Chapter 92: Volume 1, Chapter 92: Fishing in Troubled Waters

Seeing that this young man was indeed striking up a conversation with her, the proprietress immediately put on a smiling face and said, "That's hard to say. I've been selling tea at the foot of this mountain for over ten years, and this is the first time I've seen so many pilgrims in a single day."

At this point, the proprietress said mysteriously, "Sir, don't say I didn't warn you. Dadongshan Si may look big, but there aren't many monks inside—only twenty-odd people in total. With so many pilgrims today, there's no way they can attend to everyone. In my opinion, you'd be better off coming back another day."

"How can fulfilling a vow be put off for another day? Thank you for the reminder, proprietress." Rong Luoge bowed and took out a silver ingot, slipping it to her.

The proprietress's eyes lit up—so this was a wealthy, handsome young fellow. She briskly tucked the silver into her sleeve pocket and gave a light cough. "I can't just take the young master's favor for nothing. I have some acquaintance with a few monks up on the mountain—they often come to drink tea. There's one named Ji Yuan you can trust. If you run into any trouble, young master, just tell him I sent you to ask for his help."

She hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall. Rong Luoge thought to herself that the silver hadn't been wasted and immediately said with great feeling, "Thank you, proprietress. You're truly beautiful and kindhearted."

The proprietress grinned from ear to ear. Watching the handsome young fellow head up the mountain, she hummed a little tune. A single silver ingot like that was enough to cover ten days of tea sales. Rich people really were generous—she had only spoken a few nice words, after all.

Recalling the proprietress's words, Rong Luoge decided to enter the temple directly through the front gate and headed straight up the mountain. Halfway up, she noticed something was off. Trees on both sides had toppled over, broken branches and fallen leaves were scattered about—it looked like the aftermath of a fight.

Her heart tightened. She immediately followed the traces. At first the signs were faint—the people who had clashed must have been holding back. But the deeper into the mountain she went, the heavier the traces became. Trees were downed in swathes, and flecks of blood were faintly visible.

Rong Luoge recalled that the merchant caravan's people had set out early that morning, and Han Xinglan was not at the Dong Gong. Dadongshan Si had just been confirmed to have hidden items. With so many coincidences, how could they be mere coincidence?

She was eighty percent certain that the people fighting here were the merchant caravan and the Crown Prince's men.

She sped up and gave chase. By now she had already left the proper path up the mountain, and the road grew increasingly rugged and difficult. The bloodstains also grew more numerous. After walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she spotted a person lying on the ground who had already stopped breathing.

She stepped forward to examine him. He wore a set of gray short clothes, and on his belt was a strange emblem—one she had never seen before. She reckoned it was probably connected to the merchant caravan.

After a moment's thought, Rong Luoge said to the corpse, "Sorry about this—let me borrow your outer garment. Once this is over, I'll see you properly buried. Thank you for the favor of lending your clothes."

Rong Luoge briskly stripped off the outer garment and put it on over her own clothes. She looked herself up and down and found nothing wrong, then continued onward.

She hadn't gone far when she spotted a group of people ahead in the distance. She quietly trailed them, hiding in the shadows and listening to their conversation, secretly gathering information.

"How many people did the Chief bring this time?"

The one leading them was a tall, burly man. Judging by his attire, which was clearly more splendid than the others', he was likely someone of status. Moreover, the way he mentioned the word "Chief" carried no trace of respect or fear.

Rong Luoge thought to herself that the Qiongchuan Merchant Caravan was probably not entirely united—and that would make things much easier.

"Said forty or fifty, but we lost a few in the earlier clash with the enemy. We searched around and we're still short one corpse. Where did it go?"

Rong Luoge's heart clenched. She knew it was likely the corpse she had found. She didn't dare move a muscle and held her breath, listening silently.

"Out here in the middle of nowhere, who knows where it fell," the man from before said dismissively. "The Chief was actually willing to come out of the city this time. Back then, our Second Chief hadn't even entered the city before the Chief assigned him to this temple. When the time comes, won't the Chief still need the Second Chief's help?"

"You're right, Steward Mao. But this kind of thing is like when immortals fight and the little ghosts suffer. We're nobodies—can't control that much. Better hurry up and find the person."

"Let's go. Stay sharp. Things aren't peaceful on this mountain today."

"Steward Mao, do you think that group from before will come back?"

"Hard to say. The Second Steward has already arranged people to patrol the mountain. Let's hurry."

Rong Luoge listened as the sound of their conversation grew distant and their footsteps gradually faded. She sorted through her thoughts on the spot, then stood up and continued onward, planning to scout the situation inside the temple first.

From what that Steward Mao's group had said earlier, could it be that the Crown Prince's men had already withdrawn?

Since that Second Steward had arranged mountain patrols, she had to get into the temple before the patrol teams arrived.

Rong Luoge looked at the clothes she was wearing—they were no different from those of Steward Mao's underlings. It seemed that even if the Chief Steward and the Second Steward weren't on good terms, their subordinates weren't so clearly divided.

"Hey, you up ahead—what are you doing there? Get to work, stop slacking."

Rong Luoge hadn't noticed anyone nearby before, but the voice came from above. She looked up and saw a group of people descending from the mountainside—it looked like that patrol team. Already?

"Coming right now—just had to take a piss." Rong Luoge lowered her voice and put on a slightly rougher tone.

Seeing that they didn't seem suspicious of her, Rong Luoge recalled what Steward Mao's group had said about the Chief bringing people today. The two groups probably weren't familiar with each other—which was perfect for her to blend in.

She immediately made a show of adjusting her belt, then quickly caught up and nimbly fell in at the tail of the group. Looking at the person ahead of her with a grin, she asked, "Brother, how late do we have to keep at this?"

Rong Luoge still didn't know the exact situation, so her inquiries had to be vague yet foolproof—words like these wouldn't reveal any holes no matter how the other person interpreted them.

Sure enough, the other man sighed. "Looks like we'll be busy today. I'll say, you're a slippery one—slacking off the moment you start working."

"No, no, I really did need to piss." Rong Luoge plastered on a smile and shot back, "No matter how busy it gets, you've got to let a person catch their breath, right? So much happened first thing in the morning and there's no letup—do they want to work us to death?"

"Isn't that the truth? The higher-ups say one word and we run our legs off, without even a scrap of benefit." The man was clearly somewhat disgruntled too. "With so many people, everything's a mess. People from inside and outside the city are all mixed together—it's a real mess. Brother, you look unfamiliar to me. Are you the Chief Steward's man?"

"Sharp eyes, brother—that I am. Dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, and then nearly lost my life once we got up this mountain. Now we're still patrolling the mountain. These two legs aren't even my own anymore." Rong Luoge pretended to complain, then glanced around, took out a silver ingot, and slipped it into the man's hand. "What's your surname, brother? I'll be relying on you to look after me today."

The man took the silver and weighed it in his hand. Damn, city folks really knew how to rake in money. He hastily stuffed it into his chest, his attitude even warmer than before. "My surname is Dai, name's Dai Qi. Don't worry—later I'll find a chance to let you rest your feet."

Rong Luoge's mouth twitched when she heard the name. Dai Qi?

If they didn't "dai" (catch) him today, the name would be wasted!