Chapter 116: United in Heart and Mind

A huge fire, with thick smoke rushing into the sky, attracted everyone in Luoyang to Peony Bridge. Ordinary people stopped working, craning their necks to watch the commotion. Even peddlers carrying shoulder poles strode quickly. Chen Ji quietly walked towards Anxi Street. The flow of people rushed past his back, only his thin figure going against the current. He wanted to quickly return to the medical hall because he had too many questions he wanted to ask upon returning to the front door of Taiping Medical Hall.

From inside the door wafted the fragrance of white congee and fried dough. Chen Ji could even hear the noisy voices of She Dengke and Liu Quxing in the backyard. He stood at the door for a long time before taking a deep breath and stepping over the threshold. The instant he stepped over the threshold, a wave of exhaustion surged through his mind, yet it felt as if a stone hanging in his heart had finally fallen to the ground. Chen Ji exhaled a long breath, releasing all the unpleasantness from outside the door. "I'm back." Old man Yao stood alone behind the counter, fiddling with the abacus with his head down, muttering, "Back is back, why are you shouting?" Wu Yun lay beside the abacus, dozing with his paws folded. He only opened his eyes when he saw Chen Ji enter. Chen Ji stood opposite the counter, gazing at his master, deliberating how to speak. Old man Yao stopped moving the abacus beads, lifted his eyes, and squinted at him. "If you have something to say, say it quickly." Chen Ji asked, "Master, did you help me today?" Old man Yao raised his eyebrows. "What nonsense are you talking about, me helping you with what?" Chen Ji frowned, a little suspicious. "No?"

Old man Yao pointed to Wu Yun. "I was with this little thing all evening. Ask him and see if I helped you." Chen Ji looked towards Wu Yun.

Wu Yun meowed. "It seems indeed not."

Old man Yao stroked his beard and laughed proudly. "Right."

Wu Yun meowed again. "But Master cares about you very much. He took me to the riverbank to watch you chase and kill Steward Yuan. He only returned to the medical hall after confirming you were safe and sound early this morning." Old man Yao smacked his lips. "Who asked you this?" At this moment, Liang Maoer came out holding a bowl of hot ginger soup, which he handed directly to Chen Ji. "Master just told me to boil ginger soup. One bowl for each person to ward off the cold. It's just right that you're back, quickly drink it while it's hot."

Chen Ji held the ginger soup in silence for a long time, finally drinking the ginger soup in one gulp.

He placed the porcelain bowl on the counter and calmly said, "Master, Jin Zhu invited Meng Ji over to interrogate me today, but Meng Ji told me in a dream that you had already instructed him not to cooperate with Jin Zhu's interrogation of me. You don't need to hide it from me. Thank you for helping me through this disaster."

Old man Yao sneered, "You still want to trick me, this old man? When I was tricking others, your dad hadn't even met your mom yet." Chen Ji: ...

Old man Yao squinted at him. "Someone who can command the Twelve Zodiacs must be a big figure in the Si Li Jian, someone who can reach the heavens. If I were of that identity, how could I tolerate you, a Jing Chao spy, jumping around in front of me?"

Chen Ji fell into thought.

When Meng Ji said that a big figure was favoring him, his first reaction was that his master had made a move to help him. But what his master said at this moment also made sense. One of the duties of the Si Li Jian is to capture Jing Chao spies. If his master was really a big figure in the Si Li Jian, how could he let him live?

Chen Ji turned to ask, "Master, do you know anything about Jin Zhu?"

Old man Yao: "No idea!"

Wu Yun: "Yes, I do."

Old man Yao slowly turned his head expressionlessly to look at Wu Yun.

Chen Ji curiously asked, "Today, Jin Zhu reached a transaction with me. The instant the transaction was reached, I seemed to sense some change, but I couldn't say what this change was! Also, after reaching the transaction, he seemed to really let down his guard..." Wu Yun said, "Master said that Jin Zhu must rely on investing in and betting on others to cultivate. This is his cultivation path. Previously, he invested in Tian Ma and broke through to the Xun Dao realm in one leap. But he later failed to invest in two people consecutively, and then fell back from the Xun Dao realm to the Xian Tian realm.

