Chapter Fifteen: Probing and Response
Shang Jiuya's first plan, born out of despair—to sow discord between Qi Mu and Shi Yi Niang—is about to be executed, but it will take time, more accurate information to refine every detail, and waiting for the opportune moment to maximize its effect.
While Bai Yu and Li Yue, like the most patient hunters, cautiously began gathering and verifying intelligence about the movements of Qi Mu's new favorite and Shiyi Niang in this new direction, Shang Jiuya did not place all her hopes on this perilous path. Rong Jiang's "revelation" kept echoing in her mind: utilize everything that can be utilized, unite everyone who can be united.
Her gaze fell once again on the increasingly complex piece of parchment, sweeping over the symbols representing powerful enemies, and finally settling on a relatively low-key name that might have cracks—Seventh Elder, Qingcheng.
The Qing family, which controls the manufacture of machinery and the forging of magical artifacts, is wealthy but militarily weak. Bai Yu pieced together a picture from fragmented information: Qing Cheng seems to have been struggling to cope with various forces in recent years, especially the Guan Shanyue-Gongliang Alliance and the Seven Mu's ever-increasing demands for resources. His family workshops operate day and night, yet seem to be doing all the work for others, their own influence not increasing, but rather showing signs of being drained. There are even rumors that Qing Cheng was once publicly reprimanded by the Seven Mu for failing to deliver a batch of rare magical armor on time, losing face completely.
The seeds of resentment may have already been sown. What's lacking is only confirmation, and... an opportunity for extremely cautious contact.
Direct contact would be tantamount to suicide. Shang Jiuya knew perfectly well that countless eyes were watching her, and any direct interaction with elders would instantly expose her to the gazes of You Chi, Guan Shanyue, and others.
It must be roundabout, it must be secretive, and it must be made so that the other party "hears" first, rather than "sees".
The opportunity came from Mo Liu, an informant Bai Yu had cultivated working at the waste disposal site. Mo Liu was an old demon servant, deaf and mute, yet with incredibly sharp eyes. Recently, while wrapping a batch of discarded magical artifact fragments in scrap paper, he stumbled upon a crumpled and discarded material dispatch sheet. It bore the mark of Qingcheng Workshop, and the quantity and types of resources listed were astonishing, far exceeding the norm. Moreover, the recipients were marked with several vague codes. Mo Liu couldn't read, but he remembered a recurring rune mark on the paper (belonging to Gong Liang's private treasury), and a few hasty scratches in the corner before the paper was crumpled.
This piece of waste paper itself proves nothing; it might even just be the product of someone venting their emotions. But the emotions it conveys, and the ambiguity surrounding the flow of resources, happen to coincide with Shang Jiuya's guess about Qingcheng's predicament.
“This is an opportunity…” Shang Jiuya pointed to the symbol representing Qingcheng on the parchment, her eyes gleaming. “We can’t say anything directly, but we can let him know ‘accidentally’ that someone… has noticed their ‘difficulties’, and may even… have some insignificant but unsettling ‘fragments’.”
She racked her brains, devising the first step in her trial.
Shang Jiuya turned her attention back to the lower ranks. A low-ranking messenger demon servant, recruited by Bai Yu and responsible for delivering ordinary documents between the palaces, came into view. This servant was timid and cowardly, but because of his lowly position, he was unlikely to attract the attention of important figures. Bai Yu established an extremely fragile trust with him through sharing food a few times and a concerned remark about how hard his work was.
The plan unfolded cautiously.
That day, the messenger servant went to the Crafts Hall area as usual to deliver a trivial daily document. While waiting for the reply, he "happened" to overhear two low-level craftsmen, covered in soot and fresh from the workshop, complaining and grumbling nearby.
One of the craftsmen sighed, "...Sigh, this batch of black iron ore is really strange. There are always problems during quenching. The cracks and scales are so numerous that it's unsightly. And with the higher-ups pressing us so hard, our magic crystal fuel quota for this month is definitely going to be cut again..."
Another craftsman chimed in under his breath, "Who says otherwise... The ley line demonic flames seem rather unstable lately. Is it because they're demanding too much from over there, and the supply can't keep up? It's just a waste of fuel, what a pity for all that good ore..."
The messenger servant seemed to be waiting idly, but in reality, he kept these complaints firmly in mind—this was the "task" Bai Yu had given him; he only needed to remember them and then "accidentally" say them at another "just right" time.
