The reason Lan Jie had come looking for Jiang Ping An was that Ding Han had told him the beast hide had ultimately fallen into Jiang Ping An's hands.
After some covert investigation, he confirmed that Jiang Ping An was staying at Hua Miao Lou.
Faced with Lan Jie's imposing questions, the maid he had stopped kept a friendly smile on her face and dipped into a slight bow.
"Sorry, sir. Hua Miao Lou has strict rules. We never disclose a guest's private information."
"Besides, I'm only a lowly maid. I don't know whether the guest you're looking for, Long Ping, is staying here."
Lan Jie fixed her with a cool stare. "Don't fob me off with stock answers. I wouldn't have come in person if I hadn't already confirmed that the God King called Long Ping is inside Hua Miao Lou right now."
The maid's smile did not waver. She bowed again and repeated her answer.
"Sorry, sir. I don't know."
"Do you want to vanish from the imperial city, little maid?"
Lan Jie's voice suddenly turned cold. The pressure of a Third Level God King flickered around him.
Yet the maid's expression remained unchanged. Even the curve of her smile held steady as she answered for a third time.
"Sorry, sir. I don't know."
Her cultivation and status were far below his, but Hua Miao Lou stood behind her.
Hua Miao Lou occupied a special position. It belonged to the largest alliance of independent merchant guilds in the Chaos Sea. Though beholden to no single divine kingdom or lineage, it maintained countless ties and business dealings with every side.
The organization's depths were unfathomable. Rumor had it that a peerless Ninth Level God King stood behind the alliance.
Lan Jie was merely a royal Young Master at the