Before exiting the city, Ling Zhang had a copy of the map of Taowang Village he'd just obtained delivered to the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor). With this detailed map, they could now control all Shan Congyi's possible escape routes, take precautions and secretly have Taowang Village surrounded lest Shan Congyi fly the coop.

When Ling Zhang reached the outside of Taowang Village and rendezvoused with the guards, it was nightfall already and Yao Yi was preparing to sneak into the village.

"Wait." Ling Zhang stopped Yao Yi and then briefed him about the situation in Taowang Village. It was dark and, in order not to attract anybody's attention, they couldn't light any torches, so taking out the map wouldn't do any good and he could only use his words.

Fortunately Yao Yi was very experienced in this regard. He asked Ling Zhang quite some questions and then an idea of what the inside of Taowang Village was like took form in his mind.

"This is a token," said Jiang Yu, handing an ID plate to Yao Yi. "You may make contact with Wang Sheng if the occasion arises. Maybe he'll be able to get some more inside information from his father-in-law. From the vantage of the present, none of the family would be able to leave this village anytime soon, so I'm afraid you'll have to go to the trouble of meeting him to get the information he collects, Captain Yao."

Yao Yi took the plate. "I'll play it by ear, Childe Ling. There are many hidden sentries posted on the periphery of this village. The villagers were patrolling the perimeter during the daytime. I don't know whether they'll come out at night or not. You guys had better be careful."

"I know. You should keep your eyes peeled as well. There's no doubt Shan Congyi has some kung fu experts protecting him," cautioned Ling Zhang.

"I will," Yao Yi answered, pocketed the ID plate and put on a black mask, leaving only his eyes showing. And then, when it was completely dark, he crept towards Taowang Village.

There were still some villagers on duty at the village entrance after dark, vigilantly guarding the country bridle path leading into the village, appearing so alert as though they could be attacked at any moment. Given that the army in Jiangzhou had been laying low lately, it was only too obvious whom these villagers were keeping an eye out for.

It was not these villagers but those hidden sentries that Yao Yi needed to avoid being spotted by. Fortunately for him, during the day he'd had some men ascertain the positions of those hidden sentry posts already. Furthermore, he himself had some acquaintance with martial formations typically used by people of the Wan Kingdom, so although it took him some time, eventually he managed to successfully slip into Taowang Village without alarming any of the hidden sentries.

On entering Taowang Village, Yao Yi discovered that there were hidden sentries inside the village as well, but they were mainly in the midmost of it. There were only one or two sentries in other parts of the village. Compared with the periphery, the security here was much more lax.

This also indicated that almost all villagers were under their control. Apart from hidden sentries, he also had to elude the villagers.

It hadn't been long since night had fallen, and he could still see people walking around from time to time in the village. Yao Yi decided to stay put and wait for some time.

While he was biding his time, he overheard some private conversations between villagers, all of which were about the same thing.

"It's been so many days, but there's still no news. How much longer do we have to wait?"

"The village head said we need to be patient, so let's just show patience."

"Are those people really reliable? I mean, we don't even know who they are. We've just been through an armed uprising. It really concerns me tha–"

"Sh. You have a death wish or something? Don't ever mention this again. Just be patient and wait."

Several bands of villagers had passed by, expressing their anxiety directly or indirectly. They were waiting for something, and the ones that had them wait were the head of Taowang Village and the 'honored guest' who was living with the village head, and whom the villagers didn't even know anything about the identity of.

Before Yao Yi sneaked in, Ling Zhang had briefed him on the layout of the paths and dwellings inside Taowang Village, so Yao Yi had a mental picture of what this village was like in general, and he knew that the village head's home was located right in the area where he'd sensed hidden sentries were densely posted. Sited in the midmost of the village, that residence covered a larger area than any of the nearby houses did and counted as a fairly imposing manor house. It was encircled by the most hidden sentries, who were the biggest hindrance to Yao Yi who had to get into that residence to find out if Shan Congyi was really inside.

