The hidden agent

Wang You wrote down the intelligence he had gathered in a secret letter, and at the end, he added his own summary:

"Cao Qingyang's children are still young and are raised in a secluded mansion. They rarely have contact with outsiders and do not show any unusual behavior."

"The child has only recently begun his education and his mind is not yet mature. Even if he is possessed by dragon energy, his supernatural abilities will likely not be apparent."

"This humble servant is unable to detect the dragon's aura; I hope Your Excellency will find a way to confirm it as soon as possible."

"The ancestor of the Martial Alliance has lived in seclusion and the back mountain is a forbidden area. Anyone who enters except Cao Qingyang will be killed by the Quanrong beasts."

"However, after secretly investigating, I discovered that a number of hidden agents had been added to guard the outer perimeter of the back mountain, so I judged that the old leader of the martial arts alliance might be in increasingly poor condition."

After he finished writing, he blew on the ink to dry it, and then whistled.

A moment later, a black wild bird flew from the woods in the backyard and landed by the open window, its black eyes staring at him intently.

Wang You calmly took out a bamboo tube, tied it to the wild bird's leg, and patted its head.

Wild birds flapped their wings and flew far away.

Wang You watched the wild birds fly away and exhaled.

This bird is a very common wild bird; it is not as conspicuous as a messenger pigeon. To use a pigeon to deliver messages within the Martial Arts Alliance would be an insult to the Alliance's intelligence and an irresponsibility towards one's own life.

Using a wild bird that can be found everywhere can effectively avoid most of the risks.

After all, the Quanrong Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, covered in dense forests, and are never short of wild birds.

Of course, there is still a risk of it being accidentally shot down, so it is not important information and will not be sent by bird.

It is worth mentioning that this bird was trained by the Gu Clan's Heart Gu Master, which is why it can act as a messenger.

Wang You closed the window, added some charcoal to the stove, wrapped himself in a thick sheepskin coat, and, fueled by the alcohol, lay down on his side on the bed and fell asleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when his ears twitched, startling him awake. He reached for the short blade under his pillow.

Bang!

As he gripped the dagger, a blunt object struck his head, extinguishing all his remaining thoughts.

In a daze, Wang You groaned and woke up, not knowing how much time had passed, as a biting chill washed over his face.

His gaze shifted from blank to sharp in less than a second. He suppressed his inner panic and calmly surveyed his surroundings.

At the same time, he sensed his physical condition. He was bound hand and foot, and his whole body felt weak, as if he had been drugged.

This is a sealed room, with chains, spiked clubs, shackles, and other instruments of torture hanging on the stone walls.

Large instruments of torture, such as the tiger bench, a foot-chopping knife, and a skinning table, were placed in the corner.

In addition, Wang You also saw some devices specifically designed to deal with female prisoners, such as the wooden donkey and the thousand-person horse.

A charcoal brazier burned in the secret room, and a man dressed in black sat upright on a large chair to the left of the brazier.

He had another hideous scar on his left cheek, a horse-like face, beady eyes, and his features were just as ugly as the scar.

Wang You recognized him; he was the Chief Prisoner of the Martial Arts Alliance, in charge of punishments.

What's your real name?

The Grand Warden said with a smile.

Wang You looked terrified and confused, filled with trepidation:

"This humble man, Wang You, is an archer from Nanfenggang. I don't know what mistake he has made. Please, Chief Prisoner, enlighten me."

"No, no, no!" The Chief Jailer waved his hands repeatedly, explaining sincerely:

"Don't underestimate yourself. You haven't done anything wrong; you've committed a mere capital offense."

Wang You's expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "I have been loyal and devoted to the Martial Alliance for many years. How could I be guilty of a capital offense? Grand Prisoner, do not wrong me!"

The Grand Prisoner laughed:

"Do you think that Alliance Leader Cao wouldn't take such a bizarre thing—that the young master and young lady are still so young, yet they survived a blow from their enemy—to heart? Wouldn't he investigate?"

"You might want to think about it again. There were quite a few guards that day, and everyone else kept their mouths shut. Why didn't Old Zhou receive the order to keep quiet?"

Wang You's pupils contracted slightly. He didn't speak again, his tongue subtly swirling inside his mouth.

"I removed your dentures. They contained poison. I tested it on a dog, and it died instantly. Tsk tsk, this kind of poison isn't something an ordinary person can concoct."

The Grand Warden still wore a smiling expression, "What is your real name?"

