Jin Ling went and stood in the line of people that wanted to enter the capital, patiently waiting for his turn. He used the time and took a closer look at the people around him, making sure that he wouldn’t give anything away. After all, even though that self-proclaimed Goddess of Love wouldn’t care much about a human, there were still other people around and he shouldn’t leave anything to chance.

When he was sure that his appearance wouldn’t give him away, he observed the things the humans were handing over to the guards. It seemed to be a token that could be used to identify oneself like a jade pendant or a document but some people just directly handed over some valuables. Ah, it seemed bribery was also a way to get through this.

Finally, it was Jin Ling’s turn. He stepped forward and took out an emerald green jade pendant with intricate carvings. He didn’t hand it over though and merely showed it to the guard. This was much too valuable to give it out of his hand. Even though the guards only turned them around once to verify that they weren’t counterfeits, that was still too long for this item. No, he wouldn’t take any chances with this either.

The guard glanced at his face, the gem embedded in his earlobe and then at the robe made of shimmering green fabric with the faint height of the embroidery. In the end, he lowered his gaze. He might not recognize this jade pendant but he could recognize a rich and possibly influential person when he stood in front of them. It was strange that this person hadn’t arrived in a carriage but who knew what was going on in rich people’s heads these days?

He nodded and motioned through the gate, making sure that his head remained lowered. He didn’t want to accidentally upset this kind of person. "Welcome to the capital. Please, go on inside."

Jin Ling gave his usual charming smile in return even though the guard couldn’t see it. The people around him saw though and the women couldn’t help but whisper among themselves, trying to inquire just who this person was.

Jin Ling didn’t pay them any attention. "Thank you." He tugged the jade pendant into his sleeve and walked into the city without a look back. Instead, he focused on the scene in front of him: The people here behaved just like he remembered the humans. They were hurrying around as if something horrible would happen if they dared to slow down for even a moment. He couldn’t help but think how stupid that was. They could actually live a year while only a day went by in the mortal realms. Wouldn’t it be better to take things slowly? Well, that shouldn’t be his problem.

He strolled down the street and tried to find some clue as to where the gods were staying. Even though his spies had been keeping an eye on that Yin Lin Lin since she left the Nine Heavens, he hadn’t asked about these details so he only knew that she was somewhere in this city. Well, he only needed to spot either one of the gods or one of his people. It shouldn’t be too difficult.

He aimlessly wandered around but neither of the people he was looking for turned up. Jin Ling raised his copper-colored brows and stopped at the side of the street, taking yet another look around. It seemed it wouldn’t work to aimlessly walk around. If he wanted to find them, he would need to carefully consider the places where they would likely be at.

Well, his spies should have taken up residence in the city and pretend to be normal citizens. In that case, they would need to have an occupation that would allow them to go into many buildings and walk around the city. Otherwise, people might notice that they weren’t actually working. And they had to pretend to be human, otherwise, the gods would notice that something was up and raise their guards. That couldn’t happen

A task like that … Maybe a merchant would be able to do it? Or somebody who was running deliveries? Then again, as long as the person asking them to run deliveries wasn’t one of their people too, the task would also have its downsides. After all, they would need to go to other places and might lose sight of the gods while they did. No, that wasn’t possible. It needed to be somebody who was free and unfettered. Somebody who wouldn’t be held back by anything and could do whatever they wanted. That kind of person …

He narrowed his eyes and looked around. The only people that seemed rather idle were a few of those that had just entered the city and were now looking for a place to settle down for a while. So rather than being citizens, the most likely position would be a guest? A rich person, spending some leisure time in the city? Then the spot where he would find them should be a guesthouse.

Jin Ling glanced around again, this time trying to spot any guesthouse around him. There were actually a few. Especially the main road seemed like a gathering place for this kind of establishment.

Well, in that case, he should find a place to stay himself and then slowly look through them. After all, it wasn’t like he needed to hurry. No, he really could take his sweet time with this. After all, that Goddess still had a lot of time to spend in the human realm and his plan wasn’t one that could be implemented in a day or two either. No, this kind of thing needed time. And, well, he wasn’t in a hurry.