The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Wang Chong nodded.

  “We only cared about determining which of the targets was the true one, but we forgot about how prudent Fumeng Lingcha was being. It’s not important that we can’t find that man with the black tattoo of the jade character on his right wrist. The most important thing is to allay Fumeng Lingcha’s worries.”

  “But how did Fumeng Lingcha notice us? We were very careful to not make anything seem unnatural,” Li Siye said, his brow creased.

  All the methods for sounding out the targets had been decided in advance, after careful thought and consensus. It was only after they were sure that these methods were natural and not liable to stir any doubts that they decided on them. Li Siye didn’t understand how they had aroused Fumeng Lingcha’s suspicion.

  “You don’t understand.”

  Wang Chong gave a deep sigh. Not even Li Siye understood the reason, so he held no hope for the others. If Fumeng Lingcha hadn’t run into Wang Chong, his plan would succeed eight or nine times out of ten.

  “At present, we’ve used three methods: a young beggar, a carriage crash, and a large group of cavalry. The one most liable to arouse suspicion was the carriage crash, but we first had the carriage crash into other carriages before ‘accidentally’ hitting the target’s carriage, minimizing the chance the target would get suspicious. Purely on its own, this wouldn’t be anything to worry about, but if these incidents were to all crop up around the same time, if you were in Fumeng Lingcha’s position, wouldn’t you also get suspicious?”

  “This…”

  Li Siye was left stunned, and not only him—everyone else in the room was dumbfounded by Wang Chong’s words. True, every incident had been played out to perfection, but when added together, their performance had been anything but.

  “But, these five targets were all very far from Qixi. How did Fumeng Lingcha know so quickly…”

  The moment the question left Li Siye’s mouth, he realized, and his voice began to dwindle away.

  Chapter 808 - Long-Distance Clash! Wang Chong! Fumeng Lingcha!

  Chapter 808: Long-Distance Clash! Wang Chong! Fumeng Lingcha!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “You understand now?”

  Wang Chong gave Li Siye a profound glance, knowing that he had understood the crux of the matter.

  “Those carrier pigeons that Zhang Que thought nothing of were the key to all this. Fumeng Lingcha, that wily fox, is far more difficult to deal with than we imagined, far more cunning and crafty. If my guess is right, although he didn’t know of our existence, he gave each of his subordinates a carrier pigeon so that they could inform him as soon as anything strange happened. Zhang Que was too careless. I’m guessing that after those targets were inspected by our people, they found a secluded place to release their carrier pigeons. Zhang Que was tricked!”

  In the end, Wang Chong couldn’t help but sigh. Zhang Que was truly quite an outstanding individual, but he hadn’t taken into account who his opponent was. Fumeng Lingcha was a Protector-General with an incredibly shrewd mind. Even Wang Chong had to devote a hundred percent of his focus when dealing with him, much less Zhang Que.

  “Right now, we’re not dealing with those five people on the road, but Fumeng Lingcha in the distant Qixi Protectorate headquarters. This period is critical. If we can’t make Fumeng Lingcha lower his guard, then our next move is meaningless, because our chances of success are zero,” Wang Chong said.

  This operation was no longer a simple sounding out of the five targets for the one with the tattoo. It had gradually morphed into a contest with Fumeng Lingcha, a contest that involved no flashing blades and swords, no fire or smoke. Yet the result of this contest would decide the future structure of Qixi, the fate of an Imperial Great General, the fate of himself, and the fate of Anxi Protector-General Gao Xianzhi and his tens of thousands of elites.

  The room was quiet as Wang Chong’s orders were passed on.

  “Lord Marquis, Zhang Que has finished his withdrawal!”

  “Lord Marquis, Xu Keyi has pulled back all his troops!”

  Two messenger birds flew into the City of Steel, delivering the confirmation that Wang Chong’s words had been fully carried out. At this time, the people in the room did not even dare to breathe too loudly. If Wang Chong’s judgment was wrong, they would quickly lose sight of the targets and miss out on this opportunity. If Wang Chong’s judgment was correct, then the situation was even more serious, as it meant that they had failed the mission before even finishing the first phase.

