Chapter 371: Gyrfalcon

In the pitch-black night, Duan Rong bypassed the patrolling yamen runners and the spies everywhere, sneaking back into Xie Lei's old residence.

Duan Rong slipped into the dry well; he knew Xiao Yu's six senses were sharp, and the slightest rustle would make her nervous, so as soon as he stepped into the tunnel, he called out, "It's me."

By the time Duan Rong reached the entrance of the secret chamber, Xiao Yu had already lit the oil lamp in the corner.

The dim, yellowish light of the oil lamp reflected on Xiao Yu's face; she had been hiding here for several days, her hair was somewhat disheveled, her expression was a bit gloomy, and her eyes were slightly red, as if she had just cried not long ago.

Duan Rong knew that in this situation, rather than saying comforting words, it would be better to tell a joke to cheer Xiao Yu up. But having been on watch day and night and overthinking things, he couldn't think of a joke for the moment; he walked past Xiao Yu, used his dirty fingers to quickly touch her face, and then changed the subject, asking, "Where did you put the clothes I changed out of?"

Xiao Yu's fair, tender face was marked with a black smudge by Duan Rong's dirty fingertips.

"I folded them and put them over there," Xiao Yu said, pointing to a dark corner of the secret chamber.

Duan Rong walked over and sure enough, saw his folded clothes.

He squatted down, fumbled through the clothes for a moment, and retrieved his Taiyi Order and Sect Cloud Token.

Xiao Yu looked at Duan Rong, who was rummaging over there, and asked, "What are you looking for over there?"

"The Taiyi Order and the Sect Cloud Token."

Xiao Yu frowned slightly and asked, "What are you taking the Taiyi Order and the Sect Cloud Token for?"

"I'm going to the Office of Transmission's contact point."

Xiao Yu wanted to ask more, but Duan Rong had already taken the Taiyi Order and the Sect Cloud Token and walked out of the secret chamber.

Xiao Yu half-squatted there, listening to the rustling sounds over there fade away, and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

At this moment, Zhu Xiaoqi leaned over, and in the lamplight, her gaze shifted as she said, "Miss Yu, why is there a black smudge on your face?"

"A black smudge? Where?"

"Here! Right here." As Zhu Xiaoqi said this, she reached out to wipe it.

As soon as she wiped that spot, Xiao Yu knew it was what Duan Rong had just smeared on.

"It won't wipe off... I'll go get some clean water..."

Just as Zhu Xiaoqi was about to go to the corner where the clean water was kept, she was grabbed by Xiao Yu. "Forget it, no need to wipe it. Let's sleep."

As Xiao Yu said this, she blew out the oil lamp in the corner.

Zhu Xiaoqi didn't mind; it was pitch black in here anyway, so it made no difference whether she wiped it or not.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu pressed her palm against that spot on her face and fell into a peaceful sleep.

At the bottom of the dry well, Duan Rong suddenly released his Divine Sense, and after confirming there was no one around, he suddenly became as light as a swallow, tapped his feet against the well wall, and sprang out.

In the alley in front of Xie Lei's old residence, Duan Rong looked up at the pitch-black night sky, identified the direction, and then traveled along the alley, moving through the shadows toward South City.

Traveling rapidly, he suddenly dashed out of a filthy alleyway in the South City tenement, then suddenly stopped and looked up at the city wall before him.

This city wall was over three zhang high and very thick. Moreover, this part of the wall was still some distance from the South City gate.

Under Duan Rong's Divine Sense investigation, he discovered there were no patrolling yamen runners or spies nearby, so he unleashed his movement technique, drifting past like a falling leaf; his toes tapped the base of the city wall, and his figure immediately shot upward, almost clinging to the wall as he vaulted a great distance.

This city wall was polished very smoothly with no footholds, but with Duan Rong's current True Qi Realm Great Perfection Lightness Skill, crossing this city wall was no problem at all.

Duan Rong vaulted over the city wall, flying down from the three-zhang-high ramparts like a large bird; fortunately, the moon was obscured by clouds at this moment, so his elegant, ghost-like posture did not startle anyone.

Duan Rong landed lightly and immediately followed a certain direction, leaping forward through the mountains and wilderness.

Xiangu County was located in a remote area, and the nearest Office of Transmission contact point to Xiangu was in the Wang Family Village at the southeastern foot of Xiao Mountain, more than ten miles away.

