17. Chief Criminal Department
The galloping horses and the men in black at night are like the characters in the storyteller's stories, all of whom are the wanderers who will never return.
At this time, a crow flapped its wings and landed on the roof of a restaurant in front of them. It stood quietly on the eaves, watching Chen Ji and Yun Yang rushing past, motionless, as if it itself was the eaves beast of the building.
The crow's feathers shone in the moonlight, as if covered with a layer of silver gauze, peaceful and mysterious.
Hey, crow?
Chen Ji turned around to look at the eaves again, but found that the crow was flapping its wings, and he didn't know where it was going.
He was sure that he had seen this crow in the backyard of the clinic before. The way it looked at him was as if it was being scrutinized by someone superior.
When he saw the crow at that time, he thought it was an illusion caused by extreme nervousness, but now seeing it again, Chen Ji no longer thought so. The mystery of this world was far beyond his imagination.
He thought for a moment and then asked Yunyang, "Master Yunyang, you guys at the Secret Service should be knowledgeable and experienced, but have you ever seen anyone controlling an animal?"
"Never seen it," Yun Yang responded casually.
"Are there people who practice Taoism? I heard the storyteller tell some supernatural stories. Are they true?" Chen Ji asked.
"No."
Chen Ji fell into deep thought. He had already embarked on the path of cultivation and was sure that there were definitely other cultivators in this world, but why had he never heard of them?
What is the reason why those practitioners hide in the city and the government?
There was a ripping sound.
Yun Yang turned around and saw Chen Ji tearing off the hem of his robe and tying it around his face.
"What are you doing? You're working for my Secret Service in an open and honest way. There's no need to hide your identity," Yun Yang said disdainfully.
Chen Ji casually responded, "Lord Yunyang, I'm just a nobody, so it's always better to be cautious. And you have to protect my identity, otherwise if the Liu family retaliates against me, there will be no one to help you gain credit in the future."
Yun Yang thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case: "Then cover your face more tightly... ouch!"
He suddenly pulled the reins, causing the horse to stop suddenly in the dim street.
Chen Ji glanced over and saw dozens of people standing on horseback opposite them.
The group of people were wearing straw raincoats and conical hats, and each of them had a long sword across his waist, exuding murderous aura.
The leader looked up at Chen Ji. Chen Ji saw that in the shadow under the bamboo hat, the middle-aged man's eyes were like knives, cutting people's cheeks painfully.
"Who are these people?" Chen Ji asked in a low voice while on horseback.
"From the 'Ministry of Punishment,'" Yun Yang replied, tightening the reins and shouting, "Commander Lin looks exhausted. I'm sure he's been traveling day and night with the Yulong Guards all the way from Jinling."
The middle-aged man said calmly, "You and Jiaotu have caused such a big mess. I will take you two back to the capital to obey the orders of the Minister of Internal Affairs."
"Did we stir up trouble?" Yun Yang sneered. "Jiaotu and I came to Luocheng to capture Jingchao spies. What's wrong with that?"
The middle-aged man said solemnly, "You arrested the Liu family, but you couldn't produce strong evidence to convict them. Now the old man of the Liu family is on the verge of death. This matter cannot be cleared."
Yun Yang was unhurried. "Jiao Tu and I have already found the evidence. We didn't disclose it because we wanted to play the long game and not alert the enemy. Lin Chaoqing, you came to arrest us and hinder the investigation at the slightest sign of trouble. Are you a spy planted by the Jing Dynasty in the Chief Criminal Division?"
"That's full of nonsense," Lin Chaoqing said dismissively. "I, the Chief Criminal Division, am responsible for supervising all officials. Your Secret Service Division falls under my supervisory authority. I urge you to stop struggling pointlessly and return to the capital with me!"
Yun Yang said in a serious tone, "Lin Chaoqing, if you want to arrest me, at least wait until Old Master Liu dies."
