On the dim street, the Prince and Bai Li were hurrying away from Hongyi Lane, first fleeing north, then turning west. They were no longer calm and composed; their clothes were torn in several places, and their hair was disheveled.

As they ran, panting heavily, they suddenly heard a colossal explosion behind them. Immediately, the entire city of Luocheng seemed to awaken; every household’s guard dogs began to bark furiously.

Bai Li stopped, turning back to look at Hongyi Lane with a worried expression: “What happened? What was that sound?”

The Prince thought for a moment: “It sounds like someone used a firearm. That’s the kind of noise it made when I watched my father observe the Divine Machine Battalion practicing with matchlock cannons.”

“Matchlock cannon?”

Bai Li’s heart leaped in alarm, and she immediately turned to head back towards Anxi Street. The Prince’s expression changed drastically, and he quickly grabbed her arm: “My dear, where are you going? We just barely managed to escape!”

Bai Li turned back, urgently asking: “Could that matchlock cannon be used against the person who just saved us? The power of those cannons makes even high-ranking officials avoid them; how could he possibly withstand it?”

The Prince also became conflicted: “Logically, the Divine Machine Grand Camp is a hundred *li* away. Unless something truly extraordinary happened, they would never enter Luocheng. Moreover, even if the Divine Machine Battalion did come, they wouldn’t dare to use matchlock cannons inside the city without authorization.”

“I guess it’s probably not a matchlock cannon; it might be something else… We should go back and save him. That hero saved us; we can’t be so ungrateful.”

“Is there any way we can save him?” Bai Li asked.

The Prince pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: “Just the two of us running back certainly won’t save him. You come with me to the Thousand-Year Army barracks; we’ll ask Royal Uncle to dispatch troops to surround Hongyi Lane. As long as you and I can persuade Royal Uncle to send the Thousand-Year Army, no matter how elite the Worry-Relief Guard is, they only have five hundred men!”

“Can we persuade Royal Uncle? He won’t act without Father’s tiger tally,” Bai Li said, worried.

“I’ll kowtow to Royal Uncle; that’s guaranteed to work!”

Bai Li was speechless.

Just then, hoofbeats sounded in the distance. The Prince quickly pulled Bai Li into a dark alley and found an abandoned bamboo basket to cover them both. Moments later, five hundred cavalrymen of the Worry-Relief Guard rode past outside the alley. Their neatly arranged conical hats, straw cloaks, and waist knives appeared particularly grim and solemn on the moonlit stone path.

Beside Lin Zhaoqing, a young man reined in his horse, riding alongside him: “My Lord, will Golden Pig fail this time?”

“No,” Lin Zhaoqing said calmly.

“He unauthorizedly mobilized the Worry-Relief Guard from my Mengjin Grand Camp and returned without success, failing to capture even one Jing Dynasty rogue. Why don’t we seize this opportunity to arrest him and bring him back to the capital?” the young man asked, puzzled: “Even if this matter goes before the Grand Chancellor, we would be in the right. These twelve Zodiac agents of the Secret Service act arrogantly and domineeringly; arresting them would be doing good for the people.”

Lin Zhaoqing gazed straight ahead, his back ramrod straight even on horseback, like a spear: “White Rabbit and Cloud Goat have no deep roots within the Secret Service, so dealing with them was simple enough. Golden Pig is different. He has been loyal to the Grand Chancellor all these years, and he also has the protection of Heavenly Horse. Such a minor incident won’t be enough to move against him.”

As they spoke, the Worry-Relief Guard gradually rode into the distance.

After an unknown period, the Prince confirmed no one was outside the alley. He then removed the broken basket from himself and Bai Li: “It seems they didn’t catch anyone. We don’t need to save him after all.”

“This person is truly formidable, able to escape from both the Secret Service and the Worry-Relief Guard!”

Bai Li hesitated, then asked: “Brother, do you know the person who saved us? Don’t you think he seems a bit familiar?”

The Prince said awkwardly: “At the time, I was only thinking about how to escape, so I didn’t observe carefully… Could it be someone from the Jianghu I knew before, who came out to risk their life to help us when they saw we were in danger?”

At the mention of those Jianghu figures, Bai Li immediately retorted irritably: “What kind of people do you associate with? They all run away the moment there’s danger! It definitely couldn’t be those Jianghu people; they’re all fake friends!”

“There are some good ones…”

“Anyway, I won’t be paying for their drinks anymore,” Bai Li said angrily: “These people spend money like water when they drink. They pick the best food, drink the finest wine, and can talk endlessly about gourmet food, fine wine, and beautiful women, but when it comes to a crucial moment, not one of them can be relied upon. It’s not that I begrudge the money; it’s that I can’t stand their empty talk of chivalry.”

The Prince scratched his head: “Alright, alright, no more paying for their drinks… By the way, you just said the hero who saved us seemed familiar. Did you recognize him?”

