Green Mountain
Chapter 185 - 140, Reliable

Chapter 185: 140, Reliable

"Stop."

Near the small town at dusk.

Chen Ji, carrying Bai Li on his back, squatted down, his gaze silently sizing up the surroundings through the gaps in the bushes. The Princely Heir and Zhang Xia squatted behind him, holding their breath and too nervous even to blink.

Moments later, four soldiers with their hands on their waist knives patrolled past some tens of steps away.

The town, much like a military camp, was surrounded by wooden fences over a person’s height, with soldiers armed with knives and crossbows on patrol, creating an air of sternness.

Raising private soldiers and wearing bows and crossbows, each of these was a capital offense.

Watching the soldiers walk away, the Princely Heir whispered, "Should we blend in now?"

"Don’t move."

Chen Ji did not get up immediately but waited for three more teams of soldiers before whispering, "The patrol passes twice in thirty minutes, we must enter the town between two patrols and find somewhere to hide."

The Princely Heir whispered, "But the town is full of people, where would we hide?"

"We’ll hide in the Iron Refining Workshop," Chen Ji, without turning his head and with his eyes fixed on the town, replied, "The furnace there is extremely hot, and even if the fire is out, it won’t cool down until midnight. It’s unbearably hot and smelly inside, no one would stay there."

He turned his head to glance and saw the Princely Heir and Zhang Xia, their lips purple and bodies shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

If they didn’t change clothes soon, they might be at risk of hypothermia. Once hypothermia sets in, there’s an eighty percent chance of not making it.

At that moment, Bai Li, in her sleep, clung tightly to Chen Ji’s neck with both arms, her instinct to stay warm drawing her subconsciously closer to the warmth, resting her head on Chen Ji’s shoulder like a child.

The Princely Heir, seeing this, wanted to remind him aloud but ultimately didn’t say anything.

Chen Ji said softly, "Hang in there a bit longer, it’ll get better once the sun sets."

The Princely Heir, hugging himself, complained through his shivers, "It’s all my father’s fault, had to stop to eat fish while attending a Literary Meeting. Look at us now, not only did we not get fish, we’ve been chased all this way."

Chen Ji casually explained, "Assassins wouldn’t spare you just because you didn’t eat fish. It’s our stopping to buy fish that gathered us by the river and gave us a chance to jump in. Otherwise, we would have been trapped on the ox cart with no chance of escape."

He carefully reviewed the day’s events: The Executive Officer on the black awning boat was pretending to be a fisherman in the middle of the river and didn’t plan to strike there. The assassins lurking in the woods had just dealt with the bandits from Dragon King Village and were not ready to ambush. It was Prince Jing’s sudden whim that disrupted the assassins’ pincer move, forcing them to rush out all at once.

The Princely Heir let out a sound of realization, then muttered quietly, "Chen Ji, did you learn all your skills from Doctor Yao? Is it too late to prostrate before him and take him as my master now?"

Chen Ji turned back and gave the Princely Heir a strange look, "Why abandon being a fine Princely Heir to learn this?"

The Princely Heir thought about it and then said, "If I can survive this time, I will stop being the Princely Heir and also take Doctor Yao as my master. Once I’ve mastered the skills, we’ll roam the Jianghu together and make a great name for ourselves..."

Just then, as the last rays of the sun finally disappeared behind the hills, Chen Ji said urgently, "Go!"

Then, he quickly, with the lightness of a swallow and seizing the gap between patrols, rushed to the outside of the wooden fence and assumed a stance like a ladder, "Step on my leg and climb up!"

The Princely Heir skillfully clambered over the fence and landed steadily on the ground.

When it was Zhang Xia’s turn, she asked in a rush, "How will you with Bai Li on your back get over? Let me be the ladder, you carry Bai Li, and step over me!"

Chen Ji urged, "Don’t worry about me, quick, the patrolling soldiers are coming back!"

Zhang Xia bit her lip, stepped onto Chen Ji’s thigh, and tumbled over. After landing, she turned back and saw Chen Ji, crouching down, then with a mighty leap,

The next moment, Chen Ji, still carrying Bai Li, had leaped over the fence with sheer strength.

Zhang Xia was astonished, "How are you so strong? Are you an Executive Officer?!"

Chen Ji, while walking, casually replied, "Bai Li is quite light."

Zhang Xia furrowed her brow, "Can you give a serious answer just once?"

"No time for chitchat, to the left!" Chen Ji stayed close to the town’s edge, and before the next team of patrolling soldiers arrived, slipped into the back door of a Iron Refining Workshop, cautiously closing the door behind them as if sealing out danger and carving out a separate world inside.

Inside the workshop, the coal ash in the high furnace had not completely extinguished, with the heat wafting and churning.

The Princely Heir suddenly collapsed to the floor, a wave of bliss washing over him, "So warm, I could just lie here and sleep forever."

Chen Ji gently placed Bai Li on the ground and, looking up at the Princely Heir, said, "Stay away from the high furnace, don’t rush to warm up or you really may die."

The Princely Heir immediately scuttled away from the high furnace.

The human body, in a state of hypothermia, can suffer from low blood pressure and shock if rewarmed too quickly, which is more dangerous than the hypothermia.

This time, Chen Ji directly felt Bai Li’s forehead with his hand and then turned to Zhang Xia with instructions, "Please see if there are any clothes in the workshop we could change into. The workers here must have work clothes stored here, facing coal fires and molten iron every day. Help the Commandery Princess change into them later."

