Chapter Twenty-Two: Smelling Fragrance

  In the Dengzhou City Road Lucky Inn, Lu Chuanzong, disguised as a fur merchant, was carefully looking at a simple map on the table. There were four other people in the room: Zhang Dahui, Nie Hong, Zhou Shifa and Wang Yong. Song Wenxian did not directly participate in this matter and had not met with them since they split up to enter the city. The direct commander of this operation was Lu Chuanzong.

  Wang Yong is also an old sea bandit, looking like a fierce and formidable man, but he is a familiar face, and it's inconvenient for him to take action, so Lu Chuanzong lets him mainly gather information, today is the second time they meet.

  "Han Bin lives in Xicheng Gulou Street, most of the time he goes out after noon, usually first to Hongyun Gambling House near Guanyin Temple to gamble, leaving at an uncertain time, then drinks and eats at Hui Xiang Wine House, sometimes returns home at night, sometimes stays overnight at Meng Chun Building." Wang Yong pointed to the part of Dengzhou Xicheng on the map while explaining, this map was drawn by Song Wenxian on the road, marking several main landmarks.

  Lu Zizi's eyes flashed with cold light, he had been through many battles since following Chen Xin, and was completely different from the weak wife of a few months ago. "Wang brothers, who is at home in Han Bin's house?"

  Wang Yong glanced at Lu Chuanzong and shook his head, saying: "Brother Lu, it's best not to make a move at his house. His house is very close to the government office of Dengzhou Prefecture, there are many people during the day, and at night there are swift guards patrolling, and several of his fellow villagers also live in the same alley. Those few people, including Han Bin, have been killing for years, if we really clash, we won't be able to get away with it."

  Nie Hong coldly interjected from beside him: "At night, climb over the wall and go in, kill him with one knife."

  Lu Chuanzong shook his head: "These past few nights have been snowy, and footprints will be left behind. If we startle someone from the same hometown or the government office, it won't be easy to escape. Moreover, we're staying in an inn, and it's not convenient to go in and out at night."

  Wang Yong went to Japan with Chen Xin and admired Chen Xin. He asked Lu Chuanzong: "What did Mr. Chen say?"

  Lu Zi said expressionlessly: "Director Chen only requires one hit, clean hands and feet. He asked me to first figure out Han Bin's activity patterns, divide the operation into three stages of approaching, assassination, and withdrawal, plan carefully, revise the plan after rehearsing several times, and leave the specific execution to my full responsibility according to the situation."

  Wang Yong was taken aback by Chen Xin's sudden release.

  Zhang Da asked suddenly on the side: "Is Meng Chun Lou a brothel?"

  Wang Yong looked at this half-grown child and said: "It's a brothel, one of the better ones in Dengzhou."

  Zhang Da Hui thought for a moment, then said to Lu Zi: "Lu Ge, Han Bin's activities are limited to four places: home, casino, restaurant, and brothel, as well as the roads between them. His home is too close to the government office and his fellow villagers, so it can't be chosen. The casino and restaurant have his fellow villagers around, so it's best not to choose them either. As for time, it's inconvenient to enter and exit at night, so only daytime is left. So, we can only choose the brothel and the road to and from the brothel."

  Wang Yong was slightly surprised by Zhang Dahuai's logic, Zhou Shifa originally counted as half a rogue, and was very familiar with these dirty places. At this time, he also came to show off: "In the brothel, there are green hands who make a living by watching scenes. If you don't do it cleanly, it's easy to get entangled with these people and can't escape."

  Wang Yong also agreed, "In Meng Chun Lou, there are three or five fights every day."

  Lu Zizhu concentrated his mind and looked at the map, asking Wang Yong: "What time does he usually come out of Meng Chun Building?"

  Wang Yong said: "At night curfew, he usually stays inside. The time he comes back in the morning is very early."

  "Besides, there are fewer people in the morning, making it easier for him to notice you."

  Nie Hong said coldly: "What's there to be afraid of? In any case, it's just one knife that will kill you."

