Chapter 1362: Persistence Pays Off

Yin Rushu understood what he meant.

The fewer people who knew, the better.

He paced again, still somewhat hesitant.

Seeing that he remained undecided, Li Zhengfa cupped his hands once more and pleaded, "Sect Leader, there is obviously something wrong here. If we discover a problem and refuse to investigate it, then if the Sacred Realm notices later, the sect itself won't escape responsibility!"

Those words made Yin Rushu stop.

He finally made up his mind and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Li Zhengfa said, "The situation is obvious. They could arrange a meeting anywhere. Why insist on placing it near the Boundless Desert? The next contact is very likely hiding inside Boundless Pavilion. I don't have enough manpower. I need to mobilize a large number of people to establish surveillance both at Boundless Pavilion and at the meeting location, then act when the opportunity appears."

Yin Rushu said, "Fine. I grant you authority to mobilize whatever manpower you need. But I'll put the ugly words first. If you discover anything is wrong, you must immediately stop the operation. You are not to act recklessly and drag the sect into disaster. Otherwise, even if Misty Pavilion lets you go, the sect will not!"

Li Zhengfa cupped his hands in delight. "Thank you, Sect Leader. I will act with the utmost caution!"

...

A long mountain range stretched across the land.

On one side lay the vast desert. On the other, barren wilderness.

Near the official road on the wilderness side stood a desolate little town of dusty yellow earth, gray with the sandstorms that frequently swept over it.

A gray-robed man carrying a walking stick flew in from the direction of the desert.

He crossed the mountain range, crossed the wilderness, landed outside the little town, then entered at an unhurried pace with the help of his cane.

A table stood outside a small tavern.

A man sat beside it, slowly drinking wine.

When he saw the newcomer's walking stick, he extended three fingers flat against the tabletop and pointed toward the steamed buns on the plate.

As the cane-bearing man passed the table, he casually picked up one of the steamed buns and continued on without stopping, heading toward the far side of town.

A short while later, two men hurried into the town and entered a shop opposite the tavern.

Inside the back room, one of them cupped his hands toward Li Zhengfa, who had been waiting there. "Elder, the man has already left the town and is heading toward the mountain range."

Li Zhengfa, also in disguise, said, "Good. Immediately order the eyes we've placed throughout the mountain range to watch his route closely!"

"Yes!"

The two disciples accepted the order and left.

Li Zhengfa, dressed as a merchant, also emerged from the shop.

He tilted his head in a small signal.

A tavern worker immediately came outside and dragged the man who had been drinking at the entrance back indoors.

Then people emerged from various corners of the little town and raced in the direction taken by the cane-bearing man.

When they reached the mountain range, another two men emerged from concealed positions among the mountains and saluted.

Li Zhengfa waved away the ceremony and asked heavily, "Did you see which direction the target went?"

One man reported, "Toward Boundless Pavilion."

Li Zhengfa's eyes lit up. "Good! Just as expected. It really is Boundless Pavilion."

He turned to the people responsible for observation. "Did all of you memorize the target's clothing and build clearly?"

"Clearly!" several answered in unison.

Li Zhengfa said, "The face he's using is probably false. Immediately send a detailed description of his build and clothing to the people positioned at Boundless Pavilion. Tell everyone to keep their eyes open. Once they find the target, they must establish beyond doubt where he goes and where he stays. Tell them no one is permitted to leak word. Everyone must work in pairs and watch one another!"

"Yes!"

Someone accepted the order.

Li Zhengfa then turned to another man. "Send word to the eyes positioned along this stretch of mountain range. See whether the target leaves in some other direction."

"Yes!"

Li Zhengfa remained where he was and waited for reports from every side.

When word finally came from Boundless Pavilion that the target had been found, he immediately led his people there.

...

After arriving at Boundless Pavilion, Li Zhengfa found the man responsible for the surveillance operation. "The target is still at Heavenly Lake Inn?"

The man replied, "Still there. We've taken several rooms opposite his to make observation easier. Also, when he entered the inn, he didn't register for a room. That means he must already have been staying there."

