The galloping horses and the black-clad figures in the night were like characters from a storyteller’s tale, all wanderers of the martial world with no return.
At that moment, a crow flapped its wings and landed on the roof of a tavern ahead of them.
It stood silently on the eaves, watching Chen Ji and Yun Yang speed past, motionless, as if it were part of the building’s ridge ornament.
The crow’s feathers shimmered under the moonlight, draped in a silvery veil, serene and mysterious.
Huh, a crow? Chen Ji turned back to look at the eaves, but the crow had already flapped its wings and flown off to who knows where.
He was certain he had seen this crow before in the backyard of the medical hall.
The way it had looked at him felt like the scrutiny of someone of higher status.
At the time, he had thought it was just a hallucination from being overly tense, but now that he had seen it again, Chen Ji no longer thought so.
The mysteries of this world far exceeded his imagination.
After a moment of thought, he asked Yun Yang, “Master Yun Yang, you’ve seen a lot in the Secret Spy Bureau. Have you ever heard of someone who can control animals?”
“Never,” Yun Yang replied casually.
“What about cultivators? I’ve heard storytellers talk about tales of gods and monsters. Are they real?” Chen Ji asked.
“No.”
Chen Ji fell into deep thought.
He was already on the path of cultivation and was certain there were other cultivators in this world.
But why had he never heard of them? What was the reason for these cultivators hiding among the common folk and the court?
With a tearing sound, Yun Yang turned to see Chen Ji ripping off the hem of his robe and tying it around his face.
“What are you doing? Working for the Secret Spy Bureau is a righteous act. There’s no need to hide your face,” Yun Yang said disdainfully.
Chen Ji replied casually, “Master Yun Yang, I’m just a small figure. It’s always good to be cautious. Besides, you need to protect my identity. If the Liu family retaliates against me, there’ll be no one left to help you earn merits.”
Yun Yang thought about it and realized he was right. “Then cover your face well… Whoa!” He suddenly pulled the reins, bringing the horse to an abrupt stop on the dimly lit street.
Chen Ji’s gaze swept forward, and he saw dozens of people on horseback blocking their path.
They wore straw raincoats and bamboo hats, each with a long sword strapped to their backs.
A murderous aura emanated from them.
The leader looked up at Chen Ji, and under the shadow of his hat, the middle-aged man’s gaze was as sharp as a blade, cutting into Chen Ji’s face.
“Who are these people?” Chen Ji whispered from his horse.
“People from the Punishment Bureau,” Yun Yang replied, tightening the reins and calling out loudly, “Commander Lin, you must have rushed here day and night from Jinling with the Fish-Dragon Guards.”
The middle-aged man said calmly, “You and Jiao Tu have caused quite a mess. I’m here to take you both back to the capital to face the Prime Minister’s judgment.”
“Caused a mess?” Yun Yang sneered. “Jiao Tu and I came to Luocheng to capture spies from the Jing Dynasty. What’s wrong with that?”
The man said sternly, “You arrested members of the Liu family but couldn’t provide solid evidence to convict them. Now the Liu family’s patriarch is on the brink of death. This matter isn’t going to be swept under the rug.”
Yun Yang remained calm. “Jiao Tu and I have already found evidence. We didn’t reveal it because we wanted to catch a bigger fish, not alert the enemy. Lin Chaoqing, you’re quick to act on rumors and come to arrest us, hindering our investigation. Are you a spy from the Jing Dynasty planted in the Punishment Bureau?”
“Nonsense,” Lin Chaoqing scoffed. “The Punishment Bureau oversees all officials. The Secret Spy Bureau falls under my jurisdiction. I advise you not to resist pointlessly. Come back to the capital with me!”
Yun Yang said gravely, “Lin Chaoqing, if you want to arrest me, at least wait until the Liu patriarch dies.”
Lin Chaoqing, a man of few words, had no patience for further discussion. “Arrest them.”
As soon as he spoke, the dozens of Fish-Dragon Guards behind him charged forward on their horses.
The sound of horseshoes striking the stone road was deafening.
At that moment, the sky was covered by dark clouds, and the long street was as dark as ink.
The faces of the Fish-Dragon Guards were hidden under their hats, their eyes concealed in terrifying shadows.
As they approached Yun Yang, they all drew their long swords in unison!
Yun Yang said to Chen Ji in a low voice, “Hold on tight!”
With that, he leaped off his horse and jabbed the horse’s rear with a silver needle.
The horse neighed in panic and bolted in another direction with Chen Ji on its back!
Chen Ji, who had no skill in riding, could only crouch low and cling tightly to the horse’s neck.
He looked back and saw Yun Yang, clad in black, charging forward instead of retreating, striding boldly toward the dozens of Fish-Dragon Guards!
Boom!
The moment he met the first Fish-Dragon Guard, the guard swung his sword, but before the blade could fall, Yun Yang twisted his waist and punched the horse’s head!
The horse let out a mournful cry, and the massive warhorse, as large as a cart, was sent tumbling to the ground by this slender punch, collapsing like a falling mountain.
“Resisting arrest adds to your crimes!” Lin Chaoqing suddenly exerted force, stepping on the saddle and drawing his sword mid-air.
His sword was longer and heavier than the others!
When he stepped on the horse’s back to exert force, even the sturdy warhorse couldn’t withstand the pressure, its knees buckling.
On the other side, Yun Yang also leaped into the air.
The collision between the two men in mid-air created a surge of turbulent air.
No one could see what happened as the two separated in an instant.
Lin Chaoqing landed steadily on his horse’s back, while the spot where they had collided on the stone road was marked by a several-meter-long sword slash!
Meanwhile, Yun Yang used the force of the collision to leap onto a rooftop.
