Green Mountain
Chapter 92 - 73, Jianghu

Chapter 92: 73, Jianghu

Little did Chen Ji know, during his deadly fight with Feng Huai, he felt like he couldn’t exert any strength, and his opponent had no vulnerabilities, often suppressing him completely. Facing someone like Feng Huai always brought a sense of helpless defeat, and he even wondered if he lacked the talent for wielding knives.

But when he faced someone other than Feng Huai, everything seemed different.

The two men in black looked down at the broken blade once more, fear rising in their hearts, but since they had come, there was no reason to retreat.

Driven by the resolute will cultivated in the bitter cold, both simultaneously discarded their broken knives and drew daggers from their waists to stab.

They coordinated silently, one feinting while the other launched an attack, one false move and one real, blocking the routes Chen Ji might use to escape.

However, Chen Ji suddenly felt that, compared to Feng Huai, these two were full of vulnerabilities.

In the moment when one dagger came from the front and the other from behind, Chen Ji lightly shifted his body to the side, dodging the trajectories of the daggers. With his left hand, he grabbed one of their wrists like an iron vice, pulling so the man couldn’t retract his dagger.

His right hand gently flicked, and the blade severed the other man’s hand tendons. With a clang, the dagger fell onto the gray roof tiles, rolling down to the yard below the eaves.

The man with severed tendons hastily retreated.

Chen Ji pulled the other man’s wrist like pulling a puppet, sticking close to the retreating man in black, his body urging the knife forward. The short knife stabbed repeatedly into the heart, spleen, and liver, with the final stroke slashing across the neck.

The other man in black, his wrist pinned and pulled, could only stagger along, watching his comrade being stabbed repeatedly, unable even to stand steadily.

Before he could figure out how to break free from Chen Ji’s grip, he saw the chilling blade light suddenly reverse, cutting across his neck in the moonlight.

A spray of blood lightly splashed onto Chen Ji’s face covered in soot. He slowly released his grip, letting the man in black kneel down and fall.

Chen Ji searched the bodies, knowing that the spies under Lord Jin Zhu would carry a copper whistle that could mimic bird calls to transmit messages, but these two had none.

These were Manager Yuan’s men.

...

...

The wound on his leg throbbed painfully, which he hadn’t noticed during the fight, but now Chen Ji realized that the skirmish had aggravated his old injury.

Chen Ji wiped the blood off his hand to prevent it from slipping when he held the knife, but it was no use.

He looked down, tore a piece of cloth from the hem of his garment to wrap around his hand, and then gazed across the rooftops towards Hongyi Lane, where the Princely Heir and Princess Bai Li had gathered several figures from Jianghu, chatting amiably.

He saw Princess Bai Li and the Princely Heir had already reached the entrance of the Golden Workshop, and Miss Yan’er walked out from inside, smiling as she ushered them in.

They were indeed headed to the Golden Workshop.

Chen Ji sighed inwardly, silently standing on the rooftop, quickly surveying the surroundings.

He could no longer concern himself with the Princely Heir and Princess Bai Li; he had to find Manager Yuan as soon as possible.

In Hongyi Lane, more people entered the Golden Workshop, but there was still no sign of Manager Yuan. Chen Ji wondered if he hadn’t come or had already gone inside?

Wait.

Chen Ji saw figures moving in the darkness outside Hongyi Lane; he saw hundreds of spies armed with long knives, splitting into two groups and surrounding them from both ends of the lane. Among the crowd, Lord Jin Zhu was also clad in light armor, his usual warm smile gone, more akin to a general standing before the court.

Further away, Chen Ji saw five hundred Jiefan Guards with their horses’ hooves wrapped in hemp, each clad in bamboo hats and straw coats, silently standing with spears in the dark outside the lane.

The leader, his sword resting on the saddle, remained still.

Lin Chaoqing...

Lin Chaoqing had arrived too!

Chen Ji felt that Lord Jin Zhu was overly cautious. They had only just traced the missing Firearms from the Craftsmanship Supervisor, and yet he was willing to cooperate with the Criminal Justice Department and pulled the Jiefan Guard from Mengjin Camp!

At the entrance of Hongyi Lane, Lin Chaoqing sat on his horse and said indifferently, "Every member of the Twelve Signs in the Spy Department is impulsive and reckless. Jiao Tu and Yun Yang previously got themselves thrown into jail during a mediation with the Jiefan Guard. I wonder what fate awaits you this time, Lord Jin Zhu?"

Lord Jin Zhu chuckled, "Can I really be compared to them? I have already found the spies from the Jing Dynasty, and not only the external ones but also traitors within our ranks."

