862 Routes (2/2)
”Mm. Many people claim that they're members of the Heavenly Mountain Sect, but I did some research and I found that most of them are not.”
”What do you know about this tide of assassinations?”
”The whole situation is a mess. During the past month, there have been about 120 to 150 casualties in Jade City, and I think that less than half of them directly died of assassination. The rest were killed by people who took advantage of this chaotic situation.”
Gu Shenwei believed that Hu Shining was right. Jade City was full of hatred. Whenever someone started killing, a lot of people would follow suit.
”From your personal experience, who do you think the mastermind behind this is?”
Hu Shining contemplated for a while before answering, ”I would say that there isn't just one.”
”Oh? Old Man Mu said that some kung fu expert was trying to improve their kung fu skills by killing people.”
”Old Man Mu has a point. But it is what this kung fu expert wants to do after they finish improving their skills that concerns me. I believe that it will prove very helpful if we find this kung fu expert first.”
”I'll leave this to you then.”
”Yes.”
Xu Xiaoyi was the next one to be summoned to the tent. The atmosphere in the tent finally relaxed, and Gu Shenwei could walk around casually. Xu Xiaoyi followed the Dragon King around. One moment he was thinking and the next he was smirking, which made his moustache seemed less grave.
”Your guess is very accurate, Dragon King.” Xu Xiaoyi's reverence for the Dragon King was so deep that it almost seemed like obeisance. If it wasn't for his prior knowledge that the Dragon King's personality was a little conservative and rigid, he would have expressed it in a bolder manner. ”Both Little Chu and Dog Butcher are honest men. Shangguan Fei seizes every possible chance he can to visit Madam Meng and does whatever she tells him to do. He hasn't taken any particular action. As for Old Man Mu and Han Wuxian, heh-heh, just as you have predicted, Dragon King, this old pair of fools have their own malicious plans, and so the mole should be one of them.”
Gu Shenwei had never forgotten about the occasion where his whereabouts had been disclosed, so he had ordered Xu Xiaoyi to investigate it, and Old Man Mu and Han Wuxian were the main suspects.
It was not viable for Xu Xiaoyi to actually track these two kung fu experts, since he knew nothing about kung fu, and he had no kung fu experts at his command. So, he had to find another way to collect intelligence.
Both Old Man Mu and Han Wuxian had their own unique, striking features, and everybody had a lasting impression of them once they saw them. It was very difficult to track them when they were trying to cover their tracks, but if they showed themselves publicly, they were easy to spot.
Xu Xiaoyi had a close-knit intelligence group: from thieves on the streets, waiters in taverns, to servants in rich families, he had spies spread everywhere throughout the underclass of Jade City.
These people were nobodies who everybody tended to ignore, but Xu Xiaoyi found that they made excellent subordinates.
He produced a stack of sketched maps of Jade City, each of which had a black or red line as well as some differently sized circles on it. ”The black lines represent Old Man Mu, and the red ones Han Wuxian. These are the places that they've visited recently. The circles represent my speculations.”
Gu Shenwei looked through these maps one by one, nodding occasionally. Encouraged by his actions, Xu Xiaoyi became very excited. ”Look. Han Wuxian is moving closer to Golden Roc Castle. I haven't gotten any solid information from inside Golden Roc Castle yet, but judging from these maps, she disappeared in northern Jade City and reappeared there later. Where could she have gone if not Golden Roc Castle?”
”Let's take a look at Old Man Mu. His routes were a little bit more complicated. It seems as if he was wandering around the whole city with no particular destination, but I've received reliable news that Old Man Mu has been to the Heavenly Mountain Sect and met with Sect Leader Du Jian. I'm sure that he never mentioned this to Dragon King, right?”
Gu Shenwei didn't answer.
”This old couple – Old Man Mu and Han Wuxian – are conspiring with each other against the Dragon King,” Xu Xiaoyi concluded.
”No. They are working separately.” Gu Shenwei corrected Xu Xiaoyi's wrong opinions. ”Look. Their routes on two consecutive days overlapped frequently.”
”Doesn't it prove that they're colluding?” Xu Xiaoyi asked out of confusion.
”Nominally, both of them are still my subordinates, and there's no need for them to secretly collude,” explained Gu Shenwei. ”Judging from their strengths and personalities, they will only end up doing things in their own respective ways if they collude.”
Xu Xiaoyi approvingly nodded to show his admiration. ”Then one of them is the mole. Which one do you think it is, Dragon King?”
Gu Shenwei still didn't answer. He just ordered Xu Xiaoyi to continue his investigation. If it were only to identify the mole, then it would be unnecessary to go through so much trouble. However, Gu Shenwei's intention was to use this mole to do something for him.
At the end of their meeting, Xu Xiaoyi mentioned a message that he hadn't deemed to be very important. ”I found Miss Ru's niece, Shangguan Shaomin. It hasn't been easy for me. You would have never guessed where Lotus was hiding her, Dragon King.”
”What about Han Xuan?”
”Han Xuan lives with Shangguan Shaomin.” Han Xuan was even less important in Xu Xiaoyi's opinion, so he was very confused about why it was not the location but rather this insignificant woman who the Dragon King was most concerned about.
Han Xuan was also a Female Gu, but she was a different type than Shangguan Shaomin. Han Wuxian had raised Han Xuan up as a tool to improve her own kung fu, but Lotus had snatched Han Xuan from Han Wuxian before Han Wuxian could use her.
Gu Shenwei believed that he was onto something, and he finally switched his focus from the grasslands to Jade City.