Chapter 2491: Burning the Building (Part 4)

The carriage started quickly. Before long, it arrived at the intersection. Scout No. 1 was following on foot, already panting from hurrying. When he saw the carriage arrive, he immediately hopped onto the side. People were coming and going on the road, making it inconvenient for the large carriage Qiaoyan rode in to travel fast. Before long, Yang Cao's carriage caught up by taking a shortcut.

After following for a distance, Yang Cao slightly lifted the curtain to look forward. She saw that the carriage ahead did not look as steady as before—the body swayed lightly left and right, obviously carrying a light load. Looking at the wheel ruts, they were very shallow. Yang Cao immediately sensed something was wrong and whispered: "Go check if there's anyone in the carriage."

Scout No. 1 immediately jumped off and walked quickly over. He rubbed his body against the front shaft of the carriage and fell down immediately, shouting: "Ah, the carriage hit someone!"

The driver was startled and immediately reined in: "You, you bumped into it yourself—what does it have to do with me!"

Scout No. 1 got up and grabbed the horse's bridle: "Want to leave after hitting someone? Is there such reason!" As he spoke, he got on the carriage to pull and drag the driver. Taking the opportunity, he bumped his body and seemingly unintentionally hooked the carriage curtain with his arm, lifting it. To his shock, he found the carriage empty.

The scout immediately took out his ID and flashed it, asking the driver sternly with a fierce look: "Where is the person in the carriage? I'm from the Yamen. You must speak truthfully, or beware of a lawsuit!"

The driver was at a loss and didn't know who the person before him was. Seeing his fierce face, he was afraid and didn't dare provoke him. He couldn't help stammering: "I, I don't know. That, that person gave double tip as soon as he got on the carriage, only saying to deliver a letter to Sanxian Tai. On the way, the carriage curtain and window curtains had to be hung well and couldn't be opened. He said if the letter isn't delivered, he'll make me pay double. After that, at the corner of the last intersection where tree shade covered the view, he didn't even call to stop—he just jumped directly off the carriage and left." He took out an envelope.

Scout No. 1 grabbed the envelope and opened it. Sure enough—a blank piece of white paper. He wasted no more words with the driver, took the envelope, and reported back immediately.

Yang Cao knew instantly that they had fallen for a diversionary tactic and lost the tail. Now that person was the only clue to this matter. Once lost, it would be like a clay ox entering the sea—the tail had to be recovered as soon as possible.

She quickly spread out the regional map marking the surrounding streets, exits, and paths in the carriage. Her eyes wandered nervously over it while her mind raced. Not going out of the city, walking—this indicates their stronghold is inside the city, or at least they have a foothold inside. The location where he got off shouldn't be where the stronghold is; otherwise, a little analysis would expose it. The driver said he got off at the previous intersection, indicating we discovered it fairly quickly. The target shouldn't have gone far—calculated by time, it shouldn't exceed half a street. There's still a chance to recover the tail.

Thinking of this, Yang Cao quickly circled several possible locations and paths where the target might appear with a red pencil, then pulled open the bottom box of the carriage. She took out the eight-power binoculars, handed the map and binoculars to Scout No. 2 sitting diagonally on the carriage side in front, and said: "Commanding height. Search and observe."

Scout No. 2 took the items and nodded.

The driver scanned the surroundings and stopped the carriage along a high wall by the roadside. With binoculars in hand, Scout No. 2 stepped on the carriage roof and leaped onto the top of the wall in just two steps, then climbed a big tree with the help of the wall. Straddling a tree fork, he covered the binoculars with a cloth and searched among the streets and alleys, quickly comparing the target's physical characteristics with the few points marked on the map.

Time passed second by second. Yang Cao took out her pocket watch and checked it. Fine cold sweat began to seep from her forehead. The eyes of the three people under the tree also grew more and more anxious.

Suddenly, Scout No. 2's binoculars stopped swinging abruptly. He fixed on a spot for a moment, held the binoculars with his left hand, pointed west with his right, and then quickly made a few one-armed hand signals downward.

Yang Cao immediately looked down at the map: "Target moving from west to east. He is taking Route Wu."

Scout No. 2 swung his leg, propped his hands and feet against the trunk twice, and jumped straight down from the tree. As soon as he landed, Yang Cao said: "You have the best physical stamina. Go on foot via Route Bing to intersperse. Route Geng is wide; the carriage takes Route Geng. Action."

Immediately, the driver shouted: "Giddyap!" The carriage galloped through from the diagonal street according to the planned route, while Scout No. 2 flew via a shortcut through another narrow alley.

Yang Cao's carriage circled around the perimeter and slowed down on a straight road ahead of Qiaoyan, dropping off Scout No. 1. Scout No. 2 had just emerged from the narrow alley entrance, still some distance from the target.

Scout No. 1 said calmly to a newsboy by the road: "A daily paper." He took out a coin from his chest pocket and threw it over. Scouts always carried a handful of small change to be ready to pay without needing change.

