116. Unity of purpose

A massive fire, thick smoke billowing into the sky, drew the entire population of Luocheng to Mudan Bridge. People had given up work and were eager to see the excitement. Even the vendors strode briskly, carrying their shoulder poles. Chen Ji walked silently toward Anxi Street. The crowds rushed behind him, leaving only his thin figure swimming upstream. He wanted to hurry back to the clinic, as he had so many questions to ask. When he arrived at the Taiping Clinic, he realized he hadn't made it back.

The aroma of white porridge and fried oil wafted out from the door. Chen Ji could even hear the noisy voices of She Dengke and Liu Quxing in the backyard. He stood outside the door for a long time before he took a deep breath and crossed the threshold. The moment he crossed the threshold, a wave of fatigue came to his mind, but it was as if a hanging stone fell to the ground in his heart. Chen Ji took a long breath and vented all the unhappiness outside the door: "I'm back." Old man Yao stood alone behind the counter, lowering his head to fiddle with the abacus, and muttered: "Come back if you want, why are you shouting?" Wu Yun lay beside the abacus with his hands in his pockets, shielding himself. He opened his eyes when he saw Chen Ji come in. Chen Ji stood opposite the counter, staring at the master in front of him, considering how to start. Old man Yao stopped fiddling with the abacus beads, raised his eyes and said to him: "If you have to fart, let it out quickly. Chen Ji asked: "Master, did you help me today?" Old man Yao raised his eyebrows: "What did I help you with? What nonsense are you talking about?" Chen Ji frowned, a little suspicious: "No?"

Old Man Yao pointed at the dark cloud and said, "I've been with this little thing all night. Ask it if I helped you." Chen Ji looked at the dark cloud.

Wuyun meowed, "It seems that it really didn't help.

Old Man Yao stroked his beard and smiled proudly: "That's right.

Wuyun meowed again: "But master cares about you very much. He took me to the river to watch you chase Manager Yuan. He returned to the clinic early in the morning after confirming that you were safe. Old man Yao smacked his lips: "Who asked you this?" At this time, Liang Maoer came out with a bowl of steaming ginger soup and handed it directly to Chen Ji: "Master just asked me to cook ginger soup, one bowl for each of you to drive away the cold. It's just right that you are back, so drink it while it's hot.

Chen Ji held the ginger soup in silence for a long time, and finally drank it all in one gulp.

He placed the porcelain bowl on the counter and said calmly, "Master, today the Golden Pig asked the Dream Rooster to interrogate me, but the Dream Rooster told me in a dream that you had instructed him not to cooperate with the Golden Pig in the interrogation. You don't have to hide it from me. Thank you for helping me get through this ordeal.

Old Man Yao sneered, "You still want to cheat me? When I cheated others, your father hadn't even met your mother yet." Chen Ji:...

Old man Yao glanced at him and said: "The one who can order the twelve zodiac animals to do things must be a big shot in the Imperial Household Department. If I were such a person, how could I allow you, a thief from the Jing Dynasty, to jump around in front of me?

Chen Ji fell into deep thought.

When Meng Ji said that a big shot favored him, his first reaction was that his master had helped him. But what his master said made sense. One of the duties of the Silijian was to arrest Jing Dynasty spies. If his master was really a big shot in the Silijian, how could he let him live?

Chen Ji then asked: "Master, do you know anything about the Golden Pig?

Old Man Yao: “I don’t understand!

Bird Cloud: "Understood."

Old man Yao turned his head slowly and looked at the dark clouds with an expressionless face.

Chen Bian asked curiously: "Today, Jinzhu and I reached a deal. The moment the deal was reached, I seemed to notice some changes. But I can't tell what these changes are! In addition, after the deal was reached, he seemed to have really let down his guard... Wuyun said: "Master said that Jinzhu can only practice by investing in others. This is his way of practice. Previously, he invested in Tianma and broke through to the realm of seeking the way. But later he failed in investing in two people in succession and fell back from the realm of seeking the way.

The innate realm.

Now that he has chosen to bet on you, this is his last chance.

Chen Ji was shocked. There is such a way of cultivation.

Could it be that the name of this cultivation path is "Gambling Dog"?

No wonder Jin Zhu said, even if it meant kneeling in front of Jiefan Tower, he would kneel down to find a path for cultivation. It turned out he wanted to use it to cultivate. Chen Ji hurriedly asked, "What kind of relationship will I have with Jin Zhu? If anything happens to him, it will affect my mother." Wu Yun looked at Old Man Yao and said, "Master, you didn't say that!"

Old Man Yao said impatiently: "Of course not. Even if he dies, it has nothing to do with you. It's just that when you break through a level in your cultivation, he will benefit from it." How much benefit will he get?

"About fifty percent!

Chen Ji frowned. "Then why didn't you remind me earlier that he could know the progress of my cultivation?" Old Man Yao smiled and said, "What's wrong with having more twelve zodiac animals as bodyguards? If you encounter danger again at this time, Jin Zhu will care about you more than your parents and brothers. Chen Ji was a little confused: "If I die, he will just fall into another realm. Why is it so?" Old Man Yao said slowly: "The realm of seeking the Tao is a great catastrophe in life. Once you step into it, you will have a different life. There is also a difference between the realm of seeking the Tao and the realm of seeking the Tao. If you step into the realm of seeking the Tao before the age of thirty-six and stabilize the realm, you can be reborn, prolong your life, and living to be a hundred years old is not a problem. If you enter the realm of seeking the Tao after the age of thirty-six, you will be no different from ordinary people in birth, old age, sickness and death. Jin Zhu is now thirty-one years old and there is not much time left. The last hope falls on you. "I see.

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Why is he still suspicious of me? Isn't he trying to offend me to death?

