On My Way: The Demon King Made Me His

Chapter 101: Punishment

Aqua got some ready made clothes for her and a few cloaks to protect herself from the cold. She got everything she would need for living in mountains. From knife, daggers, ropes, boots, some herbs, spices, some groceries including rice, rice flour, and few other ingredients for three. Where as Huo got different things like now grade weapons, for both of them and meter of plain clothes. He also bought extra pairs of boots, gloves and cloaks, few ribbons and got a mirror. He made sure that he got two pairs of everything. Aqua changed her clothes and put on a hat with veil that covered her face. 

The sky darkened all of a sudden and thunder broke. "Something wrong?" Huo asked. 

"They must have confessed, this is a message," Aqua said and carried on with her work, trying to find some good archery. She kept reminding herself that she should save money and not spend the gold all at once. Huo did not seem worried about it, carrying lots of gold with him.

'Why do demons have lots of money?' She wondered. 

Aqua took a bow and checked the strength while Huo was busy buying some wine for him and Master Bo Hai. Aqua after finishing her shopping, walked into a hotel for lunch and ordered for two non veg meals. The waiter served them couple of minutes later with rice, and side dishes of drumsticks, cooked and seasoned carrot and cabbage, grilled fish and ginseng chicken soup served along with Spinach curry, butter milk which she refused and gave Huo the extra and grilled sweet potato. Aqua enjoyed the meal. Huo was happy to see how satisfied she was with the meal. Huo ordered for two pieces fruit cakes and waited at the table to pay. Aqua split the bill and walked out of the hotel. She remembered to carry a bottle of boiled water along with her. 

They started their journey once again by noon and they were sure that they would need to camp in the mountain at night. 

It was hard, really hard to climb the mountain without their power with such heavy bags in their hands. Huo was exhausted more than Aqua with his recently healed wound aching a little. Whereas Aqua panted hard drank all the water which only made her fall tired easily. 

One day became two. 

On the second night in the woods, Huo hunted for few rabbits and grilled them. While Aqua fell asleep for sometime. She was carrying the heavier bags than Huo. 

They were silent for most times except for quarelling. Aqua couldn't stand the site of and often tried to hurt him with her blade like words. While Huo chose to be playful so that nothing gets to his heart, understanding her frustrations, whatever way she attacks him. 

"Can you stop accusing me for things I did not commit?" He asked her in the end. 

"No," she said as she sat looking at the fire she built. 

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"Why? Just why?" He asked her. "I don't get it, why do you hate me so much all of a sudden," he was desperate to know the answer. 

"You hurt my family, you insulted the bond we shared, you chose to be ignorant, you had no feeling towards me or my child," Tha was the first she mentioned about their child ever to anyone. "you chose not to have any, you let that mad woman take over your life, she killed us but you didn't take any action. Why?" Aqua explained everything very clearly that there was not a single answer he could reply back to.

Huo sat there, clenching his fists as he heard her accusing him. He did feel guilty but he had no choice. And the reason he chose to be ignorant was because of the lies people attempted to feed him with.

"I had no choice, there were things I wanted to know, and the more I tried to find it, I was fed with lies and false leads. Living without memory itself was stressful. And lies piling up was dangerous, but I could not stop,"

"Even when my family tried to help?" She asked.

"You will never understand that," he said and got up. Aqua turned her face away sat looking up, to not let the tears fall down her eyes. He looked at her and turned away. She refused to understand him. She touched her belly and sat there. "Forgive me," she said. And he was hurt. He stayed awake the whole night, standing as guard for their things. 

By the next early morning, they began their journey again in silence after the fight. Huo did not try to talk to her. By around noon, when the sun was on top of their heads, the two reached the moutian top where Shifu stood waiting at the entrance. He in a snap of the his finger, tied Aqua's hands and feet taking the things away and she knelt down immediately.

"It must have been fun to break the rule and show off being the princess. Was it?" He asked her. 

Huo who encouraged her and advised her to do the duty remained silent, carrying all the goodies into the hut. He did not care to even look at her once. 

Shifu tightened the ties around her little by little and she felt the skin tearing under the ropes "Is this what you did to them?" Shifu asked her. "Cuffing them and letting them walk towards the palace?" He asked her. "How does the cuffs feel?"

"They were sinners who ran a brothel against the will of heavens," she talked back.

"Did they not give you shelter, when you were in need?" He questioned her. 

"Why would I be biased? What does that make me? A favour has been returned by giving them light sentences giving a chance to confess than holding a mass execution," she said proudly. The ropes around her tightened even more.

"You disobeyed my order to live as a commoner, remember I never go easy on anyone, you will be punished, he did well than you. Am going to keep scores, he won this round," Shifu said and turned away, vanishing into thin air. Aqua was left to kneel on the entrance. She couldn't move a bit since both her legs and arms has been tied up. 

Hours passed, then days. She was not fed, nor left free. She was left alone often by shifu taking Huo along with him for cultivation. He only watched her and never approached her. He just let her endure the punishment. The scorching hot sunlight in the day and the coldest wind in the nights, her body withstood everything. Until the  night of the fifth day of her punishment. Aqua lost her conscious due to the pain and tiredness. She fell on the right side of the body, her head hitting the ground with a thud. The crystals needed energy. 

"You're cruel," Huo shouted at Shifu.

"I was waiting for her to beg for forgiveness, it appears that she is too proud, let her then," Master Bo Hai said, sipping his tea watching Aqua lie on the ground from his hut.

Huo rushed towards her. He lifted her head from the ground where the soil had stuck to her cheek. He wiped them out instantly. The ropes disappeared. But she didn't know about it. He then carried her in his arms, as she rested her head on his chest. "Sorry," he apologized. He put her down on the quilt inside her hut and tried to warm her frozen hands and feet.  Her knees were injured. He rubbed her hands in his and helped her change the clothes. He did not want to do anything that would make her hate him more and closed his eyes while he did it. He applied the herbal medicines on her wounds around the knees, the palms and feet, and covered her in a quilt. She looked pale and tired. He leaned forward, sitting next to her. He observed her for hours and slowly planted a kiss on her forehead since he couldn't help it. "Someday," he whispered. "Someday, you will understand me," he whispered. He sat there watching her and let her sleep peacefully. She was angry and full of  hatred, but his heart brimmed with love for her, honestly. Shifu was keeping an eyes on them and had his dinner while Huo skipped it as usual like he did all these days, refusing to cook, agitating against his teacher. Stupid teamwork, he thought. 

The next morning, Aqua woke up and stepped out of the hut, surprised to see that she was no longer in the entrance being punished. She walked to Shifu's hut the first thing. 

"Ah you're fine," shifu said.

"I am," she said nothing more.

"Cook breakfast, get Huo for assistance," he ordered. 

"Why him? I don't need him," she said straight. One person who doesn't know what cooking is except making soups said proudly. 

"You will see," shifu said.

"We will see," she said and left. 

"Remember to get the menu from Huo," shifu reminded her.

"Menu?" She was surprised and stepped back. Shifu laughed loud. "Huh?"

"Today we are serving food for some homeless people in the village. I will go there myself. Prepare them soon and serve them, I have to take it down the hill,"

"What?" She was shocked. "Seriously, am I taken her for cultivation training or maid job?" She asked shifu.

"These days he made me collect fire woods and clean around here in the name of teaching me too, while he meditated, " Huo stood in front of the hut holding more pieces of wood and supported Aqua. She thought that he has been training alone unlocking new levels of cultivation but instead it appeared that he was running errands for the master. "He is messing with us," Aqua was surprised and turned and looked at Shifu who vanished leaving a message. "Two hours starts now,"