Ark Undead

Greyhound didn't stand on ceremony with Brother Sun; he spoke directly to him.

"We want to know what's going on with the official government of the Great Yan recently. It's almost the Spring Festival, but not a single word has leaked out of the army, and the emperor is still the same as always, showing no signs of moving around in the deep palace. In previous years, this would have caused a stir long ago, but this year there has been no reaction at all."

The Undead listened from the side, and Greyhound even added some details himself.

Of course, Greyhound's words were also a way of telling the Undead that what he asked was indeed very important, so important that many people across the country would pay attention to it.

Sun Ge listened to Greyhound's words without changing his expression. However, after Greyhound lit his cigarette for him, he slapped Greyhound on the head.

"Why are you asking these questions, kid? Are you tired of living?"

The greyhound took two steps back, chuckled, and didn't say much.

Brother Sun turned his head and glanced at the Undying Man, frowned slightly, and then silently started smoking without saying a word.

Greyhound wasn't crisp either, so he simply lit a cigarette and smoked it with Brother Sun, just like him.

The two of them fell silent for no apparent reason, leaving the Undead wondering what had happened.

Why are you all suddenly silent?

After finishing his cigarette, Brother Sun stubbed it out in the ashtray on the table and then spoke.

"I can't answer that question."

Greyhound glanced back at the Undead, who gave him a somewhat puzzled look.

Greyhound clearly saw that the Undead's right hand was clenched, as if he was about to attack, so he quickly pressed down on the Undead's arm to calm him down.

"It's not that I can't say. It's just that I don't have a definite answer either."

Brother Sun took a deep breath, leaned back in the recliner, and began to talk to Greyhound as if they were having a casual chat.

“Recently, strange changes have occurred in various parts of the Great Yan, and Shang Shu is no exception. Although it is called the Heavenly Capital, it is after all a place where a fragment of intellect once walked, so naturally their traces will be left behind.”

"Regarding the anomalies, since the authorities haven't given a clear answer, many theories have naturally emerged among the people. Some say it's the appearance of a great treasure, while others say it's a secret experiment. But one thing is more or less clear: it's an omen of a natural disaster."

Greyhound knew about this, but Brother Sun certainly wasn't trying to fob him off with information that could be easily gathered with a little effort.

"To be honest, although I have some tricks up my sleeve, I really have no way to compete with the bigwigs in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for food, or to find out what's going on in the military camps and the palace. A slight mistake could cost me my head. Kid, you've given me a tough problem."

Upon hearing this, Greyhound immediately understood that Brother Sun wasn't complaining to him, but rather subtly telling him that if he were to speak up, the price would be high.

Then, Greyhound smiled and moved a little closer to Brother Sun.

"Well, Brother Sun must have a way, otherwise we wouldn't have come here, right?"

"Hmph, you're certainly clever..."

Brother Sun narrowed his eyes for a moment before speaking again.

"I don't have news from the palace or the frontier. But I do know news from Shangshu itself, and I know a lot about it."

“Starting three days ago, a large number of young men from other places have been flocking to Shangshu, or staying around the main city, all waiting for the so-called treasure to appear. And judging from the location, it is right in the main city of Shangshu.”

"Moreover, there are also definite reports that people have been witnessing a race with two horns on its head and scales on its tail frequently appearing in Shangshu."

"Just a few days ago, our Prefect Liang of Shangshu took the opportunity of the Spring Festival security work to increase the defense forces throughout the city. And the defense forces in one area are two to three times that of the other areas."

Brother Sun looked at the greyhound and sneered.

"Heh, Greyhound kid, don't tell me you don't know where this place is. Judging from the way you wander around outside all day, you probably already had this idea in mind, and you're only asking me now."

"Wangjingmen?"

The greyhound said in astonishment.

"But wasn't Wangjing Gate turned into a tourist attraction a long time ago? They say that when it was rebuilt decades ago, part of the mountain was hollowed out, and nothing special was found."

"So, it wasn't a valuable treasure at all, but rather a piece of information that was deliberately leaked to attract more attention."

Brother Sun tapped the table and said.

"In previous years, Wangjingmen never had so many people. Not to mention it's during the Spring Festival, and Wangjingmen is a favorite tourist destination. But who doesn't go home for the Spring Festival? Why would anyone travel all the way to another city for a trip?"

"But what does this have to do with the palace? Shouldn't this be a matter for Shang Shu?"

Greyhound still couldn't grasp the connection.

What he wanted to ask about were matters concerning the palace and the army, not matters concerning Shang Shu.

Brother Sun nodded.

"Yes, it's related, and very related."

As he spoke, Brother Sun lit another cigarette, seemingly out of nowhere.

After rubbing his eyes, Brother Sun continued.

"Someone has arrived in the capital."

"At this time?"

Greyhound was shocked by the news. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't connect this matter with those important figures in the palace.

The matter of Shang Shu should naturally be resolved by the people of Shang Shu. This matter should have been within Liang Xun's purview, so why did it alarm a high-ranking figure in the palace?

"It wasn't just one group that came, but two groups. Two different groups of people entered Shangshu, and so far, I have no clear information about their specific identities or where they stayed. All I know is that they used vehicles from the capital."

Sun's tone was less indifferent and more serious.

