Chapter 77: Concubine
Clang—
Musicians on the stage plucked at their instruments while dancers below moved with practiced grace. Around the hall, men drank deeply, making merry with women draped on either side of them.
As Lu Yunxi walked in, she had already fended off three different men trying to pull her into their laps. Her reaction had devolved from a polite, forced smile to visible irritation, and finally to a cold, stony expression.
Just as she was about to snap, Shen San caught up. He placed a protective arm lightly around her waist, his towering, imposing frame acting as an immediate deterrent. Seeing him standing over her like a guardian, the men in the room finally showed some restraint and stopped casting lecherous glances in her direction.
Too tired to deal with these bores, Lu Yunxi ignored them. She and Shen San found a table and began to eat. After trekking through the desert for so long, they were physically and mentally exhausted; neither had the energy to cook for themselves.
There was a practical reason for being here, too. At their current lodgings, a single meal cost ten silver coins—the same price as renting the kitchen to cook their own food. Even then, the innkeeper only provided a few dry pancakes without any side dishes. The city center’s “free” banquet seemed like a much better deal.
However, as they looked at the tables overflowing with food, the pair fell into a disappointed silence.
The spread certainly looked better than what they had back at the inn. There were various roasted meats, fruits, and vegetables, making it feel as though they had returned to a bustling metropolis. Lu Yunxi ignored the fancy-looking bread and piled her bowl with roast beef. In the Forest Continent, beef was a rarity, so she intended to make the most of it.
She found a quiet corner and took a bite. Her brow furrowed instantly. The meat was barely seared on the outside, remaining almost entirely raw in the center. Whether in her past life or this one, she had always detested raw meat. The metallic, bloody taste filled her mouth, making her stomach churn.
“Hey, little girl. Are you all alone?”
A man with a face like a rat suddenly leaned over her. His lustful eyes roved over her body before he broke into a crooked grin, revealing a mouthful of rotted yellow teeth. As his grimy hand reached out toward her face, Lu Yunxi’s stomach finally gave up.
“Ugh!”
She couldn’t help it; she vomited directly onto him.
The rat-faced man squeezed his eyes shut, his entire face wrinkling in a mask of pain and disgust. He reached up stiffly to wipe the mess from his face, looking down at his ruined clothes and then back at the expressionless Lu Yunxi. He repeated the motion twice, his eyes widening in disbelief before he pointed a trembling finger at her.
“You… you dare vomit on me?! Do you have any idea who I am?”
“You don’t even seem to know who you are, so how would I know?” She set her fork down, took a calm sip of her drink, and looked up. “And you say I vomited on you… if you hadn’t insisted on sticking your face in mine, how could I have hit you? Didn’t you see me waving you away? You brought this on yourself.”
The man was so livid it looked as if smoke might erupt from his head. He stared at her in shock for a long moment before turning around and running away, actually crying in rage.
Lu Yunxi didn’t give him another thought. She leaned back slightly, trying to settle her stomach. The food here was a deception; it looked exquisite but tasted terrible, far worse than the simple snacks sold at the street stalls of the Desert City. After trying a bit of everything—meat, vegetables, and sweets—she stopped eating entirely.
None of it was good.
Fortunately, the portions were large enough that even a few bites were sufficient to curb her hunger.
After that day, the pair never returned to the city center. Instead, they found their own way to eat. During the day, they didn’t have to walk far; they simply buried eggs in the scorching sand, and after a short while, they were perfectly cooked. It was a good way to use up the ingredients they had stored.
Finally, their two-week stay came to an end. The storms outside died down, and the air cleared. Lu Yunxi and Shen San prepared to resume their journey.
However, before they could even set foot outside the city limits, the world went black.
Perfume.
A suffocatingly strong scent of perfume filled the air.
Lu Yunxi opened her eyes to see a vaguely familiar face. The man was wearing a robe trimmed with gold, looking quite respectable if one ignored his rat-like features. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at her with a condescending sneer.
“Who are you?” She tried to sit up, but her limbs felt like lead. She was completely drained of strength.
The man’s face twisted in fury. “You don’t even remember me? You vomited all over me just a few days ago! I certainly haven’t forgotten you!”
Lu Yunxi squinted at him. It was the rat-man from the banquet.
“Oh, it’s you. What did you do to me?” she asked perfunctorily. While she kept him talking, she focused on subtly moving her hand to check her own pulse.
“What did I do?” The man leaned in close. “Tonight is my wedding night. From now on, you are my concubine. You will serve me and the Princess tonight. Do you understand?”
“A Princess? Are you a Prince?” She was genuinely shocked. This filthy, rat-faced guy was royalty? She found it hard to believe.
“Hah! Scared now, aren’t you?” He puffed out his chest haughtily. “If you’re afraid, you’d better start begging!”
Having identified the toxin in her system and knowing she had an antidote, Lu Yunxi felt her tension vanish. She let out a long yawn and closed her eyes to rest.
Ignored so blatantly, the “Prince” became furious. He was about to climb onto the bed to “teach her a lesson” when a knock sounded at the door.
“Prince, it is time for the banquet.”
The man shot her one last cold glare before storming out. As soon as the door clicked shut, a figure slipped into the room through the shadows.
“Master?”
Lu Yunxi’s eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. “Shen San?”
“Shh,” he whispered, pressing a finger to his lips. “We were drugged. Luckily, I had some universal antidote in my inventory. Take this, quickly.”
She swallowed the pill in silence.
“I’ve already scouted the terrain,” he continued. “We can use the distraction of the party outside to slip away.”
Too tired to do the legwork herself, she followed her apprentice’s lead. They avoided the crowds, sticking to the shadows as they made their way toward the city limits. Just as they reached the outskirts, a massive commotion erupted back at the city center.
“They only just realized we’re gone? They’re a bit slow,” Lu Yunxi remarked. How did a man as incompetent as that “Prince” ever manage to kidnap them in the first place?
However, she spoke too soon. A large contingent of guards rushed out of the city, their eyes scanning the dunes like spotlights. With such a thorough search, it wasn’t long before they were spotted.
“There! To the south! Catch them!”
A mob of guards came charging toward them. Lu Yunxi and Shen San quickened their pace. Generally, fighting ordinary NPCs was a lose-lose situation; it gained you a “Red Name” status without providing any loot or experience. It was a thankless task they both wanted to avoid.
But luck was not on their side.
They had only run a short distance from the city when a sudden, violent sandstorm swept in from the horizon.
“Ah—!”
Amidst the screams of the pursuing guards, the pair found themselves unable to dodge. They were snatched up by the howling winds, lifted off the ground, and sent tumbling uncontrollably through the air.
Before she lost consciousness, Lu Yunxi decisively cast a protective shield around herself and her apprentice.
