116: Notification

Alarm bells rang in Chen Linsheng's heart, but his face remained adorned with that warm, slightly tipsy smile. He drained the dregs of his cup in one gulp, toasted Steward Wang's table from afar, and then turned with slightly unsteady steps, as if truly a bit lightheaded, walking toward several attendants standing at the edge of the hall with trays, ready to serve the guests.

His path seemed random and stumbling, yet he skillfully wove through the crowd, avoiding the direct gaze of most people. He finally stopped before a middle-aged attendant who looked ordinary and dressed no differently from the others, but whose eyes were exceptionally calm.

“This... young brother,” Chen Linsheng raised a hand to steady his forehead, his voice carrying a perfect amount of slurring as if he really couldn't handle his liquor. “The fine wine of this Prefectural Governors Mansion... has quite a kick. Could you... find some Sobriety Stones?”

As he spoke, his body leaned forward slightly. Using his body as cover, the fingers of his right hand quickly traced several symbols in his left palm, seemingly unconsciously.

This was one of the emergency contact codes Envoy Ling Feng had given him during their secret talk at the Qingyuan Teahouse, meaning: 'Target appeared, suspected White Lotus, immediate disposal required.'

The attendant's eyes narrowed imperceptibly before instantly returning to a submissive appearance. He bowed and said in a low voice, “Young Master, please wait a moment. This servant will go fetch them now.”

His voice was flat, but within Chen Linsheng's perception of Tracking Perfection, the momentary freezing and sudden sharpness of the man's aura revealed that he was by no means an ordinary servant.

Chen Linsheng appeared even more intoxicated, his body swaying. His left hand pressed down on the attendant's arm holding the empty tray, his fingertips applying a nearly imperceptible pressure. Simultaneously, his lips moved, sending a voice condensed into a line through a special technique—so low it was almost a breath—into the attendant's ear: “Northwest corner, Green Robe with Egret Patch, fair-faced and slightly plump Steward Wang, source of the strange fragrance, suspicious eyes.”

The muscles in the attendant's arm tightened slightly before relaxing. He lowered his head and said, “Stand steady, Young Master. The Sobriety Stones will be here in a moment.”

With that, he inconspicuously pulled his arm back and turned to walk quickly toward the side door corridor. His pace remained steady, but his speed was half a step faster than a normal attendant's.

Having passed on the intelligence, Chen Linsheng felt a slight relief, but he did not leave the spot immediately.

He shook his head, muttering, “This wine... is truly powerful.” His eyes swept across the surroundings with a drunken haze, finally appearing as if he were looking for a place to sit and sober up. He walked with unsteady steps toward a low table near Steward Wang's table, where some bonsai and tea sets were placed.

The low table was only six or seven paces from Steward Wang's table, separated by a few clusters of guests conversing in low voices.

At this moment, most people's attention was still on the earlier battle between Chen Linsheng and Yan Chen, either discussing it in low voices or continuing to toast and chat. This northwest corner was relatively quiet.

Chen Linsheng leaned half against the edge of the low table, his back to Steward Wang, appearing to be resting with his eyes closed. In reality, his senses were heightened to the limit, bringing all the movement at the table behind him under monitoring.

Steward Wang was laughing and talking with his colleagues. His voice wasn't high, and the content was nothing more than prefectural city affairs or idle gossip—nothing seemed amiss. However, Chen Linsheng keenly captured that while Steward Wang spoke, his fingers had unconsciously tapped the tabletop three times. The rhythm had a strange regularity; after each tap, the suppressed sweet-and-bloody strange fragrance on him would grow slightly stronger before quickly fading again.

More importantly, a few drops of amber wine had spilled onto the edge of the wine cup in front of Steward Wang.

Under the light, the liquid had an ordinary luster, but to Chen Linsheng's current extraordinary perception, it vaguely resonated with that extremely faint strange fragrance in the air.

Clearly, this was no ordinary banquet wine; something special had been added to it, likely the carrier or trigger for the strange fragrance.

He had to get evidence.

Taking it directly was too risky. Under everyone's watchful eyes, any abnormal movement could alert the enemy.

Chen Linsheng's mind raced, his gaze sweeping over a set of celadon tea tools on the low table.

He reached out, seemingly at random, picking up an empty teacup to fiddle with. His fingers rubbed against the smooth wall of the cup as the Mind-Cultivation Technique for the Crane Ape Illusory Wind Steps—a Fusion of the White Crane Wind and Cloud Song and Spirit Monkey Hundred Changes—began to circulate quietly within him.

