774 Waterside Pavilion (1/2)

The Bodhi Garden was famous throughout the Western Regions for its four-colored lotus flower. It was always been one of the most popular topics of discussion in Jade City during the annual blooming season. Some people would even hide in a corner of the garden wall in an attempt to smell the fragrance of the lotus flowers, which have actually never reached the outside world. In recent years, however, the discussion became more and more focused on who the real owner of the garden was.

The former Bodhi Garden undoubtedly belonged to the Meng family. Two years ago, it had been given to their nominal daughter-in-law as a gift. But when the twins openly 'betrayed' their family and joined the Dragon King, the ownership of the garden suddenly became muddled. Both the Meng family and the Shangguan family seemed within their rights to lay claim to this famous garden, but neither of them had ever come forward to declare their rights.

The discussion finally calmed down a bit when Meng Yuzun, the patriarch of the Meng family, entered the garden to recuperate from his illness half a year ago. It seemed that the Unique King was quite broad-minded and generous as he didn't reclaim his friend's estate under the name of his daughter.

The Bodhi Garden in autumn was also very beautiful. Although the lotus flowers had disappeared, there were other flowers and trees to fill their vacancy. Had it not been for his duty to protect the Dragon King, Nie Zeng would have rather taken his time to enjoy the scenery, but right now he could only hide in the bushes like a log and count numbers in his mind at a fixed rate.

”…401, 402, out.”

A dozen paces away, two guards walked out from behind some rocks, looked around once, and then started walking towards the next hidden spot.

Taking advantage of the small window of opportunity, Nie Zeng followed the Dragon King and quickly ran forward into the next guard circle.

The Bodhi Garden was so heavily guarded it was as if the one who lived here was constantly on guard against a formidable enemy.

Meng Yuzun lived in a converted waterside pavilion, the door and window of which had been thickened. It was built above the lake and its entrance was a long extended corridor that zigzagged across the garden.

The corridor near the pavilion was full of guards with sabers as well as groups of servants. A little farther away were dozens of chiefs, both big and small, some of whom had been waiting at the gate since before dawn, only moving into the corridor late in the morning, not knowing when their names would be called.

Nie Zeng and the Dragon King did not eat or drink all day. They maneuvered around the waterside pavilion at a very slow speed, calmly observing Meng Yuzun's dwelling place from various angles and distances.

Meng Yuzun himself never left the pavilion once. But from the expression of those who did, one could judge the mood of the richest man in the Western Regions. He must have been in a very bad mood today because most of the people who met with him ran out in such a flustered state that it was as if they were being chased by ghosts.

At the nearest point to the corridor, Nie Zeng could even hear the whispers of the servants.

”I heard someone was scolded by the lord again and was even slapped in the face.”

”Be careful, everyone. Do not get into trouble.”

Not many people visited in the afternoon. Meng Yuzun seemed to have time for a rest for a while. The Dragon King and Nie Zeng couldn't find a chance to take approach any closer so they could only wait patiently.

It happened all the time. Those who were visited by the Dragon King were usually all shocked by his sudden appearance, but Nie Zeng clearly knew that it was all the result of a long wait. Like last night, the two of them had followed Meng Mingshu for nearly six hours before suddenly showing up.

Some opportunities were self-initiated while others were self-inflicted. The latter appeared less often, but was more covert and beneficial for them.

In the evening, a man in his fifties came out of the waterside pavilion, and like most of the people coming out, he was in low spirits, almost as if he were trampling on his own dignity with every step he took. Just for this reason, he received little attention. The guards looked around aimlessly while the servants continued whispering to each other. Their topic had changed from gossiping about their master to where they would go gamble later tonight.

Instead of walking along the corridor to leave, the man slowly stepped over the railing, looked down at the placid lake, sighed, and then jumped down.

The nearest man was just a few paces away but he was still a step too late from stopping him.

The confusion caused by the splashing of water spread like the blast zone of a powerful grenade. Nie Zeng could almost see it spreading out into the distance at various speeds; people ten paces away were still talking and laughing when several nearby guards and servants had already jumped into the water to try to save the man.

Opportunity had opened the door itself. Although the Dragon King and Nie Zeng were separated by a short distance and the two had not communicated prior to this, they still acted in perfect sync.

The chaos did not last long. The person who had jumped into the lake was brought ashore and started crying bitterly amid the noisy voices of consolation. No one noticed that two fleeting figures had entered the lake and never come out.

A roar came from the pavilion. ”Let him die! Do not stop him. How much is a lousy life worth anyways? When he's dead, let his sons pay for it! Duan Zihua, you old bastard, how dare you play tricks in front of me…”

The crowd scattered and returned to their original positions. Those several rescuers hurriedly squeezed the water from their clothes as if it were incriminating evidence.

The man who had jumped into the lake stopped crying and stood up. Everyone who saw him thought of the same thing — stray dog.

”You may rest assured, my lord. I'll pay the debt even if I have to sell my sons and grandchildren,” declared the man loudly. Without entering the corridor, he directly turned to walk out of the garden, leaving a shallow trail of water drops along the way.

There was a long silence in the corridor. No one talked about the unlucky man who had failed to commit suicide. They held their curiosity back until after dinner when the new shift who had not seen the tragedy with their own eyes arrived.

Nie Zeng and the Dragon King clung to the bottom of the pavilion, leaning against the narrow crack to balance themselves. Heavy footsteps rang out from above them every now and then. Before he had even seen Meng Yuzun, Nie Zeng could already feel the weight of the other person.

As the night wore on, it became the best time to sneak into the pavilion, but the Dragon King instead chose to retreat.

This was completely out of Nie Zeng's expectation.

The two swam back to shore and hid themselves in the bushes as they waited for their clothes to dry. Seeing that the Dragon King was lost in his thoughts, Nie Zeng knew that it was not the right time to ask questions, so he instead quietly stood guard nearby.

Gu Shenwei had indeed changed his mind and left the Bodhi Garden quietly with Nie Zeng. Even though the day had not gone quite as expected, it wasn't wasted. He needed more evidence.

The night in Northern Jade City was as quiet as water, and there were almost no pedestrians roaming the street before the second night watch period.

Gu Shenwei came to the edge of the city. After having Nie Zeng hide in an alley, he himself circled around and jumped into a small courtyard before gently knocking on the east wing-room with two long raps and a short one.

The door opened. Gu Shenwei took a quick look inside and then flashed in. The man who lived here was a spy arranged by Xu Xiaoyi.