Winter of the thirty-first year of Jianing, evening.
The sunset glow filled the sky, like a red ocean tide slowly receding.
Soldiers coming and going could no longer be seen in Luo City. The commoners tentatively stepped out from their homes, and there were peddlers carrying poles selling their wares along the streets.
At first, the peddler only dared to keep his voice low, but later his voice gradually opened up: "Tofu! Freshly braised tofu (Guotap Tofu)!"
The marketplace was like wild grass; it could grow savagely from between bricks, stones, and cliff crevices.
Everything would return to normal. Time seemed to only leave a long scar on a small number of people, which then slowly healed.
Inside the apprentice dormitory of the Taiping Medical Clinic, the room was filled with the smell of alcohol.
With an ugly sleeping posture, Chen Ji lay diagonally across the communal bed, sleeping soundly. Time and time again he kicked off his blanket, and time and time again Wu Yun picked up the blanket in her mouth and covered him again. Then, tucking in her paws, she silently lay down beside him.
Who knew how much time had passed before Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and asked in a dry voice, "...How did I get back? Why do I have absolutely no impression of it?"
Wu Yun muttered, "You suddenly went crazy this morning. Carrying a wine jar, you went to the Drum Tower to watch the sunrise, saying something about Carving a Mark on a Boat to Find a Lost Sword. Later, you were so drunk you started spouting nonsense. One moment you grabbed the soldier under the Drum Tower and said, 'Second Battalion Commander, where the hell is your Italian cannon?', and the next moment you grabbed a cart driver at the footman agency and said, 'This concubine wishes to To Report Crimes against Noble Consort Xi for illicit relations and disgracing the inner palace'."
Chen Ji sat up in shock, Dumbfounded. "Ah?"
Wu Yun hesitated for a moment. "Chen Ji, were you a concubine for someone in the Forty-Nine Heavens in the past?"
Chen Ji hurriedly explained, "Those are lines from a play."
Wu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then."
Feeling alarmed and uncertain, Chen Ji asked, "What else did I say?"
Wu Yun recalled for a bit. "It was all a mess of random nonsense; I can't remember clearly."
Chen Ji also breathed a sigh of relief. He lazily lay back down, quietly looking at the roof.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If it weren't for this drunken delirious nonsense, he would have almost forgotten that he actually didn't belong to this world.
"Wu Yun, time really passes quickly, huh."
In the blink of an eye, he had already been in this world for over two months. When he first arrived, it was still autumn, but now it was already snowing heavily.
The room quieted down. Chen Ji lay on his back on the communal bed, and Wu Yun also lay on her back, leaning against his arm. One person and one cat gazed at the cobweb-covered roof beams, not knowing what they were thinking about.
It was as if after a grand bout of drunkenness, the myriad of things that happened last night were merely a dream, having nothing to do with today anymore.
Chen Ji muttered softly, "No wonder so many people like to drink wine. And no wonder Master would say that after getting older, wine tastes a bit bitter... I don't even know where Master ran off to; he even abandoned the medical clinic."
Wu Yun answered, "Master said he was going to a very distant place and wouldn't come back again."
Chen Ji sighed with some emotion. "Everyone's gone. Did Master say anything else?"
Wu Yun recalled for a moment and, mimicking Old Yao's tone, said, "Tell that brat not to worry about my old bones. Without him by my side, my old bones are incredibly happy."
Chen Ji's eyes widened. "Is that really what Master said?"
Wu Yun was puzzled. "Does it not sound like him? If you feel it doesn't sound like him, I can make up another sentence for you."
Chen Ji said weakly, "...There's really no need for that."
Wu Yun sized Chen Ji up curiously with her round eyes. "Chen Ji, Master said you came from the Forty-Nine Heavens. What are the Forty-Nine Heavens like? Are there Immortals flying in the sky?"
Chen Ji replied with a smile, "I don't know what the other Forty-Nine Heavens are like, but where I'm from, ordinary people can also fly back and forth in the sky."
Wu Yun was shocked. "Have you flown before?"
Chen Ji said cheerfully, "I've flown quite a few times."
A profound respect swelled within Wu Yun. "Fierce! So fierce!"
Chen Ji stroked her head. "Not fierce at all; you just need to have money. In the future, maybe there will be a chance to take you to see the place I lived, and I'll take you flying a few times then."
"Is that a promise?"
"It's a promise." Chen Ji suddenly said, "But before that, we need to change our way of living."
Wu Yun agreed, "Alright."
Chen Ji was curious. "Aren't you going to ask what kind of living it is?"
Wu Yun casually meowed, "No need. You have the final say on the major matters in our family."
Chen Ji was amused. "Wu Yun, you're truly wonderful."
"Of course," Wu Yun asked. "Are we returning to the Chen Family today?"
