After Rafael, or rather Sindri who was pretending to be Haochen, was exposed, Elara had been secretly searching for the real Haochen.
Back when she had first gone south to Marigold City, the Wei Clan had been her very first source of mining rights. It was one of the earliest sources of her power.
In order to cure his family's descendants from the control of the Puppet Sect's parasite poison, the old master of the Wei Clan willingly offered up most of the family's mining assets. He also agreed to let the family serve as the miners and guards of Elara's newly acquired mines in Lamium County.
Later, because of Marigold City's rapid development and Elara's conquest of the north including the removal of Lord Gregory and her ascent to the throne, Lamium Town also became one of the first towns to open up trade with Marigold City, Plumera City and other counties.
Due to its central location in the southern-central part of the Plumera Kingdom, and the nation's fast development, Lamium Town had grown much larger and more prosperous over the past six months. It had even begun to emerge as an important hub linking several major counties in the region.
The Wei Clan also grew stronger. Another of the old master's grandsons, Feron, had been placed by Elara's side from the beginning and had stayed with her all along.
Back in Marigold City, Feron was raised in her official residence. After she went north and ascended the throne, he followed her to Plumera City, though he did not enter the palace. Instead, he was kept in a private residence from her time as the princess.
Over the last six months, Feron's parasite had greatly improved thanks to Oswyn's treatments. His mind was much clearer, and his body no longer craved Elara as it had before.
Elara had fulfilled her promise to the old master of the Wei Clan in regards to Feron. But as for Haochen, the child who had been replaced by Sindri from the very beginning, Elara couldn't help but think of him every time she heard news from Lamium Town.
Now that she finally saw the child who had been missing for so long, even though she couldn't be completely sure, she still stepped forward with Uno. She raised her hand and tapped several of the children's acupoints from a distance, immobilizing them, then walked into their midst and asked,
"What happened?"
The older children, now immobilized and a bit frightened, quickly puffed up their cheeks and spoke in unison with wronged voices,
"He suddenly rushed out and stole our flatbread!"
"That's right. We saw a lot of delicious things in town recently, so we asked our parents for a few coins to buy some. As soon as we got our flatbread, he jumped out like a wild beast and snatched it!"
"Yes yes. He's the one who stole it first!"
"He didn't just steal it, he was super mean and violent. Just like the wild beasts my dad talks about. He stole our food and scratched us too!"
Though the children couldn't move anything but their mouths, and were clearly scared, they still raised their voices and described what had just happened.
Elara looked around and noticed that the children did have scratch marks on them.
She also saw that the child who was still glaring at her fiercely, Haochen, had sharp claw-like nails stained with blood.
She walked up to him, looked down and asked, "Is what they said true?"
Haochen only bared his teeth like a threatened animal, growling lowly with a fierce expression.
Elara recalled what the old master of the Wei Clan once told her about him. He had been lost since childhood and raised by wild beasts. Though he was found by his grandfather for a time, he was soon kidnapped and lost again.
Still, it couldn't be that he didn't even know how to speak at this age, right?
Elara stared at the fierce-looking boy for a while and asked him several times, but he just kept growling at her, never speaking a single word.
She turned to Uno and tilted her chin, "Uno, take those children to get their wounds checked."
Once Uno left with the children, Elara grabbed the immobilized boy by the back of his neck like a kitten and carried him off.
Haochen looked even angrier, his expression fierce and full of rage, but her acupoint strike had him completely frozen. No matter how angry he was, he could only glare helplessly as she carried him off.
Elara planned to take the boy to see Oswyn.
After what had happened with Sindri, she didn't want to waste time and effort again without first confirming who or what she was dealing with.
The Medical Division had been busy lately. Oswyn not only had to handle daily operations, but also treat people like Emory's senior brother Commander Shu whom Elara had brought back from the Banquet of a Hundred Nations.
