Over the next few days, I receive more guests than I can handle. Suddenly, everyone wanted to meet the princess who had helped bring down the evil witch's rule by foiling her grand plans.

Of course, Zhan kept visiting me regularly, but aunty LiFen refused to trust us and kept a watch over us. Though this angered me no end, I kept my temper under control. After all, she meant well.

However, this arrangement meant that Zhan couldn't talk about what exactly had taken place after I had lost consciousness in the tunnel.

Finally, days later, I am given a clean bill of health, and the first thing my uncle does is start making plans to get rid of me. No, he was not planning my demise. Zhan had told me in brief how my uncle, along with countless others, were under my aunt's control. As such, everything that he had done was because he was merely a puppet in her hands. But now, with her powerless (thanks to Zhan and myself) and in prison, he had reverted to his kind righteous self: the way he was before aunty Lai had entered his life.

As I was saying, my uncle was planning to get rid of me, but it was through marriage. The day I was finally allowed out of my room, he visited me and asked if I wanted to marry Zhan. He had said that he would not force the alliance on me and that if I so chose, I could reject it. 

 Of course, I had agreed; I wanted to be with Zhan. My body was already feeling deprived of his touches. I know I sound shameless, but you have been aware of it since the beginning, right?

Marriage, let me tell you, is a very tedious affair. I nodded off almost twice while aunty LiFen was dressing me up. I almost ruined my make-up, much to her annoyance. As you may have guessed by now, everyone except Zhan saw me as YiJuan. Aunty LiFen did not spare any effort to dress me up as elaborately as she could. The headdress was a pain in the ass!

I was the most beautiful princess (with a dick) to ever walk the six kingdoms.

What a fucking joke! 

Anyway, lucky for me, as soon as the formalities are over, Zhan gives me a change of clothes. "Change. I have arranged for us to go see Weredra." He informs.

The thought of finally meeting Weredra fills me with joy, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed. "How unromantic, husband. Aren't you even a little bit eager to spend the night with me?"

"Shameless." He chuckles and starts helping me out of my garments, "You know, the change of clothes is not just for your convenience."

"Mn?"

Zhan moves behind me; he places kisses on my exposed shoulder. "Gorgeous. Exquisite. You indeed are a true beauty, YiJun."

His words have the desired effect, and now with nothing to stop me from doing what I please, I turn in his arms and capture his lips.

Without breaking the kiss, Zhan rids me of the remaining clothing and settles on top of me. I grumble, "I like to be on top."

Zhan hovers over me, eyes twinkling; he states, "Is that so? Amm, what to do, YiJun? Because so do I."

It was indeed a predicament, an unexpected predicament. I push Zhan off of me and cover myself up. I sit straighter, and trying to look intimidating, ask, "What do you suggest?"

'I suggest you come and meet me. I am busy, you know. And I have been patiently waiting for your ungrateful ass.' I hear the familiar voice in my head: Weredra's voice.

I immediately leave the bed, startling Zhan.

"YiJun, what happened?" He asks, looking concerned.

I shake my head and start getting dressed, "Let's go meet Weredra now." 

 Looking a little disappointed but nodding nonetheless, Zhan replies, "Ok."

As soon as we have mounted our horses, Zhan takes out a compass, and we are off to meet Weredra.  

On the way, Zhan tells me how after I had lost consciousness, Weredra's eyes had sparkled bright blue, and she had changed back into a child. After which, she had zapped aunty Lai with a bolt of blue light and tried to heal me but failed. She had, however, made sure that I won't die of it.

"What happened to aunty and those she had poisoned or enchanted?" I ask, and Zhan takes a deep breath and dives into the explanation. " As soon as you stabbed yourself, she went insane with fear, probably because she knew that with you sacrificing yourself for Weredra would set her free of the curse. Weredra looked into the witch's memories and realized the spell that she was using." Zhan pauses, "We did not have time to discuss the specifics of the spell; it was complicated, and we did not have time. Weredra transported all of us to the main gates of Dezhutang. The royal soldiers recognized their queen."

"Fuck! Did they hurt you?" I panic but calm down instantly when Zhan chuckles. "Have you forgotten that our Meimei was with us?"

"Oh. Yes, continue."

"I introduced myself and was escorted to your uncle. All the while, the witch was spouting nonsense about how she was going to rule the continent."

"What!?"

"It was Meimei's doing. Before we left the cave, she put a truth spell on her."

