Chapter 79: Learning the Sword

A heavy snow transformed the gray tiled buildings of Luoyang City, with their varying heights, into a world of white.

Only on Tongji Street was the white accumulated snow on the ground trampled into black mud by the constant movement of secret police soldiers and horses. The doors and windows of every household on the street were tightly shut, afraid of getting involved in trouble.

At the mansion that had been bombed into ruins, dozens of secret police officers were sifting through the collapsed bricks, stones, and tiles, trying to find useful clues.

Jin Zhu sighed: "Everyone says an auspicious snow signals a good harvest year, but I can't be happy. How much longer will it take to dig through these ruins?"

"My lord, it will be soon. Please eat something first. These are Weng Ji's large steamed buns that I just sent people to buy back. They are very famous in Luoyang City."

"What time is it, and you're still eating steamed buns? It is quite fragrant, though. This meat filling is from a castrated pig that was just butchered last night; there's no gamey smell. The seasonings include star anise, scallions, ginger, sesame oil... it seems they also have their own secret oil. It's exquisite!"

In the courtyard, a small ox-hide military tent had been set up. Inside the tent, a small stove was burning, boiling hot water.

Jin Zhu sat boldly in the tent, gnawing on a steaming Weng Ji large steamed bun.

At this moment, a secret police officer bent down and ducked into the tent, saying in a low voice: "My lord, the ruins have been completely cleared. Except for some normal daily items, there is nothing unusual."

Jin Zhu chewed his steamed bun and asked vaguely: "How many firearms did the killer use?"

"Based on the fragments of bamboo tubes found in the ruins, it should be two."

"What did the coroner say?"

The secret police officer reported: "The coroner has already examined the deceased's wounds. There are forty-two wounds on the deceased's body from broken iron pieces."

"There is one cut wound on the neck and one penetrating wound on the thigh. What is relatively strange is that his upper body mostly only has abrasions, no major injuries."

Jin Zhu paused with the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand: "I have witnessed the power of that firearm. Two firearms bombed the house into collapse, yet his upper body is fine. This must be either a martial artist from Cangzhou who practices horizontal training, or a strongman from Jing Dynasty's Ku Jue Temple who rings the bell... Jing Chao, shave off all the deceased's hair and see if there are ordination scars on the top of his head!"

The secret police officer quickly walked out of the tent, knelt beside Yuan Zhanggui's corpse, and with one hand holding a knife and the other holding Yuan Zhanggui's hair, he cut it off: "My lord, there are ordination scars!"

"He really is a monk from Ku Jue Temple, likely a Jing Dynasty thief. They have stolen cultivation methods from Ku Jue Temple before," Jin Zhu shoved the remaining half of the steamed bun into his mouth and swallowed it whole: "Strange, strange, why did the killer want to kill him?"

Jin Zhu was puzzled: the deceased was suspected of being a Jing Dynasty thief, and the killer was also suspected of being a Jing Dynasty thief. Why did they kill each other?

"What did the residents of Tongji Street say? Did anyone recognize him?"

The secret police officer shook his head: "No, the neighbors say this house has been empty for over a year and they have never seen anyone enter or leave. We found a broker to ask, and the owner of this courtyard is a Hui merchant from the south. In the early years, he kept a concubine here, but he has now sent the concubine to Prefect Zhang Zhuo, and has not come to Luoyang City for a long time."

Yuan Zhanggui's clothes had been stripped off, his appearance was unrecognizable, and the house was still abandoned. Gui Lin had stripped Yuan Zhanggui's clothes before leaving and removed the other party's human skin mask, suddenly leaving the case without clues.

At this moment, a secret police officer rode up to the mansion from outside. He leaped off his horse and shouted loudly: "My lord, my lord!"

Jin Zhu lifted the tent flap and walked out: "What are you shouting about? Look at how panicked you are. The sky hasn't fallen down on our secret police department yet."

