Above the mage

Chapter 256 Intrigue and Trap

However, that's a question we'll have to consider later.

Gaode put away this Golden Glory Wheat only as a precaution.

Then, he took a few grains of golden wheat from the earthenware jar, rubbed off the husks, and very easily and naturally put the grains to Flora's mouth.

Flora sniffed the wheat grains, her nostrils flaring slightly, before opening her mouth with peace of mind and letting Gao De feed her the grains.

After chewing lightly a couple of times, Flora immediately squinted her big eyes in delight.

The taste of Jin Hui Mai was clearly to her liking.

Meanwhile, Loich and Catherine started chatting.

What they were saying was exactly what they were telling Elder Grant today.

The two did not try to hide it from Gao De, whether they felt it wouldn't matter if he heard about it, or something else.

"Even with Elder Grant's power, it would take at least half a month to thoroughly investigate this matter and find useful information," Catherine said to Loich while casually rubbing the golden wheat in her hand.

"So what can we do during this time? Just wait around?" Loich asked, scratching his head.

"This is not good. We are two hunters who have been staying in Phoenix for so long for no reason. If the person behind this has spies in Phoenix, they will easily notice our abnormality," Catherine said decisively.

"Let's take on one or two bounty missions posted in Phoenix," she thought for a moment and made her decision. "The hunters in the cult often come to Phoenix to take on bounty missions to earn some extra money when they're not on missions, which makes perfect sense."

"Bounty missions?" Gao De's attention was drawn to the term, and he couldn't help but interject with a question.

Catherine glanced at Gaode, not caring about his interruption, and even explained to him in her usual indifferent manner, "Phoenix is ​​the only place in the North that can be called a city. Since it is a city, there will naturally be illegal and criminal activities."

"Phoenix itself does not have a law enforcement team in the strict sense. When these illegal and criminal acts are encountered, the Zhenbing tribe usually sends out hunters to arrest and punish these criminals."

Gao De nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Indeed, a place that can't even afford to support professional soldiers would hardly have the financial resources to support a "law enforcement team."

Catherine continued, "But the discovery of these behaviors is always delayed. If they encounter cunning people, they may have already escaped Phoenix before the Zhenbing tribe discovers them."

"The Zhenbing tribe will naturally not allow these people to get away with it. After all, if this kind of thing happens too often, Phoenix's authority will be gone."

"However, tracking these people across the vast snowfield is an extremely time-consuming task. Therefore, in order to save manpower and improve efficiency, Phoenix issues bounty missions to hunt down these fugitives."

"Anyone can take on bounty missions and exchange the heads of these fugitives for a reward."

"The so-called bounty is usually ice marrow."

Ice marrow has always been the most readily available currency in the North.

"I see," Gao De said, suddenly realizing.

"However, as things stand now, bounty missions are no longer limited to hunting down fugitives," Loich added at the opportune moment. "All sorts of requirements appear in bounty missions now."

This is just the "Mission Lobby".

Gaode said he was very familiar with this.

This is precisely the area of ​​expertise of the Snowfield Guardians, the "Hunters," which explains why Catherine said the hunters from the sect often come here to earn extra money.

This is about making the most of one's strengths.

"I'll go pick up a suitable bounty mission later," Loich volunteered.

Catherine nodded gently.

Over the next few days, Gaode's life became unusually peaceful.

Loich and Catherine accepted a bounty mission and then busied themselves with it in a seemingly serious manner, as if they were really in Phoenix to earn extra money.

As for Gao De, who was hit by the forbidden ice needle, they simply left him in Phoenix without any further supervision.

Firstly, they believed in the forbidden ice needles; secondly, after spending time together these past few days, they also believed that Gao De was a smart person and wouldn't make an unwise decision.

With the two "not home," Gao De didn't just sit idly. He resumed his practice of the [Green Wood Longevity Sutra] while taking Flora for a leisurely stroll through the streets and alleys of Phoenix.

However, such a lucky find on the first day was ultimately just an isolated case.

In the days that followed, he did not encounter any more such good fortune.

After all, even though the Northerners are less "educated," they still have basic discernment and rarely mistake magical plants for worthless weeds.

The main reason why that magical plant was "covered in dust" was that it was still in the seedling stage and had already withered, losing its divine power.

But in reality, only his life was peaceful.

In recent days, many waves have quietly begun to rise.

Snowfield Guardians, Headquarters.

"My lord, it's been confirmed. The people investigating us are from the Zhenbing tribe." A slightly aged voice rang out from the shadows.

"Zhenbing Tribe?" Another voice, full of energy, asked.

"The Zhenbing Tribe has never had much to do with our sect, so why are you suddenly investigating us?" The owner of the voice paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Has anyone from our sect been in Phoenix recently?"

"My lord, that's what I thought too, so I did some investigation and found that only two people from the sect appeared in Phoenix during this period."

"Which two people?"

"The Saintess and Loich".

"Them?! Do they know why the Saintess appeared in Phoenix?"

"According to intelligence, the two of them accepted a bounty mission in Phoenix and are currently on the mission," the aged voice reported.

"Bounty mission." The other voice paused for a moment, as if pondering, "No, something's wrong."

"Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean?"

"According to the messages from the branch offices, someone claimed to have been entrusted by Baruch to deliver a message, but that person discovered something and fled overnight. The saintess happened to be nearby at the time and took over the task."

"If that's the case, their current mission should be tracking this person, so why did they end up in Phoenix doing some bounty mission?"

"And right after they appeared in Phoenix, the Zhenbing tribe inexplicably sent people to investigate us?"

"What a coincidence!"

"Does Your Excellency mean that the Holy Maiden discovered something?!" the aged voice asked hesitantly.

"Although we shifted the blame to Baruch and wiped out the Snowflake clan, destroying all evidence, it wasn't foolproof. There are still many magical methods that can help us find some clues."

"The Holy Maiden happens to possess some of these strange and unpredictable methods," the mage addressed as "Master" said coldly.

"We must not take any chances. If our actions are discovered, we will have no place in the sect."

"Let's strike first."

"Is this the Holy Maiden?!" The aged voice paused, clearly understanding the other party's meaning, and said subconsciously.

"What is a saintess to me? Just replace her when she dies," the "sir" said indifferently. "However, it's not good to act directly; it's easy to leave traces. Let's use a borrowed knife to kill her instead."

"Using someone else to do the dirty work?"

"Borrowing a knife from the Zhenbing tribe"

A soft, rustling sound rang out as instructions were given.

(End of this chapter)