Arrival in Shiping

From our little campsite, it doesn't take long for us to arrive at one of the entrances to the Capital of the Ji Province, Shiping. Unlike in Sujing, there isn't some inspection to enter the city although the more suspicious looking people get pulled off by the guards for some questioning... like us, although it isn't because we seem suspicious.

"Allow us lowly guards to greet you, your highnesses. Is there anything we can do to assist you with?"

"You've got it wrong, we are not of the imperial family. We're are outsiders, including her," Lia says as she points at Aurelia, then shifting her finger over to Wanjing, "she is the only citizen of this land amongst our group and has volunteered to serve as our guide."

Hearing Lia's explanation, a couple of the guards lose interest and leave while the one we had just spoken to, despite his lack of interest and shift in attitude, continues his job, "got my hopes up for nothing. Just don't go causing trouble with your appearance and we won't meet again in a prison cell. And do make sure to explain your circumstances to anyone else who mistakes your for a member of the imperial family, if we find you impersonating them you'll be in trouble. Now get a move on."

A stark difference in attitude once he learns we are of no importance, but he believed that we're outsiders though. In one of the villages we passed through, some people wouldn't believe it no matter how much I tried to explain, thinking we are trying to go incognito. It wasn't till Lia spoke up that they got convinced, it probably didn't help that I was speaking their language though. But at least they held some interest for outsiders and didn't treat us poorly, unlike these guards who didn't want anything more to do with us.

"You know, for how rare outsiders like us are supposed to be, I'm surprised people believe us so easily unless it's Cordelia trying to convince people," Aurelia mentions as we enter the city.

"Well sorry if I can't help but respond in the language that people speak to me with. But now that you mention it, it does seem a little odd."

"That's because of the Mountain Lord. Whenever an outsider descends the mountain, the Mountain Lord is to send out a message to all of Shengdi notify the people of the arrival of new outsiders. The people who live close enough to the mountain barrier can hear the bells toll when one of the trials are completed, so this also alerts people as well. Your foreign language and different style of clothing is a clear indication of being an outsider, it just that Teacher does indeed complicate this matter with her appearance and language ability."

"Let's put the trivial talk for later, we should figure out where we are going to stay while we're here. Unlike the other places we've been, there are things we actually intend to do around here," Lia says.

"Oh, on that note, my family also runs an inn as well as a general store here, so we need to be careful around those places. But I do know of another place we can stay that has a similar quality to my family's inn."

"We'll need to know where they are later and keep in mind to avoid them, but for now you should show us to this other place we can stay. Your family's place was very nice and clearly of high class, so I have high expectations," Aurelia says.

Leading the way, Wanjing explains, "the general store and the inn my family run are right next to each other and is in the opposite side of the city from where we will be staying at, the Shang Yueting. Unlike the chain of inns run by my family, this one is unique to Shiping and honestly is probably a step up in quality if you ask me. It is the largest building in Shiping, with the exception of the Governers Palace, and the rooftop is a flat open area where you can nearly the entire city. Although I've never personally seen it, I've heard the view at night is fantastic as lanterns are lit to light the city."

"Since you're explaining things, why not tell us about the places we can go to get information about the ruins?" I ask.

"Of course, Teacher. You can probably get general information from pretty much anywhere, but the location might be a little harder to obtain since it is my understanding that it's a protected area. Your best bet might be trying to find someone at the Treasury and asking them about it, but your results may vary depending on who you ask."

"The Treasury?" I ask.

"It's an auction house, like my family's business they can be found all over Shenzhou, but they also have a presence in Samhan and Yamato. On the surface, they're a legal business, but they deal with plenty of outlawed and restricted goods underneath. I'm sure the government knows but when enough money is involved the authorities turn a blind eye. They do have legitimate auctions that pretty much anyone can attend to buy or sell, but they also have a special one for VIPs that which include a great variety of rare items and various illegal goods."

"Why do you even know this?" Lia asks.

"Remember how I said I collected a large amount of money for myself, hidden from my father, just how do you think I made money? Over the past few years that I had spent travelling with my father, I had... I borrowed some goods from Samhan and Yamato. It goes without saying, these are naturally rare goods in Shenzhou, some of which had been outlawed. Thinking back, I nearly got caught when I tried smuggling them through the border back then, but I managed to bring them over to the Treasury and sell for a decent price. Doing this a couple of times gave me VIP status."

"It's become more and more apparent to me that you had always stood on that side. Trying to prevent Cordelia from corrupting you was clearly a lost cause from the beginning..." Aurelia says.

"It's not like your completely free of sinful action yourself," I say.

"Yes, but I always had the people of Lausiel as well as justice in my mind with every action I took back then. You people, however, care mostly for yourself. You are lucky we are friends, I don't know what I'd do... in more ways than one," Aurelia says as a creepy look sneaks its way onto her face.

I start to get a bad feeling as I remember the before and after of that would-be assassin, vo- something or another, so I try to push the previous topic forward, "So think we could get some information from this Treasury place?"

"Yep, since the ruins are protected by the government as a cultural heritage site, nothing can be brought off the premise. This has never stopped black market dealers in the past and on a few occasions an artefact from these ruins has shown up in the auction. Even if one doesn't show up by the next underground auction, I should be able to recognise one of the sellers if they're there, he is pretty well known amongst graverobbers and other related professions, his name anyways. Most people hide their identities for obvious reasons when attending, so most attendees don't know much more than a person's name which is often an alias."

After going over some of the small details, we arrive at Shang Yueting, and just as Wanjing said, this place is most certainly on par with the Liu family inn. Much like theirs, this also gives the feeling of a high-class hotel with its vibrant decorations, although the outside appearance is a little more modest compared to the Liu family's inn.

Since Wanjing is in control of our funds, we have her deal with the trouble of getting us a room. As is tradition, both mine and Lia's appearance causes a bit of a commotion as the manager tries to give us the highest quality room available. Although both Lia and I don't mind the treatment, Aurelia and Wanjing remind us of the guard's words on impersonating the imperial family so they explain our circumstances to the manger but even then he still insists on giving us the room.

"Even if you are just outsiders, what would others think if they saw me giving anything lower than our best to people who looks like they belong to the imperial family, our reputation would drop. I won't just let you use it for free, but I insist you take one of the best rooms we have to offer, we will only charge the price of a standard room as compensation for pushing this onto you," the manager says.

"I understand what you mean, so we won't trouble you further," Wanjing says.

"Great, allow me to show you to your room," the manager says as he leads us up a flight of stairs.

After arriving on the top floor right below the rooftop, we are brought to a large room that could house a group double our size with a good view of the city below. Rather than a room, this is more akin to a high-class suite as there are sliding partitions that divide the large room into different areas.

After getting a good look around the room we decide to head to the Treasury and find out when the next underground auction is taking place. According to Wanjing, it should be within the next few days.