The Princess And The Lord

After they left Maddy finish her work then she got into the elevator and headed up to the ninth floor which was the top floor of the building.

She walk to the only room on that floor and then knocked on the door, not long after a voice came from inside the room "Come in!"

Madeline slowly opened the door then gently closed the door behind her then walked towards the large wooden table that looked simple but very sturdy like it will not be break even if you hit it with an axe.

"Boss, I have carried out your order" Madeline give her report.

A tall, broad-backed man wearing a white shirt that looked too small as the muscles bulged under his white sleeves that seemed it will rip his shirt apart if he made reckless moves. The giant man was standing facing the big window smoking a cigar then turned around and smiled broadly "Nice job Maddy"

His short light brown hair was neatly combed back revealing a slightly wrinkled forehead that showed his age, the man had tan skin and dark brow eyes his rough face was covered with a few scars which were covered by a thick curly beard, in contrast to his gigantic posture the man has warm and gentle smiles.

The man named Jack Quaid was a former soldier who later became a mercenary and after the end of the Dark Age war, he formed a guild and became the boss of the guild.

Maddy picked up the coffee pot and then filled the empty cup while tidying up the messy documents on the table she asked curiously "This is the first time you've been nice to a new hunter, if I didn't know I might think you're interested in that young lady?"

"Why do you think I'm not?" Jack smirked.

Maddy's face darkened "She's married!" She emphasized the last word while sending a warning glare.

Jack burst out laughing "I'm kidding!" he raised his hands to surrender.

But Maddy still looked at him with doubt which make the man that supposed to be the boss cower a little, "I'm serious here! I'm not interested in her, at least not like that..." he quickly explained himself.

"Then like what?" Maddy squints her eyes wondering if this old bachelor is being honest.

The poor big man put his cigar in the ashtray then sipped on the coffee that Maddy served and then took a long inhale of the freshly brewed coffee that made him feel instantly relaxed, slowly he walk back to the window again with the coffee cup that looks small in his big hand.

"That girl...is strong and not just strong but very - very strong" his eyes glint with deep interest.

Madeline got curious because she had never heard him praise people like that especially women, "What makes you think that?" Maddy remembered Lory's sweet smile and carefree demeanor, which was far from how powerful figures usually depicted, even though Lory managed to deal with those annoying thugs but they were not exactly strong.

"What, you don't believe me? Just because she looks cute on the outside doesn't mean she's weak, isn't Princess Lorient like that too?" his left eyebrow raised.

Maddy rolled her eyes "She's a Lucient, that's different!"

Jack agreed, "Well, there are also many female hunters who don't fit their image but you're right, no one like Princess Lorient, if I didn't see with my own eyes I wouldn't believe someone could…" he stare at the dark coffee on his hands for a while before he continues the next second "Too bad I only saw her from afar just like other people…." He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"So you think Miss Jane is just like Princess Lorient, soft from the outside but crazily strong on the inside?" Maddy turned the conversation back to Raven Jane.

"Not like Princess Lorient per-se but she's strong just look at the CCTV on the side building, hump, you think I'm wasting my money putting a camera at that place!" he raised his nose smugly.

"Didn't you install CCTV in that place to peek at the girls coming home from the yoga class in the next building" She gave him an accusing look.

"How do you...I mean, Noooo!" the big man flustered "Come on just check yesterday's record okay!"

Maddy snort loudly she obviously didn't believe this old pervert but she put that aside cause she was curious about what her Boss wanted to show her thus she checked the CCTV on Jack's computer which was on the main desk, then click the video, Mady stares at the screen soon after she covers her mouth and gasped.

Meanwhile, Lory finally finds the motorcycle with the Poko-Poko figure on the plate which she has to admit it's so cute she's considering installing the same type of plate on her own car later.

On the other hand, Zhao Li Xin stared curiously at the strange array of vehicles in front of her, she was wondering how to get on the vehicle which only had two wheels and looked unstable because even now the vehicles were standing sideways.

[Lory.... is this safe?] he looked at Lory with an uncertain expression.

[Who knows?] It's been a while since she's ridden a motorcycle and as far as she can remember she's been in a lot of motorcycle accidents in the past so she's not kidding when she says she's not sure.

[Are you scared?] Lory teased while struggling to keep the rather large motorbike straight.

Zhao Li Xin's lips twitched seeing the motorcycle much bigger than Lory he had no idea how Lory would ride this thing, though he quickly helped Lory stand up the motorcycle.

[I'm not afraid just feeling…unsure]

[Don't worry just leave it to me, I'll protect you!] Lory puffed out her chest proudly.

[That's very reassuring my dear but I can't stop feeling worried...is this thing safe?] Zhao Li Xin's brows knit closely, it was unusual for an armament master like  him to feel clueless about an object, even though it had happened many times this past two days

Lory only found one helmet at first she wanted to give it to Zhao Li Xin but he refused it, the helmet looked suffocating in his opinion therefore Lory wore the helmet herself.

