Lass Yu’s question nearly made drop my chopsticks. Though I did not have concrete evidence, I could not shake off the feeling that Shifu was nearby, let alone Hangzhou. My suspicion was not just a product of paranoia and guilt alone, but also the fact that Sixth had also co to the capital. If it were not for my shiniangs shackling him, considering Shifu’s qinggong, no woman in the world would escape his sinful lust.
If Shifu went to Hangzhou to marry Matriarch Zi, then I could have pushed all the bla on to him when my shiniangs asked, telling them that I rely followed his instructions. That was just wishful thinking, though. If he went to Hangzhou but then went into hiding, where was I going to find Matriarch Zi a new husband? Even if her sect left alone, I was not going to be able to click one out of thin air. Hangzhou had beco a trap field; there was no way I was going there.
“Following thorough deliberation, I have decided I won’t be going to Hangzhou for the anti.”
Even though she did not voice her thoughts, her eyes were already asking, “Why?”
“I still have a lot on my plate, so Hangzhou will have to wait.”
Lass Yu nodded. “It’ll work, but it may not be so convenient.”
“What do you an?”
Lass Yu lowered her chin between her fingers. “Everything in Hangzhou is ready. It’ll take so effort to move everything to the capital.”
What? What did she just say?
“You don’t have to change the location!”
Are you trying to make us the laughing stock of the capital? What happens if Shiniang cos back to visit Her Majesty the Empress?
“I was just thinking out loud to myself. Don’t worry about it. Continue eating your congee.”
Man, Lass Yu is getting harder to fool as she grows.
After I finished breakfast, I made up an excuse to escape.
Popping out from the pillar behind on my way out of Liu Shan n, a girl quietly called, “My Lord.”
“Elise?”
Why is she still here?
That was a stupid question. Boss was gone, and Song Ou was out training his new forces, which left security in the capital to Emperor’s Entourage. If Elise showed up anywhere else, I would have had to go rescue her again.
“Last night’s banquet was on , but I’m not treating any guests today. I’m busy. We’ll talk later. Stay here.”
“My Lord, wait!”
I bolted out of Liu Shan n before Elise could finish, hurrying towards the room Wawa rented. Before I even set foot into the courtyard, I could hear drunkards drowning, groaning and unconscious n I did not recognise strewn out on the ground. It was to be expected considering the room she rented was located in a troubling district.
I went to a specific room and quietly voiced a password. One of the drunk gentlen sprung up from the ground and politely led to another room, shut the door, then went back to sprawling out on the ground.
The eting room between leaders changed daily based off the sexagenary cycle, room visited and password. Their subordinates were instructed on what to do.
I entered a ssy room brimming with life, exiting the back door, entered another courtyard, entered another small room, searched around until I found a contraption to access a secret room and finally entered. In the dimly-lit underground area, there were twenty-plus big tables and stacks of paper. Despite how many people were there and moving about, nobody paid any heed or showed any intentions of stopping.
“Military intel from the northeast has arrived. Add it to the Jia category! Has the intel from yesterday been destroyed yet? You going to burn it, or would you prefer to burn you?! Get a move on!” The young girl looked up to see . “You’re finally here.”
I smiled. “I’m here for intel on Hangzhou.”
“Piss off! You think I’m going to wait on you all day?! Bug off and wait your turn!” She jumped off the table and continued on with her work.
The goal of my visit was to expand my intelligence network with the end goal of collecting information that was hard to collect while I was in the capital. I could not always rely on Dark Wind Hall every ti because it did not support the goal of retiring them; instead, it would have increased their risk of danger exposure. Thanks to seldom seeking their aid in the last year, they were afforded the ti to grow vegetables that Liu Shan n ca to love. From what I heard, they were planning to research how to grow fruit next year. Honestly, I was looking forward to their progress.
I had planned to discuss with Boss the plausibility of forming an underground unit before the Nanjiang youths gave the idea. Boss was only partially on board at the ti, but she did not reject the proposal, so I began secretly building it on my own. Besides needing agents who could be mobilised anywhere, they also needed to be able to bear with anything and be able to stay away from ho for extensive periods of ti.
Wawa’s “Only Kills No Cleanups” team was a team she personally trained that was ready to stake their lives. However, due to them not resembling folks from the Central Plain, it was hard for them to go around freely. As long as they maintained a low profile in the capital, nobody would give them grief. That said, as their unit na implied, they were great killers, not scouts. That was where Gu Xianxian and Ning Zhuoru entered the picture.
I was not after the couple but their families. Their families were not invincible in Liaodong, but they were one of the powerhouses, especially Ning Zhuoru’s father, Ning Xinshi. Not only could he talk the talk, but he could also walk the walk. The only thing was that Ning Clan was a family of chanics, while Gu Clan was a family of martial artists. Gu Clan grew stronger with each generation – and more shaless. Gu Clan liked to expand, were not afraid to fight and not afraid to lay down their lives. Had they not paid their respects to Night Fortress, it would have been a hassle to put them in their place. Their equal influence was what prompted their marriage.
Over the last few months, I learnt from them that their clans had been exiling people who did not live up to their standards, leaving only the best and most loyal mbers in their clans. The others who joined my team were from Yuan Kou’s Guanhu Island and so mbers of Night Fortress. I had even sent letters to old friends to recruit new blood. At this point, I was satisfied with the numbers.
After months of work, we had finally comnced building the intelligence team in Jiangnan, which would grow accordingly with Liu Shan n’s growth. At the sa ti the 1500 youths from Nanjiang beca Boss’ loyal constables, we were going to evolve in our own way.
If the “Shadow Guards” could not handle the current situation, then their inception was pointless. In my conversations with Boss, “Shadow Guards” was an incarnation of myself. They were not tasked with carrying out the dirty work for Liu Shan n; Liu Shan n never even had such job descriptions. I wanted them to substitute for when I was not available for Liu Shan n.
There were lots of jobs that Liu Shan n struggled to carry out. Liu Shan n was too straight laced. If they tried to train soone who could infiltrate the black market, collect intel and return alive, they would probably have had just another Zha Pi, not to ntion I was the one who saw his talent.
I was believer in specialists: hire an assassin for an assassination job.
I classified the mbers of Shadow Guards into seven ranks. Each rank had an assigned leader. By extension, remuneration varied depending on rank. Loyalty, competence and contributions determined whether they would be promoted or not.
The scouts who would be scattered all over the land were rank seven. If they passed the tests offered every six months, they would be promoted. The tests were no simple run-of-the-mill tests; Gu Xianxian was only rank five. He tried nepotism with , but I refused. The system existed and ruled on its own. A promotion did him no favours, either. As I said, the right person for the right job.
Gu Xianxian was straight forward and lived a life without dipping into murky waters, so the post was no suitable for him. He had his performance in the underground performance to credit for his rank five.
The higher one’s rank, the more darkness they had in them. Once they reached rank four, they were sent for training under Dark Wind Hall. Once they graduated, they were among the best intelligence collectors, putting them in rank three. At the mont, there were only two people worthy of being conferred rank three – Wawa and…
“It is an honour to see you!”
I was surprised the speaker was here. I gave him a smile and conveyed, “I appreciate you making the trip here, Young Master Siming.”
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