By the time the year-end banquet at the City Lord's Manor ended, night had settled in deep. There was no moon in the sky that evening, and barely a handful of stars, so anyone leaving the manor and stepping beyond its lights would be plunged into darkness.
Xu Yi hurried into the shadows at a street corner. Only after making sure no one else was following him did he let out a long breath and relax.
When he had walked out through the manor's gates, several more young noblewomen had actually chased after him, once again inviting him to spend the night with them.
One had even boldly taken his hand, slipped it down her neckline, and pressed it straight against her full breast. Xu Yi had been so startled that he immediately pulled his hand away and fled.
Looking down at the right hand that had just touched that soft fullness, Xu Yi shook his head with a self-mocking smile. If he had not kept thinking of Stille, he might really have lost control and been devoured by those young noblewomen.
After settling his nerves, Xu Yi checked his bearings and headed toward his home in the city.
Whenever he attended a banquet at the City Lord's Manor, he made a habit of walking home afterward.
For one thing, it was not far. For another, the walk gave him time to think over the various issues that had come up during the banquet.
Right now, what occupied his mind was the matter of a guards corps that President Cruz had mentioned earlier.
As President Cruz had said, the Sains Continent was nowhere near as peaceful as the Celestial Empire back on Earth. Inconvenient transportation and communication, coupled with a backward social structure, meant that bandits still plagued many places.