266 The Path I Should Take

Mei sat back in her seat and looked around her surroundings. This beautiful palace was now hers. But the responsibility for receiving such a gift was heavy. Although the young woman said it was up to her if she went to find the origin or if she wanted to continue to try to live a peaceful life. The warning that the young woman left made Mei realize that a peaceful life might not be possible. 

Letting out a sigh, Mei finished off the tea in her cup and ate a pastry before getting up and walking towards the doors to the palace. She placed her hand on the door to push it open but found that it would not budge no matter how hard she pushed against it. Stepping back from the door, Mei looked the door over until her eyes fell on a small slot between the crevice of the door. Thinking for a moment, Mei took out the pendant and stuck the bottom of it into the slot. 

A clicking sound was heard and then the sounds of gears turning. A rumble was heard soon after as the doors began to swing inwards allowing Mei access to the inside. The inside of the palace was lit up in some sort of manner that Mei did not know. The entrance led to a large room that had a spiral staircase leading up on the right side. In the middle were two doors and to her left was another door. Next to the staircase, there was a fourth door. 

The walls were all engraved with pictures just like outside. Each wall telling a different story. Mei decided she would investigate the place first before trying to figure out the story. She walked towards the left wall and opened the first door. This led to a hallway that had many rooms. Alicia went room to room and saw that each room was on the small side with a bed and cabinet inside. She figured this was supposed to be the servants' rooms.

After checking each room Mei returned to the main hall to check the other doors. The two middle doors lead to a kitchen and storage area. The door to the right led to an indoor garden that had many herbs growing inside. Seeing this Mei's eyes lit up. She could feel a strong spiritual qi within the room that the herbs were giving off. She could tell they had been here for a long, long time.

Closing the door and walking out of the room, Mei headed up the spiral staircase. When she reached the top she was welcomed with three more doors. Going through the first door Mei found the master bedroom. It was very large and had a soft looking couch on the back wall and in the middle of the room, Mei saw a large cauldron. This cauldron was very large, even taller than her. The feet of the cauldron were carved to look like dragon feet. This cauldron alone took up most of the space within the room. 

Exiting the bedroom, Mei entered the next room. When she did her mouth almost dropped open when she saw the massive library. There were shelves and shelves of books, scrolls, and jade slips. "This is a good place..." 

The last room was nothing more than a large bathtub which made Mei smile. After entering the qi gathering realm she found that she no longer had to go to the bathroom nor felt the need to eat anything. At first, she thought something was wrong with her, so she had blushingly asked Bai Hong about it only to be laughed at. But he did explain to her why it was so. The main reason was because as cultivators, taking in spiritual qi would replenish all their worldly needs. This is why cultivators above the body refinement stage could cultivate for months and even years on end without needing to eat or anything else for that matter. As such there was no toilet of any kind here for her to use. But now that she was in qi gathering realm this no longer mattered to her. But having a large bath mattered a lot to Mei. Coming from Earth as an ex-Japanese at heart she needed to bathe whenever she could.

Mei walked over and touched the steaming crystal clear water and smiled. After stripping she went over to the side and picked up a wooden bucket to rinse herself off before stepping into the hot bath. As the steam rose up from the water, Mei let out a satisfied sigh as he looked up at the ceiling. "She said the right and left hand of the Origin were in different universes as well as the Origin themself was in a different universe from the right and left hand… I wonder what these universes are like? Are there Earths in those universes or Phantasias? What path should I take… Should I stick with my first choice and try to live out a peaceful life on Phantasia, become a knight, have a family, and tend to my duties as a princess of the kingdom? Or should I strive to become as powerful as possible and find a way to meet the Origin? She had mentioned that each Hand of the Origin had followers as well as the Origin having followers of their own. So does this mean I can take people with me? Can Blake... " Mei began to blush as she thought of Blake. 

"Ahh! I will leave it for later! Above all else, I will become a knight first! After I settle things on Phantasia, I will think of the path I should take then. For now, I need strength! I need to get strong enough to return to my old world!"

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