Star Trace Gate

Chapter 953 Lord Wang's New Advisor, Further Exploring the Kyuji

"He's not someone I can work with?! You might as well just say I'm already on my deathbed..." Wang Anquan listened to Ren Ye's reply, his heart filled with despair.

“Haven’t you noticed that Yu Tiange is an extremely confident and domineering person? In some matters, he only believes what he sees and follows his own judgment. No matter what others say, it’s useless to him.” Ren Ye was forced to look down at Wang Anquan and gently reached out to help him up. “He has already planned everything for the trip to Beifeng Town. Even if I reveal my identity to him and try to dissuade him in person… it will absolutely not change his mind, much less help you get your son back… it might even provoke his rebellious mentality and give you an unexpected threat.”

Wang Anquan wasn't stupid; he knew Ren Ye was right and his judgment was accurate. Because that was also the impression Yu Tiange gave him: confident and arrogant, yet resolute and unwilling to be refuted.

What Lao Wang didn't know was that Ren Ye's refusal to come forward wasn't just because of Yu Tiange's autocratic personality, but also because of other deeper considerations.

For Ren Ye, this mission to Beifeng Town was merely one link in the Heavenly Grace Order's quest, a stage in the story. He would continue his undercover work at Tianzhao Temple, continuing to contribute his strength to the Fulong Pavilion and the Order Game in the capital, posing as the young monk Zhenyi…

In other words, what he needs to do most right now is to protect his identity and ensure that he doesn't leave any clues that could expose him during each stage of his mission. Only in this way can he remain hidden for a long time and successfully complete the final chapter of the Heavenly Grace Order.

Revealing his identity directly to Yu Tiange would mean exposing his female corpse and also revealing that the Fulong Pavilion has a top-tier spy currently lurking in Beifeng Town. Furthermore, he would need to maintain frequent contact and discussions with Yu Tiange to jointly accomplish their respective tasks.

In this way, the identity of the alien female corpse could very well be discovered by the Martial Monk Supervision Office, the Inner Court, or even the Tianzhao Temple during the cooperation between the two sides, leading to a covert investigation that could eventually uncover Ren Ye's true identity. Furthermore, over time, Yu Tiange and his group might also realize that the female corpse is merely a manipulated puppet, thus testing Ren Ye's true identity…

It's important to understand that Yu Tiange and his group might just pack up and leave after completing their mission in Beifeng Town, heading off to Tiandu to have some fun. But Ren Ye would be spending a long time in Tianzhao Temple. Once the higher-ups find out that there was a Fulong Pavilion spy in Beifeng Town, Ren Ye will face endless investigations, surveillance, and schemes against him... it's impossible to guard against them all.

Are Yu Tiange's group tight-lipped? After completing their mission, did the team members casually mention to others that there was an undercover agent in Beifeng Town? And did they report this to the First Prince? They definitely would. And when they did report it, were there other important officials with the First Prince...?!

These are all highly likely scenarios, and none of them can be prevented. Furthermore, Yu Tiange's personality is completely different from Ren Ye's style of doing things, which is why he decided not to risk meeting him; otherwise, he might inadvertently get himself into trouble…

Most importantly, if he were to be exposed, the young marquis would be beyond saving, and the patriarch would also be implicated... As everyone knows, the little rascal is someone who never betrays his close friends, so naturally he wouldn't actively lead them into a pit of fire.

However, after careful consideration, he did not mind serving as Wang Anquan's private advisor, manipulating the situation behind the scenes, secretly helping Yu Tiange succeed, and incidentally completing his own tasks.

After all, although Wang Anquan was slick and experienced, Ren Ye felt that he was very intelligent, patient, and shrewd. In short, he seemed more reliable than Yu Tiange.

Behind the screen, after helping Wang Anquan up, Ren said in a low voice, "Although I can't help you deal with this, I can promise you one thing."

“If we don’t get our son back, nothing else matters…!” Wang Anquan replied listlessly, his face pale.

"What I want to talk about is your son's matter." Ren Ye looked at him with a solemn expression and said, word by word, "You can follow Yu Tiange's request for now, but at the critical moment, I can find a way to help you rescue your son in secret... provided that it does not affect the overall situation or what I want to do."

Upon hearing this, Wang Anquan's eyes regained some luster: "You have a way to save my son?!"

"This matter is difficult in some ways, but easy in others." Ren Ye looked at him and said in a low voice, "Didn't I say before that there were eight of them? He can use your son to threaten you, so why can't you find his brother, use a little trick to capture him, and then exchange him for your son?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Anquan felt a chill run down his spine and said, "That's right, that's right! He has accomplices outside. If I can find them, I'll have a chance to deal with them."

"Don't get agitated yet." Ren Ye waved his hand, frowning as he reminded him, "Although Yu Tiange is confident and arrogant, he's not stupid. Since he has already made detailed plans for the trip to Beifeng Town, he naturally won't let you find his accomplices so easily. Moreover, we need to observe whether these accomplices are as valuable to him as your son... Therefore, this matter needs to be considered carefully and can be considered as an alternative plan."

"Yes, yes, you're right." Wang Anquan's hope was rekindled by Ren Ye's words, and he felt that the young woman in front of him really gave people a sense of composure in the face of adversity, like a gentle, warm stream flowing out, very soothing and comforting.

He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked bluntly, "So what should I do next? Should I just do what he said about the three requirements? But this is really a risky move! Others may not know Niu Dali, but I know him better than his father. On the surface, he seems rough, vulgar, and cruel, but in reality, he is extremely cunning and meticulous. You can tell from the fact that he deliberately made me take the blame at the welcoming banquet... This person is not simple, and he is definitely not as easy to deal with as Yu Tiange thought."

