19. Cutting the Wrong
Los Angeles' winding streets and alleys are like the lines on the city's palm.
The Liu family team that was chasing Chen Ji and others divided into five groups, like closing hands, squeezing the air in the city together.
The spies passed through the shadows between the houses, and hundreds of steps behind them were the figures of the Liu family holding guns and sticks and holding torches high.
Jiaotu glanced back at Chen Ji at the end of the team, then turned to Yunyang and asked, "Do you believe what that guy said? If he doesn't find the evidence, we'll miss our chance to leave Luocheng tonight."
"We can only trust him now," Yun Yang said solemnly, "If we can't find evidence tonight, we won't be able to get past the Chief Criminal Division."
Jiaotu said nonchalantly, "The Minister of Internal Affairs won't really do anything to us. We are still useful. The worst that can happen is that we kill a few more people for him."
"The Minister of Internal Affairs has good and bad people under his command, but there are no fools. If you and I mess this up, there will be no place for us in the Secret Service... Maybe this kid can really find evidence?"
Jiaotu said in a serious tone, "I hope so. If he can't find the evidence, we will rush back to the capital to ask Bailong for mercy. We can't let him fall into the hands of the Chief Criminal Division."
As she spoke, she turned around and looked at Chen Ji again.
The young apprentice was panting at the back of the team, his hair wet with sweat, and the cloth covering his face was soaked, but he was unwilling to take it off.
"This kid is in pretty good shape. He can even keep up with the spies," Jiaotu exclaimed.
Any spy under the Secret Service, if placed in the "Long Live Army," would be the elite of the elite. So no matter how disheveled Chen Ji was, just keeping up with them was already a difficult task.
At this moment, Chen Ji felt the changes in his body. When he was exhausted, the three fires beside his dantian continuously gushed out warm currents, supporting him to keep running.
The fire washed over him like a torrent, causing his body to undergo some mysterious transformation.
It's like a rusty sword being wiped clean of the rust.
As they crossed Changning Street, the sounds of shouting and killing approached from behind. Yun Yang said in a deep voice, "The Liu family knows Luo City better than we do. They're taking a shortcut and surrounding us. If we keep running like this, we'll definitely be caught up."
"What should we do?" Jiaotu asked.
"Sacrifice the rook to save the king."
As they passed a small courtyard, Yun Yang ordered, "Qi Wan, take everyone and lead the Liu family to the west. This will be a great achievement for you!"
The black-clad spy named Qi Wan whispered, "Yes, the rest of you follow me!"
Chen Ji stood by the courtyard wall, watching the spies leave without saying a word. Yunyang and Jiaotu had already climbed into the small courtyard. Seeing that he hadn't come back in, they climbed over the gray tiles and poked their heads out again: "What are you standing there for?!"
"Here I come," Chen Ji jumped hard, grabbed Yun Yang's outstretched hand, and tumbled into the yard in a panic.
The three of them stood behind the wall, pressed against the wall and held their breath, listening to the noise outside.
They heard dense and chaotic footsteps passing outside the wall, and heard someone saying, "We must not let them escape from Luo City, we must avenge the old man."
They were so close that only a wall separated them, and Chen Ji could even smell the burning torches outside the wall. The smell was a mixture of cedar bark and pine resin, dry and crackling.
The huge crowd chased in the direction the spies had left. Only when peace returned outside the wall did Chen Ji dare to breathe a sigh of relief: "Can the spies survive?"
Yun Yang glanced at him and said, "In troubled times, life and death are determined by fate. It's the same for you, them, and Jiao Tu and I. When Jiao Tu and I were still small spies, we were abandoned countless times."
Jiaotu said, "Stop talking nonsense and leave quickly."
When the three climbed over the wall again, the street was empty. They headed east but stopped at the first intersection.
Yun Yang narrowed his eyes and looked across the bluestone road, where Lin Chaoqing and his group of dozens of Fish Dragon Guards were standing still.
They were waiting there quietly, as if they could always find their prey first.
