With a casual wave of his hand, he retrieved the old man’s rope set back into the System Space, then gestured to the old man, saying:

"Alright, let’s go. Lead the way to your home. Walk boldly without worry; no one will associate you with the Grand General. After all, in their impression, the Grand General is still in the borderlands, and coming back from there is clearly not a quick affair."

The old man nodded in agreement with Lin Yi’s words, as everyone currently thinks he’s at the border, and no one would expect him to have returned alone.

After all, returning alone serves no purpose and has no effect.

Even if King Zhao were informed of his return, it wouldn’t make him overly anxious, since he hasn’t brought troops back.

This allows King Zhao to relax slightly.

A lone return, can he transport all his family members away? This is obviously unrealistic.

Moreover, his family is under tight surveillance, and any collective action involving them would quickly reach King Zhao’s ears.

Thus, the two of them strolled openly down the street. Although this old man is Zhao Country’s Grand General, very few people recognize him in town, and the common folk certainly don’t know him.

Of course, the most important point is that even if some citizens had seen him before, they would never connect this old man they encountered with the Grand General.

In everyone’s impression, whenever the Grand General goes out, he’s surrounded by an entourage; the old man wandering alone on the street is clearly unrealistic.

This explains why their journey was smooth and uneventful, facing no obstacles, as they reached the Grand General’s residence, where the old man’s brows furrowed at the sight of the rows of Imperial Guards patrolling the distant high walls.

It’s obvious without thinking: not only outside, but inside must be heavily guarded too. Sneaking in is clearly impossible, especially since outsiders don’t recognize the old man, but these Imperial Guards certainly do. If he appears, they would instantly identify him.

Not to mention, even if he isn’t recognized, they would still never allow him to approach.

They’ve already isolated the place; anyone arriving will be barred outside.

The old man had no clue how to proceed, so he turned to Lin Yi for advice.

Clearly, he wanted to know what Lin Yi planned to do, eager to hear Lin Yi’s solution.

Just because the old man was at a loss, doesn’t mean Lin Yi would be—in his mind, Lin Yi is like an Immortal, is there anything an Immortal can’t accomplish?

Even if Lin Yi suggested he wait outside while Lin Yi flew in or passed through walls, the old man would believe it completely.

Indeed, Lin Yi didn’t disappoint him; seeing the old man’s pleading gaze, Lin Yi smiled and signaled him not to worry.

He spoke up, saying directly:

"Isn’t this simple? We can just fly inside, can’t we?"

However, upon hearing this, the old man hesitated and replied:

"Flying in is possible, but the place is quite small, and with so much presence around, the military won’t silently overlook an intrusion without being noticed. If we fly up, they will surely see and discover us, what should we do?"

Lin Yi had considered this issue, but felt it wasn’t difficult. With his Iron Man Armor’s speed, reaching the ground instantly posed no problem.

Thanks to the Iron Man Armor’s exceptional ability, Lin Yi could descend toward the ground at supersonic speed and halt steadily just meters above.

This means he can fall at the speed of sound without worrying about crashing into the ground.

However, while the Iron Man Armor allows him to do this, the old man clearly cannot. If the old man descended at such speed with Lin Yi, he would likely perish instantly due to the excessive velocity.

At such speeds, even in scorching summer, the exterior of the Iron Man Armor would generate a layer of ice due to high speed.

No doubt about it, that’s the result of excessive speed.

"Once I’m inside, do you have any tokens that would make them listen to me?"

After some thought, Lin Yi asked the old man, since if he could manage alone, there’d be no need for much worry or trouble.

Once he summoned them together, a quick helicopter escape would be the best outcome.

To his words, though, the old man furrowed his brows, shaking his head while responding to Lin Yi:

"That’s probably impossible; I’ve previously instructed that no one should believe anyone, regardless of what they carry. Only my direct presence would justify belief."

The old man’s thoroughness stemmed from fearing sinister folks exploiting his belongings to lure them into unfavorable actions.

He now regretted this decision, fearing King Zhao would capitalize on it to compel his family into acts they wouldn’t willingly undertake.

If that happened, once they were irreversibly involved, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself, and his allegiance might be forcibly altered.

Yet, saying anything now was too late; unless he personally ventured in, it was all impossible.

Even if Lin Yi entered without something convincing them, he wouldn’t be able to take everyone but maybe one or two with him—after all, the old man’s family collectively numbered a few dozen.

This only considered his direct relatives, not including the servants. Counting everyone in the mansion, there could be several hundred.

No doubts there, as the old man’s status as a Grand General speaks for itself. Such rank implies substantial estate.

"Didn’t you leave any contingency plan? What should they do if faced with danger in the mansion?"

Lin Yi, hearing this, felt quite helpless at the old man’s caution, which was excessive in this scenario.

Yet, he suspected the astute old man might have left more instructions or a back route for emergencies.

Upon Lin Yi’s words, the old man slapped his forehead, exclaiming:

"Oh yes, I remember now! In the rush, I forgot.

There’s an underground tunnel leading inside the mansion. It’s just been unused, causing me to forget about it."

Lin Yi almost couldn’t help but slap the old man’s head upon hearing this.

If you had such a solution, why didn’t you mention it earlier? Why complicate matters needlessly?

With such a tunnel, why not speak up instead of brooding over solutions? Isn’t this needlessly overcomplicating things?

[To be continued...]

PS: Brothers, could you spare a vote for the author here? Thank you!