At the Hour of the Xu (7 PM - 9 PM), just as lamps were about to be extinguished for sleep, an inexplicable aura of chilling slaughter filled the streets.
On the long street covered in white snow, there were only sparse, scattered horse hoof prints. It was so empty and desolate that it didn't seem like the human realm.
Two li away from the Inner Prison, in a dimly lit, narrow Alley in the southern part of the city, Liang Mao'er was currently sitting on a broken basket, dozing off. Holding the Liang family's long saber in his arms and with a withered yellow grass stem dangling from his mouth, Liang Gou'er leaned against the wall, thoroughly bored. "Hey, brat, how much longer do we have to wait?"
Sneakily poking his head out to peer outside the Alley, She Dengke kept his back to Liang Mao'er and Liang Gou'er and said without turning his head, "Wait a little longer. There's still a quarter of an hour until the Hour of the Hai (9 PM - 11 PM). Once the Hour of the Hai arrives, we will be safe. Big Brother Gou'er, stand under the Eaves where there's no accumulated snow and don't move around recklessly. Someone will come to patrol again in a short while."
Liang Gou'er let out a chuckle. "Safe? You want to fish someone out of the Eunuch Faction's Inner Prison, and you speak of safety?"
Right at this moment, She Dengke, who was keeping watch, turned and waved his hands at them. "Quick, quick, quick! Someone is coming again! Hide properly!"
As he spoke, he stepped on the ground under the Eaves where there was no accumulated snow and shoved himself into a broken bamboo basket.
Turning around, Liang Gou'er covered Liang Mao'er's mouth, lifted him up by the collar, and hid behind a pile of broken bamboo baskets.
Outside the alley, the
clop, clop, clop
sound of horse hooves treading on accumulated snow rang out. The horse hooves drew closer bit by bit, like a drum urging one toward death.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths... ten breaths later, a Trouble-Resolving Guard wearing a Bamboo Hat and a rain cape spurred his horse past the outside of the alley. A long saber lay horizontally across his lower back. His sharp, severe gaze stared intensely into the alley. He stood there quietly for a moment, and only after confirming that there were no footprints in the accumulated snow inside the alley did he spur his horse to patrol elsewhere.
Liang Gou'er released his hand, and Liang Mao'er began panting soundlessly. Tossing off the broken bamboo basket, She Dengke sat on the ground and let out a sigh of relief, his legs trembling.
Liang Gou'er turned to look at She Dengke. "You're a brat from a docks laborer family; your legs are trembling like this, yet you still dare to barge into this dragon's pool and tiger's den of a trap?"
She Dengke was thoroughly unsettled and bewildered. "This is a trap?"
Counting on his fingers, Liang Gou'er calculated, "This morning, I disguised myself as a pedestrian and strolled around the perimeter. Not only are there Trouble-Resolving Guards patrolling sporadically, but I also have no idea exactly how many secret spies and Trouble-Resolving Guards are hiding in the alleys within a one-li radius of the Inner Prison. Another li further out, there are troops from the Luo City City Defense Division sleeping with their weapons as pillows, waiting for the dawn, ready to provide support at any moment. The Eunuch Faction is clearly waiting for people to throw themselves into the net, taking advantage of the favorable situation to eradicate all remaining members of Prince Jing's faction."
Looking at She Dengke, he sneered mockingly, "Anyone slightly clever who observes carefully can discover that this is a trap. Yet you fools stubbornly insist on throwing away your lives."
She Dengke turned to look at him. "Aren't you going as well?"
Liang Gou'er said impatiently, "Do I want to go myself? I was coerced and bribed by you all to go! If you ask me, every person has their own fate; why must you save someone? Over so many years in The Jianghu, are cases of close friends turning into enemies over life-saving debts still a rare sight? Friends are temporary; one's own life is the most important!"
She Dengke felt somewhat wronged. "You were clearly on such good terms with him back in the medical clinic; at the time, you even said you'd drink wine together when you got old!"
Liang Gou'er's expression stiffened, and his voice lowered somewhat. "Anyway, I'll say this in advance: I only need to help bring the Prince Heir and Commandery Princess out of the Inner Prison, and my job is considered finished. After that, I will take Mao'er and flee. As for whether you can send the Prince Heir and Commandery Princess out of Luo City, that's none of my business."
She Dengke said testily, "I know, I know."
