Chapter 137: Unusual Activity

With Wen Gu intentionally playing along, Pang Silang chatted to his heart's content.

He had arrived with heavy, reluctant steps. He left feeling light, and even a bit reluctant to part.

His assessment of Wen Gu had shifted from the initial "kind face but black heart, a knife hidden in a smile" to now: "Young Master Biao is truly a refined and easygoing person!"

He possessed no lofty or arrogant airs; even when facing Pang Silang, a piece of trash notorious in Shuo City, he had shown full respect.

Was he sincere? Was he easygoing?!

A good man!

If not for the current tense situation, Pang Silang would definitely have invited Wen Gu to gather a few more times!

He hadn't been prepared this time, so he had only shared old, stale news.

But to enjoy gossip, one must have it fresh!

Once some time passed, he would collect some of the latest gossip and share it with Wen Gu again when he had the chance.

When Pang Silang said his goodbyes and left, the sky had not yet darkened, so he did not see Zhao Shaozhu.

He was slightly disappointed, but he could understand and was mentally prepared. Every post had been busy with affairs lately; his own brother, for instance, worked overtime until nightfall before coming home.

Pang Silang thought about things happily, feeling that his performance today was truly perfect!

Upon returning home, he even shared what he had seen and felt today with his parents with particular pride—

The Pang Family quickly shut their doors. From the outside, it seemed there was nothing unusual, but if one listened carefully, one could vaguely hear faint screams, as if someone were getting a beating.

On the other side, after Pang Silang left, Wen Gu took paper and pen to distill the points of the news Pang Silang had mentioned that he deemed worth referencing, and sent them to his cousin.

Given Wen Gu's current status, there were some things he could not reach and was not convenient for him to know. But since there had been discoveries regarding the Gao Family, regardless of whether Zhao Shaozhu had prepared for it before, he would still bring it up on his end.

At night, Zhao Shaozhu returned and carefully read what was written on the paper.

He did not ignore these, but after deep thought, he called over a member of the Patrol Guard Division and gave a few instructions.

A team from the Patrol Guard Division had followed to supervise the battle before coming to the Shuo City front line, and the local Shuo City authorities had also set up a garrison, so the number of people was not small.

But these people were not all guarding Zhao Shaozhu's side; instead, they were scattered throughout various parts of Shuo City, monitoring the movements in every corner of the city.

Once any unusual activity was discovered anywhere, they could respond at the first opportunity.

They had indeed been keeping the Gao Family under surveillance.

The Gao Family had performed well after the chaotic times began, but based on the Gao Family's style of conduct and actions before the chaotic times, the Zhao Family naturally would not fail to take precautions.

They did indeed know a little about the Gao Family's secret affairs. But it was only a little.

The Zhao Family had controlled Xinzhou for less than three years, and it was still a chaotic time, so investigating many past events was difficult. The information provided by the Gao Family was hard to verify as true or false; the Patrol Guard Division had always kept an eye on them, but the focus of their attention had been on Gao Laoda, as the eldest of the Gao Family had been very well-behaved since moving to Xinzhou City.

However, they had indeed neglected Gao Lao Er. If Gao Laoda truly doted on his younger brother, perhaps they really could have uncovered more neglected details.

Zhao Shaozhu looked at the information Wen Gu had written down once more and had the Patrol Guard Division dispatch men to keep an eye on the few old flames of Gao Lao Er who still remained in Shuo City.

Wen Gu knew that Zhao Shaozhu had attached importance to the information he had written down, so he did not ask any further.

The military deployments inside and outside Shuo City and the monitoring points of the Patrol Guard Division were not things the current Wen Gu could know.

The weather remained clear for days, and the temperature climbed significantly once again.

Wen Gu did not need to go out to investigate, nor did he need to ask the Patrol Guard Division personnel, to know what the situation in the city was now.

The most direct manifestation was that the number of invitations delivered to the residence had decreased significantly.

Everyone's survival instincts and radar for vigilance were already running frantically.

This day, in the morning.

Wen Gu finished flipping through the county annals and took his bow and arrow to practice mounted archery; he could not let his life-saving skills lapse for a single day.

