Chapter 114: Watching the Excitement

"Just interrogate now!"

"Just interrogate now!"

In the distance, a fierce fire blazed, turning the dawn sky red, while nearby, the river was like ink.

Jin Pig, his usual smiling, squinting expression replaced by a grim stare, glared fiercely at Chen Ji in the river and said, "Today, the Liu family suddenly ambushed and tried to kill me. If the Heavenly Horse hadn't arrived, I'd probably be dead on that bridge. I can't rest easy until I figure out who's behind all this trouble!"

With that, Jin Pig, ignoring the Yuan Shopkeeper's curses, brutally stepped on and broke the man's hands and feet, crushing his tibias and radii. Only then did he let out a long breath. Tonight, he had truly thought he was going to die.

Chen Ji stepped onto a goose-egg shaped stone and slowly waded ashore. "Lord Jin Pig, you don't suspect me, do you? If I were a Jing Dynasty secret agent, why would I fight to the death chasing him? If I hadn't delayed him, I doubt you could have caught him so easily."

"What if you two are working together?" Jin Pig said viciously. "The Liu family set an ambush on the bridge today, and you were just before the bridge, changing masks with someone. I have reason to suspect you knew in advance that Peony Bridge was dangerous."

Chen Ji calmly replied, "My lord, the idea of changing masks wasn't mine. Besides, if I were truly an accomplice of the Jing Dynasty thieves or the Liu family, I should have gone onto the bridge with you, right? They wanted to kill you, not me."

Jin Pig was startled. That was true.

If Chen Ji were a Jing Dynasty thief, he would have been safe on the bridge.

However, Jin Pig hardened his heart. "Today, I don't trust anyone. Don't blame me for being suspicious. Anyone who escapes death will thoroughly suspect everyone around them. It's still the same principle. If I'm wrong, I'll find a way to compensate you!"

Having said that, he turned his head to look at Meng Ji. "Interrogate him. We'll know what happened after the interrogation."

Meng Ji looked at the muddy, dead grass on the beach, fanning his nose with a raised hand, and said distastefully, "Must we interrogate now? Can't we find a slightly cleaner place?"

Jin Pig didn't want to wait another moment. He took a string of Buddha beads, a common treasure of the Buddhist school, from his left wrist and handed them over. "Interrogate him."

Meng Ji took the Buddha beads, carefully examining the inscriptions on them. Only then did he put them on his wrist, his eyebrows raised and eyes smiling. "Tsk tsk, this price is enough for me to perform a first-class dream. Lord Jin Pig is generous! The money bags in our secret spy department are indeed well-filled." With that, he lifted the hem of his clothes and sat cross-legged on the ground, gently biting his finger to draw a symbol with his fresh blood. Then, he wrapped the Yuan Shopkeeper's hair in symbol paper and swallowed it.

Chen Ji saw the ball of symbol paper, like an egg, slide down Meng Ji's throat. Afterwards, Meng Ji's eyes suddenly rolled up, leaving only the whites visible. The Yuan Shopkeeper, lying on the ground, suddenly stopped cursing and, like Meng Ji, had only the whites of his eyes showing.

Jin Pig got straight to the point. "What is your official duty?"

The Yuan Shopkeeper's eyes were vacant. "I am under Lu Guan Wu, the military strategist of the Jing Dynasty, the new Si Cao Xin. I'm lurking under the identity of the Hundred Deer Pavilion shopkeeper, managing all affairs in Luo City."

Jin Pig lowered his voice and asked, "When did you all re-establish contact with the Liu family and how?"

The Yuan Shopkeeper answered, "The day before yesterday, Zhang Guo Er of the Liu family visited the Hundred Deer Pavilion. The other side said that someone had slipped into the Liu family mansion without anyone knowing and left a paper strip revealing your identities. They also told Liu Ming to directly seek proof from me."

Jin Pig's face changed. He glanced at Chen Ji with vigilance, then solemnly asked, "Did the Liu family say who left the paper strip?"

