One month later.
The chessboard in the City of Chaos had temporarily entered a phase of tranquility. But the violent undercurrents it generated had long since surpassed the boundaries of that city of sin, spreading toward the Thang Long Imperial Capital.
News that the Black Dragon Stronghold, one of the three great hegemons, had been shattered by a newly risen faction named the "Vô Sect," and that Vice Cave Master Blood Shadow had perished, caused no small amount of shock in the underworld. The major powers were all secretly investigating, wanting to know exactly what kind of sacred existence this mysterious Lord of the Vô Sect was.
And during this time, the one who had orchestrated it all had quietly returned to the eye of the storm.
Within the headquarters of the Six Gates, inside a heavily guarded study.
Tran Kien, in his identity as Strategist Ve Nhan, sat opposite Tao Chinh. The atmosphere was incredibly solemn. On the desk lay a new stack of files, containing all the intelligence the Six Gates had gathered regarding the Gathering Treasures Pavilion over the past month.
"Well?" Tao Chinh spoke in a deep voice. "After a month of 'Feigning Retreat to Catch the Enemy', what flaws has that fish exposed?"
Tran Kien did not answer immediately. He merely slid a map of the Imperial Capital toward Tao Chinh. Upon it, aside from the three secret strongholds previously identified, he had marked seven new red dots.
"This is..." Tao Chinh furrowed his brows.
"This is the entirety of the Gathering Treasures Pavilion's smuggling and distribution network," Tran Kien said, his voice placid. "A private weapons forge on the outskirts, specializing in replicating the magical artifacts of major sects. Four front pawnshops, used for money laundering and trading goods of unknown origin. And two secret docks, used for smuggling goods in and out of the capital."
Tao Chinh was shaken. He looked at the map, then at the youth before him, his eyes brimming with disbelief. His Six Gates had investigated the Gathering Treasures Pavilion for years, yet had only grasped a few vague clues. And this Ve Nhan, in the span of just one month, had managed to map out their entire network.
"You... how did you do this?"
"Very simple," Tran Kien replied. "This subordinate did not investigate the Gathering Treasures Pavilion at all. Because doing so would only beat the grass to scare the snake. This subordinate only did one thing: investigated their enemies."
He began to explain. "For the Gathering Treasures Pavilion to stand firm, they must have offended quite a few people. This subordinate secretly had people approach the minor merchant guilds they had previously suppressed, and the martial gangs whose territories they had seized. From their mouths, we obtained our first clues. Then, using those clues, we instigated conflicts between the Gathering Treasures Pavilion and other competitors. When two tigers are snarling at each other, that is exactly when they expose the most flaws."
This was the flawless execution of the stratagems "Borrowing a knife to kill another" and "Sowing Discord". He didn't search for clues himself; he used the hands of his enemies' enemies to expose their secrets.
Tao Chinh fell silent for a long while. He looked at Tran Kien, his eyes no longer holding just admiration, but a profound wariness. This dagger was far sharper than he had imagined.
"Excellent! Truly excellent!" he finally spoke. "Now that we have the evidence in hand, what do you intend to do next? Have our men cast the net and capture them all?"
"No," Tran Kien shook his head. "Arresting them is an inferior strategy. Those people are merely small fry. Trieu Phuong and Marquis Vinh An are the true big fish. When striking a snake, one must strike the head. We do not need to arrest them. We need to make them... sever their own tentacles."
"You mean..."
"Reporting to Your Excellency," Tran Kien said, a frigid light glinting in his eyes. "The time has come for us to put on an even grander play."
He leaned close to Tao Chinh's ear, whispering his plan. The more he listened, the brighter Tao Chinh's falcon eyes glowed.
Three days later. An earth-shattering piece of news once again shook the Imperial Capital.
The Six Gates, under Tao Chinh's command, launched an unprecedented, massive purge targeting martial factions and illicit operations within the city. However, their targets were incredibly bizarre. They didn't touch the Gathering Treasures Pavilion, nor did they touch the seven secret strongholds Tran Kien had identified.
They only arrested the merchant guilds and small gangs... that were competitors to the Gathering Treasures Pavilion!
The moment this news broke, Trieu Phuong, who had always been vigilant, immediately fell into a psychological trap.
What is the Six Gates doing? she asked herself. Could it be... they've been bought off by Marquis Vinh An? Are they using the Imperial Court to clear out our competitors for us?
Her inherent paranoia made it impossible for her not to consider this possibility.
And to make the play even more convincing, Tao Chinh deliberately and "accidentally" leaked information that Strategist Ve Nhan, after his failed investigation, had been transferred to a cushy, idle desk job.
Trieu Phuong, upon receiving this news, finally believed it entirely. She assumed the Six Gates had abandoned their investigation into her. Her vigilance was completely dismantled.
And that, precisely, was the moment Tran Kien was waiting for.
On a night of torrential rain.
While Trieu Phuong was smugly hosting a lavish banquet at the Gathering Treasures Pavilion to celebrate, her seven secret strongholds were simultaneously attacked.
The attackers were not the Six Gates.
They were a group of mysterious men in black, possessing formidable cultivation bases and striking with extreme ruthlessness, leaving no survivors. They did not plunder wealth. They only did one thing: destroy. Destroy all ledgers and evidence.
When the news reached the Gathering Treasures Pavilion, Trieu Phuong was stunned. The smile on her face froze.
She knew she had been played.
This was not the Six Gates. This was a third faction! A faction that wanted to "silence witnesses to cover their tracks", to erase all connections between her and the illicit operations.
Who? Who could possibly possess such capability?
While she was still bewildered, Tao Chinh, armed with a full arrest warrant and witnesses (the very people the Six Gates had previously "protected"), led a massive force, tightly surrounding the Gathering Treasures Pavilion.
"Trieu Phuong!" Tao Chinh's voice boomed like thunder. "You are suspected of involvement in illicit activities and silencing witnesses! Come out and surrender!"
Trieu Phuong stood there, her entire body running cold. She had fallen into a perfect trap. A trap without a single loophole.
On this chessboard, she had lost. A total, unjustifiable defeat.
In an obscured corner on the opposite street, Tran Kien, clad in the most ordinary of robes, quietly stood there, watching the Gathering Treasures Pavilion, blazing with light and entirely surrounded.
He had never shown his face. He was merely a chess piece that had supposedly "fallen out of favor."
Yet that very chess piece was the one who had controlled the entire board.