Hugging into Xuefeng arms, Ling already knew the answer to his question. She wanted it more than ever and she was glad he proposed it himself.
"Close your eyes and don't let go of me…" She whispered, still a bit anxious but Xuefeng presence gave her a lot of courage. Just as she freed her mind, accepting the rest of the memories, the surroundings around them changed.
"To understand what happened… You need to see the last memory of mine…" Ling muttered, still recalling the scene. It was after that she was scared of what could happen next.
"I'm with you, don't worry. We will go through it together. Just hug onto me." Xuefeng assured her as he tightened his embrace and finally opened his eyes. "Where are we?"
He looked around the scene and realised they were in a spacious oval room with tens of people sitting at a round wooden table. Many things were blurred as if Ling couldn't remember everything.
"This is a projection of the room my mind created. Instead of seeing through my eyes, we see the overall picture I remember… If you can see there is a small girl looking through the small hole in the ceiling." Ling explained as she pointed her finger at the small eyeball above them.
The men and women by the table were talking quietly but they could still hear some of their conversations.
A blurred-faced man of the strong build was reporting to a bear-like mountain of a person with sharp and domineering facial features who sat down on what looked to be the throne. Ling shivered when she heard the man's voice.
"What about the Orc Race? How is their Civil War going on?" His voice was solemn and harsh to the ear and it didn't seem like Ling was the only one scared. The men by the table seemed to be also affected.
"He is my father… And my mom sits next to him…" Ling muttered before the blurred-faced man replied. Xuefeng glanced at the lady and was glad to see Ming sitting calmly on the right side of her husband.
She looked less mature compared to now but he could still tell it was her. If the lady wasn't her, it would mean that Ming was lying to him which would create a giant mess between them.
"So she is really your mom…" He confirmed his thoughts out loud.
"Mhmm… She is… I need to apologize to her later after I breakthrough." Ling nodded, finally glancing at the scene as well.
"Didn't she still try to cancel our connection?" Xuefeng pondered, not able to forget that moment but Ling shook her head. "You will understand later…"
They listened to the report, describing how north and south in the Realm of Orcs was split and how civil war terrorized their Realm. Ling's father had only one response to that.
"Leave them alone. They can kill themselves as they want. It's their matter. You pay for your own mistakes."
The blurred-faced man wasn't surprised by such an answer and bowed, sitting back down.
"Is there anything else?" Ling's father asked sternly as he stood up, ready to leave.
He thought that no one else has anything to say and planned to end the conference but another person from the end of the table voice out their question.
"Yes. I heard the rumours that the Royal Princess is close to breaking through. Is there a date when she will finally acquire her second ability? Her first is already a blessing for mankind so everyone is patiently waiting for another miracle."
"She has been working hard recently. We suspect it will happen today or tomorrow. I will check up on her after the end of the meeting." Ming was the one who replied, showing a gentle smile to the gentleman.
Right at that moment, the scene in the oval room got cut as the small Ling pulled away from the hole and rushed towards the stairs. They followed after her as she ran towards what they thought was the meeting place entrance.
One guard was protecting the doors yet he didn't stop Ling from running past him, only calling out in warning.
"Little Princess! You can't go in!" He couldn't touch the royalty so it was hard to stop her.
Little Ling had a grin on her face as she knocked on the doors, acting like a polite kid and entered inside. All people from the round table were surprised that someone dared to disturb them before it changed into shock when they realised it was their Princess Ling.
Little Ling knew she was forbidden to leave her room but she just couldn't wait to share the news with her parents.
"Dad! Mom! I broke through!" She called out with a bright smile.
At that moment, Ling hid in Xuefeng's chest, no longer looking at the scene in front of them. He knew it was the signal that something was about to happen.
Before her parents said anything, still in shock that she came here, the man, who was curious about Ling's power, called out first.
"Perfect! Princess Ling, how about you show us your second ability?" The corners of his mouth lifted to for a cheeky smile. He wanted to see it before her parents reacted but he was too late.
"NO!" Ling's father bellowed, scaring everyone, including Ling whose smile froze. "Get back to your room! We will come to you in a minute."
Little Ling looked like she didn't understand what was going and questioned, hating when her father shouted at her.
"But I—" Her voice was already shaking but she was disturbed as her father ordered the maid who stood on the side.
"Linda! Take her out!" He sounded really mad, making little Ling take a step back.
The maid didn't hesitate and rushed towards little Ling, picking her up abruptly, causing her to get really upset. No one ever touched her other than her parents.
"Let go of me!" Little Ling cried out as she tried to struggle to free herself, kicking and punching the maid.
"Princess! We need to leave!" The maid bore all the kicks as she had to carry out the order.
"Nooo! Don't touch me!" Unfortunately, the little Ling didn't have any of this, only wanting to escape.
Her eyes flashed goldenly and her hands followed right after before she caught the maid's face. The shriek of the maid was the most painful cry anyone in the room ever heard.
"AAARGH!"
Her eyes and mouth opened wide as Golden Fate Qi simultaneously burst out of them, showering little Ling with it. The closest members of the meeting quickly distanced themselves, horror painted on their faces.
Little Ling's eyes were filled with anger and injustice but she didn't seem like she knew exactly what was exactly going on. The Fate Qi of the maid didn't start filling the room but instead dove into little Ling's hands before being sucked inside her.
The process lasted only a few seconds and ended with the maid dropping lifelessly on the ground together with little Ling who fell on her butt. When the golden hue began disappearing from her body, her face turned pale.
"I… I didn't want to do it… She grabbed me… And I…" Little Ling tried to explain herself as she pushed herself against the wall before looking at her hands, scared and confused. "It's not my fault… She picked me…"
"Murderer!" Someone shouted from the end of the table, making little Ling panic, tears spilling out uncontrollably.
"No, no… I didn't do anything…" She continued to deny, showing her small hands who were incapable of killing anyone but then her gaze fell on the clearly dead maid, which made her cry even more, not understanding anything that happened.
"LING!"
Just when she was at the edge of mental breakdown, little Ling heard a familiar voice and her face turned to the side, seeing the worried face of her mother.
"Mom!" She didn't hesitate and immediately stood up, running towards her Ming who was also coming to pick her up. Though, her husband wasn't that happy with such a decision.
"Don't touch her!" He thought Ming will also die like that Maid but Ming didn't listen, grasping little Ling into her arms, not scared of anything.
"Mom… Sob… I didn't do anything…" Little Ling cried in her arms, hugging her tightly as she defended herself panicky, not knowing it was her new ability.
"It's okay baby… It's not your fault…" Ming could only calm her down, caressing her cheek with care. "It's okay… Mommy is here…"
Seeing that her wife didn't listen, the King of Fate Kingdom raised his voice.
"Ming!" He could always make another child but Ming was only one.
The worried mother had only one response which she connected with a stern glare and protective hug around Ling.
"She is my daughter!"