An old man and a cat walked alone on the long street.

“Master, what is ‘Isolation and Dragon-Slaying’?”

“It’s a bold tactic in Go, where you use an isolated piece to capture your opponent’s large dragon, creating danger with every move, coming back from the brink of death,” Old Man Yao said slowly, carrying Wuyun as they walked along the bluestone slab road. “Chen Ji’s style in Go is just like his style in life. People often say you can tell a person by their chess game, and there’s truth to that.” Old Man Yao sighed, “If nothing changes this time, that kid Jinzhu is probably going to be tricked to his death by Chen Ji.”

“You seem very familiar with Jinzhu, even knowing his cultivation path. I heard Chen Ji say that one must never let others know their cultivation path, or it could lead to death.”

Old Man Yao thought for a moment. “Not really. It’s just that when I was in the capital, I watched him grow from a chubby boy to a big one, from a naive youngster to how he is now.”

Wuyun suddenly said, “Master, Chen Ji said you have many secrets.”

Old Man Yao chuckled. “What did he say about me?”

Wuyun thought, “Can I tell you this?”

Old Man Yao also thought, “Did he tell you not to say it?”

“No.”

“Then say it.”

Wuyun nodded. “He said you clearly know about the Forty-nine Heavens, but you claim not to.”

Old Man Yao was startled. “How did he know I knew?” Wuyun replied, “He said that when he first produced gunpowder, you asked him who taught him this alchemy. You asked if it was the Wuji Mountain sect. Later, when he chatted with the Prince, he found out that Wuji Mountain is one of the Forty-nine Heavens.”

Old Man Yao clicked his tongue. “Talking to that kid, you really have to be watertight. The slightest slip and he catches on. You’d think he’s so clever, but why isn’t his cleverness in the right place? Or perhaps, he’s just not clever enough.”

“Then where should he be clever?”

Old Man Yao said, “If he were truly clever, he would take you far away to Jing Dynasty, away from all this trouble. A truly clever person should avoid entanglements and have no attachments, that way they have no weaknesses.”

Wuyun nodded. “So, you’re his weakness.”

Old Man Yao laughed exasperatedly. “Forget it, I can’t explain it to a little cat like you.”

“Master, where are we going now?”

Old Man Yao thought for a moment and said, “Naturally, we’re going to check out Peony Bridge. Chen Ji has calculated everything clearly, but he’s using a ‘drive the tiger to swallow the dragon’ scheme to kill Jinzhu, and he himself has to be part of the setup. Jinzhu will indeed be tricked to his death by him, but how will Chen Ji himself escape unscathed?” Wuyun raised its head. “Master, Chen Ji said he has a plan.”

“Oh?”

Wuyun recalled for a moment and said, “He said he wore a mask from the very beginning. When the critical moment came, he intentionally turned against Jinzhu. To prevent him from disrupting things, Jinzhu would surely find someone to switch masks with him, because for Jinzhu, that’s the simplest method. Chen Ji said people are naturally lazy; everyone is used to solving problems in the simplest way. Jinzhu will be no exception.”

Old Man Yao pondered for a moment, then sighed deeply. “Why did Jinzhu have to provoke that kid?”

“Master, are we still going to Peony Bridge?”

“Let’s go.”

“Are you going to help him?”

Old Man Yao grumbled, “He’s already so clever, does he still need my help? Can’t I just go watch the show…?”

Under the dense night.

Jinzhu, wearing an ox-head mask, silently gazed at the Peony Arch Bridge. He felt as though the bridge before him was a gaping maw, capable of swallowing a giant dragon whole.

Five people stood by a carriage about twenty zhang away.

The night was so dark their appearances were indistinct.

The carriage was tightly covered, and it was impossible to tell if it held people or ghosts.

Jinzhu took a deep breath and instinctively asked, “Chen Ji, do you think we should retreat?”

Liutiao was startled. “My Lord, I am Liutiao. Chen Ji is being escorted; he didn’t come here.”

Jinzhu slightly turned his head and silently looked at the green tiger mask beside him, remaining quiet for a long time.

