Hands Turn Clouds

(The contract was mailed today. Friends who still have investment slots should hurry up~)

The carriage stopped before an estate protected by towering walls. Sharp barbs lined the tops to prevent intruders, making it look more like a castle. On the wind came the delicate fragrance of jasmine from within.

Looking over, the tightly shut semicircular estate gates were hard and thick, carved with exquisite griffin reliefs.

After getting out of the carriage, the scrawny thief said with an ingratiating smile, "Master, this is the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild, ranked first in District Twelve."

Loren gave a slight nod. "Go inform their President to come out and greet me."

The young thief hesitated, glancing at Loren, then at Fiana behind him. In the end, he gritted his teeth and said,

"Master, the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild runs part of the slave trade. Their guards are vicious men."

Before he could finish, Loren waved a hand.

"Go."

The thief gave a bitter smile and did not dare say more. With a wary expression, he went to knock on the gate and state his purpose.

The guards were visibly shocked when they heard that a noble master had come to visit.

Nobles of the Silver Moon Kingdom were not something just anyone could become. Which noble master was not a lofty figure who held power?

They all knew that the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild had previously brought a hefty sum to visit a Baron, only to be denied even entry.

While the scrawny thief informed the guards, Loren turned to the cool-tempered girl beside him and said in a deep voice,

"Fiana, once the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild comes out, I'll need you to release the pressure of a Platinum-grade expert and intimidate them.

Tonight, you only need to help me with this one thing. Leave everything else to me."

Fiana had originally wanted to say that, as a member of the Orchid Family, she would never help him extort others.

But when she saw the seriousness in Loren's dark eyes, her heart inexplicably softened again. After pondering for a long while, she finally nodded with a cold expression.

Once the news that a noble master wished to visit the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild was passed into the estate, it immediately caused a stir.

In an instant, the estate erupted with noise.

Before long, the five-meter-tall gates creaked open, pushed by several High-tier Bronze Grade warriors. Then, a middle-aged man in luxurious yet slightly disheveled clothes arrived with a vast crowd behind him.

When they saw the extraordinary Loren and the aloof, breathtakingly beautiful Fiana, their eyes filled with uncertainty.

Once they approached and clearly saw the noble crest embroidered on Loren's noble robes, their expressions changed again and again.

At first, they had worried that this might be a scam. Why else would a noble come to visit them at night?

But now, it was clearly not the case.

Impersonating a noble was a capital crime. Impersonating a noble with a noble crest was a capital crime among capital crimes.

Only nobles with the rank of Count or above were permitted to wear noble crests.

The Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild might possess some modest wealth, but before a noble of this rank, they had no confidence whatsoever.

Combined with Loren and Fiana's exceptionally outstanding bearing, the leading middle-aged man was intimidated for a moment. After taking several deep breaths, he finally forced out a smile and stepped forward.

He placed his right hand over his chest and bowed respectfully.

"Good evening, honored noble master. I am Robert, President of the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild. Greetings to you."

Loren nodded slightly. The information the thief had given him mentioned that the President of the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild was a Gold Beginner Warrior, a ruthless man who had clawed his way up from the slums and possessed fairly good combat ability.

Besides that, the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild had over a hundred Bronze Grade guards and more than a dozen Silver Grade guards.

However, none of them had awakened Bloodline Power. With Fiana holding the fort, even if they all came at them together, they would be nothing but a blank slate.

Loren calmly looked at the more than thirty people before him. His tone was tranquil, yet his voice rang in every person's ears.

"Loren Grant.

Good evening, President Robert."

There were not many words, yet dozens of people simultaneously sucked in a breath, their gazes upon Loren filled with shock.

"There is only one noble family named Grant in the Silver Moon Kingdom."

"The Orchid Family?!"

"That High Noble family with a thousand-year legacy?"

"A descendant of such an illustrious noble family actually came to Decker City?"

"Isn't the Orchid Family in the Silver Moon Capital??"

Loren paid no attention to the crowd's exclamations. After his words fell, a surge of deep white energy burst from Fiana's body, as though flames had ignited around her.

At that moment, it was as if a giant dragon had opened its eyes, and the air became saturated with an incomparably oppressive aura.

The Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild members immediately drew in cold breaths, staring at Fiana in utter horror.

"A... a Platinum expert who has awakened Bloodline Power?!!"

"There is actually such a terrifying expert protecting this descendant of the Orchid Family?!!"

"A Platinum expert is terrifying enough, but now there's a Platinum expert who has awakened Bloodline Power."

"With just one person, they could probably wipe out our Merchant Guild."

The crowd, cowed by the terrifying pressure, immediately lowered their heads, their minds unsettled.

Fortunately, Fiana's aura vanished in an instant and did not last long.

After Fiana withdrew her aura,

Loren, elegant and radiant, smiled faintly and looked directly at the President of the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild.

"Perhaps President Robert would like to invite me into your estate for a seat."

Only then did Robert react. He hurriedly replied with a fawning smile,

"Yes, yes, this way, please, honored Master Loren."

He swiftly led Loren into the estate.

Though the crowd behind them all wore smiles, the depths of their gazes toward Loren and Fiana held undisguised fear.

They were High Nobles!

How could a small household like theirs possibly afford to offend them?

In the company of figures like giant dragons, they felt no honor at all—only apprehension and unease.

The Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild was not small. Before them lay an enormous garden with exquisite statues, clusters of rare flowers in the beds, as well as fountains and artificial hills. The environment was extremely luxurious, quite fitting for merchants.

After passing through the garden, Loren and Fiana were led into the main hall.

At that moment, over twenty armored warriors stood fully equipped in the corners of the hall, where a long oval wooden table had been set.

Outside the hall, more than a hundred people had gathered, each gripping a weapon so tightly that veins bulged from their hands, as though they faced not two people but two fire-breathing dragons.

"Lord Loren, please sit."

Robert cautiously gestured for Loren to take the seat of honor.

Although Loren had shown no hostility, one could never be too careful. Before a figure of such stature, Robert could only serve him with utmost caution.

In this world ruled by nobles, merchants held little status before them.

After Loren sat down, Fiana stood calmly behind him at a certain distance, silent.

Though the scrawny thief had merely led the way, Loren had not dismissed him, and the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild could not gauge his status. They could only bring him into the hall as well.

Fortunately, the fellow knew his place. He obediently hid to one side, secretly listening without daring to show himself.

"Robert, do you know why I came to the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild today?"

The elegant and exceptional Loren spoke a single sentence. The next moment, the atmosphere in the room froze to the extreme.

Everyone stared at the valiant young man seated in the place of honor as though facing a great enemy.

His next sentence might determine the future of the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild.

A superior's single word determined fate.

A descendant of the Orchid Family was the most exalted of superiors.