Green Mountain
Chapter 187 - 142, Flaw

Chapter 187: 142, Flaw

Two heads dropped to the ground.

Chen Ji saw from a distance that the tavern had turned blood-soaked, and the once noisy street suddenly became eerily silent.

Mr. Feng, dressed in a green robe, sat calmly on his horse, with no splatter of blood on him, yet reeking of blood. Indeed, the greatest lovers of killing were never martial artists, but the literati.

The lights from inside the tavern shone on the portraits, and Chen Ji was shocked to find that every drawing was of him. With just a few simple strokes, the artist had captured him exquisitely and unmistakably.

It turned out that the Liu Family had intended to kill him from the start.

Why?

It must have been because the things he did for the Spy Department had been leaked, and the Liu Family wanted to make an example out of him.

Chen Ji turned and retreated toward the distance, planning to escape with the Princely Heir and Bai Li, but his steps gradually slowed.

There must have been a thousand soldiers in this small town. If the enemy conducted a sweeping search, he couldn’t get far with Bai Li, the Princely Heir, and Zhang Xia.

He turned to look in the direction where the Princely Heir and others were hiding; it was too far to see clearly, except for the tall chimney of the Iron Refining Workshop standing out in the night.

The firelight from the tavern and the soldiers’ rallying cries intermingled around him.

The next moment, Chen Ji snapped back to his senses and walked in the opposite direction.

Not knowing how far he had walked, he arrived at a small noodle shop and waved to the Shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, a bowl of noodles please."

The Shopkeeper, who was wiping the table, draped the towel over his arm and smiled, "What kind of noodles would you like, sir?"

Chen Ji settled at a wooden table by the door, "Any kind, as long as it’s hot!"

"Coming right up!"

Moments later, the Shopkeeper placed a bowl of pork intestine noodles in front of Chen Ji.

Outside was the chaotic sound of war, but Chen Ji in the noodle shop didn’t glance outside, letting the soldiers run past the front door.

He didn’t mind the heat and grabbed the chopsticks to slurp up large mouthfuls of noodles.

With the first mouthful, Chen Ji sighed deeply, "Delicious!"

After a day of fleeing, to have a hot bowl of pork intestine noodles was one of the happiest moments of his life. With each bite, it seemed his body heated up.

Chen Ji finished the noodles in just a few bites, reluctantly gazing at the red broth in the bowl. He really wanted to drink it all, but if he did, he wouldn’t be able to run anymore.

He sighed lightly, "What a pity."

The Shopkeeper, puzzled, asked, "What’s a pity, sir?"

"Nothing," Chen Ji grinned, tossing a piece of broken silver on the table, "Shopkeeper, that’s for the noodles."

The Shopkeeper was momentarily stunned before subtly pocketing the silver, "Sir, our noodles are cheap. You’ve given too much. I’ll go next door and get some Copper Coins for your change."

Chen Ji waved his hand smilingly, "Go ahead."

Once the Shopkeeper was out the door, Chen Ji glanced again at the noodle broth, then stood up and headed toward the northeast encampment fence along the coal slag road, walking faster and faster until he finally started running.

The Shopkeeper returned to the noodle shop leading a few soldiers, "Gentlemen, that young lad is still inside my shop waiting for the change... Eh, where is he?"

A soldier, cursing, knocked the Shopkeeper to the ground, "Trying to fool me?"

The Shopkeeper, in a rushed tone, said, "He was just here; he hasn’t gone far!"

He started searching around, and just then spotted Chen Ji softly leaping over the wooden fence, "There!"

The soldiers turned to look and saw Chen Ji running into the deep woodland, immediately shouting aloud, "Found him, over here! Chase him!"

More and more troops assembled toward the northeast, chasing after Chen Ji along his escape route, swarming like locusts.

Under the moonlight, the barren woodland could not conceal anyone; hundreds of soldiers rushed in, but Chen Ji’s figure was nowhere to be found.

One of the soldiers, stepping on the soft rotting leaves, drew out his waist knife, cautiously searching forward.

