Chapter 13: Meeting the Royal Princess.
Xia Meixiang's robes became disheveled and her tied hair bun became loose as her golden hair scattered along the strong wind.
Her expression hardened as she thought they were under attack. She used her qi to protect herself from the wind.
If one noticed what she was doing, they would be shocked to realize that she had already reached the Qi Formation stage!
A young child who wasn't even a teen yet had reached Qi Formation. People would gasp in shock at her achievement and praise her as a prodigy of the century.
She couldn't move since it took her entire focus to maintain her defense against the aggressive wind.
"Your highness..."
The other person in the carriage was a youth not much older than the princess. He had long black hair and a gentlemanly appearance.
His green robes and hair scattered along the wind as he struggled to protect himself against the wind.
Woooosh!!
If people were around, they would recognize this youth, for he was Shi Zedong, the young master of the Shi Family.
He was surprised at the attack, but was even more surprised when he saw the princess' cultivation level. He tried his best to hold against the wind by hiding underneath the seat and sticking to the floor.
Woosh!
Xia Meixiang dodged an incoming projection brought by the wind. She managed to recognize the white fox mask before it disappeared behind her.
She heard faint voices but couldn't hear properly since the wind was too strong. Once she managed to get used to the wind, she stood and looked at the source.
Her brows creased as she saw the two children in front of the carriage. One of them had collapsed while the other one was waking him up.
"Brother! Brother!"
She was momentarily dazed by the beautiful appearance of the little girl, who had long silver hair and sapphire-colored eyes. The little girl was the one who kept calling out to the fainted youth, whom Xia Meixiang identified as the brother of the younger child based on the way she called him.
"Uwaa... Master, what should we do?" The little girl looked at her side.
Xia Meixiang's brow creased as she confirmed that there was no one besides the little girl.
She couldn't hear what the little girl was saying, but from the way she was acting, it seemed that she was talking to someone.
'A little girl that possesses unnatural beauty and a youth that seems to be capable of this attack.' Her eyes squinted as she observed the two.
While the princess was pondering what actions she should take, Shi Zedong crept from underneath the seat and peeked through the broken window of the carriage.
He also had a similar action to the princess when he saw Lan'er's appearance. His disbelief couldn't be controlled as his jaw slightly opened.
Although he was famed as a gentleman, he couldn't help but act this way in front of an unnatural beauty that belongs to the heavens.
What's more shocking is that the little girl was the same age as his little sister. Although his little sister's appearance was praiseworthy, it paled in comparison to the child in front of him.
He eventually snapped out of his daze and looked at the other person within the carriage.
"Your Royal highness!! What should we do?!" He shouted because his voice wouldn't be heard if he spoke in a normal tone.
Xia Meixiang only glanced at him before jumping off the carriage.
"Your highness!" Shi Zedong called out but was ignored.
He wanted to suggest waiting for their protectors, but now that he thought about it, shouldn't they have appeared and protected them before the attack could happen?
Then it could only mean that something prevented them from appearing.
Shi Zedong became worried that this wasn't the end of their ambush.
Meanwhile, Xia Meixiang reached the pair of siblings. Lan'er immediately noticed her presence and stood in front of her. Preventing Xia Meixiang from approaching them further.
Lan'er looked at Xia Meixiang with a glare before asking, "Who are you?"
Because Zed was the caster of the spell, the area near him was the calmest. Similar to the eye of a storm.
Xia Meixiang remained unfazed by Lan'er's glare as she spoke.
"That should be my question. Who are you two and why are you attacking us?"
Tang Xiurong told Lan'er to take another look at Xia Meixiang's appearance. Lan'er inwardly gasped in surprise as she recognized the girl in front of her as the royal princess.
She panicked and had no idea how to speak because all her brother taught her was to avoid getting involved with them. He told her that nobles look down on commoners since their families have strong power and influence.
Especially the royal family, which is the ruler of the kingdom.
Xia Meixiang remained silent as she observed Lan'er's face. Seeing as how the little girl didn't bow nor pay respects to her, she could guess that they were either new to the kingdom or ambushers planning on harming her.
But from the way the little girl was acting, it seems that they didn't intend on harming them. The little girl didn't even recognize her at first glance.
'It seems that these two weren't targeting us. If so, then what happened and how is that youth capable of releasing this level of attack...' Xia Meixian took another look at Zed.
'What's more, is that I can't even detect any Qi in his body. Is he an expert pretending to be a child or an immortal? If that was the case, then my protector failing his duties, is reasonable.'
Xia Meixiang kept making guesses in her mind while waiting for Lan'er's next words.
"P-princess... we didn't mean to harm you. My brother and I were being chased by a group of men intending to kidnap us." Lan'er said.
"Ho?" Xia Meixiang's eyes sharpened as she asked. "Then why do you need to escape when your brother possesses this kind of power?"
"We-"
"Don't answer her." Tang Xiurong stopped her. Lan'er glanced at her master before looking back at Xia Meixiang.
'What a scheming brat. She directly asked about the main issue while making careful observation of my disciple's face and expressions.
