When he woke up the following morning, Wuzhi felt better. His mind felt a bit more stable and his emotions had a semblance of order. Opening his eyes, he found Baixue sitting in the adjacent recliner with her arms folded and eyes closed.
"You're awake," she greeted, feeling his gaze land upon her. Wuzhi nodded his head and replied with a greeting of his own. After the exchange of pleasantries, the female heroine continued. "You can use the bathroom now. I've already finished using it."
Wuzhi simply nodded his head. He then gathered his thoughts and spoke of his plan for the day. "We shall first have breakfast and then visit a bunch of places. There is going to be a lot of walking today so be prepared."
Baixue solemnly nodded her head. She understood his underlying meaning and mentally readied herself.
After using the toilet and the shower, Wuzhi changed into a new set of clothes and left the room in the company of Baixue. He did not take much with him, only the dozen unmarked envelopes, a money pouch, and his bamboo hat which he wore atop his head.
As she watched him wear the hat, Baixue noticed how his facial features suddenly disappeared under the shadow of the accessory. Strangely, though, she felt no incongruity while seeing him; there were no blanks in his 'picture.' Baixue once again sighed at the mystical nature of his technique.
After leaving their hotel, the two of them walked into a random restaurant, one chosen upon Wuzhi's whim. After having an excellent meal, rich in seafood, they left the restaurant and began with their activities for the day.
The Eastern District was vast enough to be considered a city in and of itself; it had four major roads, a few dozen side streets and avenues, hundreds of back alleys, and even three bridges that crossed channels of water. The main roads were neatly paved and wide enough to allow four carriages to pass side-by-side and its edges were lined with pedestrian walkways beautifully decorated with trees, benches, lampposts, etc.
The side streets, while not as wide and well-designed as the main roads, were also plenty in looks and features. These roads led to the less and more obscure establishments present within the Eastern District and were also home to many smaller restaurants, inns, gambling houses, betting rings, brothels, etc., though much of them operated during the night.
Electricity was a rather modern invention in this world and the Port City of Éclair's Eastern District had plenty of it! Most buildings overlooking the main road and a vast majority of the establishments within the inner side roads had access to electricity. Even the lampposts illuminating the main road were of the electric kind!
There were also public parks, squares, bathhouses, and other elite living amenities that were only found in the largest and richest of cities. The Eastern District was a true, veritable hub of wealth.
Having previously gathered information about the city, Wuzhi possessed a clear plan and route map in his head. He walked with his female bodyguard at a generous speed and visited one building after the other. Some of his destinations were on main roads while others required him to venture into the inner streets.
At the places that he visited, Wuzhi visited not as a random scholar but as the envoy of the South Aislan Empire. Every place that he visited, he was met with great reception. One after the other, he met with the representatives of the major sects and businesses making up the Hodgepodge faction.
For lunch, Wuzhi dined with the representative of the Eternal Fire Sect, the Divine Lightning Sect, and the Apothecary Guild. The meal was exquisite and the conversation was wholly pleasant.
After that, Wuzhi made visits to a few more places before returning to his hotel by evening.
While they walked, Baixue suddenly neared him and whispered into his ears. "Our tail has increased once again."
Not surprised, Wuzhi simply asked, "How many are following us now?"
"Sixteen," replied Baixue. As a Peak Rank 4 cultivator, her senses were extremely sharp. "Make that seventeen. A [Transformation Path] expert is following us in the form of a fly."
"A Full-Body Transformation, huh? That makes them at least of the Fourth Rank," remarked Wuzhi.
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"Indeed. However, they are still weaker than me," answered Baixue, full of confidence. She was no greenhouse flower and had trained under one of the harshest teachers she knew.
"Wuzhi can rest easy then; knowing that he is guarded by a female heroine," he teasingly finished.
Their tails stopped following them when the duo entered the hotel and returned to their room. Tired from walking around the city all day long, Wuzhi consigned himself to ordering room service and retired for the night.
At midnight, his eyes suddenly snapped open. Sitting up on his bed, he turned to gaze at the prepared Baixue and softly said, "It is time now."
Baixue nodded her head in understanding. She asked, "How are we doing this?"
"You'll carry me and jump out of this room's window. We will then immediately head toward the Western District where it will be easy to hide in the chaos," explained Wuzhi.
