Chapter 345: The Jinyiwei's Men

“Why is it not possible?” the man asked.

“Gou Buli is an informant for the short-hairs,” Xin Nachun said. “He is a ‘trusted contact’ for the police. The sisters who do business at the Dongmen Market call station will report any suspicious matters to him. Sometimes he even asks us to collect clues.”

“Do they get paid for informing?” The superior already understood Gou Buli’s role.

“It depends on the size of the case and the importance of the tip. But as long as it’s useful, they’ll give a little money. Gou Buli doesn’t get any benefit from it, so he’s not very enthusiastic.”

“The money passes through his hands, how can he not get any benefit? Three parts of the profit go to the handler.”

“The money doesn’t pass through his hands. He’s just a middleman. Besides the subsidies the short-hairs give him, who would give him any benefits?” Xin Nachun said nonchalantly. “Some sisters are willing to let him get a little handsy, and that’s considered a benefit.”

“How’s the business at the small eatery?”

“Not bad. His skills are decent. And he doesn’t have to pay rent for the shop. But it’s just a small eatery after all, how much can it make? He has a wife and three children—and the children all go to school. He himself likes to go to Heyuan to play with the girls, and cooks like to gamble… This kind of expense, you can do the math.”

The man nodded. “In your opinion, do the short-hairs still trust him?”

“From what I see, the short-hairs are willing to let him be a trusted contact, so they still trust him. But they are not willing to give him an important position—perhaps they also know this person is not reliable…”

The man didn’t speak again. After a moment of silence, he said, “You can go and get close to him, but don’t make it too obvious. How’s his wife?”

“What can she be like? Full of complaints. Other men who surrendered to the short-hairs have all prospered. Gou Buli is still just a cook—and even as a cook, he doesn’t even have the qualification to cook for the chiefs.”

“Haha, you put it well,” the man laughed. “You can also get close to his wife. Give her some small gifts—he’s a ‘trusted contact’ under the police after all. It’s only natural for you to flatter them. They shouldn’t be suspicious. We won’t show our hand for now.”

“That’s not difficult. I know what to do.”

“Tell me in detail about what happened on the embankment.”

So Xin Nachun recounted in detail what had happened on the embankment that day. After listening, the man asked a few more questions and then fell into a long period of thought.

“What do you think? Is he a colleague or not? Could he be a hook to catch fish?”

“A hook? If he was a hook, he wouldn’t have made such a scene.” It was clear the man himself was a bit unsure. “You don’t need to worry about him for now. I have other plans for this matter.”

“Yes.”

“Go and contact Sima. Tell them to be patient. The short-hairs think they’ve caught us all in one fell swoop and have already started to relax their search. Let them wait for the right time!”

“Okay.”

“This is one thousand yuan in circulation coupons. Go and give it to Sima.” The man took out another envelope and gave it to her. “Mail this letter from a more remote postbox.”

“Give them so much?” Xin Nachun put the letter away, a little envious. A thousand yuan in circulation coupons was a lot of money in Lingao.

“This is for opening a shop. These people’s behavior is a bit conspicuous. If they are scattered everywhere, sooner or later someone will inform on them.”

“Conspicuous? If they feel conspicuous, just let those female heroes get a yellow ticket and mix in with me. It’s convenient for doing things. How great!” Xin Nachun said with a wanton laugh. “I think they look quite good. They’ll definitely be a big hit if they come out to do business.”

The man snorted coldly. “They are disciples from famous and righteous sects. Although they also travel the jianghu, how can they be like you?”

Xin Nachun was not convinced at all. “If they fall into the hands of the short-hairs, won’t they also be stripped naked and whipped on the ass?”

“All you know is that stuff below the waist!” the man said with great disdain. “Go on.”

Xin Nachun got up lazily and said with a seductive smile, “I just like that stuff below the waist. It’s rare to meet you, master. Let your servant serve you once…” As she spoke, she knelt before the man and bowed her head.

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Half an hour later, Xin Nachun left the teahouse. She strolled lazily along the street. The large sum of activity funds her “superior” had given her made her feel happy.

The task her “superior” had given her was not difficult, but engaging in “anti-Senate” activities in Lingao, especially as a “non-national,” meant certain death if she was caught. But Xin Nachun was not afraid at all. It wasn’t so much that she had a firm belief in revenge, but rather that her way of thinking was very simple, always holding the attitude of “drink today’s wine today.” The continuous supply of money from her “superior” allowed her to fully enjoy the rich material life of Lingao.

She first found a remote postbox to mail the letter—she didn’t care who it was for, and besides, she couldn’t read. On the way, she went to the post office again, bought two tax stamps according to the tax amount, and had the post office mail them to the tax bureau. The tax matter was settled. Then she went back to the call station she usually frequented.

