The pitch-black Tongji Street.
Under normal circumstances, Tongji Street would be bustling with activity at this hour.
Merchants would invite opera troupes to entertain guests at their homes, carriages would line up in long queues, and coachmen would gather at street corners, gambling and boasting.
But today, Tongji Street was eerily quiet.
Many merchants had fled overnight, fearing they might be arrested by the Secret Intelligence Bureau and falsely accused of being spies from the Jing Dynasty, just to boost the bureau's achievements.
In an abandoned mansion, seven black-clad figures wearing bamboo hats stood solemnly around the corpse of Manager Yuan, resembling seven statues.
While Chen Ji pondered, the others dared not utter a word, afraid to disturb his thoughts.
The events that had just unfolded at the Welcome Inn were still fresh in their minds.
With their new, highly perceptive superior present, the spies didn’t dare even breathe heavily, as if a massive boulder were pressing down on their heads.
Chen Ji stared at the unmoved corpse of Manager Yuan and suddenly asked, “The knife wounds are all aimed at vital points, consistent with the killer’s technique at the Welcome Inn. This suggests the same person was responsible for both scenes. Among the Jing Dynasty scoundrels, is there anyone skilled with a short blade? Killers who favor short blades are rare.”
Xifeng quickly replied, “There is one who is exceptionally skilled with a short blade. Colleagues in Jinling once tried to capture him, but he killed over a dozen of them before jumping into the Qinhuai River and escaping… We suspect it might be him, but he’s never shown any skill with a broken blade before, which makes us uncertain.”
Chen Ji asked, “How long ago was the Jinling incident?”
Xifeng answered, “About three years ago.”
Chen Ji nodded. “Three years is a long time. It’s possible he’s mastered new techniques since then. For now, consider him the prime suspect and issue a wanted notice.”
After all, Gui was returning to the Jing Dynasty, so it wouldn’t hurt to have him shoulder some of the Secret Intelligence Bureau’s hatred.
But then Xifeng hesitated, “We can’t. This man is extremely cautious. During the last fight, he wore a green-faced, fanged mask, so no one saw his face. We can’t issue a wanted notice. However, Lord Jinzhu has already led a team out of the city to block all major routes. They won’t escape.”
Chen Ji’s heart sank.
So, Jinzhu had personally gone to set up checkpoints.
He casually asked, “Are you sure the Jing Dynasty spies have already fled Luocheng?”
Xifeng thought for a moment and said, “We can’t be certain, but the Jing Dynasty spies’ main goal was to steal our firearms. Now that they’ve succeeded, their priority must be to transport the firearms back to the Jing Dynasty. Staying here would be pointless.”
Chen Ji didn’t know that after he had used three firearms the previous night, the incident had been urgently reported to the capital and the border troops, becoming a top priority.
All land and water routes to the north were being sealed off one by one, determined to prevent the Jing Dynasty spies from taking the firearms back.
In reality, the Jing Dynasty hadn’t obtained the firearms, but everyone believed they had.
The Secret Intelligence Bureau was now sealing off all northern routes with the highest level of urgency.
Fortunately, Gui hadn’t chosen to head directly north, or he might have already walked into a trap.
Chen Ji crouched down beside Manager Yuan’s corpse, pondering his next move.
First, he definitely couldn’t pursue Gui and Wu Hongbiao.
If he caught them, he’d be in trouble too.
Second, he had to capture some Jing Dynasty spies, or Jinzhu wouldn’t let him off the hook.
But who should he capture?
Wait, he suddenly realized who he should go after.
Chen Ji calmly asked, “Xifeng, when you found the body, was he already naked? Were there any clues to identify him?”
Xifeng crouched beside Chen Ji and whispered, “This man was a traveling official from the Jing Dynasty’s Kujue Temple, likely a spy. We’re still investigating his other identities… For now, there are no other clues.”
Chen Ji frowned. “No other clues? What have you been doing all day?”
The spies felt the pressure mounting.
Xifeng quickly said, “We had all the residents of Tongji Street come and identify him, but no one recognized him. This mansion belongs to a Huizhou merchant and has been abandoned for over a year… We even brought in local brokers and neighborhood heads to help identify him. We’ve been at it all day, but there’s just no lead.”
The corpse seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
No one within several miles recognized him.
It wasn’t that the spies hadn’t tried—there simply were no clues.
Chen Ji said calmly, “It’s freezing cold. He couldn’t have walked out of the house naked. The killer must have stripped him after killing him. Why would the killer take his clothes? Because his clothes were distinctive enough to identify him.”
Xifeng asked, “Sir, do you have a plan for how to proceed?”
“How many people does the Secret Intelligence Bureau still have in Luocheng?”
“Lord Jinzhu left forty-two men behind to guard the city.”
“Bring them all here and seal off the East Market,” Chen Ji stood up and said slowly, “Since reasoning isn’t getting us anywhere, we’ll use a more straightforward elimination method. This man must have lived in Luocheng, and his disappearance wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. Call the neighborhood heads and brokers of the East Market and investigate all missing persons within the area. Whoever has mysteriously disappeared—that’s our victim.”
