Feeling strange, Felix found himself seated and then he looked at Sahara, who sat down beside him. “What cultivation did you learn to open your meridians?”

Felix just stared at her, wondering why she would want to know, wondering if he cares enough to tell her.

Seeing his silence not do anything to her, she continued, “Ok, close your eyes!”

Glaring at Sahara, Felix didn’t like being told orders by someone he didn’t know…

But…She hit him on the knee!

Flinching, he looked at her in bewilderment! No one touches him…He’s a Prince!

“Snap out of it and listen!” She said in a stern voice.

Felix glared at Sahara and wanted to see how far he could push her!

He watched her wait for a moment, then she sighed…Then she got up, “Fine, I’m not going to waste my time. If you don’t want to learn, I’m not going to force you. Come on!”

Looking at the hand Sahara put out to him, to help him up, Felix frowned….

Teach me what?

“I’m not entirely a mind reader, mate, but I saw the interest in what I could do in your eyes. So…Do you want to know an idea of how I learnt it or not?”

Felix found himself nodding, without his consent. His curiosity was already quite high, but he really tried not to show it!

But…This wasn’t normal…People didn’t come to him stating they knew what he was thinking! This isn’t how things went! No one knew what he was thinking! No…No one cared…

He watched as Sahara sat back down again and said, “The reason I told you to close your eyes, is because ‘Bending Space’ Meditation is based on having two sets of eyes. Even if your eyes are closed, it doesn’t mean you can’t see, it doesn’t mean you can’t be elsewhere.”

Widening his eyes, Felix found himself a little different…He gave a short nod to what she said, and Sahara nodded once too. “Since you have opened up your meridians, I will go from step two instead, so close your eyes.”

Doing as he was told, he shut his eyes and after only just a second or two, found someone touching him and he opened his eyes again in surprise…

“What are you doing!?” He asked.

Sahara sighed, “Trust me! I was just putting a…Star…On your hand. But, the ‘star’ isn’t supposed to mean anything, except something that holds spiritual essence, I didn’t want you to put too much thought into it. But, since you have seen it, don’t take the star into any kind of meaning. You could use a rock or hair, do you understand?”

Widening his eyes, Felix slightly nodded.

“Now shut your bloody eyes!” Sahara stated once more.

Felix did as he was told and didn’t move or show any kind of emotion. He patiently waited for what she was going to say next.

“I know this is going to sound weird, but I want you to become what is in your hand, like both you and that star is you, with no distance between you. When you see what the ‘star’ can see, that is the idea of ‘Bending Space’ Meditation. It states the distance between you and something else, but for me to explain this, there is no difference, that you are both. You can decide which helps you the most…”

Unsure on how to do as he was told, Felix frowned, “I don’t understand.”

He heard Sahara sigh and then said, “I think it would have been easier if we had gone from your meridians, at least then you’d understand…Starting when you are already a level two cultivator might be a bit more difficult…Mmm…What was it that it said…It said to move your meridians, no space between…Ah! Closer, further!”

Sahara sounded like she understood…Felix shook his head, opened his eyes and said bluntly, “I do not understand!”

Defeated, Sahara pouted, “Think simply! The meridians don’t move! What I did instead, was think that there’s no space between them…Ah…The star, after you put your spiritual essence into it, you could move it but when you move it, it’s like you go with it…No space! And obviously to get better at it, you push yourself to move it further away from your person…”

After a short pause, Sahara asked, “…Do you get it now?”

“No.”

Nothing changes, from Earth to here, I make no bloody sense!

***

When Felix and Sahara returned to the Emperor, Matthew immediately got upset with Sahara and said a few words to express himself.

Felix took that chance to defend his new…Friend, “Second brother, please forgive my sister-in-law, she…”

He didn’t know how to continue, this was…The first time he was putting himself in front of someone to defend them…What does he say?

Watching his brother look at Sahara then back at himself, Felix was worried…Until he heard the Princess behind him chuckle, “Felix, your awesome for sticking up for me and all, but it’s cool, I’ll take it from here!”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Even though Felix knew Sahara’s attention was directed at his brother, her sweet, soft words and slight, gentle touch on his shoulder made him secretly happy.

Giving her a slight nod, even though she didn’t see it, Felix took the few short steps towards his Imperial Father and started to happily pay attention.

…When he gets back to his chambers, he will continue to practice!

“…Sa…” Matthew pouted, unsure on what to say further in his words.

Sahara put her hands around him, in front of several people still in the same room and looked up at him from his embrace. “I just went to the Academy, talked a bit with Felix then came back…Weren’t you busy anyway?”

Looking down at his beloved, Matthew sighed in defeat, “Mmm, then why did you go to the Academy?”

Sahara’s eyes suddenly shined, “I wanted more empty pill packets to make more pills!”

Indulgence completely within this look, Matthew smiled, “Did you acquire some more then, my Princess?”

Sahara nodded innocently, even though she…Stole them, because she did not own a ‘Sum Token’, she was not able to get them the normal way. Instead, as per usual, she used her cheat Meditation to claim them and teleport them to her very own hands!

But…Why should she tell Matthew that?

“When are you going to let me try one of those pills?” Matthew asked her. He wished he could act more like a spoilt child, but…He had troubles with that idea, at least when the emperor was in the same room!

Sahara blinked and then held out her hands and showed him at least a dozen or so white pills, “You can have these?”

As though it was just a thought that had come to her now, Matthew frowned. Steven has had a few pills, even the emperor has had a few pills, the General as well! Now she thinks of her man!?