Wang You lowered his head and explained, "I was just curious when I asked Old Zhou, Your Excellency, you've misunderstood."

The Grand Prisoner smiled and said:

"I never ask a third time. Although I don't like torturing people, I never resist using cruel methods to achieve my goals."

"Well, compared to ordinary punishments, I prefer to find alternative methods, seek change and innovation, that's what makes it meaningful."

"For example, the torture device of a thousand men riding can also be used against men."

"Pull down his pants."

Two subordinates stepped forward, lifted the limp Wang You, made him lie face down on the torture device, and then bound him tightly with ropes.

It is worth mentioning that the "thousand-man cavalry" resembles the barrel of a cannon.

Wang You gritted his teeth, remaining silent; he already knew the humiliation he was about to face.

But what the Grand Prisoner did next caused the expressions of the three men, including his two subordinates, to change.

The chief jailer picked up the hot iron tongs from the charcoal brazier, blew on them gently, and the red-hot iron reflected on his face, making his smile even more pronounced.

Wang You's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

The two subordinates suddenly clenched their buttock muscles.

The night was deep and the wind was biting.

The Grand Prisoner, draped in a black cloak and accompanied by two attendants, entered the Alliance Leader's mansion under the cover of night.

Inside the hall, Cao Qingyang, who had been informed, was already waiting. He was only wearing a thin blue robe, and his burly body was as heavy as a mountain, calm and reserved.

His square face, devoid of expression, exuded seriousness.

"Alliance Leader!"

The Grand Prisoner clasped his hands in a salute.

Cao Qingyang gestured for him to sit down and had a servant serve him hot tea.

The Grand Prisoner took a sip of hot tea to warm his stomach and said slowly:

"It's been investigated. Wang You is a spy belonging to the Tianji Palace organization, planted in the alliance seven years ago."

According to his confession, he was brought in because the previous spy died in an accident. But he didn't know who the previous spy was or when he died.

Cao Qingyang frowned slightly, half-pondering and half-thinking:

"Tianji Palace?"

"The name sounds like it's related to the Bureau of Astronomy."

As the head of the Jianzhou Martial Arts Alliance, he knew that a third-rank Warlock was called a Heavenly Mystery Master.

"The Heavenly Mystery Palace would never target me; you've arrested the wrong person?"

Cao Qingyang frowned.

A little over a month ago, my wife was ambushed while visiting her parents' home; clearly, a spy within our alliance had leaked the information.

Cao Qingyang had been secretly investigating, trying to uncover the spy.

The Grand Warden's expression was somewhat strange, and he said:

"My subordinates uncovered something else."

The Grand Prisoner paused for a moment to formulate his words:

According to Wang You's confession, he was looking for something called dragon energy.

"This thing can possess a person. If you obtain it, you will become very fortunate and exhibit all sorts of extraordinary qualities. For example, a person of average talent may suddenly become Aperture Opening and exceptionally intelligent."

"A lowly martial arts practitioner suddenly experiences a surge in cultivation and encounters a series of extraordinary events."

At this point, the Grand Prisoner glanced at Cao Qingyang's expression, and seeing that he remained silent, continued:

He believes that the young master and young lady's resurrection may be due to the dragon's energy. However, he cannot confirm it. Today, he sent a message to his superiors by bird, hoping that they could find a way to confirm it.

"Wang You's rank is too low; he doesn't know much about the inner workings and background of the Heavenly Mystery Palace."

Cao Qingyang remained silent for a long time, seemingly processing the information. After a while, he asked:

"Dragon energy?"

The Grand Prisoner said, "Your subordinate is also puzzled, but even Wang You doesn't know what dragon energy is. The Heavenly Mystery Palace must have used a wide-net approach to search for this dragon energy, only revealing the phenomena it will cause, but not its essence."

Cao Qingyang tapped his fingers on the coffee table and said slowly:

"So, the Heavenly Mystery Palace has the means to observe dragon energy. But I didn't find any so-called dragon energy on Chun'er and Xue'er. Hmm, the Qi-Watching Technique is Warlock's skill. The Heavenly Mystery Palace is indeed related to the Bureau of Astronomy."

This has cleared up my doubts.

Unfortunately, after the Battle of the Capital, the old ancestor was in extremely poor condition and had to fall into a deep sleep. Otherwise, on the day the two children had their accident, he might have been able to find the answer from the old ancestor.

Cao Qingyang took a sip of tea and asked, "Is Wang You still alive?"

