It was already the third day of the Lunar Festival in Lotus City and it was in full swing. Lanterns of all shapes and sizes were hung all over, painting colors to the normally dull city. Traveling acts drew many spectators. On the northern part of the town, there was even a stage set up for a fighting competition.
Xiu Xiang had taken quite a few days before she finally arrived at the festive city. Ever since Xiu Xiang transmigrated, she never once got to enjoy a celebration as big as this. She saw many traveling troupes enter the city along with her. Suddenly remembering the circus troupe that she had ran into a few days ago, she knew she was bound to bump into them eventually. Not wanting to cause a commotion so soon when the celebration had just started, she remembered seeing a booth selling masks. She walked over the booth and randomly bought a painted face mask. Donning the mask, she brusquely walked past the traveling troupes.
She had already forgotten that the reason why she came to this town was to feed her stomach. There were so many things on display that her hunger quickly dissipated. She would pause in her steps every now and then.
"It would've more fun if I had brought someone else with me..." she thought. With that thought in mind, she felt guilty about leaving the Night Guards behind to deal with her disappearance. She passed a jewelry store and decided to go in to look. She might as well buy something for her guards since she had left them hanging.
There were many things on display. She randomly picked several pieces of jewelries for the guards and then decided that she'll get something for the flashy Hua Jian too. She looked around and saw a pretty red jade pendant. Right as her hand reached out for it, another dainty hand also reached out for it. Upon touching it at the same time, Xiu Xiang turned her head to see a young girl in a lovely pink dress. Each piece of jewelry on her was worth thousands of gold coins. As soon as they made eye contact with each other, a scowl appeared on the girl's face. This girl just so happens to be Li Yue, the daughter of the City Magistrate. The scowl on her face quickly disappeared as soon as a male voice sounded.
"Yue Er, did you find anything that interests you?" Right behind this Li Yue girl stood a young man who was a head taller than Xiu Xiang. He was dressed in dark blue robes. There was a cheerful and bright aura around the young man. He smiled dotingly at Li Yue.
This man was Chu Ling, son of the famous General Chu of the Long Kingdom. He was quite famous for his humble reputation. He was even a disciple from the famed Fire Temple of the Five Holy Temples.
Li Yue whipped around to look at Chu Ling and smiled. "Ling Gege, I think this red jade pendant would look good on you! What do you think?"
Li Yue didn't care that Xiu Xiang had been looking at the pendant, she snatched it before Xiu Xiang could say anything and held it in front of Chu Ling.
Xiu Xiang frowned but didn't want to cause any trouble. She hasn't even had her fill of the festival yet. Besides, it was just a piece of ordinary jade. She decided to pick something else out for Hua Jian instead. She looked around and saw a white jade thumb ring. Right when she picked it up, an image of Wei Xing wearing the ring popped up in her mind.
Quickly wiping the image out of her mind, she was about to put it away only to stop herself. It really was a pretty jade ring. She couldn't bear to put it down. Xiu Xiang sighed and gave in. She was about to call over the clerk to pay for the things she picked out only someone else had their eyes on the ring she was holding.
Chu Ling's eyes passed over Li Yue and happened to see Xiu Xiang holding the white jade ring. To others it might be an ordinary jade ring, but he knew that the piece of jade that the ring had been molded out of was a special type of jade. It could help sustain one's internal energy when cultivating. Li Yue followed Chu Ling's line of sight until it landed on the ring Xiu Xiang was holding. Right away, Li Yue walked over to Xiu Xiang.
"I want to buy that ring," Li Yue stated.
Xiu Xiang slightly turned her head to look at her, then without saying anything to Li Yue, she turned to the clerk and said, "How much is all of this?"
She pointed to all the things she picked out before hand along with the jade ring. This action instantly ticked Li Yue off. She grabbed Xiu Xiang harshly by the shoulder and said rudely, "I said I wanted to buy the ring. Are you deaf?!"
"Can't you see that I'm already buying it?" Xiu Xiang replied dully.
Li Yue wasn't going to back off. Her darling Ling Gege wanted the ring so she had to get it for him.
"You wanted this jade pendant right? I'll trade you for the ring." With that said, Li Yue held up the pendant, ready to shove it in her hands.
"I don't want it." Xiu Xiang couldn't believe her. Did the ignorant girl honestly think she'll just hand over the ring because she said to trade?
"I'll pay you double." Li Yue started to reach for her money pouch only to stop when she heard Xiu Xiang's reply.
"No thanks," Xiu Xiang said curtly.
"Triple!"
