Prince Jing, Zhu Youxiao.
His mother, Consort Li, passed away early.
The young Prince Jing was taken in by the current Empress Dowager, growing up alongside Emperor Ning like true siblings.
When Emperor Ning ascended the throne at the age of eleven, Zhu Youxiao was fourteen, and the Empress Dowager Liu held the reins of power.
For the next six years, Zhu Youxiao worked tirelessly to rally Northern civil officials and inspectors to weaken the power of the court's powerful families.
At the age of seventeen, Emperor Ning finally took control of the government, and at twenty-one, Zhu Youxiao was granted the title of Prince Jing.
Things appeared calm at first, but during these years, Prince Jing had been busy outside the palace, reforming the bureaucracy, constructing waterways to mitigate disasters, and preparing supplies for the frontier soldiers.
His reputation continued to rise.
The Ministry of Rites began to think of ways to confront the Prince's estate.
Many of Prince Jing’s loyal subordinates were imprisoned, and even the chief eunuch by his side was replaced with someone from the Ministry of Rites.
Some whispered of a rift between Emperor Ning and Prince Jing, while others speculated that Prince Jing had begun to harbor thoughts of rebellion.
Last year, for Emperor Ning’s forty-second birthday, Prince Jing did not return to the capital due to the efforts focused on disaster relief.
Once-close brothers suddenly became strangers.
Just like in the tales told by bards, when someone becomes a king, they become dull.
Chen Ji recalled his master's superb divination skills and felt a deep sense of worry rise within him.
If his master truly intended to use the dragon energy of Prince Jing’s estate to nurture an apprentice, then the calamity that was about to befall the Prince's estate might be unavoidable.
The military intelligence agencies from Jing and Ning, along with the Liu clan, seemed like a massive whirlpool, ready to drag Prince Jing’s estate down into the depths.
As the saying goes, one seeks wealth through risk; only disasters reveal the hidden dangers.
It seemed his master was not using divination to avoid misfortune, but instead leading himself and others into a trap!
As the clouds faded, Chen Ji bid farewell to the night and climbed over the wall back to the Starry Night Pavilion.
Standing by the counter alone, he quietly pondered his current predicament.
Just then, sounds came from the backyard.
Knock, knock, knock.
He furrowed his brow; it was late at night, only two hours until dawn.
Who could be visiting at this hour? Was it the Golden Pig? What could he want at the clinic?
He walked over to open the door.
However, the moment he pulled it open, an unimaginable chill gripped his heart, and he stepped back in shock, stumbling a few paces!
Standing before him was none other than the long-dead Master Yuan from the Hundred Deer Pavilion!
Master Yuan had a pale face, an eerie smile, and emitted a chilling aura.
Chen Ji had witnessed firsthand how the Inspector had seized Master Yuan's chin and pierced a dagger inch by inch into his heart until it shattered.
But how could a person whose heart had been crushed come back to life?!
Suddenly, a heavy rumble sounded from the sky, followed by a clap of autumn thunder, and dark clouds, seemingly out of nowhere, loomed over Luocheng, bringing cold rain.
This was the first rain since Chen Ji arrived in Luocheng, unlike the continuous autumn drizzle; it fell heavily and urgently.
Amidst the thunder and lightning, Chen Ji did not retreat.
He drew a short knife that had been hidden in his sleeve and aimed it at Master Yuan’s neck.
However, before the blade could reach, Master Yuan gently raised a hand and pinched the tip of the knife with two fingers, rendering Chen Ji unable to advance even a little.
The blade came to a halt, as if time itself had frozen.
Master Yuan chuckled, saying, “No need to be so tense. It’s not the ghost of Master Yuan come to find you, it’s me, the Chief of Military Intelligence.”
Chen Ji was stunned.
He looked at the figure before him, whose expression was as natural as ever, with no hint of abnormality.
Who would have thought this was merely a human-skin mask?
A human-skin mask?
Such a thing he had only heard of in stories.
Earlier, he had wondered who would replace Master Yuan after his untimely death.
He never expected it was the Chief himself disguised as Master Yuan.
Chen Ji slowly relaxed his grip: “My apologies, Chief. I didn’t realize it was you.”
The Chief smiled and reassured him, “Being cautious is a good thing. I bear you no ill will.”
“Why do you come so late, Chief?”
“I have some bad news to share,” the Chief said solemnly. “Previously, to arrange for those aware of your existence to be recalled to the North, one of our pigeon-tier spies has defected. We’ve searched for him for two days with no trace. I suspect he might defect to the Ning dynasty’s intelligence agency… or may have already done so.”
Chen Ji tightened in alarm.
A spy from Jing who knew about his existence was defecting? Wasn’t that a death sentence for him?
“Which spy is it? Was he someone who has seen me?” Chen Ji pressed.
The Chief stepped into the clinic and closed the main door behind him, then slowly replied, “He is an associate of Zhou Chengyi; he has seen you at Zhou’s residence.”
Seen me?
Chen Ji quickly thought through his mind.
If the spy had seen him at Zhou Chengyi's estate, then he must also know of his identity as a clinic apprentice.
At this moment, that spy likely hadn’t defected yet.
If he had truly turned traitor, Gold Pig would have come with men to kill him already.
But why would he defect?
Feigning confusion, Chen Ji asked, “What’s wrong with arranging for him to retreat back to the North? He wouldn't have to live in fear in Ning, so why would that lead him to betray us?”