In the next moment, as if his drunkenness hadn't faded, his elbow 'accidentally' knocked over a narrow-necked porcelain vase on the low table that held several peacock feathers.

“Clatter—”

The vase tipped over, and several colorful peacock feathers scattered. One of them even spun through the air toward Steward Wang's table, landing precisely on the tabletop in front of him. The tip of the feather happened to brush across those few drops of suspicious wine stains.

“Oh, how rude of me!” Chen Linsheng immediately stood straight, an apologetic look on his face as he hurried toward Steward Wang's table. “My hand slipped from the wine, disturbing you gentlemen's enjoyment. I am truly sorry.” His steps still seemed somewhat unsteady, yet his figure had already silently closed in on the edge of the table.

Steward Wang and the others at the table were startled at first, but upon seeing it was Chen Linsheng, who had just shown such brilliance, their expressions softened.

Steward Wang's face piled up with his usual slick smile as he reached out to pick up the peacock feather. He laughed, “No matter, no matter, it's just a feather. Young Master Chen's bravery just now was admirable; it's only natural to have a few extra cups.”

As he spoke, he moved to hand the peacock feather back to Chen Linsheng.

At the moment of the hand-off, Chen Linsheng moved.

His extended right hand seemed to be reaching for the feather, but his wrist gave an extremely tiny, nearly impossible flick. His fingertip swiped across the wine-stained tip of the feather's tail with incredible speed!

This swipe was faster than the limit of the naked eye's capture, as gentle as a passing breeze.

Simultaneously, the tip of his left foot seemingly unintentionally knocked against a slightly protruding gap in the blue bricks on the floor. His body swayed again, and his left elbow 'happened' to lightly bump the edge of the table.

The cups and dishes on the table vibrated slightly. The wine cup in front of Steward Wang gave a gentle wobble, its base making a very soft 'ding' against the tabletop.

Everyone's attention was drawn for a split second by Chen Linsheng's 'drunkenly charming' stumble and the soft sound of the cup.

In that lightning-fast instant, the gap under Chen Linsheng's right thumb nail had already caught that imperceptible bit of wine-stain mixture carrying the strange aura.

His right fingers closed naturally, grasping the clean part of the peacock feather and pulling it back. At the same time, his left sleeve seemingly randomly brushed past his waist.

There, inside the leather waist pouch Su Wan had prepared for him, was a hollow wax pill the size of a mung bean, temporarily sealed with beeswax. He had fashioned it from candle drippings the night before, just in case.

The moment the sleeve brushed past, he flicked that tiny bit of wine mixture into the quietly opened wax pill with startling precision and control. Then, with a pinch of his fingers, the pill was sealed and slid into a hidden pocket in his sleeve. The entire process was completed under the cover of his wide sleeve, smooth as flowing water without any hesitation.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, sir.” Chen Linsheng held the peacock feather and apologized again. His drunken state seemed to have cleared a bit, but he still carried a perfect amount of embarrassment. “This Junior will go sober up now and won't disturb you gentlemen further.”

Steward Wang suspected nothing and waved his hand with a smile. “Young Master Chen, please suit yourself.”

Chen Linsheng bowed and stepped back. As he turned, he used the motion of adjusting his sleeves to thoroughly hide the small wax pill.

His steps remained somewhat floating as he walked toward the middle of the hall, where it was more crowded and noisy, as if seeking the crowd to dispel his intoxication.

However, his mind was firmly locked onto two directions.

First was Steward Wang's table in the northwest corner. After he turned to leave, Steward Wang spoke a few more words with his colleagues and then used the excuse of being 'tired from the wine' to rise from his seat. He headed toward the corridor at the side-rear of the hall leading to the changing and washing areas. His gait was leisurely, but his direction was not toward the nearest restroom; instead, he headed deeper toward the inner courtyard of the building where there were relatively few people.

Second was the honored guest seats.

During the time Chen Linsheng was 'drunkenly' fussing with the peacock feather, Envoy Ling Feng seemed to whisper a few words to the Prefectural Governor, then nodded slightly to an attendant behind him. That attendant quietly left his seat and disappeared through the side door.

And Ling Feng himself, a moment later, also stood up. He bowed and said something to the Governor and the other big figures at the table—it seemed to be 'the wine is going to my head, I'll go out for some air'—and then he too left his seat, heading toward another corridor in roughly the same direction Steward Wang had gone. His expression was normal and his steps steady, showing no sign of anything unusual.

The attendant who had received Chen Linsheng's secret message earlier was now nowhere to be seen.