Chapter 2766: The Capital (Part 122)
With the key points established, Zhou Lezhi's arrest rose swiftly to the top of the agenda. Xu Ke reported the relevant intelligence to the Center and soon received an authorizing telegram: "Act at your discretion."
This meant that if the arrest failed, on-the-spot execution was permitted. A subsequent telegram also instructed him to ensure proper "material recovery"—and if conditions did not allow, then "comprehensive disinfection," meaning destruction.
As for Liu Sha, all his requests were approved. At the same time, orders came through that once the arrest operation concluded, Liu Sha was to be transported to Guangzhou by sea.
A telegram issued in the name of the Security Affairs Joint Conference also granted him command authority over North Zhili and Shandong, allowing him to mobilize all Senate resources in both regions at any time. The Reconnaissance Bureau would additionally deploy a detachment.
Reading the telegram, Xu Ke did not dare grow complacent; the scope of authorization made clear just how seriously the Senate regarded this matter. He immediately summoned the heads of the various teams.
Xu Ke currently had three surveillance teams deployed, targeting Wang Yehao, Eunuch Yang, and Shopkeeper Shen of the Xiaji Shanxi House respectively.
Now he made adjustments. Eunuch Yang had no connection to the kidnapping case—Little Eunuch Yang had been nothing more than an accidental interlude in the affair. There was no longer any need to expend energy on him, so all surveillance was withdrawn.
As for Shopkeeper Shen of the Shanxi House, Xu Ke's analysis was that while he had clearly played an important role in the whole case, he had no contact with the core figures. He was merely a thug and ally; monitoring him held little significance. Surveillance on him was also withdrawn.
He redistributed all surveillance forces to concentrate on the Wang Yehao group—Wang himself, Jin Wenchi, and Wang's other trusted aides. Liu Sha provided a detailed account of these individuals and their frequent haunts.
Judging from Liu Sha's confession, Mr. Le was active in the Capital most of the time. After all, he was an important aide to Wang Yehao, who had many major affairs requiring his counsel. According to Liu Sha's account, Mr. Le very likely also held interpretive authority over the "Heavenly Book." This meant that unless a major matter required him to handle it personally, this man could neither leave the Capital nor go long without contacting Wang Yehao. Communication between the two was quite frequent.
As long as they remained in frequent contact, following the vine would lead to the melon—Zhou Lezhi's hiding place. Xu Ke did not believe that with Zhou Lezhi's half-baked knowledge of secret work, mostly armchair strategy, he could defend against the Foreign Intelligence Bureau's surveillance. All their personnel were professionally trained with rich practical experience.
Secondly, there was the old Zhou residence at Wanggong Factory. Though Liu Sha said only Zhou Lezhi's concubines and children remained there, with no important people or items, Xu Ke believed that since it was Zhou Lezhi's old home, and the current "Mr. Le" was a disciple, some connection might still exist between them. This was a possible breakthrough point.
Other directions naturally held some possibility of finding an entry point, but Xu Ke judged their manpower too limited. It was more advantageous to simply abandon the clues with smaller possibilities.
"This person is a key arrest target of the Senate," he told the team leaders with great solemnity. "Using Great Ming terminology, he is an imperial criminal. We must discover his specific whereabouts!"
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Min Zhanlian asked, "Can we continue using personnel from He Lian Sheng as support? Our manpower is limited, and they often use the 'Blossoming' method to evade tracking..."
The so-called "Blossoming" meant creating false patterns—carrying out multiple sedan chairs from the mansion simultaneously, or sending a large number of people out at the same time, leaving surveillance personnel unable to cover everything.
The method was ancient but extremely effective. Especially in the Capital, a place teeming with government eyes and ears, where surveillance personnel's own movements were greatly restricted. They could not act recklessly.
"...Moreover, most of our people are not locals. As soon as they open their mouths, people notice they're from out of town. Although the Capital has the most outsiders, it's still inconvenient."
Xu Ke pondered for a moment. "The people of He Lian Sheng are a complex lot. They can only handle relatively peripheral work. If you wanted them to monitor Wang's residence, wouldn't it scare the wits out of them?"
"At least we could use a portion of them." Min Zhanlian persisted. "Deployed in the right places, they're more useful than transferring people from Guangzhou."
"Good, I approve your suggestion." Xu Ke thought briefly and replied, "However, armed escorts won't do—they look too conspicuous. And deep down they're all 'good citizens'; they can't do this kind of dirty work. Fortunately, they have some other people we can use."
"If they're jianghu figures, that would be best. Those who can make their way in the Capital all have some capability and know the local terrain."
"I will arrange the personnel; you just set up the relevant contact points."
"Wang Zhi," Zhou Lezhi called out suddenly.
"What is it, Master Le?" Wang Zhi had been reading The Smiling, Proud Wanderer on the porch. Just reaching an exciting part, he heard the call, hurriedly set down the book, and came inside.
"This New Year has passed in utter chaos." Zhou Lezhi spoke while flipping through a ledger on the table. "I didn't even visit Wanggong Factory!"
