Green Mountain
Chapter 135 - 98, Wake Up_2

Chapter 135: 98, Wake Up_2

Having finally lost sight of the two men, three others jumped down from the carriage, cupping their hands with a smile and saying, "We shall meet again."

One by one, friends leaped from the carriage to bid farewell, like the end of a play, the audience dispersing.

Chen Ji tried to remember their faces, but those friends were cloaked in the darkness of night, their features never clear.

He asked the person next to him, "Where are they off to?"

No one answered.

Chen Ji looked around in surprise, only to find that on this swaying ox-cart, he was the sole, lonely passenger remaining.

At that moment, a basin of cold water cascaded from above, startling him awake from the lengthy dream.

Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and looked up to find his hands bound and suspended from the ceiling of the inner prison, the icy chains digging painfully into his wrists.

Looking down, he saw his whole body sopping wet, with water still dripping from his tousled hair and chin.

His cold clothes clung to his body, the chill penetrating his bones.

Inner prison.

This was the inner prison of the Spy Department.

Within the dimness of the inner prison’s secret chamber, the flames flickered atop the Eight Diagram Array Lamp on the wall, yet without a trace of warmth.

Jin Zhu put down the bucket, sitting at the dark red octagonal table in front of him, delicately picking up a slice of tender fish cheek with his chopsticks: "Awake now?"

Chen Ji whispered, "Awake."

Jin Zhu closed his eyes, savoring the morsel of fish before murmuring in delight, "Delicious!"

Opening his eyes, he then picked another piece of fish from the belly, standing on a chair to bring it to Chen Ji’s mouth: "Eat up, swallow it all."

With the fish belly’s bones unremoved, Chen Ji chewed everything thoroughly, the shattered bones painfully scratching his throat as he swallowed.

Jin Zhu raised his thumb in admiration, "Swallowed without a peep, tough guy!"

He curiously settled back at the table, "Dr. Chen, were you hiding from me?"

"Yes."

Jin Zhu took apart the fish head with his chopsticks, fetching another tender piece of flesh, "Why didn’t you hide this time? Even if you’d hidden in the Prince Jing Mansion, I wouldn’t have dared to touch you."

Chen Ji calmly replied, "Lord Jin Zhu is heavy-handed; if you couldn’t find me, undoubtedly you would have vented your anger on the staff at the Medical Hall."

"Smart..." Jin Zhu pondered, "But if you’re so smart, why couldn’t you see that I truly wanted to promote you? If you also became one of the Twelve Signs, you, I, and Heavenly Horse supporting each other within the Spy Department, wouldn’t it be delightful?"

Chen Ji answered, "That night, West Wind and I were investigating Jianghu figures and discovered that those who silenced them came from the Ritual Supervision in the Inner Court. I felt the matter was too perilous; I wanted no further involvement."

Jin Zhu sighed, "Indeed, now that you’re by Prince Jing’s side, you could indeed remove yourself from trouble. But do you think my Spy Department is a place you can just leave whenever you wish?"

Speaking of which, he picked all the flesh from the fish in the plate and stood up again to present the entire fish skeleton to Chen Ji’s mouth, "Eat it, to reinforce your own hard bones. Speak after you finish eating."

Without hesitation, Chen Ji opened his mouth, crunched the fish bones, and swallowed them stiffly.

Lord Jin Zhu stood on the chair, his hands clasped behind his back, locking eyes with him, "Although the faces of those Jianghu men were skinned, I still found out that they had once drunk with the Princely Heir of Prince Jing Mansion and that the silver on them was also bestowed by the Princely Heir. Are you reluctant to investigate further because you don’t want the Princely Heir to be implicated in this great treason case?"

At this point, Lord Jin Zhu’s voice was fierce, "What are you trying to cover up for the Princely Heir?"

Chen Ji looked straight into Lord Jin Zhu’s eyes, "The Princely Heir could not possibly be involved in this matter. If he were really involved, he wouldn’t leave so many clues behind. How could someone bold enough to conspire treason against the Jing Dynasty be so easily found to have mixed with these Jianghu men? Lord Jin Zhu is a clever man; you must understand this logic."

Lord Jin Zhu’s expression softened slightly.