This contact point was responsible for the liaison of three counties: Xiangu County, Sheqi County, and Jiuzhong County.

Duan Rong unleashed his movement technique and ran wildly all the way; by the time the sky was just beginning to brighten, he had already arrived at the foot of Xiao Mountain.

Duan Rong stopped, let out a long, turbid breath, and walked toward a village not far away.

Walking to the entrance of the village, he saw the characters "Wang Family Village" on a broken Stone Tablet half-buried in the ground.

The Office of Transmission's contact point was at a house at the east end of the village.

Duan Rong checked the orientation and walked toward the east of the village.

Here, smoke from cooking fires was already rising everywhere in the village, and there were farmers who had already finished breakfast, carrying hoes as they headed toward the fields.

Those villagers saw a short little beggar with a face full of sores walking along the edge of the village, but they didn't pay much attention, just glanced at him once and went on their way.

This contact point was at a house next to a paulownia tree that had been struck by lightning and was half-scorched; inside lived an old bachelor in his early forties.

Duan Rong arrived at the east end of the village and saw the half-scorched paulownia tree at a glance.

He walked slowly to the fence of the farmhouse and saw a middle-aged man dressed as a farmer, wearing a cotton-padded jacket with holes in it, sitting in the courtyard eating breakfast. In reality, it was just a few steamed sweet potatoes.

Duan Rong stood there and coughed; the man in the courtyard turned his head and glanced at him—it was the look of a common farmer, with a dark, grimy face and dust in the three forehead wrinkles.

If it weren't for the secret letter the Sect had given Duan Rong, which contained descriptions of this contact point and the contact person inside, Duan Rong would truly have been unable to connect this near-primitive farmer before him with the Sect's Office of Transmission.

The man stood up, opened the fence gate, stuffed a sweet potato into Duan Rong's hand, and said, "Go look elsewhere."

Duan Rong looked at the hot sweet potato in his hand and was slightly stunned.

The man was about to close the fence gate when Duan Rong suddenly raised his hand and grabbed it.

The man's brows knit together, as if he were about to get angry, but Duan Rong bit into the sweet potato, reached his right hand into his crotch, and pulled out a palm-sized, pitch-black token.

It was precisely the Sect's Taiyi Order.

Seeing the man's expression of astonishment, Duan Rong knew he was undoubtedly the contact person. Where would a real farmer have ever seen a Taiyi Order?

Duan Rong stuffed the Taiyi Order back into his crotch and, while biting the sweet potato, walked into the courtyard; this time, the man naturally did not stop him.

Duan Rong walked past the wooden table in the courtyard and took another sweet potato from the black porcelain bowl. Having run so far in one breath, he was truly quite hungry.

In this courtyard, there were only two mud-brick rooms and one low kitchen; Duan Rong stepped over the threshold and walked straight into the main room.

Inside this house, the walls were bare, and it was very impoverished.

"No wonder he can't get a wife." Duan Rong looked around, sat down carelessly at a dilapidated wooden table; the moment he sat down, the chair creaked, clearly already on the verge of breaking.

The man had also followed him in; he stood at the doorway, eyeing Duan Rong suspiciously, and asked, "What about the Sect Cloud Token? Bring it here for me to see!"

Duan Rong sat there, eating the sweet potato, leaned over to straighten one leg, reached into his crotch to pull out the Sect Cloud Token, and threw it onto the dilapidated wooden table in front of him.

The man looked at the Sect Cloud Token on the table, then recalled where Duan Rong had just pulled it from, and his eyebrows couldn't help but twitch; however, he still walked over, picked up the Sect Cloud Token, and opened it.

That person looked at the Sect Cloud Token, then sized up Duan Rong, his expression like frost, and coldly said, "This is not you!"

Duan Rong had finished eating the two sweet potatoes here; he wiped his mouth, smiled, and suddenly stood up. The moment he stood up, the bones throughout his body popped and cracked, and then Duan Rong's figure grew larger, circle by circle.

That person looked on in shock as Duan Rong suddenly transformed from a little beggar into a well-proportioned, sturdy youth.

Duan Rong brushed back his greasy hair, revealing a dirty face, and said, "I was just pulling the wool over people's eyes. The scab on my face was fake, too. Do you want me to peel it off?"

