A small courtyard, assassins, a black cat, and a young man. It was bizarre yet unexpectedly harmonious.
Standing atop the Eaves, Jiao Tu looked at Chen Ji by the Eight Immortals table, who was acting as if there was no one else around. She suddenly sighed with emotion. "Time truly passes quickly. Two months ago, Yun Yang said you might rise above the two of us, and I didn't even believe him. Yet in the blink of an eye, you've actually become our superior."
Chen Ji said earnestly, "This matter is also quite coincidental. On one hand, it's because I rose quickly; on the other hand, it's also because the two of you fell quickly... If I had been even a tiny bit slower, or if you two had been a tiny bit slower, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened."
Jiao Tu rolled her eyes. "Who are you trying to disgust? Why do the words you speak carry the exact same feeling as Physician Yao?"
Yun Yang's expression was slightly cold. With his arms crossed over his chest, he looked at Chen Ji coldly. "You want to be the superior of us two? You're still not qualified enough."
Chen Ji smiled, taking a step back verbally. "I am not trying to be your superior. Rather, Danger Lurking Everywhere within the Directorate of Ceremonial, and I merely wish to join hands with the two of you. You need to regain your Zodiac positions, you need Cultivation Resources, and you need cultivation Pathways; while I need helpers. It's as simple as that."
Chen Ji continued, "From now on in private, we don't need to address each other by our official positions. I am not your superior, and you are not my subordinates. How does that sound?"
Yun Yang's expression softened a bit.
Jiao Tu suddenly asked, "But how are we supposed to trust you? You could sell out Prince Jing, the Commandery Princess, and the Prince Heir; if you climb to a high position in the future, you could easily sell us out just the same. Tsk, the poor Commandery Princess. When I saw her yesterday, the light in her eyes was completely gone."
Chen Ji's hand holding the chopsticks paused for a moment. Then, his face broke into a beaming smile. "If mocking and ridiculing me allows the two of you to vent your anger, that would truly be absolutely wonderful. Why don't you say a few more sentences? Once you're done speaking, we can discuss proper business."
Jiao Tu let out an "Aiya". Covering her mouth, she laughed and said, "I had no intention of mocking you. It's just that having seen Prince Jing's Estate as a warning from the overturned cart ahead, we naturally feel some apprehension and worry too."
Chen Ji's expression turned serious. "In helping the two of you, I naturally have my own demands. Previously, when collaborating with the two of you, I earned fifty taels of silver from each of you for a single instance. How about we change to a new collaboration? I will help the two of you regain your Zodiac positions, and the two of you will each pay me five thousand taels of silver."
Jiao Tu's eyes widened. With her hands on her hips, she leaned down and looked at Chen Ji. "Five thousand taels! Why don't you just go rob someone? Lin Chaoqing of the Chief Punishment Division stares at us every single day; where are we supposed to procure that much silver?"
Chen Ji shook his head. "That is not something I need to consider. You two had best not try to deceive me again by claiming you have no money. No matter how formidable the Chief Punishment Division is, there are times when they make oversights. Additionally, comparing five thousand taels of silver and a Zodiac position, you clearly know in your hearts which is lighter and which is heavier."
Touching his neck, Yun Yang asked in a serious voice, "What if, after you rise to power, you retaliate against me and Jiao Tu?"
Chen Ji was amused. "Lord Yun Yang, where in this world is there any deep enmity and bitter hatred? It's nothing more than the two words 'fame' and 'profit'."
Jiao Tu probed tentatively, "Really?"
Chen Ji picked up a piece of Braised Tofu with his chopsticks and ate it. Outwardly pretending as if everything was perfectly normal, he said, "I could even sell out Prince Jing, the Commandery Princess, and the Prince Heir. For the sake of the two words fame and profit, there is absolutely nothing I wouldn't do."
Jiao Tu clapped her hands in praise. "I told you we'd get along perfectly!"
Yun Yang frowned. "Jiao Tu, this brat's scheming and shrewdness runs deep. Don't fall for his tricks."
Jiao Tu couldn't care less. "Stop your incessant chirping and chattering. If you're unwilling to cooperate with Chen Ji, then I will cooperate with him alone. You might not want to regain your Zodiac position, but I do."
Yun Yang's expression stagnated. Turning his head, he looked at Chen Ji. "What do you need us to do?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment. "There are quite a lot of things I need the two of you to do."
Having said that, he pulled an envelope from his sleeve and tossed it to Yun Yang. "The very first thing is to deliver this letter to the Chen Estate."
Receiving the envelope, Yun Yang was puzzled. "Right now?"
"Of course not now, but tomorrow." Chen Ji pointed at the food on the table. "Since we are going to collaborate, why not come down and have a meal together?"
Jiao Tu blinked at Chen Ji. "Is there wine?"
Yun Yang cast a glance at the meal on the table. "It looks terrible just by looking at it. I'm not eating. Let's go."
As his voice fell, he leaped onto the roof, grabbed Jiao Tu's sleeve, and prepared to leave.
