Second Case 11: "Princess Li Shuyan."

"What do you want to buy?",

Liu Meifeng asked while trotting towards Zhao Yu, she didn't dare to do anything presumptuous like grabbing her hand or something. This is because she's under a disguise as a man in order to enroll in Xue Hu sect without getting in any trouble, and that trouble is related to her being born as royalty, also to avoid keeping in contact with her parents. It's not like she's still having a fight with them or holding any grudge. But, she is simply just still angry for being sold to a roaming cultivation master who loves to get tipsy.

"Hmm… I wonder?", Zhao Yu happily walked around while looking at the antiques around the shop.

Liu Meifeng smiled wryly, "Okay, take your time.", weren't you the one who needed to buy something from this shop?

Anyway, she's not actually being sold, her parents weren't that cruel. So, she was given for free in exchange for her lifespan which she had to desperately prolong alone. Although she is a royal princess, she must do everything on her own. Although sometimes Duan Gen helped, he mostly just let her do all the work. Danger or not, she must do everything by her own power. When Liu Meifeng asked, "Why must I do this all by myself?", Duan Gen only answered, "In order to obtain something you must work hard to earn it'.

Liu Meifeng just scoffed and said, "Excuse me? I only have a few years to live!",

"So did everyone.", after that, Duan Gen just headed back to his room and meditated as usual.

"Ugh, old man!",

The more Liu Meifeng remembers it, the more pissed she felt, "Just wait when I get back and become stronger than you, old man!",

"What? Who's old man?",

Liu Meifeng looked next to her and found Zhu You brazenly staring at her. Liu Meifeng shook her head and said, "No, nothing. Just recalling… something annoying from back then.",

"Oh, tell me about it! Speaking of annoyance, I remembered my pops said I can become the princess's bodyguard if I managed to graduate from Xue Hu sect without causing any problem! I mean, what the heck was that supposed to mean, right? It's not like I always following troubles, but troubles do follow me.",

"Hahaha, right!", Feng Mingxu tapped both Zhu You and Liu Meifeng's shoulders, "I had a similar experience with brother Zhu.",

"Oh, really? What is that?", Liu Meifeng looked at Feng Mingxu, "But, you're from a royal family, didn't you?",

"That doesn't mean we don't have any trouble… at least, that's for me.", Feng Mingxu sighed while leaning on Zhu You, "My fa– the King told me similar words like brother Zhu's father, but only a bit… stricter…",

"Hmm… let me guess. You were told to graduate with a perfect score?", Liu Meifeng guessed.

Feng Mingxu was surprised, "Oh? How did brother Xu know about this?",

"Oh, believe me… I was in your place… in the past.",

While Liu Meifeng and the others were talking, Zhao Yu looked at the three of them in a trance. Then, she overheard the other customers murmuring to each other.

"Oh, look at those guys over there. Aren't they very good-looking?",

"Yeah, especially the yellow-haired one! He's so handsome, I heard he's a prince from the neighbor's kingdom.",

"I like the one in the middle, his eyes are so beautiful and he got a soft look on his face.",

"Eh, I prefer the blue-haired guy, look at his body, so muscular!",

Zhao Yu looked at the group and found someone she was familiar with, "Um, princess Li?",

Li Shuyan looked at Zhao Yu, "Oh, Zhao Yu! I didn't know you were here as well!",

Li Shuyan immediately hooked Zhao Yu's arm, "Hey, I want you to meet with my new friends at this sect!",

"I, um…",

"Oh, isn't this the rumored Icy Maiden?",

"Icy Maiden…?",

Oh, great I got another nickname this time…Liu Meifeng looked at Zhao Yu and found that she was surrounded by beautiful girls. Well, it seems that 'idolizing' is also pretty common even in this world. Would Zhao Yu be charmed by those attractive women? Or is she not 'that' kind of girl?

Either way, both words didn't sound good, "Look at how popular you've become.",

"Huh, who were you talking about brother Xu?",

Liu Meifeng realized that she was talking out loud, "Oh, nothing… I was just looking at that group of girls. Aren't they very good-looking?",

"Hmm? Oh, you mean that one with dark brown hair? She's Li Shuyan, the royal princess of Zuguo kingdom.",

"I see– wait, what?!",

Liu Meifeng was surprised that even a princess would enroll in this sect. Just what makes this sect so special until royalties from many kingdoms came over to become its disciples?

