After my rebirth, my Martial Sect will surely sweep the martial world in blood.

The night in Qinghe Town was quieter than ever before, yet it was also more turbulent undercurrents.

Since Lin Mo integrated the South City Black Market and successfully extended his influence to the surrounding trade routes, this area seems to have been organized by an invisible hand. The surface chaos has been replaced by order, but the battles beneath the surface have become increasingly fierce.

The four great families did react, but their reactions were temporarily hampered by the trade network and intelligence fog woven by Lin Mo, preventing them from directly finding the core of Mo Garden.

Silent Garden, an underground secret chamber.

The light from the oil lamp flickered, casting Lin Mo's long shadow on the wall.

Several secret reports, personally delivered by Han Li, were spread out in front of him, recording scattered information gathered recently through various channels. Some came from spies planted on the periphery of the four great families, some from business owners who had business dealings with the families and had been affected by the Silent Garden, and others were snippets of information circulating in the black market.

The information was fragmented and seemingly unrelated: the Zhao family had recently been frequently mobilizing a group of martial arts guards, ostensibly to strengthen the defenses of several estates on the outskirts of the city; a purchasing team from the Qian family had departed three days ahead of schedule; the Sun family's second steward, in charge of external affairs, had secretly met with a merchant from the north; and the Li family possessed a batch of rare ores for forging weapons, with slight discrepancies between the inventory records and the actual count…

These message sheets all appeared to be normal family matters. However, relying on the keen senses of a top assassin from his previous life and the intelligence analysis skills he had gradually built up in this life, Lin Mo vaguely sensed an unusual rhythm. These seemingly independent actions seemed to be connected by a hidden thread.

He pointed to an official road northwest of Qinghe Town on the map. This road connected to the neighboring Yunzhou and was an important land trade route, as well as one of the routes frequently used by the four great families.

"Han Li," Lin Mo raised his head, his gaze calm, "extract all the parts of these messages that involve personnel transfers, material preparations, and itinerary changes, and re-examine the timeline with this official road as the core."

A hint of admiration flashed in Han Li's eyes. He was in charge of intelligence gathering, but the more macro-level coordination and judgment often required Lin Mo's personal intervention. He immediately obeyed, picked up paper and pen, and quickly categorized and integrated the disorganized information.

Time passed slowly, and only the scratching sound of pen tips on paper and the occasional soft popping of lamplight remained in the sealed room.

Half an hour later, a clear picture gradually appeared before the two of them.

"Master, look," Han Li pushed the newly compiled records in front of Lin Mo. "Of the martial artists mobilized by the Zhao family, three are skilled in combined attack formations, and five are adept at archery; the Qian family's purchasing team, which set off ahead of time, carried a large amount of silver, but the purchase list is vague; after the Sun family's second steward met with the merchants from the north, a camel caravan under those merchants' names quietly left Qinghe Town, its whereabouts unknown; the difference in the amount of ore from the Li family's batch is just enough to forge a batch of standard waist sword blades..."

Lin Mo's finger slowly moved along the timeline, finally stopping at a projected date. "All these preparations seem to point to... five days from now."

He closed his eyes, his mind racing. The individual schemes of the four great families converged, all aimed at something that would pass through the northwestern official road in five days. This thing required them to jointly mobilize their elite forces, to prepare a huge sum of money in advance (the Qian family's purchasing team was likely just a front, their real purpose being to transport funds or make contact with outsiders), to utilize covert transportation resources (the camel caravans contacted by the Sun family), and might even require a temporary replenishment of a batch of high-quality weapons (the Li family's ore shortfall).

What is it that would warrant such a large-scale mobilization by the four great families, yet be done so discreetly?

"Do we have any more specific information about the people we've planted within the four great families?" Lin Mo asked. Most of those informants were of low rank and had no access to core secrets.

Han Li shook his head: "Not for now. They're keeping a tight rein on things this time, and the operation is at a very high level. Our people can only observe the external movements."

Lin Mo was not surprised. The four great families had been entrenched in this area for many years, their influence deeply entrenched. If it weren't for his experience and methods far ahead of their time, it would have been impossible for him to build the intelligence network he had today in such a short period of time. To fully infiltrate their core decision-making level, he would still need time and an opportune moment.

"However..." Han Li hesitated for a moment, then added, "One of the warehouses we control received a strange order yesterday. It was placed by the Li family, requesting five specially made, reinforced armored wagons and corresponding draft horses. The requirements are high load capacity, sturdy structure, strong defense, and particular emphasis on shock isolation. The delivery location is not the Li family's warehouse, but an abandoned post station ten miles west of the city, at midnight four days from now."

A specially made convoy? Vibration isolation? Handover at an abandoned post station?

A glint flashed in Lin Mo's eyes. This almost confirmed his guess. The goods the four great families were transporting were definitely not ordinary cargo. Ordinary gold and silver jewelry wouldn't require such strong vibration isolation; only fragile or vibration-sensitive special items, such as... certain intricate mechanisms, or magical artifacts sealed with special energy?

Thinking about the strangeness of his rebirth and the mysterious power hidden in his meridians, Lin Mo's heart couldn't help but beat faster. This world was far more complex than the martial arts world he knew from his previous life.

"Can you find out where this shipment is ultimately headed?" Lin Mo pressed.

Han Li shook his head again: "After the handover, the route was kept completely secret. Our people tried to follow them, but the other side was extremely vigilant, and it seems they have experts at counter-tracking. It would be easy to shake them off in the wilderness."

Although the final destination is unknown, the starting point (Qinghe Town), the handover method (secret), the vehicle requirements (custom-made, vibration-damped), and the signs of the four major families' joint operation all point to the same conclusion—five days later, an extremely important caravan will depart from Qinghe Town, transporting a batch of priceless and extremely special goods via the Northwest Official Road.

"Gather all the information we have about this caravan," Lin Mo ordered, "including the possible size of the escort force, the types of skilled fighters, the expected route, and the timeline. I need to know everything about this caravan, the more detailed the better."

"Yes!" Han Li solemnly accepted the order. He knew that the manor lord had already set his sights on this big fish. After gaining control of the trade routes, the first direct confrontation with the four great families might be imminent. This was not only about acquiring resources, but also a direct test of the families' strength, concerning the future survival of Moyuan.

Lin Mo walked to the window of the secret room, pushed it open a crack, and gazed at the deep night outside. The direction of the northwestern official road was pitch black, but in his eyes, it seemed as if an invisible line connected Qinghe Town to the unknown distance. The important cargo being transported jointly by the four great families… the timeline and route had been preliminarily determined.

The next step is to figure out how to use this intelligence to maximize personal gain, while also giving those arrogant and powerful aristocratic families a good beating.

The rain is coming and the wind is all over the building.

The tranquility of Moyuan is about to be shattered.