A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 457 One Pot
Duan Rong glanced at the secret letter.

Lu Geng looked at Duan Rong and said, "Junior brother, you can take Zhu Cheng and Zhu Peng with you to catch the spy. Do you need me to tell them again?"

"No need!" Duan Rong said, "But, Senior Brother, you should inform Chen Shanmeng, the Minister of the Dali Temple, and Lin Yuan, the Director of the Privy Council. You just said that the case of Li Shensi was handled by the Dali Temple, and the Jianyifu and the Privy Council assisted. You should meet them when you enter the Dali Temple. Senior Brother, please tell them not to assign any work to Zhu Cheng and Zhu Peng during the trial. I need to temporarily recruit these two people."

Lu Geng nodded and said, "Okay! Junior Brother, I'll pass on the message. I'll be staying at the inn these days, so you can come to me anytime if you need anything."

Duan Rong stood up and clasped his fists, saying, "We are brothers, and we have only met briefly. We didn't even have a cup of tea. If this matter is resolved, I would like to invite you to a gathering. I hope you can come and show up!"

Lu Geng grabbed Duan Rong's fist with his big hand and said, "Junior brother, you are thoughtful. Now that the matter is settled, let's have a good drink. Junior brother, I'm leaving now!"

After Lu Geng finished speaking, he strode to the door, opened it and walked out.

Ruyi saw that Lu Geng had left, so she wanted to go back inside. Just as she reached the door, she heard Duan Rong say, "Ruyi, I have something to do. Hold the door for me. No one is allowed to come in and disturb us!"

Ruyi's face froze, her body seemed to freeze for a moment, and one of her feet had already stepped in.

"Yes, sir!" Ruyi retracted the foot that had stepped into the door, closed the door that Lu Geng had opened, and stood guard beside the door.

Duan Rong sat there and picked up the secret letter on the table. He looked closely at the seal of the secret letter and saw a corner of the seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stamped on the wax, and next to it was Zhu He's private seal.

Duan Rong didn't use a knife, he just tore open the seal and fell down. A thin square paper the size of a lotus leaf floated out.

Duan Rong stretched out his hand, held it firmly with two fingers, and looked up at the paper.

When Duan Rong saw it, he was shocked. Then he turned to the back of the paper with a loud noise, and saw that there was no word on the back.

Duan Rong placed the piece of paper on the table in front of him with a puzzled expression on his face.

The quality of the paper was obviously very good. Although it was thin, it did not deform or wrinkle when absorbing ink. However, at this moment, there was only a lonely word "去" (go) on the white paper.

Duan Rong stared at the word "去" in the middle of the paper, which took up about a quarter of the area, and was suddenly speechless.

"What's wrong with this old man?!"

Duan Rong's eyelids twitched, as if he remembered something. He suddenly stood up and walked to the inner room behind the screen. He picked up a fire starter from the cupboard, blew out a tiny flame, and then lit a candle.

Duan Rong returned to the table with the candle, put it away, picked up the paper and roasted it on the candle for a while. He remembered that when he was in Xiangu County, Ximen Kankan had a kind of potion, which he had used before. It would disappear when roasted with fire. Perhaps the word "go" with full ink was just a trick, and the place it covered was the real content of the secret letter.

Duan Rong roasted it for a while and found that there was a huge, lonely "Qu" character on the paper, which had not changed at all. He sighed and took the paper again to look at it for a while. He put the paper on the table again, dipped his finger in the water stains in the teacup, and dotted around the "Qu" character. Then he picked up the paper and looked at it in the light of the candle and found that the watermark was also blank.

Duan Rong angrily slammed the paper on the table.

He had tried water and fire. If there was a more complicated way to reveal the word, Lu Geng would have told him just now. In other words, there was originally only one word "go" in this secret letter.

"Damn it, is this old man a psychopath?!"

"Emperor Jiajing asked for a riddle and gave a poem!? Something like a bright moon rising over the sea? At least it contains some information and can be associated with something. Just write the word 'go' and have someone deliver it to me."

"I really want to smear your old face!"

"What the hell are you going to do? Go to your mother? Or go to your uncle?"

As Duan Rong spoke, he started cursing, but after a while he calmed down.

Although there was only one word "go", he still sat there for half an hour to ponder it. He thought about it over and over again, even using the method of breaking down the word, but in the end he still got nothing.

Half an hour later, he gave up while cursing Zhu He.

"What are you thinking about? Just the word 'go'. You thought about it like a fool for half an hour."

