LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS 362 The Dark Presence

Chenglei was sitting beside Xing to her right and in a table filled with various delicacies of the sea, he found himself immersed in feeding her by peeling off the shells and picking off the bones of the unfortunate sea creatures that were fated to be her food that night.

She needs to fatten up a bit! And... Look at her gobbling up strong liquor like water! He frowned.

All Xing was interested was the honey coloured alcohol they served that was really strong. She had never tasted it before and she really liked the burning sensation as it travelled inside her stomach but was interrupted by the coldness emitting from her right. Her eyes widened as she turned to see the deep eyes looking at her with displeasure.

"Eat before you drink!", he whispered gritting his teeth and as Xing opened her mouth to retort, she was stuffed in her mouth with a prawn that really did go well with her alcohol.

"Okay", she nodded and with one mouth of food and one gulp of alcohol she really enjoyed dinner. In the big hall only the clattering noise of the chopsticks was heard as they followed a tradition of not speaking while they eat.

For Xing's dismay that ended her alcohol consumption premature before she even got a little drunk. Chenglei shook his head to see her pouting like a wronged kid when they removed the wine jar while cleaning the tables.

This woman really loves alcohol, doesn't she?

He already planned to start collecting best wines for when she starts living with him. It is true he cannot drink and so he doesn't have much collections of wine. What if she runs away to other men, like that Zhong Seiren for their company to drink with? He will bring all the good wine to their home and she could get drunk in their home all she wants.

Good! Chenglei patted himself for the plans he came up with and his eyes darted to Takanashi sitting opposite to them who held back on his drinks and was still leering at the woman by his side. He had a odd prideful look in his eyes as if he was sure he'd succeed in convincing the Ouyang Navy to join him.

When Takanashi noticed Chenglei's glare he just sneered at him making Chenglei's blood boil and his fists clenched. He can only kill that Takanashi here without repercussions but this woman forbade him.

The moment they step back to the seas and enter the territory of the three kingdoms, Kei Takanashi is a Prince and him, Li ChengNuo is a mere rich businessman who has no titles to go with it even though he is the Rui Wang of the Wind Kingdom. He can kill Takanashi secretly but it will definitely affect the peace his brother tries to keep with the Water Kingdom.And in public, he'll have to be submissive to the likes of Kei Takanashi since he is of lower status to him. And his wife must be submissive to the likes of such person too. He never thought about it till now.

Chenglei looked at Xing by his side not caring about the deep contemplation of the man beside her or the lecher in front of her and wiping her hands with a pout.

What a kid! Still pouting for alcohol! His lips curved up to a gentle smile.

Sensing his looks on her, she looked at him, "What?", she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Drink lot of water", he poured her some warm water and seeing her obediently drinking, he was pleased.

This woman! He wondered, she is the Divine ruler and for some reason she is hiding it from many and also she has the White Tiger Token and she is of higher status than him for now but if he marries her, since she is a woman, her status will lower to his status and the White Tiger Token will lose its lustre as she will merely be the wife of Li ChengNuo, the filthy rich businessman.

How unfair to her! This cannot be allowed. Should I take my title of 'Rui Wang' back? At least then she'd be a Princess Consort and her White Tiger Token won't lose its value.

Yes! I will take it back. All I have to do is make some proof that Huang Shengli impersonated me because I requested it for my safety and tell that he gave his life up to save me and now that I have eliminated my enemies, is free to take back my title. I will do that!

So the man who decided previously to not take his title for her sake made his decision to take his title back for her sake now that he had forgotten the real reason he decided against taking the title.

Just then, the door of the hall opened and an Old man walked in. He was short and was chubby and had a long beard and dragon whiskers mustache. His ripe age and the deep wrinkles in his face didn't hide the deep blue eyes he had and he walked to Xing and knelt in front of her with his forehead touching the floor.

"This lowly one greets the great one with all his heart", his voice was a bit shaky and Xing could see he was struggling in his kneeling position and accepted his greeting and asked him to stand up.