Now he has chosen to bet on you. This is his last chance."

Chen Ji's heart jolted. There was such a cultivation path.

The name of this cultivation path was probably not called 'Gambler Dog'.

No wonder Jin Zhu said that even if he knelt in front of Jie Fan Lou, he would still kneel out a cultivation path for himself. So he was originally borrowing himself to cultivate. Chen Ji hurriedly asked, "What kind of connection will I have with Jin Zhu? If he has an accident, will it affect me?" Wu Yun looked towards old man Yao. "Master, you haven't said this!"

Old man Yao said impatiently, "Of course not. Even if he dies, it has nothing to do with you. It's just that afterward, when your cultivation realm breaks through a layer, he will benefit from it." "How much will he benefit?"

"About fifty percent!"

Chen Ji's brows were tightly locked. "Then why didn't you remind me earlier?" Old man Yao laughed and said, "What's not good about having an extra Twelve Zodiacs as a bodyguard? If you encounter danger again now, Jin Zhu will care more than your dad, mom, and brothers." Chen Ji was a little puzzled. "If I die, he will just fall back one realm again. Why to this extent?" Old man Yao said unhurriedly, "The Xun Dao realm is a major calamity in life. Stepping into it is a different life. But there are differences between Xun Dao realms meeting Xun Dao realms. If you step into the Xun Dao realm before the age of thirty-six and stabilize your realm, you can shed your body and change your bones, prolong your life, and live for a hundred years is not a problem. If you step into the Xun Dao realm after the age of thirty-six, there is no difference from ordinary people's birth, old age, sickness, and death. Jin Zhu is already thirty-one years old now, and the remaining time is not much. His last hope falls on you." "So that's how it is."

Chen Ji didn't understand. "Then why does he still suspect me this way? Isn't he offending me to death?" "You may not believe it, but although he suspects you and interrogates you, he hopes you are innocent even more than you do."

The main hall of the medical hall quieted down. Old man Yao began to fiddle with the abacus again.

Chen Ji suddenly said, "Master, you don't need to hide it. Meng Ji really told me everything."

Old man Yao said in a bad mood, "Get lost."

After saying that, he looked at Wu Yun on the counter. "Liang Gouer should be awake. You get lost too."

Wu Yun slipped away, becoming Jiu Tian Ying Yuan Lei Sheng Pu Hua Tian Zun.

Chen Ji slipped back to his bedroom to change into a set of dry clothes.

Chen Ji sat on the bed in the dim bedroom, in a daze.

Among the people in the Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department who knew his spy identity, those who were dead were dead, and those who were gone were gone. Jin Zhu, who suspected him in the Ning Chao Secret Spy Department, also let down his guard. Life seemed to finally be stable, and he could breathe a sigh of relief.

Chen Ji looked up towards the ceiling.

The cobwebs on the house beams should be cleaned.

The broken tiles on the roof also needed to be changed.

Several bricks in the courtyard were broken, and water would still accumulate on rainy days.

He needed to go buy some new bricks and tiles. He would take advantage of the fact that winter hadn't fully arrived yet and use cement base to change all the tiles and green bricks once. This way, he wouldn't be afraid of rain leaks or accumulated water.

He would go buy them today.

At this moment, hearty laughter came from outside the room.

Chen Ji bent down to put on his boots and went out to look. It turned out to be Zhang Zhuo standing under the apricot tree, looking with interest at the red cloth strips on the tree. Zhang Zhuo was wearing a red official robe today, which indeed complemented the red cloth strips on the apricot tree. He looked at the wishes on the red cloth strips, then turned to ask Liu Quxing, "Excuse me, Little Doctor Liu, I wonder if there are still red cloth strips in the medical hall. I also want to write one and hang it up."

Liu Quxing hurriedly ran to the main hall. "Please wait a moment, there are still many red cloth strips."

After he took out the cloth strips and handed out the brush, he stretched the cloth strips open in front of Zhang Zhuo with both hands. Zhang Zhuo lifted the pen and wrote down four words: Same heart, same virtue.

