After shouting out everything he had to say in a rush, full of anger and grievance, Imani buried his face back into Elara's neck. His tall figure pressed tightly against her, long arms wrapped around her waist, as if she were his final support. His entire body leaned into her completely.
Elara lowered her eyes and glanced at Imani in her arms, who seemed to be sobbing sadly. Behind her, Kristof watched with a smile still on his face, but his hand gripping the wine glass had turned pale from pressure, and the smile on his face had a hint of coldness behind it.
The originally grim and angry trio led by Mr. Wei were stunned for a few seconds by Imani's tearful outburst and reversal of blame.
A few seconds later, they did not order their men to act, but the sinister smirks on their faces remained.
"Oh? This young lady is Miss Bai, right? You do big business too? Do you have any proof that shows which company you're working for?"
After Mr. Wei finished speaking, the man behind him, Boss Hou, stepped forward with a sneer and added, "That emotional speech just now was quite dramatic, but the odds of it being true are too low. Don't think you can fool the three of us. If there's no proof, we won't believe in such coincidences. In that case, it would be safer to send the pretty one and the two of you to the afterlife together."
As soon as Boss Hou said this, the surrounding thugs drew their knives with a sharp sound.
Elara glanced around, then calmly looked back at Boss Hou and Mr. Wei.
"This is how you do business?"
As she spoke, Elara pulled out the merchant pass given to her by Lucian from her sleeve. She made sure the three of them clearly saw the token from the Tiangong Pavilion before putting it away. Then she wrapped an arm around Imani's waist, half lifting him up as she stood. Her eyes were cold as she looked at the three men, whose expressions had changed drastically. She pointed toward the Jade Flame Tower's entrance with her chin.
"If you're not here to trade, then leave."
She had not used this merchant token before, but today was the perfect time.
The moment the three of them saw that Elara had pulled out a merchant token from the Tiangong Pavilion, and that it was a gold-rank token, their faces changed completely.
Though their own backers were strong, they were very aware of all the top and second-tier forces in the world. They never imagined they would run into a merchant group from the top-tier Tiangong Pavilion in this remote southwestern corner of the Plumera Kingdom.
They froze for several seconds before their harsh and fierce expressions vanished, changing faster than summer weather.
"This is a misunderstanding. A huge misunderstanding. Truly a misunderstanding."
They had clearly seen the token just now, and there was no way it could be fake. Especially a gold-rank token, which even most second-tier forces could not get.
After realizing Elara was part of a Tiangong Pavilion merchant group, something they never even considered, the three men immediately changed their attitude. Even Mr. Wei, whose wrist had been shattered by Elara's teacup earlier, had to force a smile through the pain. He waved his hand to tell the thugs to put away their weapons and step back, then stood in front of Elara without even daring to sit. His tone became cautious and respectful, half apologizing, half probing.
"Oh dear, Miss Bai. We really didn't expect to meet someone of your level here. A powerhouse like Tiangong Pavilion is actually interested in goods from the Plumera Kingdom? That's surprising."
"Yes, yes. Please forgive us, Miss Bai. We really didn't expect this. And you're also the one who saved this beautiful person's life. Ah, it's all our fault for overreacting. We've just been too on edge lately, constantly hunted by the Plumera Kingdom's criminal division. We've lost so many bases that we've had to stay overly cautious."
"Our deepest apologies. Please forgive us, Miss Bai. And you too, beautiful one. No, Boss Imani. Please, be generous with us."
Hearing their repeated apologies, Imani, still leaning against Elara, looked up to see her expression. He pressed his lips together, thinking about getting up to smooth things over with a few polite words.
But just as he tried to move, Elara's arm around his waist tightened slightly.
Imani paused, then looked up. A soft and lingering affection filled his eyes as he gazed into Elara's.
He ignored the three men trying to apologize and instead leaned back into Elara's arms, closing his eyes to feel the warmth he had missed for over half a year. Since General Qi didn't want him to accept their fake smiles, he wouldn't accept them.
Elara held him close and said nothing while the three continued to apologize. But since she didn't order them to leave, they relaxed a bit. Mr. Wei, who was the closest to her, cautiously leaned forward and asked,
"Is Miss Bai really interested in doing business with us?"
Elara watched them for a moment, then sat down again with Imani still in her arms. Her voice was calm. "Start by telling me how much profit your biggest deal brings in. If it's not worth my attention, then I'm not interested."
When she asked about profits right away, the three smiled nervously. They sat down beside her and poured her a drink, leaning in to whisper a number into her ear.
Elara glanced at them, then took a small sip of wine. "The profit sounds decent. Now tell me clearly, what exactly is your business? And who's backing you?"
Seeing that she seemed pleased, their smiles grew a little wider. But when it came to explaining their business, they still didn't give any details. Instead, one of them said,
"Miss Bai, it would be an honor if our business satisfied you. But while it may not be a big deal to you, it is extremely important to us. It's very serious. So please forgive us for not explaining everything now. However, we can tell you about the force behind us. We come from the northeast region of the continent, under the Lianhuang Sect."
Lianhuang Sect? What kind of sect was that? As Elara was wondering about those three words, the System in her mind suddenly spoke.
[Ah! Master! The 'Enemy Forces' section with three question marks just unlocked! It's the Lianhuang Sect!]
Elara narrowed her eyes. While handling the three men in front of her, she silently opened the System panel.
[Lianhuang Sect (Second-Tier Top Nation Power, compatible with some First-Tier fragmented forces): Hostility (-350 points)]
[Lianhuang Sect]
[Country Rank: Second-tier top national religious power (a hybrid of religion and national force, nearly reaching first-tier level)]
[Leader Gender: Female-led (originally matriarchal, now hybrid due to alliance with Petunia State's patriarchal power)]
[System Type: Ancient enfeoffment system (or similar)]
[Military Power: First-tier level (includes Petunia State national army and sect martial forces)]
[Economic Power: Second-tier top level]
[Population: First-tier (initial stage)]
[Territory: About 2.659 million square kilometers (includes parts of Petunia State's fragmented lands and sect regions)]
[Location: Entirely in the northeastern continent]
[Force Nature: A hybrid force combining Petunia State's northern fragmented national and sect forces, still in a semi-merged state. The sect leader, the Phoenix Saintess, has married Prince Sheng of Petunia State's split factions. They are ambitious. The group's military, economy, and territory are highly mixed. Differences are large across regions. The sect and national factions are not yet fully merged.]
[Key Leaders: Phoenix Saintess, Prince Sheng of Petunia State, Assassin Sindri ranked third under the Heaven Assassin Order (now defected), several Petunia State split lords and second or third-tier powers under Lianhuang Sect…]
[Major Forces: Prince Sheng of Petunia State, Lianhuang Sect, Heaven Assassin Order's top assassin groups, Petunia State's fragmented lords…]
[Dependent States: Juzhou, Fumu, Jiexiang, Nine Stars Sect, Divine Eagle Sect, Fire Cicada Sect...]
[Suzerain: None (currently part of a Petunia State power struggle)]
[Further details: To be discovered]
After clearly seeing the Lianhuang Sect's data, Elara's pupils narrowed slightly.
She had thought these men were just commercial agents drawn to Plumera Kingdom by its steady stream of new products, maybe second-tier at most. But she never expected the fish she had just caught would be this huge.