The morning in Luo City was bustling with life, the streets filled with people coming and going.
Ox carts headed to the eastern market, occasionally clogging the narrow lanes.
The drivers, chewing on their flatbreads, shouted curses as they urged others to make way.
Laughter, curses, and the cries of vendors filled the air.
Despite the city’s decline over the centuries, it still seemed to cling to its former glory.
Inside the Taiping Medical Hall, Chen Ji stood behind the counter, sleeves rolled up, smiling as he weighed herbs for patients with a copper scale.
His smile was pure, and no one would ever associate him with something as sinister as "capturing spies."
Meanwhile, Old Man Yao was testing his students' knowledge.
She Dengke sat upright behind the counter, eyes closed as he took a patient’s pulse.
Old Man Yao stood beside him, holding a bamboo stick, and asked sternly, "Quick, what kind of pulse is this?"
She Dengke, with three fingers on the patient’s wrist, ventured, "A surging pulse?"
Whack! The bamboo stick struck She Dengke’s back, startling the middle-aged patient across the counter.
Old Man Yao gestured for the patient to stay calm and asked again, "What kind of pulse?"
She Dengke winced, "A strong pulse!"
Whack! Another strike.
She Dengke quickly corrected himself, "A deep pulse!"
Whack! Another strike.
The patient quickly stood up and grabbed Old Man Yao’s arm, "Please, don’t hit the boy! Calm down, Doctor Yao. It can be a deep pulse, let’s just say it’s a deep pulse!"
Old Man Yao slowly turned to the patient, speechless for a moment, "... If he had diagnosed a pregnancy pulse, would you have accepted that too?!"
With that, he turned his gaze to Chen Ji and Liu Quxing, pondering who to scold next.
But his eyes suddenly stopped at the door.
Outside the medical hall, a small black cat weaved through the crowd, carefully observing the human footsteps and avoiding them.
When it reached the doorstep, the cat, named Wu Yun, peeked inside, only to meet Old Man Yao’s gaze.
Chen Ji’s heart tightened.
His master didn’t seem like someone who liked animals, and he feared Wu Yun would be chased away.
But Wu Yun, after shrinking back for a moment, mustered the courage to step inside and slowly approached Old Man Yao.
To everyone’s surprise, Wu Yun jumped onto the counter, walked up to Old Man Yao, and lay down in his hand!
Old Man Yao was stunned for a long time, his stern expression slowly softening into a smile, revealing wrinkles.
She Dengke and the other disciples were equally shocked—they had never seen their master so gentle!
So the old man could smile!
Realizing his slip, Old Man Yao quickly regained his composure and said indifferently, "This little thing is quite endearing."
Liu Quxing moved closer, wanting to pet Wu Yun, but Old Man Yao immediately swatted his hand away, "Get lost!"
Liu Quxing: "..."
Next, Wu Yun nuzzled its head in Old Man Yao’s hand.
After a moment of silence, Old Man Yao turned to She Dengke, "Go fetch the purple wooden box from my room."
He gently tapped Wu Yun’s head and casually asked, "Your name is Wu Yun, right?"
Chen Ji’s pupils contracted, his heart gripped with tension.
He had only told Wu Yun its name—how did Old Man Yao know? Did he already know everything?
Chen Ji’s mind raced, recalling how Old Man Yao had picked him up from the Zhou residence, pulled him back to the medical hall during the Buddha’s procession, and visited the Wanxing Garden.
Each event seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
As Chen Ji pondered, Old Man Yao glanced at him, as if seeing through him.
Old Man Yao only glanced at him before turning his attention back to Wu Yun.
She Dengke asked, "Master, isn’t this the cat from Wanxing Garden? I remember you haven’t been to the prince’s residence in a long time. How did you know its name?"
Old Man Yao shot him a sidelong glance, "I divined it. Is that a problem?"
Liu Quxing, standing nearby, was stunned, "You can divine that? Then can you divine what my childhood nickname was?"
Old Man Yao pulled out six copper coins from his sleeve, calmly tossed them onto the counter, and said expressionlessly, "Your nickname was ‘Idiot.’"
Chen Ji: "..."
Liu Quxing: "..."
She Dengke brought the purple wooden box and opened its drawer, revealing a collection of exquisite pastries.
Liu Quxing exclaimed, "Pastries from Zhengxin Zhai!"
Old Man Yao took one pastry and placed it in front of Wu Yun, "Eat."
Wu Yun devoured it in a few bites and then eyed the box again.
Old Man Yao wasn’t stingy and took out another, saying, "It’s good to eat pastries. Stupid cats only know meat, but smart cats understand the value of pastries."
After finishing two pastries, Wu Yun ran to Chen Ji without a second glance and lay down beside him, showing no attachment to Old Man Yao.
Old Man Yao, seeing this, simply brushed the pastry crumbs into his mouth, unbothered.
He looked at Chen Ji and remarked casually, "It seems to like you quite a bit."
With that, he returned to testing She Dengke’s knowledge.
Chen Ji, seeing everyone’s attention diverted, whispered to Wu Yun, "Why did you come during the day?"
Wu Yun replied, "Concubine Jing left the Jing Prince’s residence, and no one’s managing Wanxing Garden. The maids are slacking off, so I came to find you!"
Chen Ji smiled, "Then stay here at the medical hall. I’ll finish weighing the herbs for the patients."
