"Oh?" Jiang Liu looked up at Murong Yin, poured her a cup of tea, and said, "Tell me in detail what happened?"
Murong Yin sat down, took a sip of tea, and continued, "This is news from Qi Province. It says that someone is inquiring about the whereabouts of Koinu Jun'ichirō."
"Who are they?" Jiang Liu continued to ask.
"He's an ordinary martial artist from the Great Qian Dynasty. However, he didn't openly inquire about the whereabouts of Koinu Jun'ichirō. He just came to our Ascension Tower to buy information and see if there was any news about the people of the East Wo Country," Murong Yin said, putting down his teacup.
Jiang Liu poured Murong Yin another cup of tea and asked, "Is there anything more detailed?"
Murong Yin shook his head and said, "There are no more details, but according to the analysis from Qi Province, this person should be from the Dark Star Hall."
"Dark Star Hall people? Why would you make such an analysis?" Jiang Liu asked Murong Yin.
"Because that person seemed very ordinary, so ordinary that he could be easily lost in a crowd," Murong Yin explained.
"Ordinary?" Jiang Liu frowned slightly.
Murong Yin nodded and continued, "It was precisely because that person seemed so ordinary, but the news of his purchase was anything but ordinary, that he attracted attention."
Jiang Liu understood now; he guessed this person was probably sent by the Dark Star Hall to gather information.
It's likely that someone from the Dark Star Hall is after the silver that Koinu Jun'ichirō left at the Tongqian Bank, which is why they sent someone to inquire about Koinu Jun'ichirō's whereabouts.
However, this was not a spy sent by the East Wo Country to the Great Qian Dynasty, nor was it someone who had genuinely come to inquire about Koinu Jun'ichirō.
Murong Yin looked at Jiang Liu and continued, "It's not over yet. This news also came from Qi Province. Two days later, someone else came to inquire about Koinu Jun'ichirō. Moreover, this time they came directly to buy information about Koinu Jun'ichirō's whereabouts."
"Most importantly, the people who came this time are clearly not from the Great Qian Dynasty," Murong Yin added.
Jiang Liu then asked Murong Yin with interest, "How did you tell he wasn't from the Great Qian?"
"His accent, though he tried his best to conceal it, still gave it away," Murong Yin continued to explain.
Jiang Liu nodded, because a person's accent is formed from childhood, and Ascension Tower, being in the intelligence business, has a natural sensitivity to these things.
"After further investigation, it was found that this person was a minor leader of a local gang, and his fighting skills were not low. Therefore, it can be confirmed that this person was an inside agent sent by the East Wo Country to Daqian."
"Did we alert them?" Jiang Liu asked, sounding slightly worried.
"No, we've just sent people to continue monitoring, waiting to find more clues and contacts," Murong Yin said.
"Okay, tell Qi Province Ascension Tower to keep a close eye on things. If they are short-handed, I can ask the Exotic Beast Valley to send people to help."
Murong Yin nodded, indicating that he understood.
The two then exchanged opinions on preparing antidote drugs, with Jiang Liu mainly asking about the progress.
It turns out that Murong Yin had already begun sending people to the Medical Saint Pavilion, Medicine King Valley, Physician Pavilion and other forces to sell and purchase anti-poison drugs.
It will take some time to get a reply, and even if these forces agree, it will take a long time to transport the medicine to Yunzhou.
Therefore, Jiang Liu could only suppress his thoughts for the time being and wait patiently.
And so, Jiang Liu settled down peacefully in the mansion by the mountains with Murong Yin and Feng Yue, spending his days practicing martial arts and chatting with the two women in his spare time.
It wasn't until after the Lantern Festival that Qin Bailian came to Jiang Liu to ask when he could send someone to take over Xia County and Kan County. Jiang Liu's leisurely days were finally broken.
However, after sending Qin Bailian to take over Xia County and Kan County, Jiang Liu ignored him.
If even Grandmaster like Qin Bailian can't handle such a small matter, Jiang Liu really needs to reassess his abilities.
As for Murong Mo of Kan County, Murong Yin had already mentioned it to Murong Aotian beforehand, and Murong Aotian had also sent a special letter to Murong Mo.
If Murong Mo still won't let go after all this, then don't blame Qin Bailian for taking drastic measures.
Murong Qin of Xia County had long wanted Jiang Liu to send someone to take over, because Murong Qin was very clear about his own position, so he only took a small share of the benefits and had no regrets.
In fact, Jiang Liu admires people like this because they know when to advance and when to retreat, and they can control their greed.
Many people are ruined by their uncontrollable greed, which is why they destroy themselves.
The human heart is the most complex thing, changing with the environment. And being able to hold onto one's true self is the most precious thing.
However, since Jiang Liu had promised Qin Bailian that he would have Exotic Weapon Valley intervene, he would keep his word. Of course, if Exotic Weapon Valley betrayed Jiang Liu's trust, Jiang Liu also had his own ways of dealing with them.
About half a month later, Qin Bailian sent a message back saying that he had completely taken over Xia County and Kan County, and all the personnel of Ascension Tower had been withdrawn back to Ascension Tower.
However, Murong Mo still caused some trouble, mainly by taking away all the silver and tax revenue collected over the years.
Jiang Liu shook his head upon hearing this. This clearly showed that Murong Mo was utterly useless. He lacked intelligence, but was certainly full of cunning schemes.
Jiang Liu hadn't originally intended to hold this against him, since he had put in so much effort to manage things for so long, and this money was meant to be his compensation. However, the money he took himself was different from the money Jiang Liu gave him.
While Qin Bailian was taking over Xia County and Kan County, detailed news from Qi Province about traitors within the East Wo Country finally arrived.
Looking at the detailed intelligence in his hand, Jiang Liu couldn't help but be shocked by the ambitions of the East Wo Country.
Intelligence indicated that the East Wo Country originally planned to first control several small gangs in the counties under Qi Province, and then have these small gangs take control of the prefectural cities.
Taking advantage of the current chaos in the Great Qian Dynasty, which presents the best opportunity for development, we should gradually grow stronger and then seize control of a state in one fell swoop.
The reason Qi Province was chosen was precisely because the entire Qi Province only had one power, the Exotic Beast Valley. Therefore, compared to other states, Qi Province was the most loosely governed.
Moreover, the scarcity of powerful forces in Qi Province makes it more advantageous for the development of power in East Wo Country.
After all, if a power wants to develop, it's not good to have too many powerful forces, and it's even worse to have too strict control. Therefore, Qi Province is a naturally good place.
Jiang Liu hadn't expected the East Wo Country to harbor such intentions, but thankfully it was discovered early. Jiang Liu immediately instructed Murong Yin to contact the Qi Province Ascension Tower and report all this intelligence to Mo Han.
With this intelligence, Mo Han will naturally handle it, so Jiang Liu doesn't need to worry.
Jiang Liu's main task right now is to plan the Five Poisons Sect's affairs in Yunzhou, and the antidote drugs he purchased earlier are gradually arriving.