Dark King

After a while the middle-aged woman returned. Dudian negotiated and paid a depost. He was given a receipt which included the date when the goods will be ready. They left the Chamber of Commerce and came to the other parts of the Eatern market. Dudian checked the current prices and purification degress of other raw materials.

At noon.

Dudian and Sergei came to the Ryan family.

Old fulin saw Dudian enter the dining room. His eyes were attracted by the burly body of Sergei who was walking behind Dudian: "Welcome. We were about to have a meal. Join us."

Dudian smiled: "It's my honor."

"Who is this?" Old Fulin looked at Sergei.

Dudian smiled: "This is senior hunter Sergei. Formerly he used to work for Krylov consortium. I had consulted you about bailing him out."

"Senior Hunter?" The people who were sitting at both sides of the table were surprised. Jake and Sander were bit excited but there was a trace of awe and faint fear in their eyes. Even the third-generation children of the family who weren't involved with daily business of the family were aware of the value that senior hunters represented.

Dudian turned towards Sergei: "This is the patriarch of the Ryan family. He was the one who bailed you out so you should show him your grattitude."

The moment Sergei entered the dining room he quickly glanced around the place. This castle whether it was about external or internal decoration was extremely rough and simple. He saw that people inside the dining room were dressed in simple clothing which meant that family belonged to a declining aristocracy. Even the guards of the family were apprentice knights. There was laziness in his eyes as he looked around. How could they have the money to bail Sergei and the rest when they didn't even have a proper castle?

He suddenly remember the confident and mysterious style of Dudian when he had conversed with them back after exiting the Thorn Flower Prison. There was a faint smile on Sergei's face as he looked at Old Fulin: "Hello, old patriarch! I'm Sergei Khach."

There was fear in old patriarch's heart but he looked very calm on surface. Old Fulin slight nodded: "Maid, get a seat for Mr Sergei."

The middle-aged maid who was standing next to old patriarch immediately gestured and another young maid brought a thick chair for Sergei.

Normally, Sergei would have long ago sat down and began eating. In the old days, he wouldn't care about the existence of such a noble family. He had seen every type of aristocrats back when he worked for Krylov consortium. Most of the nobles would try to flatter and please him which Sergei was accustomed to. However at the moment, Dudian was standing up and he also had to hold back and not sit down. But he was unhappy in his heart. He wanted to get out of the control of this kid and become completely free.

Dudian went through formal procedures and only afterwards sat by the table. He casually chatted about interesting things until the end of meal.

Afterwards, Dudian let Sergei to stay down in hall while he followed Old Fulin upstairs to his study room.

Dudian winked at Old Fulin as they entered the room. Sander who was helping old Fulin exited as all the other servants.

"Is there a movement from Mellon consortium's side?" Dudian sense no other smells around the place so he casually asked Old Fulin.

Old patriarch shook his head: "No. I have seen the resume of the five you have bailed out. These people are not small time prisoners. They were jailed because of specific crimes and purposes. So Mellon consortium wouldn't blantly try to assassinate you anymore. However the one you had brought today. They seem like dangerous people and you should be careful as well."

Dudian nodded in affirmation: "I will but I still can't believe that Mellon consortium hasn't made a move in this amount of time. It is a bit unusual. Maybe they have already acted but we weren't able to find the source. We have to find leads as soon as possible to that we can deal with them." Mellon consortium was a thorn for Dudian. He had to pull it out as soon as possible or it would be an infection which would cost him a lot.

Old Fulin sighed: "We don't have much resources and weak in case of investigations. You shouldn't expect much at this point."

Dudian knew that Old Fulin lacked manpower. He pondered a little and said: "Send Barton and the other two to investigate this matter."

"Them?" Old Fulin looked at him: "Can you trust them?"

"You can believe to their reports." Dudian continued: "It's been long time that they have been here with you. By know they should be accustomed to the lifestyle of the commercial district. They will find ways to accomplish the task."

"It's good to have people who you can trust." Old Fulin said. Dudian hadn't let him down from the first time they began cooperation. So Old Fulin was inclined to the choices made by Dudian.

