21. Executive Officer
The vermilion lacquered door of Liu Shiyu's residence was slowly opened from the inside.
Inside the door, Yun Yang, who came out first, was a bit more arrogant. "Here is the evidence. I will rush it to the capital over 800 miles for the emperor to make the final decision!"
Liu Mingxian sat on his warhorse, his expression flickering under the mourning hat, illuminated by the firelight.
He looked at the pile of evidence in Yunyang's hand, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. He didn't expect that Yunyang and Jiaotu really found evidence. If he wanted to avenge the old man now, he would have no reason to do so.
However, he suddenly felt something was wrong... He looked up behind Yunyang and saw a masked man with his head lowered.
Who is this?
Why are you covering your face?
Just as Liu Mingxian wanted to take a closer look, he suddenly saw Yun Yang take a small step forward, completely blocking the masked man. He looked at him with a half-smile: "Master Liu, are you not going to retreat?"
Liu Mingxian remained silent, showing no intention of backing down.
Both sides were on the verge of a fight, waiting for him to speak. Whether to fight or retreat was entirely up to him.
Liu Mingxian asked calmly, "Where's Liang Gou'er?"
The young man holding the reins beside the horse said in panic, "Second Uncle, Liang Mao'er just came with a message saying that Liang Gou'er has already attacked the eunuchs and is now sleeping in Hongyi Lane."
Liu Xianxian's face darkened. He looked at the Chief Punishment Officer, the Yulong Guard, who had already drawn his sword. He gritted his teeth and said, "Tell Liang Gou'er to get out of the Liu family with his broken sword. There's no place for him in the Liu family!"
However, he still did not intend to give up. He drove his horse again and led hundreds of Liu family members to attack.
At this time, Lin Chaoqing said, "Master Liu, don't let the entire Liu family down. Why don't you wait until Lord Liu returns to Luocheng and ask him before deciding what to do."
Liu Mingxian stared straight at Lin Chaoqing. Finally, he bowed and said, "I am waiting for your decision at home. Return home! Arrange the funeral for the old man!"
As he was leaving, he couldn't help but look back, and saw Lin Chaoqing whispering something to the masked man.
"Investigate that masked man!" Liu Mingxian said in a ferocious tone. "Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, these two living devils, are very good at killing people, but I've never heard that they also have the ability to investigate crimes and investigate evidence. That masked man must have played a role in this. We must find him!"
"I understand, Uncle."
At one point, Liu Mingxian even had an intuition: If there hadn't been this masked man tonight, perhaps everything would have been different.
After the Liu family left, Lin Chaoqing also climbed onto his horse. He straightened his raincoat and looked down at Chen Ji: "Young man, my promise is valid for two months. Perhaps within two months, you will understand who the secret service department is."
Yun Yang's face darkened. "Who are you being sarcastic about? Besides criticizing your colleagues, what else do you do in the Criminal Division?"
Lin Chaoqing led the Chief Justice eastward in silence, his dark straw raincoat folded behind him like black wings. He came in and left in a dusty state.
As he rode away, the Fish Dragon Guards smiled at Chen Ji from under their bamboo hats. They respected people with abilities.
But Chen Ji was destined not to work for the Chief Criminal Department, because he did not need an official position and had never thought about serving the imperial power.
He now wants to practice cultivation more, but cultivation requires money, which the Chief Criminal Department cannot provide.
The sound of horse hooves faded away. Yun Yang glanced at Chen Ji and said, "Once you join the Chief Criminal Division, you become the enemy of all officials in the court. You can only be a solitary official for the rest of your life. Since ancient times, how many solitary officials have had a good ending?"
Chen Ji responded calmly, "Thank you, Master Yunyang, for the reminder."
Yun Yang asked, "Do you think there are other members of the Liu family involved?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "I don't know."
Yun Yang asked again: "Does Jingchao have other means of transmitting information?"
Chen Ji shook his head again: "I don't know."
"Are you hiding something again like you did last time at the Zhou residence?"
Chen Ji said firmly: "No."
Yun Yang laughed angrily. The boy in front of him was not as honest as he looked, but there was nothing he could do.
He looked at Chen Ji with a smile and said, "Tomorrow night, someone will deliver fifty taels of silver to the Taiping Clinic and leave."
"Wait a moment! Can I get an advance of eight cents?" Chen Ji asked.
Yun Yang took out eight copper coins from his sleeve with a strange look on his face. "Are you crazy because you're so poor? You have the nerve to ask for eight cents? This is a gift for you."
Chen Ji smiled sincerely and said, "Thank you. I'll take my leave then."
Jiaotu suddenly felt that Chen Ji's smile was the most sincere only at this moment.
Yun Yang said, "Wait, don't leave yet."
Before Chen Ji could react, he saw a dagger fall out of his sleeve and slash past Chen Ji's ear. A strand of hair fell into his palm: "You can go now."
Chen Ji was silent for a moment, and finally left without saying anything.
After Chen Ji had left, Jiaotu couldn't help but ask, "Why don't we bring him into the Secret Service and transfer him to our side? Then we can order him around and there's no need to pay him fifty taels of silver as a reward... Fifty taels of silver can buy so many beautiful clothes that I couldn't wear them all in years!"
"No," Yun Yang denied. "This kid's abilities... He's ruthless to others, even ruthless to himself, and he's also smart. That's what the Minister of Internal Affairs likes the most. If he were to join the Secret Service, who knows when he'd be riding high on our heads."
"But there's no room for the twelve zodiac animals," Jiaotu said.
Yun Yang whispered, "I heard Bing Hu was about to abdicate... I was so confused that I thought he could replace Bing Hu."
