The steam car stopped by the roadside. The old councilor's residence was not luxurious, merely a two-story building with a courtyard. Given the old councilor's status, he was fully entitled to live in a manor and establish a manor guard numbering several thousand.
None of that existed. The old councilor's residence was only a two-story building, and more than a dozen Ma'er's hounds were kept in the courtyard. They were a breed from the Kingdom of Lehman, mostly used to guard homes and courtyards. They were docile toward humans but extremely aggressive toward other animals.
Puri extinguished the steam car's compressor, then took a small glass bottle from the storage compartment. It contained a transparent liquid, and the cork was riddled with tiny holes.
Puri tapped the glass bottle several times against the web between his thumb and index finger. The colorless liquid seeped through the cork and coated his hand.
"Apply some of this to your body. Getting bitten by the dogs in the courtyard would be troublesome."
Puri tossed the small glass bottle to Su Xiao, then pushed open the door and got out.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu all applied some of the colorless liquid to their clothes. Azaz had not applied any; the dogs in the courtyard were the ones he raised.
As soon as the group entered the courtyard, more than a dozen Ma'er's hounds ran over and surrounded Azaz, wagging their tails. Several even lay down and exposed their bellies to him, representing absolute trust.
The guards in plain sight were these more than ten Ma'er's hounds. No one knew how many hyena tribe members had tried to sneak in here, only to end up as food in the hounds' bellies.
Following the courtyard's gravel path, Su Xiao walked toward the two-story building.