While the stars were talking to the owner, Yu Fei put away his luggage and walked to the bar, showing some interest in the conversation between the two.

The shopkeeper glanced at her, took a crockpot from the shelf, poured the water into the cups in turn, and pushed them in front of the two of them.

"Of course I do." He replied with ease, not at all like he was talking about a 'secret', "Isn't it our lord of the city?" ”

"Tell me about it?" Yuffie leaned one arm against the table and tossed the shopkeeper a silver coin for the meal - which also included the cost of the information, "The bread will help us get back to the oven a little, and it would be nice to have a little butter." ”

The action just now was not her usual habit. After changing her appearance into a young man of the Inil, it seems that even some small movements have been affected, but fortunately, her thinking still belongs to her.

This may reduce the chance that the 'impostor' will behave incongruously, but it will increase uncontrollable errors. At least, if she used this body to perform secret arts, she didn't have the confidence to be perfect.

When she has time, let her try to improve the potion, Yuffie thought to herself.

"No problem." The middle-aged man took a baguette from the shelf and cut it into slices with a serrated knife, "There are many rumors about the City Lord, such as that she is the lover of His Majesty the Emperor, that the identity of the City Lord is just a cover, and that she is secretly colluding with the Alliance Elders...... One of the more plausible ones is that she's not from Inil—after all, she never shows her face. ”

"The lord of the city here is a woman? What's her name. Yuffie asked deliberately, "Also, how many people here know about these things you said?" ”

"yes, what's so strange about women. His Majesty the previous Emperor was still a woman, right? The shopkeeper spread his hands and said disapprerovingly, "Her name is Shui Yun." As for what I'm talking about, everyone who lives here knows it, but only these Gernos—" he pointed to the Noka-like puppet girl, "and will treat these useless rumors as a secret." ”

He placed the sliced bread on a plate and went into the nearby kitchen to warm them up. Yuffie took a sip from her cup, recalling in her heart what the boss had just said.

Shui Yun is the city lord here, which is a reasonable thing. Without such an identity as a cover, many intelligence-gathering tasks would be difficult. As for the other rumors, most of them, as the shopkeeper said, sounded very unbelievable, including the fact that she wasn't from Inil.

There are many reasons for a person to choose to cover her face, not to mention that as the head of an intelligence agency, her identity and appearance are worthy of secrecy. Of course, if she 'really' wasn't an Inil, the reason for choosing to join the Pale Hand is somewhat questionable. Although judging from the momentary situation and empty remarks, I am afraid that the original oath of "serving the country with loyalty" has long been dispersed with the wind.

With some thought, the shopkeeper walked back with re-baked bread and a few small pieces of butter and placed the tray on the bar. She then interrupted her thoughts, took the plate back to the table next to her, and shared the breakfast with Lynn and Anya, leaving the stars alone to continue chatting with the boss.

After eating and drinking, the four of them returned to the streets of Zecheng. The town is a little more lively now than it was an hour or two ago, and people are gradually getting out of their homes and starting their day in an orderly manner. Compared with the hustle and bustle of Xiyang City and the busyness of Xin'an City, this kind of scene with a shallow atmosphere of life makes Yuffie feel more comfortable, and even reminisce a little about his hometown.

Her father, the town under Baron Stanmitz, was like that. Because of this, Yuffie was even more reluctant to believe that the "King of Mist", who could govern Zecheng peacefully and leisurely, would be the mastermind of the attacks a few days ago.

……

They made their way to the vicinity of the City Lord's Mansion and walked through the crowd as they observed the surrounding area of the building.

The castle lord's mansion is located on the north side of the town. Compared to the large and sturdy underground fortress that the Tsuchibu has been in operation for hundreds of years, the stronghold of the Fog Department is quite ordinary. The precincts are planted with willows, aspen trees, and ginkgo trees, which are common in the area, as well as a small number of flowers that bloom all year round. Innys-style buildings of no more than two floors are scattered all over the place, faintly appearing under the cover of foliage.

The vermilion-lacquered enclosure encircles the entire manor, with a gate in each of the four directions, guarded by women in white robes. The City Lord's Mansion did not seem to be forbidden to enter and exit, and after walking around the manor for half a week, they saw at least a dozen residents in different costumes walking through the gate to the mansion, and almost the same number of people left.

But it's not easy to dive in—or to investigate—in the middle of it.

With the instinct of a wizard, Yuffie sensed that every female guard standing in front of the door had undergone a systematic secret technique—or magic practice. In terms of strength and knowledge of arcane magic, those guards far surpassed most humans and youkai she knew. In addition, the entire manor was shrouded in a looming layer of spells, and she didn't have much opportunity to analyze them, but it was enough to confirm that the caster of this spell had stronger strength than Shui Yun and her.

In other words, this seemingly ordinary manor has the qualifications to be one of the strongholds of "Pale Hand".

Half an hour later, they returned to the vicinity of the square and found a less crowded corner to rest, discussing the results of their previous investigation.

"How's that, is there a way?" Lin also saw the mystery of the manor, "It doesn't seem like it will work to sneak in and break in, should you really go in first?" ”

"If you're well prepared, those guards won't be hard to deal with." Yu Fei replied thoughtfully, "But I am not sure to avoid that 'barrier' so that we will not be discovered. She tapped her fingers on her knee, and a bold idea popped into her head, "Actually, we can visit you head-on." ”

Anya immediately looked at her with curiosity. Lyn, who looked like a young businessman, chuckled, as if she had guessed her thoughts.

"We have evidence granted by His Majesty. Although there is no way to conduct a full investigation of this place, it should not be difficult to see the water cloud side with it. Yuffie said.

"But what if...... She's going to lock us up again, what are we going to do? "Anya is clearly still a little worried about what happened before.

"Let's not mention whether she can do it, if she really does it, doesn't it prove that she has a problem?" Lin smiled and explained, "We are now the 'Emperor's envoys', and not anyone can be imprisoned casually. ”

Yuffie nodded, agreeing with her friend's statement. At that moment, a somewhat familiar figure skimmed out of the corner of her eye, and she quickly looked up to make sure she had not mistaken her target.

- The Ranger who brought them out of Lieutenant's stronghold, Leia.