Not long after, Leyvi left Rose's mansion, escorted by Lily.
As they walked, he pondered whether he should bring the rest of his group here or not.
Although he was now almost entirely convinced that Rose was under the complete reversal of her own spell, bound to obey his every word, he still felt the fundamental way she managed her territory, using charm to manipulate lustful men, made it a poor place for his party to stay.
Furthermore, considering Dastan's situation, the fewer people they encountered, the smaller the chance his true identity would be exposed. Who knew if any of the assassins sent after him were among the men currently charmed by the ladies here?
After experiencing a taste of their methods firsthand, he knew the possibility they could see through Dastan's disguise was not zero.
Apart from that, based on the discussions he had overheard, this place might not remain peaceful for long. Prince Charles seemed fond of competing for territory and expanding his influence.
It was likely better for his group to remain in their hidden cave mansion for the time being.
"Alright. You are now outside the women's area. I don't have to accompany you any further," Lily said, interrupting his thoughts.
Hearing this, Leyvi made a sudden, sharp turn to face her.
Due to her lingering trauma, Lily startled again, flinching back a step.
Leyvi chuckled softly. He was well aware of the effect he had on Lily and Liyan, and he could not resist testing it a little for his own amusement.
Lily gritted her teeth. This country bumpkin is so annoying! I still don't understand why the Holy Maiden likes him so much.
"If you and your Holy Maiden keep tricking men like this, one day it might all be exposed," Leyvi said, his tone casual. "They could come back to bite your ass."
"Hmph, mind your own business," Lily retorted, squinting her eyes at him. "What? Are you threatening to expose us?"
Her mistress had told her to do whatever Leyvi wanted, but she had not instructed her to be polite. So, she figured it was fine to speak to him this way.
Leyvi shook his head. "I don't really care, as long as it doesn't involve me. I don't have a habit of exposing other people's secrets either. Well, maybe I would do it if you tried anything strange toward Ava while we are here." He paused, then added with a joking tone, "Just now, I was only giving you advice out of kindness. After all, all my wives say I am the kindest man in the world."
"All your wives?" Lily frowned, her displeasure evident. "You mean Ava is not your only wife?"
It was bad enough that her Holy Maiden had fallen for a married man. But a married man who kept a harem was even worse.
"Hahaha! Why not?" Leyvi replied, his tone light and teasing. "I have twelve lovely wives right now, with more to come. Can I not have many wives? Aren't you ladies the ones playing with the hearts of many men? At least I treat my wives with sincerity, you know. You ladies are the bad ones here."
"Hmph!" Lily could only huff in response, having no real rebuttal.
Who is this guy anyway? What identity does he have? Some lecherous young master? Twelve wives already at his age? Most cultivators didn't marry young, and yet here he was. Not to mention that bizarre ability of his... I should ask.
She thought this while side-eyeing him suspiciously.
"Hey, you," she began, her curiosity getting the better of her. "How did you disable my formations? You did it instantly, and all the components were disassembled perfectly, without any damage at all. I have never seen a technique like that. Are you some kind of formation super expert or something? Without a deep understanding, there is no way anyone could do that so easily."
"Oh? Are you really asking about someone else's secret?" Leyvi countered, raising an eyebrow. "How about you tell me one of your secrets first?"
"I... uh... forget it," she muttered, giving up.
She just realized she was truly terrible at conversing with a normal man. Most of the time, her mistress handled all the talking. On the rare occasions she spoke to men, they were already under her charm or an illusion technique. The dynamic was completely different.
Now, she found herself struggling to hold her own in a verbal exchange with Leyvi, who was utterly immune to their usual methods.
In terms of looks, she knew she was far from matching her mistress's ethereal beauty. But in terms of figure, she would rate herself a little better, with more defined and alluring curves. That alone was usually enough to charm men easily. Yet this man remained completely unmoved. She had lost every one of her usual advantages.
"Hahaha! Giving up already? How boring. Alright, let me tell you. I don't really mind," Leyvi said, his tone turning conspiratorial.
Huh? Is he actually going to tell me? Lily blinked, her curiosity instantly reignited.
"Actually..." Leyvi whispered, leaning a little closer to her.
"I have a Unique Heavenly Body that can dismantle many things," he confided, his voice low. "I dismantled your formation, I dismantled Liyan's energy string from Ava, I dismantled your Holy Maiden's charming technique." He spun the lie smoothly, layering truth with fabrication.
I knew it! He really does have a Unique Heavenly Body like that. But... that sounds way too powerful, doesn't it? To her surprise, Lily found herself believing him.
"With this Unique Heavenly Body," Leyvi continued, his tone dropping to a mock ominous whisper, "there is one more thing I can dismantle... a human!" He finished by placing a firm, sudden hand on her shoulder.
"Ahhh!!" Lily screamed in pure horror, stumbling backward and falling hard onto her plump backside. For a terrifying moment, she was utterly convinced she was about to be taken apart like one of her array disks.
"Hahaha! I was just kidding," Leyvi laughed, pulling his hand back and walking away, leaving her sitting stunned on the ground.
Lily remained there for a long moment, watching his figure disappear into the dim city streets. This kind of raw, unnerving interaction with a man was a first for her.
Afterwards, Leyvi selected an empty house located far from others. With his spiritual sense easily covering the entire city, it was a simple task.
He also took a careful look at the large observation building Olivia had mentioned. Exactly seventy-three cultivators were inside. The men and women were separated by a translucent barrier, an obvious precaution.
Leyvi scrutinized them thoroughly. Aside from exhibiting the expected nervousness and worry about being detained, which was perfectly normal under the circumstances, he did not detect anything unusual. None seemed to be under external control or behaving suspiciously.
So why had Prince Charles refused to accept them into his faction? Was he simply being overly paranoid?
Oh? That guy.
One of the men he recognized was the same man who had been captured by the bow girl near their cave mansion earlier. So, all the people who had chosen not to follow Captain Shino out of the vast shade were likely those who had been captured or coerced by his faction in the past. It made perfect sense that they would refuse to follow him now.
After that, Leyvi spent the day scanning the city, above and below the ground, searching for any remaining valuable treasures. Sure enough, he could only find a few items tucked away in exceptionally well-hidden places.
Some people had been living here for over two years, so it was no surprise that most of the obvious valuables had already been found and looted. Furthermore, the culture that the Pink Enchantress Rose had cultivated actively encouraged and motivated her followers to be relentless treasure hunters.
Over the next few days, Leyvi visited the hidden spots he had marked to retrieve the treasures he had spotted. His behavior did not stand out at all, as nearly everyone in the city was engaged in similar activities.
Though by now, most seasoned treasure hunters had moved on from searching the city itself. They ventured out to other locations, as the colossal tree's shade was vast, dotted with numerous other cities and towns.
He also took the opportunity to speak with the people he met, casually gathering as much information from them as he could.
After four days, he contacted Rose and informed her that he was ready to head to the colossal trunk.
With the signal transmitter array present in the city, he could finally use his array communication device again.
He waited just outside the women-only residential zone, and very quickly, Liyan arrived to escort him in, leading him directly to Rose's mansion.
"Darling! I have missed you so much!" Rose exclaimed the moment she saw him, rushing forward. "It has been a while since I saw you! You have no idea how hard it has been for me to focus on anything else. I keep thinking about you all the time. My chest feels tight and suffocated when you are not around. I am so glad I can see you again." She poured out her emotions, her pink eyes shimmering with genuine, overwhelming affection.
Leyvi was speechless. Lady, it has only been four days, not four years.