“Greetings, young master. Welcome back to the imperial city. Greetings, sixth prince,” said a middle-aged man joining his hands and giving a bow. He seemed to be the steward of the Xia Imperial family mansion while the other servants behind him greeted these two aristocrats with a deep bow.
The sixth prince may be the prince of this kingdom but inside the Xia family home and to the Xia servants the Xia members were the only authority.
“Big brother Xia Sheng will be arriving soon, I have reached earlier due to some complications on the way. Brother Dong Chen had assisted me in bringing me and my guest home,” Xia Feng said in an authoritative voice.
A master was a master in front of his subordinates. Xia Feng no longer had a pampered air but he was really talking like a young master of an important family.
He looked towards Bai Hua and said, “This is Mr Hua, a very important guest of the prince and me, make special arrangements for his stay.”
Xia Feng was about to lead them inside the mansion but the prince interrupted him.
“Feng’er, I won’t stay back. I’ll go back to my mansion tonight and I’ll come tomorrow morning. Hopefully, your brother would have met my messengers and would be rushing here swiftly. If he isn’t far off then he’ll reach here by the middle of the night.”
He then turned towards Bai Hua and said, “Brother Hua, I thank you once again and hope that you enjoy your stay at the Xia family mansion. You’re welcome anytime to stay at my mansion as well. I will take leave from both of you now,” saying this he nodded his head towards Xia Feng and entered his carriage once again.
“Have a good night rest, both of you,” he called out pleasantly from his window and then the carriage turned and left the mansion towards the gate which lied beyond the fountains and the garden path.
“Brother Hua, let’s go in,” saying this he pulled Bai Hua and led him inside the mansion followed by the steward and the rest.
The inside of the mansion was richly adorned. Huge vases with long slender leaves were lined up along the walls. There were also paintings on the walls with proud figures.
“Brother Hua, please follow the steward, he’ll take you to your room and meet me later after you have freshened up for the dinner. I promise a good meal in your honour.”
Bai Hua wasn’t hungry. These days he had eaten more than he had expected. But just to make the kid happy, he nodded.
“Old man Fei, take brother Hua to his room,” Xia Feng said to the steward.
“Mr Hua, please follow me,” said the steward deferentially. He could see that though Bai Hua looked like a musician with his zither, the young master was treating him very well. Besides, Bai Hua didn’t look like a common musician but he looked very refined like a scholar instead.
Bai Hua bowed to Xia Feng and followed the steward,
He was led up to a staircase and was showed inside a very comfortable room. There was even an attached bath-house.
The steward opened a cupboard and there were many spare robes and fresh towels inside it.
“Please feel at home here, Mr Hua. And let me know if you need anything. I’ll station a maid outside to personally attend to your needs.”
“Mr Fei, thank you for your hospitality. It’s okay. I don’t need a maid. I’ll take care of the rest now,” and seeing that he was going to argue, he added, “don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I like to be alone. I hope you’ll grant me that.”
“Ah, Mr Hua, this has never happened before. We always take care of our guests. The youngest master will not be happy if he finds out. But if it is about your preferences, then I have no choice in this matter. I will send up a maid to invite you for dinner then,” he said regretfully and bowed and left.
As soon as the doors were closed, the zither disappeared and the little black dragon appeared.
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“Your Highness, are you willing to stay with mortals under one roof?” he asked curiously, “you have never stayed inside a house before in your one month of travelling in the mortal world.”
“The boy is curious. I want to observe more. His eyes foretell of a great change in this mainland. I won’t stay long but long enough to see the wheels turning for this child.”
“I have sealed off the room from the outside world, your highness. The mortals won’t interfere.”
There was a white glow and a fair white-robed man appeared out of nowhere. His hair was dusky white like those of the feathers of a crane. And he was wearing the same crane shaped white jade hairpin that was earlier on Bai Hua’s hair.
“Your Highness, I will prepare a bath for you—“ began Xianhe but Bai Hua interrupted him.
“Xianhe, I can do it by myself. I have another mission for you. I need you to visit the godly realm and find out if the Divine mother has been looking for me. It has not been long there but I need you to tell her that I am travelling and will be unreachable for a while.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Xianhe bowed and disappeared in a white light.
