154 The Journey Back 2 (1/2)
Chapter 154: The Journey Back 2
Garen shook his head and smiled wryly. ”I can’t believe I’ve forgotten about this…”
Su Lin didn’t say another word. He stood there beside him and watched the intersection traffic below the building together.
The room gradually became quiet, only the sound of Celine blowing at the coffee pot could be heard.
A long while later.
”What do you plan to do once you go back?” Celine asked the two of them from behind. ”Su Lin, if you can help me sort out the Poker Incident and help me recover my body, I promise I will help you twofold, no matter what it is.”
”Are you serious?” Su Lin swiftly turned around and asked her. He knew exactly how strong Celine was. Although she was not as strong as Garen, she was not that far behind. He estimated that she was as strong as Yoda.
”Of course.”
”Alright. I’ll arrange for everything once we get back.” Su Lin nodded.
”My injury is very tricky to handle, and I’ll need to borrow your father’s authority.” Celine was being serious, which was a rare in itself.
”Don’t worry about it.” Su Lin smiled.
Garen knew everything about Su Lin, as both of them were members of the Golden Hoop*. Su Lin was actually the general manager of the Golden Hoop group of the southern region. He even had the final say in the decision of the examination tasks. Garen smiled once he heard him, as Su Lin could probably solve the whole thing by just making use of the Golden Hoop’s resources.
*Refer to Translator's Note
”Speaking of which, what should I do with my examination task…”
He looked at Su Lin. His mind couldn’t escape the issue; his entrance to the Golden Hoop would concern his power and authority, and was the only way for him to not rely on Su Lin in this aspect. It would also have benefits for his dojo, obtain protection for his family members, not to mention a fixed amount of salary annually as well.
”It’s alright. You’ve been a great help to me this time round, so I’ll just accept this incident as the examination task instead.” Su Lin replied readily. ”You should wear the golden ring at all times for ease of recognition once you have officially joined us.”
”No problem.” Garen nodded.
Celine didn’t ask any questions, though the two hadn’t seemed to plan to hide it.
The three of them were shooting the breeze inside the room. Su Lin’s perfume was scathingly criticised by the other two, and Garen avoided mentioning the Golden Sword Throne at all, as if he had already forgotten about it.
However, Garen understood that Su Lin had deliberately chose not to mention the Golden Sword Throne as he had already figured out that Garen really needed it.
”The item is in my care. Is it alright if I return it to you a year later?” Garen initiated the topic. He estimated that he needed a year to absorb all the potential from the Golden Sword Throne.
”You decide on that, since you’re the one who fought for it. That thing is no longer important anyway, it was only meant to be a research object for the officials.” Su Lin shrugged his shoulder since he didn’t care much about it.
They chatted a bit more, and before they ran out of time, Garen went out to an art shop and bought gifts for his sister, parents and uncle.
Sin Gerro produces a myriad of ores and gems. Garen picked a blue jade gem for each of his parents, as there was a lasting superstition that it had properties that relaxed one’s body. He picked a amethyst corsage for his sister for its minimal design and elegance.
As for his uncle, he went with a model of a wooden ship with two masts. The work towards the model was detailed and of high quality, which set him back twenty-something thousands dollars. After that, he simply bought a bunch of snacks as souvenirs for everyone remaining.
The three of them then gathered back at the hotel in the afternoon and headed straight to the airbase nearby via a shuttle carriage.
It took them only 8 hours to get back, even though it took them close to 2 days when they came rushing to Sin Gerro. They laid over twice and finally arrived at the Huaishan City Airbase in Galantia Province.
Garen got down from the airplane, while Celine and Su Lin continued their journey to their manor in Harmony City, since he still needed to heal Celine and sort out her incident with the Poker Organization.
Garen arranged for himself military transport and went back to the city area.
It was already 10pm when he arrived home.
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The clouds swallowed the moon, leaving behind a pitch black sky. The whole of Huaishan City gradually settled down into peace and quiet.
A black carriage slowed down near the front of a residential area in the bluetree district and came to a stop.
It was marked with a black bird, its wings spread wide. It was the emblem of the flag marking it as a military carriage.
The driver was a young female soldier. She went to the back and knocked on the carriage frame after she had halted the two black horses.
”We have arrived sir.”
”Oh. We have?”
Garen carried his baggages of varying sizes and got down from the carriage.
”Thank you very much, Sergeant Anli.”
”It’s nothing. I shall pardon myself now.”
”Right.”
The carriage took a U-turn and rushed off where it came from, and soon disappeared into the darkness of the unlit street. The faint light of the horse carriage was the lone visible thing in the distance.
Garen turned around and walked towards the gate, and saw a drunk, bald security guard sleeping soundly on a chair in the security booth.
He walked along the familiar community area and he could occasionally still spot a few homeless men snoring just beside the walls under the yellow street light. There were also people who were busy commuting to their night shift job.
He walked towards the building into the staircase and started climbing up a floor at a time. Occasional arguments from within apartments and music leaked out of the walls as he climbed. He stood at his house’s front door after reaching the fourth floor.