Recalling what the General Zhongwu had told him about the frequent deployment of troops in Jiangzhou in the past couple of days, Yao Yi believed that it was very likely there was some kind of connection between that matter and what the villagers were waiting for. He just didn't know what Shan Congyi was planning to use these villagers to do.

After doing some careful thinking, Yao Yi decided to wait until the village quieted down to check out the lay of the land first, and then go to find that Wang Sheng guy sent here by Jiang Yu. He hoped that Wang Sheng had wormed some useful information out of his father-in-law's family.

...

"Father, Mother, this is such a serious matter. How could you not have told us about it sooner? We can't stay here any longer. You need to go back to the county seat with us."

At this time, the front doors of the Tao family were tightly shut. Even the doors of the rooms inside were all securely closed. The whole family were talking with each other in hushed voices. Tao Xiaomei appeared overwrought, trying to draw her parents out of the house and back to the county seat, consumed with worry.

"There's nothing we could do, Daughter. We would've left some time ago if we could get out of this village," breathed Mrs. Tao in a choked voice.

Mr. Tao also sighed, "You couldn't have come here at a worse time. I'm afraid you've now been trapped here as well."

Wang Sheng, while listening to his parents-in-law, cocked an ear at the sounds from outside. Meanwhile, he kept trying to calm down his distraught wife, telling her to keep her voice low.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Xiaomei, all of you need to cool down a little." Wang Sheng reminded them to lower their voices. He himself also dropped his voice to a whisper. "Judging from my father-in-law's description, some of those men are kung fu masters. Their senses of hearing are all very sharp. They can hear us from here when we speak louder than usual."

"We're so far away from there," sniffed Tao Xiaomei, a disbelieving look on her face.

Wang Sheng clearly knew more and also thought more deeply than his wife did. "They were definitely keeping close watch on us when we entered the village earlier this day. We're not locals, and we're even from the county seat. They would never trust anybody who's not a native of this village. Maybe someone is out there eavesdropping on us right at this very moment, in case we leave this village to tip somebody off."

Tao Xiaomei blanched, and so did Mr. and Mrs. Tao. The old couple's faces both registered fear and deep remorse.

"Had I known about it beforehand, I would never have let you in earlier this day. I should've had you leave this village immediately," said Mr. Tao regretfully.

Wang Sheng shook his head. "Getting out became an almost impossible task the moment we entered this village, but you don't have to concern yourselves with it, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law. If you have some trust in me, calm yourselves down, because things will take a turn for the better."

Mr. Tao exchanged a glance with Mrs. Tao and then asked Wang Sheng, "What are you going to do?"

Wang Sheng shook his head again, "It's not me who's going to do something. It's best if you don't ask for any details. All you need to know is that the situation will take a turn for the better. In addition, Xiaomei and I will pretend that we're staying to help you clean the house and prepare for winter, that we won't return to the county seat anytime soon. As long as we stay here, they won't take any further action."

Tao Xiaomei was confused. "Are you saying we'll continue to stay here?"

Wang Sheng replied, "We'll never make it out of here, not on our own. Chances are that early tomorrow morning someone will come here to sound us out about when we plan to leave. Cool down, Xiaomei. We're to keep ourselves occupied from tomorrow morning. It does no harm for us to take advantage of this opportunity to finish all the household chores for your parents. If anybody asks, tell them that we'll stay here for a couple of days to help. Don't disclose anything else. Just pretend you don't know. As long as we show no inclination to leave, they won't do anything to us."

Tao Xiaomei was still quite worried, but she trusted her husband to be someone she could rely on, so she answered with a nod, "Okay."

"You need to keep an eye on Stonie. Do not let him walk out of this house lest he see something he's not supposed to see and put himself in danger," added Wang Sheng.

Tao Xiaomei gave another nod nervously. "Rest assured, I'll keep him within my sights at all times. In no circumstances will I let him go out."