"Let's go to the inn. Everyone else remains here and continues the surveillance."

Li Zhengfa left the order behind and followed the man straight to Heavenly Lake Inn.

After entering the inn, the man brought him directly into a room opposite the target's.

The moment he entered, Li Zhengfa had the observer crouched by the crack in the window move aside.

He personally looked through it.

From there, he could see the activity around the target's room clearly.

...

Inside the target's room, the target himself was holding a list and reading it.

After finishing, he rubbed the paper to ash.

"Ah..." He sighed softly.

He was none other than Zhuge Chi.

According to the plan, he only needed to wait here.

There was nothing else he had to do, nor did he need to contact Lan Ming himself.

He had been told that Lan Ming would come looking for him on his own.

...

In another room, Yan Zhutian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, also in disguise.

The door opened.

A trusted disciple entered, closed it behind him, walked to Yan Zhutian's side, and whispered, "He's being watched."

Yan Zhutian nodded slightly.

He drew a letter from his sleeve. "Go around behind the inn and hand this to the guards. Tell them it was sent to Lan Ming by an old friend. Once you've delivered it, leave immediately."

"Yes!"

The disciple accepted the letter and departed.

...

Before the vast crystal window glowing with deep blue light, Lan Ming stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the flood dragons swim freely through the water.

His mind, however, was wandering elsewhere.

Chief Steward Ban Hai arrived and held out a letter. "Pavilion Master, someone delivered this to the guards and said an old friend of yours asked them to pass it on."

Lan Ming said, "Which old friend?"

Ban Hai's expression was grave. "You should read the letter yourself."

Lan Ming turned and snatched it from his hand.

There were only a few words written inside:

An old friend from Wolf Lake has come to visit. Waiting in Room Ding-Six!

"An old friend from Wolf Lake..." Lan Ming frowned.

He remembered meeting Shao Pingbo at Wolf Lake and murmured, "Shao Pingbo came?"

Ban Hai said, "When the letter arrived and I inspected it, something seemed wrong. I immediately questioned the inn's people. Judging from the man's build and appearance, it shouldn't have been him."

The corner of Lan Ming's mouth twitched.

Not Shao Pingbo?

At Wolf Lake back then, besides himself and Shao Pingbo, there had been one other man.

Could that person have come?

An affair that secret should not have been known to anyone irrelevant.

Even if it was not that same man, the visitor ought to belong to the same group.

Lan Ming had always wanted to know who those people were, but Shao Pingbo had stubbornly refused to tell him.

Now someone had come of his own accord.

That suited Lan Ming perfectly.

He wanted to see exactly who the other side was.

It was deeply unsettling for them to know who he was while he remained ignorant of their identities.

"Room Ding-Six..." Lan Ming muttered.

With a flick of his hand, he destroyed the letter.

Then he turned and said, "Prepare a set of clothes and disguise for me. I'm going to meet him."

"Yes!"

Ban Hai accepted the order and left.

Before long, Lan Ming emerged from the pavilion in disguise.

He entered the inn directly through the rear, looked around as he walked, and reached the door of Room Ding-Six.

He knocked.

When the observer crouched by the crack in the window reported that someone had gone to meet the target, Li Zhengfa immediately moved to the door and looked out through the crack beside it.

He saw the person knocking.

Inside the room, Zhuge Chi turned around and walked to the door.

He opened it, exchanged a glance with the disguised visitor, then stepped aside to let him enter before closing the door again.

Once inside, Lan Ming first looked over the room.

Then his gaze returned to the man before him.

The build was wrong.

This was not the person who had attacked him at Wolf Lake.

Lan Ming immediately asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

Zhuge Chi wasted no words.

He raised a hand, tore the false face from his features, and revealed his true appearance.

Lan Ming froze.

He stared at the man's face.

Something about it looked familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere.

Then realization struck.

He pointed in shock. "You... don't tell me you're Zhuge Chi?"

