"Hic. Dis wine is so gewd~ Hic." The fifth princess muttered with a drunk look. Her face was beet-red and she could hardly open her dazed eyes.

Beside her was the fourth prince who had a much better complexion. Although he was in a much better condition compared to his sister, he still had an intoxicated look after drinking the Frozen Origin. "Hehe. My head feels heavy. I think I want to sleep here." He said while resting his head on the table.

Prince Arslan's eyes glinted when he saw that the two were slowly losing their consciousness. He then whispered something to one of his soldiers. The soldier's eyes turned grim when he heard the second prince's words and he immediately went out of the store with an invisible dark aura revolving around him.

Prince Arslan smirked for one last time before he resumed talking with the rest of his men with his usual amiable expression.

The customers inside laughed when they saw that the two were already drunk after only drinking a bottle of wine. They didn't know what wine they ordered, but the customers had an idea of which one it was after looking at the state of the fourth prince and the fifth princess.

"With their strength, they can't finish an entire bottle of Deep Sea Spring Dew. In that case, they must have ordered the new wine! It's the second most expensive wine sold at the moment, so it should be strong considering how it knocked down Prince Dante and Princess Sylvia who have considerable levels of cultivation." Liu Xiufeng muttered in amusement as he glanced at the fourth prince and the fifth princess who now had their heads planted on their table.

"Let's try it out ourselves next time."

"Sure!"

The mercenaries talked and laughed as they continued drinking their wines.

Sitting in front of Jiu Shen was an old man wearing a straw hat and thick grey robes. He sighed when he saw Prince Dante and Princess Sylvia who were slowly drifting into their dreamlands.

"You should take them back to the imperial palace before it's too late." Jiu Shen glanced at the man in front of him as he spoke. He knew that the man was Defender Duanmu in disguise.

"Wine Master Jiu's eyes are truly piercing, but...I don't understand what you mean." Defender Duanmu raised his straw hat to take a look at Jiu Shen's expression only to see the latter's usual indifference.

"You'll know soon. Now, take them with you so that their seats will be vacated. There are still more customers waiting outside." Jiu Shen added calmly.

Defender Duanmu smiled and shook his head. The former was already used to Jiu Shen's uncaring nature that he was no longer annoyed with it. He then bowed at Jiu Shen and went straight to the fourth prince and the fifth princess.

Prince Arslan eyed him with a cold look, but he hurriedly retracted his gaze when he felt that Defender Duanmu was about to glance in his direction.

Defender Duanmu looked at the second prince for a brief moment before he ordered his men who were stationed outside the wine store to get the fourth prince and the fifth princess.

Ice glanced at their retreating figure with a disinterested look and wriggled her fat ass to get a much better position as she spoke. "They will surely die if you leave them be. The soldier that went out earlier was an 8th-rank Divine realm demon while the old man is only at the peak of the 7th-rank Emperor realm. Meow."

Jiu Shen ignored Ice, but he was thinking to himself. 'If I leave them alone, I'll lose a few patrons. This isn't good for my business.'

"Hestia, come here." Jiu Shen called out telepathically.

Hestia was surprised at the sudden call of Jiu Shen, but she still walked towards him.

"Master, what can I do to help you?" Hestia bowed her head as she asked in a respectful tone.

Jiu Shen's indifferent eyes hovered on Hestia's face making the latter a bit self-conscious.

"Hestia, follow the old man and protect them from danger. Make sure that they return to the imperial palace safely." Jiu Shen said.

Hestia knitted her eyebrows and was curious about the reason for her master's order. Her cultivation level is already at the mid stage of the 8th-rank Divine realm. Since her master told her to protect someone, then there should be an enemy who's at least on the same level as her.

"I understand, master. Leave this to me. I'll make sure that they'll arrive back to the imperial palace safe and sound." Hestia said confidently.

Jiu Shen nodded his head and warned her. "Be careful. You're not facing a human."

Hestia's expression turned grim as she nodded her head.

"You may go." Jiu Shen closed his eyes as he spoke those words.

Hestia bowed as she swiftly left the store.

"Will she be fine? She's not just facing a normal demon. That guy should be a demon general considering how thick his demonic aura is. Meow." Ice said while looking at Jiu Shen's face with her round eyes.

Jiu Shen's lips curved upwards and said. "Hestia isn't just a normal human either..."

"Stop acting mysterious, you stinky human! Meow." Ice waved her paws but it was easily blocked by Jiu Shen.

* * *

"Sigh! These two kids will surely get another round of scolding from his majesty. But at least nothing much happened inside the store." Defender Duanmu muttered to himself as he urged his horse to walk forward.

Beside him was an imperial carriage where Prince Dante and Princess Sylvia were resting. A group of imperial guards was also protecting the carriage, their expressions rigid and careful.

These soldiers can be considered as elites even among the imperial guards and there were more than ten of them encircling the carriage. Each of them had the strength of a 5th-rank Spirit realm expert!

Jiu Shen's store was located in a remote alley and there were hardly any people walking by. It was only around Jiu Shen's store where there are lots of people loitering.

Defender Duanmu frowned as he looked at the quiet surroundings. He had an ominous feeling when he sensed a cold breeze. "This sensation... An expert? Everyone, prepare for combat! We have company!" Defender Duanmu shouted as he glared in a certain direction.

"Clap! Clap! Clap! Impressive! Your title as one of the Silver Wing Empire's defender is not just for show indeed." A man dressed in long black robes walked forward as he spoke in a condescending tone after clapping his hands sarcastically.

Behind the man was ten other people dressed in similar attire.

Defender Duanmu and the imperial guards hurriedly surrounded the imperial carriage while glaring warily at the newcomers.

"Who are you people? Since you already know our identities, then please take your leave!" Defender Duanmu said as he got off his mount.