Chapter 30: Showdown

"No one in the coffin?"

"Really no one," Jiao Tu said. "I opened the coffin and looked. There were no clothes, no hat, no burial items. Old Master Liu isn't dead. Perhaps he's still in the Liu family courtyard right now."

The Liu family courtyard is located at Longmen Mountain, south of Luoyang city, and occupies several hundred mu. People in Luoyang city often joke that if an ordinary woman marries into the Liu family's high walls and grey tiles, she's afraid she'll never be able to leave for the rest of her life and will die inside.

Jiao Tu tore off Chen Ji's blindfold, and the three of them sat on the ground on top of Zhuangyuan Mountain. "Tell us, what do we do now?"

Yun Yang hesitated for a long time. "The Liu family actually dared to defy universal disapproval and use that old man's fake death to pressure the secret spy department? Doesn't that mean everyone in the Liu family is like Liu Shiyu and has betrayed the enemy?"

Jiao Tu lifted both arms to tie up her hair. "The Liu family has operated in the Central Plains for a long time, controlling eight out of ten farmlands and officials. Even the court has to look at their faces when collecting grain and taxes. Families like the Liu clan, Xu clan, Hu clan, Chen clan, Qi clan, and Yang clan have long put family interests above the country. It's not strange for them to betray the enemy."

"But His Majesty's army of ten thousand is right on the border of Yu state, how dare they?" Yun Yang was surprised.

Jiao Tu thought for a moment. "What if the Jing Wang Mansion is connected to the Liu family? I'll send a carrier pigeon later and inform the inner minister. This is not something you and I can decide. We must transfer soldiers here!"

"Right, immediately transfer soldiers to surround the Liu family!"

Chen Ji interrupted, "Two sirs..."

Yun Yang's eyes lit up. "What, you still have a new idea? Quickly tell us, you have many ideas!"

Chen Ji said, "Please settle my reward, sirs. Jiao Tu sir's fifty taels from last time haven't been given yet, for a total of one hundred fifty taels."

Jiao Tu's face darkened. "Always about money, money, money."

Chen Ji was urgently short of money. He roughly estimated the ice flow in his body. This time, he was afraid he would need more than ten roots of ginseng to resolve it. There were still many ice flows in the prison inside Luoyang city that hadn't been collected. Going back and forth, he was afraid he would need more than a thousand taels of silver to stop it.

His cultivation path was also too expensive!

He smiled and said, "Two sirs, just the fact that the coffin was empty is a great merit. I think the inner minister will be very happy. Compared to this, what is one hundred taels of silver?"

Jiao Tu reluctantly took off a string of purple sandalwood prayer beads from her wrist. "Here, it's a treasure from the Buddhist gate. You can exchange it for one hundred taels of silver at Tuoluosi Temple."

Chen Ji was startled for a while. He examined the prayer beads and saw that every bead was covered with dense small words, making his eyes dizzy.

"This can be exchanged for money?" he asked curiously.

"Never seen a treasure from the Buddhist gate?" Jiao Tu explained, "The words on these beads are their own secret code. Take them to their incense kitchen, and someone will naturally give you money according to the secret code. They can understand it."

Chen Ji was even more curious. "Then if I carve a string of prayer beads exactly the same myself, wouldn't I also be able to exchange them for money?"

Jiao Tu laughed lightly. "I advise you to give up that idea. Not a few people in the martial world have tried to get ideas from the Buddhist gate, but they have all been surpassed in the end."

On the side, Yun Yang took out five small silver ingots. "Here."

Chen Ji's smile was sincere. "Thank you for your patronage. I've been out too long today. Please send me back first, sirs. As for how to handle the Liu family matter, it's not something I can participate in."

His savings already amounted to two hundred taels of silver, zero, and one hundred seventy-three copper coins.

Not counting the fifty taels of silver under his bed.

......

......

It wasn't until the Ushi hour, close to midnight, that the carriage brought Chen Ji back to the door of Taiping Medical Hall.

Yun Yang and Jiao Tu had just lost a sum of money, and even the joy of gaining merit was diluted. Without exchanging greetings, they drove the carriage away.

As the carriage drove away, Hei Yun jumped from the top of the carriage into his arms. "I've already remembered the location of the inner prison... Ah, your body is so cold."

"I attracted too many ice flows in the inner prison. Did you see Jiao Tu's cultivation path?" Chen Ji carried the copper coins in his left hand and Hei Yun in his right hand as he walked towards the medical hall.

"Saw it. A venerable yin god drilled out from her brow bone, fierce and terrifying!" Hei Yun said.

Chen Ji pushed open the main door of the medical hall. However, just as he pushed the door, at the Ushi hour, three quarters past, the ice flow arrived as promised.

This seemed to be a special moment. The hibernating ice flow always surged up at this time, relentless and persistent.

Chen Ji struggled towards the medicine cabinet. A medicine vendor had visited this morning, and Master should have restocked the ginseng.

However, before he could even walk to the medicine cabinet, he was already unable to move a step.

Chen Ji said with difficulty, "Hei Yun... ginseng."

In the medical hall, Hei Yun jumped out of Chen Ji's embrace, lightly and skillfully jumped onto the medicine cabinet, pulled open the drawer, bit a root of new ginseng, and brought it back to Chen Ji.

Clink, clank, clatter, the ginseng turned into ten transparent beads that fell on the ground and bounced up. Hei Yun ran and jumped, chasing the beads, and swallowed them one by one.

The melting flow flowed back, instantly igniting the Taiyi acupoint on the left side of his dantian and the Taiyi acupoint on the right side!

