WHEN A DEMON PRINCE LOVES

I STILL WANT TO BE HIS OPPONENT

On realizing that he had made a huge mistake after seeing his father's death glare directed his way and the pale looking emperor face as well as the crown prince unpleasant look, Xu Bu tong cleverly corrected himself by saying "I meant you are my husband from now on, I am a cute and lovely girl so you won't feel wronged been my husband however if anything was to happen to me, that will make it impossible for me to marry you then you can just marry my twin brother, there is no law guarding against two people of the same gender getting married in Qianqian empire right?, anyway this is what I wanted to say earlier however it ended up coming out wrong" Xu Bu tong paused to look at their reactions especially the emperor's own and seeing that the emperor's complexion didn't look so bad anymore he believed he had succeeded a bit in remedying his earlier blunder.

Xu Bu tong bowed his head with clasped hands towards the emperor, not daring to look him in the eye as he said "Your majesty, this humble servant hopes that this servant has not angered you with such outrageous words, Xu Zhi knows that the crown prince marriage isn't something that can be discussed casually, however, the moment Xu Zhi saw him..." Xu Bu tong paused to peek at the crown prince and then he smiled coyly at him, green visible lines could be seen on the crown prince's face but Xu Bu tong seems not to notice any of this.

Xu Bu tong continued speaking "Xu Zhi just feels that it will be beneficial for the crown prince to have the support of the Xu family, that is if your majesty agrees to it, Xu Zhi just wishes to support the crown prince" Xu Bu tong laughed nervously and scratched on the back of his head while he was at it.

The emperor laughed boisterously after hearing all that Xu Bu tong had to say " General Xu, Zhen really admires this your daughter, Xu Zhi is really smart, are you certain she is just five years old, look at her already talking about marriage"

As a response to the emperor, General Xu just nodded his head while smiling, his eyes were fixed on his son and were saying volumes to him "You really are brave, from one lie to another however you are also very smart, in the future even if you look like your present self, you won't be doubted in the least bit seeing as you have a so-called twin,  just know that if the emperor wishes to see your twin brother as well as yourself in the same breath, we will both be screwed"

Xu Bu tong didn't feel threatened by what he had deduced that his father was telling him, moreover, he didn't wish to be outdone by his father so he also responded to him in kind, his head kept turning about and her eyes kept moving in a different direction, sometimes he smiled proudly while other times a mischievous smirked played on his lips, all this was going on while he was having a heart to heart discussion with his old man in his head "Of course I am smart and brave, when others think of the present I think of the future, If the emperor wants to see both me and my supposed twin brother then I can always come up with a way out just like now, I might have you say that my imaginary twin is bedridden and can't leave the manor until further notice, father don't think of unimportant things, quickly arrange my engagement with this handsome hero before it's too late"

General Xu and Xu Bu tong really understood each other well, without having to speak these words out to each other they both somehow understood what the other was thinking. General Xu shook him after comprehending his sons' thoughts.

The emperor couldn't stand watching the two father and daughter displaying what he saw as their love and admiration for one another as well as their family so he cleared his throat thereby drawing both their attention "Your daughter is right about one thing, with General Xu support the crown prince enthronement process will be smooth sailing so I might just agree with her suggestion"

The emperor had accepted Xu Bu tong's identity as a girl easily, this was understandable because, with his slender frame, pink lips, teary big eye, long white hair, and cute face combined that with the bright colored robes he was putting on, who wouldn't mistake him as a girl. Xu Bu tong has after all planned his new look to the latter. For the purpose of quenching his curiosity and learning martial arts, he will do anything, including decorating his hair with flower ribbons however he could only make a compromise by wearing bright colored male robes because he could never dress in female robes, no matter what he was still a male so he wasn't comfortable in female robes.

Also, the emperor had no doubts that Xu Bu tong was indeed a girl after the explanation the General gave him previously, he totally trusted his General Xu since they were not just rulers and subjects but also blood brothers.

