'Hmm.... My guess was indeed right. We are going to that place huh? I mean, I did hear my parents talking about him a couple days ago, but, I thought it would have been more like, "Oh remember that guy? I wonder how he's doing now? We should send him a post card!" kind of conversation and ignored it. Oh well, I had to leave home at some point, the sooner the better. But the thing is... I didn't wanna drag Jin into all this crazy stuff. I guess there's no point in thinking about that now. We should set out soon if we wanna reach there in two days (time they should take was written on the map)', Ryan thought this as he turned to look at Jin sitting on the chair chair behind him. "Little Jin", he called her. "Yes ge", she replied. All the sorrow from their parents leaving was wiped away from her face and she started looking energetic as usual, mainly due to her brother's earlier words. , Ryan said to her, "We're leaving".
As for how to travel, Ryan recalled Shan telling him a few years ago that there are carts travelling between cities. So, he thought they could try their luck after reaching the closest one, Balak city. So, after around half an hour later, the duo set out from the wooden house. But before leaving, Ryan used his domain to alter their looks, as he didn't want to attract too much attention to themselves (both of them looked reaally charming). He turned himself into what his father made him look like back during his awakening ceremony and changed Jin's appearance into that that of a normal 'slightly-above-average-looking' 10 year old girl.
It took them almost 7 hours to reach the city by foot. They alternated between running and walking throughout the journey, but, Ryan wasn't tired at all. Jin, on the other hand was sweating and slightly panting, not because of heat or the distance traveled, but cause she had to keep up with her brother. Although being an ex-spirit beast gave her immense strength it was nothing compared to her monster of a brother.After reaching the city, both of them, at Jin's request, went to a nearby restaurant at once.
The owner of the restaurant, who was sitting at the counter, saw a young boy and a girl, both probably no older than 11 go into the shop. Although he wondered where their parents were, he quickly got back to checking the finances, as he didn't have time to think of such trivial things. Barely 30 minutes would have passed before the head chef came running to the counter, saying, "Sir, we are out of ingredients! We need to close the shop and restock!". "What? Didn't we buy new items just this morning?", the owner was shocked when he heard this. "Yes, but a small boy and a girl came just a few minutes ago and ordered a loooot of food. They were eating at such high speeds that I even had to use my entire spirit power to boost my speed", head chef finished talking, and started panting. "But you're a spirit grandmaster! How could 2 small kids make you use up your entire spirit power?", the owner retorted, in a skeptical tone. "If you dont believe me, please come and see. They are about to eat their last order", the chef sounded like he was dead tired. Hearing this, the owner got up from his seat and went to the dining area. What he saw there shocked him out of his wits.
The kids weren't eating..... They were devouring what was in the plate in front of them. In a matter of mere seconds. 'These are the kids from earlier. Do they have some evil beasts possessing them? No 11 year old kids could possibly eat this much for one meal', the owner thought, with a face full of surprise. But, as he heard the boy give a small burp, he remembered something; How were these kids gonna pay? If they don't have the money, then won't he face a huge loss? What the hell was he supposed to do? If he punished these little kids, his reputation would hit rock bottom. But, there was no other way. So, he called out to them, "Hey little brats! That's enough, Pay up!", hoping they have enough money. "Will it be okay if I pay for them?", a slightly feminine voice replied. Ryan, who was about to turn around to answer the owner felt the chicken in his MR raising its head and looking in the direction of that voice, slightly amused. So, he turned his head faster to see that person behind the owner.
The owner turned back to see a 12 or 13 year old boy with straight nose, square mouth, white hair and pale white skin. He looked... Pretty, with an amused look on his his face. The aura he gave off was that of a nobility. Suddenly, four tall men, clad in armor (including helmets), appeared behind him. One of them asked, "But, your highness, these are just two country bumpkins who you dont even know. Why would you want to save them?". Hearing this, Ryan's eyebrows twitched. He didn't like getting badmouthed by strangers (who does?). He said, "Excuse me, the uncle in the iron suit, we didn't ask him to save us or something. Heck, I don't even know this guy. Besides, we're fine. We have enough money to cover this expense. So, dont go around assigning people random titles". Hearing this, the knight was infuriated and unsheathed his sword, and said, "Hmph, cheeky little brat, who do you think you're talking to? This here is the crown prince of this, Heaven Dou, empire; His highness Xue Qinghe!". At the mention of this name, the whole room went silent. After all, it was not everyday that the prince walked into a small restaurant like this. The owner was dumbstruck; just this fact was enough for his business to boom for at least the next few years.
Hearing this, Ryan frowned at the prince for a second. He now understood why this guy sounded so feminine. He then looked at the knights and gave them an arrogant hmph, "Whoever it is, we didn't ask his worshipfulness (Yan Solo. Lol) for help. So leave us alone. Okay?", saying this, he took out 100 gold spirit coins from the pouch his father gave him (he had known their eating habits for years) and put them on their tables. He then held Jin's hand and stormed out of there.
Seeing this, the knight was outraged and was about to start chasing him when Qinghe held his hand out and said, "Dont, It was my fault. I will go apologize to them", as he started walking towards the exit. "But.... Your highness....", the knight was about to say something, when Qinghe turned his head and gave him a death glare. He instantly shut up.
After they got out of the shop, Ryan was sure Qinghe was gonna search for them. As he didn't want to involve his sister in this, he gave her the map and told her wait for him near the transportation centre. As long as she was there, he could trace her aura and reach there. And he was sure his little sister was strong enough to protect herself from a couple of normal perverts. Jin nodded in agreement, albeit being confused.
After she was gone, Ryan waited for the prince to follow them. His inference was spot-on; a couple minutes later, he saw Qinghe wandering around the place, searching for him. After he saw the prince, he moved towards him, just enough to get into the corner of his right eye and make him notice him, which was successful. It was getting dark. When Ryan was sure that the prince saw him, he started walking towards an empty alley nearby, to which Qinghe followed him, loudly calling him.
Once they both entered the alley, Qinghe couldn't see the boy anymore. He shouted out loudly, "Hey, you super hungry boy, where are you????!!!". Seeing all this, Ryan thought, 'This guy really thinks so highly of himself that he dares to enter such a dark alley alone at night, haah... little kids these days'. He then appeared near Qinghe and said, "You sure seem to be awfully confident in your abilities. Why are you following me, crown prince Xue Qinghe? Or should I call you young mistress Qian Renxue?".