Chapter 84 The "Gossip Net" in the Sky

Chapter 84 The "Gossip Net" in the Sky

Inside the dilapidated temple, at Big Yellow's command, the Dog Gang's underlings scattered into the streets and alleys like arrows released from a bow.

Tang Li stood there, watching the figures sprinting along the ground, but her brows did not completely relax.

"Not enough."

She murmured to herself, looking up at the sky above, fragmented by high walls and eaves.

Dogs have a keen sense of smell, but they can only smell the ground.

Those Northern Rong spies were all masters of light-footed skills, and their greatest strengths were scaling walls and rooftops, or hiding in high pavilions that were difficult for ordinary people to reach.

That place is out of reach of the dogs, and also a blind spot for the Black Armor Guards.

"Now that we have scouts on the ground, we need to have eyes and ears in the sky too."

Tangli turned around and went around to the backyard of the dilapidated temple.

Here stands an old locust tree that has been dead for many years, its branches stretching menacingly towards the sky, covered with countless black dots.

Tang Li took out a brocade pouch from her bosom and opened it. Inside was something she had specially smuggled from the Prince's mansion's kitchen—

Finely milled tribute rice.

This type of rice has plump grains and a jade-like color; it was usually only affordable for royalty and high-ranking officials.

For birds, this is like a Manchu Han Imperial Feast in the eyes of humans.

"Splash—"

The pear blossoms were scattered with a flick of the wrist.

Snow-white rice grains fell like raindrops, spreading across the dry earth.

Then, she put her finger to her lips and whistled a crisp, short whistle.

"call out--!"

The black spots on the treetops instantly caused an uproar.

Immediately afterwards, a series of flapping wings sounded, and like dark clouds looming overhead, a large flock of sparrows swooped down in a rush.

At the very front was a plump sparrow, round like a ball, that seemed to have some difficulty flying.

It was clearly the leader of this flock of sparrows. Taking advantage of its size, it squeezed out the other birds and was the first to "crash" into the pile of rice.

[Chirping away! It's a young lady from a wealthy family!]

[Rice! Such white rice! It's polished rice without the husk!]

[Brothers! Hurry and grab it! This smells even better than what's leaking from the granary of the wealthy Liu family in the east of the city!]

While the fat sparrow frantically pecked at the rice, it also launched a barrage of messages into Tang Li's mind.

Its voice was high-pitched and rapid, revealing the shrewdness and chatter unique to ordinary people in the stock market.

Tangli patiently waited for them to eat for a while before squatting down, like a bystander eavesdropping, and asked with a smile:

[Dear birds, did you enjoy your meal?]

The fat sparrow let out a burp and, in an extremely human-like manner, picked its teeth (actually, it was rubbing its beak):

[Chirp! I'm so happy! This little lady is a good person! From now on, I, Sparrow, will protect you in this airspace!]

There's no need for you to protect me.

Tangli pointed to the undulating rooftops all around:

I just want to ask you guys about some... interesting things.

For example, in the past two days, have there been any strange people on the rooftops or in the attics of this capital city? Or has anyone been hiding any secrets?

Upon hearing the words "secret" and "gossip," the sparrows instantly became excited.

They are the "intelligence network" of the sky, and their greatest hobby is standing on the eaves, taking a dump while watching humans make fools of themselves.

In this capital city, they know everything: which couple is arguing, which concubine is having an affair!

[Chirp! I know, I know!]

A little sparrow with a bald tail was the first to jump out and answer:

[East side! The manager of that "Yong'an Pawnshop" on East Street is so strange!]

Tang Li's heart skipped a beat: [What's so strange?]

That fat shopkeeper, instead of doing business properly in broad daylight, is always climbing onto the roof to sunbathe!

The little sparrow tilted its head, looking confused.

[And he was holding a shiny mirror, waving it back and forth in the sun! It was making my eyes water! He was also waving it at the window of the restaurant across the street, like he was giving someone a secret signal!]

A reflection from a mirror? A secret signal?

This is a typical optical signal transmission!

Tang Li quickly drew a red circle around "Yong'an Pawnshop" on her mental map.

【Pshaw! That's nothing strange!】

Not to be outdone, Fat Sparrow King, with his round belly sticking out, dropped an even more explosive bombshell:

[If we're talking about strange things, the house of that "pretty widow" to the south is the real mystery!]

The widow lived in a dead-end alley, and her door was usually kept tightly shut. But these past few nights… tsk tsk tsk!

The fat sparrow let out a few lewd chirps:

Every night, several burly men scale the wall and break in! They don't even close the door!

Tang Li raised an eyebrow: [Climbing over the wall? Could it be... having an affair?]

I also thought it was an affair!

The fat sparrow angrily flapped its wings:

[I even took my buddies to poke a hole in the window paper, hoping to peek... hehe, to see something naughty. And guess what?]

[After those men went in, they didn't take off their clothes at all! Nor did they sleep!]

They sat around inside, taking out a bunch of long, shiny things (knives) and wiping them clean! While they were wiping, they were speaking in a language they couldn't understand at all (the Northern Rong language)!

[This is so boring! What a waste of my feelings!]

Not taking off clothes? Wiping a knife? Speaking gibberish?

This is no widow's house; it's clearly an armory and hideout for spies!

Tangli's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

【And there's more!】

[That pancake vendor in the north of the city, the smoke coming out of his chimney is yellow and stinks!]

[In that Taoist temple to the west, the Taoist priests don't chant scriptures. Instead, they dig pits in the backyard and bury jars filled with black powder!]

As the sparrows chattered and gossiped, a map of the distribution of spies in the capital, originally hidden in the fog, gradually became clear and complete in Tang Li's mind.

The liaison point to the east.

The armory to the south.

The gunpowder burial site to the west.

The toxic smoke manufacturing workshop in the north.

These blind spots that are difficult for humans to detect are as obvious as lice on a bald man's head in the eyes of these flying scouts!

"Very good……"

Tang Li stood up and looked at the chattering little creatures as if they were a group of unparalleled masters.

What does it mean to say that the net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it?

This is called Skynet!

Even a sparrow is watching you, where can you hide?

Tangli sprinkled another handful of rice as a final reward:

"Thank you all! I'll treat you to a bug feast another day!"

After saying that, she didn't linger and strode out of the dilapidated temple.

At this moment, the sun was high in the sky.

But for those spies hiding in the shadows, their doom is near.

"Return to the manor!"

Tang Li climbed into the carriage and pulled out a blank map of the capital and a charcoal pencil from her sleeve.

She had to get this "lifesaving" list to Pei Yunjing before he completely went mad!