The two of them followed the two special agents from afar, keeping a close watch on their every move. Being special agents specifically dispatched to Otherworld by the CIA, these guys were very wary and had an excellent sense of counter-surveillance. Thus, they didn’t dare to follow too closely. They could only trail them from a distance, making judgments about their whereabouts whenever they disappeared from sight.
With baited breath, the two of them followed the two special agents into an inn. Cheng Ziang couldn’t yet determine if they were deploying tactics similar to Advance Team - infiltrating the city with few operatives while leaving the rest in ambush outside the city wall. But anyway, it was necessary for him to inform Luo’er, urging him to keep an eye out for strangers outside the city wall.
"Should we follow them in?" Baiyue asked softly, standing humbly behind him, her head lowered.
"No need. Our target is Arya’s Blade. We shouldn’t bother with them. If they are also planning to hijack the sword outside the city, we can spring a ’the mantis stalks the cicada’ trap on them. But if they snatch the sword in the city, we’ll be stationed right outside for an ambush, catching them off guard," said Cheng Ziang, without turning his head.
When he turned his head, he found two pistol-carrying patrolling soldiers keeping a watchful eye on them not far away. He coughed and gestured with his hand, "We have been noticed; let’s move!"
"May I know if you need any help, sir?" The soldiers approached, asking alertly.
Cheng Ziang noticed that both men carried long guns, but one of them has his hand in his pocket, most likely a handgun or something similar among his personal effects.
"We are lost. Are there any inns nearby?" Cheng Ziang said, without giving away any emotions.
"Is this your first visit to Saint Bawa?" The soldier asked.
Cheng Ziang looked much like a native of the northern region of Odelanqi which was under the Church Court’s jurisdiction. Anticipating the arrival of the Church’s armies, they dare not slack off in their duties.
"Yes, why?" Cheng Ziang inquired.
"Oh, nothing. If you are in need of lodging, there’s an inn just up ahead," said the soldier, pointing to the inn that the pair of agents had just entered.
"Those kinds of places, I can’t stand!" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but make a disgusted face upon looking at the inn.
"I apologize. If that is the case, there is a better inn approximately 200 steps down this road. Please find lodging as soon as possible and refrain from wandering outside," the soldier replied respectfully.
"Why are there soldiers everywhere? And why aren’t we allowed to move about freely?" Cheng Ziang frowned and asked.
"I’m sorry, the city is currently under martial law. We ask everyone to try and stay indoors as much as possible. A curfew will be put into effect at nightfall, and no one is permitted on the streets," said the soldier.
"Has Saint Bawa always been this strict?" Cheng Ziang asked, frowning in hesitation.
"No... no, it hasn’t. But we are not privy to specific details, so we must ask that you please do not make things difficult for us," the soldier replied hastily.
"Forget it. In any case, I’m leaving in a few days. Such a wretched place!" Cheng Ziang waved his hand dismissively.
"Our apologies once again for disturbing you," the soldier replied, daring not refute Cheng Ziang in any way because his face bore a striking resemblance to the Auds.
As mentioned earlier, Cheng Ziang looks more like a native from the northern area of Odelanqi, the location of the Holy City of the Church Court. With the imminent arrival of the Heresy Tribunal Army, his presence inadvertently raised his stature, compelling the Bobulu soldiers to act subserviently. They fear to offend the special envoy of the Church Court and ruin the transaction between the King and the Church Court.
"Is she with you?" noticing Baiyue trailing behind him, the soldier asked hesitantly.
"She’s my bed warmer. What’s it to you?" Cheng Ziang replied nonchalantly.
"May we inspect her?" asked the soldier, noticing Baiyue’s downcast expression.
"You’re a bold one. I’ve told you, she’s my bed warmer. Do you truly think that you can touch her without my permission?" mocked Cheng Ziang cruelly.
"Forget it. Let’s not offend them!" pleaded the soldier, who had been preparing to draw his gun all along.
Having glanced at his comrade and then back at Cheng Ziang and Baiyue, the soldier resignedly muttered an apology before walking away with his companion.
As soon as they left, Cheng Ziang let out a sigh of relief, murmuring, "It seems we can’t keep loitering in the streets. Need to find an inn to remain inconspicuous. Otherwise, we’ll always run into such troubles."
Turning back, he looked at Baiyue who had been keeping her head lowered in silence the entire time and couldn’t help but ask, "Hey, are you even listening?"
Baiyue didn’t respond, only nodded strongly without lifting her head. Because of Cheng Ziang’s earlier comments, she was still blushing, so she did not dare to lift her head to let him see her face.
"Never mind, let’s go!" Cheng Ziang did not have time to pay attention to these details, so he waved his hand to signal they should move on.
