Chapter 035: Surveillance

The next day, the lanterns were just being lit.

Wang Bo, dressed in a black-and-white scholar's robe, stepped out of his home and strolled along the bustling streets, wandering through the avenues and alleys of Luoyang, taking in the evening atmosphere of the divine capital.

He had been in this world for some days now, but Wang Bo had never really taken a close look at the night scenery of Luoyang.

After all, in this world, there is a curfew at night!

Unless it is a special occasion, the curfew will not be lifted.

For example, the Shangyuan Festival!

Incidentally, the so-called Shangyuan Festival is the modern-day Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Across Luoyang, it was considered a top-tier grand occasion, and it was on this festival that Yin Ruiji was chosen as the Luoyang courtesan queen.

But this was already half a year ago.

Now, it is summer.

Wang Bo walked through the streets of Luoyang in light, refreshing attire, listening to the cries of vendors all around, watching the sky filled with festive lanterns, and suddenly felt a long-lost sense of detachment.

As if he and this world were out of tune, as if he did not belong here.

The bustling pedestrians weaving around him seemed separated from him by a whole world, giving rise to a sense of loneliness.

In fact, this feeling was not an illusion; after all, as a modern person who had come to ancient times, going out on the street alone would inevitably produce this sense of detachment.

However, Wang Bo was not the sentimental type, prone to melancholy over autumn or spring; he quickly composed himself and walked among the bustling crowd as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, a child, while weaving through the crowd, tripped and fell, landing right on his bottom in front of Wang Bo. Wang Bo quickly reached out and helped him up.

“Little friend, are you all right?”

"I'm fine." The little boy replied with a grin, dusted off his bottom, skirted around Wang Bo, and continued running through the crowd.

Wang Bo shook his head and was about to step forward when suddenly a burly man emerged from the crowd, locked onto the little boy, and chased after him with all his might, shouting as he ran, "You little brat, don't you run! If you keep running wild, I'll beat your ass to a pulp."

Wang Bo couldn't help but laugh in spite of himself and continued on his way.

He pulled a bottle of Happy Water from his four-dimensional pocket, opened it, and observed his surroundings as he drank.

After crossing several streets, Wang Bo arrived at an inn.

Wang Bo entered the inn, and a man dressed as a waiter came up to him. “Would the honored guest like wine or a room?”

Wang Bo said, "I'm looking for someone."

The waiter glanced at Wang Bo and asked, "Who are you looking for, sir?"

"I'm looking for three men with beards."

The waiter nodded and said, "Indeed, three guests are staying at our inn, in the first-class rooms. Sir, please follow me."

"Thank you." Wang Bo followed the waiter upstairs. This inn was considered a relatively tall building in Luoyang City, certainly six stories, each about three meters high, with an overall height of nearly twenty meters.

From this height, one could overlook most of the scenery within Luoyang.

The three bearded men Wang Bo was looking for lived in the first room on the top floor.

After the waiter knocked and opened the door, he announced the visitor's purpose. A white-robed man with a beard came out. Seeing Wang Bo, he said politely, "Honored guest, please come in."

Then he took out a piece of broken silver, handed it to the waiter, and dismissed him.

Wang Bo entered the room and saw two more bearded men inside.

One of them, dressed in brown, stood by the window keeping watch on something; the other, in gray, sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed in meditation.

After the white-robed, bearded man behind him entered, he immediately shut the door and locked it.

The brown-clad man turned his head, and the gray-clad man opened his eyes; both fixed their bright, piercing gazes on Wang Bo.

The man in white said, "How may I address our esteemed guest?"

Wang Bo said, “My surname is Wang; you may call me Young Master Wang.”

The three of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief, as if receiving some secret signal, and knelt down one after another, saying, "Your subordinates greet the special envoy."

Special Envoy?

Clearly, this must be an identity Wu Zetian had arranged for herself. Wang Bo neither confirmed nor denied it, and asked, "Tell me, where is Gu Xingwen?"

The man in brown stood up, walked to the window, pointed outside, and said, "Your Excellency the Special Envoy, please look, Gu Xingwen is right there."

Wang Bo walked to the window and looked in the direction the other indicated. About a few dozen meters from the tavern stood a residence—a very ordinary dwelling, quite common within Luoyang City.

Standing here, Wang Bo could clearly see the structure of the residence; except that the interior was not clearly visible, the layout of the courtyard was perfectly clear at a glance.

"Envoy, according to our investigation, the owner of this residence is a lowly merchant in Luoyang, surnamed Liu, full name Liu Ran. He was once saved by Gu Xingwen while traveling for trade, and the two became acquainted. After Gu Xingwen came to Luoyang, he has been living in this Liu's home, but recently, Liu has not been seen entering or leaving the residence."

Before Wang Bo could even ask, the man in brown clothes laid out everything he had uncovered in his investigation.

In the end, he even added his own speculation.

"We suspect that the despicable merchant surnamed Liu has already died at Gu Xingwen's hands; if not, then he has been kidnapped by Gu Xingwen and imprisoned somewhere."

Wang Bo listened, nodded, and said, "So Gu Xingwen is still in this person's house?"

The man in brown nodded and said, "That's right. The three of us have been taking turns keeping watch day and night. Since Gu Xingwen entered the Liu residence a few days ago, he hasn't come out again."

Wang Bo asked again, "What kind of person is this Gu Xingwen?"

The man replied, "Gu Xingwen is a renowned master in the martial world. Because his sword strikes without a sound, he is known in the martial world as the Silent Sword. His swordsmanship is extremely formidable, and he has rarely met his match in the martial world."

Wang Bo asked, "Then do you know how the Demon Pearl came into his possession?"

The man couldn't help but look bewildered. He asked cautiously, "Special Envoy, what is the Demon Pearl?"

Wang Bo was taken aback. "You don't know?"

The man shook his head and said, "We were merely ordered to keep an eye on Gu Xingwen, and know nothing else. We certainly have no idea what this 'demon pearl' you speak of is."

After hearing this, Wang Bo couldn't help but see Wu Zetian in a new light—this woman's secrecy was truly impeccable, for even the people monitoring Gu Xingwen were unaware that he possessed the demon pearl.

It was obvious she intended to truly make it a case of Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know.

"If you don't know, then forget it. Keep up the surveillance. I'll be back shortly."

With that, Wang Bo opened the door and left the room. After walking out of the tavern, he headed into the alley, leaving behind the bustling street and the vigorous hawking. Before long, he arrived outside the back courtyard wall of the Liu residence.

By this time, the sounds from the street had become barely audible.

But as long as Wang Bo was willing, he could still hear the breathing and voices of any person on the street. However, he focused all his attention on the residence before him.