Chapter 730: Imperial Princess Privilege
[Alright, who placed a bet on the dragon princess wanting to head back to Stampeding Bison with the maestro?]
[Not…it…]
[I think it was Spring Brawler who made that bet?]
[Booyah, suckas! Actually, apologies, trying something new here and that did not feel right.]
[Trying a more casual speech pattern?]
[Essentially. Trying to figure out my personality is weird.]
[Oi, guys! Quiet on the comms, I wanna hear this next bit.]
[Fine…]
[Speaking of sound though, what happened to that evolving undead proto-kaijin?]
[She’s back at the library. Logos and Pathos wanted to stabilize her body before the director added the finishing touches. That and they wanted to see what exactly Paralust’s influence does to kaijin.]
[Ah.]
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“Hey, Xiao Liu~ I was just thinking of barging into your bedroom. It’s the branch to the left, right?”
“Hello princess-wait, what was that last bit? Wait, no…when did you learn Hoof Speech?”
“This morning.”
“Ah.”
∆Oh, she smart smart.∆
=Our lord does seem to have a habit of attracting women that are unusually gifted…as well as surprisingly straightforward. Why are you are more concerned about her speaking the language and not the fact that she was about to try and barge into your bedroom?=
‘Because I’m fairly certain the kaijin would’ve prevented that…hopefully.’
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[I would have.]
[I wouldn’t have.]
[Horny…bastards…]
[What were we talking about?]
[I’m more curious about the old dude.]
‘Everyday, I’m reminded that y’all are like children…’
[And yet, you still won’t let us call you “daddy”.]
‘Stop that.’
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When Zhen Liu came down to the lobby if the Cozy Maple Hotel, he expected it to be predominantly empty with possibly one of his cousins or uncles passed out on a couch.
Instead, like something out of a comic, he found Princess JinJu Ren and some old looking hermit with a curly beard, sitting in the lobby’s lounge area while sipping on some expensive smelling tea.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here, this fine evening?”
“I can hazard a guess. Nice belt.”
“Thank you, but also, you’re no fun. I’ll need to fix that…,” Jinju Ren said with a mischievous smile, obviously sharp teeth being flashed all the while.
A part of Zhen Liu was expecting to see a giant mountain of luggage as well, probably filled with clothes and weapons of various sizes and shapes, until he saw the belt hanging off of Jinju Ren’s hip.
∆∆Looks like the princess is packing a spatial storage belt. Custom made too.∆∆
‘How big do you think the space is?’
=By my estimations, about two hundred square centimeters.=
‘Damn.’
Once again, Zhen Liu was reminded that JinJu Ren wasn’t just any type of princess, but one that was from a dynasty that was almost as old as the [Library of Nowhere].
Granted, his timeline might’ve been a touch skewed due to not knowing any other ancient and/or powerful civilizations to act as a comparison.
“So, Xiao Liu-”
“Ahem?”
“Ah, right. Sorry.”
Before Jinju Ren was about to, presumably flirt with Zhen Liu in an aggressive manner that she probably learned from her father, the old hermit with the curly beard suddenly cleared his throat as a form of interruption.
Whomever this old guy was, Zhen Liu could sense that this guy definitely didn’t have a simple background in the slightest. He could sense the aether density marking him as an Aether Lord at minimum, but also a surprisingly potent level of anima.
‘Is this guy hiding his true power level? I am getting the feeling he is hiding his true power level.’
∆=Definitely, but for the sake of your own sanity, we won’t tell you what his actual power level is.=∆
‘Fair.’
Most cultivators could only focus on one or the other, so the fact that this old guy was radiating off both types of energy was…a bit worrying, to say the least. Especially when said old guy also caused someone as blunt as Jinju Ren to suddenly act a significantly more polite manner.
“Xiao Liu, I’d like to introduce you to Master Zhong Wei.”
“It is an honor to meet you, future bridegroom Zhen Liu,” Zhong Wei greeted while formally standing up and cupping his hands together, his voice having a hint of an accent.