Seeing their son-in-law had a plan, Mr. and Mrs. Tao gradually collected themselves, the apprehension on their faces dissolving noticeably.

On the rooftop, Yao Yi, who had stolen around the village once and got a general idea of the structure of the village and also eavesdropped on the private conversations of several families, found Mr. Tao's house. He arrived just in time to hear this dialogue, forming a judgement of Wang Sheng, believing that he was a smart person and should be quite helpful.

Yao Yi didn't go to see Wang Sheng immediately. Instead, he waited until Mr. and Mrs. Tao both turned in to quietly emerge from the darkness and then find Wang Sheng while he was acting alone.

Wang Sheng was startled by his abrupt appearance, a flicker of vigilance crossing his eyes, but soon he forced himself to regain his composure. "Who are you? Why did you suddenly intrude into our house?" he asked.

Yao Yi made no reply, directly produced the ID plate given to him by Jiang Yu, and handed it to Wang Sheng. "Childe Jiang gave this plate to me. I came to this village to get the lay of the land and make contact with you."

With a look of surprise and incredulity on his face, Wang Sheng took the ID plate, walked to a brighter spot, scrutinized it and then let out a sigh of relief. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he backtracked and returned the plate to Yao Yi. "Sorry for being rude to you just now."

"Don't be. You had every reason to be vigilant. A while ago, when I came here, I spotted someone eavesdropping on you outside this house, but you were inside with all the doors and windows shut, and your voices were low, so he didn't hear anything," said Yao Yi.

On hearing this, Wang Sheng was somewhat scared, feeling lucky that he'd been cautious at that time.

"I got into this village only a short time ago. I walked around and checked most of the houses but didn't approach the village head's residence, because the security there was very tight. I need to figure out another way. Do you know what the situation is like in this village?" Yao Yi inquired of Wang Sheng after putting away the ID plate.

Wang Sheng motioned for him to wait a moment. "One moment, please. Let me go and talk to my wife first lest she get worried and make any noises."

Yao Yi inclined his head. Wang Sheng went to talk with his wife for a brief moment before he returned, ushered Yao Yi into the living room and shut the doors, not daring to light an oil lamp.

Yao Yi said, "I can hear all movements in and outside this house. If anybody approaches, I'll tell you, so feel free to say whatever you want. You don't have to worry about any eavesdropper."

These words struck Wang Sheng as quite reassuring. "Thanks. Actually I'm deeply concerned. Your presence makes me feel less afraid. The situation in this village is complicated. Those people Childe Jiang is looking for are here. They are staying right in the village head's residence."

Wang Sheng related to Yao Yi what had happened after his entry into the village, and then gave him an account of what Mr. Tao had told him.

"It was five days ago that those people arrived at this village. At that time, villagers here mistakenly believed that those people were a caravan from another prefecture."

They entered the village five days before, earlier than the time when residents of the county seat had noticed some out-of-towners whose faces were unfamiliar furtively enter the city to fish for information. It would seem Shan Congyi and his men had long since reconnoitered this area, which was why they'd directly come to Taowang Village.

In other words, the Wan Kingdom had some time before made preparations for cooperating with the Luohai Kingdom to wade into the matter of Jiangzhou, and there was a very high chance it'd been the Wan Kingdom who'd initiated the cooperation!

Yao Yi inwardly gave a sneer. The Wan-Kingdom had been in disputes with the Great Wen for a very long time. Also, Yuwen Tong had inflicted many defeats on the Wan Kingdom and Shan Congwen had even died at Yuwen Tong's hands, so the Wan Kingdom had every reason to hate him more than the Luohai Kingdom did, and it was a natural thing that the Wan Kingdom had taken the lead in throwing Jiangzhou into chaos to make trouble for the Great Wen.

