After leaving the Cemetery, Han Shuo and Emily went their separate ways. Emily still had to complete her mission from her superiors and couldn't stay by Han Shuo's side.
He hadn't been back to Babylon Academy for a long time, and he missed Fanny more than anything else. Except that the whole incident with Emily had happened, and that made Han Shuo a little unsure of how to face Fanny. He hesitated and didn't return directly to the Academy, but went to the Boozt Merchant Guild first.
Han Shuo had asked Phoebe to help him look for items to refine an Earth Elite Zombie. So much time had passed that it was time to ask her if she was ready. There were also treasures from the sacred land of the forest trolls within his space ring that needed to be disposed of via Phoebe. He also needed to prepare rations for the forest trolls and the dwarves, so a trip to the Boozt Merchant's Guild was more likely.
After the Grover incident, Phoebe had already seized the reins of power in the guild. After a few visits, everyone in the guild was familiar with Han Shuo.
This time, when Han Shuo presented himself at the door, the guards sent him right in. As he walked towards the living room, Han Shuo suddenly heard the sounds of Fabian lecturing someone in a room, "Your father spent gold coins to help you enter the Guild, so you must work hard! Otherwise, I won't be able to protect you with my position in the guild."
"Understood, Uncle." Another voice that Han Shuo was familiar with answered honestly.
When this voice sounded, Han Shuo's body sped up in surprise. When he arrived at the door of the room, he pushed the door open without knocking because he was so excited, giving Fabian a shock. He immediately shouted, "Who dares to enter my territory?"
"It's me, Mr Fabian." Han Shuo laughed lightly and walked in with great strides.
When he heard Han Shuo's voice, Fabian heaved a sigh of relief and walked out of the room chuckling. He said, "So you've come, heh heh, are you here to see our Miss Phoebe again?"
Another fat and chubby body quickly rushed out of the house. When he saw Han Shuo, he exclaimed with unexpected surprise. "Bryan, how come it's you! How come you're also in the Boozt Merchant Guild? Heh heh, are you a member of the guild as well? Can we be colleagues again?"
Little Fatty Jack's body had grown a little taller, but his weight seemed to have increased even faster. As he rushed out of the house with big strides, the floor rattled.
"Long time no see, Jack! How come you're with the guild?" Han Shuo was also very happy to see Jack again. Little Fatty Jack was the closest friend Han Shuo had met after arriving at the Academy. The last time Han Shuo gave him money, he thought he'd never see Jack again. Who would have thought that they would meet again after such a short time.
"You two know each other?" Fabian was a bit taken aback as he looked at Jack and then at Han Shuo.
Nodding, Han Shuo smiled as he explained, "When I was at the Academy, I and Jack was errand boy. Heh heh, not only do we know each other, but our relationship is quite good."
"Yes Uncle, Bryan is quite amazing. Who would have thought I'd meet him here?" Jack said delightedly.
"Mr Fabian, I'd like to meet your nephew. I'll be meeting Miss Phoebe later! Please pass this on for me!" Han Shuo told Fabian with a smile.
Han Shuo had saved Fabian's and Phoebe's lives and had brought a lot of business with him the last few times. As a result, Fabian had long since come to regard Han Shuo as a person of great fortune. When he heard Han Shuo speak like this, he immediately agreed and winked at Jack as if he wanted to hint at something.
It was a pity that the excited Jack didn't catch his uncle's hint, but the more mature and experienced Han Shuo saw it all clearly and laughed in his heart.
When Fabian left, Han Shuo immediately asked, "Jack, how did you come to the Boozt Merchant Guild?"
"When you gave me the gold coins. I left the academy. When I returned home, I didn't know what to do, so I helped my father slaughter cows and sheep. I saw that things were difficult at home, so I secretly changed the gold coins you gave me into pieces and gave them to my father, but he eventually discovered my secret, so I told him I found a bag of gold coins in the street.
"My father felt that I couldn't always be a butcher, so he took half of the gold coins to find my Uncle Fabian to ask him to let me help in the Guild. I'm learning bookkeeping from someone, and that's the way it is. Right, why are you in the Guild? I see my uncle has a lot of respect for you, what's going on?" Jack looked at Han Shuo in surprise and asked confusedly.
Han Shuo said something casual and fobbed Jack off. Han Shuo and Jack talked for a while. From Jack's expression and words, Han Shuo could tell that he was actually quite happy to work for the guild. So he decided to help Jack a little and was prepared to say something to Phoebe. He felt that Phoebe would at least give him this face.
