Wang Hai's heart sank.
Things were getting serious.
Beneath the Ming Cult Leader, the Right and Left Envoys held the highest positions. Fifteen years ago, the Left Envoy of Ming Cult was an apex expert, and since the Right and Left Envoys were of equal rank, this Right Envoy couldn't be far behind.
Moreover, for the past fifteen years, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) had never received any news about this Right Envoy. They didn't even know if he was male or female.
Originally, they had planned to capture a tongue, then follow the clues to dig out a few deceased members of Ming Cult, but unexpectedly, they had caught the tail of a whale.
This was going to be difficult.
When the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) captured this person, they didn't know he was connected to Ming Cult, so their methods were a bit rough. This lead might be broken in a few days.
If the Right Envoy of Ming Cult's martial arts reached the apex level, then within the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) at this time, only Li Miao, Zhu Zai, and Bei Zhenfu Si Zhenfushi Bu Lei could reliably handle him.
If it were a high-level martial artist with territory and a base, they could naturally mobilize troops to encircle and suppress him. But ever since Ming Cult was severely weakened fifteen years ago and went underground, its high-level experts had always acted alone.
To capture such a solitary expert, there must be someone who can pin him down, preventing him from using lightness skill to escape, and wait for troops to arrive and encircle him.
After Li Miao left, Zhu Zai had to remain in Shuntian Prefecture and could not easily go out.
Bei Zhenfu Si Zhenfushi Bu Lei was also not in the northern region at the moment, and even if a message was sent now, he wouldn't be able to return in time.
"First, send someone to relay the message to the Qianhu. I'll secretly investigate this lead, and if I can't handle it, I'll retreat in time," Wang Hai decided.
Among the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), besides Li Miao, Zhu Zai, and Bu Lei, Wang Hai was already a highly ranked expert. At this point, it was better to handle it himself than to push it to others.
"All these incidents occurring together on this journey seem to be subtly connected by a thread; it doesn't look like a coincidence."
"I must investigate this thoroughly; I cannot let these matters ruin the Qianhu's plan."
Wang Hai stood up to interrogate the person. The person's psychological defenses had already been breached. At this moment, looking at Xiao Si, who had walked back to the table to eat snacks, he trembled uncontrollably and spilled all the information he knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
After clarifying everything, Wang Hai no longer hesitated, immediately stood up, and left with Xiao Si.
After calling someone to send the message to Li Miao, Wang Hai gave Xiao Si a few instructions, then packed his luggage and set off on horseback.
Xiao Si, after all, did not know martial arts and could only use stealth attacks; she couldn't handle such a tracking assignment. Moreover, Jinan Prefecture also needed someone to lead the personnel from Shuntian Prefecture to the Mount Tai Sect.
Xiao Si waited in Jinan Prefecture until the afternoon when someone brought news: the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) sent from Shuntian Prefecture had arrived.
She stepped out and saw several people already standing in the courtyard, all Baihu under Li Miao, and also a Qianhu from the Northern Garrison Division, all of whom recognized Xiao Si.
Normally, these people, out of respect for Li Miao, would greet Xiao Si with smiles.
However, for some unknown reason, they remained silent, secretly winking and making faces at Xiao Si, as if it was inconvenient to speak.
Just as Xiao Si was wondering, she heard a sharp voice from outside the door: "When did your Jin Yi Wei Office start recruiting women?"
"Where is Li Miao Li Qianhu? I have something to discuss with him."
As the voice drew nearer, a middle-aged man walked in.
This man was around forty, pale and beardless, with a feminine gait and a high-pitched voice like a woman's.
Having been in Shuntian Prefecture for many years, Xiao Si naturally knew: this person was a eunuch.
The Qianhu from the Northern Garrison Division stepped forward and whispered to Xiao Si: "Miss Si, this is Cheng Yuanzhen, the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial."
"He's here with ill intentions, be careful."
The eunuch named Cheng Yuanzhen walked up to Xiao Si, scanned her up and down, and asked: "Who are you? This office... is it a place a woman like you can just enter?"
He turned to the Qianhu from the Northern Garrison Division and said: "What... do your Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) bring female dependents when they go out of the capital for official business?"
"His Majesty is still too lenient with you all. If we in the palace were as careless as you when handling affairs, we would surely be punished ~"
Upon hearing this person speak, Xiao Si immediately understood that this eunuch was definitely not here with good intentions.
Recalling the difficulty the Jinyi (Embroidered Clothing) Baihu and Qianhu had in speaking earlier, Xiao Si roughly understood the situation.
Something had gone wrong.
She didn't know what had happened on Zhu Zai's side in Shuntian Prefecture. The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)' own mission was just one step away from completion, only waiting for personnel to arrive, yet they had brought a eunuch who made no attempt to conceal his malice.
At the moment, it was inconvenient to speak in front of this person. Xiao Si pulled out a waist token from her waist: "I am a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) secret agent. I am here to report on a mission, and I am leaving now."
With that, she didn't even look at the eunuch, lifted her foot, and walked out the door.
She didn't go far, just found a place opposite the office to wait.
When the sun began to set, she saw a Baihu under Li Miao come out, looking around. Upon seeing Xiao Si, he immediately hurried over and greeted her in a low voice.
"Miss Si."
"Brother Zhang." Xiao Si nodded: "What's going on? What's the background of that eunuch?"
Zhang Centurion smiled bitterly: "Miss Si, we're about to have our fruits snatched!"
“Our men had already gathered and were ready to set off. The Commander, his elderly self, went into the palace once and came back, smashing his small courtyard to pieces.”
“The next day, the palace sent some eunuchs over, saying that this mission needed to be carried out jointly by the Directorate of Ceremonial and us.”
“This time, half of our mission was given to these eunuchs. Half of the personnel who came were also replaced.”
“The one this afternoon, Cheng Yuanzhen, is the leader. He hasn't caused us any less trouble along the way.”
“Xiao Hai isn't here, and we're not sure about the Qianhu's decision. Wang Qianhu of the Northern Garrison Division is only helping out this time. You are the Qianhu's adopted daughter, and you know the current situation of this mission.”
“Tell me, what should we do now?”
Xiao Si thought for a moment, raised her small hand and made a downward slicing motion, then looked up at Zhang Centurion.
"My dear aunt, you can't kill him. These are people sent by the palace, and we don't know the inside story. Killing them might cause big trouble."
Xiao Si then extended two fingers and made a wiggling motion on her arm.
"Gu is also not an option. Even if it's not immediately discovered, it will be traced back to us later."
Xiao Si thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "How about this."
"There are still five days until the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting. This place is not far from Tai'an City; it's a two-day ride on horseback."
"I'll go ahead and explain the situation to my master. You all delay him for a few days; travel slowly."
With that, Xiao Si suddenly reached out, and her fair little hand patted Zhang Centurion's chest.
"It's just that Brother Zhang will have to suffer a bit."
With that pat, she transferred an extremely subtle Gu poison into Zhang Centurion's body.
Xiao Si controlled the dosage; Zhang Centurion had internal energy protecting him, so he wouldn't be in serious trouble, but there would be some reaction, which would be perfect for feigning illness and delaying them.
"Go back and have a meal with a few eunuchs; they will also contract this poison. If your own people get sick, it should also buy some time."
Zhang Centurion rubbed his chest and said with a bitter smile: "Alright, alright."
Xiao Si didn't hesitate, immediately turned and left, went to the stables to fetch a horse, rode out of the city, and headed towards the Mount Tai Sect overnight.
