Shane looked at the almost empty office for a moment before he settled beside a pillar and leaned against it. He squinted his eyes.
"Hope, I think I know who this mole can be."
"I also feel like I know whom you're talking about."
After that, Shane said nothing. From his memories, he knew that this official sitting as the leader of the bodyguard company was an important person to the old demon king. The latter hadn't known anything about this company's leader. He had tried to use force to see the leader, but the man would always hide cautiously and run away.
So until today, no one knew that this little official was the actual leader. This person's name was Song Song, and he would often be included among the ministers in the court who guided the intelligence system.
When every crime was reported, or if any law was supposed to be passed, there was a group of intelligence faction who would provide their ideas and guide the court in a specific direction. Without these people, it would be difficult to control such a huge group of demonic cultivators with darkened hearts.
Song Song was one of those people who led the intelligence team to either investigate the crime or give advice to the court to make the government better for the public. Since he was such an important person, no one could have realized that he was the leader of this bodyguard company.
It wasn't a good thing though. It would have been fine if those bodyguards were also common people with demonic power running through their veins. But it wasn't.
Shane narrowed his eyes. He had his suspicions about this person in front of him. This leader was the only man who could have so much control over the court matters that he inserted his bodyguards without making anyone doubt him.
The entire day went by without any events. Shane sat there with a bored expression on his face. Occasionally, he would yawn and walk toward Song Song to see what the man had been up to.
The leader himself had been wearing long Eastern-style robes with silver and black designs all over the brownish cloth wrapped around his body. Expensive jewels hung over his waist, giving him an elegant vibe.
If not for the wrinkles on his face and hands, Shane would have thought of him as a rich, second-generation person who liked to show off his money.
He raised his brows. Even though the intelligence team's salary was not low, they were people with fewer desires coursing through their veins. These people often lived simple lives.
It wasn't that Shane discriminated against the rich and still managed to get the intelligence team into the palace. It was just that this person, Song Song, was a hypocrite. During his working days, he would often dress in plain clothes, making others feel like he was from an ordinary family.
This was perhaps the first time after Shane scanned his memories that he saw this person wearing such rich robes. His eyes squinted as he looked over at the scroll this person was reading.
It was a letter written to Song Song. It must have been confidential, so Song was especially cautious while reading, glancing here and there to make sure no one was around. He relaxed his breathing and opened the scroll wide.
What was written only proved Shane's theory right. It was a hidden letter from a spy bodyguard who was sent after the old demonic king earlier.
"He fought back and defeated those cultivators. What should we do?"
Song Song closed the scroll and burned the paper in the table candle. Then he pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something. Shane bowed his head to look at the contents.
"This was under my expectations. After all, the king is an old demon. Who would be powerful in front of him? To get rid of such a powerful leader, we have to be ready to bear the consequences. Tell your minions to go into hiding for a while. Don't approach him until I say so. Let us lower his guard for a while before attacking again."
Then the man folded the piece of paper and got up from the chair. He walked toward the window. He whistled lightly. His voice was so low that it was hard to listen from a distance.
The whistle disappeared into the darkness of the night and a few seconds later, an eagle flew running toward the arm that held up outside the window. It sat silently and started picking its wings, looking all docile.
Shane raised his brows. He didn't believe that an eagle like this could turn docile like this randomly. There must be some secrets behind Song Song's powers.
Who was this person approaching? And why?
He frowned. Even though he would like to follow that bird and find out, he also needed to tail this middle-aged man. He thought for a while and decided to stay here.
"Help me keep an eye on that eagle."
"On it!" Hope's reply was fast as if she knew what he was thinking about.
Shane ignored his partner and looked at the other person who sat on his chair and started flipping ordinary documents as if what happened just now was an illusion. Time passed quickly and nightfall came.
Shane yawned as he looked at the other person in a bored manner. This official was reading files one after another, making him feel bored. When would he make some move?
Just when he was thinking about it, the eagle's voice echoed into the background quickly. He saw Song Song looking over the window as he hurriedly made his way toward it. He raised his hand as the eagle flew back.
Song Song picked out a piece of paper tucked on the leg of the bird and fed it some worms before letting it fly in the air. Shane watched the scene and walked closer.
The paper read: Come and see me at our usual place.
Song Song read it and burnt it in the fire. He fixed his appearance and took a deep breath as he walked over to the shelf area. He pulled out a book on the right as the entire shelf started to tremble. Soon enough, things changed.
The entire shelf split apart, revealing a mouth of a cave behind. The man entered it without thinking twice. Shane also followed before the door closed without any hesitation.
"Hope," asked Shane, "where did the eagle go?"
"To the righteous faction. The exact place can't be found."
Shane nodded in understanding. Radar would only show the direction, not the location or place. So he didn't ask about it anymore as he continued to follow Song Song through the corridor.
The man stopped when the pathway came to an end, and he opened the door. The other side of the place was fully covered with greenery. Trees and shrubs dominated the entire scenery as birds chirped up and down.
Just in front of their eyes, a man in light-colored robes stood with his arms folded across his chest. "You took your time."
The man looked too familiar. He was one of the people who ambushed Shane with cultivators back then.
Shane frowned as he continued to watch everything.
"I'm not idle like you," replied Song Song. "What do you want?"
"What exactly happened? How could he have the power to attack us like that?! Didn't your bodyguards make him powerless by feeding him poison?!"
Shane raised his brows. No wonder the original owner died so soon, letting him possess the body easily.
Song Song shook his head as a trace of anxiety appeared in his eyes. "I also want to know. This shouldn't have happened. Everything was going well and according to our plan. What went wrong? Could it be that his majesty knew about our collaboration from before?"
The man in light robes shook his head. "Impossible. The demon king is dumb as a donkey. He can't figure out how to even untie a knot. How can he scheme? He's the laziest person I've ever known. He has so much power just because of his brute strength, and nothing else. He just got lucky. That's why we have to make sure he dies. In any case, you had instigated him to commit crimes many times. You're his trusted aid, aren't you?"
"What trusted aid?" Song Song scoffed. "I only approached him because he massacred my family. How can I ever be loyal to a person like that? He's dumb and only does things he likes. I need to be replaced by a good leader no matter whether they're from demonic or righteous factions."
"Take this," the man in light-colored robes handed a small bottle. "This is a powerful medicine. Feed it to him before we attack him the next time. Make sure to destroy his cultivation base this time."
Song Song took it. "I won't be acting soon. So don't expect news."
"That's fine. We have all the time in the world."