9 Preparation

She smacked the wall. Her power pulsed into the wall.

"Break."

The water suddenly sank into the wall and seconds later the wall shattered like glass. The result was similar to what a 7th-grade magic user would do or a possible high-level spy.

"If you say it's a spy, then I'll give you a spy. Let's see how you will explain this one to the Crown Prince. I wonder how long you can keep your head." Hongyue laughed mockingly. She carefully trampled a section of the grass and left.

She picked up a rock and threw it outside the manor. The guards stared at her disgusted.

"My rocky went out the door. Help me get it." She talked mindlessly like a child. The disgust in the guards' eyes grew.

"Go get it yourself, you useless trash."

Hongyue nodded and ran out.

Once she was out of sight, she chuckled. What was this? Shouldn't they at least try harder to contain her inside? She was still a miss of the manor. Whatever the case is, she'll make sure to come back in time to watch the show. For now, she will need to cultivate in order to heal her shattered soul. Her eyes narrowed slyly. Whenever she used her own powers, she could also feel something else, slightly reacting. Maybe, this body wasn't trash but didn't show any signs of power due to poison. If that was the case, she'll have to see what surprises she'll get when she gets rid of the poison.

"Herbs! Herbs for sale!"

Hongyue turned back curiously. In front of her was a middle-aged dressed in grey waving his hands about to get buyers. She studied the herbs in front of her. The seller stared at the young girl in front of him, she wasn't dressed in anything overly fancy yet her eyes oozed confidence.

"Does young miss want to buy anything?"

Hongyue glazed up, "That depends. Do you want to buy anything?"

The herb seller laughed.

"What a sharp mouth! Do you have any herbs to sell?"

"How much are you willing to give?" She said carefully.

The herb seller suddenly looked sharpened. He stared hard at her, but he couldn't sense any powers in her at all. Frowning, he asked.

"Are you trying to buy herbs...or loyalty?"

"This seller certainly isn't simple. I want to buy both."

"What do you have to give?"

Hongyue studied at the herbs in front of her. A smirk started to crawl up. She reached forward to picked up a single dry stalk of herb that laid on the dirt ground.

"I want just this. Can you give it to me?"

The herb seller laughed. "Take it, take it. Free of charge."

"Thank you. Next time I come what you lack is what I shall give."

With that said, she left. The herb seller gazed down at his herbs and frowned. He called forward a servant to take his place and he disappeared as well.

Hongyue ceased walking and focused on locating a source of water. Her body pulsed faintly with energy and she gradually opened her eyes. She continued on her way and ended up in a swampy forest. Nearby, she could sense a large source of running water. She smiled. Trailing slowly, she found a river running toward the south with clean and sparkling water. Hongyue bit her finger and watched the blood ooze out. The drop of blood fell into a water and suddenly a section of water stopped moving seemingly contained by an invisible force. She took out the rock from earlier and drew an ancient design on the surface using her blood to stain the surface. She then dropped both the rock and herb into the division of water.

She instructed a circle, using both hands, in the air.

"Bind."

The rock which once had no power at all suddenly glowed with a blue aura. The ancient design faded into the rock disappearing from sight.

"Give."

The rock exploded underwater but the newly given power with aura was contained within the barriers of water.

"Nurture."

The water with the scattered aura suddenly rushed into the root of the herb. Nothing seemed to happen until the dry leaves suddenly unfurled and started to grow. In the blink of an eye, a level 0 herb plant become a gravely rare level 10 plant. Somewhat satisfied, Hongyue reached for the plant and tucked it inside her sleeve.

"Hm. I lost my touch. This will have to do."

Next, she cupped a handful of water and threw it towards the sky. Quickly, she drew ancient designs on the palm of her hands and swirled in a circle spreading out her influence. A slightly silver power suddenly pulsed out from her body and rushed into the air filling the circle she swirled in. The water that should have been falling down abruptly froze in the air and started to morph. Hongyue tilted her head and thought of a valid design and with a twist of her hand, the water turned into a hair stick made of ice enhanced with flowers.

"All set, time to go back and watch the show."