Chapter Ninety: The Serpent Princess, Menglu

The young man blinked in bewilderment, utterly at a loss.

The woman gave her hair a slight smoothing touch, adjusted the lapels of her robe, and then said in a soft voice, “Come here.”

“No, I heard what you said. I just didn’t understand what you meant,” the young man said, raising a hand in protest.

She patted the place beside her and said, “I said come here. If you still don’t, I’ll call for someone.”

He started, and his eyes rolled quickly. If he were caught now, with only the strength of a two-star spiritual adept, he would have little hope of escaping this palace surrounded by experts. If she truly cried out, he would be in grave trouble. For now, he could only calm her first and think of another way to get out.

Having made up his mind, he stepped over to her and sat down lightly at her side, still keeping a certain distance.

When she saw him seated, she smiled faintly. It was like a lily blooming in the deep night, beautiful and pure, enough to stir the heart with lingering reverie.

“You are not one of us serpentfolk, are you?” she asked, leaning lightly against the bed.

“I am not. I’m human,” he replied, but his right hand, already clenched tight, tightened further the moment the words left her lips.

Perhaps noticing his tense fists, she smiled again and said, “You don’t need to be so nervous. I won’t do anything to you.”

He felt awkward for a moment, but his hands still showed no sign of relaxing; they remained locked together.

Ignoring his clenched fists, the woman continued gently, “Since you say you’re human, why have you come to our serpentfolk tribe?”

He glanced at her and found that she was looking at him too. Their eyes met, and her gaze moved softly, as though it could speak. It made his heart tighten.

“I have no comment,” he said after a deep breath.

“What is your name?” she asked suddenly.

“What is yours?” he countered without answering.

“My name is Dream Dew. And you?”

“Lu Zhe,” he answered without hesitation.

Later, he looked at her and frowned slightly, as though there were something hard to speak of.

“What’s wrong?” Dream Dew asked softly, seeing the crease between his brows.

“I heard just now that you are a princess?” he asked, studying her carefully.

Dream Dew nodded, then drew the covers gently aside and got out of bed.

He watched, puzzled, as she walked slowly to the window, which stood about a zhang high. Then she quietly pushed it open.

At once, the gentle moonlight spilled through the window into the dim room, driving away some of the darkness, though only part of it.

Dream Dew stood silently before the window, lifting her face to gaze out at the bright moon.

He looked at her and only felt the silver light falling softly over her lovely body. The night wind drifted in, lightly lifting her long black hair, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks. Her pale white sleepwear also stirred faintly in the breeze, while the clean, gentle moonlight brushed her beautiful face and gave her an even more breathtaking grace. Yet why did such a lovely woman wear that trace of bleakness upon her features? She looked like a woman full of longing, deeply missing the man of her dreams: sorrowful, and beautiful.

Moonlight by the old window,
A lonely shadow, a beauty cold.

Lu Zhe rose quietly from the bed and walked softly to her side. Looking through the window, he saw that the bright moon hanging on the distant horizon had begun to tilt westward, while the stars still glittered in scattered points.

“You have something on your mind?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation.

Dream Dew glanced at the man beside her, no, the boy would be more fitting. Though he stood half a head taller than she, the lingering youth still on his face revealed his true age.

She smiled faintly and said, “I really envy you.”

He was startled, turning to look at the beautiful woman beside him. “What is there about me that you could envy? You’re a princess of a nation. You have wealth, honor, and countless people waiting on you. I’m just a poor wretch. What could I possibly have that you’d envy?”

She smiled softly, like a flower in bloom on a late night: lovely, and pure.

“Life is precious indeed, and love more valuable still. Yet for freedom’s sake, both can be cast aside.” Leaning lightly against the window frame, she looked at the orderly houses outside and said in a gentle voice, “Though I am a princess of a nation, and possess things others do not, I have also lost things others have.”

He looked at her, then turned to gaze at the lights outside, shining like a field of stars. “You mean freedom,” he said.

Dream Dew said nothing, only nodding slightly.

“You can’t leave?” he asked quietly.

She turned her head to look at him, then looked back out again. In a calm voice she said, “I was raised from childhood to be the next chief of this tribe. Every day was nothing but study upon study. Occasionally, under the protection of the guard corps, I was allowed to go out and take a look around, but without exception I could never go far before being brought back under the excuse that it was unsafe.” She paused, then turned to him again and said quietly, “So I envy you very much. You can live freely, without restraint.”

At this, Lu Zhe gave a bitter smile. “Being free may sound wonderful, but sometimes you go hungry, or run into dangers you can’t even understand. The outside world isn’t really that fun.” Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked, “That painting of the Great Desert on the screen below. Did you paint it?”

At his words, her face colored slightly red. “Y-you saw it?”

He laughed. “How could I not see it? And to be honest, you paint very well.”

Her cheeks reddened a little more, though the moonlight made it hard to see from outside. She lowered her head and said softly, “Th-thank you.”

“What? What did you say?” He had not heard her whispering voice and asked in confusion.

Just as the two of them were about to say more, Lu Zhe suddenly heard the sounds of fierce fighting and clashing from below. Then came Doctor Yi’s shout.

“Little Lu, where are you?”

Lu Zhe was shocked. This was bad—Doctor Yi was in trouble. Without another thought, he strode toward the stairs. Behind him came Dream Dew’s puzzled voice.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Her words made him stop short. Pausing on the steps, he turned back with a smile. “Sorry, I have to go.”

Dream Dew’s brows lifted slightly, as though she had not expected him to leave so soon. She bit her lip lightly, looking at him with something like reluctance. After a moment, she asked softly, “Will you... come back?”

He halted on the stairs, then after a brief silence, smiled at her and said, “I will come back. And when I do, I’ll take you out into the world beyond these walls and let you see it properly.”

With that, he plunged downward.

Dream Dew remained where she was, gazing at the empty stairwell, her hands clasped tightly before her chest. In a voice only she could hear, she murmured, “It’s a promise.”

I apologize for asking for recommendations and favorites. I was out all day today, and only got home after seven in the evening. Then I had dinner and wrote until after nine before finishing. I offer my apologies to everyone here.