Scout No. 1 stood quietly by the roadside holding the newspaper, observing silently with eyes over the top edge of the paper. Shortly, Qiaoyan walked past him. Only after Qiaoyan had passed six or seven meters did Scout No. 1 calmly put away the newspaper and follow slowly. By then, Scout No. 2 had recovered from the heavy panting of running fast and slowly followed behind Scout No. 1. Still following the order of No. 1 as main tail and No. 2 as vice tail, they resumed positions.

Yang Cao's position changed slightly, falling behind Scout No. 2. Though Guangzhou had been liberated, there were still not many women showing their faces in public. A woman appearing repeatedly would be more conspicuous and easier to expose, so male scouts were generally arranged as main tails while women often served as mobile substitutes.

Yang Cao followed behind Scout No. 2. After passing another intersection, she suddenly perceived that the eyes of a beggar by the road were somewhat strange. Though the beggar held a bowl with jagged edges and shook it constantly to beg for food, his gaze patrolled constantly ten meters behind Qiaoyan.

Yang Cao's heart skipped a beat: The target has someone meeting him.

She walked quickly forward, successively overtaking Scouts No. 1 and No. 2. She touched her waist with her hand, alerting Scout No. 1 that the target had support personnel. Scout No. 1 signaled receipt with his eyes, then immediately put his hands behind his back to send information to No. 2. Scouts No. 1 and No. 2 immediately exchanged tail positions to confuse the support personnel, while Yang Cao slowed her pace and fell behind, searching for the beggar's figure.

Sure enough, the beggar quietly followed in the crowd. At that moment, Qiaoyan ahead suddenly turned sharply into a small alley nearby, then pressed his body tightly against the alley wall on the back street to peek backward. Scout No. 2, having swapped positions, did not follow into the alley. Instead, he looked straight ahead, pacing slowly, walking past the alley entrance and striding away. Scout No. 1 calmly stopped, sat down at a tea stall by the road, ordered a cup of tea and two pieces of dim sum, and drank slowly while browsing his newspaper. Yang Cao turned into a fabric shop by the road, casually picking through fabrics and chatting with the shop assistant, while her gaze monitored secretly through the main door.

Qiaoyan's gaze followed Scout No. 2's receding back. Only after a good while did he withdraw his gaze, then cast his eyes toward the beggar in the crowd. The beggar shook his head gently. Qiaoyan's heart instantly relaxed, and he let out a long breath. After waiting a moment longer and seeing nothing strange, he hesitated no more—he flashed out of the alley entrance and walked quickly forward.

Yang Cao walked out of the fabric shop and switched to the main tail position. Scout No. 1 followed behind her. The two trailed Qiaoyan silently, like an invisible wake.

Scout No. 2 turned his reversible outer robe inside out, put on a melon-skin cap, stuck a plaster on his face, slouched his shoulders, leaned against the wall at the street intersection ahead dozing off, and waited silently for the target's appearance. Everything gradually slid into track.

Half an hour later, Qiaoyan stood before a large courtyard gate. He knocked lightly—three short, two long—looking around vigilantly. Before long, the courtyard gate opened. Qiaoyan flashed inside. The gate clattered shut.

Outside, at the street intersection, people came and went, bustling with activity, without a trace of dusk's loneliness. The slanting glow of the setting sun lazily sprinkled on Yang Cao's shoulder. She lit a lady's "Holy Ship" with a hint of fatigue, held it lazily with her right hand, gracefully blew out a smoke ring, and whispered: "Going home... how nice."

Back at the bureau, Yang Cao organized all the materials at hand and began to sort them out. There were simply too many—thousands of threads and loose ends. The data retrieval system established by the Calculation Center in Guangzhou helped them enormously, allowing them to query various related materials at any time using the "keyword" mode, but this mechanical retrieval still required substantial manpower for organization and analysis.

Though related card systems had been created, at a glance there were several hundred index cards of all kinds. This relied heavily on the brainpower of the responsible officials.

Yang Cao realized that the existence of the Martial Team qualitatively changed the whole case. In the past, they had only suspected its existence—but judging from this tracking, the team not only existed but was also extremely careful.

She recalled the counterfeit currency case, which had recently shown a trend of intensifying, and the clue of the mysterious drug silver ingot "Sanjiangmao" notified by Police Section 9.

What did they want to accomplish by gathering together? Obviously, collecting "Baldy Intelligence" was only part of it—otherwise, it couldn't explain why they spent money to maintain some "Martial Team." Yang Cao was very clear about the cost of maintaining armed forces; it was far from comparable to hiring a few scholars to copy and write. A team of several hundred people—people eating and horses chewing—just the daily cost of food and firewood was enormous, let alone the monthly pay.

The expense of maintaining private soldiers for a long time was something even a wealthy and powerful family like the Liang family couldn't bear. The Loyalty Battalion in Foshan was maintained by joint funding from all the big households in the fort.

Obviously, the Liang family was not alone. Quite a few local noble families and big households might be secretly colluding with him. These big households either didn't live in Guangzhou, or their main family members were all in the countryside. The Senate's limited forces still couldn't monitor their abnormalities.

Thinking of this, Yang Cao's hair stood on end. Under Ming rule, it might have been pardonable for these big households to join forces and maintain militia and village braves. What did they intend to use them for now?

(End of Chapter)