Green Mountain
Chapter 210 - 165, Blinding method

Chapter 210: 165, Blinding method

In the pitch-black corridor, the air was as thick and unyielding as ink that would never dissolve.

Only Chen Ji’s panting remained in the darkness, as he fumbled along the wall, stumbling forward. But this lengthy corridor seemed never-ending, without a finish.

The next moment, he heard the footsteps of pursuers behind him, urgent and foreboding.

In the darkness, someone shouted in a low voice, "The opponent is an executive officer, be wary of ambushes, use crossbows to clear the way!"

The sharp sound of cutting air approached, and Chen Ji, unable to see the angle of the crossbow arrows, instinctively pressed himself against the wall.

In the narrow corridor, four crossbow arrows whizzed past his chest and the tip of his nose. The last one unexpectedly embedded in his left shoulder.

Chen Ji grunted, a piercing pain surged, and he realized his arm was no longer able to lift.

Ignoring the pain, he took advantage of the moment the enemy was reloading the crossbow and quickened his steps toward the end of the corridor.

Behind him, someone shouted loudly, "He’s hit, chase!"

Dragging his now powerless arm, Chen Ji emerged from the tunnel, glancing through the butcher shop before immediately, with gritted teeth, grabbing a cutting table and turning it over to block the tunnel exit thoroughly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pursuers inside the tunnel desperately pushed against the cutting table, but couldn’t move the heavy furniture right away.

Chen Ji took a deep breath and strenuously pulled out the crossbow arrow.

In the winter air, beads of sweat the size of soybeans fell from his forehead. He rolled up his sleeves, tore off a piece of his garment to bind the wound on his shoulder, and nonchalantly exited the big door of the butcher shop.

At that moment, Anxi Street was undergoing a military pass.

The Liu Family Army, armed with long spears, marched past Chen Ji, encircling Prince Jing Mansion and Taiping Medical Hall tightly, completely sealing off the area.

Prince Jing Mansion’s guards stood armed with spears at the entrance, tensions high as swords were drawn.

Chen Ji kept his head low, hurrying along under the eaves of the houses towards the end of Anxi Street. However, after merely a few dozen steps, he slowed, then stopped.

Ahead, about a dozen soldiers guarded, forbidding all civilians from entering or exiting Anxi Street.

Chen Ji turned to walk in the opposite direction but noticed his pursuers emerging from the butcher shop. They were scanning the crowd on the street with knives in hand, searching for him.

There was no escape.

Chen Ji looked around for any weapon he could use, prepared for a desperate fight to the death.

Before he could find a suitable weapon, a carriage halted beside him. From inside, a voice whispered, "Get in, I’ll take you away!"

Chen Ji turned and saw Daoist Master Zhang Li from the Huangshan Dao Court lifting the carriage curtain, gesturing for him to come in.

He climbed into the carriage, then leaned against the side, eyeing Zhang Li with caution.

Zhang Li patted the little Daoist who was driving the carriage, signaling him to start driving away quickly.

The little Daoist hesitated, "Daoist Master Zhang, we shouldn’t take him. It will bring trouble."

Zhang Li scolded, slapping the back of his head, "How can your Laojun Mountain Dao Court be so timorous? How does your master teach you daily? What should you do if someone else is in trouble?"

The little Daoist paused, "We should pray for the Three Pure Ancestors to bless him!"

Zhang Li laughed incredulously, "You damn... Is praying going to help now? Let me teach you. You should draw your sword and lend a hand when you see injustice!"

The little Daoist hesitated, "Brother, that’s not what my master teaches."

Zhang Li slapped him again on the back of the head, "Stop your damn nonsense, do you want me to knock some sense into your head? You begged me to bring you to Luocheng for fun, and now my words aren’t valid anymore? See if I ever bring you again!"

The little Daoist pouted and reluctantly started driving the carriage.

Zhang Li let down the curtain, turned back to Chen Ji inside the carriage, and said with a smile, "Excuse the mess."

Chen Ji, puzzled, asked, "Daoist Master Zhang, why are you here?"

Zhang Li patiently explained, "I had to come to Luocheng to pay a visit since you helped our Dao Court greatly at Lu Hun Manor earlier. It’s just unfortunate to come across this scene... By the way, are the Liu Family looking for you?"

Chen Ji kept a straight face, "No."

