Cleverly Capturing the Mole

Half an hour slipped by unnoticed.

All the medicinal herbs had been loaded onto the carts, ready to depart at any moment.

Zhou Muyun had not told anyone about his plan, because everyone besides him could potentially be the mole.

Under such circumstances, catching them off guard was the best choice.

Besides, he had not been idle during that half hour. He had already narrowed it down to several suspects.

"Master Zhou, the goods are all loaded. Shall we set off now?"

Niu Shun came before Zhou Muyun and asked.

Though they needed to leave early and return early, Zhou Muyun was now the one in charge, so naturally they had to follow his command.

"Let's go." Zhou Muyun nodded.

"Brothers, get over here! Prepare to depart!" Niu Shun shouted.

Hearing him, the martial artists and cart drivers resting nearby gradually gathered beside the carts.

"Where's Zheng San? I saw him nearby just now." Seeing that the cart drivers had not all arrived after quite some time, Niu Shun frowned and asked.

"Lord Niu, Zheng San said his stomach hurt, so he went to relieve himself," Huang Lin, a cart driver familiar with Zheng San, answered.

"His stomach didn't hurt sooner or later, but it had to hurt now? Go call him and tell him to hurry up!"

"Yes, Lord Niu." Huang Lin ran toward the latrine.

Zhou Muyun's gaze flickered. Looking toward the latrine, the corners of his mouth curved upward.

At last, they had shown their hand!

Now he only needed to see whether it was truly them.

Huang Lin soon returned with Zheng San, who apologized repeatedly.

Niu Shun said nothing, only telling him to get on the cart quickly and not delay them.

Before long, everyone was in position, and the caravan was about to set off.

Just then, Zhou Muyun suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Zhou Muyun in confusion.

"Everyone, before Uncle Leng left, he entrusted an important matter to me.

I nearly forgot. It may delay us for half a day. We will depart at the hour of Wei; I hope you will excuse us."

No one objected to this, since Zhou Muyun was now the one in charge.

Most of them even showed a few traces of relief.

A half-day delay meant a half-day's rest. Who would dislike resting?

After all, their wages would still be paid in full.

Yet a few people showed a flash of surprise before quickly returning to normal.

And so, everyone left the carts once more and began resting.

"Master Zhou, would you like me to accompany you?" Niu Shun stepped forward and asked.

"That works. Brother Niu, come with me for a trip."

Thinking of what he was about to do, Zhou Muyun agreed.

Then Zhou Muyun left the encampment with Niu Shun.

Zhou Muyun walked in front, Niu Shun behind him.

Before long, Zhou Muyun stopped.

"We're here."

Niu Shun looked around, utterly puzzled.

"Master Zhou, weren't we here to handle some business? Why have we come behind the encampment?"

This was precisely the spot by the rear wall of the Leng Household's encampment, directly opposite the latrines.

"Brother Niu, let me ask you something." Zhou Muyun looked at the puzzled Niu Shun and slowly said,

"Since they are bandits, passing caravans and travelers should all be their targets, right?"

"That's right." Niu Shun nodded.

"Then why was no one robbing the road when we came today?

Could it be that the bandits could foresee the future and only chose the fattest meat to bite?"

Zhou Muyun's words instantly woke Niu Shun up. No matter how slow-witted he was, he had now grasped some clues.

"There's a mole among us. Master Zhou came here to catch the mole?"

He voiced his guess.

"That's right." Zhou Muyun nodded in satisfaction. He was not too stupid.

"What should we do? I'll follow your orders."

"Of course, we climb over the wall and go back in—but quietly."

Though the wall was three meters high, both of them had reached Viscera Refinement. They could not be judged by ordinary standards.

The two easily climbed over the wall and silently infiltrated the encampment.

"What do we do next?" Niu Shun asked.

"Wait!"

Zhou Muyun pulled Niu Shun behind the latrine and quietly waited for the prey to take the bait.

