Chapter 602: Tea Party - 602
Duchess Vass spoke. "It's of no consequence. He seems to have changed greatly since then."
Skymender slightly bowed his head in acknowledgement.
The Duchess turned her attention to someone else. Skymender and his Aunt took a seat at the table.
Skymender watched as Aunt Skyless engaged in small talk. He noticed that almost every sentence said had some underlying or hidden meaning.
Any compliment spoken seemed to be backhanded. This was the Noble Circle.
It could be considered a warzone of status and words.
Skymender looked at the other people's plus ones.
Besides Skymender, every person here was a girl.
As the conversation continued, Aunt Skyless suddenly spoke about him. "My nephew, Skymender, took only two weeks to learn the noble education that most nobles spend their whole lives learning."
"How impressive. Though, my daughter had learned such things long, long ago." A noble woman said with a smile.
Aunt Skyless spoke again. "Indeed. Being born in the Imperial Capital, children tend to learn earlier. My daughters and my son were the same."
After the brief mention of Skymender, the conversation continued.
Every remark was passive-aggressive, though there was an unspoken agreement that it would stay that way and not escalate beyond.
Skymender began to think how he could take advantage of all of this. This was just a small meeting. Almost nothing could be gained. What could actually be of importance was the yearly Noble Gatherings.
In a month, a yearly gathering that all Nobles in the Imperial Capital attended, Imperial Family included, would take place.
That was where it was possible to gain something.
In addition to nobles, some wealthy commoners would also be able to attend.
If Skymender wanted to truly set the future stage, then that would be where it happened.
He was just getting acclimated at this tea party.
The door behind opened and another noble and her plus one entered.
She smoothly joined the conversation without effort.
After two hours, three more people had joined.
After another hour, food was brought out.
Everyone ate just as a noble should, including Skymender.
Then tea came out. There was also an entire etiquette to drinking tea. Skymender had naturally learned it.
One hour after that, the tea party ended.
The nobles took turns excusing themselves and leaving.
Skymender and Aunt Skyless were able to leave relatively fast.
Back in the carriage, Skymender spoke. "That sucked."
Aunt Skyless understood. "I found it quite enjoyable. The tea party today can be considered practice for the Noble Gathering in a month. Unless your sister takes you elsewhere, you are free to attend."
Aunt Skyless seemed to approve of Skymender after today.
They returned to the house and Skymender was officially free.
He first found Li Youcai, who he had hardly seen since that day.
"Did you find them?" He asked.
Li Youcai nodded.
"Let's go." Skymender said.
They departed in a carriage not long after him and Aunt Skyless had returned.
They left the noble district and arrived at a large house. It was only slightly smaller than Aunt Skyless's house.
Gates in front of the house stopped them from advancing.
Beyond the gates, a butler hurriedly moved, clearly going to inform the owner of a noble's arrival.
Meanwhile, another servant opened the gates for them and welcomed them in.
Li Youcai and Skymender stepped out of the carriage.
With a nod, they walked through the gates and advanced towards the large house.
As they reached the door, someone came out to greet them. He was big, but not too fat. He stood around six foot seven inches, and probably weighed around 400 pounds. Most of that seemed to be in muscle. Skymender almost took a step back after seeing him.
However, the man clasped his hands and bowed.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of a noble visit?"
Skymender spoke. "I'm here to find the Fatty."
The man paused for a moment before nodding. "You call him that as well. Very good. It seems he has made a noble friend."
He turned around and yelled so loud that Skymender thought his ears would pop.
"Get down here Fatty! Put down whatever fattening food you're eating! Be careful that you don't fall through the stairs!"
Skymender immediately heard steps coming from above, clearly rushed.
A fat figure came into view.
"Yes, Father!"
The Fatty said, standing at attention.
Suddenly, he saw Skymender. "Sir?"
Before anything else could be said, the man spoke to the Fatty. "Go outside and play with your friend here."
The Fatty nodded and ran outside.
Skymender and Li Youcai were left with the Fatty outside as the door closed.
"Hello again, Fatty."
The Fatty smiled. "It is an honor to see you again, Young Lord Skymender."
Clearly, the Fatty had done some research since the last time they met.
"I told you we would meet again. But first, was that your Father?" Skymender asked.
He found it hard to believe.
The Fatty nodded. "Yes. He is the owner of the Fugui chamber of commerce, as well as a past potential Sword Master."
Skymender was surprised, though it seemed natural when looking at the Fatty's fathers physique.
It seemed that the man had once been a potential Sword Master, much like his sister, but had not fully become one in the end.
However, despite his failure to become a Sword Master, he had actually created a successful chamber of commerce.
It was no wonder that the Fatty seemed to respect his father so much. It was also no wonder that his father didn't like how the Fatty was.
"He was known as the potential Sword Master closest to becoming a Sword Master, but he sadly failed in the end."
Hearing this, Skymender felt slightly worried. If his sister could not become a Sword Master, then all of her efforts would have been wasted.
The Fatty, seeing the look on his face, spoke.
