Jin Wei pulled out a scroll with golden dragon patterns. Zhang Anying's eyes almost popped out from their shocked " Senior brother Yang thats… thats…..".
" Yes …..it's a royal decree."
Jin Wei smirked and held out the imperial decree for Yang Changtian to take. " Mr. Yang , his Majesty the king, instructed us to hand this over to you when we caught up with you."
Yang Changtian's eyes were locked onto the decree. Zhang Anying, ever the clueless one, could also feel that the decree wasn't something good.
Yang Changtian stayed silent for a while contemplating. If he accepted this , then he would be under the constant supervision of the king, but if he didn't accept it , he risks landing both himself and Prince Jinlong in trouble. 'What a troublesome situation ' Yang Changtian sighed in his head.
He raised his eyes to look at Jin Wei , who was looking at him with a provocative look , almost taunting him . Yang Changtian's eyes then moved to glance at Da Xiong , before settling on Liu Ying. His eyes lingered on Liu Ying for a while before returning to Jin Wei. He let out a small sigh before taking the decree from Jin Wei. While he was divided over it , he knew that refusing to accept it would only make matters worse. And he was also curious as to what the king was planning. Then there's also the matter of the attackers. Just who would try to kill them , looks like there's something to them that doesn't match up with what they're saying. For now let's keep them close.
A faint look of surprise flashed through Jin Wei's expression, he heard about Yang Changtian's stubborn, arrogant and prideful personality , so he was sure that Yang Changtian wasn't going to agree. Then what Liu Ying said about him flashed through his head.
" I'm 100 % sure , based on Yang Changtian's personality, he's not going to accept this. " Jin Wei snickered , he was sitting with Da Xiong under a tree , 4 days ago they received an order from the king to catch up with Yang Changtian's group and hand him the Imperial decree ordering him to merge the team from the Imperial Investigation department with is group and collectively investigate the matter of the North's crazy plague.
" That guy has always been so arrogant and haughty , and he's best friends with Prince Jinlong. There's no way he would willingly accept the king's order. " Jin Wei was snickering to himself. Da Xiong sighed in his heart , he knows Jin Wei well as he's been his assigned partner since the establishment of the Investigation Department. Jin Wei was a major drama queen, he loves causing drama and worse , he loves interfering with other's dramas. Da Xiong could bet his right hand that the only reason Jin Wei volunteered to complete the task was because he found it fun. Da Xiong secretly rolled his eyes.
" But I still don't understand the need for the internal analyst to join this trip , she's always stayed away from field work. A senior analyst would be more than enough for this case." Jin Wei wondered out loud. Da Xiong also fell into deep contemplation.
The Internal Analyst, the head analyst and archive manager of the Imperial Investigative department and one of its founding members . A person so rarely seen , that there were rumours starting that she wasn't a real person. So Da Xiong and Jin Wei were surprised to find out during the briefing that they will be travelling with the internal analyst. They were more surprised when the great internal analyst turned out to be a tall and handsome young girl with fox-like eyes , her predatory eyes looking and seeing everything.
" I heard that she can only be dispatched by the King personally , " Da Xiong replied , " So the matter can't be as simple as you say."
Jin Wei thought for a moment , but before he could say anything , they heard a soft shuffling above their sitting place , and the next moment the very person they were gossiping about jumped down . landing perfectly on her feet . She turned to look at them , her lips curved into a smile , a sinister one.
" I should probably tell Senior Hua to discipline you two , you dare to gossip about such things out in the open." Jin Wei and Da Xiong quickly stood up bowing to the person in front of them.
" Senior , we didn't mean to-"
" Don't bother with apologies , i don't mind you gossiping , cause it's not my business , but i do have an issue with you two speaking about it in the open , where potential enemies can gather information " Liu Ying replied her voice cold. She then looked at the two infront of her , taking her sweet time , as if she was analyzing them.
Jin Wei and Da Xiong felt a shiver go up their spines. Their shivering did not escape Liu Ying's eyes, she sighed before sitting down. " You two sit down first , we must discuss our further course of action."
Jin Wei and Da Xiong looked at each other before sitting back down.
