The scholarly man's eyes were wide with shock and awe, unable to comprehend the power that Karyk possessed.
Karyk walked towards him, his footsteps light as he closed the distance between them. He extended his hand, returning the bag to the Scholarly Man.
"You don't have to run anymore," Karyk said softly. "I've taken care of the pirates."
The scholarly man took Karyk's hand, feeling extremely thankful. His voice was shaky as he spoke, still struggling to process what had just happened.
He was certain about Karyk's identity, which made him even more intimidated.
If Karyk was actually a General in the Royal Capital, that meant he was on a mission from the Emperor. While a General was out of the Capital, they had a high authority.
A Royal General had the authority to execute anyone without consequences. Even a City Lord couldn't stop him if he wanted to kill a person. That's why the people from the Capital were such frightening existences.
"I... I don't understand," he stammered. "How did you do that? Who are you?"
Although he had already guessed Karyk's identity in his mind, he didn't reveal that he already knew. If it was actually a secret mission, then just knowing the General's identity itself was enough to be put to death.
He didn't want to take any risks. But if he didn't ask, he had a feeling Karyk was going to be suspicious and think that he already knew. That's why, he asked, giving Karyk an opportunity to come up with an excuse.
Karyk's eyes glinted with a hint of amusement as he casually answered, "I told you, I am just a passerby. As for how I did it... well, let's just say I have some tricks up my sleeve."
The scholarly man stared at Karyk, a mix of fear and curiosity in his eyes. He had never witnessed such power before, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe towards this stranger.
Even the person from the Capital he saw last time hadn't revealed this level of strength. He was certain that Karyk was a high ranking General, potentially from a top ranking family in the Capital. How else could he become this strong at such a young age?
In any case, he knew it wasn't his place to worry about the man's purpose.
"No matter what. It's true that you've saved my life. Unfortunately, I don't have anything I can reward you with," the Scholarly Man sighed, glancing at the bag in his hand. "I would've given this to you as a reward if it belonged to me. But this thing is very important to the City Lord."
"May I ask why your City Lord would need something like this?" Karyk asked, pondering about the use of the thing in the bag.
It wasn't a weapon. It wasn't even a treasure that could change the tide of a battle. This thing, although seemingly very important, had only a limited use.
"Did you already look inside?" The Scholarly Man asked.
"Curiosity got the best of me. I hope you won't mind."
The scholarly man smiled wryly, knowing his limits. He couldn't do that even if he wanted to. He couldn't blame the man before him. He didn't have enough courage in him to blame the general.
He still hadn't realized that he had completely misunderstood the identity of the person.
"You're my savior. How can I blame you? Moreover, even the pirates knew about it. I suppose someone had leaked this, so there's not much secret to it," the scholarly man said, trying to ease the tension.
"This is the Nine Meridian Herb. It's almost an extinct herb, that's why it's so precious. It's said to be able to heal any disease or sickness, as long as it's nothing too extreme. Even limbs could be regrown after taking it. Even for us, it took a lot of effort to find one."
"But I never expected someone to betray us, resulting in this situation. Fortunately, you were there to save me."
The Scholarly Man briefly paused, as if lost in some thoughts. It was a big secret that could put the entire Celestial City in danger.
"As for its use... Since it's you, I won't keep it a secret. Our City Lord is afflicted with poison. As for what kind of poison it is, we don't know. All we know is that no treatment works on the City Lord."
" Every passing day, his health keeps deteriorating. If it was someone else, they would've already been dead but he's been barely holding on, suppressing the poison. That's why, this Nine Meridian was our last hope."
Hearing the explanation, Karyk understood quite a lot of things. There was nothing suspicious in this story either since he had also confirmed that the herb had a healing properly along with a high amount of life energy. It could easily heal any poison.
Since he wasn't affected by a poison or suffering from any sickness, he didn't need the herb which had made it useless for him.
"If you don't mind, would you mind coming to the Celestial City with me?" The man asked, looking at Karyk with hopeful eyes.
He was all alone at the moment and he didn't know when more pirates were going to come after him. If it was the Pirate King next time, he couldn't even dare imagine what could happen.
At any cost, he had to take this herb back safely and for that, he needed the help of someone strong like Karyk.
Unfortunately, he also expected Karyk to say no. Why would a General be worried about a mere City Lord? He had prepared himself for a rejection, but his eyes widened when he heard Karyk's reply.
"Alright. I suppose I can provide you some protection as well. For the stability of the Empire, it's good if your City Lord doesn't die."
Karyk didn't know that the man was imagining him to be someone else. But still, he played his cards right, expressing his loyalty to the Empire while giving him a reason to accompany the man.
