The previous night, once Gudora and Hanya arrived at the City Lord Estate, an investigation had been conducted upon Hanya’s urging.
In a matter of hours, a long scroll was brought to Gudora. It contained Inala’s purchase history, not limited to him alone but anyone and everyone related to him.
Upon staring at it, Gudora was surprised, “Why does a Theatre owner require all this?”
Medicines, Elixirs, Cultivation Techniques, large volumes of food, and most of all, frequent commissions to cartographers and explorers. Pretty much every single map in the market, whether legit or fake had been procured by Inala through a variety of channels.
He also bribed higher officials with large sums of money and valuable resources to purchase whatever maps were in their possession. This started around thirty months ago and the scale of activity was increasing every month.
It was exorbitant in the past month when Inala met the Ellora City Counsellor at the latter’s home in what seemed to be a casual get-together. But strangely, the Counsellor’s lacking son became a genius overnight.
He suddenly seemed to possess a bunch of Skills to excel in any situation. The City Counsellor did his best to hide that and make his son gradually reveal his talents bit by bit. But Gudora had an iron grip on the city’s information network, having been developing it generation after generation.
He had plants in the houses of every single noble. And through them, he got hold of this information, muttering in realisation, “Whoever this guy is, he’s not simple.”
“He has large ambitions. And his actions seem as if he’s preparing an army.”
“That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to trust him.” Hanya commented, “Externally, he seemed too perfect. And whatever background he had is pretty much forged. There’s no evidence to back it, but for some reason, all the related institutions claim his background to be valid. That’s only possible if they have been bribed significantly.”
“Hah, I didn’t want to suspect him.” Gudora sighed, “I don’t have any evidence. Moreover, he’s too powerful. Too many people worship him like he’s their hero.”
“He singlehandedly turned around and made prosperous the lives of thousands.” Hanya analysed, “The moment we take any legal action, these people would stand in his defence and would even give up their lives for his cause. After all, to date, he has only done good for them.”
“That’s the issue,” Gudora frowned, “There’s not a single blemish in his records. We don’t have the justification to make an enemy out of him. If I do, even the City Councillor will move against me. Inala is the sole reason his useless son became a genius with a bright future.”
“If there isn’t a reason, we’ll make one.” Hanya said, her eyes turning cold, “He’s a smart guy. As long as we reveal the mildest of inclinations to harm his precious daughter, he’ll figure it out and retaliate in response. But in the eyes of others, we wouldn’t have done anything.”
“Is this the right thing?” Gudora stated in worry.
“We have no other choice,” Hanya muttered, “The water is depleting from our river at a rate dozens of times faster than our records. What we’re facing will be a disaster unlike any in the past. Based on the prediction from our scholars before, the upcoming disaster shouldn’t have been this dangerous. But in the past three years, there was an accelerated activity. And this date perfectly coincides with Inala’s arrival.”
“I fear he’s the one that has accelerated the disaster to an unprecedented level of danger.”
“Moreover, there are no records of him using the large quantities of food and medicines that he had purchased.” Hanya said, “What if he’s a Tribesman acting under the orders of the Centingers? Have we confirmed if he’s a Free Human yet?”
“Isn’t he always mingling around Life-Stage cultivators? We would have noticed it by now if he used his Prana…” Gudora stopped, muttering in realisation, “He has never used his Prana before us.”
“No one knows what his Human Avatar is made out of.”
“There’s no guarantee he has one either,” Hanya said, her expression solemn. The duo discussed throughout the night, and once dawn approached, one of their soldiers informed them of Inala leaving the city.
“Let’s go,” Hanya said, “If he’s a Tribesman, his daughter too would be one. She looks too similar to him to not be his child.”
Half an hour later, a luxurious carriage stopped before Inala’s house. Gudora and Hanya got out, observing the servants open the door as they entered the living room. 𝗈𝗏𝑙xt.𝗇et
Gudora released a tinge of his Prana and observed the servants, whispering, “They are all Free Humans.”
A minute later, Asaeya rushed into the living room, bowing in apology, “Please be seated. I apologise for not greeting you beforehand.”
“That’s fine with me.” Gudora said and smiled politely, “I had something urgent to discuss with Master Inala. Hence, I had to come here unannounced. Please forgive me.”
“No, no, you needn’t apologise, City Lord.” Asaeya waved her hands in a hurry, “I’m not sure when my husband would return. He went out of the city.”
“Oh, he went alone?” Gudora expressed shock, “Isn’t he only at the Body Stage? Aren’t you worried something will happen to him?”
“There’s only Slump Lizards outside. And they don’t emerge during the day.” Asaeya didn’t seem to mind the question, “So, there’s no trouble in strolling outside.”
“I wonder…” Gudora trailed off. At his signal, Hanya got up and entered the nearby room, staring at the figure of baby Gannala sleeping next to Erwahllu.
“Oh, let me show you around the house…” Asaeya got up, masking her worry as she intended to guide Hanya around. She argued and fought with baby Gannala all the time. But at the end of the day, she was a Mammoth Clansman and baby Gannala was an Empyrean Tusk.
A Mammoth Clansman’s primary concern was always an Empyrean Tusk, especially against an external party such as Hanya. Asaeya felt something was amiss and hence intended to intervene, unwilling to allow Hanya to come into contact with baby Gannala.
“It’s fine…” Saying so, Hanya’s figure flashed as she swerved around Asaeya and grabbed baby Gannala, intending to seep her Prana in her and observe whether or not she was a Free Human. But a moment later, she was stunned, exclaiming, “She doesn’t budge.”
Her voice was soft, but Gudora heard it. If even Hanya felt perplexed, then baby Gannala must weigh beyond what a human ought to. His hand flashed forward and grabbed Asaeya by her wrist, speaking curtly, exerting pressure on her, “Sit down.”
“W-What is happening?” Asaeya expressed fluster externally, but internally, she was ready to unleash her strongest attack.
Crack!
Her intent to attack was interrupted by a cracking sound. When Gudora grabbed her wrist, his grip damaged her bracelet, causing one of the bulges on it to break off, revealing a miniature Prana Bomb inside.
Gudora flicked a tinge of Prana towards Asaeya. The Prana barely dug skin deep into her before his expression turned solemn, “You…”
“You’re a Mammoth Clansman!”
