Getting to the Root
“This one must admit he took you too lightly. Had it not been for your tactic, this one would not have taken the risk to show himself.”
Jiang Chen’s deepest secret wasn’t something only he knew. However, all those privy had a duty to keep it a secret. On the other hand, not only did Shen Yiren manage to dig up the deep-seated secreted, but she even used it to force him out of hiding.
“Enough with the nonsense.” Shen Yiren had a grin she didn’t hesitate to flaunt. “I’m the one who waited for you. You’re not the one who came to seek me, no?”
Jiang Chen’s biggest strength wasn’t his swordplay or wits but his ability to remain undetected. Remaining off the radar was his secret to protecting himself. He never expected Shen Yiren to suddenly show up at the tavern and be waiting for him. He wasn’t speaking figuratively when he said showing up was taking a risk, but, to speak more precisely, the risk was meeting Shen Yiren. Unless he could figure out how she deduced where he’d show up, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, and he’d have to pause his operation, lest it failed.
“Since you have brought that up, this one has a question for you. How did you know this one would be here today?”
“A Confucian sage is asking poor little me?”
Jiang Chen had a moment to himself, then sighed. “This one is not almighty. In fact, he is often powerless to implement his plans. For instance, this one didn’t account for two people in this operation.”
“I’m all ears.”
“One is too hidden. There is a force that has always existed and continued watching from the sideline, but this one has never been able to find them, which is troubling. The other… There was not enough time, so this one left him alone.” Though Jiang Chen’s gaze was fixed on Shen Yiren, his mind seemed elsewhere far away.
“Where did you hide Feizhen?!” Shen Yiren regretted asking the question, but she blurted it instinctively when she discerned Jiang Chen referred to Ming Feizhen with his eyes.
“Your concern for your subordinate is surprising, Miss Shen. Were the rumours that you are engaged false?”
Shen Yiren didn’t have an answer for the teasing undertone. “Enough. Answer my question.”
“This one thought you’d be able to find out yourself. You were able to dig up all of his spies in the capital from all the way out here, after all. Do you really need this one to tell you where is being held?”
Jiang Chen was persuaded he needed to take the risk of confronting Shen Yiren once he learned that she located his spies when she was so far from the capital.
“I didn’t find them.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve kept in contact with the capital at fixed intervals. All of your arrangements have been relayed through the reports. All I did was share what I know about your personality and habits. They are the ones who found the spies.”
Jiang Chen shook his head with a smile. “You never sent any letters to the capital.”
“Believe what you will. I’m just telling it as it is.”
Jiang Chen watched Shen Yiren for a while before saying, “You’re not lying. You relied on analysis and deduction to find my spies and even… my whereabouts?”
“Perhaps it’s weird to you, but I actually have a method. I can tell you if you want to know how I did it. I didn’t try to track you down or where you’d sojourn. The reality is that you’re always been surreptitious. I wouldn’t find anything if I tried. However, there was one trace you kept providing me.”
“Are you referring to the assassins this one sent?”
“Correct.” Shen Yiren tugged up a corner of her lips. “I followed the tracks of every assassin you sent, how you sent them instructions, where from, the money you sent, the source of the resources, their contact points, methods, their origins and the reasons you chose them. Although you’re a cautious individual, you have your selection criteria, and not every switch was productive.
“You don’t trust anyone, including League of Assassins. That’s the reason you primarily hire desperate people in the pugilistic life. Though that makes it hard to find out where the origin of the transaction starts, it also means that you use the same method every time.
“While Wawa drew out the assassins, I stayed out of sight to take notes and study them. I determined thirteen places where you would your hideout might be based on your tendencies. I assumed one of them had to be where you held him.”
The longer Jiang Chen’s silence went on for, the more tension there was between them.
“This one heard Yan Shisan has an internal discipline called ‘Precision Scout’ that allows the practitioner to accurately perceive the most minute of details and store said details in their mind, thereby multiplying what they glean in an investigation. Based on what you said, though, the discipline goes far beyond that. You can accumulate evidence and details, but you can’t analyse them, not even Yan Shisan. How exactly did you deduce this one’s whereabouts?”
“Since you know of Precision Scout, that makes things easier.” Though she sounded casual, Shen Yiren a silver pearl slid down from her forehead as she moulded energy to withstand the pressure Jiang Chen imposed. “Not only can I work out your route, but I can find out where you hold people, too. Want to test me?”
Jiang Chen’s look of confidence gradually disappeared as he listened to Shen Yiren read out, “Five Miles, Autumn Light Temple, Long Fortress, Mountains and Rivers…” Every time she listed a location, he’d pull his brows tighter together, and that repeated thirteen times.
“You’ve given me the answers.”
Jiang Chen put a smile back on his face. “In that case, congratulations.”
Shen Yiren took in a big breath and then threw a ball of paper out the window. Battle Cloud neighed and then galloped away.
“That’s Liu Shan Men’s Battle Cloud. Is it going to deliver a message?”
“Autumn Light Temple.”
For the first time, Jiang Chen showed consternation. For the first time, he felt that he wasn’t controlling the entire board.
“You’re good. I can’t read you whatsoever. The person behind you, though, doesn’t know how to lie. He answered my query.”
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