Chapter Fourteen: Has the Plan Failed?

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Just as the fish Ren Ye had been waiting for in Spring Fragrance Garden took the bait, he was in the consort’s bedchamber.

Once again, he emerged with one hand braced against the wall, his entire body slick with cold sweat.

Ren Ye was wearing nothing but a pair of pink underpants. Though every muscle in his body ached with exhaustion, his professional spirit remained undiminished as he asked, “My… my beloved consort, was my performance today better than yesterday?”

Within the gauze curtains, the consort’s graceful figure was faintly visible. Her voice was cool and detached.

“...Unremarkable.”

What? An entire hour still wasn’t enough? This woman was insatiable.

Ren Ye cursed inwardly, then shamelessly made another request. “Yesterday, after returning to my chambers, I was dizzy and weak. Do you happen to have any miraculous pills you could spare me? I could use them to restore my health and ensure your satisfaction, my beloved consort.”

“None.” The consort refused without hesitation.

Damn it, she really intended to freeload, didn’t she? One hour every day, without supplements or payment, squeezing him dry and then dismissing his performance as “unremarkable”?

Even the people running the border camps weren’t as black-hearted as she was!

After a brief silence, the consort reminded him, “The harmony of yin and yang can give birth to all things. When you and I share this chamber, with the formation’s support, the benefits are mutual. If you carefully perceive the mysteries of the two energies, you will gain much from it as well.”

Enough with the empty promises.

Ren Ye was a practical man. Being drained of his Heavenly Absolution energy like this surely meant he was suffering a tremendous loss. He had to find some way to extort something more from her.

“Bang, bang...!”

At that moment, Lian’er’s voice came from outside the hall.

“Your Highness, this servant has urgent news...!”

Ren Ye froze for a moment. He immediately bade farewell to the consort and hurried away.

After he left, the consort summoned her maid, Xue’er, wrote out an elaborate pill prescription, and personally instructed her, “Follow this prescription and refine the pill here in the hall yourself. Once it is complete, deliver it to Prince Huai.”

Xue’er looked puzzled. “Is His Highness ill?”

“A man blessed by Heaven’s Absolution is entangled in karma. I merely do not wish to become entangled with him any further.” With that indifferent remark, the consort walked barefoot toward the side hall.

...

A quarter of an hour later, in a side room of the Hall of Tranquil Hearts.

Blood ran down Er Leng’s left arm. When Ren Ye entered, he said guiltily, “This subordinate has failed in his duty. I await Your Highness’s punishment.”

On the way there, Lian’er had already given Ren Ye a brief account of what had happened. He knew that tonight’s fishing operation had not been a complete success.

“What happened? Tell me everything.” Ren Ye did not sound angry, but his expression was extremely anxious.

The fishing operation itself had not been complicated, but it had been designed with great care. Only three people knew the truth: Ren Ye, Lian’er, and Er Leng.

That morning, after Er Leng and Lian’er had distributed the gold and treasures, Ren Ye began laying his trap, preparing to draw out the “traitor.”

After last night’s attempt to plant a parasite, the mastermind had certainly learned that their plan had failed and would have grown wary. They probably would not dare act again so soon.

The core of the plan, therefore, had to revolve around the traitor hidden within the inner palace.

First, he had Lian’er monitor every maid and eunuch in the bedchamber, ensuring that none of them left during the day. Then he had her and Er Leng secretly feed different pieces of information to different servants. The hints had to be discreet and indirect, making each recipient feel as though they had uncovered something on their own. Only then would the deception seem convincing.

Moreover, none of the information “accidentally” leaked to them was the same. One servant had seen Lian’er tidying the sleeping quarters in the Hall of Tranquil Hearts. Another had seen Er Leng sneak into the former consort’s chambers and deliver the evening banquet prepared by the kitchen.

In short, each servant witnessed a different version of events from a different angle.

That was what had led to the little eunuch’s risky meeting with Liu Ling’er.