Although the emperor had never thought about the crown prince future union since there was still a bit more time before he adds that to the list of things he had to worry about, Xu Bu tong casually bringing it up made him feel that perhaps there will be no better match for the crown prince than General Xu daughter after all General Xu had so much power and influence in the army hence the emperor decided to seriously think about this matter. Also, on closer inspection on his thoughts the emperor discovered he didn't really care whether it was the General's son or daughter that ended on with the crown prince if he did choose to consider the young Xu Zhi's proposal, after all in Qianqian empire they were many of such male to male coupling and if the crown prince desires an heir, he could always get a concubine. Anyway, this matter he will further dwell in on a later date.

General Xu responded to the emperor's earlier acknowledgment of his son's words "Whatever your majesty decides, this servant will humbly consent to it, your majesty should understand that whether or not we are bonded by marriage I will always do as your majesty wishes, if you want me to support the crown prince then that is what this General shall do"

"It seems like the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, now Zhen knows who your daughter inherited his sweet tongue from" the emperor chuckled lightly while General Xu smiled at his statement.

Xu Bu tong looked between the emperor and his father, he admired their good friends so he thought maybe he could start off with becoming good friends with the crown prince, although he wanted his to be something more than what his father had with the emperor, he wanted to make the crown prince accept him like those heroes in the stories he has read do to get the heroine's attention, then after showing him his good points they can then tie the knot by bowing to the heavens and the earth. Xu Bu tong giggled at this thought.

"Enough with the small talk seeing as I have to leave soon, crown prince you will continue your martial art training under General Xu, make sure you listen to all he has to say because you are lucky to have the best martial artist in Qianqian empire as your teacher" the emperor sternly instructed the crown prince.

"I will listen to your words imperial father" the crown prince curtsied towards the emperor.

"Then why haven't you shown your respect to your teacher, I am sure the grand tutor taught you better than that" the emperor sounded like he was scolding the crown prince but his face shown a different emotion.

"Taizi greets Shifu and offers thanks to Shifu for his willingness to instruct Taizi on the ways of martial arts" Crown prince Xiongwei curtsied towards General Xu.

"How about I join Taizi and take General Xu as my Shifu" The boy that sparred with the crown prince earlier eagerly declared those words, suddenly his head was brutally hit by the emperor.

Shu Yiwen son of the tiger seal army holder General Shu immediately fell on his knees, kowtowed and said "This humble servant have committed a grievous crime and offended his majesty, may his majesty be gracious and merciful and be lenient in giving out punishment" for Shu Yiwen who feared pain there is no way he will behave in the customary way offenders of the emperor do and ask to be punished a thousand times, absolutely no way.

Shu Yiwen was the crown prince playmate and only friend, he was nine years old just like the crown prince, also he was like every other child that wanted to learn under the best and seeing how high the emperor regarded General Xu and wanted him to teach the crown prince, Shu Yiwen desired such an outstanding teacher too.

But seeing that the emperor was probably angered by his audacity to want the same as royalty, Shu Yiwen began to deeply regret his actions, he loathed having such a big mouth that always voiced out things without thinking them through.

"You haven't committed any offense towards Zhen but Shu Yiwen if your father General Shu was to hear what you have just said he did smack you above and beyond or perhaps then, even your little head will not remain" after hearing the emperor words, Shu Yiwen's back became drenched with sweat, he internally cursed at himself for forgetting that at the moment the person he should fear the most was his own father who was currently teaching him their Shu family's martial arts techniques.

"The best teacher for you is your father, diligently learn under him and stop going around causing unnecessary trouble" the emperor didn't waste any more words and then walked away with his entourage of palace eunuchs, he didn't forget to say to General Xu "I will be taking my leave now General Xu".

Crown prince Xiongwei was now waiting patiently for General Xu's guidance and the General wasn't one to waste precious time so he said "After watching the crown prince earlier battle, I noticed that your form is weak, it isn't strong and firm as it should be in other to fully display the might of the sword technique with which you use, Taizi's agility is slow and the way Taizi holds his sword is also completely wrong, I will guide you in perfecting all that needs to be perfected just before that I will like Taizi to battle again..." Before General Xu could even complete his statement, Xu Bu tong was anxiously raising up his hand like a scholar who had answers to a difficult problem and didn't want his brilliance to be passed on to anyone else "I will be his opponent"

Both the crown prince and General Xu looked at him skeptically, the crown prince thought this Xu Zhi was way younger than himself and looked delicate, she couldn't possibly be his match while General Xu wondered what his son was up to again.