Chen Ji rubbed his temples. "We won't go back just yet. There should be some guests coming in a bit."
Wu Yun was puzzled. "Guests?"
"Mhm, people coming to kill me."
...
...
In front of the kitchen stove, Chen Ji sat on a small stool watching the firewood burn, his mind wandering for a moment. The firelight reflected on his face, and the flames flickered in his eyes.
The wave of heat from the stove made his cheeks swell slightly.
Wu Yun reminded him, "Chen Ji, the wok is hot."
Chen Ji uttered an "oh", stood up, scooped out a chunk of pure white lard, and tossed it into the wok. He stir-fried a plate of Braised Tofu, a plate of vinegar-glazed cabbage, a plate of sour string beans with minced meat, and a plate of dried bamboo shoots fried with cured meat. Very simple.
It was getting late. He carried the dishes into the courtyard and set out three sets of bowls and chopsticks. Only then did he sit down at the Eight Immortals table and say, "You two, having waited for so long, come down and eat together."
Jiao Tu's laughter transmitted from the roof of the main hall. "Last time Lord Gyrfalcon Chen invited us to eat, you almost caused us to be buried amidst Firearms. Inviting us to eat again this time, I wonder if you've set up a Hongmen Banquet for us."
Chen Ji looked up. Jiao Tu stood above the Eaves on the left side, beneath the crescent moon, while Yun Yang crouched on the right side, seething with killing intent.
He felt a bit dazed. When he first arrived in this world, he had seen these two wanting to kill him.
After tossing and turning for two months, it was still these two wanting to kill him.
Sitting by the table, Chen Ji unhurriedly divided the chopsticks. "You two are overthinking this. This is no Hongmen Banquet. Lord Bai Long arranged for the two of you to work under me from now on; we naturally ought to work together with one heart and combined efforts. I am sincerely inviting my two subordinates to a meal, so please absolutely do not overthink it."
Yun Yang sneered. "A brat wants to be our superior? I'm afraid you don't have the life for it!"
"Oh?" Chen Ji feigned confusion. "You two want to kill me? I am currently Lord Bai Long's man; are you two not afraid he will blame you?"
Jiao Tu's eyes rippled like autumn waves. "We leaked the matter of you selling out Prince Jing early on."
Saying that, she pulled two Emei Piercers from her waist and tossed them to Yun Yang. "When Lord Bai Long asks, we will just say that the owner of these Emei Piercers killed you. Prince Jing was a great benefactor to him; his taking revenge for Prince Jing is perfectly reasonable and logical."
Chen Ji smiled. "You two really don't treat Lord Bai Long as a human being. How could this kind of matter possibly deceive him... Furthermore, there really is no need for fighting and killing between us."
Tilting her head, Jiao Tu was somewhat puzzled. "How so?"
Chen Ji looked up at Jiao Tu. "How long did it take the two of you to endure and achieve the Zodiac positions?"
Jiao Tu sighed with emotion. "Many years. We finally managed to endure until we became Zodiacs, only to enjoy the glory and scenery for half a year before being beaten back to our original forms. How miserable."
Chen Ji asked again, "You two are Pigeon Rank secret spies now. How long will it take for you to endure and achieve the Zodiac positions again?"
Jiao Tu lowered her head and counted on her fingers. "We must kill ten people for the Inner Chancellor just to return to the Gyrfalcon position. Then we must kill twenty more to mix into the Grade-Jia section among the Gyrfalcons. Then kill fifty more... But in recent years, those whom the Inner Chancellor wanted to kill have mostly already been killed. Wanting to return to the Zodiac positions is indeed somewhat troublesome."
Chen Ji said with a smile, "Right now, the positions of Yang (Sheep/Goat) and Tu (Rabbit) are vacant. Who can guarantee that these two positions will definitely be reserved for you? Presumably, the other people coming out of Wunian Mountain are all coveting these two positions, right?"
He continued, "The two of you have been stalled at the Connate Realm (Pre-Heaven Realm) for many years, just one single step away from the Path-Seeking Realm. If you cannot use merits to exchange for the next level's cultivation Pathway before the age of thirty-six, I'm afraid you will have to experience birth, aging, illness, and death just like ordinary people."
Jiao Tu smiled and didn't speak.
Chen Ji looked up at her, his voice Resounding and Forceful. "Work for me. Within one year, I will help you regain your Zodiac positions. How about it?"
Beneath the moonlight, atop the Eaves, the air solidified.
Jiao Tu toyed with her hair strands with her lily-white fingers, a look of contemplation flashing through her eyes.
Chen Ji asked, "How long did it take the two of you to go from Sparrow Rank secret spies to Gyrfalcon?"
Jiao Tu calculated the time. "Six years."
