[OASNG] Chapter 111: The Princess Leaves
[September 12, 2019] ... Being looked down by such a tiny dead spirit brought everyone down.
"Do you know why the grudge here is so powerful?" Ming Xi asked.
"There are lots of reasons grudges form. How would I know why this one is so powerful?" Lydia said before looking at the speaker. Once she did she turned a little shy. If a spirit could blush she would have been blushing. "I can"t see the reason behind the grudges here, but I can see something else." She spoke with a lilt at the end of her sentence. She squinted at something behind Ming Xi.
Gerasi and the others twitched their lips. Sure enough their leader had a contract. Whatever he contracted with would surely be interesting.
It turned out Feng Wu wasn"t the only one that liked Ming Xi. Lydia liked him too. It was clear to her he wouldn"t create friction between her and Feng Wu. She was very much looking forward to the drama that would play out.
The princess, dressed all in green and wearing a new netted hat, [I guess she only wore the crown while she was in the room…] stepped down the stairs. Her appearance silenced the first floor and made the pitter patter of the rain resound loudly. The only competing sound was the soft footfall of her steps.
Xiao Na, standing behind the princess addressed Liffman, the lead guard, in a neutral tone. "Liffman, tell your men the princess wishes to set out immediately. We will rest at the small town just ahead of here."
"Princess, it"s raining so heavily, it will be dangerous to travel." Liffman"s duty was to protect the princess, so of course he would speak up if he thought she wanted to do something dangerous.
"We don"t know when the rain will stop. It could go on for days. Do you want the princess to stay in this tiny lousy inn for that long?" Mieren was the princess"s personal maid so she tried to always maintain an air of superiority over others. Her rank put her above the guards. She smiled as she disdainfully looked down at Liffman.
"But." Liffman wanted to say more.
"Silence. I have made my decision. We set out immediately." Princess Nai Nai interrupted Liffman. Her voice was firm but charming at the same time.
Luis stared at Princess Nai Nai. "That princess must be a beautiful woman. It"s a shame she"s wearing a netted hat. I"d love to see what she looks like under it."
Elena smiled coldly. She didn"t have a good impression of the princess. "You can"t handle that kind of beauty. Just look at the inn. I"m afraid this Princess Nai Nai has something to do with it."
Because of the princess"s insistence, the only thing Liffman could do was gather his troops and get ready to leave.
The sky cleared up shortly after Princess Nai Nai"s entourage left and the ominous feeling in the air disappeared.
Elena gave Luis an I told you so look. "See? There"s definitely something wrong with Princess Nai Nai."
Luis could only remain silent.
Ming Xi ignored the two of them and instead gestured for a waiter. "Waiter, ask your boss to come here."
The waiter did as requested and the boss came over as soon as he heard.
The inn was not far from the badlands and the boss had learned to discern the type of people who patronized his inn. When he saw Ming Xi"s group, he knew they weren"t ordinary. Their bearing and aura was unusual.
"Adventurers, you asked me to come over. Was there something you wanted to ask?" The boss was a sharp man. The group asked for him just after Princess Nai Nai left. Odds were whatever they wanted was related to her.
"Yes, we do have some questions regarding Princess Nai Nai. What can you tell us about her?" With his charming, peaceful appearance and manners, it was hard to find anyone who disliked Ming Xi.
"Yes, Princess Nai Nai is the youngest daughter of Souya"s current ruling king. The king has three children, one son and two girls. The girls are twins, Princess Qi Qi and Princess Nai Nai.
Princess Qi Qi has had a strong apt.i.tude for magic since she was young. In fact she"s a second year at Xingguang Holy Academy. Princess Nai Nai, on the other hand, has never shown any talent in magic. It"s a publicly accepted fact that she is the least gifted of the royal children. Although His Royal Majesty and Her Royal Highness both dote on Princess Qi Qi, they haven"t ignored Princess Nai Nai," finished the boss.
"To be a member of the royal family and not have any magical talent, I"m afraid her days ahead will be difficult." There was a trace of pity in Zi Cheng"s eyes as she spoke.
"It must be the case. Otherwise why would she come to the badlands to train every year?" The boss nodded his head, approving of Zi Cheng"s insight.
"Princess Nai Nai comes here every year?" Ai Lin asked.
"Yes, once every year, but this year she"s returned twice. Today was her second time.
"Her second time? When was her first time back this year?" Ming Xi"s brow furrowed. There was something about the air around Princess Nai Nai he found disagreeable. He was still trying to figure out what it was.
After thinking for a moment the boss replied with, "About four months ago."
"Only four months and she"s already back. There must be something going on." Pei Qing tapped his finger on the table.
Something flashed in the boss"s eyes when he heard this. The group didn"t miss it.
Ming Xi asked in a soft coaxing voice, "Boss, is something troubling you?"
The boss looked at the group and sighed before saying, "Yes! You people seem to be talented. This is only a guess on my part but I believe the town may need your help."
"What do you mean? Speak clearly." Jier had no patience for cryptic messages. He hated people who only spoke in halves. Why not just say everything in one go already? Stalling only worried people more!
"There is a small town not too far north of here. I and the people who work here are all from there. Lately, these past few months many young girls have become swollen with child. None of the girls will admit to having a relationship with a man, so it"s very strange! The whole thing is a big deal in town."