GDK 700: It is time
All throughout the journey, Han Shuo was left to tend to the seriously injured Carmelita. After taking medicinal pellets that Han Shuo had personally refined, Carmelita’s injuries started recovering rapidly. Even the aura of coldness in her body had been diluted.
When Carmelita learned that Han Shuo could produce medicine even more miraculous than any medical practitioner could even though he was not a physician, she thought that Han Shuo was definitely a treasure chest. She had personally experienced the magic of Han Shuo’s medicinal pellets on her wounds. She repeatedly inquired with Han Shuo about topics of this aspect all along the journey home.
The art of refining medicinal pellets wasn’t solely a scope of demonic arts and therefore Han Shuo wasn’t afraid that Gu Tian Xie the Exalted Demonlord’s formidable enemy might find him through learning this. He concocted a mystifying story, saying that it was an old pharmacist on Profound Continent who had imparted the knowledge to him. Carmelita took his story to be true and she was amazed to learn that people of extraordinary talent could also be found on low-level material planes.
The distance between the Miasma Cloud Mountain Range and the City of Shadows was enormous. Han Shuo, carrying Carmelita, took around half a month to complete the trip. During this period of time, the two managed to bond rather easily. Carmelita would click her tongue in wonder when Han Shuo told her some interesting stories about Profound Continent, occasionally mixed with a few bits of his experiences back on Earth. Her disconsolate mood from losing all her troops gradually improved.
After conversing with Carmelita, Han Shuo learned that because of her unattractiveness and her irascible temper, she had almost no friends. The few friends she had were all females, one of whom was Donna. Most males would either keep a distance from her or merely regard her as somewhat of a master figure.
Han Shuo also learned that Carmelita, being very self-aware about her appearance, spent all her time and effort on cultivation. Then, perhaps due to prolonged social isolation, she became more and more short-tempered and eccentric. On top of her extraordinary strength and outstanding status, not many would dare to make contact with her. Hence, she slowly became an alien in the City of Shadows – an ugly woman that everyone feared.
But during this period of time, having interacted with the injured Carmelita, Han Shuo discovered that she was actually a decent character.
During their journey back to the City of Shadows, during the short few weeks, the two had become good friends who could talk about anything with each other. While attending to Carmelita’s injuries, Han Shuo would often take the opportunity to consult her about the energy of destruction. Carmelita did not know that Han Shuo also cultivated in the energy of destruction. Although she found it strange that Han Shuo would ask her questions about it, she explained her cultivation experiences to Han Shuo in detail.
It was during this time that Han Shuo came to realize why Carmelita was known to be a prodigy in the cultivation of the energy of destruction. During the short few weeks time, from this highgod of destruction, Han Shuo gained a higher level of understanding towards the energy of destruction. Many things that previously confused him suddenly became clear to him.
On one of those days, during a discussion with Carmelita, Han Shuo’s avatar of destruction that had been stuck in mid-stage lowgod realm came to a sudden enlightenment. It immediately sank into a meditative state inside the Cauldron of Myriad Demon.
Time seemed to be speeding by for the two of them. On the seventeenth day, Han Shuo and Carmelita arrived at the City of Shadows without even realizing it.
In Carmelita’s presence, Han Shuo did not meet any resistance throughout the journey. He went directly into the Sainte Residence with her.
The Sainte Residence was located at the center of the City of Shadows. It was the official residence of the City Lord. As the most ancient family clan in the City of Shadows, the Sainte Residence was even more expansive than the Lavers’. A huge ruckus was immediately set off in the House of Sainte when the divine guards saw Han Shuo carrying the injured Carmelita inside by her arm.
All of a sudden, the entire House of Sainte was packed. Those elders of the House of Sainte and some divine guards hurried to surround Carmelita and anxiously asked about her condition.
Carmelita was not a beautiful woman, but her extraordinary strength and high position in her family clan, on top of the fact that she is the daughter of the City Lord, meant she was highly regarded by her family members. When they saw that she was heavily injured, the house was in a frenzy.
