Spirit City, side hall.
It was late at night when Di Yao received Hu Liena's second secret letter.
The lamps were still lit.
Spread across the table were an old map of Iron Furnace Town, a trade route map of the Heaven Dou Northern Territory, intelligence on the Clear Sky Remnants, and Tang San's list of required materials for Hidden Weapons.
Yue Guan sat by the window, cradling a cup of tea as he watched Di Yao lazily.
"Didn't you promise Nana you'd read for no more than four hours a day?"
Di Yao opened the secret letter without even looking up.
"There's still half an hour left today."
Yue Guan raised a brow. "You keep very precise track."
Di Yao said, "She checks."
Yue Guan laughed. "True. Nana keeps a closer eye on you now than anyone His Majesty sends."
Di Yao did not respond.
After reading the letter, he laid it flat on the table.
Tie Qing.
A woman.
North Mine Secret Warehouse.
Gray Stone Post.
Tie Shankui had not returned for three days.
The Star Sand, Cold Iron, and Crossbow Blueprint were being prepared for transfer.
Di Yao lightly tapped the line that read, "Tie Shankui had not returned for three days."
Seeing that he had remained silent, Yue Guan sat up a little straighter.
"Something wrong?"
Di Yao said, "Tie Shankui isn't in Iron Furnace Town."
Yue Guan said, "Didn't the letter say he hadn't come back for three days?"
Di Yao looked up at him.
"The point isn't that he's been gone for three days."
"It's that he arranged an escape route before leaving."
Yue Guan's gaze shifted slightly.
Di Yao continued, speaking with great precision. "If Tie Shankui had merely gone to meet an ordinary contact, he wouldn't have handed the key to the