Eavesdropping and Counter-Eavesdropping

Honestly, when Selina first stepped before the Dragon God Cult cathedral’s entrance, her heart was already overwhelmed with shock.

Of course, this shock did not come from the Dragon God Cult’s cathedral, but from the majestic yet fragmented giant dragon imperial city not far from the cathedral. Those grand, artistic, and unique buildings truly embodied the word ‘extravagant’ to its fullest.

People knew that the Dragon Tribe had a peculiar habit for collecting treasures. And as the most powerful琉璃 Dragon Tribe, their Imperial Palace, from its exterior, was a giant aggregation of treasures.

Even from Selina’s experience and perspective, it was so astonishing. One must know that whether as a thief before or a princess later, piles upon piles of gold coins and strange, rare treasures were never uncommon for her. But using priceless treasures as building materials—this was the first time she had seen such a method.

Even the Elf Tribe, with their extremely profound heritage, wouldn’t dare to play like this.

However, it could also be due to differences in the architectural styles of the two races. After all, in the Empress’s bedchamber, every floor tile was made of priceless Xuanbi jade jade.

Above the Dragon Tribe’s Imperial City, countless giant dragons, manifesting their true forms, soared. These were the Imperial Guards responsible for protecting and patrolling the safety of the Imperial City. Within the Imperial City, all dragons were required to transform into human forms to save space, but the Dragon Imperial Guards, due to their special duties, had the privilege of displaying their true forms.

Even observed from a distance, one would be drawn to this colossal race. The deity who invented dragons was truly a genius. As the saying goes, small in size does not necessarily mean weak, but large in size is definitely strong. With the Dragon Tribe’s physique, weaker races would explode if they even glanced at them too long.

After tidying her attire, Selina withdrew her gaze and stepped into the cathedral. The internal flow of people in the cathedral had swelled several times more than usual. Eavesdropping on the conversations of these worshipping believers seemed to be due to the return of Her Highness the Saintess.

From this, it seemed that at least the Dragon Saintess’s image among the common populace and grassroots believers was quite good, otherwise, so many Dragon God believers wouldn’t have rushed here upon hearing the news.

More people had its advantages, which was that she could blend in. More people also had its disadvantages, which was that it was difficult to find a suitable position to observe the Dragon Saintess.

Selina, disguised as a melancholy traveler, entered the cathedral. She did not squeeze into the crowd, rushing like others to the front to interact with the Dragon Saintess.

Instead, she casually wandered around the enormous cathedral as if she had nothing to do. To be honest, although the architectural styles differed, the internal structure of cathedrals was roughly the same across every race: spires, stained-glass windows, divine statues. Every race’s cathedral seemed to follow this style.

Selina browsed the frescoes on the cathedral walls, while continually observing the Dragon Saintess’s movements with the corner of her eye. Seeing Aurelia’s calm and gentle smile, it seemed nothing had happened during her absence.

But Selina was still a little uneasy. After all, she was not a true Dragon Tribe citizen and knew very little about the internal affairs of the Dragon Tribe. Since she was carrying out a mission in an unfamiliar place, reliable intelligence was particularly important.

It concerned the continued existence of the Saintess’s position. Ordinary Dragon Tribe descendants probably had no news. It was too late to infiltrate the upper echelons to steal useful information, but without definite intelligence, she would find it difficult to act…

Just as Selina was troubled, the noisy chatter in her ear seemed to give her a reminder.

‘That’s right, if I can’t get intelligence, then I’ll eavesdrop! Fortunately, I just gained the ability to hear inner thoughts. After these days of contact, the Dragon Saintess and I should be considered relatively familiar friends. Since the familiarity is enough, I can try to eavesdrop on her for information.’

No sooner said than done, Selina moved to the book section. Here were books about promoting the cult’s doctrines and scriptures. She picked up a book casually, looking serious. From her appearance, it seemed as if she was engrossed in reading a very interesting book.

In reality, Selina’s spirit had condensed into a thread, winding its way through the gaps in the crowd and slowly connecting to the Dragon Saintess’s body.

The moment the spiritual thread connected, some thoughts that were not her own suddenly rushed into her mind. The girl’s heart leaped, but outwardly she maintained a calm demeanor.

[No, my body feels like it’s burning, it’s unbearable…]

[Just endure it, endure it. Can’t show any signs. At least I have to get back before I can figure something out…]

The voice in her mind indeed belonged to the Dragon Saintess, but her tone seemed to carry a hint of urgency and trembling.

‘What’s going on?’

Selina subtly frowned at the book.

‘Is something wrong with that girl’s body? A burning sensation? Was she poisoned during my absence? But the Dragon Saintess’s normal complexion doesn’t look like poisoning.’

Just as Selina was eavesdropping on others’ thoughts and pondering in distress, suddenly, the normal stream of thoughts in her brain seemed to be blocked, and then her mind was filled with a sharp “beep—!” sound.

Selina’s head swam. She felt her spirit being affected by that sharp sound.

[What’s going on? Where did that sudden sound come from?] The girl frowned, but still maintained her reading posture, not lifting her head.

[Why did the mind-reading also pause? The spiritual thread is still maintaining a normal connection, isn’t it? Is there a problem with the ability?]

Just as the girl lowered her head, troubled, the Dragon Saintess, who had been busy dealing with the trusting crowd, suddenly changed expression, looked up, and glanced around.

“Your Highness the Saintess, what is it…?”

The believers were somewhat bewildered by the Dragon Saintess’s sudden action.

“I apologize, I thought I heard some strange sounds just now. Did you hear anything?”

The Dragon Saintess quickly resumed her normal demeanor. She smiled gently, explaining to the believer.

“Strange sounds? No,”

The believer shook his head blankly, and those around him also echoed the sentiment.

“Is that so? Then perhaps I misheard.”

The ruby necklace she always carried on her person was now emitting heat through her clothing, pressed against her skin.

The Dragon Saintess instantly understood: the Anti-Eavesdropper No. 2 had activated.

Someone was eavesdropping on her thoughts!

The moment she looked up and glanced around, her gaze had already locked onto a few suspicious figures. However, the Anti-Eavesdropper could only block the opponent’s ability and steal their inner thoughts, but it couldn’t help the wearer pinpoint the eavesdropper’s location.

The Dragon Saintess quickly lowered her head, interacting with the believers with a normal expression.

It was not yet time to alert the enemy. She needed to patiently wait for the hidden hunter to take the bait.

The Dragon Saintess thought so to herself. At the same time, the eavesdropper’s thoughts were transmitted to her mind again.

[What’s going on? Why are there no inner thoughts at all? Is this girl actually mute internally?]

[No, there were sounds just now. This girl’s inner activity shouldn’t be so empty, right?]

Listening to the thoughts of the unknown individual, a subtle crack appeared in the Dragon Saintess’s perfectly maintained smile.

‘Which guy is it? Such a poisonous tongue in their mind!’

‘I advise you to be kind, otherwise, hide more carefully, don’t let her catch you! Or you’re definitely not getting any good juice!’