Liu Ying looked at them for a while before bursting into laughter. " Don't act like I'm some sort of monster , I won't eat you. Now first, I understand both of you are confused about my participation in this case, and since you two would probably be my partners for a while I have to debrief you two about the current situation." Liu Ying's voice softened , by no means was it warm and friendly but it was an improvement from her usually cold and sharp voice. This made Jin Wei and Da Xiong feel slightly at ease. " It's true that initially we suspected that the crazy plague might be something more simple like madness caused by the heavy corpse miasma due to the high concentration of dead bodies up in the north, in fact survey's show that for every alive person , we have around 50 dead ones. And with less than ideal conditions of life , with a major lack of basic needs and greater use for firewood , it's not a plausible solution to burn the dead bodies , so most of them were buried , causing a spike in corpse miasma. But recently , my scouts in the north reported that there are signs of sabotage to the only water source in the area. So the king asked me to go check it out personally. " Liu Ying continued.
" Wait Senior Liu , do you mean that the plague spreading was done by someone deliberately ? But who would be so cruel ? " Da Xiong was shocked. He couldn't imagine someone doing this especially to people who are already suffering so much. He clenched his fist tightly.
Jin Wei was also shocked after he heard about the situation , he admitted that didn't think much of this issue , if it was corpse miasma it would be relatively easy to resolve. But it turns out to be intentional sabotage.He felt a sense of unease creep into his heart , he was starting to regret volunteering.
Liu Ying noticed his unease , she burst into laughter ," Let me guess Jin Wei , already regretting it aren't you." Jin Wei was surprised that she was able to guess his thoughts so easily, but she is lead analyst and keeper of information in the bureau , so her ability to notice and perceive should be remarkable if not legendary.
Jin Wei steadied his expression and gave a soft chuckle , " Senior, looks like the rumours about you are true , I pride myself in being able to conceal my emotions , but even I couldn't escape your watchful eyes."
" Jin Wei , I merely notice more than the normal person." Liu Ying responded. " Anyways, aren't you one drama queen , I expected you two to be the hardworking and diligent type, but here you are enjoying a potential drama. I must burst your bubble though , from what I've gathered about Yang Changtian , he will accept the king's request."
Jin Wei looked stunned for a while before bursting out into laughter. " Senior Liu , while you know a lot of things about what's happening outside , I must remind you that you've barely been outside since the establishment of the department , and Senior Lu told me that amongst the founding members , though you are the smartest , you lack a lot of real world interaction, so you end up underestimating or overestimating people."
Liu Ying scoffed , " Lu Lin that bastard , you two seem comfortable enough to talk to me casually now," , she then broke into a chilling smile that sent shivers down Jin Wei and Do Xiong's spines . " Let's have a bet ," Liu Ying pulled out a golden dagger , encrusted with precious gemstones . Jin Wei and Da Xiong knew in an instant that the dagger was very valuable. " I bet that Yang Changtian will accept the king's order."
Jin Wei looked at the dagger , he swallowed before looking back up at Liu Ying , " Senior Liu , I don't have anything you would want ,"
" No worries , I just want something very simple from you , " You will accompany me in future missions." Liu Ying replied, looking at them .
Da Xiong sighed in his heart , Jin Wei loved beautiful and valuable things as much as he loved drama. Senior Liu is clearly up to something , but all Jin Wei can see is the shiny dagger.
After a while Jin Wei stood up and walked over to Liu Ying , he extended his hand . " I agree, senior . "
Liu Ying smirked and shook Jin Wei's hand. She then stood up and turned around to leave , " Jin Wei , simply based on Yang Changtian's personality , it is likely that he would reject the king . but the current situation will make him more alert and curious about us and he would be worried about implicating his friend Prince Jinlong too , so he will surely accept the king's request. "
She then turned to Da Xiong , " Da Xiong, i just received intel that a group form the assassin guild was dispatched from the capital , the group dispatched seems to be the clay puppeteers , they are heading in the same direction as us . So they are likely heading to us or Yang Changtian , crank up our security and equip the others with swords that have good momentum."
" Yes senior Liu , I'll take care of it ." Da Xiong replied.
Liu Ying turned and continued back towards camp.
Yang Changtian took the imperial decree , and a cold smile flashed across Liu Ying's face , she immediately turned to look at Jin Wei. Da Xiong was also shocked , he saw this coming miles away , but he still couldn't help but be surprised about Liu Ying's accuracy. He swore to never underestimate Senior Liu again.
Jin Wei sighed heavily and looked at Liu Ying , discreetly nodding his head and the smile on Liu Ying's face got bigger.
Yang Changtian and Zhang Anying saw this unusual interaction between the 3 people in front of them but they decided not to ask.
Yang Changtian ignored them and began to unravel the scroll but he was interrupted by the flutter of a pigeon's wings. He looked up to see a messenger pigeon flying towards him , he extended his arm for the bird to perch and swiftly united the small tube tied to its leg.
He slowly opened the small paper .
It was a message from Prince Jinlong.