Green Mountain
Chapter 431 - 337, Escape 2

Chapter 431: 337, Escape 2

Compared to the Spy Department and Jiefan Guard, the Yulin Army is the closest Imperial Guard to this location. The Right Brave Guard had already dismissed for the evening, but the Left Brave Guard was left behind at the Governor Mansion by Wu Xuange, so they must be the first to arrive.

Standing in the middle of the long street, Wu Xuange announced loudly, "Before the truth is ascertained, no one is allowed to leave! Yulin Army, listen to orders, block all alley entrances, if anyone attempts to force their way through, kill without mercy!"

As the Yulin Army passed through the long street, Chen Ji covered his mouth and nose, bowing his head and coughing. His coughing only subsided after the Yulin Army passed by.

In an instant, the Yulin Army divided into more than ten teams, sealing off East Rongmi Lane, Three Officials Temple Alley, and Jade River Bridge completely.

A sedan bearer tried to carry a sedan chair from Jade River Bridge to leave East Rongmi Lane, but was stopped by the Yulin Army.

A servant beside the sedan angrily demanded, "Do you know who is sitting in this sedan chair? The current Assistant Minister of Rites, Mr. Chen Lizhi, is not someone you can stop! Make way!"

The Yulin Army hesitated since the position of Assistant Minister of Rites is an immense official post.

But Wu Xuange arrived and shouted angrily at the soldiers of the Yulin Army, "Don’t you even understand military orders? I have said, before the truth is uncovered, no one is to leave. Not even the Assistant Minister of Rites, or even the Minister of Rites!"

Inside the sedan, Chen Lizhi used a bamboo staff to lift the sedan curtain, looking outside with a handkerchief covering his mouth and nose, "I thought it was some great general, turns out it’s the cousin of Wu Xiu, no wonder even high-ranking officials are disregarded."

Ignoring the other’s sarcastic tone, Wu Xuange clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Chen, someone in the Capital deliberately set fire, causing chaos, and even if this matter reaches the Imperial Court, I have reason on my side."

Chen Lizhi put down the sedan curtain, "See to it yourself."

At this moment, a Yulin Army member came to Wu Xuange’s side and whispered, "My lord, the officials and clerks are all unharmed, no one has been assassinated."

Wu Xuange frowned and muttered to himself, "Everyone is fine, so what were the intentions of the perpetrator? Was it perhaps to commit theft?"

Another Yulin Army member came to Wu Xuange holding two charred bamboo tubes, "My lord, we found the source of the smoke."

Wu Xuange took the bamboo tubes and sniffed them, his expression suddenly changed, "Saltpeter? Sulfur? Quickly, continue searching, see if there are any other suspicious objects!"

Saltpeter and sulfur are not uncommon, and the smoking method in these bamboo tubes is far less potent than military firearms, the difference in power is vast.

The Ning Dynasty has twelve households of fireworks makers who can produce Nine-Chain Lanterns, Baizi Cannons, and other tribute fireworks; the Inner Official Supervision can also produce display fireworks like Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea; the Medicine King Li Family from Ji State, Nie’s Fireworks from Jiangzhou Wan Zai, and Huqiu Fireworks Society from Suzhou all have ’Fire Character Tokens’ for purchasing saltpeter and sulfur, with each token limiting the purchase of a hundred pounds of saltpeter, each household has the skills to produce such items, it is not difficult.

But in this Capital Territory, as long as something connected to saltpeter or sulfur occurs, it must be thoroughly investigated from top to bottom, every source of saltpeter and sulfur must be traced.

This is a major taboo, more so than the use of crossbows.

While Wu Xuange was contemplating, another Yulin Army member brought over an object, which turned out to be a palm-sized wooden box.

He glanced at it, "What are you doing with this thing?"

Just as he finished speaking, a soft and gentle voice came from behind him, "Gentlemen, it’s better not to trouble the Yulin Army here, let my Spy Department handle it to avoid someone yelling ’stop the thief’."

The voice, though not loud, seemed to penetrate the eardrum, making the long street instantly silent.

Xuan Snake.

Wu Xuange turned around and said in a deep voice, "Xuan Snake? Some words cannot be spoken recklessly, my Yulin Army has just arrived here, where does ’stop the thief’ come from? We are here for the security of the Capital, if you slander without evidence, I will take it to the Imperial Court."

Xuan Snake’s slender and narrow eyes were like two willow leaf daggers, seemingly cutting into human faces.

Wrapped entirely in a black large cloak, he looked Wu Xuange up and down, then gave a slight smile, "I wondered who dared to speak to me this way, turns out it’s General Wu. What, with Wu Xiu backing you, you feel you can walk the Imperial Court? But don’t keep saying you’ll go to the Imperial Court, His Majesty is busy with affairs, he doesn’t have time to be your judge and jury."

