Chapter 327: Secret, Secret Investigator?

"A few guests, I'll drop you off here; walk the rest of the way yourselves."

Not far from Iris Street, Yun Mu and the other three got out of the vehicle, and the minotaur driver spoke to them.

"Mm, dropping us off here is fine." Yun Mu nodded lightly.

She turned to look, and there, at the end of her line of sight, stood a mansion filled with flame patterns and bird elements.

If nothing went wrong, that should be the Fire Weaver Bird Family mansion that Iliyasi spoke of.

It looked like a place where nobles would live, but as everyone knew, there were no such professions or statuses as nobles within the Federation, so it should be called a place where rich people lived.

For some reason, hearing the word "family" made her inexplicably think of settings like the Li family or the Xiao family.

She had likely been brainwashed by web novels.

"Heh, isn't this that woman who left the Fire Weaver Bird Family!"

"You trash, how dare you return here!"

"An offspring born with a human, my Fire Weaver Bird Family has no one like you!"

"Get lost!"

Oh no, I feel like I can already picture the scene.

It shouldn't be that kind of development, right?

That would be too cheesy.

Yun Mu muttered to herself in her heart.

"Is the Fire Weaver Bird Family very famous in the Federation?" On the way to the Fire Weaver Bird Family mansion, Yun Mu asked softly.

"No one here can answer that question for you, Miss Yun." Brenna looked at her, somewhat speechless: "Even Iliyasi has lived in the Frost Kingdom since she was a child."

"Even so," Yun Mu argued: "Who says Iliyasi's mother wouldn't have told her about these things?"

"Um..." Iliyasi said in a small voice at this moment: "Mother told me about the family before she passed away, but as for the family's reputation, I'm not too sure either."

Brenna spread her hands and said nothing, just putting on a 'see?' expression.

"It should be considered famous."

Yun Mu speculated to herself: "This is the Federal Capital, after all, and looking at the expression of that driver just now, this street should be quite famous."

"It makes no sense for the Fire Weaver Bird Family living on this street to have no reputation."

"Makes sense." Lita, who was to the side, echoed softly.

While chatting, they arrived in front of the Fire Weaver Bird Family's gate.

Standing in front of the gate were two guards, wearing a full set of well-fitted pitch-black suits.

It certainly fit Yun Mu's stereotype of security guards.

As for their race, she couldn't tell, because there were no obvious features on them.

"Stop, what are you here for?"

It appeared! The words that every security guard in the world would say.

Yun Mu perked up and subconsciously replied: "W-we aren't any suspicious people, you know~"

"Hmph, suspicious people always say that." The other guard crossed his arms over his chest and said.

"If there's nothing else, hurry up and leave; outsiders aren't welcome here." The guard who spoke first waved his hand.

"..." Yun Mu was silent for a moment, then asked with some curiosity: "Tell me, aren't you afraid of offending people by acting like this?"

"Hmph." The guard who had cold-snorted earlier 'hmph'ed again. He smiled disdainfully, then tapped his finger on his forehead twice: "Don't underestimate us; we have memorized every person in this country who cannot be offended."

"And you lot." He pointed his hand forward: "I have absolutely no impression of you!"

"Exactly, exactly." The other guard standing beside him nodded in agreement: "Besides, the Master has already said that today, anyone without an invitation is strictly forbidden from entering!"

"Invitation?" Brenna noticed the keyword: "Is there some kind of event being held inside?"

"This..." The guard who realized he had said too much felt a sudden regret, but this couldn't be considered a big deal, and he quickly calmed down: "That's none of your business."

"People who don't even know about this kind of thing are even less likely to be the Master's guests."

"Ahem~"

"How about you take a look at who this is?"

Lita suddenly had a flash of inspiration and pushed Iliyasi, who was hiding behind the three of them, out from the back.

Logically speaking, since Iliyasi's mother's ancestral home was here, Iliyasi should also be considered a member of the Fire Weaver Bird Family.

Their appearances shouldn't be that different, right?

At the very least, those orange-red wings and ear feathers like flames shouldn't be mistaken by anyone.

"I, I..."

Iliyasi was startled by Lita's sudden movement and couldn't speak for a long time.

On the other side, the expressions on the faces of the two guards were somewhat unable to hold up.

"E-Eldest Miss, why are you here?"

The guard who had mocked Yun Mu earlier rubbed his hands fawningly. The moment he saw Iliyasi, he turned bright red, and his back and forehead were covered in sweat.

It was clear that he was very nervous.

Sweating buckets, aren't you, buddy! The expression on the face of the other guard standing beside him wasn't great either, but he remained rational at this moment.

"Heh, hehe, don't think you can fool me."

"Today is the Eldest Miss's 16th birthday; she must still be inside attending the banquet right now, it is absolutely impossible for her to appear here."

"As for you..." He seemed to have successfully convinced himself, and his tone became increasingly confident. He pointed at Iliyasi and said: "What exactly are you trying to do by pretending to be the Eldest Miss!?"

"I, I am not pretending..."

"Guessed it right, feeling guilty now, aren't you? Hahaha, you're still too early to try and fool me..."

"Wait a moment!" Yun Mu spoke up to interrupt his words: "How can you assume that your Master doesn't have any illegitimate daughters, or grandchildren, or something like that?"

"Uh."

The other party's smug laughter suddenly stalled.

