109. Hunter and Prey
A layer of white moonlight was sprinkled on the bluestone road, like a layer of gentle gauze.
The tense atmosphere was also blown away by the breeze.
Chen Ji sheathed the dagger. He looked at Princess Baili in front of him and asked softly, "How long have you been plotting to secretly help me?"
Bai Li felt a little embarrassed and picked at the purse on his waist: "One and a half days."
Chen Ji wondered, "Why didn't I notice you guys discussing these things?"
Bai Li explained, "You always come back during the day, looking tired, and then you go straight to the dormitory to sleep. We always discuss quietly in the yard while you sleep."
"Aren't you afraid that I'm going to gamble?"
"Don't be afraid, you are definitely not the gambler they say you are."
"Thanks."
Chen Ji could imagine this group of people sitting in a circle around the octagonal table, whispering to each other.
Naive and sincere.
Chen Ji glanced at Liang Gou'er and said, "Speaking of which, how much money have you guys chipped in to help Brother Gou'er? We haven't received our dividends from the kiln factory yet, so everyone is broke, right?"
The prince laughed cheerfully and said, "Ten taels of silver. Bai Li and I really don't have much money left. Liu Quxing paid for it. You didn't see how Liu Quxing's face twisted when he took out the silver ingot from the lining of his clothes."
Chen Ji was speechless for a moment. He was silent for a long time before he said in disbelief, "Liu Quxing?"
The prince laughed heartily. "We agreed that each of us would contribute two taels of silver. This is his first step to help out. We'll return the money to him once the kiln factory distributes its dividends."
Bai Li asked: "Chen Ji, what difficulties did you encounter..."
She took a step forward, but Chen Ji took a step back. "Princess, I can't tell you. Maybe one day I'll tell you everything, but not now. I'm leaving now. I have something very important to do tonight."
"But Brother Gou'er can help you."
“No need.”
After saying that, Chen Ji retreated step by step, and finally turned around and strode away, disappearing at the end of the long street.
Liang Gou'er leaned against the wall, holding a long knife in his arms. He looked at Chen Ji's back, wondering what he was thinking.
At this point, Bai Li mustered up his courage and wanted to continue following, but Liang Gou'er stopped him by pressing his scabbard against his collarbone: "Princess, don't follow. You'd better not get involved in his affairs."
Bai Li looked at Liang Gou'er in surprise: "Why?"
Liang Gou'er smiled and said, "If a normal person encountered difficulties, why would he refuse my help? Unless the difficulties he encountered came from the eunuch party. Chen Ji is either a member of the eunuch party or an enemy of the eunuch party. He knows very well that I will not help either of these two types of people."
"But……"
Liang Gou'er suddenly said, "I'm afraid the prince and the princess don't know what kind of person is hiding around them."
The prince was puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Liang Gou'er, holding his long knife, glanced at the two men and said, "This kid has definitely killed someone, and more than one person. The look in a person's eyes can tell whether he has killed someone or not... Do you know anything about this?"
The prince and Bai Li looked at each other.
The prince clearly remembered how the mysterious man cut off the spy's long sword with one blow that night in Red Lane, and saw the other party swing it three times in a row.
So when Chen Ji cut off the knife in Bai Li's hand, the prince already knew Chen Ji's identity.
Of course Chen Ji had killed someone, and he did it in front of him.
The Prince's Hesitation Film
At that moment, recalling Baili's recent abnormality, he whispered, "Baili, have you noticed it a long time ago?"
Baili hummed.
The prince sighed, "No wonder...Brother Gou'er, we know that Chen Ji has killed someone. Although we are not sure of his identity, this does not affect our friendship with him."
Liang Gou'er sighed and said, "I'm afraid his identity is more complicated than you two imagined."
"How do you say that?"
Liang Gou'er explained, "Bai Li and the Crown Prince aren't versed in martial arts, so they have no idea of this boy's swordsmanship. But have you ever seen a swordsmanship that uses skill, not brute force, to easily sever someone's blade? That's enough to amaze many swordsmen for their entire lives. It has nothing to do with strength or realm. Just the technique itself; ordinary people wouldn't be able to learn it even if they wanted to."
"The key is, who taught him this sword technique?"
Liang Gou'er looked towards the end of the long street: "Fang Yuwu? Or Li Zhechong? No, neither of them can do it..."
"Brother Gou'er, can you do it?"
"Of course I can!"
…
…
Chen Ji followed the signboards of each shop until he saw Chai Ji Grain and Oil Shop, then turned into the dark alley next to it.
The moment he turned in, he saw dozens of pairs of green eyes looking at him in the darkness.
Chen Ji's scalp tingled. He couldn't tell which eye in the darkness belonged to Dark Cloud, so he could only whisper tentatively, "Dark Cloud?"
No cat responded, but continued to stare at him quietly, motionless.
One of the eyes blinked violently at him several times.
After a moment of silence, Chen Ji tried again: "Nine Heavens Ying Yuan Lei Sheng Pu Hua Tian Zun?"
The next second, a pair of lustrous green eyes stood out from the crowd, walked out of the darkness into the moonlight, and meowed arrogantly and coldly: "What do you want from me?"
Chen Ji coughed lightly and said, "Well, there's something I want to report to you privately."