Yet, the secret police officer said hoarsely: "My lord, after I negotiated with the Luoyang City military and horse department last night, they fully promised to close the city gates and set up checkpoints. But this morning I went to the city gate and saw that the four city gates of Luoyang City are still open as usual, with no checkpoints set up at all. Our people went to ask what was going on, and the military and horse department people said that no one had notified them to close the gates. Hundreds of common people are already coming and going, and the snow tracks on the outer roads of the city have also been destroyed!"

The secret police officers suddenly felt a surge of murderous intent. Whether in the capital or Jinling, who dared to defy the secret police department so openly?

A secret police officer said softly: "My lord, Liu Zhen from the Luoyang City military and horse department... should we arrest him into the inner prison first?"

Jin Zhu was silent. After a long time, he only smiled and said: "Arresting him is useless. Perhaps the Liu family is just waiting for us to arrest Liu Zhen and has prepared a countermeasure for us... The Liu family in this Yuzhou really has a hand that covers the sky. Did you go to the prefect's yamen?"

"Yes, the prefect and the assistant prefect are both not in the yamen. The minor officials said that when it snowed last night, those two adults went to the river dike overnight to set up a porridge shed and are now comforting the workers at the river dike."

Jin Zhu laughed angrily: "Good, good, good, these are the civil officials of my Ning Dynasty! Civil officials harm the country!"

The trusted secret police officer beside him said softly: "My lord, now in this territory of Luoyang City, the civil officials are all... it seems like they are avoiding us. The Liu family is obstructing us from the middle, and there are still insiders from the Jing Dynasty thieves among the Luoyang City secret police..."

Jin Zhu only felt things were becoming troublesome. The most crucial thing was that he didn't know who the Jing Dynasty insider was, and even if he found some clues later, the Jing Dynasty would know about it.

He said softly: "From today onwards, you lead our own people to investigate the firearm matter from last night. Do not let the local secret police intervene."

The secret police officer said with difficulty: "But we only brought twelve secret police officers from the capital. Everyone is still not familiar with Luoyang City. We always need a reliable person who is familiar with Luoyang City to lead us."

Jin Zhu suddenly said: "I thought of someone. Prepare a horse. I will go find him. You all don't follow!..."

Anxi Street was dressed in silver and plain white, full of joy. The entire street was filled with children frolicking and running around, with snowballs flying everywhere.

The neighbors on the street were sweeping the accumulated snow in front of their doors while happily greeting each other.

Bai Li Princess, bringing Liang Cat, returned through the snow. Each person carried two vegetable baskets. They walked into Heping Medical Hall.

Liang Cat's baskets were filled with pork and mutton. Bai Li Princess's hands held large scallions and vegetables. Because the snowy ground was difficult to walk on, the price of vegetables was unusually expensive today.

But Bai Li didn't care.

In the main hall of the medical hall, Old Man Yao was just working the abacus.

He saw Bai Li come in from the corner of his eye and asked without lifting his head: "Princess, what did you go out and buy early in the morning?"

Bai Li smiled brightly: "It's snowing heavily today, so at noon, we'll all make pork and scallion, and celery and mutton dumplings to eat!"

Old Man Yao lifted his head, stroked his beard, and for once didn't speak sarcastically. Instead, he carefully examined Bai Li: "Princess indeed has a Bodhisattva's heart. Stretch out your hand and I'll read your palm."

Bai Li placed the vegetable baskets on the counter and smiled as she stretched out her hand, opening her palm: "Are you also proficient in physiognomy?"

Old Man Yao pinched Bai Li's fair and slender palm and examined it for a long time: "Not a short-lived person. Go get busy."

Bai Li was a little startled: "Ah, that's it? Tell me other things."

Old Man Yao asked: "What else do you want to know?"

Bai Li stood in front of the counter and thought for a moment: "Will I have any great disasters or difficulties?"

Old Man Yao shook his head: "Princess has deep fortune. Even if you encounter danger, someone will step in to help, turning misfortune into good fortune."

Bai Li thought of her experience last night and suddenly her eyes lit up: "Wow, you are so accurate, old immortal! Calculate some other things for me, for example, marriage fate, or what else I need to pay attention to in the future."