I can tell that she's intelligent enough to draw answers and guesses from facial expressions alone.' Tang Xiurong smiled wryly. 'As expected of a brat with royal blood.'
A cold glint flashed in Xia Meixiang's eyes when Lan'er stopped speaking. She knew that the little girl would've answered her, but was stopped by someone.
'Who is it...' She was glaring inwardly while maintaining an expressionless face.
This didn't go unnoticed in front of Tang Xiurong. She smirked at the little princess' poor attempt at scheming.
Seeing Lan'er remain quiet, Xia Meixiang spoke once more.
"I asked you a question, citizen." There was a hint of the commandment in her voice as she tried to pressure the little girl.
Xia Meixiang switched tactics and unhesitatingly used her authority as the royal princess.
But for Lan'er who stood against Tang Xiurong's pressure, and Immortal Empress, Xia Meixiang's pressure barely affected her.
"..."
Tang Xiurong chuckled when she noticed Xia Meixiang's face slightly twitch as Lan'er remained unfazed by her coercion.
Xia Meixiang sighed inwardly before deciding to pull back since she didn't know what her opponents were capable of.
"Fine. Don't answer." She switched her gaze from Lan'er to Zed.
"But I suppose you require help? I would like to stop your brother from further disrupting the order."
Xia Meixiang used the responsibility card to try and tug Lan'er's conscience.
Lan'er coldly replied. "I don't care about the others. All I want is for me and my brother to live peacefully...
And yet we couldn't even have that here as we suffered attacks for no reason."
She continued. "We made sure to follow the rules and not provoke anyone but then... Why? Why must my brother and I be subjected to this kind of treatment?"
Lan'er's emotion began to explode as Mu Lin's betrayal still affected her.
Tang Xiuronf couldn't help but feel slightly bad for the two siblings. She knows that right now wasn't the time for venting, but that didn't stop her disciple.
After all, her disciple was only a child, and a little venting to a person of the same age with authority could be the best way to lessen the stress she accumulated.
This time, Xia Meixiang frowned as she acknowledged that the little girl was speaking the truth.
"I could understand why you're getting chased but why didn't you reach out for help from the officials?" This is what genuinely confused Xia Meixiang.
Lan'er answered her. "You see... it's just my brother and I only have each other and we wanted to save as much as possible since we still haven't found any livelihood.
So we can't offer any price to them-"
Xia Meixiang suddenly cut her off. "That's what I don't understand! The officials exist to maintain public order, if they can't help two children then how can they help society?"
Lan'er made a mocking smile. "Really? That's a nice life you've been living. As one would expect from a princess."
She continued, "Unfortunately, my brother and I are only orphans who can't afford support from officials.
And answer me honestly, do you think they would help two orphan children for no reason? If they did that, then all the orphans would seek help from them, and soon orphans would become their responsibility.
My brother explained to me that every action has a consequence. Whether it be righteous or evil, every action has a corresponding reaction. My brother stated it as one of the laws of Karma."
Xia Meixiang fell silent as she didn't expect to hear a valuable lesson from the little girl.
"your brother taught you that?" She couldn't believe that such wisdom came from orphans.
Lan'er nodded. "Everything I know, I learned it from my brother."
Unknown to the two of them, Tang Xiurong had a similar reaction. She turned to look at Zed, who was still lying on the ground.
'Such wisdom and supreme martial arts... could he be a reincarnated expert? Perhaps he's a reincarnation of an Immortal?
Nah... Reincarnation is a myth.'
Little did Tang Xiurong know how spot-on her guess was.
Dismissing her wild imaginations, Tang Xiurong tapped on Lan'er's shoulder. "The wind is getting weaker. We should be able to go through the storm now so carry your brother."
Lan'er nodded and proceeded to carry Zed while preparing to leave.
"Your pursuers should be thrown off by this event and they wouldn't know that the cause was you two." Tang Xiurong stated.
"Wait. Where are you going?" Xia Meixiang snapped out of her deep thoughts when she noticed them preparing to leave.
Lan'er began to slowly walk with her brother on her back.
"I don't know. Somewhere. Just not here since we're still getting chased. Plus, your escorts and protectors should be trying their best to get through the storm and retrieve you."
"Wait." Xia Meixiang followed behind them.
Lan'er glared at her and continued walking. "Stop following us."
"Just wait a minute!" The princess asked once more while following right behind her.
'Brother was right... nobles are selfish.' Lan'er thought and asked, "What do you want?"
Because the wind was disrupting their conversation, Xia Meixiang spoke with great difficulty. "Kuhum! What if I could offer to protect you and your brother?"
Lan'er glanced at her but continued walking.
"You know my identity, right? As long as you two come under me then I should be able to protect you two." Xia Meixiang offered in a tone that suggested Lan'er and Zed would benefit.
Lan'er stood for a moment before asking. "As what?"
Xia Meixiang smiled as if she had won them over. "As my subordinates of course! Let's see... you can become my servant and as for your brother, I could refer him to the military."
Lan'er resumed walking.
"Wait!!"
Edited By: WorthyAdversary