Chapter 41: Following the Vine to Find the Melon

  Wang Wei's tracking skills were not up to par, and after leaving the Sima Mansion for two streets, Wang Wei lost the person. Helpless, he could only return dejectedly. Long Fei patted his shoulder: "It's okay, since we already know about Mi Zhu, everything can be done slowly, but I didn't expect Mi Zhu to join forces with Cao Cao."

  "What are we going to do? Yesterday can be said that we have already fallen out with Hei Bingtai! If they retaliate, we..." Wang Qiang was somewhat worried.

  "What's there to be afraid of?" Dian Wei said: "With my old self around, a few assassins are nothing to worry about. Moreover, we're in the military camp, surrounded by thousands of soldiers. If they want to come and kill us, they'll have to think twice!"

  Long Fei thought for a moment: "Although it is said that the spear is easy to dodge and the hidden arrow is hard to defend, since Hei Bingtai has already formed an alliance with Cao Cao, it seems that these people cannot be left behind!"

  "Are we going to kill them too?" Wang Wei hastily asked.

  Long Fei shook his head: "The highest state of killing is not a life-and-death duel, but to kill someone in an imperceptible way by borrowing a knife!"

  Since that day, Mi Zhu and his men seemed to have vanished into thin air and never appeared again. Long Fei had people search the entire Luoyang but there was no news. Wang Ji said that Hei Bing Tai's concealment ability is very high, if they hide it would be hard to find them. Since Mi Zhu left, then we can only exchange blows with Cao Cao. Breaking one of the alliances would make the remaining one easier to deal with.

  On this day, Wang Yun invited Cao Cao suddenly after the early court session, and declared in advance that only he was alone. Cao Cao followed Wang Yun to the residence of the Minister of Works. This time when they entered the residence, it was not like usual, having tea and talking in the living room, Wang Yun led Cao Cao straight to his study. After closing the doors and windows, without asking Cao Cao to sit down, Wang Yun started rummaging through boxes and cabinets.

  "Lord Wang, what are you looking for?" Cao Cao asked with some curiosity.

  Wang Yun took out a box from the cabinet. The box was about one foot long, with an ancient style, and it was obvious that it was not something from now. Wang Yun held the box in both hands and knelt down to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was startled and hurriedly helped him up, but Wang Yun refused to get up. "Meng De, listen to me until I finish speaking!"

  Wang Yun slowly opened the box, inside which lay a dagger that resembled both a knife and a sword. The dagger emitted a faint blue glow under the light, its blade narrow and thin, with cloud patterns visible on its surface. As one moved it, the cloud patterns seemed to flow across the blade. The blade was half a foot long, with a pure gold hilt, on which seven different precious stones were inlaid in the pattern of the Big Dipper.

  "Seven Stars Treasure Sword?"

  Wang Yun nodded: "This knife is a family heirloom, one foot two inches long, three inches wide, the blade is eight inches and three points long, weighing one catty ten taels and three mace. The handle is made of gold, inlaid with seven precious stones - pearls, agate, jade, cat's eye, green pine, white jade, and coral - arranged according to the Seven Stars!" Wang Yun cherished this knife extremely, every detail was spoken clearly, showing his reverence for it. Suddenly, he raised the box containing the knife above his head: "Meng De once said that he wanted to use this knife to take Dong Zhuo's life. Today, I will present this knife to Meng De, hoping that he will succeed soon! If this knife can be used to kill Dong Zhuo, our ancestors will not blame us for being unfilial!"

  Looking at the crystal clear gemstone, the golden hilt shining brightly, and the cloud pattern flowing on the blade, the hand that had stretched out suddenly stopped. Cao Cao was a knife enthusiast, who usually liked to collect various weapons, and he had long coveted Wang Yun's Seven-Star Treasure Knife. But this knife was Wang Yun's family heirloom, and at the time, he casually said that if he could get the Seven-Star Treasure Knife, he would be able to kill Dong Zhuo, not expecting Wang Yun to actually give him his treasured blade.

