Night fell.
A quiet wind rustled fallen leaves on the ground. On the Floating City, suspended high in the sky, the wind within the city seemed even more violent. The howling gusts sounded like wails, preventing many within the city from sleeping soundly.
Deep within a luxurious mansion, a spacious open-air pavilion for viewing fish.
"Father."
Lia stood before the middle-aged man fishing in the pavilion, her messy hair meticulously combed, her hands clasped respectfully.
"How many times have I told you not to be so disheveled? Why don't you ever listen?"
The middle-aged man fishing spoke softly. Lia paused slightly, then raised her hand and messed up her hair.
"What's the point of trying to fix it now?" the fisherman sighed, shaking his head. "Those who have intentions see the truth in a single glance. If you continue to be so deliberate, aren't you just confirming their suspicions? I really don't know when you'll be able to truly share some of my burden. Today, I noticed you weren't in the Floating City. Were you down in the city?"
"Yes."
Lia cupped her hands, her gaze burning.
"At noon, news of demons attacking the city spread. My original intention was to gain some false prestige and, incidentally, to make the elders in the clan and the royal family think more highly of me. As you taught me, father, truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth, if I were too deliberate in acting as an unlearned dandy, it might also arouse the suspicion of the royal family."
"And the result?"
"I met the holder of the Tiger Tally."
As Lia finished speaking, Chen Yu's assumptions all came true.
Being unlearned was a disguise.
Lia indeed knew his identity.
As for the fisherman before him, he was the chief financial officer of the Tatum Kingdom, a man with eyes and ears everywhere, whose influence even the royal family feared.
"And then?"
The chief financial officer's voice was light and slow, yet it felt as if the surrounding air was about to freeze.
Lia's heart grew heavy.
She recounted everything that happened after meeting Chen Yu, without the slightest omission.
"Interesting. Has that person from the Academy also lost her patience and begun to have her most favored disciple contact this youth who is favored by the gods?" the chief financial officer murmured. "It's a pity that all she possesses is knowledge, yet she is so poor at judging people. Bellor is not the suitable successor. She… I fear she will have no successor."
"Son thinks so too."
Lia stood beside the chief financial officer and whispered.
"At the restaurant, I deliberately said those things targeting Bellor. Judging by his reaction, he is by no means a formidable opponent. If the future of the Academy is entrusted to him, the Academy will crumble and be destroyed in an instant."
Unexpectedly, after Lia finished speaking, the chief financial officer who was fishing remained silent for a long time.
Lia, standing beside him, felt a tightening in her heart.
"Father, did I do something wrong?"
"You think you did a beautiful job?" It was only then that the chief financial officer suddenly withdrew his hand from the fishing rod, his narrow eyes like a venomous snake in the dark. "Everyone knows Bellor is mediocre. By deliberately targeting him, you failed to probe anything meaningful from him. Instead, you completely overturned the persona you've painstakingly cultivated for over twenty years. Do you think this was a worthwhile transaction?"
"Bellor wouldn't see anything," Lia quickly defended.
"Idiot!"
The chief financial officer snorted coldly.
"Bellor has no ability, but does that old woman in the Academy… cough, does that Grand Scholar in the Academy also have the same dull mind as him? As long as Bellor returns to the Academy and explains the matter to the Grand Scholar, you'll be as transparent as if you were naked in front of her."
"Dad, did you just curse?"
The atmosphere had been very oppressive, making it difficult for Lia to breathe, but it was broken by the chief financial officer's momentary slip of the tongue.
"What I say is none of your business." The chief financial officer, having been exposed, simply stopped pretending. "You little brat, you're telling me off? You have the time to think about your own affairs. Damn it… it feels good to speak like this. Ever since that old woman came to the Floating City, I don't know what the royals are pretending for, quibbling over words, debasing themselves. They all came from banditry, so why pretend to be saints."
Sitting on a small stool, the chief financial officer couldn't help but start cursing.
Lia, standing beside him, watched her father rage and jump, cursing incessantly, and couldn't help but steal a smile while clutching the corner of her clothes.
"You're still laughing, you know you handled today's matter very poorly." The chief financial officer snorted. "You're my only child. You need to step up. I'm not asking you to be flawless, but at least you need to cover for me a little. Do you know, today's incident almost reached the ears of the sages? If it weren't for the thorough arrangements I've made within the royal family over the years, and if I hadn't intercepted the news before it reached the palace, both of us would have been thrown into the North Sea to feed the fish by now."
"The North Sea maritime domain is very strictly regulated, and throwing corpses is not allowed," Lia said with a grin.
"Get lost!"
The chief financial officer raised his leg and kicked Lia.
Stumbling back several steps, Lia's smile only grew.
"Dad, I feel more at ease when you talk like this. You're always so tense, I'm a little afraid of you," Lia said with a smile and scratched her head. "So, what do you think we should do next? Chen Yu asked me to help him move that eye."
"I'll ask you."
The chief financial officer suddenly became serious, and Lia quickly restrained her smile.
"Chen Yu wants you to move the eye, what is his purpose?"
"He definitely wants to help the Elton family escape," Lia said solemnly. "Chen Yu and the Elton family are now bound together. The royal family sent people to assassinate Fuhua Elton and Roni Elton. These two failed and instead killed Fuhua Elton's younger brother. The royal family has gone too far, and the Elton family can no longer have any room for maneuver with the royal family. The two main pillars of the clan are abroad and cannot return to the city, but the Elton family's foundation is still here. Chen Yu's return to the Tatum Kingdom this time is to help the Elton family withdraw."
"How will they withdraw?"
The chief financial officer posed another question.
"Directional scrolls," Lia narrowed her eyes. "The Floating City is heavily guarded. The only way to leave without a sound is through directional scrolls. Chen Yu specifically asked us to move the eye, fearing that the use of a large number of directional scrolls would create spatial ripples and be detected by the eye."
Behind Lia, a hint of a smile appeared in the chief financial officer's eyes.
It was evident that
He was satisfied with Lia's answer.
"Then I'll ask you another question," the chief financial officer whispered solemnly. "In the entire Tatum Kingdom, who do you think is the most noteworthy? Forget about that old fossil in the royal family; he's about to breathe his last, otherwise, the Tatum Kingdom wouldn't be so indifferent to the chaos in the outer city. How about this, I'll narrow down the scope for you, just…"
"Don't!"
Unexpectedly, before the chief financial officer could finish speaking, Lia raised her hand.
"It's Kage, isn't it."