The stableman trembled, black blood trickling from his mouth.
Duan Hu: Lord Dao, this is my carelessness.
They had put in so much effort, painstakingly finding the spy, only to lose him immediately.
Niu You Dao immediately cast aside the items on the floor and placed them under the dead man's neck to prevent the blood from seeping down. Then, looking at Duan Hu, he said:
— There is no fault of yours here. Who could have known he would turn out to be a deathsworn agent... However, be more careful next time.
— Understood! — Duan Hu nodded awkwardly.
Niu You Dao surveyed the room and then said:
— Examine everything here. Don't miss a single detail. Just remember the sequence!
— Understood! — Duan Hu immediately began searching through everything.
Niu You Dao was not idle either. He calmly roamed the room, checking everything. Overhead, he noticed birdcages and began inspecting them.
Duan Hu flipped over the bed, noticing a piece of paper under the mattress. He unfolded it, astonished.
— Lord Dao, look!
Niu You Dao, who had been squatting beside the stableman, raised his head and took the image into his hands. His eyes immediately narrowed as he gazed at it. He slowly stood and asked:
— Does it resemble me?
Duan Hu: Very much so. Especially the hairstyle.
Niu You Dao scrutinized the portrait. He himself was skilled in drawing portraits and knew that the portrait had definitely been painted by a master of the art. Looking at the paper, he realized it wasn't a hand-drawn portrait, but a printed one!
Watching the blood slowly spread, Niu You Dao murmured:
— No need to search further. Put everything back as it was, dispose of the body, and clean up this place thoroughly. Then change your clothes and return to that post station. Bribe a stableman there and ask about this person: who he is and where he came from.
— Alright! — Duan Hu nodded.
Niu You Dao took the portrait and exited through the window. While no one was outside, he vanished into the mountain forest.
When he returned to Yuan Fang and Hei Mudan, Hei Mudan immediately asked:
— Lord Dao, how was it?
Niu You Dao took out the portrait and handed it to them.
Hei Mudan unrolled the portrait, while Yuan Fang approached and looked at it. Upon seeing the image, they immediately exchanged glances.
— Lord Dao, was this obtained from the post station? — Yuan Fang immediately asked.
Niu You Dao, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, was already lost in thought.
Although he had harbored doubts before, seeing this image at the post station confirmed his suspicions. Consequently, serious thoughts began to form in his mind.
It was a print! And prints are not made for a small number of images. This meant his portrait had been printed in large quantities. And this, in turn, meant that someone was seriously targeting him and very much wanted to capture him!
Then there was that stableman, who turned out to be a deathsworn agent. Deathsworn agents are divided into two types: the first are those who charge into battle, leading the vanguard to their death; the second are those who go to their death but will not betray secrets!
He had no enemies in the Zhao Kingdom, which meant he was targeted either by the Yan Imperial Court or the Song Family!
Or perhaps both. This could have been learned from that deathsworn agent.
The Song Family could send cultivators after him, but not deathsworn agents and secret operatives!
A few days ago, he had still wondered how he could have been discovered in another kingdom. The Song Family certainly held power in the Yan Kingdom, but extending their influence to another kingdom was quite difficult for them. It exceeded the Song Family's capabilities!
In the end, all the threads led to one conclusion, and the answer was already on the tip of his tongue. It was the secret operatives of the Yan Imperial Court!
Such a large number of Niu You Dao's portraits meant that the Yan Imperial Court had cast its nets wide and was determined to capture him, to kill him, of course! This was the consequence of assassinating the Yan Kingdom's envoy!
However, he no longer doubted that the Song Family was not the one who ordered the hit. This also explained why the client hadn't contacted the Liuxiang Sect and others.
As for the portrait, Niu You Dao still didn't know how the Liuxiang Sect had obtained it. Perhaps the Song Family had passed it to them, or they had possessed a similar portrait. Maybe the Song Family had asked the Imperial Court to launch such a large-scale search, or perhaps the Imperial Court itself had obtained the portrait from the Song Family.
When Lei Zong Kang, Duan Hu, and the others arrived, Duan Hu dismounted and reported to Niu You Dao:
— Lord Dao, I gave a few gold coins to a stableman and asked about the deathsworn agent. His name was Zhao Da. He was a local stableman who trained horses. He had found favor with a landlord, who helped him become a stableman, which is why he arrived at the post station over ten days ago.
— Over ten days ago... — Niu You Dao murmured, then said:
— The map!
The others were already accustomed to retrieving the map. Yuan Fang took out the map, and he and Duan Hu spread it out before Niu You Dao.
