Chapter 36: Undercurrents Surging, Using the Lives of Comrades to Lure Comrades (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

On the surface, Tongzhou is calm and tranquil.

In reality, however, undercurrents are already surging.

The people of the Xuanhuang Sect, the Jing'an Guard, and the soldiers under the command of Li Jiangjun are all searching for Zhou Shunqing, both openly and covertly.

Yet for two days in a row, the Jing'an Guard has turned Tongzhou upside down in the name of investigating the dried corpse case without finding any suspicious persons, and the same goes for Wang Xianling's side.

This makes Pei Shaoqing have to wonder: did Zhou Shunqing not enter the city at all? Or has he already left Tongzhou?

Wang Xianling has this same suspicion, and he went to see the Holy Son of Kaiyang early this morning to propose his conjecture.

"Absolutely impossible. I chased him all the way to Tongzhou. Besides, he is heavily injured; how could he not be recuperating in Tongzhou?" the Holy Son of Kaiyang denied it flatly, his hand subconsciously stroking a pretty, three-colored cat in his arms.

This cat is especially affectionate, taking the initiative to jump to his side and rub against his leg; he finds it very hard to resist picking it up to pet it.

Wang Xianling pondered for a moment and said, "Although Tongzhou is not large, it still has a population of hundreds of thousands. Relying solely on manpower to search is no less difficult than finding a needle in the ocean. In my humble opinion, perhaps we can find a way to lure him into appearing on his own."

"What kind of luring method?" the Holy Son of Kaiyang asked.

Just as Wang Xianling was about to speak, he kept feeling as if many pairs of eyes were watching him from the dark.

He subconsciously leaned closer to the Holy Son of Kaiyang and lowered his voice, saying, "If we do this... and this... as long as he is still in Tongzhou, he will likely show himself."

If Zhou Shunqing does not appear, it means he is likely no longer in Tongzhou, and then it is none of his business.

After speaking, Wang Xianling noticed that the three-colored cat in the arms of the Holy Son of Kaiyang opposite him was staring at him quietly.

"Meow~" the three-colored cat let out a cry. What kind of bad intentions could such a cute little kitten have?

"Good! Very good!" The Holy Son of Kaiyang beamed with joy after hearing this and called out "good" repeatedly. "Helmsman Wang, this is truly a brilliant plan. Since it is a method you thought of, then I will leave it to you to execute. I will just wait for your good news."

"This subordinate obeys," Wang Xianling replied with a cupped-fist salute.

…………………………

At the Hundred-Household Office, Sun Youliang, who had returned to Tongzhou travel-worn and weary, knelt on one knee as soon as he entered the door. "Greetings, My Lord!"

"Mingde, please rise quickly." Pei Shaoqing immediately stepped forward to help him up personally. "You have worked hard."

"It is not hard work; it is this subordinate's honor to share the burden for My Lord." Sun Youliang grinned, then took out the items he brought back from the prefectural city. "My Lord, this is the reply from Thousand-Household Lu and your appointment documents."

Pei Shaoqing only glanced at the appointment letter for the Flag Officer and set it aside, then opened the letter from Thousand-Household Lu.

In the letter, Thousand-Household Lu praised Pei Shaoqing extensively for having the style of his father, affirmed his merit in exposing the rebel identity of Zheng Xuancheng and beheading him, and exhorted him to continue to make persistent efforts in the future to repay the vast imperial grace.

He also said that the Trial Hundred-Household would arrive within ten days, named Zhou Xiangyang, who was an extremely capable Flag Officer by his side, and urged Pei Shaoqing to get along well with him.

"What kind of person is Thousand-Household Lu?" Pei Shaoqing asked softly as he tossed the letter aside.

Sun Youliang answered after careful consideration, "He loves money more than beauties, is self-disciplined, and does not associate with women."

"There is a man who doesn't like women?" Pei Shaoqing was greatly surprised and sighed, "This is a ruthless man!"

Many men cannot even manage to abstain from self-pleasure.

Yet Thousand-Household Lu, despite his high position and great power where all kinds of beauties are within easy reach, is able to keep his heart firm and stay away from women.

This shows his firm mind and grand ambitions.

"He said in the letter that the new Trial Hundred-Household is named Zhou Xiangyang, a Flag Officer. Have you learned anything about this person in the prefectural city?" Pei Shaoqing asked another question.

Sun Youliang was startled, lowered his head, and said, "Thousand-Household Lu did not reveal the candidate for Hundred-Household to this subordinate, so I do not know. But when I first met the Thousand-Household, there was indeed a Flag Officer by his side who looked quite close to him.

I reckon it might be this person? Although his speech was somewhat sharp, his appearance looked kind and easy to get along with."

"I hope he is easy to get along with. If he doesn't know what's good for him... Hmph!" Pei Shaoqing sneered.

Upon hearing this, Sun Youliang immediately lowered his head.

"Meow~"

The sudden cat cry attracted both their gazes; Li Jiangjun walked in with a swagger.

