On the official road of Luo City, Yun Yang sat on his horse, waiting.
The Jiefan Guards from Mengjin Camp would arrive in just one hour.
With Jiao Tu holding the royal command flag, no one would dare to disobey.
Behind him, more than a dozen spies stood silently on their horses.
Dressed in black, they were like solid rocks in a river, and the flow of people on the road parted around them like water.
The fearsome reputation of the Spy Bureau and the Main Punishment Bureau was not something ordinary people dared to provoke.
At that moment, the sound of galloping horses approached from the distance, growing louder like rolling thunder.
Jiao Tu, clad in black, led the way, followed closely by five hundred Jiefan Guards, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The guards wore straw raincoats, bamboo hats, and had long swords strapped to their saddles.
Black cloth covered their mouths and noses, giving them a fierce, dragon-like appearance.
"Excellent, you’ve brought the entire camp!" Yun Yang chuckled as he rode forward to meet them, his laughter filled with confidence.
But when the two groups met, Yun Yang’s expression darkened.
He frowned at Lin Zhaoqing, who was among the crowd.
"Commander Lin, why are you here?"
Lin Zhaoqing replied sternly, "As the commander of the Main Punishment Bureau, I naturally need to inquire when you mobilize the Jiefan Guards without reason. I need to know what you’re planning. The royal command flag is powerful, but if misused, the consequences will be severe."
Yun Yang rode up to Lin Zhaoqing until they were just two feet apart, their gazes locked.
"This matter has already been reported to the Inner Minister. With the royal command flag in hand, I don’t need to inform you. Moreover, I must guard against any traitors among you. If the news leaks, you won’t be able to bear the responsibility."
Lin Zhaoqing glanced around, his sharp eyes cutting through the spies like knives.
"And what about that masked kid? Is this his decision?"
"What do you mean?" Yun Yang frowned.
"Does the Spy Bureau need a mere apprentice to make decisions?"
Lin Zhaoqing scoffed.
"If you cause a disaster this time, no one will be able to save you. Let’s go. I’ll see what you’re up to."
"Ha! Lin Zhaoqing, when Jiao Tu and I accomplish this great feat, you’ll be envious!" Yun Yang spurred his horse and led the five hundred riders straight toward Beimang Mountain.
As they rode, Lin Zhaoqing grew more and more alarmed by their direction.
When he caught sight of the distant mountain cemetery, he couldn’t help but ask, "Are you heading to the Liu family’s ancestral tomb?!"
Yun Yang laughed heartily.
"Jiao Tu and I discovered that the tomb of the Liu family’s patriarch contains an empty coffin. The Liu family recently petitioned the emperor to posthumously honor the patriarch, but now they’ve committed the crime of deceiving the emperor! No one is allowed to leave, or they’ll be treated as traitors!"
The five hundred riders charged up Beimang Mountain, where over a hundred tomb guardians from the Liu family blocked their path with wooden barricades.
One of the guardians shouted at Yun Yang, "This is the Liu family’s ancestral tomb! Generations of our ancestors rest here, along with twelve imperial plaques of loyalty and filial piety. How dare you trespass?!"
Yun Yang ignored him and roared, "Follow me and trample Beimang Mountain! Our moment of glory is now! Kill anyone who stands in our way!"
He charged forward, his horse leaping over the wooden barricades.
One of the Liu family’s guardians leaped into the air, swinging his sword at Yun Yang.
But Lin Zhaoqing, riding behind Yun Yang, drew his sword and casually threw the scabbard, which struck the guardian mid-air and sent him tumbling to the ground.
The Jiefan Guards followed, their horses trampling the Liu family’s defenders with ease.
The defensive line was as fragile as paper before the guards.
In no time, Yun Yang reached the tomb of the Liu family’s patriarch.
He pointed at the stone door and commanded, "Jiefan Guards, break open the tomb, open the coffin, and inspect the body!"
But just then, a familiar voice called out from the distance.
"Lord Yun Yang, do you know the consequences of what you’re about to do?"
Yun Yang turned and saw Liu Mingxian, still dressed in mourning clothes, slowly stepping forward from the crowd.
Behind him were more than ten fierce-looking men, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.
Jiao Tu whispered, "Those are the Liu family’s hired enforcers."
