Chapter 2720: The Capital (Part 76)
Before long, they had assembled a clear picture of Liu Sha's activities in Tongzhou.
He had established himself there as a fortune-teller and geomancer. By all accounts quite effective, he had earned a solid local reputation. His connections in Tongzhou ran wide—friends in official circles, in commerce, and in the Jianghu.
"Fortune-telling and geomancy? Have you tested him?"
"I didn't dare show my face directly. Fortunately, his business is excellent—I was able to listen to his readings while mixed in with the crowd." Little Five's voice carried a note of surprise. "He's no charlatan. The man genuinely knows the Plum Blossom Numerology method."
Min Zhanlian shrugged. "Not surprising. The Embroidered Uniform Guard's secret police often cultivate a special skill to fall back on and make it their business to master Jianghu tricks."
Little Five continued his report. Liu Sha maintained a secondary residence in Tongzhou where he kept a woman. Whenever he came to the city, he stayed there.
"...She was originally from a musician household. Reportedly, Liu Sha spent a considerable sum to make her his mistress—the house and upkeep together came to no less than a thousand taels of silver. He also hired an elderly couple specifically to serve her."
Zhou Ruolan's eyes narrowed. "This man definitely has a problem."
Min Zhanlian nodded in agreement. Even if fortune-telling and geomancy brought in good money, keeping a mistress might not be remarkable in itself. But taking a woman from a musician household as a kept woman—that expense was beyond what ordinary people could afford, even someone who had once served in the Brocade Guard.
Abnormal spending meant he was certainly making dirty money, or desperately needed to make more dirty money to plug a hole.
Insatiable desire. In his fifteen years in the trade, Min Zhanlian had watched countless people fall because of those two words. When he thought about it, if he himself hadn't coveted the Nanwuliang Cult's high bounty, he would never have fallen into Daoist Fu's hands.
When Liu Sha was in Tongzhou, he told fortunes at teahouses. This made it nearly impossible for Little Five and his team to pin down any specific contact—for the simple reason that Liu Sha met and spoke with far too many people in a single day. The surveillance team couldn't possibly track and investigate them all.
This slippery fellow is indeed an old Jianghu hand, Min Zhanlian thought. Meeting contacts at teahouses meant a tail could follow and investigate whoever he met. But if he was telling fortunes at the same time he was drinking tea, the number of possibilities became endless. Moreover, both parties could exchange information by secretly passing a slip of paper no bigger than three fingers.
Given these circumstances, catching his tail in Tongzhou would prove extremely difficult. Under normal conditions, since he was working for powerful figures in the capital and only staying temporarily in Tongzhou, he would eventually return. As long as they could track his movements there, they need not fear failing to find the mastermind behind the scenes.
However, Senator Leng had now been kidnapped for over half a month with no word. Everyone's hopes were focused on this Liu Sha. Min Zhanlian had no time to wait for developments—he could only break through this lead as quickly as possible.
After much deliberation, he decided to wait no longer. He would directly "invite the God of Wealth" and force out the relevant intelligence. If there was news of Senator Leng's whereabouts, so much the better; if not, he would use Liu Sha as bait to catch whoever came to meet him, then follow the vine to the melon.
"What if he refuses to talk even unto death?" Little Five asked, a note of worry in his voice. "He's from the Brocade Guard, after all."
"Impossible." Min Zhanlian smiled. "We've been in the Jianghu for years. We have at least that much skill. He only used to serve in the Brocade Guard—he's not made of steel. Besides, apart from making him suffer, we can also give him a taste of something sweet. These people are all money-grubbers."
With the plan decided, Min Zhanlian immediately assigned personnel, formulated the details, and prepared for the capture.
Unexpectedly, just as they finalized their approach, news came from Little Five.
"There's been a development with Liu Sha!"
"What?!" Min Zhanlian perked up at once. Change meant opportunity.
"Last night, someone came to Liu Sha's house and knocked on the door. They seemed to be in a great hurry."
In this time and place, anyone of status wouldn't arrive unannounced; they would send someone ahead to coordinate and set a date. Those who showed up directly were either very close friends or had urgent business.
"What did the visitor look like?"
"A middle-aged man in his forties, dressed like a servant or attendant from a wealthy household. Travel-worn, as if he'd come from far away."
"His accent?"
"Not local, nor a capital accent. Come to think of it... it was somewhat similar to Cao Sheng's."
"That's it," Min Zhanlian said. "A Beizhili accent. Go on."
"After this person entered Liu's residence, he never came out." Little Five paused. "Normally that wouldn't be unusual, but early this morning, the man stationed near the residence to monitor reported that Liu Sha's woman came out personally to shop. She looked panicked."
"Oh?" Min Zhanlian leaned forward with interest. Women rarely showed their faces in public. Though women from musician households weren't so particular about such things, based on the surveillance over the past few days, at least when Liu Sha was in Tongzhou, she rarely ventured out. Shopping and similar errands were handled by the elderly couple who served her.
"Coming out to shop in person was one thing, but she actually went to a lime shop!"
"A lime shop?!" Min Zhanlian's pupils contracted.
As the name suggested, a lime shop sold lime. It had only two uses: first, mixing with mortar for building walls during construction; second, placing lime packets inside coffins during funerals to absorb moisture and prevent odor.
