Chapter 518: Shang Zexi and Yuan Meili at the store
Genesis Enterprises, Lunaris City, Western Moon Kingdom;
The weapon store turned enterprise with the successful business strategies from the welpire Chang Bo, subordinate Meng Tao, and the teenager with a crush on Mark; Xie Mei, selling from weapons to food, currently put up a closed sign as they hosted the former crown prince of the neighboring empire.
It wasn't the first time he visited the store. It is the official meeting point of him and Mark. However, there was someone else beside him, this time.
Yuan Meili had this look of unpleasantness on her face as she was given a brief tour.
As they went to the topmost story of the tower, the residence of Chang Bo and Meng Tao, Yuan Meili pinched her nose in disgust, refusing to take a seat when offered, and further commenting, "The place lacks elegance and quite smelly. The store is a lot better…"
In fact, the place was kept neat and tidy with nothing out of the ordinary as pointed out by Yuan Meili, but Chang Bo didn't argue with her about it and even apologized to her for the discomfort.
"Would you like to go downstairs?" As he asked her, maintaining a polite manner, Prince Shang Zexi waved his hand with an awkward smile, "No need, Brother Chang. We will stay here."
Yuan Meili furrowed her brows immediately but stayed silent until Chang Bo left the place, stating that he would go check on the kitchen. They came for the lunch. So, his excuse looked perfect.
Just as he left, Yuan Meili spoke to the prince in a bit of a complaining tone, "Are you seriously the same senior brother that I knew? Forget about waiting in this dump, you even call that commoner your brother? Don't tell me you want to marry your missing sister to that trash. I heard that they are close."
Shang Zexi's facial expression changed quickly. He looked at her as if he snapped, "Do you even know who that is? Chang Bo is Lu Zhen's loyal servant. Unlike us who treat servants as nothing more than slaves, Lu Zhen treats them as siblings. The Sui clan's young master merely insulted his other servant and Lu Zhen destroyed their clan compound and even extorted money in return.
That's when he was merely acting in a low-key manner.
Now, his actions have grown to the extent of destroying the empires at will. If he knows that you have insulted Chang Bo, forget about locating your lover, Yuan Clan will not see tomorrow's sunrise. After he returns, make sure you speak courteously."
"But…" Yuan Meili wanted to speak something in her defense but she bit her lip in frustration after seeing a stern look on her senior brother, and nodded, "I understand."
After a while;
Mark arrived at the store and met with both of them. He recognized the woman in one glance.
As they greeted him, and the crown prince introduced her, Mark responded with a nod, "I remember her." He shifted his gaze to look at the woman. After scanning her information, he was slightly surprised a bit and commented, "You are dying."
"Eh?" "Huh?"
Both the prince and the woman were taken aback by his comment.
"How do you know?" Yuan Meili asked before the prince responded to that. Shang Zexi abruptly turned his head to look at his junior sister and asked upon hearing her response, "What's going on?"
Mark gave the answer to his questions, based on what he found in the description, "Cursed Yin Physique. She was born with it and needs a constant supply of energy filled with a fiery bloodline like Phoenix." He then looked at the woman and said, "It is amazing that you are still alive unless someone with a Phoenix Bloodline is saving you."
"I…" Yuan Meili looked down at the floor, feeling nervous as her birth secret was suddenly revealed by Mark. She doesn't know what else the other party knows. With a grip of fear in her heart, she slowly explained, "No, it is not like you have imagined. My clan used fire attribute energy and ether crystals to keep me alive. But, it was a temporary solution and it halted my cultivation progress.
If I marry someone with Phoenix Bloodline, then, I could be cured and continue my cultivation."
Mark stared at her for a couple of seconds. He wondered why she was so nervous. Despite being in the supreme realm, Mark was never an expert and didn't have a cent of the knowledge those veterans have. Hence, he took her word for the truth and merely responded with a comment, "So, that is why you were after Brother Wen. I thought you were in love with him. Nobles were indeed schemers."
"You…" Yuan Meili was offended by his comment and even raised her head to look seriously at Mark. However, as their eyes met, she averted her gaze down once again and defended herself, "If I just wanted to live, I have other options too. There is His Majesty (Shang Jun), and Prime Minister Shang (Shang Wei). The Red Dragon Bloodline can also cure me. I can also marry into the Tang Dynasty.
But, I'm only willing to chase after Brother Wen even after he went missing. I hope Lord Lu doesn't humiliate me by doubting my intentions. It is true that my mother urged me to pursue Brother Wen for my survival but my heart has been clear from the beginning."
As Shang Zexi instructed her earlier, she compressed all those negative thoughts in her heart and gracefully dealt with Mark just like an heiress of a noble family.
Mark already had a bad impression of her for a while and it won't disappear for a while. The best he could do was to stay silent and shift the topic.
Escorting both of them to the restaurant, Mark sat with them as Chang Bo brought a bottle with liquid as clear as water and served them in traditional wine cups, which had a maximum capacity of 50 ml of liquid.
"Hmm… what is this wine?" Prince Shang was puzzled.
Yuan Meili also raised the cup and smelled it, "at one glance, it looked like water, but I can faintly smell the scent of potatoes, grapes, and there is also corn? It doesn't seem like wine. Should be another type of alcohol."
Mark let out a smile as he introduced the alcohol, "This drink is a specialty of our store, created by my sister's recipe and done by our chefs. It is called vodka. As I'm not interested in creating any alcohol business, I just had it made in the kitchens using traditional methods. The one you were served is also nicknamed one shot down by our customers.
If you don't have alcohol tolerance, I suggest drinking in moderation."
"Brother Lu, since young, we were trained to develop a high tolerance to alcohol as we have to attend many events every year," replied the crown prince with a smile, clearly looking down on the drink.
Yuan Meili also smiled and gulped the drink in the cup in one go, just like they do with tea or wine.
In the next instant, their facial expressions changed.
"Ha…" Yuan Meili felt an extreme burning sensation in her mouth before feeling dizziness.
*Flap*
Within no time, her head hit the table and lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, Shang Zexi acted quickly by pouring his ether energy into his mouth, skillfully negating the effects. "What the hell was this poison?" he momentarily lost control before forcing himself to calm down, "I apologize."
Mark calmly drank the liquid in one shot and replied, "This one has over 80% alcohol percentage. I know that anything above 40 will be dangerous, but I thought cultivators like you could handle it."
*Ding! Toxic substance is detected. Proceeding to eliminate.
*Sigh* "One really needs to be fortunate to enjoy alcohol."
Watching Mark let out a long sigh and comment, Shang Zexi said in a hushed tone, "I really appreciate the drink, Brother Lu. It is unlike anything I have ever drunk. It is because this is the first time we drank, I…"
Mark interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "No, I'm not talking about you. I was criticizing my own self." He poured the vodka in the cup and raised it to his eye level and added, "No matter how much I drink, it is just like water to me. For someone like me who loves drinking, this is akin to hell. I guess this is an absolute law of the universe.
Obtaining something without losing anything can only happen in dreams. If someone says that they give you things for free, you should never take it. In reality, you always have to give up your precious things for the sake of achieving your dreams."
Shang Zexi meaningfully stared at Mark in silence.