Outside the Asakura Gambling House, the Red Clothes Alley was as quiet as a quail after the rain.
In the darkness of the night, the lights of Luo City had already been extinguished, leaving only the torches held by hundreds of spies, who were sealing off the Red Clothes Alley in search of the whereabouts of the Jing Dynasty spies.
At this moment, the once-arrogant and domineering official was kneeling on the ground, bound tightly with thick iron chains.
This man, with his astonishing martial arts skills, had managed to hold off a hundred spies for half an hour.
However, as Old Man Yao had said, no matter how powerful an official might be, they would still fear the military formation.
One should never think that being strong makes one invincible—power is the most formidable force in this world.
Jin Zhu lifted the hem of his robe, picked up the torn blue cloak from the ground, and draped it over the official.
He squatted down in front of the man with a smile.
"Zhao Zhong, the hereditary official of the Zhao family in Hezhou. I remember you used to be a bodyguard for one of the Xu family's young masters. How did you end up working for the Jing Dynasty? Or... was the Xu family involved in this as well?"
Zhao Zhong's face turned ashen.
"Eunuch lackeys, imperial dogs, bah!" He spat toward Jin Zhu's face, but Jin Zhu, as if prepared, pulled out a folding fan from his sleeve and opened it to block the spit.
Jin Zhu wasn't angry.
He just smiled and said, "The once-mighty hereditary official of the Zhao family is now nothing more than a prisoner. Take him to the inner prison. Sooner or later, he'll spill all the secrets of his cultivation to the inner minister. Take him away!"
With that, he stood up and looked at the spies holding torches, standing silently.
"Today is a great victory. After you take him to the inner prison, rest early. Tomorrow, I'll treat you all to the best feast in Luo City at the Eight Immortals Pavilion!"
A trusted spy beside him whispered, "Sir, Chen Ji was chased out and hasn't been seen since."
Jin Zhu slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Ah, I almost forgot about him! A mere apprentice from a small clinic being chased by spies—he's probably dead. The inner minister just promoted him into the spy agency, and if he dies the next day under my watch, people will think I'm jealous of talent. Quick, go find him! We must save his life!"
But after saying this loudly, Jin Zhu turned and whispered to the spy beside him, "Even though he risked his life to tackle the spy and fell from the second floor, he didn't think to return to the gambling house to regroup with us. Instead, he ran outside... Now, even if someone said he went to report to the Jing Dynasty's military intelligence, I'd believe it. Tonight, we must find him—alive or dead!"
"Sir, what if he's still alive?"
"Then make him explain what he did tonight and why he didn't return to regroup with us!"
"Sir, what if he's dead?"
"Then he's dead. Bury him properly."
The spy was puzzled.
"Sir, didn't you want to invest in him?"
Jin Zhu rolled his eyes at his trusted subordinate.
"Of course, I wanted to invest in him. Do you know how valuable it is to be personally selected by the inner minister to join the spy agency? But I can't invest in a Jing Dynasty spy or a dead man, can I?"
......
The air after the rain carried a unique earthy scent.
Chen Ji was sneaking along the shadows of the gray walls and tiles, soaked to the bone.
The wet clothes clung to his body, making him feel colder with each step.
He unwrapped the bandages around his wound and saw that the edges of the flesh had turned white from being soaked in water.
If he didn't treat it soon, he might fall seriously ill.
But how could he have time to tend to his wounds now? After escaping from the gambling house, no matter how convincing his act had been, Jin Zhu would surely be suspicious.
If he couldn't explain his whereabouts later, it would be truly fatal.
At this moment, Chen Ji wasn't heading back to the Peaceful Clinic.
Instead, he was returning to the alley where he had killed the Jing Dynasty spy to stage a fake battle scene, pretending he had passed out there after the fight.
Wait.
Chen Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He felt like he had missed some crucial detail, something that could expose him.
What was it?
What was it!
Chen Ji suddenly looked down at the wound on his chest and realized what he had missed.
He took the long knife from the Jing Dynasty spy and carefully cut a gash on his right thigh before continuing on his way.
Chen Ji staggered, occasionally avoiding the night watchmen patrolling the streets.
He felt weaker and weaker, to the point where he could barely keep his eyes open.
At one point, he wondered if it was worth it to risk his life tonight without resolving the threat.
That Wu Hongbiao had appeared out of nowhere, catching him off guard.
Had Wu Hongbiao lied? Chen Ji tended to think not.
When they first met, they had immediately clashed.
At that time, Wu Hongbiao still had the strength to fight and didn't need to pretend.
But after recognizing Chen Ji, he had relaxed and fallen to the ground, even throwing away his knife, effectively placing his life in Chen Ji's hands.
