Inside a room, children sat there all shaking, but Mina's eyes seemed dead with barely any emotions. She watched as people would pass by with creepy faces and pick a young woman or man and they would be dragged out and later brought back.
Mina watched as a beautiful woman with long red robes walked before the seller who was advertising the courtesans and slapped her hard causing her nose to bleed, "Stop this at once, how can you do this to such young girls and boys they barely look like adults!" The woman in red robes yelled.
"Young lady, it's just business, and they are all of age!" The seller on the floor barked as she rubbed her aching cheek.
The woman in red robes gritted her teeth and yelled, "I won't stand for it, whether it's business or not. Stop this now or else I'll let my family shut down this fiasco." She raised a golden insignia and the seller trembled with fear.
After that day, the children whom were forced to pass as adults, weren't forced into sexual activities, but they were still made to learn for their future jobs, however, all their skills were deemed useless after the day Mina's mother and sister and everyone else were killed by cultivators.
Mina trembled once more as she remembered that day. 'I feel so weak and pathetic when I think about it!'
"Mina, are you okay?" Kai asked with a worried tone.
"I'm not, I just don't feel well," Mina said dryly and Kai looked shocked.
Kai bent down and whispered into her ear, "Don't tell me you're pregnant?"
"I'm not!" Mina yelled with a flushed face, and Kai laughed.
"Mina then are you hungry?" Kai asked and Mina nodded.
"Lemme check my bag first," Mina said as she removed her backpack and opened inside.
'Well, it seems like that girl had money,' she thought as she saw several silver coins inside.
"Okay, I have money, let's buy food!" Mina declared with a determined look.
"You don't have to, I'll buy the food," Kai waved his hands frantically.
"As much as I want to leech from you, I must not do stuff like that all the time. Or else I would be considered a gold digger," Mina clasped Kai's palms and looked at him with a serious look.
"I don't mind," Kai said shyly.
"It's not about you minding, this is about my pride as a woman! Not that I got any pride though," Mina sulked.
"Okay then," Kai conceded to Mina's pleading face, and she jumped cheerfully.
"So now let's go to the restaurant!" Mina declared.
"I have no idea where the restaurant is," Kai scratched his head and Mina cried.
She then saw a young woman pass by with a pack that smelled like good food, and it immediately enticed Mina.
Mina walked up to the lady and asked politely, "Umm, please miss, do you know any good restaurants around here?"
The lady's fair face flushed red as she didn't expect this beautiful woman with a girl to ask her such a question, "Ah yes, if you go straight and take two lefts and a right you'll see a restaurant."
"Thank you so much, dear," Mina smiled.
"No worries and you're welcome miss," the lady scurried away.
"How cute," Mina giggled as she watched the flushed lady run away, but Kai pouted.
Mina and Kai walked hand in hand through the large city with several roads leading into it. An aqueduct runs along its eastern edge, connecting to a stream that flows through the city. Many large hotels can be seen near the center of the square. A well-tended garden lies north of the main road, and Mina sniffed some flowers. Fountains dot the streets, each depicting a different scene: one depicts a group of women and men fighting a beast, another shows a lady before a pill furnace, and so forth.
After a while, Mina finally reached a large restaurant and watched many people go in and come out. Mina urged Kai to quicken his pace as they entered. Before them was an ornate golden statue on each side of the entrance. Kai noticed that the walls are made from marble and adorned with relief carvings depicting scenes of cultivators.
They look around with interest, taking in the elegant decor and tasteful furnishing. The large dining room is filled with well-dressed people enjoying their meals.
A waiter approaches them and he bowed respectfully to them as they approached him. He has short black hair and lovely brown skin. "Good evening," he says politely. "I am Antonio. How may I serve you?"
"A table for two, please," Kai stated politely.
Antonio nods. "Of course, sir." He turns around and says, "Follow me."
Mina and Kai followed him to the glass table and around it were four fluffy chairs. Mina sat down and continued to look around, enchanted by this new environment.
"So what would you like to order?" Antonio asked and handed both of them a menu.
Mina opened the menu and gasped in shock at the high prices.
"I don't know ….what I want to …eat, Kai," Mina said nervously.
"Then let me select," Kai smiled at her, "Could you please give us the flare fish rice, Bruce beef goiness, fiery grilled bird, and some wine?"
"Sure young master, I'll get it right away," Antonio nodded and immediately left.
Mina's hands trembled at the prices of the food Kai ordered. "So much for me paying for food. Why are they so fucking expensive?! This amount can last a common family a year." Mina cried in a low voice, and Kai couldn't help but giggle at her funny expressions.
Mina picked up her back and counted the silver coins she had. "Well I guess I have enough to pay for all the food," Mina mumbled and looked up at Kai whose face was suddenly close to hers.
"Hey what are you doing?!" Mina exclaimed with a flushed face.
"There was a leaf in your hair, see," Kai said and showed Mina the leaf on his fingers.
"Thank you," Mina said bashfully and brushed her hair back, causing Kai to blush again.
"I'm so jealous of that bastard, how can he have such a cutie like her?" A person clasped his chest as he stared at Kai angrily.
"He's handsome too, so they kind of fit together," another man shrugged.
"But she's more beautiful!"
"They know we can hear them, right?" Mina said to Kai.
"Just let them talk," Kai nodded.
"Your food is here sir and beautiful madam," Antonio announced as he pushed a cart of food and placed them gently on their table.
"Well I have to remove this to eat," Mina sighed and removed the veil from her face.
Antonio, seeing her, almost dropped a plate of food when he saw her face, but he quickly caught it and placed it on their table. After he was done, he left immediately with a flushed face and Mina had a smug look on her face.
"I'm just too beautiful," Mina said shamelessly and dramatically flipped her hair, and Kai laughed.
Mina then picked a spoon of rice with some things inside and placed it into her mouth. "Yum, it's so delicious!" Mina praised as she chewed her food with a flushed face.
"Mina calm down," Kai said, a bit scared that something was wrong with her.
"I haven't had good food like this in a long time," Tears streamed down Mina's cheeks, and Kai was surprised. Mina immediately wiped her tears and chewed her food hurriedly.
"Waiter I'll buy more of this food!" Kai raised his hand and Antonio from afar nodded.
"Kai there's no need to spend so much money!" Mina said, but the surrounding food was almost done, and she began to eye Kai's food with a drooling mouth.
"This amount of money isn't much," Kai shrugged.
'Damn rich folk,' Mina cried inwardly, but she was delighted that she had a rich friend.
"I guess I'll help myself then," Mina continued to devour her food.
"Wow, she's so pretty!" Others in the restaurant gasped in awe.
"I think she eats like a brute," a female voice criticized.
"So what, you're just jealous!" A male voice shot back.
"She's so curvy," another voice praised.
"I think she's fat," another female voice criticized.
"Shut up flatty. If you're jealous, just say so," a male voice defended and the lady gritted her teeth.
"So far she's the most beautiful person I've seen around here," a man with brown skin And lovely orange hair tied in a ponytail giggled as he drank his blue wine with a smile. His slim, beautiful green eyes scanned Mina and Kai.
"More beautiful than the ice beauty Jiaming?" another man asked with a serious expression. He had short brown hair and a pair of lovely black eyes.
"Yes she's way more beautiful, just look at that lady," a slightly mature voice giggled in addition. He was fair-skinned and had parted blue hair and a pair of lovely orange eyes, "She's quite enchanting."