Cecilia turned around, her eyes wide as she glared furiously at Han Shuo and shouted in a voice as cold as ice, "Let go already!"
With an awkward, dry laugh, Han Shuo withdrew his hand and acted as if nothing had happened. He said casually, "I only meant well. Hehehe, the Valley of Sunshine has been chaotic lately, so you'd better be a little careful!"
"Don't worry, you despicable brat!" Cecilia replied bluntly in anger. She secretly wondered why Laureton would value such a despicable character. How very strange!
Paying no attention to Cecilia, Han Shuo strode off towards the shop with the extreme place of water. He arrived in about ten minutes.
Apart from the dust-covered rooms, the shop wasn't much different from the last time he'd left. The formation outside hadn't changed either. The elements of the place of extreme water were still as rich as before. It seemed like no one had lived here since they'd left, and the materials to refine the Water Elite Zombie were still a bit lacking. Phoebe was taking care of that, so Han Shuo knew that he should not worry for now. He walked around the courtyard a few times before randomly sitting on a chair in the middle of the courtyard and waiting for Laureton to arrive.
In the afternoon, Han Shuo was studying a book on magic when he suddenly put it down and stood up. His eyes narrowed as he looked towards the front door. The stocky, rough, balding Laureton came in alone a little later with heavy footsteps. His face didn't look good. He was a little pale, both eyes bloodshot and swollen. He must have had a sleepless night.
"Thank you for your help last night!" Laureton drew on his energy reserves after seeing Han Shuo and spoke with a forced smile.
Last night, the Cairo Mercenary Band had suffered heavy losses, with even Deputy Chief Harris being seriously injured. To prevent the other three major powers from taking advantage of these chaotic times, Laureton had been working hard all night to make arrangements. He'd mobilised all of Cairo's mercenary experts to the Valley of Sunshine. This could only be described as cautious in the extreme.
"Hehehe, we could be considered friends. The Church of Light and Florida also had a grudge against me, so of course I wouldn't mind helping you out!" Han Shuo leaned back in his chair and smiled leisurely. He didn't mention that he had left without saying goodbye the last time.
Laureton didn't ask either. He took out a deed and a crystal card from his space ring, placed them on the stone table in front of Han Shuo and said with a straight face, "This is the deed for this shop, along with a crystal card worth ten thousand gold coins with no owner. In addition, I will personally allow the Soul Destroyer Mercenary Band to openly recruit in the parts of the Sunshine Valley overseen by the Cairo Mercenary Band."
These were the three conditions Laureton had agreed to that Han Shuo had proposed last night in exchange for his help. During the brutal battle last night, Laureton's group would have had a hard time escaping from the mountain valley if it wasn't for Han Shuo's sudden intervention. Laureton was a straightforward person, so he handed over the promised items as soon as he'd arrived.
Han Shuo nodded with a smile. He placed the deed and the crystal card in his space ring, then looked at Laureton and said, "Last night, I killed Ferguson and seriously injured Adam Menlo. My grudge against them cannot be settled now. Now that we have a common enemy, we'll have many opportunities to work together in the future."
"Of course. I admit I underestimated you. Someone who could kill Ferguson and seriously injure Adam Menlo is a person worthy of my true cooperation. In the current power struggle in the Valley of Sunshine, as long as the Soul Destroyer mercenary group cooperates with me, I guarantee it will make great progress." Laureton's eyes twinkled as he looked at Han Shuo, seemingly aware of the latter's relationship with the Soul Destroyer mercenaries.
"Trunks will talk to you later. I'm just his friend, so I have no right to decide the future of the Soul Destroyer mercenary band!" Han Shuo was stunned for a moment, but still replied indifferently.
"Hehehe, as far as I know, your relationship with the Soul Destroyer isn't that simple!" Laureton grinned and continued, "How about this? I'll offer some gold coins and hire the Soul Destroyers to help me deal with the other powers. What do you think?"
"For that, you'd have to find Trunks and talk to him about it. Hehe!" Han Shuo laughed lazily, then exhaled softly and said, "Right, I have a friend who might not have entered the Valley of Sunshine through the main entrance. I hope you can give me some face and not bother her."
"No problem!" Laureton agreed without saying anything more. Then he thought for a while and stared mysteriously at Han Shuo, saying in a low voice, "You killed Ferguson and even used the terrifying Corpse Reanimation Spell of Necromancy. No matter how magnanimous the Church of Light is, they won't let you go. You'd better take care of yourself.
"I'm not afraid of their revenge since I dared to kill him. You shouldn't worry about such trivial things. Besides, we will have a chance to work together in dealing with Florida. I'm afraid we'll have to add the House of Menlo to our list of enemies. If I want to take action, I may come looking for you.
