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墨書 Inktalez
When the Pleasure Boat was about to arrive at Luoyang City, the boatman steered the vessel into Luoyang City.
Following the boatman's instructions, Kairuot and his companions transferred to a small boat to enter Luoyang City via the Luoshui River. As they entered Luoyang City along the Luoshui River, they were greeted by bustling streets, tea houses, taverns, shops, and workshops on both sides. The Luoshui River flowed past the Tianjin Bridge dock near the imperial palace and extended to the quieter suburbs outside the city, connecting with the Yellow River. Luoyang City was no less impressive than Chang'an; after disembarking at the floating bridge dock, Belt chose to stay at Litong Inn, which was close to South Market.
South Market in Luoyang was one of the more prosperous areas of Luoyang City. The four of them, disregarding their travel fatigue, began to wander around.
The shops in Luoyang City were not much different from those in Chang'an, filled with a dazzling array of goods in jewelry stores, silk shops, and daily necessities stores. However, these did not attract the four tourists; what they loved most was... food. Hearing from the innkeeper that the Luoyang Water Banquet was a traditional delicacy of Luoyang, they decided to skip dinner and specifically came for this banquet.
They arrived at Luoyang Old Street. The place was bustling with crowds, vendors calling out their wares, and shops lining the streets. There were several restaurants selling only the Luoyang Water Banquet, and many tourists came specifically for it. They finally chose a restaurant where they could sit down for a meal. This unusual water banquet left them feeling particularly full, so no one suggested going out for snacks afterward. Even Li Girl, who loved to eat the most, held her stomach and said, "There are too many dishes in this water banquet; it's almost enough to burst!"
Belt teased Li Girl deliberately: "There’s still Luo Li Yi Fang and Noodle Soup left to eat."
Li Girl shook her head: "Let’s come back tomorrow… Don’t worry; since I’m here in Luoyang, I’ll make sure to try all the delicious food!"
Kairuot wasn’t focused on the tasty food of Luoyang; he was pondering how to enter the imperial palace... He couldn’t shake off the resemblance between the little princess and Belden's appearance, as well as her strange ability to understand Martian language. He felt that this little princess must have some deep connection with Belden...
Thus, Kairuot was determined to find a way into the palace to locate the little princess and inquire about Belden's whereabouts. While everyone else enjoyed their meal at the banquet, he felt nothing of its flavor.
Late at night, when everyone was fast asleep, Kairuot climbed out of his inn room window alone and used his Lightness Skill to reach above the palace. The vast palace left Kairuot unsure of where to search; he could only check each hall one by one.
The Luoyang Palace was even larger than Chang'an's Daming Palace. Just among its grand halls were Wanshi Divine Palace, Zhenguan Hall, Luocheng Hall, Wucheng Hall, Eternal Life Palace, Gathering of Immortals Hall, Yaoguang Palace, Lichun Terrace, Heartfelt Pavilion, Spring Ascend Pavilion, and others. To inspect each one would take months; thus, Kairuot had to think critically.
Wanshi Divine Palace was the largest palace within Luoyang Palace and housed the most prominent area known as Heaven where the emperor resided; Kairuot dismissed this option first. Zhenguan Hall was one of the emperor's inner chambers; Luocheng Hall, Wucheng Hall, Eternal Life Palace, Gathering of Immortals Hall, and Yaoguang Palace were places where the emperor held court and listened to affairs of state—Kairuot could not go there either. Lichun Terrace, Heartfelt Pavilion, and Spring Ascend Pavilion also could not be where the little princess stayed... So where could she be?
After pondering for a long time with no clues, Kairuot had no choice but to resort to trickery. He sneaked into the emperor's palace and stole a set of the old emperor's dragon robe and crown to wear. He summoned the long-lost unicorn and dressed it up as well. Then, in the air, he saw a patrol of Royal Guards led by a general. He quickly called for the unicorn to descend rapidly, landing right in front of them and blocking their path.
The patrolling Royal Guards noticed someone obstructing their way and were about to draw their swords and ready their bows for battle. However, upon seeing the dazzling figure covered in golden light, with a person clad in a dragon robe riding on a peculiar one-horned beast, they realized this was a legendary celestial being. The celestial being appeared solemn and imposing, prompting the soldiers to kneel down and pay their respects.
The celestial being spoke in an unrefined Chang'an Dialect: "Little Princess... Little Princess, Little Princess..."
The general seemed to understand the celestial being's intent and told Kairuot, "Celestial Being! Are you looking for the Little Princess sent by the Celestial Realm?"
Kairuot had already learned to understand Chinese and nodded in imitation of the celestial being.
"The Little Princess originally resided in Western Separated City at Three Halls before moving to Fairy Abode in the northeast of the imperial city. Fairy Abode is a newly built villa surrounded by Jiuzhou Pool, easily found next to Jiuzhou Pool."
The general pointed in the direction where the Little Princess lived. Kairuot understood and rode off on the unicorn, soon disappearing into the night sky.
In reality, Kairuot did not go far; he flew to a distant forest, changed his clothes, bid farewell to the unicorn, and once again infiltrated the palace alone. This time he had a purpose: he needed to find Fairy Abode near Jiuzhou Pool.
As described by the Royal Guard's general, Fairy Abode was not difficult to find. It was situated between Ren Zhi Hall and Anfu Palace, exquisitely constructed, with its main gate facing Jiuzhou Pool directly. Kairuot arrived at Fairy Abode just as dawn was breaking; it was already early morning, and people were moving about in the courtyard. He had no choice but to decide to return that night.
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