134. The Book-Keeper
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Sunrise beneath the sea was barely existent, as sunlight naturally did not permeate deep waters.
But with the light formations, the sun rays permeated the deep, giving warmth and a beautiful golden ripple through the waves.
However, in a certain bedchamber within the Silver Urchin itself, the sunshine couldn't bring Yan Liwei any warmth and she felt like her insides had frosted over.
She presently knelt before the large bed on which Yin Xiaolong now sat, his golden eyes leveled at her.
"Why are you kneeling?" Bailong asked, one perfect brow raised. He was presently expressionless, but there was no mistaking an air of amusement surrounding him.
Liwei bit her lower lip.
She had awoken before him and tried slipping away, but this fiend had caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.
She had struck out at once, her free hand aiming for his accupoints, but he moved so swiftly and easily, almost lazily...
and she suddenly found herself pinned beneath him, both her hands held over her head.
"Trying to run after eating?" He had said with the most charming smile she had ever seen, her eyes going straight to his dimples. "A thief in more ways than one, but be assured... you can't run out of here."
He released her as if taunting her to try. "Step out of my courtyard without my permission, and my guards might slay you. You somehow slipped past my arrays last night, but I designed them to adapt! It won't happen twice!"
He said it like a child proud of a toy, and then he raised a brow in challenge. "But also... Do you want to try outrunning me?"
Liwei could recognize defeat and she scrambled off the bed, promptly dropping to her knees to apologize...
So at present, she linked her thumbs and lowered her head to the ground.
"Forgive me. I am Yan Liwei, first Princess of the Swallow clan. I humbly apologize for being so impolite!"
"'Impolite'? Tch!" Bailong scoffed. "You somehow broke into my perfectly sealed courtyard, absorbed the most precious herb, and you dared to touch-..." He flushed, his ears reddening.
"Tell me..." He spoke gently. "Where do I even begin to punish such a thief, hmmm?"
Yan Liwei's own face was hot. 'Shameless!' She thought, resisting the urge to massage her sore waist.
She had indeed been the first one to touch, but then this fiend before her had proceeded to show her exactly what a young dragon in his prime could do....
All. Through. The. Night!!!
And now her poor waist was wailing in agony.
'Clearly I'm the one who suffered more losses!' She internally raged as a brilliant red colour seeped into her face and ears.
Still, nothing would have happened if she hadn't snuck into his household in the first place...
"I apologize. I can compensate you if you let me go. I'll return to the Yan Clan and bring you some of our best treasures."
"I don't lack treasures... And besides, you can't leave."
"You-!" Liwei shot to her feet.
She instantly wobbled, biting her lower lip in pain, but she forced herself to her full height.
"Don't go too far! No matter what, I'm still the first Princess of the Yan Clan and my companion knows I'm in your household. If you imprison me here, the matter will surely reach the Sky Emperor's ears!
"I hope you'll rethink..." She folded her arms. "'Leaving a way out for others is leaving a way out for yourself'. Take a step back and let's negotiate how I can compensate you!"
Bailong's brows furrowed slightly. "You're hurt... At least sit down first!" He gestured to a shell-shaped meal table and one of its cushioned seats slid out on its own.
Liwei eyed the seat, and then eyed him, but Bailong simply smirked.
"Birds can indeed be part of a dragon's diet, but haven't I already eaten in other ways?"
"You-!!" Liwei let out an indignant huff. Red faced, she swiveled and stormed over to sit.
A smirking Bailong appeared in one of the chairs. "Little Missy, won't you take responsibility for me? Hmm? You did claim my first time you know..."
Liwei glared at him in shock. "Isn't there something wrong with your words?! Didn't you claim my first time as well?!!"
"Ei ei!" Bailong raised a defensive hand. "That's why we must each 'take responsibility'! And besides, no one asked you to climb into my bed!"
He had the good grace to flush, and Liwei looked like she might kill him if there was the slightest possibility of succeeding!
"What do you want as compensation?" She asked through gritted teeth.