[Don't worry everything will be fine, hop on sweetie!] She patted the seat behind her.

Zhao Li Xin awkwardly got behind her feeling slightly uncomfortable then Lory look over her shoulder [Hold on to me!]

For a moment Zhao Li Xin wasn't sure what that meant, but then she saw another rider hugging the person in front of her so Zhao Li Xin wrapped his arms around Lory's waist.

[Good, now don't let go of me, okay!] Lory grinned before pulling down her face shield.

A soft smile spread across Zhao Li Xin's face as he hugged her tightly, Zhao Li Xin muttered under his breath [Never…]

[Here we go!] The roar of a motorbike engine reverberated as her heart beat faster and faster due to a mixture of feeling a slight worry and total excitement, while at the same time, she hope she still remembered how to ride a motorcycle.

At first, the motorcycle was a little shaky but soon she got used to it in no time she was finally able to take control.

"Wohoooo!" Lory screamed as the wind blew off her face shield and the jacket she wore fluttered as she increased her speed and the wheel rolled against the gray asphalt.

Lory forgot how exciting it was driving on the free road she remember Girsha would fly above her spreading his beautiful wide wings, gliding between the white cloud in the clear blue sky while watching over her, yes, she misses the old bird very much and she will miss the old bird every day until the day they reunite again which she hopes very soon.

[Lory, I think you need to slow down!] Zhao Li Xin's voice sounds nervous.

[We'll be fine!] Lory laughs while patting Zhao Li Xin's hands.

[Both hands on the steering, Lory!] Zhao Li Xin got more worried.

Lory could hear the nervousness in Zhao Li Xin's voice, she can't help to laugh out loud, [Come on, don't you trust me?]

[I do! I just don't trust this vehicle!] he screams.

To be honest, what made Zhao Li Xin nervous was that she didn't know how this vehicle worked, did this vehicle have a safety measure, if so, what kind of safety was it? what should he prepare if an accident occurs, who is in a more dangerous position when an accident happens, is it him or Lory? Zhao Li Xin had no clue at all!

Fortunately, Lory slowed down when she saw a road sign that read Riverblade with an arrow pointing to the right, Lory then swiftly took the road on the right, and not long after the road before them began to show damage with cracked and holes on the asphalt surface, one can tell where the road construction begins to stop.

they began to enter the forest with large pine trees lined up on either side of the road, soon Lory saw a rusty sign saying 'Welcome to Riverblade where nature welcomes you'

Lory continued to drive for thirty minutes until their path was stopped by a fallen pine tree blocking the road, Lory had no choice but to stop, Lory and Zhao Li Xin got off their motorbikes checking a large log blocking their path.

[Looks like this log has been here for a long time] Judging by the moss growing on this log it indicated that this log had been here for at least a year.

[I can destroy this tree trunk?] said Zhao Li Xin.

[Eh, you can?] Lory looked at him in surprise.

Zhao Li Xin understands Lory's doubt [Though I'm only in the core stage I don't think it's difficult for me to break a mere wood that has been infected with insects and moss]

Didn't want to doubt him Lory quickly waved her hands and explain [Oh, I don't mean to underestimate your abilities but...in just one day you can advance from the beginner stage to the transition stage then the core stage, it's that normal?] Lory's eyes widened in disbelief because she live long enough in the cultivation world to know how difficult it was to increase cultivation therefore many of them become addicted to pills and elixirs in order to hasten their progress.

[Maybe not, my cultivation only became slow because I was infected with cold poison, didn't my cultivation increase faster after you healed me, I thought this was my normal speed but it will become a bit slower when my level reaches sovereign level] he explained nonchalantly as if it was normal fortunately there are cultivators that could hear him otherwise they would vomit blood out of jealousy and anger.

[I think I know why you gain so many enemies?] nobody liked a genius who made their painstaking effort look like a joke.

Zhao Li Xin didn't know what Lory mean and the fact he had so many enemies never bother him besides which powerful people in the world who don't have enemies.

Zhao Li Xin kept his focus as he placed his palm on the surface of the tree trunk suddenly a red line appear and then spread creating cracks all over the tree's surface and with a crackling sound the tree trunk exploded in pieces.

Zhao Li Xin clapped and then looked at Lory [It's done,]

[I see it, let's go!] Lory got on the motorbike soon after Zhao Li Xin get behind her again.

[Lory, can you teach me to ride this...]

"Motorcycle?" Lory teaches him to spell the word.

[Yes...Mo..motrcy…thing] he still finds it hard to spell the words.

[Sure!] Lory had already planned to teach Zhao Li Xin everything she knew.

As they got closer to their destination village, Lory stopped the motorcycle beside a large pine tree and then said to Zhao Li Xin [We'd better walk from here] Lory then pushed the side-stand letting the motorcycle tilt sideways.

Zhao Li Xin get off the motorcycle then he swept his gaze around them it don't take long for him to feel something strange around them, it was very quiet and it was never a good sign.

[Is this normal...] Zhao Li Xin didn't know how the beast behaved in this world.