"I tracked her the whole way. Just as you said, she didn't take that polyhedron to the Deep Pit Lord. Instead, she ducked into a nearby alley. I don't know where she was going."
When Night Wind's voice reached him again, Night Wind believed he had successfully completed Tang Qi's task.
The corner of Tang Qi's eye twitched. "And then you came back?"
"Clearly, she knows Wind Sand Islet very well and has excellent countersurveillance awareness. I don't know whether she noticed me, but she was clearly making an effort to conceal her movements."
"So you lost her."
Night Wind avoided answering directly. "So what did the lord say to you at the end?"
"He told you to be good and—" "Be good and what?"
Seeing Tang Qi fall silent halfway through, Night Wind couldn't help asking impatiently, "And then?"
"You only completed half your task, so naturally, you only get half the reward."
Night Wind's brows knotted together.
Their brief encounters had already taught him that this bard wasn't easy to fool. But only after actually spending time with him
did he realize just how difficult this man was to deceive.
In the end, he could only sigh. "Fine. I admit I didn't want to follow your orders, lest I end up having to guide you afterward. Although that Snakefolk woman has excellent countersurveillance awareness, she can't detect something beyond her understanding."
He extended his arm, and a pitch-black spider the size of a fingernail crawled from his collar to his fingertip. Others would have seen nothing unusual about it, but Tang Qi's [True Sight] revealed an almost imperceptible thread attached to its mouthparts. Illusion School magic seemed to have concealed its magical aura.
"[Tracking Spider]. The magical silk this spider spins can attach itself to a target and