“And Xiao Shè, you can also roam tonight. Don’t cause too much trouble for the mortals though.”
Xiao Shè grinned in his snake form and mischievously said, “Your Highness, I don’t go provoking weak mortals. Kunlun will not have it. And you are too serious for a young god, Your Highness. I hope you loosen up while you are in the mortal realm.”
“Xiao Shè, you talk too much. Leave, before I roast you and feed you to the mortals. You dare say that I am too serious,” Bai Hua said lazily.
He shot a small spark from his eyes at Xiao Shè. Xiao Shè yelped as his green eyes sparkled mischievously and he skilfully dodged it.
“Okay, okay, no trouble. Got it,” and he also disappeared.
Bai Hua’s sword Xiao Shè and his mount Xianhe were both divine spiritual beasts. But Xiao Shè was special. He was from the ancient divine spiritual beasts, a grade higher than Xianhe and he was also one of the young ones from the dragon race. Its body had not even hatched from its egg yet its spirit had formed a contract with Bai Hua and was now travelling with him as his sword.
Bai Hua walked towards the bathhouse and there was a small bathtub big enough for three people. The maids had already filled the tub before he entered the room. Soft steams were rising slowly from the tub. He didn’t feel travel worn or dirty but he did want to get a good soak and so he removed his clothes and entered the bathtub. His hair was floating in the water and he looked like a vulnerable teenager. He didn’t like the scent of the flower essence that was put into the water and he changed it into the smell of fresh bamboo leaves after a heavy downpour of rain.
His robes were always clean even if he had worn it for so long. He didn’t need a new one. But just to show that he had changed, he flicked his hand and the design and the colour changed immediately. Instead of his earlier plain green robes, now it was soft blue like a lazy sky. It was a set of new robes. And now there were white cranes embroidered on the cuffs and edges of his robes. It was simple yet gentle like his appearance.
He didn’t wait for the maid but walked out of the room by himself and just followed the hallway. He was not lost. He knew where he was. He gradually made it to the dining lounge. Xia Feng was already there reading a book in his hands.
Hearing Bai Hua’s footsteps, he looked up and smiled.
“Brother Hua, I was faster than you!” he said clearly happy with his achievement.
“Brother Hua, the food will be coming out soon, the steward was about to send a maid to call you.”
One of the maids attending on Xia Feng pulled out a chair for Bai Hua so that he could join Xia Feng’s table.
He thanked the maid and sat down.
“What are you reading there, young master Feng?” Bai Hua asked.
“Brother Hua, just call me little Feng like you did before. No courtesies between us, please. And I am reading a book on how to become a disciple of an immortal. I need to prove that I can be a good disciple. Winning the competition is not the only way.”
“Why do you want to be a disciple of an immortal?”
“I heard he’s from the Central Mainland. And that he’s an elder of a prominent Sect. He had come a few days ago wandering into the Imperial city. I want to be an immortal too! The East Mainland doesn’t have much immortal. It can be counted in one hand,” he said regretfully.
No wonder, I didn’t come across any one of them in my time here, Bai Hua thought. They are scarce here.
The food was brought out and they started eating. Xia Feng then talked about how he wished to see the Kunlun Mountain and the world beyond that. He had been dreaming about it ever since he had learnt how to have dreams.
Bai Hua was the listener the whole time while Xia Feng told him about the kinds of opponents he expected in the competition. They had carried on their conversation after the dinner and parted only when Xia Feng had started yawning.
Bai Hua returned to his room enlightened. He now knew that mortals at their tender age have big dreams which make them competitive and even delusional. He smiled to himself. A mortal was truly ignorant. Kunlun Mountain in the mortal myths was actually very different from the original one. He had been there, he was from there. He knew more about it than all the books in the mortal realm written on it.
He didn’t sleep but lied on the bed thinking about how to handle his own problems when he heard the sound of galloping horses from afar. It was the elder brother most likely who had reached the mansion like the prince said he would.
He wasn't curious about the elder brother. He was only interested in Xia Feng. He felt like it was the fate of the child to meet him. Then he closed his eyes to continue meditating. Let the heaven search for him later on. For now, he was free.