Chen Ji admitted that everything the unidentified woman said was true.

He knew the Crown Prince’s nature well. Now that the wanted posters were up, the Crown Prince would never let Liao Zhong return alive to face trial… and Liao Zhong knew this even better than Chen Ji.

Therefore, Liao Zhong had only one choice left: to flee.

In the dim granary, a sliver of moonlight streamed through the lifted tile, illuminating the dust motes slowly swirling in the air.

Lu Shi watched Chen Ji silently, neither urging nor rushing, simply waiting for Chen Ji to make a decision.

After a long while, Chen Ji asked, “If Liao Zhong goes to Datong, which path would he take?”

Lu Shi no longer gestured on the ground; instead, she closed her eyes and pondered, “Bypass Wutai Shan, cross Tianfeng Ling.”

Su Zhou added from the side, “He could also go through Heng Shan. Although there are mountain bandits there, Liao Zhong is a Xundao Jing Xingguan, so even with one hand severed, he wouldn’t need to fear.”

Lu Shi shook her head, “The route through Heng Shan is all Hu family territory; he wouldn’t risk it.”

Su Zhou was about to say more, but Lu Shi interrupted, “Don’t listen to her; if she had a brain, she wouldn’t have gone to Luocheng alone for revenge.”

Su Zhou gritted her teeth, “I didn’t want to implicate others… What you can think of, the eunuch faction can naturally think of too. They will surely set up numerous checkpoints on the way to Datong.”

Lu Shi ignored her and only looked at Chen Ji.

At this moment, Chen Ji had made up his mind, “How do we leave Changping?”

Lu Shi calmly said, “You just need to follow me; I have my own way to get you out of Changping.”

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “What do you want for helping me so much?”

Lu Shi was silent for a moment, “I help you catch Liao Zhong, and you owe me a favor. This favor needs to be repaid after you gain control of the Chen family; you are not yet qualified to discuss these things with me.”

“Alright.” Chen Ji hesitated, “How should I address you?”

Lu Shi looked at him, “Pingzhao.”

Su Zhou suddenly realized, “So you are Pingzhao! I was wondering why an unfamiliar Xundao Jing Daxingguan suddenly appeared… Weren’t you only active in the Jinling area? Why are you in the north?”

Lu Shi closed her eyes, feigning ignorance.

Seeing this, Su Zhou muttered under her breath, “Dead hag! What an attitude!”

At this moment, hoofbeats sounded from outside Jingcang, as if thousands of soldiers were approaching.

Lu Shi pushed open the door and lightly leaped onto the roof like a swallow.

Dressed in dark clothes, she hid behind the ridge and peered out. She saw people approaching with torches in the distance, blocking the Jingcang main gate completely, their presence formidable.

The Wansui Army of Jingcang was assembling. Someone set up chevaux de frise in front of the granary gate and shouted loudly, “Jingcang is an important area; unauthorized personnel are forbidden to trespass. Violators will be killed without mercy!”

Su Zhou quietly crept up beside her and questioned, “Didn’t you say the eunuch faction couldn’t search here?”

Lu Shi’s expression did not change, “There’s one exception.”

“What exception?”

“Someone holding a Wangming Qipai.”

“The Wangming Qipai is here.”

Xuan She, draped in a black cloak, held up the Wangming Qipai in his hand and slowly approached Jingcang on horseback.

On the watchtower of Jingcang, the Wansui Army archers tensed their bowstrings but did not shoot: the golden Wangming Qipai shimmered brightly under the torchlight.

Xuan She’s cheeks were pale as he effeminately said, “Let the official in charge come out and speak.”

The Jingcang main gate opened only a crack. The Wansui Army Qianhu stationed there strode out alone, his brows furrowed in anger, “May I ask what brings you all here to my Jingcang with such a display of force? Have you not seen what is written at my gate?”

The Wansui Army Qianhu pointed to two tall wooden placards in front of the gate, on which sixteen large characters were written in red paint: “Fire and candles in granaries, utmost caution is required. Any negligence, the entire family will be executed.”

