Chapter 124 Chapter 125 Master Acceptance
Although she was a succubus skilled in enchanting beings and manipulating hearts, Ji Ma held a certain fear of socializing. She found interactions to be quite troublesome.
“I must be prepared,” Ji Ma thought. “First, I cannot be underestimated. I can’t let him think this king is just a country girl.”
After that, she looked down and saw her clothes were covered in dust, including her black stockings.
“I look like a traveler from the street, not good. I must go out for some shopping.”
With this thought in mind, Ji Ma donned her cloak and pushed open the workshop door. Outside was a courtyard, empty save for a clothes rack, a basin of water, and a black dead tree.
This alchemy workshop was located outside the city, as Ji Ma had requested. Living in the city would be a hassle; just the daily dealing with waste was extremely troublesome, not to mention the water she needed to fetch from the street wells.
The workshop was situated near a small river downstream. The previous owner had left behind a water cart to bring water into the yard. The only inconvenience was that both the former owner and Ji Ma preferred solitude.
This place was separated from the nearby village by a river, away from the main road, about thirty minutes of walking from the city gate of Marin City.
Aside from that, Ji Ma was very satisfied.
She walked to the dead tree where a horse was calmly grazing, raising its tail to relieve itself.
“Honestly, completely unhygienic,” Ji Ma kicked at it.
The horse lazily regarded her, continuing its munching.
“Well, this is the price of freedom,” Ji Ma muttered, untying the rope that held the horse and leading it, “I still need to clean up this animal’s mess, find a few servants, and tidy up the workshop. I can’t spend all day shoveling dung, moving hay, serving a horse, and doing the laundry.”
She exited the courtyard and closed the door. Looking at this courtyard with the water cart, the village across the river seemed quite far, and there were hardly any people around.
It really looked like an easy target for thieves.
“…I also need a dog,” Ji Ma remarked, closing the courtyard door and mounting the horse, “So inconvenient.”
Ji Ma rode the horse along the dirt road toward the city walls of Marin City.
On the road, a few farmers with hoes approached, standing by the roadside with their eyes fixed on Ji Ma’s retreating figure.
Ji Ma pulled on the reins, urging the horse to trot. The road became busier and better, transitioning from dirt to stone.
In less than fifteen minutes, Ji Ma arrived at the city gate of Marin City, where a guard stopped her, gesturing for her to dismount and pay. She promptly paid three copper coins for the livestock fee and road fee, while a farmer’s wife behind her muttered:
“We locals have to pay to sell a bit of wheat.”
Entering Marin City, the streets were vibrant. Although it wasn’t as unique as Shalin City, with its waterways replacing roads, it boasted a level of prosperity and civilization higher than Shalin City. The streets were bustling with people, but there were no tortured souls in sight. Flanking the streets were wooden buildings with pointed roofs, their signs crowding above.
Marin City was located at the estuary of the empire’s only river that flowed into the sea. Any ship traversing the inland of the empire had to pass through the port of Marin City, which was nourished by the river, bringing all sorts of exotic goods.
In the crowd, Ji Ma felt uncomfortable, once again sensing a connection to her hometown. Riding her horse, she moved with the flow, spreading out a map of Marin City.
The map had been prepared in advance; she didn’t want to ask for directions.
There were no surprises along the way, the only unexpected sight being a dwarf and a high elf fighting, which the surrounding people regarded with indifference.
Everyone knew that dwarves and high elves had a mutual disdain for one another; the elves were proud, while the dwarves were stubborn and resentful. Their enmity had begun a thousand years ago, culminating in a bloody battle on the land of Knight Bato, which only ended when the elven king was beheaded by a dwarf.
Ji Ma successfully located a clothing store on her rough map. The sign depicted a needle and thread, with large transparent windows displaying wooden mannequins wearing hats adorned with different colored feathers. This appeared to be a recent trend.
She secured her traveling horse and pushed open the wooden door. Behind the counter was an old woman with white hair and a face full of wrinkles, wearing a black hat with vibrant feathers. Contrasting her pale skin, her lips were a striking red, like a blaze of fire.
“Oh, Goddess Wokin!” When she saw Ji Ma, her lips clamped shut as she hurried out from behind the counter, the feathers on her hat fluttering. She approached Ji Ma, her eyes eagerly appraising her, and cheerfully asked, “My dear—this guest, are you here to buy clothes or for an interview?”
Ji Ma felt wary of the old woman and stepped back slightly, saying, “Hello, I’m here to buy clothes.”
The old woman’s eyes lit up. “Fantastic! I have many beautiful outfits that would suit you, come, try them on; they’ll make you look stunning.”
Ji Ma turned to leave.
She definitely seemed like trouble.
“Guest, guest, don’t go!”
“You startled me.”
“Sorry.” The old woman opened a fan to cover her mouth, her eyes admiringly scanning Ji Ma from top to bottom, “I got too excited; it’s the first time I’ve seen a beauty with such a great figure. Outsiders claim that a person’s worth depends on their attire, but they don’t understand that attire also depends on the person…”
“I suddenly remembered that I left my soup cooking at home,” Ji Ma said, “Goodbye.”
