Rejecting Ze Yun's offer to become his disciple had far-reaching consequences. However, May did not view them negatively. Until now, her status on the estate had been rather unclear. Now, however, she was officially a guest of the Yun clan. As a result, she regained some freedom, no longer having to stay on the estate all the time, and was given permission to visit the real city, the capital of the Inner Court.

  In addition, she began to receive a small amount of money each month for cultivation resources. 500 mu per month was a lot of money for anyone, but the Yun clan did not spare any expense. May suspected that this amount had been personally approved by Ze Yun.

  “You're going to visit the capital for the first time today, right?” Yu asked, bringing her breakfast to her room.

  “Yes...” She replied, but she didn't like where the conversation was going.

  “In that case, my supervisor, Shui Gai, told me to tell you that you have to go to the guards before you leave. You will be assigned a bodyguard.”

  May sighed, but she had expected this.

  “So be it,” she replied, drinking her tea.

  Although she preferred to explore the city on her own, having her own bodyguard wasn't so bad.

  Apparently, they don't want anything to happen to me. After all, it would look bad if an official guest of the Yun Clan were kidnapped or something like that... No wonder they're trying to keep me safe.

  As soon as she finished the last bite of her breakfast, she went straight to the indicated place.

  She usually didn't venture into the area, as it was the base of the estate's guards, so she had no particular reason to go there.

  As she approached, she was stopped by an older man with a gray ponytail. As soon as she introduced herself and stated the purpose of her visit, however, she was ushered inside. They were already expecting her.

  “This man will be your escort,” said the older man, introducing her to the bodyguard. “His name is Zihan Jin, and he is a trustworthy fellow. You can confidently rely on him.”

  A fairly young but clearly muscular and completely bald man with tanned skin bowed to her. However, he looked a little annoyed. May thought that he probably didn't feel like playing the role of a babysitter.

  May decided to introduce herself to make at least a little good impression.

  “May Shang. I entrust myself into your care, Senior.” She also said, bowing her head.

  However, he merely nodded in agreement. Soon after, they went to the horse-drawn carriage that was to take them straight to the city center. Shortly thereafter, when the horses set off, Zihan Jin began his lecture.

  “Since you are under my care, we must establish certain rules,” he said harshly. “First, my words always take priority. When I say something, you must listen.”

  He briefly told her what she could and could not do.

  So much for my freedom.

  “...You can't venture too far. The Nova district and the Red Lantern district next to the center are particularly dangerous. You also shouldn't give money to homeless people. Furthermore, if someone accosts you, ignore them; I'll take care of it. Remember to keep a distance of no less than...”

  In short, she was to avoid danger and listen to him. May only occasionally would nod in agreement, but to tell the truth, he wasn't saying anything she didn't already know. Instead, she felt slightly drowsy as she listened to his words.

  And so their journey continued.

  “A popular method of scamming has recently been the snake trick... Most often, a man plays the flute, and then a snake comes out of his hat and...”

  “We're at our destination!” the driver suddenly announced.

  Finally. If I had to listen to him for even a minute longer, I would have fallen asleep.

  “Well, that should be enough for now, but remember that...” May opened the door and jumped out, not letting him finish.

  The man snorted in irritation and also left the carriage.

  May let out a slight gasp of delight as soon as she jumped out. The city center itself wasn't that special; she had seen much larger and prettier old city centers in her life. However, for the first time, she felt that civilization existed in this place and that not everywhere was still in the Stone Age.

  “So where are we going first?” asked the bald man, already getting impatient.

  May, however, ignored him for the moment and revelled in the sight of the beautifully decorated buildings and unusual architecture full of symmetry and colors of all kinds.

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  “Let's go for a walk first. Then we'll see.”

  The man rolled his eyes and sighed, no longer even trying to pretend he enjoyed it. May, however, was not really bothered and walked straight ahead. Zihan followed a few feet after her.

  She crossed the market square, dodging the crowds. It seemed that some event was taking place today, as it appeared to be extremely crowded.

  Although it is possible that the population density of this city is simply extremely high.

  She decided to ask her bodyguard, hoping that he would know something about it.

  “It seems to be extremely crowded here, is there something going on in the city today?” she asked, stopping suddenly under one of the trees that grew in front of a herb shop.

  “I'm not sure, I don't usually leave the estate. And when I do, I only go to the Inner Court's Main Base. I have no reason to walk among mortals in this city,” he said, dismissing her.

  Useless.

  Unfortunately, it seemed to be common for cultivators to treat mortals with superiority and even hostility. May found this attitude quite strange, especially since they themselves had once been mortals.

  Of course, May had a different perspective on this, as she herself had lived without superpowers for over two decades on Earth. Here, people began their training at the age of six. Few cultivators remembered a time when they themselves were the same as mortals.

