Sannan raised his head from the map to glance at him. Seeing his pallid complexion, listless demeanor, and the hidden malevolence between his brows, he laughed—he knew this Second Master Fan wasn’t someone who could stay idle. He was well aware of how much commotion he had caused in the temple these past few days, so his words were especially straightforward: “Benefactor need not be anxious. News has indeed arrived. Once the matter is completed, the benefactor can return home to report his success, and we too can set off for the capital. For now, please remain calm.”
For Second Master Fan to remain calm was truly too difficult. He knew he should remain calm, but how could one suppress such feelings at will? He was different from these so-called pure-minded bald donkeys. If he had such composure, he wouldn’t be in his current state. He impatiently snatched the map from Sannan’s hands and looked at it for a while. Seeing that the marks made earlier were still there with no changes, he lost interest again and tossed the map back to him: “Isn’t this still the same three routes as before? What route did the news say they’re taking?”
Second Master Fan could wait no longer. If he stayed here any longer, he would go mad from suffocation. Before coming, he had thought about becoming an official in the future, but now thinking about it, it would be better to just muddle along at home. Although he couldn’t avoid his father’s disapproval, at least he would be at ease. With his mother’s support and beautiful wives and concubines serving him, it was better than anything else. He would never again take on such bitter assignments.
Sannan lowered his voice, his finger pointing to the small path beside the official road, tapping it with a smile: “Here. And they’re setting off immediately.”
Second Master Fan looked along his finger, peculiarly furrowing his brows. Finding Sannan’s happiness somewhat inexplicable, he asked: “They? Besides the Crown Prince, who else is traveling together?”
Speaking of which, this truly was a case of searching everywhere for something only to obtain it without any effort. The smile at the corners of Sannan’s mouth deepened. He had failed in his previous collaboration with the Chen family to deal with Song Chuyi, which had gnawed at him until now. Who would have known that now Song Chuyi and Zhou Weizhao would end up together—it was Zhou Weizhao who had helped Song Chuyi persuade Chief Minister Chang and Cen Biliang, indirectly causing his master’s death. These two enemies were now together in one place—this truly saved so much trouble.
Even as dull as Second Master Fan was, he sensed something amiss. After hesitating a moment, he spoke up: “Make yourself clear. You came this trip to help me. Once the Crown Prince is brought down, that’s it. Don’t cause other complications by creating additional troubles.”
Fan San stood at the side with his hands hanging down, listening. He thought to himself that at least the brain hadn’t grown in vain—occasionally he still knew to think things through. He too raised his head to look at Sannan, hesitating a moment before asking: “Young Master, our Second Master’s words may be coarse but the reasoning is sound. We came this trip for the Crown Prince. There’s no need to involve others, is there?”
Sannan showed no anger. His eyes swept over them once, his face still bearing that hair-raising smile: “No need to worry. We naturally have our own sense of propriety in doing things. Even if Her Ladyship and the Prince were to know, they presumably wouldn’t blame us.”
Song Chuyi had escaped danger on the water thanks to Zhou Weizhao requesting Huang Yiping’s help on her behalf. This time when Zhou Weizhao was injured, Song Chuyi also rushed to Yangquan overnight to help. The Song family and the Crown Prince had long been bound together. Now by taking action to eliminate the Crown Prince while also severing the Song family’s connection to him, the Song family could naturally realign themselves. Imperial Concubine Fan and Prince Dongping would only be happy—they certainly wouldn’t blame him.
Second Master Fan was left speechless. He was now merely serving as a token presence. The manpower all belonged to Sannan. Even if he truly wanted to make a fuss in opposition, if they didn’t listen to him, there was nothing he could do. He sprang up from the prayer cushion, impatiently waving his hand: “Fine, fine. I don’t care who else you’re taking along. Just don’t let anything go wrong with the Crown Prince’s side. You just said they plan to take this road.” As he spoke, he extended his finger to point at the small path beside the official road that Sannan had indicated earlier. Rarely remembering what Sannan had told him three or four days ago, he furrowed his brows and asked: “Didn’t you say at the time that as long as they took this route, you wouldn’t even need to deploy men—you could make the earth shake and the mountains move, burying them all inside?”
But it was easier said than done. Human power seemed too insignificant before nature. Even though this mountain had experienced an earthquake before, making it collapse was still a pipe dream.
Hearing Second Master Fan say this, Fan San stretched his neck to look at the map, also quite doubtful: “To make this mountain collapse and bury people inside would naturally be the best method with no alternative. But it’s easier said than done—how could it be that simple? This is a mountain. Even if you deployed four or five thousand people, you’d probably need to dig for several days and nights, wouldn’t you? Young Master, didn’t you just say they’re setting off immediately? Never mind where to find so many people—even time-wise, it wouldn’t work.”
The large monk beside Sannan showed some pride on his face as he raised his chin, tapping the map with his hand and shaking his head: “You two don’t know the full story. Even before the Crown Prince arrived in Yangquan, our people had already rushed there ahead of time. After learning that the Crown Prince’s base was in Jinzhong, they thoroughly investigated all the passable routes around Jinzhong and Yangquan. If the Crown Prince takes the official road, we’ll dispatch death warriors for a direct assault. If he switches to another main road, we’ve prepared ambushes on that route as well. As for this small path that’s the fastest to Jinzhong, we already knew that an earthquake occurred at the beginning of the year that killed people. We’ve already gone in and examined it thoroughly, practically turning it inside out. Inside there are many interconnected mine tunnels. The common people of Yangquan and the surrounding areas are greedy—who knows how many mine tunnels they’ve secretly dug here to smuggle coal out.”
Second Master Fan still hadn’t grasped the implications, but Fan San’s eyes gradually brightened. He hadn’t expected these monks to have such scheming minds, with methods so meticulous and thorough, having scouted the terrain in advance.
Sure enough, the large monk continued: “This place is full of mine tunnels everywhere. Combined with the previous avalanche and cave-in, the mountain is already on the verge of collapse. As long as we hollow out and excavate the mine tunnels as well…”
Second Master Fan finally understood the general idea, asking with eyes wide as saucers: “Then how long do you need to dig?”
But Fan San knew this must have already begun long ago—even before they knew whether Zhou Weizhao would actually take this route, these monks had already begun making foolproof preparations.
Ah, these were truly people who came determined to accomplish their task. Fan San’s eyes couldn’t shine any brighter. Full of hope, he asked them: “Then have you also made arrangements on the other two routes?”