Sui Yun then brought out a detailed map of the entire city-state. He told them that while waiting for a response on his end, they could try to gather information on their own, but they needed to keep a few things in mind.
First, of course, was the identity of Moen and Xia Duo. Due to the xenophobic nature of the Crimson City-State, Sui Yun could not use their registered elf identities from the Adventurers Guild in the documents he would submit; they had to be disguised as ordinary humans.
Therefore, if the two sisters went out, they would still need to use disguises. Furthermore, it was best not to act alone, just in case.
Additionally, after some thought, Po Kong truthfully informed Sui Yun of Little Goldie's true identity.
At first, Sui Yun didn't believe this claim, but it wasn't until Little Goldie breathed a puff of fiery breath right in front of him that he realized his younger brother wasn't joking.
At the same time, Sui Yun gained a new appreciation for Little Goldie's ability to hide his presence. Not only him, but even the many experts hidden in the shadows of the manor had failed to notice anything unusual about Little Goldie.
With such a peculiar natural talent, there was no need to worry about Little Goldie's identity being discovered by others. If this talent could be utilized properly, it could even produce unexpected results.
However, if he wanted to go out, the conditions were the same as for Moen and the others—he could not act alone.
Little Goldie didn't have any particular objection to this. For him, having a relatively safe environment was a rare treat, and nothing was more important than eating and sleeping.
After the arrangements were made, Starlight and the others successfully settled into the manor, which Sui Yun called "God's Oath."
...
That very afternoon, the restless Xia Duo dragged Po Kong toward the central district of the Crimson City-State.
She felt that waiting around in the manor was a waste of time and that it was better to go out and look for clues themselves.
Moreover, now that they had a clear direction, their first stop was the Crimson Smoke Merchant Group, which they had learned about from the Shadow Court.
Although Sui Yun had told them there were certain risks, as long as they didn't get too reckless and only scouted the perimeter, it shouldn't lead to any major trouble.
"Don't worry, big brother! We're just going to take a look~ We'll be back for dinner!" Po Kong called out before hurriedly leaving the manor.
Sui Yun didn't have any particular way to handle his brother. After watching the two of them leave, he could only shake his head helplessly.
"Well then, I still have some business matters of the merchant group to attend to. Please make yourselves at home."
After notifying Starlight and Moen, Sui Yun left the drawing room where they were resting.
"It's just the two of us again. Should we go out for a stroll too?" Starlight glanced at Moen, who was brewing tea, and spoke in a suggestive tone.
"It's the three of us~ Starlight, don't keep forgetting about Little Goldie!" Moen corrected him with a smile, her gaze falling on Little Goldie nearby.
Although the weather wasn't particularly cold yet, Little Goldie still preferred warm places. At the moment, he remained in his human form, lying on the sofa near the fireplace and sleeping soundly.
Starlight smiled as well. It wasn't that he intentionally forgot Little Goldie, but rather that the dragon's talent was truly somewhat absurd, always causing people to unconsciously overlook his presence.
"Let's forget it for today. We..." Moen pushed a cup of brewed black tea across the coffee table, but just as she was about to continue, her gaze suddenly drifted toward the window.
Starlight, who had just picked up his cup, followed her gaze. He saw a brightly colored bird land outside the window, continuously flapping its wings and tapping against the glass with a sharp "clack-clack" sound.
"It's a message from 'Leaf-Cutter'! It looks like they've started their move too!" Moen recognized the bird's origin at a glance and quickly walked to the window to let it in.
Starlight watched as Moen took a wrapped leaf from the bird's talons, placed it in her palm, and then closed her eyes.
This was a special communication method used by the Divine Concealment Squad of the elves. These leaves, plucked from the tender branches of the World Tree, did not have words written directly on them. Instead, they required a specific frequency of natural power to decode the detailed intelligence within.
This method was much more secure than conventional codes and ciphers. Even if an ordinary person obtained the leaf, they would be unable to recognize the information on it.
Moen only opened her eyes after a full minute. Starlight then leaned in curiously and asked softly, "Well? Is there any important news?"
"Nothing major, just a routine report. 'Leaf-Cutter' and several Saint Rank Night Elves have already set out for Dragon Valley. If all goes well, they'll arrive there in three days."
Moen shook her head and set down the leaf. After the information was read, the leaf gradually withered from a vibrant green.
She stood up, casually tossed the withered leaf into the fireplace, and took a biscuit from a nearby snack box. She crumbled it to feed the little bird that had delivered the message before continuing, "The letter also mentioned that Senior You is recovering well. It seems Aunt Angela's treatment was effective."
"That's good to hear~ I just hope Senior You won't have to take action. Do we need to send a reply?" Starlight nodded, feeling relieved.
"Not for now. We don't have any news worth sending back yet. I'll have this little one stand by nearby and wait until sister and the others return before making any further plans."
As Moen spoke, she released the bird, which had finished its biscuit, back out the window. The bird looked back at her in a remarkably human-like way before spreading its wings and flying toward a distant tree.
...
Just as Po Kong had said, he and Xia Duo returned before long. No sooner had they sat down at the table than they began eagerly recounting what they had seen and heard.
Following the directions on the map, they had quickly found the Crimson Smoke Merchant Group located in the city center.
Just as the Shadow Court's information had suggested, this merchant group could be described as a "city within a city," tightly enclosed by a tall wall. Calling it a fortress would not be an exaggeration.
Not only were there a large number of patrolling guards on that wall, but Xia Duo had even discovered at least three types of hidden defense measures. It was even more extreme than the walls surrounding the city-state itself.
Even Xia Duo was unable to observe the situation inside under such heavy layers of security.
"So, you two weren't able to find any useful information?" Starlight asked.
"No, if we hadn't found anything important, we wouldn't have been in such a rush to get back!"
Po Kong took over the conversation. "Although we couldn't see exactly what was going on inside, Little Shadow found some vague clues outside."
Hearing this, Starlight and Moen looked at Xia Duo in unison.
"It's like this... although the scent was very faint, I did indeed smell a trace of a fellow elf in that vicinity..."
Xia Duo's expression was solemn, and she seemed very reluctant to accept this reality. She paused for a moment and continued, "However, there was an element in that scent that I can't quite describe, so I can't be entirely certain of its authenticity yet."
Although Xia Duo's sense of smell was not as keen as her vision and hearing, she would never mistake the scent of one of her own kind. Consequently, the veracity of the Shadow Court's information was essentially confirmed.
However, a new problem arose. While they had made some progress in terms of intelligence, it ended there. Since they could not rashly infiltrate the Crimson Smoke Merchant Group, they were momentarily at a loss as to how to proceed.
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