Then, he personally tied the red cloth strip to an empty branch.

Liu Quxing's face became strange. "What does Master Zhang imply by this?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed. "Is wishing your master and three brothers same heart, same virtue not good?" Liu Quxing softly muttered, "It's good, it's good, but 'same heart, same virtue' is generally followed by 'raising eyebrows together', those four words." At this moment, Chen Ji spoke up and asked, "Master Zhang, why have you come to Taiping Medical Hall today?" Zhang Zhuo turned around and looked at Chen Ji, immediately explaining patiently, "Little Doctor Chen, I just heard earlier that Xiaer heard some news from somewhere and actually came to the medical hall without authorization to make a fuss. I'm specially coming to apologize to you. This child has an impatient temper since she was young, but her nature is not bad. You must not take it to heart with her." Chen Ji said, "Oh," and then said, "So, what Miss Zhang the Second said does not exist?" Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard. "Of course. A twisted melon is not sweet. I, Zhang Zhuo, am open-minded and would absolutely not do such a thing that forces others. Little Doctor Chen, just put your heart back in your stomach. I appreciate your conduct and will naturally consider everything thoroughly for you."

This left Chen Ji not knowing how to respond.

He thought for a moment. "Why do you appreciate me, Master Zhang? We haven't seen each other many times."

Zhang Zhuo became interested. "I only look at two points when I look at people. The first point is what he does when he suddenly becomes rich, whether he puts on airs or not, whether he shakes his clothes and makes noise or not. The second point is what he doesn't do when he is poor. Whether he keeps his original heart or not, whether he commits fraud or not."

Just as he was speaking, he heard footsteps again from outside the door.

The crowd turned to look and saw only Jing Wang directly coming to the backyard, followed by that tall and big Companion Feng Da. Old man Yao muttered, "This small Taiping Medical Hall is indeed more lively than the Jing Wang Fu." Jing Wang entered the courtyard and was a little surprised to see Zhang Zhuo. "Didn't Master Zhang say he was going to supervise the construction of houses for the refugee camp? Why are you running to Taiping Medical Hall?" "Passing by, passing by..." Zhang Zhuo was slightly embarrassed.

Jing Wang didn't tease him either and turned to look at Chen Ji. "This morning, your father, Master Chen Liqin, came to see me." Chen Ji calmly asked, "I wonder what Master Chen sought from the Prince."

Jing Wang smiled. "Seeking knowledge!"

"Seeking knowledge?"

Jing Wang explained, "Chen Wen Zong and Chen Wen Xiao want to enter the capital to take the exam next spring. At that time, scholars from all over the country will gather together, and the difficulty is not comparable to the autumn imperial exam. It just so happens that Master Wang has returned to Luoyang to observe mourning and is responsible for teaching Yun Xi, Bai Li, and Ling Yun in my Wang Fu during the day. So Master Chen thought of letting Chen Wen Zong and Chen Wen Xiao also come to listen to classes, to prevent these two from being idle at home and delaying next year's metropolitan exam."

Chen Ji didn't speak.

Jing Wang said with a smile, "Master Chen also handed over your tuition fee together. He wants you to also go listen to Master Wang teach. I thought about it carefully and also feel that at your age, you should listen to more knowledge, so I simply handed over the tuition fees for Liu Quxing and She Dengke as well. You can rest assured that Master Wang is different from the masters in other academies. Even His Majesty highly praises him. He will definitely be able to benefit you."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "I cannot decide this. I need Master's agreement first." After saying that, he turned to look at old man Yao, blinking several times with effort.

Old man Yao slowly said, "I have no opinion. Let these three little brats go listen to classes. I can be idle for a while every day. It's quite good." Chen Ji: ...

However, at this moment, Zhang Zhuo's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly spoke up. "I still remember how stunning Wang Dao Sheng's 'Twelve Strategies for Pacifying the Barbarians' was in the palace examination that year. It's a pity that his talent cannot be displayed now. Prince, can my Zhang Xia also go there to listen to classes, so that he can discipline my daughter's wild temper?"

Jing Wang was amused.

"Of course you can!"