Green Mountain
Chapter 314 - 254, Guidance from an expert

Chapter 314: 254, Guidance from an expert

Between the dirt road and the low houses, Old Wu, dressed in a grey cloth shirt, walked ahead while Chen Ji followed closely behind, his bamboo hat lowered.

Old Wu was highly alert. After every two streets, he would seek an empty alley to wait momentarily. Only once he confirmed that no one was trailing behind did he continue on his way.

At this moment, the long-ringing bell of Guyuan City resounded again.

Old Wu stopped on a long street and looked up. Chen Ji also halted, and all the pedestrians on the street stopped to look towards the direction the bell came from.

The bell of Guyuan was different from the melodious ones in temples.

The heavy bell broke through the thin morning fog, like dark clouds tumbling overhead, making it hard to breathe.

Everyone waited for the bell to stop, but it just kept ringing.

Only after tolling thirty-six times did the echoes finally dissipate towards the edges of the city.

Some pedestrians whispered, "Thirty-six long tolls, tonight the curfew begins, and alcohol is banned."

"It’s been six years since the last curfew in Guyuan."

Old Wu was stunned on the street for a long time until he saw Border Soldiers patrolling towards him. He then snapped out of it and ducked into a curios shop along the street, pretending to examine a piece of bronze.

Once the Border Soldiers had passed, he left the shop and hurried on his way.

From a distance at the street corner, Chen Ji watched and pondered in his heart. What Old Wu was doing definitely contradicts the Border Soldiers; even his colleagues would not recognize him. He wondered how many more people within the Border Soldiers were like Old Wu, and what exactly were these people planning to do?

Chen Ji continued to follow Old Wu through several streets. After turning a corner, he suddenly lost sight of him.

People in the street were lining up for porridge, but Old Wu was not in the queue. The long street stretched to the end but he seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.

Chen Ji’s gaze shifted, scanning from one shop signboard to another. Old Wu must have entered one of the street-side shops... Had he gone into hiding after spotting Chen Ji, or was one of these shops his intended destination?

Wait.

His gaze paused: The gold sign of a street-facing shop read "Yang’s Leather."

Chen Ji stopped a passerby, handing over two Copper Coins as he asked, "Excuse me, is this Luoshen Square, Dohun Street?"

The passerby stared at him in surprise, pocketing the Copper Coins. "Yes, this is Luoshen Square, Dohun Street. What about it?"

"It’s nothing," Chen Ji released the passerby, who walked away.

He stared at the gold signboard with a heavy heart. Xiao Wu once mentioned that the young clerk of the glass shop in South Luo Square and the shopkeeper of Yang’s Leather on Dohun Street in Luoshen Square are spies of the Jing Dynasty.

Chen Ji slowly retreated and mingled into the crowd, lining up for porridge, and approached Yang’s Leather casually.

From under the brim of his hat, he saw Old Wu at the counter, whispering with the shopkeeper.

From Chen Ji’s angle, he could only see Old Wu’s back clad in his gray shirt and the shopkeeper’s brows furrowed, seemingly arguing about something.

Just then, an old man queuing behind Chen Ji tapped his shoulder, kindly reminding him, "Young man, why didn’t you bring a bowl? The soldiers said, you must bring your own bowl to get porridge, otherwise, you won’t get any."

Chen Ji thought to himself, Damn!

He abruptly turned to look towards the main hall of Yang’s Leather. Old Wu had already dashed to the backyard without a glance back.

With no hesitation.

Chen Ji rushed towards Yang’s Leather, as the shopkeeper pulled out a short knife from under the counter and lunged at him fiercely.

The next moment, Chen Ji tore off his bamboo hat and flung it with full force at the shopkeeper. The bamboo hat spun rapidly in the air like a sheathed curved knife.

As the bamboo hat drew closer, it blocked the view between the shopkeeper and Chen Ji.

The shopkeeper instinctively waved the hat away. Amidst the shattering bamboo, Chen Ji was already up close, striking the shopkeeper’s wrist between the carpel and radial bones with a hand chop.

The shopkeeper felt his wrist go numb, forcing him to involuntarily release his grip.

The short knife fell towards the ground but was caught mid-air by a gaunt hand, firmly stabbing between the third and fourth ribs of the shopkeeper.

