"To think the Jia Ma Empire had grown to such a scale..."
Xiao Fan stood outside the Imperial Capital, gazing at the sprawling city walls in the distance, and stopped in his tracks.
The old city gate from his memories still stood, but several broad avenues had been added on either side. Caravans carrying medicinal ingredients rolled slowly into the city along the bluestone road, passage tokens from the Jia Ma Imperial Family and the Mittel Family hanging from their shafts. Farther away, a tall tower rose amid rows of buildings, fire-guiding formations inlaid along its walls. Wisps of pale medicinal vapor drifted on the breeze, filling the entire street with a faint fragrance of herbs and trees.
Beside the gate, a one-armed old soldier was helping a child secure the little herb basket on his back. The child stamped his feet impatiently at how slowly he tied it, but the old soldier did not get upset. He merely smiled and patted the boy's head.
Xiao Fan watched for a moment, a smile gradually gathering in his eyes.
It seemed the medicinal pills he had sent to the Imperial City all those years ago had not gone to waste.
"Masterrr, you're back!"
A bright, clear voice suddenly rang through the crowd.
The soldiers guarding the gate had just begun to salute when a pale purple figure darted around the street corner. The girl was running so fast that the hem of her robe brushed a medicine cart, nearly knocking over a bamboo basket. She hurriedly steadied it, apologizing over and over, but her eyes never left the road outside the city.
Two purple ribbons tied her light-colored hair into twin ponytails that bounced gently behind her shoulders with every step. Her features had matured, losing the awkward youthfulness of their