Chapter 337: The Wire Pullers
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
Inside the private room, Wu Qi and the others were sitting quietly around the table.
Holding a wine glass, Zhao Kuo began to slowly explain the reason that made him come to Xue Yuan Planet. Actually, he had arrived at Xue Yuan Planet one day earlier than Yan Qijun, and all this while, he was hiding in White Frost Residence, waiting for the right time to come. The task assigned to him was that when Lin Qiuluo came to White Frost Residence, he would have to find a way to make contact with her. If she did not come after a certain period of time, he would have to find ways to establish connections with other major clans on the planet.
Yan Qijun's face turned livid with rage - even inside of Great Yan Dynasty, the mission of he personally came to Xue Yuan Planet was an absolute secret. There were only less than twenty people who knew his whereabouts and the date of his departure. But now, Zhao Kuo had just told them that he had arrived one day earlier than Yan Qijun, and was waiting patiently in White Frost Residence for the news of Yan Qijun being assassinated. What did that mean?
Someone from within Great Yan Dynasty wished Yan Qijun was murdered, or perhaps, they were even directly involved in the assassination.
Wu Qi had an unsightly expression as well. He fixed his gaze at Zhao Kuo, grinned coldly and asked, "Then, who is trying to kill me?"
Zhao Kuo answered in a deep voice, "I don't know who wants to kill you. According to the task that is assigned to me, once the news of Yan Qijun being assaulted in Xue Yuan Planet is spread, you will definitely be the first man who will find all means to come here - and you will definitely be the first man who arrives! I was ordered to bring many Great Zhao's experts and sinecures here, and once we find you, we would do our best to kill you!"
Wu Qi exchanged a glance with Yan Qijun. Both men did not say a word for a long while.
After a long moment of silence, Wu Qi asked with a suspecting grin, "Why are they so sure that I will come to Xue Yuan Planet? And how can they be so sure that I can arrive here on time?"
Zhao Kuo brought the wineglass closer to his eyes and looked at it admiringly. It was made from a special material that was only found in White Frost City - the Snow Jade, as thin as a cicada's wing, and vaguely having some patterns of snow crystals in the glass itself. Then, he said in a flat tone, "Elder brother, you don't understand. I don't know about the exact situation in other dynasties, but in Great Zhao's 'Zhao Wu Palace', a total of eight hundred men had been specially assigned to investigate and gather everything related to you."
He lifted his eyes and looked at Wu Qi before continuing, "Elder brother, you like to wear outfits with the color of pale green, pale blue, and pale gray, while most of your underwears are made with pale blue silk. The design of jade pendant you like the most is not those commonly seen designs, such as dragon or phoenix. Instead, they are the hollowed-out patterns of pine, bamboo, or plum, which are rarely used by anybody. Your favorite beverage is 'Thousand Florals Wine' that is only supply to Great Yan's Imperial Palace, and you like to eat river fishes and seafood, and are not fond of chicken, duck, or other meats."
Wu Qi's face turned pale. Someone actually investigated and gathered all his habits in such detail? And yet, over the last three years, he did not notice anything unusual! He tried to recall what he had done during that time: he was either hanging around with Princess Zhang Le in Spirit Cloud Peak, or having secluded meditation in Star picking City, and had just visited Little Meng City two or three times. Although he had so little contact with the outside world, those people could still find out all his habits?
He was too careless! Over the last three years, because of the support he had from Patriarch Jiang Yun, he had lowered his vigilance and became overly careless!
Cold sweat broke out on Wu Qi's back, then quickly drenched his cloth. Fortunately, he did not do anything big that worthed suspicion during the years, or else some of his secrets might have already been found out by those people!
Was this Zhao Wu Palace the intelligence agency for Great Zhao? An agency similar to Great Yan's Scouting Office?
Yan Qijun was struck dumb as well. Since Zhao Wu Palace knew even Wu Qi's personal hobbies and preferences in such a detail, they evidently had already poked their hand into Great Yan Dynasty, and someone close to Wu Qi must have been bribed and controlled by them. He could not help to start suspecting if any of his loyal subordinates had already become Great Zhao's lackeys.