"Lord Wu, I know you want to score merits for Wu Xiu," Xuan Snake glanced at the bamboo tubes in the Yulin Army’s hand, "but someone has used firearms here, this is a major conspiracy and could be connected to the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department. This falls under the jurisdiction of my Spy Department, even Wu Xiu’s Jiefan Guard would have to step aside, so General Wu, please return."

Wu Xuange’s square face changed several times, finally he gave a cold laugh, "Then let’s see if you can find the culprit."

At that moment, Xuan Snake’s gaze suddenly fell on the wooden box in the Yulin Army’s hand, and he shouted sharply, "What is this?"

The Yulin Army was momentarily dazed, "This is a wooden box we picked up on the street, not sure who discarded it."

His vision blurred, Xuan Snake was suddenly in front of him, snatching the wooden box from his hand.

Xuan Snake raised the box to his eyes as if no one else was present, "It’s sealed with wax!"

He opened it and saw that the wooden box was already empty.

Xuan She abruptly turned to look at everyone on the long street, his gaze sweeping across each person’s face: "Not for murder, not for arson, must be to deliver this thing... But to whom do you want to give it? Such painstaking effort, surely it must be intended for someone you can’t usually reach."

At this point, his gaze locked onto the Korea Envoy: "Search them, detain those Korea Envoys, and search them one by one according to the registration list!"

A spy whispered, "Lord, should we search the Korean Crown Prince?"

Xuan She sneered, "What Crown Prince or not, just a subject of a vassal state, search!"

Over a hundred spies pounced on the Korea Envoys, capturing them all and escorting them back to the Huitong Hall for a strip search.

Moments later, the spies reported back: "Lord, we’ve searched all the places where things could be hidden, we found nothing."

Xuan She frowned.

Wu Xuange saw that he was initially very confident, but now returned empty-handed, and immediately laughed heartily: "Lord Xuan She, take your time with the investigation, we are heading back to the camp!"

With that, he turned and walked westward.

Xuan She said coldly, "Did I say you could leave?"

The spies simultaneously drew their swords, blocking Wu Xuange’s way.

Wu Xuange turned around and spread his arms: "What, does Lord Xuan She want to search me too? My Yulin Army only arrived at this East Rongmi Lane after the commotion, we have nothing to do with this, if you find nothing, do not blame me for reporting you!"

Xuan She narrowed his eyes: "Originally, I didn’t want to search, but now I insist, search him!"

The spies stepped forward, Wu Xuange shouted angrily: "Draw swords, prepare for battle!"

Spies and the Yulin Army were at a standoff, confronting each other across the long street.

At this moment, a light voice drifted in: "The culprit hasn’t been found, and the Yulin Army is already looking to have an internal conflict with our Spy Department, could you truly be protecting the real culprit?"

Wu Xuange turned his head, suddenly feeling a chill, hurriedly cupped his fists and said: "Lord Bai Long, it’s not that we intend to be enemies with the Spy Department, it’s just that this Xuan She is too arrogant and overbearing."

The spies made way, and Lord Bai Long, wearing a white dragon pattern mask and dressed in white, came between the Yulin Army and the spies.

He glanced sideways at Xuan She, then looked at the Yulin Army, then waved his hand to the spies: "Let them go, but remember to verify everyone’s warrant token, no one except the Yulin Army is allowed to leave."

The spies, ignoring Xuan She’s expression, quickly complied: "Yes."

Wu Xuange led the two hundred Left Brave Guard Yulin Army, displaying their warrant token copper tokens one by one, then swaggered away without turning back.

Bai Long looked at Xuan She: "I just found a bamboo tube on the second floor of the Huitong Hall, you were right, the culprits were indeed targeting the Korea Envoys, but what was inside that wooden box is unknown. Arrange for your men to stay at the Huitong Hall, and closely monitor everyone’s movements, don’t let the culprits have another opportunity."

Xuan She cupped his hands: "Yes."

Bai Long looked down at the humble Xuan She in front of him and smiled: "I know you want to compete for the position vacated by Binghu in the Top Three, but don’t be impatient, impatience won’t accomplish big things."

Xuan She felt the pressure from Bai Long, bowing even lower: "I understand."

Meanwhile, after Wu Xuange and others walked more than ten zhang, Chen Ji came to the two spies blocking the road, showing his warrant token copper token, the spies glanced at it and waved impatiently.

Chen Ji passed through the crowd, followed behind the Yulin Army for dozens of steps, then turned into an alley.

He walked calmly through the narrow and dark alley, gently brushing off the dust on him.

He knew that the Imperial Capital was about to descend into chaos, as long as there were saltpeter and sulfur, the Spy Department would certainly turn the Imperial Capital upside down.

That SiCaogui, no matter how brave, would definitely choose to lie low for a while, and the entire Military Intelligence Department might need to go silent.

Chen Ji exhaled a long, turbid breath, knowing SiCaogui would come looking for him sooner or later, but before that, he had many things to do.