  The air was fraught with tension, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

  Time slowly passed as they waited.

  “Lord Marquis, we’ve lost track of all three targets. We no longer know where they’ve gone!”

  This report quickly arrived. Although they couldn’t follow or probe the targets, they would dispatch a single person to observe them at set intervals, but even this group had lost trace of those three. The air in the room instantly became stifling.

  No one said anything, but all of them looked out of the corners of their eyes at Wang Chong.

  “There’s no need to rush. Wait!”

  Wang Chong closed his eyes and slightly leaned back. His expression was cold and unpanicked. Abnormal events always had a culprit, and so he could be sure that Fumeng Lingcha was waiting for any sign of movement from his side, but no matter what Fumeng Lingcha did, his tricks were useless against Wang Chong.

  All that mattered now was which of them had the most patience.

  This was a contest between him and Fumeng Lingcha.

  Time continued to amble forward.

  Seven minutes!

  Fifteen minutes!

  Thirty minutes!

  One hour!

  ……

  Everyone in the room remained silent, the mood slowly turning more oppressive. None of them doubted Wang Chong’s decisions. After all, Wang Chong had amply proved his wisdom and foresight many times already. And yet, from the current situation, it appeared that this time, Wang Chong… might have been wrong.

  Lord Marquis!

  Even Cheng Sanyuan and Su Shixuan couldn’t help but look at Wang Chong. No one believed that Wang Chong had done anything terribly wrong in this situation, as everyone would make mistakes, but the consequences of this matter weren’t so simple. Given the importance with which Wang Chong regarded this matter, they all believed that they might have lost the final chance to deal with Fumeng Lingcha.

  Starting from now, whether in Qixi or in Wushang, Wang Chong would forever be restrained and restricted by Fumeng Lingcha.

  As the morale dropped in this tense room, none of them knew that in another place, the air was even more solemn and fraught with tension.

  ……

  “Milord! Our people are all in position, but none of them have noticed anything strange.”

  In the main hall of the Qixi Protectorate, a Hu general bowed as he gave his report to Fumeng Lingcha. Across from him, the fully-armored Fumeng Lingcha was seated imposingly on his throne that symbolized the authority of the Qixi Protector-General, his body exuding a majestic aura, his eyes shut. Nobody could tell what thoughts were running through that unmoving figure.

  “Look again!” Fumeng Lingcha sternly said.

  This was already the third time he had given exactly this order, but none of the generals around him dared to question him.

  The Hu general quickly left with the order. Fifteen minutes later, he returned.

  “Milord! Qi Bo-er and the others have already picked up speed, but they still haven’t noticed anyone following them.”

  “Look again!”

  “Milord! They have already investigated three times and still haven’t noticed anything.”

  “Look again!”

  “Milord! Qi Bo-er and the others are about to reach Sand Pass, but they still have not noticed anything.”

  “Look again!”

  “Milord, Qi Bo-er has no
t noticed anyone within sixty kilometers!”

  “Look again!”

  “Milord! Qi Bo-er and Yi Laluo have arrived at Sand Pass. Qi Bo-er has inquired via carrier pigeon whether he should continue?”

  With this final question, the hall seemed to brighten as Fumeng Lingcha suddenly opened his eyes. Everyone around him was silent and still as they awaited Fumeng Lingcha’s decision.

  What’s going on? Was my intuition off?

  Fumeng Lingcha’s eyes flickered, and for the first time, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face. Fumeng Lingcha had always been cautious, even more so when matters involved that prince in the court. Thus, for this operation, Fumeng Lingcha had dispatched five people to the capital. If one of them encountered any problems, Fumeng Lingcha would instinctively feel uneasy, much less two of them.

  A young beggar had run into one of them, while the other’s carriage had been struck by a runaway carriage.

