A Snail's Wisdom 18 Respecting Royalty

"And have it done by today," Kenja placed a gold coin on the counter next to a lavishly-furnished case, "Discreetly."

Wise Man Satos.h.i.+ clasped his hands and bowed, "Yes, Daoist-sama. I will close my store and complete the task within the hour."

'Satos.h.i.+-san, can't you recognize me? It's the man whom you've done business with nearly everyday for the past few years!'

Kenja's heart was shaken. Perhaps his disguise was good enough to fool strangers, but he couldn't imagine that his close friends would be fooled as well.

Kenja came to Wise Man Satos.h.i.+ to deliver a letter to Babsan along with enough money for her to live like a Queen. He wasn't sure when he would return, but he wanted to make sure she wouldn't worry about him.

A loud commotion could be heard outside the shop.

"Ah, the princess must be pa.s.sing by right now. She's on her way to the Flowing River Sect for the examination. Please, feel free to spectate from my porch."

Wise Man Satos.h.i.+ had already placed the coin in his pocket and left the counter carrying Kenja's box. He walked to the front door and held it open for Kenja. Kenja walked outside to see that the crowd had tripled in the tea time he spent within the shop. He walked to the front of the porch, and Wise Man Satos.h.i.+ stood next to him after locking his front door.

A retinue of soldiers marched past them; they were all around the Foundation Establishment realm.

'I need to avoid provoking the Emperor's family,' Kenja thought as cold sweat fell down his back. Ten of him couldn't last more than a couple of breaths against one of these soldiers. Kenja looked past the grim army, but he couldn't spot any sign of the princess. After a moment, Wise Man Satos.h.i.+ pointed up to the sky.

"She's up there."

Kenja looked up to see a giant carpet floating fifteen meters above the ground. On top of the carpet, a bright red tent stood covering most of the the carpet's surface. At the front of the carpet standing outside the tent, Kenja could see a wrinkled, old man hunched over about half the length of Kenja.

"Hoho, a wizard. You don't see many of those," Snail whispered in Kenja's ear.

Kenja's eyes widened. 'That's a wizard?'

'Wizard' was the name used for a cultivator that ignored the principle of Yin and Yang by foregoing their body and focusing completely on their souls. They only live a century or two longer than mortals, but their powers were comparable to normal cultivators who had lived for three or four times as long.

Kenja couldn't accurately gauge the old man's realm, but he knew that the retinue marching below the carpet would be wiped out with half a sneeze from this old man.

When the carpet was about to pa.s.s by Satos.h.i.+'s establishment, the retinue halted their march. A head popped out from the side of the tent. From that angle and height, Kenja couldn't tell any of the head's facial features, but it seemed to be covered in a veil. It seemed to be have caught sight of Kenja and Satos.h.i.+ standing in front of the shop's door. The head popped back into the tent before bursting forth once more. A person had jumped off the carpet and descended slowly onto the empty street.

The person was not wearing shoes, but their feet were smaller than average and completely unblemished as if it had others do the walking for them. The left foot was adorned with two thin, golden anklets that jingled as the person moved. They were wearing a strange white and gold dress that looked similar to daoist robes with tailor-made modifications. The dress' length and sleeves were shorter than normal robes to allow for easier maneuverability. The robe had an off-the-shoulders neckline that displayed an elegant and beautiful frame. Despite the free spirit of the dress, the woman had a white veil s.h.i.+elding her face and hair. On the front of the veil, a small slit allowed others to view her eyeline. Those with the courage to look would see a pair of fiery red eyes and a strand of bright-red hair.

As soon as she landed, the retinue of soldiers bowed their heads followed by the people standing on the sides of the street. Women of the royal family were not allowed to show their face in public before they came of age.

The carpet she was riding quickly dropped to a meter above the street.

"Princess, it is improper to jump off the carpet like that. Just tell us next time, and we will bring the carpet down," the old man advised the princess.

She turned to him and nodded, "Un."

She took a step in Kenja and Satos.h.i.+'s direction when the old man floated a pair of shoes in front of her.

"It is also improper to walk barefoot in the street."

She turned to him once more. "If I wore my shoes when I jumped down, then my shoes might have broken."

