111. Mask

An old man and a cat were walking alone on the long street.

"Master, what is Zhigu Tunlong?"

"It's the art of using a single chess piece to kill the other side's dragon. It's a sword-like technique. It's murderous at every step. You can survive by putting yourself in a desperate situation." Old man Yao walked slowly along the bluestone, holding Wuyun.

On the board, he said, "Chen Ji's style of play is like this, and so is his life. People often say that judging a person by his chess skills is not without reason." Old Man Yao sighed, "If there is no change this time, I'm afraid that Jin Zhu will be tricked to death by Chen Ji." "You seem to be very familiar with Jin Zhu, and even know his cultivation methods. I heard Chen Ji say that you must never let others know your cultivation methods. It will be fatal."

Old Man Yao thought for a moment and said, "I'm not familiar with him, but when I was in Beijing, I saw him grow from a fat kid to a big fat guy, and from a young and inexperienced boy to what he is now.

Wu Yun suddenly said, "Master, Chen Ji said you have many secrets.

Old man Yao laughed: "Is that what he said?"

Wuyun thought for a moment and said, "Can I tell you this?"

Old Man Yao also thought about it: "Did he tell me not to tell?

"No

"Then let's talk about it.

Wu Yun nodded: "He said that you clearly know about the Forty-Nine Heavens, but you claim not to know.

Old Man Yao was startled: "How does he know that I know?" Wu Yun said: "He said that when he made gunpowder before, you asked him who taught him the alchemy technique. You asked him if it was taught by Wuji Mountain. Later, when he was chatting with the prince, he found out that Wuji Mountain was one of the forty-nine heavens.

Old Man Yao smacked his lips. "You really have to be watertight when talking to this guy. He'll catch you if you let anything slip. You say he's so smart, but why is he so smart in the wrong place? Or is he just not smart enough?"

"Where should I be smart?"

Old Man Yao said, "If he were truly smart, he would have taken you far away from Jing Dynasty, away from all this trouble. A truly smart person would avoid karma and be free from all attachments, thus leaving no room for vulnerability."

Wuyun nodded: "So you are his weakness.

Old Man Yao laughed angrily: "Forget it, I can't explain it to you little cat.

"Master, where are we going now?

Old Man Yao thought for a moment and said, "Of course we have to go to Mudan Bridge to take a look. Chen Ji has a clear plan, but he used the strategy of driving the tiger to swallow the dragon to kill the golden pig, and he also got himself involved. The golden pig will definitely be killed by him, so how can he avoid it?" Wu Yun raised his head and said, "Master, Chen Ji said he has a plan."

"oh

Wu Yun recalled for a moment and said, "He said that he had been wearing a mask from the beginning, and when the critical moment came, he deliberately broke up with Jin Zhu. In order to prevent him from disrupting the situation, Jin Zhu would definitely find someone else to wear a mask, because this was the easiest way for Jin Zhu. Chen Ji said that people are lazy and are used to solving problems with the simplest methods. Jin Zhu is no exception.

Old Man Yao thought for a moment and sighed: "Why did the Golden Pig have to provoke this kid?" "Master, are we still going to Mudan Bridge?"

"Walk."

"You have to help him

Old Man Yao said angrily: "He is so smart, but he still needs my help to watch the fun...

Under the thick night.

The Golden Pig, wearing an ox-head mask, stared at the Peony Arch Bridge quietly. He felt that the bridge in front of him was like a bloody mouth that could swallow a dragon in one gulp.

Five people were standing beside the carriage more than twenty feet away.

It was too dark at night to see clearly.

The carriage was covered tightly, and it was unclear whether there was a person or a ghost inside.

Jin Zhu took a deep breath and asked subconsciously: "Chen Ji, do you think we should withdraw?

Liu Tiao was stunned for a moment: "Sir, I am Liu Tiao. Chen Ji was escorted and did not come here.

The golden pig turned its head slightly and looked silently at the green tiger face next to it for a long time without saying a word.

