The winding streets and alleys of Luocheng were like the palm lines of the city.
The Liu family, in pursuit of Chen Ji and his companions, had split into five groups, like a closing hand, squeezing the air of the city into a tense knot.
The spies darted through the shadows between buildings, while several hundred steps behind them, the Liu family members brandished spears and held high torches.
Jiao Tu glanced back at Chen Ji, who was at the rear of the group, and turned to Yun Yang, asking, "Do you believe that kid? If he doesn't find the evidence, we'll miss our chance to leave Luocheng tonight."
"Right now, we have no choice but to trust him," Yun Yang said gravely.
"If we don't find the evidence tonight, we won't even make it past the Chief Justice."
Jiao Tu replied nonchalantly, "The Inner Minister won't really do anything to us. We're still useful. At worst, we'll just have to kill a few more people for him."
"The Inner Minister has both good and bad people under him, but none of them are fools. If we mess this up, there'll be no place for us in the Spy Bureau... Maybe this kid really can find the evidence."
Jiao Tu said seriously, "Let's hope so. If he doesn't find it, we'll head back to the capital and beg Bai Long for mercy. We can't fall into the hands of the Chief Justice."
As she spoke, she glanced back at Chen Ji.
The young apprentice was panting heavily at the back of the group, his hair soaked with sweat, and the cloth covering his face was drenched, yet he refused to take it off.
"This kid's got some stamina. He's actually keeping up with the spies," Jiao Tu remarked with admiration.
The spies under the Spy Bureau were all elite, any one of them could be considered a top soldier in the "Longevity Army."
So, no matter how ragged Chen Ji looked, keeping up with them was no small feat.
At that moment, Chen Ji felt a change in his body.
When he was exhausted, the three flames near his dantian surged with warmth, sustaining him as he ran.
The flames washed over him like a flood, triggering a mysterious transformation in his body.
It was as if a rusted sword was being polished, its tarnish slowly removed.
As they passed through Changning Street, the sounds of pursuit grew closer.
Yun Yang said gravely, "The Liu family knows Luocheng better than we do. They're taking shortcuts to surround us. If we keep running like this, they'll catch us."
"What do we do?" Jiao Tu asked.
"Abandon the cart to save the general."
As they passed by a small courtyard, Yun Yang ordered, "Qi Wan, take everyone and lead the Liu family to the west. Consider it a great merit!"
The spy named Qi Wan, dressed in black, whispered, "Understood. Everyone, follow me!"
Chen Ji stood by the courtyard wall, watching the spies leave without a word.
Yun Yang and Jiao Tu had already climbed into the courtyard.
Seeing Chen Ji hesitating, they poked their heads out from behind the gray tiles, "What are you waiting for?!"
"Coming," Chen Ji said, jumping up and grabbing Yun Yang's outstretched hand, clumsily climbing into the courtyard.
The three of them stood behind the wall, pressing against it and holding their breath as they listened to the commotion outside.
They heard the sound of hurried footsteps passing by, and someone saying, "We can't let them escape Luocheng. We must avenge the old master."
They were so close, separated only by a wall.
Chen Ji could even smell the burning torches outside, a mix of fir bark and pine resin, dry and explosive.
The crowd surged in the direction the spies had gone, and only when the noise outside died down did Chen Ji dare to breathe again.
"Will the spies survive?"
Yun Yang glanced at him and said, "In troubled times, life and death are a matter of fate. It's the same for you, for them, and for us. When Jiao Tu and I were just small spies, we were abandoned countless times."
Jiao Tu said, "Enough talk. Let's move."
When the three of them climbed back over the wall, the street was empty.
They headed east but stopped at the first intersection.
Yun Yang narrowed his eyes as he looked across the bluestone road.
Lin Chaoqing and a group of several dozen Fish-Dragon Guards were waiting there on horseback, as if they always knew where to find their prey.
The Chief Justice was to the east, the Spy Bureau to the west.
The two sides stood in the shadows, silently waiting for the other to make the first move.
The Fish-Dragon Guards wore raincoats and bamboo hats, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
The pressure they exuded was like a mountain bearing down on them.
In the silence, Lin Chaoqing urged his horse forward, slowly approaching Yun Yang.
His expression was hidden under his hat, and no one could see it clearly.
"We both work under the Court of Ceremonial. As colleagues, we don't want to see the Spy Bureau brought down by the civil officials. We let you go earlier to give you a chance. An hour has passed. Can you produce the evidence now?"
Yun Yang remained silent, his expression grave.
This was no longer a situation where bluster could get them through.
"It seems you still don't have it," Lin Chaoqing said, urging his horse forward.
"Arrest them..."
Before he could finish, a commotion in the distance interrupted him.
"Liang Mao'er, where are you taking me? Miss Yan is waiting for me in the red tent!"
"Brother, the Liu family seems angry. We need to hurry and kill those eunuch faction members, or your drinking money will be cut off, and so will your cultivation herbs!"
"What?! Cut off my drinking money?"
"Brother, the herbs are more important!"
Both the Chief Justice and the Spy Bureau turned to the left, where they saw a chubby young man carrying a drunken middle-aged man running toward them.
The middle-aged man's robe was open, loosely draped over his body, his head lolling on the young man's shoulder.
He was disheveled and unkempt, but the sword at his waist looked well-polished and exquisite.
When Lin Chaoqing saw him, he reined in his horse, and all the Fish-Dragon Guards stopped.
Jiao Tu whispered, "It's Liang Gou'er."
Everyone watched in silence as the chubby Liang Mao'er carried Liang Gou'er, cursing as he approached.
When they reached the intersection, Liang Mao'er finally noticed the Chief Justice and the Spy Bureau standing in the shadows.