  These two incidents were absolutely normal on the Silk Road, but Fumeng Lingcha’s innate caution was triggered nonetheless. Consequently, he had summoned back two of his subordinates while telling the other three to pick up speed. If someone really was following them, Fumeng Lingcha was confident that these actions would leave his mysterious opponent panicked and confused.

  As long as this opponent picked up speed to follow his men, Fumeng Lingcha’s men stationed on the roads would notice. If his speculations were confirmed, Fumeng Lingcha would immediately have the letter destroyed.

  It was better to be safe than sorry, and though Fumeng Lingcha didn’t believe that anyone knew about his secret correspondence with that prince, Fumeng Lingcha didn’t dare to take any risks. After all, border Great Generals entering the War of the Princes had always been a massive taboo.

  Was I wrong? Were those two incidents really just accidents?

  Fumeng Lingcha appeared unmoved, but internally, he was, for the first time, beginning to doubt his decision. Much time had passed, and his men, wearing various disguises, had surveyed the area quite a few times, but they had found nothing. If someone really had been following his subordinates, they should have left at least a few clues.

  At the very least, there should have been some tracks in a range of sixty kilometers.

  As Fumeng Lingcha continued to think, time seemed to stop.

  Meanwhile, Wang Chong was also thinking in silence. For some reason, he felt like he was lacking something.

  “Cheng Sanyuan, is that cavalryman who crashed the carriage still there?” Wang Chong suddenly asked. This question instantly grabbed the focus of everyone present.

  “He is,” Cheng Sanyuan said without a thought.

  “Tell Xu Keyi to dispatch that cavalryman back to Qixi to have the carriage repaired. They have to use the official road, and they must be seen by the Hu merchants.”

  The officers were all baffled by the order, but seeing Wang Chong’s composed expression, none of them dared to object.

  “Yes!”

  Cheng Sanyuan paused for a moment before quickly leaving with the order.

  With Cheng Sanyuan’s departure, the room fell back into its silent and dejected mood. Not at all worried, Wang Chong only smiled.

  Fumeng Lingcha, let’s see what you do next.

  With this thought, Wang Chong settled back down to wait.

  ……

  “Reporting!”

  Within the Qixi Protectorate headquarters, a scout strode into the main hall and kneeled.

  “Milord! There’s a report from Qixi that the person who crashed into Qi Bo-er’s carriage has come back and is currently down in the marketplace, grumbling and cursing as he has the carriage repaired.”

  “What?”

  This news made Fumeng Lingcha shiver as he stood up from his throne.

  “Is this news confirmed?”

  “Milord! Our people have confirmed this news three times. In addition, our people have made inquiries and have found nothing wrong with that person’s identity. He’s just a small-time merchant who accidentally crashed his carriage into Qi Bo-er’s carriage, and he’s already paid compensation,” the kneeling scout earnestly said.

  Standing in the hall, Fumeng Lingcha continued to waver and hesitate. Seeing that Fumeng Lingcha was saying nothing, the other people in the hall endeavored to make as little noise as possible. After some time, Fumeng Lingcha’s eyes finally turned hard. He had made a decision.

  “Pass on my order. Call back Qi Bo-er and Yi Laluo from Sand Pass. In addition, have Qifu Li and the others continue on the original route!”

  “Yes!”

  With this ringing order, everything was settled.

  Fumeng Lingcha exhaled and plopped back down onto his throne.

  Chapter 809 - Wang Chong Wins Out!

  Chapter 809: Wang Chong Wins Out!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  In Wushang’s City of Steel, everyone was still waiting in silence. They had lost contact with all five targets, and their morale was at its nadir, though no one was willing to come out and say it. Yet at this very moment, the completely unexpected occurred.

  “Reporting!”

  A scout rushed into the hall. “Lord Marquis! We’ve received news that the last two targets are not returning to Qixi. Our forces have not seen any sign that they’re coming back!”

  “Ah!”

  “How could that be? Given the time that’s passed, they should already be back!”

  “That shouldn’t be. Has the situation changed? What’s going on here?”

