Carmelita and Andre both remained silent. They seemed to ignore what Erebus and Aobashi had said without expressing any disagreement or agreement.
The other two exchanged glances before Aobashi cleared her throat. "Let me go out and have a look, then." She went out without caring if they approved or not.
"Sigh... We can't really blame Bryan for what happened back then. The City Lord had forced his hand. Back in the City of Gorging Clouds, the City Lord had wanted to deal with Bryan, so he had no other choice... That's why..." Erebus couldn't bring himself to finish when Carmelita glared at him. Whatever the circumstances, Wallace was dead and she and Andre were suffering for it.
Shaking his head and sighing, Andre smiled in resignation. "How dare he come... Even if we don't deal with him, Yarus wouldn't miss the chance. Not to mention that this is the Domain of Darkness. I wonder if the Lord Overgod will notice his presence and blame us.
Since Andre became City Lord, he has begun to look at the bigger and much more complex picture, unlike Carmelita, who focused solely on Han Shuo's debt to her family. Given the current tumultuous state of Elysium, it was truly inappropriate for Han Shuo to come to Domain of Darkness alone.
Carmelita clicked her tongue as she hesitated, before turning to Erebus and saying, "You should go too! If it's him, chase him away!"
"I'm not strong enough to do that," Erebus said with a chuckle.
She seemed a little upset as she said, "We don't want to see him. There's no point in him coming to the Dominion of Darkness, so make him leave!"
Only then did Erebus think he heard a hint of what she meant. He gave her a suspicious look and turned to Andre, who nodded at him privately. Seeming to understand something of that, Erebus nodded back and said, "I'll chase him away when I see him."
He gave them one last look before leaving, and when he was gone, Carmelita sighed. "Why is he here? Isn't he well in the Fringe?"
"It shouldn't be a big deal. He made it out of the Dominion of Darkness last time, so this time should be no different," Andre said after some hesitation.
...
The streets of the City of Shadows were lined with countless shops. Aobashi left the Sainte household and walked through the streets on her own, without saying a word. The guards in the city recognised her and immediately sought her out for instructions, thinking that something had happened in the city. Aobashi simply waved them off. Soon she noticed that Erebus had come out after her, smiling.
"What's going on?" he asked Erebus.
"Not much. I could tell that both Carmelita and Andre still see him as a friend. They just can't seem to get too close to him because of Wallace's death."
Hearing this, Aobashi nodded and knew what she had to do. The two of them went to a quiet alley where the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy used to be. For some reason, after the House of Han left the city, this area was left empty. No one had been able to buy it from the Sainte family.
It seemed rather filthy from lack of cleaning, thanks to all the dust that had collected, but the two didn't seem to mind when they entered. Han Shuo's exploits within the Dominion of Darkness were hardly unknown. As a result, no one dared to harm the area. Many of the city's powerful elites had some semblance of respect for the place, and even the heads of the city's three major families had instructed their descendants not to vandalise the area, which spoke volumes about their respect for Han Shuo, as they weren't nearly as harsh when it came to dealing with the Sainte family.
Inside, Aobashi and Erebus found someone standing inside, smiling at them as they came.
"It's been a long time, Bryan," Aobashi said.
"Haha, it was you after all! I knew my ears wouldn't let me down!" Erebus said with a beaming smile as he hugged Han Shuo tightly. He tapped Han Shuo's back a few times before finally letting go. "What's wrong? Did you get hurt? Why is there such a long scar on your face? You were able to heal all of Carmelita's wounds, but not your own?"
The line separating his two halves was too obvious. If he wasn't dressed, the two would see that the line actually extended down to his body, radiating spatial energy.
"It's just a small wound. It's no big deal," Han Shuo said without going into detail. He sighed and asked, "Do they still hate me?"
Erebus and Aobashi didn't know how to answer.
"I knew it would end like this. It's no wonder they can't forgive me. Because of Wallace, many of my household guards were killed. He even tried to kill me. If I didn't kill him, the House of Han would be no more, so I had no choice." He sighed and forced a smile. "I only came to visit you this time. If you don't want to see me, then forget it."
"It's not what you think. Andre and Carmelita still see you as a friend and care about you. But the whole town knows you killed Wallace, and if they're on good terms with you, the rest of the Sainte family won't let them off the hook for it. They were even worried about your safety, especially from Yarus," Erebus explained before glancing overhead, seemingly concerned about something.
Aobashi snapped, "Enough of this nonsense!" She also knew how impressive the abilities of the Overgod of Darkness were. Who knew if their conversation was being overheard.
"Don't worry. Not many in all of Elysium can lay their hands on me, let alone anyone in the Dominions of Destruction, Death and Darkness," Han Shuo said with a carefree smile. With his current power, he really didn't have much to fear.
""Oh? You sound confident!" Aobashi said, "I see you've made quite a name for yourself over the past few years. The entire Fringe belongs to you, right? Do you think I can join you when I can no longer stay in the City of Shadows?"
"You are always welcome in the Fringe," Han Shuo said. Aobashi had lived in the City of Shadows for a long time, thanks to her benefactor Wallace. Even with Wallace gone for so long, she still served the Sainte family for a long time and could be said to have repaid her debt. "Then again, who can match your strength in the City of Shadows, especially when you have Erebus and the Sainte family with you?"
"Things have changed," Erebus said before explaining their difficulties to Han Shuo.
Han Shuo nodded and said, "I understand." He handed them some things and said, "Take them. There's one for each of you, including Carmelita and Andre, and they're for..."
Back in the Fringe, Han Shuo had killed quite a few Highgods, many of them close to their peak. He had refined their souls into arcane orbs that allowed one to absorb the insights of another directly into their soul. He had also given them some strengthening potions that could help Erebus and Aobashi break through.
"These... these are precious. Where did you get them?" Erebus asked, completely shocked.
"They're not particularly precious. I have plenty more where that came from. Don't tell Carmelita and Andre they came from me. I'm afraid they won't accept them. Andre can't control them because he's not powerful enough, so he'll need these."
Without letting them refuse, he laughed quickly and said, "All right, let's get some drinks. We won't go home sober!"
Immediately after that, he made all sorts of delicacies and delicious wine appear out of nowhere and began to feast on them.
...
While Andre was attending to the affairs of the city, a guardian suddenly appeared and knelt before him. "Lord of the City, the patriarchs of the Kinson, Buller and Kisa families have sent messengers to inform us that they're willing to accept our terms and allow us to command their guards."
"What?!" Andre cried in surprise, "They wouldn't even budge no matter how hard I tried, so why did they agree out of the blue?"
"I don't know either."
After some thought Andre's eyes brightened. "Don't tell me..."