“Your highness, I hope my little joke didn't offend you,” Shiyuan said hesitantly as he stood on the narrow deck of the warship and watched the tiny island under them grow tinier each second.
Bai Longxia was sitting on the edge of the deck, dangling her feet in the air while examining her halberd. She looked up at him with half a smile.
“Of course, I get it. But there is something you should know. I came to the preceptor with a proposal for marriage. Back when he and my father were assimilating the scattered borderland clans into one giant entity, my Bai Clan was the most unwilling to submit to their rules. To forge a strong alliance, the preceptor frequently visited our ancestral territory, and intentionally or unintentionally, he entered into a relationship with my grandmother's sister, who was a budding oracle herself.”
“Aha! My comeback was funnier than I thought, then. No wonder Marquis Shang looked so shocked.” Shiyuan let out a chuckle of relief.
“Then she died under mysterious circumstances, and the preceptor, her lover, was apprehended as the prime suspect.”
“....”
“To save his hide, he promised to become a member of the Bai Clan and serve my great grandfather, who was the patriarch at that time. He gave us a token forged by a jewel grade law spirit, approved by the King himself, capable of enforcing a marital tie that can transcend all laws of the land, including the royal edicts.”
“....”
“I came to this island holding onto that marriage token. If I had been able to find him and make him activate it, his exile would have ended and not even the King could object to it. This is the reason why my brother, the third prince, chased after my warship so desperately after realizing what my plan was."
Shiyuan took a deep breath and decided not to prolong the conversation. Nothing good could come out of reminiscing over a bitter past. There were better ways to spend his limited time on the warship. He was curious to see how it could fly so smoothly without wings.
Upon entering the narrow, steelclad corridor behind the deck, he noticed the glowing lining of illegible letters on the walls. Similar to Bai Longxia's halberd, the main body of the ship was decorated with law fragments, innumerable in number, functioning under the sole purpose of violating the laws of nature to keep this great metal beast afloat like the lightest, swiftest bird.
The ship was divided into four segments, the joints making it easy for air to pass in and out of the ship when needed. To guide the ship's movements, three air spirit sorcerers had been employed to oversee the joints. Shiyuan watched them control the windflow to constantly adjust air pressure inside the ship. Occasionally, they even used the wind as a medium to control the ship's trajectory.
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Shiyuan's memories didn't have any knowledge of such advanced inventions of modern civilization. But he discovered a strange capacity for comprehending the complex operations around him, leaving him wondering the exact nature of his amnesia.
What was his real identity? Was he a bigshot like the royal preceptor as well? How had he lost his memories? And what exactly had he lost?
Just as he was observing the soldiers and workers go about their business within the segmented belly of the warship, he was on the receiving end of many judgmental, calculative looks. The difference was that they tried to be discreet with their curiosity. Shiyuan had no such reservations.
By the time he made a full round across the ship, Princess Bai Longxia had finished up tending to her halberd. She gestured at him to come stand by her side, on a raised platform in the midsection of the warship. It appeared to be an observatory reserved for the captain figure, the princess, in this case. Wide, curved mirrors had been placed around the platform, and they showed the surroundings of the ship, clearly another innovation by law spirit sorcerers.
Bai Longxia was sitting on the floor rather casually, eating out of a plate laden with a heap of semi-burnt meat. The grace expected of a princess was missing, but the efficiency of a battle-hardened warrior surfaced in her movements now and then.
“A fresh start is needed between the two of us,” she said through a mouthful, chewing viciously enough to add some impolite noise to her words. “Most of our exchange so far has been based on erroneous presumptions. I shall lead you into it. I am Bai Longxia, the fourth child of the great king, heir to continental sector four, and the acting head of Bai Clan. I am offering you the position of my minister in hope of thriving as a ruler, a conqueror even, if fate permits. Your job is to guide me to the paths where the permissions await.”
Shiyuan realized with a start that nothing in his head carried a clue to tell him what continent she spoke of, nor the jargon he had heard so far about a bunch of sectors, and even the apparently famous Bai Clan was a new name to him.
Nevertheless, he needed some help if he wanted to settle down somewhere in the near future. He'd need money to live comfortably, of course, lots of it. He'd need a safety net, some connections, and a complete course on this foreign-sounding civilization he was headed to, its history, culture, and foundation. And lastly, he needed an avenue to explore his erased past and mysterious present powers.
Who could be better than a rich, hardheaded missus to take care of those needs? He was more than willing to take up the offer! At least she wasn’t going to take the simple route of imprisoning him as a secret slave...
So he nodded in acknowledgment and spoke in tandem.
“I am Shiyuan, son and heir to someone, I'm sure. I accept your offer of employment, provided that the pay is good and some benefits come attached; and my guidance shall be limited to the extent of my power you help me explore, my lady."
Bai Longxia's loud chewing didn't stop for a moment throughout the whole speech. While Shiyuan was expecting some acknowledgement in return, she plucked out a large slice from her plate and thrust it at his face.
“This is high-quality fogfallen flesh. For warriors, it's the best sort of replenishment. And your roots will react to it upon consumption. Eat as much as you can. I'll tell you to stop when needed."
What the hell was a fogfallen? Sounded a bit ominous.
Shiyuan gingerly grabbed the meat slice and bit into it, expecting a bitter taste from the ugly, blackened appearance. He was shocked to learn that he had underestimated the horror of the taste. The princess had made it seem easy! Not even the most rotten looking sea cucumber he had salvaged from the beach tasted this bitter.
“Stop!”
Her shout was almost immediate. Shiyuan had just swallowed the content of the first bite. And it seemed that she was as surprised as he was.
Bai Longxia leaned in, eyes gleaming sharply as she stared at his left eye. Shiyuan tried his best not to blink repeatedly.
“Just a first grade Oracle? I must admit, I am a little disappointed,” she said, with a sigh that vouched for her statement.