In one fluid movement, without pause.

The shopkeeper sucked in the cold winter air, making a "he-he" sound, and slowly leaned against the counter, sliding to the floor, incredulously turning his head. But Chen Ji didn’t spare him another glance and rushed to the backyard.

...

...

Old Wu clambered onto the rooftops, leaping among low-rise clay houses.

He glanced back, although there was clearly no one behind, he dared not pause. He could sense that his pursuer was very close.

Very close.

Old Wu looked back again; there was a fleeting figure in the alley behind him.

Amidst the dense clay houses that seemed like the yellow grass on a plain, a ferocious tiger was sprinting through the grass, emitting no sound of breath or footsteps.

You could only catch a fleeting glimpse of its tawny stripes through the gaps in the grass, realizing your struggles were futile only when it was upon you.

Old Wu leaped over an alley; he saw someone darting down the alley below, not good!

"Get down!"

Chen Ji used the wall to propel himself forward, launching into mid-air.

Old Wu twisted his body mid-air and kicked towards the approaching Chen Ji’s head. Chen Ji raised his arm, blocking the kick with his elbow, then clutched Old Wu’s calf, plunging with him towards the ground.

With a loud thud, the two fell heavily to the ground, kicking up dust all around.

Amidst the dust, a flash of knife light appeared; Old Wu pulled a short knife from his boot and stabbed at Chen Ji who was clinging to his leg.

Chen Ji quickly turned his face to dodge the blade, released Old Wu’s calf, grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind his back, and firmly pressed him to the ground, pushing Old Wu’s face into the dust.

Chen Ji silently surveyed the alley to ensure no one was attracted by the noise of their fight, then leaned down and asked, "Are you doing all this for revenge for Prince Jing?"

Old Wu gasped, "What are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Chen Ji slightly loosened his grip on Old Wu’s wrists, softened his voice, and said, "I have a profound relationship with Zhu Yunxi, the Princely Heir of Prince Jing Mansion, and I became a direct disciple of Mr. Wang thanks to Prince Jing’s recommendation. If you are doing this for revenge for Prince Jing, I can help you."

Old Wu raised his head, spat the dirt mixed with saliva onto the ground, and said definitively, "Revenge for Prince Jing? I’ve never even met Prince Jing, what revenge would there be to claim? Boy, don’t try to trick me. Since I’m caught by you, do as you please whether to kill or slaughter."

After a moment of thought, Chen Ji slowly released Old Wu’s hands, sat down beside a wall, and spoke softly, "The cotton hand warmers you border army sent earlier, it was in exchange for me."

Old Wu puzzledly asked, "What do you mean it was in exchange for you?"

Chen Ji pondered and then said, "The Chen family made a deal with Prince Jing, as long as he was willing to recommend me to Mr. Wang’s place, they would allocate this batch of silver for the border army."

Old Wu, leveraging his hands to sit up, stopped trying to flee and asked, "Are you willing to avenge Prince Jing?"

Chen Ji did not follow this topic but suddenly asked, "You burned the granary, what are you planning to do next?"

Old Wu, rubbing his wrists, sneered, "Chen family’s son, do you think I will reveal our plans to you just because of your few words? I’ve stopped running because I know I can’t escape, not because I believe your words."

Chen Ji calmly said, "You, colluding with Jing Dynasty to besiege Guyuan City, are trying to lure Jing Dynasty inside to destroy Ning Dynasty, aren’t you? But this will cause many people to die because of you."

Old Wu scoffed, "What do I care? When have they ever cared about whether we live or die? Has anyone counted how many people have survived over the years because of us?"

Speaking, Old Wu shifted his body and leaned against the clay wall opposite Chen Ji, looking up and saying, "I joined the border army in the 6th year of Jianing, started as an infantry and then a scout, fought in seven battles, barely managed to get a bamboo armor to wear. At that time, I was a bit picky, Old Zhou promised me that once I got promoted to Vice General, he would get me a suit of iron armor. But after the promotion, I realized that damn Zhou was just a liar, there are only two suits of iron armor left in Guyuan, one he wears, the other worn by General Hu."

Chen Ji did not know why Old Wu was saying all this, whether it was to buy time waiting for reinforcements or he had another scheme.