Zhao Kuo continued, "Through Elder Brother's actions after you joined Great Yan's imperial court, and judging from your daily habits, Zhao Wu Palace has come up with a conclusion - Elder Brother is a man cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. You are loyal to friends, and although your approaches are usually cruel, and sometimes even unscrupulous, those are aimed only at your enemy and outsiders. When it comes to your close friends, you will do whatever it takes to save them, even if that will get you killed eventually."
Upon hearing Zhao Kuo's narration of the analysis which Zhao Wu Palace had for Wu Qi, Yan Qijun immediately turned to look at Wu Qi.
In the meanwhile, Wu Qi placed his ankle on his knee, holding a wine glass and saying with a cold grin, "Am I really that good?"
Fiddling with the wineglass, Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "Isn’t Elder Brother here in the Xue Yuan Planet already? Besides, you have succeeded in rescuing Crown Prince, haven’t you?"
Yan Qijun nodded his head thoughtfully, while Wu Qi did not answer the question. He snorted coldly, narrowed his eyes, and drank a mouthful of wine. Finally, he said, "Go on, tell me why are they so sure that I have the way to come here."
Zhao Kuo laughed, lowered his voice and said, "Elder Brother, if we want to find out who will be the first man that can arrive at Xue Yuan Planet among all the people of six dynasties, unquestionably, you will be the one! Three years ago, how did Elder brother leave Myriad Immortals Planet with that Jiangcheng Zi? And how did you bring the Heaven Immortals of White Cloud Immortal Sect and Tranquil Vimalā Sect into Myriad Immortals Planet?
"At least, after three years of investigation, Zhao Wu Palace confirmed that Jiangcheng Zi's planetary ship was seized by Immortal Han Xiao. A planetary ship is a rare item, and even White Cloud Immortal Sect does not own many of them. Therefore, it is impossible for Elder Brother and Jiangcheng Zi to leave Myriad Immortals Planet with another planetary ship, and manage to bring the few Heaven Immortals back within just a few hours."
"Grand Universal Teleportation Formation?" said Wu Qi with a cold snort.
Zhao Kuo nodded and said, "Yes, Grand Universal Teleportation Formation! Zhao Wu Palace believes that Elder Brother must have mastered the way to construct Grand Universal Teleportation Formation, or perhaps discovered an ancient formation. That is the reason we believed Elder Brother will be the first man that arrives at Xue Yuan Planet."
Tapping on the table with his finger, Wu Qi sunk into a deep thought. At last, he said with a frown, "So, your task is to wait for Lin Qiuluo to finish her job, then make contact with her? And if she fails, you will bring your man to complete her job?"
"Mister Su Dai has come up with a plan," said Zhao Kuo while nodding his head, "If Crown Prince is killed according to the plan, I will show up and make contact with Lin Qiuluo, promising her heavy reward and buy her over to Great Zhao. Then, when Elder Brother arrives at Xue Yuan Planet, we would ask her to kill you. However, if she failed to kill Crown Prince, then based on her character, she would definitely shut off all the ways of entering and leaving Xue Yuan Planet, takes off her gloves to hunt Crown Prince down. At that point in time, I will bring my men and help her in the hunting of Crown Prince, and yours, Elder Brother!"
Wu Qi gave Yan Qijun a look and asked coldly, "Who exactly is trying to kill me? Is there really such a deep grudge between Great Zhao and me?"
Narrowing his eyes with a smile on his face, Zhao Kuo said, "But, according to Great Zhao's Prime Minister, the Mister Lu Buwei - the person who killed so many people in Cang Ao Immortal Abode and left behind Lu Buwei's name, is none other than you, Elder Brother! All the information that Zhao Wu Palace gathered over the last three years has proved that it is you who did that!"
"Me?" pointing at his own nose, Wu Qi cried out, "Impossible!"
Zhao Kuo chuckled, then turned to Yan Qijun and gave him a nod as he said, "But, Zhao Wu Palace had examined every person that visited Cang Ao Immortal Abode. Apart from you, Elder brother, who has the ability and the motive to do something like that? Who can travel freely across the entire Immortal Abode like you?"
