WHEN A DEMON PRINCE LOVES

YOU STILL HAVE THE GUTS TO ACT SMUG

Back at General Xu's manor, Xu Bu tong have been carried all the way to his courtyard, taken into his bed-chamber, and then placed on his bed by his father, his mother who had spotted them when they arrived at the manor also followed her husband closely behind, while all this was happening Xu Bu tong was unconscious.

Immediately after the fight with the crown prince and his father took him away from where the crown prince eyes could see him, Xu Bu tong couldn't keep enduring the pain so he fainted, Xu Bu tong had wanted to do this since but had been biting his lips in other to stay awake, he really didn't want to be perceived as weak by the crown prince he admired. He hated the feeling of been mocked by the crown prince earlier so he was willing to endure it all.

Right now Xu Bu tong is being attended to by a physician, meanwhile, madam Xu and General Xu are standing behind the doctor and waiting patiently, it's obvious Madam Xu is very anxious as her shaking hands are been held tightly by General Xu who tries to placate her as much as he could, she doesn't pay him attention any mind as her eyes are fixated on her younger's son's body that is almost unrecognizable.

As Xu Feng, the eldest son of the Xu Manor stepped into the room and made eye contact with his younger brother a frown appeared on his face, Xu Feng although knows that his parents treat his younger brother a bit more favorably than him doesn't hate them or feel offended by their actions, he understands that he has more responsibilities and can be pampered like his Didi so instead of being small-minded and hating on his younger brother for taking most of his parents to love, he is instead pleased by this after all his Didi is just too adorable and deserves all the love.

In fact in the Xu manor, the person that spoils Xu Bu tong the most is his Dage, to Xu Feng, his Didi is similar to an egg and should be treated with the most care and caution, his brother complex is borderline crazy, to Xu Feng protecting his family especially this Didi of his is of utmost importance so seeing his younger brother like this made him boil in rage, however, all he could do now was grind his teeth and wait for the physician to take care of his brother, he will definitely find out who did this and teach them a lesson, Xu Feng swore in his mind.

"General Xu, the second young master will be waking up soon and should be given a pain-relieving soup, also his wounds are superficial and with the ointment already applied to them, it should heal gradually and there will be no scars visible in two days times so by the third day he should be perfectly okay, also by then the swelling on his body would have also gone down as long as second young master's body is continuously massaged with hot water, this pill should be crushed inside the water too before massaging the second young master with it" the physician handed over a pill to Madam Xu who had her hands stretched out to receive it.

"Actually, my services here are not needed, everything had already been taken care of before I arrived" The doctors kindly smiled as he started all this.

General Xu turned to his wife with a smug look on his face "I told my dear Qizi here the same thing however she insisted that I call you over".

"You still have the guts to act smug" Madam Xu began to hit her husband on his shoulders not caring that a third party was in the room and the attendants and guards just outside the room could hear their scuffle.

"Look at our second Erzi, he is unconscious and is bloated like a ball, how will he get married in the future if he was to get disfigured, no young mistress will want to marry a scared man"

"But you married me even with all my scars, you have such a big heart so what makes you think our second son won't find someone like you who is willing to accept him even if he has scars" General Xu playfully teased his wife, his words made her blush as she lightly hit him on his chest again.

"Don't think flattering me will save you from my wrath, I won't let you teach him martial arts anymore" Madam Xu kept punching General Xu but to him, the hits he received from her clenched fist felt ticklish, he didn't want her to hurt herself so he held onto her hands thereby stopping her actions.

"Father who did this to Didi" Xu Feng's voice suddenly drew his parent's attention to him.

"Oh Xu Feng, you are here? It's your father's fault he decided to teach your Didi martial arts"

"Stop putting it like that, you were all there on his birthday you all know what truly happen" Xu Feng ignored his parent that had resumed their bickering again and decided to leave after hearing that it was his father's training that leads to this happening, however, he didn't forget to say his mind before exiting the bed chambers.

