Chapter 69: Departure

Midnight...

Chen Ji awoke suddenly from a dream and slowly sat up.

In the simple apprentice dormitory, Liang Cat, She Dengke, and Liu Quxing were snoring in their sleep. Liang Dog was still nowhere to be seen, not having returned all night. The cat and dog who were usually inseparable didn't go out together today.

Chen Ji struggled to get down from the bed and cautiously made his way towards the courtyard. He wanted to clarify whether Wu Hongbiao had lied or not.

In the empty courtyard, only the crow stood on a branch of the apricot tree.

Chen Ji turned his head to look at the ladder set up against the courtyard wall. No one was stepping on their brother's shoulder again, peering over the wall's eaves, and no one was swinging their sister on the opposite wall.

The Crown Prince and White Carp Princess suddenly stopped coming out to play, or stopped passing through the medical hall. Taiping Medical Hall was once again quiet as before.

Chen Ji took some leftover rice and water from the kitchen and was about to head out of the medical hall when the crow blocked his path, pointing towards the area outside the medical hall.

"Uncle Crow, what do you want to say?" Chen Ji asked in confusion.

The crow spread its wings, first pointing towards the outside of the medical hall and then making a gesture of pulling a knife from its waist.

Chen Ji was stunned: "You mean, Taiping Medical Hall is already under surveillance?"

The crow nodded in relief.

Chen Ji was shocked: "Uncle Crow, who is monitoring the medical hall? If it's the Secret Spy Department, just blink once. If it's the Military Intelligence Department, blink twice."

The crow blinked three times.

Chen Ji: "..."

The crow opened its beak, seemingly mocking Chen Ji for his impending doom.

Chen Ji frowned, wondering what had gone wrong to attract the surveillance of both parties. Moreover, with both sides watching, how could he go out to see Wu Hongbiao?

The crow stopped making fun of Chen Ji. It flapped its wings, signaling Chen Ji to follow, then flew up to the roof of the medical hall's main hall.

Chen Ji moved the ladder and stealthily climbed onto the roof with the crow.

At midnight, one person and one crow peered over the roof ridge, secretly observing the shop across the main hall.

Anxi Street separated them, and everything was vaguely indistinct in the dark night.

The crow pointed to the second floor of the third shop on the right side. The room inside was dark, but the window was open a crack, just enough to see the entrance of Taiping Medical Hall.

The crow then pointed to the second floor of the second shop on the left side, where the window was also open a crack, facing the main entrance of Taiping Medical Hall. It seemed both sides were observing who entered and exited the medical hall.

Chen Ji muttered: "Fortunately, the two sides didn't rent the same room..."

The crow laughed silently.

Chen Ji ducked his head back behind the roof ridge and asked in a low voice: "Uncle Crow, how many people are in that room on the right?"

The crow blinked three times – three.

"What about the left side?"

The crow blinked three times – also three.

Chen Ji felt a strong sense of crisis. Sending only one person would be normal surveillance behavior, but sending three people simultaneously meant they were preparing to capture or kill.

Fortunately, he had Uncle Crow to help...

Chen Ji turned his head and smiled at the crow: "Thank you, Uncle Crow, for helping me again... Why are you willing to help me?"

The crow smiled silently, not answering.

Chen Ji asked again: "How should I get to the cloth shop?"

The crow beckoned with its wings, moving backward.

Following the crow's guidance, Chen Ji, along the shadows between the buildings on Anxi Street, flipped into the backyard of the cloth shop.

Not only that, but Uncle Crow even handled the aftermath. After Chen Ji entered the yard, it stayed on the yard wall, acting as a lookout.

Hearing the sound of someone flipping over the wall, Wu Hongbiao, who was lying on the ground, sat up: "Finally, you're here. Are the Military Intelligence Department and the Secret Spy Department still trying to catch me?"

Chen Ji said: "They are still trying to catch you, but they have already been led to the West Market. I heard the cloth shop is looking to sublet recently. This place is also not a long-term hiding spot. People might come to see the shop at any time."

Wu Hongbiao thought for a moment and said: "Then I will clean this place up a bit tomorrow. If people come, I'll flip out of the yard first and flip back in after they leave. It's not completely safe here."

Wu Hongbiao thought again and asked: "Did you find out Si Cao's real identity?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "You answer some questions for me and help me do one thing, then I can answer your question."

Wu Hongbiao carefully sized up Chen Ji: "You've changed."

Chen Ji leaned against the door frame, letting the moonlight cast a long shadow.

Once good brothers, one standing at the door, one sitting on the ground, both looking more miserable than the other, like brothers who had encountered disaster together, yet maintaining a safe distance.

Wu Hongbiao said softly: "You used to not accept long-term hard training, and your vigilance was very poor. Of course, this is also related to your growth environment. We were conscripted into the northernmost harsh military camps in Jing Dynasty at the age of twelve. We grew up in a bitter cold place, with half the year being winter. In the military camp, food was limited. If you weren't excellent enough, you would go hungry. If you were hungry for two meals, you would freeze to death. There, you had to scheme against each other just to get a full meal."