However, just as the soldier turned his head to the left, Chen Ji suddenly dashed out from behind a tree on the right, and his knife swept cleanly across the soldier’s neck.

The blade lightly grazed the carotid artery, as gentle as a cool breeze caressing the skin.

By the time the soldier clutched his neck and turned around, Chen Ji had already brushed past him and disappeared behind another tree.

By the time the others found him, blood was gushing from between his fingers. He only managed to point to the tree where Chen Ji was hiding before he unwillingly fell onto the rotting leaves.

"Over here!" two soldiers shouted as they flanked the tree from both sides.

The two exchanged a glance before simultaneously leaping forward, their long knives crossing like scissors as they struck.

Clang!

Clang!

The two long knives struck the tree with a dull sound, and when the soldiers focused their eyes, there was no one behind the tree.

No, that’s not right!

The soldiers’ eyes blurred for a moment, and they saw Chen Ji leap down from the tree, lightly stepping on the blades stuck in the trunk as he crouched.

The astonished soldiers looked up to see Chen Ji crouching on their blades, a gust of wind stirring the rotting leaves on the ground.

In their eyes, Chen Ji was staring back at them, his eyes devoid of emotion, only cold calculation remained, "Call for help."

The soldiers felt a chill run down their spines, from the base of their tails to their scalps!

"Someone come! He’s here!"

"Someone come!"

The soldiers released their knife handles and retreated, but before their raised feet could leave the ground, Chen Ji casually swung his knife, leaving a bloody line on their necks.

With another leap, Chen Ji stepped on the blades embedded in the trunk, bounding past the soldiers and disappearing into the forest without a look back.

These cries for help finally alarmed everyone, and hundreds of soldiers, treading on the grey rotting leaves, frantically pursued Chen Ji’s silhouette.

But strangely, although they could see Chen Ji’s trail, they couldn’t catch up to him.

It seemed like there was always a fixed distance between them, neither close nor far, and just when the soldiers thought they were losing him, Chen Ji’s silhouette would gradually become clear again.

The next moment, as he reached the top of the hill and was about to cross over, Chen Ji suddenly paused.

He turned, giving a deep look at the Military Town behind him before moving again, disappearing behind the hill.

...

...

In the Military Town, Mr. Feng, leading several dozen black-clad followers, arrived in front of a noodle shop. He lightly dismounted, picked up his robe, and walked into the noodle shop, sitting down at the table Chen Ji had previously occupied, the bowl Chen Ji had used still not cleared.

He cheerfully said to the Shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, a bowl of noodles, make it exactly like the one the young man had earlier."

The apprehensive Shopkeeper cooked a bowl of tripe noodles and brought it over, and Mr. Feng exclaimed loudly after a taste, "Delicious! Did that young man compliment it?"

The Shopkeeper replied softly, "He... he did."

Mr. Feng finished the noodles cleanly, a black-clad attendant handed him a pristine white silk handkerchief, which he used to wipe his mouth before tossing it onto the ground, then glanced at the bowl Chen Ji had used.

After some contemplation, Mr. Feng compared his bowl with Chen Ji’s, then picked up Chen Ji’s bowl and tasted the soup, "The taste is the same... How can someone who has been starving and escaping all day resist not drinking this hot bowl of noodle soup?"

Mr. Feng mused to himself, "A man of meticulous mind, how could he slip up over a trivial thing like a wooden token?"

Having said this, he stood up and left.

A black-clad follower asked, "Mr. Feng, shall we pursue?"

Mounting his horse again, Mr. Feng laughed heartily, "That young man intentionally revealed this flaw here, presumably to divert attention from the Princely Heir and the Commandery Princess’s whereabouts. Continue searching the Military Town, the Princely Heir, and the Commandery Princess should still be here."

The black-clad attendant asked, "So, should we still chase that young man?"

Mr. Feng spurred his horse in the direction Chen Ji had fled, "Chase, why not? The lord is still waiting to use his head to accompany the second master in death; he is the most important prey."