Although he really wanted to refute Yun Mu's words, upon careful reflection, he wasn't the master of the house; he was just a stinking gatekeeper, so how could he possibly know whether his master had any illegitimate children? Besides, he hadn't noticed it while being stubborn earlier, but now looking closely, this feather, this luster, this texture—no matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem fake.

Oh no, could this really be the master's illegitimate daughter?

But soon, he reacted again.

"So what if you're an illegitimate daughter? Today is the eldest miss's birthday. If I let you in and it causes a scandal regarding the master, wouldn't I be fired?"

"Ahem." He gave a light cough, his tone becoming relatively softer: "Take advantage of the fact that no one is watching and leave quickly. This is for your own good, too."

"Damn it, this kid is truly impervious to reason."

About twenty minutes passed, and after even the proposal to go inside and pass on a message was rejected, Yun Mu was getting a bit heated.

Damn it, she wanted to reason with him, but he insisted on not listening, so she could only use some less-than-decent methods. "Anyway, Iliyasi just wants to retrieve her mother's heirloom. I think we can completely sneak in, get the item, and leave," she suggested.

"But," Lita raised her hand and said, "we don't even know where Iliyasi's mother's heirloom is."

"Hmm," Brenna pondered for a moment: "We can grab someone and ask."

"Hey, hey, you're a princess, won't this really cause a diplomatic incident?" Yun Mu couldn't help but retort upon hearing this: "Well, though I also think this is a good idea."

"As long as no one knows, it'll be fine."

"Th-this isn't good, is it?" Iliyasi looked at the three of them with some suspicion and uncertainty—oh no, to be precise, at Yun Mu and Brenna.

"I heard from my mother that there are many cameras within the Federation that can capture images, and I'm not a Transcendental, so I might hold you back."

Perhaps because they had been together for a long time, or perhaps because she was truly a bit afraid, Iliyasi actually finished the whole sentence this time without the slightest stutter.

"No problem!"

Yun Mu snapped her fingers with a "pop," drawing everyone's attention, and then she took out her Paintbrush from her bosom and began to draw in the air.

【Construct into Reality!】

A thin veil like flowing water shrouded Yun Mu, and soon, accompanied by a distortion, her figure vanished before the others.

"Wow~" Lita clapped her hands subconsciously, and then she noticed that a clump of shadow remained where Yun Mu had disappeared.

"."

"Ahem, don't mind it." Yun Mu gave a light cough and then mobilized the Spirituality within her body.

【Dark Magic: Shadow Manipulation】

The shadow beneath her twisted and was soon compressed into a ball.

If one didn't look closely, one wouldn't be able to tell that this black dot on the ground was actually a shadow.

Her Shadow Manipulation level was lv6, and she could already control other people's shadows.

She could even influence the movements of the main body by controlling someone else's shadow.

Of course, it had to be consistent with human movement; if she tried to force a distortion, she couldn't do it with her current skill proficiency.

"This way, there's no need to worry about the cameras," she said, patting her not-so-large chest.

However, because she hadn't deactivated Invisibility, no one saw her action.

"Everyone get closer, I'm going to cast the spell again."

"To prevent walking out of the spell's range, and because we can't see each other while invisible, it's best if we hold hands..."

"Alright." At this point, seeing that persuasion was of no use and that she truly wanted to retrieve her mother's heirloom, Iliyasi cooperated with Yun Mu and slipped into the invisible veil.

Yun Mu: "It's a little crowded, bear with it."

Lita: "Ouch, who's stepping on my foot?"

Iliyasi: "N-no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Yun Mu: "Iliyasi's feathers are so itchy, achoo!"

Brenna: "Idiot, you sprayed it on my face!"

Brenna: "Oh my, don't move around! Ugh, who, who just kissed me!?"

Yun Mu: "I-it wasn't me!"

"A-anyway, let's try walking two steps first!" Yun Mu decisively changed the subject.

"Just like this, slowly..."

"Ah!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Iliyasi accidentally tripped over a step on the ground and fell directly onto Lita.

Fortunately, except for her, the other three were all Transcendentals, so they wouldn't be tripped up by such a small matter.

After a great deal of trouble, they finally climbed over a corner of the wall at the edge of the mansion.

"F-finally inside."

Yun Mu looked around; this should be a garden. At the edge of the flower beds stood several fountains carved from pure white stone.

There weren't many people in the garden, only five, which Yun Mu had discovered through her Blood Perception detection ability.

"Looking at these people's attire, they should be guests attending the banquet. Our target isn't them, so let's try to bypass them," Brenna whispered at this moment.

The guests attending the banquet obviously wouldn't know where the things left behind by Iliyasi's mother were, so there was no need to waste time on them.

Yun Mu naturally agreed with this point. She nodded lightly, then they held hands and cautiously left the garden.

"The main gate of the mansion is closed, and there are people guarding the entrance."

"The warehouse placed outside looks like it has some years on it; I don't know if Iliyasi's mother's heirloom would be inside."

"The windows we can enter, excluding the method of breaking in, are only the two windows on the east and west sides of the second floor, as well as the attic on the very top floor."

"However, although the balcony on the second floor is open, there are people on it, and through Blood Perception detection, it can be discovered that after entering from the balcony, it seems to be the location where the banquet is being held; there are too many people inside."

The group searched all around the outside of the mansion and finally gathered the above information.

"Next, we have to decide how to act..."

Yun Mu pondered for a moment and suggested, "Let's go check the abandoned warehouse first."

(End of this chapter)