"No need!" that person coldly said.

Like this, he could already recognize him. They had long since been trained in how to identify people, looking only at the distance between the eyes, the bridge of the nose, the shape of the mouth, and the line of the chin.

That person threw the Sect Cloud Token in front of Duan Rong and asked, "Don't you have a three-month home leave? Why are you reporting in now?"

Duan Rong said, "I didn't want to come either. I just got back and ran into a major case."

"A major case?"

Duan Rong then recounted everything he had discovered in Xiangu County over the past few days.

Upon hearing that Xiangu County had been turned into a stronghold for the Filthy Blood Sect, that person was already full of astonishment; when he heard Duan Rong say that in four days, the Total Altar Dharma Envoy and the Yuanyang Hall Hall Master would be coming to Xiangu County together, he was left with his mouth half-open, stunned, unable to recover his senses for a long time.

"You mean, in four days, the Total Altar Dharma Envoy will come to Xiangu County?"

"Yes," Duan Rong answered decisively.

That person, however, remained deep in thought.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Duan Rong explained, "The stronghold in Xiangu County has been built quite successfully. That Total Altar Dharma Envoy is coming to inspect it."

That person looked up at Duan Rong and said, "Can you ensure the accuracy of this information?"

"I can."

That person said, "To deal with a figure of this level, the Sect needs to mobilize a large amount of resources. I must warn you, if the information is wrong, you will be punished."

Duan Rong said, "If it is wrong, I will accept whatever punishment is given."

Seeing Duan Rong's serious expression, that person finally stopped hesitating. By now, he had accepted the shocking information Duan Rong had provided: this remote Xiangu County would catch two big fish in a single day, one of whom was even a Total Altar Dharma Envoy.

Once this case was successfully closed, everyone involved would be rewarded according to their merits, and when that time came, he wouldn't have to continue suffering through his days in this godforsaken place.

Duan Rong asked, "It's only four days away; is there enough time?"

That person smiled slightly and said, "There is enough time. Do you think we at the Office of Transmission are just sitting around doing nothing?"

Hearing this, Duan Rong felt much more at ease. If the Sect's reinforcements didn't arrive, he felt he might not be able to handle a Total Altar Dharma Envoy and a Hall Master of the Filthy Blood Sect on his own!

"That's good!"

Duan Rong stood up, and with a series of crackling sounds from his bones, his figure shrank circle by circle again. After a few breaths, he became the little beggar who had first entered the door. He greeted the man and left the farmhouse.

After Duan Rong left, the man first found paper and a brush to write a secret letter, then stamped it with a square seal at the bottom. Only then did he take the secret letter, lock the door, leave the village, and head toward Xiao Mountain beside the village.

Xiao Mountain was not a large mountain, nor could it be called steep; there were no fierce beasts in the mountain, only the occasional wild boar.

The man arrived at a mountain hollow and suddenly began to whistle.

Following the whistle, a gray-white shadow suddenly flew out from the dense forest like an arrow, straight and swift.

As soon as the man saw the shadow, he smiled slightly.

The gray-white shadow folded its wings and landed on the man's shoulder; it was actually an adult saker falcon. When it flew over, it was still holding a field mouse in its beak. The field mouse was not yet dead, but it was so frightened it couldn't even squeak, only shrinking back incessantly.

The saker falcon landed steadily on the man's shoulder, then tilted its neck and swallowed the field mouse into its belly.

The man reached out his calloused hand and stroked the saker falcon's head.

The saker falcon closed its eyes in enjoyment and rubbed against the man's rough palm.

The man said with a loving gaze, "Little Gray, there's work to do! You'll have to work hard for another trip."

The saker falcon seemed to understand and let out a light cry.

The man tied the Bamboo Tube containing the secret letter firmly to the saker falcon's leg, then patted its back to signal it to take off.

The saker falcon rubbed its head against the man's face, then suddenly spread its wings. While flapping them slightly, it kicked off with both legs and shot into the sky.

The saker falcon began to circle in mid-air, rising higher and higher, and only after it had become a barely recognizable black dot in the man's eyes did it suddenly accelerate and fly off in a certain direction...

At dusk that day, at the east gate of Xiangu County, a rather ornate carriage drove over, swaying as it went.

Two days ago, the County Government Office had issued a strict order that incoming and outgoing vehicles must be strictly inspected, and any suspicious persons must be reported to the County Government Office immediately.