The Chief explained, “This man is one of our military intelligence’s best spies, known for his ruthlessness. When I sent word for him to prepare to leave, he assumed I wanted to silence him. In a panic, he killed the messenger and vanished.”
No, no, no, it can't be that simple.
Chen Ji frowned.
Given the Chief's temperament, he might genuinely want to handle the situation, but he didn’t anticipate this spy to be such a handful, turning the tables on him. “Does this spy know why you… arranged for his withdrawal?” Chen Ji questioned.
“I certainly wouldn’t inform him of that,” the Chief replied.
In that case, the defecting spy remained unaware of the reason for the plan against him.
However, if he did turn against the Ning intelligence agency, he would surely spill everything he knew, leaving Chen Ji in peril!
“Chief, do you know where he might be hiding… hmm?” Chen Ji felt something was off and swiftly retreated.
But his retreat was no match for the speed of pursuit.
In a single breath, he found himself seized by the throat and lifted off the ground.
The Chief sighed, “Do not make a sound, or I’ll kill everyone in this courtyard.”
Chen Ji struggled fiercely, his face turning as red as a beet.
Yet before someone like the Chief, who had honed his skills for years, the novice Chen Ji had no chance to resist.
Chen Ji wanted to shout for Liang Gou’er, who was deep in slumber, but his voice wouldn’t come.
He could only struggle and write with his fingers on the Chief's hand: Why kill me?
The Chief remained silent, simply gazing into Chen Ji's eyes, like observing a preserved specimen.
Thoughts raced through Chen Ji’s mind.
The Chief was killing him to erase any information the defector might reveal.
This was a common tactic in intelligence agencies—when there is a crack, the whole team must be evacuated or eliminated.
If the defector exposed Chen Ji, he might reveal the Hundred Deer Pavilion as well.
As one of Jing’s military intelligence agency's main sources of finance within Ning, that could not happen!
Panic surged in Chen Ji’s heart as he surveyed the surroundings, searching for a way to save himself, but the explosive powder was incomplete.
Even if it were finished, at this distance he would likely perish alongside the Chief.
In this world, the heaviest words are power and strength.
Chen Ji had envisioned living peacefully in the clinic as a doctor, and even wandering the lands away from the military intelligence and the Chief, but all such fantasies without support from strength and power are mere illusions.
Cultivation!
Cultivation was the most essential thing!
But what to do now?
At that moment, another knock sounded from the clinic!
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound felt muffled amidst the rain but was strikingly abrupt.
The Chief’s pupils contracted sharply.
He lifted Chen Ji and hurried to a corner of the main hall, eyeing the door uncertainly, contemplating whether to simply kill Chen Ji and rush out.
He looked at Chen Ji, who quickly wrote on his hand, I’ll handle it!
The clinic fell silent, only the sound of rain remained.
Moments later, the Chief murmured, “You know what to do. If you call for help, you will surely die first.”
Chen Ji nodded vigorously.
The Chief let go of Chen Ji slowly.
Rubbing his neck, Chen Ji calmly asked, “Who is it?”
The voice outside was relaxed: “It’s Gold Pig. Open the door, I need to talk to you. Like the deal with Yunyang and Jiao Tu, it’s fifty taels of silver for each service.”
The Chief and Chen Ji exchanged meaningful glances.
Chen Ji murmured quickly, “He hasn’t caught the defector yet; otherwise, he wouldn’t speak so politely.”
“What does he want?”
Chen Ji replied hurriedly, “It’s definitely because your search for the traitor startled the intelligence agency. They might want to find him before you do. This is a rare opportunity; I can take advantage of the intelligence agency to locate him and see what leads they have.”
The Chief’s expression remained stoic, betraying no emotion.
Outside, the voice grew insistent: “Kid, hurry up and open the door.”
Chen Ji pressed on: “Chief, even though Yunyang and Jiao Tu have been imprisoned, I have gained Gold Pig's trust; I can still get close to the Minister. I know you care about the Hundred Deer Pavilion, just as I do. This is my loyalty to Jing. Don’t worry, I will definitely find this traitor and find a way to eliminate him!”
The Chief narrowed his eyes slightly: “Think carefully about the consequences of your actions. If you call for help from Gold Pig, you will expose your identity as a spy for Jing. At that time, even if you surrender, Gold Pig won’t spare you; you know how much they despise us.”
“I understand!”
The Chief slowly withdrew behind the counter, crouching down to listen.
Chen Ji tidied his collar to hide the marks on his neck and walked swiftly to the door, pulling it open.
Outside, Gold Pig stood in a rain-soaked poncho with a broad-brimmed hat: “Why have you taken so long?”
Behind Gold Pig were more than ten spies standing in the rain, draped in similar ponchos.
Chen Ji quietly replied, “Just someone went out for a moment, so it took a bit longer… What brings you here, Gold Pig?”
Gold Pig stated, “Come with me; we’ve caught a spy from the Military Intelligence in Hongyi Alley. They seem to be searching for a defector. We must find this person first; he is very important!”
With that, Gold Pig tossed Chen Ji a poncho.
As he donned the poncho, Chen Ji casually scanned the clinic's counter.
In the end, he did not point out the Chief, merely putting on the poncho before turning to step into the heavy rain.
(End of Chapter)