  Seeing Cao Cao stunned, Wang Yun raised his head: "Meng De? You..."

  "Sir!" Cao Cao hastily said: "This sword is your family heirloom, if I fail to kill him and die in the process, this sword will fall into Dong Zhuo's hands. How can you explain that to your ancestors?"

  "Alas!" Wang Yun sighed, slowly getting up: "Meng De! Dong Zhuo is in control of the government, causing turmoil throughout the land. Your Majesty is being manipulated, and our great Han dynasty is on the brink of collapse. Any loyal minister of the Han cannot stand idly by in such a situation. Long Feng was right - the pride of one family is not true pride; only the pride of the nation is true pride. Without the country, what use is a family?"

  "Has Long Fei come?" Cao Cao was such a clever person, since he mentioned the treasured sword, Wang Yun had been avoiding talking about it. Today, he brought it out so generously, it seems to be related to Long Fei after all.

  "Meng De! A great man values loyalty and righteousness!"

  Looking at Wang Yun's sincere face, Cao Cao regretted what he had said earlier, but now he could only swallow his pride. If he succeeded, he would be a great contributor to the Han Dynasty, and being enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a high-ranking official wouldn't be difficult. However, before taking action, he must find some reliable people, so that if something went wrong, he would have an opportunity to escape with his life. He thought of Mi Zhuo.

  Cao Cao agreed to take action, and Wang Yun quickly informed Long Fei of the news. According to their plan, Long Fei was supposed to play the role of insider, and as long as Cao Cao succeeded, Long Fei would need to quickly occupy the Taishi Mansion, then control Dong Zhuo's seal, ensuring that Luoyang did not fall into chaos. The two men discussed this for an entire night. Wang Yun was very anxious, and Long Fei was also very anxious, but their moods were different. Wang Yun was excited, while Long Fei was just humoring him. Long Fei of course knew that the plan would not succeed, he was just giving Wang Yun a glimmer of hope.

  Returning to the military camp, Wang Can, Wang Wei, Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao rushed up immediately. Wang Can asked: "What's going on? When is Cao Cao planning to take action?"

  "Three days later!" Long Fei poured himself a cup of tea: "How's it going on your end? Has Cao Cao found Mi Zhu?"

  Wang Wei shook his head: "Cao Cao left the residence of the Minister of Works and went home, never to come out again."

  "Could it be that you've changed your appearance and I didn't recognize you?" Wang Qiang hastily asked.

  "How could it be?" Wang Wei patted his chest and guaranteed that even if Cao Cao disguised himself as a woman, he would still be able to tell.

  If Cao Cao didn't go out, then there was only one possibility left: Zuo Ci and the assassins were in Cao Cao's house. The Cao family in Luoyang was quite prosperous. Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was one of the Ten Eunuchs, who had been very influential in the court at that time. He adopted his nephew's son, Cao Song, as his own and raised him. Under Cao Teng's recommendation, Cao Song rose to prominence quickly, having served as the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Justice, and even the Grand Marshal, one of the highest positions in the government. Cao Cao benefited from the protection of his grandfather and father, starting as a small official at the age of 20 and becoming a consultant within five years. After Dong Zhuo entered the capital, Cao Song moved his family to avoid disaster, but they still left behind many properties in Luoyang. Take Cao Cao's current house for example; it was big enough to accommodate not just dozens of people, but thousands.

  "No way!" Long Fei said: "Cao Cao knows that as long as he takes action himself, he will win less and lose more. To save his life, he will definitely ask for help from Mi Zhuo. In order to capture Cao Cao in one fell swoop, we must know their plan! I'm going to sneak into Cao's mansion tonight!"

  "I'll go too!" Wang Wei's spirit lifted. Long Fei smiled slightly: "Those assassins are skilled, you'd better stay home, I and Second Brother will go."

  "I'm going with you!" Dian Wei said, sticking his neck out: "You've said it before, wherever you go, I'll follow!"