That was all until the patriarch of the House of Sainte, the incumbent City Lord of the City of Shadows, Wallace Sainte arrived hurriedly. Only then did they quiet down.
Wallace Sainte was Carmelita’s father. As a late-stage highgod cultivating in the energy of darkness, Wallace carried an imposing, majestic demeanor. He had lustrous black hair around an inch long. His eyes, deep gray in color, glistened with divine radiance. He stood more than two meters in height and had a robust build. When he stepped into the room, it was as though a mountain had entered there with him.
“What happened?” As soon as he came over, Wallace held Carmelita with his big hands and asked in a deep voice.
“There is a piece of Heaven’s Gift in the Miasma Cloud Mountain Range, our intel knew nothing about this. When I brought men there, we ran into two highgods…” Carmelita anxiously gave an account of the whole event to her father.
After Carmelita finished her recount, Wallace put on a grave expression and said, “You stay at home to treat your injuries. Leave the rest to me, I will send men to take care of it!”
“No, I want to be there, I want to watch them die before my eyes!” Carmelita replied with a stern voice. It was obvious that she felt responsible for the death of her men.
“I have said that you will stay at home to treat your injuries, don’t make me repeat myself. You are not to go anywhere until you are back in good health!” Wallace straightforwardly denied the request. He turned around to instruct a gentle looking middle-aged man, “Brother, keep a close eye on her!”
“Understood, Elder Brother,” Wallace’s brother Andre nodded and continued, a complacent smile on his face, “Don’t worry, I will make sure that she recovers at the fastest speed possible. You may remain focused on your tasks.”
Wallace became much more at ease and nodded after hearing his brother’s words. When he was about to leave and start taking care of the matter, he suddenly saw Han Shuo who was standing in a corner, glancing all around in boredom. Wallace stared blankly for a moment and after a brief moment of thinking, he asked in an amicable manner, “You must be Bryan?”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Han Shuo felt rather overwhelmed and excited to have Wallace, the most powerful person in the City of Shadows initiating a conversation with him. However, he did not reveal any signs of panic. He nodded calmly and replied in a manner neither servile nor overbearing.
Wallace was rather astonished with Han Shuo’s coolness. After nodding at Han Shuo, Wallace continued with a smile, “Thank you for rescuing Carmelita. Keep this emblem. If you run into any sort of trouble in the future, take this emblem to my House of Sainte and you will have our assistance,”
“Thank you,” Han Shuo replied casually as he received the emblem from Wallace. The emblem that had the symbol of the House of Sainte carved on it was made of some unknown material. It was deep-black, heavy, and appeared extremely refined.
“Alright, I have some matters to attend to and will be leaving. My daughter doesn’t have many friends. If you have the time, feel free to frequent our residence. I believe she will be most welcoming of your presence,” Wallace said before he rapidly disappeared from Han Shuo’s sight with a group of solemn-looking divine guards.
As the man wielding the most power in the City of Shadows, Wallace was infamous for his vicious and merciless ways. Against his enemies, he would usually not stop until they and their associates were completely exterminated. He had eradicated no less than tens of family clans, if not hundreds. It could even be said that he had risen above others by climbing a mountain made of the bodies of his adversaries. He was definitely no benevolent character.
However, towards his friends, Wallace was generous and anything but stingy. He would be very friendly towards his allies who had no conflicting interest with him. This was also the factor contributing to his steady grip over the City of Shadows for so many years.
After Wallace left the party, Andre started to repeatedly persuade Carmelita with a smile. Carmelita too knew that although her father usually pampered her, once he came to a decision, no one could change his mind. Seeing that her father Wallace had left, Carmelita resigned to the decree after loudly grumbling for a while. Andre then started arranging for medical practitioners to examine Carmelita.
“No need to invite any physicians. Bryan has already stabilized my injuries. I just need to recover using divine essences and within one year, I will fully recover!” Carmelita said impatiently, telling Andre not to waste time on the unnecessary arrangement.
Han Shuo laughed bitterly in his mind when he heard Carmelita say that she wanted to use divine essences to heal her injuries. He thought to himself how lavish the life of a large family clan was, so much so that they could afford to use divine essences to heal their strength and injuries.
