Chapter 175: Blood Must Cool

The Shengsui Dan, a culmination of a medicine official's lifelong dedication and effort, is the treasure of the Dao Court.

Even within the Dao Courts of Huangshan and Laojunshan, only two medicine officials could refine this pill.

Now, that incredibly precious Shengsui Dan lay quietly on the ground. Everyone’s eyes were cast towards it, and though Golden Pig, Cloud Sheep, Bright Rabbit, and Dream Chicken’s eyes held a hidden scorching heat, no one dared to pick it up.

Their gazes turned back towards Jing Wang, only to see him standing silently in the ancestral temple, head bowed, looking at Jing Fei’s corpse for a long time without speaking.

The Youjie Shi, the Qiannian Jun, everyone waited in silence, with only the cold wind howling.

This vast Liu family mansion was clearly full of people, yet it felt like an empty, desolate ruin.

A grand rebellion, full of momentum, ended without conflict, leaving only scattered remnants.

In the silence, White Dragon bent down and picked up the blood-stained Shengsui Dan, wiped it with his sleeve, and put it back into the box.

“Wang Ye, this is the Shengsui Dan!”

Jing Wang didn’t pay attention to him, but instead spoke softly: “Since Liu Ge Lao entered officialdom, he successively served as Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites and Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel. The year His Majesty ascended the throne, the hearts of the capital city were in turmoil, and the feudal kings were restless. It was he and his father who set things right and stabilized the situation, assisting His Majesty in ascending the throne! Although he had faults in his lifetime, he also had merits. Bury both father and daughter properly! And that Liu Shiye as well!”

Feng Daban clasped his hands and agreed, “Yes!”

Jing Wang turned his head and asked, “Where is Ling Yun? Why don’t I see her?”

Feng Daban replied, “Liu Ge Lao must have sent her away. Does this humble official need to chase her back?”

Jing Wang sighed, “Let her go.”

He stepped out of the ancestral temple and walked towards the door. “Return to the Wang Fu!”

He hadn’t walked far when he saw White Dragon blocking his path and kindly advising, “Wang Ye, the Liu family’s Xiangjia Ying and Hujia Tieji are not yet pacified. For your safety, please temporarily stay in this Liu family mansion and do not return to Luo City yet!”

Jing Wang stopped in his tracks and quietly gazed at the mask with the engraved gold dragon pattern.

White Dragon did not retreat or yield, confronting him directly!

The atmosphere outside the ancestral temple suddenly tensed. Bright Rabbit slightly pursed her lips and quietly retreated a small step towards Cloud Sheep.

Jing Wang looked towards the Youjie Shi in front of the ancestral temple door.

He saw the Youjie Shi wearing raincoats and conical hats, their faces hidden in the shadows beneath the conical hats, their expressions看不见.

He then looked at the Qiannian Jun, who wore armor and had red tassels on their helmets.

He saw the Qiannian Jun soldiers slowly put their hands on their knife handles, ready for confrontation with the Youjie Shi.

Jing Wang suddenly smiled broadly.

He turned his head to look at Liu Ge Lao, who was still on the roof beam, and said in a desolate tone, “Very well, as Lord White Dragon said, I will first stay in this Liu family mansion. Qiannian Jun, listen to my command! You all go assist in suppressing the rebellion, do not let the Xiangjia Ying and Hujia Tieji cause any more trouble!”

The Qiannian Jun general hesitated, not understanding.

Jing Wang laughed and said, “Are you not moving at my command? Hurry and go!”

The Qiannian Jun general cupped his hands, “This humble general obeys the order!”

With that, he led the Qiannian Jun and turned to leave. In an instant, half of the Liu family mansion was empty.

White Dragon laughed and said, “Wang Ye understands the greater good deeply. This humble official admires you. The Nei Xiang has instructed that the Liu family’s criminal evidence must be thoroughly documented, so that those civil officials cannot refute it. So, there are still many documents and confessions that require Wang Ye’s assistance in supplementing and organizing the entire matter, and bringing all those who participated in the rebellion to justice!”

Jing Wang chuckled, “I am tired today. Let’s discuss it tomorrow. Lord White Dragon can attend to your matters first, and we will go back and rest!”

One side, Shizi and Bai Carp were still searching for Chen Ji in the crowd, wanting to say something, but Jing Wang pulled them away.

