Chapter Three: Pure Intelligence Amidst the Snow and Ice

The woman in white replied with great directness, "It is abnormal that Luo Qing could escape this far. The intelligence you passed to us previously detailed that Tang border patrol scouts had just discovered a blood-stained letter discarded in the grass by someone from the merchant caravan who was dying. Shortly after, Luo Qing—who had been acting as if nothing were wrong within the pass—suddenly began his flight, all before any official arrest warrants had even been issued."

"Yes, that is the problem." Gu Liubai couldn't help but smile, saying, "There must be high-ranking military officials involved. The military gave me almost no clues regarding this caravan. I sent word earlier, trying to find out who Luo Qing was close to in the border army and who he had been in frequent contact with over the past two or three years, but so far, beyond some nonsense, the border army hasn't provided me with any useful information."

The woman in white was not annoyed, merely stating calmly, "Aside from that, what other problems are there?"

"The military didn't even tell me what cargo that caravan was transporting." Gu Liubai wiped the smile from his face, his tone serious. "It’s normal for the Tang border army to push a few people out to line their pockets; after all, most people feel that hardship shouldn't be endured for nothing. But what kind of business could one possibly conduct to foster a friendship worth having outsiders gallop hundreds of miles to rescue them? Furthermore, once he was exposed, he should logically have had little value left to save. Killing him and pushing someone else out would be the standard way to handle it."

The woman in white nodded. "Anything else?"

Seeing that she did not appear angry, Gu Liubai finally relaxed. "Yes, for instance, the military not allowing you to meet with me beforehand..."

"It was we who intentionally chose not to meet with you beforehand," the woman in white interrupted.

Gu Liubai paused, stunned. "You did it on purpose?"

She nodded. "It’s because the intelligence you provided made it look obvious at a glance that there was a problem with the high command of the border army. Since you yourself are part of the border army, we had to be on our guard."

"So, that blame falls on me?" Gu Liubai was bewildered. "I give you intelligence, and then you suspect I’m the problem? And you arrived outside the pass half a month ago, staying in hiding without contacting me?"

The woman in white insisted, "The Tang border army only recognizes military orders, not personal connections."

Gu Liubai sighed, feeling a tightness in his chest. "Liang Fengning is a proper border soldier; I am not."

"We didn't know that before," she said.

"Fine, you win." Although he conceded verbally, he was still frustrated internally. "Having you separate to intercept Luo Qing and the people he was meeting with is suspicious. The fact that someone at the Lucao Post was also tipping off Luo Qing is even more problematic."

The woman in white thought for a moment and admitted, "Isn't the tip-off at the Lucao Post the same thing as the tip-off from the border army?"

Gu Liubai intentionally showed off his insight. "The Lucao Post itself is abnormal. The Tang military has no capacity to establish a fortress in that location. Was its appearance meant for faster transmission of military intelligence? I handle all the military intelligence here; its existence does me no good. Why would it be needed? Besides, I’ve found out that the people currently guarding the Lucao Post were transferred directly from Guanzhong. They aren't from the same circle as the border army here. How could they possibly be connected to Luo Qing?"

The woman in white understood. "Indeed, that is a major problem."

Gu Liubai grew more confident. "That’s why I kept a cautious eye on things and decided to scout out the people coming to meet him first. I told you, don't make a move yet..."

"We already have," the woman in white said. "I suspect those people coming to meet Luo Qing are already dead."

Gu Liubai was taken aback. "But wait, didn't we agree to move only at the Piercing Bone Gully?"

He immediately realized what had happened and said, speechless, "Is it because you were also being cautious, and based on the intelligence I gave you, you thought I might be compromised, so you moved early?"

The woman in white seemed somewhat embarrassed by this logic. Yet, appearing a bit stubborn, she added, "We return to the Yin Mountains once the killing is done; it’s clean. What good does it do you to stir up all this extra trouble?"

"It’s not about good or bad; it’s about saving my own life." Gu Liubai patted his forehead, laughing in disbelief. "Forgive my bluntness, but while having you do this is reliable because you never fail—and the border army can't find anyone better—the key, in my eyes, is that you aren't considered part of the border army. You have no connection to the high command. Even if you discovered some earth-shattering conspiracy, you have no way to report it upward. What I’m worried about now is being silenced along with you."

The woman in white remained stubborn. "Who could silence us?"

"Yes, yes, you're formidable..." Gu Liubai said, pained. "Just don't leave me behind if something happens."

The woman in white’s eyes suddenly lit up. "I’ve discovered a problem."

"What problem?" Gu Liubai asked.

"I didn't inform you of the location where we would kill Luo Qing," she said. "How did you know we would act here?"

"It’s because of your strange habits!" Gu Liubai glanced at the speechless Luo Qing. "I’ve read all your dossiers. In cases of single assassinations like this, at least eight out of ten victims were shot in the back, always from high ground against the wind, struck in the back, and then finished off with sword wounds."

"I’ve truly never seen a Great Swordsman like you. You could have just stabbed him once and he’d be dead, yet you insist on doing all this extra work."

