Capital City, in a small courtyard.
An unremarkable-looking man lay limply sprawled on a Soft Couch.
He was the one behind the strange man Jiang Zhizhou had discovered that day, the one who had ordered him to lay out the pills.
Had Yang Qing been there, he would certainly have recognized how closely this man resembled Gao Zhanwen, one of the envoys in the Northern Liang delegation.
On closer inspection, however, there were still differences.
He was Gao Zhanwen's younger brother, Gao Zhanqi, whose existence Gao Zhanwen had never revealed to outsiders.
Gao Zhanqi had entered Western Chu with the Northern Liang delegation, but no one except Gao Zhanwen knew he was there.
Now, Gao Zhanqi was like a fish stranded on the shore, desperately gasping for breath.
Someone beside him watched him gravely. "So, this operation failed?"
His eyes were distinctly different from those of the people of Western Chu. They were red deep within, as though blood were welling out of both eyes.
Anyone who encountered him at night would surely have their soul frightened out of their body.
Lu Qian, however, had never cared about his unusual eyes.
Everyone who had seen those eyes was already dead.
But the man sprawled on the Soft Couch before him was an exception.
For now, he could not touch Gao Zhanqi.
Gao Zhanqi, who was lying on the Soft Couch, lifted his eyelids with great difficulty, then said, "I never expected anyone in Capital City to recognize this gu. I let my guard down for a moment, and..."
"This is not the time for you to admit you were careless. The success of this operation determines whether our masters can proceed smoothly with the next stage of their plans!"
"What will happen if that Gu Insect cannot be recovered?"
At