Chen Ji asked again, "How long did it take me?"
The finger Jiao Tu was using to twirl a strand of hair by her ear paused for a breath of time, and her eyes lit up. "...Two months. Yun Yang, his offer to help us regain the Zodiac positions seems to be a pretty good proposal. Look, exactly as I said, everyone shouldn't be fighting and killing; how wonderful it would be to cooperate happily."
Yun Yang's face darkened. "This brat is full of wicked ideas. Keeping him alive during the long night will invite many dreams (troubles)."
Holding an Emei Piercer in each hand, Yun Yang leaped from the right side, drifting lightly toward Chen Ji like a flying swan.
Unpanicked and unflustered, without changing his expression, Chen Ji gently pushed with both hands, pushing the Eight Immortals table two feet forward.
In a fleeting instant, he abruptly stood up, hooked his toe, and flipped the Whale Blade hidden beneath the table right into his hand.
With a single slash sweeping upward to the right, the blade edge was like a sharp crescent moon, arriving in front of Yun Yang in an instant. The Emei Piercers were merely one foot two inches long, but the Whale Blade was five feet five inches.
Caught off guard, Yun Yang hurriedly pulled back his two Emei Piercers to block in front of his body. With a "ding" sound, both his hands were numbed from the shock.
"Pre-Heaven Realm!" Yun Yang cried out in shock. His body flipped backward, retreating continuously toward the apprentice dormitory.
But the Emei Piercers in his hands flew out like hidden weapons, attempting to force Chen Ji back. However, the Emei Piercers whizzed over only to strike empty air, nailing into the kitchen wall and buzzing loudly.
By the time Yun Yang looked for Chen Ji's figure again, Chen Ji had already placed the blade against his neck.
Feeling the icy cold blade pressing against his neck, Yun Yang was completely unable to budge. Holding him hostage, Chen Ji faced Jiao Tu and slowly retreated backward. As he retreated, he said, "Lord Yun Yang, even a Lion Hunting A Rabbit uses its full strength. Don't be so careless next time."
In the small courtyard, killing intent lurked everywhere. The black cat crouched low on the Eaves, its eyes fixed dead set on Jiao Tu not far away. A bloody battle could break out at any moment.
Being held hostage by Chen Ji, Yun Yang sneered. "Brat, you hid yourself truly deep; you actually reached the Pre-Heaven Realm."
Sitting on the roof ridge, Jiao Tu clapped her hands. "Weren't you just granted a cultivation Pathway by Lord Inner Chancellor recently? How did you reach the Pre-Heaven Realm so quickly?"
Chen Ji said calmly, "Gifted with extraordinary talent. Lord Jiao Tu, now that Lord Yun Yang is in my hands, can we chat now?"
Jiao Tu gave a sweet smile. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she said, "What does him being in your hands have to do with me? Us folks coming from Wunian Mountain don't care about past affections. Just kill him. After you kill him, the two of us can chat while drinking wine. If you can help me regain my Zodiac position, I'll have to repay you generously."
Chen Ji also smiled. "Alright. Since Lord Jiao Tu puts it this way, I'll kill him first then."
Having said that, the blade in his hand turned, cutting into the skin of Yun Yang's neck and drawing blood.
"Hold on!" Jiao Tu suddenly cut the spot between her eyebrows with her thumbnail and closed her eyes.
A cloud of black mist drilled out from between her eyebrows, instantly transforming into Jiao Tu's appearance and landing on the roof.
She was seen clad in black Armor. A black feather atop her helmet swayed with the wind, and she held a Guan Dao (reclining moon blade) dragging downwards in her hand.
Chen Ji's heart tightened. He hadn't guessed wrong: Jiao Tu had always been the more dangerous one between these two. The Inner Chancellor placing Yun Yang by Jiao Tu's side was actually to have Yun Yang serve as Jiao Tu's Protector.
Yun Yang looked up at the roof, his expression freezing. "Jiao Tu, you..."
Chen Ji kept the blade against Yun Yang's neck and retreated into the shadows under the Eaves of the main room. "Lord Jiao Tu, didn't you say you didn't care about past affections? Why are you even willing to expose your own cultivation Pathway?"
Jiao Tu said absentmindedly, "I just saw that your saber techniques are superb and wanted to spar with you, that's all."
Chen Ji stood in the shadows beneath the Eaves. "I will say it again: there is really no need for fighting and killing between us. Work under me, and I guarantee you'll become Zodiacs again within a year. Otherwise, we'll fight to the bitter end today."
After saying that, he actually slowly lowered his blade edge and pushed Yun Yang forward a few steps. He then swaggered over and sat by the Eight Immortals table, picking up his chopsticks as if there was no one else around. "I have already offered my sincerity. Come down and eat."
(End of this chapter)