Explaining the whole situation behind Yuki being imprisoned by Duan Han Ying in the Frozen Imperial Mountains, Shiro also told him about her plans to scout out the situation first.

"I'm going to be scanning the mountain for any signs of barriers and openings with Keiko and Keomi's help. That way, I can enter this fake dungeon in order to rescue Yuki." Shiro explained.

"Hmm… That's probably the best way to go about it. From the information I gathered about Duan Han Ying through your descriptions, he's most likely one of those people that would set up multiple layers of traps. There's not even a guarantee that there is only one barrier. Perhaps the mountain is stacked up of hundreds of barriers." Nan Tian nodded.

"Hence why even if you scan the entire mountain, the best way is probably to just take out the power source of the barrier. Since he's on the front lines, it'll be quite annoying to continuously fuel the barrier himself so he must have routed it up to something. Whether that be a natural mana spring or a mana gathering formation, the barriers will disappear once you take it out. The only issue I can see happening is trying to locate the source and destroy it while making sure that the information of your arrival is kept secret." He continued.

"Mn, that's why I want to avoid dealing with the source if possible and just navigate my way through the barriers myself. If I went for the power source, I risk having one of the guards escaping and sending out the message. At that point, it is very likely for Duan Han Ying to appear on the scene himself." Shiro nodded her head while standing up.

Packing her things away for now, she gestured for him to follow her outside so that they can talk about this with Keiko and Keomi.

"Yin darling." Shiro called out.

"Mn? What is it mum?" Yin looked up while still eating her food.

"I'm going to talk to your aunts. Look after your sister and brother while I'm out."

"Sure, take care." Yin waved her hand lazily while continuing to eat her food.

Leaving the room with Nan Tian, they made their way downstairs and knocked on Keiko and Keomi's room.

"Coming~" Keomi's voice could be heard with a soft yawn.

The sounds of the lock turning rang out as the door opened with Keomi in her pyjamas.

"Ah morning sis and… who's this?" She asked as she hadn't seen Nan Tian before.

"Oh him? He's Nan Tian or rather, the little beggar that I told you about when we were children." Shiro smiled.

"Wait, you found him?" Keomi raised her eyebrows before glancing at Nan Tian who gave her a small wave and a smile.

"Yup. Don't mind him. Is Keiko awake?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah she is. She's just getting ready now." Keomi nodded as she gestured for them to enter the room.

"Morning." Keiko waved as her hair was still rather messy. She was currently brushing her teeth.

"Morning." Shiro nodded.

"Hm, seems like you were speaking the truth yesterday after all." Keiko glanced over at Nan Tian with a smile.

"Of course, I wouldn't dare lie to the assassin hero after all." Nan Tian chuckled.

"Right. Anyways, what brings you here this early in the morning Shiro?" Keiko asked while gesturing for her to take a seat.

"I'm here to tell you that Nan Tian has a safe way for us to travel through China without being detected. His hidden sect has ownership of a teleport shrine located in China that no one knows about. With this, we'll be able to cross China and make our way towards Mount Everest without interacting with any of the larger and well known cities that will have formations to stop my disguise from working." Shiro smiled as Keiko paused.

"For real?" She widened her eyes.

"Yup. We were quite lucky to discover this hidden teleport shrine since it's quite hard to reach through normal means. Hence why we were very confident in making our base around this place. With a few illusions placed around it, we're able to keep this shrine a secret. Of course, while we do have members of different factions spread out across the world, only those that have gone through a specific set of requirements can have access to the branch hall or any hall for that matter. With the exception of those that I allow this privilege as I'll be taking the responsibility for allowing them in." Nan Tian replied with a smile.

"So does that mean this teleport shrine wasn't meant to be known by most people to begin with? Why are you even allowing us three to go?" Keiko asked curiously since she knew what kind of impact a hidden teleport shrine meant for you as a faction. As long as you're careful, you could have a perfect safe house to retreat without worry.

"Yes because I trust Shiro and I trust her judgement. Of course, if I'm wrong, then I guess my judgement of character was just bad." Nan Tian shrugged.

"Isn't your judgement of character pretty bad for getting a fancy on someone like me to begin with? I'm pretty sure you're risking your life at this point." Shiro raised her eyebrows. If it was someone else, they would have probably lost their ass and baby maker at this point if they tried to do what Nan Tian had done several times.

"Alright alright, I don't need to be smacked in the face with flirting the first thing in morning. I'm not awake enough for this sh*t just yet." Keiko's smile twitched as she was still single for the exact same reason. While she viewed Kuromi as a role model and someone she strived to be with as much as she could, it wasn't to the point of romance but rather familial love. Like a brother complex or a sister complex.

However, with the strange workings of people's minds, they had determined that she was in love with her cousin so not only could she not find a boyfriend due to her identity, but they were also depressed because they thought she was in love with someone else and that person was apparently her cousin.

"What do you mean by flirting? I'm pretty sure I'm stating a fact here though?" Shiro tilted her head cluelessly.

". . ."

". . ."

". . ."

All three of the people besides her stayed silent as they looked at this girl and wondered if she was being serious or not. After all, there were times where she would just act dumb and this could be one of those times.

Unfortunately, while Shiro does understand what fliting meant and what it is, she did not think that stating a threat was 'charming' or alluring in any way, shape or form. Hence her confusion.

Massaging her eyes for a moment, Keiko shook her head and brought out a map of the world on her tablet. Zooming in on China and the route towards Mount Everest, she gestured for everyone to sit down.

"So what's the plan? Is it just going to be us four going since it's quite dangerous? I know that you can easily kill people much higher level than you so I'm not too worried and even if you are besieged by level 200+'s, there's a good chance for you to escape without suffering too many injuries due to your skill set." Keiko asked while stretching her body lightly.

"That's what I'm planning. While the party can indeed clear dungeons solo and kill those higher level than them, I'm still worried about the risks of moving in a large group. While our combat prowess is higher due to the versatile skill set of everyone combined, there is a chance that we are forced to fight large groups of enemies due to being discovered. As this is a semi stealth mission, moving as a large group would be advised against while sticking to a small group like just us four would be best." Shiro replied.

"What about your daughters? Yin and Lisandra?" Nan Tian asked.

"They're definitely not following along precisely due to the fact that they're my daughters. I could take Yin with me but it's better if she sticks with everyone else so that she could help them bail with the rift if they're in a dangerous situation." Shiro shook her head as she chose to let Yin stay with the group as a way to keep them all safe.

While it may seem selfish and patronising, it was one of the only ways for Shiro to make sure that she didn't lose the ones that she cherishes. With the things happening around her, choosing to stay with her friends would only increase the chances of their deaths due to her actions.

She didn't need the blood of another friend on her hands. One was enough.

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