Chapter 274: Taking His Sweet Time

And just like that, the matter was settled. Leaving aside the prospect of making money, Huyan Wei had little interest in staying here. He had a great many social engagements. The Huyan household as a whole was fairly disciplined, but among all his brothers and sisters, he was the one most active outside the family. He still had other gatherings to attend and people to entertain, so he took his leave.

That same habit of constantly roaming outside was precisely what had given Yuan Gang the opportunity to seize him as a hostage in the first place.

Yet Huyan Wei had barely stepped through the courtyard gate when he scratched the back of his head, turned around, and came back.

"Brother An, one more thing."

Yuan Gang asked, "What?"

Huyan Wei chuckled. "My father says this stuff tastes pretty good, and my mother likes it too. It makes no sense for other households to have something delivered to their doors every day while the family that owns the shop can't eat its own product."

"Starting tomorrow, send one small barrel of freshly made tofu to my house every morning for breakfast. That'll give me some face at home too. I guarantee my mother will praise me every time she eats it."

Yuan Gang nodded. "Fine. No charge. Eat as much as you want. I'll give you that face."

"Heh, good. I'm off. You two carry on..." Huyan Wei patted Yuan Gang's arm, then pointed at the clothing the horsewhips had torn. "You're the proprietor, after all. Change out of those rags."

Then he swaggered away, practically walking sideways. He was the youngest child in the family. Whether it came to pressure, responsibility, or seniority, none of it ever seemed to fall on his shoulders. As a result, he lived considerably more freely than the rest... In the rear courtyard of Among the White Clouds, the pleasure boat drew up beside the waterside pavilion. Su Zhao and the others disembarked and went inside.

Once she had returned to her seat beside the qin platform, Qin Mian brought over tea and smiled. "Proprietress, I didn't exaggerate, did I? The tofu was quite good."

Su Zhao took a light sip and set down the cup. "It was acceptable."

Qin Mian said, "If you like it, I'll have someone buy some every day."

"No need. Eat the same thing day after day and it stops being interesting. If I want some, I can go again. Freshly made should taste better anyway."

There was still a faintly absent look in Su Zhao's eyes. At that moment, a servant approached and presented a secret letter.

Qin Mian accepted it and waved the servant away. After carefully decoding and reading the contents, she reported, "Proprietress, Niu Youdao has already reached Daya City. Judging by his route, he should be heading toward the capital. He ought to arrive within ten days."

Su Zhao returned from her distraction and frowned slightly. "That fellow has spent the whole journey unhurried, crawling all the way into the State of Qi. He's been wandering on the road for months. What exactly is he trying to do? Under normal circumstances, if he were simply traveling, he could have made several round trips in this much time. Before, one could still explain it by saying he wanted to lure me into making a move. But even after entering the State of Qi, he's still taking his sweet time. In fact, he's moving even more slowly than before. He stops here and there and still has leisure to admire mountains and scenery. What does that mean? By the time he finally wanders into the capital, even if he manages to settle the warhorse affair, then gets the horses delivered all the way back, it'll probably already be next year. Is he not anxious about the warhorses at all?"

She could not make sense of it. The situation had been reported to Shao Pingbo as well, asking him to help analyze it, and even Shao Pingbo did not quite understand.

Qin Mian asked, "Could he simply never have seen the grasslands before and been captivated by the scenery?"

Su Zhao rolled her eyes. "Do you think that's possible? He still hasn't seen enough after this long? That bastard is extraordinarily cunning. If he's acting like this, there must be a purpose. Who knows what medicine he's hiding in that gourd?"

Qin Mian said suspiciously, "Could he be smoothing the various connections needed to move the warhorses back along the way?"

Su Zhao countered, "Judging from everything we've seen during his journey, have you seen him visit anyone? Is that how one smooths connections?"

Qin Mian asked, "Then could it be that he never came for the warhorses in the first place? He only emerged from seclusion after Linghu Qiu went to see him. Could he have some other objective in coming to the State of Qi?"

