Green Mountain
Chapter 108 - 82, silencing

Chapter 108: 82, silencing

"Manager of Li Ji’s Clothing Store saw a group of Jianghu martial artists running out of Hongyi Lane last night?"

"Yes, my lord, those four Jianghu characters were in quite a hurry and looked very suspicious."

The snow in Luocheng City had not yet melted.

The cold wind swept over the ground, howling as it went, causing the flickering torches to swing and light up the hands of the Spies as they suddenly gripped the hilts of their waist knives, as well as the white breath they exhaled under their bamboo hats, like hungry wild beasts sighting a new prey.

The Spies instinctively turned to Chen Ji, waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen Ji, his face covered with gray cloth, bowed his head in thought.

As the saying goes, thrice strikes of the Execution Stick can shatter the camaraderie of Jianghu, and in three pages of confessions, every sentence has a brother in it. These several Jianghu knights were not tough nuts to crack, if the Spy Department caught them, they would surely implicate the Princely Heir and Bai Li.

But if he deliberately did nothing, West Wind was no fool either.

Within the wavering light, the burning oilcloth of the torches melted, and droplets of fire fell onto the cobblestone path.

Suddenly, the wind ceased and the light stopped flickering.

Chen Ji lifted his head to look at the Spy who had reported the news, saying calmly, "Bring the manager of Li Ji’s Clothing Store to me for questioning."

Moments later, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant approached with a fawning smile, "Peace be upon you, officers. My name is Li Bing."

Chen Ji glanced at him and asked calmly, "Where did you see those Jianghu knights? Tell me in detail."

Li Bing quickly replied, "When you noble officers were blocking off Hongyi Lane, they were escaping through its back alleys. One of them was so scared that he even dropped his knife on the ground, ran a few steps before going back to pick it up."

Chen Ji frowned in disappointment and said, "Such a cowardly lot doesn’t resemble the behavior of Jing Dynasty’s criminals."

West Wind also felt disappointed, "Although detestable, Jing Dynasty’s criminals are well-trained and certainly not such petty scoundrels."

Li Bing then added another piece of information, "Right, at the time in the back alley there seemed to be someone calling out to them for help to climb over the wall. One went to assist, but before he could help the person escape, he ran out and told his companions ’Hurry, can’t save them, they are surrounded by six people’. They passed by me as they spoke, I heard everything clearly."

West Wind’s expression changed as he looked toward Chen Ji, "My lord, those surrounding them must be our colleagues. The killer acted to cover for the people in this backyard! Even though we don’t know who was surrounded, they must be extremely important!"

Chen Ji took a deep breath in silence. The manager had heard too much detail, he couldn’t even cover it up if he wanted to, "Manager Li, did you see where they ran off to?"

"Along Luoyi Street heading west, but I don’t know where they eventually went."

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief again. It would not be easy to find four people in the vast Luocheng City, at least it might buy some time.

However, at that moment, Li Bing spoke again, breathing heavily, "But I know where they are staying!"

Chen Ji: "Hmm?"

Li Bing spoke quickly, "These four Jianghu people arrived in Luocheng City half a month ago, and I remember them because even though they were dressed plainly and shabbily, they were quite generous. They had just arrived in Luocheng and ordered two sets of outfits from my store, both popular autumn wear with stand-up collars and large lapels, choosing the elaborate Mud Gold Gourd Mouse Pattern."

Li Bing continued, "After they had their measurements taken, they left and asked me to deliver the clothes to the Fulai Inn to the west once they were ready."

The so-called Mud Gold Gourd Mouse Pattern was an embroidering technique used on sleeves and collars, complex in craftsmanship and favored by the nobility for its hefty price.

The more Li Bing spoke, the heavier Chen Ji’s heart sank.

He had met these four men before; of the twelve people who had met Liu Xingshou in the embroidery building of Baiyi Lane, aside from Chen Ji, the Princely Heir, Bai Li, She Dengke, Liu Quxing, Liang Gou’er, Liang Mao’er, and the little monk, they were the remaining four.

At that time, these four men were wearing stand-up collars with lapels, and their sleeves were embroidered with the Mud Gold Gourd Mouse Pattern!

Moreover, their arrival time in Luocheng matched up. Originally living in hardship, it was only after getting acquainted with the Princely Heir that their lives had begun to improve.

But even though the Princely Heir had treated them so well, when danger struck, they still abandoned the Princely Heir and Bai Li.

West Wind, watching from the side, looked toward Chen Ji’s profile, "My lord, what should we do?"

Chen Ji’s voice was as steady as an ancient well, "Surround the Fulai Inn and capture them."

All he could hope for now was that these four men were not so stupid as to have escaped from Hongyi Lane and foolishly returned to the inn.

...

...

Outside Fulai Inn, dozens of Spies with knives hanging from their belts surrounded the inn in just a short dozen breaths, moving quietly and deftly—every possible escape route, the back courtyard, the sides, the stables, nothing was overlooked.

If those four Postnatal Realm Jianghu individuals were indeed in the inn, they would be trapped without any hope of escape.