"Oh." I nod, and Zhan presses on. "When we met your uncle, as expected, the witch blurted out the truth, all of it. Of course, at first, your uncle couldn't believe what he was witnessing. But then Lung Chi testified in our favor as well." He smiles. "Meimei had blessed him with a conscience before we had left the cave."

I can't help but return the smile. "What happened next?"

"I told your uncle how I had gone undercover to expose the truth about the witch. I introduced Weredra as a healer and told him that she could save everyone that the witch had harmed."

"And he believed you just like that!?" I ask, surprised, and he nods. "Yes. By then, Weredra had already countered the mind control spell that the witch had placed on him." Zhan's face clouds. "YiJun, he was devastated when he remembered all that he had put you through over the years. When he saw you unconscious, he immediately sent for the royal physician and started your treatment."

"Was he not curious about how you found me?"

"He was, initially, but Weredra took care of it."

I urge him for details, but he shrugs. "I don't know what Weredra did. But he did not ask me about you again. Weredra told him that the drug that he and several others, including my father, had consumed was life-threatening, and her abilities were not advanced enough to cure them without repercussions on their health. She told him that those with prolonged exposure to it would be in immense pain for a few days till it is out of their system. Your uncle and my father, but were bedridden for a few days."

"So the people still ended up suffering?" I ask, feeling dejected, to which Zhan smiles and gives my shoulder a light squeeze, "Yes, but everyone has recovered now."

We ride in silence for a few moments when I remember that Zhan had not mentioned anything about the ass who had housed us. "What about Lung Chi?"

Zhan smiles. "He is sharing the prison cell with the witch."

I nod and am ready with another question when Zhan stops and dismounts. "We are here." He informs as I join him. Together we make our way towards a humongous tree with multicolored pointy leaves.

There, under the shade, I find Weredra waiting for us. She waves her tiny hands and smiles. "Sorry for barging in on your private moments, your majesty." She says, bowing. Then looking up at me, she throws her arms around my neck, "I missed you!"

"Me too," I reply and stroke her back. It is only after holding her in my arms that I realize how I had missed her the past few days. 

 When we let go, she wipes my eyes, "I am sorry I wasn't able to heal you completely."

"That's fine. Zhan told me how you fixed everything. But... "

"But you still don't have all the answers." She completes my sentence and gestures us to follow her under the tree.

"Long time ago, we were wood nymphs entrusted with protecting the land, but some of us became selfish and started craving power. We fought among ourselves, and in the end, ended up getting cursed by Lord Xuandi. He confined us to caves where we could grant wishes to those who we deemed worthy. He did, however, leave us with a way to break the curse." She takes my hand in hers, "If someday, we encountered someone who asked for something for others instead of themselves, we could leave the cave, but the only way we could truly be free would be if someone would love us enough to sacrifice their life for us. Someone who had seen our true cursed form."

"That's terrible."

Next to me, Zhan nods as well, "But you mentioned that you were losing your memories. How come?"

"We could only keep our memories till we were in the cave." She shakes her head and sighs, "Another condition Lord Xuandi had enforced. He has a terrible sense of humor. You see, the only time I regained my memories partially was when YiJun spoke my true name."

"What would have happened had I not stabbed myself?"

"I would have died, just like others of my kind. You see, even if sometimes we came across kind souls, there was no way for us to know that if we left our home, we would lose our memories, magic, and life force unless someone sacrificed themselves."

"What an ass!" I blurt out and hear a thunder; the sky darkens.

Weredra looks up, "You better apologize." She suggests.

"Damn it." I mutter and follow it up with a half-ass "Sorry, lord Xuandi."

 The sky clears up, and Weredra continues, "Your aunt was practicing soul manipulation magic with the help of Lung Chi. The mines you were working in has a chamber where the extracted ingredient, a rock called LingCaozongZhe, is processed and mixed with various herbs to make potions that can control and manipulate behavior."

"Fuck!"

"Language, YiJun." Zhan reprimands; I mouth a silent apology to him and ask, "Why was aunt... the witch so confident that she was unbeatable?"

"Because she had bound her tainted soul to the base potion. Thus making a slave out of everyone who consumed it. The only way to break out of it was if someone was powerful enough to cut the link between her soul and the potion."

"Someone as powerful as you once were." I guess.

Weredra nods. A sad look crosses her eyes. "I will miss you, Junior gege." A tear slides down her cheek.

{Word count: 1857}