Chapter 21: The Traveling Official

The vermilion-lacquered gates of Liu Shiyu's residence were slowly pulled open from the inside.

Inside the gates, Yun Yang stepped forward, his demeanor carrying a hint of arrogance: "The evidence is here. I will send it to the capital via express courier for the Emperor to decide!"

Liu Mingxian sat atop his warhorse, his expression flickering between light and shadow under the glow of the torches beneath his mourning cap.

He stared at the stack of evidence in Yun Yang's hands, the veins on his forehead throbbing. He had not expected that Yun Yang and Jiao Tu would actually find proof. At this moment, if he were to seek vengeance for the Old Master, he would no longer have a legitimate reason to stand his ground.

However, he suddenly felt something was wrong... He looked up behind Yun Yang and saw a masked figure standing there with their head bowed.

Who was this?

Why were they masked?

Just as Liu Mingxian attempted to look more closely, he saw Yun Yang take a small step forward, completely obscuring the masked person. Yun Yang looked at him with a half-smile: "Lord Liu, are you not retreating yet?"

Liu Mingxian remained silent, showing no intention of backing down.

The tension between the two sides was palpable; both were waiting for him to speak. Whether to fight or to retreat rested entirely on his whim.

Liu Mingxian asked calmly, "Where is Liang Gou'er?"

The young man holding the reins beside the horse said in a panic, "Second Uncle, Liang Mao'er just came with news. He said Liang Gou'er has already drawn his blade against the Eunuch Faction and is currently resting in Hongyi Alley."

Liu Mingxian's face darkened. He eyed the Fish Dragon Guards of the Main Punishment Division, who had already drawn their blades, and said through gritted teeth, "Tell Liang Gou'er to get his broken blade and get out of the Liu family. There is no place for him in the Liu household!"

Yet, he still did not intend to let this go. He spurred his horse once more, leading hundreds of Liu family members to press forward.

At that moment, Lin Chaoqing spoke up: "Lord Liu, do not bring ruin upon the entire Liu family. You might as well wait until Grand Secretary Liu returns to Luocheng to ask him before deciding what to do."

Liu Mingxian stared intently at Lin Chaoqing. Finally, he cupped his hands from a distance: "I, Liu, shall await my judgment at home. Return to the manor! Prepare the funeral rites for the Old Master!"

As he departed, he could not help but look back one last time, only to see Lin Chaoqing whispering something to the masked figure.

"Investigate that masked person!" Liu Mingxian's voice was ferocious. "Yun Yang and Jiao Tu are lethal killers, but I have never heard of them possessing the skill to conduct investigations and gather evidence. That masked person must have played a role. We must find out who they are!"

"Understood, Second Uncle."

For a moment, Liu Mingxian even had an intuition: if not for this masked person tonight, perhaps everything would have been different.

Once the Liu family had left, Lin Chaoqing also mounted his horse. He adjusted his straw raincoat and looked down at Chen Ji: "Young man, my promise is valid for two months. Perhaps it won't even take that long for you to understand exactly what kind of people inhabit the Secret Intelligence Division."

Yun Yang's face darkened. "Who are you being sarcastic with? Aside from attacking your colleagues, what else does your Main Punishment Division know how to do?"

Lin Chaoqing led the Main Punishment Division eastward in silence. His dark straw raincoat folded behind him like black wings; he had arrived amidst the dust and would depart amidst the dust.

As they rode away, a Fish Dragon Guard smiled at Chen Ji from beneath his bamboo hat; they respected those with true ability.

But Chen Ji was destined not to work for the Main Punishment Division, for he did not seek an official position, nor did he ever intend to serve imperial power.

He wanted to cultivate, and cultivation required money—something the Main Punishment Division could not provide.

As the sound of hoofbeats faded, Yun Yang glanced at Chen Ji: "Once you join the Main Punishment Division, you become the enemy of every official in the imperial court. You can only be a solitary official for life. Since ancient times, how many solitary officials have met a peaceful end?"

