Imperial Eunuch
Ji Li is was a common fantasy and cultivation enthusiast like in any other part of the world. He, like many others, even tho already 29, still liked to pretend to be in the ancient times. Using blankets as robes and towels as crown, he liked to wander around his home, pretending to be a royal. Then, switching his clothes, he acted like a general, a scholar and sometimes even an eunuch. He has always been a bit curious about them. He himself never thought he'd lose out being one, as dreams were far from reality. Even as a tall man with an average face and slighty trained body, since he has to regularly run to work, still he never found the 'love' everyone talked about since elementary school. Surely that's too early anyways but he truly felt like that. He, who had a fascination with that, had suddenly died doing his favourite thing. Yes, he pretended to be an Eunuch this time. And then, when he came to the bathroom and was about to take everything off, he suddenly fell because he didn't put back the towels he used to shower just a few hours before. Agh! Isn't that what his mom always told him? "Clean up or you will someday hurt yourself! Well, he died. Lucky for him, his soul dying while doing his favourite thing swifted off when it should've followed the river of oblivion and drank the soup of forgetting! ... Join my discord server for some artwork and discussion or questions regarding the novel: https://discord.gg/yGSvSG9
living shipment
After running and jumping for a few hours, she finally arrived at one of the outermost outposts of the Emerald Brilliance Empire. Although it wasn't the border city nor was it large, but this town wasn't far off any other small military outposts.
Arriving at the gates, some officer at the gate looked at her, then at a jade piece hanging from her outer garment at the side, nodded and let her pass through. Going inside, she instantly picked up the speed again and landed before a small two stories building, a rarity all around the town.
In front there was another guardian, who after doing the same as the previous one, also let her pass through. When the modestly clothed woman entered, she rushed and stood before a small cabin, meant for privacy and expensive shipments.
The counterpart on the other side inside the cabin, separated by a thin see through paper layer, only outlines on the other sides visible. Below the layer was a small wooden table spread from the left to the right of the cabin, below it a rectangular basket stretching to the ground, seemingly to pass things through from this side of the cabin to the other.
"Where to? Any special requirements? Do you have any special ID?" asked a male voice in a low tone.
Looking around the cabin and making sure there was soundproof formation, the modest lady nodded before taking out a jade plaque which formed a small hair bubble around the head of her, stretching towards the other person, who also nodded and didn't resist.
"Capital city, ministry of households, Eunuch Palace, Training Yard. Living being, just born." Then she took out another jade plaque, this time it was bright green with a white tree in the middle and a white glow all around. This was the Ice Forest Tribe's ID; normally only members of the tribe can get such a thing. The plaque hanging on her side is but a servant's plaque, a black one. The jade plaques are exclusive to nobility, and all Ice Forest Tribe's Members are part of the nobility, though all of the lowest rank. Still, it comes with a few special rights.
"The Courier Guild bows to the Ice Forest" said the other person while bowing, seemingly knowledgeable as there is not much nobility around the area "How may I help you? As per the Imperial Laws, any shipments are free when chosen the basic speed."
"We have basic speed, which means your package will be taken with the next available shipment,
speedy, which means your package will be taken on a fast carriage,
fast, which means a person will personally deliver on a fast horse,
spiritual, which means a cultivator will be delivering the package,
and finally flight, which means your package will be taken by a fast flying flight beast"
"Okay, I want flight speed, when can it be taken? There are nourishment formations in the basket for the living being, but it will only be living for 7 days healthily and die at the 10th. Can you bring it to the capital city in that time?"
"Miss, this will be difficult. Even with our fastest available flight beast, it would take at least 15days, and that's already fast considering the basic route would take 60 days, and that only if they stay at the main road all the time with only night breaks. Ehmm... how about I order a high-grade flight beast from the city? It would arrive in a few hours and might deliver the package in 10 to 11 days... Could you maybe... feed that thing beforehand?"
Thinking, the modest lady reached to the basket, pressed on the side which activated a shield and said "With this, it will survive till it reaches there. But it will be extremely tired and dangerous. Let me write a letter for it. Please order the high-grade flight beast. How much will that be?"
After shortly calculating the receptionist replied "Miss, since you have your own packaging, only the flight cost will be taken. As that is a high-grade flight speed beast, that would be 2.000.000 Essence Stones. Considering your noble plaque, a 10% discount will come in effect, reducing the cost to 1.800.000ES."
Gritting her teeth, as just 10ES are enough for a common family to survive a month and she as a servant, although of nobility, only earns 1.000 a month, 1.800.000 are way out of league for her. Still, she took out a small spatial bag out of her inner pocket, grabbed in and got 180 crystalised stones, clearly the form of a high-grade Essence Stone.
As she took the ES out, she put the basket, which was made of a special white-ish wood, along with the ES into the large rectangular basket. Trying to keep her calm, she looked back at the receptionist while he pulled at what seemed to be a rope, pulled out the ES, placed the basket in a large iron box, the ES into a special bag placed at the wall besides him in the cabin. He wrote on a sheet of paper which appeared to be designed as a receipt.
"Miss, here is your paper. You please push the lower end of the plaque on the marketplace. Rest assured that the order will be fulfilled in the given time, but as it is a living being that is transported, we take no risk in case of any accidents of natural order as we have warned and given out the needed time."
Nodding, the modest lady took the receipt and put it into her own bag, which she then returned to the inner pocket of hers, next to the hairpin she took out when she arrived in the Courier Guild.
Afterwards, she waited until a few hours later when she saw a large white crane fly from outside of the city into the courier station.
Again, she gritted her teeth as she thought 'This was nearly ALL the savings of Madam for a little thing! If only it wasn't for than Ji Chen. I hope she can come together with his lordships son and live better. That much ES could have made me life comfortably for the REST of my LIFE! But it's fine, madam will not forget me when she marries into the lordships family and I will not only have a higher pay, but also live in a mansion and command all the servants of a higher noble!'
Grinning, she took a last look as the white crane took off the station southwards. She sneered, as she obviously knew what the crane which was carrying an iron basket with the logo of the Courier's Guild, which was also a crane but one with a much larger wingspan flying above the clouds, meant.
As she took her last look, she took out her hairpin and rushed back to the shack in the woods where she cleaned and finally when her madam woke up, she smiled gently as though what she thought before was only a fleeting thought.
"Madam, it's done, here are the left ES. Madam, don't worry, 'IT' will surely be able to live a better life away from here, and so will you without 'IT'!"