A Snail's Wisdom 14 Dressing Up

Snail began crawling onto the sword which was still stabbed into the ground. The sword didn't move, but a slight killing intent surged out. Snail pretended not to notice as he reached the hilt and sat on top of it.

"So, where's the nearest sect? We should immediately go there and have you join if you want any chance of finding that pendant's origins before you see your great great great grandkids."

Kenja took his hand off his head. "It's nearby, but the final entrance examination is today..."

"Look at that! Fate truly has a way of working things out, doesn't it?" Snail stated in a pleasantly surprised manner.

"...and I have been barred from attending the examination today."

Snail squinted at Kenja from receiving the small face slap. "Yes, fate can be funny sometimes. No matter, I have the solution, one moment." Snail withdrew into his sh.e.l.l and a variety of sounds can be heard coming from it. He heard gla.s.s shattering, coins jingling and metal objects being tossed against each other, but Kenja did not see any of these events.

"Ah, found it!" A beautiful dark red robe materialized in front of Kenja. He immediately kept it from touching the ground and examined it. The sleeves were wide with a couple of slits that would display the forearms in a tasteful manner. The tail end of the robes had slits as well that allowed the person to run and kick unhindered or walk in a manner that would show off their legs.

"Better take this out, too."

A blood-red scabbard made from jade materialized and fell onto the ground. Its length was around the size of Kenja's weapon, and next to its entrance inscribed in gold was a name.

"Kimura Sakura?"

The blade started vibrating ceaselessly which caused the sh.e.l.l to fall off its hilt. Snail finally extended his head out of the sh.e.l.l a little unhappy with the sudden fall.

"What, you remembered your name?"

"Is it Kimura Sakura?" Kenja posed the question to the sword.

The sword vibrated joyfully and exuded a very powerful aura.

"I'll take that as a yes." Kenja laughed while still holding the majestic robe. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Kimursan. I hope I do not cause you too much trouble."

The sword returned the greeting by lifting itself up from the ground and stabbing back down.

Snail was about to say something when an idea popped into his head. He withdrew back into his sh.e.l.l and even more noise than before could be heard. Kenja wasn't sure what Snail was looking for this time, but he was clearly more eager now than when he had fetched the robe and scabbard. After a few moments, he exited his sh.e.l.l with a disgruntled expression mumbling about something related to writing down a name. He shook his head and looked at Kenja.

"Well?"

"Well, what??"

"Hurry up and put it on. You said the examination is today. We need to hurry, or the boat won't reach back in time."

Kenja wasn't sure where to start. This was clearly a woman's robe. There was no boat. And there was a guy who was probably still outside the forest making sure he didn't return alive.

"This is a woman's robe."

"What amazing observational skills you have! Yes, that is a woman's robe." Snail commended Kenja sarcastically.

Kenja frowned, confused with the direction the conversation was going.

"Why am I going to wear a woman's robe?"

Snail's eyes squinted in confusion once more as if he were looking at a dumb child.

"Because if you don't put something on, then when you masquerade as a woman, people will immediately be able to tell that you are a man. Do you need me to explain why they will think you're a man as well?"

"...And why do I need to masquerade as a woman?"

"You're the one who got barred from the examination! How else do you want to gain entrance into the sect? Why do you continue to question my methods? Did you actually want to do double cultivation?"

Kenja was distraught. "I think I'll pa.s.s on the double cultivation."

"Then I see no problem with masquerading as a woman. If you have no interest in double cultivation, the advantage for being male is no longer there. Now hurry up and put on the robe."

Kenja was unconvinced and felt something strange about Snail's logic.

'How does not wanting to do double cultivation equate to dressing up as a woman?'

"Can't I disguise myself as a different man?" Kenja believed that this idea should have been obvious from the start.

"Oh, wow, I didn't know you can reform your bones and muscles. Since when did you reach Core Crystallization and learn the Silver Dragon's Skin technique?" Snail asked derisively.

Kenja remained unphased. It was completely reasonable to oppose dressing up as a girl. Seeing Kenja's continued resistance, Snail let out a sigh.

"Look. Even if you weren't barred from the examination, I would have suggested this idea. There are multiple reasons, and I will name a few for your sake. First off, you can't easily change your appearance, and I can only help a slight amount. If it were my own appearance, we would have no issue, but changing someone else's appearance is a whole other matter."

Kenja nodded to show that he was listening.

"Thus, it would be easier to modify your appearance slightly and allow everyone to think you are a woman. If it's creating a feminine charm, I can a.s.sist with that and your body's form provides sufficient capability in this endeavor as well. Second, the advantages of being a woman are too numerous to ignore. It is a breach of etiquette to scrutinize a lady, and cultivators generally follow this rule as well. You have too much to hide, and we should take every advantage possible to stay concealed."

Kenja continued to nod in agreement with what Snail was saying.

"If anyone finds out about your condition, one of two things will happen. You may be immediately discarded as a person who would require too many resources for cultivation, or worse, you may be caught and dissected for a better understanding of how two highly-sought const.i.tutions could appear in one person. Even if they don't find out about your const.i.tutions, you are also hiding that tart and myself. She is a priceless treasure, and I am me. I'm sure you know that putting a pot of gold in front of dragons will never yield good results."

Kenja was unable to refute anything Snail said and was about to concede when he continued.

"Third, I don't plan on letting you dawdle in that sect forever. Depending on the capability of that sect, we may not stay for very long, and it will be easier to cut ties if your persona never existed in the first place. Going in as yourself would only shackle us, and those related to you may suffer as a result. I also plan on raising your cultivation as swiftly as possible, so using a persona that doesn't exist will cause the inquisitive eyes confusion as they waste time looking for a background history that doesn't exist in the first place. Fourth..."

"Ok, enough. I understand. I will wear the robe." Kenja interrupted Snail.

'I wonder if this is how Wise Man Satos.h.i.+ feels when he speaks with me.'