Su Zhao had wondered the same thing. Shao Pingbo, however, remained certain that Niu Youdao had come for warhorses and had instructed her to stop him if she had the opportunity.

Yet Niu Youdao was now sightseeing all along the road, acting as though the warhorse affair had nothing to do with him. What exactly was she supposed to stop?

Shao Pingbo had another strong suspicion as well: perhaps Linghu Qiu was already confident he could obtain the horses for Niu Youdao, which was why Niu Youdao had no need to hurry. His leisurely behavior might simply be a deliberate smokescreen. For that reason, Shao Pingbo had told her to watch Linghu Qiu closely.

Su Zhao had already made one move against Niu Youdao on the road and failed, losing an expert in the process and earning a furious reprimand from above.

The man had not even arrived yet and was still somewhere on the road, but already no one could make sense of him. Dealing with someone like this, Su Zhao was gradually beginning to feel how troublesome he truly was. She even felt a faint sense of helplessness.

In her view, the cleanest solution would be to kill Niu Youdao directly with overwhelming force. But the people above had issued her a strict order forbidding that. There was another problem.

Zhuo Chao's death had been deeply strange. No one knew what kind of strength Niu Youdao still had hidden around him, and no one dared act rashly again.

Deploying Zhuo Chao in the first place had already been an exception and had broken the organization's rules. If not for her master's influence suppressing the consequences, she might already have landed herself in serious trouble. Asking for someone even stronger than Zhuo Chao was hardly something she could decide on her own. She could not understand it, and her head hurt from trying.

Su Zhao sighed. "Forget it. We'll deal with whatever comes. For now, let's watch and see exactly what he intends to do. We should put our attention back on our own affair first. There won't be any problem with the warhorses we've prepared, will there?"

Qin Mian said, "You can rest assured about that. Over the years, every connection that needed opening has already been opened. Thirty thousand good horses in their prime have been selected, including one thousand mares. They can depart at any time."

The State of Qi controlled mares even more strictly. Even private individuals riding out of the country were not allowed to take mares across the border. And even when the State of Qi officially permitted horses to be sold abroad, only male horses were sold. Every high-quality mare had to remain on the grasslands of the State of Qi. Not a single one was permitted to leave the country. Violation meant death.

Su Zhao asked, "How are the ships coming along?"

Qin Mian said, "The ships are a little troublesome. Hundreds of large vessels would attract far too much attention. We don't dare gather them from the State of Qi itself, nor do we dare concentrate the purchases in any single state. We can only assemble them piecemeal from various states, letting small numbers accumulate until they become enough without arousing suspicion."

"At present, more than a hundred large ships have already reached the secretly arranged island and are undergoing modification."

Su Zhao quickly rose. Qin Mian followed her. The two went together to Su Zhao's bedchamber. A map hung on the inner wall.

Su Zhao stared at it. "Where is the island?"

Qin Mian pointed toward a stretch of sea southwest of the State of Qi. "Roughly here. We don't have ships specially built to transport warhorses. Smaller vessels are too dangerous for a long sea voyage and can capsize easily in heavy wind and waves, so we can only use large cargo ships."

"One cargo ship can carry one hundred warhorses. But cargo ships have to be modified before they can carry horses properly. Every vessel has to come here first for refitting."

Su Zhao asked gravely, "With so many seagoing vessels gathering there, is the island truly secret and secure?"

Qin Mian said, "Proprietress, rest assured. The island is at least a full day's voyage from the nearest coastline of the State of Qi. The surrounding waters are filled with hidden reefs, so ordinary ships avoid the entire area. Passing vessels have no reason to approach."

"Several months ago, we secretly brought a group of craftsmen and supplies onto the island from another state. The island is guarded. Until the operation is complete, no craftsman will be allowed to leave. Only after everything has reached Beizhou will they be released."

"In total, we've prepared five hundred ships. Three hundred will transport the horses, while two hundred will travel with them carrying the supplies required along the way."

