CHAPTER 719: Three Secret Chambers

Andre and Erebus seemed quite amused as they followed Han Shuo out, leaving Rugersey behind.

The two were very curious about Andrina who had come with Han Shuo. They could not understand how this little girl could have such tremendous strength. They were even more clueless as to why she followed Han Shuo so obediently. They were eager to learn the answers.

Outside the Kisa residence, Andre and Erebus caught up with Han Shuo.

After noticing Andre and Erebus, Han Shuo slowed his pace and said with a smile, "Thank you for your lordships' assistance. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have had trouble leaving the Kisa Residence!"

"Haha, with such a powerful expert on your side, I doubt the House of Kisa would be able to do much even in an all-out battle!" Erebus said to Han Shuo and immediately turned his attention to Andrina, who was wearing an unfriendly expression. He asked puzzled, "Hello little girl, what kind of energy did you use? I have never seen it before!"

Andrina glared at Erebus and replied coldly, "None of your business!"

"Ahem, ahem..." Erebus felt rather embarrassed and forced a dry laugh.

Andre, who also wanted to question Andrina, wisely decided not to ask after seeing how she reacted to Erebus. Andre just looked at Andrina in astonishment. Meanwhile, Andrina followed Han Shuo in silence, completely ignoring the duo.

"Um... Bryan, what happened today at the House of Kisa was strange to say the least. That Gilco might have been hired by someone to tarnish your Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. You must be careful," Andre said seriously after a moment of silence.

"Yes, the incident was obviously planned to harm me. But I have no idea who would want to get me," Han Shuo nodded and replied. He also understood that this Gilco character would not have the audacity to commit the act without a strong motivation. Besides, there was no grudge or animosity between them. It was impossible that Gilco would suddenly decide to set Han Shuo up for no reason.

"Have you offended anyone lately? Apart from Avery of course. Avery hasn't been in the City of Shadows for the past few days, and I've been monitoring the Fifth Corps. He probably has nothing to do with this," Andre asked with a furrowed brow.

Han Shuo was startled and suddenly stopped walking. After thinking carefully for a while, someone popped into his mind. "I went to the Godswamp Pharmacy to discuss business with its owner, Steiss, but we parted on bad terms. While in his banquet hall filled with pharmacists, I had an argument with a pharmacist from Mirage City named Gu Li. Could it be her?"

"Gu Li from Mirage City?" Erebus cried softly, shaking his head. He explained, "Gu Li is rather queer in temperament and she is famous in Mirage City. However, I doubt she has much influence in the City of Shadows."

"Someone wants to tarnish the reputation of my Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. If that were to succeed, who would benefit the most in the City of Shadows?" Han Shuo knitted his brows and muttered to himself. He began to suspect Steiss of the Godswamp Pharmacy. Han Shuo did not have a good impression of this person and felt that he was a schemer.

"If something goes wrong with your medicine, the biggest beneficiaries should be other pharmacies in the city. Maybe you haven't noticed, but the appearance of your Celestial Pearl Pharmacy has affected the business of other pharmacies, with Godswamp Pharmacy being the most affected!" Andre seemed to realise after listening to Han Shuo's soliloquy.

Han Shuo's heart was filled with even more suspicion after hearing Andre's words. After thinking for a while, Han Shuo suddenly said with a smile. "I guess I will have to trouble your lordships. I believe someone as influential as your lordships will surely be able to find the person behind this."

"Stop flattering us, brat. I will take care of it!" Andre replied smiling.

"Alright, now that this nonsense is over, I will return to my pharmacy," Han Shuo knew that Andre would help him. But before he left, he asked, "By the way, how is Carmelita?"

"Don't worry, she has woken up and is recovering well," seeing that Han Shuo was worried about Carmelita, the smile on Andre's face became even warmer.

"Then I can truly rest easy," Han Shuo waved at the two of them and left with Andrina.

Andre and Erebus did not follow Han Shuo any further. After both Han Shuo and Andrina had disappeared from their sight, Erebus remarked in a low voice, "Damn, this little girl is nothing easy. In a solo fight, even I have no certainty of defeating her!"

Andre nodded in agreement. "I only discovered her true strength today. Had we not arrived at the right time, Rugersey would have suffered a painful beating!"

"What makes me curious is this boy called Bryan. Why should this little girl, as powerful as she is, be so gentle with him? It even seemed as if the little girl would listen to him and no one else. Very strange indeed," remarked the puzzled Erebus.

"The days ahead are long. We have all the time in the world to find out. Fortunately, Bryan is leaning towards our family clan. It's probably not a bad thing for us if the little girl only listens to his instructions." Andre thought for a moment and asked Erebus, "Have you discovered Avery's whereabouts yet?"

"Not yet," Erebus shook his head.

"Keep an eye on the Godswamp Pharmacy. This incident regarding Bryan is very unusual," Andre said.

"Understood, I will have my men keep an eye on the Godswamp Pharmacy... Did I mention that the medicines Bryan made are absolutely miraculous?" Erebus said smiling. He seemed to have a lot of faith in Han Shuo.