Like a shadow, he chased after the fleeing horse, jumping onto its back and escaping.
On the long street, Lin Chaoqing was in no hurry to pursue.
He sat back on his horse, adjusted his hat, and asked calmly, “Who’s the one riding behind him?” “I’ve never seen him before. He’s probably not from the Secret Spy Bureau.”
Lin Chaoqing’s voice was as sharp as metal clashing. “Investigate.”
……
……
Chen Ji, still shaken, asked, “You said earlier that you’ve never seen cultivators…?”
Yun Yang was about to answer but instead coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Cultivators can’t just announce themselves to the world. What you cultivate, and how far you’ve progressed, are things you can’t tell others.”
“Why?”
Yun Yang said meaningfully, “Seeking immortality through cultivation sounds wonderful, but that’s just a story from books. On this path, there’s only life and death. I think you’ve got potential. You might even be promoted by some big shot in the future. But remember, if you truly step onto this path, never tell anyone what you cultivate.”
Chen Ji felt a chill.
Yun Yang’s words carried a deep warning, undoubtedly born from personal experience.
As he pondered this, Yun Yang coughed up another mouthful of blood. “Kid, if you don’t find evidence to convict the Liu family tonight, we’re both dead.”
Chen Ji said, “So the reason you said we had to find evidence tonight was because you were worried about being held accountable by the Punishment Bureau. I thought the Secret Spy Bureau was the most powerful.”
“Stop with the sarcasm. The Punishment Bureau oversees the imperial guard. Of course, they’re formidable,” Yun Yang said coldly. “But we’re all working under the Prime Minister. The Secret Spy Bureau risks our lives every day fighting the Military Intelligence Bureau, while they just investigate their own people. What’s so impressive about that?”
The two had arrived at the Zhou residence.
Yun Yang jumped off his horse first and pushed open the vermilion gate.
The creaking sound in the night was grating.
The Zhou residence had been cleaned up.
The tables and chairs were straightened, as if no one had died here.
Yun Yang stood in the courtyard and turned to Chen Ji, saying gravely, “Time is short. I’m betting on you. Don’t let me down. Tell me, what did you find in the Zhou residence earlier?”
Chen Ji walked straight into the main hall. “Where are Zhou Chengyi’s books?”
“They’re all here, not a single one missing.”
Chen Ji stood in front of the bookshelf, quickly taking down books one by one and flipping through them.
Seeing his focus, Yun Yang left the main hall and, in a secluded spot, took out a shadow puppet.
He bit his index finger and used his blood to paint eyes on the puppet.
The puppet came to life, its face showing an eerie smile as it wobbled onto the courtyard wall and ran off to the east.
When Yun Yang returned to the main hall, he saw Chen Ji holding two books. “The clues should be in these two books.”
Yun Yang took the books and flipped through them, only to find that both books had identical content. “Both are the eighth chapter of the ‘Four Books and Five Classics,’ specifically the second chapter of ‘On Governance.’ One of them must have been copied by Zhou Chengyi himself. I’ve seen his handwriting.”
In this era, books were circulated through buying, borrowing, copying, looting, and stealing.
Printing books was monopolized by noble families and was expensive, so borrowing and copying were common practices.
But the problem was, Zhou Chengyi wasn’t short on money.
Chen Ji pointed to the hundreds of books on the wall. “Zhou Chengyi, as a county magistrate, appeared to be clean and honest, but he secretly kept a mistress outside and had over a dozen servants. Why would he copy books himself? I suspect that every time Zhou Chengyi borrowed or returned books, it was a way for him to pass on information. This newly copied book hasn’t been returned yet, so it should contain the secret he wanted to pass on.”
Yun Yang looked at Chen Ji with a strange expression. “You were the first to check these books last time. You already found this clue then. Why didn’t you speak up to save yourself and instead kept looking for other clues?”
Chen Ji said, “Having more information to save yourself is never a bad thing. Besides, with only a quarter of an hour, even though I knew there was something wrong with it, I couldn’t guarantee I could decipher the Military Intelligence Bureau’s code in that time.”
That night, though Chen Ji was terrified, he never panicked.
His trump card was like the broken piece of porcelain he always held in his hand, never letting go.
Yun Yang sat down wearily on a chair. “So, do you have a handle on it now?”
“If I have two more hours, I should be able to,” Chen Ji said confidently.
Before he could finish, the sound of hooves came from outside the Zhou residence.
The two looked up to see Jiao Tu dismounting with over a dozen spies.
She handed the reins to one of them and hurried into the residence. “Close the gates! On my way back, I saw the Liu family coming here with torches. There are a lot of them!”
Yun Yang was surprised. “What do they want?”
Jiao Tu said gravely, “The Liu patriarch is dead.”
Yun Yang looked at Jiao Tu in shock. “The Liu patriarch is dead?! Chen Ji, didn’t your master go to treat him? His medical skills aren’t that great!”
Inside the house, Jiao Tu said solemnly, “He died an hour ago. The Liu family is in an uproar now.”
“Damn it,” Yun Yang rubbed his face with his hands. “We’re just too damn unlucky. It’s his own health that’s the problem. How can they blame us? Why is this mess being dumped on us?!”
Jiao Tu said, “Two of my spies are missing. They might have been killed in the chaos. There are ‘Executioners’ among this group, raised by the Liu family.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of hooves and footsteps came from outside again.
The Liu family was coming fast and furious!
Someone shouted, “They arrested our young scholar without evidence and killed him in the imperial prison, causing the patriarch to die of anger. Today, they must give us an explanation!”
“Yes, they must give us an explanation!”
Amid the clamor and the restless flames, Yun Yang looked at Chen Ji with a strange expression. “Now, you probably only have a quarter of an hour.”
(End of Chapter)