For the next few days, Li Ming spent her time taking care of her business Empire.

Everything was going as perfectly as it can. Even the people whom she rescued from the Slave market were showing improvements in their health.

But even though everything was sailing smoothly, one could tell by looking at her face that something was worrying her.

And no, it was not about her learning array formations or the idea that she received from her friends about participating in the Guixian Island's entrance exams which were going to be held three days after her sixteenth birthday.

Rather it was about her mates whom she had not seen for the past five days.

The day she failed in completing the dare that she received from Ruoshan, she was actually excited to see what would be his reaction.

But when she returned to the Snow Fields that night, not a single one of her mates were present.

She just found the old man who handed her a spiritual message note from her mates.

The note said that the six of them were given a small mission by the old man and they would be away for almost a week.

She was becoming used to have at least one of her mates around her which kept her uncompleted bonds contended.

However, all of them suddenly disappearing left her with an empty feeling.

As she sat on the swing in the front lawn of the orphanage, which was actually a small academy, watching a group of five-eight year students who were playing with clay, her eyes appeared distant as she was lost in her own thoughts.

"You can't be serious."

Snowy's mocking tone and the sigh that followed behind brought Li Ming out of her thoughts.

"What?"

Li Ming asked the little furball with raised eyebrows as she picked him up to settle him in her lap as she kept swinging.

"You are acting like this when they have been away for only a few days and on the other hand, you are thinking about joining the Array Sect of the Guixian Island where you will need to stay away from all of them until your studies will be over."

The little furball replied as he looked at his Master with his sharp but adorable eyes.

A sigh left Li Ming's lips as she looked at Snowy. "It just feels a little bit empty without them. But don't worry, I'll get used to their absence if I stayed without them for a few weeks."

"But what about your soul? A few weeks or months without any contact with them is one thing but staying away from them for years without any physical contact would be harmful to you. Have you ever thought about it?"

Snowy's tone reminded her of Wei Rong as he talked to her like she was a little child and he was her father.

"What you even know about it?" She tried to divert the little furball's attention by mocking him.

"I know enough to be aware of whether you will be in any danger or not." Snowy was quick to defend and his reply actually shut her up.

"What's so hard about this topic that you guys need to fight? All she needs to do is to complete at least one of her bonds. One complete bond will be enough for her to survive half of a decade without her mates with very little or almost no harm."

Kara's sharp voice disturbed the pair of Master and her familiar.

Before Li Ming could say anything the banshee, Snowy's excited voice stopped her.

"Of course! Kara is right! You can complete one or maybe two bonds just to be safe and then you will be good to go."

Li Ming slumped down on the swing as she lazily tried to move the swing.

"Completing a bond with only one of them is not a simple thing. It's such a precious feeling and the most beautiful moment between mates. I don't want to ruin it because I'm in hurry. Also, it will be like I'm being selfish." She told them in a soft voice.

"Then what are you going to do?" The banshee asked her.

"I'm not sure at the moment. But there are still more than two months before my birthday, I'll find a solution by then. You guys don't have to worry." Li Ming said as she looked deep in thoughts.

The banshee opened her mouth to say something but then decided against saying anything.

Her silhouette just disappeared from the lawn and at that exact moment, a beautiful blue butterfly came flying towards Li Ming who immediately recognized it.

She stretched her right hand forward, offering her palm to the butterfly. The moment that beautiful butterfly made contact with her skin, it transformed into a magical message.

It was a message from the Moon Immortal who had asked her to return to the Snow Fields as soon as she would be free.

A huge smile appeared on her lips as she flicked her sleeve and the message disappeared into tiny blue particles.

"Look at you! It's like I'm looking at some lovesick person. Aish! I'm going to continue with my training. I have to recite the Form Transformation mantra."

Snowy scoffed at her before disappearing inside the magical mansion.

Li Ming just rolled her eyes at her little fireball as she stood up from the swing and made her way inside the building to take her leave from the Old Mo and Old Madam.

After ten minutes she was standing outside her cabin where she could hear faint sounds coming from inside.

With a bright smile on her lips, she entered the cabin and immediately was pulled into a tight embrace by Zhang Yong.

"Missed you so much, Ming'er." He said adorably while pecking both of her cheeks multiple times.

His actions made her heart filled with warmth as she took hold of his face in both of her hands and planted a huge kiss on his forehead.

The smile that bloomed on the Shadow Lord's face made their bond flow with happiness and a feeling of calmness.

"Aww, come here and give us kisses too. We missed you too, Lilac Girl." Hei Long's voice pulled her out of the beautiful feelings that she was enjoying in Zhang Yong's arms.

One by one she planted soft kisses on the cheeks of her mates, starting with Lord Yueliang, then Hei Long, the Heaven Emperor, Wen Guiying, and then she was finally standing in front of the Evernight Lord.

However, the expression that was covering Ruoshan's face stopped her in her tracks as she looked at him with a racing heart.

His eyes were filled with fire as he stared at her. The thought of receiving the punishment for failing the dare made her breathing accelerate.

"I....I.....AHHH...!"

She let out a short scream as she was suddenly pulled against a firm chest by her Immortal mate.

She was so startled by his sudden actions that it took her mind a few moments to realize that both of her hands were pinned behind her back.

Ruoshan bent forward and whispered in her ear, "I know that you failed the dare which makes me the winner of our truth and dare game. As per rules, you are aware of the punishment that you will be getting soon, right?"

Her cheeks were suddenly turning red even though there was no reason for it. He was talking about normal punishments, right?

Yep! That was probably what he meant by punishment. However, her dirty mind was back in its full potential, and wanted to be a pervert for the time being.

"What are you thinking, Xingan? And why are your cheeks so red?"

Li Ming cursed under her breath as Ruoshan suddenly asked these questions out loud.

If her other mates had already not noticed the blush on her cheeks then they definitely did now.

However, none of them said anything which made her relax and squirm out of Ruoshan's arms without even giving him his kiss.

Although she noticed the small smiles and little switches that were playing on the lips of the rest of her mates.

"What? Are you not going to kiss me? How can you do that to me?" Ruoshan asked her while making a sad face.

It was more of a complaint but everyone in the room knew that he was just messing around with Li Ming.

At first, she wanted to ignore him but knowing him she was aware that she would not be able to get out of the situation easily.

She turned to look at the Evernight Lord and passed him a sweet smile as she walked closer to him.

She could see as his eyes turned serious as he watched her closing the distance between them.

She placed her left hand on his right cheek and moved her face closer to his.

It was clear that rather than a kiss on his forehead she was aiming for his lips.

She felt tingles erupting all over her body as her lips landed on the soft pair of lips of her mate.

And very softly she let her tongue skimmed over his lower lips, making a surprised gasp left Ruoshan's lips.