Star Trace Gate

Supply depot.

Seeing that Ren Ye looked completely bewildered, Lord Chu hurriedly took out a secret letter from his sleeve and said urgently, "This was written by the young marquis. Take a look for yourself."

Ren Ye took the letter and eagerly unfolded it, but after only glancing at it, he cursed, "This is all Jiuli ancient script! How many words can I understand?! Read it to me!"

"Sigh... I really can't understand it. With your limited knowledge, how can you lead us peerless geniuses?"

Master Chu revealed a disdainful expression towards the illiterate man, took back the letter, and read aloud: "Three things. First, last night I successfully infiltrated Yangxin Xiaozhu, only to find that Niu Dali's personal guards were hiding in the study. The exact number is unknown, but their movements were extremely secretive. They even went out to fetch food late at night, which shows how cautious they were. I estimate that apart from Niu Dali and his trusted confidants, no one else knows that these people are hiding in the study. Second, if a huge amount of Star Source is indeed hidden here, then it must have already been obtained by Niu Dali. Be prepared... I was not exposed when I infiltrated, and I left cleanly. I am currently safe."

"Secondly, after I left Yangxin Xiaozhu, I kept thinking about how this news was leaked. Then I realized that after Niu Dali was ambushed in Du Village, he didn't rush back. Instead, he took out a special spirit communication jade disc and contacted a mysterious person. He himself said that he went to Du Village not to obey orders to go to Tianzhao City, but to wait for a good opportunity to suddenly return to Beifeng Town. In other words, Tianzhao Temple had agreed to his request, even cooperated with him, that he didn't need to return for the time being, and could just pretend to have left Beifeng Town. He was able to do this because there was a big shot in Tianzhao Temple speaking on his behalf... This news was revealed to me by him when he was overjoyed after surviving the ordeal."

"Therefore, I deduce that there must be someone behind Niu Dali who is secretly in charge of things, and that this person is of very high status, capable of influencing the decisions of Tianzhao Temple, and also very familiar with Beifeng Town. It is even possible that he is secretly hiding in the town, but his whereabouts are unknown to others."

"Third, on the morning you infiltrated the prison, Niu Dali left his room alone, dressed in a bathrobe and with disheveled hair, heading to the backyard. I stayed up all night worrying about your safety, and then I happened to witness this scene... After Niu Dali arrived at the backyard, a large, indistinct black-haired spirit cat appeared. It flashed past over the wall, and I didn't see it clearly, but Niu Dali bowed to it quite respectfully."

"Based on the second point, I believe that this spirit cat is very likely the spirit beast that delivers messages to Niu Dali on behalf of the person in charge. This matter is very important, and you can investigate it in secret."

When Ren heard this, he paused for a moment before asking, "Is it over?"

"Yes, the letter only mentioned these three things." As Master Chu replied, he casually burned the letter.

Ren lowered his head in deep thought, cursing with a slightly pained expression, "The person in charge behind the scenes, the cunning cat darting over the wall at night... what the hell is all this about!"

Master Chu bent down to sit, his brows slightly furrowed, and asked, "Do you think it's possible that Wang Anquan is just playing tricks on us?"

"What do you mean by that?" Ren Ye turned to look at him.

"Look, Wang Anquan is already in dire straits, there's no doubt about that. After you infiltrated the Heavenly Prison, he told you the location of the hidden Star Source, but according to your description... when the two of you met, there were no outsiders present, and the young marquis is definitely not exposed, otherwise there would be no chance to send the letter. So how exactly did Niu Dali know the whereabouts of the Star Source? Even a sixth-rank diviner couldn't possibly predict that accurately, could he?"

