Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 838: Chapter 634: The Underground Waves of the Shulong Empire

Hill didn’t ponder too much; no fool would think they had the ability to surveil an Archmage. He thought the An family was merely concerned about outsiders knocking on their door.

The An family didn’t dare to block, but at least they needed to know who it was.

Moreover, for Hill, who was accustomed to the presence of guides, having someone to lead the way was also advantageous, so he readily agreed.

Even though Farna reported that those two guards didn’t seem like lower-level martial artists, they likely had become specialized advanced profession weapon masters of the Shoulong.

However, Hill had read some introductions about this profession, and its level and ability were roughly equivalent to a level 22 Knight, unlikely to pose any threat to him.

After all, with his six Puppet Knights forming a Knight Formation, they could all counter those two.

The An family probably just didn’t want the person they sent to be of a lower level than Hill’s followers, rather than harbor any ulterior motives.

Farna could handle the affair of entertaining these two weapon masters well, and Hill didn’t pay much attention after hearing a few words.

He released a two-story Elf Cottage entwined with vines and climbing plants by a picturesque section of the lakeside in the backyard, then cheerfully sat on the widely open second floor window, admiring the sunset over the lotus-filled landscape of Jiangnan.

The North should have already entered the dead of winter by this time, yet the south of the Shulong Empire remained as warm as spring. This Jiangnan was even closer to the south than the past world Hill knew, making winter incredibly comfortable.

Additionally, due to the big ice mountain, even summer wasn’t hot, with seasonal temperature variations not exceeding 10 degrees.

Thus, Haidong Province’s wealth wasn’t just because of maritime trade but because they never lacked food, much like the flowers and plants in this backyard, which thrived without any gardener’s care.

Unlike the carefully crafted refined garden, the large lake outside the courtyard featured a lush lakeshore with reeds, yellow ducks, terns, cranes, and some swans enjoying the lake, happily playing in the water.

Hill lay on a recliner, inhaling the faint fragrance of flowers, watching the little fairies flying up and down in the backyard in search of their favorite blooms, feeling utterly serene.

He couldn’t help but close his eyes, reaching back into his memories amid this familiar scent.

It was a bit difficult.

The Little Flower Fairies were quite content with the garden filled with blooming flowers, striving to make them even more splendid, while chirpily deciding which flower’s nectar they wanted come dawn.

Hill smiled helplessly, yet amidst their rapid chatter, he unconsciously drifted into a dream.

Although the past made him nostalgic, reality was equally beautiful.

When Hill awoke in the morning light, he almost felt he saw that beautiful lake again with its ’emerald lake connecting cascades, a scenic wonderland unfolds.’

He sighed softly; the picturesque scene of multicolored luminescence over the emerald lake, the snow-dance over the sword cliffs, all were scenes he might never see again. The terrifying earthquake spared the surrounding mountains, but surely those shallow lake streams no longer existed.

Hill gently stood up and slowly walked to the lower floor.

Unlike the pavilion-like upper floor, the lower level of the Elf Cottage was the living area; on the clothes rack outside the bathroom, Farna had already hung a set of clothes similar to the robe he was wearing.

Except the color had turned to dark green.

Hill didn’t recall ever making such clothing, so he presumed Farna made it overnight. He couldn’t help but glance at the Life Golem following behind, giving her a questioning look.

”Sir,” Farna said solemnly, ”along the way I noticed that brown and gray are the most commonly used colors by Shoulong commoners. Although you don’t care about these status differences, your trading partners do.

Yesterday, An Ran secretly glanced at your robe numerous times, even just before leaving, he couldn’t help but take a few more looks.

I think he insisted on assigning you two guards to prevent certain individuals from mistaking Sir for a commoner and offending you.”

Farna was the intelligent puppet originally gifted to him by Fran, initially not very wise. Although her learning capability was excellent, she was visibly wooden, only capable of simplistic speech.

Only her learning ability was strong. Although due to lack of energy, she could only do some domestic work, yet she had become an exceptionally outstanding maid.

However, her considerations were rather domestic. Hill knew he could only take half of Farna’s words.

But... did An Ran really notice his clothing color?

Hill did indeed notice that the merchant had been secretly looking at him before he left, and only later did he remember to dispatch the guards.

He nodded, deciding to follow Farna’s advice to change his attire!

”Are those pockets made of Crystal Stone fabric?” Hill asked casually.

”Yes,” Farna said earnestly, ”List instructed that the pockets and hood linings on your clothes should all be made of Crystal Stone fabric.”

Hill nodded and promptly washed up and changed clothes.

When An Ran arrived, he was accompanied by many young guards carrying large boxes.

Those guards left immediately after placing the boxes down.

