Chapter 58: Killing the Official

In the dim apprentice dormitory, only two oil lamps cast light. Chen Ji lay on the bunk bed, wearing clean clothes. His chest and thigh were wrapped in white cloth, and the entire dormitory was filled with the strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine. The pungent smell of the medicine felt like a dying breath.

But Chen Ji had no time to dwell on this. He had been unconscious for a day and a night, long enough for many things to happen. Before he lost consciousness, the secret spy department of the Ning Dynasty, led by Jin Zhu, had already found an eyewitness and was investigating in the direction Wu Hongbiao had fled.

Now that Chen Ji hadn't been caught, there were two possibilities: either the secret spy department was investigating slowly, and because it was a rainy night with few pedestrians, they hadn't found new eyewitness testimony and still hadn't caught Wu Hongbiao. Or, Wu Hongbiao had already been caught and taken to the inner prison, but he hadn't confessed Chen Ji's involvement yet. If it was the former, Chen Ji still had a chance to salvage the situation. But if it was the latter, Chen Ji couldn't possibly fight his way into the inner prison to save him or silence him, could he? Moreover, even if Wu Hongbiao wasn't caught, Chen Ji was severely injured, and Wu Hongbiao was also severely injured. Chen Ji had people treating him, but Wu Hongbiao had no one to treat him. Not to mention treatment, the opponent was hiding in the backyard of a cloth shop and didn't even have a bite of food.

While he was thinking, Princess Bai Li turned to go to the basin in the room to wash a towel, then wrung it dry and placed it on Chen Ji's forehead, replacing the previous one. She even took off the towel, washed it again, lifted Chen Ji's arm, and wiped his armpit to cool him down.

"Um, County Princess, what are you doing?" Chen Ji was extremely surprised.

"You still have a fever." Princess Bai Li glared at She Dengke and Liu Quxing, "Two grown men, can't even do small tasks properly. Your master told them to apply a towel to cool you down, but they didn't even wring the towel dry before putting it on your face. They didn't even know to change the wound dressing."

She Dengke and Liu Quxing lowered their heads awkwardly, "We've always done it this way."

Bai Li said, "That's still too careless. How can you take care of a patient like this?"

Sons of the World sighed emotionally, "Bai Li, you shouldn't be doing these things..."

Bai Li also glared at him, "At Donglin Academy, the teachers didn't let you bring a book boy. When you were sick, didn't I take care of you this way?"

"But Chen Ji is an outsider after all!" Sons of the World were anxious, "If this gets out, how will you still get married?"

"Get married?" Princess Bai Li furrowed her brows, "I just want to stay with my parents. Why do I need to get married? I'm just confused. Starting last year, you've all been saying 'marry, marry' one by one. Why do I have to get married?"

Liang Gou'er muttered from the side, "Because everyone should have their own retribution..."

Sons of the World: ...

Bai Li: ...

Liang Mao'er quickly covered his mouth and pulled him to the courtyard, "Brother, quickly shut up!"

Chen Ji lay on the bed, looking at Bai Li in white clothes. She had gone to Red Clothes Alley with her brother at midnight, gone to a gambling house, and made friends with Jianghu people. She was upright and straightforward, like a female hero who acted decisively and wasn't constrained.

She Dengke saw the awkward atmosphere in the room and quickly said, "I'll go make some food for Chen Ji. Are you all hungry? I'll make more, and everyone can eat together?"

Liang Gou'er rushed back into the room, raising his hand, "Lard and meat, I saw there's lard and meat in the kitchen!"

Liang Mao'er also followed shyly, "I'll just eat some pickled vegetables and drink a little porridge!"

Sons of the World thoughtfully said, "Tofu, pan-fried tofu!"

Chen Ji: "Hey, wait... you didn't mention anything I want to eat!"

She Dengke explained with a smile, "Chen Ji, I'll boil some porridge for you and steam some egg custard. Master said you've been unconscious for so long and can't eat anything else."

After She Dengke went out to cook, Chen Ji looked to the side doubtfully, "Sons of the World and County Princess, why are you all here?"

Sons of the World explained happily, "We were originally going to go out to play tonight. After we climbed in, we didn't see you, only Liu Quxing and She Dengke busy carrying water basins back and forth. We thought we could save a toll fee if we didn't see you. But Bai Li insisted on giving you the toll fee, so she asked Liu Quxing where you were, and we knew you were heavily injured. Then Bai Li said not to go out and play, but to stay and see if there was anything she could help with."