"Do you think it's possible that Wang Anquan sold the information about Xingyuan's whereabouts to both parties? He told you, and he also secretly told Niu Dali. If that's the case, you'll definitely send someone to verify Xingyuan's hiding place and the exact amount; while Niu Dali can use this to his advantage, setting up an ambush at Yangxin Xiaozhu, waiting for you or your men to appear, then capturing you in one fell swoop, and then following the clues to completely eliminate the Divine Court spies hiding in Beifeng Town. If this succeeds, it will be an absolute huge achievement for Niu Dali, not only dispelling the Tianzhao Temple's previous suspicions about him, but also allowing him to advance further. And Wang Anquan, by providing him with such important information, can naturally exchange it for the safety of his family. This is truly a win-win situation...!"

Master Chu's analysis was thorough and logically sound.

After listening, Ren thought about it carefully for a quarter of an hour before decisively shaking his head: "No, Wang Anquan would never do that."

"Why are you so sure?" Master Chu asked, puzzled.

“If Wang Anquan were an ordinary person, your guess would be perfectly correct. But the key is, he’s not an ordinary person; he’s a seasoned veteran of the officialdom… Such a person has an extremely clear understanding of his own worth and his situation. He understands all too well that after his second rebellion, he can no longer be used by Tianzhao Temple as a successful example of defection, nor will he become the whip that can slap the Divine Court in the face. On the contrary, he will definitely be a disgrace to Tianzhao Temple, an ungrateful wretch who must be killed…!” Ren Ye frowned slightly, analyzing in an extremely calm tone: “Therefore, if Wang Anquan wants to survive and protect his family, he absolutely cannot place his hopes on someone like Niu Dali, nor can he expect Tianzhao Temple to show mercy. Instead, he must possess absolute value in maneuvering and negotiation.”

"Look, Wang Anquan hasn't been executed yet because he still holds two valuable assets. First, Moro's failed assassination attempt on Niu Dali effectively cleared him of suspicion, indirectly proving he wasn't the one who stole the Star Source. Niu Dali himself knows that Lu Zhao's death was related to Moro, which means Moro wasn't the one who stole the Star Source either, so… he began to suspect Wang Anquan was behind it. He wanted to help Tianzhao Temple recover the Star Source and atone for his crimes, which is why he hasn't executed the Wang family or Wang Anquan himself yet, and reluctantly agreed to have Master He Hong come to Beifeng Town. Second, the female corpse appeared in the Red Mansion and helped Wang Anquan rescue his eldest son, Wenping. Therefore, Tianzhao Temple suspects there are still spies from the Divine Court lurking in Beifeng Town, and Wang Anquan must know about it. So, they want Niu Dali to interrogate her and find the Divine Court spies, to capture them all in one fell swoop."

"In this case, if Wang Anquan tells Niu Dali the location of Xingyuan's hiding place and then helps him to lure out the Divine Court's spies, it would be tantamount to suicide. Because in that instant, Wang Anquan would lose all his value and would have no bargaining power for further maneuvering and negotiation... He would surely die, and his family would become the target of Tianzhao Temple's revenge."

Ren Ye walked confidently, his gaze unwavering, and said, "Wang Anquan has served as an official for many years, and naturally he has a deep understanding of the intrigues and power struggles in the court... Therefore, he would absolutely not hand over his life-saving charm so easily."

Chu Daoye carefully considered Ren Ye's words, then instantly changed his mind: "That makes sense. Your speculation is more comprehensive than I thought. You're a natural at playing power games... No wonder you received the Human Emperor's inheritance."

"Stop licking, I'm not in the mood right now... You won't get full even if I give it to you." Ren waved his hand with a hint of melancholy, then muttered softly, "What is the connection between the person in charge behind this, and the spirit cat that jumped onto the wall? Could it be related to the legend of the spirit cat?"

"What legend of the spirit cat?" Master Chu had never heard of this before, so he asked with great curiosity.

“I don’t know much about this legend either, but when Wang Anquan asked me to help him rescue his son, he mentioned it to me… The day before Wenping was kidnapped, he kept saying that he had seen a spirit cat and led a group of children from the garrison compound to chase it to the wilderness… which terrified Wang Anquan.” Ren Ye narrated softly, “Later, when Wenping was really kidnapped, he mentioned this to me… because he suspected that it was Yu Tiange’s people playing tricks…!”

