28th February, Beihua Prefecture, Evening.
At this time, Jin Bo was having a secret meeting with Lei.
Jin Bo asked, "Is what you said true?"
Lei nodded. "I can assure you that I will help you get revenge and take the head of Jin Long as well as Jin Huang!"
Lei suddenly stood up as his tone changed. "But before that, I need to know if you are trustworthy!"
Jin Bo narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, General Shi?"
Lei said coldly, "You know what I mean. A few days ago, a girl came here and even got to meet you personally!"
Jin Bo understood, but there was no change in his facial expression. His mental fortitude was so strong that even his mental radiation showed no obvious fluctuations.
He said calmly, "You are jesting, General Shi."
He moved towards him and poured another cup of tea. "The girl did come. She told me that she could help me in my revenge against King Jin Long."
"I guessed that she had some external help who sent her with their own goals. I dared not take the risk and had her executed publicly. Since you know about her existence, you should also be aware of my decision!"
Lei smiled as he continued, "It's really easy to fake a death. Do you think you can fool me?"
Jin Bo shook his head. "If the General has no intention of helping, I would bid farewell to the General! But before that, I must clarify, I would never cooperate with someone who reveals his intentions publicly! I don't care how powerful the mastermind behind the girl was, but since they actually let that girl speak about betraying the king in front of everyone, how can I actually choose to believe them? How dare I help them when they don't even have this bit of self-awareness?"
Jin Bo was right. Unfortunately, at that time, Li Gang had no other choice. He had limited time, and in that time, he couldn't teach a naive girl like Chu You everything. Even just giving her instructions and sending her away took a lot of his time. He could only gamble on the fact that Chu You's desperation to protect the ones she loved was strong enough to achieve what he wanted her to. He had only Zudas as a Warrior at his disposal. In order to be more thorough, he had to gamble upon Chu You.
Even if she messed up, it wouldn't affect what Zudas would do. At the same time, whether she survived or died, Lei would come to know about her. As long as he did a background check on her, he would be able to trace everything to the hamlet settlements and get his hands on the wet and illegible letter.
Lei glanced at Jin Bo and didn't speak. Once again, he had no proof. He wanted to bring out some shock externally or internally in order to see through Jin Bo and verify whether Huang had sent someone to mess up his plans beforehand.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything.
He frowned internally. 'What is he planning?'
At this time, Lei was in self-doubt about Huang's actions. Could it be that Huang was deliberately not taking any action in order to not reveal a single clue? Did he want to hide in the Golden Crow Dynasty until everything calmed down, and then silently disappear?
Lei understood that deceiving someone was way easier than seeing through another's deception. Huang was at the deceiving end at this point. As a result, in this battle, Huang was at an advantage.
He put it out of his mind and said, "I will trust you then. I need you to find someone."
Jin Bo nodded.
Shi Tian took out a painting and gave it to Jin Bo. He asked lightly, "I need you to find this person. Help me search for him in every city bordering Shanluo!"
Jin Bo asked lightly, "Just tell me where I have to search and I'll handle it. Searching so many cities isn't feasible, and it would be best if you could narrow down the search."
Jin Bo had another intention behind these words. He wished to know if Lei also had his own Warriors searching somewhere. If so, then he could proceed with his next plan. Unfortunately, Lei couldn't see through it, since it was true that searching so many cities wasn't feasible and was something no one would agree to just to help without any tangible benefits. It would be weird if Jin Bo agreed to it.
Lei nodded. "You don't need to search Dongning City. I have already sent a few of my trusted Warriors in search of him. You can search in Beihua Prefecture first and then send some Warriors to the eastern neighboring city to Shanluo."
Jin Bo nodded. "What about you?"
Lei smirked. "The plan has begun. You'll see the effect soon. Yin House Warriors have already been sent out, and the Northern Shorelines are extremely vulnerable."
After a short discussion, Lei left. Jin Bo went back to his room and sat down. One could see signs of exhaustion on his face.
He sighed in relief as he murmured, 'Thankfully, I took the precautions!'
It turned out, Chu You had informed him beforehand that he would personally visit their Beihua Prefecture, and might suspect her involvement. It would be best if Jin Bo was mentally prepared and didn't show any suspicious emotions, whether externally or internally.
At the same time, right after hearing the traitorous words of Chu You, Jin Bo took precautions and sentenced her to death publicly, helping her fake her death.
He asked someone to call Chu You.
A few minutes later.