Lin Chaoqing was a quiet person by nature and didn't want to say any more nonsense: "Arrest them."
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of fish dragon guards behind him rode their horses and rushed over.
The horseshoes stepped on the bluestone road, making a thrilling sound.
At this time, the sky was covered by dark clouds and the long street was as black as ink.
The faces of the Yulong Guards were hidden under their bamboo hats, their eyes were hidden in the shadows of terror. When they were about to reach Yunyang, all of them drew their long swords from their waists in unison!
Yun Yang said to Chen Ji in a deep voice, "Sit tight!"
After saying this, he leaped off his horse and stabbed the horse's butt with a silver needle on his finger like thunder. The horse neighed in shock and galloped off in the other direction, carrying Chen Ji with it!
Chen Ji had no knowledge of horsemanship, so he could only crouch down and hold the horse's neck tightly. He looked back and saw Yun Yang, dressed in black, advancing instead of retreating, striding towards the dozens of Fish Dragon Guards!
boom!
The moment he met the first Yulong Guard, the Yulong Guard swung his knife, but before the knife fell, Yunyang had already bent his waist and twisted his hips, and punched the horse on the head!
With a mournful cry from a steed, the warhorse, as big as a chariot, was shaken by this slender punch and fell to the ground on the long street like a collapsing mountain.
"Disobeying orders and arresting is a heavier crime!" Lin Chaoqing suddenly exerted force, stepped on the saddle with one foot, and chopped down with his sword in mid-air. His sword was longer and heavier than any other!
When he stepped on the horse's back and exerted force, the majestic horse could not withstand the force and its knees bent.
On the other side, Yun Yang also jumped up when he saw this. The collision between the two in mid-air caused a turbulent airflow. No one could see what happened before the two separated in an instant.
Lin Chaoqing fell from the air and stood steadily on his horse's back. A knife mark several meters long was left on the bluestone road where the two collided!
On the other side, Yunyang used the force of the collision to jump onto the roof, and in a flash, like a phantom, he caught up with the running horse, jumped onto the horse's back and escaped.
On the long street, Lin Chaoqing was in no hurry to catch up. He sat back on his horse, adjusted his bamboo hat, and asked calmly, "Who's sitting behind him?"
"I have never seen him before. He is probably not from the Secret Service."
Lin Chaoqing's voice was as powerful as the interlacing of metal: "Investigate."
…
…
Chen Ji said with lingering fear: "You said before that you have never seen a cultivator...?"
Yun Yang was about to answer when he spat out a mouthful of blood. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and said, "How can a cultivator's affairs be announced to the world? What you are cultivating, what realm you have reached, you cannot tell others."
"Why?"
Yun Yang said meaningfully, "Seeking immortality through spiritual practice is beautiful, but that's just a story from a novel. On this path, there's only life and death. I think you have a future, and you might even be promoted by a powerful figure. But remember, if you do embark on this path, never tell anyone what you're cultivating."
Chen Ji's heart trembled. There was a deep warning hidden in Yun Yang's words. It must be the life experience that the other party had summed up after going through certain things.
As he was thinking, Yun Yang coughed up another mouthful of blood: "Boy, if you can't find evidence to convict the Liu family's children tonight, I'm afraid we will all die together."
Chen Ji said, "So the reason you said we must find evidence tonight is because you're worried about being held accountable by the Criminal Division. I thought your Secret Service Division was the most powerful."
"Stop the sarcastic remarks. The Chief Criminal Division is in charge of the imperial guards, so of course these warriors are formidable," Yun Yang said coldly. "But we all work under the Internal Minister. We in the Secret Service Division risk our lives fighting the Military Intelligence Division every day. What's the point of them investigating their own people every day?"
The two men had arrived at the gate of Zhou's mansion. Yun Yang jumped off his horse first and pushed open the vermilion lacquered door with force. The creaking sound rang out in the night, making people's teeth ache.
The Zhou Mansion had been cleaned, the tables were straightened and the chairs were put up, as if more than a dozen people had never died here.
