An Unexpected Arrival
Seeing Lu Yuan descend the steps, the lantern-carrying apprentice immediately hurried forward, bowed to Lu Yuan, handed him a folded note, and whispered Lu Yuan message:
"Lu Yuan, the Knight of the Lantern Knight has already arranged help for you. Please take your [Night Owl Wooden Token] and head to the address on the note to meet them."
Lu Yuan took the note, unfolded it, and glanced at it. It contained the address of a business on Birch Street, on the outskirts of the western district of the inner city.
Thinking of the news from the city defenses that the Lantern Knight and the Morning Bell Knight were already stationed at the city gate, and combined with the note delivered by the Lantern Knight apprentice, Lu Yuan suddenly felt a bit curious, wondering what kind of men the Lantern Knight had arranged for him.
After putting away the note, Lu Yuan didn't delay. He immediately led Lin En out of the Side Gate of the closed martial arts training ground, boarded the steam carriage parked at the alley entrance, and instructed the driver to head directly to Birch Street.
Since Lu Yuan didn't mention the specific address or purpose of his trip after getting into the car, Lin En, who was sitting next to him, wisely refrained from asking further questions.
The steam carriage sped along the empty streets for more than ten minutes against the cold wind, and soon entered Birch Street, not too far from the Earl's Mansion in the western part of the inner city, and slowly came to a stop in front of a shop with a fur trading company sign.
It was already late at night, and most of the shops on both sides of Birch Street were closed and locked. The street was deserted, with hardly any pedestrians in sight, and the daytime noise of steam engines running and blacksmiths forging iron was gone. Only a windproof Gas Lamp was still lit under the porch of this fur trading company.
Lu Yuan stepped down from the carriage and glanced at the two-story brick shop located on the street corner. The shop's heavy oak door was ajar, and dark velvet curtains hung on the doors and windows. The area around the shop was so quiet that only the whistling of the cold wind could be heard.
Pushing open the slightly ajar Oak Door and stepping into the front hall of the shop, a warm feeling mixed with fireplace firewood and dry fur wafted over. Rows of Northern Territory snow wolf pelts and fox fur coats hung neatly on the wooden shelves on both sides of the hall. Behind the counter, only a middle-aged waiter in a well-fitting vest was wiping an abacus with his head down.
Hearing the door open, the middle-aged waiter behind the counter looked up and calmly greeted him.
Lu Yuan didn't waste any words. He walked directly to the counter, took out the black iron [Night Owl Wooden Token] that Harvey had given him, gently placed it on the counter, and tapped the token, which was engraved with dark Night Owl patterns, twice with his fingers.
The middle-aged waiter behind the counter looked down and saw the [Night Owl Wooden Token] and the way Lu Yuan tapped it. His eyes lit up and a very happy smile appeared on his face.
While discreetly helping Lu Yuan put away the wooden plaque, he warmly gestured for him to proceed and spoke in a gentle voice:
"Ah, it's our distinguished guest! Please come in, esteemed guest. The goods displayed in the lobby on the first floor are not all there. The finest Northern Territory ferret pelts and snow wolf pelts are all stored in the VIP room on the second floor. Please follow me upstairs and take your time to choose!"
Under the cover of this watertight business pitch, the customers picking through the furs in the front hall didn't even raise their heads. Lu Yuan turned to signal Lin En beside him to wait a moment in the front hall, while he followed the waiter around the front hall shelves and up the wooden staircase on the inside to a VIP room deep on the second floor.
Stepping into the second-floor room, Lu Yuan glanced around and noticed that the walls and furnishings were decorated with subtle Night Owl feather elements. Not only were there dark brown black feather ornaments hanging on the wall, but there was also an exquisite feather ornament on the corner of the table by the window, subtly echoing the Night Owl Wooden Token in his hand.
The waiter who led the way closed and locked the wooden door from the inside, his mercenary smile fading. He quickly walked to a carved wooden wainscoting on the inside and pressed a hidden brass clasp on the edge of the wainscoting.
A soft clicking sound came from inside the wainscoting. A heavy stone and wood hidden door, disguised as a leather goods display shelf, slid open silently, revealing a separate secret room hidden deep in the mezzanine on the second floor.
The gaps between the stone bricks on the walls of this secret room were all engraved with soundproofing Inscriptions to block sound and Transcendence perception. In the center of the room, a brass charcoal brazier was burning brightly. Next to the brazier was a large oak table, several high-backed wooden chairs, and a weapon rack against the wall.
Hearing the sound of the hidden door sliding open, the four young men and women who were sitting around the oak table waiting for news turned around at the same time. What came into Lu Yuan's view was Blanca, Harvey, Leon, and the tall and Robust Karin!
Seeing that it was indeed Lu Yuan who walked in through the hidden door, Blanca, Harvey, Leon, and Karin, who were sitting at the table, were all very happy. They all stood up from their wooden chairs. Harvey, with a big smile, took two steps forward and pointed to the [Night Owl Wooden Token] that Lu Yuan hadn't yet put away, jokingly saying:
"Lu Yuan, I knew that once we got to Watch City, you'd eventually need this wooden plaque I gave you!"
Looking at the four familiar faces he had reunited with, Lu Yuan smiled, tucked the [Night Owl Wooden Token] back into his pocket, pulled up a wooden chair, and sat down at the long oak table. He casually asked Harvey and Blanca:
"I heard at the training ground that the Morning Bell Knights had come to Watch City, so I guessed that you guys might have come too. Didn't you guys go down a different route when we forked at the snowfield?"
Blanca, sitting opposite him, laughed heartily upon hearing this and explained to Lu Yuan:
"After we split up at the fork in the snowfield, we were originally going to follow the Morning Bell Knights to the other side. But halfway there, the situation on the Watch City side suddenly changed, and the academy changed the plan at the last minute, so they temporarily called our team back to help."
"After entering the city, the Lantern Knight, considering the intricate web of nobles and underworld forces in the inner city, and the fact that my family is acquainted with the high-ranking nobles of Watch City, and Harvey's family owns several shops here, simply assigned the four of us to this trading company to secretly monitor the movements in the inner city. We just received an order from the Lantern Knight to cooperate with a special advisor, and we were wondering if it was you."
After listening to Blanca's explanation, Lu Yuan smiled and nodded. He then chatted with Blanca familiarly for a few more minutes, taking the opportunity to build a good relationship with this young lady from the Solheim Family.
Lu Yuan naturally remembered the Bloodstained Horn that Oden had mentioned before, but he knew very well that the Horn itself was not inside Blanca's body. What remained inside her were only the traces of the Bloodstained Horn. It was always good to spend more time with her and build a good relationship.
After a few brief pleasantries, the atmosphere in the private room quickly returned to the main topic.