As they spoke, a well-dressed middle-aged man entered, holding a prescription, "Doctor Yao, I’m here to get some medicine, but I left in a hurry this morning and didn’t bring enough money. Could I take the medicine first and have one of your apprentices accompany me home to fetch the money? I’ll pay him twenty coins for his trouble."
Old Man Yao glanced at the prescription, "These medicines aren’t cheap. Are you sure you have the money at home?"
The man nodded, "Yes!"
Liu Quxing quickly volunteered, "Master, I’ll go!"
Old Man Yao gave a cold smile, "You just don’t want to be tested, huh? Chen Ji, you go!"
Liu Quxing’s face turned ashen as he watched Chen Ji leave with the man.
At the door, the man led Chen Ji to a carriage.
Once inside, the man slowly peeled off his fake beard and wrinkles, revealing his true identity—Yun Yang.
"You sent word that you wanted to visit the Inner Prison?"
"Correct," Chen Ji nodded, "I think the case of Liu Shiyu isn’t as simple as it seems. It’s not just his personal actions—there’s a bigger fish behind it."
"Interesting," Yun Yang raised an eyebrow, "You’re helping me earn merit? Are you short on money? You just made fifty taels of silver—even if you went to the Red Dress Lane, you wouldn’t spend it all in a month. Unless you went to the White Dress Lane? Let me warn you, those Yangzhou ‘thin horses’ are trained in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age. Their every move is seductive, but they’re not for someone like you, a mere apprentice."
Chen Ji chuckled, "Lord Yun Yang, aren’t you happy that I’m helping you earn merit? If you rise to a high position someday, maybe you can help me get a position in the Secret Spy Bureau."
Yun Yang didn’t comment, "Do you think the remaining members of the Liu family are also involved?"
"I’ll know after I see them."
Yun Yang didn’t waste any more words.
He took out a black blindfold, "Close your eyes. The location of the Inner Prison is a secret—you can’t know it. And plug your ears too."
With his eyes closed and ears plugged, Chen Ji’s world fell silent.
The bustling noise of Luo City seemed to fade away.
Yun Yang lifted the curtain and went out to drive the carriage.
Slowly, the carriage moved along the cobblestone road.
Unnoticed by anyone, a small black cat had perched on the roof, swaying with the carriage as it headed south.
Old Man Yao stopped his testing, stood at the medical hall’s entrance with his hands behind his back, and watched the carriage leave, lost in thought.
...
"We’re here!"
Yun Yang removed the cotton from Chen Ji’s ears and pulled him out of the carriage.
Seeing Chen Ji take out a gray cloth to cover his nose and mouth, Yun Yang smirked, "You’re quite cautious."
Chen Ji smiled, "The Inner Prison of Luo City must have been thoroughly infiltrated by the Liu family. Otherwise, how did they learn of Liu Shiyu’s death so quickly? Investigating the Liu family’s case in such a place naturally requires caution. Speaking of which... isn’t Lord Yun Yang angry that the Secret Spy Bureau’s Inner Prison has been infiltrated like this?"
Yun Yang sneered, "The prison guards in Luo City were all sent to Lingnan last night. The current staff has been transferred from elsewhere."
Blindfolded, Chen Ji stumbled along as Yun Yang led him.
He noticed the area was eerily quiet, with only the occasional birdcall breaking the silence.
They reached a heavy iron door.
Yun Yang knocked three times quickly, then twice slowly.
The door creaked open with a grating, rusty sound.
Inside, a young spy awaited them.
Entering the Inner Prison, Yun Yang said, "You can remove the blindfold now."
Chen Ji opened his eyes, shielding them from the light as he took in his surroundings.
A narrow staircase sloped downward, leading deep into the earth.
Along the walls, an oil lamp hung every fifteen steps, like ghostly lanterns guiding the way.
Strangely, beneath each lamp was a carved Bagua symbol.
Chen Ji asked curiously, "What’s with these Bagua symbols?"
Yun Yang recalled, "Seven years ago, the Prime Minister brought in an expert in the esoteric arts who drew these in every Inner Prison. The legend is... each lamp represents a cell. As long as the lamp burns, the prisoner won’t die."
Chen Ji frowned, "What does that mean?"
Yun Yang shrugged, "How should I know?"
The young spy led Yun Yang and Chen Ji deeper into the prison.
At the bottom, a stone corridor stretched into the darkness, with dim cells "embedded" in the walls.
As they appeared, prisoners clung to the iron bars, crying out, "Sir, I’m innocent! I’ve had no dealings with the Jing Dynasty spies! My elderly mother is over sixty, and I have two children to feed. Please, let me go!"
The pleas for mercy were endless, but Yun Yang acted as if he didn’t hear them, "Let’s go. The records are further in."
However, as Chen Ji took a step forward, he froze.
In the dim light of the Inner Prison, two streams of grayish-white ice flew out from a cell and entered his body through his forehead.
Yun Yang turned back, "What’s wrong?"
Chen Ji’s expression remained calm, "Nothing. It’s my first time in the Inner Prison. Seeing these emaciated prisoners is a bit unsettling."
Yun Yang smiled, "I was scared too at first. You’ll get used to it."
Chen Ji took another step, and as he and Yun Yang ventured deeper, more streams of grayish-white ice flew out from the cells.
They seemed to sense Chen Ji’s presence, swirling toward him like dragons in the air.
Chen Ji watched in awe as hundreds of icy streams entered his body through his forehead, converging and settling in his dantian.
The energy of the ice streams was overwhelming, threatening to extinguish the fire within him!
(End of Chapter)