At the mention of "Wanggong Factory," a slightly nervous expression crossed Wang Zhi's face. He lowered his voice: "The Master ordered last time that you should try not to go there. Neither of those two women is easy to deal with. Once you appear, they'll ask about the Master. How will you answer them?"
"How can I answer? Naturally, whereabouts unknown." Zhou Lezhi smiled bitterly. "I truly do not know where the Master is."
"You know that, but they don't. When they start crying and making scenes, how will you handle it?" Wang Zhi said. "And there are the two children. Have you forgotten last time, when they held the children and knelt begging you? Adults crying, children wailing, disturbing all the neighbors..."
"Sigh, sigh, sigh." Zhou Lezhi felt compassion well up as Wang Zhi recalled past events. "The Master has the grace of having remade me. Now his whereabouts are unknown. By all rights, I should take good care of the two mistresses and the children. At the very least, during New Year's and festivals, I should pay my respects..."
"Whether you look after them or not doesn't matter much." Wang Zhi was a servant of the Wang residence assigned to Zhou Lezhi's service, so naturally he didn't hold excessive reverence for him. "With Master Wang taking care of them, they won't lack anything. I can't say the mother and children are living in luxury with brocade garments and jade meals, but at least they're a well-off family with no worries about food or warmth. If you go see them, it will only provoke their sadness. Why bother! Besides, if you visit, they won't gain a piece of meat; if you don't, they won't lose a piece. What's the point of fulfilling this empty courtesy?"
This speech left Zhou Lezhi at a loss for words. He had to smile bitterly and say, "Who can talk as well as you! Since the Master's intention is for me to go less often, I will go less. Just help me buy a few practical New Year's goods—not the kind of gift goods that look impressive but are useless—and send someone to deliver them to Wanggong Factory."
"Easy enough." Seeing he didn't insist, Wang Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "How much silver?"
"Twelve taels." Zhou Lezhi said, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked in a low voice, "Last time I heard You Rong was quite restless?"
This somewhat gossipy question immediately piqued Wang Zhi's interest. He also lowered his voice: "Yes! I heard Daoist Wood-Stone say that You Rong kicked up a fuss several times, wanting to see Master Wang and asking him to find the Master."
"I knew that much." Zhou Lezhi frowned. "That's not what I was asking about..."
"That... this lowly one isn't clear about." However, his hesitant manner indicated he knew more than he was letting on. "She is different from Jie Yi, though. A woman from a musician household, raised in places of wind and moon since childhood. Now that the Master has been missing for years, it's natural for her to have certain thoughts."
Zhou Lezhi understood his meaning. After hesitating a moment, he said, "Actually, it might be better to let her do as she pleases. Her staying at Wanggong Factory might cause trouble sooner or later."
"Master Le, you needn't worry about this. You Rong's parents are both in Master Wang's hands; she dares not make trouble. Besides, she still has Zhou Newton—though not her own flesh and blood, she raised him single-handedly, didn't she? He will always be something to rely on in the future."
"If the Master could return, everything would be easy to resolve." Zhou Lezhi smiled bitterly. "A single log cannot support a building! And with Daoist Liu also gone, I'm truly afraid..."
At this point, his expression darkened. Liu Sha had been missing for quite a few days. Although Master Wang had secretly sent people to Tongzhou and elsewhere to investigate, so far—whether through official channels or privately—the situation remained "no person alive, no corpse dead." Not even a scrap of relevant news had surfaced.
Zhou Lezhi was deeply worried, for various signs indicated that Liu Sha had either fled far away or been captured by the Australian thieves.
He was mentally prepared for the possibility of Liu Sha running away. Many clues exposed after the operation's failure showed that Liu Sha's "hands and feet were not clean"—he had engaged in numerous petty schemes privately. Yang Tianliang's "suicide" was also indistinctly connected to this.
Ideally, Master Wang should have investigated the matter thoroughly, but Zhou Lezhi knew in his heart that Liu Sha's problems were an ironclad fact.
After the operation failed, paper could not wrap fire; naturally Liu Sha would want to flee. If that were the case, Zhou Lezhi would actually feel more at ease.
What he feared most was that Liu Sha had already been captured by the Australian thieves. If so, not only himself but even Master Wang would face grave danger—because Liu Sha truly knew too much.
Zhou Lezhi understood the conduct of the Australian thieves all too well. The Master had once warned him never to harbor even half a bit of illusion about them. They acted decisively and struck with extreme cruelty. And they were utterly unscrupulous.
Once they learned that Master Wang was "Old Stone," he might still be safe in the Capital—but if he left, he would likely face the calamity of extermination in an instant.
As for himself, it went without saying: ten deaths and no life.
Yet these past days had been continuously calm and tranquil. No suspicious individuals had appeared around him. As for Master Wang's side, with the support of counter-reconnaissance techniques, no flaws had emerged either. According to the intelligence they had gathered, the Australian thieves seemed to have directed their main efforts toward Eunuch Yang and the Shanxi House.
(End of this chapter)