Chapter 485: White Clothes and Conical Hat

Within the Changliu Mountain Range, at Yunfu Peak, inside a secluded room within a pavilion.

Zhu He looked at the chest Wu Shidao had placed on the floor, glanced sideways, and asked, "Did Duan Rong hand this to you?"

"Yes!" Wu Shidao lowered his head and said, "The Junior Disciple said that this chest contains the recorded data of officials above the third rank within Taihe Tower."

Upon hearing this, Zhu He's expression did not change; he had guessed what was in the chest the moment he saw it.

Zhu He pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "The data that Wang Maochun is escorting with the iron cavalry convoy—when is it estimated to arrive at the mountain?"

Wu Shidao replied, "According to the Sect's orders, it will arrive in two days at the latest."

Zhu He nodded, suddenly opened the chest, pulled out a booklet at random, and flipped through it. He was not looking at the specific content, but merely at the size of the font within the booklet.

After flipping through a few pages, Zhu He threw the booklet back into the chest and said, "Find a few reliable people and have all this data copied."

Wu Shidao said, "Yes."

"Once the copying is finished, find a way to hand the originals to Wang Maochun and have him submit them to the Elder Council together."

Wu Shidao's brows twitched, and he asked, "Hand all the originals to him?"

Zhu He said, "Correct! Do not let a single one be missing!"

"Yes!" Wu Shidao cupped his hands and replied.

"Go do it," Zhu He said. "Although the time is a bit rushed, it should still be in time."

Wu Shidao then lifted the chest and walked out of the room.

Zhu He watched Wu Shidao's departing back, his gaze flickering slightly.

This data was meant for Chu Qiushan. If Zhu He had intercepted the data on officials above the third rank, Chu Qiushan would certainly have noticed and would definitely have investigated it.

The time Duan Rong chose to have Wu Shidao send it back was very timely, leaving enough time for Yunfu Peak to make copies.

Wu Shidao carried the chest directly to the Document Repository of the Inner History Department.

He summoned over a dozen old Attendants skilled with brush and knife, calling them into the Document Repository. He had them sit at the desks and handed them the booklets from the chest, stack by stack, instructing them to transcribe them.

When those old Attendants saw the thick, towering stacks of booklets on the desks before them, all filled with dense, tiny regular script, they immediately felt a headache and began to complain bitterly.

"My lord, must we transcribe all of them?"

"Yes!"

Hearing Wu Shidao's affirmative answer, those old Attendants began to grumble with dissatisfied expressions.

Wu Shidao picked up a booklet, flipped through it lightly, and said in a deep voice, "If there is still any left untranscribed in two days, I will burn the remainder on your graves and let you take them to the Underworld to copy!"

Wu Shidao's voice was sinister, making those old Attendants shiver involuntarily; they immediately began grinding ink and transcribing by the orange candlelight.

It was already late autumn, and at high noon, the scorched yellow sun was not very intense, emitting only a pale light through the thin clouds.

On the Official Road forty miles from the Changliu Mountain Range, a mass of black iron cavalry approached, the sound of horse hooves like rolling thunder, kicking up dust!

Wang Maochun, dressed in his official robes, was also riding a spirited black horse, galloping all the way; a layer of dust had settled on his official robes and black-winged hat.

While riding, he looked up at the sun flickering through the clouds and suddenly shouted, "Brothers! We rest here!"

Following Wang Maochun's loud shout, a chorus of "Whoa!" sounds rang out, and the horses and carts all came to a stop.

Wang Maochun reined in his horse, looked at the dusty soldiers, and said, "Everyone, have a full meal first! The next time we set off, we will run straight into Changliu Mountain in one go. We must enter the mountain before sunset tonight."

Some of the older soldiers shook their heads incessantly upon hearing this; it was still over forty miles to Changliu Mountain—entering the mountain before sunset would run the horses to death!

Grumbling aside, they still sat by the roadside, took out their water bags and dry rations, and began to eat.