They walked in the direction the soldiers had indicated for a while, coming to a relatively extravagant inn. The daily rent here was ten gold coins, which for ordinary people was a significant sum. But before they set off, Luo’er had given him a money bag containing more than one hundred and fifty gold coins, so they were not particularly short on money.
When the Advance Team is on a mission, the last thing they need to worry about is finances. Headquarters has partnered with the Blaiqi Trading Company spanning the entire northern continent as their partner; the Advance Team can withdraw cash from here at any time, while Headquarters settles the tab.
Despite being master and servant, Cheng Ziang still rented a double room. He knew that attempting to take advantage of someone as resilient as Baiyue wouldn’t get him anywhere. Plus, he was not interested in Baiyue, so their relationship was still more like comrades in arms.
"Though I wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble, bringing you out is too conspicuous." Upon arriving in the room, Cheng Ziang pushed open the window and gazed at the patrolling soldiers on the street, "I will go out alone later, you stay here!"
"Mm!" Baiyue nodded in agreement.
"Don’t open the door for anyone, you being a slave, if someone takes advantage of you, it would be unfortunate!" Cheng Ziang warned once again.
"Then I’ll stay here to warm your bed!" Baiyue suddenly said something startling.
Upon hearing her words, Cheng Ziang was taken aback and then quickly responded with a wry smile, "You really know how to hold grudges, don’t you!"
Baiyue glared at him resentfully, her cheeks flushing even more.
"Forget it, I can’t be bothered arguing with you; I’m leaving!" Cheng Ziang did not take Baiyue’s displeasure to heart.
While Baiyue was indeed cute and pretty, she was not to his taste. Furthermore, she had always been infatuated with Luo’er, and the time he had given her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, she had been so happy that she couldn’t sleep well for a month, so he knew it wouldn’t be right to try and win her over.
To be honest, although he had previously rejected Luo’er’s plan, if he were to choose now, he would rather work with Hu Daoke on this mission. While this man liked to verbalise his grievances and criticise Cheng Ziang, he felt an inexplicable sense of ease around him.
Cheng Ziang walked to the lobby downstairs. Due to the citywide lockdown, there were not many people around. Nevertheless, he noticed two soldiers huddled together, drinking and chatting. He silently moved closer to them and took a seat nearby.
"It’s rare for you to invite me for drinks in a place !" One of the soldiers couldn’t help but exclaim.
"Recently, the Church Court people are coming, and our superiors don’t want us to offend the Aud people in the city, it’s driving me crazy!" The other soldier grumbled.
"Let it go, it’s only for a little while," his companion soothed, "Now, any of these Aud people could be from the Church Court. Offending them won’t do us any good."
"I don’t understand, why is His Majesty afraid of the Church Court people interfering in our business? What’s wrong with them doing business here, whether they’re heretics or not?" The soldier loudly voiced his confusion.
"Keep your voice down, don’t let others hear," his companion hurriedly cautioned, "We can’t afford to offend the Church Court for now. As long as we deliver the goods to Lord Pope, they will not interfere in our business with the Southerners anymore."
"Speaking of which, there are more and more Aud people in the city recently, do they all know that we dare not offend them, and that’s why they are rushing into the city?" The soldier wondered.
"Our team has not encountered many Aud people, how about you?" His companion asked, looking taken aback.
"Of course, there are many Aud people in the inn at the corner of the city wall, all carrying Otherworld magic weapons. These people definitely do not belong to the Church Court, but we dare not offend them, so we only asked them to stow away their weapons, so as not to be seen by the Church Court." The soldier complained.
" Forget about it, who can guarantee that the Church Court’s personnel won’t bring Otherworld weapons along? If we can avoid provoking them, then let’s avoid provoking them." His companion tried to pacify him.
Otherworld magic weapons?
Cheng Ziang was taken aback, but quickly understood. Otherworld magic weapons referred to Earth firearms. Many Aud people bringing guns into the city at this time seemed highly suspicious.
As the soldier had said, the Church Court’s forces would never use Earth weapons. This was not just due to their conservative and backward nature. More importantly, the Church Court’s forces were generally equipped with Otherworld magic weapons which were far superior to Earth firearms. Therefore, they had no reason to give up these weapons in favor of Earth firearms.
But if the soldier was right, then these people were clearly not the Church Court’s forces. Their arrival in Saint Bawa at this time, likely indicated their interest in Arya’s Blade. While Saint Basaya obtaining Arya’s Blade wasn’t public knowledge, many were surreptitiously keeping tabs on it.
These included forces from Earth, both from Headquarters and the CIA, and there were those from Otherworld. Parties from several places all wanted to obtain the sword, which was likely to erupt into a conflict. In that case, who would end up with it was hard to say. At the very least, during the time the Heresy Tribunal Army has not yet transported the sword to the Holy City of the Court Church, ownership of the sword could change hands at any moment.