Chapter 111

An old man and a cat walked alone and isolated on the long street.

“Master, what does ‘govern isolated swallow dragon’ mean?”

“It’s precisely a technique used in chess, where you isolate one piece and, by using slanted edges and step-by-step killing, you force your opponent’s ‘big dragon’ into a desperate situation and then make it thrive.” Old Yao, holding Hei Yun, slowly walked on the bluestone road. “Chen Ji’s chess style is like this, and so is the person. People often say you can observe a person through their chess, and it’s not without reason.” Old Yao sighed. “This time, if there are no unforeseen circumstances, I’m afraid that boy Jin Zhu will be utterly defeated by Chen Ji.”

“You seem very familiar with Jin Zhu, you even know his cultivation path. I heard Chen Ji say that one must not let others know their cultivation path, or it will lead to disaster.”

Old Yao thought for a moment. “Actually, I’m not very familiar with him. It’s just that when I was in the capital, I personally watched him grow from a little fatty to a big fatty, from a naive young man to how he is now.”

Hei Yun suddenly said, “Master, Chen Ji said you have many secrets.”

Old Yao was pleased. “What did he say?”

Hei Yun thought for a moment. “Can I tell you this?”

Old Yao also thought for a moment. “Did he instruct you not to say?”

“No.”

“Then just say it.”

Hei Yun nodded. “He said you clearly know about the Forty-Nine Heavens, yet you claim you don’t.”

Old Yao was startled. “How does he know I know?”

Hei Yun said, “He said that when you were making gunpowder before, you asked him who taught him that gold refining technique. You asked him if it was taught by Wu Ji Shan. Later, when he was chatting with the prince, he discovered that Wu Ji Shan is precisely one of the Forty-Nine Heavens.”

Old Yao smacked his lips. “Talking to this boy, you really can’t let a single drop of water leak. Let even a little bit of a flaw show, and he’ll catch it. You say he’s so smart, but why is he smart in all the wrong places, and still not smart enough?”

“Then where should he be smart?”

Old Yao said, “If he were truly smart, he should take you far away from the Jing Dynasty, far away from all these troubles. A truly smart person should meddle less with karma. Without ties and without burdens, there are no flaws.”

Hei Yun nodded. “So, you are his flaw.”

Old Yao laughed in anger. “Forget it, I can’t explain it clearly to you, you little cat.”

“Master, where are we going now?”

Old Yao thought for a moment and said, “Naturally, we’re going to Peony Bridge to take a look. Chen Ji calculated everything clearly, but he used the scheme of ‘driving the tiger to swallow the dragon’ to defeat Jin Zhu, yet he himself also entered the trap. Jin Zhu will indeed be defeated by him, but how will he himself escape unharmed?”

Hei Yun raised its head. “Master, Chen Ji said he has a plan.”

“Oh?”

Hei Yun recalled for a moment and said, “He said that he wore a mask from the beginning, and waited until the crucial moment to deliberately turn against Jin Zhu. To prevent him from interfering, Jin Zhu will definitely find someone to change masks with, because that is the simplest method for Jin Zhu. Chen Ji said that everyone has inertia, and everyone is used to solving problems with the simplest method. Jin Zhu is no exception.”

Old Yao thought for a moment and sighed deeply. “Why did Jin Zhu have to provoke this boy?”

“Master, are we still going to Peony Bridge?”

“Go.”

“Are you going to help him?”

Old Yao said in a bad mood, “He’s already so smart, does he still need my help? Can’t I just go watch the excitement?”

Under the thick, intense night.

Jin Zhu, wearing a bull head mask, quietly gazed at Peony Arch Bridge. He only felt that this bridge in front of him was like a huge mouth, a mouth that could swallow a giant dragon.

Beside the carriage about twenty zhang away stood five people.

The night was too dark to see their appearances clearly.

The carriage was tightly covered, and he didn’t know if there was a person or a ghost inside.

Jin Zhu took a deep breath, and subconsciously asked, “Chen Ji, do you think we should retreat?”

Liu Tiao was startled for a moment. “My lord, I am Liu Tiao. Chen Ji was escorted away, he didn’t come over.”

Jin Zhu slightly turned his head and silently looked at the green tiger face beside him, not speaking for a long time.