Yun Yang stood in the courtyard, turned to look at Chen Ji, and said in a serious tone, "Time is running out. I'm placing my bet on you. I hope you won't let me down. Tell me, what did you find in the Zhou Mansion earlier?"
Chen Ji walked straight to the main house of Zhou's mansion and asked: "Where are all Zhou Chengyi's books kept?"
"All of them are here, not one missing."
Chen Ji stood in front of the bookshelf and quickly took down the books one by one to look through them.
Seeing that he was concentrating, Yun Yang walked out of the main room and took out a shadow puppet in a deserted place. He bit his index finger and painted the puppet's eyes with blood.
The shadow puppet came to life, with a strange smile on his face. He jumped onto the courtyard wall and ran to the east.
He returned to the main room, only to see Chen Ji finally pick out two books: "The clues should be in these two books."
Yunyang took the book and flipped through it, only to discover that the contents of the two books were identical. "Both are from the eighth chapter of the 'Four Books and Commentaries,' 'On Government, Part Two.' One of them must have been copied by Zhou Chengyi himself; I've seen his handwriting before."
The common ways of book circulation in this era included buying and selling, borrowing, copying, as well as looting and stealing.
The printing of books was monopolized by wealthy families and was expensive, so borrowing and copying was a very common practice.
But that’s where the problem lies. Zhou Chengyi is not short of money.
Chen Ji pointed to a wall of hundreds of books and said, "Zhou Chengyi, the county magistrate, appears to be incorruptible on the surface, but he secretly keeps women outside his house and even has over a dozen servants. How could he copy books himself? I guess every time Zhou Chengyi borrows and returns books, it's his way of passing on information. This book was just copied and hasn't been returned yet. It must contain secrets he wants to pass on."
Yun Yang looked at Chen Ji with a strange expression: "These were the first things you checked last time. You found this clue then. Why didn't you speak up and save your life right away, but instead continued to look for other clues?"
Chen Ji said, "It's always better to have more information that can save your life. Besides, we only have a quarter of an hour. Although I know there's something wrong with it, I can't guarantee that I can decipher the Military Intelligence Department's code in a quarter of an hour."
That night, although Chen Ji was frightened, he never panicked. His trump card was like the broken piece of porcelain he always held in his hand, and he never let go.
Yun Yang sat down on the chair tiredly: "Are you sure now?"
"If there are still two hours, it should be possible," Chen Ji said confidently.
Before they could finish their words, the sound of horse hooves echoed outside Zhou's residence. The two looked up and saw Jiaotu dismounting with a dozen secret agents. She handed the reins to one of the agents and hurried toward the residence. "Close the door! On my way back, I saw the Liu family rushing here brazenly, with a large number of people!"
Yunyang was surprised: "What are they going to do?"
Jiaotu said solemnly, "Old Master Liu is dead."
Yun Yang looked at Jiao Tu in shock: "The old man of the Liu family is dead?! Chen Ji, didn't your master pass away? His medical skills were not very good!"
Inside the house, Jiaotu said solemnly, "He died an hour ago. The Liu family is very upset right now."
"Damn it," Yun Yang rubbed his face with his hands. "We are so damn unlucky. It's obviously his own poor health, how can he blame us? Why is this huge shit being put on my head?!"
Jiaotu said, "Two of my spies are missing. Perhaps they were killed in the chaos. Among these people is the 'official' raised by the Liu family."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was another intensive sound of horse hooves and footsteps outside. The Liu family came very quickly and in a hurry!
Someone shouted loudly: "They arrested my Liu family's young scholar without any evidence and imprisoned him to death. They made our old master so angry that he died. They must give us an explanation today!"
"Yes, you must give us an explanation!"
Amidst the hustle and bustle of life and the restless glow of the fire, Yun Yang looked at Chen Ji with a strange expression: "Now, you probably only have a quarter of an hour."
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