The Grand Warden laughed and said, "Of course, every spy who lives is valuable."

Cao Qingyang hummed in agreement and said:

"If he is from the Bureau of Astronomy, spare his life for now. Send someone to the capital to seek answers from the Bureau of Astronomy."

He thought for a moment, then raised his hand and said, "No, don't make a fuss for now, listen to my instructions."

First, consult our ancestors to understand the dragon's energy and listen to their opinions.

This matter concerns his children, so he must be cautious.

The Chief Prisoner nodded, rose, and bowed, saying, "This subordinate takes his leave."

Cao Qingyang left the main hall and went into the inner courtyard to visit his son and daughter.

They are twins, seven years old this year, just reaching the age where they should sit separately.

Cao Qingyang was obsessed with Martial Dao in his early years. After becoming the leader of the alliance, he was busy with the affairs of the alliance. He did not get married and have children until he was thirty.

Although it can't be considered having a child late in life, it is still quite late.

Therefore, he doted on the twins.

In the warm hall of the inner courtyard, Cao Chun, with a wooden sword at his waist, played amidst the roaring charcoal fire.

The wet nurse chased after him, constantly reminding him to watch out for the charcoal brazier.

Cao Xue nestled quietly in her mother's arms, looking at the illustrated picture books with her.

Upon seeing Cao Qingyang enter, Cao Chun immediately stopped making a fuss, and Cao Xue also sat up straight from her mother's arms, raising her small body.

The brother and sister were somewhat afraid of their stern and unsmiling father.

Cao Qingyang took off his robe, handed it to the wet nurse who came to greet him, and waved:

"Chun'er, come here."

Cao Chun stood ramrod straight in front of him and called out, "Father!"

Cao Qingyang nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face, "It's been a long time since I tested your swordsmanship."

He glanced at the wooden sword at his waist. "Let Dad play with it."

"Um!"

Cao Chun nodded with bright eyes, his little face showing some excitement.

He immediately drew his wooden sword and performed a set of Swordsmanship with impressive skill, displaying a surprising degree of sharpness.

The wife laughed:

"Chun'er has suddenly become Aperture Opening, for some reason. Husband, isn't this just like you?"

When Cao Qingyang was young, he was ridiculed for his dullness, and the previous leader of the alliance was also secretly mocked for his poor judgment of character.

He focused intently on his training, throwing eight thousand punches every day. Many years later, he suddenly found himself becoming the top martial artist among the young and middle-aged members of the martial arts alliance.

This became a celebrated story.

Cao Qingyang showed no sign of a smile, silently put on his robe, and left the inner courtyard.

He left the mansion and headed towards the back mountain with a clear goal in mind.

I have a lot of questions I want to ask our ancestors.

What is dragon energy? Why is it present in the two children? What is the attitude of the Bureau of Astronomy towards so-called dragon energy?

He quickly arrived at the cliff face and the closed stone gate.

"Ancestor, Qingyang has something to ask you."

He bowed and said.

He called out three times, but there was no response from inside the stone gate.

The ancestor is still asleep, when will he wake up? The battle in the capital that day made his condition worse, and the nine-colored lotus root that Xu Qi'an promised has not yet arrived. Cao Qingyang felt heavy-hearted and was about to call out again.

Two blood-red lanterns suddenly lit up on the cliff face, coldly gazing at us.

Cao Qingyang then realized that it was the Quanrong guards protecting their ancestor who were telling him to leave and not to disturb them.

He bowed helplessly and returned the way he came.

A small town on the border of Jiangzhou.

Miao Youfang, biting into a string of candied hawthorns, said:

"I've noticed that there are far fewer refugees at the border than elsewhere."

Li Lingsu, also biting into a candied hawthorn, said:

"This is because this place is near Jianzhou, and the refugees have all fled to Jianzhou."

Miao Youfang looked puzzled and asked, "Is Jianzhou very wealthy?"

"A land with favorable weather naturally prospers. Jianzhou has the Martial Alliance, which claims to be the true master of Jianzhou. Even the Three Offices of Jianzhou have to be somewhat wary of them."

Li Lingsu spoke eloquently, "The martial arts world of Jianzhou is extremely orderly. If a commoner does evil, the martial arts alliance will eliminate him with swift and decisive measures. This is the exact opposite of Yunzhou, where villains gather."

"At the same time, the government and the martial arts alliance checked and balanced each other, and neither dared to act too recklessly."