Duan Rong took the paper and envelope, walked to the window on the side wall, opened the window, and put the stack of envelopes and papers in his hand.

The energy in his palm swelled slightly, like a millstone, and with a twist, the envelope and paper in his palm turned into powder.

Duan Rong waved his hand and saw the paper foam flying away. He cursed, "Fuck you!"

He was feeling a little depressed, so he decided to go out and relax. He had been staying in the villa for more than ten days. Now there was no need to hide his identity anymore, and he could walk around the street openly.

Duan Rong was about to turn around when he suddenly remembered something. He reached out and touched his chin, and the hard stubble felt a bit prickly.

He still has a beard sticking on.

Duan Rong slowly tore off the circle of beard. Because it was too tightly stuck, the skin on his cheeks hurt when he tore it off. He sniffed a few times while pulling.

After tearing off the beard, Duan Rong threw it out of the window, then walked to the front of the room and opened the door with a creak.

Ruyi was guarding the door. Upon hearing the words, she turned her head and stared at Duan Rong at the door.

Duan Rong glanced at Ruyi and said, "Ruyi, I'm going out for a walk!"

Ruyi was surprised and asked, "Sir, where is your beard?"

Duan Rong touched his chin and said, "Oh, I just found time to shave it."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he walked out of the room, crossed the yard, and went straight out of the villa.

As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, he found that Qiu Luan had followed him out.

Duan Rong stopped and looked back at Qiu Luan, saying, "Qiu Luan, you don't have to follow me."

Qiu Luan said stubbornly: "Qiu has been ordered to protect you, sir!"

Duan Rong said, "You can't stop someone who can hurt me. Just stay and watch over the yard. Also, go back and tell Ruyi not to run around."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he left without looking back.

When she saw Duan Rong leave the yard, her expression suddenly became cold. She walked into the room and saw the lit candle on the table. It was bright outside, but it was not the right time to light a candle.

A hint of doubt flashed across Ruyi's eyes, and then she found that the window on the side wall was open. She walked over and stretched her head to look out the window, only to see a circle of dark beards lying on the grass. Ruyi stood on tiptoe and stretched her head to look around the window. Seeing that there was nothing else to find, she put her head back.

All her actions and expressions were seen clearly by Duan Rong who was hiding in a corner of the courtyard using his spiritual sense.

He left the candlelight and the side window open just to see Ruyi's behavior and reaction to further prove her identity.

At this time, Duan Rong was completely certain that Ruyi was a spy planted by his side.

He sighed, walked around the big beech tree beside him, and followed a path towards the exit of the mansion.

As he walked, he was thinking about another question. Since Zhu He asked him to catch the spy and ordered him to root it out completely, why did he tell him not to touch Ruyi's line for the time being?

Following Ruyi and the matchmaker who sold her to Zhu Zhengfu, this line would probably lead to a large group of people being brought out.

Since he was asked to root out the problem, and there were ready-made clues, not letting him take any action, what was this old man up to?
And what does the word "go" in the secret letter mean? If I speak clearly, will I die?
In fact, regarding Li Shensi's case, even though it was made so high-profile, Duan Rong really didn't feel anything, because he knew very well that he didn't leave any evidence that could prove his guilt.

The only suspicion was that he happened to be in Shenyun Mansion during this period. However, Zhu He had already explained this to him in the Elders' Council.

This time he came secretly to investigate the spies.

If he really just wanted to deal with the aftermath of the Li Shensi case, he could just arrest two spies and deal with it, and the matter would be over. But Zhu He's order to him was to root out the problem completely.

Adding to the various mysteries he had not yet figured out, and the life-saving Dew-Drinking Cicada that Zhu He had given him two months ago, Duan Rong had a feeling that Li Shensi's death was probably just a prelude, and the real drama had just begun.

And in this big drama, the guy hiding behind the scenes and seeing everything is probably that old man Zhu He.

Although Li Shensi's death was just a prelude, Duan Rong could also feel that each step had a profound meaning and was closely linked to the next.

For example, after Li Shensi's death, he almost logically started to catch spies in Shenyun Mansion. Duan Rong didn't think that this was an excuse Zhu He came up with on the spur of the moment to deal with Ge Rushong and others' attack. If so, it would be impossible to explain his order to uproot the whole thing. This was obviously not an order that came up on the spur of the moment. I'm afraid he had already prepared it when the old man ordered him to come to Shenyun Mansion to kill Li Shensi.

