In the dark night, Han Tong, wearing a Bamboo Hat, smashed his way through layers upon layers of snowy curtains.
As he ran madly, it was as if a massive dragon swirled around his body. The snowflakes were involuntarily swept up into the air currents by him, transforming into a tornado trailing behind his back.
Chen Ji followed closely behind the other party. A high-pitched whine rang in his ears. The blood flowing down from his forehead soaked half of his cheek red. The crimson blood mixed with dirt and mud blurred his facial features, rendering his visage exceptionally ferocious and savage.
The explosive detonation at the Green Bamboo Courtyard had been far too fierce and savage—so fierce that even now, his five viscera and six bowels were still aching with a burning, spicy pain.
Chen Ji was not a professional demolitionist; he had no clear concept of the sheer power of the Gunpowder. He only knew that he absolutely had to keep Yun Yang and Jiao Tu behind, ensuring that these two had no opportunity to stop Liang Gou'er from breaking into the prison.
As for whether he himself would die in the explosion, whether Liang Gou'er would seek him out for revenge afterward, or whether Han Tong would accidentally kill him—he did not care.
At this time, the secret spies split up: half went to rescue Jin Zhu, Yun Yang, and Jiao Tu, while the other half followed Chen Ji to pursue and kill Han Tong. However, the two of them were simply too fast; the secret spies couldn't catch up at all.
Casting a glance backward, Chen Ji saw that the secret spies they had shaken off were already out of sight. Suddenly, he spoke to Han Tong's back: "Stop. I still have matters to instruct you."
Han Tong halted his steps in the wind and snow, turned around, and asked with suppressed anger, "Where is Bai Li? Your people said Bai Li would be brought to White Clothe Lane tonight. Why do I see no trace of her?"
Chen Ji caught his breath, slowly walking right up to Han Tong. Only at such a close distance could he hear the other party's voice clearly over his tinnitus. "What did you just say?"
Han Tong repeated angrily, "Where is Bai Li?"
Chen Ji answered, "The Commandery Princess is still inside the Inner Prison."
Han Tong turned to leave. A voice as cold as a blade's edge rang out, "To use me in Bai Li's name... in the future, I will surely hunt you all down one by one."
Chen Ji said calmly, "Sect Master Han, do you know where the Inner Prison is located? If you want to save the Commandery Princess, you can only do what I say."
Han Tong halted his steps. "A wet-behind-the-ears brat actually wants to order me around?"
Chen Ji continued speaking, "Sect Master Han, tonight there are many people risking their lives, all for the sake of rescuing the Prince Heir and the Commandery Princess. But if you think you can save them simply by charging directly into the Inner Prison, then you are far too naive. The Inner Prison is a cage, but isn't this massive Luo City just another cage?"
Chen Ji guaranteed, "Do as I say, and I guarantee you will be able to see the Commandery Princess again."
In the snow, Han Tong looked back over his shoulder like a wolf, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "What do you need me to do?"
Chen Ji instructed, "I want you to head to the canal transport docks immediately and prepare a fast ship that can depart Luo City tonight. I don't care what methods you use; this ship must be ready. As long as we can rescue her tonight, I will take her to the Jing Dynasty to settle down securely and peacefully. We will never return to the Ning Dynasty for all eternity."
Chen Ji was going to leave the Ning Dynasty, but when he left, he absolutely had to take Bai Li along with him.
Weighing his options for a split second, Han Tong asked, "I will definitely prepare the ship, but how will you get the person to the docks?"
Chen Ji shook his head. "You only need to prepare the ship. You do not need to know the rest."
Han Tong frowned. "How do I know if you're lying to me?"
Meeting Han Tong's eyes directly, Chen Ji said softly, "I will definitely rescue her."
Han Tong froze for a moment, then said heavily, "We people of The Jianghu always keep our word and must see our actions through to the end. Our promises must be sincere. I hope you haven't lied to me."
"The Jianghu?" Recalling the Thousand-Year Army, Chen Ji let out a soft sneer. Looking down at the messy accumulated snow on the ground, he said, "Strike me with a full-force punch to completely cover up these footprints in the snow, then go to the docks and do what you need to do."
"Alright!"
At this time, the sounds of footsteps were already echoing from the dark night in the distance. Chen Ji and Han Tong resumed their chase.
During the chase, Han Tong abruptly turned his head back. In an instant, he violently threw a punch. As his fist swung, the Buddha tattooed on his wrist glowed with golden light, and a massive golden Buddha Dharma Image phantom blossomed behind him!
In the wind and snow.