***

Han Shuo did not return to the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. Instead, he went on a journey to verify his suspicion.

Hearing Andre's reminder, Han Shuo suddenly realised that the emergence and rise of his Celestial Pearl Pharmacy had seriously threatened the profits of other pharmacies in the city. Godswamp Pharmacy, as the largest pharmacy in the City of Shadows, was the most affected. It was only natural that they would take countermeasures.

Han Shuo thought that Steiss' proposal to cooperate with him might be one of the countermeasures Godswamp Pharmacy would take. However, since he had rejected the proposal from the beginning, it was only to be expected that they would use harsher methods after the softer one had failed.

Han Shuo had an extraordinary advantage when it came to detective work. Soon enough, he and Andrina arrived near the Godswamp Pharmacy. After finding a dark and well hidden place to hide, Han Shuo released the demon generals to fly towards the Godswamp Pharmacy.

"What is that?" Andrina gasped. Her eyes glowed brightly as the disembodied figures of the few demon generals were reflected in her eyes.

Those Demon Generals that the Cauldron Spirit had refined could transform between material and immaterial states. Those demon generals were in an immaterial state when Han Shuo released them, and only Han Shuo, who possessed a consciousness with extraordinary sensing power, could detect the presence of those demon generals in their incorporeal state. He was careless and forgot that Andrina had mysterious power beside him.

The demon general quickly flew away from them. Andrina stared at Han Shuo and said in surprise, "Those things came from inside your body, didn't they? Don't deny it, I saw it all!"

"Erm..." Andrina's questioning and piercing eyes gave Han Shuo a headache.

"What exactly are these things? They look spectacular! If it weren't for our close proximity, even I wouldn't have noticed them! How interesting. What exactly are they?" Andrina's curiosity was greatly aroused. She questioned Han Shuo excitedly while constantly rocking his arm.

"They... they are a strange type of life form found on the Profound Continent. They are used for scouting and spying," Han Shuo explained. He thought to himself, I'll have to be more careful around her next time. Her senses are so sharp!

"What a wonderful life form! They seem to be non-physical, as if made of pure soul energy, and the energy even seemed quite strong! How could they be in your body? Are you also a strange life form?" Andrina continued with her questions.

"No, I just house them in a kind of container. If there's trouble, I can pull them out to scout for information. It's as simple as that. No more questions, I'm in the middle of something!" Han Shuo replied hastily, closing his eyes and lips as if he were busy.

The potential use of demon generals was not just for gathering information. They could be used for deployment, attack, assassination, and so on. The demon generals that Cauldron Spirit had refined were all extremely powerful and were Han Shuo's primary aides. Of course, these were the secrets that Han Shuo kept to himself and would never reveal to Andrina.

Andrina, who wanted to ask even more questions, had no choice but to remain silent as she understood that Han Shuo did not want to explain any more. However, her curiosity grew even stronger and her glances at Han Shuo were filled with amazement.

The Godswamp Pharmacy was the largest pharmacy in the City of Shadows and of course they had set up boundaries around their premises. However, since the Godswamp Pharmacy was just a pharmacy, even though they possessed extraordinary influence and power, they dared not show it off in the City of Shadows. Therefore, the boundaries around the structures were not particularly strong or powerful. The demon generals were able to enter with ease.

The demon general moved around the Godswamp campus. They discovered rooms with complete sets of pharmaceutical tools and equipment, countless pharmacists busy refining strange and exotic medicines, and some higher-ranking pharmacists engaged in heated discussions and debates.

Using the auditory senses of his demon generals, Han Shuo discovered that the pharmacists were merely discussing the art of refining medicine. They were not discussing anything related to the incident at the House of Kisa. One of the demon generals spotted Gu Li from Mirage City. She was temporarily staying at the Godswamp Pharmacy to attend the Pharmacists' Conference.

After taking Gu Li as a suspect, Han Shuo carefully watched Gu Li's every move with a demon general. He saw that Gu Li had an angry face as he leafed through a thick and heavy pharmacopoeia, muttering softly. After the demon general leaned closer to listen, Han Shuo almost laughed out loud.

It turned out that Gu Li was flipping through the pharmacopoeia to find the names of the medicinal ingredients that Han Shuo had mentioned to her in the banquet hall. These medicinal ingredients were not materials that people in this universe should know about. Even if they had discovered them, the people of this universe would have different names for them. Han Shuo had spat out these names just to annoy Gu Li, not expecting her to be so persistent.

From the number of books scattered on the floor and her messy hair, Han Shuo knew that Gu Li had been searching for these ingredients for a long time.

"Arrhh!!!" Gu Li pulled out her own hair like a madwoman. She screamed angrily, "He must have made it up! Impossible, if these ingredients exist, it's impossible that I've never heard of them! Liar, he must be a liar!"

Han Shuo thought that after Gu Li finished shouting, she would give up her futile effort. But unexpectedly, after shouting for a while, she picked up an even thicker book and continued to leaf through it. She cursed Han Shuo in a low voice as she searched through the book.