"Are you certain you want to be his opponent, the last time I checked you haven't even learned the basis of martial arts, you have no inner force which directly translates to you being unable to use any martial art technique so on what basis do you want to battle him? Are you certain you wish to be his opponent?"

On hearing what General Xu had to say the crown prince couldn't help feeling displeased "How could someone who hasn't taken in inner force, let alone learned a martial art technique be his opponent? Was this little girl indirectly making a jest of him? also what was a girl doing challenging him to a fight, shouldn't she be playing the zither or learning how to make pills, if this Xu Zhi wasn't his Shifu's daughter he would have already taught her a serious lesson" crown prince Xiongwei had already blacklisted Xu Bu tong in his mind and tagged him as someone, rude, unreasonable and proud. The crown prince didn't treat females or males differently from each other, so despite thinking, Xu Bu tong was a girl he wasn't going to be partial when he chooses to dish out punishment to Xu Bu tong.

If Xu Bu tong were to know that this was the current thoughts the crown prince had about him, he would have felt hurt after all his intention was to assist the crown prince in his own little way since he was going to be his future partner, he should start supporting him from now on, No?

For a little five-year-old his thoughts were really advanced and he had already taken his place as the crown prince's future right-hand partner, even if no one had assigned such a position to him yet.

"I still want to be his opponent, I want to be a martial artist too" Xu Bu tong insisted stubbornly after hearing what his father had to say.

"Crown prince spar with my Xu Zhi for a bit, I want to take a closer look at your sword stance, so show them to me, just don't kill my daughter while sparring, anything else is acceptable, and don't bother about my feelings however if my daughter were to die then even I won't be able to escape death by his mother's hands" General Xu had a playful smile on his face. General Xu found it easy to adopt calling his son daughter, he kind of liked doing it way too much after all he and his wife had always wanted a daughter.

Xu Bu tong mouths opened wildly "wasn't his father showing little concern about his well being" Xu Bu tong knew his father quite well, with that crafty smile playing on his lips there was no way him easily agreeing to this means anything good, nevertheless, Xu Bu tong didn't plan on backing down.

A smirk formed on the crown prince's blood-red lips, he really loved what the General had said, there was no need for him to stay his hands when dealing with the rude Xu Zhi.

The crown prince flew back onto the battle stage he had just come off from with Shu Yiwen and then he beckoned with a finger for Xu Bu tong to join him "Show off" Xu Bu tong grumbled as he walked towards the crown prince direction, when he arrived beneath the stage he tried to climb one of the pillars supporting the stage in other to get to the stage above but kept sliding back down, he couldn't leap onto the stage above like the crown prince had done since he had no martial arts inner force at all, after continuous attempts his breath became heavy, his muscles started to burn while his hands grew tired.

Xu Bu tong's miserable state even before starting his sparring match with the crown prince was so funny that Shu Yiwen cheeks became bloated, he held it in for as much as he could before letting out a burst of boisterous laughter, he stomped his feet on the ground, waved his arms about, slapped his thighs and then his eyes began to let out tears, Shu Yiwen breathlessly choked out the proceedings words " I could die from laughter after watching this, no offense General Xu however your daughter is truly a comedian"

"No offense taken" General Xu answered with that same expressionless face, the boy in white robe called white scorpion that had followed General Xu and Xu Bu tong into the palace but stayed at a close distance was not as good as the General in controlling his facial muscles, he had to spend a bit more effort in reeling in his desire to laugh, the crown prince didn't bother with what was happening below the stage and just waited with his hands crossed behind his back.

Xu Bu tong turned back to glare at Shu Yiwen who was laughing like a lunatic at him however there was no way he will take him seriously while he looked similar to a person squatting to poop, instead, Xu Bu tong just made him laugh even harder, he voiced out "So cute and hilarious" Xu Bu tong had his back hunched, arms and legs tightly clutching the pillar so as to support his weight and prevent himself from falling for almost a hundredth time.

