Yelu looked at Nan Batian and said.
Upon hearing this, Nan Batian clasped his fists and replied, "Lord, if I weren’t over eighty percent sure, I wouldn’t dare to come to you with this matter."
Yelu narrowed his eyes at these words, weighing the situation, and after a moment, looked at Nan Batian and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Nan Batian answered, "Naturally, we catch him red-handed. I plan to ambush him on the road during Chen Jiusi’s funeral procession in three days. We’ll pry open his coffin on the spot; thus, he will have nowhere to hide and we can expose his evil face to the public. At that time, I will need Lord Yelu to take charge of the situation."
Yelu responded, "Good, what Guild Leader Nan has said makes sense. Let’s do as you have proposed. When the time comes, we’ll pry open his coffin to see if it truly contains the Zoroastrian Sect’s weapons. If it does, I will decide that after Chen Jiusi is captured and brought to justice, you will dispose of him as you see fit, be it execution or flaying!"
Nan Batian, upon hearing these words, clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Lord. Your subordinate will certainly not disappoint your trust."
Seeing Nan Batian , Yelu chuckled and said, "Very well, then let’s proceed as Guild Leader Nan has suggested. Rest assured, if this is accomplished, I will not shortchange you. If Chen Jiusi has indeed colluded with the Zoroastrian Sect, then there’s no need for his White Tiger Hall to remain independent. I will decide to incorporate White Tiger Hall into your Fishing Guild."
Hearing this, Nan Batian was truly elated. It was an unexpected gain indeed. Having White Tiger Hall come under the Fishing Guild’s control was a big deal. He had been tormented by White Tiger Hall for years, and one of his objectives had been to reclaim it, to gain full control over the Fishing Guild and become the true leading power of Mianshui.
Now, all the power would return to him once he dealt with Chen Jiusi.
At this thought, Nan Batian was so excited he almost shouted out loud, but just as he was most invigorated, Yelu suddenly spoke, "Hmm, Guild Leader Nan, you have indeed been working hard recently. Oh, and I’ve heard that you have good relations with the Assistant Magistrate of the State Mansion."
Nan Batian was taken aback by these words, his face immediately tensing as he looked at Yelu.
He had not expected Yelu to know even about his dealings with the Huangzhou Prefecture.
Huangzhou Prefecture was the very entity Nan Batian had been currying favor with recently. Mianshui County was under its jurisdiction, and within Huangzhou Prefecture City, there were officials.
The most significant among these was naturally the Prefecture Governor, sent by the Mulan people, followed by the Huangzhou Prefecture Magistrate. Below the Magistrate were two major assistants, equivalent to Deputy Magistrates; one was the Assistant Magistrate.
The other was the Garrison Commander!
Recently, having been heavily oppressed by Yelu, Nan Batian had sought external help and thus approached the Assistant Magistrate of Huangzhou and presented him with a generous amount of silver as a token of his respect. He had not expected this small matter to come to Yelu’s knowledge.
However, such actions were greatly frowned upon in officialdom, considered treacherous and disloyal. With this thought, Nan Batian quickly clasped his fists and said, "Lord, it’s a misunderstanding, my relationship with the Assistant Magistrate..."
But then Yelu interjected, "No need to explain. I don’t want to know about your affairs with the Assistant Magistrate. However, I want to tell you this, although the Huangzhou Prefecture Assistant Magistrate is a Yelu Family house slave, Bo Yan is about to fall. And even if Bo Yan does not fall, our Yelu Family is not afraid of them. The Yelu Family has stood unshaken in Daqian for over a hundred years, my ancestors have served as ministers to three emperors, with deep foundations in the court. Although I cannot intervene in the court’s affairs at present, dealing with a Jianghu Sect should pose no challenge."
"So, Guild Leader Nan, I hope you understand, in Mianshui County, my word still carries weight. If you want to live well here, I will help you; but if you engage in disloyal activities, do not blame me for being ruthless!"
Upon hearing these words, Nan Batian fell to his knees with a thud, suddenly filled with fear. Yelu’s warning had sent chills down his spine.
Any unwarranted thoughts he may have entertained were instantly extinguished, and indeed, Yelu had deliberately intimidated him. Chen Jiusi had been Yelu’s pawn to keep Nan Batian in check, but now that the pawn was showing signs of going rogue, Yelu had no choice but to rein in Nan Batian, to make him fully aware of who really called the shots in Mianshui.
Yelu looked at Nan Batian and laughed, "Hehe, what’s the meaning of this, Guild Leader Nan? We’re friends and teachers to each other. Though there is a hierarchy between us, I regard you as a friend. What I just said was merely to give you a heads up. People sometimes act rashly, and that’s not good."
Nan Batian replied upon hearing this, "Your subordinate will certainly go through fire and water for you, Lord, and will spare no effort!"
"Good, I trust you. Now go and prepare. Make sure to find those weapons, do you hear me? Chen Jiusi is one thing, but we cannot let our guard down in other respects. If it turns out not to be Chen Jiusi, then we would be at a disadvantage. Don’t give the demon people of the Zoroastrian Sect an opening."
Nan Batian immediately assured him, "Your subordinate will spare no effort to capture any demon person from the Zoroastrian Sect."
"Excellent, then I await the good news from Guild Leader Nan."
After saying this, Yelu laughed heartily, with Nan Batian following suit with a foolish grin. Then, after Yelu signaled the end of the meeting, Nan Batian left with sweat dripping from his forehead.
Yelu was indeed terrifying, knowing even the details of his contact with the Assistant Magistrate of Huangzhou. Such a terrifying network of relationships—was there anything he didn’t know? These matters were too frightening, and he couldn’t afford to let down his guard.