“You don’t owe me anything. Lisa and I are good friends at school, so I simply did what I should have done.” Han Shuo saw that Emily and Chester had walked out with Lisa’s figure, draped in a black cloth, as they spoke.
“Let’s leave this area first.” Lawrence noticed Emily and Chester’s movements as he followed Han Shuo’s gaze. His eyes lit up as he spoke softly and turned to walk outside.
A lot procedures needed to be passed before entering the trading house, but it wasn’t so strict when leaving. Han Shuo and Lawrence didn’t meet any resistance as they followed behind Emily and Chester. Emily was escorted by two guards from the trading house and they stayed respectfully when Emily dismissed them at the door.
She was slightly surprised to see Lawrence appear by the carriage. Han Shuo maintained a calm expression on his face and said to Lawrence, “I made Madame Emily’s acquaintance at your place last time. I’ve been hired by her to take care of some things in Valen City.”
Lawrence seemed to understand some things, but didn’t say much. He flashed a friendly smile at Han Shuo and said, “This is between the two of you, so you don’t need to tell me anything. I think we should see how my cousin is doing first.”
He lifted the carriage curtains and the two boys entered. They’d just entered when a weeping Lisa threw herself into Han Shuo’s arms, sobbing her heart out, “Bryan, they killed my entire family. My father, mother, and grandfather are all dead!”
Lisa was heartbreakingly weak at this moment. Han Shuo patted her shoulder lightly and said in a soft voice, “You’re safe now. These people will get what’s coming to them.”
She hugged him fiercely, using all the strength in her body, as if wanting to prove that this moment was real. She stuck her pinky in her mouth and bit down on it, finally crying out in pain, “I’m not dreaming! I’m still alive. I want to get my revenge! I’m going to kill those brutal people!”
Lisa had always been a small terror at the Academy, but her entire being seemed to have undergone a change after such a drastic event in her life. The innocence on her face had been replaced by hatred, and it seemed like it was the only thing giving her the will to live in this moment.
“Lisa, just what happened? You must tell me in detail. I’ll obtain revenge for you.” Frosty, cold light shot from Lawrence’s eyes as he asked the wailing Lisa in a low voice.
Lisa finally seemed to realize that there was someone else in this carriage other than Han Shuo. She wiped away the tears on her face and looked at Lawrence, immediately choking up again, “Brother Lawrence, I don’t know what happened either, only that my father said my mother was sick and wanted me to return home to look after her.”
“I’d only just returned when I learned that there might be trouble at home. Mother wasn’t sick and father didn’t let me go home either. The next day, Calvert, that dog of the Gryphon Legion, brought men and rushed into our home. He killed and captured people everywhere. They’re all dead except for me. All dead!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get revenge for you.” Lawrence promised Lisa with a darkened face.
“Help me kill Calvert! You have to kill him for me!” Lisa murmured helplessly, looking at Lawrence first and then fixing her stricken gaze on Han Shuo.
Her entire family and all her kin had been extinguished in the span of a second. The impact from this stimulus was too much for Lisa. This also made the usually bullying Lisa reveal a helpless side of her that caused others to want to protect her.
“I’ll help you.” Han Shuo was silent for a moment beneath Lisa’s stare, but he finally nodded his head solemnly and promised her.
“We should thoroughly discuss things first if you want to kill Calvert.” Emily suddenly said lowly outside the carriage and then stuck her head in to look at Han Shuo and Lawrence. She said, “We should leave this place at the very least.”
“Lisa, come with me.” Lawrence ducked out of the carriage and then nodded at the two men standing coolly off to the side. The swordsman departed and came back leading a carriage. Lawrence dragged Lisa in with him and the carriage began to move slowly after the groom cracked his whip.
“Follow him.” Han Shuo told Chester outside and then turned to look back at Emily with some apology. “This may conflict with your plan some, but I have to do so.”
“I understand. Besides, killing Calvert was our original plan anyways. This causes no tangent from our original plan, and we’ve gained some additional assistance, no?” Emily first smiled slightly and then spoke a bit gravely. “However, although Lawrence is the son of the finance minister, his two followers seem quite strong. In addition, Lawrence seems to be acting a bit weirdly. How did you get to know him? Do you know of his background?”
Shaking his head, Han Shuo hesitated before responding, “Master Candide once told me that Lawrence’s identity was complex. He said that I may land in trouble if I grow too close with him. However, I’ve been in contact with Lawrence for a while and feel that this fellow is quite alright.”
“Candide that old fox! If he knows of Lawrence’s identity and didn’t tell you, that means that Lawrence’s identity is really not that simple. It looks like I have some new questions to ask my brother.” Emily spoke with a furrowed brow and was a bit perplexed.
The carriage that Lawrence was in suddenly stopped and he stuck his head out. He opened his mouth when the carriage that Han Shuo and Emily were level with his own, “Bryan, I think this matter has no direct relation with Madame Emily. If you’re thinking of her behalf, you should try to make sure she’s not embroiled in this.”
Han Shuo blanked momentarily and exchanged glances with Emily within the carriage. Emily frowned and mused, before speaking with Han Shuo, “Go with them and see what the preparations are. Come find me at the rally point afterwards. It’ll be a good time for me to go back and investigate Lawrence.”
Nodding to Emily, Han Shuo alighted from Emily’s carriage and walked towards Lawrence, saying with a smile, “Your considerations are quite thorough, it’s true that there’s no need to involve Madame Emily.”
