Chapter 105: Secrets, Four Symbols

Chapter 105: Secrets and the Four Imagery

It was not Liu Si'er.

Neither the stature nor the gait matched.

Chen Yi stared fixedly at the armored soldier standing beside Xiao Dongchen, a faint sense of familiarity washing over him.

It had to be a soldier he had crossed paths with and encountered a few times before.

Excluding Liu Si'er, that left only Wang Lixing, Ge Liansan, Yan Hong...

One silhouette after another superimposed itself upon the man before him.

Finally, the image locked onto a single figure.

Chen Yi froze for a moment, barely managing to swallow a string of curses.

Motherfucker—it was Ge Liansan!

How could it be Ge Liansan?

Lately, he had suspected many people around him, even the newly recruited lame physicians.

Yet he had never once suspected Ge Liansan.

That bastard was usually so crude and boisterous, a careless sort who could never keep a secret...

Who would have thought he was actually a deep-cover hidden guard?

You dog, just you wait!

Chen Yi cursed bitterly in his mind, the refinement he had cultivated over these past days shattering completely.

Then, he pricked up his ears, listening intently to the conversation between the two men over yonder.

With his current mid-tier Eighth Rank cultivation, even across the curtain of rain, his hearing—several times sharper than an ordinary man's—could catch their voices.

"...The grain stored by the Dingyuan Army amounts to as much as two million dan; it is far too much."

"Even if the Provincial Administration Commission sends men to confiscate a portion, counting the grain exchanged through the salt and iron monopolies, it remains enough to sustain the Dingyuan Army for half a year without worry."

"To me, this matter is an unmitigated disaster."

Xiao Dongchen’s voice came through clearly, causing Chen Yi's heart to stir slightly.

These past few days, he had naturally heard about the summer harvest of the three military towns within the manor, a matter over which the Old Master had been jubilant for a long time.

Connecting this to the "frontier trade" mentioned in Xiao Dongchen’s previous secret letter, Chen Yi vaguely deduced what the two were meeting to discuss today.

Just then, Ge Liansan lowered his raspy voice and said, "Master Chen, it is useless for you to seek me out for this."

"Though we are both Silver Banner Officers, our respective missions differ, and the Iron Banner Officers and White Tiger Vanguard we can mobilize are distinct as well."

"Even if I comply and assist you, it would be limited to gathering some local thugs or vagabonds of the martial world, which is useless for the 'frontier trade matter'."

"You cannot possibly expect them to deal with Old Mother Mountain and the Second Miss, can you?"

A moment of silence ensued.

Xiao Dongchen paced over to the pavilion in the courtyard, gazing up at the nocturnal curtain of rain, his tone deep and solemn.

"The matter of the frontier trade will naturally be resolved by me, but that batch of grain—I need you to step in and handle it."

"You mean to..."

Ge Liansan seemed to spit a curse. "Have you lost your mind?"

Xiao Dongchen shook his head. "You and I both know that if the frontier trade succeeds, the Xiao family's plight will vanish into thin air in an instant."

"One can see a clue from the Liu family's recent probing."

"Even though the Old Master is gravely ill and Wu Ge is still young, leaving the Xiao family with no support, they remain exceedingly cautious, terrified of being targeted by the Old Master."

"If we cannot cause chaos within the Xiao family now, the other great clans and aristocratic families of Shuzhou will never make a move."

"Once the Xiao family breaks free from this predicament, even if the Old Master passes away in the future, the members of the First Branch can still protect the entire clan."

Xiao Dongchen paused, turning his head to look at him, his tone earnest. "Sparrowhawk, though our missions differ, our direction is aligned."

"If the Second Branch, where I reside, cannot seize control of the Xiao family, what chance would your 'Fledgling' have?"

Hearing this, Ge Liansan’s gaze beneath the helmet turned sinister. "His affairs have nothing to do with you. I advise you to keep your eyes off him."

Xiao Dongchen let out a soft chuckle. "You probably do not know yet, do you? Liu Jing already intends to strike at the Baicao Hall."

"Once they succeed and the Xiao family's medicine hall business suffers a setback, given the 'Fledgling's' temperament, he will surely continue to stay in the Chunhe Garden."

"When that time comes, what means will you have left to force him into compliance?"

Ge Liansan snorted. "That is not for you to worry about. I have my own ways."

"By looking for more local thugs?"

"You are forcing me to slaughter you!" Xiao Dongchen shook his head, thought for a moment, and leaned in to whisper a few words. "Helping me is helping yourself. Furthermore, the side of the 'Tigress' also requires Shuzhou to descend into chaos."

