Chapter 1633 - 103: Fox and Mouse Game (13)_2

Chapter 1633: Chapter 103: Fox and Mouse Game (13)_2

"Is her wound fatal?" the Nun said with disdain, "All priests are the same. They claim to put the Lord above all, but they get weak in the knees when faced with the aristocracy.

"Do you think they are cooperating with us to resist the Oath Breaker? No, they are just throwing tantrums for attention.

"Just wait and see, as soon as the Oath Breaker beckons, that Grand Judge will crawl over and lick his boots, maybe even grow a tail."

The Major didn’t respond to the Nun and instead rang the bell again to summon a junior officer on duty, ordering, "Go get Father Kaman."

"I’m the only one on duty right now..." the junior officer looked troubled.

"I’m here tonight," the Major said flatly, "Don’t worry."

The junior officer was still hesitant.

The Major gave a slight nod.

So the junior officer stopped hesitating, saluted, and left to carry out the order.

Luosong suddenly realized something, looked at the Major, and asked, "You didn’t inform the Grand Judge in advance? Is that why they won’t treat my wound?"

The Nun, displeased, took out another bottle of colorless liquid and poured it on Luosong’s wound without a word, "We didn’t expect you to go to such lengths either."

The moment the colorless liquid touched Luosong’s wound, the intense burning sensation nearly made him convulse. The strong smell of alcohol told Luo Sang that the colorless liquid was not water but high-purity distilled liquor.

Luosong grimaced in pain but still looked at the Major, speaking with difficulty, "The Grand Judge... hiss... probably won’t be happy about your... arrangement of this accident..."

The Nun snorted softly, took out a clean bandage, and rebandaged Luosong, "Thank you for telling us this... Since you’ve called that guy named Caman, I won’t stitch the wound; I’ll wait for him to handle it."

With that, the Nun picked up the medical kit and walked out of the prayer room.

"What next?" Luosong asked the Major.

"Keep it under wraps," the Major replied.

"Keep it under wraps?" Luosong was astonished, "There were so many eyes at the reception, everything was clearly seen."

"That’s exactly why everyone must see it."

Luosong realized belatedly, frowned, and asked, "Then what are you planning to conceal? Elizabeth Li Yang’s current condition?"

"Yes."

"That would require the Grand Judge’s cooperation."

"Did he say anything to you?"

Luosong recalled for a moment, "He said he hoped we understood what we were doing."

Moritz made no comment.

"Keep it under wraps, and then what?" Luosong continued to question, "Wait for someone to inquire?"

Moritz nodded.

Luosong was extremely disappointed, "Then your plan is too simple, too clumsy... The ’Envoy’ could easily guess your intention and deliberately not come to inquire."

"So you must investigate those who do not come to inquire."

"But..." Luosong’s frown deepened, "’The Envoy’ might also guess that you would investigate those who are not curious, so they might do the opposite and send someone to inquire."

"So you must also investigate those who come to inquire."

Luosong was taken aback, and with a gesture nearly overturned the copper basin, "Isn’t that just investigating everyone?"

Moritz calmly said, "Counter-espionage requires not leaving any possibility unchecked."

"Since it all leads to investigating everyone in the end," Luosong exclaimed in frustration, "why put on this show? Why not just let me investigate?"

The Major remained as calm as ever: "Because investigating directly would yield nothing."

"I don’t understand," Luosong turned his head in exasperation to look at the holy image in the corner of the ceiling.

"Have you ever seen waves in a pond?" the Major asked, "Major."

"What do you mean?"

The Major patiently explained: "When you throw a stone into a pond, it creates waves, and by observing the changes as the waves spread, you can tell if there are stones below the surface—even at night.

"The Envoy and we are in a game of cat and mouse, though it seems we are the cat and the Envoy is the mouse, in reality, the game is bidirectional.

"In other words, we are both mouse and cat. We cast a stone, and the Envoy must respond. Once he responds, we might find him and win the game."

Luosong stubbornly retorted, "He might not respond at all."

"Not responding is also a response," the Major replied calmly, "Does the stone want to change the waves by itself?"

"But there is not only one stone on the surface," Luosong remained unconvinced, "and the ’Envoy’ is not necessarily among the visitors, he could be anyone."

"A Court Mage could be anyone," the Major shook his head, "but the ’Envoy’ must have an identity. The Envoy isn’t an assassin, not a dagger; the Envoy is a fox, a mind. The Envoy’s job isn’t to kill but to buy, bribe, and spy. He must have a cover identity to hide his intelligence activities in plausible social interactions."

"Even if the Envoy has an identity, among so many visitors—from Vineta, North River, Westwood Province, and Northern Foothills Province—he can easily hide in the crowd." Luosong spoke faster, "And once the ’Envoy’ realizes you are trying to find him, wouldn’t he hide even deeper? Your arranged show, isn’t it meant to ’beat the grass to scare the snake’?"

"The original meaning of ’beating the grass to scare the snake,’" Moritz sighed, "is indeed to beat the grass to scare the snake."

"What if the snake particularly stays calm and doesn’t move?"

"He will move," Moritz said indifferently.

"How will he move? He..." Luosong abruptly stopped mid-sentence, suddenly awakened. He stood up abruptly, eyes wide open, staring blankly at the Major, "You wouldn’t want to... was your arrangement to tell the ’Envoy’ that you could kill at any time..."