Ji Li looked around and saw that there were many restaurants, but he decided to not work at all and enjoy being served, so he visited a restaurant that seemed very luxurious and elegant. He went in and asked for a seat of three.
Without even making an appointment, guests would usually be rejected. But Ji Li, Shixuan and Qianyu were directly brought to an area that was nearly full but still had some space. They got a table and looked around, seeing that the whole restaurant was full, but there were still some seats available which no one got, Ji Li understood.
This was another privilege of being an eunuch – the Trade Pavilion’s restaurants had special seats just for them – which was widely appreciated, but Ji Li thought otherwise – people who weren’t eunuchs would feel sour about such behaviour.
Then he remembered – eunuchs would barely have any deep connections to those that weren’t part of the Eunuch Palace, and all disturbances towards them would be severely punished inside of the empire… which meant, that eunuchs were immune to the wrath of anyone.
Ji Li didn’t want to think too much about other things and just sat down, waiting for a server to come. The server came, but he looked nervous and insecure, as if he wanted to ask something, but wasn’t sure whether he could.
Feeling a good mood, Ji Li decided to just ask “What is it that you wish to ask me?”
The server was startled shortly, he mumbled to himself for a second before he spoke calmly “There is another customer… who’s not a eunuch. He asked if there were any tables available, and as we told him there weren’t, he asked whether there were any tables with free seats.
We had already seated every table to the full capacity, so he asked whether we could ask one of the eunuchs if they would be so nice as to share a seat with the customer. I had asked the other eunuchs, but all of them had declined.”
Ji Li understood the situation and also didn’t feel bad about he fact that most eunuchs rejected it – as they always felt closer to their brothers and didn’t like interacting with others too much, especially if it was a total random asking to sit next to them during their free time.
But, Ji Li wasn’t like them, he was in a good mood and wanted to get to know more people. He could always talk with Shixuan and Qianyu anyways, as they were dining daily. He looked at the table and saw that it had three more seats, so he asked, “Is the customer alone?”
The server brightened up, but quickly was saddened again “No, he has two other companions… they are female. What should I tell them, esteemed eunuch?”
Ji Li didn’t feel any different just because the other party was female, so he answered plainly “Since we have three more seats, ask the customer to join us.”
The server way happy and quickly left the table, fearing the eunuch would change his opinion. Soon, he came with a young man and two women, all three around the age of 18, which was slightly older than Ji Li, as he was 16 and would become 17 in slightly less than another year.
The guests bowed slightly as they cupped their hands “We greet the esteemed eunuchs. Thank you for letting us eat with you.”
Ji Li went back into his own world as he wasn’t too much of a talker, although it was him who invited the guest, he didn’t need to be the host that would be talking to them the whole time, now did he? No, he had his younger brothers for that!
Shixuan himself was also more interested in fighting than talking, so everything was once again left to Qianyu, who had to act nicer than he wanted to “Your welcome, there is nothing to worry about. Since you guys are guests to the Eunuch palace, it is of our interest that you feel well.”
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“I am Ji Qianyu, Junior Eunuch of the Ceremonial Eunuch Hall. These are my brothers; how may we address you… three?”
The young man was the first to introduce himself “I am Wu Xun, and this is my… ehem…” the young man became flustered for a second but then continued “She is my wife, Xue Yu.” He looked at his wife on the left before he turned to the right “And this is my younger sister, Wu Yi.”
Xue Yu was breathtaking and beautiful, she had blue eyes and a slender build while some weight on her shoulders. She looked very refined to the outside but didn’t talk. Wu Yi on the other hand seemed livelier, as her emotions of excitement and hunger were obvious on her face.
It seemed that the traveling young man had found the love of his life during his journey while caretaking of his younger sister, which looked to be but slightly younger. Ji Li was happy to see such a family, as it seemed to be one that went through thick and thin and held up. He himself knew how his family broke apart… so he wanted to see more healthy families.
The wife Xue Yu was truly very beautiful, looking at her, Ji Li was sure she was not human. Although he himself could be called extremely handsome, his face wouldn’t really matter as he had no romantical interest and would barely help him on his way of cultivation. Maybe it could distract some enemies if he puts on an illusion.
Ji Li looked at Qianyu with an asking look, so Qianyu looked deeper at Xue Yu, to which Wu Xun was slightly protective and on guard. Shixuan laughed a bit and said “Young Man, we are eunuchs. Looking at your wife might have a deeper meaning if it was anyone else, but if it was us, then we are merely curious about her origin, as she does not seem to be human.”
Wu Xun again embarrassedly scratched his head and looked at his wife who then nodded. He was about to answer but Qianyu was faster “Oh, you are a half-elf? That is indeed interesting. May I know which clan your elven parent comes from?”
Xue Yu was the one to be taken aback this time, as there had never been a reaction such as this. Sure, there were some with side remarks, some that showed disgust and some that ignored it, but someone was actually curious about her origin even after learning of it.
She shook her hands and replied in a calm and mild voice “No, I have… lost contact with my elf-father when I was young, and my mother also died of illness when I reached adulthood. It was Wu Xun who helped me overcome some of the difficulties when I was alone.”
Qianyu nodded and said “I might not know the clan you are from, but I can tell that you are not a half Wind Elf. Big Brother, do you know which clan she might be from?”
Xue Yu and Wu Xun were surprised for one of them to be called ‘big brother’, but then remembered that it wasn’t something unusual in the Eunuch Palace. Ji Li looked at the half-elf and took six seeds that all signified a particular main element.
He had seven, but since she wasn’t a wind elf, there was no need to take the extra mile. These flowers were only basic flowers that barely strengthened the specific element in the air, it could at most make one feel slightly warmer or colder and such, but that was blocked by his robe. Nowadays, for eunuchs, such plants were decorations.
He put in essence into the flowers and let them grow beautifully till their peak and looked at them. Observing all the different particles of the elements, he soon saw a very slight movement and pulled back his essence.
Wu Xun and Xue Yu were very shocked, and even Wu Yi, Wu Xun’s sister, was surprised and stopped looking down in anticipation of food. Ji Li didn’t mind the shocked faces as he was used to that and simply replied to them “Young miss, you among the eight main clans of the Elf Kingdom, you have the highest compatibility with the Water clan.”
It seemed that Xue Yu had already made the same guess, but Ji Li continued “While that is the case, you also have some compatibility with the Fire clan, but it is less than the Water clan. My guess is that you are of a sub-clan of the Water clan.
When water is burnt, it becomes steam. There is no Steam sub-clan as far as I know, but there is a sub-clan of the Water clan that is called ‘Clouds clan’. This is as far as I can guess, just from your elemental particles.”
That was when Wu Xun jumped from his seat and asked, “Is what you said true?”
Shixuan was bothered because the young man behaved like he lacked manners, so Shixuan coughed aloud to signalise that he should look at himself.
The young man was once again embarrassed, so he sat down and apologized, but he insisted.
Ji Li nodded and said “Yes, the young miss should be from the Cloud clan. As far as I know, the Cloud clan is a small clan of individuals who have high compatibility with clouds and go as far as riding them, but that is also what made them individualistic.
They don’t like to stay at one place and prefer wandering around the whole world on their clouds, although most of them never leave the Emerald Brilliance Empire, they are still all around the whole empire, which is very large.”