Just after leaving the room someone ran right up to Sage and bowed deeply, “You’re out! Quickly, come with me.”

As this person spoke, and also while they were bowing, they kept an eye on Sage, watching his reactions with a careful gaze. Sage nodded to them and followed the person’s lead. Sage had a hard time placing the gender of the person leading him from off to the side and just one step ahead. They were half turned towards him, keeping an eye on him the whole time even as they took the job of respectfully leading him. This person was not only wary of him, but they were covered from head to toe in many layers of flowing cloth. Only a small slit was left between the veil over their face and the scarves wrapped around their head which only revealed their eyes. The person’s body shape was hidden by the thick cloth, while their walking gait and voice seemed perfectly practiced to be completely neutral.

So, if they feel threatened and assault me, then their identity will remain unknown? How much did Guan Zhenyan tell these people? I can’t blame them too much if they only know me as an unpredictable Demonic Beast. Even if I have a human form now, they’re still wary.

If his guess was correct, he couldn’t really blame them. When the monster you’ve been feeding suddenly turns into a person, it would be perfectly reasonable to be ready for it to snap at you. Without any more information yet, Sage followed along without asking any further questions. He was led down a wide stone hallway, noticing the lack of decor and the only identifying feature being the style of stonework. The walls and floors looked to be a sort of light brown shale, the walls were like many thin layers of stone stacked upon each other horizontally while the floors were large flat stones with hexagonal and rectangular faces neatly placed so the gaps between them were so narrow only a knife blade could fit in. He couldn’t see any obvious sort of grout work, but the stones were solid and didn’t shift under his weight.

Thankfully, the walk wasn’t more than a few minutes and they came up to a set of huge wooden doors made with immense thick timber. They were painted with red lacquer which was flaking and stripped in many places, but as he passed through them he was surprised that the doors were nearly as thick as they were wide. It reminded him of a bank vault, but made out of an extraordinary species of wood that radiated a power that made his Spiritual Sense tingle. Past the doors was a sort of throne room, but on a small scale. The room was about thirty feet wide, with large round columns about five feet away from the walls on either side. The columns were four feet wide, seeming to be made of the same red lacquered wood as the doors. The room was about sixty feet long and at the end of it was a large chair made of the same red wood, but with silvery metal decorations embedded into it. This ‘throne’ was raised up upon a dais of only a single step.

There was the impression of a throne room, but the ceiling of the room was only ten feet high which gave it a much more intimate feel. Even so, the long walk past the wide columns added weight to the large man sitting upon that bulky chair. Sage had already seen this man before, but only from within the Peachwood Ring. Xiong Xiong Xiong. Bear Three, the man that Guan Zhenyan owed debts to. After leading him into the room, the fully concealed guide left the way they’d come, pulling the immense wooden doors closed on the way. The doors swung soundlessly until the last moment when they slammed closed with a boom.

Sage examined Bear Three up close, the two of them the only ones in the room and neither volunteering to break the silence first. After a few long moments, the big man smiled and spoke first, “As I expected, anyone that man associates with cannot be simple.”

Bear Three leaned back in his chair and expanded his huge arms out wide like he was hugging the sky, “Aren’t I the best example!? HA HA HA!”

Why do the strongest people always seem to have something wrong with their head?

Then the big man lowered his arms, and with the flip of a palm a chair appeared in front of him, “Come, sit. Let’s chat. Zhenyan is such a pain to talk to, he wouldn’t tell me anything about you. How can I help you?”

Sage sat down on the chair opposite the huge man. Bear Three was larger, his chair was larger, and he was up on a slightly raised platform. He really had no qualms about putting himself in a higher position. Then again, the room was also empty of anyone else and the throne as well as the room’s style itself were a good example of this man’s tactics. He put himself in charge, but with restraint. There could be hundreds of guards and attendants, or a massive hall to showcase his power and wealth. Instead, he greeted him in this comparatively intimate setting. Of course, it was far from actually close as they could just meet in any normal room over a cup of tea, so it did seem to match the larger than life character that this big fellow projected.

“As you can tell from my prior state, I need some time to recuperate in a safe place. Is this a good place to lie low for a few decades?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure you can find a way to make yourself useful. As long as you make some sort of contribution that’s commensurate for a Nascent Soul, then you won’t raise any suspicion. Others will just be jealous that I wrangled you over to my side. The worst they’ll do is try to poach you over to work with them instead. I’m not a City Lord, County Prefect, or Provincial Governor, but none of them will dare to mess with me. I have a high position in the Azure Sky Kingdom. The officials of this Stormport City, Emerald Mist County, and Clouded Mountain Province won’t dare to lift their heads in my presence. So then, how can you fit in here?”

Sage recognized that this Xiong Xiong Xiong was just working around how tight lipped Sage had been so far and using this excuse to show off his prestige while also putting a little pressure upon Sage to reveal some of his cards.

“Well, what sort of assistance would a Nascent Soul provide to another? Any resources I provide you would just look like a one time payment. If I fought at your side, wouldn’t that be contrary to wanting to lay low and recuperate? Are you wanting to see if I have any useful Professions, or get me to volunteer my Laws?”

“Quite perceptive. You’re right. I’m sure we can come up with a suitable arrangement. So, what Gu do you use? What are their Laws?”

Oh, right. Gu. Wugs in a jar. I forgot about them.

“I’m sorry, I’m completely unfamiliar with Gu, I’m from another Empire.”