Book 19 Chapter 5

Follow (尾行)

-Bam! Jams

One of the places in Nanchang's folklore industry that was full of common sense was "Cheonghong Lu," also known as Nanchang Samdai Lu. It was located only three buildings away from the Nanchang branch of the Zhongyuan Bureau, and whenever the Zhongyuan Bureau needed to entertain customers, they would always patronize this hotel, and the customers always received the best treatment and the best service.

In fact, it was an open secret that the Zhongyuan Bureau had the backing of the Qinghong Lu. In fact, the Qinghong Lu could be said to be a half-hidden Zhongyuan Bureau. It's easy to guess that nearly sixty percent of the annual sales of Qinghong Lu go to the Zhongyuan Bureau. However, running the lodge directly would have given the public a bad impression, so the lodge had to pretend to be something it was not.

"One… two… three… four… and five!

It was an absurdly small number, Yi Xiguan sneered to himself. He had just finished a diplomatic meeting with the Majin family and had turned down the lodgings offered by the Heavenly Martial Academy to come here to the Qinghong Lu, feeling unpleasantly devalued.

Followers totaled five!

Normally, an envoy's every move is watched by covert operatives - intelligence agencies - with a light in their eyes, trying to glean new information from their every move. Since you're unlikely to get a straight answer anyway, and the answers you do get are often intentionally misleading, it's a rule of thumb that it's far more efficient to watch behavior and deduce motives than to stick your tongue in your cheek. At its best, an envoy could reveal the source of an opponent's contacts-an impossible task-which made surveillance an absolute necessity.

He stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone squinted at this outrageously gorgeous young man. He was gorgeous and handsome enough to attract the attention of the courtesans. With a face like that, you could forget about the five painful rings in his ears. He was easy to track and easy to spy on. But these spies had set their sights too low.

"Only five, you should have put in twice that!

If he thought he could escape notice with that kind of skill, he was sorely mistaken. He sneered at the watchers inwardly and strode with a leisurely pace into the Qinghong Lu.

"Come on, Osho, Confucius!"

A jumsoi came running to greet him. It was a far cry from the old retired maiden or master who usually came running out of a giru; this was a spot, a giru, a handled giru. Behind it all was a highly commercialized arrangement to attract people to the giru for meals, drinks, and tea. In fact, the place went out of its way to give off the impression that it would not do giru business. It was a careful consideration to ensure that customers could come and go as they pleased without being noticed.

"Bring in the ruler!"

Ting!

A silver coin fell from the sky and landed in Jiaxiao's hand. Statistics have shown that the more money that is placed in the hands of a jumpsaw, the deeper the angle of his stoop and the faster his steps. It's fascinating to think that a coin weighing less than a penny can crush something weighing nearly a thousand times that much.

"Go, thank you, Confucius!"

After bending down to the point where he was afraid his head would touch the ground, Jumsoi disappeared in front of him like the wind. A moment later, the general manager appeared, panting. The general manager's steps were swift, as if Jumsoi had added flesh and blood to his report.

The master's eyes swept over the table faster than a flash of light.

Next to the teacup lay a thin, round piece of metal with a square hole in the center of the circle. It was a very useful object that could occasionally be turned into tea or food, and the proprietor, who was convinced that his job was to extract more of it from the pockets of his guests, was well aware of this.

"What can I do for you, Confucius?"

In a polite tone, the manager asked.

"I have come to borrow the power [力] to go to heaven [天]."

Raising his teacup gracefully, Yi Xian said. Then the master's complexion changed slightly. His gaze once again flickered to the coin beside the teacup.

"Which flower is the most beautiful in the sky?"

The manager asked.

"The most beautiful flowers are those that bloom in the snow."

Ishiguro replied hesitantly.

"In what field[原] of heaven does that flower bloom?"

The general manager asked again.

"It is not blooming in any of the fields to the east, west, south, or north."

That left only the center.

The general manager then bowed and said politely.

"Follow me."

Ishigan set down his teacup and rose to his feet.

"This way."

The master soon led him to an annex. It was a dream paradise where only a select few of the guests were allowed to go, a place where ordinary people couldn't even step on the threshold.

Ishigan stepped over the colorful paving stones of the garden and looked around. It was still early, and there were no customers or courtesans in sight.

The palace was decorated at great expense. Pure white marble from Dali was used to pave the entire pathway, and each pillar was ornately decorated with brass and gold. The crowning glory was a pond carved out of the rock in the center of the courtyard and a stream that ran through the entire courtyard. Lotus flowers and unnamed orchids grew in the pond, and the lake's perimeter was lined with peculiarly shaped taihoku stones with piercing holes.

"What a great garden!"

Ishiguro was honestly impressed.