The Buddha pushed forward with an empty palm, and Han Tong threw his punch; the two movements merged into one. Even though the fist clearly hadn't touched Chen Ji yet, Chen Ji had already been thrown flying backward by an overwhelmingly massive force.
Spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood mid-air, Chen Ji landed on the ground in a parabolic arc. His body slid for several zhang across the snowy ground. The accumulated snow surged upwards like a wave, completely wiping out all the messy footprints where the two had just been standing. He listened to Han Tong's departing footsteps, knowing firmly in his heart that this final and most crucial link had been put into place. As for whether it would succeed or not, that entirely depended on the will of Heaven.
Lying flat in the heavy snow, Chen Ji felt so exhausted that he didn't want to get up for a long time.
In a trance-like daze, he saw the snowflakes from the sky fall onto his face. Afterward, the wretched and miserable faces of Yun Yang and Jiao Tu appeared in his vision, lowering their heads to coldly stare at him.
The two had disheveled hair and were entirely covered in cuts and bruises; they had entirely lost their handsome and beautiful "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" appearances.
There were no ripples in Chen Ji's heart. When the explosion occurred, he hadn't received Ice Flow from either of them, so he already knew the two hadn't died. At this point, whether these two were dead or not was no longer important.
Chen Ji said, "Two Lords, the person who injured me was the Luotian Sect Master, Han Tong. Quickly go chase him!"
Yun Yang said with a ferocious sneer, "Are you scheming against us?"
Crouching beside Chen Ji, Jiao Tu tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears and said with a playful smile, "I accompanied you to drink with such good intentions, yet you unexpectedly wanted to kill me?"
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Chen Ji wiped his mouth and explained, "Two Lords, Lord Yun Yang was the one who chose the location. Why suspect me?"
Sneering coldly, Yun Yang wiped the fresh blood from the corners of his mouth. "It's no longer important whether it was you or not." Having said that, he looked at Jiao Tu. "Just kill him."
However, precisely at this moment, Jin Zhu arrived. Shoving the two away with all his might, he said coldly, "At that time, Chen Ji was also inside the pavilion enclosure. If he wanted to kill you, wouldn't he have been killing himself along with you? I will report this matter to Lord Inner Chancellor and let him make the final judgment!"
He said fiercely, "If you want to maliciously murder a colleague without distinguishing right from wrong, then you'll have to test your skills against me first! If I do not die today, you two will never have a day of peace hereafter!"
Yun Yang and Jiao Tu traded a glance, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
Jin Zhu's words indeed made sense: when the Firearms exploded, Chen Ji was right inside the pavilion enclosure. If this was truly Chen Ji's doing, Chen Ji would have had to die as well.
They didn't believe anyone could risk their own life for the sake of others. They weren't that kind of people, and they had never seen that kind of person before!
After pondering for a moment, Yun Yang crouched in front of Chen Ji and said, "For now, I'll believe this matter has nothing to do with you, but you..."
At this time, Chen Ji propped up his body in the snow. Pointing to Han Tong's footprints in the snowy ground, he said, "Several Lords, it's currently the heavy snow season; footprints cannot be hidden in the snow. As long as you follow the footprints and pursue him, capture Han Tong, and find Meng Ji to interrogate him properly, the Truth Comes Out naturally. Furthermore, the Inner Chancellor wishes to eliminate the Luotian Sect. Capturing Han Tong can ease Lord Inner Chancellor's burdens; it's a massively huge merit."
Yun Yang looked at the footprints.
Chen Ji urged, "You must be quick, otherwise the fresh snow will quickly cover the footprints."
Jiao Tu got up and left, and Yun Yang closely followed right behind.
Jin Zhu asked in a low voice, "Are you alright with your injuries?"
Chen Ji said, "Lord does not need to mind me; capturing the target is more important."
Jin Zhu lowered his voice and shouted angrily, "Is it worth it?"
Chen Ji lay back down in the snow without saying a word. Someone had bought his life with six Melon Seed Gold Nuggets; he didn't plan on considering whether it was worth it.
Seeing that he wouldn't speak any further, Jin Zhu gritted his teeth and ultimately still caught up with Yun Yang and Jiao Tu.
When the three had gone far away, Chen Ji slowly stood up and looked into the distance. By the time the Secret Spy Division captured Han Tong, he and Bai Li should already be on their way towards the Jing Dynasty.
Chen Ji pulled a piece of gray cloth from his robes, masked his face, and turned to run in another direction. The heavy snow filled the sky, little by little hiding his footprints within the dark night.
(End of this chapter)