About an hour later, a pigeon flew into the encampment from outside and finally landed in a pigeon coop not far from the latrine.

At that moment, two figures crept furtively over to the pigeon coop.

"We have to send another message?"

"Yeah. That Zhou bastard had to stir up trouble and insist on waiting another half day."

"We're leaving anyway. They should be fine waiting there a little longer, right?"

"Bullshit! It's not like you don't know their tempers. What if they lose their temper after waiting too long?

You can hide here if you want, but I'll be the one in deep trouble."

Of the two speaking, one was dressed as a cart driver, while the other wore rough linen shorts and a short shirt, clearly a laborer.

The cart driver spoke agitatedly, while the laborer seemed somewhat impatient.

"Fine, fine. We'll do it your way."

The laborer took out a pigeon, accepted the written note from the cart driver, and stuffed it into the small bamboo tube tied to the bird's leg.

He held the pigeon in his palms and lightly raised it. The pigeon took flight again.

But at that moment, a figure leaped up and seized the pigeon in his hand before it could fly away.

He then landed before the two men.

When they saw who it was, their faces changed drastically, and they turned to flee.

Yet they discovered that Niu Shun had somehow already appeared behind them.

Seeing there was no way to escape, especially after seeing Zhou Muyun open the bamboo tube on the carrier pigeon's leg and take out the note,

their faces turned ashen. They did not even have the heart to argue, immediately dropping to their knees and begging for mercy.

"M-Milord, we had no choice! We had our reasons!"

"Huang Lin, Zou Qu, how dare you collude with bandits in secret and betray your master's household? Do you understand the consequences?

Reasons? What reason could make you go this far?"

Niu Shun glared at the two in fury and shouted.

Zhou Muyun, however, was not surprised in the slightest.

He had long known that these two were the moles.

When Huang Lin went to call Zheng San before departure, Zhou Muyun soon noticed a carrier pigeon taking flight.

He had asked Niu Shun who among them could read and write. Huang Lin could, while Zheng San could not.

And since the pigeon coop had long been at the marketplace, the pigeons certainly could not have been raised by Huang Lin.

That meant there was an accomplice raising pigeons here at the marketplace.

Only one person in the encampment knew how to raise pigeons: Zou Qu. And Zou Qu was illiterate as well.

In this world, most poor families struggled even to survive. How could they possibly know how to read and write?

Even Zhou Muyun had some foundation in literacy only because he had crossed over into this world.

Moreover, before his father left when he was young, his family had been somewhat better off, allowing him to attend a private school for two years.

Once his father left, he dropped out of the private school because they had no money.

"Our families need money!" The two wept bitterly and gave their reason.

Niu Shun, who came from humble roots, fell silent for a moment. How could he not understand the pain of having no money?

"Master Zhou, how should they be dealt with?"

Torn inside, he tossed the question to Zhou Muyun.

In Zhou Muyun's view, poverty was indeed the root of all evil, and needing money was understandable.

But committing evil for money, betraying others for money—that was both heartless and faithless.

"Tie them up and take them back for Uncle Leng to deal with."

"Ah...!"

Niu Shun let out a long sigh and obeyed Zhou Muyun's order.

Afterward, Niu Shun summoned the others. When everyone learned that these two were actually the moles,

they immediately flew into a rage and cursed loudly.

"Bah! You ungrateful traitors!"

"Exactly, exactly."

"Listen to Lord Zhou. Tie them up."

Before long, the two were bound hand and foot.

"Master Zhou, what should we do next? Continue on our journey, or...?"

With the matter of the moles settled, Niu Shun came before Zhou Muyun and asked.

"I said we would delay for half a day, so it will be half a day. The moles have been dealt with, but the problem itself has not."

Zhou Muyun spoke calmly, then released the pigeon carrying the note before Niu Shun's eyes.

Carrier pigeon, carrier pigeon, you'd better deliver that message.

Otherwise, how am I supposed to solve this trouble?