"Can I?" Wu Qi narrowed his eyes and stared at Zhao Kuo.
"Can't you?" Zhao Kuo smiled complacently and said, "Who forced me to be his sworn brother that day? And after that, Elder Brother even put up an act in that courtyard! Although I will never leak what Elder Brother had done, but currently, as all the intelligence agencies of six dynasties had agreed to exchange their information, after they eliminated all possibilities, they found that the only person who could stir up troubles in Cang Ao Immortal Abode is you, Elder Brother!"
Clearing his throat, Wu Qi said helplessly, "Well, let's consider it was me now. Hmm, so it was me who killed Zhao Ling, and because of this, Great Zhao wants to kill me for revenge? Therefore, they send my sworn brother to kill me?"
Zhao Kuo breathed out a long sigh and said, "It is not only Zhao Ling. Elder brother, don't you know what you had done?"
Suddenly, Yan Qijun interrupted, "General Zhao Kuo, is the person that made the first contact with Lin Qiuluo one of your subordinates?"
Zhao Kuo quickly shook and said, "No, no! It is someone else who contacted her first, and they are definitely not from Great Zhao! Both of them are staying in White Frost Residence now, but they don't know my identity. Therefore..."
While he was talking, Zhao Kuo rose to his feet, pointing out to the window as he said, "Look at those people who are walking out from White Frost Residence. They are the one!"
Wu Qi rose, and happened to see a few men and girls walking out from White Frost Residence. Obviously, they were from different groups. A girl clad in a black outfit was walking shoulder to shoulder with a youth, who was clad in a white goose cloak, his face handsome and carrying an elegant bearing. There was a green medallion hanging near his waist. They were greeting each other, their faces filled with a warm smile.
Pointing at them, Zhao Kuo said, "That girl is the one who contacted Lin Qiuluo. I have no clue as to her background. As for that youth, he is Bai Feng, the most outstanding descendant of Bai clan's current generation, having a cultivation base of mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. He is the favorite child of Bai clan's Patriarch. He commands the 'Frost Team', a team of guards that Bai clan uses to maintain the peace and order in White Frost City. He can deploy at least three thousand well-trained cultivators."
Yan Qijun grinned coldly and said, "Surely they are sparing no effort! So, they have begun to lure someone from Bai clan, getting ready to muster the next wave of people in order to kill me?"
Wu Qi kept staring at the girl, with his brows knitted into a tight frown. "I seem to know that girl!" he said.
Wu Qi really thought that girl looked familiar, and so did her demeanor. He stared at the girl and pondered for a moment, then suddenly cried out, "Damn it! She is one of the three thousand lady officials in Star picking City! The leader of a division! I saw her once when Bai Zhu'er handed them some tasks! Her name is... Yan... Yan Xiaoqi!"
The wine glass in his hand broke. Wu Qi was confused, as he saw someone from Star picking City here in Xue Yuan Planet all of a sudden, and that person was even one of the important officials. Worst of all, she was the one who was responsible for getting in touch with Lin Qiuluo, the direct executioner who paid Lin Qiuluo to kill Yan Qijun!
On the other side, Yan Qijun jumped to his feet in shock. He knew exactly what the background of those three thousand lady officials in Star picking City was - they were the elite lady officials who Great Yan trained secretly, and since little, they had received brainwashing education. Once they acknowledged a master, they would never betray that master for the rest of their lives! They had already acknowledged Wu Qi as their master, and had been helping him in managing everything in Star picking City. Wu Qi was their master, so how was it even be possible that they would betray him?
While the astonished Yan Qijun was about to tell Wu Qi that he might have gotten the wrong person, his body suddenly turned stiff, and his face blank.
He saw a familiar face behind Yan Xiaoqi. A youth with a fair skin complexion, beardless, handsome, and delicate.
Yan Qijun was very familiar with this man - he was Ma He, the Chief Eunuch in Yi An Palace, the Crown Prince's residence!