He scoffed inwardly, then spoke, “Do you think the Liu family setting up an ambush means they’ve already seen through our identities?”

Xifeng maintained a tall and haughty posture, and whispered from beneath his mask, “My Lord, the Liu family’s ambush might be a precautionary measure, not necessarily aimed at us. If it were us handling such an important reception, we would also arrange for personnel to be deployed in advance.” Liutiao murmured, “That makes sense.”

Jinzhu rebutted in a low voice, “How can we rely on luck when our lives are at stake?”

Xifeng was silent for a moment. “My Lord, perhaps we should retreat for now. There might be another chance to capture him later.”

Liutiao said, “My Lord, as long as there’s life, there’s hope.”

Jinzhu remained silent, unable to make a decision.

This was why he had sought out Chen Ji earlier: he didn’t even have anyone by his side to offer advice. Just then, the carriage curtain was lifted from within, and Liu Mingxian, draped in a black fox-fur cloak and holding a small bronze hand-warmer, slowly descended from the carriage.

He looked at Jinzhu and the others from a distance, smiling as he asked from across the space, “Since you’ve come, why don’t you come onto the bridge for a chat?” With the two factions confronting each other above and below the bridge, the air gradually solidified, and even the Luo River beneath the bridge was silent.

The next moment, Jinzhu whispered, “The arrow is on the string; it must be shot. Get onto the bridge. Liu Mingxian has already appeared. Listen for my command later.” Xifeng stepped onto the bridge. Seeing them ascend, Liu Mingxian smiled and said, “Why are you all so cautious?” Jinzhu, standing behind Xifeng, sneered, “After you handed over the Deputy Supervisor of the Craftsmen Bureau to us, you then instructed the Luocheng Military Administration to reclaim him. This act violated our agreement. Our willingness to come tonight is already a tremendous favor to your Liu family.”

Liu Mingxian’s smile gradually faded. “With the standing of my Liu family, who has the right to speak of favors?” Jinzhu chuckled. “Oh, in earlier years, your Liu family relied on having a Grand Empress Dowager and Grand Secretaries, throwing your weight around and acting arrogantly, leaving behind many vulnerabilities. In recent years, the court situation has reversed, and half of the Liu family’s proteges and old officials have been impeached by the censors. Seeing that your influence is waning, you can only huddle in Yuzhou. In a few more years, you might not even be able to hold onto Yuzhou, eventually ending up with your family’s property confiscated and your clan exterminated.”

Jinzhu’s voice grew cold. “If not for this, why would your Liu family think of contacting my Jing Dynasty?” Liu Mingxian suddenly laughed. “Jing Dynasty? Are you truly people from the Jing Dynasty, Lord Jinzhu? When did you become an intelligence agent for the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau?” Jinzhu’s face instantly changed when he heard his name called out. He pulled Xifeng and Liutiao backward. Liu Mingxian suddenly bellowed, “These three are Jing Dynasty traitors! As Luocheng Administrator, I shall eliminate them for the court! Kill them! Show no mercy!” The pretense was over.

From behind Liu Mingxian, Zhang Guo’er took a bronze whistle from his waist and blew it. A piercing whistle tore through the night. In an instant, the doors of quiet residences burst open, and hundreds of elites clad in brown leather armor rushed out, clashing with the secret agents hidden in the various alleyways.

As Jinzhu rapidly retreated, he saw over a dozen people, long sabers clenched in their mouths, climbing out from under Peony Bridge, blocking their escape route. Xifeng urgently said, “My Lord, these are the elites the Liu family hid from the Yanshi Barracks.” Jinzhu wanted to pull Xifeng and Liutiao to jump into the river, but they were blocked by Zhang Guo’er, who was fiddling with his “Mountain Flower Ghost Coins,” and two tattooed men. With a gloomy expression, he listened to the clang of metal in the night and turned to Liu Mingxian. “Administrator Liu, are you orchestrating a rebellion by secretly deploying armored soldiers in the capital?” Liu Mingxian said meaningfully, “I am capturing Jing Dynasty traitors; how could that be rebellion?” Jinzhu sneered, “You claim we are Jing Dynasty traitors, but do you have any evidence, Administrator Liu? Without evidence, arbitrarily besieging and killing agents of the Secret Service is no different from rebellion.”

