Koji Fights The World - Chapter 13 A Heart To Heart Talk

When the servant led Koji to his room, he sensed that Zelea stood behind him rather than return to her room. The Bonder slowly turned around to face his Bond Keeper. “What’s the matter?” Koji asked cautiously.

“We need to talk,” she said curtly.

“Okay,” he agreed and held the door open for her.

Zelea walked into his room and looked around. She frowned upon seeing the dimensions of it. The room was too tiny and not suitable for royalty. The princess became incensed and immediately opened the door to address the guards standing outside. “This room is not suitable for my husband. He will take the room next to mine,” she ordered.

The guards saluted. “Yes, Princess!” They flagged a servant in the hallway to execute Princess Zelea’s order.

Koji rubbed the back of his head. “Um, I’m perfectly fine with this room. It’s way bigger than the place I lived in back on Earth,” he remarked with embarrassment. As a college student living in San Francisco, he shared a tiny apartment with several roommates, and they rotated between sleeping on the beds and the couches. Compared to his old living arrangements, sleeping in a bed on a nightly basis was luxurious in Koji’s eyes.

Zelea lifted her chin and stared directly into his eyes. She was incredulous at his reaction because it seemed that Koji still didn’t understand and appreciate his social status as her husband and the Prince Consort. Furthermore, the Fourth Princess worried that Koji would refuse to move from this room out of sheer stubbornness. “You are moving out of this room,” she declared.

The young man did not wish to fight with his wife over such a small matter. Thus, Koji yielded on this issue. “Fine,” he said with a shrug. “Now, what did you want to talk about?” he prodded her. Koji realized that the longer Zelea stayed in his room, the more sordid the ensuing gossip amongst the guards and servants will be.

The lamia’s face softened, and Zelea cleared her throat. She bowed to him from the waist. “I apologize for forcing you to marry me and tying your fate to mine,” she said meekly.

Koji’s heart became unsettled. While it was true that Zelea had broken his dantian and forced herself on him to consummate the marriage, Koji understood the desperation which drove Zelea to take such actions. It was akin to a man forced to steal to feed his hungry kids. Additionally, Koji recognized that if he ran out of the arena, he would turn into a wanted fugitive. As a newcomer to the world of the Four Winds, his likelihood of survival was slim.

But now, Koji’s situation was completely different. He became the Prince Consort of the Kingdom of Nephosia. With time, Koji would earn respect and honor from the people and possibly become the next king. As long as he worked hard to cultivate and increase his martial skills, his future wasn’t bad at all compared to the alternative of being a fugitive.

Koji saw Zelea staring into his eyes. Her yellow eyes reflected her reptilian nature, but they were also steady and calm. He realized she was waiting for his response. “I forgive you,” he answered softly.

The lamia breathed a sigh of relief and buried her face in his chest. Her shoulders trembled. Zelea was worried that Koji hated her for forcing him to become her Bonder. She read many old stories of bonders hating their keepers and secretly working to undermine their lamian mistresses until death claimed them. Zelea feared this was her destiny as well; thus, the noble lamia sought this frank heart-to-heart talk. Her objective was to negotiate with him and enter his good grace.

Koji patted her head softly because he was sympathetic to her plight. He sensed no malice behind her actions. Therefore, Koji willingly accepted Zelea as his wife, and he desired to support her to the best of his abilities.

A knock on the door interrupted the couple’s conversation. “Princess, the Consort’s new room is ready,” a girl said.

Zelea abruptly backed away. Her face bent to the floor.

“Coming!” Koji called out. He grabbed her hand and led Zelea out of the room.

The couple followed the female servant down the hall and turned the corner to another section of the palace.

Koji noted the presence of many more guards, officials, and servants in this new area. On the walls hung Chinese brush paintings of natural objects such as a lush rice paddy field, a lotus on a tranquil pond, koi fish frolicking in a small lake, and a depiction of the mountain looming over the city. Additionally, there were many scrolls of calligraphy which he couldn’t read.

The doors were spaced out farther apart compared to the guest area, and intricate carvings adorned each door. Facing the doors was a small, floating garden of lilypads on a pond. The water stirred occasionally, and Koji assumed live fish were in the lake.

