CHAPTER 295: CHAPTER 295: RETURN TO THE SHELTER

Outside the campus.

Eira stood by the carriage, watching the students pass by, with a hint of nostalgia in his heart.

How time flies.

He too once had this carefree academic life.

The pace at the Martial Arts School was fast, but back then he could improve himself every day, and visibly grow stronger each day.

Such a feeling.

Is the most delightful for every Martial Artist.

"Lord Earl said it’s tonight, why hasn’t Baiyu come out yet?"

Eira glanced at his watch.

He was the one ordered to escort Baiyu this time.

The matter of the Spirit Realm Tides involved significant intricacies, thus Earl Nanmu dispatched his trusted general.

Eira waited for a long time.

Even someone as patient as him was getting a bit restless when he finally saw Baiyu emerging from the school gate.

"Sorry, I was cultivating in the dormitory, so I’m a bit late,"

Baiyu apologized.

Eira smiled and said, "No problem, it is my honor to wait for the Baron."

He could naturally tell that Baiyu’s Blood Qi was retracted, but there was a slight wavering, clearly just finished with cultivation, not lying.

"According to the Earl’s instructions, I will directly take you to the Shelter, where you will naturally understand what the Spirit Realm Tides are."

After inviting Baiyu to board the carriage, the two headed straight to the Heavenly Elevator.

Regarding the Spirit Realm Tides, Eira knew little, so even if Baiyu asked him, he always had no answers.

Finally, Baiyu wisely chose to rest directly in the carriage.

Unknown dangers awaited ahead, conserving energy was the best choice at the moment.

The two hurried from the Heavenly Elevator to the third underground level.

Then proceeded to the Anomaly Bureau, and arrived at the entrance of the Shelter.

The Zenith City’s Anomaly Bureau had the entrance to the Shelter for other cities. Naturally, not every city in the Twelve Cities of Maple Leaf County had a Shelter.

This depended on geographical location and environment.

Passing through the magical blue swirling portal, Eira and Baiyu appeared in the plaza of Linjiang City’s Shelter.

Victor’s Plaza!

After the last renovation, the plaza looked considerably different.

Surrounded by carved stone railings, in the middle of the vast plaza stood a towering blue swirling portal, emitting beautiful colors, from which people occasionally emerged.

The area surrounding the plaza did not have chaotic stalls.

Instead, it was clearly tidied up and several zones were demarcated.

Each zone had Mechanical Patrols pacing back and forth, maintaining orderly conduct.

"Oh, has Linjiang City’s Shelter changed this much in just a few years since I last came?"

Allen’s eyes revealed surprise.

He had visited Linjiang City’s Shelter in the early years.

Back then, Victor’s Plaza wasn’t as imposing, the four giant Divine Beast statues were absent, and even the Shelter’s Teleportation Light Gate was buried underground.

"Haha, changes happen. Let’s go to my residence first."

Since that moment.

Baiyu felt a presence, a skimming gaze fixating on him. Initially expecting it would fade upon reaching the Shelter, instead, it persisted here.

He guessed somewhat who might be tracking him.

During this period.

Besides the He Family, who else would give Baiyu such special attention?

The two quietly arrived at Baiyu’s standalone villa.

"Baron, please wait a moment, I’ll handle this pest."

Eira smiled slightly, his figure gradually fading and disappearing, all within one second, leaving Baiyu clueless about how it was done.

A minute later.

Eira appeared at the villa entrance, dragging a man whose limbs were broken, bound like a twisted knot.

"Bring him in."

Baiyu showed no courtesy.

With Eira, the Earl Nanmu’s ace enforcer around, it was right to make use of him.

The villa remained unchanged.

The Elf Banshee had kept it very clean, though various materials piled up in several corners of the hall, making the place appear quite cluttered.

"Master, the materials we’ve collected these months can’t be sold. Several material merchants have teamed up to suppress us, no one dares to trade with us on medicinal herbs, and even the selling routes we’ve been using are blocked..."

Erin cried, her tears falling heavily to the ground upon seeing Baiyu.

Baiyu looked perplexed.

From the start, he foresaw this situation.

Not agreeing to Josh, the district manager of Jiuda Trading Company, would undoubtedly lead to sanctions by his coalition.

In other words.

Josh and others had firmly established the rules of commercial enterprise within Linjiang Shelter.

If you want to partake in material supply and trading, you must adhere to their rules.

Otherwise.

They will unite all benefiting merchants within these rules and suppress newcomers, which is why nobody can easily intervene in the Shelter’s material business.

"No worries, I’ll solve this problem once I return."

Looking at the full house of medicinal herbs, Baiyu felt a bit pained.

The initial sunk costs were significant; he couldn’t abandon this business.

"Any assistance needed?"

At that moment, Eira approached upon hearing the discussion.

Baiyu briefly explained the situation.

"If you trust me, I can handle this matter."

Eira laughed after hearing it, "Just some merchants, you have the Imperial noble status, how could they dare provoke you."

"Oh, you have a solution? Even with noble status, one can’t casually harm others."

Baiyu showed interest.

"Baron, you are modest.

Whether openly or covertly, I am confident in handling such situations.

Moreover.

Linjiang City’s Shelter isn’t a large or mega Shelter.

The local bullies can’t stir trouble."

Eira was confident.

Working under Earl Nanmu, he specialized in dealing with these dirty and tough tasks, truly capable and self-reliant early on.

Earl Nanmu wouldn’t have sent him to escort Baiyu otherwise.

More than aiming to help, Eira sought to ally with Baiyu, seeing immense future potential in him.

"Alright, if Eira has experience in this, I’d naturally leave it to the expert,"

Baiyu smiled lightly.

Whether successful or not, trying wouldn’t cost anything, and might bring surprises; outright refusal seemed rather unwise.

They had a simple meal prepared by Erin.

Eira dragged the captured man into the villa’s basement; it was certain that he was indeed from the He Family.

The reason for stalking Baiyu was self-evident.

But Eira wanted no risks at this critical moment as Baiyu’s safety would be directly his responsibility with Earl Nanmu’s immediate blame if anything happened.

Thus, Eira aimed to personally interrogate the man to extract more information.

Not dealing with Eira’s affairs.

Baiyu donned a clean coat, entered the bedroom, gently placing his hand on the Communication Pillar that connects to the Shelter’s spirit.

Shortly.

Yao Ji’s virtual image appeared before him.

Upon seeing Baiyu, her eyes gleamed with intense joy, clearly genuinely happy.