Chapter 145: Amnesty

The blade was three feet, three inches long, and the handle was two feet, two inches.

Where the blade met the handle, the swallow’s mouth form held the angry eyes of a white tiger. He held it level with his eyebrows, raising it like a tide.

Chen Ji slowly sheathed the knife in front of him. The whale knife bore not a single drop of blood, smooth as a mirror.

Under the moonlight, he saw himself in the “mirror.” Dried leaves from the mountain were swept against his back by the mountain wind. Strands of hair by his ear moved slightly with the wind, each one clearly visible.

The wind stopped.

A piece of dry leaf fell slowly from the air onto the whale blade, silently dividing into two, lightly floating back to the earth.

This knife had traversed ten thousand years, finally returning to his hand.

Chen Ji suddenly thought, if this knife was real, if the mysterious familiar feeling he had while holding the knife was also real, then everything Xuanyuan said must also be real.

But Gui Xu, the peach blossoms, friends, teachers, students, the stars in the sky...

Why could he not remember any of it?

Who exactly was he?

A rustling sound came from several dozen steps away.

Chen Ji calmly looked around. Inside the dark mountain forest, no human figures were yet visible. His opponents seemed in no hurry to surround and kill him, merely hiding in the shadows of the mountain forest, opening their mouths to ask, "Mister Feng asked me to ask you, have you made a good decision?"

Chen Ji took a deep breath: "What decision?"

The asker calmly said, "Mister Feng asks you, do you want to escape back to Luocheng, or do you want to return to the military town to save your friends?"

These suddenly appearing black-clothed killers were like solitary souls and wild ghosts, asking questions from the executioner's heart.

Chen Ji did not need to answer. He simply dragged the whale knife and walked towards the military town, quickening his pace as he went.

As he passed by a tree, a black-clothed figure seemed to emerge from the tree like shedding bark, silently chopping a knife towards Chen Ji's back.

But this method of ambush using light and shadow was something Chen Ji had seen too many times with Feng Huai.

In an instant, as if he had eyes on his back, he turned his head and chopped a knife.

A streak of fresh blood splattered on the ground, and the black-clothed person slowly fell down.

Clean and simple, leaving no room for maneuver.

After Chen Ji moved forward again, he saw that the vague shadows in the mountain forest were actually retreating.

Someone said in a low voice, "Not at the Acquired Realm. It's the Innate Realm."

Someone responded, "Not the Innate Realm, it's that knife."

"Mister Feng has ordered, kill without mercy."

"Kill without mercy."

The black shadows no longer retreated; they immediately surrounded him, weaving a net around Chen Ji's body.

Chen Ji moved to the left, and the net moved to the left.

Chen Ji moved to the right, and the net moved to the right, gathering tighter and tighter.

These four black-clothed people, who had been cultivated using forbidden techniques, far surpassed the elites in a normal army.

Even Chen Ji, who had stepped into the cultivation gate, could not shake them off. Their physical qualities were almost the same.

When the four black-clothed people were only five steps away from Chen Ji, everyone simultaneously unleashed an unmatched knife light.

Four knives, impossible to respond to in time.

Chen Ji suddenly lunged forward like a tiger, the whale knife in his hand opening wide and closing quickly to meet them. He didn't care about the knife light from the left, right, or back, focusing only on killing the person in front of him.

The black-clothed person in front of him was shocked and immediately retreated.

But as he retreated, Chen Ji immediately stopped pursuing, turning his body to face the other three. The knife followed the body's turn; where the body went, the knife destroyed. The slender whale knife drew a dazzling arc of light under the moonlight.

Clang, clang, clang, three sounds.

Three long knives responded to the sound and broke. The black-clothed person who had been shocked into retreating lunged forward again, swinging his knife to assist, trying to force Chen Ji to turn his head.

But Chen Ji did not even turn his head, half-kneeling on the ground, and with a backhand flick, the whale knife was like a halberd, cutting off the wrist of the black-clothed person behind him at the root.

Chen Ji half-knelt on the ground, quietly looking around them, like a fierce tiger crouching in the wild.

The four black-clothed people exchanged glances. Just as they were about to abandon their broken knives and fight to the death with bare hands, an ethereal flute sound suddenly came from afar.

The flute sound was melodious, as if a small shepherd boy was sitting on the broad back of a black water buffalo, slowly passing over a stone arch bridge. Nearby was a small bridge and flowing water, and in the distance were white clouds and mountain cliffs.

Mister Feng!

He didn't know why, but Chen Ji hadn't yet seen the person playing the flute, yet he subconsciously uttered the opponent's name in his heart.

It was as if as long as the opponent appeared, no matter in what form, you would know that it must be him.