  Lu Zi looked at Nie Hong with both eyes, feeling that this person was reckless, but his courage was sufficient. He turned his head and asked Wang Yong again: "Did he have anyone following him when he went to Meng Chun Building?"

  "His followers were with him from the moment he left his house until he came out of Xiangyuan Building, and when he won money, he would take them to Mengchun Building together; when he didn't win money, he went alone."

  "How many roads are there between this tavern and the brothel? Which one is he used to taking?"

  Wang Yong thought for a moment and said: "Three streets, but the last section must go from Xuefu South Gate to Mengchun Building Street."

  Lu Zi's fingers moved, pointing at the map: "How many roads are there from Meng Chun Building to leave the city?"

  Wang Yong also stood up and pointed to the location of Meng Chun Lou on the map: "Meng Chun Lou is not far from Shangshui Gate, you can leave the city from Shangshui Gate. Or go west from Ying'en Gate, north and east must first cross the stone bridge near Xijiao Drum Tower in the west street, from the west gate to the east gate and the north gate must all pass through this stone bridge."

  "Can we also leave the city through the Water Gate?"

  "Okay, apart from the Shuiguan Gate, there are two side gates that can be passed through."

  Lu Chuanzong's facial muscles moved slightly, "Then let's temporarily set it on the road to Meng Chun Lou, after getting our hands on it, we'll immediately leave the city from the upper water gate. Wang brothers, you take us to see the surroundings of Meng Chun Lou today, as well as the route to the upper water gate. Everyone needs to remember the location of each alleyway, and walk through each one to make sure they're passable." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Starting from tomorrow, we'll follow him, and if there's an opportunity, we can adapt accordingly."

  Several people nodded in agreement.

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  Three days later, the streets of Gulou in the northwest were crowded with people. The government office of Dingzhou Prefecture was nearby. As the Spring Festival approached, many more people than usual came to the city to buy goods for the holiday. The tea houses and restaurants along the street were booming with business. Zhang Dahuai and Lu Lüzhi both wore fur hats and sat at separate tables in a tea house, pretending to listen to storytelling while keeping an eye on a nearby alleyway. This was their second time lying in wait; yesterday they had followed him for an entire afternoon, but Han Bin had not gone to the brothel, instead returning home directly with his three henchmen by his side, and they had not found an opportunity to make a move.

  At about that time, four people came out of the alley, all with a fierce look on their faces. The leader was stout in build, although his hair and beard were flecked with white, but he moved with a vigorous and powerful gait, his footsteps steady, his whiskers bristling, and his head seemed to be bigger than anyone else's by a circle.

  Zhang Da Hui turned his head to look at Lu Lü Zi, and Lu Lü Zi slightly pressed down the brim of his hat with his right hand. Zhang Da Hui threw down a copper plate and stood up to leave, still holding a basket in his hand, pretending to be someone who came to buy New Year's goods, following behind Han Bin.

  After Zhang Da Hui left, Lu Ma Zi also paid and went out. He wore a set of old clothes and carried a basket, pretending to be a vendor selling small pastries. Under the basket was a Japanese sword. Nian Hong and another person from the rice shop saw him and followed him out. The two men had short Japanese swords hidden in their sleeves under their dark straight robes. The three of them were determined to assassinate Zhang Da Hui directly, so they split into two groups and fell back twenty steps behind Zhang Da Hui. Wang Yong was still ten steps behind them, wearing a woolen hat and carrying a bamboo basket on his back, looking no different from ordinary people entering the city to buy New Year's goods.

  Zhang Da Hui followed behind Han Bin and his three men, about a dozen steps back. Han Bin walked alone at the front, with his three subordinates chatting and laughing behind him. They would occasionally stop in front of street stalls to browse through the New Year's goods. Zhang Da Hui had once tailed Yang Wei Yuan in the capital, and Chen Xin had taught him some techniques he had learned online. Along the way, he used the shadows of passersby to conceal himself, putting on and taking off his hat to change his appearance. When Han Bin and his men stopped, Zhang Da Hui also stopped to pretend to ask prices. If they lingered for a bit longer, he would even buy some New Year's goods, and his basket already contained some glutinous rice cakes, sugar cookies, and niangao.