He laughed at himself in his heart, and then said: "Do you think that the Liu family set up an ambush because they have seen through our identities?" Xifeng maintained an upright and arrogant posture, and whispered under the mask: "Sir, the Liu family's ambush may be just in case, not targeting us. If we were to handle such an important matter, we would also arrange personnel to control it in advance. Liu Tiao whispered: "That makes sense."

The Golden Pig refuted in a low voice: "When it comes to your life and property, how can you take chances?

Xifeng was silent for a moment and said, "Sir, why don't we retreat first? We might have a chance to catch him later.

Liu Tiao said: "Sir, as long as there are green mountains, there is no need to worry about running out of firewood.

The Golden Pig remained silent, unable to make a decision.

This was why he had gone to find Chen Ji earlier: he didn't even have anyone around to help him with his plans. At that moment, the curtain of the carriage was lifted from the inside, and Liu Mingxian, wearing a black fox fur cloak and holding a small copper hand warmer, slowly stepped out of the carriage.

He and Jin Zhu and others looked at each other from afar, smiled and asked: "Since you are here, why don't you go up to the bridge and chat?" The two houses on the bridge and under the bridge faced each other, the air gradually solidified, and even the Luo River under the bridge was quiet. The next moment, Jin Zhu whispered: "The arrow is on the string and must be shot. Go up the bridge. Liu Mingxian has already appeared. Listen to my orders later. Xifeng stepped onto the bridge. When Liu Mingxian saw them stepping onto the bridge, he smiled and said: "Why should you be so cautious?" Jin Zhu behind Xifeng sneered: "After you handed over the deputy supervisor of the craftsmanship supervisor to us, you instructed the Luocheng Bingmasi to take the person back. This matter has violated the agreement between the two parties. We are willing to come here tonight, which is already a great gift to your Liu family.

Liu Mingxian gradually restrained his smile: "With my Liu family's status, who is qualified to talk about the gift of a golden pig?" He smiled and said: "Oh, your Liu family relied on the empress dowager and the cabinet ministers in the early years to act tyrannically and domineeringly, leaving behind many handles. In recent years, the situation in the court has reversed, and half of the Liu family's disciples and former officials have been impeached by the imperial censors. Seeing that the situation is hopeless, they can only hide in Yuzhou. In a few years, I am afraid that even Yuzhou will not be able to be preserved, and finally they will end up with their property confiscated and their families exterminated.

Jin Zhu's voice grew colder. "If not, how could your Liu family have thought of contacting Jing Chao?" Liu Mingxian suddenly laughed. "Jing Chao, are you all truly Jing Chao people? Lord Jin Zhu, when did you become a spy for the Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department?" Jin Zhu's face changed when he heard his name being called out, and he retreated with Xifeng and Liu Tiao. Liu Mingxian suddenly shouted, "These three are traitors of the Jing Chao. I am the magistrate of Luocheng, and I must eliminate them for the court. Kill them, without mercy. We've fallen out!"

Behind Liu Mingxian, Zhang Guoer pulled a brass whistle from her waist and blew it. The sharp sound ripped through the night. In an instant, the quiet houses suddenly opened up, and hundreds of elite soldiers in brown leather armor rushed out, engaging the spies hidden in the alleys.

When the Golden Pig was flying back, he saw more than ten people behind him, with long knives in their mouths, climbing up from under the Peony Bridge and blocking their retreat. Xifeng hurriedly said: "Sir, these are the elite soldiers hidden by the Liu family from the Yanshi camp. The Golden Pig wanted to pull Xifeng and jump into the river six times, but was stopped by Zhang Guoer, who was stroking the mountain flower ghost money, and the two tattooed men. With a gloomy face, he listened to the clanging of metal in the night, and turned to look at Liu Mingxian: "Sir, are you secretly mobilizing soldiers to the capital to rebel?" Liu Mingxian said meaningfully: "I am catching the thieves of Jing Dynasty, how can it be a rebellion?" The Golden Pig sneered: "You say that we are thieves of Jing Dynasty, do you have evidence? If there is no evidence, arbitrarily surrounding and killing the Secret Service is tantamount to treason. Liu Mingxian stroked the copper hand warmer in his arms and said with a smile: "I still have the secret letter you asked me to come to the Peony Bridge. The secret letter clearly uses the hidden characters that only the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department would use.

