"Mr. Yun, from now on, if you have collected any information or if you need anything, come to me and only me," Xu Anting said. "My place here is not only a tavern, but also a nice restaurant, so it won't stir up suspicion if you dine here. If I need to get in touch with you, I will hang nine slabs of cured meat outside the tavern. There will be a string of garlic between the third and the fourth slabs."
"Got it," Yun Zhonghe said. Then he asked, "Has this rendezvous point ever been activated previously?"
"No, it's never been used." Xu Anting continued, "About three months ago, I had to watch some of the brothers of the Order of the Black Dragon be killed in front of me. It happened within 300 feet of the tavern, and I had the chance to save them. But I couldn't do anything because I hadn't received any orders. I could only watch as their corpses were chopped into pieces. I could only watch as the mission of the Order of the Black Dragon failed."
Xu Anting's light eyes were set deep in his fat face, and when he talked about this, pain flashed across his expression.
Yun Zhonghe didn't answer immediately but asked, "Xu Anting, how long have you been here?"
"Nine years," Xu Anting said. "Started when I was 27 years old, and now I am 36 years old."
He had been here for nine years, but he had never been activated. Thousands of people from the Order of the Black Dragon had sacrificed their youth and lives in the City of Torn Gust for an unknown cause.
"Are there any agents from the Order of the Black Dragon among the high-ranking officers in the City of Torn Gust?" Yun Zhonghe asked.
This question had been lingering in his mind for a long time. Why would the powerful Great Ying Empire's Order of the Black Dragon end up in such a tragic situation?
Also, what exactly happened when Feng Xingmie's plans failed two years ago?
"Five out of the nineteen chieftains in the Valley of Torn Gust were once undercover agents of the Order of the Black Dragon," Xu Anting said. "Besides, there were five chiliarchs in the garrison of the City of Torn Gust, and two of them were once agents of the order."
The Order of the Black Dragon was indeed very powerful, and it had infiltrated half of the military forces of the City of Torn Gust.
"It was Sir Feng Xingmie's work," Xu Anting continued. "He spent five years to firmly embed the Order of the Black Dragon's forces in the City of Torn Gust. In fact, Sir Feng Xingmie's strategies to tackle the City of Torn Gust were one step away from victory two years ago."
Yun Zhonghe didn't know that Feng Xingmie had such a glorious past.
"What happened?" asked Yun Zhonghe.
Anguished, Xu Anting closed his eyes and said in a trembling voice, "It was all because of a traitor. All the agents in the upper class of the City of Torn Gust were killed, each one of them. Only the undercover agents in the lower class like us were left."
"They killed 1400 people in total. It cost the Order of the Black Dragon unimaginable manpower and resources to let those elite agents infiltrate the City of Torn Gust. And they had put in a lot of effort and made innumerable sacrifices to obtain those high-ranking positions. However, within only a few days, they were all uprooted and slaughtered." Xu Anting gritted his teeth so hard that his gums started to bleed. He slammed his fist down onto the table suddenly and said in a gruff voice, "When Sir Feng Xingmie heard about the grievous news, he vomited three big bowls of blood, passed out, and lay in a coma for a few days."
"It happened on the third of March, so the Order of the Black Dragon calls it the Third of March Shame, or the Third of March Incident," Xu Anting went on. "The Imperial Order of the Black Dragon's military strategies for the City of Torn Gust took a fatal blow. It also had a huge impact on the undercover forces across the Land of No King, delaying the empire's plan to march south by at least two years."
This kind of failure was heart-breaking.
The loss was too substantial. Xu Anting was amazing. In nine years, he had expanded Anting Tavern into a business so large-scale that it stood firmly in the City of Torn Gust.
However, Anting Tavern was in the lowest class compared to the other undercover forces of the Order of the Black Dragon. It was a backup rendezvous point.
In the Third of March Incident, all the forces in the upper class were uprooted. Only after that was Anting Tavern called into action.
This showed how powerful the undercover forces of the Order of the Black Dragon had once been in the City of Torn Gust.
"When the chief of the Order of the Black Dragon begged His Majesty's pardon, His Majesty grieved deeply and said that it was not only the shame of the Order of the Black Dragon but also the shame of the whole Great Ying Empire."
"Who was the traitor?" Yun Zhonghe asked. "He must have been a high-ranking officer."
"Yan Pianxian," said Xu Anting.
The name didn't sound like that of a good man, but it implied that its owner was a handsome man. (I used to use it as my QQ nickname, haha.)
"Is he still alive?" Yun Zhonghe asked.
"Yes, and he has become a high-ranking officer of the Southern Zhou Empire's Order of Black Ice," Xu Anting told him. "Emperor Wanyun has a very high opinion of him."
"Was Yan Pianxian's betrayal instigated by the Southern Zhou Empire, or was he a spy from the Southern Zhou Empire who was undercover in the Great Ying Empire?" Yun Zhonghe inquired.
Xu Anting said, "That may remain secret forever."
"After that incident, the Southern Zhou Empire's Order of Black Ice must have become very famous," Yun Zhonghe murmured thoughtfully.
"Yes," Xu Anting said. "The two empires' intelligence agencies have been competing with each other for almost a hundred years. The Order of the Black Dragon used to always have the upper hand. After Yan Pianxian's Third of March Incident, however, the Order of Black Ice rose to power instantly and captured the world's attention. The reputation of the Order of the Black Dragon hit rock bottom."