Even though she could never get used to people kneeling in front of her, she has learnt to accept it as a norm these days.

Xing noticed his blood was having a purple glow. So he is a descendent of a god too? And his descendants are the ones having the supernatural abilities?

"Were you the one who created the fog, previously? I see that you are a descendant of a god", Xing was curious and she didn't held back showing her enthusiasm.

"Yes, I am, Your Highness! I am a descendant of the Ouyang family's original line as they hailed from the god of water. In fact I am the last one bearing the Ouyang name. You are..."

"You are Mazu's descendent?", Xing unintentionally interrupted him from telling the relationship between her and Fei Lian.

"Yes, And I am glad to be in the presence of the Prince of Heavens", he spoke each word with his head bowed in reverence.

Prince of Heavens? Chenglei looked at Xing with his eyes wide and she was sitting with her back straight and no ripples of emotion in her face. What does that mean? But then he remembered how she was treated in the palace of the god of wind with everyone kneeling in front of her and, it must be true then!

Xing was just using her senses to pinpoint something since she felt like Bai Li was there. But she couldn't spot him and that made her wonder if her intuition is wrong. Then again, what purpose might the demon realm has to do with anything concerning the Ouyang Navy, right? If he is here for me, he'd have shown himself. What's the need for him to hide himself from me? I must be losing my senses!

With everyone in their own thoughts, no one realised Takanashi's eyes flickering to darkness for a while.

"Tell me about that brooch you are wearing, Xiao Táng!", Lady Hehua asked Xing that brought her out of her failing search for Bai Li.

"It belongs to a friend, he told me it was a family heirloom and lent it to me", Xing answered gently tracing her forefinger over the brooch.

"Oh! Who is it... Is that the Ming boy you always ran around with? ", Lady Hehua had a sombre expression and Xing could see she was hiding a lot. But what is it?

"Yes", Xing answered truthfully as she felt like there is more to the brooch and as her fingers trailed through the carvings she remembered seeing a dragon and that is the same dragon she sees everywhere around here...

No way! Just no way! Xing smirked. What is the probability for Haru to be the Ouyang family heir? Right? The blue eyes... His eyes were blue not because he was a royalty from the Water kingdom but because he is an Ouyang or maybe it is both! Who knows?
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Ah! He is going to scold me for bringing trouble to him.... He wasn't happy when he learnt that he was a royalty of the Water Kingdom and he will be really pissed to know he is an Ouyang family member and I'm the one who brought them to him.

"So what have you decided, Commander Xia?", Xing asked with her voice resounding in the hall as she was confident they are the ones going back with the Ouyang Navy.

"You see the dragon symbols everywhere?", Lady Hehua pointed, "This dragon is not a symbol of defiance as one might think. It is the proof of the Ouyang family's loyalty to the throne signifying that their family's navy is the Imperial Navy belonging to the Empire. We have served the Great Empire for more than two centuries with atmost loyalty to the throne and the Emperor. But then a couple of centuries back.. ", she looked at the floor and chuckled,

" Something unusual happened when the Tianshi Emperor wanted to split the kingdom to three for the sake of his brothers. The Ouyang family was asked to choose who they are willing to serve and also if they are willing to split their Navy to protect the three kingdoms.... "

Lady Hehua paused and Xing was listening closely to everything she said. Takanashi sat there with his expression frozen and eyes engulfed in darkness as of he had figured out he might not get the ships.

" So there was a big split in the Ouyang family when the main Ouyang family said not to split the family and choose any one of the kingdoms to live but another faction mostly the branch families who wanted power for themselves wanted to split the family to three. In the end the main family's decision was followed and they went to live in the Water Kingdom. Splitting the kingdom was a failure as time passed with the three kingdoms forgetting their brotherly bond and started treating each other with hostility. This made the members of the main Ouyang family sad as they didn't want to take side with one portion of the once great kingdom and the troubles started brewing inside the family and it only got worse each passing year", She looked deeply at Takanashi who now had a plastered smile in his face.

