Chapter 97: Gathering Information
The scene fell silent, and it was Li Xuan who spoke first.
"Sect Master, Li Shengqi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly made such a move for a reason. I will go and inquire to find out what happened," Li Xuan said.
After Meng Zhang nodded, Li Xuan took his leave.
Meng Zhang pondered for a moment before saying, "To be cautious, Black Horse and Gray Mouse, you should continue to monitor Li Shengqi."
"If the journey takes longer than a month, you may abandon the mission and collect your reward at the black market."
Black Horse and Gray Mouse didn't say much and immediately left after hearing Meng Zhang's instructions.
After the two left, Meng Zhang asked Jue Ying, "Is there something you want to say?"
Earlier, when everyone was silent, Jue Ying had secretly sent a message to Meng Zhang, wanting to have a private chat with him, saying that she might have a way to gather information about the internal situation of Flying Swan Building.
"I have a special channel that can gather information about Li Shengqi's activities within the Flying Swan Building," Jue Ying said.
"But I can't do it for free. In the agreement we reached earlier, there was no provision for provoking the Flying Swan Building," she added with a cold tone.
"Oh? Do you want to raise the price at the last moment? Do you want me to pay extra?" Meng Zhang didn't directly answer Jue Ying's question but instead replied with a question.
Jue Ying didn't immediately respond but asked, "I heard that Sect Master Meng cultivates the Yang attribute's Dual Cultivation Lesser Yang Qi Art. I wonder if you have condensed the Lesser Yang True Fire?"
While Meng Zhang's practice of the Lesser Yang Qi Art wasn't a secret and could easily be known, he had deliberately kept his change to the "Sun-Moon Wheel Turning Sutra" a secret. When he acted outside, he used Solar True Qi, concealing his Lunar True Qi.
Solar True Qi and Lesser Yang True Qi were very similar, with the former being an upgraded version of the latter. Most people would assume that his Lesser Yang True Qi was exceptionally pure and powerful, and only a few perceptive individuals could recognize it as Solar True Qi.
As for the Lunar True Qi within him, as long as Meng Zhang didn't actively use it, no one could detect it.
"That's right. I cultivate the Lesser Yang Qi Art, and I have already condensed the Lesser Yang True Fire. What's the problem?" Meng Zhang seemingly nonchalantly replied.
"As long as Sect Master Meng agrees to help me once with the Lesser Yang True Qi in the future, I will provide you with the information you need," Jue Ying said earnestly.
Meng Zhang pondered for a moment, feeling displeased with Jue Ying's behavior of taking advantage and raising the price at the last moment. However, given the current situation, apart from Jue Ying, he had no way to gather the necessary information.
"Is this favor dangerous or unethical?" Meng Zhang asked.
"Helping with this matter is absolutely safe, and it's an act of assisting others, not doing harm," Jue Ying quickly replied.
"Alright, I agree," Meng Zhang reluctantly agreed but secretly took note of the favor.
After receiving Meng Zhang's response, Jue Ying got up to leave.
"We are alone here without any witnesses. Aren't you afraid that I might agree now but go back on my word later?" Meng Zhang suddenly spoke up.
"I've never had anyone renege on a debt owed to me, Jue Ying," she said with an unexplainable confidence.
Meng Zhang wanted to slap her. How dare a mid Refining Qi cultivator act so arrogant in front of him? If he didn't need her right now, he would have taught her a lesson to let her know that not everyone could act so arrogantly in front of anyone, for such arrogance would be met with lightning strikes.
After Jue Ying left, Meng Zhang returned to the inn where he was staying.
Late in the evening, Li Xuan, who had been busy for most of the day, returned to the inn looking somewhat tired.
His hard work for the day hadn't been in vain, as Li Xuan brought important news.
Two days ago, a messenger had managed to evade all surveillance and secretly handed a letter to Li Shengqi.
No wonder Li Shengqi had acted afterward; it turned out he had received a letter.
Almost simultaneously, Zhao Family also got wind of this information.
Ever since Li Shengqi had instructed Li Nu two days ago, Zhao Jiudou, who had received this news, rushed to Singing Sand City to oversee the situation.
"No wonder Li Shengqi made a move. It seems he had to act after receiving this letter," Zhao Jiudou also made the same judgment.
Regarding Li Shengqi's actions, Zhao Jiudou and Meng Zhang had a similar assessment.
Li Nu's journey should have been a diversion to distract their attention.
However, to prevent Li Shengqi from playing tricks—wherein the real may seem fake and the fake may seem real—although this possibility was small, Zhao Jiudou still instructed Li Nu to follow Li Shengqi's orders and arranged for Zhao Family disciples to secretly follow him from behind.
After all, Zhao Family had a large number of cultivators and was not as short-handed as Meng Zhang.
Zhao Jiudou was also closely monitoring Li Shengqi's actions in Flying Swan Building.
Unfortunately, Zhao Family had no means or courage to directly inquire about the internal situation of the Flying Swan Building.
With no other choice, Zhao Jiudou had to focus on monitoring Li Shengqi himself.
Zhao Family cultivators secretly followed Li Shengqi as he left Singing Sand City, keeping a close eye on him throughout.
Zhao Jiudou also visited many friendly cultivators in Singing Sand City based on Zhao Family's network, hoping to gather information indirectly.
Zhao Family didn't have any intentions toward the Flying Swan Building; they just wanted to know about Li Shengqi's actions. That was Zhao Jiudou's explanation in front of these cultivators.
While Zhao Family cultivators were on the move, Meng Zhang and Li Xuan were still waiting in the inn.
Apart from arranging for Black Horse and Gray Mouse to secretly follow Li Shengqi, they couldn't do much else; they had to wait for Jue Ying's message.
Jue Ying didn't disappoint Meng Zhang. After midnight, she arrived at the inn where Meng Zhang was staying.
Li Xuan welcomed Jue Ying into the courtyard and brought her to Meng Zhang.
"Li Shengqi entrusted a commercial caravan of the Flying Swan Building to deliver a box to a designated location," Jue Ying straightforwardly shared the information she had worked hard to gather.
"Do you know which caravan it is, when it departed, and the route it took?" Meng Zhang asked several questions in one breath.
Jue Ying nodded. "I have already investigated all the information."
With Jue Ying's information, as long as he tracked that caravan, Meng Zhang should be able to find his target and learn about Li Shengqi's ultimate purpose.
However, tracking a Flying Swan Building caravan was risky. These caravans were heavily guarded, extremely vigilant, and constantly aware of their surroundings. If Meng Zhang were to expose his whereabouts and be discovered by the caravan guards, Taiyi Sect would be in big trouble.
For a moment, Meng Zhang didn't speak and felt somewhat troubled.
But giving up at this point was something he absolutely couldn't do.
Apart from the time and resources invested, his curiosity alone made him want to know what Li Shengqi was up to and why Zhao Family had been monitoring him all this time.
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