  Zhang had walked this road three times and knew that Guanyin Temple was not far ahead, where Hongyun Casino was located. His mission was to follow him into the casino, observe Han Bin's winning or losing situation, and not let Han Bin out of sight.

  As they approached the Guanyin Hall, Zhang Dahuai noticed that the three people behind Han Bin were no longer laughing and chatting, but instead kept turning around to observe their surroundings. Zhang felt a sudden sense of unease and turned his head to look back, seeing Lu Chuanzong and the other two about twenty steps away, blending in with the crowd on the street. They shouldn't have been exposed. Why were Han Bin and the others acting so differently from before?

  At this time, they just arrived at Guanyin Hall, but Han Bin didn't go to the opposite Hongyun Gambling House. He stopped and looked back a few times. Zhang Dahuai saw him stop, so he flashed behind a porter in front of him. When he looked out again, Han Bin had already taken two people inside, leaving one of his men at the door. Didn't go to Hongyun Gambling House after all.

  Zhang Da Hui turned around and gave Lu Chuan Zong a signal, then walked to a nearby incense stall, pretending to be an incense customer. Han Bin's men were all from the Fu ship and recognized Lu Chuan Zong. Lu Chuan Zong lowered his hat brim and came to Zhang Da Hui's side, selecting paper money and incense sticks. Zhang Da Hui didn't turn around, only speaking in a low voice: "He went into the Guanyin Hall, I don't know if he's burning incense or not. There's also one of his men at the main gate, Han Bin should come out from the main gate."

  "You go in and follow Han Bin, see what he's doing. We'll stay outside and keep an eye on his men."

  "Good."

  After Zhang Da agreed, he bought incense and candles with money, carried a basket and mixed in with the incense guests to enter the Guanyin Hall. When passing by Han Bin's men, he was very natural. He had been begging for many years and had followed Chen Xinkeng to deceive and cheat many times, and had already practiced good mental quality. Han Bin's men were indeed unaware of anything.

  After entering the Guanyin Hall, they first took a glance around the courtyard. The courtyard was very spacious, with many incense guests burning paper money and incense candles, filling the air with smoke and fire. On the left side, there was also a stage where an opera performance was being held, and everywhere was crowded with people's heads. Fortunately, Han Bin's white hair was quite distinctive, and Zhang Da quickly spotted their target after a moment of searching, took a deep breath to calm himself, and walked in that direction.

  Lu Chuanzong outside the gate watched Zhang Dahuai enter, then turned to a crowded place to secretly observe his subordinates. Wang Yong came up and said: "The situation is not right, this Han Bin never enters the temple, could it be that he knows someone wants to deal with him."

  Lu Chuanzong remained expressionless: "This matter is impossible for anyone to know, sir arranged this matter only I know who Han Bin is, the other three people are only known after arriving in Dengzhou."

  Wang Yong was slightly annoyed and said: "This Han Bin is really weird."

  "Brother Wang, no need to rush, maybe he really went to worship Guanyin."

  "He kills people like flies, and with that kind of moral character, even Guanyin wouldn't bother to see him."

  Lu Lu Zi watched from the corner of his eye and smiled: "That's right, don't mention Guanyin, I see that he is also annoyed."

  About a minute after the two men parted ways, Lu Chuanzong saw Han Bin's white-haired head reappear. This time they didn't look around and entered the Hongyun Casino across the street with a relaxed expression. Lu Chuanzong gave Zhou Shifa a glance, and Zhou Shifa immediately followed him in.

  Zhang Dahuai also came out a moment later, and after seeing that Han Bin and the others were not there, he went to Lu Chuanzong's side.

  "What is he doing in there?"

  Zhang Da said, "Han Bin was talking to someone under the stage, with two men blocking outside. I pretended to squeeze in to watch the play and passed by his side, but only heard a few words."

  "What did you say?"

  "That man mentioned a vanguard and also Little Shopkeeper."

  Lu Chuanzong and Nie Hong said in unison in a low voice: "Xiang Jiao!"