Shang Gu and Zhu Zi have been wandering in the mortal realm for over two months now. Shang Gu bought a carriage from the inn before they left the inn that they were staying at, Shang Gu conjured two horses from a pair of her earrings.
The carriage was under a spell, it has magical counter that the two of them can keep putting as much food in there as they want but it would all fit, Shang Gu also put on a protective spell on the carriage so that they wouldn't be attacked at night by bandits and wild animals.
Along the way, there were peaceful days but there were days that were days that they would run into troublesome situations, every time that Shang Gu and Zhu Zi come across people in trouble the two would often help them and then leave them with some money before leaving.
One day as they were making their way to the main capital through a forest at the foot of a mountain, all of a sudden, they heard someone calling out for help. The two of them rushed to where the scream was coming from, they came upon a group of bandits attacking another group of travelers with some beautiful women.
"Stop." Shang Gu said stepping out from the carriage with Zhu Zi, the bandits started laughing when they saw the two of them; two delicate and helpless young lady.
"Look what we have here, two beauties came to join us!" a rough-looking man said to his group and they all laughed. Zhu Zi stepped in front of her mistress
"How dare you speak in such a way to my young miss!" Zhu Zi said as she used her power to make the rough man kneel on the ground, the two flew in closer and the other men stepped away as if they would burn them
"Be careful! They are cultivators!" one of them said as the men said, the Shang Gu and Zhu Zi looked at each other. The two of them are goddesses but Ming Qi had said to them that they will be more like cultivator, so they see no point in saying otherwise.
"If you know, then leave." Zhu Zi said but just then there was a voice shouted out from behind
"Who are you to rob people in broad daylight?!" the voice asked and Shang Gu looked towards the voice as the person landed in front of them, the back belong to a young man, and inside her chest, she felt her heart tighten, but at the same time it beat faster and faster the more she looked at his back.
The bandits had no choice but to run with their tail between their legs; two cultivators was already too much but now a young, tall man with a giant sword is in front of them.
Yet in their attempt to run away, one of the bandits lung towards her; as a mean to hold her hostage just so that they could buy time for the others to run away but the young man that had appeared took hold of her, trying to protect her but Zhu Zi used a shield and it bounced the bandit away
"Let go of my young miss!" Zhu Zi shouted at them but Shang Gu and the young man were lost in each other's gaze as if they were the only two person there. The two of them snapped out of it when the group of people thanked them and Zhu Zi rushed to Shang Gu side.
"Thank you!" the group said and Shang Gu finally turned to look at them
"It-its nothing." Shang Gu said and the older man stepped up from the group of people
"May I know your name and how could we thank you?" he asked her but Shang Gu just smile
"There is no need to thank me, I was only helping people in need while I was passing by." Shang Gu said as she look at them and the man beside her looked at her
"Then may I know your name and where you are headed?" Yu Chen asked her and Shang Gu turned to look at him
"My name is Shang Gu, this is my maid Zhu Zi. We are heading to the capital." Shang Gu said and he nodded
"My name is Yu Chen." he said to her and the two of them bow in greeting to each other
"If you are traveling to the capital, why don't we go together?" the old man asked them and Shang Gu agreed thinking that it wouldn't hurt to have some company to travel with and she can help them if they come across any trouble along the way.
"It would be wonderful to have some traveling companion. Please wait here." Shang Gu said as she flew back to the carriage with Zhu Zi and they came back with their carriage to join them again.
The mortals were amazed at their carriage, not only was their horse big war horse but the carriage was pure white, the edge was decorated with gold, a jade carving of a lotus was sitting at the top of the carriage, jade lotus dangled on all four corner of the carriage and instead of silk or fabric the doorway of the carriage was a door. The door was decorated with jade, and the handle was made out of gold.
When Shang Gu open the door of the carriage everyone could see that the inside was decorated even nicer than anything, it was spacious, decorated with nice cushion, even some pillow and even the horse that were pulling the carriage was decorated with gold and jade as well.
The carriage that Shang Gu and Zhu Zi bought at first was just an ordinary carriage, it was spacious but it was a ordinary carriage with brown wood and a light silk for door but Zhu Zi didn't think that it was a carriage worthy of her mistress so she asked Shang Gu to let her decorate it.
Even though the five carriages that the merchant was using were also nicely decorated and top-notch as well but for some reason, Shang Gu's carriage looked more exquisite. It was almost like a heavenly carriage, or something a princess would use.
Shang Gu looked around but she didn't see Yu Chen, she turned to the old man with a smile
"Will this be everyone?" Shang Gu asked
"No, the young man also offers to guard us on the way to the capital as well. He went to get his horse as well after the two of you left." the old man said to her and she nodded
Yu Chen's view
Yu Chen, a swordsman from the capital. He has been working in the capital for over 4 years and was on his way back from visiting his mother; a nun at the temple on top of the mountain and that was how he ran into the robbery.