“Please wait.” The old woman said, “Half price—”
“Deal.”
“My name is Mary, but everyone calls me Black Mary.”
“I’m Xiao Qiao.”
Upholding the principle that one should seize a bargain, Ji Ma agreed to the overly enthusiastic Black Mary.
The Goddess of Gold should have the appearance befitting her status.
She nodded in agreement.
“Xiao Qiao, you must promise me to let me make you a proper outfit,” Black Mary said, turning happily, grabbing a measuring tape.
Ji Ma appeared calm on the surface but was secretly ready to pull out her decoy puppet at any moment.
At that moment, a luxurious carriage pulled by two white horses stopped in front of the shop, and the door opened. A red-haired high elf wearing a gem-studded corset walked in, speaking in elvish, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Black Mary. May I ask if you have time now?”
Black Mary turned her head back, politely replying, “No.”
“My mistress has sent me for the second time.”
“Sorry, I’m very busy right now.”
The high elf said, “This appointment was for today. Have your guests piled up so much that you can’t spare a moment? My mistress is about to return to her civilized homeland. She was impressed by your work.”
“Indeed.”
“You’d better not regret it.” The high elf remarked, turning to leave.
“Wait!”
Black Mary called out.
The high elf smiled as she turned back.
“Please help me flip the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’.” Black Mary said, “I’ll be closed for the next few days, thank you.”
The high elf simply turned her head, the door slammed shut, the sign flipped, and the sound of whips snapped as the white horses pulled the carriage away.
“Who were they?”
“The High Elf Embassy,” Black Mary responded, “They have taken an interest in my craft and made an appointment before, but I didn’t agree.”
“Was it because of me?”
“Don’t mind it, Xiao Qiao.” Black Mary comforted, “I never wanted to work for the high elves. They appear civilized and beautiful on the surface, but they are unaware of the filthy deeds they commit behind closed doors.”
Saying that, she touched the brim of her black hat.
Ji Ma suddenly recalled that in the customs of human society in the empire, widows wear black. However, the customs in Marin City were more liberal, and it was rare for a widow to wear black continuously.
Suppressing her curiosity, she didn’t ask and followed Black Mary into the room behind the counter.
Black Mary was very enthusiastic, measuring Ji Ma’s body inch by inch with a measuring tape, praising that Ji Ma must have been blessed by the goddess of beauty at birth.
“It wasn’t the goddess of beauty,” Ji Ma said, “It was the god of dawn.”
“Why?”
“Otherwise, why would I see the divine selection of the god of dawn as soon as I was born?”
“Was it a priest who delivered you?”
“Pretty much; I was nearly scared to death.”
After finishing the measurements, Black Mary promised to use the finest craftsmanship to make her a beautiful garment.
Ji Ma selected a dozen pairs of stockings and some shorts, which made Black Mary frown, and she even insisted on giving Ji Ma several skirts.
“This black skirt matches your hair color perfectly.”
Black Mary said, handing Ji Ma a black dress.
“But it doesn’t match my horse.”
In the end, however, Ji Ma did pick a dress as formal wear. Black Mary was delighted and also offered some accessories. Finally, Ji Ma left with many packages, having only spent fifty gold coins.
Draped in a black woman’s cloak and wearing a dress that revealed her collarbone, Ji Ma found it difficult to sit sideways in the saddle due to the dress, the ruby earrings swinging with the rhythm of the horse.
As the evening sun shone down, she found the alchemy shop.
The sign depicted a bubbling flask, with flowing script below reading: “Singji Potion Shop.”
Hanging below the sign was a black cross flag, with a white skull wearing an olive leaf in the center—this was the mark of the empire. The white skull symbolized purity and sacrifice.
Ji Ma adjusted her black soft hat and pushed open the door.
A worker who was tidying up looked up and said, “Customer, we are about to close, please come back.”
Ji Ma smiled slightly at him, and the worker immediately stopped, fixating his eyes on Ji Ma’s gaze. She said, “Hello, someone referred me here to study. Please give this letter to Master Singji.”
The worker’s opinion of Ji Ma rose significantly as he asked, “Are you also here to become an apprentice?”
“Yes.”
“I advise you to come back tomorrow,” the worker said. “He already has quite a few apprentices, and just today, one broke his flask, splattering it on his face. He’s furious right now, locked himself in, shouting that if he takes more apprentices, he’s an idiot.”
“Well, since he’s full, what’s the difference between coming back tomorrow and today?”
“Seems like there isn’t one.”
“Then please,” Ji Ma handed the letter to the worker, “Everyone’s time is precious.”
The worker hesitated for a moment. The master was angry, but he inexplicably didn’t want to see Ji Ma’s disappointed expression, so he said, “Okay.”
With that, he took the letter and headed upstairs.
Before long, Ji Ma heard the sound of the letter being ripped apart: “That copper-scented merchant again! Tell her I’m not taking any apprentices!”
It seemed that Karslan’s connections weren’t as effective as expected.