Old Wu shifted to a more comfortable position and continued, "A stone of grain, by the time it reaches the court from Henan Province and Jiangnan, there’s only 90% left. Transporting it to Guyuan through Luocheng, Yun City, Weinan, Tongchuan, and Qingyang, officials and merchants collude to replace new rice and wheat with old grain and corn. By the time it reaches us, the grain has already grown moldy. If it weren’t for the border army having a wise man advising to turn the border military town into a trade hub, we, the soldiers of the border army, wouldn’t even know what to eat."

Chen Ji, without betraying any emotion, asked, "Who is the wise man?"

Old Wu laughed without responding and continued, "You tell me, eating moldy corn and wheat every day, what are we guarding Guyuan for?"

Chen Ji puzzledly said, "If Prince Jing is looking after you, how could the food be silently replaced?"

Old Wu laughed loudly, "Prince Jing is also helpless, with thousands deceiving above and below, he isn’t an immortal."

Chen Ji grew more confused, "Isn’t the border army supported by the Jin Party, doesn’t Official Hu care? They must let people survive."

Old Wu jeered, "To the departments and officials, the border army is just a pawn, Guyuan hasn’t been lost for hundreds of years, naturally, there’s no need to worry. Don’t they know the plight of the border army? They just pretend not to see."

Chen Ji hadn’t deeply studied history; he only knew that issues with the border army were always a catalyst for the downfall of dynasties. The problem with the border army wasn’t with the soldiers themselves, but with the corruption of the system and the crisis of the national treasury.

Dynasties have always been this way, Ning Dynasty is no exception.

He stared at Old Wu and asked, "So you want to simply hand over Guyuan to Jing Dynasty?"

Old Wu said nothing, lost in thought.

After a long time, he grabbed a handful of soil from the ground and sighed deeply, "But even so, we must continue to defend it. Master Chen, you’re mistaken in your guesses, all of them. I advise you not to continue your investigation; you won’t be able to understand it. Perhaps before you figure it out, the truth will emerge on its own."

Chen Ji was taken aback. What did that mean?

He thought for a moment and said, "Old Wu, I don’t want to make things difficult for you, but this matter is too significant; I must take you into custody first. If you are innocent, I’ll certainly clear your name."

However, at this moment, Old Wu smiled and said, "Master Chen, you’re a good person, truly a righteous Direct Disciple of Mr. Wang!"

At this point, Old Wu suddenly said, "Thank you, Master Chen."

Chen Ji was puzzled, "Thank me for what?"

Old Wu grinned and said, "Thank you for your cotton hand warmers. I’ve never worn such warm hand warmers in my life."

Chen Ji suddenly realized something was wrong!

But before he could react, a fierce white flame suddenly burst from behind Old Wu. It came so suddenly that it enveloped him completely in just a few breaths.

Chen Ji was shocked and rushed forward to slap some soil onto Old Wu to put out the flames, but the fire on his body couldn’t be extinguished no matter how much he patted.

Old Wu gritted his teeth and said, "Stop, it’s no use. That person said this fire can’t be put out!"

Who was that person? Where did this fire come from?

Chen Ji felt like his head was about to explode, and he quickly asked before Old Wu’s death, "Why did you poison and kill thirty-four members of the Chen family?"

Old Wu cried out in pain, "I didn’t!"

Chen Ji’s pupils constricted, "Then why did you go to Guyuan Inn that afternoon?"

Old Wu, curled up on the ground and in agony from the flames, struggled to say, "I went to the inn to instruct the inn soldiers to prepare red snail charcoal for you!"

Chen Ji’s pupils constricted. So, Old Wu had gone to Guyuan Inn that day just for that. In his agony and with death looming, he could not have concocted a coherent lie quickly.

This reply must be true!

Then who is the real perpetrator behind the poisoning of thirty-four members of the Chen family?

Ignoring the flames, Chen Ji picked up a short knife that had fallen on the ground and cut open the clothes on Old Wu’s back, only to see a yellow paper talisman written in vermilion stuck there, now almost entirely burned but leaving a corner.

At that moment, Old Wu, curled up, trembling with his right hand, gathered the last of his strength to grab a handful of soil from the ground and pressed it against his forehead, "Guyuan, oh Guyuan..."

Old Wu fell silent, and gradually, even his bones burned to ashes.