……
“Hurry!”
“Follow the mastiffs!”
“Don’t get lost!”
If one looked down from the sky, they would see a winding road, a jade belt that connected Qixi to the capital. A trail of dust was currently rising from this path as several dozen warhorses galloped toward the capital. In front of this pack of horsemen were five muscular and pitch-black mastiffs. The mastiffs were moving at speeds faster than even the horses, and as they howled and pursued, their noses were constantly sniffing at the sky.
But these five mastiffs that had been running in the same direction quickly began to branch off.
“Milord, look over there!”
A horseman pulled on his reins and stopped. In front of them, the five black mastiffs had begun to run and bark in five different directions. At this sight, Xu Keyi instantly frowned.
“Milord, what do we do!”
The soldiers all looked at Xu Keyi. Those five trusted aides of Fumeng Lingcha had clearly parted ways and headed in separate directions, so if they wanted to follow, they would have to do the same.
“Have you sent news of the other two back to Lord Marquis?” Xu Keyi asked without turning his head.
“Replying to Milord: messenger birds have already been sent back with the news,” the scout reported, half-kneeling. “Lord Marquis should already know that another two of Fumeng Lingcha’s trusted subordinates did not leave Qixi after the evening meal, but instead headed in the direction of the Tibetan Plateau.”
“Very good. All we need to do now is chase down these five others. Do you remember what I said to you all before we set out?” Xu Keyi asked.
“Yes! Regardless of the measure we employ, we must not attract the attention of Fumeng Lingcha or his men,” the scout sternly said.
“It’s fine as long as you remember. Lord Marquis has placed a great deal of emphasis on this. Alright, do as we planned. Remember! Even if you have to fail, you cannot make them doubtful or wary!”
With this final warning, Xu Keyi waved his hand. The thirty-some cavalry immediately split into five different groups, stirring up clouds of dust as they galloped away.
……
Countless merchants traveled this road in both directions. At noon, the clinking of bells filled the air as a long caravan train slowly proceeded toward the capital. These Arab merchants with their thick beards and blue eyes led their camels forward as they heartily laughed. Nearby was a Hu merchant, wrapped in thick robes and maintaining a distance of four feet from the Arabs. As he advanced, he warily observed his surroundings.
It seemed strange for Hu and Arab merchants to mingle, but on the western roads, this was an extremely commonplace sight.
Simply too many bandits plagued the roads to the west, so the merchants naturally had to take care of each other.
“Ah! Save me, save me!”
Suddenly, a shout came from the rear, causing the Arab merchants to turn their heads and see what was happening. What they saw was a filthy child of seven or eight, his feet bare and his clothes ragged. This child was running toward them while constantly turning his head to fearfully look behind him.
“Little bastard! To dare steal our lord’s possessions, you’re just asking for trouble!
“You still dare to run! I’d like to see how far you can get!
“If I catch you, I’ll flay the skin off your flesh!”
Behind the child, a burly man with a vicious and savage face was riding a horse in pursuit, cracking his whip.
“It wasn’t me, wasn’t me! I didn’t steal anything! It was your lord that broke it himself! Why do you have to blame me and say that I stole it?”
The child appeared chagrined as he pleaded his case.
The surrounding merchants broke out into laughter. In the Western Regions, only strength, not reason, held any sway. It was obvious that this child had offended some wealthy merchant or run into him when his mood was poor, thus becoming the unlucky vent for his anger. If everything went as expected, once this child was captured, he would have to suffer a vicious beating. As expected, that burly man was wholeheartedly focused on his cursing and shouting, so the merchants paid him little mind.
The child finally panicked, accidentally running into that Hu merchant.
“Out of my way!”
The Hu merchant furiously pushed the child to the ground with a palm. The child, so unexpectedly pushed to the ground, appeared a little angry, but when he saw the savage and fiendish look on the Hu merchant’s face, he immediately got up and fled.
A while later, in a forest…
“How was it? You didn’t make him suspicious, right?” the vicious and burly man asked at the child.
“No, he didn’t even glance at me.”
The child shook his head.
“Mm. Then did you see a symbol on his hand?” the burly man said.
The child shook his head.
……
On another road…
Rumble!
There was a massive boom as a carriage heedlessly passed by, knocking over several carriages before eventually crashing into the large black carriage at the very front, so badly damaging the carriage that even a wheel was sent flying.
“Damn it! You bastards—do none of you have eyes? Do you not even see what’s on the road!” A Hu immediately jumped out of the carriage, his entire body boiling with anger.
“Sorry, sorry, the horse got out of control… We’ll definitely compensate you for the losses, definitely!” A middle-aged merchant jumped out of the carriage that had caused the accident and immediately began to speak about compensation.
A while later, two stalwart men met up on the side of the road. “Tell Lord Marquis that this road was also the wrong one. The person Lord Marquis wanted us to find is not this one. His hand does not bear the black jade symbol.”
Flapflap! A carrier pigeon took off into the air.
……
“Hyah!”
