Chapter 2753: The Capital (Part 109)

Xu Ke grew increasingly astonished. What exactly was the background of this "Mr. Le"? How could he be so intimately familiar with the Senate?

"This Mr. Le possesses remarkably broad knowledge."

"His abilities are considerable." Liu Sha smiled bitterly. "It's a pity..."

He left the sentence unfinished. The information he possessed was currency he intended to trade at the highest price—why would he give it away freely?

Xu Ke understood his calculations perfectly and pressed no further, waiting patiently for the man to state his terms.

Everyone has their vulnerabilities, and Liu Sha was no exception.

"I have a daughter," he said quietly. "She came from a fleeting liaison during my years of dissolute wandering. The mother and child now reside in Yingtian Prefecture..."

"Nanjing?!" Xu Ke was puzzled. "You're a local man. Why would you send them to Nanjing?"

"The landscapes of Jiangnan are gentle on the soul. Besides, the child's mother hails from Nanjing—she has people there who can look after them." Liu Sha's voice grew feeble. "Mine is a profession of licking blood from knife-edges. I dared not keep the child close."

Xu Ke found this deeply perplexing. The Foreign Intelligence Bureau had no intelligence whatsoever about Liu Sha having a child—likely even those closest to him were unaware. Why reveal it now? Could the Senate's reputation truly be trusted even by its enemies?

True, given the Senate's stature and standing, they would certainly never harm a child. There were also judicial principles of "no punishment extending to families" and "crimes shall not implicate wives and children." Yet throughout history, saying one thing while doing another was commonplace. Who could guarantee that no Senator harbored intentions to "uproot the weeds entirely"?

By any rational measure, Liu Sha's wisest choice would have been to keep this matter buried in silence.

Holding these doubts, he continued listening.

Liu Sha smiled bitterly. "I am not entrusting an orphan to your care. You and I serve enemy nations—it has always been kill or be killed between us. But in this matter, now that circumstances have reached this point, I have no choice but to rely on you."

"Speak freely."

"This woman was once a courtesan by the Qinhuai River. After she bore my flesh and blood, I purchased a house in Yingtian to settle mother and daughter. But unexpectedly, a former patron from her days in the trade—a villainous young master from the Wei Duke's clan—abducted them both."

Xu Ke started. The Wei Duke was a descendant of Xu Da. In the early Ming Dynasty, Xu Da had been posthumously titled King of Zhongshan, and the Prince's mansion was established inside Nanjing's walls at Dagongfang, within the Jubao Gate. Later generations inherited the title of Duke of Wei. They were among the most prominent noble families in all of Nanjing.

One could well imagine the power such a family commanded after generations of hereditary privilege. Let alone the Prefect of Yingtian—even the Governor of Yingtian had to show the Xu family deference. Even if this culprit was merely a distant branch relative rather than direct lineage, recovering the captives would prove exceedingly difficult.

"He's merely some villainous young master from the clan, not the Duke's own heir. You work for Master Wang and formerly served in the Jinyiwei. You have connections in Nanjing. Couldn't you pull some strings?"

"If it were a legitimate young master of the Duke's household committing a crime, the matter would actually be simpler." Liu Sha sighed. "Generations of nobility still care about preserving face. It's these distant relatives and collateral branches who are the most shameless. Moreover, this one is a boon companion of the Duke's Second Young Master and enjoys his protection. He acts lawlessly throughout Yingtian Prefecture, and no one dares challenge him. Even with my connections, I found no angle of approach."

After the incident, he had sought Master Wang's counsel. But Master Wang was unwilling to offend the nobility and merely gave him a sum of silver, telling him to "resolve it quietly." Liu Sha understood that his master refused to stick his neck out, so he had to find another way.

"...As for my former service in the Jinyiwei, the Southern Guardianship Office and the Northern Guardianship Office were always worlds apart. They share the name of Guardianship Offices, but in truth they barely count as colleagues—there's no fellowship or connection between them. Furthermore," he sighed deeply, "I no longer serve in the Northern Guardianship Office either."

After the Southern Guardianship Office relocated north to the Capital, only mundane duties remained—managing military artisan registries and overseeing weapon manufacturing. It was hardly a prestigious institution in Yingtian Prefecture.

Liu Sha's ability to navigate the underworld was considerable, but the black and gray forces of Yingtian Prefecture refused to antagonize the Wei Duke's family on his behalf. "A lone wolf doesn't fight power"—this was the iron law of survival through the ages.

"...Originally, I planned to collect this large sum of silver, then head straight south to Yingtian Prefecture. I would recruit a few desperadoes and settle the matter directly—take the mother and daughter and flee far away. But the silver never came to hand..."

"I see. You want us to rescue them?"

"Precisely." Liu Sha said, "You are foreign powers with no local ties or entanglements. You've even killed emperors—what is a mere villainous young master of the Wei Duke's household to you?"

Xu Ke laughed heartily. "What you say is true. A trifling matter." Then he sobered and continued, "There's no need to report this up the chain; I can decide it myself. I give you three promises: First, I will immediately telegraph headquarters to dispatch agents to Nanjing. As long as the mother and daughter remain in the city, they will absolutely be rescued. Second, after rescue, they will be settled in a location of your choosing—Nanjing or elsewhere—escorted there by our personnel, with an additional sum for their establishment. Third, if you wish it, this man's head will be delivered to you with both hands."

