Chapter 178 It’s all in vain
“…and then the horses scattered.”
Fan Xian said after hearing this.
"Sure enough, he was well prepared."
Looking towards the north, Fan Xian suddenly frowned.
Wang Qinian noticed it.
"What's wrong, sir?"
Fan Xian said after pondering for a moment.
"Nothing, I just feel like something is not right."
Wang Qinian was a little surprised.
"What's wrong?"
Fan Xian frowned slightly.
"I can't really explain it, but I think there was something wrong with Si Lili's method of escaping."
Wang Qinian thought for a while and said.
"It's a very clever way to get out of this situation by taking multiple routes and mixing fakes with real ones."
Fan Xian said.
"I know, but I always feel like I'm missing something."
After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what he had overlooked. Fan Xian decided not to think about it for the time being and just catch up with him first. After making up his mind, he looked at Wang Qinian and asked.
"Let's not talk about this for now. How are you going to chase her?"
Wang Qinian observed the direction and waved his hand in a certain direction.
"Sir, please come with me."
……
The Supervisory Commission, where Zhu Ge’s office is located.
A spy walked quickly into the house to report the news.
"Sir, the carrier pigeon has brought another secret report."
Zhuge reached out, took the secret report and began to read it.
……
There is a dense forest not far from the north gate of Kyoto.
Wang Qinian stretched out his hand to stop Fan Xian, then put the box on his back on the ground, opened it and took out a slingshot and special stones.
He stood up, stuffed the stone into the slingshot cloth bag and squeezed it tightly. Then he held the slingshot in his left hand, aimed at the sky, and made a bow-drawing gesture with his right arm.
Fan Xian looked at it in confusion for a long time. It would have been fine if he had stopped to take out the slingshot for no apparent reason, but there was nothing in the sky, and he was just hitting the air. Fan Xian could not help it.
"What are you doing?"
Wang Qinian still looked at the sky and said casually.
"Shooting birds."
Fan Xian looked up at the sky again to confirm, but it was still empty, and he was puzzled.
"Where's the bird?"
Wang Qinian said.
"Don't worry, sir. Wait a moment. We'll be there soon."
……
Control Yuan.
"After Si Lili left the city, her troops were divided into six groups heading north. Two of them have been tracked down by spies from other towns, and the others are still being tracked. Fan Xian and Wang Qinian must have left the city to chase her!"
The spies reported.
When Zhu Ge heard the news that Fan Xian went out of the city to chase someone, he remained calm, without even blinking, and spoke lightly.
"With his own strength, he is insignificant. Don't pay attention to him. Si Lili will eventually be in our hands."
The spy complimented.
"They would never have thought that the Lord had already noticed it and mobilized various spies along the way to track it down. They are only starting to chase now, which is doomed to be futile."
Zhuge put down the secret letter in his hand and looked at the spy.
"Catch them all as soon as we find them. We must not let Si Lili escape from Qing Kingdom."
"Yes!"
……
The dense forest outside the city.
What Wang Qinian said was true. After waiting for a while, a "bird" soon flew past their sight.
"coming!"
Wang Qinian shouted and loosened his right hand, and the stone shot out. After a dull sound, the "bird" fell to the ground.
Wang Qinian smiled with satisfaction, ran over to pick up the "bird", and brought it in front of Fan Xian.
When Fan Xian saw the "bird", he lost his composure, dropped his arms, and exclaimed with his pupils wide open.
"Homing pigeon?"
Wang Qinian pointed at the carrier pigeon in his hand and smiled.
"A message from the Overwatch Council!"
As he spoke, he squatted down, reached out and took out the secret letter from the mailbox on the pigeon's leg, then took out a black bag from the box, put the pigeon in it, tightened the bag and tied it around his waist.
While doing these actions, Wang Qinian did not stop talking and answered Fan Xian's questions.
"Si Lili set fire to the flower boat and rode out of the city. That would definitely alert the Overwatch Council. Although she transformed into six paths, the general direction was north. The pigeons returning from the northern towns would mostly pass by here, so Wang was waiting here, waiting for an opportunity to intercept the secret letter."
After the explanation was completed and the bag was tied up, Wang Qinian picked up the secret letter, opened it, stood up, took a look at it, and handed it to Fan Xian.
"Please look, sir. The Overwatch Council has indeed targeted Si Lili, and many forces are hunting her down."
Fan Xian took it, looked at it, put the note away, and asked Wang Qinian in confusion.
"No, how did you know that the pigeons from the Overwatch Council passed by here?"
Wang Qinian let out a cry.
"That's it."
Looking around, Wang Qinian walked closer to Fan Xian and spoke in a low voice.
"To be honest with you, Mr. Wang, I once raised pigeons in the yard."
Fan Xian suddenly realized something. Seeing Wang Qinian being so cautious, his voice couldn't help but become lower as he asked curiously.
"Won't it be noticed if you shot the pigeon?"
Wang Qinian smiled.
"Your Excellency may not know that the Overwatch Council's carrier pigeons are always sent out in batches. If one is missing, it's not a big deal."
"No one noticed that there were pigeons missing along the way?" "No one noticed, or if they did, they wouldn't take it seriously. It's like this. These pigeons have been flying all the way here, and the journey is long. They are always encountered by hawks, so there are natural losses every month."