The Chief Criminal Division was to the east, the Secret Service Division to the west. They stared at each other from a distance, but spoke not a word. Each stood in the shadows, waiting for the other to speak first.
The Yulong Guards were wearing straw raincoats and conical hats, and each of them had his hands on the hilt of the sword behind his waist. The sense of oppression came over them like a mountain.
In this silence, Lin Chaoqing drove his horse forward and slowly walked towards Yunyang.
His expression was hidden beneath his bamboo hat, so no one could see it clearly. "We both work in the Imperial Household Department, colleagues. We don't want the Secret Service to be taken down by the civil servants. I just let you go, giving you a chance. An hour has passed. Can you produce evidence now?"
Yun Yang remained silent with a serious expression. This was no longer a time to bluff and fool people.
"It seems there's still no one," Lin Chaoqing urged his horse forward: "Capture them..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a loud noise from afar: "Liang Mao'er, where are you carrying me? Miss Yan'er is still waiting for me behind the red curtain!"
"Brother, the Liu family seems angry. We need to go kill the eunuchs quickly, or you'll run out of money for wine and the medicinal materials you need for cultivation!"
"What! Cut off my wine money?"
"Brother, medicine is more important!"
The Chief Justice and the Secret Service looked to the left at the same time, and saw a fat young man running towards them carrying a drunk middle-aged man on his back.
The middle-aged man's robe was open and draped loosely around him, his head tilted on the young man's shoulder. His hair was disheveled and he looked slovenly, but the knife at his waist looked exquisite, as if it was often polished.
When Lin Chaoqing saw this person, he pulled the reins, and all the Fish and Dragon Guards of the Chief Criminal Department stopped at once.
Jiaotu whispered, "It's Liang Gou'er."
Everyone looked at the two men, one fat and one thin, in silence. In the strange silence, Liang Maoer came closer with Liang Gouer on his back, cursing.
When passing the intersection, the fat Liang Maoer saw the Chief Criminal Department and the Secret Service Department in the shadows on the side of the road. He was so frightened that he dared not breathe and his fat body shook.
"Brother, brother, wake up! I think I saw them!" Liang Maoer said.
Liang Gou'er drunkenly opened his eyes and asked, "Have you found the eunuch party?"
Liang Mao'er's forehead was covered with sweat. He wanted to abandon Liang Gou'er and run away. He lowered his voice and said, "Brother, they can hear..."
Liang Gou'er turned his gaze towards Lin Chaoqing. When he saw the other party's neatly-fitted straw hat and raincoat, he immediately said with joy: "This patchwork of straw hats and raincoats, he is indeed a member of the eunuch party! But we must not offend anyone. Remember to tell the Liu family when we go back that I have wielded the sword..."
In an instant, Liang Gou'er lay on Liang Mao'er's back, hooked the handle of the knife with his middle finger and index finger, and flicked it lightly.
With a clang, the long sword was unsheathed.
The majestic sword light slashed towards Lin Chaoqing, and before everyone could react, the sword had returned to its sheath.
With a snap, Lin Chaoqing's bamboo hat broke in two and fell to the ground, revealing his sharp, angular, and resolute features. This mid-air strike was incredibly precise, the blade's energy shattering the bamboo hat before stopping, leaving Lin Chaoqing's face unscathed.
The long street was silent, and everyone was shocked and lost in thought by this scene.
Liang Maoer looked at the Chief Criminal Division on the right, then looked at the Secret Service Division on the left: "Brother, you killed the wrong person..."
"Ah?" Liang Gou'er narrowed his eyes and looked at the Secret Service Department, then looked at Lin Chaoqing.
Lin Chaoqing sat motionless on his horse and said coldly, "Liang Gou'er, open your dog eyes and see who I am."
"ah!"
The next second, Liang Gou'er jumped off Liang Mao'er's back, scrambled to Lin Chaoqing's horse, and said with a flattering smile, "Isn't this Commander Lin? Sorry, sorry. It's all the Liu family's fault. I said I wanted to drink in Hongyi Lane, and they forced me to come and chop you up!"
