Chapter 52: Defection

Prince Jing, Zhu Youxiao.

His mother, Consort Li, had passed away early. The young Prince Jing was taken in by the current Empress Dowager and grew up alongside Emperor Ning, as close as biological brothers.

When Emperor Ning ascended the throne at age eleven, Zhu Youxiao was fourteen, and the Empress Dowager Liu held the reins of government.

Over the course of six years, Zhu Youxiao traveled extensively, working to win over northern civil officials and supervisory censors for Emperor Ning, thereby weakening the influence of the imperial in-laws.

At seventeen, Emperor Ning finally took personal control of the government, and at twenty-one, he enfeoffed Zhu Youxiao as Prince Jing.

Everything had seemed peaceful, but in recent years, Prince Jing’s prestige had grown steadily as he reorganized local administration, repaired rivers for disaster relief, and prepared grain and fodder for the border armies outside the palace.

The Directorate of Ceremonies began to find every possible way to make life difficult for the Prince's manor. Many of Prince Jing's former subordinates were thrown into prison, and even the head eunuch by the Prince's side was replaced by someone newly appointed by the Directorate.

Some said a rift had formed between Emperor Ning and Prince Jing; others said the Prince was gradually harboring ambitions of treason.

Even during Emperor Ning's forty-second birthday celebration last year, Prince Jing failed to return to the capital, citing his duties in river repair and disaster relief.

The brothers of the past had suddenly become strangers.

It was like the stories told by storytellers: once a man becomes a king, he becomes uninteresting.

Thinking of his master's exquisite divination skills, a deep sense of dread rose in Chen Ji's heart. If his master truly intended to use the dragon qi of the Prince Jing Manor to cultivate a disciple, then the Prince's manor might not survive this coming tribulation.

The Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau, the Ning Dynasty's Secret Intelligence Bureau, and the Liu family—they were like a massive vortex, threatening to pull the Prince Jing Manor into the depths of the sea.

As the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought amidst danger; where there is calamity, there are ice currents. His master wasn't using divination to seek good fortune and avoid evil; he was clearly using it to lead Chen Ji precisely into a massive pit!

Wuyun said goodnight to Chen Ji and climbed over the wall to return to Wanxing Courtyard.

Chen Ji stood alone by the counter, quietly contemplating his current predicament.

As he was thinking, he heard a movement coming from the backyard.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

There was a knocking at the door.

Chen Ji frowned. It was already the Hour of the Rat; there were still more than two hours before dawn. Who would be visiting at this hour?

Was it Golden Pig? What could he possibly want at the clinic at this time?

He walked over to open the door.

However, the moment the clinic's main door was pulled open, Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he stumbled back several steps in terror!

For the person who had arrived was none other than the deceased Manager Yuan of the Hundred Deer Pavilion!

Manager Yuan's face was pale, his smile eerie, and his entire body radiated a chilling aura.

Chen Ji had seen it with his own eyes: Si Cao gripping Manager Yuan's chin, driving a knife inch by inch into his heart, and crushing the organ entirely.

How could a man with a crushed heart come back from the dead?!

*Rumble!* A heavy sound of autumn thunder rolled across the sky. Black clouds had shrouded Luocheng at some unknown moment, and a cold rain began to fall.

This was the first rain since Chen Ji had arrived in Luocheng, but unlike the typical fine, continuous autumn drizzle, this rain was heavy and sudden.

Amidst the flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, Chen Ji stopped retreating. He drew a short knife he had hidden in his sleeve and lunged straight for Manager Yuan's neck.

But before the blade could reach him, Manager Yuan lightly raised his hand, catching the tip of the knife between two fingers, preventing Chen Ji from advancing an inch.

The blade stopped dead, as if time and space had frozen.

Manager Yuan smiled. "No need to be so nervous. It isn't the ghost of Manager Yuan looking for you. It is I, Si Cao of the Military Intelligence Bureau."

Chen Ji was stunned. He scrutinized the man before him; Manager Yuan's expression was natural, without a hint of abnormality. Who could have guessed this was a human skin mask?

A human skin mask?

He had only heard of such things in stories.

Previously, he had wondered who would succeed Manager Yuan after his inexplicable death; he never expected that Si Cao himself would disguise himself as the man.

Chen Ji slowly released his grip. "Lord Si Cao, my apologies. I did not know it was you."

Si Cao replied with a soothing smile, "It is good to be vigilant. Why would I blame you?"

"Lord Si Cao, why have you graced us with your presence so late at night?"

"I have bad news to tell you," Si Cao said solemnly. "In our previous attempt to arrange the withdrawal of spies who knew of your existence to the north, one Pigeon-level spy defected. We have been searching for him for two days, but his whereabouts remain unknown. I suspect he will defect to the Ning Dynasty's Secret Intelligence Bureau... or perhaps he has already done so."

Chen Ji's heart tightened.

A Jing Dynasty spy who knew of his existence had defected? Wouldn't that mean his own death?

He asked in a low voice, "Which spy is it? Did he see me?"

Si Cao walked into the clinic, turned back to close the main door, and then spoke slowly, "He is a subordinate of Zhou Chengyi. He saw you at Zhou Chengyi's manor."

*He saw me?*

Chen Ji's mind raced. If the man had seen him at Zhou Chengyi's manor, he must also know his identity as a clinic apprentice.

At this moment, the spy likely hadn't defected yet. If he truly had, Golden Pig would have likely brought men to storm the door long ago.

But why would he defect?

Chen Ji feigned confusion. "What is wrong with arranging a retreat to the north of the Jing Dynasty? It would save him from living in constant fear in the Ning Dynasty. Why would that cause him to defect?"