Xuan She smiled and adjusted the collar of his cloak, “To remain neither obsequious nor arrogant even upon seeing the King’s command flag, the Wansui Army’s reputation for assertiveness is well-deserved. However, this official is only here to apprehend a wanted criminal and does not wish to cause trouble for you. Later, I will have the Midi Si personnel extinguish their torches and enter to search, ensuring no fire hazards.”

The Wansui Army Qianhu said coldly, “My granaries are patrolled day and night by Wansui Army soldiers. How could a wanted criminal sneak in? What, does the Sili Jian not trust my Wansui Army?”

Xuan She slowly explained, “This wanted criminal is no ordinary person, and is even protected by a Xundao Jing Xingguan, making it easy to evade ordinary soldiers.”

The Wansui Army Qianhu retorted again, “Every granary has two seals from the Hubu and Jingcang; the wanted criminal has nowhere to hide.”

Xuan She smiled, “We will not search those granaries with seals.”

The Wansui Army Qianhu frowned, “Oh? Then what will you search?”

Xuan She’s smile faded, “My Midi Si will only search those twelve Qisishu Cang tonight.”

Qisishu Cang?

What on earth for?

The Wansui Army Qianhu was suspicious. He looked back at Jingcang, then at the Wangming Qipai, still hesitant to let them pass, “Do you all know that even a spark entering a granary results in the execution of nine generations? In Jianing 17th year, the Tongzhou granary fire led to the execution of 132 officials. Li Mou is unwilling to follow in their footsteps.”

Just then, another group of people arrived behind Xuan She.

Wu Xuange, his face grim, reined his horse and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xuan She.

Seeing him, the Wansui Army Qianhu was immediately startled, “Brother Wu, weren’t you with the Yulin Army? Why are you now with the eunuch… why are you with the Jiefan Wei?”

Wu Xuange still seemed to have injuries and spoke somewhat weakly, “Brother Guang Zhao, we are also here on imperial command to apprehend the criminal who attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince. The Wangming Qipai is here; let us pass.”

As he spoke, the Jiefan Wei behind him raised their torches and ran to either side of Jingcang, leaving one person every fifty steps, seemingly intending to surround Jingcang completely, not letting a single person escape.

The Wansui Army Qianhu deliberated for a moment, “Granted!”

He waved his hand, and the Jingcang main gate opened completely.

Xuan She raised his hand, and a hundred Midi agents simultaneously extinguished their torches with sand, drawing the sabers from their waists.

He whispered to Wu Xuange, “Make sure to guard the perimeter and don’t let anyone escape.”

Wu Xuange’s face was expressionless, “Don’t tell me how to do my job. Sooner or later, I will take your dog’s life.”

Xuan She was not offended and rode into Jingcang, “It seems Lord Wu Xuange still doesn’t understand how to be an official in the capital, but it doesn’t matter; he’ll learn eventually.”

On the roof of the Qisishu Cang, Su Zhou said in a low voice, “Looking at the numbers, all Jiefan Wei and Midi agents have been mobilized here. They must be certain we’re hiding in Jingcang. You were so confident just now…”

At this moment, Su Zhou realized that ‘Pingzhao’ had left the rooftop at some point.

She looked back to search, only to see that the other person had already stealthily reached the Jingcang wooden fence, smashing a plank with bare hands to create a hole large enough for a person to crawl through.

Su Zhou’s expression changed. Thinking Lu Shi was about to abandon her and flee again, she quickly jumped off the roof.

But as soon as she landed, she saw Lu Shi had already turned back, brushing past her and heading towards the east of Jingcang.

Su Zhou was stunned, “Where are you going?”

As Lu Shi passed Chen Ji, she whispered, “Follow.”

Chen Ji looked back at the broken hole in the wooden fence, understanding that this ‘Pingzhao’ intended to create the illusion of breaking out and escaping, “Won’t that be too easy to see through? We climbed over the fence to get in.”

