Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 242

Chapter 242

In the Tilisha Kingdom.

For the local people, running into His Highness Prince Lance Fitzgerald of the Tilisha Kingdom might have been the most ordinary thing in the world.

But Beili did not see it that way.

Lance had clearly known her whereabouts and had come here on purpose.

The chance of this being a coincidence was minuscule.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, panic stirred in her heart.

So when Lance removed the hand covering her eyes…

What he saw in those gemlike, dark-red eyes was not the slightest hint of surprise, only worry and panic she could hardly conceal.

Lance froze for a moment, and the bright smile on his face faded a little.

“What’s wrong, Luoluo… Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Beneath his vivid red hair, his long, narrow fox eyes widened into a rounder shape, and confusion showed in his handsome features.

“Is it because I’m wearing Tilisha clothing and Tilisha makeup, so you’re not used to how I look?”

Lance brushed his pale, slender fingers through the maple-red strands of hair falling over his forehead and murmured in puzzlement.

When he went to Holy Island or other kingdoms, Lance would put on clothing suited to the place and remove all the makeup from his face.

But once he returned to the Tilisha Kingdom…

As the Prince of Tilisha, his eyes had to be lined with thick black kohl, making his ore-black eyes appear even brighter and deeper.

Special red pigment had also been used on his handsome face to draw exquisite patterns.

The white robe he wore was adorned with fine gold-thread embroidery, and glittering golden ornaments decorated his neck, waist, fingers, wrists, and arms.

His whole person radiated nobility and extravagance.

“It has nothing to do with that.”

Beili shook her head.

Her gaze swept over the crowd still watching the whipping.

She grabbed the young man’s wrist and first pulled him toward the entrance of a less crowded alley.

Only then did she lift her head.

She looked straight at him.

“How did you know I was here?”

It shouldn’t have been a chance encounter. It couldn’t possibly be that much of a coincidence.

Seeing the girl look so anxious, the corners of Lance’s mouth lifted, and his long, narrow fox eyes curved into charming crescents.

“As the Prince of Tilisha, isn’t it perfectly normal for me to know something like that?”

He said it with a touch of smugness.

How could that possibly be normal?

Beili’s brows knitted even tighter.

She had kept her itinerary very low-profile.

If anyone had not been low-profile, perhaps it was only Madam Constance.

Beili recalled the invitations Madam Constance had shown her during the day.

Could Madam Constance have mentioned it to others at the salon?

But she immediately dismissed the idea.

No.

That woman was very clever.

She knew what should be said and what should not.

Before they went out today, Madam Constance had even mentioned in a relaxed tone that, in order to maintain an air of mystery in social circles, she had not revealed their origins at all.

So the Noble ladies of Tilisha only knew that Beili was a very wealthy, mysterious Noble from Sainthos.

On the other side, seeing the girl frown deeply and fall into thought…

“All right, I won’t tease you anymore. I know you’re here because the imperial city is filled with Golden Eye devices.”

Lance lowered the arms he had folded in front of his chest and explained with smiling eyes:

“They’re hidden in the sand dunes or up in the palm trees. There are a lot of them, and they’re practically everywhere. You could say their surveillance range covers the entire imperial city.”

“The Golden Eye can also identify anyone who appears-whether they’re from Tilisha or another kingdom. If they’re a Noble from another kingdom, after their identity is confirmed, a report is sent to me.”

“There. Now you know.”

Lance spread his hands, and then his fox eyes arched upward again with a bewitching look.

“So, what’s going on, Luoluo? You’re acting so sneaky. Are you hiding from someone?”

Beili paused, turned her gaze aside, and said:

“It’s nothing. I just don’t want to draw too much attention. I brought my mother out to travel, and I only want to enjoy ourselves quietly.”

“Quietly? Asking the Prince of Tilisha to keep things quiet is indeed a little difficult.”

At the words “enjoy ourselves quietly,” Lance rubbed his forehead with a headache.

Beili silently glanced at the young man.

She wanted to ask him something, such as about his younger sister Renee.

But in the end, she merely raised her hand and lightly patted the young man’s shoulder, saying:

“What I mean is, long time no see, and then… go do whatever you’re busy with. You don’t need to bother with me.”

With that, she waved a hand, turned, and headed back toward the market.

“Luoluo-”

The red-haired, black-eyed young man called after her from behind, then quickly followed.

“You already came all the way here. How could I leave you all alone?”

Beili said, “I’m not alone. My mother came with me.”