Bailong's smile widened, deepening those dimples.
"Marriage!" He replied with no hesitation. Liwei's narrowed eyes snapped wider than ever.
"What?!!"
"What?" Bailong shrugged.
For him, this was a simple matter.
He couldn't claim to love this Yan princess yet, but such intimate acts should be done with only one's partner, and since there was intimacy already, then feelings could be cultivated.
"When something like this happens in the Mortal Realm, they say 'Rice has already been cooked'..."
He continued, then leaned forward, his ears reddening.
"1st Yan Princess, we cooked so much rice last night, all the while making...
interesting sounds which attracted more than a few servants.
You've ruined my reputation like this-! Who do you want me to end up with afterwards? !
"Isn't marriage the only solution? Heh! Don't worry, I will never take a concubine, so you're my only legal wife!"
"I- I can't m- marry you! I-...!" Liwei sputtered, casting around for an excuse. "I'm engaged to someone else!" Liwei had never been so grateful for her engagement! But Bailong's expression was now the ugly one.
"Hao-ah. So you had a fiance and came to provoke me? That makes your crime even worse!"
"It's your fox plant that made things go so far! I'm also a victim here!"
"Oh?" He raised a brow. "Did my fox plant also fly to the Swallow tree and drag you here?"
"You-!" Liwei bit her lower lip.
Ultimately, her breaking into his house had caused this so he wasn't being totally unreasonable.
Still... She had things she had to do! She couldn't simply wed a stranger, leaving her family to their fate...
Noting her expression, Bailong sighed and rose to his feet. "Hao. I won't force you. But nor can I simply let things go. You can leave, but can't marry for the next ten years!"
Liwei had never wanted her arranged marriage so she readily nodded. "Hao!!"
But Bailong smiled. "Heh! I wasn't finished! In that time, I want you to be my book-keeper! This way, we can frequently meet and try to cultivate feelings!"
"You-!"
"Calm yourself. I won't touch you in that time, nor force myself on you... Also, I'm not asking you to work for free!" He folded his arms, a smug smile on his face. "Whether or not you accept me after ten years, I'll personally heal your dantian! Isn't that why you were trying to find my garden?"
After such a rigorous... exchange, there was no way he wouldn't notice her core was damaged.
Meanwhile, Liwei's eyes had widened and she was already thinking this was a deal she couldn't possibly refuse, when Bailong added,
"To show my sincerity, why don't I help resolve your current family crisis?"
A silent moment passed...
Then Liwei suddenly fell to her knees.
It wasn't that she did not value herself... She did. But in a world of power, she was considered essentially useless, while Yin Xiaolong was considered a shining genius among geniuses, sought after by many.
Yet he didn't come off as proud or arrogant...
In most cases, she might indeed have paid dearly for intruding into someone's residence like this, and even going further to take advantage of them, even if it wasn't her fault.
In fact, she now marveled at her own carelessness in sneaking in.
In the wrong household, she might have been killed before she could explain herself, or they might use it as an opportunity to claim the rarest Yan treasures, or claim her as a slave or concubine, likely blackening her name and the Yan family name even further.
But Yin Xiaolong was offering her a respectful exit.
Not only was he overlooking her initial intent to steal, but he had let her hold on to her pride and he was even trying to take responsibility, offering her the position of legal wife, no less.
Still he wasn't forcing her, and he intended to help her resolve her family crisis and heal her core.
Liwei linked her thumbs and bowed her head. "If you can indeed ensure the Yan family never faces problems, then I'll offer you my dedication! I won't promise to climb up a mountain of blades, or descend into a sea fire, but I would even work for you for a thousand or ten thousand years-!"
"Aiyaya, you're being too serious!" Bailong leaned down to help her up. "Please rise! My Wi-... Ahem, a guest shouldn't be kneeling! And besides, how can I kidnap the Yan Princess for more than ten years...?!"
So ten years it was, and Bailong even handed her a proper contract!
"I wouldn't take advantage!" He simply said, and after that, Yan Liwei indeed became his Book-Keeper...
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