Three Little Dogs, One Eunuch

"The capital of a nation is worth its weight in gold, yet within Brother Pei's residence, there's a small lake... Heh, truly befitting of a Grand Secretary!"

"Brother Yin is too kind. This residence was a gift from His Majesty, not built by me."

"I see... Oh, Brother Pei, you must be busy. You don't need to accompany me here. I'd rather enjoy the lake view alone; it's more atmospheric."

The next day, Dao Feng approached again. "Young Master, Dao Feng is here to report."

"Oh? That was quick."

Zhou Ming said, "Bring them out."

"Yes."

The three men stepped forward, each carrying a bamboo cage. Whimpering sounds soon filled the air.

Upon opening them, they revealed three puppies.

One was a white-haired sighthound, entirely white with not a speck of black.

Another was a black-haired wolfhound, completely black with not a speck of white.

The third was just a mutt.

All three puppies were very young, only recently born.

Finding these three dogs was one of the tasks Zhou Ming had arranged in his letter yesterday.

Though it seemed simple, finding the dogs was actually difficult.

Zhou Ming hadn't just searched randomly; in his letter, he had specified the breeds and coat colors of the three dogs.

And they had to be puppies!

Humans are only vigilant towards things that pose a threat to them, like other people, but they often pay no mind to things that don't, like a dog.

A well-trained spy observing passersby on a street might remember the general appearance of everyone, but they wouldn't necessarily remember a dog that walked past.

Moreover, Zhou Ming had requested puppies.

Puppies, meaning they couldn't walk yet.

Whether born to a domestic dog or a stray, they would usually be hidden away in secluded spots.

To find them, and to find them within a short time, required considerable searching ability.

Of course, none of the above was the key point.

The most crucial thing was that Zhou Ming had decided he wanted to raise some dogs on his way back.

So, he had assigned this task.

"Not bad."

Zhou Ming said, "You've passed the test. Next is the real mission."

"Please give your orders, Young Master."

"Go and monitor the owner of the Number One Manor Under Heaven. The duration... is indefinite. Normally, report back every three days, but if there's any abnormality, report to me immediately."

"Your command!"

Dao Feng departed.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

Zhou Ming called out to the puppies. The three puppies lifted their heads, sniffed his scent, and made soft yipping sounds.

Seeing this, Chun Hua and the others couldn't help but smile and say, "So cute..."

"Young Master, didn't you say you wanted to raise cats too?"

"There's no time. The kittens we can find now are at least three months old, they're too big."

Zhou Ming said.

Cats breed in spring and autumn, with the latest being September, but it was now the dead of winter.

In fact, these three puppies were also a bit old. Zhou Ming wanted ones that were only a few days old.

However, dogs' loyalty is much easier to cultivate than cats', so he didn't mind puppies this age. Cats, however, were a different story.

After all, he wanted to replicate Dog Brother's miracle with these cats and dogs.

Once successful in raising cats and dogs proficient in internal energy and possessing inner strength, it would be disastrous if they weren't loyal.

Chun Hua and the others were unaware of Zhou Ming's thoughts and only felt it was a pity.

Zhou Ming said, "What's there to pity? We can catch them next spring. If you truly feel it's a pity, then make up for it with these three dogs."

As he spoke, he pointed at the three dogs and said, "Let's name this black one Mimi, and this white one Meow Meow, how about it?"

Qiu Yue was speechless. "Young Master, you couldn't find cats you liked, so you're naming dogs after cats?"

Xia Feng found it amusing and asked, "Then what about this mutt?"

"This one..."

Zhou Ming picked it up. The little dog seemed to sense something was wrong and barked twice in a hurry.

"Haha, I've caught three dogs. Two turned into cats, so at least one should be a dog, right? I won't give this one any of those messy names. I'll give it a proper dog name."

After a discussion, they decided to name the last lucky dog Lai Fu.

It carried Zhou Ming's hopes.

He hoped that this little dog would one day be able to hold its own, even against someone with innate divine strength.

The second to complete the order was Jing Lei.

"Young Master, the intelligence on this person has been thoroughly investigated."

Zhou Ming took the several thin papers from Jing Lei and examined them one by one.

"Eastern Depot... Grand Head of Department, Flying Eagle! So it's him!"

This person was the mastermind behind the earlier incident where someone impersonated bandits to ambush Zhou Ming.

At that time, Zhou Ming had left a mark on all the bandits and deliberately let Dong Xue leave behind a few bodies.

The ones who survived carried Zhou Ming's mark and met the mastermind behind the scenes.

Although they were killed on the spot, Zhou Ming still managed to see the man's face.

This time, Jing Lei's assigned task was to thoroughly investigate this person's identity.

Unexpectedly, this person was the Eastern Depot's Grand Head of Department, Flying Eagle. He was skilled in martial arts and favored a pair of iron claws, hence his nickname, Iron Claw Flying Eagle.

The lowest-ranking personnel in the Eastern Depot were the 'Fanzi,' and several Fanzi were led by a 'Head of Department.'

The two could be simply understood as constables and captains, except that in the Eastern Depot, a captain only had a few men under him, and there were quite a few captains, over a hundred.

As for Flying Eagle, the Grand Head of Department was actually the highest-ranking among all the Heads of Department.

But don't think this official position was minor.

The Eastern Depot was composed of eunuchs, with a lean staff. The entire Eastern Depot had only a few hundred people in total.

Excluding the Heads of Department and Fanzi, the remaining personnel were likely less than fifty, including various clerks.

To reach the position of Grand Head of Department meant that within the Eastern Depot's hierarchy, there were only a handful of people above him.

Looking at it this way, the ambush on Zhou Ming was very likely the Eastern Depot's doing.

However, Iron Claw Flying Eagle also had a secret identity.

He was a spy sent by the Dragon Guard Manor to the Eastern Depot.

But this did not mean that Iron Claw Flying Eagle's actions this time were ordered by the Dragon Guard Manor.

As a spy, Iron Claw Flying Eagle simultaneously accepted orders from two major powers.

Unless the orders from the Eastern Depot and the Dragon Guard Manor conflicted, he, as a spy, would not act recklessly and would only obey orders.

And Zhou Ming was someone outside of these two powers.

Therefore, it was still necessary to investigate who was giving the instructions.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Ming suddenly realized that his luck had been terrible lately.

Ever since he returned, everyone he encountered seemed to be a double-crossing schemer with a hidden identity!

His adoptive father, Pei Ju, was one.

Yin Zhong was another.

And now, even Iron Claw Flying Eagle had a double identity!

However, Jing Lei's abilities were truly impressive, to be able to gather such detailed intelligence on the Eastern Depot's Grand Head of Department.

Zhou Ming said, "Well done. Next, you will go and monitor another person, the richest man in Daming, Wan Sanqian. Do you know him?"

"Your subordinate accepts the order."

Having received the new mission, Jing Lei departed.

Thus, two of the four tasks Zhou Ming had arranged yesterday were completed.

The remaining two, however, could not be finished in a day or two.

Ten days later, Ji Dian returned and submitted the items Zhou Ming had requested.

Eight ledgers!

Zhou Ming opened them to check. The ink was still fresh, clearly indicating they had just been copied.

"There won't be any mistakes, right?"

"After your subordinate finished copying, I cross-referenced them three times, and there were no errors or omissions."

"Good, the test for your team is considered complete. Your next mission is... to keep an eye on someone!"