She glanced away from him as he spoke trying to cover his ass by encouraging her to talk. She knew exactly what he was doing and this little deal was him gauging her and seeing if she was mad at him or not. Of course she was mad at him! She couldn't help feeling as if he had already decided that she was crazy. Xiao Yu pulled herself back though, willing herself to listen to what he was saying and not be angry. When he said the named An Bo, her heart fluttered. She blinked and pressed her lips together. Had she said that name out loud? she couldn't begin to tell him who that person was without going back to her vision, dream, whatever that it was. And then after she told him who An Bo was could she tell him that she thought, no that she was 99.9% sure it was him? Not likely.<br/><br/><br/>She didn't respond right away choosing to take the time to gather her thoughts. Besides they were getting close to her apartment and that meant that she didn't have to talk for a few moments. She could draw it out if she wanted to play the victim, but being a victim wasn't a role she liked to don a lot. She had never been one of those girls who was comfortable turning things around on the other person. Right now she was frustrated that she couldn't grab him and make him see and feel what she did.<br/><br/><br/>She groaned softly sitting up, once he parked the car and opened her door like the gentlemen that he was. Her head felt fine and her vision wasn't blurry. There was no pressure building up in her sinuses, no ringing in her ear. There was however a soreness in her shoulder and arms. The stiffness in her legs had grown more on the drive back. She was scared even more now that her legs felt like dead weight.<br/><br/><br/>She put a smile on her face in an attempt to hide the fear piling up from within her. "Babe--" The word came out so easily that she didn't notice. "I think you're going to have to carry me. My legs hurt still."<br/><br/><br/>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/><br/>The only reason that Lengxie, Tianshou and Zhuiming were released from the unjust captivity that they were placed under was because Taizi had accomplished what he sought to do. The minute the guard came and fetched them and referred to the displaced prince and his brothers by their official court titles, his heart sank. This wasn't suppose to happened not like this. He's always imagined that if someday he and his brethren were wrongly accused by the royal court, be it a corrupted official or a greedy prince, they would die as heroes. Yet, now they had to live as cowards, as pawn pieces used to force Wuqing's hand and seal her fate.<br/><br/><br/>He worried about his brothers, of course he did, but no one mattered to him like she did. She was his entire world and had been for many many years. They were two kids from misfortunes that the gods brought together. He was the heir to the wolf kingdom, the last tribe of khitans who were the last remnants of the once great Liao Dynasty so he was adopted by the current emperor's brother. Wuqing was the oldest child of a loyal court official who was gaining moral and financial support as well as the favor of the Emperor until a jealous rival framed him and successful turned the Emperor against him. it wasn't enough for the rival, nothing would be until her family was wiped from existence. Wuqing, like him, was the last of their lineage. Lengxie always felt responsible for her because she had bee disabled in her ordeal. He made a promise as a ten year old to protect her his entire life and that grew as they aged. Now he wanted to do more than just protect her. He wanted to complete her like she completed him. He knew she loved him, there was no doubt there. He knew she didn't think she could be the one for him, but she was. He would never love anyone the way he loved her.<br/><br/><br/>It hurt enough to know that he waited too long to tell her his feelings. It was a blow to his ego that he, the most eligible bachelor in all of the Ming Dynasty, would be rejected in favor of a scholar. But he knew Wuqing well and he knew that if she chose Lin An Bo over him, she had her reasons. But now he had to live with himself knowing that because of him she was giving up on her once chance of happiness. She, like him, was a true hero and would rather risk herself than anyone else.<br/><br/><br/>He watched her for days after returning home. He tried to forget about it knowing that defying a royal decree was forfeiting 0ne's life and his younger martial sister commit to a loveless marriage to a man who only wanted to posses her not cherish her like she deserved. She tried her damnest to pretend that she was honored and excited that Taizi had shown interest in her. Whenever she talked about the engagement and the wedding she laughed and giggled and focused on his interests in her. But when she was by herself, Lengxie noticed the tears, the dark circles under her eyes, the way she atre off into nothingness. He knew she broken An Bo down so the stubborn scholar wouldn't chase after her. That made him angry. What wasn't the idiot fighting? Why didn't he see that she pushed him away because she was trying to protect him. If An Bo wasn't going to marry her so that Taizi couldn't enslave her, he would. He knew he could give her happiness and in time she could love him more than the scholar.<br/><br/><br/>It took a lot out of him to bring himself to An Bo's place. It was going to take a lot more out of him to do what he planned on doing but he needed to be sure and there was one fail proof method. "Come on, An Bo let me in you son of whore. How dare you do this to Wuqing? You are a fucking coward!! She wasted her time on you!!"