"But now that I think about it, this matter is probably not that simple. And based on some things I've experienced in the Red Mansion... Yu Tiange's people probably have nothing to do with the Spirit Cat."

He walked to the table, slowly picked up his teacup, and said, "We need to figure out the origin of this spirit cat first, and then think about what comes next. According to Wang Anquan's description, even his ten-year-old son knows about the spirit cat legend... that means the locals should be very familiar with this legend...!"

Upon hearing this, Master Chu cleverly replied, "How about I go find your loyal lackey and ask him if he knows the Legend of the Spirit Cat... If he doesn't, I can ask him to inquire about it for me."

“Good idea.” Ren readily agreed: “Go ahead, tell my brother Liu to stop... The situation in Beifeng Town is so complicated right now, and at a critical moment, I might still need his thousand or so monk soldiers. If he really dies in the Embroidery Courtyard... that would be such a waste.”

"Okay, I'll go find him now. You wait for my news."

……

After noon, Liu Wei, the commander of the cooks, swaggered into the supply depot with Chu Daoye.

Ever since Little Bad King revealed his identity as the successor of the Divine Monk, Brother Liu Wei has stopped pretending. He's laid his cards on the table; he wants to be the Divine Monk's number one lackey. Before, when he met with Little Monk Zhenyi, he had to be secretive and discreet, afraid that the military faction he belonged to would think he was a fence-sitter with no principles.

But now he was no longer afraid, and firmly believed that sucking up to anyone else was not as promising as sucking up to the direct disciple of the Divine Monk. Moreover, the origin of his cooks' lineage was inextricably linked to the Divine Monk, so in that respect alone, they could be considered family.

With these two connections, Liu Wei would naturally take Ren Ye's instructions very seriously. To put it bluntly, if the Little Bad King were to ask him to take a knife and chop Moro, he probably wouldn't hesitate at all.

The baggage depot, the inner hall.

Ren Ye personally poured Liu Wei a cup of tea, then asked in a low voice, "Old Chu told you everything, right?!"

"Lord Chu has already told me, my lord!" Liu Wei, who was good at managing upwards, smoothly addressed Zhenyi as a retainer.

The title "Lord" almost made the little rascal climax. His face flushed slightly: "You and I are brothers, there's no need to address each other as 'Lord'."

"It is my great fortune that you recognize me as a brother. But in this officialdom, there is a distinction between superiors and inferiors." Liu Wei chuckled, "When there are no outsiders, I will call you elder brother... but when there are outsiders, I will address you as my lord."

"Okay, whatever makes you happy." The little rascal didn't dwell on it anymore, and quickly asked, "Do you know anything about the legend of the spirit cat in Northwind Town?"

Upon hearing that the other party was getting down to business, Liu Wei's expression turned serious. He said, "I've only been in Beifeng Town for a short time, less than a month in total... so I hadn't heard of any legend about the spirit cat before. But when Master Chu came to me this morning, I called over a few old men who serve my cooks and inquired with them, and learned the details of the legend about the spirit cat."

"Tell me about it." Ren nodded.

"Actually, this legend of the spirit cat is more like a folk tale, with a bit of a fictionalized flavor." Liu Wei cleared his throat and then explained in detail: "It is said that decades ago, on the banks of the Youshui River outside Beifeng Town, there was a spirit cat with a huge body, shaped like a tiger or leopard, and covered in black fur. Because it drank the Youshui River for a long time and absorbed the spiritual energy within, it became intelligent and enlightened, and became a first-grade alien spirit beast."

"Because this spirit cat drinks from the dark, swirling water year-round, the local people believe it carries an evil aura. Wherever it goes, the water freezes into black ice, a symbol of misfortune and evil. Furthermore, every night, the strange phenomenon of the spirit cat swallowing the moon often appears in this desolate wilderness. Some say that the spirit cat, using the power of the dark water, has lingered around the riverbank for decades, devouring the evil energy of the place while digging up graves and feeding on corpses. As a result, its cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, and it has long since become a monster capable of taking human form."