Floro City

Floro City

Floro City lay on the western border of the Lans Empire, and it was also the Lans Empire's natural barrier. To the north of Floro City were rolling barren mountains, while to the south it connected to the endless Falling Moon Mountains. Floro City was wedged between the two mountain ranges, with the imposing air of a pass that one man could hold against ten thousand.

For hundreds of years, it was by relying on Floro City's steep and unique geography that the Lans Empire had fended off the Baolong Empire's attacks again and again. The Baolong Empire had never managed to break through this natural barrier. Several hundred years ago, the two empires, both nearly dragged to collapse by war, had amicably signed a peace treaty, and only then had Floro City, long tempered by the flames of war, become peaceful and prosperous.

At that moment, on the main road leading to Floro City, a carriage was slowly making its way along.

"Master, based on what you just told me, I think Mr. Crowell's cousin—your uncle, York—is the most suspicious. Because according to imperial law, the only one qualified to inherit your father's title is this York."

The person speaking from the driver's seat was none other than Fate. Li Junshan sat beside him, occasionally flicking the leather whip in his hand through the air above the back of the level-two magical beast pulling the cart, the Savage Bull, his brows slightly furrowed.

After returning to Windfire Town from the northern desert, Li Junshan felt there was no longer any need for him to stay.

First, his identity had been exposed. That mage and the War Saint probably would not let things rest, and they might go to Windfire Town to ask around. Li Junshan still did not dare face them head-on. If they came knocking for trouble, they certainly would not come alone. If another powerful expert popped up, even with the Xenomorph Black Dragon, Li Junshan did not feel he had much confidence.

The other reason was that his summoning training had hit a bottleneck. No matter how hard he worked, he could not break through, and the other xenomorph eggs in his spiritual space showed no movement either.

The xenomorph eggs were his most powerful weapon. Having a treasure mountain sitting there uselessly was a situation Li Junshan simply could not accept. Going to Floro City to receive formal, systematic study at the academy was the only method he could think of.

Of course, the most important reason of all was that Li Junshan now possessed a Xenomorph Black Dragon. He felt he should have some strength now, and he was no longer willing to keep holed up in a small place like Windfire Town, spending every day making Malatang for a living.

Harisa and the leaders of the various mercenary groups had all sworn on their families' honor that they were willing to become Li Junshan's retainers. After witnessing his Xenomorph Black Dragon, Harisa and the others not only felt no shame at this, but were all quite excited.

A fourteen-year-old summoner not only possessed more than a dozen powerful summoned beasts, but also a dragon and a dragon egg. That was right—in the eyes of Harisa and the others, the Xenomorph Black Dragon was clearly an advanced black dragon. At the same time, they also learned that Xiaoshan was originally a scion of the fallen Harriman Family.

Who had not heard of the Harriman Family? Even if Xiaoshan was a child exiled by the family, now that he had a black dragon summoned beast, they could understand with their rear ends how much importance and preferential treatment Xiaoshan would receive from the family.

The Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, the Fire Dragon Mercenary Group, and the others were all merged into a new mercenary group—the Windfire Mercenary Group. This name was chosen by Li Junshan, and Harisa still served as its leader. Most of the adventurers who had originally followed the Dragon Slayer Team also joined the new mercenary group. Of course, these adventurers were different from the mercenary groups permanently stationed in Windfire Town. Some of them had come to the Falling Moon Mountains to hunt magical beasts, and those adventurers who were unwilling to join the mercenary group were all forcefully driven out of Windfire Town by the Windfire Mercenary Group.

Li Junshan had not planned to bring them along. Windfire Town's geographical location was special. If Li Junshan took away all the mercenaries, within a few days new mercenary groups would move into Windfire Town, and for the permanent residents there, that might not necessarily be a good thing. Besides, people like Harisa all had cases on their records to varying degrees, and the current Li Junshan still did not have the power to clear their names.

After bidding farewell to Commander Harisa, who was a little depressed because he had not been brought along; bidding farewell to Aunt Anna, who could not bear to part with him and wept and sobbed; bidding farewell to Sally, whose expression was complicated; and patting Xilu on the shoulder as he grinned foolishly after receiving the dwarf's sharp battle-axe, Li Junshan left Windfire Town and took Fate with him onto the road to Floro City.

"When Sally gets back and sees that piece of iron mother I secretly left for her, she should feel a little better," Li Junshan thought, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a smile.

As for Sally, Li Junshan, who in his previous life had been used to joking around with girls, only somewhat liked the feeling of being close to her. Love was something far too deep and heavy, and Li Junshan had no plans for it yet.

"Who cares who it is?" Li Junshan cracked the whip with a snap, stood up, and laughed. "The main thing is, I'm back."

"We'll be there after we turn this bend," Fate said, pointing toward a turn ahead.

The Savage Bull's speed and strength were both freakish. When it ran, it was no worse than a fine horse. Before long, it pulled the ox cart around the bend along the foot of the mountain, and a stone city immediately appeared before Li Junshan's eyes.

The enormous city of stone was wedged between the mountain ranges, stretching dozens of li across. The city walls were all built from huge blocks of stone stacked together, and the walls were covered with corner arrow towers. It was truly spectacular.

"What are you doing here?" When the ox cart reached the city gate, it was stopped by a squad of armored soldiers.

"Sir soldier." Fate jumped down from the ox cart and said with a smile, "We're delivering magical beast materials for Mr. Bennett to use in making potions."

