Chapter 414 - 260: Pavilion Master, Gone Mad?
Chapter 414: Chapter 260: Pavilion Master, Gone Mad?
"Reporting, General. After arriving in Shu State, Liu Zhaoxue has been busy these past few days, moving between Xinglin Hall and several other Medicine Halls."
"She made adjustments to the poorly performing ones and had the Medical Saint Hand who followed her from Jing State oversee them, which has had a considerable impact within Shu State City."
"What about Liu Hong?"
"He hasn’t made any moves, but..."
Lou Yuxue glanced at Cui Qingwu and said, "It’s just that the whereabouts of his two sons have been somewhat unusual."
The General waved his hand, signaling for her to speak plainly.
Seeing this, Lou Yuxue began, "His second son, Liu Taofang, has remained shut up at home."
"It’s said that on the day the East Market Grain Storehouse was burned, he was punished by Liu Hong and placed under house arrest."
Cui Qingwu muttered upon hearing this, "’How is that unusual?’"
Lou Yuxue ignored her. "I discovered that Liu Taofang was spotted in the East Market that night."
The General said thoughtfully, "Are you suggesting Liu Taofang has connections to those grain businesses?"
"That is a distinct possibility."
"Recently, those grain businesses have colluded to raise grain prices, and it’s connected to the burning of hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain."
"I suspect Liu Taofang may be trying to take advantage of the situation for personal gain."
Seeing the General nod, Lou Yuxue continued, "Then there’s the eldest son, Liu Taoyao."
"According to reports from several Iron Banner Officers, he has rarely gone to the Government Office these past few days, spending most of his time at home."
"Furthermore, suspicious individuals have been seen coming and going from his courtyard late at night."
"After learning of this, I used Bright Moon Building’s informants to confirm that they are the same group of mysterious people who recently appeared in Shu State."
The General frowned slightly.
After a moment of thought, his brow smoothed, and a slight smile appeared on his face as he said:
"It seems I’ve underestimated Liu Hong’s audacity. To think he’d dare raise a private army."
Lou Yuxue was taken aback for a moment. "A private army? Not just retainers?"
The General shook his head. "Given Liu Hong’s current official position, why would he be so secretive if he were merely recruiting retainers?"
"Like Zhao Shichang, the proper way would be to do it openly."
Cui Qingwu crossed her arms. "He’s planning to rebel."
The General glanced at her. "We can’t jump to that conclusion just yet."
He then looked at Lou Yuxue and instructed, "Later, pass this information to the Pavilion Master. Make the stakes clear."
Lou Yuxue acknowledged the order, then hesitated before saying, "Forgive my incompetence, but I have not yet found any sign of ’Liu Wu’."
"Although there are some new faces around Liu Zhaoxue, neither their physical builds nor their Cultivation levels come close to matching ’Liu Wu’."
The General nodded slightly. "He just pulled off something big. It’s only normal for him to go into hiding."
"From now on, however, just keep an eye on Liu Zhaoxue’s movements. As for Liu Wu..."
He paused, took a secret missive from his robes, and continued, "A secret missive from the Lord Pavilion Master."
"His Lordship wishes for the two of you to work together and find a way to recruit Liu Wu into the White Tiger Guard."
Hearing the last part, Lou Yuxue stared at him in disbelief. "Liu Wu? General, are you certain the Pavilion Master wants me... us... to recruit him?"
Cui Qingwu, at her side, was equally astonished, and her expression soured as she said:
"That Liu Wu previously used Poison to knock me unconscious. Making him a White Tiger Guard would be a slap in my own face, wouldn’t it?"
Seeing their disbelief, the General unfurled the missive in his hand.
"This is a secret missive, handwritten by the Pavilion Master himself. It did not pass through the White Tiger Guard’s Secretariat."
Lou Yuxue and Cui Qingwu leaned in to read the contents, then looked at each other, stunned.
Even though the two of them didn’t get along, this abrupt news left them both bewildered.
"General, why would the Pavilion Master, why..."
Before either could finish her question, the General raised a hand to cut them off. "Have you forgotten the rules of the White Tiger Guard?"
As he spoke, his expression turned cold.
"The Pavilion Master’s orders are absolute. Even if His Lordship orders you to your deaths, you are to obey without question!"
Lou Yuxue immediately bowed.
His words were incredibly severe.
Despite her countless questions, she knew this was not the time to probe the Pavilion Master’s reasons for recruiting Liu Wu.
Cui Qingwu, on the other hand, was not so easily intimidated. She pursed her lips and asked, "And what if this Liu Wu doesn’t agree?"
The General shot her a look, his tone icy. "If he refuses to join the White Tiger Guard, then he is our mortal enemy."
"In that case, we kill him!"
Lou Yuxue wanted to point out that Liu Wu was already a major enemy.
However, she had her own agenda, so she swallowed the words before they could escape her lips.
’To be fair, even though Liu Wu has caused her trouble several times, his actions have a certain forthrightness to them. He isn’t some vicious, bloodthirsty follower of the Evil Demonic Dao.’
