A second-rank top force, almost reaching the strength of a first-rank one... if she hadn't taken out the Tiangong Pavilion trade token just now, she probably wouldn't have been able to keep these people in check.
But what shocked Elara even more was that Sindri was actually an important member of the Lianhuang Sect...
So, they had sent Sindri to infiltrate her Plumera Kingdom from the very beginning?
Those foreign men who came to capture Sindri back then must have also belonged to the Lianhuang Sect.
Going in circles like this... it turned out they were all old acquaintances.
Elara's thoughts churned endlessly, though her face showed no change. She looked at Boss Wei across from her and said calmly, "So you are from the Lianhuang Sect. I've heard that your sect once sent a top-ranked assassin from the Tianzi list into Plumera Kingdom. Did you discover something valuable in our land, and that's why you're now sneaking back in under the guise of trade?"
As soon as Elara finished speaking, the expressions of Boss Wei and his two companions changed again.
They knew exactly who the assassin on the top of the Tianzi list was. But Sindri... even within the Lianhuang Sect, his movements and details were highly classified. Even now that he had defected, no information had leaked out.
Yet this Miss Bai had spoken directly about the location of Sindri's final mission before defecting... Considering the Tiangong Pavilion behind her, it wasn't impossible. It just meant her status there might be higher than they had imagined, or else she wouldn't know these things... no wonder she held the golden trade token.
The expressions on Boss Wei's group shifted several more times. Finally, he laughed awkwardly and said to Elara, "Miss Bai, you are truly well-informed to know even such top secrets. But we are merely low-ranking members of the Lianhuang Sect. We only know of Sindri's name and his betrayal. We are not in contact with any other matters, so we cannot answer your questions."
After speaking, perhaps to stop Elara from asking more about Sindri, Boss Wei quickly changed the subject.
"Miss Bai, since you are from the Tiangong Pavilion, our Lianhuang Sect has long admired your organization. We have wanted to do business with you for a long time, but unfortunately, your major clients are just too many. Our Holy Maiden once ordered us to go fetch the purchasing order list from Tiangong Pavilion, but by the time we got it, our turn was already pushed back for more than half a year. Sigh, it really was miserable…"
Boss Wei let out a deep sigh and looked at Elara again, now with a look of relief. "Fortunately, we met you here today, Miss Bai. And it seems you are interested in our business. In that case, we will reveal everything we have to offer with no reservation. May I ask... what rare goods from Tiangong Pavilion do you currently carry? How much can you sell to us?"
Elara looked at the hidden greed and probing in Boss Wei's eyes, then turned her gaze to Kristof. He instantly understood and pulled out the fine steel dagger she had once awarded him, from his waist.
The dagger was placed on the table with a light clunk due to its weight. The next moment, Kristof slowly drew the silver, razor-sharp blade. Its smooth, snowy-white edge reflected the candlelight around them, and even in the dim night, it gleamed so brightly that people couldn't help squinting.
Everyone's attention, whether it was Boss Wei's group or Imani still leaning against Elara's shoulder, was drawn to this stunning dagger.
Seeing that she had calmly agreed, Kristof finally felt relieved.
His Majesty's thoughts were always thorough and meticulous. As long as he nodded, there was no need for Kristof to say more.
However, Kristof's gaze turned to Imani, who was still clinging tightly to Elara in her arms.
Kristof's smile became stiff and unnatural again. He pulled out a fan from his sleeve and tapped Imani's arm that was wrapped around Elara.
"Boss Wei, the act is over. Don't you think it's time to drop this look and get off my boss?"
Just as Kristof expected, after Boss Wei and the others left, they did not immediately go prepare to show Elara their business as they had claimed.
The first thing they did was secretly investigate the real identities of Elara and her group.
Boss Hou stood behind Boss Wei, his brows tightly furrowed and the fierce and sinister look on his face had returned the moment they left Yuyan Tower.
"Boss, what happened earlier was unexpected, but our business in Plumera Kingdom only started leaking after we moved into Yuyan Tower. That guy named Imani is definitely not just the owner of the tower. I'm sure the Ministry of Justice chasing us has something to do with him. Are we really just going to let him go?"
Boss Wei's face had also turned gloomy since they left Yuyan Tower. "Whether that woman Miss Bai is from the Tiangong Pavilion or not, the gold business badge in her hand can't be fake. That alone proves she must have some kind of connection with the Pavilion, whether openly or secretly."
"And... you fool. Didn't you notice just now? When we humbled ourselves and tried to apologize, that guy named Imani was about to accept, but the woman stopped him. She held him back from compromising with us."
