Under the cherry tree

Chapter 4: The plan (2)

Cheongmyeong realized he had found himself yet another mystery to solve, more jumbled pieces to puzzle together.

How could this girl, who's seemingly harmless, come up with a solution to legally regain the object they'd been trying to retrieve for the past two weeks in just 2 days? Not to mention that she now claims Gao Shan is selling drugs, and seems pretty damn convinced she's right about that, too. There's something about Lou that makes his thoughts go round and round with no way to stop them from trying to connect her to a reasonable explanation of who she might be, or at least her affiliations. All this had proven to be an epic fail on his part. When Cheongmyeong thought he might have gotten her to spill the truth by confronting her directly, she smoothly evaded his questions by redirecting him to another endless line of theories. He was quite sure the only genuine information he had about Lou was her name.

Obviously, Cheongmyeong suggested that she come with them to Mount Hua because he found her useful at doing what even he wasn't able to do without straight up robbing Gao Shan and risking disobeying his elders who had put their faith in him. Not that he couldn't, but it would tarnish their reputation. He saw the girl as a good investment, a potential pupil he could shape according to the sect's needs. It was as simple as that. But now that the situation had taken an unexpected turn, the Taoist couldn't simply stand by and watch. No normal person can catch on to another's heels and dig up the dirt hidden under their toenails as easily as she did. Especially if the person in question was as influential as the old merchant, and therefore as closely guarded. It takes an impressive spy to get such critical information about someone. Even he, a man with no interest in matters outside the Murim, was aware of this. Lou could prove to be dangerous if she wasn't who she pretends to be. The daggers she's carrying don't help it either. Wit often proved to be as sharp as a finely crafted blade.

So the Divine Dragon decided to do the only reasonable thing at the moment: spy on the bark haired girl spying on Gao Shan. {...}

After about 20 minutes of turns and twists through the city's less frequented alleys, Lou finally ushered the three boys into the back of what looked like an abandoned teahouse. It was a two-story building with a front door that looked as if it was infested with bugs; the tiny windows were barred and the roof that used to be crimson was now a sad shade of dark brown with blotches all over from the rain washing off the paint. Cautiously, they entered through the back. Inside it smelled of rust and mold. The girl then showed the disciples to what seemed to be a made-up guest room upstairs.

Lou took a bag from one of the cabinets and dumped it on the dusty floor, creating a small cloud that made her sneeze. "Alright, this should keep anyone from hearing any details. Let's get to business."
Cheongmyeong grew more impatient by the minute. "Are you going to explain how exactly have you found out about Gao Shan's 'enterprise'?"
The girl took out a ledger and a bunch of letters sealed with cerulean blue wax. "I was just getting to that. Here, take a look."
Baek Cheon reached for the book, inspecting it curiously. "This is a ledger for a place called 'Prince's jewels'. Sounds like an artisan's fancy jewelry store."
"That's where we'll be going today. And it's not a jewelry store."
"Oh, really? What is it then?" he asked innocently.
"It's a brothel."
Baek Cheon's face instantly reddened. "It's a what?"
"A whorehouse."
Both he and the other boys looked stricken by her words.
"Oh, I hadn't thought you've never heard of that before. 'Brothels' are places where—" Suddenly a firm, rough hand was plastered to her mouth, preventing her from speaking anymore. Cheongmyeong stopped her from finishing the sentence, hoping to spare the kids from further embarrassment.
"Gwet deh hamd off ma fassseee!"
"Promise not to speak about that if I let go?" he said softly, but she heard his voice tremble slightly.
"Yeshhh."
Cheongmyeong lowered his palm as she regained her posture. She sighed. "You dirty-minded fools. I meant brothels are places where people usually smuggle stuff. That's where Gao Shan makes transactions with his clients. It's a whole criminal organization hidden behind pretty girls' dresses."
They all stared at her stupidly. "Oh."
"Open the ledger."
Baek Cheon obeyed silently and flipped to the first page. They all gathered around him to get a better view. Jo Gul, who was perched up over Baek Cheon's shoulder, started reading: "The 451th Imperial Year of the Ming Dynasty, twelfth day of harvest. A tall man with sturdy arms and trimmed black beard entered at 4 in the afternoon and booked an hour with our Ding Huian for 20 silver coins. A fat, middle-aged man booked..." He flipped more and more pages, all sounding the same. They looked up at Lou. "How is all this going to help us? It's just a record of the men who went in each day. No trace of drugs." asked Cheongmyeong.
"That's correct. Look closely. It's not as simple as it might seem. Search for the words 'purple-eyed man'."
The boys started to read again from the first page. "It's here." Baek Cheon pointed out.
Cheongmyeong did the same as they kept inspecting the entire text. "And here." Jo Gul as well. "And there!"
Lou took the book from their hands and collected the already-opened letters. "This particular man visits religiously each week on Sunday evening. He only ever stays for about half an hour, then leaves abruptly. Some have seen him several times carrying a heavy sachet after he went out, although most assumed it might be gifts from a lady there who favors him. He also pays about 30 gold pieces more than average every time, and I bet it's not pleasure he's buying with all that money." She handed over the folded papers. "These are letters written by Gao Shan using the alias 'Prince' to a guy who's nicknamed 'Viper'. He speaks of matters of trade between their associations regarding some sort of new herbal product that requires significant amounts of a certain red flower. Aaaand each of the letters mentions a purple-eyed man as a bridge between the two."
Cheongmyeong remarked sharply. "They are making opium. And a lot of it, too."
"They're having a meeting tonight at 7, in one of the VIP chambers of the brothel. We can intercept their transaction and show proof to the officers. Gao Shan will be arrested on the spot if we play our cards right."
Jo Gul nodded, then looked perplexed. "How do you know he'll be there?"
"Because I wrote him an invitation, of course." The scarred boy looked shocked.

Cheongmyeong's eyes gleamed with mischief. "We are going to stage a meeting with the Viper."