Amaryllis appeared within the cavern she had left behind. She gasped, disoriented, her body trembling.
Raja stepped from the shadows, his expression unreadable. "I told you you'd be caught again."
Her eyes widened. "You… were you following me?" Her mind raced. How had he done it? How did he manage to help her escape an Imperial Realm cultivator? Unless his cultivation. No. That's not possible. Is it?
Raja's gaze held hers. "Is that the thanks I get for saving you not once, but twice?"
She lowered her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered, then forced herself to ask, "Can you help me cross the Vena state border?" Guilt gnawed at her. At first, she didn't want to implicate him, but now she had no choice.
"Of course," Raja replied, his voice steady. "But tell me, Princess—what will you offer in return?"
Her throat tightened. "What do you want?"
His answer was blunt. "You."
Her breath caught. "Me?"
"Am I beneath your taste? Or is my status too low?" His words were calm, though his fingers curled slightly, betraying the tension he tried to hide.
She frowned. "So you are just like the others… chasing beauty."
"It would be a lie to deny it," Raja said, his eyes blazing. "But unlike them, I want more than beauty. I want your trust, your everything."
Her cheeks flushed at his boldness, at the intensity of his gaze—a gaze no kid her age should possess. A thought struck her. "Are you an old master disguised as a child?"
"I'm merely fourteen years old, princess," Raja answered simply.
"You're not tricking me, are you?" she asked, skeptical.
"What reason would I have? At first I tried to suppress these feelings, but it seems impossible. So I chose to speak plainly." His voice was composed, though inside he was unsettled—this was new ground, emotion between a man and a woman, and he did not know how to tread it. Therefore, honesty is the best policy.
"Enough of this," she said, her face burning.
"So, will you tell me your name, Princess? I am Raja Hewitt."
She hesitated, then answered softly, "Amaryllis Crimson Snow."
"A beautiful name," Raja murmured, surprising himself with the words. He extended his hand. "If you wish, I can take you anywhere your heart desires."
At that moment, Raja sensed numerous powerful cultivators ranging from the peak imperial realm to the peak spirit fusion realm outside the cavern. Fortunately, the formation held—they could not enter without his permission.
Amaryllis began to panic, her breath uneven as the cavern shook under the soldiers' assault. Raja placed a hand against the wall, his voice calm and certain. "Do not worry. No one will break this formation."
He had already pieced together the truth. The one who rescued him from the gorge and placed him in this cavern with such a top-tier barrier was his father. And as far as Raja knew, his father was one of the strongest existences in the lower realm. Unless someone of equal standing appeared, the formation would remain unbroken.
But its strength was a double prison. The soldiers could not enter, and Raja could not leave. Maybe if he were alone, there might be a slim chance—five percent at best—that he could escape alive, provided the enemies sought capture rather than death. But with the princess beside him, capture or death was inevitable.
Outside, frustration mounted. The Crimson Snow Sect's forces failed again and again, their attacks scattering uselessly against the barrier. Word spread quickly to the palace. To the king of the Crimson Snow sect, Vena North Region, Riley Crimson Snow. Through his daughter's spirit sense and the soldiers' reports, the King of Crimson Snow grew intrigued. Soon he arrived with five of his trusted royal guards and his two advisors, all Sky Limit Realm cultivators, their auras pressing down like mountains.
The forest recoiled at their descent. Mist thickened, branches bent as though bowing, and the ground quivered beneath the crushing weight of their qi. Even the air seemed reluctant to move, heavy with dread. Birds fled in silence, and the beasts that had prowled earlier vanished into deeper shadows, unwilling to linger beneath such an overwhelming presence.
They hovered above the cavern, eyes gleaming with curiosity, their gaze sharp and unyielding as they studied the barrier that defied them.
Who is this boy? And what power stood behind him to grant such protection?
The king's voice rolled across the mist, calm yet commanding. "Daughter, come out. You've caused enough trouble. I will forgive your defiance if you return now."
Amaryllis stiffened, her breath uneven. Raja's gaze remained steady.
Riley's tone softened, though the weight of his aura pressed harder. "And you, boy… whoever you are. Step out, and I will grant you safety. No harm will come to you. I will even reward you for protecting my daughter. There is no need to hide behind this barrier."
Raja's lips curved faintly. "Safety? Reward? You mean chains and silence. I am not so easily deceived."
The king's eyes narrowed, irritation flashing. "Do not mistake my patience for weakness, boy. Do you think this formation can shield you forever? Even the strongest barriers falter eventually. When it does, I will have both of you."
Raja's voice cut through the cavern like steel. "If this barrier were so fragile, it would have fallen already. Perhaps it is not I who should be worried, but you."
The royal guards bristled, qi flaring like blades as they struck the formation to no avail. The advisors whispered among themselves, unsettled, their faces pale as the barrier swallowed every blow without a ripple. The king's expression hardened, his curiosity deepening into suspicion, yet beneath it lingered a trace of unease.
Impatience gnawed at Raja as hours bled into days as the siege continued, the sect's forces rotating shifts outside the cavern, their pressure unrelenting.
Finally, he called out, his voice echoing in the chamber with defiance. "Father, are you going to stay idle and watch your son be bullied by these old monsters?"