The Librarian and the Fox Princess: a Donghua Dijun and Bai Fengjiu story, V.I

Chapter 4 - Titanic, Cosmic, Self-Assertion

A/N: Chapter title inspired by the words Bertrand Russell used to describe Lord Byron. These are two writers that had a profound influence over my development as a reader and writer.

(Image is not mine, credit belongs to the owner)

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(From the previous chapter)

"Dijun, I have a question for you."

"Ask."

"Why did you lie to me and say you were a librarian?"

He looked at her. Her eyes were serious. Her pink lips no longer smiling. He returned her thoughtful expression. He offered her a cup of tea. Before drinking from his cup, he looked back at her.

"Because I didn't know how else to be with you."

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He held her gaze for several seconds before lowering his eyes to his teacup.

She didn't know to how make heads or tails out of his answer. Not wanting him to feel she was ignoring him, she just softly replied, "oh" and nodded. She wasn't even sure if he understood his own response.

They both sat in silence looking at their teacups for several more moments.

"Xiao Bai ... I troubled you greatly yesterday," he said while still averting his eyes from her.

Oh, he must be referring to how I saved his life twice.

She looked at him thoughtfully as she crafted her response.

"Dijun, I know I saved you twice yesterday but I don't want you have to feel like you have to repay a debt to me. Besides, you saved me once. Saving you back is the honorable thing to do. I would have done this for anyone else in trouble. You have saved the Eight Realms and the Four Seas countless times. By saving you, I am simply acting as a humble servant to the gratitude of all sentient beings who have benefitted from your protection, valor, and grace."

She brought her hands together in an elegant gesture of respect and bowed her head to him. She smiled to the floor acknowledging that her speech was indeed befitting of the Queen of Qing Qiu. She had to remember her exact words so she could recite them for her family later. She knew her grandfather, the Fox Emperor and Zhe Yan would be most impressed with how noble and gracious she was, giving great face to her beloved kingdom.

"That's not what ...." his voice trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He had meant to apologize for being cold and dishonest to her yesterday. He had never apologized to anyone before and obviously did a poor job at his first attempt.

Apparently, she didn't even understand what he was trying to say. And what kind of math was this girl using, he wondered. He could have vanquished the first demon she killed for him by a wave of his finger. That instance didn't count as saving, she merely killed the demon before he could. Then in the woods he had saved her from a painful death. That is one point for Dong Hua. Another "saving" instance she might be referring to was when she killed the demons in the courtyard. Again, he could have dealt with that with a wave of his hand. He couldn't understand the "two" times she saved him she was referring to.

She was technically still at zero points where as he definitely had at least one point. Did she consider the barrier she had placed in the forest when she protected them from the second volley of arrows as saving him? Again, had she not been there, he would have used his sword, Cang He, and annihilated them with one powerful slash. And what about all the times he saved her from her rampant emotions? That time her heart was going to explode taking his along with hers? She really wasn't thinking this through. He closed his eyes briefly, getting a headache from her delusional line of reasoning. He opened one eye to peek at her.