He mocked himself in his heart, then opened his mouth and said, “What do you all think, has the Liu family’s ambush already seen through our identities?”

Xi Feng maintained a straight and arrogant posture, and said in a low voice from under the mask, “My lord, the Liu family’s ambush might be just in case, not specifically targeting us. If we were receiving such an important thing, we would also arrange people to set up defenses in advance.”

Liu Tiao said in a low voice, “That makes sense.”

Jin Zhu refuted in a low voice, “This matter concerns the survival of our family, how can we have a mindset of relying on luck?”

Xi Feng was silent for a moment. “My lord, perhaps we should withdraw first, there might still be a chance to catch him later.”

Liu Tiao said, “My lord, as long as the green hills are there, there’s no need to worry about firewood.”

Jin Zhu was silent, struggling to choose.

This was precisely the reason he wanted to find Chen Ji earlier: he actually didn’t even have one person beside him who could help him plan.

Just at this moment, the curtain of the carriage was lifted from the inside. Liu Mingxian, wearing a black fox fur coat and holding a small copper hand stove, slowly walked down from the carriage.

He and Jin Zhu and the others looked at each other from a distance, and asked with a smile across the air, “Since you’ve come, why don’t you come up to the bridge to chat?”

On the bridge and under the bridge, the two sides confronted each other, and the air gradually solidified. Even the Luo River under the bridge was quiet.

The next moment, Jin Zhu said in a low voice, “The arrow is on the string, it must be shot. Let’s go up the bridge. Liu Mingxian has already appeared, listen to my command to act later.”

Xi Feng lifted his foot and walked up the bridge. Liu Mingxian saw them ascend the bridge, and then said with a smile, “Why are you all so cautious?”

Jin Zhu, behind Xi Feng, sneered, “You handed over the Deputy Supervisor of the Craftsmen Bureau to us and so on, and then instructed the Luo City military to seize him back. This matter has already violated the mutual agreement. We are still willing to come tonight, which is already a great favor to your Liu family.”

Liu Mingxian gradually restrained his smile. “With my Liu family’s status, who is qualified to talk about favor?”

Jin Zhu said with a smile, “Oh, your Liu family, in earlier years, relying on having an Empress Dowager and Cabinet Elders, acted tyrannically and left many weaknesses. In recent years, the court situation has reversed, and half of the Liu family’s followers and old officials have been impeached by censors. Seeing the general trend, you can only shrink back to Yu State. In a few more years, I’m afraid you won’t even be able to hold onto Yu State, and will eventually end up with your family being confiscated and exterminated.”

Jin Zhu’s voice gradually became cold. “If not for that, why would your Liu family think of contacting my Jing Dynasty?”

Liu Mingxian suddenly burst out laughing. “Jing Dynasty? Are you all true Jing Dynasty people? Lord Jin Zhu, when did you become a spy of the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department?”

When Jin Zhu heard the other party shout out his name, his expression immediately changed, and he pulled Xi Feng and Liu Tiao to retreat backward.

Liu Mingxian suddenly roared, “These three people are thieves of the Jing Dynasty! I am the Luo City Through Judge, and I should eliminate them for the court! Kill! Execute without mercy!”

The situation was exposed.

Zhang Guo’er, from behind Liu Mingxian, took out a copper whistle from his waist and blew it. A sharp whistle pierced the night. In an instant, one by one, quiet residences suddenly opened, and several hundred elite soldiers wearing brown leather armor rushed out, fighting with the secret agents who were dispersed and hidden in the alleys.

While Jin Zhu was retreating rapidly, he saw more than a dozen people with long knives clenched in their mouths climbing up from under Peony Bridge, blocking their retreat route.

Xi Feng urgently said, “My lord, they are elites hidden by the Liu family from the Yan Shi large camp.”

Jin Zhu wanted to pull Xi Feng and Liu Tiao to jump into the river, but he was blocked by Zhang Guo’er, who was playing with ghost money, and the two tattooed men.

He listened with a gloomy face to the sound of metal clashing in the night, and turned his head to look at Liu Mingxian. “Lord Liu, privately transferring soldiers to the capital, is this an act of rebellion?”

Liu Mingxian said meaningfully, “I may be capturing thieves of the Jing Dynasty, how could it be rebellion?”

