Chapter 32: Unending

When Chen Ji arrived in this world, he knew nothing about himself. He could only piece together who he was little by little from the information others revealed.

Now, his past is becoming more and more complete… and also more and more horrifying.

A Jing Chao spy? Am I really a Jing Chao spy?!

For Chen Ji, this is the worst possible outcome, as if he is walking on the edge of a cliff, with a ten-thousand-zhang abyss on either side. No matter which way he falls, it is eternal damnation.

What should he do?

The person holding the knife behind Chen Ji said calmly, "Don't move lightly, or you will die."

The voice was dry and muffled, yet full of absolute confidence.

His opponent must be a seasoned official, a high-ranking figure in the Jing Chao Military Affairs Department!

Chen Ji remained still, but he heard the shopkeeper say, "Si Cao Daren, I have already confirmed it. On the night of Zhou Daren's accident, this boy transmitted information with him. Now Zhou Daren's entire family has disappeared, only this boy is still alive. He must have defected to us."

Si Cao of the Military Affairs Department pressed the ice-cold blade tightly against Chen Ji's neck and asked in a hushed voice, "Do you have anything to say?"

Chen Ji's thoughts raced, and finally he said calmly, "That night I went to Zhou Chengyi's mansion, he had already been betrayed by the 'thin horse' from Cui Zhu Yuan in Bai Yi Xiang. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu then found him at his door... How could he die because I defected?"

The shopkeeper said in a hushed voice, "Then how did you survive? Jiao Tu and Yun Yang are known for their bloodthirstiness. If you hadn't defected and made a contribution, how could you still be alive? You have already betrayed Jing Chao!"

The shopkeeper had just received a kick. Now, in his anger, he seized the opportunity to kick Chen Ji in the stomach, making Chen Ji double over.

Chen Ji wanted to fight back, but the person behind him kicked him in the back of his knee.

Chen Ji's knee softened, and he almost knelt on the ground.

But he held himself up stubbornly. His knee didn't touch the ground, and he stood up again.

Si Cao of the Military Affairs Department kicked him several more times. Each time, Chen Ji almost knelt but then struggled to stand up.

Seeing this, Si Cao pressed down on his shoulders with great force. However, this time Chen Ji risked a fractured shoulder and did not bend his knees at all.

He straightened his body and stared fiercely at the shopkeeper, saying, "No matter how many times you torture me, the result will be the same. I only ask one question: If I had already defected, why are you still alive and talking to me?!"

The shopkeeper's face froze.

This was the reason they hadn't killed Chen Ji immediately. Although all signs pointed to Chen Ji having defected, everyone except Zhou Chengyi and Liu Shi Yu was safe and sound.

Given Chen Ji's identity, if he had defected, it would have been a disaster for the entire Jing Chao Military Affairs Department system in Lu City. The Military Affairs Department had to confirm exactly what had happened.

The warehouse was filled with medicinal materials, making it somewhat crowded. The breathing of the three people in the room was clearly audible.

Chen Ji slowly exhaled, then used two fingers to pinch the blade, pushing the dagger that was clamped on his neck away slightly. "You want to kill me without asking for the truth? Let me finish what I have to say. After I went to the Zhou mansion, I hadn't said more than a few sentences to Zhou Chengyi when Yun Yang and Jiao Tu arrived. Zhou Chengyi knew he had no hope of survival, so he told me to protect myself. Later, he committed suicide by swallowing poison. I then continued to live under the identity of a medical hall apprentice. The Secret Spy Department still doesn't know my true identity."

After speaking, he no longer looked at the Hundred Deer Pavilion shopkeeper. Instead, he turned directly to face Si Cao of the Military Affairs Department behind him: the third most important figure of the Jing Chao Military Affairs Department lurking in Ning Chao!

Si Cao wore plain gray clothes, an ordinary outfit with two patches on each elbow and knee.

What was strange was that Si Cao wore a thin wooden mask on his face. The mask was carved with a green face and fierce teeth, looking terrifying and ferocious.