These were the lowest-level martial artist apprentices, only strong in terms of physical power. But when it comes to moving goods, the An family, not being the royal family, didn’t dare assign martial artists to do it.

Apprentices responsible for managing goods at the Treasure Pavilion were naturally trustworthy. However, being young, they tended to talk too much, and An Ran didn’t want these guys going back and spreading gossip, so he didn’t plan on letting them see Hill.

But sending them away was also troublesome! An Ran could only bend down and open each box cover by himself.

When Farna came over with the inventory list, she saw a round, chubby backside sticking out in mid-air.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, ”Mr. An Ran, shouldn’t the attendants handle this?”

An Ran sprang up abruptly, but his overly bulky body got stuck between two boxes, leaving him awkwardly kicking the box in front of him with his foot.

Farna quickly called the six Puppet Knights, allowing An Ran to extricate himself.

However, as a big merchant, An Ran had always been thick-skinned, so he calmly assisted Farna in checking the goods.

What was the big deal? Besides, Mr. Polanio’s maid wouldn’t tell anyone else. As for what happens when they return to the Ferun Great Land, heh~ who over there would bother discussing the embarrassment of a Shoulong Merchant?

With the help of those knights, Farna quickly finished the inventory and smoothly exchanged resources with An Ran.

An Ran blissfully accepted the gemstone ring with its massive spatial capacity: such storage rings were seldom available for trade in the Ferun area. Even those Archmages only used them to exchange for top-level resources with sorcerers.

Even in the An family, only the Family Head possessed one that was smaller than this.

On regular outings, they used storage boxes, much like the ones he brought along. Although made from wood with natural space, they could only expand the internal space by five times, yet this was already a treasure only the top-tier merchant guilds could possess.

The An family’s Treasure Pavilion items, though nice, were just luxury items in the eyes of those Archmages, not worthy of exchanging for such top-tier treasures.

An Ran really didn’t expect that when he saw the storage rings in the warehouse, and nonchalantly tested his luck, the Tower Spirit casually agreed to count the ring as part of the payment!

A storage ring accounted for with gold! If it weren’t for Liszt only agreeing to give him one, An Ran could even forego the mithril that An Yanfei Young Master wanted!

However, all of An Ran’s happiness ended with Hill, freshly dressed and ready to go out.

He could only roar internally: that gray-brown robe from yesterday was great! Why change!

If one could say that Archmage Polanio looked like a great beauty in that outfit, then now with the dark green highlighting his fair complexion, An Ran would dare say he is a peerless beauty.

Shoulong people have always considered tall and fair to be beautiful, and Hill embodied every aspect of their aesthetic preference.

An Ran felt he couldn’t smile anymore. He desperately recalled where the notorious top-tier scions of Haidong Province were recently so he could notify their families in advance.

High officials’ children from noble clans, notoriously fearless, might dare to take action even knowing that Archmages are beings over level 20, as demon-sealing objects were something no one lacked.

Moreover, they’re accustomed to getting their subordinates to take the fall after hitting a snag, allowing them to get away with things, and might really make a move to test him.

An Ran pursed his lips, unwilling to risk it and wait, even if it meant exposing the An family’s connection to the top powers of the Ferun Great Land.

Currently, the Shulong people have important matters to attend to... They absolutely must not offend such a powerful person.

The Shulong Empire has an enclave in Deepwater City, and big clans like the An family naturally have people over there. But now, with Northern Ferun entering the Dead of Winter, some messages would have to wait until spring to come through.

Once An Yanfei’s message arrived, the An family became interested, absolutely refusing to believe that such a powerful mage would be unknown in Ferun.

The family’s most powerful sorcerer risked being unable to use spiritual power for seven days and directly contacted the clan members over in Deepwater City, finally getting a piece of information: that massive whale should be the mount of the Lord of Agleya City. And indeed, that Lord went on a journey abroad.

An Ran got notified of this after returning to the family yesterday.

The family instructed him to ensure that the Lord sees only the best of the Shulong Empire, even if it meant revealing his identity during the exchange, ensuring he never perceives the empire as corrupt and decadent as the Wo Empire and Earth Dragon Kingdom propaganda suggests.

An Ran looked at the adorable little heads popping out from Hill’s robe pockets, unable to stop himself from biting his lip: Truly, great benefits come with no small amount of trouble.

”An Ran.” Hill, happily unaware of the big merchant’s internal turmoil, merely informed him, ”I’ll take a stroll down the street, those two guards will accompany me. You go and handle your business!”

An Ran forced a bitter smile: ”Mr. Polanio, you go ahead and have fun. I’ll deliver the goods and then come find you. No one knows where all the fun places in Benevolence are better than me, An Ran!”