Chapter 481: Warning

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Warning

Wang Jian looked at the red dot Shen Hao had marked on the map, and quickly realized—wasn’t this the so-called City of Unjust Death that Ma San Kui had confessed about before?

"Brilliant, my lord! When it comes to knowing the ins and outs of a carriage and horse shop, you still need people from the trade.

But as far as I know, Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company also has riverboats, only they’re limited to the Baijiang River Basin, and that’s quite a distance from Weak Water. If Liu Hengyi is willing to help us out quietly by using the shipping route, it would be much faster."

"We can’t fully trust Liu Hengyi yet, and we can’t let him know too much for now. When your people get inside, first map out the workings of Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company, then rely on that cover to investigate. Put your focus on this for the second half of the year."

Shen Hao trusted Wang Jian’s ability. Once the secret agents entered Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company, following the network of the carriage and horse shop toward the City of Unjust Death, there was a good chance of tracing the channels responsible for supplying all sorts of goods to the City.

The reason for avoiding the official route and opting for a roundabout investigation was mainly for secrecy, and also to lay the groundwork for cutting into the City of Unjust Death later. Who knew what kinds of ties existed between the City and the Jingjiu Dynasty? If the Xuanqing Guard tried to infiltrate their territory openly, it could easily cause unnecessary trouble, so it was best to be cautious from the start.

"Understood, sir. As soon as I return, I’ll start making plans—I won’t let you down!"

Wang Jian left. Shen Hao stood up and poured himself a pot of cool tea. When he turned back, he found an extra person in the Public Office—a familiar face, one of the three top experts Pang Ban had sent to secretly "protect" him.

"You popping up like this—is your aim to scare me?" Shen Hao pulled a wry smile. He had always been speechless about these three "tag-alongs". You couldn’t count on them to save your life, but when it came to making a nuisance, they were experts. He couldn’t get rid of them, or else Shen Hao would never bother keeping such "bodyguards".

"Do you know who the man you saw earlier at the oil tea shop was?"

"No idea. But he claimed to be from Moon Shadow Tower."

"How did you get in touch with him?"

Shen Hao glanced sidelong at the man, and saw that he was still wearing a face as stiff as a corpse. Shen Hao laughed, "You should be asking how they found me. I found a note in my carriage right after I left home this morning. The note was signed with the Moon Shadow Tower’s insignia, asking me to meet at the oil tea booth in East Market at noon. You know how mysterious Moon Shadow Tower is—I’ve always been curious, so naturally, I had to go have a look.

As for whether that person was really from Moon Shadow Tower, I have no idea yet. Treating it as third-party contact for now."

Hearing Shen Hao speak so carelessly, this Guard felt a headache coming on. He understood perfectly well how special Shen Hao’s status was in the Xuanqing Guard by now. Not only was he Jiang Cheng’s favorite disciple, confidant, and right-hand man, but even in Lord Commander’s eyes, he was a promising rising star. Most people were still stuck at the Xiaoqi rank at thirty, but he was already Deputy Thousand Households.

Who would want to offend someone like that? Certainly not this Guard. He was only here because of explicit orders from the Commander’s Office—otherwise, he’d never have bothered to come and annoy Shen Hao.

"That person is called Li Xinghe. One of the twelve Grand Stewards of Moon Shadow Tower, or rather, their leader. Cultivation at Post-Primordial Core Realm; which precise stage is unknown. Holds an extremely high position in Moon Shadow Tower."

Shen Hao paused, hand holding the tea, and turned to look at him in surprise, "Are you sure you didn’t mistake him for someone else?"

He’d known for a while that his meeting with Moon Shadow Tower couldn’t be concealed, so Shen Hao used this as a test to gauge how much tolerance the Commander’s Office would show him. At the same time, these three Guards sent by the Commander were exactly what gave him the guts to "go alone"—in the worst case, these three were all Middle Stage of the Primordial Core Realm experts; there was no way they’d be completely useless, right?

Shen Hao’s mind raced. He was sure his private conversations with Lian Xiang hadn’t been overheard by these "bodyguards", but would they, because of Ning Ziye’s status, guess what was up with Hong’en Hall or Lian Xiang? Shen Hao wasn’t certain. In fact, this was an issue that had always nagged at him.

This was a good chance to test the waters all at once.

After waiting two days, this was the result? The head of Moon Shadow Tower’s twelve Grand Stewards?

What the hell is this about?

Just the title alone meant he was no small fry. And with the "bodyguard" running over so gravely to warn him, Shen Hao realized that his plan to treat Moon Shadow Tower as a "third-party" information network was way too naïve. If they sent out such a heavyweight to contact him, they obviously had something up their sleeve.

"Li Xinghe practices the Beast Taming Technique, nicknamed ’Beast Star’. In early years he was a well-known and very powerful Loose Cultivator, but got hunted for over a decade after offending a First-class Sect, only finding shelter when he joined Moon Shadow Tower. He is now one of the most public of Moon Shadow Tower’s higher-ups, but he’s often elusive, hard to track down.

Also, Moon Shadow Tower is a chronic ailment in the Dynasty. Whenever there’s a move against them, they always manage to slip away in advance. That means there must be someone at court covering for them. You need to be extra careful when dealing with them. If anything seems off, you can always reach out to the Commander’s Office for help."

Shen Hao saw the man wasn’t pressing about why Moon Shadow Tower was after him. Instead, he shifted tone to "guidance", with an obvious hint of encouragement.

"Is this Lord Pang’s idea?"

"Of course. Anything involving Moon Shadow Tower has to be reported up, and these are Lord Pang’s instructions for you—he wants you to be cautious, but not overburdened with worries. He hopes you can make some headway with Moon Shadow Tower."

What did that mean? He hopes I can make some headway? Is this just "see what happens if you throw a dead horse at it"? Who knew what Moon Shadow Tower even was in Pang Ban’s eyes.

And... Pang Ban told me to "go straight to the Commander’s Office". Does that mean he’s forgotten about the Governor’s Office, or is it on purpose?

Still, this was the best result Shen Hao could have hoped for. Whether Pang Ban knew the full story of his involvement with Moon Shadow Tower or not, at least for now Pang Ban didn’t intend to interfere—in fact, he seemed to support Shen Hao’s contact with them.

"I understand."

"Good. Also, tell your people to stop sprinkling rat poison everywhere and killing cats and dogs—it’s useless. If Beast Taming was that easy to counter, Li Xinghe wouldn’t be so powerful." Tossing this line out, the man’s figure flashed and he leapt through the window, vanishing in a blink.

No telling where this guy went to "protect" Shen Hao whenever he was impossible to find.

Leaning back in his chair, one hand holding cool tea, the other a palm fan—he seemed to be resting, but his thoughts were racing. Unwittingly caught between Moon Shadow Tower and the Xuanqing Guard, the situation was worlds away from the "approach" he had planned before—every detail needed to be weighed, again and again.

Before he knew it, it was time for the Lower Emissary shift.

Wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead, Shen Hao muttered to himself, "Really ought to go ask someone if they could invent something like an ’air conditioner’..."