187: Chapter 185 The Deputy City Lord's Suspicion

Palina's personality was somewhat unconventional.

In the past, even if she wasn't valued within the City Lord's Mansion, her status was still there, and her daily life was attended to by servants.

Her maternal family's background couldn't compare to the City Lord's Mansion, but they were still considered a wealthy family; she certainly wouldn't have had to mop floors or wipe tables herself.

Logically, a girl raised like this should at least be a pampered rose, if not as delicate as an epiphyllum.

In short, she definitely shouldn't be like a periwinkle that could bloom all over the pot even if it was thrown in and ignored.

Yet, Palina happened to become that periwinkle.

Zhang Mu felt that she was somewhat different from his senior sister, who was also skilled at housework.

Avril exuded a noble aura from head to toe; never mind washing dishes or sweeping floors, even if she rolled up her sleeves and pant legs to hoe a field, it would still be obvious at a glance.

But when Palina changed into casual clothes and tied her long hair simply behind her head, she truly looked like a girl next door.

Sitting on a wooden chair, Zhang Mu looked up at her as she teetered on the verge of tears: "I still have things to do, you go ahead with your own business first."

"Aren't you going to see Leah?"

"I'll be back in a while, I'll go then."

Knowing that Leah was healthy, Zhang Mu wasn't that worried anymore.

He would first return to Blue Star to bring the herbs over and let them undergo alienation on their own. After that, he wouldn't have much to do and would have plenty of time to play with Leah.

Palina didn't say anything else; she picked up the basin and left the room with her head down.

Zhang Mu watched her slightly lonely figure as it was obscured by the closing door. He shook his head for reasons unknown, stood up to summon a Portal, and stepped inside.

Returning to Blue Star, he immediately drove the old car straight to Huaguo.

Then, using the Transformation Technique to forge the appearance of an ordinary man, he purchased all the materials for brewing intermediate magic potions.

He also agreed on the quantity and delivery time for the next batch of herbs and paid the deposit.

Considering that using the inventory in person would scare others, Zhang Mu called for a small truck to transport the herbs to a corner of the suburban industrial zone without cameras.

Once the truck had disappeared around a corner in a cloud of dust, he put away the neatly stacked wooden crates, rushed back to the workshop at Jiu Jin Mountain, and went to the Other World.

Zhang Mu figured it wasn't safe to leave the herbs elsewhere, so he simply stuffed them into the City Lord's "world."

Next, he just had to wait peacefully for the herbs to complete their transformation, and then he could brew the potions.

During this interval, aside from his routine practice of the Meditation Method, Zhang Mu had nothing else to worry about.

He walked out of the study with his hands behind his back.

The bright moon hung high, and the mansion was lit with lanterns.

"I've been busy until now, I wonder if Leah is asleep."

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Mu wandered toward Palina's bedroom.

Because he had frequently driven away servants before and hadn't replaced them in time, he didn't see many people along the way.

Taking small steps to her door, Zhang Mu controlled his Mental Energy to pass through the door.

Two steady, long breaths.

It seemed they were asleep.

I'll come back tomorrow.

Zhang Mu turned around, but instead of returning to the study, he walked straight out of the City Lord's Mansion.

As for those two Vice City Lords who had been jumping around all day, although he didn't plan to deal with them yet, it was necessary to scout for some information in advance.

Walking on the deserted streets late at night, Zhang Mu's shadow on the ground was stretched long and thin by the dim yellow streetlights.

"I don't get it." Perhaps feeling that the street was too quiet, Zhang Mu muttered to himself, "Everything closes at nine o'clock?"

"Even remote Bala City has a nightlife... Hiss, come to think of it, doesn't Gur City have any taverns or entertainment venues?"

What's the reason? A border city?

Unable to think of an answer, Zhang Mu didn't dwell on it. He set it aside and quickened his pace, soon arriving near the gate of one of the Vice City Lords' mansions.

"Sissoko, one of the Vice City Lords of Gur City, a Magister."

While muttering Sissoko's basic information, Zhang Mu's figure became illusory and transparent.

...

In the spacious living room, Sissoko sat in the middle of a three-seater leather sofa, with a man about thirty years old on his right.

He wore ornate noble attire. The skin of his face and the hands exposed outside his clothes were exceptionally fair. Combined with a face lacking sharp angles and narrow shoulders, he gave off a frail impression.

"Joey," Sissoko said, holding a crystal glass, "your plan is far too reckless."

Joey, despite being a grown man, had a smile that carried a woman's charm: "You think there's a problem with my guess?"

"You said it yourself—a guess."

Lifting his left leg gracefully over his right, he said, "Would the real Lord City Lord enthusiastically settle refugees?

Even going so far as to use his own private funds to buy grain at any cost?"

"That is a responsibility a City Lord should undertake."

"But it is definitely not something our City Lord would do."

He is the Lord of Gur City after all; he must have some sense of duty.

Sissoko really wanted to retort like that.

But carefully recalling the City Lord's usual behavior, he feared that if he actually said those words, he would vomit the steak he'd had for dinner all over the floor.

After a moment of silence, unable to argue, he sighed: "I don't understand.

Even if the City Lord who returned from the Silent Forest is indeed an impostor, what does it have to do with you?

Kill him, and the position of City Lord won't fall to you.

And if you guess wrong, the price will be your precious life."

"As a loyal subject of the Kingdom, it is my duty to punish a villain masquerading as the City Lord."

Sissoko stared at him silently, the meaning in his eyes clear: we know each other too well, so don't give me that flowery talk.

Like a young lady, Joey rested his folded hands on his knees, showing no sign of embarrassment: "Don't look at me like that.

Or should I not expose a criminal who dares to impersonate the City Lord?"

"So, you first caused some trouble for the project to try and provoke him," Sissoko said to himself, ignoring the loaded question.

"Then you'll walk out of the safe city walls and judge whether his identity is real or fake based on whether the City Lord attacks you?"

"There's no better way than this, is there?"

"Have you thought about what if the fake City Lord's strength exceeds ours?

We would be killed without obtaining any evidence to confirm the City Lord's true identity."

"He absolutely cannot exceed a Magister." Joey's voice wasn't loud, but his confidence was almost overflowing. "As long as he releases magic, he will inevitably expose himself."

"You're very confident."

"Of course. Even if he obtained Solar Storm the day he entered the City Lord's Mansion, I don't believe he could master it proficiently in about two months.

If the battle reaches a stalemate and he still doesn't use Solar Storm, the crime of impersonating the City Lord can be confirmed, and the Bishop of Gur City will surely take action."

"Since you're so certain..." Sissoko spread his hands and shrugged, "when do we start?"

"Tomorrow!"

Having finally persuaded him, Joey's tone rose slightly: "Through my secret inducement, the mages at the construction site have all gone on strike.

Tomorrow morning, I will invite the City Lord to inspect the site; it's the perfect opportunity for him to retaliate against me.

If he doesn't dare to come, my deduction is correct.

If he comes but doesn't attack me, it also shows something is wrong with him.

As for the least likely possibility—that he uses Solar Storm to burn me to ash—then please take care of my wife and children."

Sissoko opened his mouth in surprise.

Was this madman—who sometimes acted like a woman and sometimes like a tough man—actually loyal to the Kingdom to such an extent?

Nodding solemnly, he said, "Tomorrow I will follow far behind you. Once there is conclusive evidence, I will immediately notify the Church of Gur City."