Zhang Li, smiling, pointed at his shoulder. Chen Ji looked down to see his gray garment soaked with blood, seeping through to the outside.

"Don’t worry," Zhang Li said kindly, "Our Huangshan Dao Court has no ties with the Liu Family and would never betray you. Since the Liu Family has already locked down this street, I’ll get you out first."

The carriage headed towards the exit of Anxi Street, but just as they were about to leave, over ten soldiers blocked the road, "No passage allowed here!"

The little Daoist driving the carriage asked in a low voice, "Brother, what should we do?"

Zhang Li nonchalantly retorted from inside, "What to do? Scold them!"

Without hesitation and facing the soldiers, the little Daoist blurted out, "You motherfu—"

Zhang Li quickly interjected, "Wait, don’t curse so crudely!"

Hearing that, the little Daoist shouted at the soldiers, "Are you blind? You dare to stop a Dao Court carriage?"

A soldier outside spoke sternly, "Mr. Feng has ordered Anxi Street to be sealed off. Whether you’re from the Dao Court or the Buddhist Sect, you can’t leave."

The little Daoist exclaimed, "I am the direct disciple of the immortal master, Son of Danqiu of the Laojun Mountain Dao Court; the person inside is Daoist Master Zhang Li, the prime disciple of Huangshan Dao Court, who has even preached Daoist doctrines to His Majesty! Call your Liu Family manager, I want to ask who gave you the audacity to block my carriage."

The soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them signaled with his eyes. Soon, a soldier quietly left to report.

Moments later, a bearded soldier clad in armor approached slowly.

He spoke politely to the little Daoist, "Please forgive us, young master. We are capturing rebels on orders and kindly ask for your cooperation."

The little Daoist raised an eyebrow, "Do I look like a rebel to you?"

The bearded soldier explained, "I don’t mean to say you are a rebel; I’m just concerned a rebel might be hiding in your carriage. How about this? Let me inspect the inside of the carriage. As long as there is no rebel, I’ll let you go immediately."

The little Daoist jeered, "What if I refuse? You want to search just like that, where is the dignity of my Dao Court?"

The bearded soldier’s expression darkened, "This is a serious matter. If the young master refuses, even if the Three Pure Ancestors were in the carriage, we couldn’t let you leave."

Chen Ji’s brow was tightly knotted inside the carriage, fearing that he could not escape this calamity.

He looked at Zhang Li, only to see him pull out a dried yushu leaf from his left sleeve, and a rat-whisker brush from the right sleeve.

Zhang Li cut his finger, dipped the rat-whisker brush in his blood, and wrote a complex talisman on the yushu leaf, before sticking it onto Chen Ji’s forehead and whispered, "Don’t speak."

The next moment, he cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "Zhou Fang, since they want to inspect the carriage, let them check."

The little Daoist acknowledged, "Yes, master."

With that, he voluntarily lifted the carriage curtain for the bearded soldiers to inspect, "Here, look!"

Chen Ji’s heart was in his throat as he watched the bearded soldiers peer inside, casting a sharp gaze at him.

But the soldier only glanced in his direction once, then seemed as if he saw nothing and looked away.

The bearded soldier bowed to Zhang Li, saying, "My apologies, Daoist Master Zhang Li, I am only following orders."

Zhang Li hummed calmly and asked gravely, "Did you find any rebels in my carriage?"

The bearded soldier hurriedly responded, "No."

"Then why not let us pass?"

The bearded soldier stepped back and waved at the soldiers, "Move aside, let them pass!"

The carriage again rattled along its way, and Zhang Li, with a smile, took the yushu leaf from Chen Ji’s forehead, rubbed it between his fingers turning it into powder, and said, "Good thing they didn’t linger too long, or we might have been exposed."

Chen Ji asked uncertainly, "Why couldn’t he see me?"

Zhang Li chuckled, "Just a simple illusion technique."

He then pulled out a white porcelain bottle shaped like a gourd from his sleeve, "Fellow Daoist Chen Ji, roll up your sleeve. I’ll apply some healing and hemostatic powder on you."

As Chen Ji rolled up his sleeve, Zhang Li suddenly exclaimed, "Oh? It’s already stopped bleeding?"

Chen Ji turned his head to see that the wound from the crossbow arrow was no longer bleeding out, and his left arm, which had lost sensation earlier, could now be raised.

Stove fire!

He took the porcelain bottle without any change in expression and sprinkled the powder on his wound, casually explaining, "Since childhood, my wounds have healed faster than others."

