932 Chapter 932 An Old Friend
Chapter 932 An Old Friend
Clowns performed on the streets, wandering merchants set up stalls, and some hunting teams returned with their spoils of war.
As they walked, the lively conversation in their ears never stopped.
Soon, they arrived in front of a castle.
The castle occupied a ma.s.sive area and was surrounded by black walls. At the entrance of the iron gates, many mages entered and exited.
The castle was about 30 to 40 meters tall with a conical top. The castle was surrounded by four pillars and was made of black stone bricks, giving off a sense of heavy oppression.
At the door, Shirley looked at the guard and asked, “h.e.l.lo, I’m looking for someone.”
“Who are you looking for?”
The guards at the door saw that the group of people in front of them were not mages and immediately sized them up warily.
“My friend, his name is Bernie, a Rank 5 Mage.”
“I’m sorry, only mages of Rank 6 and above are allowed to stay here. A mage below that rank can only enter here when they take on a quest or need to communicate with their superiors.”
“Oh… do you know where Bernie is?”
The guard shook his head, not intending to continue talking to Shirley.
Shirley was distressed by this outcome.
“Why don’t we just find a place to stay for the night? There’s no need to find him today.”
Helen walked over and tried to persuade Shirley.
Shirley nodded helplessly. “I was thinking that since I finally got out of my family’s hold and came to Night Witch City, I could finally visit my cousin. But now it seems like I won’t be able to find him anytime soon.”
The four of them had no choice but to walk to the nearby hotel. Since they couldn’t find Bernie, they had to find another place to stay for the night.
They had just walked a short distance when a man in a black robe strode toward them. He was wearing a hood and was walking in a hurry as he pa.s.sed by Lu Yu and the others.
But at this moment, Shirley saw his face and quickly turned around to call out to him, “Bernie, is that you?”
Lu Yu and the others also turned their heads around. When they saw the figure before them, they were curious about his appearance when he turned his head back.
Shirley shouted excitedly when she saw the familiar face.
“Bernie, it’s really you! I knew I didn’t spot you wrongly!”
Shirley walked up excitedly.
The man before her had a thin face and hollow cheeks. His face was well-defined, and his eyes were sharp and dark, like the eyes of a vulture.
“Shirley? What happened? Logically speaking, you shouldn’t be able to leave Green Sea City.”
He asked expressionlessly.
Shirley looked at Bernie strangely.
“Aren’t I out now? By the way, why do you look unhappy?”
“It’s nothing. I was just busy with some things. I’m happy that you came to find me, but please wait until I’m done.”
“Oh… alright. Are you here to report your quest?”
Bernie nodded slightly. “Yes, I need to go. You can wait here for a while. I’ll be out soon.”
With that, he turned around and headed inside the castle.
However, just as he turned around, Lu Yu vaguely saw a bottle of potion in his arms. It was a bottle of blood-red potion, shining bright red like fresh blood that had just been spat out.
Lu Yu felt that this person was acting strangely and wasn’t someone with kind intentions.
“Is your cousin always like this?”
“No, when he was in the family, he was a sunny and cheerful person. Was his personality change a part of his change when he became a mage?
She frowned and wondered curiously.
Helen looked at the mage beside them and said, “The other mages are different from him. It seems he must have experienced something different.”
“Let’s wait and see. Since we’ve found him, let’s figure out what’s going on with him.” The Empress crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against a tree beside her.
The four of them waited for half an hour before Bernie reappeared in their field of vision.
He walked out in a hurry. The nervousness on his face had disappeared a lot, and he looked calmer.
He walked toward Shirley and smiled at her.
“Shirlet, long time no see. I really miss you.”
Shirley was stunned for a moment. She paused momentarily and quickly replied, “The family is doing well. They miss you very much, so they asked me to come and visit you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t go back anyway.”
“Why? That’s where you grew up.”
Bernie sneered. “I’m a Rank 5 Mage here. Our family combined can’t even compare to my current strength. What do I need them for, dragging me down?”
The Bernie before Shiley was very unfamiliar to her.
“Dragging you down? Why do you think they are a burden? They created an opportunity for you to come here! A precious one!”
If the family still existed, Shirley would never be able to leave Green Sea City. Therefore, in her eyes, this was an extremely precious opportunity.
But in Bernie’s eyes, this opportunity was not worth mentioning.
“I’m now a Rank 5 Mage, and I’m enjoying a superior life here. What’s the point of returning to that lousy place?”
“Since you’re here, I’ll find you a place to stay. Don’t go back. There’s no future there.”
As he spoke, he took the lead and walked forward.
“Are these three your friends? They all look quite out of place.”
Shirley quickly explained, “That’s right, they are all my new friends.”
Bernie suddenly turned around and stared at Lu Yu, which annoyed Lu Yu a little.
“You’re not from here. Where did you come from?”
“He’s a traveler from the outside world, purely here to explore.”
“It’d be best if that’s the case. The Ember Empire has just recovered, and we need time to recover. At this time, we can’t be attacked by the outside world.”
“However, with our strength, the outside world isn’t capable of invading us anyway.”
He declared it proudly and continued forward.
He was right. If both sides fought, the Ember Empire could easily wipe out the three main forces of the outside world.
Unfortunately, Lu Yu was here, and he would stop all of this from happening.
“My manor is very big and s.p.a.cious. You can stay there.”
He turned to look at Shirley.
“Alright, we’ll stay for a day. We still have to continue our journey.”
“No problem. If you’re tired from traveling, you can come back and look for me anytime.”
Lu Yu looked at Bernie and asked, “Did you just hand over the potion you had to the guild?”
Bernie stopped in his tracks and looked back at Lu Yu. “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask. You have to pretend you didn’t see anything, even if you did. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to continue traveling around here in the future!”