Jiao Tu didn't leave immediately. She turned back to look at Chen Ji. "Tomorrow, Bai Long will personally escort the Commandery Princess to the Capital City. If you wish to see her one more time, I can tell you the escort route."
As she spoke, she closely observed Chen Ji's expression.
However, Chen Ji's expression didn't change in the slightest. He merely lowered his head to eat while casually answering, "What's the point of seeing her? Lord Jiao Tu shouldn't tell me the escort route after all."
Jiao Tu praised, "How absolutely heartless. Chen Ji, you will definitely soar high into the clouds."
Yun Yang urged, "Let's go!"
"Oh!"
Only after the two of them had vanished completely did Chen Ji heave a light sigh of relief. He put down his chopsticks and sat in the cold, cheerless small courtyard, staring blankly into space.
Collaborating with these two venomous, snake-and-scorpion-like individuals like Yun Yang and Jiao Tu was like walking on a tightrope or plotting with a tiger for its skin. The slightest lack of caution would result in being Doomed Eternally.
Wu Yun walked along the roof and leaped lightly onto the table. "Are we not fighting anymore? I haven't even used the Liang Family Saber Techniques yet."
Chen Ji picked up a piece of cured meat with his chopsticks. "We're not fighting anymore. Using the two words fame and profit as a blade is already sufficient."
...
...
Early morning, the crowing of roosters broke the dawn.
Chen Ji got up and went to the courtyard. Stripping off all his clothes, he used ice-cold water to wash away a body full of alcohol stench and dust. It was as if he wanted to wash away his past self and don a brand new Mask.
Only when his entire body was washed bright red from the cold did he return to the apprentice dormitory.
He stood in front of the wardrobe and hesitated for a long time. Ultimately, he took out the custom-made clothes from Li's shop and changed into them. The black high-collared garment with a large lapel had fine, tight, and exquisite stitching.
Chen Ji grabbed the hem of the clothes and caressed it. Hidden within were the Melon Seed Gold Nuggets (Gold Melon Seeds) he could use in emergencies, harboring the unspoken thoughts and feelings of a young girl.
He walked into the courtyard. Using the water surface in the water vat as a mirror, he looked at himself in the water: thin and gaunt, capable and experienced, resolute and determined.
Without even turning his head, Chen Ji asked Wu Yun, "Wu Yun, do I look like an important figure right now?"
Wu Yun cast a glance at him. "You don't."
Chen Ji smiled. "If I don't, then I don't."
He packed a cloth bundle and carried it diagonally across his shoulder.
Arriving at the doorway, Chen Ji turned his head back and cast a long, deep look at the medical clinic. Only when he had looked his fill did he lock the main doors and step into the flow of people heading to the morning market.
He asked in a low voice, "Where are they leaving from?"
Wu Yun poked her head out from his bosom. "Departing from the Liu Estate on Qingping Street, turning from Wangchunmen Street into Red Bean Lane, and finally exiting the city from the North Gate. There isn't much time left; they are leaving at the Hour of the Chen (7 AM - 9 AM)."
Chen Ji's pace quickened until he gradually broke into a run.
He threaded his way through the gaps between the flowing crowds and horse carriages, running toward Qingping Street.
Upon arriving at Qingping Street, Chen Ji shockingly saw a horse carriage rolling slowly away from the front of the Liu Estate. Bai Long and dozens of Trouble-Resolving Guards clad in coir raincoats escorted it on the left and right.
Bai Long hadn't gone back on his word. Since Chen Ji was serving him, the other party wouldn't make things difficult for the Commandery Princess. A journey that should have been escorted in a prisoner's cage was exchanged for a comfortable horse carriage.
But Chen Ji didn't dare to approach. He could only mirror their path on parallel, adjacent streets.
Rows upon rows of buildings blocked his line of sight. Only when they simultaneously passed by certain small alleys could his gaze once again pierce through the narrow bluestone alleyways and catch sight of that horse carriage.
Just like this, he walked a stretch, watched them off for a stretch, all the way from Wangchunmen Street to Red Bean Lane. On the street, Chen Ji yielded to pedestrians and ox carts while repeatedly looking toward the horse carriage through the small alleys.
It continued until someone inside the horse carriage lifted the carriage curtain and quietly peered outward. Chen Ji suddenly subconsciously stopped in his tracks, avoiding the other party's line of sight. The horse carriage continued moving forward, while another person was forever frozen in the past.
Chen Ji turned around and left, walking in the opposite direction.
The horse carriage headed north, and Chen Ji headed south. Separated by white walls, tall buildings, and gray tiles, it felt as though they were separated by mountain ranges.
Wu Yun looked up at Chen Ji's jaw. "Are you not going to see her off?"
Chen Ji said calmly, "I won't see her off anymore. We still have our own matters to attend to. Sooner or later, we will reunite again."
...
...
Emerald Cloud Lane.
Chen Ji stood before the gates of the Chen Estate. Two stone lions crouched on the left and right, stone spheres held in their mouths.
He looked at the tightly shut main doors. Ultimately, taking a deep breath, he gripped the Beast-Head Door Knocker on the vermilion gates and knocked heavily. Thump, thump, thump.
With a creak, the doors opened.
(End of this chapter)