Trunks drank all night, holding his face and crying loudly with bloodshot eyes. Han Shuo tried to comfort him, but nothing worked. Trunks seemed to forget everything else as he wallowed in his inextricable agony.
That night, Han Shuo took three of the remaining five Rebirth Pills and gave them to Odysseus, Gordon and Aphrodite to reform their bodies. The other two pills were for Trunks and Emily.
At noon the next day, Han Shuo left the Soul Destroyer mercenary group and travelled to the Valley of Sunshine by himself.
The merchants inside the Valley of Sunshine weren't affected by last night's battle outside. They woke up early, busy as usual and simply unaware of last night's events.
When Han Shuo reached the fence, the soldiers of the Cairo Mercenary Band immediately recognised him and greeted him respectfully. Looking around, Han Shuo noticed that the merchants in the Valley of Sunshine hadn't changed much. However, the number of soldiers from the Cairo Mercenary Band was much higher than usual. The frequency with which they appeared on the street was very high.
Everyone from the Cairo Mercenary Band nodded respectfully to Han Shuo on the road when they saw him. Obviously, they all knew about the help he had given them last night.
Han Shuo had bought a lot of precious herbs from the old orc's family shop in the Valley of Sunshine last time. This time, he went straight to the orc's shop.
The shopkeeper recognised Han Shuo at once. He'd been slumbering inside when he suddenly stood up and greeted Han Shuo enthusiastically, chattering, "Long time no see, haha! Did you see anything good this time?"
Glancing around, a hint of delighted surprise flashed across Han Shuo's eyes. He hastily picked a dozen herbs and placed them in front of the orc, laughing heartily, "I want all of them. You can calculate the price."
In addition to the Dragonfly Fruit, Extreme Frost Grass, and Golden Marrow Grass that Han Shuo had seen last time, he also discovered the Ninejade Flower during this visit. This was truly an unimaginable pleasure. Han Shuo had confirmed his belief that this shop could always provide him with a pleasant surprise.
The Ninejade Flower had nine petals that were as shiny and translucent as jade, and emitted a fragrance that penetrated the heart and soul. The Ninejade Flower could be used with several magical herbs to refine the Yuan Repair Pill, in which the Ninejade Flower was the main ingredient. This herb was usually very difficult to find.
"You decide the price!" After experiencing Han Shuo's generosity the last time, the old orc seemed to have realised something and said casually with a smile.
One could easily imagine Han Shuo's joy after collecting so many precious herbs. He immediately took out two heavy bags of gold coins from the space ring and placed them in front of the old orc. He asked with a smile, "A thousand gold coins. Will that be enough?"
"Haha, such a generous young man, thank you!" The old orc quickly grabbed the two bags of gold coins and laughed out loud. His mouth was wide open, as if he wanted to eat a person.
"You again!" Suddenly an exclamation came from the door. Cecilia, one of the three Dark Mantle heavyweights, approached leisurely. She called out immediately as her vivid eyes caught sight of Han Shuo. She was wearing a blackish purple dress today, her long soft hair casually cascading down her shoulders. Two small, middle-aged men followed behind her, their eyes glancing around in a wary manner.
Seeing Cecilia as soon as he turned around, Han Shuo was a little surprised. He nodded indifferently at her, his hands beginning to gather the herbs on the table as he intended to leave the shop.
"Hey, pretty lady, you're back again! What would you like to buy this time?" Cecilia seemed to be a regular here. The old Orc greeted her with warm hospitality and a big smile.
"He already bought everything I wanted. Damn, he was one step ahead of me again!" Cecilia frowned at Han Shuo and let out a small cry of pain.
"This..." The old orc didn't know what to say. He wrung his hands to show that he was out of ideas.
Han Shuo was about to leave the shop when he suddenly remembered something. He stopped at the door, turned to Cecilia and said: "If you tell me where Emily is, I'll give you a herb from my purchase.
The disappointed Cecilia was immediately pleased by his words. She looked at Han Shuo and asked, "Is that so? You're going to let me choose from the herbs you just bought?"
Nodding his head, Han Shuo took out the herbs he'd just bought for a thousand gold coins. He laid them out and pointed at them, "I'll let you choose one!"
"I want this one!" Cecilia pointed to the Ninejade Flower and said quietly.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Han Shuo thought for a moment, then suddenly said coldly, "This one won't do, transaction cancelled!"
The higher-ups of the Dark Mantle should know about Emily's whereabouts. If Han Shuo couldn't get the answer from Cecilia, he could still ask Candide for help. Besides, he only needed this information because he wanted to give Emily the Rebirth Pill and help her rebuild her body. This was not a critical matter, so Han Shuo was in no hurry at the moment.