In silence, Chen Ji was the first to step over the inn’s threshold.

The first floor of the inn was a modest tavern. It was closed for the night, and the wooden chairs had been cleaned and turned upside-down on the tables. Behind the counter, a young apprentice was sound asleep over his abacus, a lit oil lamp beside him.

Chen Ji approached the counter and gently tapped on the apprentice’s shoulder.

The shop assistant, his eyes bleary with sleep, lifted his head, and mumbled as if in a dream, "Would you sirs like to stay at the inn? The Tian-character rooms are one hundred and forty cents per night, the Di-character rooms forty-five cents per night, and the stables can be used for twelve cents a night..."

As he spoke, the shop assistant saw the masked Chen Ji and the several knife-carrying spies behind him, and he suddenly snapped to attention!

Trembling, he said, "Your honors, I... I haven’t committed any crimes."

Chen Ji asked, "Don’t be afraid, I just want to ask you one question."

"Please ask, my lord."

"Are there four jianghu men here carrying swords?"

The shop assistant hurriedly answered, "Yes!"

"Are they still in the inn?"

The shop assistant replied meticulously, "They are, they went out yesterday, saying they wanted to enjoy themselves at Hongyi Lane, but they came back before midnight looking hasty. After that, all four of them ordered food and wine directly to their rooms and never came out again."

This was the answer Chen Ji had hoped not to hear. He remained silent for a moment, "Which room are they staying in?"

The assistant pointed to the staircase, "Go upstairs and it’s the third room on the right, the Tian-character room, with a ’Spring Water’ sign hanging at the door."

Before Chen Ji could give an order, West Wind exchanged glances with the spies, and immediately several of them drew their waist knives and cautiously bent down to ascend the staircase.

Chen Ji also intended to follow, but West Wind stopped him by the shoulder, saying, "My lord, Lord Jin Zhu said you have no martial arts skills, and specifically instructed us to ensure your safety. We can handle this dangerous matter; please, don’t put yourself at risk."

Chen Ji observed the other’s expression under his hat, sincere and resolute: It wasn’t that he was distrusted, it was indeed as Lord Jin Zhu had instructed.

He sighed inwardly and stood next to the counter without moving, "Be careful."

The spies suddenly kicked open the door to the Spring Water Room, their hands gripping long knives as they streamed in, aura murderous.

However, at the next moment, someone suddenly shouted, "My lord, come look!"

Chen Ji was the first to rush up with an oil lamp from the counter. He pushed past the spies in the corridor to the doorway and looked up at the ceiling beams, his breath suddenly catching.

Hanging from the ceiling beams were the four jianghu men they were searching for, each with a neck tightly strangled by a piece of white silk, all neatly suspended from the roof!

Not only that, the skin of all four faces had been completely sliced off by someone, leaving only the bloody, bare muscles exposed to the air, horrific to the extreme.

The spies looked indifferent, as if accustomed to such scenes, but a chill suddenly surged in Chen Ji’s heart, these four had been silenced in advance.

He suppressed the discomfort in his heart and went to examine the corpses.

The bodies were cold and stiff, rigor mortis had spread throughout, they had been dead at least two hours.

Chen Ji went to the door; the bolt was undamaged.

He then went to the window and saw that the copper plate used to close the window had been cut through with a sharp weapon. The murderer had entered through the window.

"Take them down, and strip off all their clothes!" Chen Ji commanded coldly.

The spies formed a human ladder and took down the four corpses, laying them out on the beds.

As the clothing was stripped from the four, everyone saw in the moonlight through the window that each corpse had a copper nail driven cleanly into the heart, so cleanly that not a drop of blood had been shed.

The victims had not cried out for help; the person who killed them must have been an expert among experts, not even giving them a chance to react.

Chen Ji then pried open the mouths of the four only to see a short copper nail driven into each of their tongues as well.

"This isn’t silencing, it’s judgment."

"Someone is punishing them!"

West Wind’s expression grew grave as they had just found a new clue, not yet having the chance to rejoice, the trail was cut off once again.

Chen Ji looked at West Wind, "Have you ever heard of such a method of judgment?"

West Wind pondered, "There seems to have been two cases in jianghu, but we would need to check the Inner Prison Archive Room to know for sure. My lord, this matter is suspicious. Those they abandoned before must have been of great importance to them; they risked killing them to keep them silent forever. Moreover, the murderer deliberately cut off their faces to prevent us from finding someone who recognized them. Who do you think did it?"

Who did it?

Simple, whoever stands to gain the most is the one who did it.

Chen Ji stood in the dimly lit room, his left hand still holding the oil lamp. Recalling the Princely Heir’s bold and cheerful smile, it was hard to believe such a deep and vicious mind lurked behind it.

Moreover, if such an expert were by the Princely Heir’s side to clean up after him, why would it have been Chen Ji’s turn to rescue him last night?

But if it was not the Princely Heir, who else could it be?!

The radiant impression of the Princely Heir in Chen Ji’s memory suddenly became blurred, as if a layer of gloom gradually shrouded the Princely Heir’s face.