"No matter how skilled they are, one man can’t break a military formation unless those few experts are here!" Yun Yang dismissed the concern.
"Liu Mingxian, your patriarch isn’t dead. You can take off those mourning clothes! Men, break open the tomb!"
Liu Mingxian shouted angrily, "Who dares?!"
"It’s not up to you!"
The Jiefan Guards were the elite of the inner court.
They only followed orders, whether you were a magistrate of Luo City or the capital.
In the next moment, the guards dismounted and charged with their swords, scattering the Liu family’s defenders and reaching the patriarch’s tomb.
Jiao Tu grabbed a long sword from one of the spies and coldly ordered, "Step aside!"
The Jiefan Guards parted in unison, allowing her to drag the sword forward and strike the tomb with a single, powerful blow.
With a loud crash, the stone tomb split in two and collapsed, revealing the coffin inside.
Yun Yang strode forward and stood before the coffin, sneering.
"Liu Mingxian, let’s see you talk your way out of this now!"
With that, he forcefully opened the coffin.
The world fell silent.
Everyone stopped fighting and stared in shock.
The coffin had been opened!
It was said that once a body was placed in a coffin, it should never be exposed to the sky or touch the ground, or the soul would wander the earth, never finding peace.
But the patriarch of the Liu family, who had served in the imperial court for over a decade, now had his coffin opened by force.
Yun Yang declared, "Liu Mingxian, what do you have to say now?"
Jiao Tu, standing beside him, looked into the coffin and gasped.
"What’s going on?!"
Yun Yang turned and froze.
To his astonishment, the patriarch of the Liu family lay peacefully inside the coffin.
Liu Mingxian broke down in tears, collapsing to the ground.
"Grandfather, your unfilial grandson has allowed these eunuchs to commit such a heinous act! I am unfilial! I deserve to die!"
Yun Yang stared at Jiao Tu in disbelief.
"Didn’t you say…"
Jiao Tu was equally stunned.
"When we checked before, the coffin was empty!"
Yun Yang took a step back.
How could this be? The coffin was supposed to be empty.
The patriarch was supposed to be alive.
How could he be lying in the coffin now?
How?!
Liu Mingxian, his eyes red from crying, glared at Lin Zhaoqing.
"Lin Zhaoqing, is this how the Main Punishment Bureau operates? Allowing the Spy Bureau to persecute a loyal servant of the court?!"
Lin Zhaoqing’s face turned grim as he looked at Yun Yang and Jiao Tu.
"Is this what you were planning to do? Men, arrest them and take them to the capital to await punishment!"
Yun Yang suddenly raised his hand.
"Wait!"
He reached out to touch the patriarch’s body, but before he could, one of Liu Mingxian’s men lunged forward and kicked him away.
"How dare you disturb the patriarch’s peace! You’re asking for death!"
This man was far stronger than he had appeared earlier.
Seeing Yun Yang in trouble, Jiao Tu charged with her sword.
But another man from Liu Mingxian’s group intercepted her.
The two clashed briefly, and Jiao Tu was sent flying, landing heavily on the ground.
She got up, furious, and was about to unleash her full power when Yun Yang shouted, "Jiao Tu, don’t! Don’t reveal your cultivation techniques!"
Jiao Tu glared at him.
"We might not lose. Let’s fight our way out and disappear."
"With five hundred Jiefan Guards here, we can’t win," Yun Yang shook his head, defeated.
"Even if we disappear, where would we go? Let’s return to the capital and face the Inner Minister."
Lin Zhaoqing mounted his horse.
"Take them away!"
Liu Mingxian, his eyes red with rage, growled, "You’re just leaving? I want these two to pay for my grandfather’s death!"
Lin Zhaoqing coldly replied, "Since when do you dictate the affairs of the Inner Court? The Inner Minister will give you justice, but until he speaks, no one can touch them."
With that, Lin Zhaoqing led Yun Yang and Jiao Tu away.
As they descended Beimang Mountain, Yun Yang gazed at Luo City in the distance.
When they had arrived, they were the proud members of the Spy Bureau’s Twelve Zodiacs, holding the royal command flag.
Now, they were prisoners.
The disaster they had caused was too great.
Even the Inner Minister might not be able to cover it up.
