"Alright. You guys should familiarize yourselves with the dragon building first. The store will be open for customers starting tomorrow, so you better prepare for what is to come. Also, you can cultivate on the second floor during your free time, but no one else should be allowed to go there." Jiu Shen could already imagine the chaos that would happen tomorrow, but with the system protecting the store, nothing should go wrong.
Jiu Shen and his workers are protected by the system as long as they were within the golden fences. With the system as their backer, Jiu Shen could control the life and death of anyone who is in this place!
The young ladies began wandering around the dragon building, touching and admiring the things inside. All of them had bright expressions as they toured around the new branch store. Some of them also went outside to observe the spiritual plants in the garden. While a few decided to check the huge pond at the back of the dragon building.
To make sure that they would be safe, Jiu Shen sent a mental message to Atlas telling him to protect the girls in secret. "Atlas, these young girls will be working in the store. They are still quite weak since they are still young, so make sure that they will be safe at all times. Also, tomorrow will be lively because it will be our first opening. You might have to exercise your old bones by that time."
Soon, the old tortoise gave him a reply. His voice was filled with the calmness and confidence of an Elder who had experienced so much in life. "Yes, Master! I won't let anyone harm these young ones. As for the store, I will destroy anyone who would dare to desecrate it!"
"Good!" Jiu Shen was satisfied with the old man's reply. Now that it has been dealt with, the only problem left was who would take care of the spiritual plants. To this, Jiu Shen had forgotten to bring the people he had in mind because he was in a hurry earlier.
"Hey, you there. Come here." Jiu Shen called out one of the Soul Puppets.
"Master!" The Soul Puppet immediately came to Jiu Shen and greeted him respectfully. This Soul Puppet was quite strong. It has the strength of a peak stage Supreme God Realm expert! That was also the reason why Jiu Shen designated him at the golden gate.
"Outside of this city, you'll find a group of people camped in a temporary settlement. You should be able to find it since there is another Soul Puppet there. When you reach that place, look for Theia and tell her to bring these people for me." Jiu Shen handed a paper with the images of a few people drawn on it.
The Soul Puppet took the piece of paper and took a glance at the images before keeping it inside his armor. "I'll bring them here, Master!"
Jiu Shen nodded his head and waved his hand. "Leave now."
The Soul Puppet bowed at Jiu Shen before it left with great haste.
***
"Boss Serek, there is a settlement up ahead, but I didn't dare move closer. I sensed a dangerous sensation, so I immediately left before something goes wrong." A person dressed in black clothing reported to the one-eyed Serek. The Balkan warrior furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing this information. He knew that this subordinate was the best in scouting under his command, so his information should be reliable. He wondered what this guy had sensed that made him retreat.
"Good job! Let's go there. I want to see for myself what kind of group the City Lord wants us to observe." Serek muttered in a serious tone. From the City Lord's tone, this group seemed to be connected to the human that he met in that old restaurant.
Serek, with more than a dozen subordinates, cautiously walked towards the path that the scout led them to.
A few moments later, Serek finally noticed that something was wrong with this place. It was strangely quiet and devoid of savage beasts! He had been here a few times before and this place was inhabited by a few dozen savage beasts. However, he soon calmed down and attributed this change to the group that settled here.
'Maybe they cleaned up those savage beasts...' He thought to himself while following the scout, but he still didn't remove his vigilance. There was this sense of danger that was becoming more and more apparent as they went closer to the settlement. It made him feel nervous and anxious at the same time. He would only be like this if there was a threat to his safety! That means, there is something or someone in that group that was capable of taking his life!
'Are the people together with that Jiu Shen also strong?' Serek felt that this trip might not be as easy as he thought it was.
Suddenly, he felt a strong aura locking him and his group in place!
Serek was horrified when he realized that he couldn't move his body nor release his strength. The force that was binding him and his group was too strong for them to escape!
'We're screwed! Goddammit! City Lord, why didn't you tell me this?!' Serek cursed in his heart, his face becoming increasingly unsightly to behold.
Soon, Serek's group finally saw a figure moving towards them with calm and steady footsteps. He didn't look particularly impressive, except that he had this cold and indifferent expression that was apathetic to life. The human had a shield strapped behind his back, and he also had a sword tied to his waist. The man's pair of emotionless eyes scanned Serek and his subordinates, making them feel a rush of fear rising from their heart.
"This place is off-limits to outsiders. I didn't sense any ill-intentions from you guys, so I will spare your lives. Leave!" The man spoke in a calm voice.
Serek and his subordinates felt the restrictive force in their bodies weakening. They then discovered that the man was already gone. However, Serek immediately commanded his underlings to retreat with him. Heck! They almost died here!
"Let's go back!"