307: Chapter 105 The Truth That Needs to Be Verified One by One 307: Chapter 105 The Truth That Needs to Be Verified One by One A cup of coffee should have two cubes of sugar, with the spoon stirred fifteen times, any less sugar won’t dissolve easily, and more will lower the temperature.
Whether or not he had to work, Qiao Hongyi always drank such a cup of coffee in the morning.
Then he would open his notebook and write the first line of text.
In the second year of the Ming Country, on May 24th, the weather was clear…
Upon hearing footsteps approaching, Qiao Hongyi put down his pen, closed his notebook, and looked up at the newcomer.
“Young Master Qiao, long time no see.”
“I’m no ‘young master,’ nor have I ever met you.”
Qiao Hongyi said calmly, “I also don’t like uninvited guests.”
“I apologize for the intrusion, please forgive me.”
The visitor took off his hat, bowed his head in respect, and sat down opposite Qiao Hongyi.
He glanced at the bustling street scene outside the window and smiled.
“Young Master Qiao seems quite at leisure, coming out every morning for coffee and sitting in this café all day.
Don’t you think it’s a bit of a waste of your prime years?”
Qiao Hongyi smiled and said, “I’m on vacation.”
“Do you really think you can go back to work next month?”
At this remark, Qiao Hongyi narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the visitor more carefully.
An utterly unfamiliar and common face, with no remarkable features that would leave a lasting impression, it appeared to be a human skin mask specially designed for an Advisor.
“Just speak plainly, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”
“Some words only achieve their effect when spoken at the right time, otherwise, they’re meaningless even if repeated a thousand times,” the visitor said, his face revealing a meaningful smile.
“If I had come to you before and said that the Red Lantern Society was about to crumble, would you have believed me?”
Qiao Hongyi shook his head and said, “My belief does not depend on when you say it, but on the evidence you put before me.
Even now, as you say it, I have no reason to believe you.”
“Because it looks like the Red Lantern Society still has a deep foundation?
But that’s not the case—” the visitor said earnestly: “Among the legendary eighteen Red-Robed Elders of the Red Lantern Society, five followed the President to the Capital, three went to Xiangjiang to suppress the earth’s veins, and of the remaining ten, three were grievously injured after battle and remain in a comatose state to this day.
One is missing without a trace.
The rest of the six Red-Robed Elders all participated in last night’s operation, along with their twenty-two subordinates, the Lamp Holding Rakshasa, all of whom were buried.”
“The Red Lantern Society now has no power to recover.”
Qiao Hongyi raised an eyebrow and asked, “Was this a trap you set up?”
“Young Master Qiao is joking.”
The visitor smiled and said, “Traps can only catch wild fowl and rabbits; they don’t have the ability to capture tigers.
How could we possibly have access to such detailed intelligence without the approval from higher up?”
“Higher up?”
Qiao Hongyi asked, puzzled, “Who are the ‘higher up’ people you’re talking about?”
The visitor spread his hands and said, “You’re asking the wrong question, Young Master Qiao.”
“Then what’s the right question?”
“You should be asking why the people higher up would want to take action against the Red Lantern Society.”
“Why is that?”
“We’re in a new era now.
Although the Red Lantern Society has fought countless battles for the country in the past and made great contributions, at its core, it’s still an extremist religious organization.”
“People from the Netherworld should not interfere with the affairs of the Mortal World.
Those Red-Clothed Fierce Ghosts remaining in this world are bound to cause trouble sooner or later.
I trust you, Young Master Qiao, are well aware of this.
For the organization, bowing out in this manner might just be a Completion.”
Qiao Hongyi stared at the visitor silently for a while, took a sip of his coffee, and said in a deep voice, “You’re not from this time period.”
The visitor’s expression shifted slightly as he asked in return, “What makes you say that?”
“From the tone of your voice, it’s like a man who’s filled up on forty-one buns turns around to complain about the first forty not tasting good.
You keep saying the Red Lantern Society will cause trouble sooner or later, but the Red Lantern Society only targets Foreigners, and you’re not a Foreigner.
Why do you care so much for your Foreign ‘dad’?”
Qiao Hongyi sneered, “If you don’t know anything, don’t act like you know it all.
Stop showing off in front of me.
Speak plainly, I won’t repeat myself a third time.”
This time, it was the visitor’s turn to fall silent.
He suddenly realized, or rather recalled, that the person he was facing might be the top “Advisor” in the entire Tianmen…
No, he should be a “School Official,” above the Advisors!
Nearly all the secrets of Tianmen City were stored in his mind.
“I came to invite you to collaborate on a major matter.”
Ultimately, he decided it was best to tell the truth.
“Collaborate on what major matter?
Are you planning a rebellion?”
Qiao Hongyi fixed his gaze on the visitor’s eyes and asked unhurriedly, “Or perhaps, you want to alter history?”
He didn’t know anything.
There was a blank in the visitor’s head, apart from the lines he’d prepared in advance, he was utterly ignorant about other matters.
This was specifically prepared for him.
“What we will do, you will naturally find out after joining us.
But before that, of course, we need to show you our sincerity,” the visitor said, smiling.
“I’ve brought three pieces of information for you.
Once you verify them, you will know how to choose.”
“First, you no longer have a chance to be reinstated.
Once this month is over, when you return to the Special Service Bureau, you will be immediately arrested and replaced by a newcomer from the Capital.”
“Because the higher-ups have already come to know that you are destined to betray them in the future.”
“Secondly, the reason for your betrayal, regretfully, is that Ms.
Yaoqin will be selected for a top-secret mission from which there is no return.
Her sacrifice is inevitable, and you will not be able to save her no matter what.”
“Last of all, a fact that you may find hard to accept.
You decided to betray just because of Ms.
Yaoqin’s fate, but Huo Qingyang is the true mole within the Special Service Bureau!
The real enemy hides behind him!”
Damn!
Even with years of discipline, Qiao Hongyi couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
So it’s not just the Red Lantern Society; our Special Service Bureau is also doomed, aren’t we?
He didn’t ask for evidence.
Since the other party was confident enough to suggest verification, it must be a fact from a future timeline.
Picking up his cup of coffee, he used the act of drinking to conceal his inner turmoil.
Qiao Hongyi pondered over his options at great speed.
“Even if all these things are verified, what can I expect to get from joining you?”
“It’s not about getting something from us, but about helping each other,” the visitor said with a smile: “You know, we both know, in fact, we all have a chance to make up for our regrets.”