Chen Ji responded calmly, "Thank you for the warning, Lord Yun Yang."

Yun Yang asked, "Do you think there are other members of the Liu family involved in this?"

Chen Ji shook his head. "I don't know."

Yun Yang asked again, "Does the Jing Dynasty have other methods of transmitting intelligence?"

Chen Ji shook his head again. "I don't know."

"Are you hiding another card up your sleeve, just like you did at the Zhou residence last time?"

Chen Ji said with certainty, "No."

Yun Yang laughed in exasperation. This kid was far less honest than he appeared, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He looked at Chen Ji with a smile. "Tomorrow night, someone will deliver fifty taels of silver to the Taiping Medical Clinic. I'm leaving."

"Wait a moment! Can I get an eight-wen advance?" Chen Ji asked.

With a strange expression, Yun Yang flicked eight copper coins from his sleeve. "Are you so poor that you'd even ask for eight wen? Consider this a gift."

Chen Ji smiled sincerely. "Thank you. Then, I shall take my leave."

Jiao Tu suddenly felt that this was the only moment Chen Ji's smile was truly sincere.

Yun Yang said, "Wait, don't go yet."

Before Chen Ji could react, a dagger slipped from Yun Yang's sleeve, grazing past Chen Ji's ear. A single strand of hair fell into his palm. "Now you can go."

Chen Ji fell silent for a moment, and finally, without saying a word, he left.

Once Chen Ji was far away, Jiao Tu couldn't help but ask, "Why not bring him into the Secret Intelligence Division? If we transfer him under our command, we can make him work whenever we want. There would be no need to pay him fifty taels... Fifty taels could buy so many beautiful clothes; I couldn't wear them all in several years!"

"No," Yun Yang denied. "This kid's ability... he is ruthless to others and even more ruthless to himself, and he is clever. That is exactly what the Grand Eunuch likes. If we truly let him into the Secret Intelligence Division, who knows when he might end up riding over our heads."

"But there are no spots left in the Twelve Zodiacs," Jiao Tu said.

Yun Yang whispered, "I heard that the Sick Tiger is about to step down... I must have lost my mind to think he could replace the Sick Tiger's position."

Jiao Tu suddenly said, "We need to confirm whether he is a spy of the Jing Dynasty first, so that we can use him with peace of mind in the future."

Yun Yang said calmly, "I have already thought of that. Last night, I sent a carrier pigeon to Meng Ji in Kaifeng Prefecture. He will arrive in Luocheng soon. With him handling the interrogation, we can be certain of the outcome."

"What is the price for inviting Meng Ji?"

"A very high price... Come, it's getting late."

In the blink of an eye, the once bustling courtyard was left with nothing but leaves swaying in the autumn wind.

It was as if the destined fate of everyone, after the clamor and the feast, left behind only desolation and emptiness.

...

...

Chen Ji was walking through a dark alley. As he walked, a small, black, furry cat appeared on the wall, carrying a book and a ginseng root in its mouth.

The boy walked on the ground while the cat followed slowly along the wall. Under the moonlight, the shadows of the person and the cat followed one after another, as if sharing a certain tacit understanding and rhythm.

Wuyun released its mouth, and the book and ginseng fell through the air.

Chen Ji raised his hand silently, catching the book and ginseng mid-air. An icy flow surged out, transforming a small portion of the ginseng into four transparent beads.

He tucked the book and the remaining ginseng into his robe, then tossed the beads one by one onto the eaves of the wall. As Wuyun walked, it caught the beads precisely in its mouth.

The movements of the person and the cat were as fluid as if they had rehearsed them, like a seamless performance. A warm current passed from Wuyun to Chen Ji, suddenly igniting the fourth furnace fire beside his dantian!

In an instant, flickering flames were released from the four furnace fires, linking them together like a chain, forming a complete cage that completely sealed off his entire dantian.