Means, this is the evidence. Even without this, I can still fabricate a lot of evidence. Lord Jinzhu, don't worry about this matter. Jinzhu slowly took off his mask, but saw Liu Mingxian turned his head and said to someone beside him: "Lord Yuan, we previously leaked confidential information, which almost led to your company being surrounded. This is indeed the fault of my Liu family. Tonight, the head on Jinzhu's neck is a generous gift from my Liu family. It is used as a token of our loyalty. Is it sincere enough? I wonder if the chief secretary can go south. My Liu family has something important to discuss.

A deep voice responded slowly: "Lord Liu is sincere. If you can really take the head from the golden pig, the chief will definitely come south to meet you.

The golden pig's pupils shrank slightly, and he suddenly looked at the person who spoke: a fat figure wearing a bamboo hat next to Liu Mingxian.

He wanted to see the other person's face clearly, but the other person not only lowered his head, but also had his face covered with a gray cloth.

Jingchao Military Intelligence Department.

No wonder Liu Mingxian exposed their identities. It turned out that they had reconnected with the Jingchao Military Intelligence Department.

But the key point is, three days ago, the Liu family had not yet re-established contact with Jing Chao, so how did they suddenly get in touch?

What went wrong?

Golden Pig looked at the elite Liu Family soldiers who were slowly surrounding him and shouted fiercely: "Kill six of them!" He looked at the three Liu Family officials in front of him, then turned back to look at the elite soldiers behind him. He suddenly regretted suggesting that he should wear the tiger mask.

Otherwise, it should be Chen Ji who died on the bridge, not him...

A quarter of an hour ago.

In the narrow alley, Chen Ji was pushed and shoved by the spy as he stumbled forward. In order to prevent him from having any evil thoughts, the spy who was guarding him actually tied his hands behind his back with a rope. Chen Ji suddenly stopped and did not move forward.

The spy behind him kicked him, but Chen Ji dodged by moving his body as if he had eyes on his back.

The spy's kick missed and he stumbled and almost fell.

“You fucking bastard.

He stood firm and tried to catch Chen Ji.

But Chen Ji was like a loach, slippery and impossible to catch. Chen Ji and his partner were tied up behind him and staggered as they ran.

The two chased each other in the alley, and gradually ran out of the alley and ran farther and farther along the shore of Los Angeles.

Seeing that there was no hope of reuniting with his colleagues, the spy immediately drew his knife and said, "If you run again, I will kill you with my sword.

Chen Ji stopped and stammered, but his mouth was tied and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

The spy impatiently took off the cloth from his mouth and said: "What do you want to say?

Chen Ji moved his chin, put his hands behind his back and asked in a deep voice: "Sir, do you feel that something is wrong?

“Something is wrong

Chen Ji said hurriedly, "There are probably hundreds of residents in this area. In Los Angeles, three out of ten households have dogs. Yet, hundreds of spies have infiltrated this area, but not a single dog barks. Where have all the dogs gone?"

He continued, "Moreover, not only can we not hear the barking of dogs, but even at four o'clock in the morning, when it's still dark, the dung-carrying workers are already setting out, and the market-goers are already on their way. Sir, we've been walking for so long, and have you ever seen anyone leave the house?"

The spy was terrified when he thought about it. He was not a fool. What Chen Ji said made sense.

However, at this moment, they heard a sharp whistle in the distance. Before they could react, they saw the doors of two houses in the alley being kicked open, and five or six elite soldiers in leather armor rushed out.

The spy gasped at the sight of the dozen or so elite soldiers: "The Elephant Armor Guards from the Yanshi Camp." In the narrow, dark alley, one of the Elephant Armor Guards shouted, then swung his sword and attacked: "Kill." However, when the sword came, Chen Ji's hands were tied, and he turned quickly, and the sword actually passed through the rope between his hands.

With a snap, the rope broke.