Chapter 538: Chapter 173 The Funeral Begins, Nan Batian Full of Confidence (Please Subscribe)

Fishing Guild Headquarters.

Nan Batian was at his wits’ end, ever since he had been framed by Chen Jie. He had been leading the brothers of the Fishing Guild in a citywide search for the whereabouts of the Zoroastrian Sect’s despicable members.

They had turned the whole city upside down, yet they found neither the demon people of the Zoroastrian Sect nor the so-called military supplies.

In his desperate state, Nan Batian was running around like a headless chicken, no longer having the time to attend to other matters, which, on the other hand, allowed Huang Wan’er in the backyard a considerable amount of peace.

However, the entire Fishing Guild was engulfed in a tense atmosphere, as they had been searching for two days straight, and nearly the entire Mianshui County had been scoured with nothing to show for it. The deadline given by Darugachi Mansion was looming, with only thirteen days left.

Nan Batian was frantic.

But he was powerless. While Nan Batian was scratching his head, at a loss about what to do next, Tang Ziyue found him.

“Greetings, Gang Leader!”

Tang Ziyue saluted Nan Batian, who replied, “Ziyue, what time is it to be observing such elaborate formalities? Hurry, hurry, I’m almost worried to death!”

“Gang Leader, don’t worry. Ziyue has come here to relieve you of your troubles.”

“Oh, Ziyue knows of my worries?”

Nan Batian’s eyes lit up, and Tang Ziyue smiled, saying, “Of course I’m aware of the Gang Leader’s concerns. Is it about the task of capturing members of the Zoroastrian Sect and seizing the rebel army’s weapons, as commanded by Darugachi?”

Nan Batian said, “Exactly, exactly. I’ve been so worried these past two days, without you around. By the way, Ziyue, where have you been during this time?”

Tang Ziyue replied, “I have been touring around Mianshui, scouting for some information.”

“Oh? What did you find out?”

Nan Batian pressed, and after hearing this, Tang Ziyue looked at Nan Batian and said, “Gang Leader, in the past few days, you’ve mobilized over a thousand of our guild’s members to find these Zoroastrian Sect rebels. Have you made any gains?”

Hearing this, Nan Batian grimaced and said, “None at all.”

Tang Ziyue asked, “Where have you searched, Gang Leader?”

Nan Batian answered, “We’ve searched every corner of the city, but found nothing!”

After hearing this, Tang Ziyue probed, “In that case, hasn’t the Gang Leader realized the problem yet?”

“What problem?”

Nan Batian looked puzzled at Tang Ziyue, who then swung open his folding fan and said, “Gang Leader, having no gains is the biggest gain. Don’t rush; let’s analyze the situation first.”

“Analyze what?”

Tang Ziyue continued, “Analyze which places in the city you haven’t searched.”

Nan Batian replied, “The unsearched places are the major family estates, the government, and other guilds. Indeed, there are quite a few places.”

Tang Ziyue said, “Therefore, it’s very likely that the Zoroastrian Sect would cooperate with these places and these people.”

“Oh, yes, yes, Mr. Tang, please take a seat!”

As Nan Batian said this, he began to rise, but seeing this, Tang Ziyue said, “Wait a moment, Gang Leader, where are you going?”

Nan Batian replied, “I’m going to search all these places with my men!”

Tang Ziyue shook his head and said, “Gang Leader, are you being hasty? Can you really search those places?”

“These unsearched places, each intertwined and deeply connected, each with their own powerful backing. If you go barging in to search, won’t you end up offending everyone to death? Even if you find something, you’ll have lost the people’s support, which is a loss that outweighs the gain. Plus, I reckon they are already prepared. Even if you search, you won’t be able to find anything conclusive.”

After hearing these words, Nan Batian sat down, frowning, “Hmm, if we can’t search, then why mention these places at all?”

Tang Ziyue advised, “Gang Leader, to achieve great things, one must not act rashly. In fact, by changing our approach, we can also obtain useful information.”

“Such as?”

Tang Ziyue fanned himself with the fan, took a sip of tea from the cup on the table, and said, “Let’s think about why the Zoroastrian Sect is manufacturing weapons.”

“To support the Northern conflict!” exclaimed Nan Batian, and the rebel army was engaged in fierce fighting up north; who wouldn’t know that they were forging weapons to support the Northern conflict, unless they were just meant for show? The question was somewhat amusing!

Tang Ziyue replied, “Correct, to support the Northern conflict. So, Gang Leader, what is the current status of the Northern battles?”

Nan Batian said, “The Zoroastrian Sect still has some strength. They are going tit for tat with the Mulan people, and currently, the situation is at a standstill.”

Tang Ziyue continued, “Yes, a standstill, Gang Leader. Right now the North is in great need of weapons on a large scale, and the weapons crafted by the Zoroastrian Sect are no doubt meant for support there. They can’t afford to delay. If they drag it out for one month, two months, and add the transport time on top of that, it would take more than half a year for these military supplies to reach the North, and by then they would have lost their significance.”

“This is something the Zoroastrian Sect absolutely cannot tolerate. Therefore, I surmise, the Zoroastrian Sect must be in a hurry now.”

“Hurry? They’re in a hurry? I’m even more anxious!” grumbled Nan Batian. Tang Ziyue replied, “Gang Leader, now we need to see who can keep their cool. And because they’re panicking, they are bound to slip up.”

“Slip up? What slip up?”

Nan Batian’s interest was piqued, and Tang Ziyue explained, “Gang Leader, in their rush, they’ll have to figure out a way to transport the weapons out of the city, and they can’t afford to delay. They must make a move within the next half month at the latest, in order to make it in time for the big battle in the North, to ensure these weapons can play their part. That means, if they’re to make their move, it has to be within the next half month.”

Nan Batian nodded upon hearing this; the plan was to leave the city in half a month and after some delays along the transportation route, the supplies would reach the Northern battlefield in about one or two months, just in time for the massive battle between the rebellion army and the Mulan people.

Tang Ziyue continued, “Right now, the entire Mianshui County is under martial law, with Government Officials, guards from Yelu Mansion, and people from all the Sects in our city stationed at the four city gates, keeping watch. With such security, the Zoroastrian Sect won’t be able to force their way out. Moreover, the cult members responsible for transporting the cargo have been caught by Darugachi, which means, if they want to leave the city, they must seek outside help.”