Green Mountain
Chapter 238 - 186, Jailbreak

Chapter 238: 186, Jailbreak

At 7 p.m., when lights were about to be extinguished for bedtime, an unexplainable and deadly aura filled the streets.

On the long street covered in white snow, there were only sporadic hoof prints, making it seem eerily deserted, unlike the world of living beings.

Outside the inner prison, by about two miles, in a dimly lit alley to the south of the city, Liang Mao’er was dozing on a stack of broken baskets, while Liang Gou’er held the Liang family long knife in his arms, a withered yellow stalk clenched between his teeth, leaning against the wall in utter boredom, "Hey, kid, how much longer do we have to wait?"

She Dengke peered cautiously around the corner of the alley, his back to Liang Mao’er and Liang Gou’er without turning back he said, "Wait a bit more, in another fifteen minutes it will be 9 to 11 p.m., and we’ll be safe. Brother Gou’er, don’t move around under the shelter where there’s no snow, and later there’ll be people coming to patrol."

Liang Gou’er snorted with derision, "Safe? Trying to get someone out of the Eunuch Party’s inner prison, how can you talk of safety?"

Just then, She Dengke, who was on the lookout, turned and gestured to them, "Quick, quick, quick, here comes someone else, hide!"

With that, he stepped where there was no snow under the eaves and shuffled himself inside one of the broken baskets.

Liang Gou’er turned around, covered Liang Mao’er’s mouth, and picked him up in one motion, hiding behind a pile of broken baskets.

The sound of horseshoes dap-dap-dap-dap upon the snow grew louder in the alley outside, approaching like the drumbeat of death.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths... after ten breaths, a Jiefan Guard wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, on horseback, passed by outside the alley. He had a long knife strapped to his back, and his sharp gaze swept across the alley. After standing still for a moment and making sure there were no footprints in the snow of the alley, he spurred his horse on to patrol elsewhere.

Liang Gou’er released his hand, and Liang Mao’er gasped quietly for breath, while She Dengke also lifted the cover of the broken basket, squatting on the ground, legs trembling with a sigh of relief.

Liang Gou’er turned to look at She Dengke, "You, a child from a laborer family, your legs tremble like that, and you still dare to venture into this dragon’s den?"

She Dengke looked uncertain, "This is a trap?"

Liang Gou’er started counting on his fingers, "I pretended to be a passerby this morning and scouted around. Not only are the Jiefan Guards patrolling sporadically, but within one mile of the inner prison, there could be who knows how many spies and Jiefan Guards hiding in the alleys. Beyond one mile, the troops of Luocheng Military Department are on standby, ready to provide support at any time. The Eunuch Party is clearly waiting for someone to walk into their trap, to conveniently eliminate all remaining threats from Prince Jing’s line."

He looked at She Dengke with mockery, "Anyone with a bit of brains, after a careful look, would realize this is a trap. Yet you few fools are still keen on seeking death."

She Dengke turned to look at him, "Aren’t you also going?"

Liang Gou’er said impatiently, "Did I want to go? I was coerced into this by you all! Look, everyone has their own fate. Why must we definitely save someone? Over the years, how little have we seen sworn brothers on Jianghu turn against each other due to debts of life? Friends are momentary, one’s own life is what’s most important!"

She Dengke felt somewhat aggrieved, "But we got on so well when we were in the Medical Hall, you even said you wanted to drink together when we got old!"

Liang Gou’er paused, his voice softening slightly, "Anyway, I’ve said it beforehand, once I help lead the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess out of the inner prison, my part is done. After that, I’ll run away with Mao’er, whether you can get the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess out of Luocheng City, that’s none of my business."

She Dengke said irritably, "I know, I know."

Liang Gou’er puzzled, "Aren’t you worried that you won’t be able to get out? Now all four city gate guards have been replaced by the elite of the Longevity Army. Even the carts for transporting dung have their covers opened and are stabbed seven or eight times. At noon today, a remaining scion of the Liu Family was discovered hidden in a dung cart and got stabbed to death. Before he died, he howled, and golden juice poured into his mouth. What was he thinking? He might as well have chosen a more straightforward way to die..."

She Dengke imagined that scene and shivered with revulsion.

Liang Gou’er said with a chuckle, "Even if you can rescue the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess from the inner prison, how are you going to get them out?"

At that moment, a calm voice suddenly sounded from behind the three, "Brother Gou’er doesn’t need to worry about this matter."

Liang Gou’er turned around to look and saw a person slowly emerging from the dark depths of Wangchun Alley, the silhouette gradually becoming visible.

Liang Gou’er turned back, squinting at the masked person, "Why dress up like that and still with serious injuries... With injuries like this, how are you going to rescue anyone?"

Chen Ji casually replied, "With you, a Grand Official of the Seeking Dao Realm, it is possible to rescue them. By the way, Brother Gou’er, what Cultivation Path allows one to tattoo an image of Buddha on their body and radiate the Buddha’s form on their back?"

Liang Gou’er was stunned, "You fought with Han Tong... was it him who injured you? He practices the Hidden Python Path, mixing his blood with Four-leaf clover juice and Golden Ink to tattoo the image on his body and meditates on it daily. Normally, people only dare to tattoo pythons, as it’s said that tattooing dragons, tigers, Buddha, or Immortals can easily make one lose their mind during meditation, which is why it was originally called ’Hidden Python’."

He continued, "Several people practice this path, and they fight each other to the death when they meet. I remember that there were two people around Official Liu who were followers of this path, but they were killed by Heavenly Horse not long ago."

Chen Ji nodded, "Got it. What’s the situation around the inner prison?"