Seeing the hustle-bustle within this section of the palace, Koji assumed that his room had moved to the private sleeping quarters of the Royal Family.

The servant suddenly stopped in front of a door, and she turned to face Koji. “Prince Consort, this is your room,” she announced with a deep bow and then opened the door.

Before Koji stepped inside, Zelea brushed past him and went in first. He grimaced and followed her into the room.

The princess turned her head back and forth as she surveyed the bedroom. It was the same size as her room, and approximately twice as big as the guest room that Koji stayed in previously. She noted the upgrade in furnishings including paintings on the walls, a writing desk and table, and an oversized bed with pillows and blankets.

Princess Zelea approached the bed and sat on it to test the quality of the bedding. She nodded her head in approval. She turned toward the servant, who had a nervous facial expression and held her trembling hands. Zelea smiled kindly at the girl and offered her praise, “This is perfect for my husband.”

“Thank you, Princess!” the servant beamed with delight and curtsied.

“You may leave,” Zelea said.

The girl bowed to her and Koji and quickly left the room.

“You shouldn’t bully the servants,” Koji remarked as he sat next to Zelea. He was surprised at the softness of his new bed.

“I treated her properly,” Zelea replied stiffly. “You need to cultivate and regenerate your Qi. I’m sure you used up quite a bit of your Yang Qi to fight the Snake Charmer,” she noted.

“Perhaps,” he smiled faintly.

“Sit on the bed and start cultivating,” she ordered. “We’ll stop when the servants summon us for lunch.”

“We?” Koji’s brows rose at the word and became visibly uncomfortable. Surely, she misspoke!

“We,” Zelea grinned and her snake tongue flickered. “We are newly bonded, and it would be best for us to spend as much time together as possible,” she explained and blushed.

The husband sighed. “Whatever,” he yielded immediately. Koji climbed to the center of the bed and sat cross-legged. He closed his hands, which locked into a training seal, and started cultivating.

A moment later, Koji felt something warm pressing against his back. It was Zelea! He quickly recognized her intention to cultivate while maintaining physical contact with him. He felt irked for a brief moment because the act of cultivation was a very private affair. And during this period, the cultivator would be extremely vulnerable to attacks. Thus, for Zelea to cultivate with Koji, this meant she truly trusted him, and she felt safe in his presence.

Koji’s heart warmed at this thought. The two barely knew each other. If the roles were in reverse, Koji would not choose to cultivate with her. He thought she was either naive or foolish to do so. Nonetheless, Koji would not take advantage of her. He was an honorable man, and he would not give Zelea a reason to lose her faith and trust in him.

Koji took a deep breath to regain his concentration. Then he focused on refining Yang Qi in his Lower Dantian to grow his Qi Stone. The cultivator used his inner sight to look inside his repaired dantian. He saw a bright-colored stone which represented his refined Qi.

When Koji first started cultivating, his dantian contained a mere speck of dust. It took many years of refinement; the stone represented his diligent effort. However, Koji discovered a dark cloud surrounding his Yang Qi Stone, and this startled him for a moment. When he studied the cloud further in-depth, he realized this was the Yin Qi, which Koji had attained from Zelea when she broke his dantian and inserted her Qi directly into his body.

The young man continued to absorb the Qi in the atmosphere; the energy entered his body through his skin and his lungs. Koji discovered that he was absorbing only the Yang Qi, which made sense because Koji was male. Koji wondered how to cultivate and refine the Yin Qi inside his Lower Dantian, and he resolved to ask Zelea. If she didn’t know, he would ask father-in-law or mother-in-law.

Koji pushed aside the extraneous thought and cleared his mind again. He felt the Yang Qi nourish his flesh and bones as the energy flowed through his meridian lines. His body gradually lost its tension. His heart rate steadied and the blood in his veins circulated at a regular pace. Koji felt peace and harmony. With his wife behind him, everything felt right for once in his life.

The newlyweds cultivated together for the next two or three hours until a servant returned to summon them to join the King and Queen for lunch.