Liang Gou'er remained bewildered. "Aren't you worried that you won't be able to get out? Currently, the garrison troops at all four city gates have been replaced with the elites of the Ten-Thousand-Year Army. Even the dung carts entering and exiting the city gates have their lids opened and are stabbed seven or eight times with sabers. This afternoon, a remnant evil of the Liu Family hiding inside a dung cart was stabbed to death. Before he died, he let out a miserable shriek, and the Golden Juice poured into his throat. Tell me, what was he scheming for? He might as well have chosen a quicker, more straightforward death..."
Imagining that scene, She Dengke felt a wave of severe chills.
Liang Gou'er grinned cheerfully. "Even if you can rescue the Prince Heir and Commandery Princess from the Inner Prison, how will you send them away?"
At this time, a calm voice suddenly rang out from behind the three of them. "Big Brother Gou'er does not need to worry about this matter."
Turning his head to look back, Liang Gou'er saw a person slowly walking out from the depths of Wangchun Alley, his silhouette gradually emerging from the darkness.
Turning his body fully around, Liang Gou'er narrowed his eyes slightly at the masked figure. "Why are you dressed like this? And you're severely injured... how can you save anyone when you're injured like this?"
Chen Ji answered casually, "With you, a Grand Guild Agent of the Path-Seeking Realm present, we can save them. Oh right, Big Brother Gou'er, what kind of cultivation Pathway involves tattooing a Buddha pattern on the body, causing a Buddha Dharma Image to blossom behind one's back?"
Liang Gou'er froze. "You exchanged blows with Han Tong... He was the one who injured you? He cultivates the Python-Hiding Pathway, using a mixture of heart's blood, four-leaf clover juice, and gold-flecked Hui Ink to tattoo the pattern on his body, visualizing it daily. Ordinary people only dare to tattoo pythons. It is said that when those who tattoo dragons, tigers, Buddhas, or Immortals visualize them, they easily lose their sanity, which is why it was originally named 'Python-Hiding'."
He continued speaking, "There are several people cultivating this Pathway; when they meet one another, they will slaughter each other until only one remains. I remember Elder Liu previously had two such people by his side; they were killed by Tian Ma a while ago."
Chen Ji nodded. "Understood. What is the situation near the Inner Prison?"
Liang Gou'er said, "Currently, there is a unit of Trouble-Resolving Guards stationed near the Inner Prison, about two hundred men. How do you plan to get in? Let me be clear first: I definitely cannot fight that many people. There are practitioners hidden among the Trouble-Resolving Guards. If you haven't figured out how to deal with them, I advise you to pack up and go home."
Suddenly, Chen Ji raised his hand, signaling him not to speak.
Liang Gou'er froze slightly. In the next moment, a fast horse trod through the snow from afar. The secret spy on the horse's back intermittently blew a Copper Whistle. Magpie, one chirp; this was the Secret Spy Division's whistle signal to summon personnel.
After an incense stick's time, horse hooves galloped wildly down the long street outside the alley. Chen Ji and the others pressed tightly against the shadows under the Eaves to hide themselves. They saw squad after squad of Trouble-Resolving Guards wearing Bamboo Hats and rain capes, their long sabers laid horizontally across their waists, galloping past and rushing toward the east.
When the night quieted down once again, Liang Gou'er abruptly looked at Chen Ji. "What did you do? You were actually able to lure away the Trouble-Resolving Guards here?"
Chen Ji did not answer.
Frowning in thought, Liang Gou'er said, "If they were capturing ordinary targets, there would be absolutely no need to dispatch so many Trouble-Resolving Guards, unless it's a Grand Guild Agent of the Path-Seeking Realm. But in this Luo City, the only Path-Seeking Realm experts are myself and that guy surnamed Feng... Wait, did you use Han Tong as bait? From what I know, he has no grievances or grudges against you..."
Chen Ji said calmly, "It is what he ought to do."
Scrutinizing Chen Ji for a moment, Liang Gou'er ultimately sighed. "You have already become somewhat unscrupulous in your methods. Do not end up making enemies of the entire world, thoroughly regretting it when it's too late."
Chen Ji shook his head. "It's not important."
Looking at him with bewilderment and uncertainty, Liang Gou'er said, "When you save them later, you won't sell Mao'er and me out as well, will you?"
