The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 30: Looking for Strangers

"Brother, wake up..."

Xu Ergou pushed Wang Wen hard: "Master needs you to go home."

"Asshole, don't disturb my sleep!"

Wang Wen turned over in frustration and pulled the blanket over his head: "If you mess with me again, I'll beat you up!"

Xu Ergou scratched his head. He wanted to shout again but was afraid of getting beaten. He was still wondering if this guy had gone out to steal cattle last night and why he still hadn't returned until noon.

He turned quietly and walked towards the dining table, thinking that he would wait until his elder brother fell asleep before calling him. However, as he approached the table, he saw a pile of pens, ink, paper and inkstone scattered on the table in a mess, with a map with fresh ink thrown crookedly in the middle.

'Why does this place look so familiar?'

He thought that the map was just lying there on the table, so he thought it must be some secret that he couldn't see. So he leaned over to take a closer look and said, "Isn't this Yangzhou City? This is Guangji Bridge, this is my home, and the government office is here..."

He was so engrossed in watching that he didn't even notice Wang Wen walking up behind him with his messy head.

"Does it look good?"

Wang Wen asked, yawning.

Xu Ergou nodded vigorously: "Good work, this is drawn by you, big brother... Hey, are you up?"

Wang Wen sat down heavily at the dining table, grabbed the teapot on the table, and poured half a pot of overnight tea into the spout: "If it wasn't painted by me, then how could it be painted by you?"

Xu Ergou looked at him in shock: "You still have this skill?"

Wang Wen sneered: "I went to school for twelve years, so how could I tell you such a secret?"

"hehe!"

Xu Ergou twitched his lips with a forced smile: "You went to school in your dreams, right?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Wang Wen took another sip of the overnight tea and asked, "Why did Lao Deng want me to go back?"

Xu Ergou spread his hands and said, "Brother, do you think too highly of me? Do you think the old man will tell me what he wants from you?"

Wang Wen glared at him: "Then why did you, you bastard, stir me up so early?"

Xu Ergou rolled his eyes in annoyance, thinking to himself, "That's your father, not mine. You can turn a deaf ear to his words, but can I? Do I dare?"
"Everyone is here!"

Wang Wen stretched out his hand and pressed softly: "Help me figure out where in Yangzhou City we can hide dozens or even hundreds of outsiders without attracting the attention of the locals..."

Xu Ergou sat down and said, "Brother, you want to kill those evil people in the White Lotus Sect, right?"

Wang Wen glanced at him sideways: "What else? Could it be finding you a wife?"

Xu Ergou glanced at the map and said, "This won't be easy. Yangzhou has sixteen gates, twenty-four bridges, and sixty-four wards. Hiding a hundred or so people here is like throwing a grain of rice into a barn. How can we find them?"

Wang Wen yawned and tapped the map. "Pay attention to the question. Are they hundreds of outsiders? Or hundreds of outsiders who are afraid to show their faces!"

Xu Ergou stared at the map and pondered for a while, then shook his head. "It's still difficult. There's a lot of traffic in the city, but there aren't many other things. There are just a lot of outsiders... If I were leading a team to Yangzhou to do something, I wouldn't have to hide too deliberately. I could just disguise myself as a merchant and book an inn. Food, drink, and toilet would be all taken care of, and I wouldn't have to worry about being discovered!"

"It's dark under the lamp, right?"

Wang Wen smiled and gave him a thumbs-up: "Boy, it's really a waste of your talent to let you come to the Imperial Observatory! A talent like you should stay in the hall and kill people. Sooner or later, you will make your own way!"

Xu Ergou helplessly slapped his thumb away: "Brother, stop messing around, let's talk business!" Wang Wen suppressed his smile and shook his head lightly, saying: "The method you mentioned is suitable for gangs. Gangs are just unpopular, not shameful. The White Lotus Sect is not suitable. They are shameful and afraid of being investigated by the government. Not to mention the far-reaching situation, the scene of a hundred or eighty people going out to hack people in the street the night before yesterday is not something that can be concealed by staying in an inn."

Xu Ergou's eyes lit up when he heard this. "Oh, right? Where are those White Lotus thieves we captured the night before? Let's interrogate them. Wouldn't we know everything if we interrogate them?"

"Let's take a break!"

Wang Wen shook his head. "I've already asked around. The ones we caught are just small fry. They've only been in Yangzhou for a short time and haven't even figured out the direction. We don't know anything. We only know that someone is delivering food to the place where they're hiding, and they can be sent out in groups to keep watch. No one's checking on them..."

"meaning is……"

Xu Ergou pondered for a moment, "There's someone in the city who's willing to take advantage of them, right?"

Wang Wen curled his lips: "How fresh!"

Xu Ergou stared at the map and slowly frowned. "That's going to be difficult. With so many markets, there could be hundreds of people hiding in any nook and cranny. We can't just go and check every household!"

"first!"

Wang Wen raised a finger. "They're a large group, and they can go out and get some fresh air. That alone is enough to rule out all the densely populated towns... There are strangers with foreign accents wandering around your house every few days. Aren't you curious?"

Xu Ergou thought about it and nodded in agreement: "My area is full of acquaintances. If outsiders come there, we can recognize them at a glance."

"Secondly!"

Wang Wen held up two fingers and said, "They have people delivering food, which means they don't cook. Of course, this is also normal. With dozens or even hundreds of gluttons eating, cooking would easily attract attention."

Xu Ergou glanced at him and said, "Restaurant?"

Wang Wen shook his head. "Even if they changed restaurants every day, it would be easy to find them. I don't think they would be so stupid as to leave such obvious clues."

Xu Ergou thought for a moment and said, "Then it can only be those wealthy families with large fortunes. They have many people to eat with, so they buy and store a lot of rice and flour. They also have a lot of space, so it's difficult for them to be discovered if they cook for dozens or even hundreds of people at once."

Wang Wen glanced at him and said, "Then how are we going to deliver the food? We have to transport food for dozens or even hundreds of people from one place to another. Whether it gets cold or not is another matter. The key is how to avoid attracting attention. If we have to show it off in public, we might as well just buy it from the restaurant!"

Xu Ergou: "Let's say there's a possibility that these White Lotus sect villains are hiding in the homes of some wealthy families. Those wealthy families are very wealthy, so it shouldn't be difficult for them to hide a hundred or eighty people, right?"

Wang Wen frowned and stared at the map in thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "One or two days might not be difficult, but ten days or half a month won't be easy. With so many people eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating, every single one of these will be a big problem!"

"Besides, there aren't many wealthy families in Yangzhou City who can meet these requirements. These families are all well-known and influential people with wealthy ancestors. Would they be willing to engage in such a business that would confiscate their property and exterminate their entire family?"

After hearing this, Xu Ergou stopped talking and stared at the map with a frown, scratching his head.

Just when the two were at a loss, Zhang Qing suddenly rushed into the room and said, "Brother Hu, Master Shouan wants you to come over immediately. He said he has a mission!"

"Fuck, I haven't had breakfast yet!"

Wang Wen grabbed his official uniform while cursing, put it on and walked out quickly.

Xu Ergou quickly shouted at his back, "Brother, over there..."

Wang Wen responded without even turning his head: "Let's talk when we have time!"

Xu Ergou instinctively wanted to keep up with him, but for some reason he turned back to glance at the map on the table. He felt like he had overlooked something, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember what it was...

"What is it?"

He shook his big head, turned around and walked out quickly.

(End of this chapter)