When they arrived to the Celestial Abyss a month later, Lee was content with the result. The only problem was that he had run through almost half of his funds – feeding fifteen mouths wasn’t cheap, especially since he pretended to be well off in front of his subordinates.
After settling the company in a remote inn in the outskirts, Lee went to gather information around the outer sect.
He couldn’t tell whether the place had changed much – after all the last ti he didn’t stay here for long. This ti around he didn’t intend to hang out too much either – he was eyeing the Midsumr festival celebrations that would begin in four days.
Besides the training part, this was the reason why he took his ti to get to the Celestial Abyss sect – this place was much more expensive compared to countryside. Fortunately, the gang obediently stayed in the inn, although it was hard to keep the hillbillies from drinking themselves into oblivion.
The next day Lee spent the rest of his gold. He paid for the inn they were staying at and food in advance, but the lion’s share went towards placing orders at several tailor shops.
It was hard to find anyone willing to replicate the attire worn by the inner sect’s enforcers. However, Lee’s previous experience in this place helped him. He managed to find a local gang boss in the outer sect who solved the problem by referring him to shops he owned.
Then he went to another district of the outer sect and applied for a job at the local blacksmith. He would’ve preferred a cleaner job, but this was the only place he could find in a hurry that was hiring. The blacksmith was a stingy man, though, and for the first several months Lee was going to get paid only in the form of getting als and a place to sleep.
Lee also went for a walk around the inner sect. Now that there was no wedding held, it wasn’t as hard to get in.
Just like the last ti, he forged a couple of letters and without a problem was allowed to enter.
The place had changed a bit, and he guessed that around two decades has passed, but it was still nostalgic to take a look at the building in the distance he was beheaded before.
The place he wanted to check out, though, was the Trade Hall. As expected, during the Midsumr festival the largest auction of the year was going to be held and it was what Lee was eyeing.
***
"Everyone, listen up!" Lee said to his hillbillies after finishing the last details of the plan.
The fourteen n were gathered in his room and the place was packed. Most had to sit on the floor, but they had been through similar situations before and were used to it.
"For the last month you have diligently trained and honed your abilities to the next level." Lee continued, "That is why I’m offering you a chance to beco a part of a secret unit working under the Enforcent Hall. Anyone who feel they’re not up to it can leave, I won’t think less of you, trust !"
The bandits stared at their lord in shock and amazent, but no one left.
"As expected, you all are trustworthy! I’m honored I’ll be working with you in the future!" Lee said, "My na is Cross, Cross Double and I’m tasked to lead an important operation. I can’t fill you in on all details, but I can say as much that the Trading Hall of our sect, the Celestial Abyss, is being targeted and we need to find the perpetrators."
Lee made a theatrical pause, but that only gave the hillbillies a chance to start excited discussions.
"Silence!" He reprimanded them, "You’re the part of the Enforcent Hall and I expect you behave as such!"
Silence filled the room and Lee sternly continued, "Don’t forget your training, comrades! Now, while most of the ti we are working undercover, sotis we have to act in official capacity. That is why tonight you’ll proudly wear the uniforms of our hall. You will orderly follow without making a sound, as we’ve trained, understood! Don’t let down!"
Then he individually presented each bandit with their own inner sect’s enforcer’s token. He spent the previous day forging them and the end products turned out to be all right. Obviously they only superficially looked similar to the originals, but that was all Lee needed.
There was no sane person in the world, much less a group of people, who would openly fake to be a part of the Enforcent Hall of the Celestial Abyss sect. And while the fourteen clueless hillbillies thought they actually beca enforcers, Lee led them to the Trade Hall, after his score of the lifeti.
***
The sun had set when the squad of fifteen enforcers, everyone with grim faces, marched through the gate to the inner sect. No one stopped them or asked them anything. The leader of the squad, the guy who marched in front, probably a talented elental master, only nodded to the guards at the gate and went through.
Under the cover of the night no one noticed the few inconsistencies in their looks. Even more – they almost scared the innkeeper and the other guests to death when the squad departed.
It was humorous, but it had another side effect. The bandits realized what their new status ant in the eyes of the commoners and wore the most grave expressions they could muster.
Lee calculated the timing almost perfectly. They arrived at the auction hall the mont the last item was sold and only had to take a small loop around the place in order for most people to disperse. When they entered the hall, many of guests were still there, but Lee guided his squad to the left side of the stage, where the Trade Hall’s officials were busying themselves.
This was the critical part of the plan.
At the end of the auction he witnessed back then the enforcer squad arrived the sa way. The problem was Lee had no clue whether they said anything or presented any docunts. At the ti he was engrossed in his own problems in didn’t notice all nuances and now was going based on his gut feeling.
"You’re early!" A man in the expensive robe said, not hiding annoyance in his voice. The squad that the Enforcent Hall sent this ti looked even less reliable than the last ones.
Lee had no clue who the man was, but on the way he noticed the guy was giving orders to others while at the sa ti writing so stuff down. It ant that highly likely he was the manager around here.
"Better than being late." Lee said, and the whole squad orderly stood to the side.
The bandits didn’t say anything, but they were probably scared silly by the luxuriousness they saw around them. Fortunately, the grim expressions on their faces didn’t change.
Contrary to them, Lee wasn’t scared. He was praying, though. The main weakness of his plan was a possibility of the real enforcers arriving early, but fortunately his presence forced the Trade Hall’s officials to work faster.
"Here’s the list of the guests." The official said, passing on a stack of papers to Lee. Then he pointed at six large boxes next to him, and said, "Make sure to not mix up anything this ti! The sect master’s things I put in the largest one."
To make it look more formal, Lee quickly inspected the list with furrowed brows, and seeing the pause, the official said, "I had no choice. Among others, Sect Master Mo won several spatial items – we can’t put them inside each other. You guys will have to carry everything."
"Sigh, it’s getting late." Lee said with a shake of his head, "Let’s get it over with!"
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