"Mingde, you have traveled far and are exhausted. Go back, take a bath, and get some rest. Tonight, I will host a banquet at Qunfang Yuan to welcome you." Pei Shaoqing dismissed Sun Youliang.

Sun Youliang responded and turned to leave. As he was about to go out, he looked at Li Jiangjun and clicked his tongue in wonder, "So fat."

"So what if I'm fat? Did my fat eat your fish?" After watching Sun Youliang's back disappear, Li Jiangjun stood up on its hind legs, put its paws on its hips, and cursed in human speech to vent its dissatisfaction, "This General's belly is called a 'General's Belly', understand!"

"Alright, what is it?" Pei Shaoqing asked.

General Li barely suppressed its anger, dropped to all fours, and explained its purpose to Pei Shaoqing, "Master, my beloved concubine Three-Colors just obtained important intelligence: Wang Xianling and the Holy Son of Kaiyang are planning to design a trap to lure that Zhou Shunqing out."

"Oh? How will they lure him?" Pei Shaoqing raised an eyebrow.

Just then, accompanied by footsteps, a Jing'an Guard hurried over. "My Lord, Wang Xianling requests an audience."

"Invite him in." Pei Shaoqing pondered for a moment.

After the Jing'an Guard left, Li Jiangjun said, "Master will know how they plan to lure him very soon."

After saying this, it jumped onto a table to lick its balls.

Before long, Wang Xianling walked in with a steady, measured gait. "Flag Officer Pei, have you been well lately?"

"Thanks to Wang Xianling's blessing, I am doing well." Pei Shaoqing laughed, raised his hand to signal him to take a seat, and ordered someone to serve tea. "I wonder what brings Wang Xianling here today?"

"Regarding those accomplices of Zheng Xuancheng in the Jing'an Guard prison, I wonder when Flag Officer Pei plans to carry out the execution?" After sitting down, Wang Xianling smoothed his long robe and asked indifferently.

Pei Shaoqing's mind stirred. Combining this with what Li Jiangjun had just said, he guessed Wang Xianling's intention and said smoothly, "I was just preparing to carry out the execution tomorrow. Wang Xianling asks about this—is there something you need to instruct?"

That's right. Even if Zhou Shunqing betrayed the Xuanhuang Sect for the sake of a spiritual pill, he was ultimately from the Xuanhuang Sect.

With the brainwashing methods of the Xuanhuang Sect, upon learning that his former comrades were about to be executed in large numbers, he would very likely be unable to restrain himself and appear near the execution ground to watch.

Wang Xianling was startled. He had originally prepared a set of reasons to persuade Pei Shaoqing to carry out the execution as soon as possible, but he did not expect Pei Shaoqing to have already made arrangements, making his reasons unnecessary.

Using the lives of comrades to lure the snake out of its hole—although he felt a bit of reluctance, those few Holy Sect disciples were destined to die anyway, so let their deaths be more valuable. Everything was for the great cause of the Holy Sect!

"Sigh, it is nothing more than wanting to know the execution time in advance so that those disciples who voluntarily sacrificed themselves for the great cause of the Holy Sect can have a good meal and wine before they go on their way," Wang Xianling sighed and said with a look of compassion.

Pei Shaoqing agreed immediately, "Wang Xianling need not worry about this. They helped me take down Zheng Xuancheng, so they can be considered to have died for me. I will never treat them poorly."

"Then I will trouble Flag Officer Pei." Wang Xianling stood up and gave a sincere and solemn salute.

Pei Shaoqing picked up his teacup, "You are too polite."

Seeing this, Wang Xianling tactfully offered his farewells.

"My lord, do you think Zhou Shunqing will appear at the execution ground tomorrow?" Li Jiangjun asked curiously.

"He will," Pei Shaoqing said, setting down his teacup and speaking softly, "their own people understand their own people best."

County Magistrate Wang is by no means a bad person, but the fact that he could heartlessly accelerate the deaths of several sect disciples just to lure out Zhou Shunqing shows that the internal cohesion of the Xuanhuang Sect is extremely strong.

Even if Zhou Shunqing's loyalty to the Xuanhuang Sect does not match that of County Magistrate Wang, there must certainly be some affection there.

Furthermore, apart from those who are born bad seeds, most people who have done wrong often need to perform some superficial gestures to make up for their inner guilt, so there is a high probability that Zhou Shunqing will appear at the execution ground to see his comrades off.

"Someone come," Pei Shaoqing shouted, and then issued an order, "Post the notice: the accomplices of Zheng Xuancheng will be beheaded at the execution ground tomorrow at the noon hour!"

In just the span of a single day, this news spread throughout all of Tongzhou, and everyone was discussing it.

At the same time, County Magistrate Wang and the Kaiyang Holy Son were preparing for tomorrow's mantis stalking the cicada, while Pei Shaoqing was making a comprehensive set of arrangements to act as the oriole tomorrow.

Seeking monthly votes! Seeking follow-up reads! Help me push this up, ten thousand words a day upon release! Ten thousand words a day!

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(End of this chapter)