Bai Li turned her head to look at Chen Ji and said doubtfully, "Chen Ji, what bad person injured you? The thieves are too arrogant, they dare to commit crimes within Luo City borders... I still thought Luo City was very peaceful!"

She Dengke said in a muffled voice, "County Princess, Luo City is not peaceful at night, especially the West Market. There's a place where human traffickers mix, and they are all fierce. You must not go there."

Bai Li furrowed her eyebrows, "When father comes back, I will certainly tell him about this matter. We must make Luo City clean and bright."

Sons of the World said to everyone with a smile, "My sister is born with a sense of justice. Since she was young, she couldn't stand seeing us do unjust things. If we stole two watermelons from others, she would lecture us for a day and insist that we go back and put down twenty copper coins!"

Bai Li rolled her eyes, "People painstakingly planted watermelons for several months. You steal them and still have a reason? Don't talk nonsense. Chen Ji, do you still remember what the person who injured you looks like, and where they are? I'll let General Wang go catch him!"

Liang Mao'er also said quickly from the side, "No need for General Wang, my brother can do it. He can chop him alive with one knife."

Chen Ji lay on the bed and shook his head with a smile, "Thank you everyone, thank you County Princess. The person who injured me has already been brought to justice."

Princess Bai Li nodded, "That's good!"

At this moment, the small apprentice dormitory was full of people, so much so that it looked especially crowded. Everyone was chattering about this and that, making a lot of noise. However, the backyard of Taiping Medical Hall had never gathered so many people, and so many people had never cared about Chen Ji before. In this noisy environment, he actually felt a bit warm.

Speaking of which, Old Man Yao entered the room with a black face, his hands behind his back. He looked at the crowded room and immediately ordered everyone out, "Go do what you should do. Sons of the World and County Princess, don't stay here either. Go back to the Prince Manor first. Chen Ji needs rest."

Sons of the World originally just wanted to quickly take Bai Li away. As soon as he heard these words, he immediately stood up to bid farewell, "Imperial Doctor Yao is right. We'll go back now. Chen Ji, we'll come see you tomorrow morning!"

Chen Ji responded with a smile, "Thank you Sons of the World and County Princess!"

Old Man Yao glanced at him, then turned to everyone in the room and said, "Liang Gou'er, Liang Mao'er, you two wait in the courtyard first. I have something to say to Chen Ji. Liu Quxing, you also go to the kitchen to help. Don't come in unless I call you."

After the room was empty of people, Old Man Yao completely stopped giving Chen Ji a good face. Chen Ji felt guilty and dared not speak. They were silent, even the flame of the oil lamp became shorter.

After a long time, Old Man Yao asked solemnly, "Who is the person in the cloth shop? Since you wanted to kill him, why did you let him go?"

Chen Ji's heart tightened. His master actually knew even this. Old Man Yao said meaningfully, "Still planning to hide it? Why don't you ask, has Jin Zhu caught him?"

Chen Ji immediately became honest and looked up to ask, "Master, how is he now?"

Old Man Yao stood beside the bunk with his hands behind his back and sneered, "Early this morning, the secret spy department found new evidence and is investigating in this direction. They will reach the cloth shop in a few hours. While that boy in the cloth shop was unconscious, I stripped off his bloodstained clothes and threw them into a small alley outside the West Market. The guards and secret spies there discovered the bloody clothes and have now surrounded the West Market, checking houses one by one."

So his master had helped him divert the secret spy department. This Old Man Yao said that everyone didn't need master-disciple affection, but he still acted in the end. But what made Chen Ji feel strange was that although they were master and disciple, and although Old Man Yao was a bit cold on the outside and warm on the inside, their relationship wasn't good enough for the other party to go against the secret spy department for him, was it? He always felt a bit strange, as if there were other hidden reasons for this matter.

Old Man Yao saw that he wasn't speaking, then sneered, "Your staged scene fooled Jin Zhu, but it didn't fool me. Crow saw you almost lose your life and quickly came back to call me to save you. You really should thank it properly. If it wasn't for it, you would be a corpse in the inner prison now. Still not planning to say? This divination I calculated shows you have a great disaster omen!"

Chen Ji sighed in his heart and finally chose to confess his secret, "Master, I'm not only helping the secret spy department of the Ning Dynasty, I'm also helping the military intelligence department of the Jing Dynasty!"

Old Man Yao raised his eyebrows, "I know this. Say something I don't know."

"Ah?" Chen Ji was stunned, "You know this too?"

Old Man Yao snorted, "You still think you were very covert? Do you want me to recite the content of your conversation with Consort Yun?"