Liu Mingxian rubbed the bronze hand-warmer in his arms and said with a smile, “I still have the secret letter you sent inviting me to Peony Bridge. The letter clearly uses a hidden-word technique exclusive to the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau—that’s the evidence. Even without it, I can still fabricate plenty of evidence. So, there’s no need for Lord Jinzhu to worry about this.” Jinzhu slowly took off his mask, only to see Liu Mingxian turn to someone beside him and say, “Administrator Yuan, our previous leak of classified information almost led to your department being surrounded; that was indeed our Liu family’s mistake. Tonight, Lord Jinzhu’s head will be a generous gift from my Liu family, serving as our pledge. Is this enough sincerity? I wonder if your Director can come south? My Liu family has important matters to discuss.”

A low voice slowly responded, “Administrator Liu is very sincere. If you can truly present Lord Jinzhu’s head, our Director will certainly come south to meet you.”

Jinzhu’s pupils constricted slightly, and he abruptly looked at the speaker: a stout figure wearing a bamboo hat beside Liu Mingxian.

He tried to discern the person’s face, but they not only kept their head down but also had their face covered with gray cloth.

The Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau.

No wonder Liu Mingxian exposed their identities; he had re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau.

But the key was, three days ago, the Liu family clearly hadn’t re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty. How could they suddenly have done so?

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Jinzhu watched the Liu family elites slowly closing in and roared ferociously, “Fight your way out!” Liutiao looked at the three Liu family officials in front of him, then turned to look at the elites behind him. He suddenly regretted suggesting that he should wear the tiger mask.

Otherwise, it would have been Chen Ji who died on the bridge, not him…

Fifteen minutes ago.

In a narrow alley, Chen Ji stumbled forward, pushed by a secret agent. To prevent him from thinking of tricks, the agent guarding him had even tied his hands behind his back with rope. Chen Ji suddenly stopped and refused to move forward.

The secret agent behind him kicked, but Chen Ji, as if he had eyes on his back, swiftly moved his body to dodge.

The agent’s kick missed, and he stumbled, nearly falling.

“You bastard.”

He steadied himself and tried to grab Chen Ji.

But Chen Ji was like a loach, slippery and impossible to catch. Even with his hands tied behind his back, Chen Ji stumbled and ran.

The two chased each other through the alley, gradually leaving it behind and running further and further along the banks of Luocheng.

Seeing that reuniting with his colleagues was hopeless, the secret agent frantically drew his blade. “If you run again, I’ll chop you down with one strike!”

Chen Ji stopped. He stammered, but his mouth was gagged, and he couldn’t utter a coherent sentence for a long time.

Impatiently, the secret agent removed the cloth strip from his mouth. “What do you want to say?”

Chen Ji moved his jaw, and with his hands still behind his back, he asked in a low voice, “My Lord, don’t you feel something is off?”

“What’s off?”

Chen Ji said urgently, “There must be over a hundred households in this area, and on average, three out of ten households in Luocheng keep dogs. But a hundred secret agents have infiltrated and deployed here, yet not a single dog bark can be heard. Where have all the dogs gone?”

He continued, “And it’s not just the absence of dog barks. It’s the fourth watch of the night, not yet dawn, but those who carry night soil, and people going to market to buy and sell goods, should have already set out. My Lord, we’ve walked for so long, have you seen a single person leave their home?”

The secret agent thought about it, a chill running down his spine. He wasn’t a fool; everything Chen Ji said made perfect sense.

However, at that very moment, a piercing whistle echoed from afar. Before they could react, the doors of two residences in the alley were kicked open, and five or six armored elites burst out from each.

The secret agent gasped when he saw the dozen or so elites. “The Elephant Armor Guard from the Yanshi Barracks!”

In the narrow, dim alley, one of the Elephant Armor Guard shouted lowly and immediately swung his saber down. “Kill!” However, as the saber descended, Chen Ji, with his hands still tied, swiftly turned. The blade cleanly sliced through the rope between his bound hands.

With a crisp sound, the rope snapped.