The Yuan Shopkeeper answered calmly, "The Liu family doesn't know either."

"The Liu family doesn't know? Their mansion is heavily guarded, how could someone sneak in and they not know?" Jin Pig said in surprise. "Then do you know?"

This time, the Yuan Shopkeeper hesitated for a moment. "It should be Lord Si. Only Lord Si is so divine and vast."

Jin Pig's expression turned stern. Had the military affairs Lord Si already arrived in Luo City?

He asked in a low voice, "Who is Lord Si, and where is he?"

"I don't know. Lord Si's identity is mysterious. Only he can contact me; I cannot contact him."

Jin Pig looked at the Yuan Shopkeeper, then back at Chen Ji. This medical hall apprentice definitely didn't have the ability to sneak into the Liu family.

He suddenly asked, "Since you manage all affairs in Luo City, you should know all the spies. Let me ask you, do you know Chen Ji?"

The Yuan Shopkeeper slightly wrinkled his brow. "Who is Chen Ji?"

"The young man who was chasing and trying to kill you just now."

"I don't know!"

Jin Pig was unwilling. "He's not a Jing Dynasty spy?"

"No!"

Jin Pig was speechless.

He suspected Chen Ji of being a Jing Dynasty spy every day, but if even the military affairs Si Cao, who managed all affairs in Luo City, said Chen Ji wasn't, what else was there to suspect?

Under the shadow of the willow tree by the river, Old Man Yao held Black Cloud in his arms and silently watched the riverbank below. Black Cloud was a little confused. "Why did Chen Ji chase the Yuan Shopkeeper as if his life depended on it? They don't seem to have any animosity!"

Old Man Yao sneered, "This boy is probably eyeing the ginseng in someone's warehouse. What kind of good person would cheat out and kill a shopkeeper just to get their hands on the ginseng in the pharmacy?"

However, at this moment,

Old Man Yao thought for a moment. "Wait, he told you earlier to send a paper strip to the Liu family saying: 'Lord Si is fake, you can ask the Hundred Deer Pavilion shopkeeper to verify'! Actually, he only needed to write 'Lord Si is fake' to pit Jin Pig. Why did he have to drag in the Hundred Deer Pavilion shopkeeper?"

Black Cloud said, "I know this."

"Oh?"

"Chen Ji said that Jin Pig is suspicious, and he wanted to find a 'not a Jing Dynasty spy' person to prove it for himself. And the best candidate for this person was precisely that one."

Black Cloud explained, "The Yuan Shopkeeper of the Hundred Deer Pavilion."

Old Man Yao was silent.

Yes.

What person could provide more convincing proof than a Jing Dynasty military affairs Si Cao?

Whether Chen Ji was a Jing Dynasty spy or not!

Did the Yuan Shopkeeper of the Hundred Deer Pavilion know Chen Ji's identity? "He really doesn't know."

No wonder Chen Ji chased the Yuan Shopkeeper as if his life depended on it; he was worried that his proof would run away. Old Man Yao smiled. "Chen Ji's calculations are quite clever. But he probably didn't think Jin Pig could be this suspicious. Moreover, look."

At this time, Jin Pig paced back and forth around the Yuan Shopkeeper with his hands behind his back. "How is it possible? Hey, Meng Ji, is this dream of yours reliable or not?"

Meng Ji slowly opened his eyes and laughed coldly. "If you doubt me, then don't invite me. What's the point of inviting me and then not believing me? Even the inner minister adults don't doubt me. Are you fiercer than the inner minister adults?"

Jin Pig said irritably, "Never mind all that. Continue interrogating Chen Ji."

Meng Ji tidied his temples a bit. "You might want to think carefully. I already interrogated this boy once before. At that time, I confirmed he wasn't a Jing Dynasty spy. I advise you to rein in your suspicious nature and not waste money."

Jin Pig took another string of Buddha beads from his right wrist. "Interrogate him."

