Li Xuan listened intently for a while and indeed noticed subtle changes in the rhythm of the snoring.
A cat's hearing is naturally sensitive, and with his current cultivation, he could easily detect such minor variations.
But given the previous signs of the snoring suddenly stopping, Li Xuan patiently listened for a bit longer.
This prolonged listening led him to discover something interesting.
Hadile's snoring hadn't stopped again for a long time.
The loud snores rose and fell, continuous and unbroken, maintaining a specific rhythm, with none of the sudden silences from before.
"Interesting."
Li Xuan bared his fangs on both sides, a mischievous grin on his face.
He nimbly jumped onto the bed, approached Hadile's pillow, and looked down at the Western Regions man.
Hadile wasn't a pretty sleeper; he lay splayed out on the bed, still dressed, but his clothes were open, revealing his hairy chest, which rose and fell with his snores.
But in the short time Li Xuan had jumped onto the bed, Hadile's chest movements had quickened slightly.
"This guy isn't very good at faking sleep."
Li Xuan leaned close to Hadile's face but was repelled by a stench of alcohol, taking two steps back in disgust.
Then he wagged his tail, gently sweeping it across Hadile's nose. Hadile showed no reaction, still snoring loudly.
Li Xuan suppressed a laugh, now certain that Hadile was feigning sleep and, for some reason, dared not wake up.
Just as Li Xuan was chuckling to himself, Hadile reached up and scratched his nose. After smacking his lips twice, his hand naturally stayed on his nose, covering his mouth and nose.
"Pfft, this guy…"
Li Xuan almost couldn't hold it in.
But he also found Hadile strange; shouldn't he have gotten up immediately to confront an intruder in his room?
Why was this guy still pretending to sleep and not daring to get up?
"Is this some kind of conspiracy?"
Li Xuan surveyed the guest room but found no place to hide traps or ambushes.
He was certain there was nothing in this guest room that could threaten him.
If that was the case… Li Xuan silently looked at Hadile, thinking:
"It seems you have your own difficulties, kid."
Perhaps feeling Li Xuan's gaze for too long, Hadile mumbled in his sleep, turned over, and lay face down on the bed, his entire face buried in the covers, only the back of his head exposed.
Seeing Hadile putting in so much effort, Li Xuan gave up on teasing him and focused on his actual business.
But he turned his head and saw the piled-up scrolls in the box, his small mouth pouting.
"Forget it, I'll just take them all back."
"Although Chief Steward Shang told me not to alert the enemy, Hadile already knows someone broke in."
"Any more attempts at concealment would just be deceiving myself."
Li Xuan looked back at Hadile, who was covering himself with the blanket and feigning sleep, and couldn't help but smile.
Next, he swept his tail across the box, and its contents were instantly absorbed into the di hong bone ring, leaving it empty.
Li Xuan then followed suit, taking all the other items in the guest room, leaving nothing for Hadile, including the pillows and bedding on the bed, and all of Hadile's clothes, not even a pair of underpants.
Even so, Hadile continued to snore diligently on the bed, showing no sign of waking up.
"Alright, quite dedicated."
Li Xuan looked at the guest room, which he had almost completely emptied, left the still-feigning-sleep Hadile there, and then flipped out the window without looking back.
If not for Chief Steward Shang's instructions, Li Xuan would have wanted to kidnap Hadile as well.
But Chief Steward Shang had previously said he had other arrangements for him, telling Li Xuan not to touch Hadile.
Of course, plans don't always go as expected. Li Xuan bringing back so many spoils was an unforeseen circumstance, and Chief Steward Shang should be able to understand.
After Li Xuan left, there was no other sound in the room except Hadile's snoring.
In fact, because the room was so empty, Hadile's snoring began to echo slightly.
Yet, Hadile still kept his eyes tightly closed, only his body quietly curled up.
It was unclear if he was cold or ashamed… After Li Xuan left the guest room, he didn't leave immediately but monitored the vicinity for a while longer.
Still, he found no unusual occurrences.
The snoring continued in Hadile's room, and no lights were lit.
"Cautious, prudent, and patient."
"It seems this guy is really timid."
Li Xuan shook his head. Seeing that dawn was approaching, he headed directly towards Xingqing Palace.
There were no further incidents on the way, and Li Xuan successfully returned to Xingqing Palace.