Zhen Liu returned the greeting in kind, saying, “It is an honor to meet you, Master Zhong Wei.”
Zhen Liu was going to ask why this old guy who was clearly more powerful than his grandfather, due to the fact that he was rocking that he was rocking two cultivation types at the same time, was here, but then Jinju Ren provided him the information before he could even say the word, “why”.
“Since I will be joining you and the rest of your clan back to Stampeding Bison, for the sole purpose of making you fall deeper and deeper in love with me, my brother and mother both saw it fit to send me with a bodyguard/tutor. I told them a big girl who could make my own decisions, but you know how family can get.”
“Of course.”
“Well, that’s not my only purpose to going along with you, Princess Jinju,” Master Zhong Wei interjected.
“Both your family and the Zhen Clan’s main branch had concluded that if you’re going to be galivanting on another continent, that it would be prudent to establish a means for you and the branch clan to have a more immediate form of transportation that doesn’t preclude the usage of vulnerable vehicles and caravans.”
After saying this bit, Master Zhong Wei redirect his focus towards Zhen Liu.
“Your great grandaunt has tasked me in establishing a [Clear Water Teleportation Array] that connects the main branch’s estate to yours. I heard that you have access to an area of high density Aquarii aether, despite living in what I’ve been informed was a desert?”
Zhen Liu could swear that he heard a bit of condescension in the old man’s voice, but he knew better than to voice such opinions. Instead, he simply told him the answer the old man was expecting.
“High density Aquarii aether? Yeah…we got a place like that. Stone Claw is full of underground caves that are filled with aether crystals. We use the ones that are really dense as cultivation chambers. More useful than just extracting the damn things outright.”
“Excellent.”
“Oh, that means my family will be able to visit whenever they feel like, great…,” Jinju Ren commented with a small amount of sarcasm in her voice. Evidently, she was under the assumption that being on a different continent meant being able to escape some of her family’s constant watching over of her.
Regardless, this incredibly coincidental moment actually worked wonderfully for Zhen Liu, since this meant that he didn’t have to worry about having to establish this teleportation array bullshit himself or having to study abroad. That being said, there was one thing he noticed about Master Zhong Wei’s words that made him pause.
“Wait…my great grandaunt was the one that tasked you to establish this array? Not the Imperial Family?”
“The Imperial Family had simply tasked me to make sure that her highness stayed out of trouble and finish her education. I owed Zhen Xun Tian a debt for a past event, so I figured I’d help her establish the teleportation array for her.”
“Huh…”
On the one hand, Zhen Liu was fairly certain that his great grandaunt was going to be the one to make use of his array way way than he was, but he knew better than to make that statement out loud.
On the other, he was fully expecting minding his own business one day and then getting his ass dragged back through this newly established portal by his teenage looking grandma for some unknown reason. Actually, that last bit was a lie, he knew precisely one of three reasons why he would be dragged through that soon-to-be minted portal.
“Well…anyways, it was very nice to meet you, Master Zhong Wei, but I was originally coming down here to get something to drink. Late night thirst, you know how it is.”
“Of course.”
“Ooh, I’ll join you. My throat is parched.”
“Alright,” Zhen Liu nodded while ignoring the fact that she was in the middle of drinking a cup of tea.
Completely unprompted, or very much calculated, Jinju Ren made sure to latch herself onto Zhen Liu’s arm as soon as they started walking.
It wasn’t that long of a walk, but she was, if anything, very straightforward.
‘Why…why do I get the feeling my personal life is going to get more…hectic?’
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‘Huh…as unfathomable as the Ink Devil says he is…fascinating…,’ Zhong Wei thought to himself as he watched Zhen Liu and Jinju Ren walk away.
When Zhong Wei agreed to do Zhen Xun Tian her favor, he had a singular condition attached to it.
He would only help to establish the teleportation array if this so-called, “interesting puppet master”, actually lived up to her expectations.
As turns out, he did.
‘I can’t read his mind at all…that’s a new one…’