From the outside, Liu Sha's residence showed no signs of needing repairs, and no carpenters or masons had been seen coming or going recently. Obviously, it wasn't for house repairs.
Could Liu Sha be dead?
If he had died of sudden illness, even in a foreign place, they would have hired a local funeral establishment to hold a simple ceremony before placing the body in a coffin. There was no custom of coffining immediately upon death. Besides, no coffin had been delivered—so why the rush to buy lime?
"Did you ask?"
"Yes. The clerk said the lady claimed her house needed repairs and asked them to deliver some lime that very day."
"Did she go to find masons afterward?"
"No. She bought the lime and hurried back in a panic. Since then, the main gate has been shut tight with no one coming or going. Even Liu Sha hasn't been seen."
"Tell everyone to keep watching." Min Zhanlian was quite excited. He glanced at Zhou Ruolan. "Ruolan, what do you think happened inside?"
Zhou Ruolan smiled slightly. "What else is there to say? Someone died inside. Probably splattered blood all over the wall too. I just don't know who died. My guess is the visitor who arrived in such a hurry. Oh, and Liu Sha probably won't be able to come out to tell fortunes for a while."
"You mean Liu Sha was injured?" Little Five sounded somewhat skeptical.
"If he weren't injured, why would he send his woman out to handle things?" Zhou Ruolan replied. "Something major must have happened. Liu Sha couldn't come out himself and didn't trust the elderly servants, so he had his woman do it."
"If he's injured, why not call a doctor or buy medicine for wounds?"
"Since he's from the Brocade Guard, how could he not have wound medicine on him? Besides, if they're buying lime, clearly the scene hasn't been cleaned up yet."
Min Zhanlian considered this carefully. Zhou Ruolan's reasoning made sense. After a moment's thought, he said, "Very well. A long night brings many dreams. We'll go investigate tonight and see what's really going on."
Liu Sha's residence wasn't inside Tongzhou city but in the suburbs outside, near the canal wharf.
The area lay close to Tongzhou Granary. Most residents were clerks working in canal transport and the granary—neither wealthy nor lowly. The location was convenient, quiet amid the bustle—an ideal residence for someone like Liu Sha. The compound was built of gray brick, its facade inconspicuous among the alley's other buildings.
Little Five's team had been monitoring the residence around the clock, so there was no fear of ambush. After the second watch—around nine to eleven at night—Min Zhanlian's squad scaled the wall and slipped inside. Without difficulty, they subdued the elderly couple in the gatehouse.
After a brief interrogation, the couple stated that they were the only servants in the residence; there was no one else. "The Master and Madam" were resting in the main building.
Two men immediately climbed the pillars and nimbly gained the rooftop. One held a crossbow; the other gripped a blade.
The crossbow was a special ratchet compound model made in Lingao, fitted with a tension-storing spring and a built-in drum magazine holding eight short bolts. A single draw could fire four shots, loaded magazine-style. Though its compact size limited range to twenty-five meters, it was more than sufficient for urban special operations.
Little Five scaled the wall. With a toss of powder, a glistening silk thread appeared behind the hanging-flower gate, shimmering faintly.
Though he couldn't see it, the other end of the thread undoubtedly held a copper bell. As soon as anyone opened the gate, the bell would sound.
He crouched on the wall, silently observing the courtyard. His night vision was excellent. Ever since he had started eating from this bowl alongside his master, the old man had often bought him liver, fish, and shrimp. At night, his master frequently took him out to "work," so over the years he had trained a pair of "night eyes."
By the dim light, he spotted a small path running along the courtyard wall. Though the sky was dark, the ground showed obvious variations in shade. From experience, it was probably paved with gravel or crushed shells. Anyone stepping on it would make noise.
He gripped the wall top with both hands facing backward and descended silently along the wall, touching the ground only with his toes. Once his body was steady, he edged along the wall inch by inch toward the hanging-flower gate, found the copper bell, gripped the clapper, and cut the thread.
From the all-purpose pouch at his waist, he withdrew a small bottle and quickly applied oil to the door bolt and hinges to prevent squeaking. Only then did he open the hanging-flower gate and let the others file through.
In the courtyard, a lamp burned in the main building, its flame no bigger than a bean. The air carried the scent of medicine.
His subordinates were about to rush the main building when Min Zhanlian raised his hand to halt them. He signaled everyone to guard the wing doors and windows. After a moment, he threw a stone toward the veranda of the main building.
At this hour, all was silent. The stone striking below the steps made a surprisingly loud sound. From inside came a woman's trembling voice: "Who's there?!"
At that moment, the three team members guarding the west wing door had already smashed through the door and windows, charging in like pouncing tigers. In moments, two bamboo whistle blasts sounded from the west wing: Got them!
Immediately, other team members burst into the main building and the east wing.
Two whistle blasts from the main building, but only one from the east wing.
By prior agreement, two blasts meant enemy captured; one blast meant no one present.
Min Zhanlian didn't move, still maintaining vigilance. After a moment, a single whistle blast came from the direction of the back courtyard. Only then did he exhale softly. He said in a low voice, "Move."
(End of Chapter)