He didn't even feel that Fu Xie Yan was right beside him.
***
"Who are they, Xie Lan?" Xue Ning asked as the girl approached her.
"Oceanna Kingdom prince and Miss Li Wei," Fu Xie Lan replied.
"Wasn't that woman who approached Gu Yi in the queue that day?" guessed Xue Ning.
Fu Xie Lan just nodded, as she walked away. Of course, the three people followed.
"Did something happen?" asked Wan Lie Because his mother doesn't usually act like this.
"Voltex reacted," Fu Xie Lan muttered, but was still able to reach their sense of hearing.
Suddenly Wan Lie and the two people who were with him stopped, exchanging glances.
"Where?"
Fu Xie Lan did not answer. Seeing that the girl seemed reluctant to discuss it, Wan Lie and the other two remained silent and didn't ask any further questions.
"Now, where are you going?" asked Wan Lie.
"I'm tired," Fu Xie Lan finally answered.
"Alright, I'll take you to your room," Wan Lie said.
"I can do it myself," Fu Xie Lan replied with a sigh.
.
.
.
From then on, the royal palace grew more crowded. Not only because of the increasing number of participants in the competition, but guests from other kingdoms also came.
It lasted until the afternoon. And during that time Fu Xie Lan did not move an inch from her room.
Just standing behind the window, watching all the people passing by down there. The sound of breathing repeatedly escaped her lips, No one knows what the girl was thinking.
A few moment later, a palace eunuch delivered an invitation to a welcoming party that would be held tonight.
All participants and guests from other kingdoms are required to attend the party without exception.
Gu Yi also hasn't come back, where did he go? Several hours had passed and there was still no sign of the man coming.
How did she snatch the ruby star stone from Prince Shen Zue? She didn't know where the man kept it.
Tomorrow the competition has started, the time is running out. Not to mention the other issues that kept bothering her.
Coming out of the moon pavilion, the girl moved to follow where her footsteps took her. Walking the path in the palace courtyard alone, over a small bridge, enjoying the late afternoon air that blows slowly.
Trying to relax the mind, forget for a moment all the things that bothered her mind while in this world.
The sound of clashing swords caught her attention, following the origin of the sound, not far from her was a field that seemed to be used by the royal soldiers for training.
Some of them seem to outperform each other, not to be victorious but to be stronger than before.
Sitting under a maple tree, watching the soldiers train. In Fu Xie Lan's original memory, where she was sitting right now was one of her favorites.
The air and the atmosphere of the afternoon getting cooler made her a little nostalgic.
She closed her eyes for a moment, calmed her mind, and ended up falling asleep without the girl noticing. Even the Voltex that continued to faintly vibrate below was not at all enough to just wake her up. Hao who saw his Miss sleeping slowly jumped onto the maple tree branch. Hiding behind the thick foliage, watching everything that came within his sights.
.
.
.
The faint sound of commotion reached Fu Xie Lan's sense of hearing. She blinked her eyes assessing what was going on around her.
"Did you sleep well?" A voice from the side made the girl look up immediately. It was Prince Shen Zue.
"Prince," said Fu Xie Lan immediately standing up. Not standing up out of respect for the man, but because she couldn't hold the Voltex vibrations that intensified when she was still sitting.
Hao suddenly jumped from above, landing on the girl's shoulder.
"What a cute animal. Is this Master's pet?" Shen Zue asked kindly.
Fu Xie Lan just nodded.
"Can I touch it? This is the first time I've seen a pet like this," said the man again.
"Go ahead," said Fu Xie Lan lowering Hao from her shoulders.
Shen Zu welcomed the little furry creature. But what he never expected, the creature suddenly jumped on his neck and managed to remove something belonging to the man.
A necklace hidden under his robe broke and fell to the ground.
'There is it.'
The girl suddenly grabbed Prince Shen Zue's necklace. But at the same time, the man also did the same thing so that their foreheads met.
But Fu Xie Lan's hand reached it faster. And right then and there. The Voltex that was in her cosmic bag stopped vibrating.
"Forgive my pet, Prince," said Fu Xie Lan apologetically.
"Beautiful necklace," said Fu Xie Lan, rubbing the white round pendant on the necklace in her hand. Inside the pendant was a red gem with an irregular shape.
'There is it, the thing inside the locket is a ruby star stone,' Fu Xie Lan guessed with absolute certainty.
"Master like it?" Prince Shen Zue asked.
Hearing the man's words, Fu Xie Lan took her eyes off the object in her hand, looking at the man.
"Too bad. I can't give it to you," Shen Zhu said again with a sigh.
Immediately Fu Xie Lan handed the object back to its owner, and at the same time, Voltex shook again.
"Once again, I am sorry, Prince."
"It does not matter. This is just a small accident, I can fix it when I get back later," said the prince receiving his necklace.
Fu Xie Lan still gave it to its owner even though she knew it was the ruby star stone she was looking for. Not that she didn't want it, but wouldn't it be foolish to snatch it in front of its owner?
No wonder, she had walked through some parts of the palace and still didn't feel any signal from Voltex. It turns out that the object is not in the palace, but is owned by a royal guest.
That meant she only had time until Prince Shen Zue returned to his kingdom.
"I was wondering before, why is Master hanging around in this place?" Shen Zue asked without reducing his politeness in the slightest.
Fu Xie Lan looked around, where she was currently standing was one of the places that were not allowed for participants to set foot let alone roam there.
"I'm lost," Fu Xie Lan lied.
The girl wasn't lost at all. She just didn't notice her feet that kept walking and brought her to this place.
Prince Shen Zue was silent for a few seconds then smiled.
"Well maybe I can help you get back to the moon pavilion?"
"Thank you, Prince. It's okay, I can do it alone," Fu Xie Lan replied.
"I'm sorry," she added again immediately left there.
"Wait!" said Shen Zue, managed to stop Fu Xie Lan who was already a few steps away from him.
"Your eyes, somehow remind me of someone."
"Thank you," Fu Xie Lan replied simply and quickly left the place.