On the third road, ten-some horsemen were whipping the horses into a gallop. These people were traveling at maximum speed, and riding together, they stirred up a massive gale on the road. Whoosh! They galloped past a Hu merchant, the fierce winds causing the merchant’s sleeves to flap about.
No one noticed that as the outermost of the horsemen galloped by, he turned his head to shoot a glance at the Hu merchant. But after just a glimpse, he turned his head back around, his movements so swift that one might think it was just an illusion.
“Not there!”
Several hundred zhang in front of the Hu merchant, the other horsemen had turned to the outermost one.
“No! This one was also wrong.”
The horseman knew what his comrades wanted, but he could only spread apart his hands and shake his head.
……
As one piece of news returned to the City of Steel after another, Wang Chong and his subordinates were all focused on the miniature model of Qixi in front of them.
“One, two, three… Two of Fumeng Lingcha’s trusted aides headed to the Tibetan Plateau, most likely on a task related to the base we set up at the triangular gap. As for the other five, three have been eliminated, leaving only two. That item must be with one of them.”
Wang Chong had a hand propped under his chin while his other hand was unconsciously tapping its fingers against the table.
“Cheng Sanyuan, any news from Zhang Que?” Wang Chong said.
He never liked to place his hopes on a single person or group. Fumeng Lingcha was not someone to be underestimated, and the tens of thousands of soldiers at Talas and the survival of the Great Tang were on the line.
“Lord Marquis, everything is under our control. Zhang Que’s rock eagles are currently tracking the enemy,” Cheng Sanyuan deferentially said.
Wang Chong was placing a never-before-seen amount of focus on this matter, causing everyone else to turn grim and cautious. Zhang Que was maintaining a constant line of communications with the City of Steel. Every
five minutes, one bird would arrive and one bird would leave.
As Old Eagle’s disciple of many years, Zhang Que was an extremely experienced trainer of birds. In his several months in the Western Regions, he had used his unique advantage to buy and train several hundred rock eagles. Sixty to seventy were already up to the standard, and the rest of the rock eagles were still in training. These rock eagles were the foundation of Zhang Que’s ‘eagle team’.
And the rock eagle perched on Zhang Que’s shoulder had become the king of this eagle team.
At this moment, this large number of eagles was playing a critical role, constantly feeding information back to the City of Steel.
“Tell Zhang Que to not let his guard down. In addition, notify Xu Keyi to continue his investigation. We need to find the man with the black jade tattoo on his arm. The item we’re seeking will definitely be on him.”
Wang Chong propped both hands on the model of Qixi as he gave orders.
The truth was gradually beginning to emerge. Only two people were left. For a moment, the room was quiet, everyone taking a breather as they waited for Xu Keyi’s final report. But things did not develop in the way they expected.
“Reporting!”
Around an hour later, a scout rushed into the room in a panic.
“Lord Xu has sent back word. The last two targets suddenly began to turn back. Lord Xu asks what he should do next. Should we continue the operation?”
Chapter 807 - Unexpected Development!
Chapter 807: Unexpected Development!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“What?!”
The report from the scout was tantamount to a boulder being thrown into the room, instantly causing massive waves to toss and turn in the minds of everyone present. Even Wang Chong and Li Siye were flabbergasted by this news, and the seated Wang Chong leapt to his feet.
“How could it be like this?”
“Weren’t they heading to the capital? Why would they go back?”
“Returning means that without our even needing to eliminate them, they eliminated themselves. But then all five of them are eliminated. What’s going on here?”
“Lord Marquis, I recommend that Xu Keyi still investigate them!”
This news had swept through their minds like a whirlwind, completely upsetting the tempo. No one had predicted that their last two targets would decide to return, and yet this wasn’t even the most surprising news they would hear today.
“Reporting!”
At this moment, another scout charged into the room.
“Lord Marquis, Lord Zhang Que has sent back word that the three targets originally eliminated have begun to hurry their advance. He asks from Lord Marquis whether he should follow them!”
Buzz!
The room that had been buzzing with chatter just moments ago instantly went silent. Everyone stared at Wang Chong, their shock clearly written on their faces.
This matter was full of twists and turns. Those that had been suspicious were suddenly not, and those that weren’t suspicious were suddenly back to being suspicious. Everyone felt helpless and confused. What should they do next? A clear and open situation had transformed into a befuddling riddle, a thick fog wrapping around them.
“How could it be like this?”
Wang Chong was even more unsettled than his subordinates. Fumeng Lingcha’s emissary should have a black tattoo of the character on his wrist. Those three didn’t have one, so they could be eliminated, and the other two had gone off to the plateau, followed by Zhang Que’s birds, so they could also be eliminated. Only those two people had been left.
He had believed that he just needed to find that person with the tattoo on their wrist to settle it all, a simple affair that should have gone off without a hitch. Where had the problem been? Why had those two suddenly begun to head back?
Could it be… am I wrong…
At this moment, Wang Chong’s face was grim and his mind was a hive of activity.
This situation was different from what he had predicted, so he had to find out where the discrepancy was.
“Lord Marquis, Xu Keyi is still waiting. Those two will soon return to Qixi. Should we continue to investigate them?” someone softly said to Wang Chong.