Bai Li was silent for a moment: “No, I didn’t recognize him either.” She actually had a guess in her mind, but she ultimately chose not to voice it, instead silently burying it in her heart, intending to cautiously verify it herself.

Bai Li removed her hairpin, lifted her arms to re-tie her hair, and then they set off again. The two made their way back to Anxi Street, hiding and sneaking along the way. When they saw the guards and the plaque of Prince Jing’s Residence in the distance, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Li didn’t climb back into the residence from the back garden. She suddenly said to the Prince: “Brother, let’s go back through Taiping Medical Clinic; there’s a ladder there.”

The Prince, hands on his knees and panting, said in surprise: “When you left tonight, you said you’d never go through Taiping Medical Clinic again, and never let that little thief Chen Ji earn your ‘toll fee.’ How come you’ve changed your mind again?”

Bai Li rolled her eyes: “Can’t I just not want to climb walls anymore? How convenient it is to have a ladder!”

The Prince also rolled his eyes: “Women are so fickle.”

The two stealthily crept to the entrance of Taiping Medical Clinic. Just as they were about to pull the door open, they found it bolted from the inside.

Bai Li thought for a moment, then called out: “Chen Ji! Chen Ji! We’ve come to pay your toll fee!”

Silence. There was no answer from inside the door.

Bai Li’s suspicion grew stronger. She bent down and cautiously called through the door crack: “Chen Ji, this time I’ll give you ten taels of silver!”

Still, silence. Still no answer.

Bai Li mumbled: “He’s really not in there.”

As her words fell, with a creak, the door opened. Bai Li froze, slowly raising her head to see Old Man Yao standing calmly at the doorway.

She said awkwardly: “Physician Yao, have we disturbed you? Where’s Chen Ji? Why didn’t he open the door?”

Old Man Yao said expressionlessly: “Princess and Prince, why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night and running to my Taiping Medical Clinic? I am ninety-two years old; I can’t withstand such torment from you.”

Bai Li, thinking quickly, said: “Physician Yao, my brother and I are feeling a bit unwell. Could you let us in and take our pulses?”

Old Man Yao glanced at her, then, surprisingly, reached across the threshold and directly pinched her wrist to feel her pulse. A moment later, Old Man Yao said: “You have a brain sickness; it’s incurable. Please go home.”

“Did you take the wrong pulse? Please let me in, let me sit down, and check it more carefully,” Bai Li tried to squeeze past Old Man Yao into the doorway, but Old Man Yao seemed to anticipate her move and quickly shut the door.

With a thud, the wooden door slammed shut. Old Man Yao’s voice drifted out from the crack in the door: “Prince and Princess, please return to the residence from somewhere else. If you cause any more trouble, I will certainly report this matter to the King when he returns.”

Bai Li still wanted to knock, but the Prince pulled her away quickly: “Let’s go, let’s go. Chen Ji probably already upset Physician Yao by letting us use his path. Let’s not make things harder for Chen Ji; we’ll go through the back garden. If Physician Yao truly reports this to Father, your monthly allowance might be cut off…”

Pulled along, Bai Li kept looking back at the tightly shut wooden door, her gaze repeatedly drawn to it, but she could only abandon the idea of uncovering the truth. She wondered: “Could it be that Chen Ji hasn’t returned yet, and Physician Yao is helping him cover it up? It must be so! But if it’s true, as the Worry-Relief Guard said, that the Secret Service didn’t capture Chen Ji, then where would Chen Ji be right now?”

Under the cover of night, Chen Ji was limping through the intricate network of alleys. He slowly stopped, bent over, panting, and unraveled the cloth strip wrapped around his right leg’s wound, then tied it tightly again. The wounds on his chest and leg throbbed with excruciating pain, but his task for the night wasn’t finished, and he had no time to stop and rest.

Chen Ji looked up, surveyed his surroundings, and continued running towards the agreed meeting point with Wuyun. After turning through two more alleys, he saw Wuyun squatting on the alley wall’s eaves, asking with concern: “Are you alright?”

Chen Ji bent over, panting, and lamented: “Golden Pig is probably a master of the Dao-Seeking Realm. Even an explosive of that immense power couldn’t kill him. The true strength of high-ranking officials is unfathomable. This world is more terrifying than I imagined. If it weren’t for the gunpowder I had on me just now, I’d probably be on my way back to the inner prison by now.”

Wuyun meowed again: “I asked about your injuries. Why don’t you go back to your master and let him treat them first?”

Chen Ji shook his head: “No, Yuan Shopkeeper must die first. The Secret Service raided Golden Workshop tonight. If he thinks I leaked the information, he’s probably already plotting how to kill me… Can you track his movements now?”

Wuyun replied: “After he finished delivering goods to other medical clinics at noon, he went straight back to his residence on Tongji Street and hasn’t come out since.”