Wu Hongbiao continued: "You grew up in the southern Ning Dynasty, where birds sing and flowers are fragrant. There are beautiful dancers and singers, as well as romantic scholars and candidates. On the Qinhuai River, boat oars and lantern shadows... Life here is naturally... a bit weaker."

Chen Ji asked calmly: "What about now?"

Wu Hongbiao answered seriously: "Now it's different. Although I don't know what you've experienced, the person you are now is more like a qualified warrior. Although not being trusted makes me a little lost, I am genuinely happy for you. Only such a person can endure until we meet again someday."

Chen Ji lowered his head: "Didn't you say Jing Dynasty betrayed you? Didn't you consider surrendering to the Secret Spy Department?"

Wu Hongbiao's face was serious as he said: "It wasn't Jing Dynasty that betrayed me, but Si Cao. I just told you before, I will absolutely not let the political dirt of some people shake my faith. I also believe that your uncle and the others will surely rise again and clean up the villains in court. The people of Jing Dynasty have suffered enough. I won't betray my country just because of a few villains."

Chen Ji was silent. This was the first time he had heard the word "faith" since coming to this world. He didn't want to dwell on this question and asked the question he most wanted to ask: "You said that Si Cao, the one wearing a green-faced mask with fangs who is good at using knives, wants to kill us. Why do you say that?"

Wu Hongbiao said strangely: "Si Cao is Si Cao. Why add so many adjectives? There is only one Si Cao."

Chen Ji shook his head: "You answer my question first."

Wu Hongbiao recalled: "The people who came to kill me first deceived me, saying that Si Cao had an order to transfer me to the Caobang in the East Market to receive a batch of goods. I am a pigeon-level spy. In the entire Luocheng, except for you, only Zhou Chengyi and Si Cao are qualified to know my information. In addition, on the day the killer came, I also asked them to show Si Cao's token, and they did."

"What is Si Cao's token?"

"The Luocheng Records stamped with the special 'Rong Bao Zhai' stamp, with a corner chipped off the upper right corner of the stamp. It cannot be imitated."

Chen Ji finally understood. Wu Hongbiao didn't know there were other Si Caos, nor did he know that a new Si Cao had arrived in Luocheng and squeezed out the original Si Cao. Therefore, according to his own inference, the one who wanted to kill them was that Manager Yuan, not the coachman Si Cao. However, Chen Ji had to verify that Wu Hongbiao wasn't lying.

After a long silence, he said: "I need you to do one thing."

"What thing?"

"See Si Cao."

Wu Hongbiao's face showed astonishment.

Early in the morning, at the Luocheng Prefect Yamen.

The yamen hung a gold-lacquered plaque with the words "Luocheng Government Office".

The officials at the government office gate hurried in for roll call. A small clerk said in a low voice: "Quick, quick, if we're late, Master Tongzhi will scold us again."

Just as he was speaking, a carriage carved with a goldfinch pattern slowly stopped at the government office gate. The officials, ignoring the roll call, all stopped and bowed. The coachman lifted the curtain and hung it on the hook on the carriage body, then placed a stool beside the carriage, and said in a low voice: "Second Master, we have arrived."

Liu Mingxian, wearing a blue official robe, a black gauze hat, a jade belt loosely tied around his waist, and black boots with white soles, slowly stepped down from the carriage.

"Greetings, Master Tongpan."

"Greetings, Master Tongpan."

Liu Mingxian grunted through his nose, and only then did the officials dare to straighten up and hurry into the government office. According to the rules, Liu Mingxian, a fifth-rank official, was not qualified to ride in this goldfinch carriage, but Liu Cabinet Elder of the Liu family held a high position, and Yu State was the Liu family's private land, so naturally no one dared to say anything.

After Liu Mingxian entered the yamen, the coachman drove the carriage to the side, put on his hat, and squatted at the door, chatting idly with other coachmen and sedan chair bearers.

The coachman smiled and asked: "Er Niu, did your master go out to have fun again last night?"

Er Niu laughed: "Hey, which day does my master not go out for a drink? Last night he went to the Embroidery Building in White Clothes Lane. I heard he saw that Liu Xingtou."

The coachman said "Eh": "Now all the masters in Luocheng want to see what Liu Xingtou looks like. What did your master say?"

Er Niu said honestly: "My master said that Liu Xingtou is truly a wonderful person. It's a pity that her opponent is protected by the Xu family, so no one dares to do anything to her."

The coachman paused for a breath and continued to ask: "Old Li, what about you? What did you do last night?"

"What else could I do?" Old Li yawned: "Last night, a group of Secret Spies came to the Craft Bureau and said they wanted to check the Craft Bureau's warehouse accounts. My master stayed inside all night and couldn't leave a single step. This morning he was finally released. Master didn't even go home and came directly here."

The coachman laughed: "Then you are really miserable. Go back and let your wife give you a good back massage."