"This was utilised by some outsiders and in the end the Ouyang family split with the side family killing most of the main family, staying in the Water Kingdom and the only son left in the main Ouyang family got the four hundred ships they had along with the crew and escaped into the sea. Ouyang Ting, the first one to find this island, decided to stay here and wait until the kingdom is unified back to their glory days. We were hoping for the promised Divine ruler to appear and unify the kingdom "

" I have no plans to reunite the territories! They.. ", Xing's voice resounded with conviction.

" I wish to. If I'm given an opportunity, I will!", Takanashi interjected Xing and made his case. Who wouldn't want to rule the three kingdoms? His lips had a proud smirk and his eyes emitted a dangerously arrogant aura that made Xing want to puke her guts out in disgust.

With what support will he rule the three kingdoms?

Chenglei gritted his teeth at Takanashi who is openly stating he wants to rule the three kingdoms and Xing could see him reaching for his hidden dagger. He wanted to kill Takanashi then and there.

Xing placed her had over Chenglei's hand stopping him and she could feel a really darker presence in the room and the old man flinched by the presence too.

"Some seventy years back, one of our Ouyang member... Actually he was this elder's brother.. He met a girl in the shores of the Wind Kingdom and she gave birth to a son and he decided to live with them. But we lost contact with him after he died rather suddenly. We wanted to find his descendant but we could not. But now with the arrival of the divine ruler and since our last Ouyang elder's health not being good, we have decided to return to the Wind Kingdom where the Divine Ruler and our last heir are",Lady Hehua looked at the elder and he nodded in agreement.

So Haru's maternal grandfather was this elder's nephew? And his daughter-- Haru's mother's blood would have lost the god essence and that's why Haru's blood doesn't glow like this elder's. And that's why he is not inheriting the supernatural abilities too. Xing concluded.

"Why didn't you come to our aide when the Arsalan Navy came for us and almost defeated us?", Xing asked. If they really wanted to return, that would have been a great chance.

"We were there!", Lady Hehua answered surprising Xing, "I personally wasn't there but two hundred of our ships were at a distance ready to support when the last of your ship falls but then... The Divine ruler saved the day and those who've seen it said it was glorious!", Lady Hehua looked at Xing with reverence and bowed her head.

"So the attacks on the Merchant ships were your way of informing us your presence?", Xing asked. Since their return that day was deemed unnecessary, they tried to find other ways for people to search for them.

Pirates? There never was a pirate! It's all them trying to get attention.

" We've been in isolation for long enough and we want to join others and serve the kingdom our Master serves", she replied.

Xing was pleased with everything turned out the way she wanted to but she could feel the dark presence that was awfully similar to Bai Li's getting increased in intensity. Her hand holding Chenglei's tightened.

No one would dare to touch her but him... He'd be the one needing better protection.

"We from the Jin family have the Ouyang bloodline too!", Kei Takanashi gritted his teeth seeing his plans coming to ruin.

"You Jin family humiliated our Ouyang daughter and blackmailed two hundred ships from us. She was not happy married to that Jin and her son died! Ouyang family has no blood relationship with the Jin family!", the old Elder raised his voice and it was powerful enough to rile up the dark presence Xing felt.

" Let's leave", Xing held Chenglei hand and stood up.

"No one leaves!", Takanashi screamed and all the doors and windows of the hall they were at closed shut and the dark presence started to engulf inside the hall making the place stuffy.

Xing took a deep breath as her eyes fixed on Takanashi.

Who did he make a deal with? Is it really Bai Li? The presence is really dark and he did say he massacred his own clan. Could it really be him? Did he lose his conviction and succumbed to darkness? Or could it be... Another fox Demon? But there is no one else as powerful as Bai Li left!

Whatever! I cannot let Chenglei get hurt. Time to use my powers!

Chapter end