The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1611

Hao Xuan was sitting with his back against the wall in the last stall of the noodle shop. The voices of gossiping customers could be heard over the paper walls as they tried their best to keep a low profile. An occasional order number would be yelled out from the kitchen but apart from that it was pretty quiet.

Yet his confused expression accurately portrayed his even more perplexed state of mind for a number of different reasons.

One, the unknown artifact that Song Jae Hwa should have been protecting with her life now sat comfortably in his lap without eliciting any strange reaction. Its glossy surface held no symbols or unexplainable energies and he could find nothing new about it.

Two, the vision. It was fueled by conflicting temporal energies that made no sense to him.

'What I saw- that was probably just a side-effect of whatever was meant to happen in the first place. Something tells me I was never supposed to cross paths with this girl and it is my interference that changed the course of events in some major way. But....now that I have interfered, I cannot simply ignore everything I saw.'

'There was an army headed in this direction and not for me- they don't even know I'm here. But the city can't move so if there is any truth to what I saw then we NEED to start preparing for battle.'

*Sluuurp*

*Sigh*

Third- the resources. Hao Xuan shook the almost empty bag of coins. He had a fair few gold coins left but after everything she ate-

*Sluuuuuuuurp*

*Siiigh~*

"Must you make so much noise when eating, princess? Isn't it 'unladylike' or something along those lines?"

"Hmm??"

Hao Xuan, for some unknown reason, found himself holding her hair up in a ponytail while she busied herself over the massive noodle bowl, so when she suddenly jerked her head his hand moved accordingly and pulled him even closer.

"Gho jou- *cough* D- *gulp* Do you think I am unladylike?" she asked through crystal-like wide eyes, half her face covered in soup and the rest in stray noodles.

"No, not at all," Hao Xuan explained while peeling a noodle off, "I was only saying that to protect your image. Many people saw us coming in here and this- even sitting like this is...unheard of."

Her legs were dropped over his as she sat in the corner without a worry in the world. He didn't care either way but it was usually the female that held some reservations.

She shrugged, "If you don't care then I don't either," and continued eating.

*Siiiiigh~*

'There HAS to be something wrong with her. This CAN'T be normal behavior. She is a princess of the damn Song Clan! They own the entire city and half the people in it so how can she be so wait- my god! Is she perhaps 'touched in the head'? Is that why I didn't hear anything about her from anyone? Earlier she said no one would come to help her from the Upper Floors, could that be why? I should try to get an answer and then drop her off at the teleportation array...maybe even get some of my gold back...'

"Um, princess-"

She didn't even bother looking up, "Jae. Call me Jae, oppa."

Hao Xuan's brow furrowed, "Oppa?"

"Mhm. It means older brother."

"Yes, it does. But you understand a mere slave can't be your older brother, right?"

"But you're not a slave," she said confidently.

"I am, see this mark here."

She glanced at his chest, "Un, I see it. But you are not a slave- not to these people."

Hao Xuan let out a heavy breath, "Regardless, you can't call me that."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Because it will reflect poorly on you and the Song Clan."

She fell silent, whispering after a moment, "I don't care about the Song Clan."

"Then what do you care about?"

"You."

"...."

"Because I saved your life?"

"Yes, and because you are a good person."

"I am not. And you have no way of knowing that so soon after meeting me."

She suddenly threw down her chopsticks- a first since they had been served.

"But I do, I am the only one who does!" she said staring into his eyes, "Trust! I know!"

She was so alike Princess Song Yi in some ways but completely different in others.

Where Song Yi never said what she meant and hid behind multiple walls of deceit and trickery, there was veracity to every word that came out of Jae Hwa's mouth because she openly wore her heart on her sleeve.

'It doesn't look like she is intellectually challenged. Could it be a kind of Stockholm syndrome? She feels indebted to me because I saved her life and is confusing her feelings for something more.'

"Let me escort you back to the castle, princess."