Bab 48: Arrival

Rong Jian returned with some rabbits in hand as Shen Tinayu was finishing up with the plants and mushrooms.

"Rabbits? Must be some pretty tough or mutant rabbits t be able to live in this kind of place." Shen Tianyu commented.

"They were pretty tough." Rong Jian agreed.

"Okay. I'm done with the water for now. Prepare the rabbit then dispose of the water." Shen Tianyu took the sieve filled with edible plants and mushrooms to the campfire and began to cook them on the makeshift grill.

Rong Jian did as she ordered with no complaints this time. With nothing to do, Luo Shue decided to help out her Miss. Since two people were doing the job, the wild veggies were done cooking soon enough, before the rabbit was fully prepared. They put the cooked veggies back on the sieve and waited. After the preparations were done, Shen Tianyu took some spices out of her magic bag and stuffed the rabbits.

"Mmmm.... Miss is good at cooking as always." Luo Shue commented as she ate the rabbit.

"I never knew wifey was such a good cook, even better than our family's cook. You could have made a living as a cook rather than a courtesan." Rong Jian munched hungrily on his piece.

"Well, generally speaking courtesans make more and cooking skills will help one gain popularity. While, cooks are expected to have good cooking skills so it's not like you'll get much out of it. Besides, even if I'm extremely unfavored, I was still a Young Miss, how dare you suggest I become someone else's servant." Shen Tianyu, unlike the other two, ate leisurely and elegantly, creating a contrast with her now dirty clothes, some of which were black with dirt others were burnt.

"In other words, it's more beneficial to be a courtesan." Luo Shue summed it up.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it that way." Rong Jian nervously laughed. "You just act so natural without any of the pretentious air of those other Young Misses from big families so I just..."

"That tends to happen when you're neglected for four years since your birth and abandoned at some back mountain at the age of eight after almost being killed at the entrance." Shen Tianyu replied.

Rong Jian dejectedly turned away and started nibbling at his meat with a somewhat guilty look on his face.

Seeing him like that, Shen Tianyu giggled. "You don't have to feel bad. I don't think it's something to be pitied over. Besides, because of all that I got to become a part of Lavender Palace, such a big backing is better than being some arrogant Miss of a middle-class Minister in the weakest continent."

"Ah... Is that so?" Rong Jian peeked at her from under his lashes.

"Yup, so you don't have to feel bad. Actually, the subject of surprise should be you." Shen Tianyu changed the subject.

"How come?"

"Well, you're a Young Master, right? Young Masters are usually treated much better than Young Misses so they tend to be more arrogant yet, you seem quite down to earth and considerate." Shen Tianyu stroked her chin.

"Of course I have to show my good side to my wife." Rong Jian said with pride.

'Still not telling me, huh? You really think you can hide that you're the fourth prince of the Rong royal family forever?' Shen Tianyu thought with a smile.

...

Xi Jing is the second weakest continent in the world, just above Nang Zhou, which is mostly populated by Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Level cultivators. Unlike, Nang Zhou, Xi Jing is divided into two countries. These two countries used to be at war, losing vast amounts of cultivators and normal citizens for a long while. That is until Emperor Xing Bei ascended to the throne of Xi Qi, the slightly stronger state when comparing casualties. Emperor Xing Bei was able to get the new Emperor Jing Lan of Jing Qie to sign a peace treaty. The two countries have been in a tense peace for a few decades now.

...

At Xi Jing's side of the Forest of Death, a trio consisting of a handsome man and two beautiful women appeared.

"Ah... there's no villages or towns nearby, what a pain..." One of the young woman complained. She was wearing a plain white robe with light purple sleeves and a light blue sash tied at her waist, giving off a simple air. Though the person herself was not as simple as her attire proposed.

"That's to be expected, the Forest is dangerous after all." The other female companion responded. She was wearing a white robe with a yellow skirt knitted into the robe, above the breasts. The skirt itself starts off as yellow and fades to white. Something like a green corset was worn on top of it with a pink sash tied on top of that. The sash had a lotus in the front, which separated into three pink strings. Two of which was connected to the back in a hoop and the last one hung down her front with a yellow flower pin weighing it down. Behind her flowed two pink cloth strings from the sash giving off the air of an elegant noblewoman in disguise.

"If you're tired, I'm sure we can find someplace sooner or later to rest." The man looked at the simply dressed woman with a warm expression. He was wearing a light blue robe with a blue outer robe. The short sleeves of the outer robe were outlined with simple yellow-orange weaving.

"Then we should hurry up." The first young woman said as she sped ahead. The remaining two companions just shrugged and followed.

These three people were the group that had traveled through edges of the Forest of Death from Nang Zhou continent. The man was Rong Jian, the simply dressed woman was Shen Tianyu, and the elegantly dressed woman was Luo Shue. After two months of wondering around, they were able to find a non-polluted lake before coming outside. They had cleaned themselves before emerging form the forest.

'Good thing there's no one near the Forest of Death. We don't have to pay any tolls or anything like you would if one arrived from the sea.' The leader of the trio thought to herself. As always, she was a cheap, penny-pincher despite being a successful businesswoman.