Chen Ji leaned against the counter, exhausted, and gently stroked Hei Yun's head. "Thank you."

Hei Yun raised its head. "You don't need to thank me later... What if your master finds out the ginseng is missing?"

Chen Ji was troubled. "I must take advantage of Master not noticing and quickly buy a new root to replace it."

Hei Yun thought for a moment. "Or, I can go beat that fat white cat again and settle the score for you?"

Chen Ji said solemnly, "...Good idea!"

At this moment, Yao Laoren's indifferent voice came from behind him. "I told you to deliver medicine, and you've been delivering it from morning till evening."

Chen Ji subconsciously turned around, blocking the medicine cabinet drawer behind him that hadn't been closed yet. "Master? Why did you come without a sound?"

Not only Chen Ji, but even Hei Yun hadn't detected the other's approach!

Yao Laoren stood in the main hall of the medical hall with his hands behind his back, his face full of sarcastic expression. "You still know how to come back? What are you doing standing there without moving? Come over!"

Chen Ji didn't dare to move because the medicine cabinet drawer behind him hadn't been closed yet!

Just as he was rapidly thinking of a coping strategy, he saw Hei Yun jump down from his embrace and leap onto Yao Laoren.

Yao Laoren was startled for a while and subconsciously reached out to catch Hei Yun. The furry little black cat meowed in his hands, blinking its golden vertical pupils.

He saw Yao Laoren remain silent for a long time, finally holding Hei Yun in his arms, stroking its furry head, and laughing coldly at Chen Ji. "It's more sensible than you... Let's go, Hei Yun, grandpa will take you to eat snacks."

Chen Ji: Huh?

Hei Yun had caused trouble, but Yao Laoren actually forgot to reprimand him.

Taking advantage of Yao Laoren turning around, Chen Ji quickly and gently closed the medicine cabinet.

Just as he closed it, he heard Yao Laoren's light voice float over. "What are you still hiding? Go buy a new root yourself tomorrow to replace it for me. Look at the account book carefully, not a single whisker can be missing."

Chen Ji awkwardly followed him to the backyard, changing the subject and saying, "Master, where are my two senior brothers?"

Yao Laoren said indifferently, "She Dengke's third brother is hosting a banquet for a wealthy family, and She Dengke took Liu Quxing to listen to opera. They'll be back tomorrow morning. Originally, I also wanted to take you, but you didn't come back late."

He took out the purple wooden box from the room again. The first layer of the drawer contained snacks, and the second layer contained preserved fruit.

Hei Yun hadn't eaten all day, so its mouth was extremely full.

Chen Ji just glanced at the drawer and was immediately glared at by Yao Laoren.

"If you want to eat, go to the kitchen and make a meal yourself," Yao Laoren said coldly.

"Oh."

Chen Ji took a multi-grain bun from the kitchen and nibbled on it while asking, "Master, does the Ushi hour, three quarters past, have any special meaning?"

Yao Laoren fed Hei Yun snacks while frowning and thinking. "Ushi hour, three quarters past... is your birth time."

"Hmm?" Chen Ji was surprised. Did the ice flow surge at this time every time because the Ushi hour, three quarters past, was his birth time?

Strange, could it be that the battlefield in his mind, wanting to seize him, had to wait until this moment of his birth time?

Chen Ji hesitated for a long time, finally asking honestly, "Master, what is a Xing Guan?"

Yao Laoren glanced at him. "Why should I tell you? You can sell information for money, but you want to get free information from me?"

As soon as the words fell, Hei Yun also stopped eating snacks and used its furry head to nuzzle Yao Laoren's palm.

Seeing this, Yao Laoren suddenly said in a bad mood, "You little thing look smart, but you're really cunning."

He said slowly, "Xing Guan is a general term for cultivators. They have various cultivation paths and do all kinds of things."

Chen Ji doubted, "Why don't ordinary people know about their existence?"

Yao Laoren stroked Hei Yun's head and said, "Most people just don't know. Most Xing Guan must hide their cultivation paths well, otherwise they will be coveted by others on the same path."

"Why?"

"Because every cultivation path seeking the Dao is like a bowl of water. There is only that much water in the bowl. If it is divided among many people, each person can only drink a little. And if you want to walk the final heavenly road, you need to drink this bowl of water alone. It won't work if one more person shares it."

Chen Ji was stunned. Conservation of energy?

Only at this moment did he realize why Yun Yang said that the cultivation path was only about life and death. Below this heavenly path, those who cultivate the same path are natural enemies.

Chen Ji asked calmly, "Then, Master, are you a Xing Guan..."

Yao Laoren smiled, actually beckoning towards the sky. He saw a huge black crow suddenly appear from the black night, its wings vibrating as it descended!

Chen Ji suddenly stood up. So this black crow was Master's!

When he was bothered by the ice flow, when he went to investigate the case at Liu Shiyu's home, they were all there!

"Master, you know everything," Chen Ji said hesitantly.

"What does it matter if I know or not," Yao Laoren gently stroked the black crow's feathers, and the black crow looked at Chen Ji, opening its mouth in a silent laugh, as if mocking his ignorance of this world.

Master's black crow was just as sarcastic as Master.

At this time, the black crow looked at Hei Yun, who was showing off its meal with its head lowered, and then looked at Yao Laoren, making a "ga ga ga" sound.

Yao Laoren patiently said to it, "Get acquainted, this is a new friend."

The next second, the black crow looked at Chen Ji, then at Yao Laoren again.

Yao Laoren continued patiently, "Not this one yet."

Chen Ji: "..."