Niu You Dao looked at the map. He gazed at the network of post stations and thought that perhaps he had simply stumbled upon a post station that happened to have his print. However, he knew it was a deception. He merely wished it were so.
He didn't know if his portrait was present in all post stations throughout the Zhao Kingdom. And was this web spread across all states? He couldn't accurately gauge the true strength of a single kingdom, which made him worried. After all, they needed to make their way into the Han Kingdom.
He could, of course, avoid post stations or disguise himself, but constantly hiding like that was not a solution. And it was still unknown how many of his portraits had spread across all the kingdoms. He couldn't keep hiding indefinitely, which filled his heart with sorrow.
— Duan Hu, Wu San Liang, Lei Zong Kang. — Niu You Dao called out to them, pointing at the map:
— The three of you, disguise yourselves and take these three roads from this fork. Along the way, visit every post station, bribe stablemen, and inquire about new stablemen similar to Zhao Da. Mark the post stations on the map. In three days, at this time, we will meet here!
He still didn't believe that they would be waiting for him at every post station. After all, that would require immense resources, and the world was vast. Take the Zhao Kingdom, for example, it was enormous.
The three men didn't understand what he intended to do, but they cupped their hands and said:
— Understood!
Niu You Dao: Don't be stingy on the way, and change horses often. Set off now!
— Understood! — the three men replied.
They immediately altered their appearance, then mounted their horses and galloped out of the mountain forest. Upon reaching the fork, the three men split up, each heading in his own direction.
Niu You Dao, meanwhile, did not remain in the same spot. He began to delve deeper into the mountain forest...
Chizhou City, Chuan Residence, study room.
Chuan Shao Kang sat with a displeased expression.
— Any more news?
A stableman from one of the post stations had suddenly disappeared. He had left, but hadn't returned, and he wasn't seen at home. From the outside, it might seem like a simple disappearance. However, everyone here was alarmed, for they all knew the man's true identity.
Chuan Qiao, the Chuan Residence's steward:
— The post station is looking for him. They say perhaps he got lost in the mountains.
Chuan Shao Kang: He just sent us news and immediately vanished? Isn't that too much of a coincidence?
Chuan Qiao said doubtfully:
— He was only responsible for sending information and couldn't take on other duties. Among all the post stations, how could Niu You Dao have identified him? That's unlikely!
Chuan Shao Kang slowly stood up:
— It's hard to say. This Niu You Dao is not simple. As soon as I ordered a hit on him from Flowing Clouds Mountain, he managed to use his power to force Flowing Clouds Mountain to retreat and even compensate for damages. From seeing a part, one can infer the whole. Secondly, he appeared at that very same post station and identified the same informant. This is already suspicious!
He stepped out from behind the desk, hands clasped behind his back, and slowly paced the study, but then suddenly stopped:
— We must ensure security. Immediately inform everyone on similar assignments not to expose themselves. For now, tell them to do nothing and wait!
Chuan Qiao: What about the higher-ups...
Chuan Shao Kang: Execute! I will explain it to them myself...
— Understood! — Chuan Qiao replied.
Three days later, at the designated location.
In a certain gorge, Niu You Dao sent Hei Mudan to meet Duan Hu and the others, while he himself turned to Yuan Fang:
— I'll go to another spot to observe. You hide behind the road and watch them, to see if they've brought anyone with them. If there's no one, then go to the back of the gorge and light the kindling I gathered yesterday, and only then meet them. If there is someone, you don't need to return; go straight to this spot instead. We'll meet there. — Niu You Dao pointed to a specific location.
— Alright! — Yuan Fang understood him. He nodded and immediately departed.
Niu You Dao looked around, then vanished among the mountain forest.
Hei Mudan met her companions and led them back. But there was no one left in the gorge. They began to search for Niu You Dao everywhere.
Hei Mudan even began shouting: "Lord Dao, Lord Dao..."
After a while, Yuan Fang's voice rang out:
— Why are you shouting? Lord Dao has matters to attend to. He will return soon.
The others turned their heads and saw Yuan Fang emerge from the mountain forest.
After a moment, Wu San Liang pointed towards the back of the gorge:
— Look quickly! There's smoke.
The others looked there and saw a pillar of smoke rising upwards. Everyone immediately rushed towards it.
When they reached the back of the gorge, they saw that a bonfire had been lit, but no one was there.
A moment later, Niu You Dao appeared. He brought a washed and cleaned pheasant and a wild rabbit that he had caught in the mountains. Handing them to Hei Mudan, he said:
— Roast them. Everyone has worked hard, now we can eat.