"You're right. Although, princess Li is beautiful but I still prefer Yunxi.", Zhu You crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"Um… I don't know about you, but I think… you shouldn't…",

"Don't talk about a member from royalties, you'll be losing your head before you know it.", Feng Mingxu answered, looking a bit stern.

"Ah, right. Thank goodness, they didn't hear us!",

"Uh, you're wrong about that.",

"Huh?",

Zhu You turned back and Li Shuyan was right behind him, smiling beautifully but her eyes are clearly not smiling, "May I ask who dare to compare my beauty with a girl named Yunxi?",

Oh, crap…

Liu Meifeng pinched her forehead in distress, Zhu You, you beautiful idiot!

"Um, I think our brother here didn't mean any harm. He just expresses his love for… a girl named Yunxi.", Feng Mingxu stepped in and tried to calm Li Shuyan, who was obviously offended.

When Feng Mingxu tried to calm down the situation, Zhao Yu walked over to Liu Meifeng and Zhu You, "You know that you shouldn't compare a girl's beauty with the others. Especially, the royal family.", for some reason, Zhao Yu was also angry as well. Both Liu Meifeng and Zhu You felt a chill and apologized hurriedly.

"You know that you must pay a big price to be forgiven from slandering the royal family.", Li Shuyan crossed her arms and looked at Zhu You, then to Liu Meifeng, "How about you two become my slaves for 3 years?",

"What?!", both Zhu You and Liu Meifeng were shocked.

Zhu You thought to himself, I have already sworn to princess Liu to be her bodyguard only! How come I become someone else's slave before meeting her?!

On the other hand, Liu Meifeng had a cold sweat on her back, I won't even be able to survive that long!

"Um, one question Your Highness.", Liu Meifeng raised her hand.

"Go ahead.",

"How come Feng Mingxu is the only one who didn't get to be the slave?",

"B-because he's royalty! Yes, I cannot offend another royalty or there will be war.",

Damn it…

"Um, princess Li? Can we talk… for a while?", Zhao Yu pulled Li Shuyan's arm to talk about something behind. After a few minutes, the two of them nodded and approached Liu Meifeng, "Liu Meifeng, I will also… give you an exception. I won't make you as a slave or servant.",

"Really?!",

"Hey, that's not fair!",

"Oh, shut up. This was your fault to begin with!",

Li Shuyan smiled and then pointed to Zhao Yu, "In exchange, you'll have to take my sworn sister, Zhao Yu, to the village for shopping. How's that sound?",

"YES! I'll gladly escort Ms.Zhao to the village!", Liu Meifeng gave a salute while mocking Zhu You at the same time.

Zhao Yu walked towards the door and turned sideways, "Then, shall we go to the village now?",

"Yeah, let's go.",

Before Liu Meifeng went outside, she turned to Zhu You and said, "I'll bring something for you later. So, hang on brother Zhu.",

Zhu You was surprised, then he gave a carefree smile to her, "I'd like some meat buns!",

"--And that is what you'll receive.",

After exchanging a brotherly smile, Liu Meifeng and Zhao Yu went outside the store. Leaving only Zhu You, Feng Mingxu, Li Shuyan, and her entourage, "Now, here is what I'd like you to do…",

"Um, excuse me. But, can you not… punish him too harshly? He might be an idiot, but he's a good man.", Feng Mingxu said.

"And his idiotic had brought him onto this situation.",

"Yeah, which is why I asked you to… tolerate him. Just this time?",

Li Shuyan crossed her arms and looked at Zhu You, "Hmm…".

…

On the other hand, Liu Meifeng and Zhao Yu strolling down the village while looking around, "Um, do you and the princess know each other?",

"It was around when I was 5 years old.", Zhao Yu tilted her head to the left, and her gaze focused on an ornament store, "I lost… a precious friend of mine and was depressed for a few weeks. One day, my father suddenly brought me to the royal palace which is unusual since he almost never wanted to bring my presence to the palace. After that, I met princess Li Shuyan in the palace's yard. Since then, we became best friends.",

Liu Meifeng recalled her sudden departure without telling Zhao Yu about her whereabouts. She did expect that Zhao Yu would be sad, however, she didn't expect her to be depressed about it. She wanted to apologize, but right now she is not Liu Meifeng, but a random sickly stranger named Xu Haoran, which is her name from her previous life.