A few days later, the messenger was dispatched to the outer office of Elder Qingcheng's palace to deliver another document. While waiting, he "happened" to share a room with someone who appeared to be a minor steward of the Machinery Hall. The steward seemed to be overwhelmed with worry about a delay in the progress of a certain workshop, muttering curses under his breath.
The messenger, with a slightly ingratiating and ingratiating tone, said to the junior steward, "Sir, you're busy too? Sigh, it must be tough. The other day when I went to deliver some documents, I overheard the old master craftsmen in the workshop complaining about how the black iron ore quenching process caused unstable earth vein demonic flames, constantly producing cracks and wasting fuel, which was such a waste... It's giving me a headache. Your job is much better..."
He was merely parroting others, displaying a humble demeanor as if trying to strike up a conversation with an important person. After finishing speaking, he immediately left, bowing and scraping, having received the receipt.
However, this seemingly random grumble quietly traveled up the hierarchy within the Machinery Hall. The junior manager might not have paid it any mind, but when he reported the reason for the delay to his superiors, he might mention that "the craftsmen below reported some problems with the ley line magic flames and the ore."
However, coincidentally, recently, Qingcheng has been under pressure because Qi Mu has once again urged him to meet the delivery deadline for a batch of heavy magic blades. The core material of that batch of magic blades is black iron ore, and the refining process is indeed occasionally affected by the fluctuations of the earth vein magic flames.
What would he think? He might think it was just a common complaint from a low-level craftsman, but he might also subconsciously be alert: how could such technical details and complaints from inside the workshop be heard by a completely unrelated messenger from another region, and just happen to reach the ears of the steward of the Machinery Hall? Is there any meaning behind this?
More importantly, the phrase "wasting fuel in vain, what a pity" subtly touched a raw nerve deep within him—the enormous investment and losses only resulted in relentless pressure from all sides and a loss of his own voice.
Several days passed, and there was still no movement inside the Ziguang Palace.
Shang Jiuya appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she couldn't help feeling anxious and disappointed. Had she misunderstood? Had Qingcheng not received the message? Or had he received it but completely disregarded it? Or perhaps he even thought it was a clumsy trap?
Just when she was almost convinced that the test had failed, Bai Yu brought her news that made her heart stop beating.
The information came from the old demon servant Mo Liu, who worked at the waste disposal site. He gestured to Bai Yu that he had discovered that among a recent batch of defective magical artifacts marked "completely scrapped" transported from the core workshop of the Machinery Hall, there seemed to be some exquisitely crafted but extremely weak magical fluctuations in small protective talismans? Or perhaps they were semi-finished products? They were carefully placed at the bottom of the waste bins, as if they had been "forgotten".
The area where this batch of "waste" was received and processed, as confirmed by Li Yue, was located on the edge of the patrol area surrounding the Ziguang Hall that he was newly in charge of, a secluded corner that was rarely visited by personnel from other departments.
Shang Jiuya immediately instructed Li Yue to confirm the discovery of the ink tumors during a patrol. The news Li Yue brought back confirmed the findings: they were indeed several unfinished low-level protective talismans, made of ordinary materials and of acceptable craftsmanship. However, the key point was that they were merely in an inactive state. The location and manner in which they were discarded seemed...too deliberate.
Like a cautious response unwilling to take any risks, I simply "accidentally" left some things that you "might need" near your territory.
Whether you use it or not is up to you.
It has nothing to do with me.
Shang Jiuya clenched her fists tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force.
It's not a failure; it's even better than the best-case scenario we anticipated.
Qingcheng understood her probing and responded in this extremely secretive way.
Overwhelmed with excitement, she almost felt dizzy. She forced herself to calm down and took a few deep breaths.
We mustn't get carried away. This is merely the first step in a long journey, or even a step at all, just a fleeting touch between our fingertips. Qingcheng's attitude remains ambiguous, and he may retreat to protect himself at any moment.
“Li Yue,” she said, her voice trembling with suppressed excitement, trying to remain as calm as possible, “Don’t touch those things for now. Keep an eye on that area and see if there are any other anomalies. If there are no special circumstances, in a few days, bring them back ‘accidentally’ under the guise of ‘cleaning up abandoned corners’.”
“Yes,” Li Yue replied in a deep voice, understanding the significance behind this seemingly insignificant thing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
