Once the matter of the bet was taken care of, the elder, who had also been the judge, tried to recruit Shui. As they had listened to his explanation of why his forging method worked, the other forge masters including Georg, were also hoping he would join them, but Shui managed to get them off his back by saying that he would think about it. If he joined them then he would gain access to a better facility for his forging, but he wouldn't be staying long so it didn't seem worth getting tangled in the bindings of the Blacksmith Union.
After a round of drinks, Shui escaped and considered heading back to the Myriad Flower Pavilion, but then he remembered what he saw when he went to Blacksmith Union.
'Since I have the free time, I should try to investigate.'
From the moment he saw him, no, from the moment Emily went back to rescue him, Shui wasn't fond of Adrian. Admittedly, his initial feelings spawned from being envious, but when they first talked to each other, suspicion began to brew. It was nothing but his intuition at that time, but he had been wary of Adrian ever since. And when he found out that assassins had tried to attack her in her inn and heard Emily's story, he felt more certain that his wariness was justified because it seemed like too much of a coincidence.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the kind of hard evidence that he could use to convince Emily, so he now had to gather it. Shui began thinking of how and where he should get the information he was looking for, but then he noticed someone standing in front of him. They wore a polite smile like a properly made mask and approached him while exuding a submissive aura, but he couldn't allow himself to be tricked. Shui wasn't hiding his energy cultivation very hard, so he just seemed like someone in the early Earth Realm, but the one coming towards him was at the peak of the Sky Realm.
It was still a gap he could surmount with all of his strength, but the difference in power between someone at the peak of Earth Realm and one who had just entered the Sky Realm was like the heavens and the earth. Even if one searched throughout the history books, few geniuses had the power to battle experts in the Sky Realm while being in the Earth Realm, much less someone in early Earth Realm. Attaining Earth Perfection would reduce the gap, but it would still be a very uphill battle. Therefore, the fact that someone so strong was acting this way was odd.
While Shui glared at him suspiciously, the servile man stopped three feet away from Shui and bowed with the sophistication of a professional servant.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Shui. My master would like to speak with you, so may I inquire if you could spare some of your time?"
"That depends. Who's your master?" Shui asked.
Instead of responding with words, the man stood up straight and pulled out something from his coat. It was a plaque, but the moment Shui saw the symbol on it, he nodded.
"Fine. Lead the way."
The building that the man then led Shui to, was decorated with the symbol of a cloud releasing coins, the same one that was on the plaque that he showed him. Yes, it was the emblem of the Coin Storm Auction House. In a big city like this, it was only obvious that they would have a branch here, but that didn't answer all of Shui's questions.
He had a good business relationship with the Coin Storm branch in Cyrus, but that didn't mean he could be considered a high profile client or anything like that. Although he didn't go to sell anything at the branch that was in Silver City, they hadn't sent anyone to call him like in this case. Therefore, there had to be a special reason behind this.
'I hope this won't bring any additional trouble.'
Shui didn't have any strong feelings for the organization itself, but considering the history between him, Coin Storm and a certain girl, he didn't want to become their enemy.
After entering the Coin Storm branch, which was as large as the Myriad Flower Pavilion and was only a few buildings away from the grand and imposing city hall, which was the tallest building in the city, the staff made the effort to respectfully greet the man leading Shui, even if they were dealing with a customer. This told Shui that despite his demeanour, this suspicious man was a superior that was admired by them. He was more interested in his identity, but he still remembered that there was someone that this man called his master so that took priority.
The two went up to the highest floor and stopped in front of the only door in the long hallway. The man gently knocked twice and waited to be acknowledged by the master of the room. Shui didn't like the idea of being made to wait after he was called all the way here, but fortunately, a response came soon after.
A deep yet soothing voice said, "Enter."
The moment he heard that voice, there was a tiny jolt that travelled throughout his body from his mind. Shui wondered why this feeling sprouted out of nowhere, and he felt that behind the door was the answer to his question.
"You may go ahead," said the man.
It seemed that this would be a one-on-one exchange, so Shui took a moment to prepare himself before laying his hand on the doorknob. Behind the door, was a well furnished office that hid the massive funds that must have been pumped into making it, behind class and elegance. Shui was used to the luxurious structures that were all over Paraj, but this was a place that clearly displayed the difference between showing off and actual splendour. However, Shui wasn't a room décor expert or enthusiast, so instead of the room, he focused on the one sitting behind the large wooden desk.
'It's, him?!'
When Shui saw the face of the one who called him, he couldn't help but show a silly expression for a moment. The man wore a grey spider-silk coat with the emblem of Coin Storm around the right chest area. It wasn't surprising for him to be here considering his status in Coin Storm, but Shui didn't expect to see him here. He wasn't sure when they would meet again, but he thought that it wouldn't be until he tried to reunite with a certain girl. Which wouldn't be too far in the future now that he was in the Earth Realm.
He had thought about going to find her as soon as he broke through, but he wasn't sure what trials would be waiting for him so he wanted to investigate a bit first. After all, even with his mind-blowing powers, he couldn't stand against a major-level force by himself. As he thought about her, his mind drifted through the memories of their time together, but before his head stayed in the clouds for too long, the poised, middle-aged gentleman with a neatly trimmed black beard, spoke to him without looking up from his desk.
"What are you doing? Close the door."
"Uh, yes!"
From what Shui could tell, this dignified personage was a Master, a true powerhouse in the Alterna Kingdom, but that wasn't what made him hastily shut the door. He only knew of rumours about this man, rumours that talked about how brutal he was to those that harmed the interests of Coin Storm, but it was no horror story that gave him nightmares. However, despite having only met him once, Shui couldn't shake the awkwardness he felt around him.
After he finished writing on a document and scanned through it, the man placed it down and finally looked at Shui.
The man, who held the position of Head of Inspection in Coin Storm, Lefirius, greeted him.
"It's been a while, Shui."
"Indeed, it has, Sir."