Baixue considered his plan and agreed that it was the best one. She then picked up her two bags and Wuzhi's suitcase before gesturing toward the young scholar. "Get on my back."
Wuzhi did not have to be told twice. He immediately got on her back and tightly wrapped his arms around her neck. "Let's leave," he said.
Carrying the three sets of luggage on her left hand and Wuzhi on her back, Baixue walked toward the large curtained window. Her near-Rank 5 strength made it so that her ability and agility were hardly hindered by the various burdens she was carrying. Softly pushing open the window, she jumped atop the windowsill before leaping out into the midnight with a powerful kick.
Baixue glided through the air and quickly arrived at the roof of the opposite building. Upon landing on the other roof, she did not stop and immediately moved. Just as she kicked off with her feet, multiple black shadows suddenly appeared out of nowhere and leapt to ambush her!
Baixue did not panic. Seemingly having expected such an outcome, she waved her right hand. A wall of ice appeared on her left, blocking the two shadows ambushing her from that direction. This brought her safety on the left side but allowed the assailants on the right side to close in.
Puff! Puff! The sound of air sharply whistling tore through the quiet night. Baixue's eyes narrowed as she quickly spotted the two iron bolts shot towards her. Exerting strength, she nimbly bent to avoid the two ranged attacks and used her free hand to block the dagger strikes from the assailants on the right.
The sound of metal striking against metal was heard as the two assailants' daggers clashed against Baixue's hand. Her palm glimmered with a crystal shine, seemingly having become a sculpture of ice. Just as her opponents were shocked at her deft blocking of their sneak attacks, Baixue gently blew cool air out of her mouth.
The bodies of the two assailants froze as frost instantly appeared all over their bodies.
Having resolved the sudden ambush, Baixue immediately began moving. She did not engage the assailants nor check their conditions for doing so would give their hidden opponents time to deliver another attack. While Baixue was not afraid of a fight, she had to consider Wuzhi.
Employing a Path Technique, Baixue soon disappeared into the night.
---
By the time she stopped, she had already arrived somewhere deep within the Western District. Baixue had remembered to take multiple detours just in case to throw off her possible tails and also to hide her escape trail.
After confirming her immediate safety, she carefully put Wuzhi down in a somewhat clean area.
"How many?" Wuzhi immediately asked. He was aware of the ambush that had occurred but was not clear of its exact details. The entire exchange had lasted for less than a single second!
"Four assassins and two archers," replied Baixue. "That is all that I faced. There were perhaps more hidden in the shadows but were caught off-guard by the suddenness of our escape."
Wuzhi nodded his head. "They mustn't have expected us to be so resolute in our escape."
A curious expression overcame the female heroine as she curiously asked, "Just what exactly pushed them to react like this? I thought the conversations that we had today were quite pleasant."
The young scholar evilly chuckled at her question. "Our conversations were pleasant, but ultimately, they were meaningless."
"Why?" asked Baixue, not understanding his meaning.
"It's because these people have already thrown in their lot with the Heavenly Spirit Empire's faction!" Wuzhi revealed a startling truth.
The Hodgepodge faction which was known for its neutrality in the war for unification had been revealed by Wuzhi to have allied with the Heavenly Spirit Empire's faction! It was a shocking revelation.
"That can't be! Why would they!?" exclaimed Baixue.
"I don't know," Wuzhi replied honestly. Truth be told, he did not know what exactly pushed the Hodgepodge faction to join the Heavenly Spirit Empire's faction. He had tried investigating it but could not come up with any answers due to the lack of time and manpower.
That said, however, Wuzhi was certain that the Hodgepodge faction had already allied with the Heavenly Spirit Empire. This was the reason why he had intentionally delayed his arrival at the Port City of Éclair and had even come up with extreme measures such as blackmail.
"Whatever the reason, it does not matter. What matters is that the Hodgepodge faction allies with us at best or steps back from participation in the war at worst. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue."
Resources and logistics were of prime importance in a war. And the Hodgepodge faction was nothing but a huge mountain of resources. Whoever possessed this faction on their side during the way saw their chances at victory increase by manifolds.
Ideally, Wuzhi would want this faction on his side. However, should he not have them capitulate toward his faction, he should at least ensure they don't side with his enemies.
"We will lie low for the next few days. Let the leaders of the Hodgepodge faction spend a few sleepless nights and boil with anxiety," finished Wuzhi with a smile.