"You should know that Yumen Pass has not yet returned to the northern frontier this year. After passing through the middle to return to the southern region, it has been staying there ever since. Moreover, conscription facilities across the country are still operating. Even during the Spring Festival, there is no plan to stop conscription."

"At this time of year, people from the capital are flocking to Shangshu, making it hard not to wonder if things are not peaceful in the southern region."

Judging from the way Greyhound unconsciously started sitting up straight, Brother Sun's information was quite substantial.

“Greyhound boy, I know who you follow, and I know who you're working for. That's why I said, don't risk your life. This matter has little to do with the Tower of Babel or Rhodes Island. At least for now, it won't have any impact. Why do you insist on figuring out the details?”

Brother Sun advised Greyhound not to rush headlong into it, but Greyhound just shook his head.

"This is my job, Brother Sun, please don't try to persuade me anymore."

"Ok."

Upon hearing this, Brother Sun said no more.

“I’ll tell you about three places, which are places that people around me have summarized from various sources.”

"If we have to talk about news from the palace and the military, this is the only thing that's somewhat connected. You can decide for yourself whether you want to go and take a look."

As he spoke, Brother Sun tore off a piece of paper and wrote three words related to Yan on it with a pen.

Greyhound reached out his hands to take it, but before handing over the paper, Brother Sun warned him in a deep voice.

"Think carefully. If you accept this paper, I will have no contact with you from the moment you leave here. You're looking for official intelligence, not information about some nobody. You may not be afraid of death, but I am."

"Understood, Brother Sun."

The greyhound rubbed its eyes and said helplessly.

"If I'm still alive in a few days, I'll definitely come to have dinner with you on New Year's Eve."

"Damn it, you're always trying to drag me down with you."

Sun rolled his eyes, but still slammed the piece of paper heavily onto the greyhound's palm.

Seeing that Brother Sun did not refuse, Greyhound chuckled.

The Undead basically didn't understand what the two were saying. But after a while, he saw Greyhound get the piece of paper.

Greyhound chatted casually with Brother Sun for a couple more minutes, then pulled Undead and Brother Sun aside to say goodbye and leave the room.

With Sister Wu's warm farewell, the Undead and the Greyhound exited through a different door.

When I came out, although I was still in a dark alley, there were noticeably more people and lights around me than before.

Greyhound habitually lit a cigarette, realized it was the last one, and then turned around and threw the empty cigarette pack into the trash can next to him.

"You got the intelligence?"

The undead man asked the greyhound directly.

As the greyhound exhaled the smoke it had just inhaled, it nodded, the smoke twisting and turning like a white rope.

"We got it, but as I expected, this kind of information doesn't give us a complete picture."

As he spoke, Greyhound pulled the Undead forward, pulling out the note as he did so.

“Brother Sun wouldn’t lie to me. I saved his life in an incident two years ago. So he’s always felt indebted to me and is trying to make it up to me. His information is either given or not given; it’s not a matter of truth or falsehood.”

"The question you're asking is something that most of us in this line of work have already noticed. The key is whether we can investigate, and whether we dare to investigate."

"The intelligence organization of the Great Yan government is not a single organization. From the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the frontier, no one with traces of the Great Yan government can be an outsider. That's why I can't find anything, and even Brother Sun can only vaguely see some traces."

Knowing that the Undead had some doubts about his conversation with Brother Sun, he simply explained everything to the Undead all at once.

"Let me put it this way, I'll go through everything with you, and then you'll understand."

"There are rumors that a great treasure is about to be discovered in Shangshu recently. Normally, this would just be a local event. After all, the Great Yan Dynasty is martial and has many ancient battlefields, so such things happen every few years. But this time is different. This time, it has directly alarmed the officials who came to Shangshu."

"Then, every year when the Spring Festival is approaching, Yumen, as a mobile border city, would move from its southern base to the northern region beyond the Great Wall. But this year, even though the Spring Festival is already close, there is still no movement from Yumen."

"Moreover, the conscription campaign, which should have ended long ago, has not stopped yet. This matter is most likely related to the Southern Expeditionary Army you asked about."

"In addition, our Great Yan Emperor will also give a national address around the Spring Festival every year to proclaim to the world that the country is peaceful and prosperous. But now it's almost New Year's Eve, and there's been no movement from the palace. In fact, His Majesty hasn't appeared in public for a month or two."

"With these messages combined, Brother Sun, as a local bigwig in Shangshu, naturally felt the commotion more clearly in the eye of the storm."

"He felt that the rumors circulating in the martial arts world about Shang Shu might involve matters within the palace or even the border guards. That's why he advised me not to continue investigating and was eager to distance myself from me."

As he spoke, the greyhound gestured at his neck with a fierce look on his face.

"It's an official matter, yet you're overestimating yourself and trying to find clues? You'll be beheaded!"

The Undead didn't respond, seeing that the Greyhound didn't seem afraid of being beheaded.

The greyhound didn't care and continued speaking.

"Therefore, the three locations he gave will all be related to this event and the people from the palace. As long as we are willing to spend the time to investigate and take a look, we should all find something."

As he spoke, Greyhound unfolded the paper.

The Undead approached, and Greyhound read out the three locations one by one.

"Wangjing Gate, Ziwei Villa, and another... Red Dust Guest?"

Greyhound had a feeling he'd expected the first two locations. But his eyes widened when he saw the last one.