"I can't calculate those things. Go make dumplings," Old Man Yao waved his hand, sending Bai Li away.

After Bai Li Princess went to the backyard, he took out six copper coins from his sleeve and threw them on the counter. Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed tightly, then relaxed again.

In the backyard.

She Dengke, Liu Quxing, and Shi Zi were practicing horse stance under the guidance of Liang Gou. Chen Ji was sitting on a bamboo lounge chair watching, with someone thoughtfully covering him with a cotton quilt.

After just applying the medicine, Chen Ji only felt that the wounds on his legs and chest were no longer so painful. The wounds were scabbing and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The medicine from Lao Jun Mountain's medicine official seemed more miraculous than he had imagined. Presumably, Liang Gou had put a lot of effort into getting the medicine.

At this time, Shi Zi and the other two were practicing their horse stance shakily, sweating profusely in the cold winter. The sweat vapor on their heads was clearly visible like steam.

She Dengke wailed: "How much longer do I have to stand?"

Liang Gou carried a bamboo strip and whipped his thigh: "You can't even hold on for this short time? I ate more bitterness than you ate salt when I was practicing with a knife!"

Liu Quxing thought for a moment: "That's not much either."

The bamboo strip whipped Liu Quxing's buttocks, causing him to grimace in pain.

Only Shi Zi did not complain of bitterness or tiredness. He sincerely wanted to learn knife techniques. The helplessness of being abandoned by those Jianghu heroes last night and the despair of facing the secret police reminded him that the only person he could rely on was himself.

Therefore, Shi Zi really wanted to become a capable official.

While the three of them were practicing horse stance, Liang Gou sat boldly on a small bamboo stool under the eaves. Beside him, Liang Cat sat side by side, picking vegetables.

Suddenly, Liang Cat drooped his head and said in a low voice: "Brother, that bottle of soft jade ointment was clearly always with you. Why did you have to lie to them and say you went to Lao Jun Mountain to get it?"

Liang Gou glared at his younger brother unhappily: "If I didn't say it like that, would they cherish it? Only things that are hard to come by will be remembered and cherished!"

"But you still shouldn't lie to people. I know you hope Shi Zi will continue to bring you drinks, but if you didn't lie and gave the medicine to Chen Ji, they would still thank you."

Liang Gou lightly scoffed: "Was the medicine effective? The medicine was given by the medicine official of Lao Jun Mountain, that's not wrong. As long as Chen Ji can recover early, what's a little lie?"

Liang Cat's voice was even lower: "Brother, the entry into our Liang family's knife technique may not be practicing horse stance. In the past, father said that you should search for the wonderful taste book house and look at the complete version of Qingshan. The Liang family's knife technique starts from breathing in heaven and earth; it fundamentally does not require cultivating horizontal training like other martial artists."

Liang Gou said somewhat impatiently: "All martial artists in the world start by practicing horse stance. What's wrong with me teaching like this? Perhaps if I really taught the Liang family's knife technique and did it like that, when we two go underground, our father won't scold us to death!"

Many people in the world use knives, but few enter the path. To enter their respective paths, they must have their own unique method.

This is the secret of the Liang family that is not passed down.

Liang Cat was in a bad mood: "But they are very good people, brother. If you don't plan to teach them the real things, tell them straightforwardly. Don't hide and tuck."

Liang Gou said with a serious face: "If I tell them straightforwardly, how will we still drink? How will we live in this Heping Medical Hall? Otherwise, you learn this Liang family knife technique first. At that time, you can pass it to whoever you want, I can't control it."

Liang Cat suddenly became discouraged: "I can't learn."

Liang Gou straightened his body: "I just don't believe I can't teach you! Wait until you learn, you can pass it to whoever you want. On the road to Yellow Springs, you take care of all matters. You go suffer father and grandfather's scolding,..."

"I really can't learn."

