Chapter 179: Wine

“Heaven is dry, be careful with fires and candles… Young man, go home early to rest, don’t let your family worry.”

“Okay, thank you, old uncle.”

As another dawn broke, the old, weakened watchman, carrying a white paper lantern, brushed past Chen Ji coming the other way.

Chen Ji, holding a sleeping Wu Yun in his left arm and a jar of wine in his right, walked through Anxi Street and pushed open a crack in the wooden door of Taiping Medical Hall.

He was a little startled; an orange-yellow light shone from the crack in the door, like a rare warmth on this winter day.

Behind the counter, the old man Yao was busy with his abacus, recording accounts. Wu Ya, who hadn't been seen at the medical hall for a long time, was standing on his shoulder.

Old man Yao looked up and glanced at Chen Ji, asking indifferently, “Why didn't you shout ‘I’m back’ today?”

Chen Ji smiled and entered the door, “Uncle Wu Ya, long time no see.”

Wu Ya lifted his wing slightly, a greeting.

Old man Yao looked at the jar of wine in Chen Ji's hand, the meaning in his eyes unclear, “Don't go fetch water tomorrow morning.”

Chen Ji placed the wine jar on the counter and asked curiously, “Why?”

Old man Yao said casually, “Remember this from now on: after killing someone, don’t go to the City God Temple, and don't look into wells. It’s bad feng shui.”

Chen Ji was slightly taken aback. Although he didn’t understand what he meant, he still responded, “Okay!”

Old man Yao asked, “Regret it?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment, “No regret!”

It turned out old man Yao wasn’t sleeping; he knew what Chen Ji had experienced tonight, and so he was waiting for him.

It felt the same as the first time he stepped into Taiping Medical Hall, as if as long as he stepped inside, everything outside could be temporarily forgotten and put down.

This mean old imperial physician, although his blood was cold, his heart was warm.

Old man Yao opened the mud seal of the wine jar, smelled it a little, and wrinkled his brow, “How many heavy-hearted matters does it take to buy such strong wine? Go get two bowls.”

Chen Ji said “Oh” and went to the kitchen to get two pottery bowls.

Old man Yao poured himself a shallow amount at the bottom of a bowl, raised it to his lips, and slowly took a sip!

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Master also drinks wine? I thought you never drank!”

Old man Yao looked at the lamp wick on the counter, “I loved drinking when I was young, but not anymore!”

Chen Ji didn’t understand, “Why not?”

Old man Yao thought for a moment, “After getting old, the wine tastes a little bitter.”

He lowered his head to look at the wine in the bottom of the bowl swaying in the lamplight, “Living longer makes you sigh more about how fate plays with people. Is it time? Is it fate? The key to killing this person tonight isn't whether the county princess will or won't know the truth, it's whether you can overcome that hurdle in your own heart.”

Chen Ji remained silent.

Old man Yao looked at him, “But it’s good that you finally understand a truth: someone who can’t give up anything can’t change anything either.”

Chen Ji seriously considered this sentence, and then poured himself a bowl of wine, not much, just a shallow amount at the bottom.

He took a light sip, then exhaled a strong, knife-like stream of wine fumes.

At this moment, Wu Yun also woke up. It poked its head out and licked the wine in Chen Ji’s bowl.

It suddenly stuck out its tongue from the spiciness, teasing Wu Ya who used its wing to point at it and silently laugh.

Wu Yun was angry and chased Wu Ya around the house.

Old man Yao watched the cat and bird making a commotion and asked casually, “You are now getting the ice flow from Jing Fei and Yun Fei, and two roots of ginseng a day. Your cultivation is progressing so fast, aren’t you afraid Jin Zhu will be suspicious?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and explained, “Master, we didn’t get it.”

The ice flow given by Jing Fei and Yun Fei was more than anyone else had ever given, calculated roughly, it was enough to digest over twenty roots of ginseng.

It was a pity that Liu Ge Lao resigned from office to go home due to Ding You and had no ice flow. Otherwise, the ice flow produced by the current Ge Lao would probably be more than that of the two Wang Ye's Fei combined.

Old man Yao sighed, “The most fearful thing about the cultivation of the Shan Jun is rushing. If people see through it, the world will not tolerate you.”

Chen Ji replied, “Master, I have the cultivation method given by the secret spy department as a cover. Even if Jin Zhu discovers that my cultivation speed is problematic, he won’t know that I cultivate the Shan Jun method. Besides, the only thing that ties people together in this world is interests. Although I don’t know exactly what Jin Zhu is doing by lurking in the secret spy department, it’s certainly a matter of utmost importance.”

Chen Ji continued, “He needs strength. The faster I cultivate, the more he can't leave me. If you were to ask me who is the person who least wants me to die right now, it’s definitely him!”

Old man Yao raised his eyebrows, “If he finishes his business and no longer needs you, what will you do?”

A thin mist flashed in Chen Ji’s eyes, and he said in a low voice, “That time won’t come.”

Old man Yao seriously sized him up for a moment, then said with satisfaction, “You are finally no longer an outsider.”

Chen Ji’s gaze was fixed. This sentence seemed to carry another thousand jun weight.

The old imperial physician and the young man faced each other across the counter, breaking this layer of window paper for the first time.

Chen Ji had thought about it. Old man Yao should know that he came from the Forty-nine Heavenly Layers, so when his personality changed drastically, the other side never questioned it. The night he first arrived, the other side said it was because they had calculated a ‘good hexagram’ that they went to Zhou Fu.