Wang Maochun also sat by the roadside; the leader of the cavalry brought him dried meat, flatbread, and water, and the two of them ate and drank together.

Just after eating a few bites, a figure suddenly emerged from the edge of the dense forest by the Official Road not far away.

That figure was tall and slender, dressed in plain white, with a conical hat pressed down on their head, obscuring their face. It looked quite eerie at first glance!

As soon as that person stepped out from the edge of the forest, the cavalry leader noticed them and immediately grabbed their blade and crouched down.

This was the middle of nowhere; how could someone just happen to appear?

It was eight or nine parts likely that they were coming for them!

But after the person wearing the conical hat stepped out of the forest edge, they stopped there and did not walk toward the Official Road.

Wang Maochun naturally saw this person too, and his gaze shifted slightly.

At this moment, the person wearing the conical hat suddenly coughed. "Cough!" Then, they turned around and walked back into the dense forest, their figure submerged.

The cavalry leader looked surprised, wondering what the background and purpose of such a strange person could be.

Just then, Wang Maochun stood up and said, "You all stay here and keep watch; I will go over and take a look."

The cavalry leader was stunned and immediately stood up, saying, "My lord, shall I accompany you?"

"No need!" Wang Maochun looked steadily at the leader and said, "Guard the escorted goods well! I will be back shortly."

A look of being moved flashed through the leader's eyes, and he cupped his hands, saying, "Yes!"

The status of a Prefecture Master was much higher than his own as a leader of the Privy Council's iron cavalry; it was not easy to see someone who could still lead by example when encountering matters!

Wang Maochun utilized his Lightness Skill, his figure instantly flickering like a shadow as he darted into the dense forest, drawing envious gazes from the soldiers.

Wang Maochun was a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm Fourth Layer; the soldiers would likely find it difficult to ever reach such footwork in their lifetimes.

As soon as Wang Maochun entered the dense forest, he saw the person wearing the conical hat standing under a large tree, seemingly waiting for him.

Wang Maochun walked over, bowed and cupped his hands toward the person, and said, "Lord Wu!"

Wu Shidao chuckled, took off the conical hat, and smiled, "It is hard for Lord Wang to still remember this old attire of mine?"

Wang Maochun said, "The impression is deep; I dare not forget!"

The first time Wu Shidao met Wang Maochun, he was dressed like this; at that time, Wang Maochun was not yet the Prefecture Master of Shenyun Prefecture. The letter Zhu He used to turn him against his masters, which Wang Maochun would never forget for the rest of his life, was delivered by Wu Shidao.

At that time, with snow filling the sky, Wu Shidao had worn this white outfit and this conical hat to go see Wang Maochun.

At the edge of the dense forest, that cough from Wu Shidao had made Wang Maochun certain beyond doubt that it was Wu Shidao's voice.

Wang Maochun said, "For you to be here, Lord, and to meet me in this way, there must be something important."

Wu Shidao did not speak; suddenly, his figure leaped up, and he held up a chest with one hand from the intersection of the branches of the tree above his head, floating down gracefully.

Wang Maochun looked at Wu Shidao, who was holding the box, his gaze flickering slightly.

Wu Shidao suddenly pushed with his hand, and the box in his hand actually went "Whoosh—" as it smashed toward Wang Maochun.

Wang Maochun channeled his energy into his hands and, as the box flew over, caught it.

Wu Shidao said, "Inside this box are the records of officials of the third rank and above; hand them all over to the Elder Council tomorrow."

Wang Maochun glanced at the box in his hands and said, "Yes!"

On the Official Road, those armored cavalry soldiers began to guard carefully after Wang Maochun entered the dense forest.

The cavalry leader even gripped his saber and stood in front of a carriage, his gaze vigilant.

Just at this moment, not far behind him, a scream suddenly rang out. The cavalry leader turned his head, only to see a white shadow flash; the white-clothed person wearing a bamboo hat from before had already twisted off a soldier's head, and blood splattered...

