"Do you understand now?"
Wang Chong gave Li Siye a profound glance, knowing that he understood the crux of the matter.
"Those pigeons that Zhang Que thought were fine just happen to be the crux of this matter. That old fox, Fomonlința, is far more difficult to deal with than we imagined, and far more cunning as well. If my guess is correct, although he doesn't know of our existence, he left a carrier pigeon with each of his trusted subordinates. If there's even the slightest sign of trouble, they have to inform him as quickly as possible. Zhang Que's side was too careless. If my guess is correct, after our men investigated the targets, they secretly released their carrier pigeons. Zhang Que was deceived by them! "
Wang Chong couldn't help but sigh. In truth, Zhang Que was already very outstanding, but one also had to see who he was facing. Fomonlința was an extremely shrewd Protector-General. Even Wang Chong would have to put in a hundred and twenty percent effort to deal with him, let alone Zhang Que.
"We're no longer dealing with those five groups, but with Fomonlința in the distant Qixi Protectorate. The following period will be extremely crucial. If we can't get Fomonlința to give up on his plans and relax his guard, we won't be able to do anything else, because it's simply impossible for us to succeed. "
Wang Chong said.
This operation had gone from a simple probing of the five targets to finding the person with the black jade seal on his wrist to a contest between himself and Fomonlința. There would be no glint of swords in this contest, no smoke of battle, but the final result would decide the fate of all of Qixi, the fate of an Imperial Great General, himself, and even Gao Xianzhi and the tens of thousands of Tang dynasty elites under his command in the Anxi Protectorate.
The room was quiet as Wang Chong's order was quickly passed on.
"Marquis, Zhang Que has withdrawn!"
"Marquis, Xu Keyi has retreated!"
Two carrier pigeons flew into the City of Steel. Wang Chong's order had been carried out, and no one in the room dared to breathe too loudly. In the current situation, if Wang Chong's judgment was wrong, they would soon lose the target and the opportunity. If Wang Chong's judgment was correct, it would be even more serious. It would mean that they would fail before they could complete this stage of the mission.
The room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere was tense.
Time passed slowly as they waited.
"Marquis, we've lost our targets. We don't know where the three groups are going!"
Soon, news came that this operation was far more than just two groups of people in the air and on the ground. Although they couldn't follow the target closely or test them, there was always a group of people observing along the way. There was a person at regular intervals, but now, even they had lost track of the three groups of people. The atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavy.
No one spoke, but they couldn't help but glance at Wang Chong out of the corner of their eyes.
"There's no rush. Wait!"
Wang Chong's eyes were closed, his head slightly raised. He remained motionless, his expression calm and without the slightest panic. No matter what method Fomonlința used, it had no effect on Wang Chong. He was now sure that Fomonlința was waiting for him to make a move.
Now, it was a battle of patience.
This was a contest between him and Fomonlința.
Time slowly passed.
Fifteen minutes!
Fifteen minutes!
Thirty minutes!
One hour!
… …
The atmosphere in the room was so heavy that it was suffocating. Although no one spoke, the mood was slowly changing. No one doubted Wang Chong's decision. On this journey, Wang Chong had used his wisdom and foresight to amply prove himself. But based on the current situation, this time, Wang Chong … might very well be wrong.
"Marquis!"
Even Cheng Sanyuan and Su Shixuan couldn't help but look at Wang Chong. No one felt that Wang Chong had done anything wrong. Everyone could make mistakes, but the consequences of this matter were not as simple as making a mistake. Given how important Wang Chong was to this matter, they had probably already lost their final chance to deal with Fomonlința.
From now on, whether in Qixi or Wushang, Wang Chong would forever be bound and restrained by Fomonlința.
Time slowly passed, and while the atmosphere was tense and morale was low, in another place, the atmosphere was even more solemn and tense.
… …
"Milord! Our people are all in position, but we still haven't found anything. "
In the main hall of the Qixi Protectorate headquarters, a Hu general was bowing as he cautiously reported to Fomonlința. Across from him, Fomonlința, dressed in heavy armor, was boldly seated on the throne representing Qixi Protector-General, his entire body exuding a majestic aura. His eyes were tightly shut as he sat there motionlessly. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Search again!"
Fomonlința sternly said.
This was the third time he had issued the same order, but no one dared to say anything with the group of generals surrounding him in the hall.
The Hu generals quickly left, returning fifteen minutes later.
"Milord! Qi Bo 'er's group has already picked up speed, but they still haven't found anyone following them. "
"Search again!"