Si Cao explained, "This man is one of the most excellent spies in our Military Intelligence Bureau; he has always been efficient and ruthless. I sent someone to deliver the message for his evacuation, but he thought I was trying to silence him. Consequently, he killed the messenger and vanished."

*No, no, no. It won't be that simple.*

Chen Ji frowned.

Given Si Cao's temperament, he likely *was* planning to silence him, but the person he sent hadn't expected the spy to be so difficult and was instead killed in retaliation.

"Lord Si Cao, does he know why... you arranged for his evacuation?" Chen Ji asked.

"Of course, he was not told of that," Si Cao answered.

So, the defecting spy still didn't know why he was being targeted for elimination.

However, once the man truly sided with the Secret Intelligence Bureau, he would undoubtedly spill everything he knew. When that happened... Chen Ji would be in grave danger!

"Lord Si Cao, may I ask where he might be hiding... Hm?" Chen Ji sensed something wrong and moved to retreat rapidly.

But how could his retreat be faster than the other man's pursuit?

In the span of a single breath, Chen Ji was seized by the throat with one hand and lifted into the air.

Si Cao sighed. "Do not make a sound, otherwise, I will have to kill everyone in this courtyard."

Chen Ji struggled violently, his face turning crimson.

However, before an official practitioner like Si Cao, who had practiced for many years, a novice like him had no room to resist.

Chen Ji wanted to cry out, to call for the sleeping Liang Gou'er to intervene, but his throat would not produce a sound.

He could only struggle to write with his fingers on the back of the man's hand: *Why kill me?*

Si Cao did not answer. He merely stared silently into Chen Ji's pupils, as if looking at a dead specimen.

Chen Ji's thoughts flashed like lightning. The reason Si Cao was killing him was to completely purge the intelligence lines that the defecting spy might expose.

This was a standard cleansing policy used by all intelligence agencies. Intelligence work was extraordinary; once a single crack appeared, the entire team had to be withdrawn or purged.

If the defecting spy gave up Chen Ji, Chen Ji might give up the Hundred Deer Pavilion.

As one of the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau's largest sources of revenue within the Ning Dynasty, the Hundred Deer Pavilion could not be allowed to fall!

Panic surged in Chen Ji's heart. He scanned his surroundings, looking for any way to save himself, but his gunpowder was not yet finished. Even if it were, at this distance, it would at most only result in a mutual death with Si Cao.

The two heaviest words in this world were nothing more than power and strength.

Chen Ji had fantasized about living a peaceful life as a physician in a clinic, and he had fantasized about wandering the world to escape the Secret Intelligence Bureau and the Military Intelligence Bureau, but without the support of strength and power, all these fantasies were mere delusions.

Cultivation!

Cultivation was the most important thing!

But what could he do now?

Just then, there was another knock at the clinic door!

*Thump, thump, thump.*

The sound was muffled by the curtain of rain, yet it was exceptionally abrupt.

Si Cao's pupils suddenly contracted. He lifted Chen Ji and moved quickly to a corner of the main hall, his eyes flickering as he seemed to contemplate whether to kill Chen Ji immediately and then burst out.

He looked at Chen Ji. Chen Ji quickly wrote on the back of his hand: *I will handle it!*

The clinic fell silent, leaving only the sound of the rain outside.

A moment later, Si Cao whispered, "You know what to do. If you call for help, you will die first."

Chen Ji struggled and nodded.

Si Cao set Chen Ji down and slowly released his grip.

Chen Ji rubbed his neck and asked in a steady tone, "Who is it?"

The person outside said calmly, "Golden Pig. Open up, I have business with you. Just like the agreement with Cloud Sheep and Bright Rabbit—fifty taels of silver per job."

Si Cao and Chen Ji exchanged a glance. Chen Ji lowered his voice and spoke rapidly, "He definitely hasn't caught the defecting spy yet, otherwise, he wouldn't be speaking so politely."

"Then what is he doing here?"

Chen Ji said urgently, "Your search for the traitor must have disturbed the Secret Intelligence Bureau. They likely want to find him before you do. This is a golden opportunity; I can use the Secret Intelligence Bureau to find him and see what clues they have gathered."

Si Cao's expression remained steady, showing no emotion. A prompt came from outside again: "Kid, open the door, quickly."

Chen Ji spoke again, "Lord Si Cao, although Cloud Sheep and Bright Rabbit are in prison, I have gained Golden Pig's trust and can still approach the Grand Eunuch. I know you care about the Hundred Deer Pavilion; I care about it just as much. This is my loyalty to the Jing Dynasty. Rest assured, I will find this traitor and find a way to eliminate him!"

Si Cao narrowed his eyes slightly. "Think of the consequences before you act. If you call for help from Golden Pig, you will inevitably expose your identity as a Jing Dynasty spy. At that point, even if you surrender, Golden Pig will not let you go. You know how much they hate us."

"Understood!"

Si Cao slowly retreated behind the counter and crouched down, pricking up his ears.

Meanwhile, Chen Ji straightened his collar to hide the bruises on his neck, walked toward the door, and pulled it open.

Outside, Golden Pig stood in the pouring rain, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat. "What took you so long?"

Behind Golden Pig stood more than ten spies, all standing solemnly in straw raincoats.

Chen Ji said in a low voice, "Someone just got up to use the restroom, so there was a delay... What brings you here, Lord Golden Pig?"

Golden Pig said, "Follow me. We caught a Military Intelligence Bureau spy in Red Clothing Alley. It seems they are hunting a defecting spy. We need to find this person first; he is very important!"

With that, Golden Pig signaled for someone to toss a straw raincoat to Chen Ji.

As Chen Ji put on the raincoat, he casually scanned the clinic counter.

In the end, he did not reveal Si Cao. He simply finished putting on the raincoat and turned to walk into the heavy rain.

(End of Chapter)