Before he could even open his mouth to speak, Si Cao raised his hand and struck precisely on Chen Ji's neck, knocking him unconscious.

...

...

When Chen Ji slowly woke up, he suddenly found himself hanging upside down somewhere by someone. His head was covered with a black cloth, and it was completely dark in front of his eyes. His wrist was aching as if it had been cut.

He heard a sticky dripping sound, as if his own blood was dripping drop by drop.

The dripping sound was like the countdown of life, filling people with fear and urgency.

But Chen Ji instead calmed down.

"According to the bleeding speed, you only have two quarters of an hour to live," Si Cao's voice came from behind the mask, somewhat muffled. "Now I ask you, the Secret Spy Department always prefers to kill the wrong person rather than let one go. Even if they don't know your spy identity, they certainly wouldn't let you live. Tell me, how did they let you go?"

Chen Ji explained in the darkness, "Because I made a contribution. I used alum as a clue and vinegar to brush the paper to find the secret letter that the rice paper shop gave to Zhou Chengyi."

Si Cao asked in a low voice, "If what you say is true, then the abilities you showed don't match your identity as a medical hall apprentice. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu would certainly be suspicious! Yuan Ming, when he came, did you confirm that no one was following him?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "No."

"Confirm it again. See if there are any strange faces around the Hundred Deer Pavilion at this time."

"Understood."

The shopkeeper named Yuan Ming immediately pushed the door open and went out. He stood in the courtyard and used a copper whistle to send out a crisp swallow call.

Soon, from the southeast, northwest, and northeast directions outside the Hundred Deer Pavilion, successive swallow calls were transmitted back.

The shopkeeper returned to the room, his face showing doubt. "Si Cao Daren, the brothers arranged around report that indeed no one followed him."

Si Cao fell into thought. "How did you gain the trust of the Secret Spy Department, actually not even having a tail?"

Chen Ji also fell into thought. Yes, how did I…

It seems I suddenly gained the trust of Yun Yang and Jiao Tu. Not only could I go to the inner prison, but I could even read files freely.

Those files are the most important secrets of the Secret Spy Department. If Yun Yang and Jiao Tu still suspected I was a Jing Chao spy, it would be absolutely impossible for them to let me view them.

Why?

Wait, it's because of that strange dream.

Chen Ji recalled that in the dream, the opponent had controlled his subconscious and asked some questions.

And he was lucky to pass the interrogation at that time because... he truly didn't know he was a Jing Chao spy then!

So close, I actually dodged the interrogation by sheer luck!

Drip, drip.

The sound of blood dripping still continued, as if urging him to live.

Chen Ji's face was calm, but his tone was urgent. "I had a dream earlier. In the dream, someone kept asking me if I was a Jing Chao spy. At that time, my mind was almost defenseless, but in the end, I still defended my mind and answered 'no'."

Si Cao seemed somewhat surprised. "Meng Ji himself made a move? You actually resisted Meng Ji's interrogation."

However, Si Cao didn't completely believe him.

Chen Ji felt a pain in his arm, as if it had been cut again.

The sound of fresh blood dripping disappeared, replaced by the sound of blood pouring like a thin line into a wooden basin, a constant patter urging him on.

Si Cao said calmly, "No matter how cleverly you talk, it could all be an arrangement taught by the Secret Spy Department. If you want me to believe you, then prove your loyalty to Jing Chao. If you can't prove it, I can only kill you. I believe your uncle will also understand me."

Chen Ji was startled. Uncle?

At this moment, the shopkeeper said, "Daren, don't waste words with him. The Secret Spy Department letting him live certainly has a conspiracy. If we let him go back again, perhaps one day the Hundred Deer Pavilion will be completely destroyed. This is one of our most important businesses in the south, and many people rely on the Hundred Deer Pavilion to survive."

Si Cao didn't answer, just waited for Chen Ji's reply.