Lu Shi led the way, calmly passing through the small brick alleys between the granaries. Without looking back, she said, “Xuan She is intelligent and arrogant, but also inherently suspicious. If an intelligent person is also suspicious, their intelligence will backfire. To deal with such a person, you must first make him believe that you are not as smart as he is.”

Chen Ji asked again, “Why don’t we just escape directly?”

Lu Shi casually explained, “Xuan She is cunning. He blocked the main gate of Jingcang to ‘beat the grass to startle the snake’; there must be skilled operatives lying in ambush outside.”

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “Have you had many dealings with him?”

Lu Shi’s steps paused slightly, then she continued forward, “I had a few dealings with him in Jinling.”

Lu Shi led Chen Ji and Su Zhou through the spacious Jingcang, heading straight east. Gradually, Chen Ji saw a small temple.

“This is the Cang Shen Temple, dedicated to Han Xin, the military strategist and demi-sage of the Han Dynasty. It’s where granary officials would check in and issue tokens. The main hall has a stele of good harvests, and the side rooms store the ‘Aoli’.” Lu Shi explained, “Changping was originally a large coal-producing county with intricate underground mine tunnels, and this Cang Shen Temple was built directly over a mine shaft.”

Chen Ji glanced at Lu Shi’s back. This person was particularly impatient with Su Zhou, yet surprisingly patient with him.

Lu Shi walked to the front of Cang Shen Temple and knocked on the door, three long, two short.

With a creak, someone opened the temple door from inside, “Who is it?”

Lu Shi dug a square seal from her belt, pressed the cinnabar onto her palm, and showed it to the person inside the Cang Shen Temple, “Qi Gong’s seal, Sanshan Hui emergency aid.”

Chen Ji was startled, Sanshan Hui?

Right, the Sanshan Hui was composed of remnants of the Three Imperial Camps, naturally connected to the Wansui Army. This was also why the Sanshan Hui remained standing in the capital.

The person inside the temple carefully examined the cinnabar seal in her palm through the gap, then quickly pulled open the temple door, “Come in.”

After the three squeezed inside, the middle-aged man in the temple peeked out, looking left and right, then closed the door.

Two ever-burning lamps flickered on the offering table of Cang Shen Temple; these were probably the only open flames in Jingcang at night.

The middle-aged man asked in a low voice, “What do you seek?”

Lu Shi calmly said, “To be sent out of Changping.”

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment, “Does Qi Gong know about this matter?”

Lu Shi was unhurried, “Act upon the seal.”

The middle-aged man nodded, “Alright.”

He walked behind the shrine, opened the stone platform on which the shrine sat, revealing a hole, “Go, follow the triangular marks in the mine tunnel, and you can reach the Yongding River bank, where a boat has been prepared.”

In Jingcang, Xuan She rode straight to the Qisishu Cang. He searched the first one, nothing. The second, also nothing. The third, the fourth…

It wasn’t until he reached the seventh one that, as he pushed open the door, he saw the lifted tile above and that sliver of moonlight.

Xuan She said ominously, “Indeed, hiding here.”

At this moment, a Jiefan Wei shouted loudly, “The wooden fence has been broken open; the wanted criminal might have fled north.”

Xuan She’s face was expressionless upon hearing this, “A petty trick, incredibly foolish. Don’t chase north; that’s a diversion.”

He exited the Qisishu Cang, intending to search other places, then returned to the Qisishu Cang and, by the moonlight, looked at the map Lu Shi had drawn on the ground.

Xuan She knelt down in front of the map. He saw three routes drawn on it: one to Datong, one to the sea, and one to Guyuan.

Guyuan and the sea route were drawn very roughly, while only Datong was drawn with extreme detail.

With three routes, to pursue, they would have to split into three teams. Xuan She needed to gamble on which route Chen Ji would take to earn merit.

Xuan She pondered for a moment, then looked up at the lifted tile above, and suddenly ordered, “Send word out, take people to seal all passes leading to Guyuan!”