Dusk. Man En and his party had arrived at the gates of Campbell City.
“Young Master Man En, we need to enter the city.”
Mei said, glancing at the listless Man En beside her. She couldn’t help feeling worried.
In front of the city gate stood a middle-aged man dressed in ornate clothes, looking like a butler. He saw Man En’s carriage approaching and slowly walked over to greet them.
“Mr. Man En, someone is walking toward us.”
“…”
Dan Luo turned to ask Man En, but Man En was like a frozen machine, completely unresponsive.
“Damn it, what if he’s an assassin? We’re right at the doorstep! Should I speed up and run him over?”
“No! Don’t be rash, Mr. Dan Luo!”
Mei quickly stopped the impulsive Dan Luo. After all, this was someone else’s territory.
“Keep some distance. Let’s first see what he wants to say.”
“But! Sigh…”
Although Dan Luo didn’t want to comply, after thinking it over, he finally relented.
“You over there, don’t come any closer!”
He stared intently at the other party, ready to deal with any trouble.
Upon hearing this, that person did indeed stop and did not continue moving. It seemed he had no hostile intent.
“Guests from Matthews Territory, no need to panic. I am Viscount Campbell’s butler, Luoke Beien. By his orders, I have come to welcome you to the estate.”
“What do we do now? Should we accept his invitation?”
Dan Luo did not answer. He turned back to secretly ask Mei for her opinion.
“…Follow him. We’re already here. They won’t do anything to us for now.”
Man En finally snapped out of it and answered on Mei’s behalf, though his voice was still a bit weak.
“Young Master Man En, what just happened?”
“Yeah, yeah, I thought you were possessed by some demon!”
‘Possessed by a demon? If only that were the case.’
Experiencing death firsthand, that feeling… It was already a miracle to recover in such a short time.
Man En forced a bitter smile and could only come up with a random excuse to brush it off.
“I’m just a little tired.”
“Honestly… if you’re tired, rest a bit more.”
Seeing that Man En was not unusual, Dan Luo didn’t say much more and directly drove the carriage toward the butler Luoke Beien.
Mei, beside him, had been holding his hand the whole time. Although Man En appeared calm on the surface, Mei, who knew him well, understood that he was afraid. She wished she could share some of the young master’s burden, but unfortunately, all she could do for now was stay by his side.
After a long while, accompanied by Mei, Man En finally calmed down. He looked at Mei and signaled that he was fine. Mei reluctantly let go of his hand and sat quietly beside Man En.
He looked at the maid leaning against him, resting with closed eyes, and smiled gently.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you!”
But now, part of the plan had to change. First was the other Divine Envoy, Li En. Man En identified this young deacon as the trouble that needed to be dealt with first. That strange ability and combat power, even its threat level was greater than that of Lai La and the Evil God Cult.
Next was the woman giving orders. It was most likely Lai La. This Divine Revelation was very short, and the information obtained was limited. To be safe, the action might be delayed. At the very least, Li En had to be dealt with first.
“In any case, let’s first enter Duke Campbell’s residence and then make detailed plans.”
Man En let out a long sigh. He looked out of the carriage; the sun had already set, but merchants and travelers were still coming and going in an endless stream, and the streets were brightly lit. The carriage didn’t even need to hang an oil lamp to see the road clearly.
He had to admit, this was a bustling city. Compared to his own territory, its prosperity was even greater. One must say Viscount Campbell lived up to his reputation as a figure on par with Viscount Matthews, reaching such heights solely through political acumen and intellect. If he truly wanted to form a powerful alliance with Viscount Matthews, it would surely become a celebrated tale in the Empire.
“But it’s a pity…”
Just then, a magnificent castle that towered into the clouds gradually came into Man En’s view.
“Campbell Castle.”
The landmark building of Campbell City, and also the destination of this journey.
“Mei, wake up. We’ve arrived.”
Man En gently nudged the sleeping Mei. She opened her eyes in confusion and found Man En looking at her tenderly. As if realizing something, she quickly stood up and bowed to apologize.
