Book 3: Chapter 14: Equals and Friends |
Entering the noble quarters of the city was easier than Shui expected.
She did nothing but stroll through the gates of the inner city and mean mug anyone that tried to stop her. Simple and effective.
The old man had been going on for the past hour about how it was going to be impossible and that they might end up killing him for tresspassing, but that was all foolish talk. Doors were made to walk through. If no one passed through them, then what was the point of having such beautiful gateways deeper into the city and toward the palace that towered over everything else.
A palace it was but it could never outshine the one her Ancestor found within the Bleak Forests. Not even close.
“Where are these shops you mentioned?” Shui stopped in the middle of the road. One of the carriage drivers had to move around her and many nobles in fluffy finery stared at her strange dress and the beatdown old man next to her. “I don’t see anything that looks like a shop from here.”
The old man huddled close to her, head snapping back and forth as though a monster would eat him. “W-We entered through the residential gateway, Young Mistress.”
“So?”
“We need to loop around to the other side of the city. The nobles don’t want their shops tainted by the… negative ambience of the common folk and their common trade and haggling. Supposed to be beneath them. Except they ask for hundreds of discounts and free items just for walking by when they make the trip to the outer markets to get some of the more difficult to find items–” Long Ti, Shui learned his name before she entered the noble districts, froze as he noticed that she had no interest in hearing about things that did not concern her.
The last thing Shui needed was drama.
She shook her head and Long Ti nodded like a pecking bird.
“Take me to the shopping district!” She shouted.
It took another hour of them strolling through the wide streets of clean stone blocks the size of a carriage that made the ground here. Every shop had ample space around it. Every building was liberally covered in bright paint and banners of thick, expensive cloth to signify who owned it and what purpose it fulfilled. Many of which were held by the Neutral Bloc and did what the districts were made for.
The library districts had lots of scribes, bookmakers, and more.
The weapons districts had armories, weaponries, smiths, and Qi enchanters.
The bureaucratic district was ignored. Shui refused to pull her head up and stare at anyone in the eyes lest she attract their attention. Nothing made her more nervous than getting stuck in the same quagmire that her Ancestor had found himself when looking for a house and shop just the week prior. The grueling boredom that ate at her soul was enough to kill her a dozen times over.
It only took an hour by the time they reached the shopping districts.
Long Ti guided her along by finding his own guide. Shui had a couple of loose gold coins on her person from her Ancestor that paid for everything necessary.
That ended up leading her directly to a shop surrounded by gardens full of Spiritual Herbs. She sensed it the moment they got within a certain vicinity because of how much Qi radiated out of the place. Drowning the area around it enough that only the cultivators could stand being within the bubble it created. Long Ti was in a similar bind, huffing and puffing while standing before her.
Shui sighed and extended her Qi around her to cover the old man.
He smiled and nodded to her in gratitude.
Likely unable to figure out what happened exactly, but had suffered her Qi signature enough that it had something to do with Shui.
I can’t let my servants be weak and pathetic. I can make him a quarter as amazing as I am like. Just as master made us… I need to somehow convince him without letting anyone figure it out.
Shui stepped into the garden and walked straight to the store.
Hundreds of glass containers and bottles lined shelves throughout the small building. The only other thing in there was a single desk that an older woman sat at with a massive tome she flipped through and a bowl and pestle next to it. Herbs were laid out before her in bunches without any plant touching the other. A young boy, half Shui’s age, ran about with containers. Opening them for the old lady for her to take a few than returning it to its rightful spot.
Said boy froze midstep when he noticed Hu Shui and Long Ti. “Grandma Lei! We got visitors!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
“What?” the old lady shouted back.
The boy ran up to her and pointed. Once more screaming at the top of his lungs. “We got visitors!”
“Visitors?” Grandma Lei perked up. She pulled out glasses from her pocket and put them on. Focusing on Shui and Long Ti. “Welcome!” she said in a much more manageable tone. “Welcome to The Green Meadow. The master of the gardens is not currently in, but he should arrive within the hour. Just had to run and grab a few new items that arrived recently from the warehouse district.”
