The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 70 - 64 Fusion

Chapter 70: Chapter 64 Fusion

Black Wind Village’s backyard, Zhao Bao clutched his swollen face, incredulous. Only a short while ago, King Lin was moved by a hefty promise of gold and treated him with pleasure, so why had he suddenly changed completely now?

So unfamiliar!

"Great Leader, quell your anger; surely you will let Zhao die understanding why."

King Lin sneered, "I’ve heard those scholars say, ’When the ruler’s secrets are leaked, his ministers fail; when the ministers’ secrets are leaked, they lose their lives.’ Your plot is poorly concealed; are you trying to get me killed?"

To strengthen ties with Xu Qing, he purposely sought out tutors from the foot of the mountain to learn some elegant literary phrases, which now came in handy.

Zhao Bao: "Leaking secrets? How is that possible?"

King Lin: "Now look, people in the city are already aware of your visit to me. Now tell me, is County Magistrate Wu really going to Yingtian Prefecture to become an Imperial Censor?"

"Yes, he’s going to Yingtian Prefecture as an Imperial Censor. He’s just a minor Seventh Rank official there, hardly significant." Zhao Bao carefully explained.

King Lin slapped Zhao Bao’s mouth again, "Such an official of Seventh Rank, and not a word of truth in your mouth."

Zhao Bao was nearly crying, "He’s going to Yingtian to be an Imperial Censor, just inspecting the city and such, how high-ranking could he be?"

Seeing Zhao Bao’s expression, which didn’t seem like a lie, King Lin began to have doubts.

Zhao Bao saw King Lin’s hesitation and hurriedly said: "Great Leader, could it be that you’ve been bewitched by some petty crook? Think about it, County Magistrate Wu is just a Seventh Rank official. Getting promoted to Yingtian, how much greater could his rank become? If he truly had formidable connections, he wouldn’t be serving as County Magistrate of a dependent Zhili city. There’s a saying, ’Bad karma in a former life results in being appointed in a dependent city, and it’s even worse if it’s a Zhili city...’"

King Lin, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but waver slightly, but having already hit the man, he couldn’t admit he was wrong, "Normally, killing some passing scholars isn’t a big deal, but this is an Imperial Officer appointed by the Court. In any case, the risk in this business is too great."

Zhao Bao: "I came up the mountain under the orders of Eunuch Zhao and purposely brought the emblem and attire of the Lotus Sect. This will ensure the blame won’t fall on you, Great Leader."

King Lin: "You’ve indeed calculated a good plan."

Seeing King Lin’s tone soften, Zhao Bao quickly struck while the iron was hot: "Great Leader, after this matter is successfully settled, they are willing to offer three thousand taels of gold. Even if it fails, the five hundred taels of gold I brought up the mountain will also be yours."

In fact, the deposit was six hundred taels of gold. Zhao Bao had only embezzled one hundred taels, which was quite conscientious already. Mainly because the deposit was too small, he feared King Lin would not be tempted.

King Lin laughed heartily and patted Zhao Bao’s shoulder: "Mr. Zhao, I have offended you just now. Please sit, I will discuss this matter further with my brothers."

He then signaled his men with a glance to watch Zhao Bao closely.

...

...

King Lin left the backyard and went to see Zhao Bao again. Although the gold was enticing, the high price offered by Eunuch Zhao and his people made King Lin even more suspicious.

But Zhao Bao’s words also made sense; how high could a Seventh Rank County Magistrate be promoted.

Besides, they could use the identity of the Lotus Sect as cover.

At that point, the Yingtian Prefecture officials would also actively help cover up the truth.

As long as the matter didn’t blow up, the officials in Yingtian could smooth things over easily.

King Lin had previously disguised himself to have fun in Yingtian Prefecture, and he had heard something just a few months ago, a Sixth Rank official there "voluntarily" committed suicide over a grain transportation issue, and the Court did not pursue it further.

Be that as it may, some things needed to be clarified.

In fact, this was also the reason Xu Qing only let Guo Li bring a single message.

The truth obtained based on one’s own clues often becomes more convincing.

King Lin naturally came to see Guo Zhuang, and he asked: "Little Brother Guo, I heard that our dear County Magistrate Wu is getting promoted to Yingtian Prefecture. Do you know what position Mr. Wu is going to take?"

Guo Li shook his head: "The young master didn’t say, but yesterday the Lord personally threw a farewell banquet for the County Master, even inviting the Eight Steeds of Jiangning to accompany."

King Lin became pensive. If County Magistrate Wu’s new position wasn’t that significant, why would Magistrate He personally see him off...

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss, and he fell into deep thought.

Seeing King Lin deep in thought for a long time, Guo Li, thinking of the young master’s instructions to come and go quickly, couldn’t help but muster the courage to ask in a low voice: "I am here just to convey a message. If possible, may I return to report back to the young master?"

King Lin came back to his senses and smiled, clapping his hands for someone to bring a gift, "I heard Second Brother Guo is now the head at the River Inspection Office. This is a modest token, not meant to impress."

Guo Li skillfully accepted it.

He knew the rules of the underworld; failing to accept this gift would do more harm than good.

King Lin then arranged for someone to escort Guo Li down the mountain, while sending others to tail him and dispatch fast riders to the city to investigate. As soon as concrete news was obtained, they were to return immediately.

Due to the urgency, according to the news brought by Zhao Bao, in approximately two days, County Magistrate Wu would set out. Even if he traveled slowly, it would likely take just one day to pass by Qixia Mountain.

King Lin must investigate this information before then and make a decision.

Without Xu Qing’s warning, King Lin certainly wouldn’t have thought this deeply, and gold is tempting. If he didn’t carry out this deed, his subordinates would want to, and he simply couldn’t stop them.

If the risk of this task was indeed high, King Lin would need solid proof to reassure his subordinates.

After all, they risked their lives and shed blood to follow him up the mountain, not to "deliver justice" but to get rich and chase women...

...

...

"Brother Wang, Brother Ma, and all the masters, please come in and sit." Xu Qing had Guo Li deliver a message up the mountain and also had Guo Zhuang and Yihe Hall find skilled people to escort County Magistrate Wu. He even enlisted Guard Wang and Guard Ma to assist.