Chapter 517 - 454: Following the Vine to Find the Melon (Part 2)
Chapter 517: Chapter 454: Following the Vine to Find the Melon (Part 2)
"That’s right. Our surveillance shows that very few people patronize this shop."
Wei Zongchuan continued, "Our Dongfu District is a new market that has been developing very quickly these past two years. Due to its location, many cultivators from other sects visit, and it’s inevitable that some spies have slipped in."
"However, these spies are all cultivators from other sects. They’re only gathering commercial intelligence and send their letters through the Communication Tower. Since everything is registered in advance, it’s not a big deal."
"But Harmony Hall is different. The four people in the shop are all natives of the Chenghua Sect, yet they’re passing information to the Earth Dark Sect. What’s more, they’re secretly using an albatross to send messages. Something is definitely wrong!"
Zhao Lin asked, "Since Master Wei is certain they are spies, why not just arrest them directly?"
Wei Zongchuan slowly shook his head. "Of course I’d like to arrest them right away. But after days of surveillance, we’ve discovered that they’re not just gathering information in the market district; they’re also in frequent contact with people from other commanderies."
"We used a tracking Magic to intercept their Communication Talismans and placed a mark on them. We can confirm that Harmony Hall is a central hub, with correspondence coming and going from over a dozen commanderies."
"After being compiled, it’s all sent to Red Tail Island."
He paused here. "Catching them is easy, but if word gets out, the spies in the other commanderies will immediately flee or go into hiding."
Looking at Wei Zongchuan’s eager expression, Zhao Lin understood. This Foundation Establishment cultivator wanted to score a major achievement by dismantling the Earth Dark Sect’s entire intelligence network in one fell swoop.
"So Master Wei wants to capture the people from Harmony Hall without alerting anyone else?"
Wei Zongchuan nodded. "Exactly! We can’t use brute force. We don’t know their personalities. If they realize they’ve been exposed, they might immediately destroy the evidence and commit suicide to take the blame, which would complicate things."
"Only by taking them alive can we follow the leads and find the other strongholds."
Zhao Lin had figured out why Wei Zongchuan was looking for him, but he still had a question.
"Master Wei, you’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If you just deactivated the suppressive Array on that street, couldn’t you deal with them easily?"
The Array in the market district suppresses a cultivator’s Spiritual Acupoints, preventing them from casting offensive Magic. Inside the market, there isn’t much difference in combat power between a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a Qi Refining Cultivator.
If it were deactivated, the difference in cultivation level would become apparent.
Wei Zongchuan chuckled and shook his head. "I can indeed deactivate the suppressive Array on that street, but the moment the Array stops, they’ll notice immediately. It wouldn’t achieve the element of surprise."
"Besides, a crafty rabbit has three burrows. What if they have other hideouts in the market district?"
After speaking, he looked steadily at Zhao Lin. "Young friend Zhao, you are a Martial Cultivator. Even without relying on Magic, you have formidable combat power. I’ve asked you here in the hope that you can help capture them."
Zhao Lin didn’t speak, lowering his head in thought.
After a moment of consideration, he decided this was a job he could take.
’First, the Earth Dark Sect is my sworn enemy. Even setting aside the sect’s interests, from a purely personal standpoint, destroying their spy network is beneficial to me.’
’The Earth Dark Sect hates my guts. I have to be extremely careful every time I go out, and I don’t dare participate in sect missions lightly, precisely because I’m worried about being ambushed by them.’
’Second, completing this task will surely earn a good amount of merit points.’
’I may have nearly twenty thousand merit points, but no one would ever complain about having too many.’
’The risk for this job is low, but the reward in merit points won’t be small.’
’Without using offensive Magic, Qi Refining Realm cultivators are completely vulnerable before me.’
Besides these two reasons, Zhao Lin had another, more personal motive.
Cultivating from the Qi Refining Seventh Layer to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer required breaking through several small barriers. The first and last Spiritual Acupoints of each layer were extremely difficult to overcome.
He only had two Acupoint Opening Pills on hand and had been reluctant to use them.
If he was in charge of capturing Shopkeeper Tian and the others, he would have the priority right to search them and could get Shopkeeper Tian’s Acupoint Opening Pills.
Although Shopkeeper Tian claimed to be out of Acupoint Opening Pills, Zhao Lin didn’t believe him.
Seeing Zhao Lin’s hesitation, Wei Zongchuan smiled. "Don’t worry, young friend Zhao. I won’t have you work for free. There will definitely be a reward of merit points."
Hearing this, Zhao Lin hesitated no longer. "Alright. Since the Master has spoken, this junior will not shirk his duty!"
