Messenger
‘Huh… One almost immediately after I…?’
“Master, Labyrinth Palace has sent someone as per your request” Jingyi informed Edrick just as he finished cultivating with Guardian Hippopotamus Physique. Ever since Mountain Sasquatch Body had become a bona fide physique and thus no longer required cultivation, he had redirected much of the time he previously devoted to it toward his second body cultivation technique.
Coupled with the various enhancements he had received lately, the speed of advancement was rather good. Right now, after a whole hour of meditative cultivation, Edrick’s bare chest seemed incredibly smooth, it looked like any water that fell upon his skin would simply slide right off.
The headmaid showed no reaction to the glorious sight in front of her eyes, but on the inside, she felt quite disappointed as her master dressed himself up to receive the guest.
“That was rather quick. Do we have a private meeting room ready?” he asked.
“They are all ready and operational, Master”
“Perfect. Prepare some good tea, Jingyi” Anoteros spoke his command before heading out of the training room. He soon came face-to-face with the person Labyrinth Palace had decided to send over.
Dressed in robes that were a deep, dark grey was a pretty girl with hazel-coloured eyes, light brown hair, and an appearance that was rarely seen across the entire country of Leynlornd.
She stood one meter and sixty-two centimeters tall, the young woman with dark, tanned skin that seemed to be very uniform across her whole body. Though it was hard to be certain, as most of it was, unfortunately, covered up by the robes she wore.
Most people in Leynlornd had white skin that tended to lean toward the pale side of things. The only nearby country where the population commonly had that sort of skin was the kingdom of Galsable. But even then, Edrick was fairly certain that the girl from Labyrinth Palace had a shade of colour that was very rare even there.
Anoteros formed an amicable smile and extended his hand toward the girl. Her face was somewhat off-putting, or rather, her expression was, as it maintained the exact same one, as she did not know what to do with her face.
Still, she reached out and accepted the handshake, slightly bowing her head toward the much taller man.
“Young Master Zixuan, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Haoyu, and I am a core disciple of Labyrinth Palace. I am not only here to assist with the demand you made toward the sect, but I also carry a message from your family” she said with her flat expression.
Edrick nodded, extending one hand up whilst the other casually rested behind his guest’s back.
“I see, why don’t we speak of this over a nice cup of tea?”
“There is no need to…”
“I insist, it must have been quite a long journey, you should have a bit of leisure”
“I suppose you are right, Young Master Zixuan”
The two walked toward a room specifically made to receive guests. It was neither too big nor too small, supposed to be just about big enough to make anyone comfortable. Opulent enough to accommodate the wealthy and noble, but not too much so as to not intimidate and frighten guests of lesser status.
As they moved through the residence, Haoyu could not help but glance around with interest. Only then did a slightly different expression appear on her face.
Edrick opened the door to the room.
“Is the architecture of my residence to your liking, Miss Haoyu?”
Her face returned to usual as she turned back to Anoteros.
“I do find it quite nice, especially the tighter hallways that one could almost miss if they weren’t paying close attention, along with the curtains that seem present in all the rooms without doors... They make for quite a nice aesthetic…” as a disciple of Labyrinth Palace, architectures of all kinds were naturally Haoyu’s forte and favourite thing to explore.
Beyond what could be seen, she could also feel the residence itself, quite enjoying the various bizarre and unconventional things Edrick had decided to do with the design.
“...As expected of Young Master Zixuan, you demonstrate innate talent even in architecture cultivation”
“Ahah, no need to flatter me- Come and take a seat. My headmaid is going to serve you the finest tea in the region” they sat around a small, round table made from polished stone. Everything was quite well thought out, even before either of them got here, the chairs had already been arranged to match their respective build and height.
It would have been quite awkward for Haoyu to sit in a chair meant to accommodate the young scion.
Haoyu waited until tea was served, took a sip, and then began speaking of the reason for her presence, pulling out a cube from a pouch that definitely could not have been holding such an item.
“Young Master Zixuan, this item is quite rare even for Labyrinth Palace. We don’t often have uses for them ourselves, and it is quite complicated to create... But as you can see, this cube is crafted from wood, and it has been refined into a tool by a refiner before several talismans were placed upon its surface… It is quite wondrous"
"Simply injected your inner energy inside, and by then making use of your will, it is possible to store your entire residence within it and then make it reappear elsewhere later"
"However, that action can only be performed once. The cube will be destroyed afterwards” explained the core disciple, sitting in a most refined and cute manner.
“If it is so precious, is it fine to give it to me so easily?” asked Edrick.
“You must be playing with me, Young Master Zixuan. Our sect is greatly supported by the Elt family, it is only natural that we contribute for free to a member of the clan... Especially one that is considered a rising star”
“You flatter me again, Miss Haoyu. I may be improving swiftly, but I am still a mere beginner in the grand scheme of things… May I ask what my family wanted me to know?” Anoteros chuckled a bit as he leaned forward on the table.
The core disciple’s eyes did not miss that the young master’s hand was awfully close to her own, but she did not move, not wanting to offend him.
“Apparently, it has been learned that a secret realm will soon be opening nearby. I do not personally know much about this since our sect does not participate in the event, but it is a realm that opens every fifty years or so…” Haoyu brought out a piece of brand new parchment with several things written upon it.
“The Elt family would like you to bring back all of the listed materials, as they do not doubt that Young Master Zixuan will be selected to take part in the venture… To this end, they said that you were lent this pouch… It looks like a regular pouch on the outside, but it is actually capable of holding many items”
Haoyu cleared her throat.
“Unlike typical spatial items, however, it does not have a greater capacity. Instead, it has a hundred different slots for a hundred different items. Each slot can hold a hundred portions of the same item… The objects can be quite large as well. I am not clear on the details, but whether something can go inside or not is made rather clear by the pouch itself. Any object that can fit will be sucked inside immediately, with the rest, nothing will happen”
“I see… That is quite a nice item!”
“Indeed” just then, Anoteros went ahead and put his palm over the back of Haoyu’s hand.
“May we discuss architecture for a little while, Haoyu?”
“Of course…”