“My apologies Madame Emily, but you know I’m doing this for your own good. The Aschers don’t fear anyone in Valen City, so there are some things that you won’t be able to become involved with, even with your status.” Lawrence called out softly to Emily’s carriage and then ordered those in front of him, “Let’s go.”
When Han Shuo entered the carriage, he noted that Lisa seemed to have calmed down after Lawrence’s consolement. Lawrence didn’t say much and mused on certain things with a darkened face. Han Shuo didn’t know how to comfort Lisa, so he remained silent along the way.
The carriage stopped in front of a house and Lawrence said gently to Lisa, “You go and rest in that house, Bryan and I will be going out to take care of a few things and will return soon. Don’t worry, you’ll be very safe inside the house.”
Having suffered through such a painful disaster, Lisa was much more malleable than usual. She nodded docilely and was helped down by Lawrence. Lawrence knocked on the door, causing a person to walk out. This person was hidden in the shadows, and Han Shuo immediately discovered that he was the expert that had once spied on Clark.
“Escort her in and tell those inside to protect her. You’ll be coming with me.” Lawrence returned back to the carriage after giving his orders, with the man walking back outside after Lisa went in. He sat down in front of Han Shuo and Lawrence without saying a word.
Han Shuo took a good look at him as they sat face to face. He discovered that this man looked ordinary, and there was nothing overly special about his face at all. However, it was enough to prove that his strength wasn’t ordinary given that he could tail earth rider Clark without being discovered.
“His name is Lucky. He’s an assassin. The two with the groom outside are senior swordsman Divac and earth major adept mage Adela. We’re going to go kill Calvert now.” Lawrence first introduce his men to Han Shuo and then suddenly announced that they were going to go kill Calvert.
“What sort of plan do you have?” Han Shuo was silent at first and then spoke up in inquiry.
“Calvert is the loyal dog of Chief Ascher of the Gryphon Legion and is in charge of distribution of rations within Valen City. He’s also an officer in the Gryphon Legion and is thirty or forty years old. He only had one son called Caernand who once tried to rape Lisa, but Lisa chopped off his manhood instead. Thus, the two families formed an irresolvable feud. As a senior knight, Calvert has scores of servants at home. Many of them are part of the Gryphon Legion and aren’t too hard to take care of.” Lawrence slowly explained all of this, which proved that he must have thoroughly investigated him prior to all this.
“I happened to receive news that Clark has already returned to Valen City and seems to have arrived at Calvert’s home, seeming to bring some sort of instructions from his father.” Lucky, who’d remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up at this time.
Shock appearing on Lawrence’s face, his brow furrowed tight. Han Shuo’s heart also leapt as a thick killing intent appeared on his face.
Lawrence’s hesitant expression explained that he’d become uncertain with Clark’s appearance. However, having entered the true demon realm, plus the aid of the little skeleton and necromancy magic, Han Shuo was willing to go head to head with Clark. However, he too wasn’t certain if he could beat an earth rider, so he remained silent.
“Uncle Lucky, how confident would you be in killing Clark if you made a move?” Lawrence opened his mouth to ask the assassin Lucky after remaining silent, waiting for an answer.
“I’ve roughly fifty percent certainty.” Lucky replied indifferently.
Nodding, Lawrence said, “Alright, then you make the first move. I trust that with your strength, you’ll be able to retreat safely even if you don’t succeed. We can then judge based off Clark’s condition to see if we need to make a move as well.”
“Mm, I think there’s no way that Clark will be able to find me if I want to leave!” Lucky responded.
“I think if I coordinate with Mr. Lucky, I’ll be able to increase the odds by thirty percent.” Han Shuo looked at Lucky and suddenly spoke.
“Bryan, are you certain you won’t be discovered and won’t affect Uncle Lucky?” Lawrence’s face was grave as he looked solemnly at Han Shuo.
“I feel that my inclusion will bring him aid. If you believe in me, I’d like to make a move with him.” Han Shuo said seriously as he looked back at Lawrence.
“Alright, Uncle Lucky, take him with you. Give up halfway through if things won’t do. We can always find another opportunity.” Lawrence thought for a moment and spoke to the assassin.
“Alright!” Lucky responded and looked at Han Shuo. “We’ll leave immediately. If Calvert’s house catches on fire later, that means the mission’s a go and you can come charging in. Otherwise, don’t come near us.”
“Don’t worry, I know what to do. Be careful.” Lawrence nodded.
“Let’s go.” Lucky looked at Han Shuo and jumped down softly from the carriage. He jumped up and landed on a roof that was three meters up without making a sound.
Han Shuo took a deep breath in and concentrated, focusing his magical yuan to employ the “Art of the Demonic Ninth Heavens” to take a great leap as well. His body flew out in midair as he jumped even higher than Lucky, also landing silently beside the assassin.
“Eh!” Lucky looked back at Han Shuo in surprise as the corners of his indifferent face tugged upwards. He said faintly, “Not bad, perhaps you really can assist me.”
The old assassin didn’t look at Han Shuo afterwards as his body started threading through the roofs agilely, seeming to glide through them like a wild ghost, making Han Shuo greatly admire his agility.
However, having already reached the true demon realm, Han Shuo’s agility and pliability were just as extraordinary. Making use of his supernatural five senses, he followed closely behind Lucky and didn’t fall behind at all.
Comments