"All villagers were very happy when the caravan entered their village. They finally saw hope, believing that their pottery would begin to sell, but all members of the caravan were strangers to them, so they were wary of them. At first, the caravan were indeed talking with the villagers about buying their pottery. They seemed to be serious about the business, and the price they offered was pretty decent. All villagers were tempted. However, afterward, members of the caravan suddenly said that the national road had been blockaded, so they were unable to go to Jiangzhou, that even if they bought all the pottery, they wouldn't be able to transport it elsewhere to sell it. Seeing that things were taking a drastic turn for the worse, the villagers were very anxious. Afterward, for some reason the village head fell prey to the deception of the leader of the caravan and actually agreed to let the caravan stay in the village. The next day, the village head called all villagers together and said that the caravan would buy all their pottery at twice the usual price, but the precondition was that they must help the caravan get to Jiangzhou along the national road.

An army of the imperial court was stationed near the national road, and the rebel forces in Jiangzhou were also guarding it on the other side. With the limited number of men in the village, helping the caravan get to Jiangzhou along the national road was an impossible task. Everybody felt that the village head and the caravan were insane, and they refused to do that, but then the leader of the caravan said that he'd purchase their pottery at triple its market price, that he would also donate a sum of money to the village. And then he signed an agreement with the village head on the spot. Apart from offering to donate money, members of the caravan also told the villagers that they were acquainted with the general leading the army of the imperial court, that they knew the army would engage the rebel forces in Jiangzhou in the next few days, that all the villagers needed to do was transport the pottery into Jiangzhou when the rebel forces was distracted by the army of the imperial court. Smart people could immediately tell that this matter was not as simple as it seemed, but those people of the caravan were plausible liars and hoodwinked most villagers into believing their words. Having had their way, members of the caravan told the village head to have the young and middle-aged villagers team up and guard the entrance and exits of the village. Villagers were not allowed to go in or out of the village without consent, and strangers were forbidden to enter. If anybody insisted on getting in, they wouldn't be able to get out.

A lot of villagers felt that those businessmen were somewhat weird, for they didn't look like natives of the Great Wen and had many fierce-looking musclemen at their service, so some villagers made an attempt to leave the village, planning to go to the county seat to avoid being dragged into those things, but they got spotted when exiting the village. Those musclemen hired by the caravan caught them, marched them back and then killed them. The one who informed on them was my father-in-law's son.. What with that matter, my father-in-law disowned his son, who, along with his wife and son, have now moved into the village head's residence, waiting upon those people. After the deaths of those villagers, all the others got scared and also came to realize that this caravan was not what it seemed, but they're unable to extricate themselves from this situation, because apart from those musclemen, many of the villagers are willingly doing the village head's and those people's bidding too. Presently this village is nothing short of a prison."

Wang Sheng related to Yao Yi all that Mr. Tao had told him about what had recently happened in the village. Then he added, "My father-in-law said that the leader of the caravan is a bearded man, that more than half of that man's features were obscured by his bushy beard. He'd only seen the leader from a distance a couple of times, so he couldn't give me a detailed description of his face, but his height and his lanky figure match up with what my boss told me. His demeanor bears little similarity to that of a common businessman, but his aristocratic mien tallies exactly with my boss' description. Although he speaks in a mild tone, he's quite ruthless when giving the order to kill. He has high prestige among his men, and nobody dares disobey him. In addition, he has a very strong Wan-Kingdom accent. Given all these facts, he's almost certainly the person you've been looking for."

Yao Yi said, "I see. That person must be Shan Congyi. Is he still in the village head's residence?"

Wang Sheng replied with an inclination of the head, "Yeah. My father-in-law said that those people have been staying in the village head's home all this time. In addition, his men have begun to show up at the village entrance on a regular basis. It seems that they're expecting someone."

Yao Yi's heart lurched and with that he immediately thought of the two caravans. "I think I might have an idea of who they're expecting."

"By the way, were those people of that caravan carrying any goods when they first came into this village?" asked Yao Yi.