Chapter 59: Gathering Information

Even though Chen Hao recalled that his online "wife" was quite young, he never suspected Ban Qianqian. After all, he had never revealed his real name to his "wife" online, and it seemed too much of a coincidence for Ban Qianqian to know him in real life.

After resting for only three hours in his dormitory, Chen Hao hurried to the internet café in the middle of the night to log into the game. The carriage ride from Qinghe County to Penglai County took only about four hours. He could have told the coachman to wait until he had enough sleep before logging in, but he dared not keep Lin Heier and Cuiyun Madam waiting.

The fisherman’s words struck a chord in Chen Hao’s heart; he did indeed want to recruit the two highly skilled NPCs, Lin Heier and Cuiyun Madam. However, the difficulty was anything but ordinary. If a player wanted to hire ordinary NPCs, as long as the payment was satisfactory, it was easy to hire a group at any time. But each famous figure in history had their own ideals and pursuits, and were not swayed by money.

Not to mention that Chen Hao didn’t have a fortune to spend—even if he did, Lin Heier and Cuiyun Madam would never be convinced by mere silver.

Shortly after logging into the game, the coachman called out to Chen Hao inside the carriage, “Sir, we've arrived at Penglai County. Where would you like to go?”

After Chen Hao gave the address, the coachman quickly delivered the three of them to their rented courtyard. It was daytime in the game world. Wang Wu was practicing his saber skills, limping on one leg. When he saw Chen Hao and the others enter the courtyard, he put away his horse-cutting saber and said, “You’ve finally arrived.”

Wang Wu was a respected elder in the martial world, and both Lin Heier and Cuiyun Madam held him in high esteem, hastening to pay their respects. Wang Wu sighed and said, “Junior Sister Zhang Yuanyuan was arrested because of me. My heart is heavy, and I only regret that my injured leg keeps me from rescuing her myself.”

Lin Heier replied, “Elder Brother, do not worry. I have come this time precisely to rescue Junior Sister. I will go at once to gather information.”

Wang Wu shook his head, saying, “You and Cuiyun Madam are both outsiders in Penglai County. You’ll stand out too much if you go looking for news. It’s better to have Baxian do it.”

“Yes, Master,” Chen Hao replied.

As Wang Wu’s disciple, Chen Hao was accustomed to being sent on errands. These tasks might not always trigger a quest in the game, meaning there was no guaranteed reward. But sometimes, Wang Wu would give him a generous bonus for his efforts.

Beside him, Cuiyun Madam smiled gently and said, “Nephew Baxian, Chief Zhao taught you the Plum Blossom Fist to strengthen your body, but I’ve noticed your steps are still too heavy. If you perform well and help us rescue Junior Sister Zhang Yuanyuan, I will teach you a lightness skill.”

Chen Hao was elated. The stronger a player's attributes, the faster their speed, but special training could increase speed even further. The Plum Blossom Fist he had learned, practiced with the Plum Blossom Stakes, had given him two extra points in speed. If he learned a dedicated lightness skill, his speed would increase even more.

The player's basic stats didn’t display speed, but any increase in speed, though hidden, could be clearly felt.

Leaving the courtyard, Chen Hao darted through several secluded alleys before arriving at Li Pisen’s residence. After spending an hour studying the Analects with Li Pisen, he smiled and asked, “Has there been any result regarding the search of your residence, Teacher?”

Li Pisen snorted, “The result came that very day. I had a decent relationship with Magistrate Liu Ziyuan, but I never imagined he would plot against me as well.”

Chen Hao shook his head. “I see it differently. Even if Constable Liu Shengkui knew Zhang Yuanyuan was a member of the Boxer Rebellion, he wouldn’t risk offending the magistrate just to arrest her. Magistrate Liu Ziyuan must be aware of your reputation and connections. Why would he take such a risk over a mere courtesan?”

Li Pisen pondered for a moment. “What you say makes sense. But as that outsider Sanshengshi pointed out, if Liu Ziyuan wasn’t behind it, how did he promote Sanshengshi to the position of Six-Room Scribe?”

Chen Hao smiled. “I am also an outsider like Sanshengshi and know his background well. There are rumors that the magistrate has a fondness for gold and silver. It’s likely that Sanshengshi, failing to find anything in your residence and fearing punishment from the constable, bribed the magistrate to secure the scribe position. Pressured by your influence, the magistrate had to punish him, so he turned the tables as a counter-move…”

Li Pisen suddenly stood up. “That must be it. I won’t let that scoundrel get away with this.”

Chen Hao shook his head again. “Now that Sanshengshi has befriended Mr. Liu from the Inspector’s Office, I fear Mr. Liu has also benefited from him. Not even the magistrate can touch him now. If you go, it will be for nothing.”

Li Pisen said bitterly, “That rogue is truly cunning. Baxian, do you have any ideas to deal with him?”

Now that Sanshengshi had made a connection with Mr. Liu, Chen Hao had no immediate solution, but he seized the opportunity to cast suspicion on Sanshengshi. Hearing Li Pisen’s question, he shook his head. “No. As long as Mr. Liu is around, there’s nothing we can do. If he were gone, the magistrate would take care of him without you needing to intervene.”

Li Pisen sighed. “Tomorrow, he’ll follow Mr. Liu to Laizhou. That scoundrel is getting off too easily.”

Chen Hao feigned surprise. “Didn’t Mr. Liu come here to investigate Broadsaber Wang Wu? With Wang Wu’s whereabouts unknown, why is he leaving so soon?”

Li Pisen explained, “After Zhang Yuanyuan was imprisoned, Mr. Liu ordered people to interrogate her through the night. She proved to be tough and revealed nothing under all kinds of torture. Mr. Liu suspects she has accomplices, so he arrested a number of courtesans to question them. He found out that Zhang Yuanyuan is actually a Red Lantern envoy sent by the Boxer rebels to Dengzhou. To prevent the Red Lantern rebels from attempting a jail break, Mr. Liu has decided to transfer the prisoners to the Inspector’s Office as soon as possible.”

Though Chen Hao had obtained the information he wanted, he was still puzzled. If Mr. Liu feared delays, wasn’t he worried about something happening on the transfer to Laizhou?

Seeing Chen Hao’s confusion, Li Pisen explained, “Sanshengshi has earned Mr. Liu’s trust and said that if Mr. Liu escorts the prisoners to Laizhou, he can bring a hundred outsiders along as guards. Together with thirty Penglai constables, the Red Lantern rebels would surely not dare to act rashly.”

Chen Hao suddenly understood—Sanshengshi was clever indeed. By volunteering a hundred players to escort the prisoners, the system would surely generate an escort mission. In this way, he not only gained Mr. Liu’s favor, but his followers could also reap the rewards of the mission. It was a brilliant move, killing two birds with one stone.

After pondering for a moment, a smile appeared on Chen Hao’s face. He took his leave and exited the Li residence through the back door. Once he was sure he wasn’t being followed, he hurried back to the small courtyard.

With Sanshengshi leading a hundred players to escort the prisoners and triggering the quest, Lin Heier, now in Penglai, was sure to issue a counter-mission to rescue them. The authorities would post mass quests via public notices, but Lin Heier would not use such means—she would have Chen Hao recruit people to accept the mission directly from her.

This way, Chen Hao could gather skilled players to ambush the escort en route. Once the fighting started, the system would inevitably switch the mission to a two-sided quest. Chen Hao stood to lose nothing if the rescue failed, but if Sanshengshi let the prisoners be rescued, he would not only lose his connection to Mr. Liu but also suffer penalties for failing the mission.