Round table discussion

Zhu Hui responded slowly, "…I have a feeling that those clues, those tracks, have been fabricated. This group knew the general tracking method and utilized this knowledge to fool us. I believe that the tracks we are following aren't where they are going but from where they started moving. All they have to do is drop a bit of blood along the way to create the tracks that we are following."

Han Shan spoke, "I understand. Just by using the standard tracking technique, we can't figure out whether these tracks are moving closer to the site of the battle or away."

"Yes," Zhu Hui spoke. He then further added, "I suspect that they fought somewhere else contrary to those clear clues left for us on this route. However, since we saw no other signs of battle on the way, this means that they fought silently. Maybe they assassinated or poisoned them."

These words truly startled the entire group, but they felt that Zhu Hui's conjecture made sense.

Lei Wenling spoke with a frown, "Wouldn't it all take too much time? What if some other caravan passes through that route or someone else."

"It won't actually take so much time. I suspect that they create this scene of battle before fighting the battle itself," Han Shan suddenly spoke.

Zhu Hui smiled as he added, "That's correct. If so, the timing fits. And if they actually move according to this method, a solitary group can conduct all those crimes. They merely required tools to fabricate battle scenes for the first caravan. After that, they looted the first caravan and utilized it to fabricate the battle scene for the second caravan and so on."

The soft-spoken person in the group Chang Yi whispered, "I see. On the surface, it seems to be careless loot, but in reality, this is a systematic robbery."

Zhu Hui nodded, "That's correct. It's much different compared to ours. We try to eliminate all clues from the sites. But these people actually planted fabricated clues to confuse us all. We were even made to think that they have a large group."

"Hmph. They did their best to fool us into thinking they were a large group. Unfortunately, this is just a trick. They can never compete against us!" Lei Wenling spoke with a disdainful look.

Han Shan responded nonchalantly, "They didn't plan on competing against us. In fact, they were planning to make us suffer a huge loss."

"Eh? How?" Lei Wenling asked, extremely puzzled by his words.

Han Shan let out a sigh while staring at Lei Wenling. This girl is indeed a bit too slow sometimes.

Fortunately, Zhu Hui spoke up and explained, "Think about it from a merchant's perspective. These three caravans were on different routes, and assaulting them should be the work of a large group. So, which large group in the area is proficient and reputed in assaulting caravans?"

"It's us, The Noble Shadow!" Lei Wenling spoke proudly. However, her face froze as she realized something.

"Those stinky merchants will suspect us of assaulting their caravans!" Lei Wenling spoke with a shocked expression.

Zhu Hui added, "Yes, but that's not all. The merchants will realize that we are not assaulting their caravans. However, this will make things worse for us. The merchants will urge us to capture this group attacking their carriages, or they will refuse to pay us our protection fee."

"They dare?! If they stop, we will also start attacking their carriages!" Lei Wenling spoke angrily.

Han Shan added, "No. If we attack these merchants, the true identity of our organization will be released. This will be the worst-case scenario for us."

An ugly look appeared on Lei Wenling's face as she heard those words. She asked, "…What should we do then?"

"For now, we should inform our superiors of this issue," Zhu Hui spoke nonchalantly.

"Yeah," Han Shan nodded readily.

A couple of days later, the three merchants conducted their investigations and concluded that a large group was hunting their caravans.

Thus, the Noble Shadow came to their mind immediately.

They immediately contacted the Noble Shadow delegates and asked about this issue. It had to be known that they had paid quite a bit of protection fee to the Noble Shadow. These results couldn't be tolerated.

The three merchants even threatened to reveal the existence of the Noble Shadow to the general populace if they didn't find their goods quickly.

When the Noble Shadow heard these threats, most of its core members were startled and furious.

At this moment, within a particular building of the northern part of Dongchun City, a dozen members sat and discussed this event.

They all sat around a round table. All these people were middle-aged men, with one exception. He was an old man with a long and thick white beard.

A member named Zou Mu shouted, "What audacity of these merchants?! They are actually threatening us!"

"Yeah! We have clearly stated that this assault has nothing to do with us, yet they continue to push us around."

Another member named Xu Rong spoke suddenly, "Their anger is understandable. Their carriages were filled with expensive treasures and resources which could invoke anyone's greed."

At this moment, the old man named Wen Zhi inquired, "What did Zhu Hui say about this issue? Did he find anything by investigating the routes?"

A member spoke up, "He reported that it's a small group conducting these assaults on caravans. Their method of assault is different from ours. They are leaving behind false clues of battle and tracks to waste our time."

Zou Mu spoke with a disdainful tone, "Hmph. It seems that we need to deal with this troublesome group first."

Wen Zhi spoke up, "That's correct. But we need to find out more about it before we take action against them."

Wen Zhi then added, "Did Zhu Hui say anything else?"

A member who had contacted Zhu Hui earlier spoke, "…Nothing else, sir."

Xu Rong frowned as he inquired, "Nothing else? That's strange."

At this moment, Zhu Hui suddenly barges into the meeting hall.

Only he appeared from his group as he was the one leading that investigation team.

"Greetings to all members of the council. I apologize for my tardiness, but I was looking for further clues regarding this strange group that assaulted those caravans," Zhu Hui spoke while giving an excuse.

Wen Zhi spoke up immediately, "It's alright. Take your seat and give us a detailed report of your findings."

"Yes, elder!" Zhu Hui spoke as he took a seat and began narrating his entire journey and thoughts.

Upon hearing his words, the entire council fell into deep thought.

Xu Rong spoke up, summarizing everyone's thoughts at this point, "This organization is purposely fabricating clues to make themselves seen as a large group, when in reality, that they are a small group?"

Zhu Hui spoke, "That's correct."

"And you believe that their motive isn't merely to acquire some precious resources but to break our partnership with the merchants? But why? Are they trying to get into this business as well?" Xu Rong inquired.

Zhu Hui spoke, "Yes, Councilman Xu. Moreover, this group is very efficient. There were no signs of fighting on the entire route, other than the location where they deliberately left clues behind for us. I suspect that the people in the caravan were either poisoned or killed silently."

Wen Zhi inquired, "How do we find them?"

Zhu Hui spoke, "According to their movements on the map, they began from the west and slowly headed towards the east and assaulted these three caravans within three days. This indicates that they knew the exact route of the caravans and created a meticulous plan that would allow them to assault these three locations and even plant some false clues."

He quickly added, "If their motive is to destroy our collaboration with the merchants then this won't be their last attack. We must deploy all our group members and keep an eye on all caravans belonging to influential merchants. If we capture one of them, we will definitely find some leads.."

Xu Chen spoke out, "…I support this idea. But we need to be cautious as this might be a trap for us."

Zou Mu spoke, "We should also search the warehouses in Dongchun City. They need a massive space to store all these goods."

"Very well. I will talk to the higher-ups in the Law Enforcement Department and have them search the warehouses," Wen Zhi spoke.

"Alright, dismissed."