“I know, I know!”
The young man naturally draped an arm over her shoulders and said with a grin, “You just want to have some low-key fun, right? I’ll make sure you get exactly what you asked for!”

Before he could even finish speaking, a fierce wind rose without warning.

It swept up sand and dust until the air turned a murky yellow.

The people gathered at the market entrance all shut their eyes, clamping their mouths tight and not daring to open them for fear of getting a mouthful of sand.

Seeing that something was off, Beili hurriedly lifted her misty violet headscarf.

She was just about to cover her eyes, mouth, and nose when the young man beside her moved first, gentlemanly pulling her into his arms and using his body and arm to shield her from the blowing dust.

“Lance…”

Her vision went dark, and Beili murmured his name from within his embrace.

“It’s all right, Luoluo.”

The young man’s voice carried a smile as he said, “This is just an ordinary sandstorm wind. You’ll see it often in Tilisha, since it’s surrounded by desert. Don’t worry. It won’t last long.”

After speaking quickly, Lance gently drew the girl a little closer into his arms.

Just as suddenly as the wind had risen, it stopped.

The young man released her.

Then he turned his head to the side and spat several times, looking rather disheveled as he spat out the sand he had accidentally gotten in his mouth while talking.

Beili lowered the headscarf in her hand and cautiously surveyed their surroundings.

She found nothing unusual.

The onlookers watching the flogging also seemed long accustomed to this kind of wind, and had already turned their attention back to the man being lashed.

Only then did Beili relax. She turned back to the young man, only to find his lashes trembling.

His upturned fox eyes were lightly shut, as if he was having trouble opening them.

“Did sand get in your eye?” Beili asked softly.

The young man nodded.

The bright red strands of hair over his forehead fell with the motion, brushing down to the inner corner of his eye and the bridge of his nose.

Perhaps the ends were tickling his skin, because Beili saw Lance lift his hand, about to rub his eye.

She swiftly grabbed his wrist and pressed it down, saying, “You can’t rub your eye when sand gets in it. Either let your tears wash it out, or I can help blow it out for you.”

At her words, Lance’s trembling lashes paused. Then he said with a straight face, “Men don’t cry. So I’ll have to trouble Luoluo to blow it out for me.”

As soon as he finished, the young man endured the pain and opened his eye, revealing black, bright eyes like polished ore.

The corners of his mouth couldn’t help curving up as he leaned closer.

“Fine. Hold still, then.”

Beili didn’t think much of it. She placed both hands on the young man’s shoulders, stood on tiptoe, and was just about to blow hard.

All of a sudden-

She felt an icy gaze locked on her from behind.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Her shoulders paused, and Beili instinctively looked back.

Aside from the people watching the flogging, no one was staring at her.

That icy gaze had vanished as well.

It seemed what she had felt just now had only been her imagination.

Hesitantly, she withdrew her gaze.

Beili found that the young man, who had kept his eye open the whole time, now had a film of tears welling in it.

“Looks like I don’t need to blow after all.”

Beili patted Lance on the shoulder and said, “You’ve already started crying.”

Lance let out an “oh,” drawing out the ending in obvious regret.

“I was trying to hold it in…” he muttered as he wiped away the tears at the corner of his eye.

…

Beili tugged at the corners of her mouth in a faint smile. Then, after thinking for a moment, she turned and walked into the market.

After she entered a bookstore, the red-haired, black-eyed young man quickly followed her again.

The faint scent of old paper drifted through the air.

“Luoluo, how long do you plan to stay in Tilisha this time?”

His beautiful fox eyes were naturally alluring. Lance tilted his head to look at her, his gaze filled with anticipation and curiosity.

“I’m not sure yet. It depends.”

She answered absentmindedly.

Her dark red gaze swept quickly over the neatly arranged books.

Seeming not to find what she wanted, she frowned slightly, then moved on to the next shelf.

“What kind of book are you looking for? Luoluo? Or is there something you want to know about?” Lance asked from behind her.

Beili gave a couple of vague hums, her eyes continuing to scan the shelves.

Lance tilted his head and watched her for a while, then couldn’t help raising a hand to stop her.

“Luoluo, the Prince of Tilisha is standing right in front of you. Is there really nothing you can ask him?”

There was a hint of helplessness in the young man’s tone.

Beili stopped and turned to glance at him.

“Lance, there are some things you can’t help me with.”

“Even I can’t help?”

Lance raised a brow, his narrow fox eyes arching even higher.
“Luoluo, you really shouldn’t underestimate me.”

