Chapter 156 - The Young Boy Disappeared

Li Ming walked out of the room, leaving a dazed Crown Prince and his group of guards behind as they all tried to get a hold of their surroundings.

She wanted to meet the person who ended up buying all the four jars of the pills but looking at the situation she just decided to give up.

It took her barely fifteen minutes before she emerged out of the auction house along with Zi Yan, Jin Jing, and the young boy.

Her treasury was filled with millions of silvers and a golden token that she received from Miss Bao.

The token was used by the VIPs of the auction house. By using it she could get a free pass in all the branches of the Auction house in every Empire.

Also, she would get a discount of twenty percent whenever she would buy anything from these Auction Houses.

Not only that but the best perk that she found about the token was that whenever there would be another auction in any of the branches of the Auction House, she would receive an invitation and a list of all those items that would be going to get auctioned.

As the three of them entered into one of the Inns of the Capital city, a satisfied smile was decorating Li Ming's lips.

She completed her mission of the day. Not only she ended up becoming a VIP customer of the Auction House but she also earned a lot of money.

It was around four in the evening and they still had some hours left before night.

Li Ming sent the two girls to take some rest and brought the young boy along with her to the dining area of the inn on the ground floor.

The Inn was not too much crowded as most of the customers were still roaming through the market after leaving the auction house.

She found an empty table set for two people in one of the farthest corner of the room and sat down.

The young boy silently followed her and sat down opposite her.

A maid approached them to take their order. Li Ming noticed the woman passing weird glances at the kid, probably because of his dirty appearance and torn clothes.

"Is there something special that you want to eat?" Li Ming asked him in a soft tone.

Unfortunately, she didn't receive any reply from him as the kid stayed completely indifferent to her presence.

Li Ming sighed and just ordered on her own, making sure to pick tasty dishes for the child.

After the maid left, Li Ming turned towards the young boy and while using her thumb and index finger of the right hand, she pulled his face upwards and made him look directly at her.

"Stop being bratty. I'm asking you questions so you need to answer me. You can't live with that attitude, especially to someone who just saved you from that Crown Prince." Her tone was warm but strict.

This time the boy stared directly into her eyes and Li Ming immediately dropped her hand down.

"I didn't beg you to help me." 

Well, what could she say to this? 

The boy had a soft tone but it came out a little hoarse.

"Alright! You are not wrong about that. I think it's my fault that I thought about helping you." She replied with a disappointed tone.

She had already used a large portion of her powers due to all the unexpected things that happened during the entire day.

But looking at the appearance of the kid, she couldn't control herself. With a deep breath, she put her hand on his head.

The boy tried to dodge her hand but she made him sit still with her free hand and closed her eyes.

After muttering a simple chant she opened her eyes and found the kid transformed into a decent looking appearance.

His clothes were black and blue in color, paired with leather shoes. All the dirt disappeared from his body.  

His long hair was tied with a black ribbon and was falling down on his back.

Li Ming took out a dark green pouch with black prints on it. The pouch was emitting the slightest fragrance of Lily and sandalwood combined.

She tucked the pouch in his belt and protected it there with a charm, making sure that it won't come out accidentally.

"What are you doing?" The kid asked as he stared at the pouch and then looked up at her.

His eyes were devoid of any emotions but Li Ming noticed how his fingers lightly grazed over the pouch like he was trying to keep it there protectively.

"You look much better like this." Li Ming replied with a soft smile as the maid returned with their order.

The look of surprise on the woman's face was visible even though she tried her best to control it.

Her hands even trembled as she poured the tea into two cups before scurrying away.

Li Ming realized that the woman's reaction was due to the surprise at the change in the kid's appearance and also because of fear.

It took her a few minutes to realize what made her afraid.

It was that beautiful pair of eyes that were glaring at her currently.

Li Ming raised her eyebrows as she looked at the boy. When he didn't say anything for the next few seconds, she just ignored him and raised her teacup to take a sip.

"Are you hitting on me?" 

Li Ming choked on her tea as the question, more like an accusation, registered in her brain.

She stared at the kid with her jaw hanging open.

"What?? What kind of thoughts are filled in your brain, you brat?" She reprimanded him as she set the cup down on the table.

"If not that then why would you want me to look good?" The kid asked as he crossed his hands in front of his chest. His beautiful eyes glaring at her as he hurled accusations after accusations at her.

"I didn't tidy you up for myself, nor for the rest of the world. I did it for you. Don't you feel bad in those torn and dirty clothes? Don't you want to wear clean clothes and stay neat and tidy?" Li Ming asked him as she tried to explain her actions.

If she was expecting to see the boy realize his mistake and agree with her words, then she was probably disappointed by his reply.

"I love being dirty all the time and those torn clothes were my treasures!"

This was the reply that she received from the boy and she almost wanted to bang her head on the table.

Somehow, she plastered a smile on her lips as she said through gritted teeth, "My bad! I should have asked you first before taking such a step and assuming things on my own."

She was amazed to see the boy nodding his head as if he was accepting her apology.

"Good to know that you at least realized whose fault it is."

He didn't say anything more and picked up the chopsticks to fill his bowl with the dishes and started eating.

"By the way, don't go around stealing money. Not everyone is going to let you go easily," Li Ming said softly as she picked her teacup once again.

"They will need to catch me first to let me go." The boy replied as he continued to eat.

Li Ming almost rolled her eyes at his words but didn't comment. She was in no mood to argue with a little boy at the moment.

Therefore, after a few minutes of silence, she again said, "That pouch which you stole from me, use its money for now. It's enough for you to buy food for more than three weeks and if you want I can book a room here for you for an entire month..." 

"Do you want it back?" The kid asked as he cut her off.

"What?" Li Ming asked in confusion.

"Do you want your money back? Is that why you keep reminding me that I have stolen your money? Maybe you are too shy to ask for it straightforwardly..." 

"You little brat! You seriously need to control both your tongue and your hands. Just finish this food and get lost from here before I change my mind and return you to the Crown Prince of the Han Empire." Li Ming whispered shouted at the boy as she stood up from the seat and stormed out of the Inn, leaving behind three silver coins as the payment for the food.

She was almost fuming in anger. The kid was really daring.

She had barely spent two minutes standing at the entrance of the Inn when the manager came looking for her.

"Miss, please complete the payment for the food." The old woman said in a polite tone.

Li Ming looked at the woman with confused eyes as she asked, "What do you mean? Didn't you find money on the table where that little boy is eating?"

"Miss, no boy is sitting there on your table. He probably left too and there was also no money there." The woman politely told Li Ming.

Looked like the young boy disappeared!