Green Mountain
Chapter 400 - 321. Military Training

Chapter 400: 321. Military Training

In the narrow alley under the cover of night, a masked man cautiously led the way, with Brother Pao and Er Dao following behind.

Outside the alley, hurried footsteps could occasionally be heard, as ruffians from the fighting profession searched the entire city, seemingly turning the outer city inside out.

Er Dao slowed his pace, speaking in a gruff voice: "Brother, isn’t a ten percent share a bit too little for us?"

Brother Pao glanced at the back of the masked man: "It’s not about being little, it’s about getting none at all. This man doesn’t even recognize the roads in the outer city, whether we can trust him is still a question."

Er Dao whispered: "Is there something wrong with him?"

Brother Pao grunted: "If he hadn’t said ’Draw swords to help when injustice is seen,’ I might believe a little. But you’ve seen it yourself, on this entire journey, where have you seen anyone drawing swords to help? It’s good enough if they don’t sell you by the pound."

Er Dao looked serious: "What should we do then?"

Brother Pao scratched his head with his pinky: "Run? No, we can’t be unprincipled."

At that moment, another fourteen or fifteen Heji ruffians passed by the mouth of the alley, carrying torches.

Someone shouted instructions: "You go to the Fulai Inn in the east, Wang Dong, you go to Zhuangyuan Inn, remember to be polite to scholars coming to the capital for examinations, don’t you dare mess with future officials."

The masked man pulled Brother Pao and Er Dao to hide in the shadows of the grey brick and grey tile, waiting for the Heji ruffians to leave.

In the silence, the masked man suddenly asked: "What were the two of you talking about just now?"

Brother Pao replied: "We were saying how dangerous tonight was, if it weren’t for our benefactor, the two of us might not have made it out safely."

The masked man grunted: "May I ask Brother Pao, where did you learn your wrestling skills?"

In the darkness, Brother Pao’s pupils contracted, but his expression remained unchanged: "I apprenticed back home in Henan Province, under a master who was well-versed in wrestling skills."

"Oh?" said the masked man casually: "Since he’s well-versed, he must be famous, I might have heard his name."

Brother Pao’s face hid in the shadow: "The master wasn’t famous, he was a hermit."

The masked man continued: "Then may I ask if I can visit, as I have some interest too."

Brother Pao laughed: "He passed away."

"Does this wrestling skill have a name?"

"Jujutsu."

"Why is it called Jujutsu?"

"Hmm... It’s the art of overcoming hardness with softness."

The masked man listened to Brother Pao’s serious nonsense, but didn’t expose him.

He glanced at the two: "Could you tell me how many ruffians Heji and Furui Xiang each have, and who’s stronger nowadays, how many people in the Eight Great Hutongs are keeping watch?"

Brother Pao leaned against the wall and explained: "The outer city is divided into eight areas: Chongbei Fang, Chongnan Fang, Zhengbei Fang, Zhengnan Fang... Among the eight areas, four are in Heji’s hands, three in Furui Xiang’s, while Chongnan Fang belongs to the Cao Guild."

Brother Pao continued: "Besides the eight areas, the Glass Factory, Panjia Garden, and the Eight Great Hutongs—the most lucrative places are singled out, with territories decided by monthly wrestling. Heji supports about seven or eight hundred people, and Furui Xiang supports six to seven hundred."

The masked man furrowed his eyebrows: "So many?"

Brother Pao silently observed the masked man’s reaction: "Benefactor, how many people do you have?"

The masked man casually responded: "More than thirty."

Brother Pao was startled: "These fighters have been entrenched in the Imperial Capital for a long time. If you have only thirty or so people, I advise you to get out early."

The masked man didn’t respond. He listened as the noise outside the alley gradually quieted, then turned and headed straight for Xuanwu Gate.

As they approached Xuanwu Gate, Brother Pao saw from afar more than twenty soldiers from the Five Cities Military Department guarding the vermillion gate, and he called out: "Benefactor, we don’t have inner city registration or government passage permits, we can’t get in!"

But just as he finished speaking, there was a shout from a ruffian behind them, and Brother Pao turned to see the flickering firelight moving closer along the continuous rooftops, forcing him to follow the masked man towards Xuanwu Gate with determination.

As they passed Xuanwu Gate, the soldiers from the Five Cities Military Department raised their long spears: "Inner city registration, or a passage permit... take off the cloth on your face!"

The masked man took out a waist tag, swiftly flashing it in front of them.

The soldiers from the Five Cities Military Department immediately changed their expressions, hurriedly stepping aside without a word. Brother Pao and Er Dao exchanged looks, amazed.

The masked man led Brother Pao and Er Dao to an inn, slipped a piece of broken silver into their hands: "I assume the fighting profession can’t enter the inner city at this hour. You two rest here tonight, at 9 to 11 PM tomorrow, I’ll whistle outside the inn, and then we’ll go to Li Shamao Alley together to establish territory."

With that, the masked man turned and left. It wasn’t until he walked several streets away that Chen Ji pulled down the cloth covering his face, letting out a long breath.

He rubbed his cheeks, sighing: "How did you all come to this world?"

At that moment, Er Dao stood at the inn’s entrance, turned to Brother Pao: "Brother, should we wait for him?"

Brother Pao shook his head: "We can’t wait, if he only has thirty or so people under him, going to the fighting profession would be tantamount to seeking death... let’s go."

...

...

At dawn, the rooster crowed.

When Xiao Man opened her eyes, holding the Little Black Cat, Chen Ji was no longer on the bed, only a note left on the table: Borrow six carriages from the Zhang Family.

Chen Ji left Qingzheng Garden through the side gate alone, where Qi Zhenzhuo was leaning against the wall, yawning.

Seeing Chen Ji coming out, he immediately perked up, stepping forward to claim credit: "Master, the bamboo poles you wanted, I’ve found and brought them back; they’re left in the Governor Mansion."

Li Xuan frowned and said: "For such a small task, do you need your master to praise you?"

Chen Ji remained expressionless: "I heard the outer city fighting profession was in turmoil last night, did you hear about it?"