After being sent flying, his perspective changed completely. The way he looked at the maids was like looking at an interesting being that should not exist. He was now certain that Yasenia was not bluffing. Her words were the truth; she could probably hurt him badly.
This was both fascinating and baffling for him. Lord Gu looked at Yasenia's hand holding the talisman, and he smirked. "Oho~. I heavily underestimated you. Okay, you've gained enough cards for this King to at least look at you as someone to give a minimum amount of respect, mortal. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Gu Chen, the wealthiest of the [Four City Kings], and my cultivation realm is the first level of the Undying Monarch Body Realm. Who might you be?"
Yasenia answered in kind. "I am Yasenia Dravory, the daughter of Tatyana Dravory, the Death Empress. My cultivation is at the middle level of the Epoch Core Realm."
"Death Empress?" Lord Gu rubbed his chin. "I can tell that you are being truthful, but I don't know any Death Empress. There is a woman who calls herself the Death Queen in this world. Are you speaking about her?"
'Death Queen?' The dragoness asked, curious. "Is she in the Undying Monarch Body Realm as well? Oh, and no, she is not my mother."
Lord Gu hummed. "Indeed she is. She controls the southwest area of the [Forgotten Star Area]. She was lucky enough to find a powerful Death-Attributed treasure which allowed her to break through around… eight… no, ten thousand years ago. Usually, new Undying Monarchs are hard to come by because, well, this world is still dying."
After hearing that information, Yasenia decided that in the future, she might need to visit this area with Tatyana. She didn't dare go there without her, as Death Cultivators could be very eccentric and erratic.
"Lord Gu," Yasenia started. "I am curious. You say you are the wealthiest. However, isn't Ayanduin quite a renowned Merchant?"
Gu Chen blinked and asked. "Oh? You know about him?"
Yasenia sighed. "I do not only know him. I am searching for him."
'Oh? She is searching for that man. That's interesting.' He pondered and asked. "Why do you want to meet him? Do you have any unfinished business with him?"
While Yasenia didn't hear any strange tone in Lord Gu's words, she was instantly alert. After all, someone at Lord Gu's cultivation level, regardless of how interested he was in her, would not start asking about such things. As a Transcendent Cultivator, he was above mortal matters, even if they involved another immortal. 'He has some personal dealings with Ayanduin? Hm… I must tread this carefully.'
Yasenia answered with half-truths. "I do have some business with him. I heard he was a merchant, so I am trying to buy an item from him. In case he has it, I will be delighted, as it is pretty important to me. If he doesn't… Well, other than being disappointed, I will probably leave this world and forget about this place." Yasenia looked around and sighed. "A bubble of prosperity. If something pops it, everything will crumble quickly. I can't bear to live day by day in this manner."
Lord Gu laughed. "Well, you get used to it. I've tried studying formations as well. However, my talent is very limited in that regard. I was unable to decipher how or what we need to do to reverse our current situation."
Yasenia honestly praised. "The fact that you gave it a shot is already commendable. Not many would when the law of the jungle is so prevalent. Being empathetic and heroic is a luxury most fail to attain."
"And yet," Lord Gu sighed. "Some people sacrifice everything even when they know empathy will bring their downfall."
After pausing for a few moments, Lord Gu spoke. "Yasenia Dravory, I want to formally ask you to come visit me at the little place I have down the street. Of course, I won't stop whatever you are doing today; we can meet a week later."
The dragoness cupped her fist. "Unless my matters get resolved, I will gladly show up to have a chat."
Lord Gu nodded and spoke. "Oh, and if you want Ayanduin to appear, I recommend targeting his disciple. Well… Whenever you can. That disciple will be a bit busy later."
Yasenia didn't show anything on her face, but she understood much information from those simple words.
Firstly, Lord Gu and Ayanduin had some kind of history between them. The body language was dismissive when he spoke about Money.
Secondly, he is probably aiming to do something with Money now that Ayanduin is back. That will at least take one week to prepare, that's why she was invited to appear in a week.
Thirdly, Yasenia could guess that while Lord Gu called himself the wealthiest, that might not be entirely true. If Lord Gu wanted to do something to Ayanduin and steal his treasures while being extremely confident about his success chances, then his words would always come as truthful.
'It seems that I am stuck between a hard rock and a wall.'
Yasenia left the area with her maids, not discussing anything and just being attentive to her surroundings. If one of the Kings came into contact with her, it was a matter of time before she entered the sight of the other three. 'Well, two to be more precise. I am sure Ayanduin already knows I am here and has been looking at me for a while.'
Yasenia lifted her arm, and her long sleeve slid backward, revealing her pristine and beautiful arm. Still, unlike the beautiful rosy white color that one would expect to see, you could see a faint black color tracing where her veins passed through. That was the poison that had advanced quite a lot. While it was a soul poison, the poison was not inflicted spiritually. It was a substance that attacked her soul through its connection with the body. Hence, seeing physical manifestations of the poison was not strange.
Alaia asked. "Young Miss. How are you feeling?"