“Hmph!” Matthew pouted again and looked away from her.

“You don’t want them?” She asked.

Dammit woman!

Taking them quickly from her, he held a small bag out and dropped them into it. “Fine, I’ll take them!”

He will try one later!

“If…If my son doesn’t want them, this King will gladly take them, my dearest daughter in law!”

Sahara turned to see that the emperor had come forward and very expectantly was looking at the little bag that held the pills.

Matthew frowned and hid them in his sleeve, “No! This Prince has declared them mine! You have already received so many!”

The emperor slumped his shoulders and frowned, “There was plenty there, even if you give this King one or two, you will still have many left!”

“…What are the white pills?”

Everyone turned towards Felix, and he waited for a response…

“They are…” The emperor didn’t want to tell everyone how great they were…Then they’d all want one!

“Well…” Matthew wasn’t sure how to respond either, he wanted people to forget about them, so he could keep them all!

“They are cheats!” Sahara bluntly stated.

Then everyone was looking at Sahara.

“Cheats?” Many of them questioned.

“Mmm, they are like magnets and when you take one, spiritual essence races towards you, but you don’t gain techniques. There is an immunity to them as well…But I can tell you a secret about that if you treat me really good!”

The emperor widened his eyes, he knew that the first pill was the best pill that he had taken and wondered if his daughter in law was telling the truth! If they worked again like the first pill…Then he could become even stronger!

“My dearest daughter in…”

The emperor was interrupted by Felix, “Can I have a white pill? Please?”

Sahara smiled and nodded, “Sure, sure, here.”

“Ah!” Both Matthew and the Emperor stated…

The Ministers had heard the interesting subject but couldn’t get over how the emperor was acting…He was acting like a little kid! Where those pills so good!? They were still in depth in conversation prior to those pills coming out and given to the Second Prince, then the emperor had completely forgot about them!

Giving Felix a white pill, Sahara smiled at him, “I will check your progress uh!”

Felix smiled, stunning everyone in the room, “Very well…I will practise!”

As strange as this girl might be…I can not regret her coming here and…

The emperor’s thoughts were interrupted when Sahara suddenly said, “I’m hungry.”

Sadly, she didn’t have much food now in ‘storage’, because of living in Purple Haven…And she was in the palace, so they should have some awesome food!

“Yes, yes, my dearest daughter in law, come let’s eat! This King is hungry as well!” The emperor hurriedly took Sahara’s arm and started to walk away, leaving everyone else in astonishment!

Matthew ended up letting out a laugh and then looking at the Ministers, “His Majesty will take a short intermission.”

Following after his beloved Princess, Matthew was shortly out of sight too…But then, Felix had followed Matthew and that left behind the Ministers that still wanted to address the reasons why they had first come to see His Majesty!

They all slowly left, quite unsure how to take what just happened…Their Emperor was always so serious and thinking very much about situations and the best way to handle them…Yet…

Walking away, they weren’t sure if they should speak of today’s meeting…And even if they did…How to speak of it?

***

“So, it is the earth element, my dear?” The emperor asked, wholly concerned on Sahara’s conversation.

Sahara used her free hand to continue to eat…Like a grub…

The emperor didn’t care that her table manners weren’t proper, he was learning critical information at the moment!

All these centuries, no one had known why these pills would stop working! It was all written in his own library!

Now…If Sahara is telling the truth, something that was questioned for so long, can be re written and all one has to do is understand how to use the earth element and the pills will work as good as before!

“Yes, but so far, I have used it all when I had…Used it…” Sahara said, stopping because it didn’t make sense, but it did…

“Tell this King, my dear, what do you mean.”

Sahara stopped eating and said, “Use up all the earth element you have in you just before your next pill. Because if you don’t, it still might not work, as the most element spiritual essence that comes to you when you take a pill is the earth element.”

The emperor forgot he was holding Sahara’s other hand and didn’t even know that Matthew was glaring at him. Going into thought, the emperor nodded slowly at first and then a little faster.

He understood now!

“My dear, if you are saying this is the right way and will make the pill work normally again, then I must use the earth element, is that correct?”

Sahara nodded, putting something else into her mouth.

Letting go of her hand and suddenly standing up, the emperor looked around and mumbled, “I need to read about the earth element…”

Sahara let out a little chuckle and turned to be more comfortable.

Making a fork with her spiritual essence, she started to eat a little faster.

Matthew moved to where the emperor just was and hummed at her. Sahara feed him, because his hands were around her, and then feed herself and both of them forgot the person on the other side…Felix.

Felix had observed everything. He was still young and a little immature, but he had grown a little faster than normal thirteen-year old’s on Earth, well that’s what Sahara would say, and he understood at least half that had been said earlier.

Knowing the white pill in his sleeve was something to help him become a higher ranked cultivator, he also knew that something happened if you took too many pills. Earth element…

Slowly continuing to eat, Felix found himself too much to do suddenly!

Not only was he going to be become the Crowned Prince in…Two months…He was also getting married, also learning how court is done and about the affairs in Green Haven, learning how to cultivate and now about these pills.

Beforehand, hardly anyone came to see him, as though he had been forgotten…Suddenly his life was so full that Felix didn’t know what to do…

He suddenly felt a little scared…His future before was nothing, and he became used to that years ago…But now, his future was…So much! What was he…How was he going to handle it!?

“Relax!”

Felix suddenly turned to Sahara, and she made him drop his chopsticks, while she took his hand. “You’re going white, just relax!”