Chapter 386: Making Contact

Yang Cao put down the thin folder and lit her fortieth cigarette since her shift had begun the previous day. Blue smoke curled into the air. Since Zhou Shizhai had already taken a look, she had no reason to doubt the former escort’s experience in the jianghu. Yang Cao knew that Zhou Shizhai’s unit, the National Police’s General Affairs Section 10, had recruited a group of so-called “dregs of the martial world,” mostly jianghu wanderers who could no longer make a living in the Ming territories. Lingao had become their final refuge. Of course, the Senate didn’t welcome everyone with open arms. Upon arrival, these individuals were secretly arrested and interrogated due to their unusual behavior and speech. Some were quietly executed, a select few were designated for “special purposes,” and the rest formed the Detective Squad of Section 10. They spent their days in plainclothes, blending into the streets and markets, and occasionally handling special assignments.

With Zhou Shizhai’s long experience leading the Detective Squad, his judgment was impeccable. In the recent Umbrella Case, it had been his men who first confirmed the infiltration of the Namless Religion’s operatives.

Within a short span of one or two months, two separate groups of martial artists had infiltrated Lingao. Yang Cao sensed a connection. She retrieved the case report for the Umbrella Case from the file cabinet.

Yang Cao studied the two documents carefully. Although she couldn’t definitively link the two cases, it was clear that the arrival of a large number of martial artists in Lingao had a “political” objective, not simple criminal intent like murder or robbery. Zhou Shizhai had remarked during the Umbrella Case that an operation of that scale would be a money-losing venture for the organizers.

If the first group was sent by the Namless Religion, was this new group also sent by them? Yang Cao fell into deep thought.

The case report gave no indication that the Namless Religion had made such arrangements; all testimonies indicated there were no plans for follow-up forces. On the matter of whether they had confessed everything, Yang Cao had full faith in her colleagues at the National Police’s interrogation department.

If they weren’t connected to the Namless Religion, then what was the “Zhuo family’s” purpose in coming here? Yang Cao had a nagging feeling that a major case was brewing.

Simply arresting them all now would contradict the Political Security Bureau’s established investigative philosophy. Director Zhao had once taught in a training class: “In the soil where the seeds of rebellion sprout, the roots of traitors have already spread far and wide. It is not enough to merely cut down the sprout; we must completely eradicate the entire root system underground.”

If she could uncover the relevant clues this time, she could follow the trail and eliminate this hidden threat in one fell swoop. Staring at the few thin documents in the folder, Yang Cao decided to first speak with the men from the Detective Squad… perhaps she would discover something new. She filled out an inter-departmental request for a meeting with Zhou Shizhai of General Affairs Section 10 and sent it off.

The Political Security Bureau and the National Police were both partners and rivals. Although the National Police had several times tried to persuade the Senate to merge the Political Security Bureau into its ranks, modeling it after the public security systems of the old world to prevent the rise of an uncontrollable secret police agency, Zhao Manxiong and Wu Mu had successfully reminded the Elders: which Elder would be suitable to lead a powerful, all-encompassing organization with such vastly expanded functions?

The matter was thus dropped. In response, however, the National Police, under the pretext of “cooperative partnership,” established its own security apparatus in the form of the various General Affairs Sections. Section 10, while ostensibly for maintaining public order, was largely redundant given Lingao’s existing security forces. This group was being maintained more for future needs during the conquest of the mainland.

The office of General Affairs Section 10 was not in the National Police headquarters but in a converted old temple on the outskirts of Dongmen Market. No sign or marker hung at its gate. The street was quiet, with only a few scattered houses, large tracts of farmland, and even some forested areas. It was a typical urban-rural fringe.

Since the Detective Squad’s primary targets were natives, they not only wore plain clothes but also maintained their Ming-style dress.

Zhou Shizhai was no different. However, he couldn’t hide his sharp, capable demeanor. He still considered himself an escort and dressed the part, in the distinctive attire of his profession.

He had already prepared the materials for Yang Cao’s visit. After the formal greetings, Zhou Shizhai took a file from a prepared document box.

“There’s more?” Yang Cao was slightly surprised.

“After receiving your meeting request, I sent my men to the Qiong’an Inn to investigate again,” Zhou Shizhai said. “We have a general idea of their origins now.”

“I’m all ears.”

“The details are in the file. To summarize, they are indeed from the martial world, not the young master and mistress of some wealthy family.”

