Chapter 405: Human Motives
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
When humans took the initiative to do something that they did not want to do, they definitely hoped for a reward.
Food and water were necessary for a human to live. Hobbies and interests were things that humans did to bring joy to their lives. Working and starting a business earned material possessions while getting married and having kids were to reproduce.
In other words, it was impossible for there to be any behavior in the world with no motives.
If one could not understand something at first, one would find out the reason for that behavior as soon as one turned around to look at the person’s motive. Even for those whose minds worked in strange ways, the most one could say was that they were after something different than the rest. Therefore, Ye Shuang had been feeling that the girl’s behavior was out of the ordinary since she was captured.
The person had taken Master Five’s granddaughter so that he would have a hostage, making this place a mousetrap. Sending the girl there naturally meant that they were monitoring the situation. If someone pulled any tricks, the mole could alert them right away.
If that was the case, why did the girl seem calm since she was captured? She was even following Master Five’s order, whereby she did not even inform them about the situation over there.
The only possible answer was that it was unnecessary.
Why was it unnecessary? There were two possible options if studied the question. One would be that nobody was counting on her. However, that was impossible because she would not have been sent there if nobody was counting on her. The other option was that it was unnecessary for the girl to take the initiative to report the situation. As long as she was there, it was only natural that the other party would get the news that they were expecting.
“Perhaps nobody noticed any communication methods, such as a secret signal, flag semaphore, Morse code, or some sort. Something must’ve gone wrong as soon as there’s no news after a certain time.” Ye Shuang sat before Master Five. “Or perhaps she has some device in her for eavesdropping. It’s easy to inject those little things into your skin nowadays. There are so many ways of doing it, unlike the countable methods back in those days.”
Master Five did not drink the tea. Perhaps he was concerned and could not calm himself for a cup of tea. Instead, he held the pipe in his hand and began smoking. The suffocating smoke very soon spread all over the house. “Is that only speculation?”
Ye Shuang was anxious, but she explained patiently anyway, mainly because she had no one on her side. The possibility that she might encounter those people aside, even if she wanted to enter that storage room, she would need permission from Master Five’s underlings. “Master Five, you said that the girl has been quiet and obedient since she was captured. I spoke to her earlier and found out that it was rather easy to get her to speak. She spoke without me baiting her.”
“Although my intention was to test her, I realized that she was also testing me after chatting with her for a while. Maybe she thinks that I’m easily fooled since I’m an outsider compared to your underlings who are strict.” Ye Shuang was careful with her words as she spoke in all seriousness. “That girl was trying to get me to talk about our plan. In a nutshell, she’s asking why you captured her out of nowhere, Master Five. I understand that people are curious. However, now that she’s been captured, being curious is just asking for trouble.
That girl’s intelligence must have been off the chart since the organization had sent her on purpose and she had dared to smile adorably before Master Five, who was furious. At least she would not be asking about useless gossip, which would have been unprofessional.
“Therefore, it shows that she wasn’t just asking for nothing. The answer that I give must be useful to her. Meanwhile, the information will only be useful if she manages to send it out.” Ye Shuang glanced at Master Five. “I have no idea how she’s sending the information out, but I can think of six to seven possible ways of doing it off the top of my head. Brother Han said that we can only be prepared if we plan based on the worst-case scenario. I think it makes sense—what do you think, Master Five?”
Master Five was still hesitating.
The old man’s way of thinking was the complete opposite of the young girl’s. One could tell from him choosing to retreat back then. Master Five had always decided on something based on stability and no presumptions. After all, he was a family man. It made sense for him to show cautious behavior since he was surviving with a bunch of disciples in society.
Between saving his granddaughter with full preparation or saving her ahead of schedule, even with Master Eight professional skills and Ye Shuang’s prepared-for-the-worst plan, Master Five was fonder of the former plan.
In reality, Ye Shuang’s speculation had many more details behind it. She was usually sensitive in observing people’s expressions even if it was insignificant. To her, instinct was sufficient for her to judge something that others would need reasoning to support their claims. As there was too much information coming in too fast, the process of receiving the information to coming to a conclusion had been omitted and become an instinct.
It was just that she would need to convince Master Five, so Ye Shuang put a lot of effort into deductive reasoning whereby she raised a few suspicions as proof. In reality, even if Master Five could not make up his mind, she had decided to take action in advance. It was just that she would have to put in more effort to get to the mountain as well as exposing the truth of her ridiculous physique.
…
“We’re in a rush right now. It would be great if everything goes as planned. However, if the person had really gotten the news, then it’ll be a competition of speed.”
Finally, Master Five agreed since Ye Shuang had called Han Chu while Han Chu had informed Master Eight to carry out the plan. He pointed at Xiao San and got him to accompany Ye Shuang to the mountain. Meanwhile, Master Five stayed where he was and gathered the residents of Ten Miles Village to pack their bags. They were going to move as soon as they got the signal.
Ye Shuang carried a huge traveler’s backpack. She basically carried everything that was important for the team. Despite the tens of pounds of weight on her back, she was walking on the rocky mountain road like it was flatland. Not only was she running faster than the few young men, she was also stable and light. Xiao San was wondered if he witnessed the legendary Qinggong 1 .
Xiao San smiled as he chopped off the branches in front of them with a scimitar in an attempt not to let the terrible environment slow them down. “Master Five definitely trusts Sister Xiao Shuang’s ability, but it would be a pain in the backside for us to move since we’re rushing. We thought we would get ten to twenty people to help us move tomorrow morning, but there’s only us now…”
Ye Shuang grabbed onto a man who was staggering while sighing. “There’s nothing that we can do. We can only plan when we get there. At the very least, we have to get there before the other party does.”
Xiao San frowned. He was concerned as he thought about the tens of boxes of ammunition in the cave.
However, Ye Shuang spoke with full confidence. “But I think that if the other party does take action before we make it there, they will most probably have tools for transportation. We can then use theirs.”
“That’s a great idea…” Xiao San released a long, deep sigh. He realized that he had underestimated Ye Shuang’s shamelessness… no, her wit.