“You were asleep this morning and I heard from Fatty you slept late last night, so I didn’t want to wake you up,” answered Ye Lang.

“You still shouldn’t have left without telling me!” yelled Xuan Yuanbing.

“Hey, I did leave a message for you to your guards. Didn’t they read you my message?” Ye Lang tilted his head in confusion.

“They did…” muttered Xuan Yuanbing quietly. Ye Lang wasn’t in the wrong here.

“That’s bad news then!” exclaimed Ye Lang. “Didn’t they say that you weren’t allowed out?! They were very against it the last time I told them about bringing you here, they said the Sacred Lady of Light would never appear here! Ah… I see, you sneaked out! You broke the rules!”

“Hey! I didn’t sneak out! Besides, no one could stop me. I’ll lose my status as the Sacred Lady at most, but that would mean we can finally hang out! You said you’d protect me too!” replied Xuan Yuanbing with a bright smile.

“Protect you…? I think it would be more of the opposite…” muttered Ye Lanyu under her breath.

Xuan Yuanbing’s sacred status and Tian Level capabilities were far beyond Ye Lang’s level, she had absolutely no need for his protection!

“Yeah, I’ll protect you. If anyone dares bully you, just tell them my name- but it seems like everyone only knows me as the prodigal son, which isn’t too useful!” said Ye Lang unconcerned with a wave of his arm.

“That’s alright, it’s the thought that counts!” Xuan Yuanbing was very delighted to hear that.

As the chatter between Ye Lang and Xuan Yuanbing went on, two Light Riders suddenly appeared the Sacred Lady. The riders were here to fulfil their duty as her bodyguards.

They didn’t ask for Xuan Yuanbing’s return, they were merely there to protect her. The two Light Riders stood beside the Sacred Lady silently.

It was not within their powers to control her behaviour, they had done their duty to deliver the Pope’s message to Xuan Yuanbing. Her subsequent response was none of their concern.

Another person arrived a moment after them and it was the representative from the organizing team! They needed to escort the Sacred Lady and Ye Lang out of the venue for they were hindering the progress of the competition. A short while was fine but they had been at it for too long.

Everyone was growing impatient!

“Sacred Lady, young prince, could you kindly return to your seats if there’s nothing else left to sort? The competition needs to go on…” muttered the representative softly.

“See, I told you to take your time for your battle… Fine, we’re done anyway. Fatty, pack your things, let’s go somewhere more comfortable to continue our feast!” responded Ye Lang. It was a pity that they couldn’t carry on with their antics but he was considerate, choosing to leave instead.

“You’re going to continue eating…?” asked Xuan Yuanbing in disbelief.

“Of course! Her cooking is delicious, want to try some?” offered Ye Lang bluntly as he cast out some purifying formations to help Zhen Xiaoyan clean up.

“Oh, that sounds like a good idea! I haven’t eaten anything and I’m starving!” Xuan Yuanbing blushed a little at the sound of her tummy rumbling.

“My lady, isn’t this too oily for you…” reminded one of her Light Riders, genuinely concerned for her health.

“Having teppanyaki first thing in the morning does sound very hard on the stomach… I have some bread and water, you can have it,” said Ye Lang before he began to reach around in his space ring, searching for the bread and water.

“Aw, you’re so thoughtful!” cooed Xuan Yuanbing with a gentle smile, holding her hands out to receive Ye Lang’s offering. Her heart was warm as she began to munch on bread.

Xuan Yuanbing’s entire being was filled with warmth, a warmth that was bestowed upon her by Ye Lang. He actually cared about her!

Blissfully unaware of his true intention, Ye Lang’s next reply killed the mood-

“You’re welcome! With you full, there’s one less person eyeing my food!”

“…”

Just like that, Ye Lang and Xuan Yuanbing were “chased” off the grounds, the Light Arena resumed its intended programme. The departure of the two “famous figures” had left the audience with some food for thought.

Some were pondering the seemingly intimate relationship between the two while some were thinking about the possible impacts of the relationship…

There was a misunderstanding brewing among the students who knew about Ye Lang’s special status in Sheng City. The incident led them to believe that Ye Lang’s status had stemmed from his relationship with the Sacred Lady!

Though they weren’t clear about their relationship and interaction, they had felt inferior and gave themselves a reason to dislike him. Ye Lang was receiving preferential treatment because of a lady!

They couldn’t help but be jealous- they wanted a slice of the action too!

Ye Lang and Xuan Yuanbing had no idea of what was going on behind them. The two were in search of a suitable picnic spot but none of the locations had appealed to them. In the end, Ye Lang had decided on a place, which happened to be the site of the demolished palace.

The site had been cleared up, then converted into a large empty square which would remain untouched until the Sheng City decided to do something with it.

A palace was unnecessary in the Sheng City as many structures here were already large with virtually no tenants. A big palace like that was more work for the city, more money had to be spent on its maintenance!

Its demolishment was probably best for the sake of the city.

“Ye Lang, doesn’t this place feel too empty?” asked Xuan Yuanbing with furrowed brows as she pointed at the vast square.

“What?” Ye Lang was distracted, the sizzling hot piece of meat in his mouth tasted amazing! Zhen Xiaoyan really was a culinary prodigy, it didn’t take her long to master the art of teppanyaki.

“I mean, they should have done some landscaping here to utilize this square! Like placing some stones here, digging a river here and…” rambled Xuan Yuanbing as she gestured at different corners of the site. She went on and on and on…

“It’s a pity that this is not a dream. I would’ve been able to change everything so easily!” Xuan Yuanbing was finally done with her critique, flashing a bright smile at Ye Lang.

She was the sole designer of her dream, controlling its settings and details every single time without fail- the settings of her dreams were never the same. With years of practice, she was a master!

She was possibly the best landscape designer in all of the mainland!

“Then you should continue dreaming!” blurted Ye Lang.

“Go to hell!” raged Xuan Yuanbing in response. The Sacred Lady hated the thought of dreaming and the idea triggered annoyance in her. Little did she know that in the near future, with Ye Lang running about in the outside world, the Lady would yearn for her return to the dreamland just to see his face again.