Wanted portraits of Zhuge Chi and Hai Wuji had already been produced and posted throughout the realm. Boundless Pavilion could hardly be an exception.

Naturally, Lan Ming had seen them.

A portrait might differ somewhat from the actual person, but the general resemblance was there. More importantly, Lan Ming already knew that the other side had taken Zhuge Chi away.

The answer was obvious.

Zhuge Chi did not conceal it. Following the plan, he nodded. "Correct. It's me."

Once the identity was confirmed, Lan Ming immediately grew somewhat panicked.

He stepped closer and hissed angrily, "Are you insane? Don't you know people everywhere are hunting you? And you still dare come here to meet me?"

He was not afraid that Zhuge Chi would be discovered.

He was afraid Zhuge Chi would drag him down as well.

Lan Ming had come because he wanted to confirm who that mysterious group really was.

And now?

The visitor was actually Zhuge Chi.

This joke had gone far too far.

Zhuge Chi simply watched him in silence.

Then he suddenly moved.

One hand clamped onto Lan Ming's shoulder and rendered him unable to move.

Lan Ming was badly startled. "What are you trying to do? I'm warning you, this is not a place where you can behave recklessly!"

Zhuge Chi had no other intention.

He raised his free hand and tore the false face from Lan Ming's features, confirming whether the man before him truly was Lan Ming.

Niu Youdao's people had shown him Lan Ming's appearance beforehand.

There was no mistake.

It really was Lan Ming.

Zhuge Chi released him and tossed the false face back.

Lan Ming was furious, but facing a man like this, he could not truly vent his anger.

He lowered his voice. "What do you want with me?"

Zhuge Chi said, "The most dangerous place is the safest place. I want to settle down inside Boundless Pavilion from now on. I'll have to trouble you to make the arrangements and look after me."

Lan Ming clenched his teeth and hissed, "What kind of joke is that? Do you know what sort of place this is? Do you know how many eyes are watching it? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. Absolutely not!"

In short, he refused flatly.

No matter how Zhuge Chi tried to discuss it, Lan Ming would not agree.

In the end, the meeting broke up on bad terms.

After putting his false face back on, Lan Ming left one final sentence before departing. "Get out of here as soon as possible!"

He opened the door and hurried away.

Zhuge Chi stood with one hand on the door and watched outside for a moment before slowly closing it.

Li Zhengfa, watching through the crack beside his own door, saw Zhuge Chi's face perfectly clearly.

The same clothes, but now the true face was exposed.

Only after Zhuge Chi closed the door and disappeared from view did Li Zhengfa slowly move away from the crack.

He frowned and muttered, "Why does that man look familiar?"

The expression of a disciple watching from the window, however, had already changed.

He stood and said in a trembling voice, "Elder, he looks like the man in the wanted portraits!"

Given that Li Zhengfa had followed a trail involving former Zhao remnants, he too could remember once prompted.

He suddenly realized who it was.

His heart began pounding. "Zhuge Chi!"

The disciple nodded. "It looked like him! There shouldn't be any mistake. Someone capable of making Zhao's sleeper agents hand over their full list of hidden personnel... one can imagine who he is."

Li Zhengfa's eyes immediately shone.

If they had truly discovered Zhuge Chi, that was an enormous achievement.

The death sentence hanging over his head had effectively been lifted!

Excited, he paced back and forth inside the room. "I never expected this! Truly never expected it. Persistence pays off. We've actually landed ourselves a great fish!"

He rubbed his hands together.

Capturing Zhuge Chi personally was naturally impossible.

Even if every person here joined forces, they would not be enough for Zhuge Chi to kill.

They only needed to report the information upward.

Remembering the Misty Pavilion man they had previously followed to make contact, Li Zhengfa clicked his tongue again. "So he really is colluding with Misty Pavilion. No wonder he learned the news in advance and escaped. And he certainly has nerve, daring to hide inside Boundless Pavilion! Right, who was the person who just met him? Go ask the people watching from the other angles."

"Yes!"

The disciple accepted the order and left.

[End of Chapter 1362]