Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 154: Returning Successful

The party of four took off with haste. They were rested and ready to charge ahead until their mission was finally over as none wanted to waste time and create another opportunity to be ambushed. And, as expected from traveling the rest of the way through the open fields, the party faced no unexpected problems for the remainder of the journey.

It took them a few hours to actually reach the gate but that was fine. Now, any attacks would attract far too much attention due to numbers alone. Anyone foolish enough to attack them while traveling in the main streets would be asking the city guards to join the fight.

Rentering the city went smoothly. Oli was the only one that felt a bit on edge to the others’ surprise, but that subsided the moment the guards cleared them for entry.

‘Stay on the main roads and travel at a decent pace to avoid unnecessary attention,’ Vloz warned.

Oli shared the same warning with the other, adding to not mention anything of the trip until they’re informing Hurman of the success. This lead to the party walking in silence through the crowded main streets of the city. There were a couple of moments where the party was almost momentarily separated due to the push and pull of the foot traffic, but Oli decided to become a human plow carving through the crowd by leading the party.

Now, it was only a matter of half an hour to enter the residential district and reach the front gate of the Practor property.

“Masters Johan and Leon,” the lone guard on duty bowed his head before letting them pass without question.

.....

“We’ll announce ourselves, so don’t worry about it,” Johan commented, nodding back to the guard. “Is the patriarch in?”

“Yes,” the guard replied cordially, “he even has a guest. Master Keldon has been staying for the past couple of nights and should be here as well. Masters Jonon and Mertin, however, left this morning to handle some business affairs of the family, but they should be back soon according to Master Jonon.”

“Thank you...”

With that, everyone nodded to the guard and followed Johan into the property. Rather than seek out food in the common dining hall, Johan led the party directly to Hurman’s small, humble pagoda. But before they could knock on the door, a voice called out to them from the inside.

“Enter!”

Following orders, the party slid the doors open and bowed to Hurman, not surprised to see him sitting and chatting with Keldon.

“Back already?” Keldon’s wandering eyes gave them a once-over as he sighed in somewhat relief. “I take it everything was a success, despite some minor injuries, which is to be expected?”

Oli spoke up, “Of course. That is what I promised, after all. But I am sorry for allowing them to be injured to this extent.”

“That’s not Oliver’s fault,” Johan stated. “We faced nearly twenty bandits and Oliver was the reason they were repelled. Shadur helped heal us and Oliver made sure to pay for all of Shadur’s expended materials to make sure we were able to continue the mission without worry. And that’s not to mention the other obstacles that Oliver helped us clear during the trip back.”

Hurman smiled in surprise. “Johan... It seems you were also quite successful on this trip.”

“No, I was–”

“You’ve grown as a man should, able to not only recognize your faults but admit them. For you, that is a great step toward your growth as a cultivator. That alone is worth the cost of your venture, let alone to hear that you all succeeded in the end. And based on the look in Leon’s eyes, I believe he’s grown as well.”

Blinking, Leon bowed and added, “Patriarch, I’m greatly appreciative for the opportunity to have taken part in this mission and I stand by your thoughts on hiring Shadur as the family doctor. Also, I believe there must also be a fitting reward for Oliver and his proven strength.”

“They’ve both grown in so short a time...” chuckled Keldon. “Then you four have already discussed what comes after this. First, show us the merchandise that I’ve invested in. Then we’ll discuss what comes next.”

Following formal decorum, the party came forward and sat before the two men. Oli sat on the left, Shadur on the right, and both young swordsmen sat in the middle as Practor Family members. Shadur then took out a decently sized chest. Upon opening it, mist trickled out and both men smiled at its contents.

“This... How many did you harvest?” Hurman asked.

“As Uncle Keldon asked of me, I harvested one hundred lilies so that the market wouldn’t be impacted heavily. Taking too many would leave too little for the other suppliers and possibly incite anger or disdain from other merchants. Taking too little wouldn’t allow for much profit as an end result,” explained Shadur.

Smiling and nodding to his nephew, Keldon got up and approached the box. “Hmm... These all seem to be of perfect maturity.”

“Then go ahead and take your portion,” Hurman admitted, letting the friendly merchant store ten lilies in his own preservation chest. “As for the rest, we’ll be taking them as future merchandise and personal resources of the family. Also, given that you’ve exceeded expectations and come highly favored by Keldon, I accept your petition to open a medical practice within the grounds of the Practor Family.”

“Thank you, Patriarch Hurman!” Shadur immediately dropped his chest to the ground in a full kowtow. “Thank you... I can assure you that I’ll do everything in my power to assess the true state of your son and help him recover properly.”

“You should also look into Hurman’s cough,” Keldon added with a snarky grin.

“I’ll make sure to, Uncle.”

Amidst the joyful air of the room, Oli looked to Hurman and asked, “Patriarch Hurman, may I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“Has Mertin been told of any of this?”