"My wife can beat me, but a back massage is something else."

The coachmen and sedan chair bearers burst into laughter.

At this moment, Liu Mingxian's coachman unintentionally glanced at the street and his face suddenly sank.

Across the street, a young man with a bloodless face was standing still, staring directly at him.

The coachman said to the people next to him: "I haven't eaten anything this morning. I'll go drink a bowl of tofu brain first. You all keep chatting."

"Okay, come back and help me bring two fried dough sticks!"

But then, the coachman Si Cao quickly walked into the crowd. As he walked, he suddenly flashed beside the young man, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a small alley.

When the two reached the middle of the alley, the coachman Si Cao said in a low voice: "Wu Hongbiao, do you not want to live? The Secret Spy Department and the Military Intelligence Department are all looking for you, and you still dare to stay in Luocheng!"

Wu Hongbiao said in a low voice: "I can't leave."

The coachman Si Cao said in a condensed voice: "How did you know my identity? How did you find me here?"

Wu Hongbiao lowered his head: "I followed you before."

Si Cao chuckled coldly: "Just you following me? You've already surrendered to the Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department?"

Wu Hongbiao raised his head and looked at Si Cao: "I am at least an elite under Master Lu, specially sent to the South Dynasty. Don't look down on me."

Si Cao still didn't believe him. He slightly narrowed his eyes, and his hand was already in his sleeve, ready to pull out a short knife at any time. He quickly looked around, but found that no one was surrounding them. The Secret Spy Department used over a hundred people by the Qinhuai River last time and still didn't catch him. If Wu Hongbiao had already defected, the Secret Spy Department would probably have already adjusted the guards from Mengjin Camp to surround him.

Si Cao was somewhat thoughtful: "You haven't changed your name and hidden yourself at this time. Why are you looking for me?"

Wu Hongbiao said: "Someone holding your token came to lure and kill me. I naturally want to come and clarify things face to face. Master Si Cao, why do you want to kill me?"

"It wasn't me, someone wants to clean us up," Si Cao answered in a deep voice.

"How can you prove it?"

Si Cao chuckled coldly: "If it were me who killed you, could you be alive today? Don't waste words. Since you are alive, go to Taiping Medical Hall immediately and tell Chen Ji about it. Tell him, tomorrow evening, you two come to this alley again. I will arrange for you to leave Luocheng!"

"Where are we going?"

"A merchant will bring you back to Jing Dynasty. Go back. Go find his uncle. Only by staying by his side can he be temporarily safe," Si Cao said.

Wu Hongbiao turned and left. At the same time, on the roof tiles, two calico cats stopped playing and jumped down from the house, disappearing into the vast Luocheng...

At noon, Black Cloud jumped into the yard from the roof. It gently patted Chen Ji with its paw, but couldn't wake him up.

Black Cloud waited patiently until Chen Ji took a cold breath and suddenly woke up from a nightmare of an ancient battlefield. He touched his neck. Just now, Feng Huai had chopped here.

Chen Ji looked at Black Cloud: "Are you injured again?"

Black Cloud raised its head: "Victory! From now on, I am the boss of Anxi Street!"

Chen Ji solemnly respected: "Fierce!"

Black Cloud recounted the process of monitoring Wu Hongbiao today. Chen Ji concluded: Wu Hongbiao didn't lie, and the coachman Si Cao didn't intend to kill himself either. The person who came yesterday was indeed here to protect himself. The one who wanted to kill him was Manager Yuan.

Black Cloud suddenly asked: "Do you want to leave Ning Dynasty?"

Chen Ji was silent. To leave or not to leave? Leaving would at least free him from the life of a double agent. In Jing Dynasty, he still had an uncle who was a high-ranking official. Even if he retired, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even without power, he could still buy more ginseng, right? Although he wouldn't see some new friends, they weren't coming to the medical hall anymore anyway. He was only a little reluctant about Old Man Yao. If he left, what would happen to the old man? He could only entrust him to She Dengke and Liu Quxing.

No matter how he considered it, Chen Ji should leave. This wasn't the choice he most wanted to make, but it was the wisest.

Chen Ji looked at Black Cloud: "Are you willing to leave with me?"

Black Cloud thought for a moment: "Although it's a bit of a shame to just take down Anxi Street, I'll go wherever you go."

Chen Ji took a deep breath: "Okay, we'll set off tomorrow afternoon and leave this troublesome place."

He stood up and slowly moved into the yard, looking at the large water vat in the southeast corner of the yard, at the apricot tree in the middle of the yard, at the closed main room, and at the busy main hall inside the medical hall... Chen Ji hadn't been in this world for long, but even if he had only lived for a little over ten days, when he thought of leaving, there was reluctance in his eyes.

At this time, Liu Quxing returned to the backyard to wash his hands. He looked at Chen Ji in surprise: "Eh, you're finally awake."

Chen Ji smiled and took out a piece of broken silver, handing it over: "Senior Brother, can you help me buy some meat and vegetables? I want to cook a meal for everyone to eat."