  This news sent shockwaves through the gathered officers, and all of them were struck dumb. Even the slowest of them could sense that something wasn’t right. Quite a few hours had passed since those targets had begun to make their way back, and logically speaking, they should have arrived or been about to arrive at Qixi. That they had still not returned could only mean one thing: they had never planned to return to Qixi in the first place.

  And things were only just getting started.

  “Reporting!

  “Lord Marquis, Zhang Que has sent a report that the three missing targets have reappeared and are currently beginning to return to Qixi. Lord Zhang requests orders on what he should do next.”

  “Reporting!

  “Lord Marquis, Xu Keyi has sent a report that those two targets that we didn’t inspect who turned back have suddenly reappeared on the road. Lord Xu requests orders on what he should do next.”

  These two pieces combined left all the officers in a daze.

  The twists and turns had happened far too quickly, and no one knew what was happening or why it was happening.

  “Hahaha!”

  Wang Chong suddenly began to laugh, a smile finally appearing on his face.

  “As expected, Fumeng Lingcha, you took the bait!”

  Although no one else in the hall had understood what was going on, Wang Chong knew that he had guessed right, bet right, and done right. Fumeng Lingcha’s actions of having three of his men speed up and the other two go back was truly an attempt to lure his opponent out, but in this contest, he had still lost.

  “When evildoers rise one foot, the righteous rise one zhang. Fumeng Lingcha, in the end, you still couldn’t restrain yourself,” Wang Chong laughed.

  He could be almost certain that ordering Xu Keyi to send back the horseman who had crashed the carriage had played a critical role. Otherwise, there was no explaining how Fumeng Lingcha had so quickly decided to resume his plan after the order had been carried out.

  “Tell Xu Keyi and Zhang Que to go according to the original plan. Follow those two targets, but until they reach the point that they originally turned around, they shouldn’t be alarmed. As for the other three… since they’ve already turned around, there’s no need to worry about them!” Wang Chong declared, his orders immediately rousing his men to life.

  “Your subordinate understands!”

  The scout quickly left.

  All the officers in the ro
om had rather ashamed expressions. It was now very obvious that Wang Chong’s judgment had been correct. If they had pursued those missing targets, they would have failed and attracted Fumeng Lingcha’s attention. When they thought about how they had been so certain that Wang Chong was wrong just moments ago, they felt even more embarrassed.

  Wang Chong waved his hands and indifferently said, “Haha, it’s fine. There’s no need to worry about such minor trifles. Get moving!”

  In an exchange with a crafty individual like Fumeng Lingcha, even Wang Chong, with all his future knowledge, had to commit all his focus, much less his subordinates. This sort of performance was very normal. It was still not the time for them to participate in contests of this level.

  With this, everything is settled!

  Wang Chong looked out the door. It seemed like the dark clouds over the City of Steel were finally dispersing, and he felt a sense of relief washing over him.

  ……

  Xu Keyi quickly sent back news that they had found the man with the black tattoo on his right wrist. It had been one of the two people they had been tracking, and both Xu Keyi’s men and Zhang Que’s rock eagles were currently following him.

  But there was still one last problem. Wang Chong had no way of confirming whether the letter was in that person’s hands or Fumeng Lingcha had sent the letter separately.

  “Lord Marquis, since we’ve confirmed the target, we could just capture both of them at the same time,” Cheng Sanyuan proposed. “That letter will definitely be with one of them.”

  “That’s not necessary. Fumeng Lingcha has definitely sent his trusted subordinates, so we just need to confirm that it’s these two. There’s no point in stirring Fumeng Lingcha’s wariness for a minor matter like this. In addition, both Wushang and Sand Pass are too close to Qixi. We can’t guarantee that Fumeng Lingcha has no other tricks up his sleeve to ensure that the letter is transported safely. Careless movements are far too dangerous, and Fumeng Lingcha might react excessively,” Wang Chong said, but he kept a few reasons unsaid. This matter involved not just Fumeng Lingcha, but that prince in the capital. A problem in Qixi that could stir that prince’s doubts would also lead to a failure in this matter.