Chapter 32 - Shen Society
Mou Gu's contact confirmed that the people in the Shen Society were still around, and so Li Yang agreed to meet up with them. The pink-haired man took the front seat. It seemed like particular people now often got the chance to stay in the shotgun. But the man gave him directions to their place—and it was an obscure spot in the city, they crossed a couple of narrow streets and alleyways before they arrived. A reddish-brown building stood in front of them with other similar structures.
"This is the place?" Li Yang glanced at the man unbuckling his seat-belt. There was a need to hide in the background perhaps, but the place was too simple on the outside. It actually looked like a run-down apartment to him. Was this the only building that they could afford?
"Don't judge the outside, it's fully decked out inside." Mou Gu gave him a grin before he stepped out of his car. They were quick to pull out a key from their pocket as they stepped to the building and twirled the key around, waiting for him to catch up.
And that only made Li Yang wonder about its security, using keys instead of something else—but the man turned out to be right once they let him in.. Its interior design was different, and the outside had been nothing but a front. The place actually resembled something that one would see in a spy's headquarters or a command center with its sleek and futuristic touch. It was incongruent to his idea of a place where cultivators met. This could have been the entrance to some underground lab or possibly a global surveillance area.
A hacker would have loved to be here.
Mou Gu had the nerve to give him a grin before the man moved towards the stairs—stairs though? No elevators? Li Yang kept himself shut until they reached the designated floor and then entered into some kind of reception room. Now this one resembled something more office-like to him, complete with couches, a reception desk, several bookshelves, and then two imposing double doors similar to his own office.
The room held three other people besides them. One of the men lounged on the couch, practically draped across it as if they were at home. But beside them was a sharp-looking sword haphazardly perched on the couch's armrest. Another man was too busy in front of a computer and desk and finally—
"...Who have you brought here?" A young woman looked up from her book and gave them a look. She had been nearly invisible, despite sitting right across from the man with the sword. Her gaze immediately narrowed at him.
And right before he could say anything else, Mou Gu spoke up. "This is Li Yang, and he's—"
Recognition flooded from the woman's face as she put her book down. "The CEO of Olympian Corp, a pleasure to meet you." She stood up to meet him and offered a hand, "I'm Shen An Na." The young woman looked around to be in her late teens to early twenties. With long brown hair and honey brown eyes, she scrutinized him with a careful look and nodded.
Li Yang raised his brows but shook her hand, "Of the Tech Group?" What was someone like them doing in a place like this… wait a second? "You are also the head of this Shen Society?" He had thought that Shen was referring to its meaning of 'god' but that wasn't the case it seems.
"I run it with my older brother." The woman eyed the pink-haired man beside him with some slight reproach before her gaze returned to him. "Would you like to have a seat first?"
"No thank you, I'm fine." Li Yang tried to grope for the man's name and located it in his memory, "You and Shen Jie Li run this… cultivator society?" Compared to his initial perception of qi surrounding Mou Gu, the other three in the room didn't exactly showcase the same. If anything, this place was completely normal except for the futuristic design on the other floors.
But that also made sense now that he knew who he was dealing with.
Still, he was looking for someone to help him with his own situation, and he hoped that they could, or he might have wasted his time coming here.
A soft sigh escaped her lips, "I'm afraid that there may be some misinformation. We hire cultivators and martial artists, but we have our own agendas other than being a cultivator society. Shen Society is the diplomatic embassy between spiritual creatures and humans. Our base is here in Shanghai, and other areas have their own rulings." The woman pursed her lips together, glancing away from him. "And you have involved yourself, Zhao get me a form."
"Why can't you ask the guy at the table—he's got the papers with him."
Shen An Na's face twitched for a minute until she motioned to one of the available tables and seats near the books. Mou Gu handed him a paper with a pen, "Here you go."
Did this guy just trick him or something? He really was hoping for assistance, but this is what he got instead? Li Yang, however, inadvertently looked down at the document, and it truly appeared to be indeed some kind of form, a registration form to be exact.
Shen Embassy
Fill out the registration form if you wish to visit or stay in the city for a certain duration.
Name:
Age:
Race:
POB:
Occupation:
Items (Pills, Cultivation Manuals, Treasures, etc.):
Enemies:
Allies:
Please read the following rules and regulations on power regulations codes and alternative identity creation (Spirits Who Wish To Adopt Human Identity). It is to ensure that the relationship between humans and spirits remains amicable, please abide by them—failure to do so will be dealt with accordingly.
"We have the rules and regulations on PDF form if you wish." Shen An Na informed him with a serious look. "It's imperative that you read them, and we need you to register yourself, or else you'll be considered a trespasser once you leave. It's a fortunate thing that Mou Gu found you, we have strict policies on this."