The last rays of the setting sun spilled into the courtyard. Apart from two patches of water around the deep well, no other traces remained.
A sudden jumble of footsteps sounded outside. The tap-tap rapidly drew closer, and in the blink of an eye, a party of over a dozen people, Phoebe among them, appeared before Han Shuo.
Her exquisite face was full of worry. The moment her bright eyes fell on Han Shuo and she saw he was unharmed, her expression visibly relaxed. Yet her grip on her sword did not loosen. She turned her fair neck to survey the surroundings, seemingly looking for any hidden danger.
Besides Phoebe, there were twelve guards from the Jialuo Mercenary Group, all clad in iron armor. They appeared to have been summoned by Phoebe. Their eyes were alert, and they looked extremely cautious as they surveyed their surroundings.
"Are you all right?" Only after looking around and finding nothing unusual or dangerous did Phoebe let out a soft breath and approach Han Shuo to ask.
Shaking his head, Han Shuo secretly gave Phoebe a meaningful look before smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris. I think we must have been hallucinating just now. The danger I mentioned earlier probably never appeared." Catching Han Shuo's signal, Phoebe understood that he must have taken care of everything. An apologetic expression appeared on her pretty face as she addressed the cold-looking guard captain at the front.
The man was broad and powerfully built, in the prime of his life, with a messy head of short brown hair. He carried a double-bladed battle-axe in his right hand. A savage air of slaughter clung to him, clearly the result of having killed too many people.
"This shop was once cursed by evil gods. Over