Star Trace Gate

Chapter 958 A revolutionary realization: The newly arrived Tu brothers

A bewitching fragrance?!

Ren Ye remained outwardly calm, but after taking the small porcelain bottle, his heart was in turmoil.

This stuff can disturb one's mind and enhance human desires. When it burns, it produces ash and dust that is damnably colorless and odorless... After hearing Wang Anquan's description, Little Bad King immediately thought of the infighting in the underground treasury...

He and Master Chu had been to the scene and even spoke with Liu Wei, the person involved, to learn about the true situation. The many strange events that occurred there were very much in line with the effects of this bewitching incense.

You must understand, this is a sixth-grade elixir powder; it's capable of poisoning and causing illness in a group of monk soldiers and fourth-grade generals without them even realizing it...

Ren paused briefly, his mind becoming incredibly clear. The various clues he had gathered suddenly converged, making many previously unresolved issues crystal clear.

He suddenly had a new guess and gained a "revolutionary" understanding of Wang Anquan. The other party was far more cunning and better at disguising himself than he had thought.

However, Little Bad King is still unsure whether Wang Anquan's "disguise" is a cunning scheme rooted in evil, or if there are some unknown secrets involved.

He couldn't quite judge, but he genuinely sensed that the middle-aged man before him, who had almost lost his mind for his son, was not as simple as he appeared on the surface. He was very calculating, very good at hiding his true intentions, and could even be described as "insidious."

Thinking about all this, Little Bad King felt very fortunate, fortunate that he was a cautious and intelligent person. Because before he entered North Wind Town, he had thought about creating a double, a new identity, and using another identity to do dangerous things, so as to ensure that he could protect the identity of Little Monk Zhenyi.

As it turned out, his foresight truly brought him unexpected "results." To put it simply, if it weren't for the gray-robed woman holding the Dragon-Subduing Token at this moment, and if it weren't for his previous advice to Wang Anquan, she would never have revealed the Bewitching Incense.

To reiterate, the word "identity" is crucial. For Wang Anquan, the young monk Zhenyi is a local official of unknown identity, someone he cannot be overly close to or trust. But the woman in gray robes has her identity clearly known. Even if she intends to scheme against Wang Anquan, he can likely guess what she's planning.

Therefore, the gap between these two identities allowed Ren to accidentally see a clue that the little monk Zhenyi would never be able to see.

While Little Bad King was pondering these matters, his expression remained unchanged, and his mouth never stopped: "Lord King, where are those two juniors from your clan? I'm leaving now...!"

“I’ve made all the arrangements beforehand. They’re waiting for you in the alley outside the main gate,” Wang Anquan said softly. “However, they’re not actually my relatives, nor are they related to the Wang family by blood. They’re just the sons of an old friend who have come to seek refuge with me. They’re unfamiliar faces, and they’ve never appeared in Beifeng Town before, so they’ll be easier for you to use. Oh, by the way, I ordered them to wear purple-gold pendants on their waists. You’ll know immediately…!”

Ren was slightly taken aback: "Okay, I understand."

"I entrust my son's life to you!" Wang Anquan bowed deeply to Ren Ye.

"I'll do my best," Ren replied before hurrying away.

Watching his departing figure, Wang Anquan's face no longer held the slick and weak expression; instead, it was filled with worry and determination about the uncertain future.

……

Not long after, Ren also escaped from the garrison headquarters, and then in the alley opposite the main street, he met the helper arranged by Wang Anquan, but there was only one person.

This man's name is Tu Yishan, nicknamed Ada. He looks to be about twenty years old, with a robust build, dark complexion, and a somewhat dull expression, making him seem like a brute with little education.

Wang Anquan had already described the gray-robed woman's appearance to A'da, so after they met, they only exchanged a few words before verifying each other's identities.

In the dimly lit alley, the rugged-looking A-Da clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ren Ye and said, "I am following my uncle's orders to help you rescue your brother Wenping. Sister, please tell me what you need to do...!"

"Where's the other person?" Ren asked curiously.

“My brother, Ah Er, has already caught up with that pockmarked man who came to deliver the message.” Ah Da said, “We can follow him now. I know my brother’s scent very well, so I guarantee we won’t get lost.”

"That's good." Ren Ye nodded slightly. "Time is of the essence. You lead the way, let's hurry."

"it is good."

After exchanging a few words, the two walked together onto the main street and went after Ah Er.

About 25 minutes later, after walking seven or eight miles, they arrived at the western part of Beifeng Town and stopped in front of a treasure and antique shop, where they met their second helper, Ah Er.

Ah Er's real name is Tu Ershui. He looks to be in his twenties, of medium build, with delicate features and fair skin. He looks much more lively than his older brother, Ah Da.

After the three met, they found a secluded place to discuss the matter.

Ren also learned from their conversation that the two brothers, A-Da and A-Er, came from the migration destination "Kunwu City," and their father was the garrison commander of Kunwu City, a rank higher than Wang Anquan's. Last month, Tianzhao Temple launched an attack and captured Kunwu City. The brothers' father, along with many generals, relatives, and cultivators, died in battle there. The brothers, however, managed to escape the war and, carrying a letter their father had written beforehand, came to Beifeng Town to seek refuge with Wang Anquan.

Wang Anquan had known the two brothers' father for a long time, and they shared similar temperaments and aspirations, so they addressed each other as sworn brothers and had an excellent personal relationship. Even when Wang Anquan was at his lowest point and unemployed, his elder brother, who was the garrison commander of Kunwu, wrote to the Divine Court, hoping to use the power of his faction to have Wang Anquan reinstated.

