"Young Master. My name is Lian," she said, under the full glare of Xue.
"That's a good name."
We chatted inside the carriage, which had begun moving the moment Princess Xue arrived. It didn't take much longer to reach the outer walls of the great city. I ignored the ladies and pretended to meditate, so none of them could pull me into any unnecessary arguments or fights.
"We have arrived, Young Master," one of the guards informed us. We were close to the city, though not quite there yet. I could already see a long queue of people from various regions of the world, gathered at the East Gate of the city's entrance.
I stood and left the carriage, Mei following right after, giving Xue a stiff smile on her way out. But before I could step fully clear of the carriage—
"It's like you're in a hurry, Young Master. But don't you think you're forgetting something?" Her expression was anything but serious.
I looked at her for a while. *Steel your heart, Zaitian — you're the host here, it would be improper. Or do you want her genuinely angry?* I could feel the caution creeping into that thought.
*But she's taking this too far,* I grumbled internally.
"Princess Xue. My apologies — it was an oversight. I was thinking about something else and forgot proper etiquette." I said it without smiling. "But you don't need to push it too far. Every dragon has a reverse scale." A bit of threat crept into my tone.
She raised an eyebrow, then took the hand I offered while stepping down from the carriage, putting on a veil as she did — which made my own eyebrow rise. I'll admit her hand was soft, smooth enough that I wanted to hold on a little longer, but my pride wouldn't let me concede that easily.
"If you say so. You should learn how to treat a lady properly, Young Master."
I didn't respond, just stood in front of her, Mei acting as our guide since I hadn't set foot in this city once since being born into this world. A few guards trailed behind us — close enough to react quickly, far enough not to crowd us.
We approached the city entrance slowly, no rush, since we had until midnight to return to the clan. But my arrogance and ego wouldn't tolerate standing in the same queue as peasants or those from lesser races. *Looks like my bloodline is gradually shaping how I think, in ways I can't fully explain,* I thought, a little unsettled by the realization.
*Host, that's both a good thing and a bad thing. Whether you control it, or let it turn you into its puppet, is entirely up to you.*
*If you say so,* I replied, still turning the thought over.
At my signal, one of the guards stepped forward and released his aura to clear a path for us.
The pressure was suffocating for most of the crowd, though a few unaffected ones approached with open hostility.
"Fellow Daoist," one of them said — no bow, no respect in it at all, only sarcasm.
"Most of us have been in this queue for hours. Some have been here a full day already and still haven't gotten through. You expect us to just clear the way because you're stronger?" He raised his voice deliberately, playing to the crowd.
Xue glanced at me from the corner of her eye, clearly curious how I'd handle it.
I looked at the line — close to a hundred thousand people stretched out along it. I didn't bother looking at him directly. Cold expression fixed in place, I walked past him, my entourage following smoothly behind. *That should piss him off nicely. I hate self-righteous types.*
His face cycled through every color in the rainbow — though it wasn't funny for him.
He composed himself, still wary. "Don't be unreasonable, fellow Daoist."
We kept walking, never looking back. My attitude stirred up the whole crowd — disgust, anger, jealousy, envy, mockery, even a few faces lit with the kind of amusement that comes from watching a show unfold.
"WHOOSH." A gust cut past my ears, and in the next instant, five immortal cultivators — looking far more like bandits than honest cultivators — surrounded us, clearly smelling profit.
*Are immortal cultivators just everywhere these days.* A flicker of irritation.
Their leader stepped forward. "Fellow Daoist. Hand over everything you've got, and we'll forgive your arrogance. Call it even." Pure arrogance in his voice.
"Yeah, just hand it over, we'll call it even."
"This isn't your home turf, brat. Better do as they say."
"Serves you right. Teach him a lesson he won't forget."
The crowd, sensing a shift, started clamoring for "justice" — which amused me, given how they'd looked a moment earlier.
"Young brat. You heard them. Hand over everything — and these three ladies — and we'll call it even," one of them said, gaze crawling lecherously over Mei, Lian, and Xue.
*Okay. They've crossed the line.*
"Mei. If blood ends up on my hands this early, will Father complain?" I asked, cold.
"Yes, Young Master. He will. But he'll likely just pardon you, or give you a light warning."
"Hahaha. Brat, you clearly don't understand your situation. Dumber than most of your peers, I'd guess."
"What do you expect, from brats who lean entirely on family resources and protection to reach a high realm? In this city, once you're not important to the Long Clan, you're on your own," another chimed in.
Without wasting any more breath on them, I signaled one of the guards to finish it.
The guard — Long Wen, I'd learn later, built like a wall with a massive saber strapped to his back — stepped forward and drew it in one motion. The killing intent that rolled off him sent the East Gate's own guards rushing toward us, though far too late for the bandits already standing against us.
One swing of his saber, and five heads hit the ground with a wet thud, startling and terrifying the rest of the crowd into silence.
Maybe I imagined it, but the man from before broke into a cold sweat the instant he noticed me looking his way.
"Young Master. My apologies for the disturbance — please, temper justice with mercy," he said, pleading outright for his life.
*Truly spineless. Can't even take a proper beating.* I ignored him and turned to the crowd, then to the approaching gate guards hurrying our way.
"Apologies, Young Master, for the delay and any inconvenience," the captain said, kneeling, his expression somewhere between mortified and stunned that he hadn't recognized who he was dealing with sooner.
Then—
"Clap. Clap. Clap." I turned to find Xue applauding, like she'd just watched a genuinely entertaining show.
"Thanks for the performance," she said, smiling.
"Humph." With a cold glare on her, I turned and headed for the entrance, the city guards scrambling to clear a proper path ahead of us.
The moment I stepped inside, it struck me — close to a hundred thousand people had been queued outside a city that could comfortably house billions, across every race imaginable.