The plan had indeed worked. The little eunuch believed he had obtained crucial intelligence and successfully lured Liu Ling’er into meeting him at Spring Fragrance Garden.

Unfortunately, Er Leng had failed to capture her.

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Inside the side room, the candlelight flickered.

Er Leng gave a detailed account of what had happened. “This subordinate followed the little eunuch to Spring Fragrance Garden. Not long afterward, the culprit appeared. She was a woman dressed in black robes with a black veil covering her face, so I could not see her features. However, the female thief was exceedingly clever. She exchanged only two sentences with the little eunuch before killing him...!”

“She realized immediately that she had been exposed?” Ren Ye asked with a frown.

“Yes.” Er Leng nodded. “I exchanged blows with her, but I did not expect her lightness skill to be so extraordinary. Her concealed-weapon technique was also flawless. If we had fought for more than ten exchanges, she certainly would not have been my match. But she was determined to flee, and I could not stop her...!”

“In other words, you fought her, failed to capture her, and were instead wounded by one of her concealed weapons?” Ren Ye craned his neck toward him.

“That is roughly what happened...!”

“Damn it!” Ren Ye nearly collapsed. “Didn’t you say that beneath the immortal realm you were invincible, and above it you could at least trade one life for one? Where were your abilities? Where was your swift blade? Why didn’t you cut her down?”

“Your Highness does not know the full situation. That female thief’s lightness skill is unparalleled beneath the heavens. Across the entire Great Qian, no more than ten people can surpass her...!”

“All right, all right. Stop praising her.” Ren Ye waved impatiently. “Just say you were useless and be done with it. I might as well have gone myself.”

Er Leng’s expression grew even more ashamed. He meekly echoed, “This subordinate is incompetent. I beg Your Highness to punish me.”

“Forget it. I’ll think of another way.” Rubbing his chin, Ren Ye paced around the side room, his mind racing.

In truth, he did not blame Er Leng. This Star Gate contained supernatural elements, and his Imperial Brush could even replicate any skill. In other words, many things were simply beyond human control.

That woman’s lightness skill had been exceptionally impressive. Could she possess some powerful item?

Ren Ye made his assessment. There was a high chance that the woman was another player. In his memories, Er Leng’s martial strength within the prince’s residence was second to none, and his greatest advantage was his swift blade. Yet that female thief had escaped unscathed from him while previously revealing none of her abilities. It fit the “player” profile perfectly. Since there were ten hidden operatives, it was understandable that some of them possessed unusual methods.

“By the way, Your Highness!” Er Leng suddenly said. “I discovered another important clue.”

“What is it?” Ren Ye turned and asked.

“I grew up in the Southern Frontier, where the vegetation is lush and many unusual medicinal herbs grow. Before I came to the prince’s residence, I often followed my second uncle into the mountains to gather herbs, so my sense of smell is exceptionally keen.” Er Leng slowly rose to his feet. “That woman carried a very distinctive scent. I smelled it once when Your Highness and I visited Radiant Garden, but I did not know where it had come from...!”

“Radiant Garden?”

“Yes.” Er Leng nodded solemnly. “I remember that scent. Even if she hid among a hundred people, I could identify her with ease!”

Ren Ye looked highly suspicious. “Are you exaggerating again?”

“What is exaggeration? Why would I exaggerate it?”

“I mean, are you truly capable of recognizing that woman’s scent?” Ren Ye asked with a frown.

“This subordinate would never deceive Your Highness!” Er Leng bowed.

“Then can you really confirm that this scent appeared in Radiant Garden?”

“Absolutely!”

“...!”

A look of wild delight flashed through Ren Ye’s eyes. He paced around the room once, then lowered his head and muttered, “In other words, she does not know how sensitive your sense of smell is. She also does not know that you can track her down?”

“Your Highness is indeed wise...” Er Leng thought for a long while before expressing his admiration with complete sincerity.

