Chapter 680: Discovery

Chapter 680: Chapter 680: Discovery

Wang Jian rushed to the Imperial City at the fastest speed, met Jiang Cheng at the Jingxi Town Governor’s Office—who had urgently summoned him—and then heard a piece of news so fantastical it seemed like a fairy tale, and was assigned a top-secret mission related to it.

Whenever Wang Jian recalled it, his heart would instinctively tremble, and at the same time, he felt a strange excitement.

Prince Jin! He was His Majesty’s second brother—back then, during the Royal Family’s "Major Examination," the Emperor schemed against him, almost costing him his life, and later vanished. Only Prince Jin managed to escape; all other princes lost their lives, leaving only the current Emperor to ascend the throne.

Now, with another "Major Examination" approaching, Prince Jin actually returned!? And as a Profound Sea Realm Cultivator!

Wang Jian had a simple thought. All such imperial secrets were now assigned to Black Water for investigation—didn’t that mean Black Water had finally earned recognition from above? This matter must have been approved by His Majesty. If it was handled beautifully, then...

Jiang Cheng issued the task; Wang Jian naturally agreed face-to-face. He turned to report to Shen Hao, and after the Thousand-Mile Sound relayed several times, Shen Hao’s instructions arrived: self-preservation comes first, tracking second.

Wang Jian always did whatever Shen Hao commanded. Seeing these eight words, he quickly understood. Indeed, although this affair carries great weight and immense merit if successful, it was far too dangerous—could even bring intolerable harm to the newly established Black Water. After all, that was a Profound Sea Realm Cultivator!

Later, Wang Jian recalled in detail; it seemed Jiang Cheng didn’t use restrictive words like "must" or "absolutely required" when assigning the task.

Were they letting Black Water try its luck? With his thoughts clear, Wang Jian personally commanded from the Imperial City, residing in a nondescript courtyard wedged in a narrow alley.

That very night, the top-level scout responsible for the Imperial City hurried over. They were all anxious, knowing this was Wang Jian’s first personal visit to the Imperial City to seek them out—a sign of a major event.

"This person, and this insignia: find them to the best of your ability, without exposing yourself. If found, do not act rashly, report immediately."

The secret agent handlers hurriedly put away the portrait, asking nothing about who it was. Not a single useless word—when Wang Jian finished his instructions, he turned and left, fearful of lingering longer.

Wang Jian was never bothered by these scouts’ hurried manner. Some of these rules had been set by him. This profession was special and differed from the official world’s "politeness, face." In the secret agent trade, the colder the relationship, the better—running into each other, always strangers.

Black Water’s secret agent system was no longer what it used to be, relying solely on drugging vagrants for surveillance. Now, it had layers—each level above the next—the deeper down, the less people knew about their own identities, and certainly not who they were working for. Drugs or bribes were mainly for controlling these lower-level scouts.

Of course, certain necessary skills still had to be mastered. Wang Jian had originally planned to deploy cultivators for Imperial City’s secret agent affairs, but Shen Hao vetoed it, saying that the Imperial City was a special location; cultivator identities were unsuitable and would easily become targets if something went wrong. So, all Black Water’s agents in the Imperial City were ordinary people—no cultivation, no martial arts.

Walking on the street—a rugged man carrying firewood, or an old lady with a basket coming from the market, or a beggar squatting at the corner, with a vacant expression and dead eyes...Sometimes, Wang Jian couldn’t tell which were Black Water’s eyes and which were just real passersby.

Five days in a row, Wang Jian gradually awoke from fantasies of "what if I achieve outstanding merit." No matter which part of the Imperial City the scouts searched, or which servants embedded in officials’ households, there was not a single discovery.

Person or insignia, both left no trace.

At this point, Wang Jian realized. No wonder Governor Jiang didn’t use any words indicating required completion—turns out, this was really just a stroke of luck, trying to find someone.

Once he figured this out, Wang Jian’s enthusiasm collapsed at least halfway, mocking himself for being too impatient—he’d rushed to the Imperial City himself, only to end up empty-handed, looking quite foolish.

But just as Wang Jian was ready to return to Fengri City, one of the secret agent handlers urgently reported that a scout had seen the Nine-pointed Star insignia.

That night, the handler who submitted the report came to Wang Jian. The two set up a Concealing Array in the room, then spread out a map of the Imperial City’s districts on the table. The map showed the main neighborhoods, principal building layouts, and included areas beyond the Imperial City, like the Tea Mountain Manor where nobility congregated.

"Sir, look—it’s right here." The handler, eyes gleaming with excitement, pointed to a small town on the map. He didn’t know what that insignia signified, nor who the strange-eyed person was, but he understood that a case serious enough for Wang Jian’s personal command wouldn’t be simple. He’d found a clue—no way he’d miss out on major credit, right?

"What place is this? Why is there no name?"

"Sir, you may not know—this is a private manor, no name; outsiders call it ’Wu Village.’"

"A private manor? Wu Village? What’s its background?"

"All the tenants of the manor are hardened veterans who retired or resigned from the military."

"From the military?" Wang Jian instinctively detected an unusual undertone—such a substantial private manor so close to the Imperial City, its tenants all retired military veterans; could the manor owner’s identity be so ordinary?

"Yes, the manor’s master is Minister of War, Yang Yansi."

Wang Jian sucked in a cold breath, lifted his chin to signal the other to continue.

"One of my subordinates who peddles sundries roams the streets all day, and sometimes goes to nearby towns. He visited Wu Village yesterday afternoon—he’s familiar with folks there, so access is easy. After hawking his wares and leaving, at the entrance of the central mansion he saw someone come out and board a carriage. When that person stepped into the carriage, they revealed a jade at their waist—it matched the insignia’s shape."

Wang Jian frowned, "Just a glimpse and sure about it?"

"Sir, rest assured—I know my men best, that one’s eyes are sharp..."

"Enough! Isn’t his memory good? Have him describe the person’s appearance, get someone to draw it, identify the face." Wang Jian didn’t doubt his subordinate’s information, but needed further confirmation; relying on a "glimpse" wasn’t enough to confidently report back to Jiang Cheng.

Unexpectedly, the handler replied immediately, "Sir, I was about to mention that. My subordinate said the person wearing the insignia closely resembled the portrait, except their eye color wasn’t black and white—a nine-tenths likeness."