A man who risked his life to warn him—even if Chen Ji had never met him before and felt no emotional connection—he couldn't bring himself to kill him.
In this era, the law-abiding lived in constant worry, while the strong reveled every night.
This era was indeed sick, but Chen Ji wasn't a product of this time.
As the alley grew closer... just one street away, Chen Ji saw torchlight approaching from the distance, as if someone was searching for something.
He quickly hid in the shadows beneath a wall, thinking fast.
The approaching figures were undoubtedly from the spy agency.
If he walked out now, he would definitely run into them.
Should he retreat?
No, he had to return to that alley to cover up tonight's events.
Chen Ji struggled to climb onto the roof, carefully crouching to avoid detection.
Several times, spies looked up at the roof, forcing him to lie flat and crawl forward slowly.
Time passed minute by minute, and Chen Ji's strength was nearly spent.
Finally, the alley was within reach.
He grabbed the edge of the wall and quietly slid down.
But as he landed, his legs gave out, and he collapsed into a puddle of water.
He had lost too much blood and was completely exhausted.
Chen Ji struggled to his feet, dragged the Jing Dynasty spy's body out from the pile of debris, and arranged the surroundings to look like a battle scene.
Then he positioned the spy's body to match the final moments when he had strangled the man with the knife sheath, lying on his back, pretending that he had passed out after killing the spy due to his severe injuries.
But his injuries weren't severe enough to dispel Jin Zhu's suspicions!
A look of determination flashed in Chen Ji's eyes.
He placed the dagger in the spy's hand, then gripped the spy's hand and drove the blade into the wound he had just cut on his thigh, pushing it in to the hilt.
In an instant, searing pain shot through him.
Chen Ji's body convulsed, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his forehead.
But from start to finish, he clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound.
Not only that, Chen Ji cupped water from the puddle and continuously poured it over the wound, ensuring that the blood seeping from it wouldn't show any difference between before and after the rain.
Chen Ji forced himself to finish all this, and only when he vaguely saw torchlight flickering at the entrance of the alley did he slowly close his eyes, relax his mind, and truly pass out.
......
After an unknown amount of time, Jin Zhu, guided by the spies, squatted down beside Chen Ji to examine him.
First, he pried open Chen Ji's eyelids and waved a torch in front of his eyes.
"No eyelid twitching, slow pupil contraction... he really is unconscious."
Jin Zhu then felt the wound on the spy's neck.
"Strangled with a knife sheath, and before dying, he stabbed this kid in the thigh... I didn't expect this kid to single-handedly kill a spy. I underestimated him."
But then Jin Zhu's tone shifted.
"But the Jing Dynasty spy's skills far surpass those of an ordinary person. How did this kid manage to win? Could it really be that fortune favors the brave... Wait, strip Chen Ji's clothes. I need to check his wounds. He might have left midway and then returned to add these injuries."
In the next moment, the spies tore off Chen Ji's pants and shirt, revealing the knife wounds.
Both wounds had turned white and swollen from being soaked in water for so long.
Fortunately, Chen Ji had cut a gash on his thigh earlier, allowing it to swell from the water.
Otherwise, if Jin Zhu had discovered that the wound was fresh, it would have been a dead giveaway.
This was the detail Chen Ji had almost missed.
The spy said to Jin Zhu, "Sir, the knife wounds are old. They haven't been faked. With such a wound on his leg, he couldn't have moved freely. He must have passed out here after fighting the spy."
Jin Zhu breathed a sigh of relief.
"It seems there's really no problem... Was I being too suspicious?"
"Sir, what should we do now? Should we take him to get treated?"
"No," Jin Zhu shook his head.
"Take him to the inner prison and have a doctor treat him there. If he wakes up, inform me immediately. I still have some questions for him. People are most vulnerable when they're weak, and that's when they're most likely to talk."
"Understood."
But at that moment, a voice came from outside the alley.
"Gentlemen, have you seen my apprentice? He's tall and thin, wearing black clothes."
Jin Zhu narrowed his eyes and looked toward the alley entrance.
There stood Old Man Yao, his hair and beard white, asking the spies.
As he asked, Old Man Yao turned his gaze into the alley and frowned.
"Sir Jin Zhu, what brings you to Luo City?"
"Good evening, Physician Yao. Looking for your apprentice in the middle of the night?" Jin Zhu smiled and took a step forward, blocking Chen Ji from view.
Old Man Yao walked closer and asked, "Have you seen my apprentice?"
"No," Jin Zhu shook his head.
"Physician Yao, you should look elsewhere."
