Mystical Journey
Chapter 119

"Your brother is very well-known…" Garen shrugged . He didn't know what to make of it .

"He's always been like that," Su Lin murmured . "Excellent, serious, dignified . He can even have a face-to-face confrontation with father . When I was young, I would often hear them arguing in the study . "

"You have a happy family . " Garen took a sip of water .

"Indeed . " Su Lin reverted to his normal self and smiled . "But now someone is trying to destroy this happiness . "

"Kill anyone who tries . " Garen smiled . He didn't speak after that .

Soon, designated waiters served them the prepared dishes and drinks . The dishes looked visually appealing and delicious . Chicken, duck, fish, geese, all kinds of meat were readily available . At the sides, there were attendants waiting with more dishes .

Garen got up and glanced around the entire carriage: it was empty except for a gray-haired old man at the other end receiving similar treatment . The old man saw him and raised a glass to toast him with a smile .

Garen smiled back at him and sat down . He looked at Su Lin across from him having a bite of meat mixed with a mouthful of wine and chewing it in his mouth; it felt weird to Garen .

"Seeing you eat, I don't know why but I always feel repulsed . "

"I don't look like someone from a rich family, right?" Su Lin wasn't bothered, and kept chewing while he mumbled . "It's normal . I would never change myself just because of other people's opinion . That's my principle . "

"It's a good principle to have . " Garen nodded . When he saw that one of the dishes had changed, he started eating too .

Su Lin had a large appetite, but his wasn't small either .

Ever since he reached the limit of Secret Mammoth Technique, his appetite had increased dramatically . Seven to eight pounds of meat in a meal was a walk in the park . Converted to Earth units, that was five to six catties . This was excluding bread, soup, vegetables and other dishes .

The train chugged on, slowly and steadily . Every day, Garen and Su Lin chatted or listened to the youngsters around them . Every meal, they would avoid eating with others in case their immense appetite alarmed them .

After a week, they finally reached the heart of the Eliza Province, Harmony City .

Jumping off the train from the carriage doors, Garen suddenly saw Su Lin's body tense up and he was standing still in front .

"What's wrong?" The station was so loud and noisy that Garen had to raise his voice .

"It's here . " Su Lin turned around . He was holding a black card about the size of a playing card between his index and middle fingers; a 'J' was printed in the middle of it .

"Duskdune Shura's black card . "

"Weren't you already mentally prepared?" Garen smiled . He was far from being that ordinary person from Earth . Confronted with any challenge, he was confident he could face it himself . When he heard that Duskdune Shura's card had arrived, he had a sense of eager anticipation instead . He had come to terms with it: even though firearms were capable of threatening martial art practitioners, he had special abilities and was a unique specimen gifted with infinite possibilities—maybe he could break through that limitation in the near future .

"That's true . Let's go . But I'm guessing father and the others should already be aware about the appearance of the black card . " Su Lin gave a wry smile .

Sure enough, right after he said that, a large group of people walked towards them from the station entrance—all soldiers in brown military uniforms . The leader of the group, a male officer, walked up to Su Lin and saluted him .

"Captain Su Lin, following the orders of the Commander, we are here to escort you back to the manor . "

Garen looked as Su Lin silently shrugged and turned around to give him a wry smile .

"Come on," he said as he turned around and walked towards the convoy of military vehicles parked in the distance, surrounded by the soldiers .

Garen followed close behind, and was protectively surrounded by several soldiers too .

The travelers around them were astonished and confounded; each had their own theories about what was going on .

At the sight of Su Lin and Garen being escorted away by a large group of soldiers, Eileen, Sharman and the others who were still in the carriage were left speechless .

The faces of the three rich kids who were bragging about their family backgrounds and wealth started to redden in embarrassment . Compared to them, it was obvious that Su Lin and Garen were the truly eminent characters . To think that they were boasting about their family connections and whatnot in front of them…

*******************

At the edge of a lake near Harmony City .

Amidst the dense green trees by the lake, there was a square black-roofed estate .

Double-storeyed steeple buildings formed an incomplete square; the gap in the square was the driveway which led to the estate .

The entire estate was surrounded by a metal fence, with a white gate in a gap to facilitate entry and exit .

Weak rays of sunlight fell on the roofs of all the buildings within the estate, and off the glass, faintly reflecting the light outwards .

At noon, a motorcade of dark green military vehicles drove along the driveway into the vast estate .

The motorcade comprised of four cars . They slowed to a stop at the edge of the lawn in the middle of the estate .

Car doors opened then banged shut as a large group of soldiers dismounted and dispersed . Only two officers were left escorting two youths to the white marquee in the middle of the lawn .

Of the two youths who stepped out of the car, one had flaming red hair and a handsome face with clear skin . He had a small golden earring on his ear .

The other had indigo hair and was well-built . He took in his surroundings after stepping out of the car, as if it was his first time there: it was Garen who had just arrived from the train station .