Otherwise, why didn't they send Wu Shidao, who was obviously more suitable, to kill Li Shensi, but instead sent him?

Moreover, Lu Geng just quoted Zhu He's words, saying that his old family members said that you already knew the details of the spy.

This matter probably goes back further, to more than half a year ago, when he was assisting in investigating Zhu Shizhong's case of being struck by lightning in Shenyun Mansion.

What Zhu He meant was obviously that when he was investigating Zhu Shizhong's lightning attack case, he had already found some clues about the spies, but he didn't say anything.

Duan Rong was certain that Zhu He's words were just speculation.

The basis for the inference is that Zhu He saw through his thoughts at that time and knew that he did not want to get too deeply involved in the fight between the two parties. Even if he had clues about the spy, he would not tell it. What's more, he was still known as a detective at that time. How could he have no insight into the spy who had already intervened in the case?
After Duan Rong deduced Zhu He's inference, he let the matter go. After all, it was no longer important how Zhu He deduced that he knew the spy's details. What was important now was what he should do about this matter?
Is it really as Zhu He said, to uproot the grass and root it out? If so, I'm afraid he will be in danger!
This is the spy network that Ge Rushong has spent many years building up. How could Ge Rushong just sit back and watch him destroy it in one fell swoop?

Duan Rong subconsciously touched the Dew-Drinking Cicada hanging on his chest inside his lapel.

At this moment, he could better understand Zhu He's intention in giving him the Dew Cicada. It was probably not only to protect him, but also to increase his confidence at the critical moment so that he would not back down.

At this moment, if he did not have the Dew-Drinking Cicada, he would never have carried out Zhu He's order to eradicate the problem completely, because that would simply be courting death.

Moreover, it is very simple not to execute orders. He just needs to pretend to be incompetent and unable to find the spy. Zhu He will at most dislike him on Yunfu Peak and cut off his training resources, but he will not really do anything to him.

But Duan Rong didn’t want to do that!
More than half a year ago, when he was becoming an apprentice in the Dragon Fish Hall of Cuiwei Peak, the reason he chose Zhu He as his master was that he felt that there was a high probability that this person would become the next leader of the sect.

More than half a year has passed, and Duan Rong's judgment has not only not changed, but has become even more certain.

In other words, when it comes to Zhu He becoming the sect leader, his interests and Zhu He's are actually highly consistent.

Now, destroying the spy network that Ge Rushong has painstakingly built up in Shenyun Mansion for many years in one fell swoop will obviously be of great benefit to Zhu He in becoming the next leader.

Why doesn't he do it?

Moreover, the old man gave him the Dew-Drinking Cicada, which was a great treasure entrusted to him. But when the time came, he hesitated. Didn't he let Zhu He down?

All who have blood in their veins have a desire to fight!

This time, he was going to wipe out the spy network run by Ge Rusong! In Zhu He's words, it was to uproot the grass and root it out!

By the time Duan Rong walked out of the alley leading to Zhu Zhengfu's mansion, he had already thought through the pros and cons of the matter, and his eyes instantly became bright and sharp.

Now that we have decided to destroy Ge Rushong's spy network in one fell swoop, we must think carefully about how to do it.

Duan Rong walked out of the alley and went to the nearest teahouse. He hadn't been out for more than ten days and he really wanted to hear the gossip of the people there with his own ears.

In the courtyard, Ruyi extinguished the candle and put it back in place. She stood in the empty room and hesitated for a while. Duan Rong had been in this courtyard for more than ten days. This was the first time he went out shopping, and he also threw away his beard. These things have changed the normal situation and need to be reported.

Ruyi's eyes moved and she walked out of the room. She glanced at Qiu Luan who was sitting on the big bluestone drinking, then walked down the steps and walked towards the gate of the villa.

Ruyi had just taken a few steps when Qiu Luan put down the wine jar, looked at her, and said, "When the master left, he told me not to run around!"

Ruyi froze when she heard that. An obvious flash of anger flashed across her face. She asked, "Who's running around?!"

"I was making medicine for you, you ungrateful guy!" Ruyi glanced at Qiu Luan, turned around and walked towards the side room.

Qiu Luan glanced at Ruyi's back, shook his head, and said with a wry smile: "Women are trouble!"

As Qiu Luan spoke, he took another big gulp of wine down his throat.

Liquor is like fire, it breaks your heart!
But he was already just a shell, and had long been numb to the heart-wrenching pain...

Some people are still alive simply because they have no choice but to live.

(End of this chapter)