Gu Liubai continued, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have known you were so flamboyant. In any case, on the path Luo Qing took, this is the only spot that fits your peculiar habits."

The woman in white paused. "How did you get to see those dossiers?"

Gu Liubai said smugly, "After drawing military pay for so many years, one can afford to bribe a few people."

The hunchbacked old woman on the hillside finally approached. She wore a thick, sand-colored cloak. Her face was full of wrinkles and looked incredibly kind, without a hint of the aura of a powerful expert. Her gait was no different from an old woman returning from gathering firewood in the mountains. When she met his gaze, she even smiled at him.

She looked very old, yet her teeth were neat, white, and dense. The object on her back was quite conspicuous: a massive bow, at least half as long again as a standard one. She also carried a tattered deerskin quiver, bulging, presumably with arrows, though no fletching was visible, as if it were stuffed with a large bundle of dry firewood.

Seeing her smile at him, Gu Liubai immediately bowed respectfully in return. The woman in white watched his sincere gesture with a strange feeling. In these chaotic lands outside the pass, where the Tang Dynasty had no jurisdiction, passing on useful military intelligence in a timely manner required tremendous effort. Over the past few years, the intelligence Liang Fengning had passed to them was timely and accurate, so although they had never met, they felt they owed a debt to Liang Fengning.

But those things weren't done by Liang Fengning, but by this boy? And this boy didn't look at all like someone raised in the savage lands outside the pass. The more she felt he wasn't lying, the more absurd it seemed.

"Do you really not need my help to bury him?" Gu Liubai was again concerned about his own rules. He looked at the gently smiling old woman and said earnestly, "I’m very practiced at this kind of thing. Once you’ve searched his body and everything is settled, just let me bury him."

The old woman continued to look at him with a kind expression, neither agreeing nor refusing. Just as he was about to speak again, the voice of the woman in white drifted through the wind and snow into his ears: "Grandmother Long is deaf and mute; she cannot speak with you."

Gu Liubai was stunned. Amidst the heavy snow, an old woman who could strike Luo Qing with a single arrow without needing to test her aim was actually deaf and mute. How did they coordinate the timing of the strike? Was it just through tacit understanding?

After a breath, he looked at the woman in white and couldn't help but say, somewhat angrily, "Even if she is deaf and mute, calling her 'Deaf Grandmother' [Long Po] like that, is it polite?"

The woman in white looked at him. "It’s not the 'deaf' from 'deaf and mute.' Her surname is Long, as in the Dragon King's Temple. As for her specific name, we don't know it either."

Gu Liubai felt a sudden embarrassment and awkwardly changed the subject. "You people are quite strange. You don't even know each other's names, and you call yourselves things like 'The Yin Mountain Swarm' or 'The Cave Ghosts' or 'The Basin of Sand.' People who don't know you would think you're some low-level nobodies."

"Being a nobody is good; you won't be remembered by others," the woman in white replied flatly, then asked calmly, "Are our names not in the military dossiers?"

"No," Gu Liubai shook his head. "Among all the secret agents, scouts, and thief-catchers, you are considered quite unique. You don't belong to the border army; you only take rewards, not military pay. The military only confirmed there are no fewer than six of you; there isn't even a consensus on exactly how many people are in your group."

The woman in white said calmly, "So even if we die, no one will know our names."

Gu Liubai said subconsciously, "That's not true. If you were willing, you could certainly tell others your names. Besides, what you've done is well-recorded in the military dossiers; it won't be forgotten."

The woman in white didn't speak, just looked at him. Although separated by the wind, snow, and her veil, that glance made Gu Liubai instantly understand that what she was talking about and what he was thinking were not the same thing.

"You aren't formidable? Are you not afraid of being silenced?" Gu Liubai frowned. "Thinking in that direction is indeed quite worrying, it's just..."

"Just what?" The woman in white felt Gu Liubai was being indecisive.

"It’s just that if the military is handling it this way, it’s a bit too simple and crude; the methods aren't particularly sophisticated," Gu Liubai deliberated. "You are much harder to deal with than Luo Qing. Getting you involved is like filling one hole while digging another for themselves."

The woman in white seemed to find his judgment reasonable, musing, "You suspect it's not the handiwork of those high-ranking officials in the border army?"

"Yes," Gu Liubai said. "Those old foxes, while usually arrogant and domineering, are ultimately people who have guarded this place with their hearts' blood for most of their lives. They have bottom lines, especially when it comes to not shortchanging the people who are actually fighting on the front lines. It’s some of the younger aristocrats who have no scruples when they act."

"Hm," the woman in white said. "Well said. Continue."

Gu Liubai looked at her. "The old foxes in the military would never misjudge your strength. What I fear is that some people know you are powerful, but don't know exactly how powerful, and were misled by your 'Yin Mountain Swarm' title."

The woman in white said seriously, "Then it seems that such a title is indeed useful."

Gu Liubai: "???"

Are we on the same wavelength? Is the thinking of a Great Swordsman always this peculiar?