Princess Ankang and Yu'er had long since fallen asleep, but Chief Steward Shang was still waiting for Li Xuan's news.
As soon as Li Xuan stepped into Xingqing Palace, he heard Chief Steward Shang's voice in his ear.
"Li Xuan, you're back."
Li Xuan looked left and right but didn't see Chief Steward Shang.
"I'm in my room. Come find me."
Li Xuan's heart stirred instantly, thinking:
"Is this 'sound transmission'?"
Li Xuan was very intrigued by this ability.
Although he couldn't speak yet, when he learned to speak in the future, this would be the first thing he wanted to learn.
After all, private chat was a very convenient feature.
Li Xuan arrived at Chief Steward Shang's room and found the lights still on. A pot of tea was brewed on the table, and several small pastries were prepared.
"You've been busy all night, hungry?"
"Come fill your stomach first."
Chief Steward Shang greeted Li Xuan with a smile.
Such thoughtfulness deeply moved Li Xuan.
"Leave it to the old spy; he knows you'll be hungry after a mission."
Li Xuan went straight to the table, popped two pastries into his mouth, and began to eat them with relish.
"Li Xuan, how was tonight's mission?"
Chief Steward Shang asked with a smile.
Li Xuan, eating pastries with tea, flicked his tail, and a large pile of items tumbled out.
"Hmm?"
Chief Steward Shang saw that there were even large-sized undergarments, and his smile gradually faded, his expression becoming serious.
"Li Xuan, this is?"
Chief Steward Shang pointed at the pile of miscellaneous items, asking in confusion.
Li Xuan shrugged innocently, then, while eating pastries, he wagged his tail and recounted what had happened earlier.
He painstakingly described his helplessness and Hadile's shamelessness while feigning sleep.
Chief Steward Shang couldn't help but shake his head and laugh after hearing it.
"That Hadile was just bait placed on the surface; he probably had his guard up early."
"When you opened the box, you probably already triggered a mechanism."
"He probably had great confidence in the mechanism, but when he saw it couldn't deal with you, he got scared."
"He probably thought he still had a chance by continuing to feign sleep, and confronting you directly would be a dead end."
Chief Steward Shang was indeed an experienced hand; in a few words, he analyzed Hadile's state of mind at the time.
"Then, will there be any problems with me bringing these things back?"
Li Xuan asked somewhat nervously.
After all, his mission execution today wasn't exactly stellar.
"It shouldn't be a big deal."
Chief Steward Shang waved his hand, signaling Li Xuan not to be nervous.
"I don't think there will be any clues in these things."
"Of course, since you brought everything back, we'll naturally send someone to inspect them thoroughly. It would be good if we could find clues about Hadile's identity."
"As for now…"
Chief Steward Shang looked thoughtful.
Honestly, he hadn't anticipated Li Xuan's actions tonight.
But Li Xuan's unexpected behavior provided Chief Steward Shang with more information.
Hadile's persistent reaction to feign sleep was enough to prove many things.
Faced with an intruder, Hadile and the forces behind him showed no reaction, allowing Hadile to be exposed to danger.
Moreover, according to Li Xuan, there were no prior arrangements around the Adaxi Inn where Hadile was staying.
"This is interesting."
Chief Steward Shang showed a slight smile.
Seeing Chief Steward Shang's expression, Li Xuan knew he understood something and immediately sought his guidance.
Chief Steward Shang, seeing Li Xuan ask for his guidance, immediately became interested and decided to give him good pointers.
"Li Xuan, think carefully: if someone throws a piece of fresh meat into the wilderness and lets a wild beast carry it away, what is their purpose?"
Chief Steward Shang's guidance carried a hint of a test, and Li Xuan dared not be careless, beginning to think seriously.
He understood that the fresh meat thrown into the wilderness referred to Hadile, and the wild beast that would carry away the meat was likely them.
But if he thought about it according to Chief Steward Shang's analogy, what was the other party's intention in doing so?
Li Xuan frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something and quickly wrote down his answer with his tail.
"They want to see who the wild beast that carries away the meat is!"
"Exactly!"
Chief Steward Shang nodded, his eyes full of approval, signifying that Li Xuan was a teachable student.
A good teacher also needs a good student to make teaching enjoyable.
"Then, Li Xuan."
"Let me ask you another 'why'?"