No wonder he was happy to stay here. When he was a runner at the Academy before, Jack not only had to work day and night, but he was often bullied by other students and runners. His days were not very pleasant. Now that he was in the Guild, he had the protection of someone like Fabian, who worked at Phoebe's side. At least no one dared to hurt him. Compared to the backbreaking work of an errand boy, the material he was learning was much more interesting. No wonder Jack liked it here.
They talked for quite a while until Fabian came to Han Shuo and told him that Miss Phoebe was waiting for him. Han Shuo patted Jack's shoulder and said with a smile, "Then I'll go. Now that you're in the Guild, we'll have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future."
"All right, go about your business. Come visit me whenever you get the chance! Even though I'm doing well here, I don't have that many friends."
"Mm, I know."
After leaving Fabian's room, Han Shuo's sensitive ears immediately heard the conversation between Fabian and Jack. Fabian was telling Jack to build a good relationship with Han Shuo, saying that Han Shuo was a person of great happiness, etc.
Phoebe was as stunning as ever. A well-tailored, figure-hugging green robe made her tall, slender and unusual appearance even more striking. Light blush powdered onto her cheeks showed off their clean smoothness, with a hint of red blush hidden within. Her bright eyes were set in a face that was a work of art, appearing utterly perfect and flawless.
"You've been gone for almost a month, what do you want to talk about this time?" The surrounding maids were long gone by the time Phoebe sat in the hall, a cup of tea in her hands, sipping at it leisurely. She gave Han Shuo a non-committal look and spoke softly.
"I've only been gone for a month, but why does Miss Phoebe look even more beautiful?" Han Shuo spoke truthfully. When he had seen Phoebe before, she had never deliberately dressed up, but this time, she had noticeably put on some make-up, and her beauty had truly been enhanced a bit in Han Shuo's eyes.
As these words were spoken, Phoebe's eyes lit up as the faint blush on her cheeks slowly spread. A happy curve traced her lips as she said in a soft, gentle voice, "You've become more articulate in the month that I haven't seen you.
Laughing heartily, Han Shuo walked in front of Phoebe and took the teapot and cup from in front of Phoebe, pouring himself a cup and taking a sip before he said, "Before we talk about serious matters, I hope you can do me a favour. Help my friend out a little."
Phoebe wasn't surprised to hear this, and her translucent chin nodded slightly twice. She said in a soft and beautiful voice, "I just heard from Fabian. Who would have thought you'd be friends with that fat guy? Heh heh, he's such an honest person and has you as a friend?"
Bursting into laughter, Han Shuo scratched his head, "With your words, am I not honest enough?"
"Huh! If you were considered honest, there would be no people in this world who don't play by the rules. I remember all the bad things you've done to me, how dare you say you're honest?" Phoebe rolled her eyes in a pretty way as she bit off her words while glaring at Han Shuo.
Suddenly taking a sip of tea to hide his embarrassment, Han Shuo said awkwardly, "Don't mention what's in the past! You still haven't agreed to help me take care of Jack!"
"No problem, I'll take good care of him for you. It's easy to help you with a small thing like that, but the other thing is a bit trickier." Phoebe said thoughtfully.
Han Shuo looked at Phoebe questioningly and asked, "What's tricky?"
"The materials you asked me to buy for you," Phoebe thought for a moment and opened her mouth to speak.
The refinement of the Earth Elite Zombie was something that Han Shuo was determined to complete. When he heard Phoebe say that she'd run into some trouble, Han Shuo immediately felt a bit worried. He hastily asked, "What trouble? Is it that your guild can't find these materials?"
Shaking her head, Phoebe's painted eyebrow creased slightly as she sighed softly, "With our guild's abilities, if these items exist in the world, we'll be able to get our hands on them as long as someone can afford the price. I had thought that the items wouldn't be that expensive, but who would have thought that after careful research, I would find that all these unknown items would have an exorbitant price.
"According to my calculations, all these materials together would cost at least thirty thousand gold coins. Even though I hold the power within the guild, I've only just become the head and don't have the authority to completely hide such a large transaction from you, as every transaction leaves a record."
Han Shuo had been a little worried when he heard her say she'd run into trouble, but now that he saw it was because of the price, he breathed a sigh of relief. The current Han Shuo might be short of other things, but he had so many gold coins that he couldn't take them all with him. When he heard Phoebe say that the problems were due to pricing, he immediately smiled.
"What are you smiling about? I know you have some savings, but thirty thousand gold coins isn't a small amount. I can put together ten thousand for you privately, but I can't access my father's savings until I'm 25, so I can only take out so much. Why are you still laughing? I'm talking about serious things!" Phoebe frowned and tried to think of a plan for Han Shuo, but he just smiled and laughed as if nothing was wrong. This made Phoebe a little angry.
