Xu Shi had always had a fairly good impression of Lu Baiyan.
Mainly because the kid reminded him somewhat of his good brother Qi Maoyang, who was far away in Night Sin City. A little mischievous, but not excessively so—exactly the kind of personality Xu Shi found likable.
On top of that, Lu Baiyan and Luo Yu seemed to be putting up a united front while secretly at odds, which earned him even more points.
"Knight Lu."
So, even though the invitation was somewhat abrupt, Xu Shi did not truly brush him off. He nodded politely. "Are you inviting me in your own name, or on behalf of the Church?"
"I came with the knight order, so naturally I represent the Church."
Lu Baiyan returned the smile, though his tone carried a trace of barely perceptible regret. "However, if Mr. Xu is willing to visit my residence afterward, that would be even better."
Hm?
That attitude intrigued Xu Shi. It felt as though Lu Baiyan was somewhat reluctant?
But after giving it a little thought, he understood—the whole Church surely knew that Xu Shi's relationship with them was anything but good.
Yet his value was immense. Whether it was the recent Sea God Stone incident or the various equipment technologies from earlier, word had surely begun to spread... Now that the royal family had already made the first move, no matter how unwilling the Church was, it could not simply give up without even making contact. That would be the worst outcome for them.
So the question was, who should they send to act as the go-between?
Not many people in the Church had dealt with Xu Shi. Sending someone who had never met him before would not work; it would seem far too stiff... But aside from that, there