"Milord! We've already searched three times, but we still haven't found anything. "
"Search again!"
"Milord! Qi Bo 'er's group is about to reach Sand Pass, but they still haven't found anything. "
"Search again!"
"Milord! Qi Bo 'er hasn't found anyone within sixty kilometers of him! "
"Search again!"
"Milord! Qi Bo 'er and Yi Laluo have already reached Sand Pass. Qi Bo 'er has sent a messenger pigeon, asking if they should continue forward. "
… …
With these last words, the hall suddenly lit up. Fomonlința, seated on his throne, suddenly opened his eyes. At this moment, all was quiet and deathly stillness. Everyone was waiting for Fomonlința's decision.
"What's going on? Did my senses really make a mistake? "
The look in Fomonlința's eyes flickered, and for the first time, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face. Fomonlința had always been cautious, especially when it came to that prince of the court. Fomonlința was even more cautious. Thus, for this operation, Fomonlința had sent a total of five groups of people to the capital. If any of these five groups had a problem, Fomonlința would instinctively feel uneasy, not to mention that two groups had problems at the same time.
One group had been hit by a young beggar, and the other group had been hit by a madly runaway horse carriage, which had been used as a cover, smashed into pieces.
These two incidents seemed normal, as they were very normal occurrences on the Silk Road to the West, but Fomonlința instinctively felt uneasy. This was also the reason why he urgently summoned two groups of people, while simultaneously ordering the other three groups to speed up. If there really was someone following behind him, Fomonlința believed that this action would definitely be enough to make the other party panic.
As long as the other party followed closely behind, and sped up in pursuit, then the people that Fomonlința had arranged along the way would immediately discover them. As long as the situation was as he had guessed, Fomonlința would not hesitate to destroy the letter.
"There is no harm in being careful." Although Fomonlința did not believe that anyone would know about his secret dealings with that prince, this was a serious matter. It had always been a taboo for a general of the border to participate in a battle between princes. Fomonlința did not dare to take this risk.
"Could it be that I was really mistaken? There really wasn't anything wrong with those two groups? "
Fomonlința's expression did not change, but for the first time, he began to doubt his own decision. A long time had already passed, and the people he had arranged to disguise themselves as various people lying in ambush on the road had already investigated several times, but they had not found anything. If there really was someone following him, then they should have found some clues after so long.
At the very least, there should have been traces within a range of sixty kilometers.
Fomonlința muttered to himself. At this moment, time seemed to stop.
At the same time, Wang Chong was also muttering to himself in silence. For some reason, he felt like something was missing in his mind.
"Cheng Sanyuan, is the cavalryman who was sent to crash into the carriage still there?"
Wang Chong suddenly said. His words instantly attracted everyone's attention.
"Yes."
Cheng Sanyuan subconsciously replied.
"Tell Xu Keyi to send that cavalryman to Qixi to repair the carriage. Remember, he has to follow the official road, and he has to be seen by those Hu merchants."
Wang Chong's sudden order left everyone confused. No one knew what Wang Chong was up to, but Wang Chong's composed expression made it impossible for anyone to disobey.
"Yes!"
Cheng Sanyuan froze for a moment, then quickly left.
Once Cheng Sanyuan left, the room quickly fell silent, morale plummeting. Wang Chong only chuckled at this sight, seemingly unconcerned.
"Fomonlința, the rest is up to you."
This thought flitted through Wang Chong's mind, but he quickly calmed down.
… …
"Reporting!"
"Milord! A report from Qixi says that our men have discovered the person who smashed Qi Bo's carriage. He has already returned and is cursing and swearing as he repairs the carriage in the marketplace. "
A fully-armored scout of the Qixi Protectorate suddenly rushed in and kneeled in the hall.
"What?"
Fomonlința's body trembled at this news, and he immediately stood up from his seat.
"Is this information reliable?"
"Milord! There's no doubt about it. Our men have already confirmed it time and time again. In addition, our men have already investigated his identity. There's truly nothing wrong with that person. He's just a small-time businessman. He truly did accidentally crash into Qi Bo's carriage, and he's already paid for it. "
The kneeling scout sincerely said.
Fomonlința stood in the hall, his eyes constantly shifting. As Fomonlința fell silent, the others didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. After some time, Fomonlința's eyes settled, and he finally came to a decision.
"Pass on my order. Recall Qi Bo and Yi Laluo. Have them return from Sand Pass. In addition, have Qifuli and the others continue on their original path! "
"Yes!"
A final order resounded through the hall, and the dust finally settled.
Fomonlința gave a long sigh and sat back down on his throne.
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