Chapter 548: 502 Meeting an Old Acquaintance

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Bai Zhi said in disbelief, "No one knows, who was it that sent them out?"

Fang Weiran said, "What can I say? That is just how it is. That undercover agent already had a quite convenient Art Tool when they went to Wangliang Mountain. They only needed to send a message, and we would know here; there was no need to contact the person directly. Now this Art Tool is in the hands of Tang Commander, and messages have been received before. Actually, if it weren't for this major undertaking requiring all strength to be gathered and all informants on every route to cooperate fully, it wouldn't have come to the point where everyone had to reveal themselves. Now everyone has revealed themselves, yet this person, who is clearly one of our own from the Land Inspection Division, has a background and identity that no one knows. Even who sent them out is unknown. It is as if this person does not exist at all, and there is only a soul, a cluster of consciousness, sending messages from time to time. However, this is also good; it shows they are deeply embedded with no flaws. Lurking on Wangliang Mountain, one truly cannot have a single mistake. It is very easy to disappear without a sound. Undercover agents are inherently empowered to act at their own discretion when away from headquarters. If they believe revealing themselves would bring danger to their life, they also have the right not to respond. It just depends on how Tang Commander decides."

Zisu sighed from the side and said, "Yes, lurking on Wangliang Mountain is both dangerous and painful. Two days ago, when our mole on Wangliang Mountain made contact with me, although they didn't say it explicitly, their words expressed a hope that this mission would end soon; they couldn't stay any longer. They are a very excellent spy who once lurked in the enemy camp for many years and never complained. If the situation weren't too difficult, they would never have made such a request."

She shook her head and said, "Although I can empathize, how could I, with my status, promise anything? I only hope that when this ends, everyone on Wangliang Mountain will no longer have to suffer."

Fang Weiran said, "That should be the case. When this ends, there will be no more Wangliang Mountain. But even now, we can report to Tang Commander to see if we can provide some convenience to the brothers and sisters suffering there... Why hasn't Tang Commander come yet?"

These people were gathered here, basically having to touch base every night to summarize intelligence and discuss the next steps. At this moment, only Jin Wu and Tang Zhao were absent.

Jin Wu was one thing; he wasn't meant for missions to begin with. He only needed to cooperate on the general progress, and the specific plans didn't need him to execute them. Besides, drinking, socializing, crying, and howling every night was also very tiring. If it weren't for the fact that he found pleasure in the role-playing and was willing to persist, no one would count on him to do these things. Tang Zhao still wanted to switch back to Zheng Yun, but Jin Wu refused. Usually, he would rest by this time and not attend work meetings. Tang Zhao, however, would always arrive.

Tang Zhao would usually arrive a little late; he seemed to have other work, a separate mission he decided on himself, and the others couldn't ask him about it.

But usually, he should have returned by this time, right?

Bai Zhi said with some suspicion, "Could it be that something happened?"

Fang Weiran hesitated and said, "No, Tang Commander is very strong. Who could make something happen to him?... Just in case, Lady Zisu, go report to His Highness so we can be prepared."

Zisu agreed and hurried off. If there really were an enemy capable of trapping Tang Zhao, only Jin Wu stepping forward could control the situation.

Jiang Shenyi waited until Zisu had gone out before saying, "The problem is not big. Besides Tang Shidi, that white fox hasn't come either. With the two of them together, unless Wangliang descends the mountain, who can touch them? In my opinion, this might be a good thing."

"It means that what he has been doing all along was accomplished today."

The night streets had cold winds like knives.

The cold night of the desert was extremely frigid; even the oasis was not spared. The harsh environment meant there was not a single person on the main street. Of course, it could also be that those with slightly less ability didn't dare to go out on the street. Was it a joke to have thousands of criminals holed up in one city? Even most of the villains themselves might not dare to go out on the street; there were no underworld rules here forbidding dog-eat-dog.

Next to the dye house facing the street, there was an independent small house. It didn't even have a courtyard and was squeezed, dilapidated, between two large buildings: on the left was a large courtyard rented by a visiting noble, and on the right was the Changfa Manor dye house, which had already become a place of turmoil.

The small house was a single room, leaking wind from all sides, furnished only with a set of table and chairs and a hard wooden bed, even simpler than the huts of commoners.

On the table in the small house, a small lamp was lit, its flame like a bean, illuminating the handsome youth and the white fox sitting at the table.

Late night, border town, dilapidated house, lonely lamp, youth and white fox—it was just like the beginning of those coming-of-age stories, a youth and his animal companion relying on each other in poverty.

Only, in fact, this youth and white fox had already experienced long stories and much growth, having already passed the stage of needing to light a lamp for company in a small wooden house.

At this moment, the white fox yawned and said, "Still haven't come?"

The youth said, "Not yet."

"Is it possible they won't come again tonight?"

"Perhaps."

"Today is the last day. If they don't come today, they won't come in the future."

"I suppose."

"Yay—" The white fox rolled off the table and jumped happily: "Finally, I don't have to wander around with you like a ghost every night. It's really boring. They called it a top-secret mission; it was top-secret alright, but I never saw the mission."

She looked at the youth and said, "Anyway, it's about to end, and there's no one else around. Tell me, who exactly are you waiting for?"

The youth pondered and said, "I don't know."

