"When did the trouble with the Northern Hawk happen?"
Yang Qing lay in bed, his eyes bright and intent as he looked at Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou.
"It should have been around the time Chen Jingyu ran into trouble," Bu Er said.
"But we were all focused on the bribery case then. Besides, the Northern Hawk never came to warn us, so the matter was left unattended."
A thoughtful look flickered in Yang Qing's eyes as he listened to Bu Er's reply.
Could there be some connection between the bribery case and the setback suffered by the Northern Hawk?
On the surface, the two seemed as unrelated as horses and cattle that would never cross paths.
Yet on closer consideration, an invisible thread seemed to link them.
Whatever the sequence of events, at least both had entangled Yang Qing and his companions.
And their involvement was far from slight.
Could someone have done this deliberately?
To divert our attention?
But who exactly was behind it?
These thoughts crowded into Yang Qing's mind, each clamoring to be first, leaving him unable to find a thread to follow.
"Did the messenger explain why the Northern Hawk members were attacked?"
After pondering for a while, Yang Qing spoke again.
Since he could find no connection on the outside, perhaps examining what lay within would yield something.
"He said that when Northern Hawk members have no assignments, they hide among ordinary townsfolk under various identities. But that day, by sheer coincidence, those two Hawks each got into an argument with someone."
"Then words turned to blows, and both ended up dead."
Bu Er explained this to Yang Qing.
Yang Qing's brow furrowed even more deeply.
"The Northern Hawk has strict rules for carrying out missions. They would never disregard the larger picture over