Lin Chaoqing waved
The whip hit Liang Gou'er's shoulder: "I won't embarrass you today, get out of here."
"Okay, okay, I'll get out of here right now!" After saying that, Liang Gou'er actually rolled to the side.
Lin Chaoqing looked up at the opposite side.
At this time, Yunyang, Jiaotu and Chenji in the opposite street had long disappeared.
"Chase, you won't get far."
Dozens of Yulong Guards rode their horses in pursuit, and Liang Gou'er finally stood up shakily. Liang Mao'er came over distressedly and dusted him off: "Brother, why do you have to put up with their bullshit?"
Liang Gou'er happily gathered his messy hair into a hairpin on top of his head: "Cat, wasn't I smart just now? I cleverly resolved a crisis!"
Liang Mao'er grumbled aggrievedly, "Not clever at all!"
"Let's go, we've finished our work, let's go drink some more!"
"I don't want to drink! You've already had enough, so you don't want to drink either!"
Liang Gou'er: "I haven't drunk enough... Ugh!"
…
…
"The Chief Justice has such a sharp nose. He can find us everywhere," Jiaotu complained.
Yun Yang carried Chen Ji on one shoulder and ran away, saying, "They say we are the inner minister's henchmen. We are the hawks and they are the dogs. The Chief Justice has a famously sharp nose. They can find you even if you hide in the ends of the earth."
As he was running wildly, he coughed up blood again.
Jiaotu was surprised and asked, "Are you injured? I'll carry him."
"I just had a fight with Lin Chaoqing. He's fine, just a minor injury," Yun Yang said. "This guy is a man. Why are you carrying him... We're here!"
Arriving at the door of a sealed mansion, Yun Yang threw Chen Ji down and said, "This is it. Hurry, the Chief Criminal Officer will be here soon!"
Chen Ji walked forward, tore off the seal, and pushed hard, opening the vermilion lacquer door. He walked past the rockery and the fish in the pond and walked quickly inside. "Where is the study?"
"Innermost!"
In the distance, they could already hear the sound of galloping horses, like drums!
But Chen Ji walked into the study and took books off the bookshelf. He just glanced at each book in the moonlight and threw it on the ground, just like he did before in Zhou's house!
Yun Yang pulled a tinder from his bosom, lit the candle in the room, and held it in front of the bookshelf. He suddenly felt like Chen Ji's servant and wanted to get angry, but at this moment, disaster was imminent and he could only hold it back.
Yun Yang asked in confusion, "What on earth are you looking for? I feel like you're just trying your luck like a headless chicken."
Chen Ji said: "Sometimes, luck is also a part of strength."
As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves had stopped outside the door. They heard the sound of straw raincoats rubbing against saddles. The chief judge was about to come in!
Jiaotu's face darkened, and she stood in front of the door with her petite and nimble figure, holding down a short knife at her waist.
She said to the Yulong Guards who rushed in, "The Secret Service is catching spies at a critical moment. If you take another step, you will die."
However, Lin Chaoqing ignored her threats and continued pressing forward: "Go in, and kill anyone who resists."
The two sides were about to fight, Jiaotu suddenly drew out a short knife and cut his forehead. There seemed to be a ball of black mist about to emerge from the forehead.
In the solemn and solemn mansion, Lin Chaoqing walked forward step by step with a long sword on his waist. He pulled out the sword bit by bit, and the cold light shone through from under his straw raincoat, which was chilling and chilling.
The sturdy and strong middle-aged man was like a tiger, his eyes always fixed on the bright red wound between Jiaotu's eyebrows. It seemed that an inexplicable power surged out of the wound.
Lin Chaoqing sneered: "I am a fourth-rank official in Daning, so please don't embarrass yourself by showing off your little tricks."
Jiaotu said calmly, "We'll know if it's a trick after we try it."
At this moment, Chen Ji's voice suddenly came from inside the house: "Found it!"
The young man walked out of the house, holding a book in his hand.
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