Meng Ji turned around and let out a "Yo!" sound. "Is there no end to this? To interrogate such a medical hall apprentice, you're actually digging out all your family's belongings?"

Chen Ji frowned and said, "Lord Jin Pig, even this Jing Dynasty Si Cao says I'm not a spy, and you still suspect me? Must you pin a crime on my head to be satisfied?"

Jin Pig gave a forced smile. "True gold is not afraid of fire. If you truly have no problem, then cut off a strand of hair and give it to Meng Ji to prove yourself." With that, he handed a short knife to Chen Ji.

In the middle of the river, the Heavenly Horse stood on the bow of the ship, watching the riverbank coldly. Chen Ji and Jin Pig stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Chen Ji took the short knife and cut off a strand of hair.

Meng Ji re-drew a symbol, wrapped Chen Ji's hair in symbol paper, and swallowed it.

The next moment, Chen Ji felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.

In a daze, Chen Ji returned to the Zhou family study room.

With a bang, the twenty-six lamp furnaces in his body ignited.

Chen Ji remembered that he had regained consciousness just like this last time. At this moment, he could only bet that he could do so this time as well.

Wait.

Chen Ji was suddenly a little strange. "This time, he hasn't fundamentally lost consciousness."

He remembered that he was Chen Ji, and he also remembered that he was currently being interrogated. Last time was clearly not like this.

Just in this dream realm, a grand voice, like a bronze bell, penetrated the sky and transmitted over. "Are you a Jing Dynasty spy?"

Chen Ji answered, "No."

"Did you send the paper strip to the Liu family!"

"No!"

"Do you know who sent the paper strip to the Liu family?"

"I don't know!"

"Do you know that the Liu family will set an ambush tonight!"

"I don't know!"

Jin Pig was silent, no longer asking questions.

Chen Ji was extremely surprised in his heart. This was too strange. He had originally thought that everything rested on betting his life.

But the reality was that he fundamentally didn't need to suffer the constraints of this dream realm.

Was it because he had already solved the dream last time, so he wouldn't be controlled by Meng Ji again?

Or was there a hidden reason?

Yet, he heard Jin Pig's voice outside the dream realm suddenly ask again, "Do you know who used the firearm to bomb me last time?"

Chen Ji answered, "I don't know!"

Jin Pig said as if nothing had happened, "Good, there's nothing left to interrogate."

Until this time, Meng Ji only slowly walked into the Zhou family study room and asked with interest, "Boy, what kind of dog luck did you have to get that adult's favor?"

Chen Ji frowned. "Who?"

Meng Ji was startled. "He really did get dog luck; he doesn't know anything. It's not fun."

The dream realm suddenly dissipated, and the Zhou family world gradually faded.

Chen Ji heard the sound of the Luo River flowing again and saw the shaking firelight in the distance.

He subconsciously looked at Meng Ji, but saw that the other person wasn't looking at him. He just stood up, patted off the dust, and said slowly, "Alright, I've asked everything I needed to ask. Can I return to Kaifeng Prefecture now? The master of the Cloud Sea Troupe is performing in Kaifeng Prefecture tomorrow. I heard they're going to sing 'Fixed West Mountain.' I don't want to miss it."

Jin Pig was silent for a long time. "You can. It was hard work."

Meng Ji said disdainfully, "Our secret spy department still hasn't caught a spy of the Si Cao level. You've clearly picked up a heaven-sent achievement, yet you still have a worried expression. It's pointless. Let's go."

With that, he gave Chen Ji a meaningful look, turned around, and walked towards the riverbank. Under the shadow of a distant willow tree, Old Man Yao smiled and patted Black Cloud's head. "The excitement's over. Let's go home too."

Black Cloud was stunned for a moment. "Master, were you really just watching the excitement?"

"Otherwise?"

"I still thought you would help him?"

Old Man Yao sneered, "What would I rely on to help him? This old man only cares about his dog-fart, messy idle matters... "