Before the scattered corpses of the Liu family could be cleared, the Youjie Shi had already dispersed throughout the Liu family mansion, confiscating property and counting assets.

The Youjie Shi pulled out the offering table from inside the ancestral temple. Four accountants sat in front of the table, setting up four abacuses.

One accountant was responsible for counting the confiscated house deeds and land deeds, one for counting gold, silver, and copper money, one for counting the Liu family’s secret accounts, and one for counting the servants’ contracts.

The abacus beads clicked and clattered in front of the Liu family ancestral temple door, and a huge whale body crashed down and decomposed amidst the lively sounds.

In the small alley opposite the ancestral temple, Cloud Sheep and Bright Rabbit came to Chen Ji with seemingly smiling expressions. “Young man, long time no see.”

Chen Ji, who had been watching Jing Wang leave with a serious expression, heard this and immediately turned his head and laughed. “When the two lords were imprisoned earlier, I still felt pity, but now that I see the two lords safe and sound, I am relieved.”

Cloud Sheep smiled and asked, “Really relieved?”

“Yes. Relieved!”

Cloud Sheep slowly put away her smile. “Let me ask you then. When the coffin was opened for verification earlier, was it you who tipped off the Liu family?”

Chen Ji was startled. “Lord Cloud Sheep, why do you say that? I didn’t know the two lords went to open the coffin for verification!”

Bright Rabbit pointed at his shoulder with her slender, white, onion-like finger and said with a charming smile, “But only you knew that we had gone to check the Liu family’s ancestral tomb. If you didn’t leak the secret, then you will find this person who knows this highly confidential matter for me, otherwise, hmph hmph!”

Chen Ji said helplessly, “What does this matter have to do with me?”

Cloud Sheep smiled and squinted, “That may not be up to you!”

Just then, a plump figure squeezed in between the three people and, with a forced smile, pulled Chen Ji behind him. “The two lords fell into the ditch themselves, so don’t randomly blame newcomers. Originally, Nei Xiang had ordered me to secretly provide opportunities for the two of you to expose flaws, so that the Liu family would relax their vigilance. But I didn’t expect the two lords to be so muddled that you got yourselves imprisoned, which instead saved me some trouble!”

Cloud Sheep looked at Golden Pig, and his handsome face’s eyebrows slowly furrowed. “Golden Pig, you want to protect him?”

Golden Pig said happily, “Where is there any protection or not? Everyone is working for Nei Xiang. We should be like the same branch and root. This time, the Liu family was overthrown smoothly, and he also has a share of the credit. Now Nei Xiang has already granted him a cultivation path, perhaps one day he will become a great official. The two lords are probably!!”

Bright Rabbit widened her eyes and interrupted, “Fat Pig, are you threatening us? Be careful, I’ll stab you! Do you remember, back then at Wu Nian Mountain, when others bullied you, I still helped you!”

Golden Pig curled his lips. “What nonsense are you talking about? Weren’t you the one who bullied me the most brutally?”

Bright Rabbit tilted her head, gazed over Golden Pig’s fat head, and looked at Chen Ji behind him. “Young man, do you want to continue working with us in the future? Everyone cooperated quite happily earlier.”

Cloud Sheep also helped say, “Among the top three zodiacs of the Mijian Si, Lord Sick Tiger is nowhere to be found, and Lord Heavenly Horse prefers to come and go alone. If we talk about ability and authority, Lord White Dragon must be the first. Working with us is working with Lord White Dragon, and the future is bright!”

Golden Pig’s face changed. “Digging for people in front of me? Is there still no royal law!”

Bright Rabbit smiled and squinted, “He was originally led into the Mijian Si by us anyway.”

Golden Pig no longer paid attention to her, turned his head to look at Heavenly Horse, who was standing in white clothes on a distant roof, and waved. “Heavenly Horse, look this way, look this way, Cloud Sheep and Bright Rabbit want to chat with you.”

Cloud Sheep glanced at Heavenly Horse. Before the other party arrived, she turned to Chen Ji and said meaningfully, “We are colleagues from now on. There will surely be opportunities to cooperate. Bright Rabbit, let’s go!”

With that, he pulled the reluctant Bright Rabbit and stood behind White Dragon.

Golden Pig lowered his voice to Chen Ji. “There are many factions within the Huan Guan Ju. These two never work for White Dragon and are lawless. If you follow me and Heavenly Horse from now on, I can definitely protect your safety. When the time comes, we will find an opportunity to eliminate one of them, and you will be the new zodiac.”