One black-clothed person used his left hand to hold his broken right wrist, his face calm as he said, "Mister Feng wants to see you. Whether to see or not, decide for yourself."

Having said that, the four black-clothed people successively retreated, disappearing into the shadows of the mountain forest.

Chen Ji stood up, looking towards the direction from which the flute sound came.

He pondered for a moment, holding the whale knife, and took the initiative to walk towards the flute sound.

As he walked closer and closer, the flute sound suddenly became like bamboo shadow sword qi, overflowing with killing intent.

Chen Ji subconsciously looked around, almost thinking that several hundred knife and axe wielders would rush out from the mountain forest.

But there was nothing around.

He suddenly realized that the opponent was actually playing a flute to create an illusion of an ambush from all sides.

After walking several dozen steps, he saw Mister Feng in a set of green robes sitting on a short green stone, holding a shepherd's flute.

The fisherman who had appeared on the black-awning boat once stood quietly beside him.

Chen Ji cupped his hands in a greeting: "Mister Feng."

Mister Feng slowly put down the shepherd's flute, smiling as he looked at Chen Ji: "Why didn't you take the opportunity to escape?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "I couldn't escape."

Mister Feng clapped his hands and praised with a sigh: "Clever. But since you are a clever person, why do you still want to return to the military town? You should know, you are just a small official at the Acquired Realm. Going back is useless. Moreover, you haven't known the World Son and the County Lord for long. Why must you throw away your life for others!"

Chen Ji leaned wearily against a tree trunk, letting out a long breath: "Perhaps I'm not clever enough."

Mister Feng sighed with emotion: "You are not not clever enough, but it is for the so-called spirit of a young hero."

Chen Ji remained silent.

Mister Feng handed the flute to the fisherman beside him, smiling as he stood up from the green stone, and slowly walked towards Chen Ji, "Once, someone said that he used fame and fortune as a knife, and could chop off nine parts of the world's heroic spirit. In these years, the heroes of the pugilistic world have all been recruited and appeased by the court, and the various sects have disappeared without a trace. The cultivation gates of the world are all bound on high shelves. The pugilistic world has also become a boring place."

He sized up Chen Ji and said, "But seeing you today, I suddenly tasted another layer of meaning to that sentence of his. It turns out that there is still one part of the heroic spirit in this world that even he cannot chop off. Admirable, sighable, singable, and cryable. Laughable!!"

Chen Ji was doubtful, not knowing who Mister Feng was talking about.

Using fame and fortune as a knife, chopping off nine parts of the world's heroic spirit.

What a boastful tone.

Chen Ji asked, "Why does Mister Feng feel laughable?"

Mister Feng smiled and replied, "The so-called heroic spirit is the courage to do what you know you cannot do. But since you know you cannot do it, why still do it?"

Chen Ji said, "I don't understand what heroic spirit is, nor do I feel heroic spirit. It is merely courage. I made my decision only to have no shame in my heart. Since Mister Feng is a clever person, why did you choose the Liu family?"

Mister Feng stood in front of Chen Ji, giving an interested "oh," "You tell me, why can't I choose the Liu family?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Liu family is powerful and influential through marriage, they have the Empress Dowager and the cabinet elders above, and prominent clans in Yuzhou below. But His Majesty's accumulated resentment against the Liu family is already long-standing; decline is only a matter of time. His Majesty ascended the throne at eleven years old. He has now ruled for thirty-one years. The eleven-year-old child from thirty-one years ago, they couldn't defeat him. Can they defeat him thirty-one years later?"

Mister Feng smiled: "Continue."

Chen Ji continued, "Furthermore, not to mention His Majesty and the Directorate of Ceremonial. Let's talk about the prominent clans in this world: Xu, Hu, Chen, Qi, Liu, Yang, six families, like fierce tigers crouching. Among these, the Liu family can only rank last. Perhaps their power and influence reached the sky some years ago, but now they cannot compare to the other five families. Is that not right?"

Mister Feng nodded: "Not wrong. The other families don't think much of the Liu family now. The Liu family's decline in power is also caused by their nibbling."

Chen Ji raised his head and looked into Mister Feng's eyes: "Since you can see through this risk, why not change your allegiance? As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and a wise minister chooses a wise lord to serve. It is a pity for a clever person like Mister Feng to stay in the Liu family."

Mister Feng raised his head and laughed loudly: "Hahahahahaha, no wonder you dare to come directly to face me. It turns out you want to deceive me into going to the Chen family. Young man, you are truly bold and reckless. Your courage is admirable. However, you have managed to carve out a path to survival for yourself in a situation of certain death. Not bad, not bad..."

Chen Ji propped himself up with the knife and stood calmly: "I am not finding a path to survival for myself, but rather finding a path to survival for Mister Feng."

This chapter is not finished, in the middle...