The call station was said to be a station, but it was actually just a mat shed. However, this was much better than just a pole and a sign in the past. Under the shed was a table with several long benches. On the table were teapots and teacups. The “yellow tickets” rested here and waited for customers. Today was a rest day, and the “yellow tickets’” business was also the busiest. There were only two or three prostitutes in the shed, bored from waiting for customers. Drowsy in the afternoon, they simply lay on the table and dozed off.

Xin Nachun looked at the water sign hanging in the shed. On the water sign was a notice from the People’s Committee for Civil Affairs’ Customs Industry Management Office. Today’s notice was to recruit “yellow tickets” to go to Changjiang County for “comfort.”

In most cases, this kind of comfort was voluntary. After going, the local county office would arrange for free food and lodging, and all the income from “doing business” belonged to the “yellow tickets.” The places they were sent to for comfort were either construction teams or the army, all places where they hadn’t seen a woman for years. When the “yellow tickets” went, the only question was whether they wanted to do business, not whether there was business. Xin Nachun had been there before. Although she had made a lot of money, she had to rest for several days after returning to recover.

Xin Nachun had plenty of money now and looked down on this kind of hard work. She poured herself a bowl of tea and sat in the corner, thinking about how to meet Sima and Gou Buli.

Meeting Gou Buli was easy. He ran an eatery and was usually busy in the shop. And he was also an acquaintance. Sometimes when a client wanted to exchange gold and silver privately, she had even acted as a go-between.

But Sima and the others were not so easy to find. This group of jianghu people had scattered and gone into hiding after infiltrating Lingao, their whereabouts very secretive. Although Xin Nachun was the go-between, she didn’t know where they were. They met at a few designated places every week.

She still hadn’t figured out who the “jianghu people” the short-hairs had been so vigorously arresting in the previous stage were. It was obvious that the people who were arrested were not Sima’s group—otherwise, she would have been thrown into prison and tortured long ago. But her “superior” clearly knew their identity.

Could they also be Jinyiwei people? Xin Nachun thought, but from her “superior’s” attitude, he didn’t seem to care about their life or death.

Xin Nachun was secretly puzzled. At this moment, she noticed that the warning sign on the water sign had turned green: not the orange of the most tense times, nor the yellow of a few days ago. This meant that the short-hairs’ search operation had ended. And no police would come to ask them to report the latest social dynamics every day.

So, Sima and the others had successfully stayed—it wasn’t easy. Xin Nachun also felt a little admiration. As a “yellow ticket” prostitute with wide social contacts, the National Police had always used them as informants at the lower levels of society. Through long-term exposure, Xin Nachun was well aware of the capabilities of the short-hair police.

That scholar-like Sima, where would he be hiding, and what identity would he use to conceal himself? Xin Nachun couldn’t help but be secretly curious.

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Zhao Manxiong closed the folder and lit a cigar.

“So these people are all from the Southern Limitless Sect.”

“Yes, some are not, but they are similar to the former Min Zhanlian and Zhou Ruoyun—martial artists hired by the Southern Limitless Sect with a lot of money,” said Wu Mu, who came to report on the “Umbrella Special Case.”

“I remember Zhang Yingchen said that the Southern Limitless Sect is not a very large religious force. Its territory is only a few prefectures and counties in northern Suzhou and southern Shandong. It’s not on the same level as large religious sects like the White Lotus Sect and the Wenxiang Sect. It’s a typical small to medium-sized religious sect. They can’t even fight against the Corrupt Daoist in southern Shandong now, so they came directly to Lingao? Besides, what clues could connect the Corrupt Daoist and Lingao?”

“Although Zhang Yingchen’s relationship with Lingao is not explicitly stated, it’s not a secret either. First, he has always claimed to be from Qiongzhou Prefecture when he is outside—intentionally or unintentionally implying that he has a connection with the lineage of Bai Yuchan. Second, his Taoist temple is in Lingao. This is not a secret among the new Taoist followers in Shandong. If the other party is determined, it’s easy to discover the relationship between them.”

“So the Southern Limitless Sect spent a lot of money to send so many people to Lingao just for revenge? The motive is a bit hard to understand. With so many resources invested, wouldn’t it be better to directly defeat the Daoist in Shandong? At least they could cause him some trouble. Why go to such great lengths to come all the way to Lingao?”

Wu Mu said, “The leader of the group confessed that they came to Lingao this time to burn down the Yunji Temple. According to their protector, the Yunji Temple houses Zhang Daozhang’s ‘life-bound divine artifact.’ As long as the ‘life-bound divine artifact’ is destroyed, Zhang Daozhang will not be able to use his various magical arts and will eventually have his soul scattered…”

“Is that so…” Zhao Manxiong nodded thoughtfully.

“This can be considered a way to strike at the root of the problem,” Wu Mu explained. “In Shandong, Zhang Yingchen’s power is already very strong. And since he defeated the refugees, his ‘magical power’ has been blown up to the sky. Some people even say he has already passed the tribulation and become a ‘true person.’ I’m afraid the Southern Limitless Sect doesn’t dare to confront him head-on. No matter how ridiculous this reason is, at least it’s logically coherent.”