Was Old Master Liu truly dead? No one knew for sure.
Aside from the Liu family, no one had seen his body.
The inner prison was eerily quiet, almost suffocating.
Yun Yang waved his hand, and all the spies in the room silently retreated.
He suddenly stood up and began pacing back and forth.
"Old Master Liu isn’t dead. We must have touched on something critical, and the Liu family panicked. This is their way of forcing us to back off."
Chen Ji feigned surprise.
"Old Master Liu isn’t dead? Surely the Liu family wouldn’t fake something this serious? Liu Mingxian looked genuinely grief-stricken."
Yun Yang sneered.
"Officials in the court have done far worse things for power and profit. A man in his nineties faking his death to protect his family isn’t that strange. As for Liu Mingxian, those civil officials are experts at putting on a show."
He turned to Chen Ji.
"What do you think I should do?"
Chen Ji lowered his gaze, then replied after a moment, "Open the coffin and examine the body."
Yun Yang was startled.
"Old Master Liu is the Empress Dowager’s biological father. Investigating the Liu family is one thing, but opening his coffin is suicide! I’m just realizing now that you’re even bolder than I am. What if he really is dead?"
Chen Ji held the Eight Trigrams Lantern in his hands and looked directly at Yun Yang.
"Even if Old Master Liu is truly dead, wouldn’t you regret not opening the coffin to see for yourself?"
Yun Yang paced rapidly, considering all the possibilities.
Finally, he stopped and said firmly, "Open the coffin and examine the body!"
At that moment, a cold wind swept through the inner prison, causing the lantern in Chen Ji’s hand to flicker.
Earlier, Chen Ji had only collected the icy currents from cells A and B, not daring to venture further.
But now, the icy currents from cells C, D, E, and F surged forward, seemingly eager to escape.
Chen Ji felt the icy currents within him becoming harder to suppress.
This place was no longer safe.
He stood up and said, "Master Yun Yang, I’ve been away for a while. My master must be worried. Please send me back."
Yun Yang chuckled darkly.
"It was your idea, and now you want to leave? You’re coming with us. We can’t bring other coroners, and you have some talent in this area. If Old Master Liu is in the coffin, you can help determine the cause of death. If something goes wrong, none of us are getting out of this."
Chen Ji hesitated.
"Master Yun Yang, the credit will be yours and Jiao Tu’s. I’m just offering advice."
"And if we don’t bring you along, what if your advice leads us to our deaths?" Yun Yang sneered.
"Let’s go. We’ll pick up Jiao Tu and head to the Liu family ancestral graves before nightfall."
Yun Yang and Jiao Tu weren’t skilled at capturing spies, but they were experts at self-preservation, shifting blame, and taking credit.
He blindfolded Chen Ji again and asked curiously, "Why are you always holding that Eight Trigrams Lantern?"
With that, he snatched it from Chen Ji’s hands and placed it back in its original spot.
Chen Ji allowed Yun Yang to drag him out of the inner prison, stumbling along the way.
In the swaying carriage, he sat upright, clenching his teeth.
Without the lantern, the icy currents within him ran wild.
The gray curtains of the carriage window fluttered in the wind, and the setting sun outside cast a cold light on his face, offering no warmth.
After some time, someone lifted the carriage curtain, and a cold, crisp fragrance filled the air as Jiao Tu climbed in.
"Oh? Yun Yang, why did you bring this kid?"
Yun Yang, driving the carriage, replied, "It was his idea, so naturally, he’s coming along."
Jiao Tu removed Chen Ji’s blindfold and the cotton from his ears, then asked curiously, "Yun Yang, I heard you exiled all the guards from Luo City’s inner prison to Lingnan? Won’t Prison Rat be angry with you for acting without her permission? After all, the inner prison is her territory."
Yun Yang smirked.
"She should be more worried about facing the Chancellor’s wrath. The inner prison has been infiltrated like a sieve, with information leaking everywhere. I’ll definitely report her for this."
Jiao Tu pondered.
"But exile to Lingnan is harsh. It’s a long journey, and malaria is rampant there. It’s a painful way to die."
Yun Yang paused.
"Ah… what should we do then?"
"Just kill them in Luo City. Why bother sending them so far?" Jiao Tu said seriously.
"Good point."
Jiao Tu then turned to Chen Ji and said earnestly, "You wouldn’t betray us, right? Betraying us would mean death."
Chen Ji smiled.
"Master Jiao Tu, if I betray you and Yun Yang, who else would I make money from?"
"Good to know!" Jiao Tu said with a grin.
She raised her wrist to Chen Ji’s nose.
"Smell this. I just bought this incense from the Daughter Pavilion. Isn’t it lovely? It was quite expensive."
Yun Yang frowned.
"Why are you making him smell that!?"
Jiao Tu shot him a glance.
"Just drive the carriage. Stop meddling."
Yun Yang huffed and fell silent.
Along the way, Chen Ji saw white paper money scattered on both sides of the road, remnants of the Liu family’s funeral procession.
Yun Yang scoffed.
"They lived in luxury, and even in death, they scatter so much paper money, hoping to continue their wealth in the afterlife. Meanwhile, poor scholars can’t even afford paper."
Jiao Tu teased, "With such a strong sense of justice, you should ask the Chancellor to transfer you to the Ministry of Justice. They’re always investigating corrupt officials."
