Chapter 652: Freedom.

‎"Young Master, did you hear about the Soundless Beauty?" A man with a scar on his face asked the young man with a long black ponytail and green eyes, wearing a uniform of the clan.

‎"Yes, I have heard rumors about her. I also overheard people's conversation about her exterminating the bandits and their hideout," the young man nodded. His name was Mada of the Raou Clan, one of the Great Clans. "I also heard she's in town right now and currently staying in the inn on the other side of the town."

‎"Yes, Young Master. Do you want me to gather information about her? Many have tried to gather information about her, but they have found nothing," the man asked and watched Mada put his sword on the table and remove his headband.

‎"What for? Are you interested in her? You should reconsider that, Jo. You're way too old for her," Mada chuckled softly as he removed the hair tie to let his hair fall freely. "Joke aside, there's no need for that. There's someone in that inn that hates seeing an eyesore," he reminded his personal guard about Anastasha that stayed in the same inn as the Soundless Beauty.

‎"Understood, Young Master. Please have a good rest," Jo lowered his head and left the room.

‎Mada sat on the edge of the bed, watching the horizon change its color to a bright orange. He stared at the Immortal Mountain in awe because since he was a child, he wanted to visit that place where Immortals lived. However, his childhood memories were distracted by the two figures that stayed in the same inn as Anastasha Asghar.

‎"The Soundless Beauty Ruen and that mysterious woman. To think there are still people who have a sense of such freedom," Mada muttered as he stood up and walked toward the window. "However, that kind of freedom will only cause inconvenience for others."

‎At the same time, the inn owner slowly closed the door of the inn, preventing anyone from entering the building. The inn owner looked worried and glanced over his shoulder at Ruen and the woman as if he was apologizing with his eyes closed. He lost his authority over his own place the moment Anastasha requested him to close the inn.

‎The woman looked at Rasmus walking toward Ruen's table and sat at the table with his back facing the woman. The woman then glanced at Anastasha, who was walking toward her table with an open-hand fan that covered the lower half of her face. She watched Anastasha sit across from her and blocked her vision from seeing Ruen and Rasmus.

‎Rasmus looked at Ruen, still busy eating her bowl of noodles before he telepathically told her to play along. Ruen sulked and put down her chopsticks, but she didn't have a choice, especially when Rasmus revealed that Anastasha wanted to know about the mysterious woman that Rullein had revealed to be a man.

‎"Walking in as if you had no idea," Anastasha smiled with her eyes as she stared at the woman. "So you chose to walk into a lion's den than being surrounded by leeches?" She chuckled.

‎The woman slowly stood up and did a kowtow in front of Anastasha, it was a response that Anastasha wasn't expecting. Rasmus didn't bother with the woman lowering her existence in front of Anastasha, his eyes immediately stared at Anastasha's reaction. In that moment, he could see the hunger in Anastasha's eyes, the hunger for power that she had suppressed her whole life.

‎"I have no other place to go because they have been chasing me all the way here. Please allow this humble person to stay here until night and I will leave this place," the woman answered.

"Chasing you? DId they mistaken you for a woman?" Anastasha asked with her brows raised as she stared down at the woman.

The woman was surprised that Anastasha knew what she was, and slowly she raised her head from the ground to look up at Anastasha in the eyes. In her whole life after she became The Flower, nobody knew that she wasn't a woman, even after months of talking with her. She had heard so many rumors about Anastasha Asghar, and she finally experienced it herself as to why Anastasha was infamous in the Khan Empire, or perhaps in the whole East Neva, because she was the one who lurked in the shadow of power.

"I... it wasn't because of that," the woman answered as she lowered her head once again. "There are groups of righteous clans that are chasing us, preventing us from joining the Heavenly Alliance's tournament," she revealed.

"And? I don't see that's my problem. I can easily kick you out of this inn and even reveal who you are. Give me a reason why I shouldn't do that," Anastasha narrowed her eyes, enjoying the power she held over the woman on the floor.

The woman glanced at Rasmus and Ruen, noticing that they barely spoke a few words to each other, unlike Anastasha that had been interrogating her and threatening her. She glanced at Ruen's expression and saw nothing but boredom and the acting was quite obvious, as if waiting for things to be over so she could continue enjoying her meal. At that moment, she realized that the Soundless Beauty might have been one of Anastasha's people.

"If you know who I am, then I can offer you confidential information," the woman answered.

Anastasha tilted her head with her brows arched. She slowly leaned down and grabbed the woman on the chin and made her look up to look at her. She stared at the woman in the eyes, back and forth until the woman felt uncomfortable and had too look away every few moments. Because she was flustered and anxious, her mind couldn't process what kind of stare that Anastasha used against her.

"Tempting, but what kind of confidential information do you think I find it... valuable?" Anastasha arched her brows.

The woman closed her eyes and she seemed to tremble by the close proximity, especially because the one that asked the question was no other than an Asghar. By that alone, she knew that Anastasha wasn't interested in information related to clans, she knew that Anastasha wanted a bigger fish.

"The confidential information about officials, and corrupt officials..." the woman answered and hoped it was enough to convince Anastasha.

"And why should I trust your information?" Anastasha tilted her head. "You could just make things up from the rumors you heard and took it as facts and truths," she folded her hand fan and pointed it at the woman.

The woman couldn't answer the question, and even if she had, even the truth, it was impossible to convince Anastasha.

"I'm just playing with you," Anastasha chuckled softly as she pulled away. "I know how powerful the connection the Moonlight Dancing Troupe has. Even if I don't trust you, I trust the information that your so-called Mother has," she smiled mischievously.

The woman was once again shocked by the fact that Anastasha knew from which troupe she came from. At that point, her fear toward the Asghar family became more than just stories and rumors, it became real.

"Now, since our act has been blown, why don't we stop the play?" Anastasha glanced at Rasmus and Ruen.

Rasmus glanced over his shoulder and stared at the woman, who was still on the ground, kneeling. He slowly stood up and just walked away so he could sit with Aris' and Rullein's clones, leaving Ruen alone with her food.

Although the woman knew they were acting, it was all part of Anastasha's plan. She wanted the woman to notice the act and made the woman realize she was on her own rather than being surrounded from the very beginning. From the very beginning, it was Anastasha's plan to get information about officials from the woman as well, but she wanted to make it look like she wasn't interested. If the woman knew she had been cornered and alone from the very beginning, she would knew Anastasha's motive immediately.

"Now, let's have a seat and talk..." Anastasha crossed her legs and pointed the folded hand fan toward the chair across from her. "Nobody would dare to come in without my permission. You'll be safe here," she smiled gently at the woman.