Xuanqing Guard

"Ma San? He went to see Flying Dragon again?! Cough cough..." Shen Hao almost choked on the biscuit he was chewing out of excitement. He never imagined that Ma San, who had disappeared without a trace, would show up again at such a critical moment. That guy really isn’t just ordinarily gutsy.

Wang Jian diligently took the clay pot from the table and ladled a bowl of rice soup for Shen Hao to help him catch his breath. Then he spoke: "Master, just this afternoon, Flying Dragon sent up the news. I had Little Ghost check it again—it’s definitely Ma San, still in Guangshun City, and he made direct contact with the previous subordinate, Scar."

With matters like this, Wang Jian would always verify several times before reporting. Now that Ma San had truly surfaced in Guangshun City—this was a big fish!

"What does he want with Flying Dragon? Looking to get goods again?"

"Yes, according to what Flying Dragon reported, Ma San found Scar at noon yesterday. He wants to move another batch of goods like last time: grain, wrought iron, general spirit stones, finished weapons, textiles—all acceptable. The price wasn’t mentioned, but according to Scar, Ma San was very bold this time, basically with an ’as long as there’s goods, you can name your price’ stance."

Shen Hao said nothing, only stood up and began pacing back and forth.

"Master, should we just arrest Ma San right now?"

Shen Hao shook his head. "That wouldn’t be worth it—not if we want to maximize this opportunity. The fact that Ma San dared come again means he still has hopes for Flying Dragon, and also shows how desperate they are to keep their smuggling route open within Jingjiu Dynasty, continuing to pave the way for the barbarian race.

If we take him down now, the whole connection’s cut off for good, and Flying Dragon gets completely exposed. Behind Ma San is a big network, involving the Ministry of War and evil cultivators; if he becomes their scapegoat out of vengeance, do you think he could survive? Then if Flying Dragon is dead, our hard-won black market intelligence network would all be at risk of exposure.

It’s not the right move."

Shen Hao had never considered abandoning either Flying Dragon or the black market intelligence system—their importance was in no way less than ferreting out the rotten worms within the Ministry of War.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Have Flying Dragon put on a show to scare him a bit first," Shen Hao finally decided after much thought. Since the opportunity had come knocking, he wasn’t about to let it pass; just needed the right approach to catch it.

Shen Hao continued, "Don’t let Ma San feel like Flying Dragon’s so easy to approach, especially at this critical time. First grab him—send Zhang Lie, preferably bring along some killing intent, make Ma San suffer a bit, then talk business. This time don’t negotiate too quickly—take it slow, draw it out for at least ten days."

"Ah? We’re still doing business with Ma San? What if this time..."

"There’s no ’what if,’ and there can’t be. Besides, there are people with the border army now where before there weren’t. If we set things up properly, should Ma San and his lot try their old trick again, not only can we take him, but also probe what worms are dangling on his line."

After pondering it a bit, Wang Jian got the idea and smiled. "Master, you’re thinking of using this chance and the excuse of being able to deploy the inspector’s help—to clean up Ma San in one go?"

"That’s right. After all, the knife’s in our hands now—if we don’t put it to good use, how can we answer the higher-ups’ efforts? You go and draft a plan with this in mind, then show it to me—do it quickly."

"Then your subordinate will withdraw now and try to have it ready for your review by tomorrow."

"Mm, tomorrow afternoon is fine too. But make sure to rest a bit yourself," Shen Hao actually really wanted to give Wang Jian some time off, but with things like they were, there was no way to relax—everyone just had to tough it out.

"Thank you for your concern, Master—I can still handle it." With that, Wang Jian bowed and exited the public office.

Shen Hao stayed behind, sorting through the information Wang Jian had just reported, then wrote up a report—he planned to head to the imperial city to see Jiang Cheng first thing in the morning. This couldn’t be delayed.

By the time everything was squared away, it was already mid-9 p.m. When he got back to his room, he found Xia Nu waking blearily to help him wash up. Then, as Shen Hao turned to change clothes, he saw that silly slave girl actually asleep, sprawled right on the edge of his bed.

It was already late May, and with the temperature in Fengri City rising fast—even in the middle of the night it wasn’t cold. With the barbarian race’s physique, and having just gotten out of bed, Xia Nu wore only her thin undergarment, which wasn’t just scanty but downright tempting.

Shen Hao had intended to meditate for a bit before resting. But now, seeing Xia Nu sprawled on his bed—how could he possibly calm down to cultivate?

Plus, Shen Hao hadn’t stayed overnight in Hong’en Hall for a long time. With such fire pent up, and that silly slave girl throwing herself right onto the muzzle...

He scooped Xia Nu right up.

The motion woke Xia Nu; she had just been spacing out, dozed off, and hadn’t really slept. Seeing Shen Hao hold her in his arms, she was still confused: "Master, what are you doing?"

"You’ll know soon enough." Shen Hao felt a rare heat stir in his lower belly, his mood uncharacteristically high. He tossed Xia Nu onto the bed, then straddled her.

"Ah! Master, you—mmf..."

And so, after at least thirty thousand words of events, only as dawn broke did Xia Nu finally drift into deep sleep, while Shen Hao, relying on his cultivation, rose early, clear-headed and energized.

When Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk brought in hot water for Shen Hao’s morning wash, they saw Xia Nu sleeping soundly on his bed—their faces instantly flushed red. The two young girls weren’t clueless; in fact, they both understood well what it meant for Ms. Xia Nu to sleep in the master’s bed. They exchanged a look and couldn’t help but smile knowingly, with some special meaning in their eyes.

At breakfast, Hu Tian also wore a knowing smile in his eyes; naturally, he had heard from Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk, and was genuinely happy for Xia Nu. Maybe in other houses, the barbarian race wouldn’t be treated as people, but Hu Tian knew his master was cold on the outside but warm-hearted, and treated his people well. Xia Nu might be a slave, but she was paid monthly, and now that she’d entered Master Shen’s quarters, life would only get better from here. Hu Tian liked this kindly Master Shen.

As for those outside who called Master Shen the ’Evil Star’, Hu Tian had always scoffed at that, never taking it to heart.

After breakfast, Shen Hao left, went to the Thousand Households Station to say a word to Wang Yiming, then turned around and headed toward the teleportation array for the imperial city. Today he had to report Ma San’s case upwards—at the very least, when the time came to move the "goods", he’d need the approval of the Jingxi Town Governor’s Office.

As soon as Shen Hao left, the courtyard bustled—especially Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk, who immediately ran to the room to wake up Xia Nu, still asleep, pestering her to tell them what really happened last night. Why did the master suddenly pounce on her like that?

But Xia Nu herself was still groggy, and replied, "I really don’t know, the master just suddenly climbed on top of me and tossed me around till nearly dawn. Don’t bother me, I still want to sleep a bit longer..."

So Xia Nu burrowed under the blankets to sleep some more—thinking the master’s bedding was especially cozy to sleep in.

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