When Elara sent her puppet soldier to find him, he had been performing acupuncture on Morin at the Bai Family's Estate.
She also remembered that she still had Emory's Mask of Illusion, so this was a good chance to return it and check on the brothers' recovery.
The Bai Family's Estate was located in a busy street in the west district outside the new Plumera City's walls.
Over the past half-year, the Bai Family's Business had expanded several times. They now owned multiple shops and buildings in the capital.
The estate itself was a large private property near the west gate, used as a storage and processing hub for goods brought in from outside.
Though located inside the city, the estate was slightly out of the way, and due to the constant traffic of merchants, servants and laborers, a few extra people entering or leaving wouldn't attract any attention.
That was why Elara had the two brothers stay there disguised as distant relatives of the Bai family.
Their illusion skills were excellent. Even with Morin still seriously injured, they blended in seamlessly under their assumed identities.
When Elara arrived with the boy in hand, Oswyn had just finished Morin's acupuncture session.
Emory, standing nearby, brightened when he saw Elara and quickly approached her.
"Miss Bai, you're here."
Elara always used the identity of the Bai family's third daughter when traveling incognito. So far, only Damon and a few of his trusted aides knew her true identity. Everyone else believed she was a merchant noble favored by the royal family due to successful trade.
Elara nodded and handed him the Mask of Illusion from her sleeve.
Emory's smile faded slightly as he looked at the item, shaking his head, "There's no need. I told you before you didn't have to return it. It's not as valuable as treasures from powerful noble clans, but it still has its uses. Without your help, my brother and I wouldn't even be alive. This mask is nothing compared to that. Please keep it."
At that moment, Oswyn had removed the last silver needle from Morin. He adjusted his sleeves and walked over with a small smile. "What brings you here?"
Morin, who could now move slightly after treatment, slowly sat up on the bed with Emory's help.
His pale but refined face looked at her, and his warm eyes sparkled faintly. With a graceful smile, he slowly bowed to her.
"Miss Bai, my brother and I thank you for saving us. I, Feng, owe you my life. If you ever need us, we will repay you with our lives if necessary."
Morin's gaze shimmered as he looked at Elara. Back when he was imprisoned by the Blood Garment Tower, he was nearly tortured to death. To keep him awake through the pain, they had forced him to take strong stimulants.
When Elara rescued him, though barely alive, he was still aware enough to see her fight her way into the dungeon and carry him out.
Though she had disguised herself and it was dark, as a master illusionist even stronger than Emory, he had recognized her true face at once.
Now seeing her again without disguise, she was even more beautiful and noble than he remembered.
Elara also looked at Morin.
Though she had rescued him personally before, his injuries had kept his beautiful eyes dull and unfocused.
Now, finally awake and cleaned up, he looked gentle and elegant, resembling Mathias in both looks and temperament.
She nodded at him, then turned her attention to Oswyn, handing over the boy in her hand.
"Check him. See if this one's the real one this time."
Oswyn only just noticed the boy she was holding. His eyes flicked toward him, brows raising slightly.
"Haochen?"
Emory, who stood beside them, and Morin, who lay on the bed, both turned their eyes to the child Elara was holding.
Back when Elara went south to Anju Town, Emory had been left in Plumera City to pose as Lord Gregory's close aide. So he had no idea about the dealings between Elara and Hu Chen's family. As for the matter of the fake Hu Chen, he had only heard a bit about it afterward.
Oswyn took the child from Elara. The child had a fierce look but was completely frozen in place. Oswyn examined him thoroughly and felt his pulse for a long time.
"Hmm... this time there should be no problem. The child's pulse is a bit unusual, but this kind of unusual just shows that his body has a strong ability to heal and detoxify. That matches the background Hu Chen's grandfather once described. As for his face..."
Oswyn reached out and pinched the child's face. The child tried to bite him, eyes full of anger. Oswyn chuckled, "He's pretty fierce. As long as his face wasn't altered using non-medical disguise methods, then there's likely no issue. He should be the real one."