 "Father, Didi is impulsive however you are the adult and shouldn't always agree to his demands, I understand you made a promise and keep to it nevertheless when training Didi, can you less strict" after saying this he didn't wait for a reply and walked away, both General Xu and Madam Xu had a surprised look on their face because their eldest son who hardly ever talked said so much today and he even reprimanded his father, this was the first time and after the shock wore off a smile bloomed on both parent face, they are really happy, their eldest son who always acted like a robot and never expressed his thoughts actually did so now, it seems his Didi is really his bottom line.

The physician wanted to leave a while ago but felt awkward about voicing out his opinion seeing as he didn't want to interrupt their discussion but since they stopped he quickly said "If my services aren't needed anymore, I will be taking my leave now General Xu" General Xu indicated that he could leave by nodding so the physician began to walk towards the door leading outside Xu Bu tong room before the General and his wife were completely out of his view he saw as General Xu tightly encased his wife in his chest and began to softly coerce her.

"Don't be angry, you should know I will never do anything that will bring our children harm, I also didn't want to teach him martial arts, however, I have no choice in this matter, our second son did inherit your stubbornness after all and won't listen to my reasoning"

"Zhang fu, are you indirectly saying I am unreasonable" Madam Xu glared at him, she was a bit shorter than him so she had to look up to stare into his eyes, she looked like she wanted to start scratching his face with her fingernails when she suddenly got distracted by the movement on the bed.

Meanwhile, the physician who was now in Xu Bu tong courtyard premises was handed some copper which was the currency used in the Qianqian empire, The physician didn't want to take it because he believed he didn't deserve it after all before he came everything was already taken care of and the little he did wasn't even worth mentioning however he had to comply on seeing as the servant who handed it to him insisted that it was the General's order, he was one of the General's people are understood that the General's orders could only be followed.

Back inside the room, Xu Bu tong had woken up and Madam Xu had gone to sit by his side, General Xu believed this was a good time to make a quick escape from his fuming wife and he did just that.

"Mother" Xu Bu tong forehead squeezed in pain as he tried to adjust to a position that will lessen his predicament but no matter which direction he turned towards his body will hurt nevertheless, he didn't want to complain about what kind of unbearable pain his little five-year-old body was feeling because after the crown's prince mockery he believed that they were some truth in his words and crying or complaining after such a battle wasn't an attitude a true martial artist should have nevertheless just because he didn't say anything doesn't mean his mother didn't understand what was happening with him.

"It serves you right, are you not the one that stubbornly wants to learn martial arts so be ready to experience even worse pain than this and if you can't handle this much then you know what to do" Madam Xu berated him, then she made a hand gesture to the maid standing behind her, holding a bowl made of porcelain, the maid gave the bowl to Madam Xu and then assisted Xu Bu tong in sitting up on madam Xu's orders. Although Madam Xu said all those means words, she didn't mean any of them and Xu Bu tong was very aware of that fact, he understood that she was just worried for him.

"This soup is good at relieving pain, open your mouth" Madam Xu scooped a spoonful and placed it inside Xu Bu tong's opened mouth, after he had tasted the soup, he smacked his lips together, frown, and complained "So bitter"

Madam Xu ignored him and continued to force-feed him the bitter soup until the bowl of soup was totally empty, then she assisted Xu Bu tong in laying back on the bed.

"Rest, you need it" Madam Xu voiced her opinion out to Xu Bu tong and the boy nodded, he wasn't going to complain about this seeing as he was already feeling sleepy despite his body been in pain, soon fell asleep.

By the time Xu Bu tong woke up, it was the early hours of the next day and his swollen body that had been massaged while he was blissfully asleep had reduced in size as well as pain, Xu Bu tong stared dazedly at his room ceiling as he recalled what had happened the previous day, he felt embarrassed for behaving so weak and not so elegant in front of the crown prince, his cheeks were red just thinking about how he was wailing and rolling on the floor similar to a dying horse, he wasn't even bothered that the crown prince had beaten him mercilessly.