"Then you'd better be quick, or I'm afraid you'll miss your chance!"
Laureton's eyes were bloodshot and filled with murderous intent. It seemed that he intended to avenge the grievances he'd suffered last night. With the power of the Cairo Mercenary Band, it would be an extremely brutal scene if Laureton were to take bloody revenge, regardless of the consequences.
"Then I wish you good luck!" Han Shuo said nothing more after that sentence. He closed his eyes and seemed to be relaxing in the sun.
Laureton knew from this posture that Han Shuo had no interest in further conversation. He nodded in understanding, "Very well. I have other things to attend to, goodbye!"
"Sure, I won't send you away now!" Han Shuo replied with closed eyes.
Not long after Laureton left, Han Shuo suddenly rolled his eyes towards the roof and said with a tone of indifference, "Since you've come, why don't you come down and join me?"
There were no other signs of life around. It was as if Han Shuo was just talking to himself.
Han Shuo's expression sunk as he said with displeasure, "Master Cecilia, do you need me to personally invite you to come down?"
A reaction finally appeared in the area where he was looking as he finished speaking. Cecilia suddenly appeared on the empty, sunlit roof. She looked at Han Shuo in surprise and said lightly, "Even Laureton couldn't spot me, so how did you do that?"
"All right, tell me what you came here for. Could it be that your current mission has something to do with Laureton?" Han Shuo didn't answer Cecilia's question and went straight to the point. Since he had stopped talking to Laureton as soon as he had noticed her arrival, Cecilia simply didn't know what they had been talking about.
"Tell me, how did you realise I was up there?" Cecilia looked down at Han Shuo from above and asked in the tone of a superior talking to a subordinate.
"Sorry, you have no right to know. Even Master Candide has no right to ask about my secrets, let alone you, someone who is not in charge of me. Besides, you're not welcome in my house, so please leave!" This kind of attitude from Cecilia displeased Han Shuo. Upon seeing her arrogant manner, he immediately and bluntly drove her away.
"You, how dare you speak to me like that?" Cecilia pointed at Han Shuo in horror. Her body shook slightly. She was furious as no one seemed to have ever treated her so rudely. She looked extremely angry and stomped her feet violently as she shouted, "I'm not going anywhere, I'll see what you can do to me!"
At that moment, a distant call from the Dark Forest echoed in Han Shuo's mind. This call, coming from the depths of his soul, was like a joyful call from his closest family.
Han Shuo was stunned for a split second, then overjoyed. He understood that the wood elite zombie had formed in the forest trolls' Sacred land. He made the call based on the virtue of the blood essence in his body.
"If you won't leave, then I will!" Han Shuo was too lazy to pay any more attention to Cecilia. He immediately stood up, hurried out of the shop and promptly closed the front door. He hurried out of the Valley of Sunshine.
"You look down on people too much, really look down on people too much! This lowly Dark Moon emissary actually dares to be so arrogant?" When Cecilia saw Han Shuo walk away unhesitatingly as if avoiding a plague, she suddenly shouted in anger. It seemed as if she had suffered a severe blow.
None of the guards at the entrance to the Valley of Sunshine prevented Han Shuo from leaving. Each of the Cairo mercenaries nodded at him in a friendly manner, showing their deep respect.
Being able to kill a Light Grand Magus and severely injure the Menlo Family Chief while helping the Cairo Mercenary Band, this character had instantly won their goodwill. They all expressed their respect and gratitude to Han Shuo.
After leaving the Valley of Sunshine, Han Shuo flew forward rapidly by fully utilising the art of the Demonic Ninth Heaven. It took him only fifteen minutes to reach the Soul Destroyer mercenary band.
Trunks had still not woken up after getting drunk the night before. Yesterday, when he had nothing on his plate, Han Shuo had intended to wait a while before helping Trunks reform his body. Now that the wood elite zombie had awakened, things had to happen now.
Ignoring the sleeping Trunks, Han Shuo rushed directly to his cave. He immediately picked up a wineskin from the ground, mixed the Rebirth Pill into it, and shoved it into Trunks' stomach.
Pressing down hard on Trunks to make sure he couldn't struggle, Han Shuo used his magical cultivation to force Trunks to refine the Rebirth Pill in his stomach. Then he left and said to Grant, "Take him to the toilet. He will be like Odysseus and the others. Take good care of him."
"Understood!" Grant didn't understand at all, but he knew that Han Shuo wouldn't harm Trunks, so he nodded in agreement.
"Gilbert, you stay in the mountain valley and help Trunks for now. I'll look for you if I need you. Do not cause him any trouble at all!" Han Shuo left only one order for the Dark Dragon. He couldn't wait to leave the mountain valley as he hurried towards the Dark Forest.