“You may not believe it, but even though he suspected you and interrogated you, he wanted you to be innocent even more than you did.

The main hall of the clinic fell silent, and Old Man Yao started calculating his abacus again.

Chen Ji suddenly said: "Master, you don't have to hide it, Meng Ji really told me everything.

Old Man Yao said angrily: "Go away.

After saying that, he looked at the dark clouds on the counter: "Liang Gou'er, it's time to wake up, and you should get out too.

The dark clouds went out in dejection when the thunder from the Nine Heavens came.

Chen Ji returned to his dormitory dejectedly and changed into dry clothes.

Chen Ji sat on the bed in the dim bedroom in a daze

Those who knew about his identity as a spy in the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department died or left, and the Jin Zhu who suspected him in the Ning Dynasty Secret Intelligence Department also let down his guard. Life seemed to have finally settled down and he could take a breath.

Chen Ji raised his head and looked upward.

It's time to clean the cobwebs on the beams

The broken tiles on the roof also need to be replaced.

Several bricks in the yard are broken and water accumulates when it rains.

I need to buy some new bricks and tiles, and replace all the tiles and bricks with cement before winter sets in. This way, we won't have to worry about leaks or water accumulation.

Um

Buy it today.

At this time, there was a hearty laugh outside the house.

Chen Ji bent down to put on his boots, and when he went out, he saw Zhang Zhuo standing under the apricot tree, looking at the red ribbon on the tree with great interest. Zhang Zhuo was wearing a red official robe today, which complemented the red ribbon on the apricot tree. After reading the wishes on the red ribbon, he turned to ask Liu Quxing: "Excuse me, Doctor Liu, do you have any red ribbons in the clinic? I also want to write one and hang it up."

go.

Liu Quxing hurried to the main hall and said, "Please wait a moment, there are still many red ribbons left.

When he took out the cloth strip, handed over the brush, and stretched out his hands

The cloth strip was unfolded in front of Zhang Zhuo, who picked up his pen and wrote four words: One heart, one mind.

Then, tie the red cloth strips to the empty branches with your own hands.

Liu Quxing's face turned strange: "Master Zhang, what does this mean?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily: "Isn't it good to wish you three brothers to be of one mind and one heart?" Liu Quxing muttered softly: "It's good, but the words "of one mind and one heart" are usually followed by the four words "hold your case and be equal to your eyebrows." At this time, Chen Ji asked: "Master Zhang, why did you come to Taiping Clinic today?" Zhang Zhuo turned to look at Chen Ji, and immediately explained patiently: "Doctor Chen, I just heard that Xia'er heard the news from somewhere and came to the clinic without authorization to make a scene. I have come here specially to apologize to you. She has been impatient since she was a child, but she is not a bad person by nature. You must not take her seriously. Chen Ji said, "So, what Miss Zhang said does not exist." Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard: "Of course. A forced melon is not sweet. I, Zhang Zhuo, am open-minded and will never do anything that forces others to do things. Doctor Chen, put your heart back in your stomach. I admire your character and will consider everything for you.

This made Chen Ji not know how to respond.

He thought for a moment: "Why does Lord Zhang appreciate me? We haven't met many times.

Zhang Zhuo became interested and said, "I only look at two things when I judge a person. The first is what he does when he gets rich. Is he arrogant and domineering? Does he shake his clothes and make a fuss? The second is what he doesn't do when he's poor. Does he stick to his original heart? Does he commit crimes?

As he was speaking, he heard footsteps outside the door again.

Everyone turned to look and saw Prince Jing walking straight into the backyard, followed by the tall Feng Daban. Old Man Yao muttered, "The small Taiping Clinic is actually busier than Prince Jing's Mansion." Prince Jing entered the courtyard and was a little surprised to see Zhang Zhuo. "Didn't Master Zhang say he was going to supervise the construction of refugee barracks? Why is he here at the Taiping Clinic?" "Just passing by, just passing by..." Zhang Zhuo was a little embarrassed.

Prince Jing did not joke with him and turned to look at Chen Ji: "This morning, your father, Lord Chen Liqin, came to see me. Chen Ji asked calmly: "I wonder what Lord Chen wants to see you, Your Highness?"

Prince Jing smiled and said, "To study!"

"Study

Prince Jing explained, "Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao will be traveling to the capital to take the imperial examinations in the spring. With all the scholars in the country gathered together, the exams will be far more challenging than those in the autumn. It just so happens that Mr. Wang has returned to Luocheng to mourn his father's death, and during the day he is teaching Yunxi, Baili, and Lingyun at my palace. So, Lord Chen wants Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao to attend the classes, to prevent them from being idle at home and missing next year's exam."

The old traces are silent.

Prince Jing smiled and said, "Lord Chen has also paid your tuition fees, hoping that you will also attend Mr. Wang's teachings. I have carefully considered this and feel that at your age you should listen to more knowledge. I have also paid the tuition fees of Liu Quxing and She Dengke as well. You can rest assured that Mr. Wang is different from other teachers in the academy. Even His Majesty highly respects him. He will definitely benefit you."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "I can't make the decision on this. I need the master's consent." After that, he turned to look at Old Man Yao and blinked hard a few times.

Old Man Yao said slowly, "I have no objection. Letting these three little rabbits go to class will give me a little free time every day. That's good." Chen Ji: ...

However, at this moment, Zhang Zhuo's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly said: "I still remember how amazing Wang Daosheng's "Twelve Strategies to Suppress the Japanese" was during the palace examination. It's a pity that he can't display his talent now. Your Majesty, can my daughter Zhang Xia also go to his place to listen to his lessons so that he can discipline my daughter's wild nature?

Prince Jing was happy:

"sure!