"No."
Li Yue was fuming at this point. She pointed an accusing finger at Xiu Xiang and spat, "There's a limit being shameless! Give me the jade ring!"
"There's also a limit to being greedy. Why should I give you the ring just because you demanded it?" Xiu Xiang shot back.
The clerk nervously wrapped up Xiu Xiang's items and handed it back to her. Not wanting to stay in the same place as the crazy Li Yue, she tossed a bag full of gold coins at the clerk and started for the exit.
"Stop right there! Do you know who I am?!" Li Yue shouted angrily. Right at the same time, Chu Ling grabbed her gently by the arm.
"Yue Er, it's alright. You don't have to get the ring for me," Chu Ling said calmly but it was too late. Li Yue didn't want the ring for Chu Ling but rather to save her face. No one has ever treated her like this before.
Xiu Xiang couldn't believe what she was seeing. This pampered rich girl first took the pendant she wanted and now she wants the ring too? Unfortunately for Li Yue, Xiu Xiang wasn't willing to back down either.
"If you don't even know who you are, how should I know?" retaliated Xiu Xiang.
"You!" At this point, Li Yue decided to speak with weapons instead. She was also a disciple of the Five Holy Temples, except she studied under the Water Temple. With a flip of her hand, a thin silver sword magically appeared. She grabbed the hilt of the sword with purpose and shot forward like an arrow. The sword rippled back and forth like water.
Xiu Xiang missed the tip of the sword by an inch as she dodged to the right. Right as soon as she dodged, Li Yue twist her wrist and the blade instantly bent. The blade curled off in Xiu Xiang's direction, catching her sleeve.
Li Yue saw that her sword had struck Xiu Xiang's sleeve and she quickly pulled back. Standing tall and firm, she cast Xiu Xiang an arrogant look, a smirk plastered on her face.
"Hand over the ring and I'll think about letting you off with a horse," Li Yue stated.
Xiu Xiang ignored her and turned her attention onto the clean cut on her sleeve. For Li Yue to be able to cut her sleeve, it meant that Li Yue actually has some abilities. She remembered how the sword managed to bend like it was a part of Li Yue's arm. Looks like she'll have to get serious if she doesn't want to get hurt. After all, Xiu Xiang still wanted to have some more fun.
"I let you get away with cutting my sleeve and you're acting as if you won already? Aren't you confident," Xiu Xiang replied sarcastically.
Chu Ling watched as Xiu Xiang exchanged moves with Li Yue. He didn't recognize the fighting style that Xiu Xiang displayed. This was only because Xiu Xiang's fighting style was from the world that she had come from. It was quick, efficient, and fatal. He couldn't help but watch the mysterious masked woman with amusement. However, his enjoyment didn't last long. He suddenly felt a murderous gaze on him. His eyes darted into the crowd. No matter where he looked, he couldn't pinpoint where the sudden dangerous gaze had come from.
Within ten moves, Xiu Xiang managed to pry the sword out of Li Yue's hand. Xiu Xiang then kicked Li Yue harshly in the chest. She went flying back into the store. Thankfully, Chu Ling caught her before she could slam into anything dangerous. While that was happening, Xiu Xiang slapped the end of the sword hilt with quite a bit of force. The sword flew out of her hand and stabbed into the wall of the second floor of a nearby building. Now that Li Yue's weapon was out of reach, it gave Xiu Xiang time to escape.
By the time Chu Ling placed Li Yue back on her feet, Xiu Xiang was long gone. Li Yue was furious. She has never been embarrassed like this before. She stormed out of the store, her eyes darted from left to right. Xiu Xiang's figure was nowhere in sight. As for her sword, it was stabbed into the wall of a nearby building. Retrieving her sword wasn't a big deal as she could easily use a light maneuver skill to jump up and pull it out. What she was worried about was the fact that the mysterious woman had immense spiritual energy. If that woman had used just a little more strength, her sword would've shot right through the wall. Almost the entire blade stabbed through the wall!
Li Yue couldn't believe her eyes. She bit her lower lip in frustration. She was going to pay that annoying woman back ten-fold! Right as she thought this her guards finally arrived. Almost immediately, she screamed for the guards to find the masked woman no matter what it took.
Meanwhile a couple streets over, Xiu Xiang dropped down from the roof of a building.
"Maybe I should avoid those two just in case..." Xiu Xiang muttered to herself. She looked down at her outfit and decided that changing it was a must.
With a new destination in mind, she walked down the crowded street, all the while noticing that a particular tall figure in black had been following close behind.