Chen Ji was completely stunned. He couldn't understand how his master knew about this matter. Crow wasn't there at that time. Wait... In that persimmon tree in Flying Cloud Garden, he and Consort Yun were talking. Although there was no one in the courtyard, there were magpies pecking at the persimmons on the tree. Magpies also landed and flew away from time to time in front of the door.

If Black Cloud could communicate with all cats, then Crow could also communicate with all birds! Did magpies have intelligence? Of course, magpies are among the top five bird species in terms of intelligence. They can not only remember over a thousand hidden food locations, but also classify food clearly. Their intelligence even exceeds that of many mammals.

Old Man Yao saw his eyes flickering and then sneered, "How many years have I cultivated in this path of Mountain Lord? You've only cultivated for a few days?"

"Then why didn't you call me earlier?"

Old Man Yao said painfully, "Did you give me time to teach you? How long has it been since I just led you to gain dragon qi, and you've already stirred up so many troubles."

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, "Then you, as a person of the Ning Dynasty, aren't angry after discovering that I work for the military intelligence department of the Jing Dynasty?"

Old Man Yao shook his head, "I don't want to explain this matter. You will understand later. First, talk about your matter. What about the person in that cloth shop?"

Chen Ji saw that the other party didn't seem to care about his spy identity and simply chose to tell everything, "The person in the cloth shop is named Wu Hongbiao. He was sent by my uncle from the Jing Dynasty to teach me spy knowledge and be my partner."

"My uncle is a certain big figure in the Jing Dynasty. He has currently failed in a political struggle, and his opponent 'Lu Guanwu' is secretly eliminating his followers. Wu Hongbiao is on the elimination list."

"He came to the cloth shop to give me a tip-off and warn me to be careful of danger!"

Old Man Yao fell into thought. Chen Ji asked, "Master, what should I do now?"

Old Man Yao said impatiently, "What are you asking me for? You stirred up this mess. How long do you want me to help you fix it?"

"Is Wu Hongbiao still alive?"

"I don't know!"

"It's so cold, did you change his clothes after stripping off his bloody clothes?"

"No, I don't care about that!"

"Then did you get him some food..."

"None of my business!"

Chen Ji suddenly sat up from the bed, "Bad." So Wu Hongbiao was miserable. Old Man Yao really only cared about keeping himself alive and didn't care about other people's lives at all.

Yet he heard Old Man Yao sneer, "Shouldn't you thank me? If he dies like this, you can contentedly put away your womanly kindness. Don't worry, even if he dies, it's not you who harmed him, it's me who harmed him, right?"

So his master wanted to directly starve Wu Hongbiao to death. Chen Ji said seriously, "Master, this is not womanly kindness." As he said that, he struggled to get up and wanted to go out, but he quickly calmed down and sat back on the bed, "No, I have to wait for everyone to fall asleep!"

Old Man Yao gave a "huh" sound and went out, "Not stupid. I advise you to try not to get involved with that Wu Hongbiao. I see that his palm's lifeline is short and sturdy and looks quite cute. Getting involved with him won't have a good end!"

Chen Ji: ... Master, you went to strip others' clothes and read his palm too?

The night was deep and quiet. The apprentice dormitory was filled with snoring one after another. Chen Ji quietly got up amidst the snoring and with difficulty put on his clothes. The slight movement pulled his wound, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain, but he dared not make a sound. Chen Ji carefully limped out the door. In the courtyard, Crow was standing on a branch of the apricot tree, closing its eyes and resting, as if it had merged with the apricot tree.

It saw Chen Ji come out, opened its eyes, and gazed quietly. Under the moonlight, silver light sprinkled on it, making it appear colorful, as if draped in a layer of divine clothing. Chen Ji said seriously, "Uncle Crow, thank you."

The old man said Crow had cultivated for fifty-three years. It was okay for him to call Crow uncle. But it was the first time Crow had heard someone call itself this way. So it sized up Chen Ji somewhat curiously.

Chen Ji chuckled lightly, "Master said if it weren't for you, I would have died yesterday. I have to go out now. If you find anything unusual, please let me know. I'm just in the cloth shop next door."

Crow was silent for a moment, then flapped its wings, indicating that he should go at ease. Chen Ji went to the kitchen and took four coarse grain biscuits, then used a bamboo tube to fill it with water. He stuffed some Cnidium monnieri into his chest and then walked out of the medical hall. He was severely injured and could only support himself against the wall, sticking to the shadows between the houses, staggering forward bit by bit. Just a hundred meters away, Chen Ji was sweating all over from the pain, as if he had just run five kilometers. The wound on his thigh split open, and blood soaked his pants again. He gritted his teeth and climbed over the wall into the backyard of the cloth shop, only to see Black Cloud hiding in the shadows, guarding the door of the main room.