Zhang Li beamed a smile and did not probe further, "You are indeed a person favored by the heavens."

Chen Ji let his sleeve fall, peered out through a slit in the curtain, and saw troops from the Liu Family continuously marching toward the Prince Mansion, "Daoist Master Zhang Li, do you have a way to get out of the city?"

Zhang Li sat upright, hands folded in his sleeves, and said, "Now, all four city gates are tightly shut, crossbows are mounted on the city walls, and beyond the wall stretches military camps for over ten miles. The Liu Family, before their uprising, would not let any news leak out. You cannot leave."

Chen Ji frowned.

At that moment, a group of men in black on horseback came galloping toward Prince Jing Mansion. The leader, clad in a green large cloak, was none other than Mr. Feng, whom Chen Ji had not seen for several days!

Chen Ji quickly let down the curtain, fearing that the other party might see him through the gap.

Zhang Li, sitting inside the carriage, said intriguingly, "Daoist friend, why not hide with me at the inn? I’m staying at Yingxian Inn with over ten junior brothers and sisters. Regardless of what the Liu Family intends to do, they surely wouldn’t dare to trouble my Dao Court."

Chen Ji shook his head, "I appreciate your kindness, master, but I cannot in good conscience hide among you. If the Liu Family discovers me, it could bring trouble for you all. Besides, there are skilled people among the Liu Family’s staff, and that illusion might not truly deceive them."

He then bowed to Zhang Li, "Thank you for your intervention. Let us part here."

Zhang Li didn’t press further, smiling, he bowed, "Farewell then, if we’re meant to meet again, we will. If you survive this ordeal, remember to visit me at Huangshan."

"It’s a promise."

Once Mr. Feng and his men had traveled some distance, Chen Ji lifted the curtain, jumped down from the carriage, and disappeared into a dark alley beside the road.

The young Daoist driving the carriage turned around curiously and asked, "Master, you’re full of tricks and not exactly a saint, why help him?"

Zhang Li irritably responded, "Quit spouting nonsense about me. My maneuvers are meant to confront the Buddhist Sect, not to harm others. Am I to silently put up with those claims while you all chatter behind my back? Be careful, or I might slap you."

The little Daoist shrank his neck, muttering softly, "Master, even though you’ve been granted an audience in the palace, you’re still so rough!"

Elsewhere.

Mr. Feng rode to the gates of Prince Jing Mansion, smiling as he looked at the already closed vermilion doors, "Is everything in place?"

The bearded soldier standing beside the horse reported, "Mr. Feng, my Elephant Armor Camp has encircled the Prince Mansion completely. Prince Jing and his family are inside; we have not let a single person escape."

Mr. Feng hummed, "And that young man the old master wanted?"

The bearded soldier hesitated a moment, "He tried to escape through the tunnel from Taiping Medical Hall, but we instantly saw through his trick and caught up. During the chase, the young man was hit by one of our arrows..."

Mr. Feng’s smile darkened, "Quit the nonsense, or I’ll have your head. Where is he?"

The soldier, terrified, fell to the ground, the black iron armor clattering, "I’m still searching, sir! He’s injured, and since we’ve sealed off this area and let no one out, he must be nearby!"

Mr. Feng pondered briefly, "Are you sure you let no one escape? Don’t lie to me, if I find out you’ve said one untrue word, I’ll have your wives and children executed."

The soldier quickly added, "A Dao Court carriage passed by earlier. But I inspected it thoroughly and confirmed there was only one Daoist inside before letting them leave."

"Oh?" Mr. Feng raised an eyebrow, "What was the Daoist’s name?"

"Huangshan Dao Court, Zhang Li."

Mr. Feng laughed, "So it was him!"

The soldier looked puzzled, "Mr. Feng, you know him?"

"Of course," Mr. Feng smiled, asking, "When you inspected his carriage, he didn’t slap you?"

The soldier blinked, "He did not."

Mr. Feng pondered for a moment, "Since when is Zhang Li so good-natured? That young man must have been hiding in the carriage, otherwise Zhang Li would have slapped you by now. Send someone after them... Never mind, that young man is too cunning, it’s likely too late."

The soldier shivered, "Mr. Feng, please spare my life..."

Mr. Feng smiled again, "Get up. I’m not unreasonable. With the Dao Court’s help, it wasn’t your fault."