Zhe was embarrassed, but also strangely relieved. The Qing Huan Alliance had now peaked his interest, and he looked forward to the different districts that he would find himself in in the near future, but that all could wait right now. Apart from confirming what he thought was in fact the case, Li didn’t speak much, if at all, as the two of them walked to wherever the soldier (Zhe assumed he was one) escorted them to.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a large metal wall so tall that he couldn’t even see where it ended, if it even had an end. ‘We’re here,’ said the escort. Zhe looked at him, confused, and then at Li. ‘This is the entrance to Xianren,’ she said. The escort started walking forwards. Hey! The escort seemed to be walking straight into the wall, and Zhe was sure he would get hurt or something, but he ended up passing straight through it, as if it weren’t there. ‘From here, only those permitted can enter. It’s a security measure. You are a human, so be careful, you might not be welcomed by everyone here in Xianren.’

‘Sure,’ said Zhe, now even more curious about this place. The two of them walked forwards. The wall approached. Zhe still had a thought that he might just hit the wall, but nonetheless he walked forward, and just as he was to hit the wall, to this pleasant surprise, it disappeared completely, and in front of him was now a sight that he could only describe as “other-worldly”.

Beside the path were fields with grass that was a shade of blue instead of green, and on them were houses that looked nothing like anything that he had seen back in his old world. There were big plants on the fields that had a thick, white stem, which gradually turned translucent and wider as it went up, and at the very top the plant was translucent and looked like sepals, except he was sure they weren’t sepals. And not all of them looked like that either. In general, he could only describe it as turning into a wide mouth at the top that generally seemed to take the shape of sepals, but could take other shapes as well, such as one which looked like a pipe that had been cut in a way that one side had an extending triangular shape. They seemed to be the only type of plants in the area, excluding agricultural crops on farms, which Zhe couldn’t see any, but assumed that they were probably present somewhere.

The houses seemed to be made out of these plants, or at least used parts of these plants. Some of the houses were straight up one of the plants, with a door in front, while others had a wall of stone or some other substance, and only the roof made out of layers of the top of these plants. It wasn’t all like that. A little further down the road, he could see stalls that were similar to what he was used to, with a wooden counter and sticks keeping a roof (if you could even call it that) made of cloth.

At the horizon, he could see tall, blue mountains, with peaks capped in snow.

‘Please, follow me,’ said the escort.

As the two of them walked, Zhe could feel the stares of those around him, judging his every move. Every step he took was met with their disapproval, and he was certain that one wrong step and his head might fly off. He clenched his katana tightly, then looked at Li, who unlike him didn’t have the slightest discontent on her face.

She looked at him, and as if reading his thoughts, she said,

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

‘They look at you this way because you’re a human.’

‘And you aren’t?’ he whispered.

‘Did I ever claim to be one?’

Zhe was confused. She definitely didn’t look non-human. At the very least, she looked different from the people of this place, who looked like humans, only that they had horns on their foreheads. They weren’t pointy, demon-like horns, but rather they felt like a part of the skin and extended and had taken a tree branch-like shape. They were more similar to antlers than actual horns, except that they were smaller in scale than antlers.

‘The Qing Clan was never a clan of Humans, Zhe. We’re descendants of a dragon. We have dragon blood flowing through our veins. Of all the creatures in the Qing Huan Alliance, we stand above all else.’

‘I see,’ said Zhe, rather sceptical of her claim, yet he decided not to proceed with the conversation further. He would know eventually if she was telling the truth or not, perhaps not from her but from those around her.

They eventually arrived in front of a huge, hexagonal building. It was different from every other building that he had seen so far. In the front was a wide hexagonal block, that was about two storey tall, and behind it was another hexagonal block, connected to it, only that this one was less wide and more tall, and connected to that, and also connected to the front block (it was more like a part of it, since half of it was inside the front block) was another block, even taller and more wide than the first block. In front of them was a metal gate, with wooden logs on either side, and an arch above that.

‘We’re here,’ said the escort, touching the metal door.

The door slowly opened, and the two of them walked inside.

‘I’ll take my leave from here,’ said the escort, immediately disappearing from their sight.

‘Your highness, the General is waiting for you.’

Inside the building, they were greeted by a petite woman with pink hair and pinkish-white eyes. She wore a dark brown and white flared skirt, open-back dress with golden floral patterns, of which the skirt reaches her thighs, and the back of her skirt extends to her feet, but in two divisions rising from her thighs, along with white tights that have cloud patterns and purple strings that lace her back. She wore black heeled shoes with a chinese knot above them.

She looked human. She certainly didn’t have any antlers, but he wondered if she was a human.

‘You must be Lord Liu,’ she said. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

‘The pleasure’s all mine. You are…?’

‘My name is Ai. I’m a member of the Divination Commision.’

‘Ai. Take us to the General.’

She bowed.

‘Yes, Your Highness.’

The two of them followed her to the meeting room. In the centre was a large table, and on the other side of the table, facing them, was a tall man with long, silver hair. He wore white robes, modified with plating and a golden armour on his right arm. A piece of armour, a shade between dark green and blue, surrounded his waist. He wore a pair of red trousers, and tall boots. Two capes draped over both his shoulders, reaching his feet below.

‘Greetings, your Highness, and her companion, Lord Liu.’

‘Fill us in,’ said Li, wasting not a moment of time.