Chief Steward Shang's face held an encouraging smile, prompting Li Xuan to continue giving his answer.
By then, Li Xuan had already figured out the problem and confidently replied:
"In the entire wilderness, we are the only wild beast that can smell the meat!"
That's right, this was the key.
Under Chief Steward Shang's guidance, Li Xuan understood the crucial point of the problem.
Only they themselves could connect Hadile's description to that half of the treasure map.
Therefore, the other party didn't care at all how Hadile was treated; he was merely a piece of "fat meat" to be carried away, in other words, bait.
The other party's goal, from the very beginning, was only to identify their target for this hunt.
As for why they didn't directly set traps around the bait, it was probably due to the same considerations they had.
Li Xuan and Chief Steward Shang never believed that the other half of the treasure map would be on Hadile.
Why would a hunter use his own life as bait?
In this contest, what they both cared about most was that half of the treasure map in the other's hands, wasn't it?
If that item were snatched away, the contest would be decided.
But realizing this, Li Xuan was suddenly startled.
"Then didn't I expose myself tonight!?"
Compared to Li Xuan's nervousness, Chief Steward Shang was much calmer. He said:
"Li Xuan, first, you are just a cat."
"Second, your perception is much stronger than ordinary people."
Li Xuan knew that Chief Steward Shang's "ordinary people" referred to most spies.
"Finally, I was also keeping an eye on the movements in the capital tonight."
After counting these three points on his fingers, Chief Steward Shang smiled triumphantly and leaned back slightly in his chair.
Li Xuan couldn't help but shake his head and laugh after hearing this.
"Well, it turns out I also went to be bait."
Li Xuan's mind was not slow, and he immediately understood Chief Steward Shang's meaning.
On one hand, sending Li Xuan to investigate Hadile; if it went smoothly, that would be best.
On the other hand, even if there was a problem with Li Xuan, Chief Steward Shang had arrangements in place.
Chief Steward Shang used the opponent's own method against them, fishing for information.
But from the current results, both sides would probably come up empty-handed tonight.
"So what do we do next?"
"Do we just leave Hadile as he is?"
Although he understood the current situation, Li Xuan was even more unsure about the next step.
"While you were tailing him today, I also investigated this person."
"This guy isn't a merchant in the Western Regions but a wanted criminal."
"Although he doesn't have countless blood debts, he does have several lives on his hands."
"Just a few months ago, this guy was still robbing people in the Western Regions."
As Chief Steward Shang said this, Li Xuan understood.
In other words, Hadile was a genuine temporary worker, sent to the capital to be sacrificed.
"Then at least we can find the people he contacted, right?"
Chief Steward Shang shook his head at Li Xuan's optimism:
"The other party is so cautious; they wouldn't make such a low-level mistake."
Chief Steward Shang was a professional after all, and Li Xuan highly agreed with his opinion.
But in that case, they seemed to be in a dilemma, seemingly only able to wait patiently for a flaw to appear, just like the other party.
Seeing Li Xuan's troubled face, Chief Steward Shang stroked his head and then continued:
"Originally, this matter was quite tricky, but your actions tonight might give us a good opportunity."
Li Xuan looked up, still furrowing his tiny brows.
Seeing Li Xuan's adorable expression, Chief Steward Shang smiled and reached out to smooth his brows, explaining:
"A desperado like Hadile certainly wouldn't willingly go to his death."
"Once he realizes he's embroiled in huge trouble, what do you think he'll do?"
"And how will the people who sent him as bait handle it?"
Li Xuan's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this. After exchanging a look with Chief Steward Shang, a mischievous smile immediately appeared on his face.
"The older the ginger, the spicier it is!"
"Hadile, it seems you won't be leaving the capital this time."
"Hehehe…"
Little Cat chuckled mischievously in his heart, and Chief Steward Shang was also amused by his appearance, laughing… The next morning.
Adaxi Inn.
A big man in ill-fitting clothes hurried down from upstairs, exited the inn's door, and merged into the bustling morning market crowd, quickly disappearing from sight.
On the street, Abu yawned as he went to find his boss to start work, and happened to brush past this person.
After a while, Abu arrived at the Adaxi Inn and knocked on the familiar room door.
But the door opened at his touch, revealing an empty room inside.
Abu came in, searched around, scratched his head, and asked in confusion:
"Huh, where is he?"