Jin Zhu sneered, “Saying we are thieves of the Jing Dynasty, Lord Liu, do you have evidence? If there is no evidence, arbitrarily surrounding and killing secret agents is no different from rebellion.”

Liu Mingxian fondled the copper hand stove in his arms and said with a smile, “I still have the secret letter you all wrote about coming to Peony Bridge. The secret letter clearly uses the method of hiding characters that the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department will use. This is evidence. Even without this, I can still fabricate many pieces of evidence. This matter does not trouble Lord Jin Zhu.”

Jin Zhu slowly took off his mask, and saw Liu Mingxian turn his head to a person beside him and say, “Lord Yuan, the leak of secrets on my side earlier almost caused your department to be surrounded. This matter is indeed the fault of my Liu family. Tonight, the head of Jin Zhu is a generous gift sent by my Liu family. With this as a gesture, I wonder if the Department Master can come south? My Liu family has an important matter to discuss.”

A low, deep voice slowly responded, “Lord Liu’s sincerity is full. If you can truly take Jin Zhu’s head, the Department Master will surely come south to meet.”

Jin Zhu’s pupils slightly contracted, and he suddenly looked at the speaker: an obese figure wearing a bamboo hat beside Liu Mingxian.

He wanted to see the other person’s face clearly, but the other person not only lowered his head, but his face was also covered with gray cloth.

Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department.

No wonder Liu Mingxian exposed their identities, it turned out he had re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department.

But the key was, three days ago, the Liu family had clearly not re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty, so how did they suddenly get in touch?

Where exactly did the problem arise?

Jin Zhu looked at the Liu family elites slowly surrounding them, and roared fiercely, “Kill our way out!”

Liu Tiao looked at the three Liu family officials in front, then turned his head to look at the elites behind them. He suddenly regretted proposing to wear the tiger face himself.

If not, the one who should have died on the bridge would have been Chen Ji, not him…

A quarter of an hour before.

In a narrow alley, Chen Ji was pushed forward by a secret agent, stumbling. The secret agent guarding him, to prevent him from having any crooked thoughts, had directly tied his hands behind his back with a rope.

Chen Ji suddenly stopped and refused to walk forward.

The secret agent behind him kicked him, but Chen Ji dodged it as if he had eyes on his back.

The secret agent kicked empty, and stumbled, almost falling.

“You motherfucker.”

He stood firm and wanted to grab Chen Ji.

But Chen Ji was like a mudfish, too slippery to grab. Chen Ji, with his hands tied behind him, stumbled and ran.

The two of them chased each other in the alley, and gradually ran out of the alley, running further and further along the bank of the Luo River.

The secret agent saw that there was no hope of meeting up with his colleagues, and immediately anxiously drew his knife. “If you run again, this old man will chop you with one knife.”

Chen Ji stood still, he wanted to say something, but his mouth was tied, and he couldn’t say a complete word for a long time.

The secret agent impatiently took off the cloth strip from his mouth. “What exactly do you want to say?”

Chen Ji moved his chin a bit, put his hands behind his back, and asked in a deep voice, “This lord, do you feel that something isn’t quite right?”

“Where is it not right?”

Chen Ji said urgently, “This area is probably home to over a hundred households. On average, three out of every ten households in Luo City raise dogs, but hundreds of secret agents have infiltrated and are controlling this area, yet I haven’t heard a single dog bark. Where have all the dogs gone?”

He continued, “Furthermore, not only have I not heard the sound of dogs barking, but it’s also still dark, yet those who carry excrement and urine, those who go to the market to sell and buy goods should already be setting off. My lord, we have walked for so long, have you seen a single person leave their house?”

The secret agent thought carefully and felt extremely scared. He was not a fool either, and what Chen Ji said made sense.

However, just at this moment, they heard a sharp whistle sound from afar. Before they could react, they saw the large doors of two residences in the alley being kicked open, and five or six leather-clad elites rushed out from each.

The secret agent gasped when he saw these more than ten elites. “Yan Shi Big Camp Elephant Armor Guard!”

In the narrow, dark alley, one of the Elephant Armor Guards gave a low roar, and immediately swung his knife to chop. “Kill!”

However, when the long knife chopped down, Chen Ji, with his hands tied, quickly turned his body. The chop happened to pass between his hands and the rope.

With a whoosh, the rope snapped.