’That was why she had agreed to cooperate with him in the first place.’
’But...’
’Lou Yuxue felt she couldn’t come up with a way to persuade Liu Wu to join the White Tiger Guard, and what’s more, she didn’t particularly want him to.’
’From what she knew of him, the man was perpetually mysterious. There was no guarantee that once he became a White Tiger Guard, he wouldn’t turn all of Shu State upside down.’
’She just couldn’t fathom why the Pavilion Master had made such a decision...’
The same question also lingered in Chen Yi’s mind.
’The White Tiger Guard’s Pavilion Master... he actually wants me to join the White Tiger Guard?’
’Has he gone mad?’
Even though Chen Yi had several run-ins with the White Tiger Guard and had heard tales of their Pavilion Master, he couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind this arrangement.
’Surely he couldn’t have deduced that I’m working with Liu Zhaoxue and wants to use me to help her take down Liu Hong and the main branch of the Jing State Liu Family?’
’Or has that mysterious, high-ranking White Tiger Guard Pavilion Master devised some new scheme after learning that I "killed" Lv Jiunan?’
He racked his brain, but Chen Yi still couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
’If he wants me to join the White Tiger Guard, sending Lou Yuxue and Cui Qingwu isn’t enough.’
’If the Pavilion Master himself were to come in person, I might actually consider it.’
Of course, these were just Chen Yi’s fanciful thoughts.
Only a fool would give up his perfectly fine life as an idle, live-in son-in-law to go risk his life for the White Tiger Guard.
Just then, he heard the distant voice of the General continue, "Alright, that’s all I have to say."
"I will be departing for Poshisu Country shortly."
"After I leave, Lady Tiger, you are to proceed as usual. Keep your identity concealed and continue investigating the situation at Bright Moon Building."
Lou Yuxue knew in her heart his purpose for going to Poshisu Country, so she simply nodded without asking any further questions.
The General then turned to Simurgh Phoenix and said, "You should be aware that Lady Tiger is currently the only Silver Banner Officer left in Shu State. There are some matters where I must ask for your assistance."
Seeing his sincerity, Cui Qingwu nodded reluctantly. "Go ahead, General."
"Previously, Hawk and Gray Wolf were responsible for the Xiao Family matter."
"But with one of them dead and the other having fled, the Xiao Family is now without a Silver Banner Officer overseeing things. I hope you will pay more attention to them during this time."
At this, the General’s tone grew a bit more serious. "If the Iron Banner Officers over there seek you out, and it’s inconvenient for Lady Tiger to act, I want you to help resolve the situation."
Hearing this, Cui Qingwu’s heart stirred. "The Xiao Family?"
’In all this time, she had been in and out of the Xiao Family residence several times and had a lot of contact with Xiao Wan’er, yet she had never once contacted the Iron Banner Officers stationed there.’
’Looking back now, it was an oversight on her part.’
’Given the current situation in Shu State, if the White Tiger Guard wanted to accomplish *that matter*, they would inevitably have to stir up a storm in the state.’
’In that case, the Xiao Family was an unavoidable link in the chain.’
’Having two Silver Banner Officers responsible for the Xiao Family wasn’t unreasonable.’
Thinking of this, Cui Qingwu nodded and said, "Rest assured, General. If I am needed, I will not refuse."
Beside her, Lou Yuxue said nothing more.
’She had been in Shu State longer and knew that Hawk’s only mission was the "Fledgling".’
’From what she knew of this "Fledgling," she wasn’t worried about any major incidents happening with the Xiao Family.’
’There was no chance of trouble at all.’
Not long after, Lou Yuxue and Cui Qingwu left the tailor shop one after the other.
Having heard all this, Chen Yi signaled for Zhang Dabao to remain quiet. He put on his bamboo hat, preparing to follow Lou Yuxue.
But before he could make a move, he heard another faint sound from inside the tailor shop.
It seemed the General was opening the door to leave.
"...After I’m gone, have the tailor shop keep an eye on Yunqing Building."
"Lord Simurgh Phoenix?"
"Yes. Keep an eye on her movements for me."
"But if you discover anything, don’t do anything extra. Just record it."
"I understand..."
Chen Yi sneered to himself upon hearing this. ’So, even within the White Tiger Guard, everyone is wary of everyone else.’
’No wonder Lou Yuxue agreed to cooperate with him before.’
’In a place where everyone has their own ulterior motives, what hope is there for genuine camaraderie?’
Soon, the tailor shop fell silent.
Chen Yi waited another moment, until a golden light flashed before his eyes:
[Witnessed Hidden Guard General and others receive a secret missive. Reward: "Celestial Flower Flying Sword Technique" [Profound Tier], Opportunity +30.]
[Remark: People were present, voices were heard, but the scene was not witnessed directly...]
Chen Yi glanced at the notification, and once he was sure the General and the others had all left, he quietly slipped into the rainy night, heading for the Spring Rain Building.
"Heh, I wonder what kind of method Lou Yuxue will use to try and recruit me into the White Tiger Guard."
While there was no way he would agree, that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun with the situation.
Right?