Black Cloud saw him in this state and immediately meowed, "What happened to you? Who injured you?"

Chen Ji leaned against the wall, panting and resting, and laughed miserably, "Let's not talk about this first. Is Wu Hongbiao still inside?"

Black Cloud replied, "Still inside. He's in a coma most of the time. When he wakes up, he doesn't plan to escape. He seems to be waiting for you."

Chen Ji was silent. At a certain moment, he wished Wu Hongbiao was acting earlier. That way, he could kill the other person without any psychological burden and eliminate future trouble forever.

"Did he eat anything today?" Chen Ji asked curiously.

Black Cloud said, "While he was in a coma, I caught several mice and threw them beside him. He wasn't picky. When he woke up, he used a knife to skin them and ate the raw mice legs and back meat."

Chen Ji glanced towards the room. There was a piece of bloodstain on the floor and three skinned mouse corpses thrown aside. "Did he drink water then?"

Black Cloud explained, "When he was thirsty, he went to the courtyard and scooped up the accumulated water on the ground to drink."

Chen Ji knew that Wu Hongbiao wanted to live. His survival desire surpassed that of ordinary people. No wonder he could survive until today while being pursued.

"Black Cloud, did he see you?"

"No!"

"Good!"

Chen Ji walked towards the room. Wu Hongbiao, who was originally sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing that it was him, he relaxed and laughed bitterly, "I still thought something had happened to you, but you don't look much better than me."

Chen Ji got straight to the point, "Which one wants to kill you, that Si Cao?"

"Which one?" Wu Hongbiao was doubtful, "There's only one Si Cao."

Chen Ji asked, "Is it the one wearing a green face and fangs mask, skilled in using a knife, and with patches on the elbows of his clothes?"

"Correct, that's him!"

Chen Ji had eighty percent certainty in his heart early on that there was definitely more than one person playing the role behind the name Si Cao. Shopkeeper Yuan of Bailu Pavilion was one. The one wearing a green face and fangs was another. Currently, it seemed that the knife user was the one who wanted to kill him and Wu Hongbiao.

"How long have you worked with this Si Cao?" Chen Ji asked.

Wu Hongbiao struggled to sit up, leaned against the wall, and gnawed on a coarse grain biscuit. "I've worked with him for about four years and have never seen his true face. I only know that when we were in the Jing Dynasty, his name was Li Xilong. But when I came to the Ning Dynasty, I once heard your uncle say that this person was his old subordinate and would take care of you and me!"

"Then why does he still want to kill you?"

Wu Hongbiao was choked by the coarse grain biscuit. He took the bamboo tube Chen Ji handed him, drank a big mouthful of water, and then stated his speculation, "I guess he probably just received news from the Jing Dynasty. Earlier, your uncle was only removed from the position of Left Chancellor of the Zhongshu Province and was still allowed to continue as the military strategy envoy. Now, even the military strategy envoy position has been removed and replaced by his former enemy, Lu Guanwu. So, Li Xilong, in order to preserve his Si Cao position, has completely sided with Lu Guanwu and plans to use you and me as tokens of allegiance!"

Chen Ji thought to himself, keeping Wu Hongbiao did not disappoint him. The other person's status in the military intelligence department was not low, and he knew many secrets. Li Xilong... Chen Ji leaned on the door frame of the main room, his expression somewhat tired. He was already aware that a crisis was approaching. Now that the other party couldn't find Wu Hongbiao, they would certainly seek an opportunity to come for him.

Chen Ji looked at Wu Hongbiao sitting on the ground, "How's your body?"

Wu Hongbiao patted his chest, "I have a cultivation path in my body, I won't die."

"I don't feel you're very powerful..."

"You boy owe a beating again..." Wu Hongbiao scolded, "Yesterday, because I was heavily injured, and I was stuck by that bastard Li Xilong. I clearly have enough merit, but he always doesn't give me the next layer of cultivation path."

"What's your plan next?" Chen Ji asked curiously.

Wu Hongbiao said, "I plan to go back to the Jing Dynasty to see. I must beg your uncle to save my sister as soon as possible. I still need to help your uncle rise again. I must go back as soon as possible..."

The room fell silent. The moonlight shone in from behind, casting a long shadow of Chen Ji in the room. After a long silence, Chen Ji looked straight at Wu Hongbiao and said, "Sorry, you still can't go."

"Stay for what?"

"Kill Si Cao!"

...