"Who is behind you, Sir Jin Zhu?" Old Man Yao had already approached and looked at Chen Ji lying on the ground.
"Isn't that my apprentice? Why did you lie, Sir Jin Zhu? Why is he lying here?"
Jin Zhu awkwardly laughed.
"Hahaha, so he's your apprentice. I didn't know earlier. He was injured by a Jing Dynasty spy, and I was just about to take him for treatment."
Old Man Yao nodded.
"Then please have two of your spies carry him back to the Peaceful Clinic."
Jin Zhu instinctively said, "No."
Old Man Yao was puzzled.
"Is there anywhere in Luo City better at treating injuries than my Peaceful Clinic? Or has my apprentice done something wrong?"
Jin Zhu hesitated.
"He hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, he's done a great service."
Old Man Yao breathed a sigh of relief, but his tone grew serious.
"If he had done something wrong, Sir Jin Zhu, you could deal with him as you see fit. But if he hasn't done anything wrong, then I will write to the inner minister and ask him why the spy agency is detaining my apprentice."
Jin Zhu was silent for a long time before finally waving to the spies.
"Help Physician Yao carry Chen Ji back."
He stood in the alley, watching Old Man Yao's retreating figure, frowning.
After a moment, Jin Zhu muttered to himself, "Something feels off..."
......
In his unconscious state, Chen Ji lay on a swaying carriage, feeling as if he were adrift on the sea.
The sixteen furnace fires near his dantian flickered unsteadily, as if they were about to go out at any moment.
The long-dormant icy current within him was stirring restlessly.
Chen Ji felt as if he had been swept up by the icy current and carried to the black sea of clouds, drifting like a lone boat for who knows how long, until he once again drifted to that ancient battlefield.
The sounds of battle, the clashing of metal, like gods fighting.
Chen Ji saw countless ancient birds swirling in the sky, their long, dazzling tails trailing behind them!
He saw human battle formations advancing on the ground, with human cavalry mounted on towering warhorses—no, to be precise, those weren't horses anymore.
Anything under eight feet was a foal, but anything over eight feet was a dragon!
On the other side of the human battle formations, countless giant beasts seemed to be circling something, wailing incessantly!
Chen Ji fell from the sea of clouds and landed on a green mountain at the edge of the battlefield.
He saw a tall figure in golden armor, holding a royal banner, walking steadfastly through the army.
Beside him, a green light streaked like a meteor, piercing through one enemy after another.
After a long time, Chen Ji finally saw clearly that the dazzling meteor was actually a hiltless "sword"!
But at that moment, the towering figure suddenly looked toward Chen Ji on the mountain.
"Return my divine path!"
"Return my sword seed!"
"Return my green mountain!"
"Or else give me your life!"
In the next moment, a tide of sword light blotted out the sky, suffocating and overwhelming.
The mountain wind howled, making Chen Ji's clothes flap wildly.
But this time, Chen Ji wasn't afraid.
He faced the towering figure and the overwhelming tide of sword light, calmly asking, "Why should I?"
His voice echoed like a giant axe splitting the mountain, rumbling through the air.
As soon as he spoke, furnace fires ignited within Chen Ji's body—one, two, three... six hundred and eighteen, seven hundred and twenty!
The light from the furnace fires shone through his body, as brilliant as stars!
In the face of these stars, the tide of sword light split like water hitting an island!
The towering figure was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter that echoed through the clouds.
"You've returned! It's really you who's returned!"
......
"Chen Ji? Chen Ji!"
"Why are you calling him? He's still unconscious. Don't call him!"
"But I saw his eyelids move... Hey, hey, look, he's opening his eyes... Master! Master! Chen Ji's awake!"
Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying in the apprentice dormitory of the clinic.
The first thing he did was check his internal state, only to find that the furnace fires were still at sixteen.
It had all been just a dream.
He looked up and saw a crowd of faces leaning over him...
She Dengke, Liu Quxing, Liang Gou'er, Liang Mao'er, the young master, Princess Baili, and the little monk?
Chen Ji couldn't figure out why the last three were in the dimly lit apprentice dormitory.
He tried to prop himself up on his elbows to sit, but Liu Quxing pushed him back down.
"Don't move, don't move. Master said you shouldn't move."
Chen Ji glanced at the sky outside.
It was still night.
He asked, "How long was I unconscious?"
"A whole day!" Liu Quxing said.
"You scared us to death!"
Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat.
He had been unconscious for a whole day?
Had he managed to fool Jin Zhu?
What about Wu Hongbiao? Had he escaped, or had the spy agency or military intelligence found him?
But at least he hadn't woken up in the inner prison...
That was good news.
(End of Chapter)