These four furnace fires seemed to have an innate bond; the moment they connected, a massive surge of warmth once again washed through Chen Ji's flesh and bones, sweeping away a night's worth of fatigue.

Chen Ji looked up and silently pointed a direction to Wuyun.

The person and the cat suddenly split at a T-junction, one going forward and the other to the left.

The next moment, Chen Ji began to sprint!

Immediately after, hurried footsteps echoed from the mist dozens of paces behind him; a blurred figure was rapidly approaching.

Chen Ji took detours through the darkness, attempting to lose the pursuer in the labyrinthine streets.

But the tracker always seemed to find the correct path at every fork in the road; he could almost hear the other person's heavy breathing behind him.

*No, I can't run away.*

The footsteps were getting closer. Chen Ji judged that the opponent's speed was superior to his own—at least at the level of a Secret Intelligence agent.

He knew someone was tracking him, perhaps even intending to kill him. Therefore, the ginseng he had originally intended to save to make up for the medical clinic's loss was used without hesitation to convert the icy flow.

One must stay alive first for anything else to matter.

Since arriving in this world, Chen Ji felt as though he had started in "Hell Mode." Even if he hid in the medical clinic and never went out, danger would find its way to his door one by one.

But if life was destined to be this way, he chose not to run.

The footsteps behind him were very close now. Chen Ji's eyes held only calmness.

As the footsteps drew nearer, when only three paces remained between the two, he abruptly turned around to meet the newcomer.

The narrow alley could usually only accommodate two people walking side-by-side, flanked by high residential walls and an uneven stone path on the ground.

The attacker did not expect the prey to dare turn and fight. He instinctively reached for the blade at his waist, but before he could draw it, his wrist was pinned by Chen Ji.

The assassin's strength was originally much greater than Chen Ji's, but the momentum of their collision allowed Chen Ji's grip to exert even greater force.

With a *clang*, the blade was forced back into its sheath before it could even be drawn!

Under the hazy moonlight, the middle-aged assassin's pupils suddenly contracted. He couldn't help but look at Chen Ji, only to find that Chen Ji was staring back at him intensely.

This was not the look a prey should have.

The middle-aged assassin recoiled, using the momentum to kick Chen Ji in the chest, sending the youth tumbling backward.

He drew his blade again, but this time, when the blade was halfway out, Chen Ji performed a somersault and, without a moment's pause, lunged forward in a low crouch.

With a *clang*, the blade was forced back once more.

Twice in a row, the assassin had failed to even draw his sword!

The assassin sneered inwardly. He abandoned the sword entirely and unleashed a series of punches at Chen Ji's chest.

In his eyes, the youth before him had an open center and was full of flaws, possessing absolutely no combat experience.

But when the assassin looked at Chen Ji again, he found no fear or pain in the boy's eyes; instead, there was excitement, and a fire seemed to burn in his gaze.

At this moment, Chen Ji was certain that the cultivators of this world must be a minority, hiding behind the scenes of this world, rarely appearing.

Otherwise, no matter who wanted to kill him tonight, they wouldn't have sent only this "ordinary person."

Compared to Lin Chaoqing and Yun Yang, this middle-aged assassin was indeed merely an ordinary person!

In an instant, while enduring punch after punch, Chen Ji lunged forward again, slamming into the assassin's chest and pinning the man's arms under his armpits.

*Now!*

A dark shadow struck from the eaves. The assassin turned back in horror, thinking there was an ambush behind him, only to see a small black cat.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the black cat's silhouette had already passed him.

As they crossed paths, Wuyun's sharp claws sliced across the assassin's neck.

*Ssh.*

A spray of blood splattered against the wall.

Chen Ji released the assassin and sat on the ground, panting heavily, watching coldly as the assassin clutched his neck in disbelief, retreating before slowly sliding down against the wall.

The middle-aged assassin saw the black cat leap lightly into the youth's arms. He asked with resentment, "An Executor?"

Chen Ji frowned. *An Executor? Is that the collective term for cultivators in this world?*