At Alice's reminder, Hepburn suddenly remembered as well, and Ryan Ling felt a jolt in his heart. It looked like they could confirm—the underwear really did belong to Lady Miranda, the City Lord.
With the answer found, Ryan Ling's heart settled down. At least now he had a clear target, and the search area was shrinking fast. Some part of his true body was definitely hidden inside Lady Miranda's mansion!
So the key now was figuring out how to sneak into the City Lord's Mansion and track down that missing part of his body. If he could pull that off, his Demonic World mission would be an absolute win!
Time was ticking away, and Ryan Ling didn't have much left. He had to act fast—find a way into the City Lord's Mansion and make his move!
"Is there any way I can get into the City Lord's Mansion quickly?" Ryan Ling knew full well that the mansion's defenses were a hundred times tougher than that bandit den. There was no comparison. In the bandit nest, he could go wild, kill at will, even wipe out the whole crew. But here, he wouldn't dare try that—no matter how strong he was now, even at Divine Immortal great-perfection, there were way stronger experts in Stan City. Some had reached Profound Immortal peak, some even had traces of Golden Immortal aura, and most of them were gathered right inside the mansion. Even if Ryan Ling had a thousand times more guts, he wouldn't mess around here.
"Benefactor, it's really not that easy to get into the City Lord's Mansion. The defenses are insane. Not just for outsiders like us—even local bigwigs need an invitation from the City Lord herself. Regular folks don't stand a chance, and if you get caught, the consequences are brutal!" Alice clearly knew the mansion's rules and spelled out the risks right away.
"Yeah, sneaking in is super tough. But there is one way—you'll have to put up with some humiliation, Benefactor!" Hepburn chimed in right after.
"What way? As long as I can get in, I'll do anything!" At this point, Ryan Ling couldn't care less about dignity—getting inside was all that mattered. He replied without hesitation.
Hepburn swallowed nervously and said, "There's only one way—to wait for the City Lord's Mansion to hire odd-job laborers. The mansion always needs tons of help, and every so often they recruit a batch of menials. We can use that chance to slip in, nice and quiet, and no one will suspect a thing!"
"Menials?" Ryan Ling nodded. Not a bad plan—menials are the lowest of the low, nobody pays attention to them. That meant plenty of chances for him to act!
But even though it was a good plan, Ryan Ling didn't have time to wait—he needed to get in right now!
"I know you're worried about time, Benefactor. Don't worry, I've been around Stan City for years and I know a ton of people—including a few good sisters who work inside the City Lord's Mansion. I can ask around right now; it's not impossible to slip you in as a temporary menial!" Alice promised quickly.
"Great, Alice, go ask—hurry up!" Ryan Ling urged her. Time was everything; he had to race against the clock!
"Okay!" Alice didn't know Ryan Ling's real reason, but seeing him so anxious made her nervous too. She rushed off to ask around, moving lightning fast. Ryan Ling was confident he'd be inside the mansion by tonight!
While Alice and Hepburn were busy asking around, Ryan Ling took the chance to review his current strength. He was at Divine Immortal great-perfection, still a step away from Profound Immortal. He'd hit this realm under pressure, so there were still some rough edges. He had to use every spare moment to polish and perfect his cultivation, so he'd have the confidence to break through to Profound Immortal when the time came.
Even though he was searching for his body's missing part in the Demonic World and things were going smoothly so far, there was no guarantee of success. If anything went wrong or he ran out of time, he'd have to bail. So boosting his strength as much as possible was always a good idea!
If he could break through to Profound Immortal during this window, he'd actually have a shot at surviving. The Demonic World's qi was thick, and it was a good place to level up. That was Ryan Ling's backup plan!
Right at that crucial moment, Alice rushed back in a hurry with good news. The mansion wasn't hiring slaves, but thanks to the heat, they needed a laborer to haul water. The job was brutal and nobody wanted it, but Alice had already signed Ryan Ling up!
If Ryan Ling got this gig, he'd have a shot at reaching Lady Miranda's bedroom. The City Lord was a total clean freak—she bathed every day and needed loads of water. Her huge bath chamber was right next to her bedroom, so Ryan Ling could actually get inside. No ordinary menial ever got that close!
"Awesome, this chance is way too good—I’m heading out now!" Ryan Ling didn’t hesitate for a second. Time was tight, and with a shot like this, he bolted out of the inn and straight toward Lady Miranda’s massive mansion!
Soon, Ryan Ling met up with Alice's contact. The woman eyed Ryan suspiciously—after all, nobody wanted this job, and the pay was terrible. Seeing Ryan so eager to take it, she wondered if he was crazy!
(Irrelevant system message skipped.)
But Ryan Ling didn't waste time talking. Opportunities like this were rare, and time was even tighter. He finished the handover, grabbed the buckets, and strode right in. Hauling two buckets of water, he headed straight for Lady Miranda's bedroom. He could walk boldly in that direction now. The mansion was crawling with spies and hidden sentries, guards everywhere—a real net of heaven and earth. Ryan Ling shuddered; good thing he had this cover. If he'd tried to break in by force, he'd be dead meat. Even at Divine Immortal great-perfection, once inside, he'd never get out!
Now, Ryan Ling could head straight for the target. He used his own senses to pinpoint the exact location of what he was looking for, and he was almost certain it was in Lady Miranda's bedroom. He was dying to chuck the buckets and dash straight in!
But Ryan Ling knew better—now was the time to keep his cool. He'd made it into the heart of the mansion, with layers of defenses all around. Several powerful auras swept over him, checking to see if he was a threat.
Before entering, Ryan Ling had already hidden his strength and aura so well that even the strongest experts couldn't sense a thing. After scanning him twice, those auras moved on!
Now Ryan Ling was almost at Lady Miranda's bedroom—just a few steps away. The aura inside was so strong that even without the Wish-Fulfilling Staff guiding him, he could sense exactly what he was after!
"Hell yeah!" Ryan Ling couldn't help blurting out, drooling with excitement as he stepped toward the bedroom. But just then, a pair of soft, jade-like hands suddenly slipped around his neck from behind.
"Hey there, handsome—come here and let big sister spoil you..."