He jumped off the chair and slowly took his seat again in front of the Eight Immortals table, picked up a cup of wine, and drained it in one gulp, "Chen Ji, do not blame me for hanging you here. Once you enter the Spy Department, there is no turning back. Hide? You cannot escape; I cannot either. How could you?"

Chen Ji spoke softly, "Has Lord Jin Zhu also thought about hiding?"

Lord Jin Zhu looked at the flickering flames on the wall, his expression nostalgic, "I was originally the son of a merchant from Gongyi County in Luocheng City. Many years ago, my father started by selling sugar in the streets and lanes. He was a remarkable man; while others began selling sugar at the fifth period of night, he would start at the third watch. Thanks to his diligence, our family lived quite comfortably."

Chen Ji listened quietly.

Lord Jin Zhu continued, "My mother was gentle and kind, and I had an older sister who loved and cherished me. I remember every New Year she would forego buying new clothes for herself, instead getting me two sets. If my father caught fish from the river, they would leave the fish head and the tenderest belly meat for me to eat. Without any mishaps, I should have had a happy life."

"Sadly, when I was eight, my father discovered a method of making sugar frost that allowed raw sugar to be transformed into clean, white sugar frost within seven days. The sugar frost was popular with the officials and the nobility. I still remember my father laughing in front of the kerosene lamp on Mid-Autumn Festival, telling me that our family was finally going to prosper and he was going to prepare a generous dowry for my sister, find her a good family, and make sure she never had to lower her head in her husband’s house. He also wanted to secure an official position for me so I would no longer be a lowly merchant."

"He had heard from somewhere that in our Ning Dynasty, a donation of one hundred stones of rice could secure a place at the Imperial Academy, and two hundred and fifty stones could buy a rank of a ninth-rank official. Though powerless, it was still respectable."

Lord Jin Zhu poured himself another cup of wine and gulped it down, "But what happened? That very night, government officers from the Luocheng City government office suddenly stormed in, claiming to mobilize us for labor service, and hauled my whole family to the Liu Family’s coal site. In that pitch-dark coal site, my parents were worked to death. As they were dying, I cried myself hoarse to no avail."

"My sister, to ensure I survived, sold herself to the coal site overseers for food. She saved her rations for me, while she herself was infected with diseases by the overseers. What could I do? I could only watch as she weakened day by day, as if her bones were being removed from her body. Before she died, my sister opened her eyes and asked to see me. I wanted to embrace her, but she told me to stay away and not touch her."

"At that time, I thought I was going both, suddenly a person took me to a lame official. That official asked if I wanted to avenge my family, and I said yes."

Chen Ji, hanging from the ceiling, asked, "The Prime Minister?"

Lord Jin Zhu, holding the wine cup, said blankly, "That official looked so dignified, his boots clean, his official robe as red as blood, with everyone standing behind him respectfully. I thought, such a high-ranking official must be able to help me take revenge. I begged, ’Please, help me take revenge.’"

Chen Ji asked, "What did the Prime Minister say?"

Lord Jin Zhu smiled, "He said he would take revenge for me, but I would have to give him my life. At the time, I thought my miserable life could actually be traded for my family’s revenge, which was simply too good to be true!"

Saying this, he looked up at Chen Ji, "Over the years, I’ve found and killed the government officers one by one, found the coal site overseers, and flayed and dismembered them along with their families. For those who were already dead, I exhumed them to crush their bones to dust."

"But I am still filled with hate!" Lord Jin Zhu enunciated each word with clenched teeth, "I hate, because the Liu Family, who stole our sugar business, is still alive and well. When the Prime Minister chose me to come to Luocheng City that moment, I knew my chance for revenge was here, the Prime Minister wants the Liu Family dead!"

Chen Ji looked down and saw the zodiac sign, always smiling, now with prominent veins on his forehead.

Lord Jin Zhu, staring fixedly at Chen Ji, said ferociously, "Chen Ji, I’ve told you so much because I want your assistance. Nowadays in Luocheng City, I can trust neither the spies nor the Jiefan Guard; I need someone clever like you. If you help me, I’ll definitely push you to vie for the position of the zodiac, to help you rise swiftly to success and achieve great distinction."

"I’ve waited for this day for too long; whoever crosses me, I’ll kill. Whoever doesn’t help me, I’ll kill them too."