“Enough flattery.” Ren Ye waved him off. His eyes shone as he turned to Er Leng. “If you encounter her again, can you defeat her?”

“I will certainly defeat her.”

“Very well. I’ll trust you one more time.” Ren Ye clasped his hands behind his back and issued his orders. “In a little while, go to Radiant Garden and tell the eunuch in charge that I have been feeling bored lately and wish to summon a group of songstresses for entertainment. Under the pretext of personally selecting them for me, gather every woman in Radiant Garden together. If you find that woman, do not alert anyone. Simply choose a few women at random and bring her along with them.”

“What if she resists on the spot?” Er Leng asked cautiously.

“Then beat the hell out of her, but try to keep her alive.”

Er Leng immediately nodded. “This subordinate obeys. I shall leave at once.”

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With that, he turned and prepared to leave.

After thinking it over several times, Ren Ye suddenly called out, “No, wait. Forget tonight. Go after midnight tomorrow.”

“Why?” Er Leng asked, bewildered. “If we go now, she should be caught unprepared.”

Naturally, Ren Ye could not tell Er Leng that he wanted to manipulate the timing. More than half of his allotted time inside this Star Gate had already passed. By the morning after tomorrow, the seventy-two-hour entry period would be over—and that was a rule he could exploit.

“Go tomorrow.” Ren Ye lowered his voice as he instructed him, “Have Lian’er tend to your wound. I need some time to think about tomorrow’s operation.”

With that, Ren Ye left.

Lian’er looked at Er Leng with disappointment. Pouting, she complained, “You go around all day claiming to be an expert, yet you cannot even handle such a small task for His Highness...!”

Then she picked up the medicine chest and called out, rather unwillingly, “Let me look at the wound on your arm.”

The lamplight swayed. A trace of annoyance flashed through Er Leng’s eyes as he replied coolly, “There is no need to trouble yourself. I can treat it myself.”

Hmm?

Why had this blockhead suddenly changed? He used to do everything possible to be alone with her, taking the opportunity to create all sorts of unspeakable situations...

Hmph. He had probably been so thoroughly scolded by His Highness that he could no longer hold his head high.

Lian’er slammed the medicine chest onto the table and walked away without another word.

...

Tonight’s fishing operation had failed, and Ren Ye was extremely anxious. He had no desire to sleep at all.

After remaining in the Hall of Tranquil Hearts for a while, he could no longer resist going to Spring Fragrance Garden to inspect the scene himself.

It was undeniably risky. If the woman who was possibly a player returned, the two of them would have no choice but to fight to the death.

But as a veteran criminal investigator, Ren Ye always felt that something was missing if he did not personally examine the scene of a crime.

He brought only Lian’er with him. They walked along the dark path, his heart tense as he prepared at any moment to activate the replication ability of his Imperial Brush.

Dead leaves drifted to the ground, branches swayed in the wind, and Spring Fragrance Garden lay in utter silence.

Soon, the two of them reached the “crime scene.” Standing in the shadows, Ren Ye saw that many branches nearby had been broken, while the bluestone ground was cracked and bore clear marks of impact. Their fight must indeed have been fierce.

After walking farther ahead, Ren Ye suddenly noticed two large pools of blood on the ground.

One pool had spread across a wide area, staining the ground red for several yards in every direction and creating a chaotic scene. It was presumably the blood left behind when the little eunuch’s throat had been slit.

His carotid artery had been punctured by a sharp blade, causing the blood to spurt outward. A person’s instinctive reaction in such circumstances would be to cover the wound, so the scattered bloodstains on the ground were perfectly normal. The marks left by Er Leng dragging away the corpse were also unmistakable. Ren Ye had seen scenes like this many times in the real world.

Ren Ye walked more than ten steps forward, then slowly crouched down and examined the second pool of blood.

The blood had fallen in an unusually orderly pattern. It had not spread, and the area it covered was not large.

Hmm?

Something was wrong.

Ren Ye’s brows instantly drew together. He raised his head and looked into the distance.