Green Mountain
Chapter 142 - 102, Division Head_2

Chapter 142: 102, Division Head_2

He looked at Wu Yun, then at Old Yao, suddenly a wildly absurd guess crossed his mind: was his master helping Wu Yun steal the Liang Family’s Saber Technique?!

"Master, this is..."

Old Yao looked at him, "Go to sleep, you don’t need to worry about Wu Yun’s affairs. Just make sure you can come back alive each day before you worry about anything else."

"Oh."

Old Yao scoffed, "Every day you risk your life as if your head were hanging by a belt around your waist; I have no idea what you’re aiming for."

"Master, you’ve said before that fate can be changed."

"Hmm?"

"I want to try."

...

...

The deep of night was tranquil.

Chen Ji extricated himself from the Qingshan Dream Realm, gasping slightly.

The sound of Liang Gou’er’s snores filled his ears, the room reeked of the other’s boozy breath, so strong it seemed just a sniff would get one drunk. If possible, to be carefree and heartless like Liang Gou’er, living a rambunctious life, would be quite nice.

Chen Ji silently smiled at the sight of the people deeply asleep around him, carefully rising from his bed, and, standing under the apricot tree draped with red ribbons, he began to daydream.

Thud, thud, thud, a gentle knocking at the door travelled to his ears, but Chen Ji pretended not to hear.

Not until the knocking outside became more urgent did he turn his gaze once more to the two red ribbons hanging highest on the tree and headed towards the main hall: "Who is it?"

Jin Zhu said, "It’s me, open the door."

Chen Ji unlatched the bolt, pulling open the two wooden doors, and allowed Jin Zhu, who was dressed like a serf, in sideways: "Lord Jin Zhu, did you find anything?"

Only to see Jin Zhu sporting a bamboo hat and straw sandals, and in the disguise of a peasant, he said with gravity, "Nothing at all."

"Oh?" Chen Ji curiously inquired, "No movements from the Liu Family?"

Jin Zhu frowned, "Today’s old spies dispatched from the Imperial Capital have also arrived. I ordered them to watch over the Craftsmanship Supervisor’s storeroom and the Archive Room."

"And then?"

In the Medical Hall’s main hall, only a single oil lamp flickered atop the counter.

In the feeble light, Jin Zhu stared straight at Chen Ji, "I can assure you that today, no one broke into the Craftsmanship Supervisor, nor did anyone take anything related to firearms from there. In the East Market, someone did buy saltpetre and sulfur, but upon a thorough investigation, there was also nothing amiss... You don’t seem to find that strange?"

Chen Ji calmly replied, "Lord, I don’t necessarily have to broadcast my emotions all over my face."

Jin Zhu walked around Chen Ji twice, "Could it be that you’re just pretending to cooperate with me while secretly passing information to the Liu Family?"

Chen Ji said, puzzled, "Lord, taking down the Liu Family is of utmost importance right now. As we are on the verge of success, why doubt each other? After you overthrow the Liu Family, then suspecting me won’t be too late; I can’t escape anyway."

Jin Zhu scrutinized Chen Ji and his expression didn’t seem fake.

He had waited from morning to evening, from evening to night, watching hope turned little by little into fury.

Last night, he almost believed that he was just one step away from toppling the Liu Family, yet today that step seemed to have widened back into a chasm once more.

But Jin Zhu knew one thing Chen Ji said wasn’t wrong: the Medical Hall’s apprentice couldn’t run away, and dealing with him could wait.

His demeanor softened, as he clapped Chen Ji on the shoulder with a smile, "Doctor Chen, don’t take it to heart. It’s not the first or second time for the Spy Department to have traitors. Almost half of Hai Dongqing’s time is spent purging his own ranks, to prevent Jing Dynasty traitors from infiltrating. It’s just an old habit of distrust. No offense."

Chen Ji, in turn, comforted, "It’s understandable for Lord Jin Zhu to be single-minded about revenge."

Jin Zhu analyzed, "Now there are two possibilities. The first is that Liu Mingxian has re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty traitors, and after confirming our identities, realized we are frauds; the second is that the time was too short, and Liu Mingxian did not dare to make a reckless move, so no action was taken today."

He looked at Chen Ji, "Which do you lean towards?"

"Did you have someone watch the Liu’s?"

"Liu Mingxian is guarded by three executive officers who are martial arts experts; normal spies can’t keep an eye on them."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, "Lord, let us go to Mudan Bridge and see. Regardless, we need to verify things before we can know,"

Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji deeply, "Then let’s have a look."

The two left the hall, Chen Ji turned to close the door, and the wind outside caused the lamp on the counter to flicker.

...

...

"Lord Jin Zhu, who was that old man playing with the copper coin last night?" Chen Ji sat at the entrance of the carriage, lifting the curtain and asked Jin Zhu, who was driving the carriage.

"That old man is named Zhang Guo’er, and the copper coin in his hand is called ’Mountain Flower Ghost Money,’" Jin Zhu casually responded, "He used to be part of the Beggar Guild but later disappeared from sight. The court searched for him for a long time, and it turns out he had fled to the Liu Family."

"Fled?"

Jin Zhu scoffed, "During the winter of Jianing Eighth Year at the Lantern Festival, the Hu Family’s grandson, Hu Junyan, sneaked off to enjoy the fair but was unfortunately kidnapped by someone from the Beggar Guild. The Hu Family was enraged, turning the Imperial Capital upside down before finding him. Back then, those most important at the Beggar Guild managed to hide their names and escape, among them, this Zhang Guo’er."

Chen Ji frowned, "The Beggar Guild involved in kidnapping?"

Jin Zhu snorted, "Do you think the Beggar Guild lives off begging and performing chivalrous acts as storytellerssay? They’re simply a bunch of extremely vicious crooks coming together. Not only do they kidnap people, but they also blind or cripple the children they capture but cannot sell, and make them beg. They earn no less than a brothel does that way."

Jin Zhu continued, "Mountain Flower Ghost Money was originally a thunder talisman from the Daoist Sect used to ward off evil spirits, but somehow a heretic cultivator turned it into a sinister Cultivation Path. The cultivator must maintain the purity of a virgin boy, tricking a woman into falling in love with him, then kill her on the night of their wedding, trapping her soul inside the Mountain Flower Ghost Money for nourishment."