Chapter 879

Who is this?

Qian Fugui finished drawing the first person, studied the figure on the page, his brows repeatedly furrowing and relaxing. "Sigh, why does this person look somewhat familiar? I feel like I've seen him somewhere."

"Have you seen him?!" Chen Ruoshui exclaimed in surprise, "I only know he's a coachman, a trusted subordinate of Snake Staff Old Man. Think hard about where you might have seen him. If we can find this person, we might be able to locate Snake Staff Old Man's Old Stronghold."

"My lord suspects that behind the events happening in Xinglin Zhen, Snake Staff Old Man is up to mischief again; this person is very important."

Qian Fugui frowned, thinking, muttering, "I'm sure I've seen this person, but where exactly… No, you've been by Snake Staff Old Man's side for so many years, yet you still haven't figured out his background?"

"We haven't had much contact, but Snake Staff Old Man actually guards against us a lot." Chen Ruoshui gave a bitter smile, "We're just expendable Death Soldiers being used; don't really think of us as Snake Staff Old Man's adopted sons and daughters—I'm not even worthy of that."

Qian Fugui bit the end of his brush, cursing, "This damn thing is truly disgusting! In direct confrontation he cowers like a dog, but behind the scenes he acts like a petty ghost, always doing disgusting things."

"You'd better think of it quickly." Chen Ruoshui said.

Qian Fugui raised his hand, "Don't rush me; I'm thinking. I saw this person some days ago, but my impression is vague."

Chen Ruoshui hummed, looked up to the second floor, "What's going on up there? Why are there so many women?"

"Oh, I'm detoxifying Kong Fang, hehe." Qian Fugui gave a wicked laugh, "This kid is almost out of breath."

Chen Ruoshui's face flushed slightly, she silently avoided his gaze, "Did you do that?"

"No, this is my lord's idea; I couldn't think of such a nasty idea myself—I came as an upright gentleman." Qian Fugui, afraid Chen Ruoshui would misunderstand, hurried to distance himself from it.

「……」 – none.

The women upstairs' cheerful cries echoed back and forth.

When the women in the tavern gathered together, the scene could only be described as magnificent.

They didn't care about saving face, were open‑hearted, and the jokes tossed around nearby grew bolder, with anything able to spill from their mouths.

Chen Ruoshui pinched her ears, her expression a little uneasy, "Let's go outside."

"Also… alright." Qian Fugui suddenly chuckled, "You've worked in a tavern before, haven't you? Why are you avoiding this?"

"I'm a maidservant, and besides, I've worked in a tavern and never seen such a scene." Chen Ruoshui's face darkened.

Which respectable family would shout at a line of women waiting for detox?

As one foot stepped over the threshold, Qian Fugui suddenly exclaimed, "I know who this bastard is—he once traded zhu wood and raw lacquer with me. That transaction was sizable; I have some recollection, but since we only dealt once and never again, my memory of it is faint."

"He seems to be surnamed Yuan; after that transaction he gave me some seeds, wanting me to order the people to plant them, and once the crops matured he'd send people to buy them at a high price. But at the time of that first deal, I didn't know what crop he was offering, so I didn't dare to gamble and just let it go."

"After that, he never contacted me again—it seems he hasn't even been to Yunan County. Basically, that's it; I shouldn't have misremembered him, the scar on his face is quite distinctive."

Also note "this person" not a name.

"Surname Yuan?" Chen Ruoshui shook her head, "That name must be fake. Snake Staff Old Man and his subordinates keep their identities extremely secret; even in front of us they never use their real names."

"He couldn't possibly have no title at all when facing you, could he?" Qian Fugui asked.

"He's just called the coachman!"

Qian Fugui snorted, "Damn, this is really mysterious. I'm thinking, his purpose in buying zhu wood and raw lacquer back then seems to have been to train his own sons, and he claimed to be a person from Yan Zhou, Guiling Xian."

"The Yuan clan of Guiling Xian is indeed a major family, its population not lacking compared to my lord's family, and it's one of the strongest clan powers in Yan Zhou." Chen Ruoshui said, "Perhaps we should first investigate the Yuan clan; who knows, we might find some clues."

Qian Fugui chuckled lightly, "What's there to investigate? Just go to my lord, request permission, and send troops to crush them—we have the strength, why waste effort on all these roundabout schemes?"

"That's also true." Chen Ruoshui nodded.

Sending troops to suppress and then interrogating everyone is indeed more direct and swift than sending people to investigate.

Just like today, when several thousand troops were deployed, everyone involved was questioned, and the information naturally surfaced—faster and more comprehensive than covert investigation.

"Let's go see my lord now; think again and see if you can recall anything else." Chen Ruoshui hurried out.

Qian Fugui called out to her, "Wait, let me give some instructions—don't leave yet, those women have worn Kong Fang out. This person is somewhat important; my lord seems to value him highly."

Alright.

Qian Fugui gave a quick order to his personal guard, then hurried after Chen Ruoshui.

The two walked into the tavern.

Chen Wuji had just settled Qin Zan Hong and Yu Yan Chu, along with a few others, in the tavern, and was listening to Yu Yan Chu and Qin Zan Hong chat about their past while also learning about some figures from the imperial court.

After hearing the personal guard's report, he came out.

"My lord, we've learned something." Chen Ruoshui stepped forward and said.

Qian Fugui followed closely, saying, "My lord, I've seen the person Chen Ruoshui mentioned."

"What's going on?" Chen Wuji asked.

Qian Fugui then explained in detail the matter of the coachman's transaction with him, and finally shared his suspicion: "My lord, I suspect the thing the coachman wanted to trade with me back then was A Furong; they've been looking everywhere for people to cultivate it. This substance might be an important means for them to control people's minds and seize wealth."

A Furong has already appeared twice in their sight; the populace of Songzhou was nearly devastated by it, and anyone would inevitably have more associations and conjectures.

"You're not wrong." Chen Wuji nodded, murmuring softly, "Guiling Xian…"

Guiling Xian isn't far from Xinglin Zhen—it's about three hundred li to the east, both located in the southern part of Yan Zhou.

If troops were dispatched there, the difficulty wouldn't be great, though it would affect his upcoming strategic deployment.

"My lord, let me go; I'll turn this godforsaken place upside down—I'm sure I'll find something useful, and maybe I can even sniff out Snake Staff Old Man himself." Qian Fugui said.

"It's just one county; I'll take five hundred cavalry, each with two horses, and we'll have it settled in a few days!"

Chen Wuji glanced at Qian Fugui, "Don't be so arrogant; a careless heart is unacceptable. If this place really is the Old Stronghold of the Snake Staff Elder, you taking five hundred men—are you planning to bring a plate of vegetables for that old fox?"