She spoke with an irrefutable air, as if her logic was ironclad.

The old man nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, that is why you should have told us, and we would bring the carpet down."

The woman tilted her head to ponder the old man's words before she nodded once more.

"Un."

She slipped her shoes on and began walking towards Satos.h.i.+. Everyone's heads were still bowed, but Kenja could sense the princess approaching them.

'She's at the Qi Flouris.h.i.+ng stage? The news about her being Body Tempering must have been outdated.'

She walked past them to the front door of Satos.h.i.+'s shop and was perplexed when she saw the shop had been closed for the day. She turned back to face the people on the porch and spoke in a commanding manner.

"You all may rise."

The people on the porch lifted their heads back up, but those off the porch didn't dare.

"I am looking for the man who runs this shop. Is he here?"

Satos.h.i.+ stepped forward and bowed once more.

"Yes, himesama. Satos.h.i.+ Maru, at your service."

She paused to look him over before nodding once more.

"Un. Do you have any spirit lumps for sale?"

Satos.h.i.+, as well as the crowd, was confused by this question. Satos.h.i.+ didn't want to immediately deny that he had any spirit lumps since being unable to meet the princess' request would be terrible for his business, but he had no idea what a spirit lump could be.

'Could she mean...?' Kenja had a thought.

Seeing the look of confusion and desperation on Satos.h.i.+'s face, the princess' eyes looked down in disappointment. When Kenja saw the fiery eyes suddenly lose their light, he spoke out.

"Satos.h.i.+-san, perhaps she means the spirit stone pebbles that you sell."

Being tossed a lifeline, Satos.h.i.+'s eyes widened in grat.i.tude as he reached into his pocket with his left hand and held up a broken spirit stone fragment. The princess' eyes lit back up as she approached the fragment.

"Un. How much for this lump?"

Satos.h.i.+ relaxed as he narrowly escaped bankruptcy. He presented the stone to the princess. "Being given the chance to serve the city's princess is payment enough."

She jubilantly received the gift in her hand.

"Un. How did you create this lump?"

Satos.h.i.+ adopted another confused look since he wasn't sure how Kenja procured the spirit stone fragments. Did the princess leave her castle to take an exam or destroy struggling merchants?

"My apologies, himesama. My supplier did not share his secrets with me."

The light left the princess' eyes once more. Satos.h.i.+ began panicking again.

"But if himesama is curious, I can take you to his home. He lives on the way to the sect. If the princess asks him, I am sure he will divulge everything you wish to know," offered Satos.h.i.+.

'What the h.e.l.l? Don't drag me into this!' Kenja was annoyed.

While Kenja didn't want Baba to be troubled by this, he was concerned that the princess would discover that the case and its contents came from the royal family. Even if Baba got off scot-free, it was unlikely that the box wouldn't be confiscated.

"Himesama, if you are curious about how the spirit lumps are made, I am privy to the details." Kenja spoke out while bowing his head.

"Did the princess catch your eye? Good eye, my disciple, but do you have the time to dawdle?" Snail whispered to him.

The princess turned and approached him with glowing eyes. Satos.h.i.+ was deeply grateful that he was no longer being targeted.

Seeing Kenja's robe and cultivation realm, the princess clasped her hands and bowed. Cultivators would show respect for each other regardless of their status. Princess was a mortal t.i.tle, and before Immortals, such things meant very little. The cultivators' respect towards her stemmed from her father's power as well as her own achievements.

"Do you have a name, Fellow Daoist?" the princess inquired.

"Hirai Hikaru, himesama."

"Do you really know how one makes these lumps?"

Kenja nodded his head while returning an awkward smile. The light in the princess' eyes grew brighter.

"Very good. Are you here for the exam as well?"

With Kenja's current cultivation level and outfit, it was a reasonable deduction to make. "Yes, himesama."

"Splendid! Let us go together," the princess finished as she turned to walk back to the carpet. The crowd's faces filled with shock and envy except for Satos.h.i.+ who felt guilty.

'Do I have a say in this?' Kenja was depressed as he was forced to go along with the princess and her whims.

"Making the princess fly you to the sect. You are quite a talented disciple," Snail complimented Kenja.