Just after Lu Yang silently entered one of the rooms, Wu Lei also arrived at the same courtyard. Frowning, he thought, 'I'm sure I saw him come this way. Where did he go? Every time I think I've spotted him, he vanishes again.'
'Could he have entered one of these rooms?' he wondered, unable to help but question.
Wu Lei thought, 'Whoever this guy is, he's pretty bold. Sneaking into the living quarters of someone like my brother, who's a Martial Master... he must have eaten a demonic lion's heart." As he shook his head at the thought, his expression soured as another possibility crossed his mind.
'Considering the timing, he must be looking for something. Could he be a thief?'
Angered by the idea, Wu Lei thought, 'Who would dare to steal from the Wu family!' As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he kept scanning his surroundings, listening carefully for any movement.
Knowing his brother's living quarters were rather modest, Wu Lei reasoned, 'My brother probably doesn't keep any valuables here.'
Tightening his grip on the spear in his hand, Wu Lei thought, 'He doesn't know I'm following him. If he can't find what he's looking for in these rooms, he'll have to come out into this courtyard. Let's see what he'll do then.' He decided to wait, expecting the masked man to exit through the door he had entered.
On a normal day, Wu Lei would have burst into the rooms one by one, causing a ruckus until he found the masked man. However, knowing that security was particularly weak tonight due to the ongoing chaos, and fearing that the intruder might be stronger than him, he was forced to move cautiously.
In truth, Wu Lei had no idea what he would do if he actually came face to face with the masked figure. While he stood still in the corridor, Lu Yang was in the room just five or six steps to Wu Lei's left, carefully examining his surroundings.
After briefly looking around the room, Lu Yang thought, 'Whose room is this? There's nothing valuable here, but the furniture, bedcovers, and carpets all look top-notch.' Scratching his head, he let out a sigh. 'Ahh... How am I supposed to find the other half of the parchment in this big house?!'
Losing interest in staying in the room any longer, Lu Yang muttered to himself, 'If the parchment is really with the Wu family, they wouldn't just hide it in a drawer or closet. It's probably in a secret place only the town lord knows about.' He turned toward the door, ready to leave.
Meanwhile, perched on the same tree that Lu Yang had climbed earlier, adjacent to the eastern wall of the Wu family's house, a figure cloaked entirely in black crouched silently, surveying her surroundings. Only her green eyes and waist-length black ponytail were visible in the moonlight. Her curvaceous, hourglass figure was accentuated by her fitted attire.
After scanning the area for a moment longer, the woman thought, 'What am I even doing in this crazy little town?' Pulling a parchment-like sheet from within her clothes, she glanced at it briefly before turning her gaze toward the house ahead.
'That marked spot must be the living quarters of the town lord and his children.'
Studying the parchment for a few more seconds, she thought, 'As long as I follow this path, I'll remain in the shadows. Once I find the lord's room, I can finish my business here.' Folding the parchment and tucking it back into her clothes, the woman gave her surroundings one last glance before leaping from the tree into the inner courtyard of the Wu family's house.
Muttering to herself in a low voice as she leapt, she said, "Master, why did you send me to a place full of lunatics? Didn't you say their fighting hadn't started yet? These maniacs are already in their second battle, crazy enough to touch the Purple-Stone."
Her tone betrayed her reluctance, but unbothered by the risk of being overheard, she strode through the Wu family's courtyard with deliberate steps.
Unaware of the approaching mysterious woman, Lu Yang and Wu Lei remained preoccupied in their respective spots. Wu Lei, though he'd only been waiting a few minutes, was growing restless. 'Why hasn't he come out? Did he notice me and escape through the back windows? Or did I imagine seeing him come here in the first place?'
Despite his doubts, Wu Lei stayed rooted to the spot, too cautious to alert the masked intruder. Meanwhile, crouched just five or six steps away, inside the room, Lu Yang was peering through the door's narrow gap, watching Wu Lei.
'What's this idiot doing, standing there like a statue?' Lu Yang thought, annoyed.
A couple of minutes earlier, just as Lu Yang was about to leave the room and had reached for the door, his sharp instincts caught sight of a human figure standing silently in the dimly lit corridor outside, across the partially shadowed courtyard. Freezing in place, he crouched low and began observing the figure.
After seeing that Wu Lei continued to wait in the same spot for a while, Lu Yang thought, 'I think he saw me, that's why he's waiting.'
A few seconds later, Lu Yang's brow twitched in frustration. 'Wait, he doesn't know how strong I am. Even if I walk out now and we face each other, what could he possibly do?' But he quickly dismissed the idea. 'Nope. He has a spear. Not worth the risk.' He decided to wait a little longer.
'Ahhh... Why is this kid so stupid? Why doesn't he just go and tell the servants?'
Thinking about how he'd spent the past two years fihting with Wu Lei directly or indirectly every few weeks, Lu Yang couldn't help but feel like an idiot himself. His annoyance grew as he crouched there, waiting.
After a few more minutes of waiting, both Lu Yang and Wu Lei were reaching their limits. Finally, Lu Yang gave in, deciding, 'I'll just leave through one of the back windows and let this idiot keep standing there like a fool.'
As Lu Yang turned to head for the window, he stepped on a weak wooden plank in the dimly lit room. The wood cracked under his weight, trapping his foot momentarily in the gap. Before he could fully process what had happened, a loud voice from outside yelled, "Who's there?!" accompanied by hurried footsteps.
Assuming Wu Lei had heard the sound, Lu Yang quickly freed his foot and prepared to run toward the window. However, he realized the footsteps weren't coming toward him. They were moving away.
Not wanting Wu Lei to follow him, Lu Yang wanted to jump out of the window and escape as soon as possible, but he couldn't understand why the sounds had faded away. Unable to resist his curiosity, he turned toward the door behind him.
Seeing no figure behind the door, Lu Yang was thoroughly surprised. He approached the door and looked outside through the gap.
When he couldn't see anyone outside, he reached out to open the door, but hesitated, thinking, 'Wait, what if he's faking to find me? I'm not going to fall for this fool's trick.'
After a moment, Lu Yang shook his head. 'Why am I even worried? My face is covered, and I'm stronger than him. He should be the one scared.' With that, he quietly cracked opened the door.
Hearing no sounds, Lu Yang opened the door just wide enough to slip through, cautiously stepping into the corridor.
Standing still in the empty courtyard with no one else around, in front of the door to the room he had exited, he continued to stand in the corridor with a look of shock on his face, though it wasn't visible due to the mask, and with a mind full of questions.
"..."