Li flew hovering in the sky, still in his ursine form. He had flown quite high up, far higher than the cloud line had been before he had blasted them away with his howl. This way, he guaranteed that nobody would have eyes on him.

As far as Li could tell, this world was extremely undeveloped in using surveillance spells. The magical art just did not seem to be something that was studied to any real degree. The denizens of this world were familiar with runes which did offer some measure of surveillance, but aside from that, there were precious few records of anyone truly specializing in clairvoyance magic.

When Li thought about it, it did make sense. Until one managed to level up to get subclasses, they had to commit to one of the basic classes such as warrior or mage which did not have many specialized surveillance spells. The average level of the people in this world was simply not high enough to effectively spec into these subclasses. Not to mention that the useful and longer range surveillance spells required subclasses that needed even higher level requirements.

Even then, Li did keep himself high up enough where if anyone was at ground level, he would be out of the range of clairvoyance spells below B rank, and there was nobody in this town that could come remotely close to using that tier of magic.

Li took the moment of aerial solitude to contemplate his next course of action. The adventurers and heroes would spend some time investigating the mansion further, he was sure of it. That gave him some time. Now, how to use it? He had already decided on going to the Flagon and using the excuse of needing to check up on Old Thane to explain why he had not personally shown up to heal the beastwomen.

Certainly, Li could just leave it at that, but almost two hours had passed since he had sent Iona to the Flagon instead of himself. That was enough time where it called into question whether he had spent all of it just checking on the old man.

Li decided to make use of that suspicion and find a useful explanation for what had kept him so long.

Knowing that, Li angled his wings of dark energy downwards. They flickered like flames as the wind caught on them, and he flapped his wings once to give himself propulsion. He sailed downwards, and as the land and city became more visible, he shifted back to his human form while maintaining the wings.

Li aimed himself towards the peak of the hill that housed the noble estates. He did not land there directly because knights and adventurers and heroes and who knows what were still buzzing around. Instead, he circled around to the opposite end of the hill from Chevrette's mansion, right where Alexei's estate lay.

Li landed himself in Alexei's gardens. Or miniature forest, more like. The gardens were packed with trees and tall bushes arranged in the fashion of a miniature maze, a place where noblemen and women could walk together in silence and adventure. Not to mention the discrete gothic stone walls that towered high over the property. Alexei was fond of discretion, after all.

There, Li rushed past smooth cobblestone pathways flanked by trimmed, tall bushes dotted with flowers swaying with the night breeze. Around him, he could hear the gurgling of fountains. He was not here to enjoy Alexei's taste in shrubbery, however, so he rushed past the paths of green until he reached the courtyard.

As soon as Li took a step into the berth of the courtyard, he found himself staring at a row of black suited vampire knights. This was unlike the count's usual security retinue. There were far more, packing the courtyard and the porch until it seemed like there was a veritable sea of armored bodies standing at attention.

"Something wrong?" said Li as he walked forwards.

A vampire knight bowed his head and said, "The count has determined tonight to be a night of much activity. Thus, he has assigned a larger guard than usual. Does it inconvenience you?"

"Not at all," said Li. "I appreciate the count's foresight and ability to be on the same wavelength as I am. In any case, tell the count I'm here. I only need him for a minute."

The knight nodded and simply pointed to one of the other knights behind him. The clanking of armor filled the air as a few knights marched into the black mansion. It was always interesting to note how efficiently the vampires of the same horde made use of their ability to telepathically communicate with each other.

And within a minute, the count was outside. As usual, the count appeared fully suited in elegant silken garb, as if always ready to entertain the highest of guests at the drop of a hat.

"And what will you need of me tonight?" said Alexei.

"How are the farmers?" said Li.

Alexei motioned to the soldiers around him. "With the full might of my horde, they are certainly well guarded. None of them have fallen to harm and rest within the mansion, albeit perhaps a bit jarred from the whole experience. Alas, it is a shame that I did not send a stronger security detail to the farmers that were slain. I had not foreseen such a powerful attack."

Li shook his head. "Don't worry about it. The simple fact that you read ahead to send your men already saved plenty of lives, and in the grand scheme of things, three deaths does not mean much."

Alexei raised a brow in minor surprise before easing it back into his usual icy expression. "Indeed, that is so. And the killer? Does it remain in large?"

"I've taken care of it."

"I must thank you, then," said Alexei as he bowed. "I do not tolerate the deaths of any within my horde. Were it not for you, then I would have myself taken flight to bring vengeance upon the killer."

"Trust me, vengeance has been served plenty enough." Li cut to the next topic in order, knowing time was sensitive. "Alexei, can you move the farmers to the Golden Flagon?"

"Certainly, that is a matter of no issue," said Alexei as he stood up. "Hm. My informant among the knights of Lys has informed me of the details of this case. I will not question your actions are, but I suspect that you have more details for me than simply moving the farmers, no?"

"Correct. I want you to transport them in your fastest security carriages. Security can be lighter – threats have been dealt with. However, do not just drop them off by the Flagon. Keep them near it but hidden from sight, perhaps in the next alleyway over. Station one of your men outside the Flagon and tell him that when I give a signal, he should bring the farmers over."

"That can be arranged." Alexei clapped his hands, his voice raising several pitches and gaining a surprisingly sharp edge of authority. "I have already relayed the Great One's requests. I trust you to organize accordingly to them."

In an instant, several of the vampire knights shuffled away in unison, some going into the mansion to fetch the farmers, others going around to get hold of the carriages, others running to the stables to fetch steeds.

"It will take no more than thirty minutes to transport the farmers there," said Alexei. "That will be far quicker than the others on the case making their way there."

Li suppressed surprise at the fact that the count knew the exact reason why Li wanted the transport to be fast. At this point, he could not be surprised by the count's perception. "That's all I need. The rest, I can handle. As always, thank you for the help."

Alexei bowed. "It is my pleasure. Though my visage shows little, know I am eager to see how you will swing this case to your favor."

Li nodded and turned around, sprouting this time the wings of the moth creature Itzpapalotl to generate the obscuring aura inherent to it. He leaped into the air and then swiftly propelled himself away from the noble estates, down the side of the hill. He circled around and made his way over to the city.

The speed of Li's flight was quick, and no human could have perceived him in the night, his form wreathed with obscuring shadow on top of being as quick as a blur. Within a few minutes, he reached the Flagon. It stood like a shining beacon amidst the darkness, every single light lit within. He landed himself a little ways from the inn to minimize his presence and made his way through the streets until he found himself directly in front of the Flagon's doors.

Li had a little over twenty minutes to figure out how Iona had done with he beastwomen. After that, he had perhaps another half hour before the adventurers and heroes came. Hopefully, Iona had handled with situation well enough that there were no problems by the time they arrived.