Jin Bo looked at her and said calmly, "The situation with General Shi Tian has been handled. Next, we need to let your grandmother meet him 'accidentally'."
It should be noted that, if Jin Bo revealed any hints to Lei, Lei might get suspicious. His previous suspicions hadn't been fully ruled out. He might feel that Huang was trying to distract Lei with fake clues.
It was precisely why he probed where Lei was searching for the person, so that he could create an 'accident' to let him confront the clues himself!
30th February, Shanluo City, Eastern Outskirts.
A Rank 4 Warrior asked outside a tent, "Senior, we have the news!"
A voice sounded from inside, "Enter!"
The Rank 4 Warrior, named Han Ji, bowed and then gave the information he got. "There is an old lady who was found suspicious when we went to Dongning City. She seemed to identify the person."
Han Ji continued, "Senior, we also found a letter!"
Lei frowned. "What letter?"
Han Ji said, "The letter is wet, and the text has been blurred, but the main point is, it was found at the same place where they resided!"
Lei put away the letter and continued asking.
Lei nodded and asked thoughtfully, "How did you find her?"
Han Ji said respectfully, "When we asked about it at the hamlet settlements on the outskirts of Dongning City, someone said that he had been there. After some inquiry, we got to know that he had stayed at an old lady's house. However, a few days ago, both the old lady and her granddaughter disappeared, along with the Warrior protecting the village. We asked for a portrait of both of them. Later on, after some searching, we found the old lady in Dongning City."
Lei's eyes narrowed as he thought of something. "What about the granddaughter?"
Han Ji took out a portrait and gave it to Lei. "We have yet to find her."
Lei looked at the portrait and returned it. "Try to find her!"
Lei didn't see what Chu You, who appeared in Beihua Prefecture, looked like. He only had an impression of her age. However, that was enough to connect the dots. Both of them should be around the same age!
He said to him, "Ask someone to find some locals who live near Prince Jin Bo, and ask them to draw a portrait of the girl who was executed publicly a few days ago."
He continued, "How did you find her? I want to know in detail!"
Han Ji replied, "When we arrived at Dongning City, we found her at a wet market. She was buying raw meat for her daily needs."
Lei frowned. 'Was that a coincidence?'
He asked, "Did you question her about what she had been doing these days? Who took her away?"
Han Ji replied, "Yes. She said her granddaughter's friend, named Zudas, took her over there. He said she didn't need to work hard for food and clothing and could live there in peace. But yesterday, the servant who used to send food didn't appear. So she had to come to the market herself to buy it."
Lei's face turned serious as he glanced at Han Ji. "Go and do a background check on her. Find out who is providing her food and clothing."
Lei instantly connected many dots and made a hypothesis.
"I see what's going on now. I just need to verify it!"
"Li Gang, oh Li Gang, you truly are brilliant! Who would have expected that you were so capable?"
"Not only did you figure out you had been parasitized, you also figured out I am parasitizing Shi Tian. You understood that we are both against each other as well."
"Seeing your own hopeless situation, you are trying to reveal your location to me in order to use me as a deterrent to force Huang out. Although I am not sure what plan you have in mind, you are bound to fail. If you had known how parasitizing a body works, you'd have understood how hopeless your situation is! You are fated to die!"
Why did Lei think this was all the arrangement of Li Gang?
He believed the girl who got executed by Jin Bo was the same granddaughter of that old lady. Right after he revealed that he was going to search in Dongning City, a coincidence happened and the servant didn't deliver the raw food. It happened on the very same day when his subordinates were searching in the very same area where the old lady would buy meat.
If this was a coincidence, then it didn't matter. But if it was someone's deliberate arrangement, then it could only be Jin Bo, who was the only one to know where he had sent his Warriors to search for him.
This would also explain the suspicious girl who appeared at that time. Lei first thought of Huang, but then he rejected this idea without a second thought. Only Li Gang, who was completely at his wit's end and desperate, would send a girl so rashly, where she would reveal her traitorous goals in front of many Warriors!
It was possible that after getting the message Li Gang wanted to convey, Jin Bo executed her directly. It was also possible that she was still alive by keeping some information to herself as leverage to protect her life, and Jin Bo helped her fake her death. Either possibility didn't affect Lei's inference.
Lei wondered, "Where is Zudas now?" as he opened the letter. There were only two words, but they made Lei pupil shrink: "Your son Zhenyu..."
The rest of the words were blurred!