Han Shuo was actually impressed and even admired her diligence. Although she might have problems in her character and personality, Han Shuo had to admit that her tireless dedication to the art of refining medicine was admirable. It was no wonder that she was a pharmacist second to none in Mirage City.

It was also for this reason that Han Shuo immediately crossed Gu Li off his list of suspects. A person like her, who was madly immersed in refining medicine, wouldn't give so much thought to plotting and scheming. Besides, from the looks of it, Han Shuo believed that Gu Li had not left the room for a long time, so she was highly unlikely to carry out any cunning plots.

Having crossed Gu Li off his list, Han Shuo's prime suspect was now Steiss. However, after searching the God Swamp Pharmacy with his demon generals, he still couldn't find Steiss' figure. Han Shuo found this strange.

After thinking for a moment, Han Shuo ordered his demon generals to disperse further. This time, instead of searching in obvious places, they specifically looked in remote regions where boundaries might be hidden.

Then his demon generals discovered three secret chambers with powerful boundaries around them. Two of them had relatively weak defences. After hesitating for a moment, Han Shuo carefully controlled the two most powerful demon generals to break through the two barriers.

The intrusion went smoothly. There were no alarms or counterattacks from the Boundaries. After the two demon generals silently entered the two secret chambers, Han Shuo was shocked by the scene he witnessed.

One of the secret chambers contained countless frozen organs. Most of the organs belonged to humans. They were all well preserved. In the other secret chamber, Han Shuo found numerous Basegods and a few Lowgods imprisoned. Inside, several sinister apothecaries were forcing the prisoners to drink a medicine that was steaming with green smoke. One of the basegods turned into a bloody puddle of green liquid after drinking it.

Han Shuo's heart turned and he was shaken by what he saw in those rooms. It was clear that what they were doing in these secret chambers was illegal. Forcible experimentation with drugs, especially poisons on gods, was forbidden in all Domains. Han Shuo had not expected the Godswamp Pharmacy to actually flout the law and commit such heinous acts in the City of Shadows.

After discovering such huge bombshells behind the two secret chambers, Han Shuo became very curious about what he would find in the secret chamber protected by even more powerful barriers. Moreover, Han Shuo began to suspect that the two from the House of Kisa had ingested the poison produced by the Godswamp Pharmacy that caused the adverse and fatal effects.

""What's wrong?" Andrina's voice suddenly sounded next to his ear.

Han Shuo opened his eyes and looked at Andrina beside him. After taking a deep breath, he forced a smile and said, "Nothing..."

"You seem disgusted. You found something, didn't you?" Andrina asked worriedly.

"I'll tell you later, but don't talk to me now," Han Shuo replied and closed his eyes.

Han Shuo had no interest in getting involved in whatever illegal things the Godswamp Pharmacy was doing. However, from the looks of it, it was very likely that the Godswamp Pharmacy had planned the incident at the House of Kisa. Therefore, Han Shuo was determined to get to the bottom of it.

The most powerful demon general, Han Shuo, had arrived at the last secret chamber. The walls of the secret chamber were made of special materials, and it had several types of boundaries that Han Shuo was not familiar with. Han Shuo did not have the confidence to break through the barriers and therefore hesitated.

We'll probably be discovered, but it's still worth a try. Even if the break-in attempt is discovered, they won't find me hiding here, Han Shuo reasoned in his mind.

Therefore, Han Shuo focused his attention and commanded the demon general to cross the boundary. The demon general cautiously walked forward through the wall, slowly inching over the barrier.

After two-thirds of the way through the wall, a pulse of energy suddenly shot towards the demon general. Han Shuo's heart jumped as he immediately realised that his demon general had been detected by the barrier. However, instead of ordering him to retreat, Han Shuo ordered him to break through the barrier as quickly as possible, no matter how noisy.

Pop Pop Pop! a series of sharp and clear sounds rang out from the ceiling of the secret chamber. The Demon General had successfully broken through the barrier and entered the secret chamber.

The elderly man, with a head of white hair and a face as translucent as jade, was giving instructions to Steiss, who was crouched on the floor. Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed the anomaly in the barrier and immediately shouted, "That Bryan must be... Who is it?!"

Although the demon general did not hear the full sentence, Han Shuo could tell from the few words alone that the incident at the House of Kisa must be related to the two in the secret chamber. Han Shuo did not let the demon general stay in the room, but ordered him to leave as the old man seemed to have discovered the location of his demon general.

The demon general, having received Han Shuo's command, quickly retreated as soon as it entered the room. It retreated without fear of triggering the barriers' warning alarms as it was already exposed.

Another round of ringing sounded from the barriers. The demon general had successfully exited the barriers. The elderly man immediately rose from his seat to search for the intruder.

"Let's go!" Han Shuo grabbed Andrina and left, leaving the Godswamp Pharmacy in chaos.

The demon general flew into the sky as soon as he left the barriers. The old man seemed to have misgivings and did not pursue the demon general any further. He just raised his head to look at the sky. His expression was unsighly.