Yun Yang glanced at the Jiefan Guards around him and said impatiently, "You don’t need to hold onto me. I’m not going anywhere. Step back and let us talk."
The guards hesitated but eventually stepped back a few paces, still surrounding them as they walked down the mountain.
Jiao Tu moved closer to Yun Yang and whispered, "What happened? Did the Liu family get advance notice that we were going to open the coffin? But the patriarch couldn’t have just died like that. Did I see wrong that day… Wait, did Chen Ji leak the information to the Liu family?"
Yun Yang frowned and instinctively looked around, wondering if Chen Ji was watching from the shadows.
He knew he wouldn’t die—the Inner Minister still needed him to kill.
But if Chen Ji was behind this, when he returned to the Spy Bureau, he might find himself overshadowed.
He hesitated.
"Chen Ji didn’t know we were going to open the coffin today. If he could guess that, he’s even more formidable than I thought."
"He is formidable," Jiao Tu admitted.
Yun Yang didn’t want to admit that not only had he failed to use Chen Ji as a pawn, but he had also been outmaneuvered and imprisoned.
"He should be too busy to meddle. After losing her son and her nephew, the Consort Jing has gone mad. She’ll surely seek revenge on him."
Jiao Tu, though being escorted, spoke lightly.
"Forget who leaked the news. We need to find someone to contact Chen Ji and have him rescue us! Offer him money!"
Yun Yang was silent for a moment.
"But we’re under Lin Zhaoqing’s watch. How can we find someone?"
"True…"
Yun Yang suddenly said, "I have a spy in the Liu family. Maybe I’ll soon find out who leaked the information."
As the two were escorted down the mountain, Liu Mingxian stopped crying.
He stood up calmly beside the coffin, wiped his tears, and said in a steady voice, "Find out who sent us the warning."
"Someone said a letter suddenly appeared in the house. The guards didn’t notice who put it there."
Liu Mingxian frowned.
"Someone can enter our inner residence without being noticed? What are those experts I hired doing? When will you recruit some real talent?"
The surroundings fell silent.
No one dared to respond.
Liu Mingxian took a deep breath.
"There’s a powerful enforcer hiding in the shadows, someone who can infiltrate our inner residence. We must find them, no matter how difficult it is."
……
……
Chen Ji walked leisurely down the long street, staying in the shadows under the eaves.
The crowd flowed past him, but he seemed detached from the world.
Autumn leaves covered the street, creating a desolate scene.
This wasn’t the Luo City Chen Ji had imagined.
It was far crueler.
If you didn’t kill, you would be killed.
When he first arrived, he had to be cautious with every action, afraid of making a mistake or saying the wrong thing.
But now, he had learned how to navigate this world.
Though his life wasn’t glamorous, it didn’t matter.
Wu Yun poked his furry head out from Chen Ji’s arms.
"Chen Ji, there’s roasted chicken over there. Buy me some."
Chen Ji smiled.
"Alright, you’ve done a great job today. You can have whatever you want, and sleeping on my head is perfectly reasonable."
Just then, laughter and chatter came from behind them.
Chen Ji turned and saw dozens of people riding tall horses, joyfully approaching from the sunlight.
Someone shouted, "The young master is back! The young master and the two princesses have returned from Donglin Academy!"
A young man in a white mink coat rode at the front.
Liang Gou’er, who had once chopped off Lin Zhaoqing’s hat at night, was now fawningly holding the reins for him.
Liang Mao’er followed behind, carrying a long sword with a sullen expression.
Several women on white horses followed, whispering and laughing among themselves.
As the group passed by, Chen Ji noticed two riders at the back—his own brothers from the Chen family.
They rode alongside the young master, one of them teasing, "Young master, my brother and I returned to Luo City a few days ago. You left the academy earlier than us, so why are you only returning now? Where have you been playing?"
The young master laughed.
"Returning to Luo City means being under my grandfather’s watch. Of course, it’s better to come back later!"
Wu Yun whispered from Chen Ji’s arms, "Chen Ji, who are they?"
"Unimportant."
As the group passed by the eaves where Chen Ji stood, no one glanced his way.
The midday sun shone brightly on their white horses and embroidered robes, full of vigor and vitality.
Chen Ji stood in the shadows under the eaves, where only a young man and his cat remained.
……
……
Volume One, Prologue (End)