It didn't take her long to find a clothing store. Right when she walked into a random clothing store, she noticed that tall dark figure following in with her. She noticed him long after she entered the city. He was also wearing a paper mask that hid his face. Even his aura was completely hidden. She wasn't able to tell exactly how strong this man was. Her attention was half on the man and the clothes. She tried not to feel too suspicious about the man as there was no insidious aura coming from him.
She walked around the store, taking her time. After looking at several dresses, she looked down at her own clothes. Most of the time she was usually dressed in male clothing as it was more convenient to move around. Her hand lingered over a male outfit when suddenly, the store manager walked over with a bright smile on her face.
"Miss, how about this dress? It'll look exquisite on you! Just perfect for the festival!" the manager chirped. The light green dress in the manager's hand was indeed very pretty. It was extremely well made. Even the fabric was soft to the touch. It was almost like a fairy dress. Xiu Xiang has never worn anything like this before.
She decided to exchange the masculine dark clothing for the light green dress. She even undid her ponytail, styling it up with a silver hairpin. She rarely dressed up in female clothing and eventually stopped wearing female clothing all together after she started living in the Demon Realm. It was almost strange for her to see herself donned in such a pretty dress, adorned with a pretty hairpin even.
When she came out of the changing room to ask for the price of the dress, the manager merely smiled.
"Don't worry about it. It's on the house."
"Huh?"
"Ah... to be exact, a gentleman paid for your dress. He said that it was a small repayment," the manager explained.
Small repayment?
Xiu Xiang didn't know what she had done to make someone go as far as to pay for her dress. Just one look and anyone could tell that the dress was extremely expensive. It didn't feel right to leave without paying for the dress but no matter how much she offered the money, the manager refused to accept it. Sighing in defeat, she gave up and left the store.
Taking her sweet time looking around the city, she stopped at a booth where an old man was weaving syrup into sugar candy figurines. She saw a little girl and boy drooling at the candy figurines. They were poorly dressed, and their faces were quite dirty. Anyone could tell the boy and girl were orphans or possibly beggars. As the two were watching the candy molding process, another child dressed in the finest clothing pushed his way through. Two older male servants in their twenties followed closely after the child.
"Young Master, be careful! You'll dirty your new clothes!" one of the male servants said as he glared at the two beggar children. The other servant quickly pushed the two children aside.
"Get lost, beggars! Don't be a sight for sore eyes for our little Young Master!"
The children simply wanted to watch the old man make candy figurines and couldn't understand why they were being hated. When the two servants saw that the two beggar children didn't want to leave, the older servant of the two raised his hand. His hand was about to hit the children when Xiu Xiang intervened. She grabbed the servant harshly by the arm and pushed him away.
"Who do you think you are?!" the servants shouted loudly.
Xiu Xiang ignored the servants and turned to the old man.
"I'll take two candy figurines." She tossed a few coins over to the old man and grabbed to sticks of candy figurines then handed it to the two children. "Here. Be careful on your way back, alright?"
The two beggar children hesitated as they stared at Xiu Xiang. She chuckled and patiently waited for them to reach out for the candies. Once they each grabbed the stick of candy, they quickly darted off.
"You! You dare to ignore us?!" the servants shouted. The little Young Master of the two servants glowered at Xiu Xiang. He had been taught ever since he could speak that beggars were beneath him, so whenever he went out, if he saw a beggar, he would purposely put up an arrogant presence.
The two servants saw that despite Xiu Xiang's nice clothes, she didn't wear any jewelries on her. She was even wearing a hideous painted mask. They figured her to be from a small common family and didn't hesitate to pick a fight with her. After all, their little Young Master wasn't an ordinary little boy. He was Li Yun, the son of the City Magistrate.
Truth be told, Xiu Xiang didn't care who she offended, except her enemy was only a seven year old boy. There was no point in picking a fight with a little boy, even if it was the servants of the little boy.
When Xiu Xiang turned her back on the two servants and Li Yun, they instantly gave chase.
"Hey! We're talking to you! You dare to turn your back on us?!" The servant's loud voice was slowly garnering attention as passersby slowly came to a stop to watch. The servant reached out to grab Xiu Xiang by the shoulder but right when he was inches away from making contact with her shoulder, she disappeared on the spot.
"Wha...! Where did she go?!" the two servants couldn't believe their eyes. She was there one second and the next she was gone.
Li Yun who had seen this was mesmerized. His eyes sparkled and glowed with interest. He grinned and then ordered loudly, "Find that lady! I want her to be my bodyguard!"