General Xu decided to assist him onto the stage, even if he was enjoying his stubborn son's predicament, he didn't want to spend all day at the imperial palace.

Once Xu Bu tong was on the stage, he went towards a round container of sorts where wooden weapons were stored and then picked a wooden spear, then he took another hilarious battle pose.

The crown prince just wanted to be over and down with this so he curtsied the way martial practitioners do before a battle, to show their respect to their opponent. Xu Bu tong clumsily followed in his footsteps by acting as he had done.

Before Xu Bu tong could position himself funnily again, the crown prince who was standing directly opposite him, curved his body sideways, his wooden sword seems to follow his body movement and within a twinkle of an eye he was standing beside Xu Bu tong after graciously and ruthlessly using his wooden sword to simultaneously smack stomach as well as both his legs in one go, he still had five more swords stance to go and Xu Bu tong had already fallen down while holding his tummy and rolling on the ground, he kept wailing "Mother, it hurts, it hurts so much" he was unable to get up due to the indiscernible pain he was experiencing for the first time in his pampered, love-filled life, Xu Bu tong didn't think learning martial arts will be this painful, tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the crown prince pitifully.

"Can you still claim to want to be a martial artist while crying like such a baby after just a few hits, you better go and suck on your mother's breast and forget about learning martial arts, the requirements for learning martial arts does not include having a cute face, don't think you will be shown mercy just because you are a girl, girls should do want is expected of them and not overestimate themselves" the crown prince arrogantly harrumph, he was determined to teach this girl called Xu a lesson so that next time she wouldn't dream of appearing before him or any martial platform for that matter when she sees or even hears about martial art she will shiver in fear and turn tails and run, this was the crown prince present thinking.

Crown prince Xiongwei was never one to show mercy on the fairer s*x especially one's he considers to be green tea bitches.

General Xu had to muster a lot of strength to be able to watch through the brutal one-sided battle between the crown prince and his now disguised son, he wanted to use this means as a final attempt in discouraging his son from wanting to practice martial arts but now he wonders if perhaps he gave the crown prince too much freedom, his precious son was tossed around until he looked like a bloated purple bruised chicken by the time the crown prince was done with all six of his sword stance.

On the other hand, what surprised the crown prince, as well as Shu Yiwen, was the fact that after hearing the crown prince mockery and condemnation the supposed weakly and crybaby daughter of General Xu although he couldn't defend nor attack never cried again, Xu Bu tong instead wiped his tears, clenched his teeth and silently let himself be beaten blue and black while still making fruitless attempts to defend the crown prince incoming strikes.

For a person who had not cultivated inner force doing this much was already consider good, most people won't be able to take the pain and humiliation and opt to withdraw from the fight but a true martial artist who truly wishes to grow should be able to take this much. Also, from the beginning, this was an expected outcome.

When the fight was over General Xu flew on top of the martial stage and then picked up his Xu Bu tong, even the slight touch of his hand made Xu Bu tong whimpered almost inaudibly since he was clenching his teeth and didn't want to let out such unmanly sounds, being mocked like that even if he was pretending to be a girl now was a huge humiliation to Xu Bu tong after all he wasn't truly a girl.

"I have seen all there is to see, we will continue training tomorrow" General Xu uttered.

Crown prince Xiongwei watched as both pairs exited the imperial martial ground, followed by the white-robbed boy, a hint of light-filled with ill intentions flashed through the crown prince eyes "Interesting, it seems Taizi's dull life can now have some colors, preferably the color red" a cold smirk formed on his thin red lips, one that quickly turned into a peal of wicked laughter.

Shu Yiwen has been with the crown prince long enough to know that this wasn't a good sign especially for that Xu Zhi.

Shu Yiwen on seeing his friend like this couldn't help but start shivering uncontrollably, he stared at the retreating shadow of General Xu and his entourage and began to feel pity for the Xu Zhi who had piqued the interest of this sadistic bastard called Crown Prince Xiongwei but more importantly he was super glad that at last, he won't be at the receiving end of the crown prince demented and spontaneous actions.