Chen Ji closed his eyes, thinking in his mind how to prove his loyalty to Jing Chao.

When he opened his eyes again, he said resolutely, "I saw that Jin Si Lu at Liu Shi Yu's home that used the 'anti-cutting' method to hide information, but I didn't hand it over to Yun Yang and Jiao Tu. In the book, Liu Shi Yu revealed that there was a high-ranking figure in the palace in contact with our Jing Chao Military Affairs Department, and also revealed that the entire Liu family had already turned to Jing Chao. If I had handed over this book, perhaps the Liu family would have found it difficult to escape disaster!"

Si Cao held his breath. "Where is the Jin Si Lu?"

"Burned."

Si Cao narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes showing a fierce light as he quietly thought about something. "You are indeed not lying about this point. The Secret Spy Department did not find that Jin Si Lu. Afterwards, I sneaked into Liu Shi Yu's mansion to find it, but I also didn't find it. It turns out you hid it ahead of time, very good..."

Chen Ji's heart tightened. The Jing Chao Military Affairs Department actually knew that the Secret Spy Department didn't get the Jin Si Lu? Could it be that there were other spies in the Liu family mansion that night?!

Just when Si Cao was thinking, the shopkeeper urged, "Si Cao Daren, no matter how eloquent this boy is, it doesn't change the fact that he betrayed his colleagues. You should know that the confiscation of the Liu family's rice paper shop afterwards was very far-reaching. Not only did it harm Liu Shi Yu, but it also almost caused a great disaster!"

Chen Ji hung upside down on the beam and asked solemnly, "May I ask, which other person in our Jing Chao has gained the trust of the Secret Spy Department's Twelve Zodiacs? And who else can dodge Meng Ji's interrogation?"

Si Cao's eyes changed.

Meng Ji was already one of the biggest obstacles for the Military Affairs Department in penetrating the Secret Spy Department. How many spies successively tried to penetrate the Secret Spy Department, but ultimately fell before Meng Ji.

Now that Chen Ji had escaped the opponent's interrogation, perhaps it really was an opportunity.

But how to confirm that Chen Ji had truly escaped the interrogation?

Chen Ji hadn't heard Si Cao's answer for a long time. Finally, he took a heavy gamble. "Give me one month's time. Within one month, I can prove that I haven't defected and prove my loyalty to Jing Chao."

Si Cao thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at the shopkeeper. "Send a message out. I want to see 'Long Whale'. I have something important to entrust to him."

The shopkeeper wanted to speak but stopped himself. Still, he turned and went out the door.

Si Cao was silent in the room for a long time. Finally, he cut the rope and put Chen Ji down.

He slowly put the dagger back into the sheath in his sleeve. "This time I came to Ning Chao. Your uncle once asked me to look after you on his behalf, but I didn't expect such changes. Rest assured, if it is truly as you said, not only will I not kill you, I will also protect you. But if you deceive me, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Chen Ji took off the black cloth covering his head. He saw that he was still in the medicinal materials warehouse, and Si Cao was holding a chicken in his hand. The chicken blood had already been poured into the wooden basin.

Chen Ji was not surprised in his heart, but he still pretended to be surprised and touched his arm. There was no wound where he had felt pain earlier.

Si Cao calmly explained, "I still hope you can penetrate the Secret Spy Department, so naturally I wouldn't carelessly leave wounds on your body to cause suspicion. Furthermore, in consideration of your uncle, I am willing to give you an opportunity to prove yourself."

His uncle was not actually a Ning Chao person, but a Jing Chao person? Then he at least had half Jing Chao bloodline.

Chen Ji had originally thought that Jing Chao would be a nomadic people, and their appearance would be vastly different from Ning Chao. But looking at his own appearance, Ning Chao and Jing Chao were clearly of the same origin, completely different from his judgment of the world.

For a moment, he only felt that his identity had become confusing again, no wonder the opponent had said earlier...

"You betrayed your identity, you betrayed your surname."