Stonehold City
After Adrian and his servant descended from the mountains, they reached the city located at the base of the mountains, Stonehold city. This city that was stationed near the misty mountains served as the central hub for all those who wanted to enter the misty mountains.
Thousands of people were entering and leaving the city at any time. This made it a lively and prosperous place even though it was located near such a dangerous location.
As Adrian and his servant entered the city, they could see countless people buying and selling even though it was already nighttime. Many people were still selling their wares, and business was booming.
Such scenes were present all over the city and this made Stonehold city very prosperous. This was even more true for the family that ruled the city, the Richards family.
The Richards were a medium-sized family that controlled Stonehold City and a few smaller towns in the vicinity. They were under the jurisdiction of the Carlson family, one of the twelve great families. It was only with the support of the Carlson family that they were able to develop Stonehold City to such an extent.
They had to pay a specific amount of tax to the Carlson family to obtain their help. Even so, the amount of money they made was still tremendous. The Richards were one of the wealthiest Mid-sized families in the region.
Adrian stared at all of this with a calm expression on his face. A city like this would not arouse his interest. He has seen many of such cities and even those that were bigger than it.
He and the servant walked towards the nearest inn in the city. Because they were only going to stay for the night, he did not pay much attention to where he stayed.
Normally, as the young master of the Thorne family, the Richards family would have hosted him at their home and even thrown a massive banquet for him. That was how important he was.
As they booked their rooms, the servant instructed the waiter to bring their meals to their rooms. Adrian didn't even have to say anything. It was all taken care of by his servant. That was the privilege of the powerful.
Adrian's extraordinary temperament made people take a second look at him and try to guess his identity. Even the innkeeper was more respectful as he gave them the keys to their rooms.
They both turned around and immediately headed to their rooms under the gazes of the many patrons. Soon, they heard and knock on their door and opened it to realize it was the innkeeper who had brought them their food.
After eating, Adrian retired to his bed and soon fell fast asleep. Early in the morning, Adrian woke up again and started cultivating as usual. After a few hours of this, he walked out of his room to find how to find a servant already waiting for him.
After having a light breakfast, they left the inn after paying for their meals and continued their journey. It took them two days to leave the city, but they were finally on their way back to House of Thorne.
The rest of the journey back was long but uneventful. It took them about five days before they finally got to the outskirts of Thorne City. However, the closer they came to the city, the more Adrian felt a sense of dread. He initially dismissed this feeling as excitement for returning home but gradually, it kept getting worse. The initial joy he felt for returning home had long faded away and was replaced with anxiety.
He didn't know why he was feeling this way and tried to calm himself down several times but was unsuccessful. The content of the note flashed in his mind and he subconsciously touched the pendant around his neck. He was certain his recent anxiety had something to do with the pendant around his neck. This just made him hurry even more and a journey that was supposed to take around ten days only took seven.
When they finally reached the city and were about to enter, Adrian saw something that made his heart drop to his stomach. The outskirts of the city were covered in arrays. This made him certain that something had definitely happened. He just didn't know if it was good or bad.