Free Web NovelChapter 583: Chapter 583: Leak
"Have you heard? One of the Desert Wind Army’s outposts was wiped out!"
"What? When did this happen?"
"Just a few days ago, they say not a single person was left alive."
"How is that possible!"
"It’s true."
"Which force could be so formidable?"
"Rumor has it, it’s the West Plain Dao Camp."
"West Plain? Dao Camp?"
At Crescent Oasis, in a small tavern, Zhang Yuan sat in the corner, sipping a unique Western Regions’ kumis while eavesdropping on the boisterous discussions and whispers of the patrons around him.
Four days ago, after overseeing the corpses of the Cyan Wolf Camp bandits, he didn’t immediately return to West Plain City.
Instead, he returned to Crescent Oasis.
Zhang Yuan now had adopted a different appearance, disguised as a down-and-out wandering hero.
Such characters were commonplace in the oasis, hardly noticeable.
The reason he came back here, of course, was with a purpose.
The main goal was to investigate the movements of the Desert Wind Army.
Although the Cyan Wolf Camp was destroyed, this bandit troupe was just one of the sixteen outposts of the Desert Wind Army.
If word got out, their reaction would be unpredictable.
Zhang Yuan was worried that in their fury, they might rally multiple outposts to besiege West Plain City.
This possibility was not very high.
After all, West Plain City was a Dao City under the jurisdiction of the Upper Scenic Celestial, and the Desert Wind Army wouldn’t dare to provoke them, risking fierce retaliation from the Upper Scenic Celestial.
It’s known that there are more than just a few powerful figures in the Upper Scenic Celestial.
Still, unlikely or not, Zhang Yuan had to guard against possible retaliation from the Desert Wind Army.
Crescent Oasis, as a chaotic neutral zone, was undoubtedly the best place to gather information.
Additionally, Zhang Yuan had some interest in Crescent Oasis; last time he just had a cursory look, but this time he planned to stay a few more days to understand it deeply, perhaps discovering unexpected gains.
Regarding the situation in West Plain City, he wasn’t worried.
Yesterday, Mo Wei sent a talisman, informing that the team had safely returned.
The situation was currently stable.
Zhang Yuan guzzled the wine from the bowl, preparing to leave, when he suddenly heard someone nearby lowering their voice and saying, "The Desert Wind Army won’t let this slide. Today, I saw people from the Red Tiger Camp by the lake."
Zhang Yuan was taken aback and immediately dismissed the thought of leaving.
He hadn’t expected the news of the Cyan Wolf Camp’s destruction to spread so quickly.
He knew that this group of bandits had been completely annihilated by him leading three hundred Daoist soldiers, leaving no survivors.
All who participated in the battle had now returned to West Plain Dao City.
Who could have leaked the information?
Zhang Yuan originally thought the Desert Wind Army would only notice after ten days or half a month before they started investigating, and wouldn’t know the truth in the short term.
Yet within just a few days?
Information was spreading like wildfire in Crescent Oasis, even people from the Red Tiger Camp had appeared!
Zhang Yuan sat in the tavern for another half an hour, but didn’t hear anything else useful, so he paid and left.
He returned to his abode, swinging the packaged beef and wine gourd.
His place was in a slum on the southeastern edge of the oasis.
Compared to the area around the Central Lake, the conditions here were quite poor, with dilapidated mud and straw houses tightly packed together, serving as the refuge for many of the lower class.
The population here was very diverse, hailing from the Western Regions, Daqian, or some other tribes, ranging from martial artists, farmers, craftsmen, herders, to those doing semi-legitimate businesses.
Zhang Yuan’s house was relatively intact—at least the roof didn’t have a big hole, and the door wasn’t missing a corner or half a side.
Although it seemed chaotic here, there was actually someone, or a force, managing it.
When Zhang Yuan first arrived, a Tier Three martial artist came to inquire, knowing he intended to stay for a while, they rented him this vacant house.
The rent was cheap.
Because several previous tenants had died untimely deaths.
Like most down-and-out wandering heroes, Zhang Yuan didn’t care, paying a month’s rent.
Although he didn’t actually plan to stay that long.
"Scholar Guan."
Zhang Yuan didn’t head straight back to his house, instead, he went to a small mud house next door, greeting an elderly man with white hair sitting at the door: "Have you had dinner?"
This elderly man, with his white hair and weathered face, was known as Scholar Guan by the locals.
It was said he was from a scholarly family in Daqian, forced to flee to the Western Regions due to family troubles, accidentally ended up in Crescent Oasis, and eventually settled here.
He’s lived here for several decades.
Though not possessing any martial strength.
He was well-read in the Four Books and Five Classics, quite knowledgeable, and made a living writing letters and teaching children to read.
Even though this world valued martial prowess, no one deliberately troubled a poor scholarly person like Scholar Guan, allowing him to live peacefully to this day.
After becoming his neighbor, Zhang Yuan quickly became acquainted with him.
Scholar Guan shook his head and said solemnly, "The sages say, no food after noon."
Zhang Yuan chuckled.
What sage bans dinner?
If it weren’t for the fact that the man’s gaze landed on the paper package he was holding, Zhang Yuan might have believed him.
He handed over the wine gourd and paper package of beef: "Forget what the sages say, eating is the biggest thing in the world, my treat."
Scholar Guan hesitated for a moment, then nodded gladly: "Makes sense!"
He eagerly took them.
Zhang Yuan chuckled again: "Enjoy slowly."
Scholar Guan put down the things, stood up and cupped his hands in gratitude: "Thank you."
Zhang Yuan waved his hand and returned to his house.
This old pedant was actually quite interesting.
As night began to fall, Zhang Yuan lit an oil lamp.
He took a token from his storage space, unfolded it, and with a vermilion pen, wrote a few lines on it.
The rapid leak of the Cyan Wolf Camp’s destruction news could only mean one thing—there was a mole inside the West Plain Dao Camp.
No matter which force this mole belonged to, their existence was a threat to the camp.
Therefore, Zhang Yuan instructed Mo Wei and Sun Yujiang to think of a way to catch this mole and eliminate the threat!
With Sun Yujiang’s wit, it shouldn’t be a significant issue.
After midnight, Zhang Yuan quietly left his residence.
In a secluded, desolate location, he activated the token.
To convey the message to Mo Wei far off in West Plain!
The reason he chose this peripheral area was to facilitate communication with Mo Wei.
Otherwise, if the token flew into the oasis, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t be discovered.
And potentially expose Zhang Yuan.
For safety, he chose the dead of night.
Watching a faint golden light disappear into the vast darkness, Zhang Yuan returned to his abode.
Sitting on the meditation cushion, he closed his eyes.
Practicing his energy cultivation while contemplating his next move.