"If it's okay to ask, how did you… lose that friend of yours?", Liu Meifeng stood next to Zhao Yu and picked up a crimson bracelet with a golden bell attached to it.

Zhao Yu who was smiling suddenly stiffened, for a moment she didn't know what to say since she couldn't remember the friend that she desperately wanted to remember. However, since she is with Xu Haoran, her former best friend and partner in crime. She didn't want to lie, "I don't really remember… All I know is she left me behind in order to cure her incurable disease. But, it's been years since then… I don't know where she is and she never sends me a letter or tells me about her whereabouts. I… don't even know if she's still alive…", Zhao Yu took an Aquamarine pendant from her pouch and showed it to Liu Meifeng, "This is what she left for me inside her small note. She said to take care of this pendant until she comes back and retrieves it. Although, I may not remember her very well, but I'm still keeping it and waiting for her return.",

Liu Meifeng was pleasantly surprised to see that Zhao Yu still held on to her pendant. This pendant is the only thing that her family left for her when Duan Gen brought her on a journey. She felt nostalgic and annoyed at the same time, remembering her parents just handed her over to Duan Gen without telling her first. Zhao Yu saw that Liu Meifeng seemed to be absent-minded. She noticed that Liu Meifeng's eye color is the same as the Aquamarine pendant from her long-lost friend. To make sure about it, she lifted the pendant next to Liu Meifeng's face, and as she thought…

"It's the same…",

Liu Meifeng got startled for a moment and took a few steps back. She covered half of her face with her hand and flushed a little bit, "W-what are you doing?",

Zhao Yu was also taken aback by Liu Meifeng's meek reaction just now, she thought that it was cute and put aside her thoughts, "I was just thinking that your eyes were identical to this pendant… it's… pretty.", Zhao Yu placed the pendant back into her pouch, then, she smiled at Liu Meifeng, "I didn't expect brother Xu can be pretty bashful at times.",

Liu Meifeng was enticed by that smile, that's right… This was the same smile that made her heartbeat go racing when they first met. Liu Meifeng felt like she didn't know what to act, so she pretend to be sulking and responded, "You sound just like Feng Mingxu.", Zhao Yu smiled wryly and looked at the crimson bracelet on Liu Meifeng's hand, "Haoran, are you going to buy that?",

"Huh?", Liu Meifeng didn't know what Zhao Yu meant until she looked at her hand. She didn't realize that she had grabbed the bracelet, she thought that this might have looked good on Zhao Yu, "Oh, ye-yeah… I just thought this bracelet might suit you. Look, it matches your uniform.",

"What a coincidence, I also thought that this bracelet looked good on you. You have smooth and clear skin, strangely you looked prettier than me.", Zhao Yu teased.

"Then, shall we get a matching bracelet?", Liu Meifeng looked at Zhao Yu and picked another similar bracelet and put it on Zhao Yu's hand. This gesture made Zhao Yu turn red and looked straight at Liu Meifeng, "Um… are you.. are you sure? I mean… is it okay with someone like me?",

Liu Meifeng looked at Zhao Yu and smiled, "What do you mean by someone like you? For me, I only wanted to get matching things with you, or do you dislike this bracelet?",

"N-no, no I like this. I like this very much.", Zhao Yu hurriedly denied it with a flushed face. Liu Meifeng turned to the vendor and asked about the bracelet, "How much for these two?",

"Oh, you're a lucky one. These bracelets are perfect for lovers, legends said that this bracelet was created by a beautiful 9-tailed fox for her lover. This bracelet bears the power of 'true love', if you and your significant other were destined to be together. Then, wherever they are this bracelet will let you know about their whereabouts. However, if the bell on this bracelet kept ringing, it means your significant other is in danger. So, please pay attention to these details.", Zhao Yu and Liu Meifeng looked at each other, then both of them said, "That's perfect!!",

Liu Meifeng put on the bracelet and paid 120.000 silver stones for the two bracelets. Frankly speaking, this bracelet is a huge help for her to protect Zhao Yu whenever she is in danger. This is also applied to Zhao Yu, who had experienced losing Xu Haoran once. Now, she felt a bit relieved that there is this bracelet that might tell her about Xu Haoran's whereabouts and well-being. The two walked away from the stall and had a casual talk along the way.