The Ninejade Flower, on the other hand, could only be found by chance, not found, so it was very important to Han Shuo. He could refine a cauldron of Yuan Repair Pills using this flower as the main ingredient. Han Shuo immediately went back on his word when forced to choose between the two options.
Cecilia had reached out for the Ninejade Flower when she was stopped by Han Shuo saying, "Transaction cancelled". She was stunned for a moment, then frowned as she looked at him, "You're going back on your word!"
"I didn't promise you anything. This doesn't count as going back on my word. I can let you take two more besides this flower if you're still willing to tell me! Han Shuo first placed the Ninejade Flower in the space ring and then shrugged his shoulders and spoke to Cecilia as if nothing had happened.
Sparks flew out of Cecilia's eyes as she looked at Han Shuo. She remained frozen for quite a while before nodding bitterly and saying, "Stingy brat!"
She took two blades of Extreme Frost Grass, then glared at Han Shuo and replied, "After Emily completed her mission with me, she should have returned to the Empire's Ossen City. To think that the person Emily respects so much is actually so petty. I really don't understand why she appreciates you so much!"
"It has nothing to do with you!" Han Shuo chuckled. He felt quite secure after knowing Emily's location and that he would be returning to Ossen City soon. Emily would take the initiative to find him as soon as she knew. He could then use the Rebirth Pill to help her.
"You there! Don't move or you'll be accused of being rude!" Suddenly, ten mercenaries from the Cairo Band surrounded the old orc's shop, aiming their crossbows at the three in Cecilia's group.
"What is this? Is this how the Cairo mercenaries treat us merchants?" Cecilia asked, her expression angry as she looked coldly at the leader.
"We always treat merchants nicely, but you didn't enter normally. Otherwise we would have your records. Come with us!" A mercenary stared at Cecilia and said coldly.
It seemed that Cecilia's group of three hadn't come in through the fence, but had used another way. Had this been normal times, the Cairo mercenaries might not have found out. But after last night's fiasco, the Cairo mercenaries were on high alert. They were all extremely cautious, so it was no wonder that they had discovered the abnormal events.
"Mr Bryan, please be careful with these people!" The senior mercenary's attitude towards Han Shuo compared to his attitude towards Cecilia was as different as heaven and earth. His tone was sincere, his manner respectful, and even a touch ingratiating.
"Mr Bryan, when our chief heard that you'd arrived in the Valley of Sunshine, he wanted to meet you immediately. If you wait just a moment, the chief himself will come to see you about last night's agreement, after he has taken care of things in the valley. We will deliver the promised amount of gold, so please wait a little longer! Another mercenary bowed respectfully to Han Shuo and said in a humble tone.
What is this? Cecilia looked at Han Shuo suspiciously. She secretly thought that Han Shuo was just an emissary of the Dark Mantle, while the other person was the violent madman Laureton. Why is he treating Han Shuo so kindly? This is truly confusing! Laureton is notoriously arrogant and hard to please, yet he is so unexpectedly respectful towards this fellow? Strange, really too strange!
Hey, we're together, you must be mistaken!" Cecilia suddenly had an idea. She suddenly walked over to Han Shuo with a charming smile and patted his shoulder as if their relationship was very intimate!
Han Shuo was stunned. He looked at her with a cold face and was about to open his mouth to say something when he heard Cecilia whisper, "We are on a mission. As a fellow member of the Dark Mantle, if you don't have the guts to help me, I will definitely report you to that old friend Candide when I get back!"
"Hehe, we are indeed together!" Cecilia and Han Shuo stood next to each other as he suddenly relaxed.
"Mhm, they're my friends, so I guarantee they won't do anything to harm the interests of your mercenary band. I'll wait for your people to meet me at the shop. When your chief arrives, I'll let him know!" Han Shuo smiled and nodded at the mercenaries, then put his arm around Cecilia's waist with naughty intentions. His actions screamed of an ambiguous relationship because of this act.
Cecilia's small waist was plump and firm. The thin dress couldn't hide her amazing elasticity. Han Shuo couldn't help but secretly praise it as he held it in his hand. Not only did this young woman have a beautiful face, but her body was truly alluring as well.
"So it's like that!" The mercenaries suddenly realised and apologised to Cecilia, "We're sorry, we didn't know about your relationship with Mr Bryan, we were being rude!"
"Let's go, there is no problem in this area. Let's inspect the other areas. Don't let any suspicious characters slip through our fingers!" After bowing respectfully to Han Shuo, the leader shouted a command loudly and led the group of mercenaries to leave in the blink of an eye.