Chapter 289 Returning to Emerald Valley
"Nothing much, just discussing some philosophy. It seems he wanted to take me as his disciple," Ethan explained half-jokingly.
Naturally, he wouldn't mention the warnings from Celestia Vale and Phoenix, lest Chloe and Sarah worry about him. Some matters were beyond their reach and concern.
Upon hearing that Phoenix wanted to take Ethan as a disciple, Chloe and Sarah immediately objected. They urged him to descend the mountain and leave quickly.
Ethan was quite pleased with this outcome, as it saved him a lot of explanation.
On the flight back to Nova York, Ethan kept pondering over the words Phoenix had said to him the previous night, 'It Is no wonder he urged me to leave Everglow City quickly, as he foresaw that Celestia Vale would make a move against me. If I returned to Nova York, at least Francis could look out for me! He was indeed helping me. What happened twenty years ago? Why did Phoenix expel Francis from Celestia Vale?'
As soon as he got off the plane and walked out of the passenger terminal, Ethan saw Hannah and Camila, who had come to pick him up.
Hannah, who called him every day, already knew he was coming back.
He had promised Hannah that as soon as he returned to Nova York, he would let her pick him up, and he couldn't break his promise.
However, letting Hannah meet Chloe and Sarah made Ethan feel somewhat awkward.
Unless he cut off contact with Hannah, their frequent meetings were inevitable.
"Alice stayed in Everglow City, but there's a Hannah in Nova York," Sarah muttered, pouting as she saw Hannah.
Feeling guilty, Ethan wisely chose to remain silent.
Fortunately, Chloe and Sarah didn't say anything in front of Hannah that would cause misunderstanding or embarrassment. Instead, they took a particular liking to Camila.
As soon as Camila saw Ethan, she ran and jumped into his arms, which made Chloe and Sarah a bit jealous.
Camila was very adorable, which delighted Chloe and Sarah, who then clamored to be her godmoms.
Ethan hadn't expected Camila to end up with two godmoms. Even if he wanted to object, Chloe and Sarah overruled him.
Sarah even said, "If you can be the child's Godfather, why can't we be her godmoms?"
Hannah was more than happy with this arrangement, so everything fell into place naturally.
After leaving the airport, they went straight to the villa.
After putting down their luggage, Ethan took Chloe and Sarah to Hannah's house.
Camila happily played with the three in her room while Hannah prepared lunch.
"How has the company been while I was away?" Ethan asked about the jewelry company during lunch.
They hadn't had a chance to discuss business over the phone as Ethan had been preoccupied with Camila.
"Thanks to the Harris family's support, everything's been great. Our company has expanded more than tenfold. We've opened up markets nationwide and even established several chain stores!" Hannah explained with a smile.
"I want to merge the company into the Cloud Group, but I need to get your opinion first. If you don't agree, we'll keep things as they are," Ethan hesitated for a moment and said.
"The Cloud Group?" Hannah was unaware that the Cloud Group had changed ownership again and looked utterly confused.
"The Cloud Group is mine now," Ethan explained calmly.
"Weren't you in Everglow City all this time? And I haven't heard any news about this. How did you manage it?" Hannah asked in astonishment.
"Let's discuss it later. I need your answer. If you agree to merge the company into the Cloud Group, I'll arrange a vice president position for you in the group, and you'll also become a member of the board of directors," Ethan said with a smile.
"It is all thanks to you. If it weren't for you, my company might have gone bankrupt long ago. Since you want to merge, I have no objections," Hannah agreed without hesitation.
"Alright then, find some time to go to the Cloud Group and meet with the current general manager, Merrick, and the vice president, Beverly, to finalize this matter," Ethan said, nodding in satisfaction.
"Let's not talk business during lunch. After we eat, I plan to go home for a visit. Do you want to come with me?" Sarah interrupted, asking.
"I need to take Camila to kindergarten this afternoon. I only took half a day off this morning," Hannah was the first to decline.
"I plan to visit my old company. Although it's now a branch, the old employees are still there, and I need to see them." Chloe also shook her head.
"I need to go to Emerald Valley." Ethan shrugged helplessly, still thinking about Francis.
"Alright. Since you're all busy, I'll go alone." Sarah sighed in resignation.
After lunch, everyone went their separate ways. Ethan first dropped Chloe and Sarah off at their company and home then drove alone to Emerald Valley.
Ethan recalled the last time he came when the Shadow Gang and Elmer ambushed him at the foot of the mountain. This time, however, there were no such disturbances.
As for Francis's disciples, even if they were reluctant, they had to respect Ethan.
Outside the bamboo house where Francis lived alone, Ethan finally saw Francis after many days.
To Ethan's dismay, Francis was sitting on a stone platform, meditating with his eyes closed, completely ignoring his arrival.
After calling out twice, Ethan gave up and sat down beside him, practicing his ZF knack.
As the sky gradually darkened and the sunset, Francis finally awoke from his light meditation.
"You're finally awake. If you hadn't moved, I was about to head down the mountain," Ethan complained, looking at Francis with exasperation.
"Young people are so impatient," Francis said with a chuckle.
"Maybe when I'm as old as you, I'll be the same. By the way, Francis, I went to Misty Ridge yesterday." Ethan rolled his eyes and got straight to the point.
"I figured as much. I even know what Phoenix told you," Francis said, stroking his beard with a smile.
"Then you should know what I want to ask." Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"You want to know about the events of twenty years ago, but now is not the time to tell you." Francis sighed helplessly.
"Then when will it be the right time?" Ethan asked, frustrated. He knew these people loved to be mysterious, which only made him more curious.
"When you reach the master level." Francis said, listing his condition.
This condition was not unacceptable to Ethan. At least he felt that his current strength was not far from the master level.
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