[July 10, 2019]
...
Xing Zhi walked to Shen Li after everyone left. He didn't have to say anything; she knew he was there.
She glanced quickly over at him and asked, "Are they gone?"
Xing Zhi nodded. "It seems like there is still another group that needs to be rescued. I don't know the specific location, but it should be somewhere in the south."
"This is your business. It doesn't have anything to do with me. Go and save your people by yourself. I'm going to Yangzhou." Immediately after saying her piece she walked away.
Xing Zhi trailed behind her.
"Stop following me."
Xing Zhi gave a helpless smile and shrugged. "Yangzhou is also in the south. We're heading in the same direction."
Shen Li was silent for a moment, but eventually resumed her walking. There was still lingering resentment in her heart but her pace wasn't as fast as it was before. The distance between them kept getting smaller and smaller until finally they were walking side by side.
Xing Zhi shot a glance at her. "Hungry?"
Shen Li was reluctant to admit it, instead she said, "No," just before her belly betrayed her with a low rumble. It made her frown and Xing Zhi smirk. Now she was even more annoyed!
She called forth a cloud to ride away but he grabbed her wrist and interrupted her.
"There's a small family run restaurant down the mountain. Why don't we go there? It's been a while since I've had any of the Five Grains. I miss them." Perhaps Xing Zhi's mortal life as Xing Yun influenced his immortal preferences.
Shen Li eyed him dubiously. "You do?"
"I do." Xing Zhi nodded with a smile.
"Alright, let's go then."
The restaurant really was in fact just a stall by the side of the mountain. The sign in front read, "Tea." It was a good resting place for travelers; there were even a few tables and stools outside for people to sit and enjoy a drink.
Shen Li barely sat down when a middle-aged woman approached.
"Would the two of you like tea? Please sit, sit."
"Auntie, we've had a long journey and we're hungry. Can we borrow your kitchen to make something to eat?"
The woman blinked, a bit taken aback. "What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
Xing Zhi laughed. "This sister here has really picky tastes. It's difficult to please her. We'll pay you for the use of course."
The lady silently thought it over for a moment before replying. "Let me clean up a little first. Here, in the meantime have some tea." She poured them both a cup before hurrying back inside.
"This is a suspicious shop." Shen Li stroked the cup as she said this.
"Is Your Highness afraid?"
Shen Li raised her head and drank the tea in one gulp. Incorrect translation or missing data in raws:
"I don't think they're any worse than the deity's in heaven."
"Your Highness thinks too highly of me," said Xing Zhi with a light smile.
沈璃一仰头便喝下了手中的茶："私以为，他们还是黑不过神君的"
行止浅笑："王爷抬举。"">[text omitted]
Upon returning the woman was surprised to find her new customers still sitting upright in their chairs. She pushed the flicker of hesitation that went through her mind aside and put a smile on her face as she approached them. "Everything is in order young master. Please, this way." She picked up the teapot and was shocked at how light it was. It had to be at least half empty. She looked at Shen Li and Xing Zhi in astonishment.
This made Shen Li ask her if something was wrong.
"Nothing, nothing. I was just surprised you weren't tired after walking around the mountain. You must have a lot of stamina."
"I'm fine. It wasn't anything much, just killing a bunch of monsters."
Something flickered in the woman's dark green eyes. "My goodness, young miss enjoys joking a lot I see."
Shen Li wasn't as patient or as calm as Xing Zhi. She reached over the table and grabbed the woman by the neck. "I'm not one to joke." She reached for the tea pot with her other hand and poured the liquid into the woman's mouth.
The woman only succeeded in swallowing more liquid in her desperate struggle to break free.
Shen Li was relentless. She raised the woman higher and shook her harder until her limbs shortened and a tail sprouted behind her. It dragged to the ground as her skin smoothed into a different kind of flesh. The woman resembled a python.
Shen Li tossed her to the ground and shouted in a cold voice, "All of you come out at once, otherwise I will kill her."
A girl crawled frantically from out of a haystack as soon as Shen Li said this.
"I'm coming! I'm coming! Please don't kill her!" yelled the girl in a fuzzy voice. Her lower half kept transforming, alternating between a snake tail and human legs. It made her gait unsteady and she kept falling and smas.h.i.+ng her face into the dirt.
Xing Zhi smiled. He was about to speak when Shen Li stepped forward and helped the girl up. She patted the girl's dirty cheeks, not at all minding the dust. In a happy voice she said, "Xiao He!"
The girl looked at Shen Li confused. Her voice shook, and she stuttered because she was so afraid. "I'm… n - n - not Xiao He. I'm… I'm sorry."
