Chapter 2719: The Capital (Part 75)

Li Rufeng allowed himself a smile. This Huang Qi was quite something indeed.

What exactly had Second Master Qin said to bring about this "house cleaning"? Whether it connected to Leng Ningyun remained unclear. Still, Second Master Qin had undeniably come to share intelligence about Senator Leng traveling the official road northwest of the capital.

Could that be why the other side had killed him? The mutilated tongue certainly suggested a warning to others: Keep your mouth shut.

Yet their search northwest of the capital had yielded precious little. The escort masters dispatched to investigate could only confirm that such a cart and group of travelers had passed through. Whether Senator Leng had actually been inside that cart—of that, there were no witnesses.

Now Second Master Qin had been killed without warning, which seemed to validate the very information he had provided. Furthermore, his backer was Liu Sha—their prime suspect.

Several threads of evidence intertwined, all seeming to point in a particular direction, though the picture remained dim.

But even with this lead, their original difficulty persisted. The official road northwest of the capital led to far too many destinations. They had no way to investigate each one.

Having a lead was practically the same as having none at all.

At this juncture, Chen Cui arrived with useful news: Cao Sheng of Zhangjiawan and Managing Eunuch Cao of Nanyuan were indeed connected.

"...They're both from Wei County in Daming Prefecture. In terms of kinship, they're uncles and nephews of the same clan. When Cao Sheng first came to the capital seeking his fortune, Eunuch Cao helped him considerably. Later, after Cao Sheng established himself in Zhangjiawan, he remained deeply respectful toward the eunuch. The two have maintained a close relationship ever since."

Upon hearing this, Li Rufeng immediately added this thread to the mind map on the wall. Now Liu Sha–Cao Sheng–Eunuch Cao–Liu Xiaobian–Third Master Qin–Second Master Qin–Yang Tianliang... all these figures were linked.

These connections, vague as they were, all seemed to point toward someone. Li Rufeng could now say with certainty: this group was engaged in conspiracy. But whether that conspiracy involved Leng Ningyun, he could not yet determine.

The two sat facing each other in prolonged silence before Li Rufeng finally spoke. "I think we shouldn't concern ourselves with Second Master Qin's situation. Since we know Liu Sha is the most suspicious, let's make him our breakthrough. Have Min Zhanlian's squad secretly kidnap him."

If Min Zhanlian handled this, it wouldn't implicate Heliansheng or Delong. Even if Liu Sha proved uninvolved, they could simply silence him and wash their hands of the matter.

"But once we move on Liu Sha, we'll alert the enemy. With Manager Leng's whereabouts still unknown, I fear we'll spook them." Li Rufeng sighed. "And I'm worried..."

"Worried that Liu Sha doesn't actually know where Senator Leng is being held?"

"Exactly." Li Rufeng nodded. "In an ordinary kidnapping case, seizing the key figure naturally leads to the hostage. But with their setup—people divided into multiple cells—grabbing just one might not reveal the actual location."

"Then let's proceed on two fronts." Liao Sanniang narrowed her eyes. "First, have Min Zhanlian continue his covert investigation of Liu Sha and see if he can uncover more of their people. Second, we continue searching for Senator Leng's whereabouts at suspicious locations." She paused. "I have a nagging feeling that Senator Leng is still in the capital and hasn't been moved far."

"You mean..."

"Based on our current leads, Nanyuan is the most suspicious location," Lady Sanniang said. "We must probe Nanyuan again."

They hadn't ignored this place before, but the obstacles had proven formidable. First, the grounds were too vast to search easily. Second, their inquiries through intermediaries had yielded nothing useful.

But combined with recently gathered intelligence, if someone was secretly manipulating the capital's urban foxes and social rats, then the information they'd collected might well be false. When she considered the suspicious details about Yang Tianliang in their intelligence, the Liu Xiaobian case, and the eunuchs who had been mixed into the bandit group... the likelihood of the hostage being hidden in Nanyuan increased significantly.

Since they needed to investigate again, they couldn't follow the old approach. They would have to send people specifically for this purpose.

Nanyuan covered an immense area. It had haihu—"sea households"—responsible for watching over the gardens, eunuch offices in charge of management, and guardhouses where soldiers were stationed. These buildings and structures lay scattered across one hundred and twenty li of wilderness. Without a reliable guide, even a world-class hero would find himself helpless.

During Li Rufeng's training in Lingao, a Senator officer from the Reconnaissance General Bureau had specifically emphasized the importance of "guides." Without them, assault and reconnaissance operations could not be executed effectively.

But Heliansheng had no reliable contacts inside. Li Rufeng and Lady Sanniang discussed the matter at length without finding a suitable candidate.

"We'll have to borrow an outsider," Li Rufeng concluded.

"You mean Third Master Qin?"

"Since Third Master Qin is intimately familiar with the Nanyuan managing eunuch, isn't he a ready-made choice?"

"I'm afraid this Eunuch Cao is probably connected to the case as well..." Liao Sanniang said, her voice heavy with concern.

Li Rufeng's face twitched. "Perhaps we should simply go all in..."

"Absolutely not." Seeing the fierce light kindling in his eyes, Liao Sanniang quickly cautioned him. "If we truly tear off all pretenses, we won't be able to survive in this capital either."

Li Rufeng paced the room several times, then stopped abruptly. "I've got it!"