Yasenia lowered her arm, allowing her long sleeve to cover it again, and she spoke. "I am good… However, I wonder what will happen with that woman, Money."
The dragoness didn't hold back her tone, speaking casually. Alaia answered back. "We can't get involved in the matters between the Undying Monarchs, Young Miss. We won't really win a lot from it."
Yasenia sighed. "While I do know that, we need that item from Ayanduin. It will be difficult to meet him even after we wait a century if he goes into mourning."
As they walked, they heard a man's voice. "Hey, Young Lady!"
Yasenia turned her head and saw a young-looking man with a dropping ponytail looking at her. He had almost no aura and looked like a harmless young man. The dragoness looked forward and ignored him.
"Huh?" The young man blinked and looked at Yasenia once more. "Hey, hey. Young Lady, please don't ignore me!"
Yasenia stopped, and her entourage did the same, moving around Yasenia and taking out their weapons. She looked at the man who was around a head shorter than her, and asked. "What do you want? I have places to be, so please, be brief."
The young man scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "You are so cutting, Lady. Haven't you heard that smiling is healing for the soul?"
Yasenia smiled coldly. "It is also a premonition for a city's demise. At least, my smile often ends with a massacre occurring. Do you want to test my theory, boy?"
The man's lips twitched as Yasenia released a faint strand of killing intent. "Not at all, not at all."
"So, what did you stop me for?"
"Oh, right!" The man sighed and commented. "To be honest, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, that girl, Money…" The man looked at Yasenia awkwardly. "I owe her a few things."
The dragoness asked. "Hm. So?"
'Um… shouldn't this woman get the cue or something? I have seen her navigate conversations before.' The man blinked twice and spoke slowly. "Well, so… could you tell me more details about what you were talking about?"
The dragoness looked at him for a second and answered flatly. "No."
Then, she looked forward and continued walking. The man looked at Yasenia's back, baffled. 'Huh? What happened? Did I read the situation wrong? Wasn't Yasenia quite interested in Little M?'
He quickly ran after. "W-Wait! What do you mean by no? Lady! Lady, please stop!"
The dragoness paused and turned around, her gaze cold and piercing. "What do you want? I do not have time for this, and if you dare to continue following me without reason, I'll send you flying back to your shop with a few broken limbs."
The man raised his arms. "Wait, wait. I know that you have been to Money's shop! She told me about you too. You are Yasenia, right? The dragon woman with beautiful wings and a starry tail with golden rings!"
Yasenia moved her wings and tail, and she sighed. "Regardless, even if you were her husband, what can you do? The people involved in this are far too strong for a little man like you."
The man's gentle eyebrows locked together. "Hey, aren't you being a bit disrespectful? Haven't you been taught not to judge a book by its cover?"
Yasenia blinked and smiled. "I have. Have you, Ayanduin?"
Then, she turned around and left, leaving behind a stunned man. 'Huh? She knew? How? Has she seen a portrait of me before? No… Has Money told her how I look? That's also a no. I have been there each time Yasenia appeared in that shop… What? How?'
He stepped forward, and his body disappeared, appearing in front of Yasenia. The maids didn't stop him like Lord Gu because there was no malicious intent whatsoever behind his aura. "Wait, junior. If you knew who I was, why did you treat me like such? That's too big of a disrespect even for someone like you!"
The dragoness didn't stop walking and rolled her eyes. "Respect? Have you earned it? First, you sneak around my visits to Money's shop. Then, you stalk me around the city. Next, you poked your nose into my conversation with another Undying Monarch, but you failed to collect the info because you didn't want to get discovered. However, what do you do next when I give you a hint that Money is in danger?"
Yasenia stopped and looked down at Ayanduin, who was by her side. "You sneak around and try to win my sympathy or something instead of being upfront. Ayanduin, I know you are a merchant, and that benefit is probably above everything else. However, Money is your family. Even I don't dare to play around with my family's safety."
Ayanduin paused and sighed. He crossed his arms and nodded. "Okay, Junior. You win. I was too cautious with you because of that thick killing intent and stories I heard about you. However, this time, I am sincere: Let's have a talk."
The dragoness leaned down a bit and asked, squinting. "If Money was not in danger, would you have ever come out, or would you have left me to die? You know, in just a few months, my three-year limit toward your poison is here. In truth, I shouldn't even be walking around, as this only hastens the spread of the poison. My body is burning, my soul is crumbling, and my limbs don't work as I would like them to."
Ayanduin spoke, his eyes sincere. "I was going to save you. I've seen enough during these years to understand that while you are a murderous dragon, you are not an unreasonable one."
Yasenia looked into Ayanduin's eyes for a few seconds, and then she straightened her back. "Okay. Follow me. You are an Undying Monarch regardless of everything and a senior. I don't dare to have a conversation in a place where I am sure that I am in lethal danger… Like now."
Ayanduin shrugged. "As you please. I hope I don't become the fish that might get cooked, though."
The dragoness secretly smiled. 'We'll see~.'