Liang Gou’er said, "Right now, a unit of Jiefan Guard is stationed near the inner prison, about two hundred men. How do you plan to get in? Just to be clear, I can’t fight so many. Among the Jiefan Guard, there are certainly Executive Officers. If you haven’t figured out how to deal with them, I advise you to turn back now."

Suddenly, Chen Ji gestured with his hand for him to be quiet.

Liang Gou’er paused, baffled, and the next moment, the sound of a fast horse approached through the snow, with a Spy intermittently blowing a copper whistle on horseback. One blast of the magpie, the whistle call of the Spy Department to gather its forces.

After thirty minutes, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from outside the alley on the main street, and Chen Ji and the others concealed themselves in the shadow beneath the eaves. They saw teams of Jiefan Guard, wearing bamboo hats and straw cloaks with long knives slung across their waists, racing past towards the east.

When the night quieted down once more, Liang Gou’er suddenly looked over at Chen Ji, "What did you do to draw away the Jiefan Guard from here?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

Liang Gou’er frowned in thought, "If it’s just for capturing ordinary people, there’d be no need for so many Jiefan Guard to move out. Unless it’s a Grand Official of the Seeking Dao Realm... but in Luocheng City, there are only me and that fellow surnamed Feng. Wait, did you use Han Tong as bait? As far as I know, he has no quarrel with you..."

Chen Ji said calmly, "This is what he should do."

Liang Gou’er looked at Chen Ji for a moment and finally sighed, "You’ve become somewhat unscrupulous. Don’t end up with the whole world as your enemy and live to regret it."

Chen Ji shook his head, "It’s not important."

Liang Gou’er looked at him hesitantly, "After you rescue them, you won’t sell me and Mao’er out, will you?"

Chen Ji said with an expressionless face, "I won’t."

After speaking, he took out the grey cloth masks from his bosom and handed them to the three. Just as he raised his hand, he suddenly coughed. He took off his own mask and coughed up blood near the bottom of the wall.

Liang Mao’er asked with concern, "Chen Ji, are you okay?"

Chen Ji wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "I’m fine."

He lightly leaped onto the gray-tiled rooftop and then bent low to pull She Dengke up with him.

Liang Gou’er imitated him and pulled Liang Mao’er onto the roof as well, muttering, "You want to go across the rooftops to avoid leaving footprints in the snow, so no one will discover you. But let me remind you, just ahead, every alley is hiding men from the Spy Department. You can’t avoid them."

Chen Ji led the way forward undisturbed, "I have my methods."

...

...

The housetops with gabled roofs were like sharp mountain ridges.

A Jiefan Guard stationed in the shadow of a narrow alley with his hand on his waist knife, stood like a statue in armor. He lowered his hat a bit and closed his eyes to rest, waiting for his prey to fall into the trap.

The Jiefan Guard had just closed his eyes when his right ear under the hat twitched. He suddenly opened his eyes, shooting a piercing gaze.

In the alley, a Li Hua cat was stepping across the snow, carefully proceeding into the alley, looking around as though seeking food.

The guard’s sharp gaze softened a little. After some thought, he pulled out a piece of biscuit from under his raincoat, broke off a small piece, and held it in the palm of his hand as he crouched down.

The Li Hua cat meowed timidly and, after hesitating for a moment, approached slowly. It ate the biscuit and rubbed the guard’s hand.

The Jiefan Guard smiled, breaking off another piece of biscuit.

Not far away, Chen Ji listened to the cat’s meows and, without stopping, led Liang Gou’er to walk in another direction. He avoided every place where there were cat calls.

The group shuttled and leaped among the gray mountain peaks, steadily approaching the direction of the inner prison.

Liang Gou’er, with his face covered by the grey cloth, had doubt flashing in his eyes behind the cloth: Where had all those Jiefan Guards hiding in the alleys gone? Why hadn’t they encountered even one?

Additionally, there seemed to be an awful lot of stray cats in this residential area?

Suddenly, Chen Ji crouched down, raising his right fist.

Liang Gou’er bent over to get closer, the two of them used a ridge for cover, peeking stealthily.

Chen Ji whispered, "The iron door at the side of the house ahead leads into the inner prison, the passageway behind the door reaches underground, connecting to the subterranean river."

Liang Gou’er furrowed his brow, "How do we get in? If we use a knife to pry open the iron gate, the nearby Jiefan Guards will surely hear!"

Chen Ji picked up the snow from the rooftop, rubbed the bloodstains off his cheeks, then turned his head towards Liang Gou’er, "You two wait here."

Liang Gou’er, hunched behind the ridge, saw Chen Ji lightly leap from the eaves, crouching in the snow like a stealthy cat.

Liang Gou’er frowned, "What’s this kid up to?"

She Dengke shook his head, "Don’t know."

Chen Ji then directly approached the iron door and knocked three times. Liang Gou’er suddenly tightened his grip on the scabbard.

The next moment, a small window in the iron door slid open and the inside prison guard asked in confusion, "Mr. Chen, why have you come here?"

Chen Ji flashed his waist tag, "I have a prisoner to interrogate, open the door."

The iron door opened.

The prison guard casually said, "Mr. Chen, weren’t you attending a victory banquet tonight? Wait, why is your clothing so torn, and there’s blood..."

Before he could finish, the prison guard had already quickly retreated into the passage.

Chen Ji was about to charge in to prevent the guard from alerting others, when suddenly a crossbow arrow shot out from within the door. He dodged just in time, the arrow leaving a shallow cut on his cheek.

The next moment, the prison guard blew a loud copper whistle.

A magpie’s call, once, assembles!