The dark cloud turned around and meowed at the dozens of pairs of eyes in the darkness, only to see those eyes slowly disappear into the darkness.
Wu Yun waited for a moment, then jumped into Chen Ji's arms and said happily, "What was that name just now? It sounds so majestic!"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "That is the Taoist name of the highest god in the Thunder Department. He is in charge of life and death, reward and punishment for good and evil, controlling the clouds and rain, slaying demons and monsters, and commanding thunder."
Wuyun was in awe: "Meng Meng! In the future, when there are other cats around, can you call me by this name?"
Chen Ji was silent.
Wuyun quickly said, "I can give you a leg massage when we get home!"
Chen Ji remained silent.
"Step on the back!"
"Deal, but you don't have to give me a leg massage or a back rub," Chen Ji smiled and touched Wu Yun's head and asked, "Why haven't you been back to the clinic these days?"
Wu Yun thought for a moment and said, "Master said that I have developed the energy of the Liang family sword technique. If I stay in the clinic, Liang Gou'er will sense it."
Chen Ji: “Ah?”
Really learned it?!
Chen Ji asked curiously, "As long as we share the same cultivation path, will we be able to sense each other when we meet?"
Wuyun replied, "Master said that when people who practice the same path meet for the first time, they will inevitably feel a sense of trepidation, as if they have met their natural enemy."
He suddenly remembered that after he used ginseng to dissolve the ice flow for the first time, the moment he saw Old Man Yao, he felt a palpitation, as if he was being stared at by a vicious tiger.
It turned out that at that moment, the master already knew that I had entered the practice, but I thought that no one else knew.
.
So, if he meets Lu Yang from Jingchao Martial Temple in the future, the other party will know at the first moment that he is also practicing the sword skills, and then chop him down with a sword?
"Let's get down to business," Chen Ji looked at Wu Yun and said, "You have to do me a favor."
"What's the matter?"
"Borrow a knife and kill a few people."
…
…
On the night of his appointment with Liu Mingliang, Chen Ji returned to Zhou's house as promised.
Today was a cloudless day. Under the dark night, he stood in front of the red-painted gate, put on the tiger mask, picked up the animal head and the ring on the door, and put it down.
The gate was wide open, and in the courtyard of Zhou's mansion, there were densely packed black-clad spies sitting cross-legged on the ground, wiping their swords.
When Chen Ji stepped in, a secret agent wiped his long knife and looked at him coldly and silently, his eyes slowly moving with his steps.
Jin Zhu came out from the study and said with a smile, "You are quite punctual."
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Sir, aren't you going to pretend to be Si Zhu and meet Liu Mingxian tonight? Why did you summon so many secret agents and look so murderous?"
Jin Zhu explained with a smile, "Originally, I wanted to follow your plan and have Xifeng pretend to be the Chief Secretary and slowly extract some information from Liu Mingxian. But then I changed my mind. Even though the Jingchao thieves haven't contacted the Liu family yet, it doesn't mean they will never contact them. As soon as they do, our plan will be exposed."
Jin Zhu continued, "To avoid any further complications, as long as Liu Mingxian shows up tonight, it will confirm his connection to Jing Chao. Even if I arrest him, the Liu family won't be able to say anything. Then, I can just take Liu Mingxian to the inner prison. With Meng Ji here, there's no need to worry about him not confessing."
Chen Ji was stunned: "Meng Ji? Your Excellency invited Meng Ji from Kaifeng Prefecture?"
The Golden Pig asked nonchalantly, "Why, is there anything wrong?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "No, what I meant is that as long as Master Mengji is here, Liu Mingxian will naturally have no way to quibble."
Golden Pig said meaningfully: "Yes, Mengji's move is foolproof."
Chen Ji asked, "Sir, since you have changed your plan, do you no longer need me? You know I am just an apprentice at the clinic and I am weak and unfit to participate in the capture operation."
However, just as he finished speaking, two spies stood up from the ground, slowly walked to Chen Ji's side, and subtly controlled Chen Ji.
Chen Ji's face turned stern, and he suddenly turned to look at Jin Zhu: "Sir, what does this mean?"
The next moment, all the spies sitting cross-legged on the ground stood up silently, holding long swords and looking like eagles and wolves.
It seemed that in the courtyard tonight, everyone was a hunter and only Chen Ji was the prey.
Jin Zhu patted Chen Ji on the shoulder and said, "Brother, you still have to cooperate with us and continue acting. After all, we have to lure Liu Mingxian out first. Don't overthink it. I know you are powerless, so these two colleagues beside you are specially sent to protect you."
Chen Ji asked, "Sir, are you sure they are here to protect me?"
The Golden Pig smiled and said, "What else?"
After saying this, he looked at the secret agents in the courtyard and said in a cold voice, "We must bring Liu Mingxian to justice tonight. As long as we are brave and courageous in catching the thief, we will be rewarded by you all. Let's go!"
The heavy vermilion lacquered door of the Zhou Mansion was opened again, and the spies filed out.
The two spies sheathed their swords and said in a cold voice, "Let's go, sir. Don't make things difficult for us."
Chen Ji's expression was hidden under that tiger mask. He was silent for a long time and said, "Okay."
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