“How much further?”

“Not far, just over that hill.”

Chen Ji expressionlessly looked at A Sheng: “This is the fourth time you’ve said ‘just over that hill’.”

The Da Ma Mountains were vast, mostly covered with pine, birch, and poplar trees. The mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse, and they occasionally had to wade through rivers. Fortunately, the rivers weren’t deep, the deepest only reaching their waists.

Every time Chen Ji asked, A Sheng would say it wasn’t far, just over the hill. But after crossing three hills, there was still no sign of Liutiao Gou.

They had set off at Mao Shi and walked until the sun was setting.

Chen Ji lowered his head to look at the grass sandals on his feet. The coarse shoelaces looked like they were about to break and might not last for the return journey. If it weren’t for his Shanjun menjing, his ankles would have been chafed raw and his feet covered in blisters by now.

A Sheng finally looked a little embarrassed, cautiously eyeing Chen Ji: “I was just afraid you wouldn’t want to go. Gongzi, Baizi Shu and Xingxing are in grave danger; no one can save them but us. I also brought an extra pair of grass sandals for you.”

“No need, my grass sandals aren’t broken yet,” Chen Ji walked past him. “Just make sure this is the last hill. If Liutiao Gou isn’t there after we cross it, I’m turning back.”

A Sheng hurried to follow: “Then I’ll keep the grass sandals for you. Don’t worry, we’re really almost at Liutiao Gou.”

As they were traveling, A Sheng’s grass sandals broke halfway. He simply threw them aside and walked barefoot. The young man trod barefoot on the mountain path, not even flinching when he stepped on pebbles.

The grass sandals he promised to save for Chen Ji were still slung over his back; he truly hadn’t put them on himself.

Chen Ji glanced at him sideways: “What level of Xingguan are you?”

A Sheng replied: “Houtian Qizhong. I started cultivating three years ago. Hong Ye said I was born for this and would reach Xiantian before eighteen. Sometimes after drinking, he’d say he was sorry he couldn’t find a menjing with fewer fellow Xingguan for me; otherwise, I definitely could have cultivated to the Xundao realm… Gongzi, you’re a Xiantian Xingguan, right? How long did it take you to cultivate to Xiantian?”

Chen Ji paused: “Eight years.”

A Sheng quickly said: “Then you’re also very powerful.”

As he passed a tree, he casually picked two strings of red berries and offered them to Chen Ji: “Gongzi, have some to quench your thirst. These are called Jiubingpo. When Hong Ye and I go back empty-handed, we bring some of these back to brew wine. Normally, they’re sweet and sour and good for quenching thirst.”

Chen Ji turned to look at A Sheng, who was barefoot and eating the berries: “How old were you when you started going out with Hong Ye?”

A Sheng replied: “I was nine. That time, Hong Ye had to go to Baidadan Cheng. Taking a child with him made it easier for Jing people to lower their guard, so he took me. After that, he took me every time he went out.”

Chen Ji said calmly: “You still dare to go into Jing Chao cities?”

A Sheng replied as if it were obvious: “Yebushou all go.”

Chen Ji asked curiously: “What did you do in Baidadan Cheng that time?”

A Sheng recalled: “Hong Ye heard from a traveling merchant who passed through Chongli Guan that a Jing Chao nobleman wanted a hundred bolts of Yunjin before the Shangyuan Festival and had craftsmen in the capital forge a palm-sized pure gold longevity peach to send to Baidadan Cheng. He guessed that the Baidadan Cheng Lord’s father was celebrating his birthday, and there would definitely be a banquet. Then Hong Ye and Baizi Shu decided to poison the feast, and they poisoned dozens of guests…”

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow. Hong Zu’er did such things and even dared to bring a nine-year-old child?

Just then, a rustling sound came from a distance.

Chen Ji and A Sheng simultaneously darted to the left and right, hiding behind trees, then cautiously peeked out together.

Were they Zhuosheng Jiang, or Yebushou?

Or were Zhang Baishi and Xu Xingxing being chased here?

The next moment, a Zhuosheng Jiang in leather armor darted through the forest, running towards Chen Ji and A Sheng. He kept looking behind him, his expression hurried.

This Zhuosheng Jiang had blood on him and was limping, clearly seriously injured.

Whoosh! An arrow shot from behind him.

The Zhuosheng Jiang tilted his head, and an arrow brushed past his ear, embedding itself with a thud in the tree where Chen Ji was hiding, still trembling.

Chen Ji pulled his head back and secretly pondered, someone is chasing a Jing Chao Zhuosheng Jiang? Could it be the Yebushou of the Yuqian Sandaying?

A few more bowstring twangs sounded outside. He peeked out again, only to see the fleeing Zhuosheng Jiang pinned to the ground by three arrows under the dim setting sun.

Chen Ji and A Sheng exchanged glances, both recognizing that the arrows were not of Ning Chao make, so they didn’t rashly come out.

A few breaths later, five Zhuosheng Jiang emerged from the forest and approached the body of the Zhuosheng Jiang. Four held bows in alert, while one stripped the leather armor and identification token from the corpse.

Chen Ji’s pupils constricted slightly. Zhuosheng Jiang infighting.

Why?

The Zhuosheng Jiang stripped the body bare. One of them retrieved the arrows, wiped them clean, and put them back in the quiver. An arrow cost more than seventy wen, equivalent to a carpenter’s daily wage, so they recycled them if possible.

Chen Ji held his breath behind the tree, listening to that Zhuosheng Jiang approach step by step.

Three Jianzhong swam out from his patterns, hidden in his sleeve.

If their presence were discovered, it would inevitably lead to a deadly battle with five Zhuosheng Jiang. He might survive, but A Sheng would surely die.