"Master Bennett?" The leading soldier looked at Fate suspiciously, then used the long spear in his hand to lift the coarse canvas covering the ox cart, revealing a large pile of severed magical beast limbs and remains underneath. It looked extremely disgusting. A heavy sour stench immediately spread at the city gate, and the soldier covered his nose as he raised his spear and stabbed it a few times.

"Careful, sir soldier," Fate hurriedly said. "There are several Dark Water Black Snake corpses in there. They're poisonous."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" The soldier jumped in fright, pulled back his spear, and hurriedly stirred and washed it in the nearby waterway, then said impatiently, "Go, go, hurry up. Don't block the people behind you."

"Of course." Fate answered readily, then jumped back onto the ox cart with Li Junshan and drove the Savage Bull toward the city.

"This black dragon egg is strange too. It has to be soaked in an extremely strong acidic solution before it can hatch quickly. This smell is really unbearable."

Li Junshan frowned and pulled the coarse canvas forward with his hand, covering the exposed gap tightly again.

"The dragon egg's all right, isn't it?" Only then did Fate break out in sweat all over his forehead. His small eyes darted around, and his expression was somewhat nervous.

"Don't worry." Li Junshan fanned the air in front of his nose with his hand and said, "It's not like the spear in that soldier's hand was some divine artifact. How could it possibly damage the black dragon egg?" As he spoke, he began sizing up Floro City's streets.

Unlike the narrowness of the city gate, after they went a little deeper into Floro City, the streets became spacious.

Compared with Windfire Town, Floro City's buildings were much more high-class. Buildings of three stories and above were everywhere. Due to military needs, Floro City's main roads were extremely broad, more than thirty meters wide. Many restaurants and shops lined both sides of the road, and it was exceptionally lively.

Following Nicholas's inherited memories, Li Junshan drove the ox cart north through the city. After turning several times and changing roads a few times, he finally stopped in front of a residence.

"What are you doing here?" A soldier dragged his long spear over and said impatiently, "This is a noble's residence. What are you commoners doing here? Get lost."

Li Junshan searched through his memories but still could not recognize this soldier. Fate rushed forward and cursed, "Are your dog eyes blind? Open those dog eyes of yours and look. Who is this?"

"Courting death." The soldier flew into a rage and lifted his spear, about to charge over.

"Brother," Li Junshan said with a faint smile, stopping him and asking, "May I ask if this is Viscount Crowell's residence?"

The soldier froze, then his face filled with disdain. He put away his spear and said, "I was wondering who you were looking for. So it's that good-for-nothing. He stopped being a viscount long ago. This residence belongs to our Lord Viscount York now."

Li Junshan was stunned. Just then, he heard a trembling voice.

"Young master! Are you... the young master?"

Li Junshan turned around and saw an old man with white hair standing behind him. His worn clothes had been washed especially clean. At that moment, his body was trembling slightly, and his blank, fixed gaze was staring at him.

"Get lost, you damned old man. Here to borrow money from our lord again? How could our lord possibly see you?" When the soldier saw the old man, he began cursing.

"Raymond? Grandpa Butler?" Nicholas's memories told Li Junshan the old man's identity.

"Young master, you know me. You really are the young master. Young master..." The old man's eyes instantly came alive. Tears rolled in them, and his lips trembled, shaking the white beard on his chin. He was so excited he could not speak.

"Grandpa Raymond." Li Junshan ignored the soldier's mocking laughter beside them and said to the old butler, "Where are my father and mother? Where are they living now?"

Only then did Raymond react. Tears flowed down the gullies of his face, and he said in a trembling voice, "Young master, you're still alive. Wonderful, wonderful."

Seeing that he was too emotional for the moment and knowing he would not be able to ask anything, Li Junshan turned back and gave the soldier a cold look, then helped Raymond onto the carriage.

Following the direction the old steward had pointed out, Fate drove the ox cart slowly onward. Raymond still seemed unable to believe this was real; his eyes stayed fixed on Li Junshan without blinking once.

"Grandpa Raymond," Li Junshan said with a smile, "don't worry. I'm right here, alive and standing in front of you. There's no faking it."

Raymond answered unconsciously, but his eyes still would not leave him. Only after a long while did he finally come back to himself.

"Young Master, what on earth happened? Why have you only come back now?" Raymond's face was filled with joy.

"Let's talk after we get back," Li Junshan said with a smile. "Are my father and mother both well?"

Raymond's expression dimmed. He lowered his head and said, "The master is all right, but madam..."

"What happened?" Li Junshan felt his heartbeat suddenly quicken. He knew it was because of Nicholas's memories, and he could not help growing tense.

"Ah." Raymond let out a heavy sigh and said, "Young Master, you'll know once you get back."

As they spoke, Fate, following the old steward's directions, drove the carriage onto a narrow lane. Unlike the other smooth flagstone roads, this lane had clearly fallen into disrepair over the years. Potholes large and small were everywhere, and it was a muddy mess.

"Why are you living here?" Li Junshan frowned. In his memories, this was Floro City's Hatton District. In the continent's common tongue, Hatton meant commoner, so the people living here were naturally all commoners.

Raymond sighed and said, "After you disappeared, too many things happened at home. It can't be explained in a few words. Look, we live there now." The old steward reached out and pointed to a house by the roadside.

From a distance, the residence did not look small, but there was no telling how many years it had been since it was built. The wooden house was dilapidated, and there were even several holes in the front gate.

Jumping down from the carriage, Li Junshan took several deep breaths. He felt both uneasy and somewhat excited. Just as he was about to go up and knock, the wooden door creaked and was pushed open from inside, and a blond girl in white walked out carrying a basket of vegetables.