Tian Hao leaned forward, his expression uncharacteristically serious. He hesitated for a moment, weighing his words carefully. Was this really the best path, or was he risking too much? He knew what was at stake, but the thought of being dragged into sect politics made his stomach turn. He needed his freedom.

"Look, Mei Mei, I can't afford to have my name attached to any of this publicly. If I gain too much attention, I'll be dragged into all sorts of responsibilities. No freedom, no wine, no time for myself."

He leaned back, exhaling, letting the warmth of their shared laughter settle. Then, a flicker of mischief lit up his eyes. "Besides, if I become famous around here… those elders will make me train in the proper way. Meditate for hours on some dusty old cushion. Probably start some rumor about the 'heroic young master' and make me into a role model for the younger disciples."

He shuddered theatrically. "Can you imagine?! No, thank you."

His gaze shifted, sharp now, locking onto Lin Mei. "I’ll leave the heroics to those who..." He paused, voice dipping lower, more pointed. "To those who need a bit of redemption."

Fatty Wu, still standing nearby, cleared his throat nervously. "Maybe there's a way to balance it? Tian Hao, you keep your distance, stay out of the limelight. Lin Mei, you take the visible actions, show everyone what you can do. It could work, right?"

Tian Hao gave a small smile, nodding at Fatty Wu. "See, Fatty's got it. I'll do my part, just without the applause. Mei Mei, you can take the credit, make your stand, and hopefully do enough to redeem yourself in the eyes our sect before they even know what happened! I'll be there, but from the shadows."

Lin Mei nodded, a small, genuine smile tugging at her lips. “Agreed, Tian Hao. We each perform, but in our own way. If this plan works, if it even has a chance of success given who we are and who we’re facing, then it’ll be me taking the bows."

They sat together in silence, for a while. The dimly lit common room, Jiuwei curled up in her nest of furs, a small, poofy sentinel watching over them. Fatty Wu stood nearby, his presence a comforting counterpoint to the tension in the air.

“We know they’re meeting at the Silken Shadows Parlor at midnight.” Lin Mei began, tracing patterns on the table with her fingertip as though already weaving some intricate plan only she could see, " But how do we get close enough to listen in without being caught? This place they’ve chosen, they think it makes them less noticeable. They think we—the sects they view as their puppets or merely as stepping stones for their own plans, their own rising power—would see such a place as something to avoid rather than another kind of battleground.”

“It’s a brothel, Lin Mei,” Tian Hao interjected.

Lin Mei hesitated for a moment. She exhaled sharply, then rolled her eyes, as if trying to dismiss whatever thought had momentarily stalled her. "Jiuwei, you could sneak in, couldn't you? Just like you did at the gambling den," she suggested. "You have the skills to move unnoticed, and it wouldn't be the first time you've proven invaluable in gathering information."

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Jiuwei’s ears twitched. “You cannot possibly expect this Senior to frequent a… brothel.” She shivered delicately, her tiny nose wrinkling in disgust as though the very idea were beneath her dignity, and then added, “I’ve spent millennia meditating in celestial realms, where the only… entertainment is watching stars being born and novas exploding into new nebulae." Jiuwei shivered again, her eyes narrowing. "No, no, no. I refuse to enter such a place. A brothel is no place for a celestial being of my caliber," she huffed.

Then her gaze flicked to Tian Hao, a glint of mischief in her golden eyes. "But you, Tian Hao, might be a better choice. After all, you blend in quite well with these types of establishments. It would hardly be out of character, wouldn't it?"

“Perhaps,” he said slowly, his eyes glinting with mischief. “For someone with my… reputation, it would be less unusual, if I entered alone. Perhaps even expected."

Lin Mei paused, then her eyes widened slightly. "Wait a moment. What about those hearing-enhancement tokens we bought at the market a few weeks ago?" she asked, glancing at Tian Hao.

Tian Hao blinked, then grinned. "Ah, those little trinkets. I knew they’d come in handy at some point. We could use them to eavesdrop without getting too close."

Jiuwei nodded, her tail flicking slightly. "It’s not ideal, but it could work. Less risk for all of us, and we’d still get the information we need."

Lin Mei smiled, a glint of relief mixed with determination in her eyes. "Alright, then. We use the tokens. Tian Hao enters, and we’ll stay out of sight but close enough to hear every word."

Tian Hao looked at Jiuwei and winked, before gesturing to Lin Mei with an exaggerated flourish. “Ah, Mei Mei, I’m always willing to make sacrifices for the greater good,” he said with mock solemnity, “even if it means enduring the… unique ambiance of the Silken Shadows Parlor, though surely there are far less comfortable spaces within Skyveil than this particular establishment."

Internally, however, Tian Hao’s thoughts were far from selfless. If anything, they were layered with a growing sense of unease. The plan was solid, but if he was recognized, it could unravel everything before it even began.

He frowned slightly, considering the implications. Too many eyes were already on him, too many assumptions about his allegiances and capabilities. If he walked into the Silken Shadows Parlor without precautions, there was a chance someone from the sect—or worse, the Iron Talons—might make the connection. That kind of exposure could shackle him to obligations he had no desire to fulfill.

A fake identity. It wasn’t just a convenience—it was becoming a necessity. If he was going to maneuver through this world on his own terms, he needed to be someone else when the situation called for it. The thought sparked something in him, an idea forming at the edges of his mind. Perhaps it was time to start crafting a persona, a mask to wear when stepping into the murky depths of sect politics.

He smirked slightly. A troublesome thought, but a useful one. It helped keep him free, then it was an avenue worth exploring.

The plan was sound, but doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind. Could they truly pull this off without being discovered? And even if they succeeded, what then? Every step deeper into sect politics felt like another chain wrapping around his neck, a path that led further from the carefree life he'd once envisioned for himself.

Even as he hesitated, a smirk tugged at his lips. There were... other advantages to consider. The Lover’s Charm technique still lingered fresh in his mind, and while the mission required subtlety, who was to say he couldn’t indulge a little along the way? If he played his cards right, perhaps this infiltration wouldn’t be entirely unpleasant.

"Perhaps," he mused, a mischievous glint in his eye, "there might even be some fringe benefits to this little mission. After all, a cultivator’s gotta cultivate. My own method is, without a doubt, one the Iron Talons would hardly believe possible. What better demonstration of the potency of the Skyward Lotus than someone like me, a mere silkpants, being able to infiltrate them so effectively."