"Oh? You’re quite tight-lipped, Lord Jin Zhu," Lin Chaoqing mocked. "Ever since you came to our Mengjin Camp, you’ve been clamoring daily to eat the big carp from the Yellow River, ordering my Jiefan Guard to catch fish for you. I thought all you knew was how to eat. With the example of Jiao Tu and Yun Yang before you, my Jiefan Guard won’t make a move this time if you don’t state what you plan to do."

Jin Zhu smiled, "Commander Lin, don’t speak in anger. You govern the Criminal Justice Department of Henan Province, so it’s only necessary that you know why I needed the Jiefan Guard here. Commander Lin, what do you think those Jing Dynasty spies most want to steal from our Ning Dynasty?"

"Marching and formation maps, court secrets, Firearms."

"Exactly. Zhou Chengyi had always wanted to win over officials from the Craftsmanship Supervisor, indicating that their main target was Firearms. Thus, after I arrived in Luocheng City, the first thing I did was monitor all sales of Saltpetre and sulfur; the second was to audit the inventories and accounts of the Craftsmanship Supervisor. A few days ago, I noticed the inventory of Firearms in the Craftsmanship Supervisor did not match the records and some drawings were missing as well. Following the trail, I caught six individuals, some from Cao Guild and some from the Craftsmanship Supervisor, and eventually, I found the missing Firearms flowed here, to Hongyi Lane."

Lin Chaoqing puzzled, "There are so many brothels in Hongyi Lane, which one is it? You know each business operating in Hongyi Lane has substantial backing. I hope you’re not planning to have the Jiefan Guard search every brothel."

Jin Zhu chuckled, "I set a trap earlier, and at Chao Cang Gambling House, I caught twelve spies alive, eleven of whom took poison to kill themselves, leaving only one who defected. He informed me that he had been instructed by the Si Cao of the Military Intelligence Department to pick up a shipment at Golden Workshop. Logically, the Jing Dynasty spies wouldn’t make the mistake of transacting in the same location twice, so initially, I only arranged for a few spies to monitor this area, merely as a precautionary move. Who would have thought, today suddenly suspicious individuals brought a shipment into Golden Workshop, and I caught them."

Lin Chaoqing no longer doubted him, knowing Lord Jin Zhu was a favored person under Lord Prime Minister, with great military merits to his name. The reason he was still among the Lower Nine Zodiacs was not due to a lack of capability but because Jin Zhu was too closely associated with Heavenly Horse, and the Lord Prime Minister did not permit such close relationships among the Top Three Zodiacs.

Some speculated that if Binghu retired in recent years, it might be Jin Zhu who would take his place.

But Lin Chaoqing knew, with the character of the Lord Prime Minister, as long as Heavenly Horse was alive, Jin Zhu would never have the chance.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Lord Jin Zhu, tonight the Jiefan Guard will follow your command, just make sure not to err."

"With your word, that’s enough," Jin Zhu signaled several gestures to his spies below.

Dense groups of spies rushed into Hongyi Lane to capture people, creating chaos, as guests in each restaurant and brothel panicked, fearing they would be involved.

They tried to escape Hongyi Lane but were blocked by the cavalry of the Jiefan Guard at both the southern and northern ends of the alley, leaving them with no way out.

Chen Ji, hiding on a rooftop, suddenly saw the Princely Heir, Princess Bai Li, and those Jianghu knights also running out from Golden Workshop. Seeing both ends of the street blocked, they simply charged into the building right opposite to Golden Workshop, under Chen Ji’s feet, intending to cross through the large hall of the restaurant and escape over the back wall!

Six spies spotted their escape attempt and immediately abandoned capturing others, chasing into the restaurant with knives in hand.

Chen Ji, standing on the edge of the rooftop, looked down to see the Princely Heir and several Jianghu individuals reaching the backyard, simply flipping over the two-meter high wall.

The Princely Heir shouted from the other side of the wall, "Hey, lend a hand, help us over!"

The Jianghu men stopped, one jumped, lying on the wall top reaching out his hand, "Grab my hand, I’ll pull you up."

But before the Princely Heir could reach his hand, the six spies had already caught up with knives...

"Run!"

In the next moment, the Jianghu knights unexpectedly abandoned the Princely Heir and Princess Bai Li, turning to disappear without a trace in the small alley outside the courtyard wall.

Chen Ji frowned, something was amiss.

If the Princely Heir had come here merely for leisure, he only needed to stay put and wait for the Spy Department to conduct their inspection.

Once everything was cleared and there were no suspects, naturally there would be no harm.

Why take the risk to escape?