539: Chapter 88: Forming the Array!
539: Chapter 88: Forming the Array!
“Great General, how shall we deal with this guy?”
Meng Kejian crouched down, eyeing the Daoist-robed young child who was fast asleep.
“What else?
Send him back to the military camp and take good care of him.”
Chen Chong indifferently said, “This guy is quite precious…
In no more than seven days, the Taoist sect will send someone to claim him.”
“Understood.”
With a soft chuckle, Meng Kejian led the True Master Jun Shan away.
Previously, when Prince Jiangning, Xie Zhisu, wanted to take away “True Master Jun Shan,” there was no need for extra words from Chen Chong; Meng Kejian promptly stepped forward to stop him.
Xie Zhisu thought too simply of the matter.
“True Master Jun Shan” is the junior brother of the Great True Master Chong Kan!
Falling into Qixia Mountain, how could Xie Zhisu simply take him away?
Whoever wished to claim Jun Shan would owe the Great General a favor.
A moment later.
After taking care of various trifling matters and returning, Meng Kejian suddenly heard the Great General speak, “Do you still remember…
the Book Tower spy we captured not long ago?”
“Of course, I remember.”
Meng Kejian furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and said, “When we were suppressing bandits in Pingzhi City, this person’s identity was exposed, captured by the Yuanzhou Iron Cavalry.
I was supposed to interrogate her…
but Nalan Qiutong came with a group of Hook and Clamp Masters and forcefully took her away.
If I am not mistaken, was this Hidden Guard called ‘Pelican’?”
“Yes.”
Chen Chong nodded and said, “The turmoil in Pingzhi City is a disaster for Da Li.
As a mere Book Tower Investigator, was it worth her risking her life?”
“Indeed, there is something strange about this.”
Stroking his chin, Meng Kejian murmured, “This investigator must have held a high rank within the Book Tower, possessing an extremely resolute will at Heart Lake.
I heard that even after the Hook and Clamp Masters took turns and applied various cruel tortures, they couldn’t make her speak, not even Nalan Qiutong’s prized ‘String Skill’ had any effect.”
“It’s a pity…”
With regret, Meng Kejian said, “Pelican died just like that, and in the end, we didn’t extract any useful information from her.”
“That’s not entirely true.”
Chen Chong looked towards the direction not far from Qixia Mountain.
Meng Kejian followed the Great General’s gaze, which pointed towards the direction from which the delegation from Fan Yin Temple had come.
“Nalan Qiutong wanted to negotiate peace between Xie Zhen and Jun Shan.”
Chen Chong calmly stated, “She used the ‘Pelican’s’ Book Tower Jade Token to successfully meet with Xie Zhen.”
“Wasn’t it discovered?”
Meng Kejian frowned, which was actually something he was very dissatisfied with.
If they had decided to deploy two regiments of the Iron Cavalry at the battle of Qixia Mountain, why hadn’t they gone all out to annihilate the enemy?
Why engage in talks before the battle?
Meng Kejian had been waiting at Duanchang Cliff; from the start, he knew that Nalan Qiutong’s attempt to persuade Xie Zhen using the identity of “Pelican” would end poorly…
As expected, this String Skill avatar was directly killed on the spot, and from his point of view, it was precisely this blunder that allowed the encirclement at Treasure Bottle Mouth to be detected by the Fan Yin Temple delegation!
“Although it was discovered, ‘Pelican’s’ Identity Jade could allow Xie Zhen to meet her out of the ordinary…”
Chen Chong said, laughing softly, “Doesn’t that suggest that ‘Pelican’s’ mission was actually related to Xie Zhen?”
Meng Kejian was stunned for a moment.
He hadn’t thought of that.
“What was this guy’s mission?
What in Pingzhi City is so valuable that ‘Pelican’ would abandon her identity as a Hidden Guard to contend with bandits…”
Meng Kejian suddenly had a thought.
He tentatively spoke, hesitating, “General, the uprising in Pingzhi City occurred before the quelling by the Iron Cavalry; Pelican exposed her identity, holding back these bandits, was it to protect the civilians in the city?”
Pingzhi City was assaulted by bandits, but the majority of the civilians remained unharmed.
Because of Pelican’s appearance.
These people had the time to flee.
“Spies from Chu Country don’t root themselves in the Li Kingdom to heal and save the world.”
Chen Chong looked down, speaking slowly, “Pelican knew that this battle would expose her identity.
The Hook and Clamp Masters wouldn’t recognize these merits…
She couldn’t become a hero, only to suffer endless torture.
Yet, she still proceeded to do it.”
“Was it to protect a specific group of people?”
Meng Kejian’s eyes lit up.
“Not sure.
Perhaps…
the mission didn’t target many, or maybe, she only needed to protect a single individual.”
Chen Chong shook his head and calmly said, “In any case, the use of Duanchang Powder by the Hook and Clamp Masters, and Nalan Qiutong employing the Xuanwei Technique, all ending in failure, is unreasonable.
This Chu Country Investigator, no matter how strong-willed, should have a breaking point that can be breached.
In my view, there are no memories ‘Soul Search’ can’t see; the reason this interrogation came up empty…
might be because she never knew anything from the beginning.”
“What does this mean?” Meng Kejian’s clear eyes became puzzled again.
“From the very beginning, Pelican never knew the specific identity of the person she was supposed to protect.”
“She only knew that this mission was of the highest level, worth sacrificing herself for without hesitation.”
Chen Chong spoke deliberately, “While there is no evidence, my guess is…
if the Pingzhi City uprising hadn’t happened, Pelican’s next mission would have been to find Xie Zhen, secretly meet with him, and bring Xie Zhen to Pingzhi City, and then, the following matters would be entirely handed over to him.
Her role in this mission would be just that much.”
“This…
is very much in Chen Jingxuan’s style.”
Meng Kejian’s expression was complex.
One link follows another.
A spy like Pelican only needs to know a small part of the plan; even if exposed, it wouldn’t affect the overall scheme.
It’s just that plans don’t adapt as quickly as situations do.
The uproar by the Yuanzhou bandits forced Pelican to make the most tragic choice.
“…So it is!”
Meng Kejian was astute, but upon Chen Chong’s prompt, he suddenly came to a realization, looking at the Great General with admiring eyes, “All along, everything has been under your control!”
The six jugs of Drunken Immortal Brew and the release of Xie Zhen were merely temporary measures.
“I just went with the flow, I am no Sky Watcher, I can’t see that far into the future, nor do I bother with plotting and scheming.”