The soldiers on the Official Road were in a state of chaos. The armored cavalry leader immediately drew his saber to slash at the white-clothed person, but the white-clothed person's figure swayed, and he had already taken a blood-dripping human head and flown into the dense forest on the other side.

The armored cavalry leader was just about to pursue when he suddenly heard a loud shout from behind: "Do not pursue!"

The armored cavalry leader's figure stalled upon hearing this. He turned his head to look and saw that Wang Maochun was already standing beside a carriage on the Official Road.

At this time, Wang Maochun's expression was grave, but he had already taken advantage of the chaos to place that box into the carriage. People were all attracted by the scream, and no one had noticed his actions.

Wu Shidao had killed a person and twisted off their head just to create chaos, so that Wang Maochun could take advantage of it to put the box into the carriage.

Wang Maochun shouted, "We bear a heavy responsibility! This place is not suitable for a long stay!"

"Go! We must set off immediately!"

The soldiers then held their sabers and mounted their horses, and the sound of thundering, rain-like hoofbeats rang out on the Official Road.

Those old hands who were still complaining in their hearts about the journey being too rushed now wished they could grow wings, whipping their horses' rumps fiercely, fearing that if they were a second slow, they would have their lives claimed by that white ghost shadow...

Wu Shidao, wearing a bamboo hat, stood on a treetop beside the Official Road, his figure as light as the wind. He looked at the dense black shadows amidst the flying dust on the Official Road, smiled slightly, and threw the blood-dripping human head in his hand deep into the dense forest beside him...

At dusk, the autumn sunset was exceptionally beautiful.

Just in this crimson sky, the steward Zhu Yu led Duan Rong into the flower hall in the Back Courtyard.

Inside the flower hall, Zhu Zhengfu had already been waiting there.

As soon as Duan Rong stepped in, Zhu Zhengfu was about to prostrate himself and kneel, but was held up by Duan Rong.

"Magistrate Zhu, you and I meet every day. Let's skip these vulgar formalities when it's just the two of us."

Although Zhu Zhengfu was helped up by Duan Rong, he still cupped his hands and kept saying yes.

Duan Rong sat on the grand armchair and asked, "Magistrate Zhu, you called Duan here at this time; there must be something?"

"There is indeed something!" Zhu Zhengfu's face suddenly showed capability. "There are two urgent documents that need to be made known to you, sir!"

Duan Rong did not speak upon hearing this, looking at Zhu Zhengfu and waiting for him to elaborate.

Zhu Zhengfu immediately pulled two documents from his sleeve and said, "One is a document issued by the Sect, which just arrived at Shenyun Prefecture an hour ago. It says to have you, sir, set off immediately and rush back to the Sect to report the case details to the Elder Council."

"The Sect Elder Council? Report the case details?!"

"Exactly!"

Duan Rong's gaze shifted and he said, "Bring the document here for me to see."

Zhu Zhengfu handed over both documents. Duan Rong saw one first and looked it over.

After reading it, Duan Rong closed the document. What was written in the document was to have him go to the Elder Council to report the case details of the three cases: the Taihe Tower incident, the Pei Du and Jiang Zhe ambush case, and the Ge Rusong case.

Come to think of it, he was a witness to all three cases; having him go to the Elder Council to report the case details was quite reasonable!

Duan Rong's gaze shifted. He looked at the other document he had placed on the side table and asked, "What is the other document?"

Zhu Zhengfu said, "It is a secret letter from the Ancestor, which also just arrived not long ago."

Duan Rong then put down the document in his hand and picked up the other one. The Ancestor Zhu Zhengfu spoke of was Zhu He.

Zhu Zhengfu said, "The Ancestor wants you, sir, to hand over the matter of capturing the spies to Magistrate Lu Geng."

Duan Rong closed the document in his hand. There was only one line inside, just a few sparse words: have Duan Rong hand over the matters in his hands to Lu Geng.

That old man is really stingy with his ink!

