Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong looked towards Diket again.

The older Knight seemed somewhat indifferent, ”I am here to investigate the Tide of the Undead, so naturally, I will be staying here for a while.” The implication was that he would follow the arrangements.

After they had reached an agreement, Fang Hong approached that man. However, he didn’t immediately agree to the other party’s request but instead made his own suggestion. He proposed that since it was a cooperation, in the interest of fairness, the distribution of the Spoils of War during the mission should still be based on each party’s contribution.

Men of Adventure Group’s Captain, Hansen, appeared quite pleased with this proposal. If the settlement was based on contribution, then they could at least secure one of the three pieces of Equipment, which was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.

Fang Hong paid close attention to the reactions of these two individuals and understood that there shouldn’t be any issue. Hansen’s response was within his expectations, and if the man had shown indifference, that would have been cause for concern.

After confirming this, he continued, ”However, I do have a question, Your Excellency. Can you answer it for me?”

The man glanced at him. Although his expression was unclear, he seemed to be frowning. His tone was a bit impatient as he said lightly, ”Generally speaking, I do not readily answer questions. However, as a collaborator, you may ask. If I can answer, I certainly will, but if I cannot, there’s no point in asking as I do not have time to make up lies.”

Fang Hong was momentarily stunned by the man’s lofty tone. He asked, ”Scholar sir, before this, I heard that Dolifen had been occupied by a group of people. How did you enter this place, may I ask?”

”The question is superfluous. However you entered here, so did we.”

”But we saw none of those people, which is why we are a bit puzzled—”

”The puzzlement is yours,” the man interjected, ”I’ve said I will only answer one question—however you entered here, so did we.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong could only sigh. The other party’s response was, indeed, indisputable, considering they might not have encountered those people and not everyone was here to investigate the Dragon Worship Sect.

However, upon returning, Miss Hilveld told him with a smile that he had used the wrong approach. ”The wrong method?” Fang Hong was still a bit puzzled.

So the Noble girl analyzed it for him. ”That man appeared very cautious. Such a person should not be approached with questions, Captain. He is conservative and prudent, and even if the information is not of significant importance to him, he will not reveal anything lightly. Direct questioning will only arouse suspicion.”

Fang Hong then saw the light, ”You mean I should have asked Hansen.”

Miss Hilveld nodded. ”Exactly, although he seems shrewd, he has the flaw of being greedy for small gains. Toss him a little bait, and he won’t hesitate to sell information that is not critical to him.”

”Miss Hilveld, it seems so, indeed I didn’t think that deeply!” Fang Hong couldn’t help but admire her, but then, something came to his mind, and he couldn’t resist asking, ”Miss Hilveld, you... you wouldn’t do this to me, right?”

The Noble girl smiled slightly. ”Of course not, I am a member of your team, aren’t I?”

Fang Hong nodded in agreement, ”I think so, too. I should be able to see through that.”

Miss Hilveld couldn’t help but turn her head away, covering her mouth, her eyes curving into crescents as she laughed.

Of course, Fang Hong didn’t notice too much; after agreeing to cooperate with the other party, they joined forces and searched around for any trace of that ’woman’ for a while, but of course, found nothing.

Parker kept insisting that what they saw was the ’Nonexistent lady,’ which started to give everyone a bit of a headache. It was then that Hansen suggested heading to Lady Tengye’s inn, and Fang Hong, having no intention of wasting more time here, also nodded in agreement.

However, he originally thought they could start the task right away, but it turned out not to be the case.

Hansen informed him that the task had a fixed start time, generally at midnight, when the brooch would emerge; during the entire day, Lady Tengye’s inn was no different from other ruins in the area, a place brimming with dead air.

Of course, if one insisted on noting the differences, there were indeed some—

When the group arrived, Fang Hong immediately noticed this— the inn stood four stories tall with a stone foundation and hall, and wooden upper structures, a common architectural style in Rainbow Bay, yet here, it seemed to stand out from the surrounding ruins.

To say it stood out was because the inn seemed ’newer’ than its surroundings.

Though it was situated on a weed-overgrown street within this abandoned town, the inn looked as if it had been well-maintained. Its exterior wall was somewhat faded but not dilapidated, with green ivy leaves climbing up its facade. Contrasting with the greenery, each windowpane below was intact and sparkled clean. The windowsills even had flower boxes—where thorn bushes would usually have run rampant in other places, here orderly purple lupines and orange cockscombs were growing.

Seeing this place left Fang Hong somewhat astonished.

Turning back, Hansen said, ”How about it? It’s your first time here, right? I was pretty much like you on my first visit.”

”It’s not your first time here?” Fang Hong couldn’t help asking.

”I don’t know about our employer, sir, but it’s not our first time indeed. I’ve been to this fine place several times, and I’ve even obtained a Blade of Victory. The inn is not just like this on the outside; it’s also well-kept on the inside. Although there’s no one inside, it’s a great place to stay, even without this questline. In fact, years ago, people discovered this place for that reason. The three items of Dolifen came into the picture much later.”