Chen Ji said expressionlessly, "I will not."
Having said that, he pulled gray masking cloths from his robes and handed them to the three. Just as he raised his hand, a sudden fit of coughing overtook him. Pulling off his own masking cloth, he coughed out a mouthful of blood at the base of the wall.
Liang Mao'er asked with concern, "Chen Ji, are you alright?"
Wiping the bloodstains from the corners of his lips, Chen Ji said, "I'm fine."
He lightly leaped up onto the gray tiles of the roof, then crouched low and reached down to pull She Dengke up as well.
Following his example, Liang Gou'er pulled Liang Mao'er up onto the roof as well, muttering under his breath, "You want to travel across the rooftops so you won't leave footprints in the snow, that way no one will discover you. But let me remind you, as we go further forward, there are Secret Spy Division personnel hiding in the alleys; you can't avoid them."
Leading the way forward without changing his expression, Chen Ji said, "I have my own methods."
The low, pitched roofs had ridges resembling sharp mountain ranges. A Trouble-Resolving Guard stood in the shadows of a small alley, his hand resting on his waist saber like an armored sculpture. Pulling his Bamboo Hat lower, he closed his eyes to rest his mind, waiting for his prey to throw itself into the net.
The Trouble-Resolving Guard had just closed his eyes when his right ear beneath the Bamboo Hat twitched slightly. He abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze shooting out like lightning.
Within the alley, a tabby cat was treading softly on the accumulated snow, walking step by step into the alley. Glancing left and right, it seemed to be searching for food.
The Trouble-Resolving Guard's sharp gaze softened slightly. Pondering for a moment, he pulled a biscuit from beneath his rain cape, broke off a small piece, held it in his palm, and crouched down.
The tabby cat let out a somewhat timid meow. Hesitating for a moment, it slowly approached, swallowed the biscuit into its mouth, and rubbed against the Trouble-Resolving Guard's palm.
The Trouble-Resolving Guard smiled and broke off another piece of biscuit.
Not too far away, listening to the tabby cat's voice, Chen Ji did not stop his footsteps. He led Liang Gou'er and turned to walk in another direction. Whenever there was a cat's meow, he would avoid it entirely.
The few of them traversed and leaped between the gray mountain ranges, continuously approaching the direction of the Inner Prison.
With his mask of gray cloth, a hint of bewilderment flashed through the gaze above Liang Gou'er's gray cloth. Where had all the Trouble-Resolving Guards hiding in these alleys gone? Why hadn't they bumped into a single one?
Furthermore, within this residential area, there seemed to be quite a lot of stray cats?
At this time, Chen Ji suddenly crouched down and raised his right fist.
Liang Gou'er bent his waist and approached. Using a roof ridge as cover, the two quietly peered outside.
Chen Ji said in a low voice, "The iron door on the side of that civilian residence ahead is the Inner Prison. The corridor behind the doors leads underground, connecting to the underground river."
Liang Gou'er frowned. "How do we get in? If we use a saber to cleave the iron doors open, the nearby Trouble-Resolving Guards will definitely hear the commotion!"
Chen Ji scooped up the accumulated snow on the roof and rubbed the bloodstains off his cheek. Then he turned his head to look at Liang Gou'er. "Wait for me here."
Lying behind the roof ridge, Liang Gou'er watched Chen Ji gently leap off the Eaves and crouch in the snowy ground, completely silent like a leopard cat.
Liang Gou'er frowned. "What is this kid going to do?"
She Dengke shook his head. "I don't know."
They saw Chen Ji walk straight to the iron doors and knock three times. Liang Gou'er abruptly gripped his saber scabbard tightly.
In the next moment, the small window on the iron doors was pulled open, and the jailer inside said with bewilderment, "Lord Chen, why have you come?"
Chen Ji flashed the Waist Plaque in his hand. "There is a prisoner to interrogate. Open the door."
The iron doors opened.
Chen Ji was just about to strike to kill, but the jailer had already rapidly retreated into the corridor, submerging into the darkness of the Inner Prison.
Chen Ji sprang into motion to pursue, only to see a crossbow arrow shoot out from within the doors. He dodged sideways, barely evading it. The arrow cut a shallow bloody mark on his cheek.
In the next moment, the jailer blew a loud, ringing Copper Whistle. Magpie, one chirp: Summon!
(End of this chapter)