"Your sister is different, however. No person that Sword Master Shang has taken as a disciple has failed to become a Sword Master, though he has only taken two disciples before your sister."
Chapter 603: Savior - 603
Hearing this, Skymender indeed felt a bit less worried.
The Fatty spoke again. "So. How can I assist you, Young Lord Skymender."
Hearing his words, Skymender remembered why he had come.
"I wish to offer you to join me."
The Fatty was confused.
"As you can see, I am quite young and undermanned. What I need is someone willing to do anything to reach the top to join me and do as I say. As long as they can do that, I can assure them that they will reach far greater heights than they could have ever imagined."
The Fatty was clearly confused. "So why choose someone like me?"
The Fatty's question was valid. He was lazy, fat, and unathletic. He had no ambition at all, it seemed.
"I was unsure before coming here, but now I've made up my mind. How would you like to see your father proud of you?"
The Fatty's face was filled with astonishment at the mere thought. He had never even thought of such a thing.
He seemed to make up his mind rather quickly.
"I would love to join you, Young Lord Skymender."
Skymender nodded. "First, you must do something for me. Then, you will have officially joined me."
The Fatty nodded.
Skymender began to explain. As he did so, the Fatty's face began to warp from excitement to surprise, to shock, to dread, to reluctance, and finally to acceptance.
The day passed and night took over. It was a normal night, and as always, a beautiful girl took a stroll.
Sneaking out had become something she loved doing. The feeling of freedom was something she could never possibly experience at home.
The expectations of constantly being a perfect daughter, as well as a perfect noble, constantly pressured her every action.
Here, walking in these streets, which were still relatively safe, she felt truly free.
Suddenly, from behind, a knife appeared. She stopped moving as she felt it press against her throat.
A drop of blood fell down her neck from a cut.
"Stay quiet and come with me. If you resist, you will only be killed."
The girl's eyes widened in horror. She froze, not daring to resist as she was dragged away and knocked out.
When she came to, she was surrounded by three men wearing black. Two were normal, but one was rather fat.
In order to disguise himself, the Fatty had worn extremely tight clothes. He seemed to be more than half as skinny as he actually was.
The girl, now awake, looked up in horror at the three men.
They simply stood there, staring, for what felt like an eternity.
As some time had passed, one of the two non-fat men started circling her.
"What a pretty face. It sure would be a shame if it got hurt."
Tears poured from the girl's face. She was completely overwhelmed with fear and regret.
Suddenly, he stopped in front of her.
"Hold still. I might as well carve that pretty face of yours up."
The girl watched as the knife slowly closed in on her. Suddenly, a loud bang, as if glass was cracking, sounded out.
A flash appeared in her vision as the man holding the knife fell to the ground.
A sword pierced his stomach, and standing on top of it was a young boy.
He turned around and looked at the girl with a charming smile. "Do not worry. I am here."
The girl stared into his green eyes with shock, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief and happiness.
Suddenly, one of the two non-fat men in black shouted.
"You never mentioned that we…"
His sentence was destined to never be finished as Skymender accurately threw a knife into his neck.
Skymender was just a nine year old child, but he was a nine year old child whose sister just so happened to be a potential Sword Master.
With this entire thing being a set up in the first place, there was no chance of failure.
The Fatty took out a sword from behind him.
"You dare intrude and kill my men! Die!"
He stepped forward and swung his sword.
Skymender redirected it, kicking the Fatty back. The Fatty took a few extra steps backward, adding to the show.
From then on, what played out was about as real as a play. However, to the girl, it was an honorable battle in her honor, one that would decide her fate.
As the Fatty tired out and gave a signal, Skymender slashed, spilling out blood, and with a pierce the Fatty was felled.
The girl's eyes widened with joy. Skymender came over and cut the ropes binding her, helping her up.
"I apologize for not coming sooner, my lady."
The girl blushed and could not look Skymender in the eye.
"You- You're Skymender. I saw you at my mothers tea party."
Skymender nodded. "I followed some suspicious men and heard noises, so I broke through a window and came in. I'm glad I was impulsive."
The girl shyly looked away as Skymender took her outside.
He walked her to her mother, Duchess Vass's, house. They were greeted with great commotion.
Duchess Vass came down stairs with a pale face. Looking at her daughter, she nearly cried.
She hugged her daughter and repeatedly thanked Skymender.
Duchess Vass's husband had died in war, someone near the level of a Sword Master. Her oldest son had been killed in a freak accident.
This left only her daughter. If she had been lost tonight, who knows what Duchess Vass would have done.
After her daughter cried herself to sleep, they instantly traveled to the crime scene with countless guards, from both her own house and the Imperial Guard.
They investigated, but they only found two bodies. The third seemed to have somehow escaped.
Duchess Vass thanked Skymender more times than he could count.
She sent him home, and told him to come to her house first thing in the morning.
Skymender bowed and began to walk home.
As the hustle and bustle of the guards faded behind him and he was left alone on the dark streets, his gaze turned vacant and distant.
He looked at the night sky without a word.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
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121 Power
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