Jiaotu suddenly said, "We need to confirm whether he is a Jingchao spy, so that we can use him with confidence in the future."
Yun Yang said calmly, "I've already thought of this. I sent a pigeon last night to Meng Ji in Kaifeng Prefecture. He will arrive in Luocheng soon. With him conducting the interrogation, everything will be foolproof."
"What's the price to invite Mengji?"
"It's a huge price... Let's go, it's getting late."
In the blink of an eye, the once bustling courtyard was left with only leaves fluttering in the autumn wind.
It is as if it is the destined fate of everyone, that after the hustle and bustle and feast, all that is left is desolation and emptiness.
…
…
Chen Ji was walking in a dark alley. As he walked, he saw a black furry kitten on the wall, holding a book and a ginseng in its mouth.
The boy was walking on the ground, and the cat was following him slowly on the wall. Under the moonlight, the shadows of the man and the cat were one in front and one behind, as if they had some kind of tacit understanding and rhythm.
As the dark clouds loosened, books and ginseng fell from the sky.
Chen Ji raised his hand silently and caught the book and ginseng in mid-air. The ice flowed out and turned a small half of the ginseng into four transparent beads.
But he stuffed the book and the remaining ginseng into his arms, and then threw the beads one by one onto the eaves of the wall. Wuyun caught the beads accurately in his mouth as he walked.
The man and the cat performed a set of movements smoothly as if they had been rehearsed. The warm current was transmitted from the dark clouds to Chen Ji, suddenly lighting up the fourth fire next to his dantian!
In an instant, faint flames were released from the four fires, connecting the four fires like a chain, like a complete cage, completely blocking the entire Dantian.
These four fires seemed to be naturally bound together. The moment they were connected, a huge warm current was generated again, washing over the old flesh, blood, and bones, sweeping away all his fatigue from the night before.
Chen Ji looked up and silently pointed in a direction to the dark clouds.
But the man and the cat suddenly separated at a T-junction, one going forward and the other going left.
The next moment, Chen Ji ran wildly!
Immediately afterwards, hurried footsteps were heard in the mist dozens of steps behind him, and a blurry figure was approaching quickly.
Chen Ji took a detour in the dark, trying to get rid of the other party in the intricate streets.
But the tracker always found the right one at the fork in the road. He seemed to be able to hear the other party's breathing behind him.
No, I can't escape.
The other party's footsteps were getting closer and closer. Chen Ji judged that the other party's speed was faster than his own, at least at the level of a spy.
He knew that someone would follow him and even want to kill him, so he used the ginseng that he had originally planned to keep to make up for the loss of the clinic to transform it into ice flow without hesitation.
People have to live first, then everything will have meaning.
After coming to this world, Chen Ji seemed to have encountered the start of hell mode. Even if he hid in the clinic and did not go out, dangers would come to him one after another.
But if life is destined to be like this, then he chooses not to escape.
The footsteps behind him were getting closer, but Chen Ji's eyes were filled with calmness.
As the footsteps got closer, and when there were only three body lengths left between the two people, he suddenly turned around and walked towards the person.
The narrow alley can only accommodate two people walking at the same time. On both sides are high eaves of houses and the ground is an uneven stone path.
The visitor didn't expect that the prey would dare to turn around and fight. He subconsciously drew the sword at his waist, but before he could draw it out, his wrist was held down by Chen Ji.
The killer was originally much stronger than Chen Ji, but the inertia of the collision gave Chen Ji greater power to hold down his hand.
With a clang, the knife was pushed back in before it was even pulled out!
Under the hazy moonlight, the middle-aged killer's pupils suddenly contracted. He couldn't help but look at Chen Ji, but found that Chen Ji was also staring at him.
This is not the look a prey should have.
But the middle-aged killer retreated backwards, raised his leg and kicked Chen Ji in the chest, causing the boy to roll backwards.
He drew his sword again, but this time when he was halfway through, Chen Ji somersaulted over and rushed towards him without any pause.
With a clang, the knife was pushed back again.
Twice in a row, the killer didn't even pull out his knife!
The killer sneered in his heart. He simply threw away the knife and punched Chen Ji in the chest repeatedly.
In his eyes, the young man in front of him had his middle gate wide open and was covered in wounds, showing no fighting experience at all.
The killer looked at Chen Ji again, but found that there was no fear or pain in the other's eyes, but excitement, and there seemed to be fire in his eyes.
Chen Ji was now certain that the practitioners in this world must be a minority. They were hiding behind this world and would not appear easily.
Otherwise, no matter who wanted to kill him tonight, they shouldn't have just sent this "ordinary person" in front of him.
Compared with Lin Chaoqing and Yun Yang, this middle-aged killer can indeed be regarded as just an ordinary person!
In an instant, Chen Ji, who was being beaten one punch after another, turned around and rushed forward again, crashing into the killer's arms and clamping the opponent's arms under his armpits.
Now is the time!
A dark shadow came from the eaves of the wall, and the killer turned around in horror. He thought there was someone ambushing behind him, but he only saw a black kitten.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the black cat had passed him by.
As they crossed each other, the dark cloud's sharp nails cut through the killer's neck.
Squeak.
A streak of blood splattered on the wall.
Chen Ji let go of the killer and sat on the ground panting. He watched coldly as the killer retreated in disbelief, covering his neck, and slowly fell against the wall.
The middle-aged killer saw the black cat and jumped lightly into the arms of the young man. He asked unwillingly, "Sir?"
Chen Ji frowned. "Officials?" Is that the general term for practitioners in this world?
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