He turned to look at A Sheng, who also clutched his刀柄 tightly, not daring to breathe. A Sheng knew very well that he couldn’t make a mistake now. A mistake would mean death.

The footsteps finally stopped behind the tree. The Zhuosheng Jiang pulled the arrow from the tree, then stepped back towards his companions facing the forest: “Let’s go.”

The five of them went north together, their figures vanishing into the shadows of the forest.

The sun had set.

A Sheng gasped for breath, sweat dripping down his hair, his back drenched.

After waiting for another two incense sticks of time, a flock of birds suddenly startled from the treetops. Only then did Chen Ji emerge from behind the tree and walk towards the corpse: “Have Zhuosheng Jiang ever fought amongst themselves before?”

A Sheng followed behind him: “Never. I’ve been with Hong Ye for so long, and I’ve never seen Zhuosheng Jiang fight amongst themselves.”

Chen Ji knelt beside the body. The skin on the Zhuosheng Jiang’s face had even been peeled off, as if the perpetrators feared the deceased would be identified.

Chen Ji pried open the other’s mouth: “Over thirty-five years old, he’s an old veteran.”

A Sheng blinked: “Gongzi can tell age from teeth?”

Chen Ji casually explained: “Around twenty, the tips and edges of teeth show slight wear. At thirty, the tips wear flat, exposing one or two points of enamel abrasion. After thirty-five, three to four abrasion points connect into a patch… But it’s only a rough estimate, not precise.”

A Sheng secretly made a note.

Chen Ji frowned and murmured to himself: “Under what circumstances would Zhuosheng Jiang turn on each other?”

A Sheng said from the side: “Zhuosheng Jiang have a great understanding of each other. Unless there’s a big problem, they would never fight amongst themselves. And this Zhuosheng Jiang’s injuries are from behind; he was clearly ambushed by someone he trusted greatly.”

Chen Ji suddenly remembered the infighting between the two factions of the Junqingsi spies… So, after Yuan Cheng was captured, had the internal purges within Jing Chao also begun?

Was it because some people wanted to intercept the envoy for Lu Jin, and some wanted to exchange for Yuan Cheng, leading to huge disagreements and struggles? The Zhuosheng Jiang might be a microcosm of the Jing Chao court.

Chen Ji looked north: “These Zhuosheng Jiang came from Liutiao Gou. If your Baizi Shu and Xingxing are really in that direction, they definitely won’t be alive.”

A Sheng’s face darkened.

Chen Ji turned to look at him: “Still going?”

A Sheng pondered for a long time: “You go back first. I’ll go collect the bodies of Baizi Shu and Xingxing. Everyone says fallen leaves return to their roots; I can’t let them be carried away by wolves in the wilderness. They won’t be able to reincarnate.”

The common people of this era believed such things, and even Chen Ji gradually started to believe them.

He thought for a moment: “I’ll go with you.”

A Sheng was stunned: “Really?”

After speaking, he knelt and kowtowed three times to Chen Ji: “Gongzi of the Chen family, your great kindness and virtue, A Sheng will never forget. In the future, if you need anything, A Sheng will serve at your command.”

Chen Ji shook his head: “No need. I just have something later that requires your guidance, and I can’t let you die here.”

Just as the two were about to get up and head towards Liutiao Gou, footsteps suddenly echoed from the forest again.

Chen Ji pulled A Sheng and swiftly retreated back behind the large tree where they had hidden earlier.

There weren’t many footsteps, slow and a little weary.

Chen Ji and A Sheng didn’t dare to peek out, but they heard the newcomer suddenly say: “When we go back, don’t mention today’s events to anyone. If someone asks, tell them to ask me, understand?”

Someone replied: “Understood, Shifu.”

A Sheng was startled and couldn’t help but exhale.

The newcomer was extremely alert: “Who’s there?”

A Sheng and Chen Ji exchanged glances. A Sheng took a deep breath and walked out: “Xingxing, Baizi Shu? Are you alright? I thought you all died in Liutiao Gou! Hong Ye was so worried last night, he came out to look for you in the dark and accidentally fell into a Zhuosheng Jiang ambush.”

Chen Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The newcomers were actually Zhang Baishi and Xu Xingxing? No wonder A Sheng was so flustered after hearing their voices.

He didn’t rush out. These two had come from Liutiao Gou in the north, the same direction the five Zhuosheng Jiang had left. If they were alive, it could only mean one thing… these two had defected.

Chen Ji hid behind the tree, peeking out, quietly observing whether Zhang Baishi and Xu Xingxing would attack A Sheng.

Zhang Baishi looked like a middle-aged man, with graying temples like Hong Zu’er, both looking weathered by life.

Xu Xingxing was about the same age as A Sheng, but slightly more dull-witted.

The two didn’t attack A Sheng, they were just a little surprised that A Sheng was also there.

Zhang Baishi hesitated for a moment, then probed: “A Sheng, why are you here? Have you encountered any danger?”

A Sheng replied: “I just encountered Zhuosheng Jiang infighting; they just left. When I came out to investigate, I heard your footsteps…”

Zhang Baishi frowned: “Hong Zu’er wouldn’t let you come find me alone. Who else came with you?”

A Sheng didn’t get too close rashly and didn’t reveal Chen Ji’s details: “No one, just me. Hong Ye was injured by an arrow, and the arrow was poisoned. I asked Zhang Tonggou Dage to take him back, so I came to find you alone.”

Zhang Baishi ignored A Sheng, instead looking up at the large tree where Chen Ji was hiding, and wearily said: “Come out, friend, you’re one of us.”

Chen Ji knew this was a trick.

But after pondering for a moment, he walked out from behind the large tree, slowly stepping into the moonlight and clasping his hands: “Zhang Daren.”