  Zhang Liao said, "Since things have come to this point, as long as we inform the Grand Tutor about this matter, once his large army arrives, whether it's Cao Cao or the assassins hiding in his house will definitely be caught and eliminated. Why bother with such trouble?"

  "Wen Yuan, you don't know everything! This Cao Cao is very good at being a person. In the imperial court, among those who are not from the Western Liang faction, only Cao Cao and the Grand Preceptor have a close relationship, and he has gained the trust of the Grand Preceptor deeply. If we tell the Grand Preceptor about this matter, if no one finds anything, where will you and I end up?" Long Fei said: "Rather than letting him think that we are meddling in other people's business, it would be better to let the Grand Preceptor see Cao Cao's true face before we make our move."

  Zhang Liao nodded: "Since that's the case, there's nothing to be done but this! However, you three are too few. I and Xu Huang will lead some troops to stay on the street. If anything unexpected happens, we can respond in time!"

  "Excellent!"

  Luoyang, since Dong Zhuo's occupation, rarely has anyone gone out at night. Since the day the Western Liang army entered the city, there have been constant disturbances, with killings and robberies happening repeatedly, while Dong Zhuo turned a blind eye to these incidents. The governor of Luoyang did not dare to intervene, and the people of Luoyang lived in fear every day. As soon as the sun set, the streets were empty, unless you were one of Dong Zhuo's trusted followers or a high-ranking official; otherwise, if you went out, you would be bound to meet with disaster.

  Long Fei and Zhao Yun, Dian Wei were all dressed in black, leading five hundred soldiers with Zhang Liao and Xu Huang to Bamboo Pole Alley. This small alley was narrow and long, named after the bamboo pole. On both sides of the alley were two huge mansions, Cao Cao's house on the east side and Chancellor Cai Yong's mansion on the west side. Originally, Cai Yong did not live here, it was seized by Dong Zhuo from He Jin and given to Cai Yong.

  Zhang Liao halted the army and pointed to the bamboo forest in front: "I can only send you here, going further inside may lead to discovery, I'll wait here, if there's any situation just shout loudly!"

  Long Fei and a few others dismounted their horses, one of them crawling into the darkness. The alley had three-zhang-high walls on both sides, and it was frightening to enter even during the day, let alone at night. The three men walked deeper, planning to enter from the back wall. If Cao Cao kept those assassins in his mansion, the backyard would be the best place. Dian Wei went first, Long Fei second, and Zhao Yun last, the three of them piling up like a totem pole to climb over the wall.

  The courtyard was quiet and dark, without a single light. The moonlight tonight was also poor, and it was impossible to see any movement inside the courtyard. Three people slid down from the wall, Long Fei stretched out his hand, directing two people to separate left and right, and the three of them moved in three different directions. Long Fei stared with wide eyes at the movements inside, room by room, layer by layer of walls. The Cao family's courtyard was too big, the houses were continuous, and the small roads and corridors stretched out like a spider web, one window after another quietly listening, without any sound.

  Long Fei was somewhat puzzled, could it be that they were no longer here? Just then, a soft sound came from the corner gate, and Long Fei flipped over, climbing up onto the wooden beam on top of the corridor, suspending his entire body. Two maidservants carrying lanterns supported a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young lady as she emerged from the corner gate. This young lady wore a pink silk skirt, her hair loose, walking with the gentle swaying of a willow in the wind. From dozens of steps away, a faint scent wafted into Long Fei's nostrils.

  "Xiu'er! Isn't Father asleep yet?" The voice was like a yellow oriole's chirping, clear and pleasant to the ear.

  A maid responded, "Yes, it's been three days. The master and that person have been talking all night long, not allowing anyone to disturb them. Even meals are sent in, I don't know what big matter they're discussing, but they can't finish talking about it for three days and nights."

  "Alas!" The girl sighed: "It seems that something big is going to happen, let's go and take a look. Father can't stay up all night!"