The morning rooster announced the break of dawn.
Inside the dim apprentice dormitory, Chen Ji slowly sat up from his bed.
He turned his head to glance at his friends beside him: She Dengke and Liu Quxing were wrapped tightly in their quilts, while Liang Gou'er, reeking of alcohol after returning at some unknown time, was resting his head on Liang Mao'er's stomach, sound asleep and snoring loudly.
Chen Ji got dressed as quietly as possible and went out the door. Standing under the apricot tree, his breath puffed out in faint mist. He silently gazed up at the red cloth strip tied to the highest branch for a long time before turning around and heading to his master's main room.
He quietly lifted the heavy cotton door curtain and poked his head in to look around.
Prince Jing was sleeping heavily on the bed, while Old Yao leaned back in a recliner with his eyes closed to rest his mind. The low furnace in the room radiated lukewarm heat.
Chen Ji slipped into the room through the gap in the door curtain, carefully walked to the edge of the bed, and reached out to feel Prince Jing's pulse.
However, before he could even touch it, Old Yao grabbed his wrist from the side.
Chen Ji was frightened, almost crying out in shock. "Master, when did you get up? Why didn't you make a single sound?!"
Old Yao asked expressionlessly, "What are you doing?"
Chen Ji hurriedly explained, "I just wanted to see whether His Highness is actually sick or not."
Old Yao sneered. "With your half-baked skills, even if I let you check his pulse, what could you possibly find out? His Highness has only just fallen asleep. I was just afraid you would act rashly and wake him up."
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Master, last night His Highness took me to listen to a private theatrical performance at the Lin Residence on Tongji Street. During the performance, Troupe Leader Meng sang a scene from 'The Tale of the White Boat.' In the play, the young general busied himself for half a lifetime but ultimately failed to secure a good end, and the person he rushed three thousand miles to save eventually turned against him and became his enemy as well."
Chen Ji asked curiously, "Master, is His Highness that young general in the play?"
Old Yao raised an eyebrow. "What nonsense are you sprouting? 'The Tale of the White Boat' is a storybook from over a hundred years ago. How could it possibly be His Highness?"
Chen Ji looked at his master. "Master, you know what I mean. It's just a metaphor. Does Prince Jing share similar experiences as the young general in 'The Tale of the White Boat'?"
"Where are you getting so many questions from?" Old Yao grabbed Chen Ji by the wrist, forcefully pulled him out of the main room, and tossed him outside. "The water vats are empty. Scram and fetch some water."
Having said that, Old Yao turned back into the room and closed the door curtain tightly to cover the entrance.
Standing outside the door, Chen Ji looked back at the thick cotton curtain. He was somewhat puzzled. Was Prince Jing actually sick or not? Even his pulse couldn't be checked.
If Prince Jing wasn't sick, why would his master need to cover up Prince Jing's pulse? The more his master covered it up, the more it indicated there was a problem.
If Prince Jing was sick, then what kind of illness had he caught? Erupting to the point of fainting and not even hearing someone conversing right beside him when the illness flared up, yet being able to hop around lively and walk for an hour to listen to a play when he wasn't sick?
At this moment, the call of a magpie came from outside the medical clinic.
Magpies were resident birds. When winter arrived, they would don their winter feathers early and build nests. Once winter officially set in, they wouldn't leave their nests easily, nor would they call out randomly.
Chen Ji realized that this was a signal from the Secret Spy Division's copper whistle!
He bent down, hoisted the carrying pole and wooden buckets onto his shoulders, and swayed unsteadily toward the door. When he reached the doorway, the guards of the prince's estate brought by Eunuch Feng crossed their long halberds, blocking his path.
Chen Ji said with a smile, "Big Brother Guards, I'm going to fetch water. The water vats in the courtyard are all empty. If it's inconvenient to let me out, you guys can help me fetch the water back instead. About eight trips should be enough to fill the vats."
The two guards exchanged glances. After hesitating for a moment, they silently lowered their long halberds.
Chen Ji walked through the thin mist on the bluestone-paved road. When he arrived at the well, a chubby figure was already cranking the wooden windlass at the mouth of the well.
Jin Zhu!
Chen Ji calmly walked to the side of the well. Without even turning his head, Jin Zhu asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, "Is Prince Jing's illness real or fake?"
Chen Ji replied in a low voice, "The explanation my master gave Consort Jing was that Prince Jing's days are numbered."
Jin Zhu cursed in a low voice. "This illness of his came at way too convenient a time!"
Chen Ji was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Jin Zhu explained, "Over ten branches of the Liu Family's private army are mobilizing frantically in Yuzhou. The massive Yuzhou now only allows entry and no exit. The Liu Family is going to rebel, yet our intelligence cannot be sent out!"
Chen Ji asked, "Even Tian Ma couldn't force his way out?"
Jin Zhu groaned complaining bitterly. "The Liu Family has been plotting this for a long time. The few official roads that can be used to enter and exit Luo City are all heavily guarded by troops, and scouts are spread throughout the mountains. No matter how formidable Tian Ma is, he is still only at the Path-Seeking Realm. A Path-Seeking Stage Practitioner wouldn't dare clash with a fully formed military formation, right?"
Chen Ji said, "What if Tian Ma broke through to the Divine Path Realm? Would it work then?"
Jin Zhu hoisted the wooden bucket he had hauled up and placed it on the edge of the well. "If an expert of the Divine Path Realm was determined to leave, a military formation wouldn't be able to stop him. But the problem is, looking across the entire Ning Dynasty, there are only three people at the Divine Path Realm. It is harder than ascending to the heavens for Tian Ma to break through. Over a hundred death warriors of the Liu Family are currently holding portraits of Tian Ma and me, conducting a city-wide manhunt. Being able to survive this catastrophe alive would already be considered incredibly fortunate."