Chen Ji’s face was strange. “Do you really want to eliminate one?”

Golden Pig naturally retorted, “Otherwise, how can you become a zodiac? Eliminating two together is also fine!”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Are there no vacant positions at all?”

Golden Pig shook his head. “No!”

Chen Ji pressed on, “Among the top three are White Dragon, Heavenly Horse, and Sick Tiger. Lord White Tiger has Bright Rabbit and Cloud Sheep under him, so who does Lord Heavenly Horse have under him?”

Golden Pig lowered his voice, “Heavenly Horse’s faction currently has only me. But you don’t need to worry. When you become a zodiac, our momentum will be strong!”

Chen Ji’s face was strange. “So the remaining zodiacs are all Lord Sick Tiger’s people?”

“No, no, no.”

Golden Pig counted on his fingers. “Prison Rat is responsible for the inner prison, hiding in the smelly inner prison all day long, not recognizing anyone. Corpse Dog leads a group of people and comes and goes alone, specifically helping Nei Xiang dig graves and open tombs. Mountain Ox is Nei Xiang’s personal guard, sitting in the Youjie Lou every day and not going out. Dream Chicken is quite treacherous, helping whoever gives money. There are also Xuan Snake and Bao Monkey, these two are Lord Wuxiu’s people.”

Chen Ji had heard the name “Wuxiu” several times.

He asked doubtfully, “Lord Wuxiu is??”

Golden Pig reminded him, “Lord Wuxiu is the chief eunuch who holds the brush next to His Majesty. If you go to the capital later, absolutely do not provoke him. This person holds the biggest grudges!” With that, he added, “But remember, no matter who we follow, ultimately, we are all working for Nei Xiang. As long as you remember this point, you will not commit a big mistake.”

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “Has Lord White Dragon always been by Nei Xiang’s side these years?”

Golden Pig thought for a moment. “Half the time, but Nei Xiang has extremely important matters, and he will prioritize giving them to him to handle. He is also a divine dragon that you can see the head of but not the tail. You need to be careful of him. This person is thick-faced and black-hearted, extremely vicious. The matters of confiscating property and exterminating clans in the Mijian Si these years were all done by him. Why are you asking this?”

Chen Ji pondered for a moment. “Lord Golden Pig, where is Mr. Feng at this time?”

Golden Pig sounded a bit annoyed when he heard the three characters “Mr. Feng”. “How would I know? I only learned he was one of us at Dragon King Village. Clearly, he is one of our own, and I don’t know where the grudge came from, but he beat me so hard. If I encounter him in the Huan Guan Ju later, I must cause him some trouble!”

Chen Ji lowered his head and remained silent.

Golden Pig was curious. “What are you thinking about?”

Chen Ji said softly, “Thank you, Lord Golden Pig, for clearing my doubts!”

“Thank you for what…”

Golden Pig happily patted his shoulder. “When that old fellow surnamed Feng dragged me away, you were willing to draw your knife for me, so you are one of us!”

Chen Ji shook his head. “I ultimately did nothing!”

Golden Pig turned his head to look at the long and deep bloody road in the Liu family mansion and sighed. “In this world of five turbid evils, everyone is not in control of their own body. Having that intention is enough!”

Speaking of which, Golden Pig smiled and squinted, “However, next time if it’s you being dragged behind a horse, if I don’t draw my knife for you, then just take it that I already drew my knife for you in my heart. Don’t blame me!”

Chen Ji didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Golden Pig was speaking the truth or lying, so he could only agree. “Okay!”

Golden Pig asked, “You’ve been rushing around these past few days. Do you need to rest a bit?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “Lord, lend me a horse and a Mijian Si waist token. My master and two senior brothers are still in the city. I must go back and find them!”

Early morning sunrise.

Chen Ji spurred his horse and galloped on the road, passing through the bustling market and ox carts without seeing a trace.

Luo City’s south gate was no longer tightly closed. The soldiers and horses of the Bingma Shi had disappeared, replaced by army flags that Chen Ji didn’t recognize.

The bloodstains on the stone slab road inside the city gate had not yet been cleaned up.

Along the way, wine shops, grain and oil shops, noodle stalls, and clothing shops were all tightly closed, a scene of desolation.

