Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 219 Mirage
Pang Lei led everyone to the second floor of the gambling house, where many account books were placed.

Fu Bai picked up an account book and flipped through it. He found that these were the daily transactions of the gambling house. He looked at Pang Lei and asked, "Did you record all these?"

Pang Lei scratched his head and smiled innocently, "Yes, I am the only one who can read in the whole gambling house, so my brother... no, it was Jiang Qi who gave the bookkeeping job to me. Besides me, only Jiang Qi can come in here. Please have a seat. I'll pour you a cup of tea."

Fu Bai signaled him not to bother, as they needed clean clothes to change into more than drinking tea.

They had just climbed out of the sewage pool, all wet, and their clothes were still dripping with water.

Pang Lei immediately said, "There's a warehouse next to it. There should be clothes in there. I'll go get them for you."

After saying that, he ran out in a hurry.

Yan Ciwan asked Fu Bai, "What is the origin of this Pang Lei?"

"Eighteen years ago, when Pang Lei entered the Inner Guard, I was responsible for assessing him. His assessment results were very good and his background was clean, but to be honest, his personality was not suitable for being an Inner Guard. He was too simple and could not keep secrets. I originally wanted to let him hone his character for two years, and then let him carry out missions alone after his personality became more stable."

Yan Ciwan was quite curious: "Then why was he sent as an undercover agent?"

Fu Bai sighed, "That was the time when the Five Gods Cult was at its most rampant. Many people were deceived and joined the Five Gods Cult. The saint ordered a strict investigation of the Five Gods Cult and made sure to eradicate this evil cult! But the Five Gods Cult's whereabouts were secretive, and the leader of the cult was very hidden. We cleared out several strongholds of the Five Gods Cult, but we were never able to touch their core members. The Grand Master planned to arrange a group of people to infiltrate the Five Gods Cult as undercover agents. The first condition for being an undercover agent is to have a clean background and be unfamiliar. People like us who have worked in the Inner Guard House for many years were excluded first. In the end, after much selection, Pang Lei, who had just entered the Inner Guard House for less than three days, was selected. The group of people who were sent out at the beginning all disappeared later. We thought they had died, but we didn't expect Pang Lei to be still alive."

When Fu Bai heard the name Pang Lei from Jiang Qi before, he thought it was someone with the same name. It was not until he saw the real person that he was sure from the voice that he was not mistaken and the other person was indeed his former companion.

Yan Ci Wan and Xiao Wang looked at each other. Eighteen years is enough to change many people and things. Maybe Pang Lei did have a pure heart when he first joined the Inner Guard Palace, but they have not been in contact for so many years. No one knows how he has been through the past eighteen years, and there is no way to confirm whether he still retains the same character as before?
But the two of them tacitly did not raise this question, because there were some things that Fu Bai could figure out on his own without them saying anything.

Yan Ciwan asked about the Five Gods Religion. She had never heard of it before.

Fu Bai explained, "More than forty years ago, when Emperor Wen was still in power, the Five Gods Sect had already appeared in the streets. They bewitched the people to become followers, and coerced and bribed the followers to offer gold, silver, property, and even their lives. Prince Renxian once sent people to wipe out the Five Gods Sect, and the Five Gods Sect suffered a heavy blow and became much more low-key. However, when Emperor Wen died and the current saint took the throne, the Five Gods Sect took advantage of the saint's unstable foundation and came out to stir up trouble again. Not only were many people persecuted, but even the saint's reputation was slandered. The saint was very angry and ordered to eradicate the Five Gods Sect. Over the years, our Inner Guard has been clearing out the Five Gods Sect, but the whereabouts of the Five Gods Sect have become more and more low-key, and they have gradually disappeared from the streets. It is normal that you have not heard of the Five Gods Sect."

Yan Ciwan thought of He Chunzhuo and Zhou Qi, and guessed: "The Five Gods Sect did not disappear, but continued to operate under the name of Changming Chamber of Commerce. He Chunzhuo is only the nominal president of Changming Chamber of Commerce. The real owner behind the Chamber of Commerce should be the witch."

This also explains why He Chunzhuo was able to develop the Changming Chamber of Commerce into such a prosperous one in just a few years?
With the Five Gods Sect's vast network of contacts and financial support, He Chunzhuo's business was naturally lucrative. As for the money he earned, it naturally ended up returning to the Five Gods Sect's treasury.

Fu Bai nodded and replied, "Well, it's not just the Changming Chamber of Commerce, but also the mysterious man who bribed the thank-you gift, he should also be from the Five Gods Sect."

Yan Ci Wan thought secretly, no matter whether it was Xie Li or He Chunzhuo, she had no grudges against them, but they all wanted to capture her. The reason behind this might be related to the witch, the leader of the Five Gods Sect.

It was the witch who ordered her to be captured, and Xie Li and He Chunzhuo were just pawns to carry out the mission.

So is her grandmother also in the hands of the witch?

Pang Lei came back with a pile of clothes. "I brought all the clothes here. Can you guys see which ones you can wear?"

Yan Ciwan pulled out a set of green round-necked Hu clothing from the pile of clothes. Although it was men's clothing, she was tall and could still wear it.

Due to limited conditions, everyone started changing clothes on the spot, except Yan Ciwan, who took his clothes to the warehouse next door to change.

There were many large boxes piled up in the warehouse, and they were all locked.

After Yan Ciwan changed her clothes, she left the warehouse and returned to the accounting office. She asked Pang Lei.

"What's in the boxes in the warehouse next door?"

"It's the profit from the daily operation of the gambling house. According to the rules, we brothers take 30%, and the remaining 70% must be handed over to the envoy. On the first and fifteenth of every month, we have to send the money to Mirage."

Yan Ciwan asked where the mirage was.

Pang Lei patiently explained, "The street we are on now is called the Black Market, where ordinary businesses are conducted. But below us there is the Snake Cave, which is a place used for shady businesses. In addition, there is also the Mirage."

Having said this, he opened the window, pointed to the tall buildings in the distance, and asked everyone to come and see.

"That is the Mirage, the tallest building in the black market. The envoy lives there. There are guards inside and outside the Mirage, and outsiders are not allowed to approach it."

Because it was too far away, everyone could only see a vague outline of a mirage.

Yan Ciwan stared at the mirage, narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly asked: "Is the witch in the mirage as well?"

Pang Lei shook his head: "I don't know, I have never seen a witch."

Yan Ci Wan secretly wondered if grandma was trapped in the mirage?

She had to find a way to sneak into the mirage and investigate.

Fu Bai still remembered his mission on this trip. He guessed that Xie Li should have hidden in the mirage, so he asked.

"Is there any way for us to blend into the Mirage?"

Pang Lei said awkwardly: "The best way is to let you go with me to deliver the money, but we can only go to Mirage to deliver money on the first and fifteenth day of each month. Today is the eighth day, and there are still seven days until the fifteenth day..."

Fu Bai couldn't wait here for seven days, so he directly rejected the proposal and asked if there was any other way?
Pang Lei scratched his head and thought about it, and after a moment he came up with a solution.