But thinking back now, the other side was more like worrying that he couldn't find his way home and would become a lonely ghost, so they went to lead him home.

That night, if old man Yao hadn’t gone to lead him, Chen Ji, having left Zhou Fu, wouldn't even know where to go.

Old man Yao sighed, “I don’t know where you lived before, but you actually cultivated a naturally compassionate heart. But looking at this world now, good people don't live long. Now your blood has cooled down. That’s very good, otherwise I would worry that you would go before me.”

Chen Ji remained silent.

Old man Yao looked at him and said, “But I still want to give you one more sentence.”

Chen Ji asked, “What sentence?”

Old man Yao slowly said, “Blood can be cold, but the heart must be hot!”

The same eight words, but this time the master changed the order when he said them.

“This thing should also be given to you.”

Old man Yao took something out of his sleeve, placed it on the counter, and pushed it towards Chen Ji.

Chen Ji took it in his hand and looked at it. It was a white ivory waist token carved with the Bagua symbol.

There was no word on the waist token, only three trigrams.

He asked in confusion, “Master, what is this?”

Old man Yao said casually, “I originally didn’t want to give it to you, afraid you would die faster with it. As for what it is, I can’t say, and I don’t want to say. You are a smart person. When you can use it one day, you will naturally understand.”

Chen Ji asked again, “There are Bagua on this waist token, why are there only three trigrams?”

Old man Yao said casually, “Open Door, Rest Door, Life Door, three good doors, nothing special, just for good luck.”

Chen Ji said “Oh” and stuffed the waist token into his chest, “Master!”

Old man Yao impatiently waved his hand, “I don't have time to chat with you. I want to go back to sleep. I'll say it again, no need to fetch water tomorrow morning. Don’t crow like a rooster every day, affecting my old man's sleep.”

Chen Ji: “……”

Old man Yao drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp, then looked at Chen Ji, “You bought the wine, why aren’t you drinking?”

Chen Ji was startled, “Master, I didn’t buy this wine to drink!”

Old man Yao was suspicious, “Not for drowning sorrows with wine?”

Chen Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He went to the kitchen to get charcoal, ground it into powder, and mixed it with strong burning knife wine to spread it out to dry.

“Master, this process is just to extract the charcoal, to let the charcoal inside... anyway, it's just to make that thing you said just now!”

Old man Yao’s eyes widened, then he flicked his sleeve and walked towards the backyard, “I was just worrying too much about you.”

Chen Ji smiled and concentrated on grinding all the black charcoal into powder, mixing it with strong wine, and spreading it out to dry again.

After everything was done.

Chen Ji silently blew out the oil lamp and sat alone behind the counter in a daze, letting the darkness engulf him!

Dawn broke!

The morning mist was filled with the smell of fish from the water, as if soft green moss had grown in the air.

Chen Ji led the warhorse tied to the apricot tree and walked into the thin mist on the green stone slab road.

The sound of hooves echoed far in the empty street.

He first went to the East Market, bought more good pastries from Zheng Xin Zhai, and then only went out through the South City Gate.

He hurried towards the Liu family’s large residence.

Now that Yun Fei was gone, the secret spy department naturally had no way to use criminal evidence to nail Jing Wang.

They would probably confine the world son and the county princess for a period of time, and then they could only helplessly release them.

However, when Chen Ji arrived in front of the Liu family’s large residence, he finally hesitated when he looked at the large vermilion painted door.

He had only thought about finally saving Jing Wang Fu on the way.

But he hesitated when he arrived at the door.

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, finally dismounted, and knocked on the large door.

With a creak, the large vermilion painted door was pulled open a crack from the inside, and a young secret spy poked his head out. He saw Chen Ji and asked in surprise, “Master Chen, why are you here?”

Chen Ji held out the pastries, “Please give these to Jing Wang. I won’t go in.”

The secret spy said, “Master Chen, you’ve sent this to the wrong place.”

Chen Ji slightly furrowed his brow, “What do you mean? Did Master Jin Zhu explain anything?”

The secret spy knew that Chen Ji was a favored person by Jin Zhu and had made great contributions. He might become a big secret spy like Hai Dong Qing any day.

He quickly explained, “Early this morning, Master Bai Long has already brought people to escort Jing Wang, the world son, and the county princess to the inner prison. So you should send these pastries to the inner prison!”

Chen Ji asked without changing his expression, “Why did Master Bai Long escort them to the inner prison?”

The secret spy said with a forced smile, “This humble one is not clear. Perhaps you should go to the inner prison yourself to see.”

Chen Ji stood in front of the door for a long time without speaking. The strong cold wind blew fiercely, blowing his hair eastward.

Chen Ji threw the pastries on the ground in front of the door, flipped onto his horse, pulled the reins to turn the horse’s head, bowed his body low, and galloped towards the inner prison.

He suddenly remembered what Jin Zhu had said. If the most powerful people in this Ning Dynasty all hoped for Jing Wang to die, then he must die. This was the general trend.

Chen Ji finally understood that now the secret spy department was already like an arrow on a string that had to be shot. Without Yun Fei, they would also fabricate other evidence until Jing Wang was completely dead and the hidden trouble was forever eliminated.

Jing Wang trusted the wrong person. He deserved to die.

But what about the world son and Bai Li?

Chen Ji dismounted in front of the inner prison gate.

He steadied his breath and then knocked on the iron door unhurriedly.

A jailer looked through the small window behind the iron door, saw that it was Chen Ji, and quickly opened the iron door, “It’s Master Chen!”