Like a military town on the border of a great desert.

When Chen Ji arrived at the entrance of the Jing Wang Fu, there were just over a dozen Youjie Shi guarding it.

He dismounted, leading the reins, and walked up.

The Youjie Shi all drew their waist knives and coldly shouted, “Stop!”

Chen Ji took out his waist token from his chest. “A secret agent from the Mijian Si, here to find Taiyi Yao of Ping’an Yiguan.”

One of the Youjie Shi, with his gaze under the conical hat scrutinizing him, said, “Taiyi Yao and Mr. Chen have already left the Wang Fu. You should go back to the medical hall to find them!”

Chen Ji said thank you and returned to Ping’an Yiguan, but the door was still tightly closed.

He furrowed his brows and pushed open the large door. “Master, I’m back!”

No one answered.

Chen Ji led his war horse through the main hall to the backyard.

The yard was cold and quiet, only the red cloth strips on the apricot tree adding a hint of warmth.

“Could it be that the Youjie Shi were deceiving themselves?”

He shouted loudly, “Master, Master, are you home?”

The next moment, he saw that a fire had been lit under the kitchen stove, and a pot of white porridge was cooking on the stove.

He then slowly relaxed.

Master and the others were indeed released and back, but he didn’t know where they had gone again.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, tied the war horse’s reins to the apricot tree, and turned to undress in front of the water vat.

He used a ladle to pour ice-cold, piercing water over his head, washing away the dust from his entire body.

He finally stopped when his whole body turned red.

Just as he returned to his bedroom to get dry clothes, he heard Old Man Yao’s disdainful voice from outside the door. “I, this old man, just went out for a while, and you made the yard a mess of water. Are you a shrimp soldier or crab general from the Luo River? You like to bathe in cold water like this?”

Chen Ji heard the familiar harsh voice in the room and laughed. As he buttoned his diagonal-collared clothes, he walked out the door. “Master, where are Senior Brother She and Senior Brother Liu?”

Old Man Yao said disdainfully, “Two cowards, after being confined, they cried and shouted for their parents. So I let them go home and rest. Where is Wuyun? I haven’t seen it for several days.”

Chen Ji explained, “It helped me go find someone!”

Old Man Yao glanced at him sideways. “When you see it, call it home.”

Chen Ji said “um” and looked towards the kitchen. “Master, have you made my meal?”

Old Man Yao sneered, “A short-lived ghost doesn’t need to eat, it’s a waste of grain.”

Chen Ji was startled. “Master, what do you mean by that?”

Old Man Yao stood under the apricot tree with his hands behind his back, looking up at the red cloth strips on the apricot tree. “You are a very smart child, but you are not smart enough!”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. “How do you say?”

Old Man Yao said, “In the eyes of the smartest people in the world, there are only interests, no feelings. Look at those dignified lords on the court, which one doesn’t practice self-preservation to perfection? You risking your life like this may not live long! Boy, once you have ties, your heart is in chaos! When you were in Cuiyun Alley, you shouldn’t have mixed in with the armored soldiers. After arriving at Jing Wang Fu, you should have even less ventured to save people under Mr. Feng’s eyes!”

Chen Ji understood then. It turned out that Old Man Yao saw through everything. He also didn’t know where Uncle Crow was observing from, but he clearly saw his every move. He stubbornly said, “But I can’t really kill you, can I?”

Old Man Yao laughed coldly, “That Mr. Feng clearly saw that your identity was problematic, so he ordered us to be killed. Zhang Zhuo is backed by the Xu family, and I am just an imperial physician without connections. Why would he kill us? If it were in normal times, you should have thought this through long ago. But yesterday you didn’t!”

Chen Ji no longer spoke.

Old Man Yao continued to ridicule, “Seeing Golden Pig being dragged away, you couldn’t help but want to act. You completely disregarded your own situation. Seeing someone wanting to kill Bai Carp, you didn’t even have the most basic calm. If Heavenly Horse hadn’t happened to arrive and kill, could you still be breathing and talking to me now?”

The small yard quieted down, and neither master nor disciple spoke.

After a long time.

Old Man Yao glanced sideways and saw that Chen Ji had his head down and wasn’t speaking, finally sighing. “Boy, I see you are still young, so I won’t say more. But I will only remind you once: if you want to accomplish things, your heart can be hot, but your blood must be cold!”