Wang Chong said nothing, continuing to think. But this incident was still growing more and more complicated. A little while later, another panicked scout entered the room.
“Reporting!
“Lord Marquis, it’s bad! Lord Zhang has sent back word that one of the three targets vanished! We’ve lost the trail!!”
If the people in the room had still been able to maintain their composure from the previous news, they immediately panicked now. Fumeng Lingcha and the marquis had clashed quite a few times, and he had even been willing to use the Tibetans. He was truly someone willing to go to every extreme to deal with Wang Chong.
If they could not seize this chance and topple Fumeng Lingcha, they couldn’t bear to imagine what life would be like in the City of Steel. Although they didn’t know why such a thing had happened, they had no doubt that the vanished target was the true holder of Fumeng Lingcha’s important message.
“Lord Marquis, it’s too late. Why don’t we seize them and search their belongings? We’ll definitely be able to find that person!”
“That’s right, Lord Marquis! The missing person must be the true target. We were tricked by Fumeng Lingcha.”
“Lord Marquis, let’s go after them!”
“Lord Marquis, let me go!”
“Let me!”
Everyone felt an intense urgency. Time was quickly passing, and if they didn’t find that missing person, they would definitely face complete failure.
“Wait a moment!”
Just when all of them were agitated, each of them volunteering to search for that person, a cold voice rumbled like a peal of thunder within the room.
“Without my order, no one is permitted to move!”
Wang Chong’s order settled the matter, his firm resolve immediately pulling the officers back to earth.
“Everyone, do not act without permission. Comply with Lord Marquis’s orders!”
Li Siye scanned the room before turning back around and striding to Wang Chong’s side.
“Lord Marquis, if necessary, I can move at any time. Although I don’t know where he is, as long as I’m diligent, I believe that I can find him.”
Li Siye spoke these words so softly that only he and Wang Chong could hear them. Although he had no idea what was going on, there was a high chance that Wang Chong had made an error in judgment, though no one present was willing to mention it.
“It’s not right!”
Wang Chong shook his head as if he hadn’t heard Li Siye. His expression was lacking any of its usual confidence, grim and stern.
“This matter can’t possibly be that simple!”
Countless thoughts were working through his mind, the memories from that event of his past floating before his eyes. Fumeng Lingcha didn’t know of his existence. To be more precise, Fumeng Lingcha had no idea that Wang Chong knew of the secretive collusion he had with that prince. There were no secret countermeasures being enacted specifically against him.
This was the prerequisite which allowed Wang Chong to form the plan to remove him.
…In addition, the matter at the center of the Xueyang Palace Incident was of such importance that Fumeng Lingcha would never let a messenger bird carry the message. It’s too important for that. Fumeng Lingcha would definitely send one of his trusted aides. Thus, that crucial letter tying Fumeng Lingcha to one of the princes must be on one of those five subordinates.
Wang Chong continued to silently ponder.
In other words, Fumeng Lingcha has no reason for such complicated arrangements, not unless he noticed something!
This thought was like a bolt of lightning cleaving apart the curtain of the night. Trembling, Wang Chong shouted, “Cheng Sanyuan, ask Zhang Qu
e again if he noticed anything else strange. I want to know all the details, anything suspicious! Tell me everything!”
Wang Chong’s sudden bark and his grave complexion made all the officers realize that he had discovered something.
“Yes!”
Cheng Sanyuan left without another world. Zhang Que’s reply quickly arrived.
“Milord, Zhang Que said that nothing strange happened.”
“Ask again!”
“Milord, there truly was nothing abnormal.”
“Ask again!”
“Milord, Zhang Que has replied that other than seeing several carrier pigeons while following the three targets, he truly didn’t notice anything strange. That matter didn’t seem very important, so Zhang Que put it aside and didn’t report it.”
Buzz!
The other officers hadn’t yet realized the importance of this news, but Wang Chong’s pupils constricted as if he had been stabbed by a needle.
“Order Zhang Que to withdraw all his birds. They should remain grounded, and any pursuit is forbidden.
“Inform Xu Keyi to immediately withdraw all his soldiers. In addition, attempts to sound out the two targets currently returning are forbidden, as is any pursuit. Without my order, no one is permitted to make the slightest move!!!”
With these final words, Wang Chong fiercely clenched his fists.
He had greatly underestimated Fumeng Lingcha!
This bastard was even more cautious than he had imagined. The critical moment was coming, and if Fumeng Lingcha felt the smallest doubt, all of Wang Chong’s efforts would be for nothing, gone with the wind.
“Lord Marquis, what did you realize?” Li Siye whispered.
Wang Chong’s two orders were simply inexplicable. One of the three targets had vanished, and the two other targets were picking up the pace, yet Wang Chong had ordered that everyone should withdraw, not follow. All the officers were left scratching their heads, but Wang Chong’s authority was supreme in the City of Steel, so no one except Li Siye dared to question his decision.
“…Lord Marquis, did Fumeng Lingcha notice?”
“Mm!”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 532