  May rolled her eyes, feeling slightly uneasy. She didn't know why. It was probably because of this world's attitude towards mortality. None of the prominent cultivators she had met so far cared in the slightest about the deaths of mortals.

  Was their life really worthless because of their incapability to cultivate?

  She continued walking. Eventually, the crowds grew larger. Zihan Jin finally didn't leave her side, walking right behind her, afraid of losing her. May could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

  Despite this, she did not feel annoyed, but rather a sense of comfort. She did not even want to think about how frightening it must have been to walk alone in such a crowd as a small nine-year-old.

  Finally, May couldn't take it anymore and decided to ask a random passerby what was going on.

  “Excuse me...” she said, tapping the older woman on the back. “Do you know what all the commotion is about?”

  The woman turned toward them and visibly swallowed when she saw that they were cultivators. They stood out quite clearly from the rest because of their outfits.

  On the other hand, she felt a grip on her shoulder. She knew that Zihan was angry with her because she had broken one of his rules about talking to strangers.

  She ignored him again. She had dealt with too many people like him, and this was the best way to deal with them. She had bigger problems on her mind right now; she had to calm this lady down.

  “Don't be scared! I'm just asking out of pure curiosity,” she said solemnly, trying to maintain the elegance and grace that should surround a cultivator.

  The woman coughed twice and overcame her fear, well aware that not to have said anything would be a much worse offense than saying something out of place.

  “Today is the Wandering Turtle Festival...” she said uncertainly, still averting her gaze.

  “The Wandering Turtle Festival?” May looked at her bodyguard this time, not wanting to scare the poor woman any longer. “Have you heard anything about it, Senior?”

  “No,” he replied. He wasn't the talkative type.

  Useless.

  May looked back at the woman, who hastily began to explain.

  “It's in honor of our ancestors... An old legend about the founding of this city tells of a giant turtle that protected the local inhabitants from monsters from the mountains. One day, a dragon attacked the city, and the turtle protected it, but it cost him his own life. This is a festival in his honor...” she said.

  May wondered if the story was true. After all, she had seen stranger things in this world than giant turtles and dragons. So it wouldn't particularly surprise her.

  “So how is it celebrated?” she asked curiously, hoping she would have a chance to listen to live music.

  “Well, there are shops set up on the main street where you can buy food. There are also many other attractions... Music, performances, and at midnight, the traditional turtle dances will begin...”

  “We're definitely not going to hang around here until midnight,” Zihan suddenly interjected. “And thank you, ma'am. You can leave now.”

  The woman didn't need to be told twice, as she disappeared into the distance as soon as she heard this. No mortal seemed to want to talk to cultivators unless it was necessary.

  I am lucky that on the first day I can walk freely, the annual festival is taking place.

  She decided to go to the main street and enjoy what the world had to offer.

  She looked at something resembling a circus troupe dressed in funny colorful costumes. However, they did not resemble typical earthly circus performers, but rather something like Teletubbies. They performed chaotic but even slightly amusing movements.

  Zihan just sighed and watched the whole show with disgust and revulsion.

  After the show was over, the circus performer dressed in green began collecting money in his funky hat, and May decided to throw in a coin. Zihan just shook his head in embarrassment. He really seemed to be allergic to having fun.

  Then she went on and took a shashlik with something resembling meat and some type of vegetable similar to a pepper. However, it was not meat, but something rubbery, and the pepper was not a pepper either, but something surprisingly sweet.

  Eating her shashlik, she continued on her way, finally reaching a group of musicians. Two men were playing some unspecified instruments, the workings of which she did not understand, and a lady singing.

  “My cold Xixi, why were you born from the roses of Huang Mountain... The day came and the Lord has died... He has not given you grains of rice, but do not forget the delicacies of the mountains and these lips...” A woman with long hair sang.

  The words came out of her mouth, and the crowds stared at her. The song was surprisingly beautiful, and no translation could convey its true beauty and complexity. It told the story of a tragic love.

  When she finished singing, applause erupted, but May had already walked away. Such sad songs were not her style. Surprisingly, Zihan seemed to be slightly moved by the song, which threw May off balance a little.

  More time passed, and May enjoyed the festival. It was pleasant; she hadn't had the opportunity to spend time in such a nice way for a long time. She moved away from the main crowd and sat down on a bench.

  Suddenly, she heard a scream in the distance and frowned. She pretended not to hear anything.

  However, the scream came again, this time sounding more like crying. Zihan looked at May.

  “We should check it out,” he said indifferently.

  “Why? Your job is to protect me, not investigate random screams,” May said, already irritated by the fact that whenever she had a moment of peace, something bad always had to happen.

  Zihan Jin frowned and retorted, “You are a cultivator. We are guardians of the law.”

  Since when do you care about mortals? Just a moment ago, you were looking down on them with superiority. Hypocritical.

  May jumped to her feet.

  “So be it,” she said with a sigh.

  This is how my free time always ends.