Ouyang Bu, codename Esther, ended the conversation with Gamma using his female voice machine. Few people within the organization was aware that the unscrambled female voice was an advanced technology the Tang Family had owned for a decade. Ouyang Bu’s identity as the 9th generation servant of the Tang Family needed to be kept a secret.

Generational servants benefited from generational stability and wealth. The future generation of Ouyang was guaranteed to continue under the Tang’s protection. The only thing lacking was true freedom, which was nothing more than propaganda and idealogy. Since childhood, Ouyang Bu was aware of the sacrifices needed for financial freedom and for future prosperity. His firm ideology and loyalty led him to become of the core members of the Blue Moon. He wasn’t involved with training new recruits, but he knew many things about the organization. When he received the command to eliminate Li Yun, he considered it a risky political maneuver from the Tang Family. It wasn’t the first time the Tang had tried to eliminate a rival’s family members, but it was extremely rare. It also meant that the job must be completed to perfection. Failure was not an option and all traces of their operation must be thoroughly wiped.

He contacted the most veteran member of the field team for the assignment, Gamma. Although he had failed to eliminate Zhang Shuyi, the elders agreed that it was outside of Gamma’s control. Once the assignment was completed, Ouyang Bu was not satisfied. The confirmation from Gamma and Sparrow was not enough. Unfortunately, Song Taiji had blocked off access to Li Yun’s body. Ouyang Bu feared that Li Yun was still alive. His instinct was telling him that it was the case. He had to confirm this himself.

Ouyang Bu entered the hospital as a food delivery carrier. He dropped off the food order for one of the patients. His main purpose was to watch Sparrow’s operation. It was easier for Sparrow to assess the situation as the morgue director. He had timed his arrival to match when she would be meeting with a client. He saw her slip away toward the exit stairwell and followed her.

Somewhere along the way, he passed out. His last thought was simple, he had fallen into a trap. But how was it possible? He had no direct involvement with the mission.

After some time, he woke up in the hospital bed. The six-person ward was empty, except for a man by the window. To his surprise, he recognized the man who he had almost uttered to as young master.

Tang Jiang watched Ouyang Bu reawakened from bed. They had met twice in passing, but never formally introduced. As one of the Blue Moon members, Ouyang Bu avoided direct contact with the Tang family members.

“You’re Esther?” Tang Jiang asked.

Ouyang Bu was surprised Tang Jiang knew his codename. He wondered if his father had mentioned it to Tang Jiang, or if the young master had figured it out himself.

“Did you know that it wasn’t my father who gave you the order to eliminate Li Yun?” Tang Jiang asked. “My brother took it upon himself to stir the pot.”

Ouyang Bu wasn’t entirely surprised, but he was more concerned about the potential fallout.

“Sir, is the master aware?”

“Not yet,” said Tang Jiang. “I plan to deal with my brother in my own way. What I need from you is to infiltrate the other distribution team and make sure they lie low from now on. Song Taiji isn’t happy about the situation, but I have already eliminated all the evidence. From now on, all your communications must go to me.”

“Young master, you know I have to report this to the elders?”

“Then do so, but warn them that they risk an all-out war with the Song family.”

“Yes sir,” Ouyang Bu didn’t ask questions, especially when it came from the potential future head of the Tang family.

As soon as Ouyang Bu left, Tang Jiang walked into another ward. Li Yun was waiting for him from the bedside.

“The Blue Moon will be laying low from now on,” Tang Jiang said. “How is your injury?”

“Recovering,” Li Yun replied.

****

Ten days ago…

“There are two people who have been tailing me for the past three days, codename Sarah and Job,” Li Yun said over the phone to Wen Sho.

Wen Sho was surprised Li Yun was able to get their names. He wasn’t aware that Li Yun could hear conversations from beyond the normal human range. “Those are members of the reconnaissance team,” Wen Sho explained. “The Blue Moon commonly uses biblical names for them. Do you know why they are following you?”

“It has to do with Zhang Shuyi,” said Li Yun. During his working hours at the clinic, he overheard two operatives whispering about him from across the street. The word name “Zhang Shuyi” came up in their conversation once. They spoke casually when there were other tourists, but occasionally slipped into serious conversation regarding their mission and operation to collect information about Li Yun. “The name Esther came up twice.”

Wen Sho’s main contact with the Blue Moon organization was Esther. “This confirms our suspicion that Chi Ling hired them for the assassination.”

“Do you have any idea of who is in charge of the organization?”