After another quiver of arrows was shot, Wen Gu wiped away his sweat and had just taken two sips from his water cup when he suddenly heard a bang in the distance.

It was as if someone had set off fireworks on the city wall in broad daylight.

The wind blowing in also seemed to bring the scent of danger from afar.

The guards in the courtyard had their muscles tense up instantly, switching to high-alert mode.

Wen Gu did not act immediately, but stopped what he was doing and waited quietly.

Soon, the sound of drums like muffled thunder rang out.

The first bang was only a warning; the drums that followed confirmed the conjecture!

A guard in the courtyard walked over quickly and advised Wen Gu: "There is unusual activity ahead, the military situation is urgent, Young Master Biao should return to the house quickly!"

Wen Gu did not go back, but raised a hand to point in a direction: "Coming from over there?"

The guard confirmed: "Yes."

Their hearing was sharp, and they could distinguish the direction of the warning signal just now.

Although the warning signal had sounded, the battle would not start immediately at the front.

Wen Gu packed up quickly: "Prepare the horses!"

He then took several guards and went out.

The doors and windows of every shop and storefront in the Neicheng District were shut tight in the blink of an eye. Without any warning or driving away by the city guards, there were no idlers to be seen on the roads.

In the mansions of the wealthy, all entertainment and activity had also ceased, and the servants were already guarding with weapons. It was like a hedgehog curling up, having raised its sharp quills outward.

Wen Gu did not go to the county government office, but headed to the city tower on the south side of the Neicheng District.

Zhao Shaozhu had already ascended the city tower a step ahead. Seeing Wen Gu, there was no look of surprise on his face.

Wen Gu stood at the high point of the city tower watching the movements of the soldiers in the city, then raised his eyes to look ahead and said: "If it is coming from that direction, the Li Mountain area will very likely suffer an impact."

Regarding the terrain and topography of the Li Mountain area, as long as one passed through that vicinity, there were only one or two routes one could take. The Plague Ghosts that had gathered into a tide and lost their sanity were the same.

Therefore, the Defense Post built there at Li Mountain would very likely be struck by the Ghost Tide!

Zhao Shaozhu's expression was grave: "Mm, the Ghost Tide will pass through Li Mountain first, then attack Shuo City."

Calculating the distance from the Li Mountain Station to Shuo City, as well as the time difference for the warning between the scouts—

By the time they stood on the city tower, the Li Mountain Station would also be encountering the cluster of Plague Ghosts.

If Lishan Station could survive the impact of the tide-like Plague Ghosts, the pre-arranged signal would be successfully sent from the station and passed along point by point by the scouts.

Conversely, if Lishan Station failed, the only signal passed along by the scouts watching Li Mountain would be the one everyone dreaded seeing.

Wen Gu and Zhao Shaozhu were currently waiting for the result from the station.

As the proponent of the Defense Post System, Wen Gu attached great importance to it.

Zhao Shaozhu favored the Defense Post System, and the anxiety in his heart was no less than Wen Gu's.

Compared to the impact Shuo City was about to face, Zhao Shaozhu was thinking more about the safety of Lishan Station at this moment.

The City Defender and the garrison generals of Shuo City had analyzed that the Six Great Powers had taken advantage of the winter cold to encircle and hunt the Plague Ghosts, so this first wave of the Ghost Tide this year mainly came from further south, scattered across the northern land, and the number reaching here would not exceed the estimate.

Moreover, the defensive facilities of Shuo City had been further expanded and strengthened. Looking at the big picture, Shuo City did not need to worry too much this time.

"I hope everyone at Lishan Station can be dedicated and responsible," Zhao Shaozhu said.

Factors of force majeure could not be avoided, but apart from these, he hoped no human factors would cause failure.

Zhao Shaozhu had also left people at Lishan Station, but no one could predict what would happen there.

"Station Master Cheng should be able to shoulder this heavy responsibility," Wen Gu said.

That man Cheng Xu was very ambitious; having been demoted from an adjutant of the Patrol Guard Division to a mere station master, he had staked his future on it and would surely go all out.