Chapter 89: Information Has Its Own Way

The innkeeper remained unmoved by Chu Junhan's little tricks. He only said coolly, "Young guest, you are joking again. The drug in your hand will not work on me. Besides, what good would it do to bind me? I would be nothing but a corpse."

Suicide? What a ruthless man. And apparently, she could not drag him away either.

Chu Junhan coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment. "I was just joking, hehe, just joking!"

The innkeeper offered the paper with a polite smile, wiping the sweat from his brow. "That joke gave this humble one quite a fright."

Chu Junhan took the paper with a suppressed smile and muttered through clenched teeth, "I was the one who got frightened!"

It seemed the Nine-Year Trading Company was no simple matter.

As the innkeeper watched the child leave, a faint contemptuous smile curled at his lips. Poison him? This little girl was truly naive. His master was the Poison King; in all the world, there was no poison he could not pair with, no toxin he could not cure.

...

"So Junhan came back with just this sheet of paper?" Tang Chen took the paper, his face full of surprise. He knew there were people who dealt in arms, intelligence, and the like, but the only trading company that did it openly and brazenly was this one, the sole and unmatched Nine-Year Trading Company.

Chu Junhan had already changed into men's clothing. Her hair was tied high, and her whole bearing became dashing and spirited.

With his hands behind his back, the little figure spoke in an old-fashioned, serious tone. "When I came out just now, I asked around again. It is indeed true."

Tang Chen frowned, worried the child had been deceived, and reminded her, "To verify something like this is no difficult task."

"Indeed. But first, read what is written on the paper."

At this, Tang Chen lowered his head and read aloud. "Fang Meng, styled Junyi, is a native of Salt City in Liao Province. Sold by his parents into a theater troupe at a young age, and because his skin is like congealed cream and his face like peach blossom, he chiefly played painted-dry roles, often female parts. Thus he is skilled in disguise and adept at voice imitation."

Before the young man had finished reading, he looked up at Chu Junhan with a slight frown. "An actor?"

The child nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

"In the sixth year of the Liao reign, he was ordered into the palace to celebrate and entertain the empress's birthday. Because his performances were so excellent, he was forcibly kept in the palace. Tamen coveted his beauty, and later discovered that Fang Meng was in fact a man. Fearing later mockery, he framed him for disturbing the imperial harem and falsely accused him of an affair with the empress. The empress was deposed, and Fang Meng was subjected to castration and kept by Tamen's side..."

Tang Chen's brows were already twisted into a knot. He truly could not go on reading it; it was an insult to decent taste.

Even without reading further, one could imagine how disgraceful the rest of the story must be.

Chu Junhan took back the paper and, with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, continued, "Fang Meng was not made into a eunuch. On the day of the operation, he bewitched the cutter and escaped when the man was off guard."

Tang Chen let out a breath of relief and went on reading. "Fang Meng is presently hiding in Black Mountain Ridge, fifty li outside Ye City. He has five thousand underlings stationed in a small city beneath Ye City, using their identity as grain and transport troops of Liao as a cover. This intelligence..."

The report was far too detailed, so detailed that Tang Chen could only marvel at it over and over. It was truly astonishing.

Chu Junhan took the paper and sighed. "This is where the Nine-Year Trading Company is formidable." Then she turned to look toward Black Mountain Ridge, her eyes bright with unusual light. "Fang Meng is not far from us. Tomorrow, I want to go and test the truth of it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Tang Chen looked puzzled. Not long ago, the little master—no, the young lady—had just been deceived. Make friends? Were women really so capable of forgetting pain once the wound had healed?

Seeing that Tang Chen remained silent, Chu Junhan seemed to understand his thoughts. She gave a light laugh. "It's not about making friends. It's about subduing him. If he cannot be subdued, then our goals are the same, and we can also talk about cooperation."

"Someone like that is probably very hard to bring to heel," Tang Chen said with concern.

"I have my methods."

The speaker wore an expression of absolute confidence.