QT: Against My Will

Zhao Rong walked with the manager, hearing no steps behind him, he called out, “What are you waiting for? Follow this prince.”

When both Hasan and Bing Shi moved forward, two Zhao Rong’s guards appeared before Hasan, they gave him thirty thousand Kangs, “Only she may go.”

‘Noooooo! My meeeatshieeeeeeld!’

“W-wait,” Hasan stammered and took out a contract, writing down the price and date, he gave it to Bing Shi, “Y-your highness has a day to return Tian Shi in the same health as you received her.”

Zhao Rong halted at his steps, a guard whispered to his ear, things became more complicated, “En.” This was not war; all merchants and officials were from the same kingdom as him. They became a witness to this exchange. Everyone was familiar with this contract. Who cared about a mere slave’s life? Zhao Rong could kill her for all they care. But if Zhao Rong, who agreed to the exchange, unreasonably ripped down the contract, how could he do business in the future?

“Master should hurry home and take a rest,” said Bing Shi, preventing Hasan from losing money during her absence. Accepting the contract, she followed Zhao Rong doubtfuly.

‘Was my deduction wrong?’

The gambling house resumed its calm – too calm for their taste; the lively atmosphere was nowhere to be seen. Everyone’s mind would periodically switch to Hasan’s new business. Unfortunately, Tian Shi caught Zhao Rong’s attention. Was the prince going to use her as his pawn? They’ll have to be careful around Tian Shi, let them reveal something they shouldn’t. What were they worried about? Didn’t the prince just spend thirty thousand on her? If Zhao Rong wanted to plant a spy, why would he do it so openly? They were overthinking too much. It had to be a coincidence. If so, there had to be much more to the mysterious Tian Shi. Putting her look aside, they were curious about what other things she had to offer.

.....

· · — · ???· — · ·

Walking to the manor, the guards observed Hasan’s strange behavior as he kept falling and standing up. Was their boss trying to lose weight?

Hasan had to take lots of breaks to catch his breath, cursing under his breath, the weight of all the money on his body slowed down his pace. There’s no snake to watch his movements, recalling how he injured somebody, he didn’t dare to slack off. That angel was unbelievable. To raise her value, she came up with a risky plan. The person with the highest stake would establish the price of her services for a day. Prince Zhao Rong offered thirty thousand, meaning that from today onwards, only people who paid thirty or more thousand could afford her. Wealthy men wouldn’t bat an eye to pay that price to show off.

Nonetheless, there was a huge backlash. Because Bing Shi excelled in nothing, they stalled for time, waiting it out until her weak body regained its strength. If her services didn’t match up the price, she’d become a laughing stock. The same went for all the other girls and him. Hasan fanned his face nervously, should he visit the church to pray for their wellbeing? What was God thinking, putting the weight of the world on the shoulders of such a tiny angel?

Hasan suggested Bing Shi to use Kuro to change people’s opinions and take the reign of the world, which was instantly shrugged off. It would make things worse. One of the crises, power-thirsty religions would take this chance to gain more influence, and people like Zhao Rong would never succumb. Everyone knew how it could result in a never-ending war.

Arriving at his lavish manor, Hasan had to come up with a plan on how to spread his information network to other kingdoms, to the regions where even walls had ears – Sabra and Zeku.

· · — · ???· — · ·

The accommodation for those who wanted to spent a night in a gambling house reflected the culture of Rania Kingdom. Behind the lemonwood furniture, delicate wall frescoes reached from the mosaic floors up to the high ceiling. To give a dash of an organic feel to the room, crawling green plants were planted in a vase above female statues on each side of a small sofa. Closing the door to the room, the manager wiped the cold sweat from his nose. The gloomy air around prince Zhao Rong made one feel like a hog in a slaughterhouse.

“Close your eyes, don’t open them until you’re told to,” commanding the little courtesan, Zhao Rang walked behind the screen and started to undo his heavy armor.

“...” Looking around, Bing Shi spotted a bandage roll on a nearby commode, “Yes.”

A few moments later...

Zhao Rong walked from behind the screen in a lighter robe, holding a small medicine bottle, his mask was still intact. There stood that girl with a fruit bowl on her head, covering her upper face, it was a sight to behold as he tried not to laugh at her spectacular idiocy, “I paid thirty thousand for a comedian?”

‘Is he looking down on us comedians?! Xuan Mu, off with his head!’

Bing Shi had to make sure to fulfill Zhao Rong’s order no matter what. He might be testing her. For what? She was not sure. Smiling ignorantly, she threw the blame right back at Zhao Rong, not forgetting to implement the contract and his well being, “This lowly servant though that your Highness wanted to see a blind fool. To avoid any injuries, this ignorant servant could only come up with this simple solution.” Meaning, she did what he asked for.

“Good,” Zhao Rong felt like he was speaking to a fruit bowl, “Open your eyes.”

Bing Shi reached her hand towards the bowl.

“Too slow,” an impatient voice called out.

*Crash*

The lid of the medicine bottle shattered the bowl into little chunks. The disturbing noise of ceramics flying across her face rammed at her eardrums. The shock left her eyes wide open; the bright light had no impact as her heart stopped for a second.

Zhao Rong’s intimidating voice asked from a close distance, his finger coated in medicine reached out to touch her wound, “Stay still.”

Terrified, her instincts screamed at her to run away from this impulsive man, while her mind shackled her limbs, rooting them at their place. If she moved, that insane man would break her neck on the spot. Before he could touch her, Bing Shi grimaced in disgust, “This lowly one is staying still,” she reminded him.

Even if she listened to his orders, that man was not satisfied. Pulling Bing Shi by the hair with his left hand, Zhao Rong brutally yanked her at the sofa, throwing the medicine bottle at her, spewing out coldly, “Useless.” Whenever it came to women, Zhao Rong didn’t care about the consequences at all. Even minor things triggered him so very hard that he would lose self-control.

Bing Shi rubbed her painful scalp, feeling dizzy, strange thoughts sunk into her with graceful ease, “But your Highness... That’s because you don’t know how to use this lowly servant.” She glanced at the mirror behind the bandages, the medicine bottle, and Zhao Rong, “Shall this lowly servant take care of my injuries by myself?”

“En,” Zhao Rong’s jammed-up tension was invaded by her divine peace, without leaving a trace or a clue that it took hold of the situation. Her fear disappeared from her facial muscles and skin, her complexion remained relaxed, and those gray eyes were steady as if nothing happened. Were it not for the shattered pieces on the floor; he would think that everything was an illusion.

While Bing Shi was applying the medicine, Zhao Rong walked out to the balcony, “Find out everything about her,” he gave out an order and went back inside.

“Yes, your highness,” a low voice responded. Her green eye shined brightly like a precious gemstone among the black background. She touched her left eye patch; under it, an eye was missing. It was gauged out by none other than the sole prince of Rania. This was her fate as a shadow guard. She existed solely for Zhao Rong. If the truth about her being a female ever came to surface, her life would be gone.

In the previous life, Mao An uncovered her secret, and both became friends until Zhao Rong’s jealous tendencies resulted in this female shadow guard’s death.