Beili picked up a random book and flipped through it absently. Beside her ear, the boy kept muttering nonstop.

“Luoluo, I’m the host here!”

“You’re in Tilisha, and when you run into trouble, you don’t come to me? Keeping me at arm’s length like this is way too hurtful!”

“Luoluo, I’m heartbroken!”

A little irritated, Beili snapped the book shut and put it back where it belonged.

After wandering around the bookstore for another lap, she stopped and turned to look behind her.

The red-haired, black-eyed boy nearly failed to stop in time.

Standing very close to her, he lowered his dark pupils to look at her.

His long, narrow eyes tilted upward like a fox’s, faintly carrying a trace of anticipation.

Then Lance heard the girl say, “From what I’ve learned, your kingdom is very well governed.”

Lance smiled proudly. “It is indeed a little better than Sainthos and Nauze. I hope that doesn’t offend you, Luoluo, but it’s the truth.”

The girl continued, “That’s a good thing, Lance. But right now, what I want to know more is where the sin-filled places in Tilisha are.”

Lance froze slightly, and the smile on his face vanished in an instant.

“Why… would you want to find a place like that?” he asked hesitantly.

Beili didn’t know how to explain it to him. She drew her brows together and thought for a moment.

“Forget it.”

In the end, she shook her head. “Forget it, forget it, forget it. Just pretend I never said that, all right?”

Hearing that, Lance’s brows furrowed as well.

“No.”

His tone was serious. “You’ve already started telling me. As long as you tell me why, I’ll take you there.”

With a solemn expression, the boy looked at her.

“As your friend, Luoluo, I can know the reason, right?”

Beili hesitated and glanced at Lance.

Actually, whether she hid it or not, things couldn’t get any worse than they already were.

She leaned close to Lance’s ear and told him that her Mana was extracted from sinful people or objects.

The boy didn’t show much surprise.

Back at Holy Island Academy, Lance had once been shoved into a pool by the invisible force she unleashed.

From that moment on, Lance had known the girl was far more powerful than she appeared.

“And here I thought it was something serious!”

Lance flashed her a grin, his long fox eyes curving into a beautiful arc. “So that’s all it was.”

As soon as the boy finished speaking, Beili suddenly felt her hand being grabbed.

Lance pulled her out of the bookstore, then out of the marketplace.

“What’s going on? Did you buy a book and not have the gold coins to pay for it?” Beili said behind him, breathless, her brows knitted together.

He should have said so earlier. She still had plenty of gold coins.

“I just thought of a place I can take you.”

Lance pulled the girl onto a hollow-carved golden carriage.

After helping her sit down, he raised an eyebrow, his smile brighter than the sunlight.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be absolutely low-key.”

…

Beili was curious about where Lance was going to take her.

She watched as the carriage passed through the bustling, noisy streets, then circled around the glittering, magnificent palace.

At last, they arrived behind the palace, before a cluster of massive stone formations shaped like pyramids.

Lance turned his head and said to her, “Wait here for me for a moment,” then walked toward the stone wall alone.

The golden-robed Mage guards stationed around the stone formation immediately moved aside of their own accord when they saw the red-haired, black-eyed boy.

Beili stepped down from the carriage and looked around curiously.

She saw that the place they had cleared was a huge stone wall carved with the image of an eye.

The eye on the stone wall seemed to possess the ability to identify people. After recognizing the boy’s identity, there came a deep, rumbling sound.

The stone wall slowly sank downward, revealing an opening. Beyond it was a passage so dark no light could be seen inside.

Seeing Lance beckon to her, Beili had just been about to lift her foot and walk over when, all of a sudden, that feeling of being watched swept over her once more.

That icy gaze was like a venomous snake crouched on her back, its sharp fangs ready to pierce her skin at any moment.

It stared at the nape of her neck until her skin crawled.

Beili couldn’t help turning back and quickly sweeping her gaze around.

There was no one.

Even the Mage guards stationed outside the stone formation were staring straight ahead, not looking at her at all.

“Hurry, hurry, Luoluo. Hurry, hurry.”

Seeing that she hadn’t moved, Lance waved his hand and urged her on.

Beili pressed her lips together lightly, forced down the strange feeling in her heart, withdrew her gaze, and walked toward the boy.

Amid a dull, heavy rumble, the stone door slowly closed behind the two of them.

In the final second before they were plunged into darkness, the torches on both sides of the passage seemed to answer the call of some mysterious power and burst into flame on their own.