"You must learn even if you can't!" Liang Gou said solemnly: "Follow me and breathe, thirteen thousand five hundred breaths. Inhale and exhale the vast wilderness of heaven and earth. It's just simple breathing, how can you not even get the entry? Persevere, persevere, until you have that stock of qi in your chest and abdomen."

No one noticed that just as Liang Gou was teaching Liang Cat how to breathe, Wu Yun was squatting aside, seemingly understanding, squinting and staring. Its body also slightly undulated with the breathing.

Sometimes it didn't understand what Liang Gou was saying, but it just kept it in its heart and slowly pondered.

Wu Yun was just thoughtfully adjusting its breathing frequency when Liang Gou unintentionally glanced at its focused appearance and suddenly laughed: "Does this little cat also want to learn knife with me? Hahaha, if this Liang family knife technique is learned by a cat, I don't know what our father will think in the underground."

Liang Cat muttered while picking vegetables: "You teach it. Maybe it will learn faster than me."

Liang Gou cried and laughed: "What nonsense are you saying? Cats can't even understand what we are saying, how can they learn knife! You listen to me properly, I still don't believe I can't teach you."

Wu Yun ignored him and jumped onto Liang Cat's shoulder on its own. While pretending to sleep, it secretly listened to Liang Gou imparting the way to Liang Cat.

It only felt that this Liang family knife technique was full of attraction. Whether it could understand or not was one thing, but it would listen first...

Just at this time, a crisp bird call came from outside the door.

Others did not notice, but Chen Ji suddenly opened his eyes. This was the sound of the secret police department's copper whistle!

He was surprised and propped up his body, looking towards the main hall through the corridor.

Jin Zhu, dressed in commoner clothes and wearing a bamboo hat, came to Heping Medical Hall pretending to seek medical treatment. He came to the counter and smiled as he greeted Old Man Yao: "Imperial Physician Yao, I am looking for Chen Ji."

Old Man Yao put down the brush and account book in his hand and eyed Jin Zhu askance: "Are all the people from the secret police department dead? Why are you looking for a heavily injured person every day?"

Jin Zhu smiled awkwardly: "It's still not as excellent as the disciples you taught."

"Go ahead, he's in the backyard."

Jin Zhu poked his head into the backyard and glanced: "Trouble you to call him out. There are many people with loose mouths in the yard."

Old Man Yao gave a cold laugh, turned his head, and shouted: "Chen Ji, come out, someone is looking for you."

Jin Zhu hurriedly said: "Lower your voice, I came secretly!"

Chen Ji slowly moved out: "Lord Jin Zhu, how did you come?"

Jin Zhu pulled Chen Ji aside and said with a smile: "First, I must congratulate you. We established merit last time at Chaocang Gambling House, and the rewards have already arrived. Now you are already a pigeon-level secret police officer. One step further and you will be Hai Dong Qing, the main palm of one side. Your annual salary from the court is thirty taels, and our secret police department will give you an additional thirty taels."

Chen Ji said "Mm."

Seeing that he wasn't very moved, Jin Zhu added: "The transmission book for the cultivation path that I specially sought for you has already flown to the capital. I expect to receive a reply from Lord Inner Minister in a few days."

Chen Ji's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"I wouldn't deceive you!"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "Lord Jin Zhu, what is the matter you have come to find me for this time?"

"There is a great merit for you!" Jin Zhu coaxed with a smile: "You may know that the cultivation path is a reward that Hai Dong Qing level great secret police officers can obtain. Although I have specially sought it for you, whether the Inner Minister agrees or not is still up for debate. But this time, if you establish great merit again, not only will the cultivation path be secured, but perhaps you can be immediately promoted to Hai Dong Qing and obtain monthly cultivation resources. Did you hear the explosion last night?"

"No, what explosion?" Chen Ji pretended not to know. The medical hall was several li away from Hongyi Lane, and it was impossible to hear the commotion there.

Jin Zhu said: "Last night, a Jing Dynasty thief caused trouble in Hongyi Lane and now we don't know where he is hiding. I need you to lead the team to find him."

Chen Ji thought to himself, isn't this a coincidence?