"I've only heard that Jianzhou is a sacred place for Martial Dao." Miao Youfang was skeptical and retorted, "According to you, doesn't the imperial court care? Allowing a martial arts force to grow so powerful?"

"I've heard that the Martial Arts Alliance of Jianzhou has an ancestor who is at the Transcendent Realm. I wonder if it's true or not," Li Lingsu said with a smile.

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" Miao Youfang scoffed.

The two began arguing, and the topic gradually veered away from "refugees" and "wealth."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Xu Qian."

Li Lingsu snorted.

Xu Qi'an's identity and status, he would certainly be aware of these secrets.

Miao Youfang immediately looked over, and Mu Nanzhi, who was eating candied hawthorns, and Bai Ji, who was licking candied hawthorns, also looked at Xu Qi'an, who was leading the horse, with great interest.

"There is indeed an old fellow, and he's the same age as the nation itself."

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and said, "However, the imperial court's tolerance of the Martial Alliance's existence is not entirely due to its fear of a single extraordinary martial artist. You must know that during the heyday of the Great Feng, let alone one extraordinary martial artist, even two extraordinary martial artists would not have been enough to deter them."

"Why is that?" Miao Youfang asked, increasingly puzzled and intrigued.

Li Lingsu listened intently, knowing that Xu Qi'an had a wealth of secrets and interesting stories. Even before his identity was exposed, he often heard ancient tales from him.

That's why I was so convinced of Xu Qian's identity, overlooking some details and flaws, and failing to see through his disguise.

Xu Qi'an said:

"During the late Great Zhou, heroes rose up everywhere. A wandering swordsman gathered a group of men in Jianzhou and embarked on a journey to conquer the Central Plains."

Later, all the forces were eliminated or merged, leaving only two. One was the army of the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty, and the other was the army of this Jianzhou warrior.

"At that time, the Great Zhou had been destroyed and the Central Plains were in ruins. He was unwilling to commit further bloodshed, so he challenged the founding emperor of the Great Feng to a duel."

"The victors take control of the Central Plains, while the losers retreat into obscurity. You all know the outcome; the Great Feng was born as a result."

"When I first heard about this, I was only impressed by the power of Emperor Gaozu. Now I realize that this old scoundrel from Jianzhou never actually had any intention of becoming emperor."

"He rebelled purely because the people were really struggling to survive. What he was really pursuing was the Martial Dao."

"Emperor Gaozu had little interest in Martial Dao and immortality; he was more interested in conquering the world. Their different pursuits predetermined the outcome."

When the old man from Jianzhou retired, Emperor Gaozu made a three-point agreement with him, allowing him to retain his own army in Jianzhou. This was a warning to himself and his descendants.

"At this point, the emperor's attitude towards Jianzhou is no longer important; the attitude of the supervising official is the key. Jianzhou has been able to continue to this day because of the supervising official's tacit approval."

At this point, Xu Qi'an sighed.

Looking back now, the Martial Arts Alliance was also one of the pawns of the Supervisor.

This old silver coin, I wonder how many chess pieces are left on his chessboard.

The Fated Master is a born chess player. Xu Qi'an thought to himself with admiration.

Yunzhou, Qianlong City.

A monk, dressed in a simple robe that revealed half of his muscular chest, sat cross-legged beside a tea table.

"Having planned this for so many years, you must have anticipated this day."

The Bodhisattva of the Gara Tree glanced at the white-robed Warlock sitting opposite him.

He was referring to the current predicament of Yunzhou.

The supervisor is stationed outside Yunzhou; anyone who dares to go out will be the first to die.

Of course, for the Bodhisattva of the Gara Tree, it's simply a matter of confronting him head-on.

Even if the Central Plains is the territory of the Supervisor, he can still lie down and do as he pleases.

As someone who controls the Vajra Dharma Form and the Acala Dharma Form, there is no one in the First Rank who can kill him.

Once Xu Pingfeng starts his rebellion, he will be responsible for keeping the supervisor occupied, while Xu Pingfeng will be responsible for attacking cities and seizing territory.

However, the Bodhisattva Gara Tree felt that if Xu Pingfeng couldn't resolve the current crisis, then this ally was far too incompetent.

Xu Pingfeng laughed and said, "Don't rush. The Prince of Zhenbei and Wei Yuan are just pawns that the Supervisor has placed in the open. He has many hidden pawns, which I will remove one by one."

P. S.: As usual, I'm asking for monthly votes. I'll keep writing, and you can check back tomorrow as usual.