“How can you be so sure?” Yang Cao asked. It wasn’t that she distrusted Zhou Shizhai, but the stakes were high. A misjudgment would mean a huge waste of resources. Both the Political Security Bureau and the National Police had limited manpower and resources.

“I’ve worked as a guard for prominent families. And many of my men have frequented such households,” Zhou Shizhai said, a bit awkwardly, implying that his subordinates included some petty thieves. “Wealthy families have many rules and customs that can’t be learned in a short time…”

“I understand,” Yang Cao nodded. “So what’s their story?”

“In our opinion, they likely come from various orthodox sects of the martial world. They’re not rogue bandits or mountain brigands,” Zhou Shizhai said. “To us escorts, they are from ‘reputable sects’.”

“If they are from reputable sects, why sneak into Lingao?”

From Yang Cao’s own experience as a traveling performer, these reputable sects were relatively disciplined powers. They mostly kept their disciples in line, and as long as one didn’t cause trouble on their turf and showed proper respect, they were easy to deal with. Because they had large establishments and reputations to uphold, these sects were generally cautious and avoided getting involved in major conflicts to stay out of trouble.

“That’s hard to say,” Zhou Shizhai said. “But they must be here on behalf of someone to carry out some important task. This person must be of considerable stature.”

“You mean they were sent by a high-ranking official of the Ming court?”

“Correct.” Zhou Shizhai nodded. “These sects have a certain standing. Ordinary people can’t command them. It would have to be someone with great influence at court.”

“So, their connection to the ones arrested in the Umbrella Case is…”

“The Namless Religion doesn’t have that kind of influence or financial backing. Besides, these folk sects have always been looked down upon by the orthodox martial sects.”

Yang Cao returned to her office with Zhou Shizhai’s “gift.” She carefully studied the material, which detailed the Detective Squad’s observations and speculations on each member of the “Zhuo family”: their probable sect, the weapons they used, and their combat capabilities.

Now, the problem facing Yang Cao was back to square one. If she ordered their arrest now, their purpose in coming to Lingao would quickly become clear; they would confess everything in the interrogation room. But if she wanted to cast a long line and catch a big fish, to dig up their entire “root system” in the local area, she would have to continue the silent surveillance. The risk was that if she lost control and some unforeseen, violent incident occurred, her career would be ruined!

Yang Cao lit her forty-fifth cigarette, but before it was half-smoked, she stubbed it out. She rang the bell, and the probationary associate outside her door entered.

“First-Class Commander!” he said, standing at attention with a solemn nod.

“Take this material and prepare a file—I don’t need to teach you how to draft one—have the surveillance department dispatch a team to monitor everyone on this list. Report to me every four hours.”

“Yes, First-Class Commander…”

With this order, the surveillance systems of the Political Security Bureau and the National Police would begin creating monitoring files for each target. They would take photographs, track their movements 24/7, and, if possible, eavesdrop on all their conversations.

The Elders’ most potent “artifacts”—listening devices—were not installed at the Qiong’an Inn. These devices were scarce and had a limited lifespan; they weren’t installed everywhere unless a target was predetermined. Of course, if Yang Cao submitted a request, it was possible to have some temporarily installed in the “Zhuo family’s” rooms, but she felt it was unnecessary.

“Just watch where they go, and we can follow the vine to the melon,” she thought. “As soon as they make a move, they’ll show their hand.”

Now, all she could do was wait for the first reports from the surveillance team. By rights, she could go off-duty, take a bath at the public bathhouse, and then go back to her dormitory for some sleep, coming back in the evening to hear the news. But her mind was already racing, and her stomach began to grumble. She opened the door and called out to the female orderly behind the duty desk in the hallway, “Coffee! And a turkey sandwich!”

As she washed down the sandwich with coffee, she once again studied the “Umbrella Case” file she had just requisitioned from the archives.

Suddenly, she realized something. According to the file, the Namless Religion’s infiltration of Lingao had been meticulously planned; they were remarkably well-informed about Lingao’s policies. In the interrogation records, more than one person admitted that someone in Guangzhou had given them relevant guidance.

And this “Zhuo family,” though they appeared as “immigrants,” seemed to know a great deal about Lingao, according to the inn’s routine surveillance reports and the Detective Squad’s investigations—they were nothing like first-time visitors.

“So that’s it!” The suspicion that had been clouding her mind was suddenly answered. “You’re all in this together!”