During the day, Yuan Shopkeeper had driven an ox-cart to deliver goods to Taiping Medical Clinic, and when he left, two tabby cats secretly tailed him, tracking his movements. Earlier, Chen Ji and Wuyun had split up precisely so Wuyun could find those two tabby cats.

“It seems Yuan Shopkeeper knew about Golden Pig’s arrest plan by noon,” Chen Ji frowned. “Who revealed it to him? Was it those dozen or so medical clinics? Wuyun, which clinics did he visit?”

Wuyun shook its head: “Tabby cats’ brains can’t remember that much information; at most, they can recall a part of it.”

Chen Ji mused: “Alright, as long as Yuan Shopkeeper is dead, who passed him information won’t concern me.” As he spoke, he propped himself against the wall and stood up, intending to continue his journey.

However, tonight, after first killing six secret agents and then severely injuring Golden Pig, he had fled by leaping across rooftops, virtually exhausted. After just two steps, his legs felt weak, and he could barely walk.

Wuyun said worriedly: “Go back to the medical clinic.”

Chen Ji shook his head: “Take me to his residence. Yuan Shopkeeper must die tonight.”

Tongji Street had always been a gathering place for merchants and traders. Unlike the modest gates of scholarly families, here, the stone lions guarding the entrances were grander than the last, the carriages parked outside more exquisite, and the plaques and doorframes taller, as if fearing being outdone by neighbors.

Under Ning Dynasty law, merchants and opera performers were not permitted to ride in carriages; one had to possess a scholar’s status or higher to do so. However, in recent years, as private workshops in the Ning Dynasty grew in prominence and merchants became more numerous, they relied on their patrons, converting cargo carts into carriages. When investigated, they would simply bribe their way out, and this law gradually became a dead letter.

At this moment, Yuan Residence was as silent as a tomb. There were no servants or attendants present. Yuan Shopkeeper sat in the main hall, doors and windows tightly shut. Though it was deep into the night, he was still dressed neatly, seemingly waiting patiently for the long night to pass.

A faint rustle.

He suddenly heard a strange sound coming from outside the door. This rustling sound was particularly abrupt in the dead of night. Yuan Shopkeeper stood up, his face solemn, and slowly approached the door, pressing his ear to the crack to discern the sound.

With a creak.

Yuan Shopkeeper saw someone open his window from the outside, throw in a bamboo tube, then carefully close the window again.

Oh no!

Yuan Shopkeeper saw the fuse burning down to its end and immediately tried to force his way out of the door. But it seemed someone was pressing against it from the outside, and he couldn’t push it open immediately!

Chen Ji’s strength was ultimately no match for Yuan Shopkeeper’s. With another powerful push from Yuan Shopkeeper, Chen Ji, leaning back and bracing his feet against the ground, was still forcibly pushed back, creating a door gap wide enough for two arms. Yuan Shopkeeper looked through the door crack and saw Chen Ji outside, pushing against the door with both hands, staring at him with cold, profound eyes.

“You’re asking for death! Get out of my way!”

Then Yuan Shopkeeper, enraged, struck the two door panels with a heavy blow of both palms. The wooden double doors could not withstand such immense force; they shattered instantly, sending Chen Ji flying backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood in mid-air!

How could Chen Ji possibly block a master of such a realm? But for Chen Ji, that brief delay was all he needed!

Die!

With a thunderous blast.

Before Yuan Shopkeeper could leave the room, the bamboo tube on the ground exploded. Saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal mixed together and burned fiercely, while sugar, combined with the gunpowder under high temperatures, released enormous volumes of gas. Instantly, a massive shockwave swept through the room, carrying the fragmented iron pieces from inside the bamboo tube, shredding Yuan Shopkeeper’s clothing. With another deafening boom, the brick walls of the house buckled under the strain and could no longer support the weight of the roof. Countless grey tiles cascaded down like an avalanche, raising a huge cloud of dust and burying Yuan Shopkeeper alive inside the house!

Chen Ji fell to the ground, his ears ringing as if a massive metallic noise raged beside them. He couldn’t hear external sounds but still forced himself to get up, vigilantly watching the ruins of the house.

Is Yuan Shopkeeper dead? He must be. The previous bamboo tube had exploded in mid-air, so the gunpowder’s full power wasn’t unleashed. This time, the bamboo tube exploded inside the room. Even though Yuan Shopkeeper had already forced open the door, the destructive power multiplied geometrically. Chen Ji incessantly hoped in his heart: Dead. Yuan Shopkeeper must be dead!

He slowly straightened himself, stumbling towards the ruins, wanting to pull aside the tiles and confirm the man’s death. But just as he stumbled a few steps, he heard a low crunch—

The ruins suddenly heaved upwards!

Chen Ji recoiled in horror!

He’s still alive!

End of Chapter.