After all, Sindri, who pretended to be Hu Chen before, had been examined right in front of Hu Chen's grandfather. Back then, the grandfather had no doubts about the appearance and believed the impersonator was truly his grandson. Now, this child looked exactly like the fake Hu Chen did back then. As long as no tricks were used, then he must be Hu Chen.
When Elara heard the phrase non-medical disguise methods, she looked at Emory.
Emory stepped forward and took the child from Oswyn, looked at him carefully for a while, then placed him on the bedside for Morin to examine. He explained to Elara,
"Big Brother's ability to see through disguises is even more amazing than mine. If he says there's no problem, then there's basically no problem."
Morin glanced at the child near the bed. His gentle eyes returned to Elara, but instead of answering right away, he pulled out a pendant from his sleeve that looked like a mix between jade and diamond.
Emory's expression flickered with surprise when he saw the pendant. After a few seconds, it shifted into something complicated and he lowered his eyes without saying a word.
Morin offered the pendant to Elara. "Miss Bai, everything in this world, if it's not real, will show some trace of illusion that can be exposed. Just like my appearance and my junior brother's now, and like this child's. Hold this pendant and look at us, then look at him."
The moment Elara took the pendant, a voice echoed in her mind from the System.
Wow. Master. This is actually a mid-tier divine vein gift.
Eye of True Sight
Description. As long as you wear it, you'll be able to see through all disguises and illusions, directly viewing the true appearance of everything. It is a true-seeing eye.
Feature. The True Eye can see through all disguises in the world.
Energy. It passively consumes energy, but it also passively absorbs energy. So as long as nothing unexpected happens, it will always remain active.
After receiving the Eye of True Sight, Elara looked again at Emory, Morin, and the child. Her vision instantly changed.
The faces and bodies of Emory and Morin, disguised through some method, turned into shadow-like illusions in her eyes. Through them, she could see their original forms and appearances.
As for the child, Elara carefully examined him while holding the Eye of True Sight. She found not even the slightest trace of disguise or illusion on his body. Everything about him was completely real.
He was truly Hu Chen.
After confirming, Elara handed the Eye of True Sight back to Morin. She casually picked up the child from the bed and held him in one arm. "Thanks."
Now that it was certain this was the real Hu Chen, Elara thought about the promise she made to his grandfather. She decided to treat this child, whose life had been full of turmoil, more kindly. At least not holding him by the back of the neck like a chick anymore.
But the child showed no appreciation. As soon as he was in her arms, he opened his only movable part, his mouth, and tried to bite her. Elara moved her fingers slightly, and the next moment, even his mouth couldn't move. He could only glare at her with resentment and frustration, body limp as he was held in her arms.
Morin watched as she returned the pendant but didn't take it back.
He shook his head and smiled at her. "Miss Bai, your great kindness to me and my junior is like a new lease on life. You should keep this pendant. Consider it a small token of thanks from us."
He and his junior had long been wanted criminals hunted by every major power across the continent.
The outside world either wanted to catch them to gain favor with powerful nations or feared them as remnants of a dangerous sect, avoiding them at all costs to stay safe.
Before Elara saved him, he never imagined that as a survivor of the Thousand Faces Sect, always hunted and hated, someone would actually reach out and help him.
But Elara not only saved them, she brought them back and gave them a place to rest and recover.
With such great kindness, how could Morin not repay her?
Elara looked at him with a bit of surprise. "That item... even within your sect, it must have been considered a treasured item, right?" This can just be given away?
A mid-tier divine vein gift was something even the top-tier powers wouldn't give away easily. Just how powerful had the Thousand Faces Sect once been? Even now, fallen as they were, they could still offer a divine item of this level so casually?
Mentioning his sect, Morin's eyes dimmed. He shook his head. "Even if it used to be a treasure, it no longer holds much meaning to the sect now."