"You have brought one of them with you today. The other four are in your residence. You have to beware of them." Although Old Fulin knew that Dudian had taken security precautions but reminding him wasn't going to cost anything.

Dudian nodded and continued to discuss other things for a while. Then he left downstairs to pick up Sergei. He saw that Sergei was sitting in a chair opposite to Hugh, Jake and several other third-generation juniors were sitting close by to them. It seemed that they were involved in a chat. There was a kind expression on Sergei's face.

"Mr. Dean? He was also bailed out by my grandfather." Hush smiled and replied.

Dudian heard Hugh's words as he slowly went down the wooden stairs. His eyes lit up but he tried to keep quiet so that he didn't disturb them. However the next moment Sergei turned towards the stairs and looked at Dudian. There was a faint smile on his face.

Hugh and others closed their mouthes the moment they saw Dudian appear.

Dudian went straight towards the exit as he said to Sergei: "We are going back."

Sergei smiled and got up. He looked at Jake and others: "I have to go back. See you guys later." He caught up with Dudian and went out of the castle to the carriage.

Sander and Jake went out to send them off.

The carriage slowly left the castle.

Sergei leaned against the carriage and smiled at Dudian: "Masqeurading and disguising everthing is a cooperative relationship? You have hijacked the family after the jail break. The children think that you are loyal to their father and haven given their family your allegiance. If you change your mind and want to get rid of them, this old man can help you out!"

Dudian was silent as there was an expression of indifference on his face.

Sergei thought that he had hit on spot. He laughed: "I didn't expect that such a young person would be able to escape from the prison. However you have additional extraordinary skills. An architect of the Temple of Elements. So you never had a backer who was supporting your from the shadows. As a result you have bailed us out. Are you going to use our help to get your revenge?"

Dudian indifferent replied: "Speaking of skills... I have to consult you. After we get back to the castle you should make sure that the training ground behind the castle is similar to the fields in the hunter college. I want you to be my intructor from tomorrow on for the time being."

Sergei saw that Dudian changed the topic. He thought that he had guessed every so he felt a bit more proud than usual: "My training would be very strict. I'm afraid you will cry like a child."

...

...

At dusk as the sun fade away.

Nicholas, Gwyneth, Scar and Jin were sitting by the table in the dining room. Jin looked at the vacant seats and asked Nicholas: "Isn't master not coming back tonight?" They had decided to follow Dudian so they decided to no longer address him as 'D.'

Nicholas gave him a stern look: "How should I know? I heard that he was an inmate at the same level as you guys. Tell me, how was he able to escape from the prison?"

Scar snorted: "D ... You better behave well as master have bailed you out at this old age. You may have a few more years to live and there is such a stable condition. Why are you tossing around?"

Nicholas's face was cold: "I know that I am old. You don't have to remind me that. But you should show some attitude towards the elderly too."

Scar laughed: "Do you think that we are nice guys who are obedient to the elders?"

Nicholas looked back at him with a sullen face: "True, you aren't." He continued to eat.

At this time, hoofs and footsteps of the horses resounded.

The maid by the door cried out in surprise: "Master has returned."

Scar and Jin immediately put away the knife and fork. They got up and went out to greet them. Nicholas also got up but only Gwyneth didn't move and continued to eat her food.

Dudian patted Sergei's arm as he affectionately smiled: "Today was a hard day so you should go to rest early. Tomorrow try to work on the training field. If there is not enough manpower then get some slaves."

Sergei sneered. You want to win me over by acting warm? Isn't it too late?

However there was a smile on his face: "It's a small matter. There won't be that much of trouble."

Dudian smiled. It seemed that he was in an excellent mood so he turned around and left to the castle. He saw Jin and Scar had come over to greet him. He looked at them: "Haven't you eaten yet?"

Nicholas said in an embarrassed manner: "We were just eating. I though you won't return."

Dudian smiled: "Let's go and eat together." He took the lead as he looked at Nicholas's smiling face.

Gwyneth saw that Dudian had entered the hall. She whispered: "Master."

Dudian nodded in silence and sat in his place.