"Excellent!"
A pleased look appeared on Wei Zongchuan’s face. He raised his hand and clapped twice.
A short but sharp-looking cultivator walked into the room.
"This is Li Ying, the patrolman I mentioned who discovered the albatross. He will be assisting you in the capture."
Wei Zongchuan introduced.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao."
Li Ying said, cupping his fist.
"Inspector Li."
Zhao Lin returned the polite greeting.
After a few pleasantries, the three of them began to discuss the details of the capture.
According to Li Ying, there were four cultivators in Harmony Hall: Shopkeeper Tian, the clerks Yangquan and Zhu Kui, and an errand boy named Hu Zhi.
To capture them in the market district without anyone noticing, the best time would be right before closing, when foot traffic is at its lowest.
After closing, every shop activates a small warning Array, which would actually make it harder to act.
Zhao Lin decided he would enter the shop and act alone, while Li Ying and the others provided support from outside.
Li Ying, being a cautious man, asked, "Should we send someone in with you, Fellow Daoist Zhao? There are four of them, after all."
Zhao Lin waved his hand. "No need. I am enough. The biggest concern is someone else entering the shop while I’m inside."
Li Ying said, "You can rest assured on that point. I’ll lead a patrol on the street. If anyone tries to enter the shop, we’ll find a way to delay them."
Zhao Lin smiled. "Then there’s no problem."
Wei Zongchuan interjected, "Young friend Zhao, when do you think is a suitable day to act?"
Zhao Lin said, "The sooner, the better. Delays breed trouble. Let’s do it tonight!"
Seeing Zhao Lin’s decisiveness, Wei Zongchuan said, "Good," and then asked, "Do you have any other requests?"
Zhao Lin thought for a moment. "We also need a contingency plan."
Wei Zongchuan was taken aback. "What kind of contingency plan?"
"What if someone escapes from the shop, or something unexpected happens? What will you do, Master Wei?"
Wei Zongchuan pondered for a moment. "I’ll lock down the entire market district."
Zhao Lin nodded. "That would be best, just in case."
Wei Zongchuan clapped his hands. "So be it. I’m counting on you for this, young friend Zhao. If you can successfully capture all four of them, I will personally record it as your top contribution!"
Zhao Lin left the administration office and didn’t return to the Red Pearl Pavilion. Instead, he went to the street where the Golden Core Hall was located and walked into "West Talisman Hall" next door.
West Talisman Hall was an old shop with a thousand-year history of talisman making. It sold an all-encompassing variety of talismans and was extremely famous throughout the entire Chenghua Sect.
"Chief Shopkeeper Zhao, what can I get for you?"
a clerk asked, warmly greeting him.
"I’d like to buy a Truth-Speaking Talisman."
Zhao Lin said succinctly.
The Truth-Speaking Talisman: a Tier One, Top Grade Divine Sense-type talisman.
When crushed and infused into a cultivator’s "divine court," it could plunge them into a dazed and confused state.
While in this state, they could be interrogated and would be able to answer simple questions like "yes," "no," "have," "have not," or "what to do."
If the questions were too complex, the cultivator might be unable to respond.
The Truth-Speaking Talisman was only effective on Qi Refining Realm cultivators, and its effect lasted for a mere ten breaths.
Once ten breaths were up, the cultivator would instantly regain their senses.
Divine Sense-type talismans were expensive, and the Truth-Speaking Talisman was no exception. A single talisman cost one hundred merit points plus one thousand Spirit Coins.
Zhao Lin’s purpose in buying this Truth-Speaking Talisman was, naturally, to force the location of the Acupoint Opening Pills out of Shopkeeper Tian.
Time was tight, so there was no room for threats or persuasion. He had to resort to this method.
Zhao Lin paid, took the Truth-Speaking Talisman, and returned to the Red Pearl Pavilion.
"Shopkeeper Zhao, what did the administration office want with you?"
Gu Dezhao asked.
"It’s nothing. They were just asking about the rent."
Zhao Lin casually made up an excuse.
Gu Dezhao was relieved. "Good, good. I’ll leave things here to you then, Shopkeeper Zhao. I’m heading back to the Golden Core Hall."
Zhao Lin stayed in the shop until the afternoon, mentally rehearsing the capture process several times.
’I used to be a constable back in the mortal world and arrested my fair share of people. I never thought I’d be returning to my old line of work.’
As dusk fell, around the Hour of You, Zhao Lin left the Red Pearl Pavilion and headed to Longxiang Street, where Harmony Hall was located. He saw Li Ying walking toward him from the opposite direction.
The two exchanged a look and passed each other without a word.