"What?"

"I've thought of someone." The person Li Rufeng had in mind belonged to one of the capital's most common types: monks and Daoists.

The old saying went: Officials sent out from the capital; monks and Daoists entering the capital. Religious men from other places—whether ordained clergy or wild charlatans claiming to speak for gods and Buddhas—as long as circumstances brought them to the capital and fortune smiled upon them, could rise to prominence within a few short years.

This particular man was a Daoist who had come to the capital. His surname was Wu, his given name Cheng. He had arrived with his master during the early Tianqi era, and for a time, followed his master into a life of considerable comfort.

He could never have anticipated that the Tianqi Emperor would die and the current Emperor would ascend. His master's patron fell from grace, and his master fell on hard times with him. After much turmoil, the old Daoist grew disheartened and returned to his hometown to live out his remaining days. Wu Cheng, however, had tasted the prosperity of the capital. Unwilling to return home, he stayed on to scrape by as best he could.

He had been scraping by ever since. Now Wu Cheng lodged temporarily—guadan—at a "eunuch temple" in the capital. The city had many eunuchs forced to leave the palace upon growing old. The wealthy ones retired in comfort at home; those with families returned to their hometowns for care. But most eunuchs came from impoverished backgrounds, and only a tiny minority rose to power after entering the palace. The rest could only seek shelter in various temples and monasteries. Thus the capital had temples specifically serving retired eunuchs. A eunuch need only donate a sum of "incense money" or "lamp oil money" to retire within the temple's walls; after death, the monks or Daoists would handle the burial.

Though Wu Cheng was nominally "lodging," in practice the temple provided neither food nor drink—not even a place to sleep. It merely gave him a title to trade upon. Because of this connection, his main activities centered on the capital's eunuch community, where he managed to eke out a living.

"Wu Cheng knows the eunuchs well, especially the 'black eunuchs' of Nanyuan," Li Rufeng explained. "After all, he's hardly a famous Daoist. Eunuchs of any real status would look down their noses at him. Only those guarding Nanyuan give credence to his Daoist arts. So he often frequents the place and knows its interior thoroughly. There's just one concern..."

"What's that?"

"This man is quite familiar with Third Master Qin. If we hire him, Third Master Qin will certainly find out."

This was indeed troubling. Liao Sanniang considered for a moment, then struck the table lightly with her fist. "So be it. We'll also 'invite a God of Wealth.'"

Her plan was to secretly kidnap Wu Cheng, then lure him with generous rewards to serve as their guide in finding their target. Whether or not they located Leng Ningyun, they would detain him afterward, waiting until the matter was settled before deciding whether to release or silence him.

"Very well—that's our only option." Li Rufeng nodded in agreement. He let out a sudden sigh. "Working here, we're still so timid! Everything we do must account for social connections and Jianghu honor."

"If we could truly act without restraint, what use would you have for us escort masters?" Liao Sanniang sighed in return. "It's precisely because the Jianghu exists that we hold any value."

Li Rufeng started. "I didn't expect such insight from Lady Sanniang!"

"Look at you," Liao Sanniang smiled. "Anyone can perceive the general trend of the world—so long as they don't cover their own eyes. The Jianghu can only exist in times of peace. In chaotic times, who gives a thought to Jianghu rules?"

These years, the world had grown increasingly turbulent, and the escort masters felt it most acutely. Even here in this "first place of virtue," seemingly still enjoying a false veneer of peaceful prosperity, once they stepped beyond the city gates and walked the official roads, they could feel the "rules" upon which their founding masters had built their trade crumbling beneath their feet.

Her words stirred something in Li Rufeng's heart. Fortunately, they all served the Australians. In this age when everyone walked on thin ice, they had a refuge in which to place their hopes.

"At least we work for the Australians!" he said with a strained smile. "When escort masters truly can't make a living anymore, at worst we'll relocate to Guangdong and work as security for factories or wealthy households!"

Liao Sanniang smiled, lips pressed together. "It won't come to that. You and I can at least become 'cadres.' It's just that the escort trade..." She sighed softly, as though weighted with infinite melancholy. "It probably won't exist anymore."

The information Huang Qi provided was quickly relayed to each squad. Because everyone he had mentioned fell within Min Zhanlian's surveillance scope, his work suddenly took on critical importance. Fearing they were short-handed, Li Rufeng dispatched another group to Tongzhou and other locations to await orders.

To improve their coordination, he conferred with Min Zhanlian and they agreed that Min Zhanlian's entire squad would relocate to Tongzhou, leaving only two operatives in Zhangjiawan to relay messages. Li Rufeng's side would maintain close surveillance of the outer city and Nanyuan.

After careful deliberation, Min Zhanlian concluded that the key to the matter lay with Liu Sha. This man was likely the front-line commander. Capturing him would be like seizing a critical position on a game board.

But precisely because his role was so vital, making a move against him would shake the entire situation—especially with Leng Ningyun's whereabouts still unknown. Min Zhanlian's thinking had evolved since the beginning. He not only wanted to rescue Leng Ningyun but also intended to use this opportunity to unmask the mastermind behind everything.

Naturally, he couldn't share this reasoning with his subordinates, so he simply said it wasn't yet advisable to alert the enemy. He instructed Little Five to keep eyes on Liu Sha at all times.

(End of Chapter)