However, since the old man didn't mention him going to the Elder Council to report the case details, it should mean that reporting the case details held no risk for him.

Having him hand things over just meant having him hurry back to the Sect.

Duan Rong stood up and suddenly called out, "Steward Zhu, come in for a moment."

Zhu Yu had originally been guarding outside the door; upon hearing this, he immediately hurried in and knelt on the ground.

Duan Rong said, "You send someone to tell Zhu Peng that I will take two people to his cool house for a meal tonight, and have him prepare a dinner banquet. Also, you go to the relay station yourself and invite my Senior Brother Lu Geng. Also send someone to notify Zhu Cheng and have him go as well."

Zhu Yu said, "Yes, sir, this old servant will go handle it right away!"

Zhu Yu then stood up and retreated.

Duan Rong glanced at Zhu Zhengfu and, seeing that Zhu Zhengfu's expression was somewhat ugly, said, "I just think the food at Zhu Peng's house is good. Magistrate Zhu, you just lost your cook here, didn't you! There is no other meaning in not hosting the guest here at your place, Magistrate Zhu, do not overthink it!"

"This subordinate would not dare!"

Duan Rong smiled slightly and walked out of the flower hall.

Zhu Zhengfu's expression was not good, not only because Duan Rong was not hosting this meal at his place, but also because Duan Rong did not invite him to the table for this final meal before leaving.

However, Duan Rong had his own considerations for arranging the dinner at Zhu Peng's. For one, he had said he would have a drink with Lu Geng, and he had to fulfill his promise before leaving. Secondly, he needed to hand over the work of capturing spies to Lu Geng, and for this matter, Zhu Peng and Zhu Cheng were both participants, so it was best if both were present.

And Zhu Zhengfu? He was an outsider to the matter of capturing spies.

Duan Rong walked out of the flower hall and arrived at the Separate Courtyard where he lived, heading straight for the side room.

Inside the side room, Yang Zhen was practicing on the bed, sitting cross-legged with his five hearts facing the sky.

Yang Zhen had already achieved the True Qi Realm First Stage; this could be seen from the way he was practicing.

If it were Inner Breath Realm practice, one would need to do Standing Stake, training to produce Internal Breath from the blood energy steaming within the body.

But the method of True Qi practice was already completely different.

Duan Rong stood at the doorway, pushed the door, and called out, "Yang Zhen!"

Hearing Duan Rong call him, Yang Zhen breathed in lightly, and at the same time, the two hands he had placed on his knees began to lift, raising horizontally in front of his chest and pressing down, exhaling a long breath that stirred up a patch of dust in the middle of the side room floor.

He immediately opened his eyes, leaped up, and opened the door.

Duan Rong stood outside the door, looked at Yang Zhen, and said, "Let's go, come out with me for a trip."

Yang Zhen wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and followed Duan Rong down the steps.

At this moment, Zhu Xiaoqi walked out of the room, and in the twilight, looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Where are you going?"

Duan Rong looked back at the way Zhu Xiaoqi stood in the twilight; there seemed to be a hazy beauty in her shining eyes, and for some reason, Duan Rong wanted to annoy her, so he said, "Going to drink flower wine."

Zhu Xiaoqi suddenly executed the Cloud Snake Step, her figure flashed, and she blocked Duan Rong's path, puffing out her cheeks as she said, "If you dare to go, I will tell my young lady."

Duan Rong only gave a light laugh, then bypassed Zhu Xiaoqi and continued walking outward.

"You..." Zhu Xiaoqi stomped her foot in anger, and seeing she could not persuade Duan Rong, she called out to Yang Zhen, "Yang Zhen, are you going too?"

Yang Zhen turned his head and said, "Wherever the Lord goes, I go." After speaking, he followed Duan Rong and walked out together.

Zhu Xiaoqi watched the two figures walk away, spat, twisted her handkerchief, and cursed through gritted teeth, "Truly shameless! Not a single one is any good!"

She sulked to herself for a while, then turned and went back into her room.

(End of this chapter)