At dusk, before the gates of the Phoenix Spirit Palace atop Phoenix Spirit Mountain, a Phoenix Spirit Guard dressed in a captain's uniform, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, cautiously approached the guards on duty before the palace gates.
Before the guards on duty could rebuke him, the Phoenix Spirit Guard took out a token on his own initiative. He was then invited into the side room beside the palace gates.
Not long afterward, a man with a five-colored pendant at his waist hurried over. The guards on duty hastily stepped forward to salute him. "Greetings, Chief Steward."
"Mhm. Where is he?"
Very soon, the captain-ranked Phoenix Spirit Guard appeared before the chief steward and respectfully presented a jade slip.
The chief steward quickly finished reading its contents. "That's all?"
"Reporting to Chief Steward, that is all. Today, using the wine as an excuse, he asked about the secrets behind the Lu Family's rise and fall. We mentioned them in broad terms. His reaction was basically normal; this should have been his first time learning of it."
"Nothing else?"
"Later, he occasionally brought up matters related to the royal family, but everything he mentioned was known by many within our Phoenix Spirit Clan. There was nothing unusual about it," the captain-ranked Phoenix Spirit Guard answered.
"Mhm. Go back. Continue the mission." With that, the chief steward turned to leave, but the captain-ranked Phoenix Spirit Guard grew somewhat anxious. Was that all?
"Chief Steward, I..."
The chief steward knew very well what the captain-ranked Phoenix Spirit Guard wanted to say. Without even turning his head, he merely left behind a sentence.
"What are you in such a hurry for? Do your job properly. Once it's done, you naturally won't be lacking in rewards!" As his words fell, the