Ge Liansan frowned as he looked at him. "The Tigress? You are in contact with her as well? I see you truly have gone mad."

Chen Yi listened intently, yet he failed to hear the words Xiao Dongchen whispered.

However, judging from Ge Liansan's reaction, it was not difficult to deduce that the "Tigress" must be a hidden guard sharing the same status as them.

A Silver Banner Officer?

That was indeed a regulation of the imperial court.

Over there, Ge Liansan remained silent for a long while before nodding slightly. "What do you plan for me to do?"

A smile appeared on Xiao Dongchen's face. "Precisely what you just guessed—burn that grain."

Ge Liansan immediately swore a few more times. His eyes swept across the surroundings, and instead of responding directly, he raised his voice and called out:

"As Master Chen commands, this subordinate will go to the Baicao Hall tomorrow to fetch some tea."

With that, he turned and stepped into the curtain of rain, striding heavily out of the Sifang Studio.

Xiao Dongchen made no move to stop him. After watching him depart, he cast a glance toward the Jiaxing Courtyard and muttered to himself:

"Shen Huatang left the manor late at night. I wonder if it is to deal with the people of the Phantasmal Music Sect."

"But now that everything is prepared, it matters little, heh..."

As he spoke, he slowly paced toward the wooden building.

With a creak, the door closed shut.

[Witnessed the concealment methods of the Dingyuan Marquis Manor's hidden guards, and overheard their secret plots. Reward: Four Imagery Art (Mystic Rank), Fortune +30.]

[Commentary: The person arrived, the voices were heard, the scene was witnessed, but the aura of stealth was entirely too strong; a creature naturally given to wretched sneakiness.]

Seeing this, Chen Yi knew their discussion had ended and both had departed, so he carefully rose to his feet.

This time, however, he did not walk along the outer perimeter. Instead, utilizing the cover of the rainy curtain, he executed the Meteor Butterfly Step, crossing a distance of twenty Zhang in a mere two breaths to leap over into the adjacent Jiaxing Courtyard.

Had he known earlier that Shen Huatang was not in the manor, there would have been no need for him to elevate his martial strides.

He hoped this would not hinder the cultivation progress of his newly acquired true qi cultivation mantra, the Four Imagery Art.

Yet, from this vantage point...

Chen Yi could not help but discern the hidden guards, or rather Xiao Dongchen's grip over the Xiao family.

It was likely that, besides the trusted guards Liu Si’er and Ge Laozi, there were other hidden guards lurking within the manor.

Or perhaps within the Garden of Xiaping?

Chen Yi could not help but realize that he would have to be more cautious in the future.

Yet, as he had just landed, he had spotted Xiao Wan’er standing by the window, gazing blankly at the rain-soaked dusk.

Thankfully, she had not noticed him, sparing him the humiliation of being caught like before.

Chen Yi quietly slipped behind a tree, waiting silently for Xiao Wan’er to close the window.

After a few moments, she remained still.

He then poked his head out, observing her silhouette atop the wooden building, muttering sullenly:

“How can she stand the cold with such a large window open? Doesn’t she fear getting sick?”

Unbeknownst to others, Chen Yi, who had repeatedly treated Xiao Wan’er’s qi-sensing exercises, knew her condition better than anyone.

Calling her a “most yin-deficient body” was merely an understatement; her illness, beyond the coldyin, also carried a faint trace of yangfire.

Just as the small, pale man who had died in the manor office had suffered a “sudden collapse.”

Once Xiao Wan’er’s yangfire dissipated to a certain degree, she might perish at any moment—her body could turn to ashes and crumble like jade.

As Chen Yi pondered these thoughts, a song drifted up from the wooden building.

Not a spoken word, but a melodic hum:

“Snow spirit carves clouds into a crown, ice silk wipes the moon as her gaze, the mighty gate swells with stars… The jade terrace, like you, rare in this world…”

Chen Yi paused, gazing at her form, listening to the song.

At that moment, the night cloaked everything in darkness, the wind whispering, the rain pattering, the flowers and trees swaying as if in greeting.

Alongside the rain, the fragrance of blossoms bloomed, yet could not mask the melody.

Even this Garden of Xiaping seemed to gain new hues, shining brighter, like a painted scroll.

After a while, Xiao Wan’er’s song ceased, a faint blush tinging her pale face.

She gazed at the rain outside, listened to the drumming drops, smoothed her long robe, and gently closed the window.

Not long after, the candlelight within the room flickered and died.

Somewhere in the distance, a soft sigh escaped.

Chen Yi watched silently for a moment, his expression tinged with complexity.

“The poem she recited must have been penned with a touch of melancholy.”

(The chapter ends here.)