’Firstly...’
’It’s definitely not possible to just storm into Ning Wangfu and kill that old fox.’
’Even the intelligence gathered by Ming Sect noted that Ning Wangfu is replete with intricate traps and weird formations. It’s certain to have escape tunnels. If I were to rush in there, I might barely make a move before that old fox burrows through an escape route. Even a crafty rabbit has three burrows; having operated in Jiangzhe for twenty or thirty years, God knows how many holes that old fox has dug in secret.’
In the fiery red sunset, Yang Ge stood with his arms crossed atop the low city wall, steadily gazing at the distant Ning Wangfu.
Ning Wangfu was constructed with a multitude of pavilions and terraces roughly the same height as the city walls. From a distance, the pavilions, towers, water kiosks, and covered bridges rose and fell like mountain ranges; they were scattered in such a way that no matter from which angle one looked, it was impossible to see through the entire Ning Wangfu, let alone discern the layout of the entire estate...
Yang Ge was at his wits’ end.
He had been in Ninghai County for three days, and yet he still hadn’t ascertained whether Ning Wang was even in Ning Wangfu.
If you ask why,
it’s really because the local accent is too heavy, even though the Wu dialect sounds gentle and supple to the ears, he found it very difficult to understand. To avoid exposing his identity and startling the snake, he couldn’t simply start conversations to steer the locals into divulging what he wanted to know. Ninghai, after all, was Ning Wang’s stronghold, so he had to be cautious with his words.
Of course, he had also considered abducting a servant from Ning Wangfu to question, but ultimately, he did not take action out of the same concern for not startling the snake... In a place as strictly governed as Wangfu, how could the disappearance of a servant go unnoticed? And, would the affairs of Ning Wang really be something any servant could grasp?
’For the same reason, sneaking into Ning Wangfu during the night to assassinate him definitely wouldn’t work.’
’Ning Wangfu isn’t like the vulnerable Shanshui Garden; it has a tight security, plenty of martial arts masters, and many valiant troops. My Qinggong can only be called mediocre. Recklessly infiltrating would too easily reveal my tracks.’
’A direct assault won’t work, assassination won’t work.’
’An ambush would require a lot of time to wait, poisoning would need a lot of time to arrange...’
’I don’t have that much time to wait or to arrange things. I can’t treat everyone in the world like fools.’
’That just leaves... luring him into a trap.’
’If I can’t find that old fox, I’ll make the old fox come to me. If I can’t enter Ning Wangfu, I’ll have him come out to meet me or send someone to invite me in.’
’As long as we can meet, everything else can be discussed!’
’Now, the new question arises... how can I induce that old fox to come out to see me, or send someone to welcome me into his presence?’
’Jing Ke’s attempt to assassinate the King of Qin relied on Fan Yuqi’s head and the map of Yan State to get in front of Qin...’
’What should I use to get Ning Wang to walk into my trap?’
’Slaughter Dragon Divine Skill? Alchemy superstition? Mechanical ascension?’
Yang Ge furrowed his brow, leapt off the city wall, and blended into the last wave of people entering the city. After a long walk along the street, he finally found a wonton stall that was about to close and sat down for a bowl of wontons.
Before long, the kindly-faced old stall owner brought over a bowl of wontons.
Yang Ge thanked him, took the wonton, and began to ponder the three possibilities he had just raised, searching for a method with practical significance as he ate.
The old stall owner originally wanted to chat with this very polite young man from out of town, but seeing his burdened look and lack of appetite, he tactfully returned behind his pot and slowly began to clean up his stall.
Just when the old stall owner was about to pour out the leftovers in his hot pot, two filthy foreign sailors with blonde hair, blue eyes, and reeking of sour stench pushed their way in front of the wonton stall, pointing at the big pot and babbling incoherently at the owner about the price.
Yang Ge, who hadn’t finished his food yet, glanced up and then unsurprised, withdrew his attention... Foreigners were not uncommon in Jiangzhe; Hangzhou had many, and Ninghai had even more, most of whom were from Spain, followed by those from England who had never seen the sun rise.
These two blonde-haired, blue-eyed sailors, speaking in some incomprehensible corner dialect of English, were obviously from England.
Poor old stall owner, hard of hearing and struggling even to understand Wei speech, how could he comprehend what these dirty sailors were babbling about?
He could only repeat over and over with gestures: "Wonton, small bowl two copper coins, big bowl three Copper Coins; do you understand human speech? Wonton, small bowl two copper coins, big bowl three..."
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The three of them gestured at each other for half a day, all looking utterly hopeless.
Yang Ge, unable to watch any longer, casually took out three copper coins, put them on the table and, in fluent English, told the two Englishmen: a small bowl costs two coins, a big bowl three coins.
The two sailors, upon hearing his fluent English, simultaneously froze for two seconds before jubilantly moving closer to Yang Ge, rattling off rapidly.
Yang Ge interrupted their endless prattle impatiently and repeated the prices again.
Like awakening from a dream, the two sailors dug out a handful of assorted coins from their pockets, asking Yang Ge to help them order... both wanted double portions of the large size.
Yang Ge sorted out twelve spanking new Wei copper coins from their money and handed them to the old stall owner, conveying the two sailors’ request. Then he walked away from the wonton stall amidst their words of thanks...
He had only taken a few steps before suddenly thinking of something.