“Most likely the Tang.”

“Oh?” Li Yun wondered what Wen Sho had uncovered.

“It won’t be easy for you to deal with them.”

Li Yun silently agreed. It would be difficult to deal with a family with a long-rooted history in the government and business. Destroying one of the five wealthy families meant crippling the nation's economy and potentially triggering a recession. “Is there a way to absorb the Blue Moon?”

Wen Sho almost gasped. If he wasn’t trained to hold his emotions, his face would have been filled with awe and shock. His boss was unpredictable. There were times when Li Yun seemed too righteous and soft, and then there were times he seemed cold and ruthless. “It’s going to take quite a bit of undertaking. The organization has a really long history, and no one really knows what holds them together.”

As one upper echelon within the field team, Wen Sho knew about most teams. However, he wasn’t certain of their exact protocol. The field team was the face of the organization, holding jobs from dishwasher to CEO around the world. The number was unknown and highly classified. Everyone had a codename based on foreign alphabets.

They communicated with the distribution team through a rotating burner phone that lasted only a month before another was issued. Different members of the information team gave out instructions, but Wen Sho could tell that Esther held a higher position within the team.

“In order to take over, we will need to find ways to intercept the distribution team. Since we already know that they send the burner phones through shell companies, as long as we gather a list of their field operations, we can take over that portion.”

The Blue Moon operated for a long time without much public presence. Loyalty was enforced and required. Any scent of betrayal meant an end to an operative life. To absorb such an organization would be difficult without knowing the existing protocol.

“Is there a way to lure Esther out?” asked Li Yun.

“They don’t operate in the open, so it will be difficult to track them,” said Wen Sho. “The phones are distributed using different private couriers. Based on my experience, the private couriers have no connection to the information team. However, I have been able to trace the invoices from the couriers to a company called “Best Calligrapher” in Imperial City.

“You’re serious?” Li Yun was starting to understand why some people wanted Chi Ling’s ledger. There were several lines within the ledger that the Tang family’s driver was paying Chi Ling to pay for courier services to deliver packages. Most people would assume that the packages were scrolls and paintings, but they were actually burner phones. Chi Ling was likely unaware that his client was using him for such a reason.

That was all the information Li Yun needed to formulate a plan. On his arrival in Imperial City, he scheduled a meeting with Tang Jiang. The meetup location was the Imperial Museum, but Tang Jiang got them access to a private wing.

“I’m surprised you have requested to meet with me,” said Tang Jiang. “I heard you have an engagement ceremony planned here. Do you need my assistance or recommendations?”

“I believe Meilin has it handled,” Li Yun replied. “I’m here for a business proposal.”

“Oh, what sort of business?” Tang Jiang asked.

“A shared management of a sort,” said Li Yun. “How much involvement do you have with the Tang’s family courier business?”

Tang Jiang chuckled. “I do wonder. We have a lot of businesses, so for you to be interested in the courier business, it must be an interesting branch of the Tang. How much do you know about it?”

“I know the names and some of the staff members,” Li Yun said cryptically. “There is a written ledger that is highly coveted. You may say it’s worth killing for.”

“Interesting that you would know a lot more about the Tang’s family business than I do. The elders in the family may be involved and I am not privy to the details. I am interested to know why you want a shared interest in it.”

“It’s not that I want to, but I am rather forced into it. If there is a way to better manage them, then it will make my life easier.”

Tang Jiang grew serious for the first time. No one in his family would mess with Li Yun knowing his connection to the Song. From his understanding, he was the only one with any direct involvement with Li Yun. However, his thoughts quickly landed on his brother, Hutian.

“That fool,” Tang Jiang never thought much of his brother, but the stunt could create a dangerous situation for the family. Seeing that Li Yun had not gone through the proper channel, he was likely aware that there weren’t going to be any legal implications. “If my brother is involved, I’ll strip him of his status. But you have to understand that the elders will not want anything to tarnish the family's reputation.”

“That I understand, but his business and the Blue Moon as a whole is more than just laundering,” Li Yun dropped the pretense.

“What do you propose?”

“I don’t want any involvement, but as long as you have tight rein over the organization, I can at least have someone to contact.”

The conversation with Tang Jiang turned into a temporary alliance to keep the Blue Moon under wrap. Unfortunately, Tang Jiang didn’t have complete access to the organization. The only way to gather more information was to wait and see what Li Yun could gather from the operatives’’ private conversation. What Li Yun didn’t expect was Tang Hutian to order a direct hit on his life.