As he was making his way down from the temple, he couldn't help but notice an elegantly decorated carriage without anyone around when he heard people screaming and men laughing.
When he looked down from the cliff he noticed that there was five carriage and a few people, it didn't take long for him to piece it together to know what was going on, he didn't hesitate to jump in and help them out.
He did nothing but show up yet when the bandits saw him, they all ran with their tails between their leg, he was confused but happy to see that there would be no bloodshed today since he had just left a temple after visiting his ill mother as well.
While the group of bandits were running away one of them threw some things at a young woman, he reached out to pull her closer but now that he saw her face, he was lost in a trance.
When the old man asked her for her name and she refused, he asked her, thinking that he might also be turned down, but she smiled and answered him. After the two of them went to get their carriage, he look at the old man
"Your group is heading to the capital?" Yu Chen asked the old man who nodded
"I am the old butler of the San merchant family, and these are the young miss of the San family. Thank you so much for helping or else I wouldn't have had the face to go back and face my master." the old butler said to him and he nodded
"I'll help assist you all along with the other two as well. Having more help will be better. I'll go get my horse." Yu Chen said and left to get his horse
When he came back, Shang Gu was standing there with the wind blowing in her hair, with the sun shining down, it made her hair look as if it was strands of gold. When she looked at him it almost made his heart stop, he wanted to run away from these new feelings, but he went closer to the group instead.
"Shall we go?" he asked them
"If you like, you can travel with us in our carriage. It would be our honor." one of the young ladies asked him but he smile and said nothing as he turned to Shang Gu
"Can I trouble you two and travel with you?" he asked Shang Gu who nodded, the young misses of the San family looked displeasingly at Shang Gu and Zhu Zi as Yu Chen sat on their carriage, they eventually also got into their own carriage
Shang Gu could see the young ladies staring at him, but Shang Gu and Zhu Zi sat in the carriage while he sat outside controlling the horse, and now his horse is leading the other two horses.
"Young miss, why did you agree to travel with the mortal group?" Zhu Zi asked her and Shang Gu looked at her with a smile
"We are traveling to the capital anyway; we might as well travel with them." Shang Gu said and Zhu Zi nodded, she had just been following her master since they came to the mortal realm
"Everything is as you said." Zhu Zi said to her and Shang Gu nodded as the two of them were talking Yu Chen interrupted them
"We will arrive at the capital later in the evening, should we take a break?" Yu Chen asked them from behind the carriage door
"What about the others? Do they want to take a break as well?" Shang Gu asked from inside the carriage
"I will drive faster and ask them." He said to them and they could feel the carriage move speed up, and then it slowed down
"Would you all like to take a break?" Yu Chen asked them and they all agreed
"There is an inn just a few miles up ahead, why don't we stop there?" Yu Chen asked them and the group agreed
They traveled until it was lunchtime and stopped at the inn, Shang Gu and Zhu Zi ordered some food and wine along with some sweets to take with them while traveling to the capital.
"Do you always eat that many snacks?" one of the young ladies asked her and Shang Gu turned to look at them with a smile as she swallow her sweets.
"Is there something wrong?" Shang Gu asked the two young ladies who seem to be judging her and showing off their beauty but then Shang Gu stood up, she was thinner, and slimmer than they were and the two had no choice but to shrink back.
"....I always eat however much I want and whatever I want, is there something wrong?" Shang Gu asked them, the two just looked at her and walked away. Shang Gu turned to look at Zhu Zi who was also stuffing her face as well.
"Did I say something wrong?" Shang Gu asked and Zhu Zi shrugged, Yu Chen walked over to their table, he had never seen women in the capital eat so many snacks and food at the same time nor had he seen them drink wine like men. He stared at the two of them for a long while but he shook his head and walked over to them
"Can I join your table?" he asked them and Shang Gu nodded but Zhu Zi remained silent since she knew better than to give her opinion; there was no need to stop her master.
After they finished their lunch, they brought the food for the rest of the trip and were on their way to the capital once again. Once they arrived at the capital, they went their separate ways from the merchant group they were traveling with.
"Thank you, for escorting us back to the capital. If while in the capital you come upon any trouble, feel free to come to the San manor." The old man said to Shang Gu and she smiled
"Thank you." Shang Gu said and watched as their group made their way away from the city gates, the rest that was left were Shang Gu, Zhu Zi, and Yu Chen.
"Where will you go?" Yu Chen asked her and she looked at him
"We've yet to think of that, Zhu Zi and I had just been wandering around." Shang Gu said to him and he nodded
"I hope to see you around." he said to her and she nodded as she got back into the carriage with Zhu Zi, they left him standing at the gates.
It was already late evening, so they did not get a chance to go sight seeing, they found a inn and stayed for the night. The following morning the two headed out to go sight seeing.