Before telling him where to go, Alicia asked Shui if he could hide them from the eyes of her bodyguards. Someone else with his cultivation likely wouldn't have even sensed their presence, but she was sure that he was different. Shui was a little reluctant, but he had already agreed to escort her and he wanted to satisfy his curiosity, so he nodded. Without leaving a chance for the bodyguards to intervene, Shui created a spiritual barrier around them and used 'Conceal' to further suppress their presence. He could better control the effects of 'Conceal' by holding Alicia's hand, but he decided not to since it wasn't necessary and he didn't want to have two people teasing him.
Seeing the men who seemed to appear out of nowhere frantically search around them, Alicia chuckled before leading the way. As they went deeper into the Array Association, Shui brought up the fact that they were still visible to the detection array beneath their feet, but Alicia assured him that it would be fine as long as they weren't seen by someone. Shui still had some reservations, so he wrapped Alicia in his aura and then further weakened their presence.
Alicia knew Shui was putting in more effort to hide them, but she only smiled. The place they were headed to was somewhere she could visit if she went through the right channels, but making a clandestine trip like this excited her. Ordinarily they would be discovered once they got close enough, but she possessed access to the location so there wouldn't be any alarms. They encountered guards and traps as they approached Alicia's destination, but the guards couldn't sense them and Alicia showed the way to avoid the traps. After a couple of minutes of sneaking, they finally reached the location Alicia had in mind.
At a remote region near the edge of the Array Association, was a translucent white dome that was around the size of an ordinary house. The dome itself didn't seem too impressive, but an early sign of its extraordinary nature was the fact that Shui couldn't sense what was inside it. Although he hadn't fully used his powers of observation, his base perception was usually enough to get a vague sense of most things, but when it came to this dome, he couldn't even be sure if it was real.
"What is that?"
"Why don't you check for yourself?"
Shui followed Alicia's advice and sent his spiritual sense inside the dome. That was when his expression froze in astonishment.
Unlike the small circular space he was expecting, Shui discovered a beautiful and expansive garden of colourful flowers. At a spot that seemed to be the center of the garden was a gazebo with a white table and chair, where one could enjoy a cup of tea in the midst of serenity. Above the garden was a natural blue sky with patches of cloud, and in that sky flew a flock of blue and black birds. When Shui spotted those birds, he knew they were artificial, but the sight resonated with him.
Although these birds hadn't truly been given life, they acted no different compared to real birds. Shui had used techniques with similar effects, but they all seemed like simple parlor tricks compared to this feat. The sight within the white dome was still lacking compared to the true ability of simulating life, but Shui believed that if he studied the scene within the white dome, it would be of great benefit to him.
Eager to learn the principles supporting this garden, Shui found himself engrossed in analysis far more than Alicia, who originally wanted to come here. She knew he would like it, but it was a pleasant surprise that he could gain something from coming here. She wanted to come to this place because within the white dome was a replica of a tier 7 array said to have been created by the founder of the Array Association, Highfield Array King. It was also suspected to be connected to the Array King's inheritance. Although she herself didn't pursue the path of arrays, she was interested in the array because of her brother and his teacher.
Alicia admired the world inside the dome, while Shui sought to fuse its principles into his own techniques. However, even in this focused state, he could sense two presences approaching. Though reluctant to leave, Shui quickly memorized what he could and grabbed Alicia's hand while strengthening their level of concealment.
Alicia flinched, with her heart nearly jumping in surprise at his sudden boldness. Fortunately, before her misunderstanding grew, she also detected two approaching presences; both being in the Sky Realm. If he was by himself, then Shui could hide and continue analyzing the array, but he couldn't risk Alicia's safety. Since the two presences were coming from a different direction, he and Alicia slowly backed away from the area.
"Hmm? Did you sense anything? I feel like there was a presence here."
"It shouldn't be anything significant since the alarms weren't activated. Come, let's not waste this opportunity."
"You have a point."
Since it would be risky to stay, Shui and Alicia left the area. Once they were back in the open area in front of the entrance, Shui dispelled the concealment and prepared to leave.
"Wait. Do you plan to go anywhere else during your stay in the city?" Alicia asked.
At first, Shui was going to say no, as most of his remaining plans weren't things he could mention, but then he remembered something innocuous.
"Yes, I'm planning on going to an idol concert I saw advertised when I entered the city."
"You like idols?"
"I'm not sure, but I've never been to a concert before so I'm curious about the experience."
Shui didn't have a keen interest in music, but in addition to his interest in idols, he wanted to get inspiration for how to use the sacred instruments he had gained from the Angel of Shadows' treasury.
"I see. I hope you have a good time then. Until next time."
Alicia then went towards the main pagoda. Shui was a bit baffled by the fact that she left after asking him about his plans, but he wasn't desperate to find out why, so he went to the antique store where Artisan Palace secretly operated.
"Welcome back, Young Miss."
Soon after she parted with Shui, Alicia's secret guards found her and spotted Shui as well, but they didn't do anything to him. While the caution they felt towards him was certainly part of the reason behind their passiveness, they believed that this was another of the young miss' pranks, so it would be improper to blame Shui for it.
No matter how much she troubled them, as long as the young miss was safe, that was all they cared about.
Alicia nodded at her guards and then headed towards the central pagoda with an innocent smile. Alicia continued until she entered the central pagoda and went up the staircase to the fifth floor. There was a barrier between the fourth floor and the fifth floor that only allowed entry to those with a special seal issued by the association. Alicia had a blank seal which gave her access all the way up to the sixth floor, but her secret guards didn't have that clearance, so they would have to part here.
Before she went up to the fifth floor, Alicia turned back to give them orders.
"I'll be with my elder brother and his teacher, so you don't have to stay here and wait."
In response, one guard revealed themself and went down on one knee.
"No, miss. We'll wait here until you're ready to leave."
"Very well."
Since she didn't care too much about it either it, Alicia didn't argue back and simply kept her feet going. On the fifth floor, she didn't see anyone else walking down the clean and pristine hallways, but she wasn't afraid to take the next step.