"Wang has raised pigeons for a while, so he knows that the number of pigeons I bring back to the yard fluctuates every month, so no one will be suspicious."
Well-reasoned and convincing, Fan Xian gave a thumbs up and said with emotion.
"Awesome! What do we do next?"
Wang Qinian thought for a while and said.
"Just chasing behind is always passive. As long as we can guess where Si Lili is going, we can find the path she must take!"
Fan Xian said nothing, waiting to hear what he had to say next.
Wang Qinian squatted in front of the wooden box again and started rummaging around. After a while he found a sheepskin map.
"Sir, please look!"
Hearing the sound, Fan Xian also squatted down.
Wang Qinian said proudly after opening the map.
"This is a map of rivers and mountains drawn by Wang himself. How do you think it is? Is it detailed, clear, and beautiful? Isn't it clear at a glance?"
Fan Xian looked at the painting which was exactly the same as the painting of Kyoto's magnificent scenery that Wang Qinian sold him when he first came to Beijing. Looking at the large and small squares, triangles and ovals, Fan Xian pursed his lips, was silent for a moment, and then took a breath.
"Hiss~ I don't understand it at all!"
Upon hearing this, the smile on Wang Qinian's face froze. The corner of his mouth twitched. He took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and began to explain to Fan Xian.
"Sir, first of all, we need to confirm whether this Si Lili is from Northern Qi."
Fan Xian didn't think that Wang Qinian was talking nonsense. He was just sorting out his thoughts and deducing the results. It was a voice version of a mind map, so he cooperated very well.
"The secret talismans have been confirmed, Northern Qi is right."
"Okay~ Then she must be heading north."
"But there are many ways to go north."
"But there are many military passes! If you want to bypass these passes and reach Northern Qi quickly, there are not many options."
Fan Xian understood what was said, but he couldn't understand the map. Fan Xian pointed at several small triangles in a row on the map and asked.
"Wait a moment, what does this triangle you drew on the picture mean?"
"Mountains, can't you see it?"
"..."
I can see a milk spoon!
Fan Xian cursed silently and then asked.
"What about this circle?"
"A lake, can't you see it?"
"..."
"What about this, this, and this? How come there are big and small blocks?"
"The big one is the city, and the small one is the pass. Can't you see that, sir?"
Taking a deep breath, Fan Xian closed his eyes and covered half of his face, saying that he had lost all hope in life.
"Old Wang, your painting is truly amazing."
Miraculous workmanship? That's a good word, it's a compliment!
Thinking of Wang Qinian, his face was full of wrinkles when he smiled.
"Sir, you are too kind!"
"..."
"You go on."
"Okay, that's where I was just now. Oh, right, so it can be seen that if Si Lili wants to reach Northern Qi quickly, she must pass through this town! Did you see it, sir?"
Fan Xian's eyes fixed on the small square that Wang Qinian was pointing at, representing the town.
……
At the same time, the Supervisory Commission.
Zhuge said, pointing to a town on the exquisite map.
"This town is the only way to Northern Qi! If you choose any other route, it will greatly slow down your journey!"
The spy from before bowed and said.
"I will make arrangements right away. Set up a dragnet and have all the spies gather here. We will definitely capture Si Lili and bring her back to the capital!"
Zhuge hummed, put away the map and threw it to him.
"Go!"
"Yes!"
……
The gaze returned to the dense forest outside the city.
The two men stood up, and Wang Qinian rolled up the map and put it in the box.
"Since I can see it, then Lord Zhu must be able to see it too. It seems that we are too late to catch Si Lili, but the Supervisory Council has many eyes and ears, and they will definitely capture Si Lili!"
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows when he heard this.
"must?"
Wang Qinian chuckled.
"Do you think I am being too confident? I am actually confident in Master Zhu's ability. Master Zhu always makes plans before taking action and is well prepared. Over the years, Master Zhu has rarely made mistakes in his work, otherwise the dean would not have given him a hosting position."
Although Fan Xian disliked Zhu Ge, that was directed at him as a person. He knew very little about his abilities. If it was really as Wang Qinian said, then there was nothing to question.
After thinking about it, Fan Xian suddenly said something.
"Then do we still need to chase after them?"
Wang Qinian was stunned.
"What do you mean?"
Fan Xian shrugged.
"Didn't you say that if you can think of the town that Si Lili must pass through on her way back to Qi, then Zhuge can definitely think of it too. As long as he can think of it, he will definitely be able to catch Si Lili. If that's the case, then why are we still chasing her?"
"Forehead…"
Wang Qinian was a little speechless, it seemed that it was unnecessary to say that. But if so, wouldn't all the efforts of those two people be in vain? He hadn't even started to use all his skills, and already it was over?
After thinking about it, Wang Qinian asked unwillingly.
"Doesn't your Excellency want to try Si Lili in person?"
Fan Xian said without hesitation.
"I do, but what does this have to do with chasing Si Lili? Once Zhuge catches Si Lili and sends her back to Kyoto, I'll go to the Supervisory Council for trial. Didn't Chen Pingping give me the power to interrogate her?"
"..."
……
(End of this chapter)