Out of all the things he faced that day what he hated the most was been looked down on because of his cute looks, he remembered the crown prince mocking him about how having a cute face is not a requirement for learning martial arts and how just because he is a girl he shouldn't expect to be treated with mercy, the crown prince words had a double meaning which Xu Bu tong understood, the crown prince was indirectly telling him that if Xu Bu tong wanted to be a martial artist then he shouldn't think of using his face or gender to influence a fight because things won't go his way that way, also he should forget about been a martial artist when he doesn't have the ability and only think of using such vile means.

Xu Bu tong isn't a girl, to begin with so why will he want to use such degrading ways when fighting an opponent, he is only dressing this way because of circumstances, Xu Bu tong might like bright colors and might have been tempted to wear such colors before however, he did never do that because frankly speaking, he didn't think that suited him.

Another thing Xu Bu tong figured out on the day he battled the crown prince was that apparently, the crown prince didn't like girls that looked like him, if that was the case then Xu Bu tong thought up a plan to remedy this problem, he had this unknown urge to please the crown prince and to be close with him so he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. Even if it meant hiding what the crown prince didn't want to see.

Xu Bu tong called out loudly "Fen Mi, are you there?" his voice sounded a bit cracked and harsh probably because he has been sleeping for quite some time, also he figured he shouldn't be shouting so much as his jaws were still very much hurting from the beating he received from the crown prince, Xu Bu tong turned to face the direction of his room door and watched as Fen Mi stepped in quickly "Young master, how are you feeling now?, you called for Nubi, do you need Nubi to get something for you? Should Nubi get your pain-relieving soup?"

Xu Bu tong's brows creased on hearing about that disgustingly bitter soup, he raises his hands dismissively as her questions "I just need water, get me water" Xu Bu tong instructed and Fen Mi quickly went towards the wooden table situated by a corner in the room, a small porcelain bowl and jug made of the same material was neatly placed on the top of the table, Fen Mi picked up the jug then filled the bowl with water then she walked over to assist her young master in drinking it.

Once Xu Bu tong was done he said to her "There is something I want you to do for me and I want it done speedily"

"Young master just state what you need to be done and Nubi will try to accomplish it with the best of my abilities," Fen Mi said

"I need you to get me a mask" Fen Mi was curious why his young master suddenly needed such an item but she wasn't going to question him now, she didn't want the young master to start throwing tantrums in this state.

"Then I will leave now to look into this matter," Fen Mi said, Xu Bu tong lay back on the bed as Fen Mi left his bed-chamber, he had been feeling sleepy lately since he took that soup, he wonders if his mother gave him a sleeping drug instead of a pain relief one, also his body felt weak so he let nature take its course.

It took some time for Fen Mi to get back and by the time she did her young master had woken up due to hunger and was currently eating like a starving lion, he had his other servant, Jian Song standing by his side and attending to his needs, Xu Bu tong hadn't eaten since the previous day until the second day when the sun had already risen and fallen, his mother had come to see him earlier for this purpose but on seeing him sleeping so peacefully she didn't have the heart to wake him up, Xu Bu tong was five years old so his body could not take the lack of nutrients in it for so long, therefore, he was forced to wake up and eat despite still feeling weak due to the strong medicine he had consumed previously.

Xu Bu tong didn't bother to glance at Fen Mi as he shoves his food with his tiny fingers into his mouth, he didn't bother to use the silver spoon brought with the food by Jian Song, he was too hungry to bother with proper eating ethics, at least he acknowledged Fen Mi presence when she arrived "You are back, did you get it"

Xu Bu tong who was too busy with his food didn't see the sly smile that graced Fen Mi's lips "Here it is"

Fen Mi decided since her young master was not paying attention to her, she will put the mask she got directly in front of his face, and that she did.

Xu Bu tong smiled sweetly after seeing the mask, he touched it all over and even really liked the texture "It's beautiful but I can't use this" the mask was pink in color and had the shape of a bunny with two long ears, despite the fact that he was dressing like a girl in the mess of strangers that didn't mean he did wear something like this, he liked cute things with bright colors but this one was just too strong for him moreover the reason he needed a mask was so that when he followed his father to the palace and met with the crown prince he won't be mocked for looking cute and looked down on, Xu Bu tong wanted to be taken seriously by the crown prince so he will strive towards his goal.

