"Hmm?"

Angelo lowered his head, carefully comparing the map of Loking City in his hand with the surrounding streets. Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He immediately looked in the direction where he sensed the gaze, but apart from a clothing store owner staring at him strangely, he didn't notice anything else amiss.

For ordinary people, it wouldn't matter much. At most, he would be seen as a curious fellow... But after all, this was the capital of West Empire Chu, and there might be spies disguised as ordinary people lurking on the streets. Just to be safe, he decided to finish up things here and then investigate.

With this thought in mind, Angelo also found the location marked on the map corresponding to the place he was at.

At the foot of the city wall? And it wasn't a place with low foot traffic either, with two vendors pushing carts selling ice cream and pastries nearby. It would be too conspicuous to go during the day.

"I'll come back at night instead..."

He muttered under his breath, and Angelo agilely jumped down from where he was standing, as if he were a martial arts hero with light-footed skills.

Meanwhile, Aya, who had just hidden herself among the clothes rack beside him, felt a bit awkward as she smiled at the owner who seemed slightly displeased, crossing her arms and tapping her left foot on the ground.

After noticing Angelo, who looked like an assassin standing high and searching for treasure, disappearing with a leap of faith, Aya temporarily put aside the idea of buying snacks. She quickly left the crowded street and entered a nearby clothing store. She was surprised at how sharp Angelo's senses were; it didn't take long for him to notice Aya's gaze and she had to pretend to browse the clothes nearby.

Fortunately, the owner seemed to be a kind person... or perhaps he found Aya's hair and eye colors unsettling. Otherwise, Aya would probably have been kicked out long ago.

"What exactly are you up to, kid... Hey?!"

"I'm sorry! I don't understand!" Seeing Angelo seemingly approaching, Aya quickly turned and ran, leaving the bewildered owner standing in place.

...

Later, Aya returned to the Qiao family mansion and sat at the table next to Qiao Qiao. After giving her a green bean cake, she started pondering about her encounter with Angelo.

He still hadn't figured out Yuan's purpose for coming to East Land. Even Angelo probably didn't know, but it was definitely not something good.

They should still be staying in Loking City, and judging by Angelo's actions, they might be preparing something. Thinking back on Yuan causing the Demon invasion in Milt, Loking City was likely to suffer as well.

But unfortunately, she couldn't easily leave Loking City. Firstly, she still carried Yuan's mark, and who knew if this guy had the ability to track her. Secondly, without a response from Chi and Magic, it was a bit difficult for her to find Miss Tiran alone.

She had to go and seek Starjian for help.

"Ugh... can't wait much longer..."

Suddenly glancing at Qiao Qiao, who was nibbling on the green bean cake like a squirrel eating pine nuts, Aya rolled her eyes. "Qiao Qiao, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

Qiao Qiao, with green bean cake crumbs on her lips, raised her head and patted her chest. "Sure, as long as you bring me green bean cake, I will answer any question."

"You should know where Starjian lives, right?"

"Of course, almost everyone in Loking knows that Lady Starjian lives in the Star Tower in the Imperial City."

"There shouldn't be a problem." Aya got up and left the room, starting to consider his infiltration plan.

Without being able to use magic or Chi now, he didn't feel confident relying solely on his dragon scales to sneak into the palace. This was the capital and imperial city after all; he didn't believe there wouldn't be any barriers around the palace.

So, he needed to come up with a plan for sneaking in. Hmm, what a dilemma. Aya wasn't the type of dragon who enjoyed using his brain, in fact, most dragons didn't like it too much either.

Lost in thought, he left the courtyard where the box room was located and turned into a corridor. Suddenly, without warning, he was knocked to the ground by a force, landing solidly on his butt with his tailbone throbbing in pain.

"What was that?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, guest!" The person speaking was dressed as a servant, looking apologetically at Aya on the ground. "I was in a hurry and didn't notice you!"

"It's okay…" Aya patted his butt and stood up. He was caught off guard and only stumbled because of that. Besides, with a dragon's body and scales, even an ordinary person wielding a sword wouldn't be able to harm him.

However… Aya glanced at the servant with a dark expression, silently thinking to himself, "Does the Qiao family have such burly servants? This physique is truly filled with philosophical flavors."

"Well then, excuse me!" The servant performed a standard 90-degree bow, then gestured to the other servants behind him to proceed.

Hmm?

Aya's gaze fell on what the servants were carrying: huge oak barrels.

These barrels were quite large; it seemed very easy to fit oneself into them.

At that moment, a familiar face appeared behind the servants.

"Aya, right?"

