CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 230 THE SHELVED SPY_1

All the guests at the banquet were captivated by the luxurious lighting at the Thunderous Swamp Embassy in Nuta City.

It wasn’t just the lighting.

There was also the omnipresent music played by an unseen orchestra.

The music was an unheard piece, and different places had different tunes.

The main hall featured a graceful melody that relaxed people during their conversations.

The front courtyard, filled with young people, played waltzes. Bathed in the brilliant stage lights, couples of young men and women showcased their dance moves.

The banquet was a joyous affair for both hosts and guests.

Only in the early morning did the still-enthusiastic guests begin to leave one after another.

Yet, the lights inside the embassy still shone bright.

Yan Xing, who had accomplished three major things that night, was in high spirits. After drinking a few more cups, he was tended to by a maid and fell asleep on the bed in his chamber.

The spring latex mattress was just so comfortable.

Unlike at the Lord’s Mansion in the Eternal Domain, which was still under construction, Yan Xing didn’t have a proper room there.

Sleeping usually meant making do, or he would return directly to his small apartment in the real world to rest.

After the maid left, Yan Xing took out his mobile phone and asked Chui Chui, "Did Lady Karol stay the night here or leave?"

Chui Chui replied, "Master, Lady Karol stayed in the bedroom she chose."

"Have the pinhole camera and the bug been installed?"

"They have been installed, Master."

"Connect them..." Yan Xing felt he was being sleazy at the moment, but one could not be too righteous with a woman like Karol. If she moved in so proactively, she must be harbouring questionable intentions towards me, so why should I feel any psychological pressure about peeping? Heh heh heh...

At that moment, Lady Karol was writing a letter at the dressing table in front of the window.

The cool night breeze blew in from outside, causing the window sheers to flutter.

Outside was the front courtyard of the embassy, a mess left by the departing guests. The servants of the Envoy Mansion were cleaning up and dismantling the banquet facilities throughout the night.

The racket and the coolness did not affect Lady Karol.

All her attention was on the letter she was writing.

The letter was ostensibly a love letter to Duke Silvermane, but it was interspersed with coded phrases conveying her true messages.

Some days prior, the Temple in Nuta City had attempted to use the mercenary corps under their control to organize a mercenary uprising within Nuta City.

But they had not succeeded.

One reason was Yan Xing’s sudden return to Nuta City from Thunderous Swamp; he had issued a large number of tasks to the idle mercenaries.

This had dealt a blow to the expansion plans of the Farsight Mercenary Corps.

However, this was not the main factor in the Temple’s failure.

The Farsight Mercenary Corps were now under full attack from the Jufeng Mercenary Group and had no capacity to take on the tasks assigned by the Temple. This conflict appeared as though Farsight had initiated the dispute, but one could not jump to conclusions about the reality of the situation.

With the war in the Wildwind Highlands reaching such a state, the forces covertly supported by various parties were very active in Nuta City.

For "Shortgun" to remain inactive in this city seemed very unreasonable.

If "Shortgun" was a mercenary alliance serving the Orcs, then important figures within the Jufeng Mercenary Group should be serving "Shortgun."

Thus, Jufeng’s current offensive against Farsight warranted further investigation.

In Nuta City now, there was the Temple’s Farsight and "Shortgun’s" Jufeng. Additionally, there was Count Theodore’s Lord’s Mansion, the duchy’s Rose Court, and the newly appeared Yan Xing’s Envoy Mansion.

There were other powers of varying sizes, both overt and covert.

The outwardly stable Nuta City was actually in great turmoil.

The incident tonight, where an assassin from the Assassin’s Guild went missing, made Lady Karol realize there was an issue within the Assassin’s Guild.

If the Assassin’s Guild could not be trusted, it would be like severing an arm of the Rose Court.

She didn’t know if it would affect her scheduled meeting with the Elf Envoys.

In her letter, Lady Karol detailed the situation in Nuta City and the sudden incident involving the Assassin’s Guild, expressing the difficulties she faced to Duke Silvermane and hoping for more support and authority.

After completing the letter, she pressed her lip print onto the paper.

She sealed the envelope and stamped it with a magic seal.

Then she cast a spell to summon a large albatross.

Lady Karol rolled up the letter, inserted it into the message tube on the albatross’s leg, and let it fly away.

Then she undressed and went to take a bath...

「The next day.」

Yan Xing sat in Li Jiya’s tavern, yawning alone and drinking barley wine.

Last night, the banquet had ended very late, and afterward, he and Chui Chui had spent a long time discussing Lady Karol. As a result, he hadn’t slept well.

Upon seeing Yan Xing enter, Li Jiya told her helpers to tend the tavern and excused herself, claiming she needed to purchase items from the market.

Shortly after, Li Jiya, now in disguise, took a seat across from Yan Xing.

She cast a Soundproof Magic before asking Yan Xing, "What on earth happened last night? Why didn’t you show up?"

Yan Xing took a drink, then began cutting the steak on his plate, responding unhappily, "You’re asking me why I didn’t show up? I should be asking you why the other assassins were whisked away by people from the Envoy Mansion as soon as they entered the door. I had to hide inside until nearly dawn before I could escape! Xue Jun, the Assassin’s Guild needs to give me an explanation!"

Yan Xing’s sharp retort left Li Jiya speechless.

What happened last night was undoubtedly the most serious incident since the founding of Nuta City’s Assassin’s Guild.

Now, word about the Assassin’s Guild leaking the assassination plan had spread throughout Nuta City.

The Assassin’s Guild immediately took control of all internal personnel involved in the assassination. However, they could not salvage this disastrous crisis of confidence.

This was Li Jiya’s first time participating directly in Assassin’s Guild affairs.

Before this, she had been an undercover agent, a high-ranking spy within the duchy’s intelligence system.

Assassin’s Guild members had extensive contact with outsiders. Unlike them, Li Jiya was trusted by the Rose Court and was therefore not among those suspected of leaking information.

Nevertheless, she had still received a warning sent by Lady Karol, advising her to reduce all unnecessary activities, examine herself for any exposure of her identity, and hand over the task of receiving the Elf Envoys to a standby operative.

This was tantamount to being put on ice. She had remained incognito in Nuta City for so many years as an undercover agent, all for the chance to achieve a significant milestone for the duchy. Now, this development was crushing. Because of the traitor within the Assassin’s Guild, all her efforts had been rendered worthless! If she only knew who the leak was, she would make sure that damned individual tasted every punishment known to the Empire’s spies!

Now idled by this turn of events, Li Jiya, upon seeing Terence enter her tavern, could not help but meet with him.

Terence was the only assassin from yesterday whom Yan Xing had not "invited."

Was it luck? His own abilities? Or had he detected something in advance? He must know something, she thought, remembering Terence’s sudden suggestion yesterday to amend the assassination plan.