"No thanks. The Ministry of Justice is full of old fuddy-duddies. It’s boring."
……
……
As night fell, Yun Yang and Jiao Tu switched places, and Yun Yang entered the carriage to keep an eye on Chen Ji.
"By the way," Yun Yang looked directly at Chen Ji, "During the interrogation, one of the Liu family members mentioned that Liu Sheyu was close to a high-ranking figure in the Jing Prince’s residence. I suspect the Jing Prince’s residence is involved, and there might even be spies from the Jing Dynasty operating there… Have you noticed anything suspicious in the residence?"
Chen Ji’s heart tightened.
"Master Yun Yang, are you sure there are spies in the residence?"
The air in the carriage seemed to freeze, as if an invisible hand was pulling at them.
Yun Yang asked thoughtfully, "Do you think Imperial Physician Yao could be a spy from the Jing Dynasty? He’s highly respected in the Imperial Hospital in the capital, and many high-ranking officials want him to treat them. Even the Emperor wanted him to stay in the palace. But he refused and came to Luo City three years ago to serve as the physician for the Jing Prince’s residence… Doesn’t that seem suspicious?"
"It does," Chen Ji replied curiously.
"Has my master changed in recent years?"
"Imperial Physician Yao was known for being harsh in the capital, but the Chancellor once said he wasn’t like that in his early years. Back then, he was kind and even offered free medical treatment."
Chen Ji thought for a moment.
"I don’t think my master is a spy. When someone from the residence asked for his help, he refused. If he were a spy, why would he pass up the chance to get close to the residence’s important figures?"
"Good point," Yun Yang stroked his chin.
"What about your two fellow disciples? I’ve looked into them. Liu Quxing is a distant relative of the Liu family. Could he be involved?"
Chen Ji took a deep breath, looking puzzled.
"Master Yun Yang, are you indirectly suspecting me?"
Yun Yang laughed.
"How could it be you? I trust you completely. I’m just warning you to be careful of those around you."
Jiao Tu suddenly said, "Pull the carriage over by the woods. We’re almost at the Liu family ancestral graves. We’ll climb this mountain and go on foot."
The three got out of the carriage and followed the mountain path beside the main road, climbing to the top of Zhuangyuan Mountain.
Yun Yang and Jiao Tu moved quickly.
Chen Ji had expected to be out of breath, but when they reached the summit, he wasn’t even sweating.
He lay on the ground, panting heavily.
"Can we see the Liu family ancestral graves from here?"
Yun Yang pointed ahead.
"There they are, at the highest point of Beimang Mountain."
Chen Ji propped himself up and looked out.
At the peak of Beimang Mountain, he saw rows of stone tablets and stone-built tombs stretching across dozens of acres.
The Liu family ancestral graves were grand indeed.
In front of each tomb stood stone figures, stone sheep, stone tigers, and stone pillars.
Some tombs were over ten feet tall!
It was worth noting that the Ning Dynasty had strict social hierarchies.
Commoners couldn’t ride in sedan chairs, wear boots, or even wear hats unless they were officials.
Every law emphasized propriety and rank.
Tombs over ten feet tall were reserved for officials of the third rank or higher.
Yun Yang gazed at the ancestral graves and sighed.
"For a thousand years, the civil official families of the Ning Dynasty have been nobles, feeding off the common people and amassing great wealth. That’s how they can afford such grandeur."
Chen Ji felt something was off.
The Ning Dynasty had lasted for over a thousand years? That was almost unbelievable.
According to historical patterns, such a thing shouldn’t be possible.
Unless there was external interference.
At that moment, Jiao Tu said, "There’s definitely something fishy about Old Master Liu’s death. Look at the ancestral graves. There are over a hundred private soldiers stationed there, and there might even be a Xingguan guarding the place. When we sent spies to Luo City last time to gather information, they reported that only about ten people were guarding the Liu family graves."
"Then we can’t force our way in," Yun Yang frowned and looked at Jiao Tu.
"Will you handle it? I can’t be the one to open the coffin."
Jiao Tu glanced at Chen Ji.
"Have him blindfold himself and turn his back to me. You guard me."
Chen Ji obediently turned around.
He understood that the methods of a Xingguan were not to be revealed.
Once he was blindfolded, Jiao Tu sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, drew a short knife from her waist, and cut her forehead.
Yun Yang pricked his finger and painted eyes on over a dozen shadow puppets, standing guard beside Jiao Tu.
In the next moment, a shadow emerged from Jiao Tu’s forehead, like a crab shedding its shell, separating from her body.
The shadow stood firm, identical to Jiao Tu but clad in black light armor, holding a massive Green Dragon Crescent Blade taller than a person!
Jiao Tu’s body remained motionless, while the shadow spoke to Yun Yang, "I’m going."
With that, the shadow leaped off the cliff, landing on the treetops below as lightly as a feather.
With each jump, it effortlessly crossed over a dozen trees, heading straight for the Liu family ancestral graves.
Gradually, the sky darkened completely, and the shadow merged with the night.
When Jiao Tu’s shadow reached Old Master Liu’s tomb, it slipped unnoticed into the stone-built tomb as if the walls didn’t exist!
After some time, the shadow quickly retreated, returning to Jiao Tu’s forehead and disappearing.
She suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed, "The coffin is empty!"
(End of Chapter)