend to her wounds properly before I come back, clear?"
"Of course, master." He nodded in response as I promptly disappeared into thin air, setting out in search of the antidote to stop the poison from spreading in the poor girl. I left her in the care of my trusted servant, Yin Yu, who had begun tending to her injuries.
As I exited the guest room, I transformed into my true form, hiding my true feelings of anxiety while I couldn't quite understand why had I been so drawn to the child in the first place, I'm the Ghost King, I should never let anyone near me.
She's so fragile and far too young to die. I can't let her perish like this, and I cannot abandon her in such a state. I'll even sacrifice my own soul to save her, no matter the cost.
This problem of mine doesn't matter to me, what really matters is that I need to reach in every bookshelf to find a medicine book in the Library since it has great knowledge for cures of any kind to slow the poisoning down.
One minute later, I came back and gave the medicine book to my trusted servant Yin Yu, who damped some wet cold cloth on top of the little girl's head; Tending her injuries, I nodded at him by giving him the medicine book so that he can start preparing the cure of the poisoning.
Once he left, I heard a small whimper next to me and noticed that: 'She's just a pure soul.' I gently caress her long black hair, feeling a sense of protectiveness over her, 'A child such as herself should be given a chance in life...Not pain.'
With that, I turn away with a frown before standing and walking away, only to glance behind my shoulder where I could see her sleeping form, and took the wet cloth from her forehead, soaking it back into the cold water, and then placed it once more on the little girl's head.
[[~Little girl's pov~]]:
Fluttering my green eyes open, I began to sit up until I felt something on my neck and hissed at myself because of the pain that had gotten me from the wolves earlier, 'wait! That must be it, maybe the wolves are not what they seem to be and; Somehow, a flashback of my memory remembered someone.
A flashback shows a man dressed in red blocking the wolves with magical white butterflies. 'Is he the one that saves me?' I thought, 'Huh? I'm in bandages? Who or what healed me? I need to find the answers.'
Thinking at first, but continue to stand up carefully as soon as I touched the ground, my feet tripped but, I manage to get up fast by calming myself again and again, 'deep breath, deep breath'.
"Where...Where am I? Hello?" I called out quietly not to disturb anyone but no one was around except for crimson red curtains that hang around me and without any thought about it, I tried to find an exit but suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw:
"A butterfly?" I asked in shock but, I smiled at it and decided to chase it.
Standing up from the bed I decide to reach out to touch the silver butterfly, it flies around the room, leading me somewhere around this room or place that couldn't think of, I felt excited to chase it all the way downstairs and didn't care about where I am but still...
My curiosity hadn't gotten to me as it finally lands on a gentle finger.
Gasped in Belvidment, I stopped chasing the silver butterfly and tried to ask but, I ended up saying: "Where..."
With a hesitant look on my face, a sudden breeze came of nowhere, perhaps from the windows, and blew the red curtains along with bells ringing with a beautiful melody that I don't know of; It almost sounded like a child singing through the sounds.
The red velvet curtains swept back, revealing a strikingly handsome man in maple-red robes. His skin was ice-pale, framed by long, shadow-black hair with a widow's peak. Silver vambraces adorned his robes, and his black boots were embellished with silver chains.
A single braid hung on the right side of his face, partially obscuring a red pearl and an eyepatch covering his right eye. Beneath the left vambrace, the name "Xie Lian" was inscribed.
His left forearm was black, while his right bore a design in red ink.
"Hello little one, I hope you are feeling better after you're encounter with the wolves back there.~"
Spoke in a husky voice, I blushed and swung my gaze away while nervously glancing at him again only this time, I rubbed my left arm up and down in embarrassment since I have never gotten myself use to meeting noble people like...
To be honest, this savior is the first noble I had ever met:
'Um...this is really difficult to look at my savior like this but, he did save me. I can try to consider him a friend.' Sweatdrop at myself that I almost wanted to faint in front of him, I shyly replied by averting my eyes at his red ones:
"W-where am I? W-who a-are you?"
I stammered out loud only making him chuckle at the sound of my voice since I stammered like a total idiot, he, on the other hand, took a cup of tea from the table and sips it slowly by responding to my question. "You don't know who I am? Isn't that interesting?"
The man in the red robes asked in surprise at my question, I hesitantly shook my head at him which made him smirk even bigger, and I replied with a soft voice.
"Should I know who you are, sir?" I raised an eyebrow at the man. He made a theatrical gasp, a teasing gesture, and rose from his chair. He circled me, his gaze sweeping from head to toe. Though I wasn't scared, his presence gave me a sense of safety and trust.
Anyways, I coughed and asked him.
"Do you have a name, sir?"
"Yes I do but, you must keep it a secret since you don't know who I am, I might as well tell you." He paused for a moment, knelt on one knee, and bows by telling me, "I am Hua Cheng, one of the four famous calamities in the Ghost Realm, which you are living in here for the time being. So, you were frightened by the Ghost King himself in front of you?"
The minute he saw me staring at him like this, I was awed at Hua Cheng and curtsied to him because he is a King, I heard rumors about him but, I never thought I would actually meet his true form.
I began beaming in excitement: "Actually, I am not." I continue with a smile, "Your name means 'city of flowers', right?"
"You...aren't afraid of me?" He seemed stunned but slightly surprised.
I shook my head, "Nope, I think you're a legendary villain but I know deep inside you are waiting to be free!" I bit my tongue while I try to understand what I just said to him and I felt terrified of saying it out loud.
He frowned. Inside the immense Paradise Mansion, silence hung in the air as the man in red, bangs obscuring his face, looked away. 'Uh oh, I think I said something mean to me.' "I appreciate you letting me in your home & checking if I'm healing beside, I feel better-Ngh!"
A sharp pain shot through my neck. He noticed and quickly lifted my face, examining the injury. "I know you want to return to the mortal realm, but you need to stay here at Paradise Manor for five days to recover from last night's poisoning," he said. "Besides, your parents won't worry."
"Um...actually, I don't have parents. I was raised by bandits for as long as I can remember." I said in a sad tone.
"...I see," He paused but then begins to softly smile with a question, "What's your name, little one?"
"Little girl! It's what everyone calls me because they couldn't figure out a name for me since I was baby."
Smiling at the man in red robes in front of me, who had rescued me, tendered my injuries and moreover, he's like a big brother to me: "Why wouldn't anyone give you a name? No one needs to call a little girl' all the time."
I nodded in agreement.
He started coming up with a name for me and I waited with stars in my eyes that he finally answered:
"How about...Hua yào? It means 'peony flower', would you like that?".
I nodded in response, and to top of it, my stomach started rumbling in hunger that the Ghost King name Hua Cheng began to laugh and ruffles my hair in a mess on which, I whine at him for teasing me: "Hey, no fair."
"First, you need to eat. You look famished. Oh, pardon, *ahem* would you like to dine with me, little Yaó?" While looking at his hand, I looked up at him in which, he looks almost like me but in an adult male form and gives me one of his wicked smiles, and escorts me to dine with me.
"Okay!" I beamed, making him smile even more.
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RATE OUT OF 5 STARS FOR THIS SO I can give this another update!