Chapter 87 - A Surprise For My Lovely Readers

Li Ming strolled through the busy market street of the Wang Empire. The market was full of life with mortals and cultivators from all around the mainland.

Even though the Wang Empire was the weakest Empire of the Mortal Realm but it still held a hidden gem that grabbed the attention of other Empires and this particular gem was the reason behind her short trip to the Wang Empire - well kind of!

It had been three days since her visit to the Northern Province and three days since the silver lines had appeared on her wrist which had currently taken a break from their usual nonstop shining duty.

Though she had found out about the reason behind Ruoshan's lies and she didn't hold it against him anymore but she had still spent the last three days in ignoring the Ever Night Lord.

She had seen his eyes which were confused because of her cold shoulder treatment towards him and the glimpses of hurt that he tried his best to hide. But she wasn't ready to face the reality yet. There were too many questions and she needed to find their answers.

The Han Empire had two teleportation arrays that joined it with the other Empires. One was in the Imperial Palace that could have teleported her directly to the Jin Empire, but Li Ming rejected it within a second when Zhang Yong proposed the idea of using it. She was not interested in entering the Imperial palace until it wasn't necessary.

The second teleportation array was in the Xie Qiu City, but it didn't lead to the Jin Empire directly, rather it could teleport people to the Wang Empire. 

Wang Empire had only one teleportation array but it was connected to the Capital Cities of all the other three Empires - Song, Jin, and Han Empire except the Central Empire.

She could use the teleportation array of the Wang Empire to teleport to the Capital City of the Jin Empire, where the Herb Market was located.

She woke up early that morning and after giving a few directions to Elder Fu, she took her leave. She didn't need a carriage to reach Xie Qiu City since she had already been there before. So, she directly teleported there.

Within fifteen minutes she cleared through all the checking points and was teleported to the Capital City of Wang Empire where she was currently strolling through the busy streets.

In the past six months of her stay in this new world, she had spent most of her time in the black market, Dongji village, or the Thundering Peaks. She had rarely seen the normal streets of this ancient and magical world.

That's why she decided to stroll through the busy market street which was bustling. Maybe she would learn something new.

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On the roof of one of the inn was lying a man clad in long dark red and black color brocade clothes.

His long black hair was tied in a high pony with a long thin piece of red ribbon, a few loose strands of hair, with a little touch of red highlight in them, were falling around his face which was covered with a black mask.

His obsidian eyes had a red circle around the irises that grabs everyone's attention to them. His light pink shaded thin lips were glistening as he emptied another jar of wine. He hadn't liked the taste of wine but he still emptied four jars within the last five hours. 

He was playing with a flute that appeared to be made of black jadeite, shining brightly in the morning rays of the sunlight. He kept flipping the flute in the air and every time he did that, the three guards who were hiding in the shadows a little far away cringed at the mere thought of their lord breaking the flute into tiny pieces.

Though all of them were aware that it was impossible for their lord to break his flute but they still couldn't help thinking the worst.

The man suddenly straightened into a sitting position. His previously drunken self had transformed into a completely sober and sharp one.

The three guards also straightened as they tried to point out the source that had piqued their Lord's attention. But they couldn't find anything. Everything was as normal in the market as it was an hour ago.

On the other side, the man with the jade flute in his hand completely stood up. His robes lightly swayed with the breeze. His sharp eyes were scanning through the crowd that had filled the street down below.

He had a sudden urge to visit the Capital market of the Wang Empire since the previous night. It was so strong that even after his many attempts of ignoring this stupid instinct he still ended up in the market of the Capital City of the Wang Empire even hours before the dawn.

It had been five hours but nothing happened. Still, something was keeping him from leaving. And his instincts went haywire when that light fragrance of lilac mixed with honey reached his nose.

This fragrance had been hunting him for the past one month. He tried everything to find the source of the fragrance but never got anything.

Who knew that he would come across that fragrance in the Capital City of the Wang Empire.

The three guards appeared out of their hidden place as they noticed that their Master was about to leave. But a sharp side glance from their Lord and all three of them froze in their steps. The message was clear - not to follow him.

And the next second the man in black & red robes gracefully jumped down the roof of the two stories Inn and disappeared in the crowd. Somehow his appearance and dark aura didn't catch anyone's attention.

*********

Li Ming was looking at a stall that was selling hairpins but after going through all the different designs she still didn't find a single one to her liking.

She had just walked a few steps away from the stall when a small body collided with her and nearly sent her tumbling down on her ass but she somehow saved herself from the embarrassment.

Her eyes landed on the little boy who was not as quick as her and had landed on the ground.

He was barely seven or eight years old. Though he didn't look poor but his appearance was still shouting that he belonged to the so-called middle-class family. His clothes were a little too loose on his body. They looked like they had been washed too many times but they were still dirt free.

The boy hurriedly picked himself up and kneeled down on the ground, shocking Li Ming who was about to help him stand up.

"Miss, I'm s-sorry. I was in hurry and didn't notice you. Please forgive my mistake." The little boy said in a desperate tone as he started kowtowing. 

"What the-? Hey, Stop it! Why are you kowtowing kid?" Li Ming somehow stopped the boy and helped him stand up.

The little boy looked at her with tearful eyes as he said, "I didn't mean to bump into you. It was an accident. I'm sorry for ruining your dress. My family has a clothes shop. Though they can't match with your high-quality clothes but you can still take away anything from there for free."

For a moment he faltered as he thought that he had offended the Young Miss but then he relaxed when she spoke those gentle words.

Li Ming looked at the little boy and said in a tender voice, "I know that you didn't collide with me on purpose and I'm accepting your apology. But there's no need for any compensation."

"Thank you, Miss. You have a great heart but can you please come with me to my sister's shop and choose an outfit? After all, your dress is ruined because of me." The boy said in a hoarse tone as he looked at the Goddess who was standing in front of him.

Li Ming again would have refused his offer if she had not caught the emotions in his eyes. Though they had guilt in them for ruining her dress but there was something else too - a hope. 

Hope that she would go with him to his sister's shop. Hope that she would not turn down his request.

And because of that hopeful look in his small eyes, she found herself slowly nodding her head in acceptance to his offer.

If she wanted she could have read his mind to find out about exactly what he was thinking but she couldn't make herself do that. To invade the mind of a little child who was completely unprotected to her magic, wasn't something she wanted to do. 

She followed behind the little boy who was hurriedly walking towards the more crowded area of the market and for the first time in both of her lives, her powers failed to detect the presence of the mysterious person that was following her since she had collided with the little boy.