“You should do as Yu Tiange asks first, and then wait for him to fully reveal his plan before I slowly figure out how to improve it.” Ren Ye frowned slightly and said, “Although he acts arrogantly and directly, he must have a complete plan. We shouldn’t try to go against him, otherwise, before we even start doing this, the three of us will be fighting amongst ourselves every day… How can that end well? It will inevitably result in total annihilation.”

“No matter what, Yu Tiange is still the Crown Prince’s man, a spy loyal to order and the Divine Court. He has almost no chance of betraying us. So, we should not oppose his plans, but instead try to help him perfect them and do our best to help him succeed.”

"But this kind of assistance is by no means without principles. On certain matters that must be insisted upon, you must be resolute and not back down." Ren Ye then said the most important sentence at the right time: "Especially Jiu Zhi. Didn't he say that he wants to see Jiu Zhi tomorrow? The intention is very clear. He definitely wants to take this person away. But you must not easily hand over Jiu Zhi... I'll say it again, this person is a serious criminal that the Divine Monk's Mansion must capture. There are countless people watching him in secret. If you easily hand him over, you might alert the enemy. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Anquan said with a strange expression, "I think you're one of the people secretly watching Jiu Zhi, aren't you? You're afraid that if I hand over Jiu Zhi, Yu Tiange will easily take him away, and then you won't be able to explain yourself to the Second Prince, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Ye immediately straightened his face and replied, "I've noticed that you really lack emotional intelligence. You always say things that are very utilitarian, even when the atmosphere is pleasant. No wonder they wanted to kidnap your son; you definitely deserve to be taught a lesson. It really proves the old saying: every person who flaunts their arrogance has never been taken advantage of without a reason, nor are they innocent...!"

"...Could you please not bring up such hurtful topics when I'm missing my son?!" Wang Anquan retorted with a sidelong glance.

Seeing that his mood had improved, Ren Ye had no intention of continuing to comfort him and simply asked calmly, "Can you meet the three requirements he mentioned?"

“His three requests aren’t difficult; the challenge lies in how to proceed afterward.” Wang Anquan pondered for a moment: “Investigating Niu Dali’s habits and the situation in the Nanshan Illusionary Realm can be done in a day. After all, I am, in name only, the garrison commander of Beifeng Town…!”

"That's good. Let's do as he says for now, and then we'll see what his plan is later." Ren nodded slightly.

"Hmm... What if he insists on seeing Jiuzhi tomorrow?" Wang Anquan asked again.

“You can let him see me, but you absolutely cannot give him the person.” Ren also smiled. “I’m helping you save your son, so you have to keep Jiuzhi for me. That’s what we agreed on. Besides, my earlier guess should be right. There must be many people watching Jiuzhi. Don’t make any rash moves against him until things are about to settle down… otherwise, you might really alert them…!”

“I agree with your idea.” Wang Anquan immediately thought of Wang Tudou, and then said softly, “As far as I know, there are at least two groups of people watching Jiuzhi.”

“That’s it.” Ren also responded, “Ignore his existence for now and see what Yu Tiange’s real plan is.”

"it is good."

"Alright, that's enough for today. I'm going back now." Ren felt they had talked enough and then prepared to leave.

Looking at her slender figure, Wang Anquan hesitated for a long time before politely inviting her, "It's quite late now, why don't you stay here...!"

"Huh?!" Ren Ye was instantly dumbfounded: "Lord Wang... what do you mean? Let me tell you clearly, if you want me to stay here, just giving me Jiu Zhi is definitely not enough, we need to talk some more...!"

Wang Anquan was stunned when he heard this: "The rumors are true. People from the Fulong Pavilion are really willing to sacrifice anything to complete their missions."

Holy crap, he really wants to keep me here?! Ren Ye was so scared that his anus tightened.

Wang Anquan waved his hand: "What I mean is, it's very late now, there are many patrolling monks on the street, and the security is tight... You might as well stay here for the night and leave tomorrow, it will be safer."

"No need, I prefer to stay in a place I'm familiar with." Ren Ye politely declined, "Just take me to a quiet courtyard, I can walk by myself."

"Alright," Wang Anquan replied, then led Ren Ye out of the tea room. "If anything urgent happens later, I'll hang a lantern to remind you. Please pay attention...!"

……

Nothing was said that night, and the next morning...

After Ren and Chu Daoye washed up and had breakfast, they went to the main hall of the supply depot to carry out their duties, where they saw a group of civil officials gathered together discussing gossip.

Curious, the two casually inquired and learned that the gossip the civil officials were discussing was related to Lu Zhao.

A meddlesome civil official said that he went to the martial monks' residence early this morning to deliver official documents, and on the way, he saw a group of monk soldiers surrounding a house on Fulin Street. Curious, he inquired and learned that Lu Zhao, the commander of Niu Dali's personal guard, had mysteriously disappeared within the city…

It's important to understand that the commander of the Imperial Guard Battalion is one of the highest-ranking military officers in North Wind Town. For such a person to suddenly disappear is absolutely explosive news for the town's officials. Its shock value is no less than that of a deputy mayor or bureau chief getting lost on their way home from get off work.

While a group of civil officials were gossiping and discussing the matter, Ren Ye and Master Chu, who already knew the inside story, were secretly overjoyed. They were eagerly awaiting the reaction of the various factions in Beifeng Town after the case of Lu Zhao's disappearance was reopened.

Therefore, after learning of this news, Ren only went through the motions of handling official business in the morning, and then secretly asked Master Chu to inform Liu Wei and ask him to help secretly find out the preliminary investigation results of the Martial Monk Supervisory Office regarding Lu Zhao's disappearance.