Looking at the smile of the waiter, her impression of him became quite complicated. This man was not simple, when he saved her earlier, she was able to feel a bit of Qi, the vital energy, of his martial art. He had been careful and concealed it deeply. If Ai had not been trained, she probably would not have noticed.
To trust or not trust? Thinking about the old man in the secret hall, Ai decided to take a chance. She would play it by ear. He did save her, it was hard to believe he would want to hurt her now.
Cupping her hands together, Ai bowed deeply.
"Thanking the good sir for rescuing me today, I will push my luck further by asking you if you could help me with this prescription. As a repayment, for as long as it nothing excessive and safeguard propriety, I will owe you a favor and will follow your will one time in the future."
Ai then handed the prescription to the waiter. One glance at it, the waiter knew right away that this prescription was special. All the ingredients listed were very rare: Crystal jade powder? Blue orchid dew? Fire dragon blood? The list wasn't long but this prescription, if fulfilled, would be worth a lot of gold.
But this young girl, simple dressing no ornaments, though the bearing is noble, can't say for sure she will be able to afford the payment. The waiter frowned his brows and gave a complicated look.
"Is this prescription impossible to get? Ai asked slightly anxious.
"Not impossible, but rather difficult. Extremely rare ingredients, the cost may not be very affordable?"
Ai was relieved, if it was only a question of money she could probably manage or so she hoped. Her family had been extremely wealthy, but now, though not in poverty, they could barely classify as middle class.
"How expensive?"
When Ai heard the price she stayed stoic but gasped in her mind. Was her Master trying to bankrupt her? She had no strong foundations, no backing, no money in Capital city, how was she going to deal with this? She would throw back the difficult problem to her Master. After all, it was his prescription!
"Please still fulfill the prescription, I'll bring you the money after a few days. "
The waiter signaled for her to follow him. They walked to the apothecary shop. The waiter then took a key out, unlocked the door and simply entered the shop.
"Please come in." The waiter said simply.
Ai was really surprised. This waiter had the key to the shop all along and simply let her wait in the tea shop. She immediately deducted that the waiter must have some out of the ordinary background. She also figured out that entering that apothicary shop was not an easy feature. Looks like she managed to get the approval to get in this time. Else God knows how long she would have had to wait before she could ever step inside. Hiding her emotions, she entered the shop with an unfazed expression.
The shop was luxuriously decorated. Very unlike an apothecary shop. There wasn't an apothecary dresser in sight. Instead, there was a beautiful and eyecatching staircase in the middle of the shop. Leading to the staircases were some glamourously orneated seats and table. It looked more like the hall of a manor or palace than a simple shop. Instead of the particular smells of dried herbs and concoctions, the whole place had a fresh floral scent.
"The owner is quite eccentric indeed..." Ai thought. As soon as they entered, Ai felt the presence of multiple people but none of them were visible. Such a strange location. Ai started to worry a bit. She came here alone, with so many hidden potential ennemies, Ai was unsure she could escape safely.
"No need to worry, you are an esteemed guest. No harm will come to you." The waiter said calmly. She had not said a word nor changed her expression but the waiter had been able to sense her unease. She sighed inside blessing her luck that he was not an ennemy she need to go against, she would have definitely been defeated by him. This confirmed her earlier suspicions.There was no way a simple waiter could have seen right through her like this. Instead of relaxing, she felt even more anxious. She thought her facade was flawless but she was found out so easily. She was not good enough yet.
"Please take a seat. I will be back shortly." The waiter brought her to one of the seat. As she sat down, she got distracted by the patterns on the table. By the time she lift her head up, he had disappeared already. At each corner of the table, a single tiny magnolia was imprinted. Had she not paid attention, it would have been difficult to notice. She had seen this pattern somewhere previously but couldn't remember where now. As she scrutizined her environment a second time, she noticed the same pattern was embedded and hidden in the furnitures of the shop. Maybe their signature print? She put this detail in the back of her mind and thought about her next steps.
Her goal was still to take revenge but she didn't have a foundation yet. The time was not ripe. Her ennemy was not out in the open. She first needed to build her troops of men. Once her Master was cured, she would resume her training while looking into recruiting talents for her purpose. It would be an arduous task as she had to stay hidden and keep her motives secret. Until she found out who had pushed her family to that extreme, she couldn't afford a single misstep. She sighed internally.
Unaware to her, she had been put under observation as soon as she had stepped in. The eyes that lingered on her were cold and unkind. She had sat down for now 10 minutes but had not moved from her seat, her facial expression unchanged and unreadable. Weren't for her hands slightly crisped that betrayed her unease, it would have been impossible to tell.