Shang Gu and Zhu Zi have been wandering in the mortal realm for over two months now. Shang Gu bought a carriage from the inn before they left the inn that they were at, Shang Gu conjured two horses from a pair of her earrings.
There was not much during their travel, it was calm, and fun, the two of them did a lot during their journey. Every time that Shang Gu come across anyone in trouble, the two would help them and leave them with some money.
One day as they were making their way to the main capital, making their way through a forest at the foot of a mountain but all of a sudden they heard someone calling out for help. The two of them rushed to where the scream was coming from, they came upon a group of bandits attacking another group of travelers with some beautiful women.
"Stop!" Shang Gu said as they arrived at the site but the bandits looked at the two of them in their dress
"Look here, two beauties came to join!" a rough-looking man said to his group and they all laughed. Zhu Zi stepped up and looked down at the group of men
"How dare you speak in such a way to my young miss!" Zhu Zi said as she used her power to make the rough man kneel on the ground, the two of them flew in closer to the group and the rest of the men stepped away from them as they landed
"Be careful! They are cultivators!" one of them said as they stepped away from the two and the two looked at each other, they are goddesses but they didn't think that they would be mistaken as cultivators but that was better for them; than they don't have to hide their powers.
"If you know, then leave." Zhu Zi said but just then there was a voice shouted out from behind
"Who are you to rob people in broad daylight?!" the voice asked and Shang Gu looked towards the voice as the person landed in front of them, the back belong to a young man, and inside her chest, she felt her heart tighten, but at the same time it beat faster and faster the more she looked at his back.
The fear that the men felt earlier of the two being cultivators and now a young man with a sword and big build, the men did nothing other than run away.
She was staring at him without saying anything, lost in a daze, one of the men tried to attack her as a distraction for them to run and he took hold of her, pulling her to his side. Zhu Zi used her power to block the attack, but the bandits decided it was better to run so they all made a run for it.
"Let go of my young miss!" Zhu Zi said but the two of them were looking at each other lost in a daze, the two of them snapped out of it when the group of people thanked them and Zhu Zi rushed to Shang Gu.
"Thank you!" the group said and Shang Gu turned to look at them
"It-its nothing." Shang Gu said and the older man stepped up from the group of people
"May I know your name and how could we thank you?" he asked her but Shang Gu just smile
"There is no need to thank me, I was only helping people in need that I was passing by." Shang Gu said as she look at them and the man beside her looked at her
"Then may I know your name and where you are headed?" he asked her and Shang Gu turned to look at him
"My name is Shang Gu, this is my maid attendant Zhu Zi. We are heading to the capital." Shang Gu said and he nodded
"My name is Yu Chen." he said to her and the two of them bow in greeting to each other
"If you are traveling to the capital, why don't we go together?" the old man asked them and Shang Gu agreed.
"It would be wonderful to have some traveling companion. Please wait here." Shang Gu said as she flew back to the carriage with Zhu Zi and they came back with their carriage
When the two of them came back with their carriage the old man smiled at the two of them awkwardly, their carriage was a white carriage with gold rims, on top of the carriage was some jade dangling down, and the door window was decorated with amber and silk to cover. When Shang Gu came out from inside, they could see that the inside seats were spacious and nicely decorated as well.
Even though the five carriages that the merchant was using were also nicely decorated and top-notch as well but for some reason, Shang Gu's carriage looked more exquisite. It was almost like a heavenly carriage. The carriage that Shang Gu and Zhu Zi bought at first was just an ordinary carriage they bought from the inn that they had been staying in two months before but Zhu Zi didn't like how simple it looked
Shang Gu looked around but she didn't see Yu Chen, she turned to the old man with a smile
"Will this be everyone?" Shang Gu asked
"No, the young man also offers to guard us on the way to the capital as well. He went to get his horse as well after the two of you left." the old man said to her and she nodded
Yu Chen's view
Yu Chen, a swordsman from the capital. He has been working in the capital for over 4 years and was on his way back from visiting his mother; a nun at the temple on top of the mountain and that was how he ran into the robbery.
As he was making his way down from the temple, as he was passing by he couldn't help but notice an elegantly decorated carriage without anyone around yet he heard people screaming and men laughing.
When he looked down from the low cliff he noticed that there was five carriage and a few women, it didn't take him long for him to piece it together to know what was going on and he didn't hesitate to jump in and help them out.