This shows that the two were definitely not just fair-weather friends, but true confidants.

Ironically, the elder brother died in battle in his own city, while the sworn brother shaved his head, surrendered the city, and happily became a traitor.

On the street, after the three met, the more intelligent-looking Ah Er secretly pointed to the treasure and antique shop and whispered to Ren Ye, "Big sister, that pockmarked man just entered this shop, greeted the counter, and then went back to his room in the backyard to rest."

"Oh." Ren Ye glanced at the antique shop and asked softly, "Did he have any contact with anyone along the way?"

“No.” Ah Er shook his head and carefully said, “However, on his way back, he stopped by a tailor shop and it seems he bought himself a new outfit. But it didn’t take long, just about ten words.”

"Hmm." Ren Ye lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

Beside her, Ah Da, who looked like he might drool at any moment, said in a deep voice with sharp eyes, "Big sister, how about I break into that room, capture the pockmarked man alive, bring him out, extract his soul, and let you question his spirit?"

Ah Da and Ah Er's father was a military general, and their family was wealthy, so both of them were of high cultivation level, being fourth-grade cultivators.

Ren also turned his head to look at A-Da, and shook his head slightly, saying, "It's useless to grab this pockmarked face; he probably doesn't know anything."

"He's the one who returned Wenping's finger. How come he doesn't know anything about it?" A-Da raised an eyebrow slightly and said with certainty, "He's most likely Yu Tiange's accomplice."

Ren remained silent, completely ignoring A-Da's "wise" analysis.

Although Yu Tiange acted rashly and arrogantly, she wasn't a complete idiot. Wang Anquan suddenly suggested seeing a drop of his son's essence blood just before the operation. Although the reason was legitimate and the logic was sound, Yu Tiange was definitely going to be wary of him playing tricks. She certainly wouldn't let the person guarding Wang Wenping show up so easily, especially since he was being secretly followed.

Therefore, the pockmarked man who brought the severed finger was most likely just a passerby who had been temporarily hired and simply ran an errand for money, with no way of knowing the inside story. Furthermore, judging from his clothing and behavior, he was probably an employee of this antique shop who had just earned a little money and bought himself a new set of clothes along the way.

Thinking about all this, Little Bad King realized that if he forcibly acted against Pockmarked Face now, it might alert the enemy. Yu Tiange's men might be lurking in the shadows, watching to see if Pockmarked Face was being followed on his way back, or if something bad was about to happen to him…

Once the enemy is alerted, and Yu Tiange's men take Wang Wenping to a new location, even if Ren Ye has extraordinary abilities, it will be difficult to save this unfortunate child.

"Big sister, are you going to make a move or not? Give me a straight answer!" Seeing that Ren didn't react, A-Da asked urgently, "Otherwise, what's the point of us just wasting our time here?"

"Stop making a fuss. Rescuing Wenping is a matter of utmost importance, and we were only sent to help our eldest sister. Don't say anything out of line, lest you disturb her peace of mind...!" Ah Er frowned and scolded.

Ah Da turned to look at him, gritting his teeth, and said, "Don't I know you? The moment you see a woman, you get all excited, your crotch gets rock hard, and you've completely forgotten about what you're supposed to be doing...!"

"Don't you dare spout nonsense!" Ah Er cursed, his face flushed red. "What kind of nonsense is this?!"

"Hey, hey, I'm still here! Can you two at least show some respect when you talk?!" Ren Ye never expected that these two would start talking about such obscene things in front of her, a girl.

The two shut up upon hearing this.

“If we don’t expose the pockmarked face, we won’t have a single clue. How can we find that Yu’s accomplice and rescue Wenping?!” Ah Da, his patience waning, said irritably, “I just don’t understand. What can we possibly come up with by just squatting here and thinking nonsense, except for poop…!”

"Let your eldest sister think about it. If she doesn't say anything, she'll definitely find a way," Ah Er tried to reassure her.

"Damn it, everyone only has one brain, how can anyone be that much smarter than anyone else?" Ah Da, who had a confrontational personality, said quite reasonably, "If I can't even figure it out, what could she possibly figure out?"

"..." Ah Er was speechless.

Ren ignored their nonsense and muttered, "Lord Wang only gave Yu Tiange half an hour, and Pockmarked Face arrived around the agreed time, at most less than a quarter of an hour late. In other words, the people guarding Wenping had at most a quarter of an hour to act, from receiving the message to randomly finding Pockmarked Face and bringing the severed finger..."

Upon hearing this, A-Da frowned and asked, "Wasn't it half an hour? Then why did the people guarding Wen-Ping only have three-quarters of an hour to act...?"

“Damn it, you’re incredibly stupid,” Ah Er replied speechlessly. “That pockmarked face can still walk!!! We followed him from the garrison to the antique shop, which took about 15 minutes. That means, from the time he got his severed finger back, it only took him about 15 minutes to get from the antique shop to the garrison. Plus, he arrived almost 15 minutes late, which means… the people guarding Wenping only had less than 15 minutes to act after receiving the news?”

Upon hearing this, Ah Da's brain went blank. Instinctively, he stretched out all ten fingers and began to count on his fingers: "We know that the agreed time was half an hour, but Pockmarked Face was a quarter of an hour late. That means whether to add or subtract that quarter of an hour is a big problem...!"