Zhang Xia hurried into the workshop to search and indeed found several work clothes that the craftsmen wore while working. The clothing was very loose, making the girl wearing it resemble an actor in a theatrical robe, with sleeves that extended well past the hands.

"You all change clothes first, I and the Princely Heir will wait elsewhere, call us when you’re done." Chen Ji got up to leave but noticed Bai Li clutching his sleeve tightly without his knowing.

Chen Ji fell silent for a moment, then gently pried Bai Li’s hand open and turned to Zhang Xia, "Thank you for your trouble."

He walked deeper into the workshop, searching every corner while the Princely Heir changed clothes.

Chen Ji saw molds neatly stacked in the southwest corner, and lifting one to look, he was shocked, "These are... molds for casting copper coins? Look, you pour molten copper through this hole, then after opening the mold, they become copper coins, just trim the edges and they can be circulated in the market. This place is not only manufacturing ironware but also illicitly minting copper currency."

No wonder there were formations of infantry and cavalry, as well as hunting hounds by the river. Those people were actually the town’s garrison troops; if Wu Yun hadn’t led them away, Chen Ji and his fellows really wouldn’t have been able to get in.

The Princely Heir removed his soaking wet robe and changed into the dry clothing of a craftsman. While buttoning up his clothes, he said indifferently, "My father said that counterfeiting copper currency isn’t anything new anymore. The Xu Family, Liu Family, Hu Family, Chen Family, Yang Family, and Qi Family are all involved. The court has incurred huge deficits over the years, thanks to them."

"Doesn’t the court care?" Chen Ji wondered.

The Princely Heir scoffed, "The court? From top to bottom, they’re all their people; they are the real court. Once caught, they just find a few scapegoats to take the blame. Look, even when my father wants to procure some cotton gloves for the border army, he has to look to your Chen Family for approval."

By then, Zhang Xia softly called out, "We’ve changed."

Chen Ji and the Princely Heir returned to the furnace where Zhang Xia, wearing an oversized outfit, looked up at Chen Ji, "What’s the plan now?"

Chen Ji folded a piece of clothing to use as a pillow under Bai Li’s head, then fell into silence looking at her.

In that silence, Bai Li with closed eyes, said in a low voice, "Dad, someone wants to kill us..."

The Princely Heir quickly leaned in, "Bai Li, are you awake?"

However, Bai Li didn’t open her eyes, only murmuring, "Brother, where are you..."

The Princely Heir quickly responded, "I’m here! Open your eyes and look!"

Bai Li still did not open her eyes.

The Princely Heir bowed his head to secretly wipe the corners of his eyes, then looking back at Chen Ji he said, "She’s not awake, talking nonsense."

No sooner had he spoken than Bai Li softly called out again, "Chen Ji..."

The Princely Heir glanced at Chen Ji, "See, she’s really started to talk nonsense."

After a long while, Chen Ji spoke, "I need to go out for a bit."

The Princely Heir was already seated on the ground but stood up in alarm upon hearing this, "The town is full of their people, and you dare to go out now?"

Zhang Xia also straightened up, "It’s too dangerous!"

Chen Ji looked at them, "The Commandery Princess cannot wait, she needs medicine. There should be a medicine shop in the town; I will go steal some medicine for the Commandery Princess, and while I’m at it, find some food for you."

The Princely Heir opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t. Although he was very worried about Chen Ji, he had no choice but to save his sister, "I’ll go with you..."

"No," Chen Ji shook his head, "It’s actually not dangerous. The soldiers in towns like this don’t have a uniform dress code, and they don’t need to exchange any secret signals upon meeting, so even if I mix in, no one will pay attention. Besides, it is ultimately more convenient for me to act alone. You all stay here to warm up, dry the clothes, and look after the Commandery Princess; I’ll be back soon."

Saying this, he walked to the door dressed in a soldier’s attire and stopped.

Chen Ji lowered his head in thought for a moment, then turned back to the Princely Heir, "If I’m not back by midnight, you must carry the Commandery Princess and flee, remember to watch out for patrol intervals, and escape in the southwest direction, as far as you can. If this town suddenly falls into chaos, don’t hesitate and flee immediately. Before entering Lu Hun Manor, make sure to carefully observe whether there are people waiting outside, only enter if you’re sure there’s no one there waiting for you."

"Wait!" The Princely Heir exclaimed.

But Chen Ji did not heed him and walked out the door into the night, "Don’t follow me, it will only slow me down... I’ll be fine."

The Princely Heir remained rigid on the spot.

Zhang Xia looked at the closed wooden door, then at the Princely Heir, "So, this is why you and the Commandery Princess trust him, isn’t it?"

The Princely Heir responded with a sound of agreement.

Zhang Xia sighed, "No wonder my father always mentions him in my presence."

The Princely Heir asked, "What did Lord Zhang say exactly, did he sing his praises to the skies? I think Chen Ji truly deserves it."

Zhang Xia said with feeling, "My father is not one for fancy language, he simply said Chen Ji is reliable, someone you can entrust."

The two of them fell into silence. The Princely Heir fetched some water from the workshop’s front courtyard and used his finger to moisten Bai Li’s lips.

Zhang Xia suddenly asked, "Why does the Liu Family want to ambush you and the Commandery Princess? If it was for the succession struggle within the Prince Mansion, they should wait until Princess Jing has a male infant before acting, right? With only Zhu Lingyun below her knees, why the rush?"

The Princely Heir said gravely, "That only the Liu Family knows."