"Right, how old are you now?" Han Shuo stopped and asked Phoebe.
Her face flushed, Phoebe seemed a little shy. She hesitated and then sneaked a glance at Han Shuo with a shy expression, "23, you?"
"17!" Han Shuo said.
Phoebe's face went white and she seemed a bit panicked. She hastily shouted, "Who are you kidding? Are you talking and looking like a seventeen year old?"
Han Shuo only remembered that he'd been 24 when he'd possessed Bryan's body. Bryan had originally been thin and small, but after being forged from the magical yuan, he now looked completely like an adult. Add to that his original speech and experiences, and he didn't look like a seventeen year old, no matter how you cut it.
After thinking for a while, Han Shuo finally chuckled, "I'm kidding, I'm 24."
Phoebe gave a noticeable sigh of relief when she heard these words and then laughed wryly at Han Shuo, "Don't think of using me to make a plan. I'm still two years away from turning 25. I don't think you can wait two more years. Let's think of another plan.
With a smile still on his lips, Han Shuo blew a puff of air at the space ring and rubbed it with his fingers. Blocks of gold and all kinds of jewels, jade and precious gems appeared in the hall one after the other. At that moment, the hall was filled with the glow of the jewels, as all kinds of dazzling, opulent splendour made the hall extremely luxurious and extravagant.
"Is this enough?" Han Shuo looked at Phoebe, who had sunk into a dumbfounded state, and asked happily.
The riches in the hall had come from many years of plundering by the forest trolls. When he took them all out of the ring and piled them up in front of Phoebe, she was indeed shocked.
"Heart of the Blue Ocean, Sierra Leone Jade, the Mudanee Necklace, King Finley's Crown..." Phoebe's stunning face was full of shock as her slender fingers rifled through the jewels that had appeared. She murmured these amazing names in a low voice.
After a while, Phoebe took a few deep breaths and finally looked deeply at Han Shuo and asked, "There are a lot of missing treasures here. You didn't rob a giant dragon, did you?"
Shaking his head with a deep laugh, Han Shuo said, "Don't ask me how I got these items, just tell me if they are enough to trade for the materials I requested?"
"Uh... I can't estimate the value of these goods at the moment, but I think their value will definitely exceed thirty thousand gold coins." Phoebe's clear eyes still stared firmly at Han Shuo as she slowly replied.
Nodding, Han Shuo said straightforwardly, "Fine, these items are showy but not substantial, they don't have much value to me. Collect them all and dispose of them for me at a reasonable price. I need the materials I mentioned earlier. Also, please buy another space ring for me, I'd like to take the rations from last time with me.
"With so many treasures, aren't you afraid that I'll give you a random price that will disadvantage you?" Phoebe looked at Han Shuo and stared for a while, a trace of a faint smile blossoming on her lips as she asked him.
"I believe you won't!" Han Shuo smiled. "I'll be back in a few days, I hope the items I need will be ready by then."
"Stay for lunch." Phoebe nodded and hesitated, suddenly saying lightly when she saw that Han Shuo was about to leave after leaving the treasures behind.
Han Shuo felt a little strange when he heard those words, but Phoebe really could help him with a lot of things right now. Although he had a lot of things to do at the moment, the time it took to eat a meal wasn't that long either. So he nodded his head and agreed.
The place for lunch was near the artificial mountains where Phoebe and Han Shuo had once crushed themselves. This place had been redecorated and all sorts of expensive flowers and grasses had been planted around it. The branches and leaves of some green and lush, soft plants were wrapped around the stone pillars of the little pavilion. It looked quite charming.
Han Shuo always felt a little uncomfortable as he sat at the table inside the small pavilion after the maids had filled it with food and wine. His eyes kept drifting to the crack in the artificial mountain he'd squeezed into with Phoebe as he remembered what had happened here.
Phoebe looked rather comfortable and didn't seem to pay any attention to the area. She waved her hand and dismissed all the maids and guards, hospitably encouraging Han Shuo to drink wine and tea. This change in attitude made Han Shuo feel uncomfortable.
After eating and drinking, although Han Shuo would not get drunk thanks to the magical yuan, now that he had tasted the wonders of women, he kept remembering the time he had taken advantage of Phoebe for some reason. His serious and professional glances at Phoebe were at some unknown point imbued with a different meaning.
Phoebe watched Han Shuo's changes, and whether it was the sweet wine or not, her cheeks became even more flushed and beautiful. As her cool facade receded, Phoebe's charms continued to increase rapidly, causing Han Shuo across the table to panic inwardly and think random thoughts.