Lihua felt as if the silver eyes saw right through her.  Her knees wobbled as she fell forward, landing on her knees as if she was kneeling to the man.  The silver eyes held her eyes in a trance as he asset her.  He clearly saw the poison mark on her face. He knew she was poisoned and which poison it was.  He could see that she has a strong foundation in her dantians, but they were not developed to its full potential.  

"You there."  The deep silky voice commanded to Lihua softly. "Come to this King and break the chains off of this King." 

Finding her center again.  Lihua stood up on shaky legs and straightened her back.  She stood tall as she lifted her head in arrogance.  She knew the man in front of her was dangerous.  If she broke him free, he could kill her with two of his fingers and her second life would end so quickly without even helping the Young Miss Lihua.  

"No." Lihua said firmly as she stared into his eyes with conviction. 

"Come here and unlock these chains for this King." The man tried to compel the girl in front of him.  

"If I do what's in it for me?" Lihua asks. "What if I do as you say and you kill me? Wouldn't I be doing myself a disservice?" 

"Come here." The man whispered.  The whispered engulfed her whole body like the wind, wrapping itself around her like a hug as it pulled her towards the man.  

Lihua took a step forward, but her will was stronger. 

"I said, no."  Lihua growled back at him.  

"This King will not kill you, if you come unchain this KIng." He promised. 

"If I break your chains what's in it for me?" Lihua asked. 

"Your life." The man growled back. 

"I already have my life with you in your chains. Why should I break your chains then if I can't get anything in return?" Lihua noted to him.  

The cold and indifferent man looked desperate for a second before covering it back up.  

"This King can take the poison from your body." 

"I already know what poison is in my body and I already know how to take the poison out of my body."  Lihua informed him.  "I also know that once any poison has enter a dantian and contaminate it, the poison markings will show on the body.  I know there is nothing else I can do  to remove the poison markings. So don't try to make fake promises." 

The cold eyes stared at the girl for a long time not saying anything, so Lihua continued. 

"The way I see it, you need my help.  Not the other way around. I can walk out this cave and you could be stuck here for another 100 years and by then I'll already be long dead. And if you were to get out sooner, I would have been long gone already so you wouldn't be able to find me.  Nothing in this life is free.  Not my good will either, especially towards those that try to compel me with their power to do things I don't want to do.  So, if I'm going to help you, I want something from you that is worth just as much as your life that I'm about to give you, if I free you." 

The stared at the little girl longer, studying her every move.  This was his chance to be free and his life is now in the hands of the girl.  The Hell King has fallen this far down, that he would beg the help from the little, weak and poisoned girl.  He would not have been in this position had it not been the betrayal of the one person he trusted and loved the most.  He will do anything to have the girl break his chains and get pay back the person who betrayed him.  

"Very well, this King will promise to not kill you when you release me from these chains, but this King will also pledge himself to you until your dying day." 

"You pledge on your life?" Lihua asks. 

"On this King's life, this King will never raise a hand towards you nor have any ill intentions towards you.  This King will pledge, his ever lasting loyalty to you until your dying day." 

Lihua smiled at the man.  And when she smiled, it lit up her face, causing the Hell King to swallow his smile back and look away.  

"We have a deal. This grandma will get you down as soon as possible." 

Grandma? King Hell thought to himself.  Obviously she's a young maiden.  She's younger than him, by at least ten years!  Who calls themselves grandma?  Does she want to call herself grandma so people around her will give her the respect owed to a grandma? As if! 

Lihua walked up to the vined wall and followed the chain down to the floor.  On the floor she saw three enchanted locks that hung on the chain.  Lihua used the butterfly hairpin to pick the lock while forcing her qi into the hairpin and broke the enchantment slowly.  One lock took her an hour to break.  three hours later and with sweat dripping down her forehead, Lihua was able to break all three locks with her inner qi.  Unhooking the three locks, the golden chain became a dull grey and the weight of the man pulled on the chain.  

He could see the ground coming closer to him, there was nothing that he could do to save himself at the moment.  His arms that hung for ten years felt a burning tingle as it flopped down to his side.  His legs that hung to the side felt numb, that he wouldn't even be able to stand.  He would land straight into the ground and probably break his skull.  That damn brat didn't even consider this as he fell.  To be free of the chain and then die by falling.  What an embarrassing way to die! He shouted to himself in his mind.  

