Chapter 155 - Need To Learn Etiquette

"You should let me go right now!" 

Li Ming immediately covered her ears to protect them from the shrieks of the Crown Prince.

"You should remember that you are the one and only Crown Prince of the Han Empire. Don't ruin your reputation here by behaving like this," Li Ming said as she was finally done with the last knot of the rope that was binding the Crown Prince to his seat.

No matter how much he tried to get himself free from the normal-looking rope, he was unable to call out his cultivation powers.

Suddenly something or someone was blocking him from reaching his qi and there was only one person present in the room who could be responsible for that.

He scoffed at Li Ming's words as he replied, "Woman, you are the one who needs to remember my position and status. Ever since we have met, you keep crossing your line. How dare you do this to me?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? That pouch thing was totally an accident. I never meant to hit you. Do I look like an idiot who's too eager to die?" Li Ming asked while pointing her index finger at herself.

The Crown Prince looked at her face for a minute before replying, "Fine! Let's just say that you have some issues while talking with the Imperial family. That's fine, you can always learn those etiquettes..."

Li Ming just gritted her teeth as she controlled her hands which were itching to land a punch on the beautiful face of the so-called Crown Prince of the Han Empire.

How dare he say that she was lacking in etiquette? It wasn't like she outrightly disrespected him. She just could not handle people who wandered around showing off their status to bully the weak.

"...and I can even accept that you didn't hit me on purpose. But, what about this? Are you not disrespecting me by doing this? You also did something to my guards. You can be killed right this moment for an assassination attempt." The Crown Prince continued to rant out his frustration.

"Well, that's kinda serious," Li Ming said with a thoughtful tone. She looked deep in thoughts as a frown appeared on her face.

Her expressions made the Crown Prince think that she was finally regretting her actions and was also scared.

Therefore he said, "Right! This is very serious. You need to let me go instantly. I'll probably forgive you." 

Li Ming looked at the Crown Prince and scoffed at his stupidity in her mind. The Prince had taken her very lightly for his own good.

"I definitely can not let you go now! I pulled on this stunt to get myself out of your clutches easily. Of course, there was no way that you would have believed that I didn't hit you with the pouch intentionally and I'm sure you would never have let me take the little boy with me. That's why I thought that after tying you up here with your sleeping guards, I'll get enough time to get away from this place with my companions." 

Li Ming shook her head from left to right with a depressed and sad face as she continued, "I never knew that I would end up with such a criminal tag. Now, I can't let you go. You will definitely kill me."

She sounded so afraid and confused, giving the impression that she had no idea what to do or what exactly she was going to do next.

For a second the Crown Prince felt his heart stop beating at her reaction but then he shook his head to get himself together. 

The young girl couldn't be too dangerous for him, right?

"Listen to me. Untie me immediately and I'll let you go with your friends. You can even take that young boy along with you. Just hurry and untie me," he said in an urgent tone.

His tone sounded like he was trying to soothe a crying baby which made Li Ming almost glare at him but she controlled her urges at the very last second.

Rather she hurriedly shook her head, making her long hair dance around her face.

"Nope. I'm not going to believe you. There's no guarantee that you will actually let me go after I release you. I can't take such a huge risk. I won't set you free." Li Ming immediately refused.

The Crown Prince stared at the young girl with huge eyes. For a moment had no idea about how to reply to her but then after a few seconds of silence, he said, "If you won't set me free then what are you going to do? Do you seriously think that you can run away from me? I'll catch you sooner or later and then you will receive even a much harsher punishment."

He was trying to get a hold on her fear to get her untie him. Unexpectedly, he still had no plans for punishing the girl even though she had crossed her line many times.

Something inside him just could not accept the idea of harming the young girl and no matter how much he tried, he could not get rid of that intuition.

"See! You just proved me right. No matter if I let you go or not, I'll be the one who will be the one facing difficulties. Therefore, you have not left many options open for me," Li Ming said as she looked at the Crown Prince with sorry eyes.

The auction that was still going on downstairs was nearing its end as the last item of the day was brought up to the podium to be presented to the audience and soon enough the people started placing their price.

The entire auction hall was unaware of the drama that was going on in one of the private rooms on the third floor.

Li Ming needed to leave the private room as soon as possible so that she could meet with Miss Bao and receive her money.

She didn't want to reveal her identity as the alchemist who refined those four jars of spiritual pills.

Though she had never tried to hide her powers before but this time the situation was a little different.

Before this, all those people who witnessed her powers were not harmful to her. She had always known if she could deal with them or not.

However, this time the situation was different. The auction hall was filled with powerful people from all around the mortal realm.

Her current cultivation level and magical powers were not enough for her to save herself and her people from such powerful people.

That's why she decided to keep her identity as the refiner of the spiritual pills a secret for the time being.

Therefore, here she was, trying to get rid of the Crown Prince of the Han Empire so that she could get out of the room.

"What are you planning to do?" This time the voice of the Crown Prince came out hoarse as he tried to show an indifferent expression.

Suddenly the previous worrying expression vanished from Li Ming's face and her eyes lit up with an evil smile.

"I seriously didn't want to do it, but you have left me with no other choice. I hope you won't blame me for this. After all, I'm just trying to save myself from your royal clutches." Her tone was filled with maliciousness. 

Her aura had suddenly become dark and cold, making it hard for the Crown Prince to breathe.

"Who are you exactly?" He asked and this time his eyes were actually filled with worry.

"I'm just a mere citizen, a no one in front of your royal self. Now, it's time for us to say our goodbyes." Li Ming replied softly as she straightened up and smoothed her dress.

After the guards had lost their consciousness, she had immediately made Zi Yan and Jin Jing leave the room along with the young kid.

She took out a silver lighter from her space and flicked it open.

Rather than the normal red and yellow flame, the flame of the lighter was silver and blue. 

"What..."

Before he could complete his sentence, Li Ming brought the flame extremely close to his eyes, making him halt.

She closed her eyes and called on her compulsion powers. Since the Crown Prince was at a higher level of cultivation than her, she could not compel him directly.

Also, there were the royal guards and the old shopkeeper who had seen them together, she would also need to remove herself from their memory too.

Doing it individually would drain her completely, therefore, she was using one of the ancient charms that she found a few years back on the Earth.

She looked directly into the eyes of the Crown Prince over the flame and whispered lightly, "You won't remember meeting me. You never caught the kid who stole your money. You attended the auction alone..."

After a few seconds, she ended up reciting all the memories that she needed to evaporate from their memories, and just as she stopped saying the words, the flame flew out of the lighter and dispersed into thousands of sparkling particles and fell on the body of the people inside the room.

A tiny ball of the sparkles flew downstairs and poured on the old shopkeeper.

Now, she was ready to leave!