Shui walked up to her. Ignoring the overly excited young boy that stared at her in wonder. She put as much import and reverence into her tone and spoke to the old lady before her. “Thank you, Grandma Lei. I’ve come for a very important purpose.”
“Oh? How may we assist you on your heroic journey?”
“I wish to bake a cake!”
Grandma Lei smiled and played along. “A cake? This cake must be for someone special. No! Someone of grand importance–”
“Of course! It’s for my ancestor!”
The old lady choked on her spit and let loose a coughing fit. The boy hurried to aid her.
Shui stood there confused.
It took the old lady a few moments to recover her bearings. She looked up at Shui, studying her better this time and truly seeing her up close. From the dress, to the Qi, the servant behind her, and even down to the way she carried herself. Everything screamed young mistress of a might clan.
And the girl came to her to make a cake? For an ancient being?
Could people the age and power of ancestors even eat sweets from this lowly realm?
“Is everything alright? Shall I have ancestor come give you a healing potion?” Shui walked closer to the old lady and patted her shoulder.
“N-No. It's fine. Except…”
Shui tilted her head. She’d been hearing this word–except–a bit too often lately. It never meant anything good for her journey to create the grandest sweets and treats to ever be made for her master. Usually signified that the person before her could not help in any way, shape, or form.
“...I don’t think I can help.” Grandma Lei sighed.
I was right. This word… ‘except’ is evil in all forms and exceptions!
“Why not?”
“Well…” Grandma Lei paused to consider her words. “Tell me. What rank is your Ancestor? Maybe that would help.”
Shui shrugged.
“Do you know anyone who might be around his strength? Someone his equal? Maybe a friend?”
Shui tapped her chin as she was wont to do now. Taken from Yin Hu and made her go to expression for thinking. “Senior Rong did mention once that master was pretty strong. Stronger than some of Senior Rong’s old friends. I remember the names cause they sounded funny.”
“Yeah? What were their names?” Grandma Lei smiled at her thoughtful expression, making her look like an old person.
“Senior Rong said Ancestor was stronger than the likes of Zi Zhen–”
Grandma Lei’s eyes widened.
“Zhong An–”
Her face paled and a tremble escaped her.
“Peng Du and S–” Shui stopped as the old lady struggled to keep her teeth from chattering. “I-Is everything alright?”
Grandma Lei fainted.
It took a few minutes of the boy waving a fan over her head and a bit of cold water until she finally woke up. Even then she struggled to keep the shaking in her arms.
Shui and Long Ti had eventually been moved to a set of chairs with a steam pot of tea. It… tasted bland even though sugar had been placed within it and it did not smell anywhere close to how amazing her Ancestor’s pots were. Long Ti loved it though. Expounding its many virtues for the majority of the time. Shui didn’t appreciate his speech and lack of decorum. She was going to have to train him better.
Grandma Lei stood up from her seat, using the boy’s weight to keep balance.
She walked up to the seated Shui and kowtowed, then sat on her haunches. “Forgive me, Young Mistress. I have nothing that would be worthy of such names.”
“Then where do I find some? Everyone said you were the best place to search here? What other place exists?”
Shui was slowly growing impatient with the whole situation. How hard was it to learn how to bake a single cake? This was more difficult than cultivating or doing any of the endless training, Katas, and meditations Ancestor had them commit to.
“The only place I can think of is the auction house in the warehouse district. They trade in the rarest items… Except…”
That word again!
Shui closed her eyes and let the old woman continue.
“Except the costs are vast. Prices that even some sects could not hope to pay.”
I need to convince Ancestor to give me money…
“How much money?”
“Tens of thousands of gold coins…”
“Oh?” Shui blinked. Just her clothing cost more than that. She was sure of that. “That’s it? I was worried for a few seconds.”
Grandma Lei sighed, but otherwise stayed quiet. The boy on the other hand was absolutely mesmerized by Shui and her persona.
Hu Shui’s Ancestor had shown them different denominations of coins before. Her master was so rich he couldn’t tell the difference between a copper coin and the high grade Qi stones. Mountains of each if she recalled properly. That wasn’t mentioning her vast treasure she had liberated from the clutches of the inheritance that he was holding for her currently.
She could afford a measly tens of thousands of gold coins.
I should ask Jun how much each Qi stone is worth.