He did nothing but show up and the men all ran, he was confused but he was happy to see that there would be no bloodshed today since he had just left a temple and his ill mother as well.
While the men tried to run away from them one of them threw some things at a young woman, he reached out to pull her closer but now that he saw her face, he was lost in a trance.
When the old man asked her for her name and she refused, he asked her, thinking that he might also be turned down, but she smiled and answered him. After the two of them went to get their carriage, he look at the old man
"Your group is heading to the capital?" Yu Chen asked the old man who nodded
"I am the old butler of the San merchant family, and these are the young miss of the San family. Thank you so much for helping or else I wouldn't have had the face to go back and face my master." the old butler said to him and he nodded
"I'll help assist you all along with the other two as well. Having more help will be better. I'll go get my horse." Yu Chen said as he left to get his horse
When he came back she was standing there with the wind blowing in her hair, with the sun shining down, it made her hair look as if it was strands of gold. When she looked at him it almost made his heart stop but he went closer to the group instead.
"Shall we go?" he asked them
"If you like, you can travel with us in our carriage. It would be our honor." one of the young ladies asked him but he smile and said nothing as he turned to Shang Gu
"Can I trouble you two and travel with you?" he asked Shang Gu who nodded, the young misses of the San family looked displeasingly at Shang Gu and Zhu Zi as Yu Chen sat on their carriage but eventually also got into their own carriage
Shang Gu could see the young ladies staring at him, but Shang Gu and Zhu Zi sat in the carriage while he sat outside controlling the horse, and now his horse is leading the other two horses.
"Young miss, why did you agree to travel with the mortal group?" Zhu Zi asked her and Shang Gu looked at her with a smile
"We are traveling to the capital anyway, we might as well travel with them." Shang Gu said and Zhu Zi nodded, she had just been following her master since they came to the mortal realm
"Everything is as you said." Zhu Zi said to her and she nodded as the two of them were talking Yu Chen interrupted them
"We will arrive at the capital later in the evening, should we take a break?" he asked them from behind the carriage door
"What about the others? Do they want to take a break as well?" Shang Gu asked from inside the carriage
"I will drive faster and ask them." He said to them and they could feel the carriage move faster, and then it slowed down
"Would you all like to take a break?" Yu Chen asked them and they all agreed
"There is an inn just a few miles up ahead, why don't we stop there?" Yu Chen asked them and the group agreed
They traveled until it was lunchtime and stopped at the inn, Shang Gu and Zhu Zi ordered some food and wine along with some sweets to take with them while traveling to the capital.
"Do you always eat that many snacks?" one of the young ladies asked her and Shang Gu turned to look at them with a smile as she swallow her sweets.
"Is there something wrong?" Shang Gu asked the two young ladies who seem to be judging her and showing off their beauty but then Shang Gu stood up, she was thinner, and slimmer than they were and the two shrank back
".....I always eat however much I want and whatever I want, is there something wrong?" Shang Gu asked them and they just looked at her and walked away, Shang Gu turned to look at Zhu Zi who was also stuffing her face as well.
"Did I say something wrong?" Shang Gu asked and Zhu Zi shrugged, Yu Chen walked over to their table, he had never seen women in the capital eat so many snacks and food at the same time nor had he seen them drink wine like men. He stared at the two of them for a long while but he shook his head and walked over to them
"Can I join your table?" he asked them and Shang Gu nodded but Zhu Zi remained silent since she knew better than to give her opinion since there was no need to stop her master.
After they finished their lunch they bought the food for the rest of the trip and were on their way to the capital once again. Once they arrived at the capital they went their separate ways from the group that they were traveling with.
"Thank you, for escorting us back to the capital. If while in the capital and you came upon any trouble, feel free to come to the San manor." The old man said to her and Shang Gu smiled
"Thank you." Shang Gu said and watched as their group made their way away from the city gates, the rest that was left were Shang Gu, Zhu Zi, and Yu Chen.
"Where will you go?" Yu Chen asked her and she looked at him
"We've yet to think of that, Zhu Zi and I had just been wandering around." Shang Gu said to him and he nodded
"Hope to see you around." he said to her and she nodded as she got back into the carriage with Zhu Zi and they left him standing at the gates.