The white fox paused, then reacted and said, "The person coming is a contact; you don't know them?"

The youth said, "I know them."

The white fox said in astonishment, "But you said you don't know?"

The youth said, "I don't know them, but I knew them before. Once I see them, I will know who they are."

The white fox was inexplicably irritable and said, "You say you know them, yet you say you don't know who they are—listen to yourself, does that sound like human speech?"

The youth said sincerely, "It doesn't sound right, but it is the truth. If they come, I will know who they are. I only fear they didn't see me, so they didn't come. I might never know who they are..."

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The youth gave a start, stood up, and opened the door from his seat.

Standing before the door was a youth, about the same age as the youth in the room, with a gentle and clean appearance, and streaks of striking white hair among his black hair. He looked steadily at Tang Zhao, his gaze lingering on his face for a long time, before finally saying in a low voice, "Brother Zhao."

The moment he saw him, the blank space in Tang Zhao's mind was instantly filled with memories like a fountain. He revealed a smile, grabbed him at once, and called out, "Zhangle."

Hearing these two words, Wei Zhangle could no longer suppress it, and tears gushed from his eyes.

Tang Zhao pulled him into the room, closed the door behind him, and the two hugged each other, only separating after a long while.

Wei Zhangle calmed down slightly and said urgently, "Brother Zhao, is it safe here?"

Tang Zhao said, "Safe. Don't look at how simple it is here; only you can see this room; outsiders cannot see it."

Wei Zhangle thought for a moment and accepted it easily, just smiling: "Others will ignore this room? Is it Brother Zhao's Sword Art? When did I fall under the Sword Art? Unknowingly, as expected of Brother Zhao."

Tang Zhao reached out to the white fox to introduce her, saying, "It is this Lady Ling's Sword Art. It's not that you fell under it, but that the house fell under the Sword Art and was hidden. Only those who suspect 'Is Tang Zhao here?' can see it."

It was not just this house; even Tang Zhao's figure was the same. He would flash his real body's phantom every day when guests left, then hide in the corner of doubt. Only those who recognized him in that moment of distraction, or at least suspected, "Is that Tang Zhao?", could continue to see him and see him walk into the room next door.

The white fox's Doubt Sword Art required a "key" to open, and the key was the two words "Tang Zhao"; one had to definitely know his name.

Wei Zhangle bowed to the white fox, and Tang Zhao also introduced him: "This is my childhood friend Wei Zhangle, who is also in the Land Inspection Division. We haven't seen each other for a long time."

Ling Baoyu returned the bow. Although Wei Zhangle was not as stunning as Tang Zhao, his appearance was comfortable and pleasing, so she accepted him and felt it wasn't a wasted wait.

Wei Zhangle said, "So Brother Zhao has such an expert by his side. No wonder you could still remember me."

Tang Zhao shook his head and said, "I didn't remember you. I only remembered when I just saw you."

Wei Zhangle said in surprise, "How is that possible? Then how did you think of using this method to call me out?"

Tang Zhao said, "This is hard to describe. I don't have your memories, but I remember the Disappearance Sword Art itself. Didn't you give me the Vanishing Sword as a gift during the Sword Casting Assembly? I have always remembered it. At the time, the Lord told me that no one knew the name and identity of the mole, and I felt a faint sense of familiarity, feeling that it might involve the concept of 'disappearance'."

Wei Zhangle pondered and said, "You guessed that someone used Disappearance, making everyone unable to remember their existence. But you didn't know who used Disappearance? But you fishing for people like this, you must have known that this person was familiar with you and would chase after you if they saw you, right?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "About that... one could say it was guessing based on clues, but it was likely mainly intuition."

When he thought of someone "disappearing," for some reason, he felt a faint familiarity, as if it were someone very close. Although he couldn't recall the name or the experiences, he felt he must be very familiar with this person. Through the correct answer felt in advance, he then analyzed the surrounding clues and instantly became more and more certain.

This might be because his realm was higher, his Mental Power was strong, and he naturally had some resistance to Sword Arts. Coupled with his deep relationship with Wei Zhangle and the impression left behind, he had such intuition.

Wei Zhangle was very happy and said, "It's good that Brother Zhao remembers me. If one day I disappear completely from the world, with no traces of my existence and no one remembering me, and I drift away like dust, perhaps having Brother Zhao remember even a little bit of me counts as not having come to the Human World in vain."

"Eh... as expected of Wei Zhangle, you still speak with that same flavor."

Tang Zhao said, "We have been parted for four years. I heard that in order to become a Sword Guest, you chose to take on dangerous missions; so it turns out you came to Wangliang Mountain. I never imagined you would have such daring; I had originally thought you would be a bit more cautious."

Wei Zhangle gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "I was afraid of the feeling of being powerless. If I followed the normal path, someone like me would need at least ten years just to touch the opportunity of becoming a Sword Guest, and even then, success wouldn't be certain. I might have wasted ten years, twenty years, or even my whole life. I wanted to become a Sword Guest so I could be slightly safer, even if it meant suffering for a while. At the time, I thought: I have tasted the suffering of the Human World one by one, so what hardship is there left to fear?"

He touched the strands of white hair on his head and smiled bitterly, "Since it is Brother Tang Zhao, I am not afraid to tell the truth. In the two years I have been at Wangliang Mountain, I have truly been regretting it every single moment."