道罗邪皇子 (邪神之道 B5)

996

Within an hour's worth of time Yi got everything prepared for his visit to the first prime elder as he stood outside of the latter's residence that is directly across the seventh elder's residence.

"Elder Qīngyù (青玉) happy to see you giving me a visit despite you having to make preparations for your investigation of the Fourth Hell."

Xià Qīngyù (夏青玉) is the full name of the seventh elder and had the first prime elder not mentioned it Yi may have very well forgotten about it.

"I'm honored to be received by the first prime elder in person."

Surprisingly or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say unsurprisingly Tang Jiu Ke had come out to directly welcome him into their temporary residence a few seconds after Yi's arrival for a courtesy visit.

"It's only proper of me to receive my guests in person since I don't have any servants around."

("Proper" is it? Someone of your status has no reason to receive guests of lower status than yourself in person. You could have just granted me permission to enter instead of coming out yourself.)

Maintaining a polite façade the only reason Yi can think of to find Tang Jiu Ke choosing to reside in a building that is directly in front of his current residence is because he is still suspected of being an intruder by Xia Huang Hai.

"In any case I'm actually not that busy with my preparations as I tend to take my time and plan everything out in detail prior to heading out."

"Cautiousness is a great trait to have. Ah let's not chat here. Come inside."

Knowing that he didn't have any rights to refuse the invite Yi follows Tang Jiu Ke into their temporary residence.

The residence itself is by no means big. In fact the amount of space it possesses is only suited to accommodate a single person and perhaps one servant.

"It's rather stuffy inside as it hasn't been cleaned for quite some time so let's just talk out here."

"Understandable. In fact-"

Presenting a storage bag to Tang Jiu Ke Yi continues-

"You might find some objects inside to furnish the place a bit."

"How attentive. I was feeling rather odd due to the lack of furniture."

Storing the bag into the folds of his ashen colored robes Tang Jiu Ke gives a smile of appreciation as he leads Yi over to a square table that has a freshly brewed pot of tea sitting on top.

(Now how should I attempt to see if he is truly the intruder?)

(How should I go about tricking him? No, the first thing that I need to do is...)

Sipping their tea in silence the two had vastly different thoughts from one another and if there was anyone to witness this scene they might be able to detect the illusory scent of gunpowder being present in the air.

(As far as I'm concerned I don't detect Xia Huang Hai's presence or divine sense nearby. But...)

That doesn't mean that Xia Huang Hai isn't keeping an eye on his interactions with Tang Jiu Ke.

"Ah the divine ancestor wanted me to ask you when you'll set off and whom might you be taking with you."

Unable to think of a way to probe for his guest's true identity without the risks of alerting them Tang Jiu Ke can only think to ask about Yi's assigned task from Xia Huang Hai.

"If my preparations go smoothly perhaps in less than a month. As for those that I wish to take with me... If I may be honest I can't decide. Might you have any suggestions for me?"