"Fen Mi when I asked for a mask you should have gotten me something not so girly and cute, why did you buy this" Xu Bu tong scolded lightly with that tiny childlike voice of his.

"Young master didn't specify what kind of mask you needed me to get moreover I figured young master needed it for when he disguises as a girl"

"Fine, it's my fault but you will have to go and get me another mask, preferably one that isn't so cute, one that when I wear it, I did give off a dangerous vibe" Xu Bu tong tried to mimic looking dangerous however this expression resulted in both his servants laughing at it.

"It seems like this young master has been too lenient with you two, I should send both of you to the punishment ground" Xu Bu tong uttered as he glared at his two servants who quickly tried to stop laughing " Forgive this servant for being outrageous, young master" They both wanted to knee and say this but were stopped by Xu Bu tong, he wasn't really angry at them and they knew it, they also understood that they were lucky to have such an easy-going noble master who treated them so well.

"What are you still doing here?" Xu Bu tong faced Fen Mi who he had asked to go and get another mask for him, Fen Mi didn't move from her spot even after hearing her young master's words so Xu Bu tong who had dropped the pink mask by his side and had to continue to eat had to stop doing so and stare at Fen Mi questioningly.

"I have already gotten young master another mask just in case you don't like the pink one" Fen Mi then brought out another mask that she had held behind her back all this while.

Xu Bu tong held this mask closely and traced its carvings with his slender finger, he like the fact that the symbol of a scorpion was carved around the left side of the eye area on the mask, also it's had black color on one side and white on the other side, it looked like both colors were coexisting peacefully in the same space together, it was like light and darkness could somehow become one since both colors appeared to want to merge at the middle of the mask, this gave Xu Bu tong some weird kind of comfort, he unconsciously smiled as he traced every inch of the mask, he loved everything about it and the fact that it could stretch was an added bonus because that meant it will be staying with him even when he gets older.

"You couldn't have bought this in just any stall" Xu Bu tong said as he turned to face Fen Mi.

"I got a skilled sculptor to get it done for you, Madam gave me the Xu manor's seal after finding out I was running such an errand for you, she also instructed me on where to go"

"Then, I should go and thank mother" Xu Bu tong stood up from where he sat however just as he wanted to leave with Fen Mi his father walked into his room.

"Father, you are here" rushed over to hug him

"I can see you are back to being your energetic self, it's not even up to three days yet" Xu Bu tong was confused about what his father meant and since he didn't explain Xu Bu tong turned to Fen Mi for an explanation.

"The physician had said in three days' time you would have fully recovered but you are this way even before then"

"My body still hurts a little" Xu Bu tong said in a tiny voice.

"When practicing martial arts, your body will definitely hurt and keep hurting, this won't be the last time you will be experiencing such pain, as long as you have decided to thread on the part of a martial artist, however, don't worry it will get better when you eventually get used to it," General Xu said in a lecturing tone to Xu Bu tong, which he nodded in understanding.

"Anyway father came to give you this after you have rested you can use this Xu family manual to learn how to take in inner force, only when you have achieved that will you be allowed to learn any spear techniques" Xu Bu tong held the book his father had just given him like it was some priceless treasure, he couldn't wait to start practicing but he understood that he indeed still needed more rest, his body couldn't take much right now.

Just like that three days went by and on this particular day Xu Bu tong wore his bright-colored male robes, he had decided going forward he was not going to dress in dull colors anymore since he didn't know when the Xu manor might have a surprise visitor, as long as he is learning martial arts he will have to work on always convincing the people that are not a part of his family that he is a girl however he won't overdo things, having his type of body and wearing such bright colorful cloths should be enough, also he let Fen Mi neatly and simply braid his hair then he proceeded to the Xu family martial training field, it was nothing like the one at the imperial palace but it was nevertheless fit for someone of the General's caliber.

END OF CHAPTER, AND MEANING OF CERTAIN WORDS IN THIS CHAPTER.

 Erzi- means Son

Didi- Younger brother

Dage- Eldest brother

Nubi- Servant

Zhangfu- Husband

Qizi- Wife