"That woman Miss Bai was protecting him. That was clearly a warning that Yuyan Tower is her territory, and we're not allowed to touch him. In this situation, you still want to move against him? Fool."
Boss Hou's expression grew even uglier after being scolded. "So what do we do now? Are we really going to deal with that sudden woman and hand over our business to her? I just feel like she showed up at a very suspicious time. It's strange."
"Don't forget, the Master also sent Sindri to Plumera Kingdom. We don't know what secrets are hidden in this small remote country, but since the Master is interested, it's not surprising that the Tiangong Pavilion would send someone too."
Boss Wei's face was also extremely grim. "In any case, we need to speed up the investigation. We must confirm that woman's real identity before morning. If she really is from the Pavilion, then this will be a lucky bonus for us. We can strike a deal with her and get our hands on the refined sabers ahead of time, which would be a great merit. We also need to prepare gifts of apology to deliver to her and that so-called tavern owner in the morning. We must not offend her."
"But if her identity is questionable" Boss Wei gave a vicious smile. "Go, dispatch our men. Once we find even the smallest clue, be ready to follow my orders."
"Yes, Boss."
After finishing their discussion, Boss Wei and the other two each took their subordinates and headed to three of their most important hidden bases.
What they didn't know was that from the moment they left, groups of snakes, rats, insects and ants, invisible to the naked eye, had been hiding in the shadows, silently following them.
Behind the creatures, the Wei Clan's fully armed warriors and elite soldiers, guided by the continuous feedback from the Puppet Soldiers, had clearly tracked their positions.
Inside Yuyan Tower, Elara still sat in her original place, sensing the feedback from the Puppet Soldiers and remotely commanding all Wei Clan members through the power of her Sacred Spirit Blood.
To be safe, she had sent Uno to personally lead the operation tonight.
The Lianhuang Sect was the strongest enemy force she had encountered so far. She absolutely did not want to alert them. Everything tonight had to go perfectly. Only if things went smoothly could she silently launch a counterattack.
Uno personally led the team on the mission. Early the next morning, Elara naturally received a satisfying result.
Last night, Boss Wei and the other two had sent people to secretly investigate Elara's identity and were preparing to report it to the sect, but Uno had already arrived with the Wei Clan.
However, she did not let Uno kill them or destroy their base immediately. Instead, she told Uno and the others to first make sure the three had no chance to send any message back to the sect, preventing any leaks.
Then they waited for the right time and quietly put puppet insects into the food and drinks, making sure the targets consumed them.
Thinking about how the Lianhuang Sect used to be Sindri's power base, and given the unusual nature of his body, the sect must also be deeply familiar with the art of gu and parasites.
Once Uno and the clan members returned and reported, Elara considered the situation and had the System use National Luck Points to ensure the puppet insects wouldn't be discovered by the Lianhuang Sect.
She had used this method before on Lucian. Back then, to keep the parasite eggs in his body from being discovered, she had spent 1,500 National Luck Points on him alone.
Now she needed to ensure the eggs inside these people wouldn't be detected either. Maybe because their status was far lower than Lucian's, they weren't likely to attract attention from high-level members of the sect. So Elara only needed to spend a total of 3,156 National Luck Points to hide the parasites inside over a hundred Lianhuang Sect members in the base. That meant each person required far fewer points than Lucian.
[Ding~ 3,156 National Luck Points have been deducted. Current remaining total: 25,588 National Luck Points]
Compared to being immediately targeted by the powerful Lianhuang Sect or the Petunia State's splinter forces, spending just over three thousand points to cut off the threat and even infiltrate them silently was absolutely a worthwhile trade.
"Master, this is what we found in their base"
Uno handed a thick stack of papers to Elara.
Elara took it and looked through it, frowning.
"Suspected materials for papermaking... production steps... simplified brick-making methods... secret formulas from the Divine Doctor Valley..."
She flipped through the thick stack quickly, her face turning colder with each page.
The papers listed many of the new technologies currently being used in Plumera Kingdom.
Most of them were guessed by Lianhuang Sect members after buying finished products and trying to reverse engineer them. Almost all of these guesses were wrong.
But some of the content clearly came from internal knowledge. Some blueprints even contained formulas Elara had personally given to technical officials in the Ministry of Works.
Even though the formulas were also incorrect and appeared cobbled together, the math and physics symbols used in them couldn't exist in this world. The only explanation was that someone inside the factories had secretly been bought off by the Lianhuang Sect.
They had been trying to piece together stolen designs and formulas and had smuggled technical secrets out to the sect.
A sudden surge of anger exploded in Elara's chest.