NOVPUB``` n𝚘𝚟pub.𝚌o𝚖
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Lub Su and a few others were drinking tea in the Political Office, leisurely chatting about all sorts of things. This was a lifestyle habit brought about by Chen Xi.
"Ziyang, what do you think Boning would do if he happened upon Zichuan strolling around? I’m quite optimistic about the prospect of Zichuan getting caught," Lub Su said with a smile on his face.
"He would definitely get caught, but he wouldn’t be brought back, I believe. Zichuan must have thought of a good excuse before he even left the house, and it’s surely legitimate," Liu Ye said, a smile flickering across his face as he imagined the scenario. Then, remembering Chen Xi’s nature of planning ahead, he made a guess and continued.
"I think so too," Jian Yong said, taking a sip of tea. "Boning might be ruthless upon catching sight of him, detain him, but before he could be brought back, Zichuan would probably have already persuaded Boning."
Sunx Qian saw that everyone was looking at him and nodded his head to indicate that he agreed with this opinion, "I heard that Zichuan has already planned everything out before next year’s summer harvest. Has anyone seen it?"
"Mm, that is true. Even though Zichuan spends his days drinking tea and enjoying pastries, his official duties are always the first to be completed," Jian Yong said with evident admiration. "When I first came here, I had no idea about this. Back then, we were each assigned enough duties to keep us busy for three months, but Zichuan finished in just five days. Afterward, he just watched me and Zilong deal with our duties while he enjoyed his tea and pastries."
As Jian Yong spoke, a look of painful reminiscence crossed his face. It wasn’t so bad when everyone was dealing with official duties, but when every single person was busy with work, and one person had already finished and was leisurely sitting beside you drinking tea and eating pastries, it really stirred an urge to throttle them.
"Ah, I only found out about this later, too. Zichuan never needed to think when he got his duties. It seemed as though all trouble was nonexistent for him. He just needed to draft a plan and pass it on to someone else. We simply can’t compare with him," Lub Su sighed. "However, one advantage of having Zichuan around is that our Political Office never runs out of tea and pastries, and it’s not as rigid as other places."
"Mm, that’s actually true. When I was in Luoyang, the old men from the Imperial Clan Court had me work as a long-term in the palace for a while, but, alas!" Liu Ye sighed, evidently feeling a frustrated and painful sentiment.
"I know that kind of place, there’s nothing to be done," Lub Su said in a consoling tone to Liu Ye, echoing a resigned acceptance. In such places, everyone was eagerly jockeying for position, and pulling each other down seemed only natural. There’s no helping it; when troubled times are approaching and the nation breeds demons, it’s all to be expected.
The four men seemed to recall the Luoyang City that had been burned down, the Ten Attendants who had died without a place to be buried, and Dong Zhuo, who was still causing chaos in the Han Dynasty. They each let out a long sigh, faces clouding over, and any interest in conversation and tea faded away as the Political Office fell silent again.
"Report!" Just as they were sitting in silence, a guard carrying a bamboo slip and a jade pendant entered.
"Does Zichuan have something to inform us about? He’s even sent his jade pendant over," Lub Su said curiously, reaching out to take the bamboo slip and spreading it open to quickly browse through it. His expression changed unpredictably as he read, "Zichuan certainly thinks far ahead, with everything anticipated. Ziyang, have a look too."
After Liu Ye quickly glanced over the bamboo slip, a gloomy expression appeared on his face as well. His guess was nearly the same as Chen Xi’s; no matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t good news. However, what he disagreed with Chen Xi about was the idea of killing all the newcomers. With such a good opportunity and such great arrangements, not capturing them all alive would simply be wasteful. Besides, with the current setup, what was there to worry about?
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"Zichuan is being overly cautious, don’t you think? The buildings lining both sides of the main streets that lead into the four city gates are all built like city walls, and none of them are for sale. In essence, this is like a downsized version of Weng City. Plus, they’re all disguised as taverns, inns, and storefronts, which nobody would pay any attention to. If we block the front and back, even if a Top General were to appear in the middle, he could still be taken down," Liu Ye marveled at Chen Xi’s arrangements, albeit somewhat helplessly acknowledging Chen Xi’s circumspection.
"Zichuan doesn’t want to delve deeper into this matter; according to his plans, the next two years are a period for amassing troops and stockpiling grain. Starting a war right now wouldn’t be cost-effective," Lub Su explained as he shook his head.
"I know, and I don’t intend to start a war either. Given our capabilities, we could wipe them all out and still be able to guess who’s behind it. This is just a warning to the other party, signaling that we don’t wish to investigate this matter further," Liu Ye nodded and said, "The problem is that we’ll capture them all alive. As long as they can’t send out any messages, whatever we say on the outside will prevail."
"Alright then, I’ll make it rain a bit to send all the townsfolk home so that no one will know," Lub Su pondered briefly and then agreed with Liu Ye’s idea. As for what Chen Xi had said about killing them all, it was just a measure for safety.
Sunx Qian and Jian Yong also looked over the bamboo slip, "I’ll write the dispatch order, and Gong Youu can stamp it. It’s actually a good habit of Zichuan’s to not take the Seal ribbon with him. He leaves it at the Political Office. Otherwise, if we had to wait for Zichuan to come back himself, we might really be too late."
Feeling the chilly rain on his body, Chen Xi sneezed, marveling at how swiftly and densely the rain had come. It splattered on the road, sending pedestrians scattering, rushing back to their homes. Within just a minute, the streets that had been busy with people were now completely deserted.
[This really is quite reckless. They aren’t afraid of being discovered, but the actions are indeed discreet, almost undetectable. I wonder who’s behind this trick. Speaking of which, why didn’t I think of this? It’s the Ultimate Knowledge for clearing out an area—suddenly there’s no worry of collateral damage. Damn it, it’s even fogging up slowly, and so harmoniously too.] Chen Xi thought in amazement, taking shelter under the eaves.
"Zijing has a nice touch," Liu Ye said with a sigh of appreciation, watching Lub Su’s actions and the torrential rain outside.
"It was about to rain anyway. I just gave it a little push," Lub Su said with a smile, downplaying his contribution. He certainly wasn’t about to tell anyone about his blessing over water vapor and fog. Soon, those people would all feel the chilly dampness...
"Haha, so you’re saying the rain will keep pouring down nonstop?" Liu Ye inquisitively asked. "That’s good too, as it means even fewer people spying on us."
"I’ve pulled over a cloud. There might be lightning and thunder," Lub Su revealed a clear smirk on his face.
As they spoke, there was a fierce flash in the sky, followed by the rumbling of thunder.
"Did you really do that?" Liu Ye asked after handing the dispatch order to Xuu Chu, a measure of assurance in their hearts as they started chatting idly again. However, that thunderclap had indeed given Liu Ye a scare—lightning and thunder, after all!
Lub Su was also startled. This kind of event was clearly beyond his expectations. He had only dragged over a cloud, then kneaded it a bit, nothing more. The lightning and thunder were obviously not his handiwork.
[Well, this makes things look a lot more natural, come to think of it. After capturing several clouds, it’s only these two that have produced lightning. How exhausting.] Chen Xi muttered to himself, touching the rain on his head resignedly. This job really was not easy!
