Chapter 264 - 264 - Intruders

"Liar!! That egg is my sibling!"

The old man, without a word, attacked him. As the flame dragon rushed towards him with his mouth wide open.

Eyes wide, Xia used his golden glove to absorb it. Even so, the flames brought about a scotching heat that burned the back of his arm.

"Looks like you have stolen something of great value from my daughter," the old man said with a small smile. His eyes always focused on the glove in his hand.

Xia swiftly pulled out his sword as well. "Things that are mine are not that easy to steal,"

"Hump, great talk, runt. See if you can handle this." he suddenly pulled out a whip and lashed at him. The spiny tips of it tangled with Xia's sword and pulled it right out of his hands.

Startled, Xia stepped back a little. He placed a hand on his bulging belly protectively. "Don't go overboard,"

"Ha-ha, look who is talking. A bloody slave dares to talk to this imminent one in that tone. You deserve to be punished," he whipped at him once again.

The golden glove did its best to create a shield around him, but even so the force of the whip made him stumble back. The glove vibrated once and went back to sleep again.

"agh…" he massage his aching lower back and glared up at him. "You better return my sibling,"

"Or what? Are you going to cry?" the young lady chuckled at him maliciously. "Dad, kill this guy. It looks like he stumbled upon great treasures." she clung to the old man's sleeve with a childish smile.

Xia watched their exchange with a snicker. "Yeah right. You lowly scrums also exist in heaven's realm, huh? I should have known." He sat up with difficulty.

The old man immediately whipped at him. Xia watched as the whip close by with to his face.

He closed his eyes tightly. 'Long…. I wish you were here,' he thought in desperate as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"How dare you infiltrate this imminent one's adobe!!" a loud voice interrupted his dark thoughts.

He slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the small back in front of him.

Yin Long ran back to him and lifted him off the ground. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Xia bit his trembling lips and shook his head. "He… he has my little brother."

"What!!" Yin Long turned over with a glare. "You have really gone brazen,"

The old man bowed deeply. "We were just having a peaceful stroll around the lake, your highness."

"Yes grandma, this boy barged in and stole my jewelry. See, look at his arms. It's mine," the young girl cutely complained to her.

Yin Long's glare intensified. "What did you say?"

The young girl ran to her and clung to her hands. "This man is being so brazen. He not only attacked my guards, he also attacked my father, grandma." She whispered, with tears in her eyes. "I—I just want my things back,"

She subtly glanced at Xia behind them with a victorious smirk.

Xia gritted his teeth, listening to her bullshit. "Lies,"

"We'll see who is telling the truth or not. We even have evidence, isn't that right, father?" the young girl glanced at the white-haired man expectantly. But the man refused to answer. "Dad, tell grandma the truth,"

The old man bowed deeply. "I apologize your highness, my daughter is naughty."

"Dad!!"

"Shut it! Come over here. You deserve to be punished for lying." he beckoned her close.

The young girl cried even more and hid behind Yin Long. "Grandma, save me. I don't want to be punished. Why does no one believe me?"

Yin Long's patience snapped. She pulled the girl up front and slapped her. "Give me back the egg." she plucked the red egg from her and handed it to Xia behind her.

"Gr—grandma…." The girl shivered.

"All these years I've tolerated your lying habits, but not anymore. If you dare to lay a hand on my people, I will make sure to take your hand away," she said with the sweetest smile she could muster.

The young girl panted and softly hit the ground. "Grandma… I didn't do anything. It's all lies.. That man is lying."

"What are you doing in my palace?"

"I—I wanted to admire the crystal lake…. Didn't you give me permission to enter?" the girl cried loudly. Her small eyes turned red, and her cheeks became a beautiful shade of pink. Pitifully, she glanced up at Yin Long.

But the empress remained steady. "I never gave you permission."

"But all these years I have been visiting here,"

"All these years you have been barging in without permission. I have been tolerating you."

The girl shot up to her feet and ran to Yin Long. "Grandma!! How can you talk like that? I'm your favorite, right? Isn't that why you favored me instead of my sister?"

"Che, pitying is not favoring. I pitied your pathetic existence," Yin Long spat out.

The girl stumbled back in shock.

"Guards, take the intruders out, and the guys who were manning the door. Make sure they are punished according to law. This kind of behavior cannot be excused," she said firmly.

The old man bowed deeply and took his daughter out of the palace.

Xia wiped his tears away. He ran to her and took the egg carefully. "Are you hurt anywhere? I'm sorry I was not able to protect you," he sobbed slightly.

Yin Long gently hugged him. "No, darling, it was my fault. I should have made sure the perimeter was secure. It's my fault for not protecting you both." she gently pulled away and glanced at him from top to bottom. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No… but my butt hurts," Xia mumbled with a small smile.

"Silly kid. Let's put some ointment on it, yeah?"

"Yes!" he excitedly ran after her and rejoined with his mother, who was admiring the flowers.

In the distance, the young girl saw all of this. "Who is that rat bastard?"

"He is your second cousin's mate."

"What!! My Tian has a mate?"

"Hmm… its getting interesting…" the old man smiled maliciously. "Looks like our plan can be executed way earlier than we had expected."

"Get it over soon, father. I want my Tian home."