Surprised to see Qiao Sida following the servants, Aya chuckled awkwardly, "I was in the room for too long and wanted some fresh air…"

"Too long? I don't think so. Didn't you just go out to buy mung bean cakes for Miss Qiao earlier?" Qiao Sida stroked the little beard on his chin and smiled gently.

"Eh!" Aya choked a bit, feeling embarrassed. "You noticed…"

"Haha, this is my Qiao family's mansion. These small matters of coming and going are well known." Qiao Sida chuckled heartily. "But rest assured, matters like bathing and so on won't be observed."

Aya was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.

"Anyway, if there's anything inconvenient, please inform the servants. I've instructed them to treat you as one of our own."

"No need for that… I just want to see Xingjian…"

"Heh, we are a courteous nation. As the Foreign Minister, I must first fulfill the duties of hospitality." Qiao Sida paused. "Moreover, letting Miss Qiao go wild outside was my negligence as a father. I am aware of the situation in the slums. If that little girl is alone, trouble is bound to ensue… Whether as a benefactor or a guest, Lord Aya is someone the Qiao family must treat well."

Indeed, while appearing strict on the surface, Qiao Sida actually cherished his daughter very much…

"Oh, by the way, when you see Miss Qiao, please tell her this: since she still has the mind to ask for your help in buying pastries, it means her reflection is not yet complete. Let her copy it a thousand more times."

After a moment of thought, Qiao Sida added with a gentle smile.

"Alright," Aya's eyes twitched at the corner, "By the way," she pointed at the large wooden barrel that a few servants had just carried over, curious Aya asked, "What are those?"

"They are wines from the West, recently sent as a gift from a newly established Western country, which is also a major producer of Western wines. I recently received a batch prepared to be sent into the palace."

"Into the palace?"

Aya's eyes lit up.

...

As the sun set in the west, the city of Loking remained lively and bustling, as expected from a city with a population of millions. However, due to the deteriorating health of the Supreme ruler, the guards had declared a curfew after midnight to prevent any troublemakers from taking advantage of the situation, so the bustling night market that continued until dawn was no longer visible.

As the time passed midnight, the only ones seen on the city streets were the patrol soldiers or riders of the guard, the lantern's light and the tinkling of bells hanging from the saddles decoratively lighting up the night.

Of course, the curfew for ordinary people did not mean much to Aya. She quickly wore a black cloak and went straight to the rooftop, treading on the tiles towards the place Angelo was seen during the day, without being noticed by the patrols.

Well, at this hour, probably no one else would be running on the roofs like her... right?

Just as she thought so, Aya halted her steps and awkwardly locked eyes with a black-clad figure crouching on a nearby rooftop who was lifting the tiles.

Hey, why was he so quick to lay his hands on someone's things?

"Hey, can you act like you didn't see anything?"

The black-clad figure also seemed embarrassed. Usually, if caught in such a situation, one could run away at worst or be caught by the soldiers, as long as they hadn't committed any serious crimes, they might just be detained and beaten up.

But mistaking Aya, dressed in a similar style, as a partner added to his embarrassment. Wouldn't it be awkward for partners to discover each other?

"Hey, could you say something?"

Aya didn't understand a word of the East Land's language, seeing the black-clad figure mumbling to herself, she could only stay silent.

"Hey, I'm not asking for money, I can't share anything with you, so how about we just pretend this never happened, and go our separate ways?"

"..."

"Hey, can you just say something! One word, please! I can't have my reputation tarnished just because of some petty theft!"

Raising an eyebrow, Aya, in the black-clad figure's perplexed gaze, crouched down and lifted a tile herself to reveal a sleeping girl underneath, suddenly understanding.

"Oh, so you're the so-called flower thief, huh?"

"What are you muttering about?!"

The flower thief was getting annoyed.

"No worries, just serving justice." Not caring about what else this person had to say, Aya smirked and clenched her fist.

...

That night, the renowned city thief was captured by the guards, found with nothing but his underwear as the rest of his clothes were torn into pieces and used to bind him securely before being hung on the city gate for display.

"Tsk tsk tsk, done with the act, leaving behind a legend. Isn't that me?"

Clapping her hands, Aya floated away and arrived at the city wall where Angelo had been overlooking during the day.

After searching carefully, Aya finally found something unusual under a loose floor tile.

"This design... a Magic formation?"

Staring at the object for a while, Aya still couldn't figure out the origin of the Magic formation, but judging by the ancient language used in the spells, it seemed to be very old and quite different from any current Magic formation systems.

Yuan, what is he up to exactly?

After pondering for a while, Aya decided to stop thinking about it. She lifted her foot and crushed the ground with the Magic array drawn under the brick, stomping on it until there was no trace of the Magic array left. Then she carefully put the brick back where it was.

Although not sure what it was, as long as she stepped on it, it should be fine.

Plan accomplished √