The more Yun Zhonghe learned, the more he thought that Feng Xingmie was out of his mind. The mission in the City of Torn Gust would not only affect the strategies of the empire, but it would also be a chance for the Order of the Black Dragon to avenge the insult.
"And he assigned such an important task to me, a hooligan? He has got balls," Yun Zhonghe thought. Then he said, "Before Yan Pianxian's betrayal, what was his role in the Order of the Black Dragon?"
"He was like a prince in the Order of the Black Dragon, a future star. He was a candidate to become the future chief of the order," Xu Anting answered.
Sh*t!
That man had been like an heir to the chief of the Great Ying Empire's Order of the Black Dragon?
A man with that kind of power had betrayed the order? Why?
Yun Zhonghe said, "So, you are saying that the castellan, Jing Zhongyue, is not the only enemy of the order that we're going to face? There are also the secret agents from the Order of Black Ice of the Southern Zhou Empire?"
"Yes," Xu Anting replied firmly.
Yun Zhonghe said, "The undercover forces from the Order of Black Ice in the City of Torn Gust are now way more influential than us. Any of the high-ranking officers in this city that we encounter could be secret agents from the Order of Black Ice."
"You're right!" Xu Anting said. "We, the Order of the Black Dragon, are now weak and alone in the City of Torn Gust, as if we are surrounded by a wolf pack. An extremely intense spy game awaits us, and we will be dancing on the edge of a knife."
Yun Zhonghe had another question. "Who ordered the execution of the secret agents from the Order of the Black Dragon two years ago?"
"The previous castellan, Jing E, Jing Zhongyue's father," Xu Anting answered.
Yun Zhonghe had read about Jing E. The man was fierce and ambitious.
Dozens of years ago, when the Jing Clan lost the rulership of the Valley of Torn Gust, the whole family was almost completely wiped out.
All by himself, Jing E took back the rulership which had been passed down by his ancestors and doubled the territory.
He fought in countless battles throughout his life and killed innumerable men. He always won, no matter if it was a civil war or a war on a battlefield.
However, Castellan Jing E had a stroke the previous January. He had been in a coma since then.
Jing Zhongyue became the new castellan after the fall of the titan.
No one had expected that after Jing Zhongyue became the castellan, she would become even more ruthless than her father. People now trembled with fear at the mention of her name.
Within a year, she earned the nickname "She-Devil."
A wise man once said, "There are only wrong names, but never a wrong nickname."
"Previously, I wasn't confident about the mission at all," Xu Anting confessed. "I could only imagine a bleak and hopeless future. But here you are with your outstanding performance just now. You gave us a ray of hope. The situation is going to be extremely dangerous, but at least there is some possibility of success."
"After Jing Zhongyue became the castellan, did the City of Torn Gust continue hunting down the secret agents from the Order of the Black Dragon?" Yun Zhonghe asked.
"They are still doing that, but with less force," Xu Anting said. "I told you just now, the soldiers of the Black Blood Hall were pursuing a few secret agents from the Order of the Black Dragon three months ago. They caught them less than 100 meters from Anting Tavern's front door. I couldn't do anything but watch our agents kill themselves in front of me. I will never forget the looks in their eyes, the loyalty, the determination. They'd rather kill themselves than be taken prisoner."
Yun Zhonghe did not say anything. He only poured Xu Anting a cup of tea.
"May the dead rest in peace. The living should let bygones be bygones, and we should fight till our last breath for the brothers who have perished. Even though it might be as hard as reaching for the sky." Xu Anting took a deep breath to suppress his grief and indignation.
After a long while, Xu Anting finally calmed down.
"Mr. Yun, soon, we will carry out the first step of the mission in the City of Torn Gust: infiltrating the residence of the castellan."
"As the saying goes, 'A waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first.' You can only approach Jing Zhongyue by infiltrating the residence of the castellan. Only then will you be able to use your skills to attract her attention."
"We have planned two routes for you to infiltrate the residence of the castellan."
"The first one is tailor-made for you; you will resume your old profession," Xu Anting said.
Yun Zhonghe asked, "A gigolo?"
"Yes!" Xu Anting said.
"Sh*t, that was this Yun Zhonghe's old profession, not mine," he thought to himself. "That scumbag picked up women and took money from them. I, the Yun Zhonghe from Earth, would never take money from women. Of course, I… didn't spend money on them, either."
Yun Zhonghe said, "According to her files, Jing Zhongyue never takes a gigolo. She only has murderous intentions toward men."
Xu Anting said, "She might not, but one woman definitely will."
"Who is that?" Yun Zhonghe asked.
"Castellan Jing E's youngest sister, Jing Zhongyue's aunt," Xu Anting answered seriously. "She married a lord of the cave barbarians, but she lives in the City of Torn Gust all year long because she couldn't stand the lifestyle there. People called her 'Lady Musk.' This woman is extremely beautiful, bold, and generous. Your gorgeous appearance will easily attract Lady Musk, and you will become her lover. This is the shortest route to infiltrate the residence of the castellan, and it will immediately place you in a good position."
This route was indeed a shortcut.
"However, such a profession is way too shameful. It would be difficult for a serious person like me," Yun Zhonghe thought. Out loud, he asked, "What is the other route?"
"In the second route, we will arrange for you to become a servant in the residence of the castellan," Xu Anting explained. "We have also drawn up a plan for you to rise to power in the castellan's residence, so you will be the center of attention."
"Mr. Yun, out of the two routes, which one will you choose?"