"There's nothing untouched here, and the materials are all top-of-the-line."

"Thank you. You certainly have an eye for detail. You won't find a more colorful or beautiful garden anywhere in Nanchang. We pride ourselves on always providing the best for our guests."

With a voice full of pride, the master replied.

This strategy of gentrification was the real driving force behind Chenghong Lu becoming one of the Three Great Houses of Nanchang. The best are the ones who spare no expense, and in order to be the best, you can't spare no expense.

"Look at the tahoe stones decorating the perimeter of that artificial lake. Isn't it beautiful?"

Tahoe stone literally refers to a uniquely shaped rock formation with wrinkles and pockmarks that can only be found in Tahoe.

"That Tahoe stone must possess the four virtues of 'chu, two, nu, and shu' to be considered a truly good Tahoe stone. 'Chu' means moderately wrinkled, 'two' means moderately pierced, 'nu' means moderately hollow, and 'shu' means moderately yawning, and these four qualities must be present in moderation to be recognized as superior. The stones in the garden here are all of these specialties, and they were brought here by people from Taihu."

"That must have cost a lot of money."

"Of course, of course, Horseshoe. Tahoe stone only comes from Tahoe, so if you want to decorate your garden with it outside of Tahoe, of course you have to transport it from Tahoe. But those stones are heavy, especially Tahoe stone used for garden landscaping. The cost of transporting those heavy stones from Tahoe to the garden here in Namchang, so far away from Tahoe, is almost astronomical."

It meant dizzyingly expensive things.

"I bet you do."

With each step through the pure white passageways that surrounded the palace on all sides, the palace dazzled the eyes of the walker with an entirely new landscape. It wasn't until Yi Shiguan had taken in all of the scenery that his master's steps stopped.

"This room."

Unusually, it had a large padlock on it.

"Oh, you mean like this? This is a special place for special customers, and we usually keep it under lock and key. We don't want children who are lured by gold to make unintentional mistakes."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"You'll be happy."

The key turned and the lock opened. A special room with Ishigan inside. The name of the room was 'Snowflake'.

But there was one person who was secretly watching his back, and his name is…….

"What are you doing here, mister, are you being hunted for a debt, or do you have a prostitute in mind?"

"Oh, my God!"

Jang Hong jumped off the fence he was clinging to in anger.

"Where did you come from?"

"Popping out? I've been behind you since the beginning."

Touro Bi Ryuyeon replied, "It's not a big deal.

"Get your ass out of bed."

"I don't think that's what you're talking about."

"Hmm, that's a good one too."

In fact, it was a violation of his professional ethics. But how could he……. But Jang Hong's questioning was cut short by Bi Ryuyeon's barrage of questions.

"What were you doing?"

"No, just……."

"You don't look like you're drowning in debt… and you don't look like you've got a girl crush, because you're going out for a night on the town."

As the words kept coming, Jang Hong couldn't help but panic.

"Uh huh, don't say something that will be misunderstood if anyone overhears."

"No, why? Is there someone who shouldn't hear it?"

"No, not really, but……."

"What's the harm in that?"

"That's one thing, but……. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh, I'm invited."

"Huh? You mean all the people who invite you?"

"Come on, what's the matter with you? Anyone with eyes to see will recognize it."

"Who's invited?"

Jang Hong couldn't help but be surprised by Bi Ryuyeon's answer.

"What? Don't lie to me!"

"What do I have to gain by lying to you?"

"Hmm, nothing."

Unfortunately, there wasn't.

"No?"

"I see, but I can't believe it, it's actually him who invited you here……."

"Believe it, believe it, blessed are those who believe. I don't understand why Swordsman Hu shouldn't invite me here, he's my and Yerin's notary."

"I don't believe you meant it……."

"So you're telling me you're bluffing from that position?"

"No, not that either, but……."

"Do you realize that I've been incoherent in my speech?"

"I admit it."

Jang Hong raised his hands and surrendered obediently.

"But why this place, Cheong Hong Lu?"

"Why, can't I come here?"

"No, not that you can't, but……. You don't think I'm coming with Sojae, do you?"

"Why wouldn't they come, of course they would."

"The eyes of the men who come and go from this place will be turned upside down. Have you forgotten what happened the other day?"

"You'd better write something. Otherwise, you might have to cross a river of spit with every step you take."

"That may be the wisest advice to come out of your mouth in a while."

"What a pity. My advice is always wise."

"Chet, you missed it."

"Uh, are you smoking something?"

"No, I'm lamenting. I'm going to be told I can't pay the bills again, can't you include me in your dinner invitation?"

"Do you think it will work?"

"No, I don't expect anything like that."

Jang Hong shrugged and replied.