Chen Ji said “um”. “Thank you, Master. I will remember!”

Just then, the wooden door of the medical hall creaked open, and someone came uninvited.

Chen Ji turned back and looked, his pupils suddenly contracting.

He saw the masked White Dragon leisurely walk in, bloodstains still remaining on his clothes.

Chen Ji calmly asked, “Lord White Dragon, may I know if you have any instructions?”

White Dragon casually moved a chair in the yard and sat down, then looked up and explained, “Passing by Ping’an Yiguan, I came in to rest my feet. Don’t be nervous! Sit down and chat.”

Old Man Yao got up and walked away. “You chat, I, this old man, still need to cook!”

White Dragon watched Old Man Yao enter the kitchen, then turned to look at Chen Ji. “I heard Cloud Sheep say that you are unwilling to work under me? Do you know how many people in the Huan Guan Ju want to serve under me, but I don’t even look at them!”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, “Lord White Dragon, it’s not that I’m unwilling, but I am already serving under Lord Golden Pig.”

White Dragon lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, “What if Golden Pig is dead?”

Chen Ji was astonished. “Why would Lord White Dragon kill each other?”

White Dragon laughed heartily. “That boy Golden Pig talks bad about me all day long behind my back. I’ve wanted to kill him for a long time.”

Chen Ji frowned.

White Dragon said with interest, “Forget it, forget it. You take every joke seriously? I’m not joking with you. I came here specifically to find you this time.”

“Um?”

White Dragon said solemnly, “Someone in the Liu family secretly reported to me that before Jing Wang surrounded the Liu family, he once had the intention of making a fake play true. He sent Yun Fei to secretly contact the chief of the Jing Chao Junji Si to discuss important matters. Only later, after the Junji Si forces in Luo City were all surrounded, did he extinguish his rebellious thoughts and was forced to continue acting according to my plan!”

White Dragon asked in a deep voice, “Do you know about Jing Wang wanting to make a fake play true?”

Chen Ji’s heart suddenly tightened.

This matter of Yun Fei connecting with the Junji Si, was it not a setup by the Mijian Si and Jing Wang together?

If not, could it be that Jing Wang really thought about taking advantage to rebel?

No no no.

That’s not right.

It was the Mijian Si who wanted to take advantage to frame Jing Wang.

This setup from the beginning was not just to kill the Liu family, but to kill two birds with one stone.

White Dragon calmly asked, “Why aren’t you speaking?”

Chen Ji casually said, “Lord White Dragon, how would Jing Wang let me know about such a big matter? Why not catch Yun Fei and ask?”

White Dragon laughed and said, “Yun Fei is a smart person. Seeing that the situation was not right, she hid herself immediately. My people searched for her all night but couldn’t find her hiding place.”

Chen Ji said regretfully, “What a pity. If we catch her, we can naturally force out the truth!”

White Dragon said, “Now that this key witness is not here, I want to ask you, you are very close to Shizi and the County Princess. Have you ever heard them say anything?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “No!”

White Dragon asked again, “Then if I threaten Bai Carp’s life, can I force Yun Fei out?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “I don’t know!”

White Dragon’s tone gradually became sharp. “You don’t know, or you don’t want to answer? Young man, you need to understand that you are a member of my Mijian Si. If you harbor rebellion, it is a capital crime and you will be executed.”

Chen Ji calmly said, “Lord White Dragon, I have no relationship with Yun Fei. If you ask these questions, I naturally cannot answer. Otherwise, I will go and help you capture Yun Fei now. As long as she is caught, the truth will naturally be clear!”

White Dragon under the mask gazed at him for a long time, then lightly laughed and stood up. “No harm, you rest well. Perhaps when you are full of energy, you can think of some clues. I’m leaving!”

With that, White Dragon walked away with his hands behind his back, disappearing leisurely outside the medical hall door, coming and going suddenly.

Chen Ji stood up, gazing through the corridor towards the cold and quiet Anxi Jie outside the door! He turned his head to look at the apricot tree, then also walked outside.

Old Man Yao came out of the kitchen carrying a pottery bowl, his tone indifferent. “Going out so urgently, not eating?”

“Um. I won’t eat at home!”

Old Man Yao sneered. “Remember what I just said to you?”

Chen Ji took a deep breath, then calmly said, “Remember. The heart can be hot, but the blood must be cold!”

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