The Fox Hunter's Unexpected Love Story.

After the spiritual power was chanelled into his vulnerable body,Hu Lan felt a soothing feeling. The injuries didn't hurt like they did a few hours ago. He remembered the excruciating pain he felt and how he howled in pain before transforming to his true form and passing out. He had felt like his organs were about to shatter. Without his human form,he was barely able to heal himself properly. He had to recuperate naturally and gradually over a period of time.After the little doctor and patient session with Zhao Shenbao,he was nervously waiting for Zhao Shenbao's next action. He felt scared imagining there were high chances of him being sent back to the cold hostage room because that would sabotage his recuperation process.

Zhao Shenbao suddenly got up from his bed and walked over towards his homemade wardrobe where robes made of high quality fabric were neatly arranged. He carefully untied the sash taking off his outer robes. He was well aware of the fox's intense gaze and its ability to recognize his actions. Hu Lan respected other people's privacy so he rarely witnessed such kind of situations. He quickly averted his gaze when he spotted Zhao Shenbao's clutching the sash of his inner robes intending to untie it.

On a second thought, Zhao Shenbao dropped the idea and walked over to the shelves which were stacked with different kinds of books. He picked up one of the books and walked over to his bed. He sat in a lotus position on his soft mattress a few centimeters away from the fox. Hu Lan cast a furtive glance at the book Zhao Shenbao was holding in his hand. It was a cultivation manual.

'How pathetic? Humans are also greedy for cultivation power.'

Even if he had been saved by a human,Hu Lan still despised them a bit.

With his insomnia, Zhao Shenbao had tried to use a few sleep inducing incenses before but he found them too addictive. And after some time the incenses were longer effective and his body and mind became immune to their effect drowning him into the abyss of insomnia.

His eyes keenly skimmed through the cultivation steps, taking mental notes of each step read. He was so engrossed in mastering the content in the manual that the fox could tell how devoted he was.

'Why isn't he sleeping? Don't humans prioritize sleep?'Hu Lan wondered. The night was insanely quiet that even sounds of someone breathing could be easily heard yet that human next to him didn't seem to be submitting to sleep at all.

*****

Zhao Shenbao couldn't figure out how it happened. His nostrils dilated inhaling some kind of alluring scent. With every bit of the scent inhaled his nostrils dilated more yearning for the scent.He felt heat rushing through his body creating a warm comfortable feeling. His muscles relaxed minute by minute. He looked around in confusion trying to find out the cause of that effect. With time his eyelids became heavy making it difficult to blink. His mind became clear with no thoughts flooding his mind like one in the middle of a successful meditation session.While tightening his grasp on the book,he slowly closed his eyes submitting to the significant impact of the scent. He involuntarily let go of the book from his hands and lay down.And before knowing it,he was deep asleep.

His calm steady breaths echoed inside the room. Hu Lan who was still lying next to him crept out of the bed taking his time to explore the room. Even Zhao Shenbao's room was lined with an invisible barrier limiting Hu Lan's movement. Now that he was unable to escape he decided to stay back to find out what fate had in store for him.

"Young Master! Young Master!"Zhao Ruoxuan's clear voice called out. He knocked several times but there was no response. When Zhao Shenbao returned home the previous night something seemed odd about him. Zhao Ruoxuan couldn't help but feel nervous when he felt an unsettling feeling slowly creeping in taunting him in the process. Without hesitation,he slid the door opened but was halted by the barrier after walking a few steps in.

*****

"Young Master,wake up!"He shouted desperately.

He could vaguely see Zhao Shenbao through the barrier lying in bed with no single movement from him. Fear and panic struck him sending cold chills down his spine. Zhao Ruoxuan shouted desperately in attempt to wake him up. However all these were futile because his voice could barely penetrate through the thick barrier masked with strong spiritual power.In the world they lived in,there were very few people who were able to break Zhao Shenbao's barriers effortlessly but he hadn't encountered them yet.

Zhao Ruoxuan relentlessly released the breath he had been holding for so long out of panic when his eyes caught a certain movement. He sighed with relief and walked out of the room.

Zhao Shenbao stretched out his lithe body and sprang up to a seating position. His eyes searched around for his new unexpected roommate who was apparently out of sight. Just then he felt the heavy weight on his limbs that were still covered by the blanket. He slid the blanket off revealing the beautiful fox curled up around his feet. The previous night after Zhao Shenbao blacked out,Hu Lan sneaked in under the blanket seeking warmth and comfort.

Confirming everything was as he expected it to be ,Zhao Shenbao stepped out of bed. In contrary to other mornings before,he felt refreshed, reborn ,relaxed or maybe rejuvenated; refreshed like he had stepped out of the bathtub after having a cool long shower with the cool water massaging and caressing his milky white skin, reborn like he had been granted a new life,an opportunity to start afresh making new life decisions and never making same decisions like in his previous life.

He felt so relaxed after sleeping like a log through the whole night, dissimilar to his use of sleep inducing incense era where he used to wake up in the middle of the night. Whatever substance it was ,it had created a safe haven for him. He didn't wake up from nightmares caused by a result of his past life struggles like the incident in his recurring nightmare where he was almost beaten to death at the construction site for defending a friend who had been overworked. His cries while begging for leniency and mercy echoed in his mind every night waking him up at a specific time like an alarm. But that night, nothing of that sort happened.

The substance had invaded his mind and sunk deep into his mind pushing away all the sad memories and complex thoughts making his thoughts rejuvenated by making them simple like those of toddler's. For instance,the moment he stepped out of his room,he thought of breakfast something he usually skipped. He was craving to eat a number of dishes that were his favourite when he was still the most cherished prince at the Qingzhou palace.