But before he could feel impact of the hard ground, he felt a soft body wrapping around him.  The stable arms wrapped around his chest as the soft body closed itself next to his.  The weak girl had caught him in mid air and is now gliding him down to the ground slowly and softly, not to hurt him or cause him any pain.  

When Lihua landed, she turned her back towards him and hefted him on to her back.  He was taller than her by three heads and weight twice her size, but that didn't deter her from carrying him to the fire pit.  She laid him down slowly and then took the time to take the chains off his neck, wrists and ankles.  Under the chain, was a deep red scar that the chain made from all the years it was on him.  

Seeing the state that he was in,  Lihua threw the chain towards the cave wall and went to go search for wood.  Finding wood behind the hut, Lihua brought wood to the fire pit and arraigned them well before going to the hut in search of flint and steel.  Finding it in one of the drawers in the desk, she came back out and lit the wood on fire.  As the it burned, Lihua went back into the hut and found a pot, she walked towards the lake to grab her clothes and wash the pot before filling it up with the magical heavenly water.  

When she came back, the man had his eyes closed as if he was sleeping.  After hanging her clothes up to dry, she made her way to the man.  

"Drink." Lihua said as she grabbed his head and tilted it so he could drink the water.  "Drink, it'll heal you."  

Silver eyes stared back into her forest green eyes, before he opened his mouth and drank slowly.  He took his time drinking the healing water, knowing that he would make himself sick if he drank fast.  This was the first fluid in his body in 10 years.  All he did for the past 10 years is cultivate.  By cultivating, one can suppress hunger and thirst.  The qi would feed the body of nutrients and keep the body alive.  And for the past 10 years that was all he did.  

10 years cultivating, he is now at the Heavenly Dragon Martial Stage.  The highest martial level that only a handful of people were able to achieve.  

Lihua took the pot back and set it aside.  

"Tell me when you're ready to drink more.  I'll find some food for us to eat." Lihua said.  "I'll be gone, but I'll be back soon."  

The silver eyes followed the figure until it went out of his sight.  He finally closed his eyes and let go.  He fell asleep for the first time in 10 years.  

----------------

When he woke up again, it was to the smell of a fragrant soup she was cooking over the fire.  It smelled of fish and herbs as it brought his mouth to a water.  Lihua saw that the man was awake and a look of relief washed over her.  When she came back from finding herbs and killing several snakes, she saw that he was asleep.  But when he did not wake up the next day and the day after that, she started to worry for him.  She did the only thing she could for him at the moment and that was to take care of him.  

She fed him the heavenly water to him by mouth.  She would drink the water into her mouth then pass on the water into his mouth and pinching his nose so he would swallow the water.  She also did that to him with the soup she cooked so he would have some nutrition.  When he finally woke up, seven days have passed and she had violated his mouth several times a day.  Because of the bad smell that came from him, she also took liberty to take the old clothes he was wearing off, give him a towel bath and dress him in clean clothes that were in the hut.  

So when he woke up, he felt refreshed for the first time in 10 years.  

"Are you able to sit up?" Lihua asked.  "Here, I shall help you." 

Lihua took his arm and wrapped it over her shoulder as her arm came around his back.  She pulled him up so he could sit and once she was sure he was steady, she took his arm off her narrow shoulders and placed it back to his side.  

What she didn't notice was how he stared at her the whole time.  He had never met a woman like her before.  One that could not be compelled by him.  One that would argue with him.  One that would bargain with him.  One that held on to her word.  One that would take care of him, a total stranger.  Soon his heart lit a blaze, but instead of telling her what he was thinking, he looked into the fire that reflected his burning heart.  

"Okay, here, drink." Lihua said as she gave him a cup of the heavenly water.  

With Lihua holding the cup he tilted his head back to drink the water.  

"Good boy."  Lihua said as she patted his head like a little boy.  "Now that you're awake, let us introduce ourselves to each other.  My name is Lihua.  What's yours?" 

He liked the sound of her name.  Lihua.  Lihua meaning beautiful and elegant.  He looked at her and saw that she has delicate features with big round phoenix eyes and thick pouty lips.  Red lips.  Kissable lips.  He shook his head from side to side, clearing his thoughts of womanly flesh and told him his name.  

"My name is King Takeshi Shiro, also known as the Hell King."  Takeshi said as his cold silver gaze met her warm forest green eyes.  "Are you the one who changed this King's clothes?"