But little did Han Shuo know that that was only because Carmelita was a special character in the House of Sainte. A person who could cultivate to highgod realm within such a short time, even with a face uglier than the devil, would receive the most exceptional treatment. Other members of her family, however, might not even get the opportunity to increase their strength using divine essences.
Andre obviously wasn’t too confident about her claim. He advised Carmelita, “It doesn’t hurt to have a physician examine your condition. After all, that friend of yours isn’t a professional medical practitioner.”
“Uncle, you are so annoying. I came back here with Bryan and I know him better than you do,” Carmelita then impatiently showed Andre the wound on her abdomen and said, “Look. Using Bryan’s medicine, my wound has completely healed in just ten or so days! Can any regular physician accomplish this?”
The mightier a god was, the longer it would take them to recover from injuries. Carmelita, as a highgod, would need at least one month to heal from the puncture wound on her divine body, even when treated by the best physician. The medicinal pellet that Han Shuo made took just half the time.
“What?!” Andre immediately cried out in surprise when he saw that wound that was now a scar on Carmelita’s stomach. He looked up and down at Han Shuo in disbelief before he asked, “Er, Bryan, you are Bryan, right? Did you treat this wound?”
“Stop being so wordy, uncle. Quickly get me the divine essence. I want to recover from my internal injuries right now!” Carmelita impatiently hastened. Andre gave Han Shuo a couple more looks in silence before he nodded and left.
Han Shuo discovered that when Carmelita asked Andre to fetch divine essences for her, some of the members of the Sainte Family standing around her revealed looks of envy. It appeared that these people who were not born gifted didn’t receive the same treatment as Carmelita.
“Bryan, why don’t you stay in my Sainte Residence for some time? I will properly thank you after I have recovered from my injuries,” Carmelita invited.
“I think not. I’m not used to living in a big family clan. However, I will be among the City of Shadows for some time. I will look for you when you have fully recovered.” There would surely be all kinds of troubles to be met inside a family clan as ancient and influential as this. Han Shuo was most afraid of any conflict now and therefore rejected the invitation.
“You rascal, don’t wait until I have fully recovered. Come visit me every one or two months. Just come and chat with me. I don’t really have any friends in the City of Shadows that I can truly talk to. Even the few friends that I have seemed to have some other intentions when interacting with me. You, however, are definitely an exception! Remember to come to visit me frequently – don’t make me look for you!” Carmelita did not insist that Han Shuo stay but demanded that he visit while looking at him with threatening eyes.
Han Shuo forced a smile and nodded, agreeing to her demand. Carmelita responded with satisfied, mischievous laughter and let Han Shuo leave.
After having interacted with her for some time, Han Shuo realized that she treated him without any ulterior motive and sincerely as her friend. This made Han Shuo feel very comfortable around her.
Although Donna could also be considered as Han Shuo’s friend and the two were quite close, Han Shuo knew that Donna did so because she wanted to rope him into the Lavers Family. Her passionate and friendly treatment was mostly out of his own value, unlike Carmelita who seemed to have no underlying objective.
Han Shuo sighed thinking about this. He thought it was no wonder even the few friends that Carmelita had did not befriend her without any other goal. She was the prodigy of the House of Sainte and the daughter of the City Lord. It was impossible for her friends not to think about taking advantage of her at all.
With Carmelita’s instruction, no one in the Sainte Family obstructed Han Shuo from leaving. Letting his thoughts run wild, Han Shuo had unknowingly walked onto the broad streets of the City of Shadows. Suddenly, as he started wondering what he would do next, he sensed that he was being hailed by Little Skeleton.
Han Shuo hadn’t heard from Little Skeleton for a long time and he felt very happy to receive the hailing. He went to an average gymnasium, rented a field, and summoned Little Skeleton.
“Father, we have conquered the entire Netherworld. We have discussed for a short while and we all feel that it is time for us to progress to this world!” As soon as Little Skeleton stood still before Han Shuo, he started talking in the sharp and clear voice of a boy, leaving Han Shuo shocked.