"Straightforward!" Liu Sha nodded. "I know Australians have always been the most reliable keepers of their word. Presumably, you are no exception."

"Let me tell you something as well. I am a dignified Senator of Great Song; how could I break my word?" Xu Ke chuckled. "Forget a mere villainous young master from the Wei Duke's clan—even if it were the Wei Duke himself, taking his head would be as easy as turning my hand."

"Good. With these words from you, Sir, I am at ease."

Xu Ke immediately requested the names of mother and daughter, their original residence, the name of the villainous young master, and a series of other details. He had someone record everything in a ledger and showed it to Liu Sha to verify its accuracy, then dispatched it to "Center" for action.

"Now, let us discuss Mr. Le." This was the person Xu Ke was most eager to learn about.

"His surname is not Le, but Zhou." Liu Sha revealed crucial information in his very first sentence.

"Surnamed Zhou? What is his full name?"

"Heh, it's quite peculiar." Liu Sha said, "He's called Zhou Lezhi."

"A fine name." Xu Ke remarked. "What's peculiar about it?"

"Originally he wasn't called Zhou Lezhi. Only after a certain day did he become Zhou Lezhi."

Xu Ke didn't immediately grasp his meaning. "What do you mean by that?"

"The current Zhou Lezhi is not the original Zhou Lezhi, but Zhou Lezhi's apprentice. Later, Zhou Lezhi disappeared, and the apprentice became Zhou Lezhi."

"Damn—isn't that inheriting a name? We don't have that tradition!" Xu Ke thought, then asked aloud, "So what of it?"

"The current Zhou Lezhi inherited his master's mantle." Liu Sha spoke with a visible shudder. "These two, master and apprentice, looked nothing alike originally. But in recent years, one increasingly feels the two have become indistinguishable..."

"Explain more clearly." Xu Ke said. "What is the background of this original Zhou Lezhi, and how did the new one come about?"

Liu Sha smiled bitterly. "What I know is limited. I arrived later than they did. Most of what I know about them came from others' accounts."

He then roughly recounted how the master and apprentice Zhou Lezhi had come to the Wang mansion. Most of these details he had heard from Liu Zhao, Jin Wenchi, and others.

The more Xu Ke listened, the more astonished he became. From this description, the "Old Zhou Lezhi" very likely was an accidental transmigrator like Hei'er. The accounts concerning him contained numerous supernatural elements—"flying heads in the sky" and such could perhaps be dismissed—but the crucial point was that "New Zhou Lezhi" had originally been merely a young lad with a few years of rural education near Guangzhou. Under his master's tutelage, his learning had advanced by leaps and bounds. Most critically, Leng Ningyun had stated with certainty that "Mr. Le's" thinking was unlike any scholar of this spacetime.

Could "body possession" or "soul transmigration" truly exist in this world? Then again, hadn't they themselves transmigrated from another spacetime...

His materialistic worldview began to waver, but ultimately pure rationality prevailed. All of this was merely hearsay through Liu Zhao—it wasn't impossible that Wang Yehao had fabricated these tales to deceive people. But one thing was certain: this Zhou Lezhi, whether new or old, was definitely connected to the old spacetime.

"This Zhou Lezhi is truly an extraordinary figure!" Xu Ke exclaimed. "I originally assumed he was merely an ordinary strategist, yet he conceals such profound depths within!"

"Indeed, everyone around Stone Elder admires him greatly." Liu Sha said. "Master Wang claims he understands the Australians' thinking as clearly as the palm of his own hand."

Xu Ke nodded slightly, calculating inwardly. This confession was extraordinarily valuable—even more valuable than the Stone Elder group itself! This Liu Sha was a rare prize worth hoarding!

"Could this Mr. Zhou be the 'Daoist Furnace Stone' mentioned in the correspondence?"

"Yes, that's precisely him." Liu Sha confirmed. "Everyone around Stone Elder uses 'Daoist [Something]-Stone' as a code name."

"You are Daoist Wood-Stone, he is Daoist Furnace Stone. Who else is there?"

"The personal assistant at Master Wang's side who specializes in handling matters under Stone Elder's name is called Jin Wenchi—he is Daoist Gold Stone. There may be others, but I'm not aware of them."

"Do all these people reside within the Wang mansion?"

"Naturally not. Except for Daoist Gold Stone, each has their own separate lodging. They never mobilize unless there's a specific need. Someone mediates contact, and they meet at designated locations to discuss matters. Unless it's urgent, they don't visit the Wang mansion either."

Xu Ke nodded to himself. These practices bore quite the hallmarks of modern clandestine tradecraft. Wang's organization operated through single-line contacts with no lateral communication between operatives. This way, even if a major figure was captured, they couldn't provide much intelligence.

The key point was that this was still Ming Dynasty-controlled territory! The Stone Elder group's caution was remarkable.

"Who was the person you killed?"

"He was one of Master Wang's trusted aides, named Wang Liang."

"He knew your lodging in Tongzhou?"

"Yes. He was usually the one who contacted me."

"You killed this man because he discovered your intentions?"

"Precisely. I originally wanted to buy his silence with silver, but he refused both enticement and threats. I had no choice but to eliminate him." Liu Sha said resentfully, "But he was already on his guard!"

Xu Ke was already familiar with these details. Asking again now served to check for inconsistencies against the earlier confession.

"Did this Wang Liang know Zhou Lezhi?"

"He did. He was an old retainer at Master Wang's side."

"Do you know Zhou Lezhi's whereabouts?"