The man Hu Xiaotian had asked Li Yuncong to bring into the palace was Liang Yinghao. Although many people already knew about the secret passage connecting the Palace Gardens Bureau, the Jade Pool, Purple Orchid Palace, and the Library Pavilion, it still had its uses. In the hands of Liang Yinghao, an expert tunneler, this discarded route might yet be turned into a treasure and made into a concealed underground passage once more. Most importantly, they had been planning to dig a passage into the Imperial Palace from outside, and sending Liang Yinghao inside would allow them to revise their plans.
After entrusting Liang Yinghao to Li Yuncong, Hu Xiaotian also gave him Xiao Dezi's mask. Liang Yinghao was alert and skilled at digging tunnels. With Li Yuncong looking after him, he should not encounter any danger.
During the few days Hu Xiaotian had spent infiltrating the Imperial Palace, Zhan Peng and the others had split up and purchased several houses outside its walls. Leading his men from the Turbid Water Gang, Liang Yinghao had already connected those houses underground. This was a method they had learned from the Horse Bandits on Heavenly Wolf Mountain during their journey to Western Sichuan, though Liang Yinghao had improved upon it. Rather than buying neighboring houses, he had bought properties spaced apart, then used his precise calculations to dig from inside each house and link them underground.
They had also selected the drain outlet through which they intended to tunnel into the Imperial Palace. However, the moat was heavily guarded, and getting inside was no easy task. They had considered several plans, only to reject them all as too risky. Hu Xiaotian's return had given Liang Yinghao an opportunity to inspect the site firsthand.
Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng went into a room,