He was so startled he didn't dare to breathe, and his fat jiggled.
"Brother, brother, wake up! I think I see them!" Liang Mao'er said.
Liang Gou'er opened his drunken eyes, "Found the eunuch faction?"
Liang Mao'er was sweating profusely, wishing he could just drop Liang Gou'er and run.
He whispered, "Brother, they can hear us..."
Liang Gou'er turned his gaze to Lin Chaoqing, and when he saw the neat hats and raincoats, he exclaimed happily, "All these raincoats and hats, it must be the eunuch faction! But we don't want to offend anyone. Remember to tell the Liu family that I drew my sword..."
In an instant, Liang Gou'er, still on Liang Mao'er's back, hooked his sword hilt with his middle and index fingers and flicked it.
With a clang, the sword left its sheath.
The overwhelming blade light slashed toward Lin Chaoqing.
Before anyone could react, the sword was back in its sheath.
With a crack, the hat on Lin Chaoqing's head split in two and fell to the ground, revealing his sharp, resolute face.
The blade's energy had shattered the hat but stopped just short of harming Lin Chaoqing.
The street fell silent, everyone stunned by what had just happened.
Liang Mao'er looked to the right at the Chief Justice, then to the left at the Spy Bureau, "Brother, you cut the wrong person..."
"Huh?" Liang Gou'er squinted at the Spy Bureau, then looked back at Lin Chaoqing.
Lin Chaoqing sat motionless on his horse, his voice cold, "Liang Gou'er, open your dog eyes and see who I am."
"Ah!"
In the next second, Liang Gou'er jumped off Liang Mao'er's back and scrambled to Lin Chaoqing's horse, bowing and scraping, "Isn't this Commander Lin? My apologies, my apologies. It's all the Liu family's fault. I told them I wanted to drink in Red Dress Alley, but they made me come here to cut you down!"
Lin Chaoqing lashed out with his whip, striking Liang Gou'er on the shoulder, "I won't trouble you today. Get lost."
"Yes, yes, I'll get lost!" With that, Liang Gou'er actually rolled away to the side.
Lin Chaoqing looked up at the opposite side of the street.
By now, Yun Yang, Jiao Tu, and Chen Ji were long gone.
"After them. They can't have gone far."
The dozens of Fish-Dragon Guards spurred their horses in pursuit.
Liang Gou'er wobbled to his feet, and Liang Mao'er came over, patting the dust off him, "Brother, why do you put up with their nonsense?"
Liang Gou'er happily tied his disheveled hair into a bun with a hairpin, "Mao'er, wasn't I clever just now? I cleverly defused a crisis!"
Liang Mao'er muttered resentfully, "Not clever at all!"
"Let's go, the job's done. Time for more drinks!"
"I'm not drinking! You've had enough, and you shouldn't drink either!"
Liang Gou'er, "I haven't had enough... ugh!"
...
"The Chief Justice's nose is too sharp. How do they always find us?" Jiao Tu complained.
Yun Yang carried Chen Ji on one shoulder as he ran, "They say we're the Inner Minister's hounds. We're the hounds, they're the dogs. The Chief Justice's nose is famous. They can sniff you out even if you hide at the ends of the earth."
As he ran, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Jiao Tu was shocked, "You're injured? Let me carry him."
"I just had a run-in with Lin Chaoqing. It's nothing, just a minor injury," Yun Yang said, "This kid's a man. Why should you carry him... We're here!"
They arrived at the gate of a sealed mansion.
Yun Yang threw Chen Ji down, "This is the place. Hurry, the Chief Justice will be here soon!"
Chen Ji stepped forward, tore off the seal, and pushed open the vermilion gate.
He hurried past the rockery and fish pond, "Where's the study?"
"At the very back!"
In the distance, they could already hear the sound of hoofbeats, pounding like drums!
Chen Ji entered the study, pulling books off the shelves.
He flipped through each one briefly by the moonlight before tossing it aside, just as he had done at the Zhou residence earlier.
Yun Yang pulled out a fire starter from his pocket, lit a candle in the room, and held it up to the bookshelf.
He suddenly felt like Chen Ji's servant, and though he wanted to be angry, he held it in, knowing the danger they were in.
Yun Yang asked, puzzled, "What exactly are you looking for? It feels like you're just randomly searching for luck."
Chen Ji replied, "Sometimes, luck is part of one's strength."
As he spoke, the sound of hoofbeats stopped outside the gate.
They heard the rustle of raincoats and saddles as the Chief Justice prepared to storm in.
Jiao Tu's expression darkened.
Her small, agile figure stood at the door, her hand on the hilt of a short sword.
She faced the incoming Fish-Dragon Guards and said, "The Spy Bureau is in the midst of a critical mission. Take one more step, and you'll die."
But Lin Chaoqing ignored her threat and continued to advance, "Kill them all. Anyone who resists will be executed."
The two sides were on the verge of clashing when Jiao Tu suddenly drew her short sword and slashed her forehead.
A black mist seemed to emerge from the wound.
In the tense mansion, Lin Chaoqing walked forward step by step, his sword slowly being drawn.
The cold light of the blade shone through his raincoat, chilling to the bone.
The burly middle-aged man was like a tiger, his eyes fixed on the crimson wound on Jiao Tu's forehead, from which a strange power seemed to surge.
Lin Chaoqing sneered, "I hold the rank of a fourth-grade official in Da Ning. Don't embarrass yourself with petty tricks."
Jiao Tu said calmly, "Whether it's a petty trick or not, you'll find out soon enough."
Just then, Chen Ji's voice came from inside the room, "Found it!"
The young man walked out, holding a scroll in his hand.
(End of Chapter)