"Garen, let's go meet my father together first," the youth with flaming red hair said to him .

Garen nodded, and walked towards the marquee together with Su Lin .

On the lawn outside the marquee, a tall and sturdy man raised a brown golf club and mimicked hitting a ball from time to time; he seemed to be practicing .

The man was wearing white casual clothing . His hair was completely white and his forehead was balding . He had a healthy complexion and his eyes were calm but determined, conveying a resolute temperament .

The man was somewhat portly . After he completed a swinging action, he leaned on his club and stood there looking towards Su Lin and Garen .

"Father, I'm back . This is my friend Garen . I've invited him over to stay with us for a while . He's a very close friend of mine," Su Lin stepped forward and took the initiative to speak first .

"This is my father Crohn . You can call him uncle . "

"Hello uncle . I've taken the liberty to visit you . I apologize for disturbing," Garen greeted politely .

"It's fine . I see that you're different from those other guys . I hope that Su Lin has more proper friends like you and gets into less trouble outside . " Crohn nodded and gave Garen a friendly smile .

"Oh yeah . Don't go out and about for no good reason . Did you receive a black card with a 'J' printed in the middle?" he turned to ask Su Lin .

"Card? You mean this?" Su Lin took out the card and handed it to his father .

Crohn took the card . A trace of severity flashed across his eyes .

"Sure enough . Alright, you show Garen around, as long as you keep to the area around Lake Saima as much as possible . "

"I know, don't worry . The area around Lake Saima would be fun enough for us . " Su Lin smiled and waved . "Come on Garen, I'll bring you to your temporary residence . "

They bid Commander Crohn goodbye and strolled around the estate for a while . Su Lin passed Garen the keys to the house he had prepared for him as well as the car keys, then instructed him on matters related to car maintenance . Only after that did things settle down temporarily .

"Putting these aside, you'll stay at my home for this period of time . It's not officially the start of term yet . You can move out once school is back in session . Any problems?" Su Lin started arranging matters .

"None . But I need to take a look at the layout and location of the house, and maybe get some daily necessities . "

"Don't worry . It's right by the university, and well-stocked with all the daily necessities . After this, I'm going to introduce you to another friend of mine, who will also be our companion in this upcoming period," Su Lin said mysteriously .

"Companion?"

Garen was very interested in this other person who was comparable to himself . It was conceivable that a person capable, in Su Lin's eyes, of joining the ranks to counter Duskdune Shura, would absolutely not be an ordinary person .

Holding on to his expectation, Garen followed Su Lin to check out the house . There weren't any problems with it . It was a beautiful white villa, and the expensive Rossland was parked in the garage .

Then it was paying a visit to this new friend who was going to join their ranks .

*****************

Harmony City slums .

Clusters of dark gray buildings were packed together densely; some were even leaning and threatening to collapse .

Garen and Su Lin passed through an alley between two leaning buildings . On the ground floor of the buildings were dirty shops and ordinary housing for the poor . Clotheslines with laundered clothing hung above the alley; some of the clothes were still wet and dripping with water, emitting a strong smell of soap .

The walls on both sides of the alley were plastered with all kinds of small advertisements: mostly housing rental, high-interest loan, and hiring notices . Some parts even had advertisements directly written in green and red paint; it looked like children's graffiti .

In the depths of the alley, the sun couldn't reach them—they were shrouded under the shadow of the buildings . The ground was damp; it was in a constant state of humidity all year round .

Garen and Su Lin walked along the alley and were aware of the curious gazes of local residents they got from time to time . Some harsh coughing noises could vaguely be heard coming from the residences .

Su Lin carefully stepped over a dirty puddle . "I haven't been here in a long time . The city has been carrying out preventative measures against an epidemic . They say it's a new strain of influenza, more problematic . People with poor personal hygiene are the most vulnerable group to be infected . I hope that guy isn't infected . "

"I guess not," Garen casually replied . He saw a bedraggled young boy sitting at the entrance of a shop to his left . The boy was weaving something using pale yellow grass . "Why doesn't he live in a better environment?" Garen asked logically .

"No particular reason . It's just how he is . This is where he grew up," Su Lin whispered . He turned a corner in front and walked towards the right . "We're here . "

Garen followed him and turned the corner into a forked alley . There was only a small shop selling hoes and iron farming tools at the end of it . The shop was somewhat dark . Two silhouettes could vaguely be seen busying inside .

Garen followed Su Lin to the entrance of the shop .

"Is anyone in?" Su Lin shouted .

"How can I help you, sir?" A young man in mud-colored linen clothes walked out . He was holding his sleeves with his hands, revealing the burn scars on his arms .

"Where is your boss?"

"May I know who's asking?" An elegant young lady walked out of the shop . She wore a drab gray skirt, but her high breasts and vivacious figure revealed her youthful charms .

"Why are you looking for my father?"

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