Lurking in the Dense Forest

Niu Ren was quite satisfied with Huang Shaojie, the newly appointed Banner Officer. His martial arts were formidable, he handled matters with keen judgment, and especially those eyes of his—even sharper than Niu Ren's, a Fifth Rank Grandmaster's.

"Pass the order. Have everyone of Banner Officer rank and above gather here."

Niu Ren instructed the guard at his side.

The guard accepted the order and left.

Before long, dozens of Banner Officers, Battalion Commanders, Commanders of a Hundred, and Probationary Commanders of a Hundred had gathered.

Everyone looked toward Commander Niu, wondering why he had summoned them.

"My lord, have you found some clue?"

Commander Zhao cupped his fists and asked Commander Niu.

With his hands behind his back, Niu Ren nodded slightly. "Just now, Banner Officer Huang discovered that the bandits had unloaded the official silver halfway along the road and sunk it in a small lake..."

The crowd's faces all showed astonishment, and they looked at Huang Shaojie in surprise.

Commander Zhao also turned to Huang Shaojie and asked doubtfully, "Banner Officer Huang, how did you discover that the bandits had unloaded the official silver midway? And how did you learn that they had sunk it at the bottom of a lake?"

Huang Shaojie cupped his fists. "Reporting to Commander Zhao, this subordinate examined the depth of the wheel ruts on the official road and determined that the carts arriving here were all empty. Then Battalion Commander Xiao and I followed the wheel tracks back along the road and found the direction in which the bandits had unloaded the official silver and fled..."

Huang Shaojie roughly recounted what had happened.

The crowd was even more astonished.

If the road had been soft, one could indeed determine from the wheel ruts whether a carriage was empty or loaded with tax silver.

But this official road was hard-packed. It should have been impossible to distinguish between the tracks of empty carts and those loaded with tax silver.

"Banner Officer Huang, with the road this hard, are you certain you can determine where the bandits unloaded the official silver just from the wheel tracks?"

Commander Zhao looked at Huang Shaojie skeptically. Though he had heard that Huang Shaojie possessed some ability, he did not believe his powers of observation could be this exceptional.

Xiao Qiuyue spoke from the side. "Commander Zhao, this subordinate believes Banner Officer Huang. His observational ability is indeed extremely strong. Moreover, this subordinate also discovered traces of the bandits' trampling in that patch of forest."

Since Xiao Qiuyue had said so, Commander Zhao naturally asked no further questions. Still, he did not quite believe Huang Shaojie's observational ability could be so strong.

The other Banner Officers and Battalion Commanders were likewise half-convinced, half-doubtful.

At this moment, Niu Ren spoke. "Whether Banner Officer Huang's judgment is correct or not, this is an important lead. We must assign some men to keep a close watch on that lake."

Niu Ren then began issuing orders.

"Battalion Commander He, take two Banner Officers and disguise yourselves as woodcutters. Go chop wood in the mountain forest near that lake and observe the lake's movements during the day."

"If bandits come to salvage the silver, immediately send someone back to report."

Battalion Commander He cupped his fists in salute. "Yes, my lord."

Niu Ren continued, "Commander Zhao, Battalion Commander Xiao, Banner Officer Huang, the three of you will secretly lurk in the mountain forest near the small lake at night and monitor the surrounding activity. If bandits come to salvage the silver, do not alert the grass and startle the snake. Secretly follow them back to their lair, then return and report."

"Yes, my lord!" Commander Zhao, Xiao Qiuyue, and Huang Shaojie accepted the order with cupped fists.

Niu Ren looked at the crowd and waved his hand. "The rest of you, continue searching nearby for traces of the bandits' departure!"

It was clear from these arrangements that Niu Ren did not entirely believe Huang Shaojie's judgment. Therefore, he had not assigned many men to watch the small lake, sending only six people to pursue this lead.

Everyone accepted their orders and departed.

Inside a luxurious hall.

"Reporting to the President, the Imperial Guard searched the mountain forest near that small lake today."

A man dressed in black nightwear cupped his fists and respectfully reported to an old man in a green robe.

The green-robed old man's expression changed slightly. "The noses of those Imperial Guard hounds are truly sharp. You must not have cleaned up the trampled traces properly yesterday, which is why those hounds tracked you here."

The man in black said in a low voice, "Over a hundred people each carried a wooden chest containing two thousand taels of silver through the forest. No matter how thoroughly we cleaned up, some trace would inevitably remain."

The green-robed old man frowned. "It seems the Suzhou Imperial Guard has capable people among them! The silver was unloaded midway, and empty carts were led dozens of li away, yet they still tracked it here. Impressive indeed!"

The man in black asked cautiously, "President, what should we do now? Should we retrieve the official silver sunk at the bottom of the lake under cover of night and transport it back?"

Instead of answering, the green-robed old man asked, "How many Imperial Guard members searched near the lake where the silver was sunk today? How long did they search around the lake?"

The man in black replied, "There were several dozen Imperial Guard members in total, led by a man and a woman. They searched for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then left."

The green-robed old man asked again, "Did that man and woman who led them come to inspect the lakeshore, or deliberately observe the lake?"

The man in black said, "No. They probably never imagined that the official silver had been sunk at the bottom of the lake."

The green-robed old man slowly shook his head. "Not necessarily. Since they were able to track their way here, they must have discovered your footprints. How could they fail to consider the possibility that the official silver was sunk in the small lake?"

The man in black froze. "President, do you mean that this Imperial Guard man and woman deliberately pretended not to know, in order to make us lower our guard?"

The green-robed old man stroked his beard as he pondered. "That is very possible. They may be setting an ambush in the forest around the lake, waiting to encircle and capture us when we go into the lake to retrieve the silver."

The man in black said dejectedly, "If that is so, then haven't we labored in vain over this batch of official silver? We cannot retrieve it."

The green-robed old man said, "This is only my conjecture. We cannot draw a conclusion yet. Perhaps those Imperial Guard members truly found no clues. Therefore, we must test them."

"Test them? How?"

"Tonight, have two disciples retrieve one chest of silver from the lake. You hide in the shadows and observe. If any Imperial Guard members appear, immediately use hidden weapons to silence those two disciples. If the Imperial Guard neither captures nor follows those two disciples, that will prove they have not discovered that official silver lies in the lake."

"The President speaks wisely. This subordinate will make the arrangements at once."

Night fell.

Three black shadows had long been concealed in the mountain forest over a hundred meters from the small lake.

They were Commander Zhao, Xiao Qiuyue, and Huang Shaojie.

Niu Ren had sent the three of them because all three possessed considerable martial skill.

Commander Zhao was a Second Rank Grandmaster. His strength was beyond question.

Xiao Qiuyue was at the peak of the Eighth Level of Innate Realm, on the verge of breaking through to the Ninth Level of Innate Realm.

Although Huang Shaojie was only at the Third Level of Innate Realm, he possessed two peerless martial arts, and his strength surpassed Xiao Qiuyue's.

All three held their breath and focused their minds, hiding in concealed spots within the forest. No slightest movement within a hundred meters could escape their ears.

When midnight arrived, two figures furtively crept over from the distance and headed straight for the lakeshore.