Chen Ji's heart sank. "Are you saying we have no choice but to watch helplessly as the Liu Family rebels?"
Jin Zhu lowered an empty wooden bucket into the well. "What else can we do? Or else, let's sneak into the Liu Residence right now, assassinate Elder Liu first, and then throw the entire Liu Family clan into prison. Once the tens of thousands of soldiers in the Liu Family's private army lose their leader, we can break this deadlock."
Chen Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Why don't we try finding a different way to die instead... Sir, if the Liu Family is truly fully prepared, why haven't they made their move yet? What are they still waiting for?"
Jin Zhu replied, "The Liu Family is waiting for a justifiable reason to deploy their troops. They want to fly Prince Jing's banner, but Prince Jing conveniently fell ill right at this moment. With him falling ill, the entirety of Luo City has descended into chaotic turmoil. Last night, we discovered Consort Jing hurriedly paying a visit to the Liu Residence and only returning to the prince's estate half an hour ago. Meanwhile, Consort Yun hurriedly went to the Eastern Market, lost her pursuers under the cover of the Canal Transport Guild, and still hasn't returned even now."
Jin Zhu continued speaking, "You absolutely must keep a close watch inside the medical clinic. Who Prince Jing met with, what they asked, what they said—all of this is of utmost importance. If the Canal Transport Guild and the Liu Family join forces, matters will become even more thorny."
Chen Ji was puzzled. "The Canal Transport Guild? What relationship does the Canal Transport Guild have with Consort Yun?"
Jin Zhu was somewhat taken aback. "Did you not know? The power behind the Canal Transport Guild is the Luotian Sect, and Consort Yun is the only daughter of the previous Sect Master. Why else do you think Prince Jing married her? When the Emperor was young, the political situation at court was turbulent, and the Luotian Sect took advantage of the chaos to seize control of the river transport of all three rivers. The shipping of cargo and grain from north to south was completely suppressed and controlled by them. This predicament only gradually improved after Prince Jing married Consort Yun."
Luotian Sect!
Previously, when Consort Yun was trading firearms with the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Division, she had instructed them to go to the Golden Workshop in Red Clothe Lane, find Old Wu, and report the two words "Luo Tian"!
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Who is the current Sect Master of the Luotian Sect?"
Jin Zhu explained, "The current Sect Master is named Han Tong. He was the first personal disciple of the previous Sect Master, and he is childhood sweethearts with Consort Yun."
Chen Ji's pupils contracted. "Does he have a Buddha tattoo on his wrist?"
Jin Zhu was puzzled. "You've seen him?"
Chen Ji offered a casual excuse. "No, I've just heard about it."
At this time, Jin Zhu hoisted the second bucket of water up, placed it on the edge of the well, and said emotionally, "This person's whereabouts are erratic and mysterious.
He's always hidden among the manual laborers of the Canal Transport Guild, so we couldn't catch him even if we wanted to. If you see him, you must report to me immediately."
Chen Ji said helplessly, "Sir, you have no fixed residence right now and are drifting around everywhere. I don't even know how to find you, so how am I supposed to report to you immediately?"
Jin Zhu sighed mournfully. "That's true... Motherfucker, where can one find reason when the dignified Secret Spy Division is forced into such a corner? Prince Jing needs to wake up quickly. If he continues to stay sick like this, there's no telling what direction Yuzhou will head toward."
"Could Prince Jing suppress the rebellion simply by waking up?"
"If he wants to, perhaps he can. Given Prince Jing's prestige in the Central Plains, as long as he is willing to step forward and raise his arms to quell the civil unrest, many of the Liu Family's carefully laid schemes will completely crumble. Not everyone in the Liu Family's tens of thousands of private troops wants to rebel—it's not like they are starving to the point where they can't survive. As long as the common people still have a bite to eat, who would be willing to commit a capital offense that involves losing one's head and the execution of nine familial relations?"
"But what if Prince Jing also wants to rebel?"
"Then it's all over."
Chen Ji guessed that Prince Jing probably wasn't involved in the rebellion.
He knew best: if Prince Jing wanted to rebel, then the place they went last night shouldn't have been a private theatrical performance, but the Liu Residence!
Jin Zhu earnestly instructed, "I'm leaving. Be careful on your own. For the next few days, do not go out and wander around unless there is something exceptionally important. The Liu Family currently wants to kill every last member of the Secret Spy Division inside Luo City."
Chen Ji acknowledged. "Understood, I'll be careful."
At this moment, Jin Zhu took out a small cloth bundle from his chest and shoved it into Chen Ji's hands. "This is for you. Cultivate diligently."
Chen Ji was somewhat taken aback. He unraveled the gray cloth layer by layer, only to see five old Ginseng roots packed inside. "Sir, this is—?"
Jin Zhu endured the pain and said, "I bought this with my own salary. Your talent for cultivation is extremely high; you absolutely must not waste it!"
Having said that, he hoisted his carrying pole and swayed unsteadily into the thin mist.
Chen Ji suddenly felt that the entirety of Luo City was like a carriage galloping at top speed, and Prince Jing was like the coachman. Over the past dozen or so years, he had cautiously and conscientiously kept a tight grip on the reins, adjusting the carriage's direction as it traveled down the official road. But now, this coachman had let go, allowing this out-of-control carriage to carry everyone onboard hurtling toward the edge of a cliff.