Divine Rant Activated
---
Strange!
These mortals seem like they've seen it all.
Although I've been to the Mortal Realm a couple of times, I neither stayed for long nor interacted with them.
Cultivators or was it Taoists?
Whatever they are called, are absolutely fascinating creatures.
And I'm to preside over their cultivation.
This is more exciting than listening to worried gods."
Divine Rant Deactivated
---
Per his particulars, an inn is where humans from other places or regions stay for a while in a new town. Kind of like a divine guesthouse.
While looking for one, a small mortal girl tugged onto his sleeve.
"Sir, sir are you lost?" She asked, wide-eyed.
Long Xiao couldn't say no.
He wasn't lost but he didn't know where he was going either.
"It's obviously different from being lost. Besides, I'm curious to see what she does." Long Xiao reassured himself with a nod.
"Yes," he admitted, with a smile.
"Do you want me to show you around? I know everything!"
She was soft-voiced, far too helpful.
"I didn't know mortal children were this thoughtful." Long Xiao glanced at her tiny hand on his sleeves.
"Little girl, can you show me an inn?" Long Xiao asked her, his voice dripping with curiosity.
"Mhm!" She nodded, pointing to one.
Long Xiao's gaze followed her hand which had pointed to a large wooden building.
"Little one, for your kindness, I shall reward you with a divine treasure." Long Xiao smiled, the gesture dripping with his usual brand of self-importance.
As Long Xiao thought of what to give, he fully expected her to gasp, to fall to her knees in gratitude at whatever the object may be.
"Should I give her a hairpin or crystal? Nothing too modest." Long Xiao stroked his nonexistent beard.
Meanwhile a strange stillness had fallen over the bustling street. The sounds of vendors and passing cultivators seemed to have muted. His hand, suspended in the air, froze. The weight on his sleeve seems to have vanished.
She was gone.
Not gone as in she had run away, but gone. There was no trace of her on the street, no lingering scent, no flicker of spiritual energy. The space where she had just been standing was now empty, as if she had been a figment of his imagination.
"Was I hallucinating?" Long Xiao's eyes widened.
The girl's sudden disappearance left Long Xiao in utter bewilderment. He looked left, then right, then spun a slow circle, his divine senses sweeping the area. Nothing. It was as if she had simply ceased to exist.
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, a cold chill running down his spine.
How could a mere mortal vanish into thin air?
How was this even possible?
One moment she was there, and the next poof! Vanished without a trace. The street stretched out before him, devoid of any sign that she had ever existed.
Long Xiao muttered under his breath, "If I ever meet her again, I'll be sure to reward her kindness with heavenly favor."
His words hung in the air like a promise.
A vow to acknowledge the extraordinary encounter.