"Each ship already has its crew. The people responsible for tending the horses will board together with the animals. Once the horses are loaded, the fleet can travel all the way to the destination without docking for provisions."

"If some unexpected situation arises, the supply ships can put into port on their own. That way, no one will discover the horses."

Su Zhao asked, "How much longer before everything is ready?"

Qin Mian said, "We've stationed one thousand craftsmen on the island, so the actual modifications can be done quickly. The problem is that the ships can't all arrive at once. They have to come in gradually from different states."

"And once the earlier ships reach the island, secrecy means we can't let them depart first. At present, those crews still don't know the route that comes afterward."

"We have to wait until all the ships have arrived and can be brought under unified control before making the final arrangements. I estimate it will take about three months. Even at the absolute fastest, it'll still take at least two months before everything is fully prepared."

Su Zhao said, "Remember this: once the warhorses are aboard, the ships must travel separately. They absolutely cannot sail in one grand formation and attract attention."

Qin Mian said, "You don't need to remind me of that. I know."

"When we load the horses, two ships will dock at a time. Once those two are loaded, they'll depart immediately. Each pair will then rendezvous with one supply ship and form a three-vessel team."

"At sea we have much greater freedom of movement, so there shouldn't be a problem. The truly dangerous section begins once we enter the State of Han and continue toward Beizhou."

Su Zhao said, "Once the ships reach the State of Han, you no longer need to concern yourself with the rest. Someone there worries about details even more carefully than you do. The other side will make all necessary arrangements and ensure nothing goes wrong."

Qin Mian nodded. "Then that should be fine. We've spent several years preparing everything here. Every detail that can be prepared has already been put in place. There shouldn't be any problem."

Night had fallen over Daya City, where scattered lights glimmered through the darkness. Dressed in grassland clothing, Niu Youdao wandered aimlessly through the streets, looking here and there as though sightseeing and inspecting novelties. Linghu Qiu accompanied him.

"Little Brother, you've been eating and drinking your way along the whole journey. Now that you're inside the State of Qi, you're even more leisurely. You don't look like someone who came here to handle business."

They were inside a pottery workshop. After carefully watching a craftsman shape clay by hand, Niu Youdao wandered over toward a kiln whose blazing fire rolled outward in waves. Linghu Qiu moved beside him and made the remark.

Niu Youdao sighed. "No hurry. The people who intercepted and tried to kill me on the road certainly didn't appear by accident. Before I handle the real business, I want to clear away the trouble first."

"I need to give whoever wants me dead a chance to act, don't I?"

"Give them a chance?" Linghu Qiu glanced around, then leaned closer to Niu Youdao's ear. "Little Brother, give me the truth. How exactly did you kill Zhuo Chao?"

Niu Youdao said, "You'll know sooner or later. If you insist on knowing now, that's fine too. Let Hongxiu and Hongfu spend one night with me, and I'll tell you."

Linghu Qiu rolled his eyes. After wandering aimlessly around the city for a while, the group returned to their inn. The moment Niu Youdao entered his room, he found Gongsun Bu already waiting inside. Niu Youdao set down the sword in his hand. Black Peony immediately went back outside to arrange people around the area. In an ordinary inn like this, one had to guard against ears on the other side of the wall. Only after Black Peony returned and nodded did Gongsun Bu speak.

"Master Dao, the reports coming in are still the same. No suspicious ships have been found anywhere along the coast. The disciples gathered here in the State of Qi are continuing to investigate."

Niu Youdao said, "Nothing at all? Could there be some kind of concealment?"

The real reason he was in no hurry to reach the Qi capital was because he was waiting for intelligence and deliberately laying down false trails.

Without grasping at least some part of the situation first, he would not even know from which direction to begin once he reached the capital.

And now that he had realized there was something wrong with Linghu Qiu's identity, he no longer dared place his full hopes on Linghu Qiu. He was already preparing to take the knife to the problem in his own way.

[End of Chapter 274]