"Sixteen days! We’ve been waiting in this border town for sixteen days! I can't stand it any longer!"

"C-calm down, Princess. It’s possible we’re just unlucky and haven’t seen the Immortal in this town yet."

"Unlucky? We’ve dispatched all the knights to every location in this town. Even the merchant himself hasn’t appeared! I’m tired of waiting in this boring town!"

"Please be patient, Princess. I’m sure the Immortal knows we are waiting for her. She might be testing us to see if we will be patient enough to meet her or if we will give up. I believe that’s the reason."

"Reason? Marquis, don’t be foolish! I’ve said it’s impossible that the merchant is an Immortal. Perhaps she’s already aware she’s being sought, having heard from people around her, so she dares not come to this town anymore!"

"Princess, please believe me. That person must be—"

Knock… knock.

"Who is it?"

"Princess and Marquis, I apologize for the intrusion. I knocked because I have information to provide."

"Then come in."

Allowing the knight to enter, a servant at the inn immediately came to open the door and let the knight with the information inside.

Bowing deeply to the Princess and Marquis, the knight promptly delivered the information he had gathered.

"Princess and Marquis, I am one of the spies you sent to observe if a merchant woman wearing a tattered cloak appeared in the market. My information concerns this merchant woman. Today, as usual, while I was checking the quiet area in the market you mentioned, I saw the merchant woman in a tattered cloak setting up her goods in a quiet spot, somewhat far from the main market you referred to. However, the appearance of the merchant woman you described was somewhat different."

"Differently how?"

"I mean, the merchant woman I saw setting up her stall appeared different. You mentioned she wore a tattered black cloak that covered her face, but the merchant woman I saw, although also wearing a black cloak, had a rather strange cloak. The cloak was in poor condition, with holes and tears here and there, as if it had been hastily made. Because I wasn’t sure if she was indeed the merchant woman you were looking for, I didn’t dare approach her, fearing it might arouse suspicion. That’s why I’m providing only partial information, as I feared the merchant you’re looking for might leave."

"Forget about the cloak. Did she have any fruits like the ones I’m holding?" Luo Xianxiu asked, pulling out a red fruit from her storage ring.

"Y-yes, that’s correct, Princess. I saw that the goods she had did include that fruit, as well as some vegetables I’ve never seen before."

"Marquis! I’m certain this merchant woman is the one I’ve encountered. We must go to her location quickly and buy the fruit before it’s sold. I also want to show you that this merchant woman is merely an ordinary person."

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"Haah… Princess, if the merchant woman does indeed have the fruit you have, isn’t it clear that she is an Immortal? Please don’t create trouble when we meet her."

"Yes, yes, as you wish."

After receiving the information, the Princess and Marquis set off to meet the merchant woman they had been searching for. Upon arriving at the quiet street where the merchant had set up her goods, the Marquis finally got to see the merchant or Immortal the Princess had mentioned. Even though the Immortal’s face was covered by a cloak, the Marquis was very certain.

Taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart and to prepare his words for the Immortal he was about to meet, the Marquis didn’t notice that the Princess had already advanced to approach the Immortal. Too late to stop the Princess, the Marquis became very anxious, fearing that if the Princess unintentionally offended the Immortal, it could have consequences they could not bear.

"Miss Merchant, you still recognize me, don’t you?"

"You… oh, you’re the young lady who bought the fruit I was selling, right?"

"Yes, that’s right. I’ve come again to buy all the fruits and vegetables you have. Could you tell me the total price?"

"You want to buy everything? Very well, since there are 25 fruits and 15 vegetables, the total price is 19 silver coins and 25 bronze coins. Since you are buying everything, I will make it 19 silver coins. I’ve wrapped it up. How will you be carrying the items, miss?"

"It’s no problem; I have a storage ring. Here’s the money."

"W-wow, thank you for the payment. T-the items are gone in an instant. Could they have been sucked into the ring?"

"Huh? You don’t know about storage rings?"

'Then it’s clear, isn’t it? This merchant woman is just an ordinary person; she doesn’t even know about storage rings. It’s impossible for a cultivator or Immortal not to know about storage rings. Since I’m quite sure she’s an ordinary person, I might as well ask her to show her face so I can be more certain of my intuition,' thought Luo Xianxiu, convinced that the merchant woman was not an Immortal.

"Y-you… tell me, Miss Merchant, could you show your face to me?"

"Eh?"

Hearing the Princess boldly request the Immortal to reveal her face, the Marquis, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward to restrain the Princess’s hand and apologized to the merchant.

"Princes—Miss is being rude! Apologies, Miss Merchant, for my lady’s rude behavior towards you."

"I-it’s alright."

"Marquis! That’s enough! I told you this woman is—eh…"

Luo Xianxiu was extremely frustrated seeing the Marquis still foolishly thinking the merchant was an Immortal. Due to the pain caused by the Marquis holding her hand, Luo Xianxiu became angry and unintentionally released some of her power to break free from the Marquis. Her careless release of Golden Core level power caused a strong wind around her, which ripped the merchant’s tattered cloak from her body and made it fall to the ground, as the threads holding the cloak couldn’t withstand the strong wind.

Luo Xianxiu was stunned by the merchant’s beautiful appearance and the inexplicable aura around her. The Marquis, also astonished, quickly regained his composure and felt his heart nearly drop upon seeing the Immortal looking at the cloak she had let fall to the ground.

He was utterly terrified that the Immortal would be enraged and destroy their kingdom. Trembling, he forcefully held the Princess’s head and pressed it to the ground in a bow, also hitting his head to the ground and bowing to apologize to the Immortal.

"I-I-Immortal, both my lady and I are truly sorry! P-please forgive us for being disrespectful and for damaging your clothes. We’ve made a grave mistake! With your anger, p-please just punish us both!"

Hearing the Marquis’s trembling and terrified voice, Luo Xianxiu felt deeply regretful. She knew her actions were very dangerous, and not knowing how to survive the situation made her shake with fear over what would happen to her and the Marquis. She was also very frightened that the kingdom she lived in would be destroyed due to the Immortal’s anger at being offended.

"Sigh… both of you, stand up. There’s no need to be so afraid. I can’t speak if you’re still bowing in fear like that."