At this point, there was no longer a Manager Yuan at the Hundred Deer Pavilion.
The only clue pointed to the Hundred Deer Pavilion.
Once Manager Yuan’s disappearance was confirmed, Chen Ji would have a reason to raid the Hundred Deer Pavilion, interrogate its people, and give Jinzhu a satisfactory report.
Following the clues, there was no way he could go wrong.
Chen Ji knew that Gui had taken Manager Yuan’s clothes to prevent the Secret Intelligence Bureau from connecting the case to the Hundred Deer Pavilion and disrupting the Military Intelligence Bureau’s financial operations.
But what did that have to do with Chen Ji? The Hundred Deer Pavilion was stocked with ginseng, which was exactly what he needed.
…
…
Late at night, the neighborhood head was dragged out of his home by the spies, trembling as he followed them, afraid that the slightest misstep would provoke these living demons into devouring him.
Xifeng held a torch, leading the spies as they knocked on the doors of shops one by one, conducting thorough searches.
The once-quiet shops were filled with frightened voices.
Shopkeepers and clerks, caught in their sleep, were dragged out into the street without even time to put on their coats, shivering in the cold.
Xifeng and the others wore stern expressions.
Only after the neighborhood head confirmed that no one was missing from the shops did the spies allow the shopkeepers and clerks to return to their beds.
Chen Ji followed silently behind the spies, his mind not on these unrelated shops.
He was waiting for them to get closer and closer to the Hundred Deer Pavilion.
To avoid provoking a desperate counterattack from the Jing Dynasty spies inside the Hundred Deer Pavilion, he stayed at the back.
But just as they were about to reach the Hundred Deer Pavilion, Chen Ji felt something was off… it was too quiet.
The Hundred Deer Pavilion seemed oblivious to what was happening outside.
No one tried to flee, as if it were just an ordinary shop.
The next moment, Xifeng stepped forward and knocked on the front door of the Hundred Deer Pavilion.
Inside, someone unlatched the door.
With a creak, the door opened from within.
A young clerk, rubbing his sleepy eyes, squinted at the torchlight and shielded his face with his hand. “Who is it? What’s going on at this hour?”
Xifeng didn’t speak, but the neighborhood head stepped forward with a household register and asked with a smile, “A murder happened on Tongji Street, but we can’t identify the victim. We’re checking every household to see if anyone is missing. Young man, could you please gather everyone in the shop? We’ll be quick.”
“Oh…” The young clerk turned and called into the house, “Manager! The neighborhood head is here. They want to check if anyone’s missing.”
Chen Ji’s muscles tensed, ready to either kill or retreat at any moment.
But then, he froze.
A portly figure emerged from inside, followed by five clerks.
The man smiled and said, “Neighborhood Head, everyone from the Hundred Deer Pavilion is here. No one’s missing.”
Manager Yuan!
Chen Ji almost thought he was seeing things, but after a closer look, the portly figure in front of him, dressed in a bright red satin robe and wearing a golden crown, was unmistakably Manager Yuan!
For a moment, Chen Ji felt disoriented.
At the Hundred Deer Pavilion, Si Cao Gui had slit the throat of one Manager Yuan.
On Tongji Street, Chen Ji himself had slit the throat of another Manager Yuan.
But now, here at the Hundred Deer Pavilion, yet another Manager Yuan had appeared!
It was as if this man couldn’t be killed, like a lingering ghost that refused to be dispelled.
Chen Ji wanted to grab him by the collar and demand, “Are you human or a ghost?!”
He stared intently at Manager Yuan’s pale face, knowing it was a new human skin mask.
After the Military Intelligence Bureau discovered the death of Si Cao ‘Xin,’ they must have found a new person to replace him, complete with a pre-prepared mask.
Should he expose the mask now?
But if he did, how would he explain to Xifeng how he knew it was a mask? Xifeng wasn’t a fool, and he might even realize that Chen Ji had been targeting the Hundred Deer Pavilion all along.
At the entrance of the Hundred Deer Pavilion, the neighborhood head said to Xifeng, “Sir, the Hundred Deer Pavilion is a long-standing business in the East Market. They’ve always had the same number of people. There’s no mistake.”
Xifeng looked at Manager Yuan. “These days, Luocheng is unstable. If you notice anything unusual, report it to us immediately.”
Manager Yuan smiled and said, “Of course, of course. We’re law-abiding citizens of Luocheng. Helping you catch criminals is our duty.”
Xifeng nodded, simply instructing them to “lock the doors and windows” before moving on to the next shop.
Chen Ji ultimately didn’t expose the mask.
He turned and followed Xifeng, leaving Manager Yuan and the clerks standing calmly at the threshold of the Hundred Deer Pavilion, their expressions unreadable.
Just then, a spy rushed over from the distance.
When he reached them, he said to Xifeng, “Sir, while we were investigating at Li’s Tailor Shop with the broker, we got an important lead. The shopkeeper said that last night, when we were sealing off Red Clothes Alley, he saw four armed martial artists sneaking out from the back of the alley. They might be the Jing Dynasty spies!”
Chen Ji’s heart sank.
Could it be the four who had abandoned the young master and Bai Li?!
(End of Chapter)