Such an ornate carriage was quite eye-catching, and the guard leader, Chen Lingde, immediately became alert.

He saw that the person driving the carriage was a Personal Attendant as thin as a monkey. When that Personal Attendant saw Chen Lingde looking at him, his face immediately blossomed into a smile.

Chen Lingde led his men to stop the carriage, and as the curtain of the carriage was lifted, a round, chubby head poked out; it was Ximen Kankan.

As soon as Ximen Kankan saw Chen Lingde, he smiled and said, "Isn't this Old Chen? It's been three years; how have you been?"

"Ximen... Young Master Ximen?" Chen Lingde was slightly stunned to see Ximen Kankan's familiar smiling face.

Ximen Kankan jumped off the carriage with another Personal Attendant.

Ximen Kankan looked at the strict inspection posture of the yamen runners at the city gate and asked, "What's this? Is it this strict to enter the city now?"

Chen Lingde sighed, "It hasn't been peaceful these past few days."

Ximen Kankan said "Oh" and nodded, saying nothing more. "Go ahead and check; the carriage is empty. I just came back to take a look. After all, I haven't been back to my homeland in three years."

Chen Lingde smiled, "The Ximen Family's business has all moved to the Prefecture City. Young Master Ximen, why come back to this poor, remote place instead of enjoying yourself in the Prefecture City?"

Ximen Kankan said, "No matter how good the Prefecture City is, it is not my homeland after all! I grew up here; in my heart, only Xiangu County is my home."

Ximen Kankan's words touched Chen Lingde's heart.

He lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw that it was indeed empty.

Chen Lingde walked over and sized up the two Personal Attendants beside Ximen Kankan; he found both of these Personal Attendants to be very unfamiliar.

These two Personal Attendants were actually Shen Mizhi and Liu Shushan in disguise.

Liu Shushan was from Ruyang Prefecture, so Chen Lingde naturally had never seen him. Although Shen Mizhi had stayed in Xiangu County for three years, she was dressed as a Personal Attendant at this time, and her face was coated with a thin layer of pine wax, making it look slightly sallow; how could Chen Lingde recognize her?

Chen Lingde smiled and said, "Didn't Shi Kang come back with Young Master Ximen?"

That Shi Kang was Ximen Kankan's personal attendant, having grown up with Ximen Kankan; Chen Lingde was aware of this.

Ximen Kankan said, "Don't mention it. I've been in the Sect for three years, and that kid has been managing a whole mess of things, so he simply couldn't get away. These two Personal Attendants were bought by my father in the Prefecture City; I found them pleasing to the eye, so I brought them along to serve me."

"Is that so?" Chen Lingde looked the two Personal Attendants over once more.

Ximen Kankan pulled a banknote from his bosom, slapped it onto the back of Chen Lingde's hand, and laughed, "For the brothers to have some tea. We haven't seen each other in three years, consider this a greeting."

Chen Lingde took the banknote, and upon seeing the denomination, his face immediately beamed with joy, saying, "Young Master Ximen is too kind!"

"Not at all?!"

Chen Lingde turned his head to look at the Ya Men runners searching the carriages and said, "Everything that needed to be checked has been checked, let them pass."

"Old Chen, see you next time!"

"See you!"

Ximen Kankan turned his head to look at Shen Mizhi beside him and said in a low voice, "Little Shen! Why aren't you serving this young master into the carriage yet?"

Seeing Ximen Kankan's manner, Shen Mizhi was instantly filled with indignation and really wanted to kick him in his fat face, but with everyone watching, she had no choice but to pull back the carriage curtain and assist Ximen Kankan into the carriage.

However, as Ximen Kankan climbed into the carriage, she fiercely pinched a large circle into his thigh.

Ximen Kankan grimaced in pain, yet he dared not make a single sound.

Chen Lingde stood at the city gate, watching Ximen Kankan's ornate carriage enter the city; there was not a trace of expression on his cold face.

Chen Lingde instructed his Deputy, saying, "Watch the city gate well, I am going to the Ya Men."

Ximen Kankan had been a Registered Disciple of the Sect three years ago, and his status now was very likely that of an Outer Sect Disciple; for a person of such standing to enter Xiangu County, he had to report it to the Ya Men.

(End of this chapter)