“I’m sorry, Young Master Man En! Mei was negligent! I shouldn’t have fallen asleep…”
Seeing her panicked look, Man En found it both pitiful and amusing. He stepped forward to stop Mei, who was still apologizing.
“It’s okay. After all, your injury hasn’t healed yet. Rest if you want to. I won’t blame you. Also, you don’t need to be so formal from now on.”
Mei raised her head and looked directly into Man En’s eyes. She smiled. There were words hidden deep in her heart that she still wanted to tell the person in front of her. Finally, she mustered her courage and took a gentle step forward.
“Lord Man En, Mei, what are you two dawdling for? Luoke Beien has been waiting for us for a long time!”
Dan Luo’s sudden words shattered the entire atmosphere. Mei immediately became flustered, her cheeks visibly turning bright red. Even Man En couldn’t hold back a bit. He quickly stepped forward and pulled Dan Luo behind him.
“Apologies, Butler Luoke Beien. My butler still lacks some manners. You must have found it amusing.”
“No need to mind, Lord. On the contrary, I find Sir Dan Luo quite agreeable.”
Upon hearing this, Man En could only give a helpless smile and change the subject.
“Then let’s enter the city now.”
Luoke Beien turned around and bowed deeply to Man En.
“As you command.”
Under Luoke Beien’s lead, the three entered this legendary Campbell Castle. The first thing they saw was a wide main road in the center, flanked by four statues of different forms. Carefully trimmed shrubs surrounded the main structure of the castle. Although the sky had darkened, overall it looked both majestic and tasteful.
In front of the castle gate, a person draped in expensive animal fur seemed to have been waiting for a long time. On either side of him stood two rows of soldiers in plate armor, holding heavy swords. The aura was somewhat intimidating.
“You two, please follow me.”
Behind Man En, Luoke Beien signaled the two to move elsewhere. Man En turned his head and nodded gently to Mei and Dan Luo. Then, he strode toward Viscount Campbell.
The viscount was clearly stunned for a moment, then also walked toward Man En with a smile on his face. Only when he got closer did Man En realize Viscount Campbell was extremely thin. His eyes were somewhat puffy, and his hair had turned quite white. In the original owner’s memory, he had also looked frail, but he never expected him to still be alive. Even when they embraced lightly, Man En felt his body ache from the impact.
“Young Man En, it’s been a long time. You’ve grown so much. I remember last time I saw you, you were only seven.”
These words left Man En momentarily unable to respond.
“But Uncle… compared to back then… you’ve changed quite a bit too.”
Viscount Campbell just smiled upon hearing this, but that made Man En’s heart jump into his throat.
“Don’t mind it, boy. My health has indeed been declining over the years, and that’s precisely why I want to find a reliable match for my youngest daughter to marry off.”
‘Heh, marry off his daughter? Like hell I believe that!’
Although Man En cursed Viscount Campbell inwardly, he had to put on a smiling face on the surface.
“It’s my honor, my honor.”
“Come into the castle with me. I’ll have Lai La come out to meet you.”
Only after Viscount Campbell turned around did Man En let out an almost imperceptible long sigh of relief.
This day had finally arrived.
He followed behind Viscount Campbell, feeling his steps grow heavy. For a moment, the door ahead looked like a demon with its mouth wide open.
Man En entered the castle. The decor was extremely luxurious, yet there was an indescribable, oppressive feeling.
“Lai La, come down. Your brother Man En has arrived!”
“I know, Father.”
This voice…
Immediately after, the sound of high heels stepping on the floor reached Man En’s ears. At the corner of the staircase, shoes like crystal came into view. The next moment, a woman in a pure white dress revealed her full figure. Her fiery red hair cascaded down, and adorned with a simple headpiece made of pure gold, her face was as exquisite as an elf’s, without any flaw.
At first sight of her, Man En’s heartbeat even stopped for a moment. But the moment she looked at him, his entire brain frantically sent out warnings.
It was the look of someone staring at prey.
‘One wrong move and I’ll really die!’