Dawn broke with the crow of a rooster.

In the dimly lit apprentice dormitory, Chen Ji slowly sat up from his bed. He turned his head to look at his friends beside him: She Dengke and Liu Quxing were wrapped tightly in their blankets, while Liang Gou’er, who had returned at some unknown hour reeking of alcohol, was snoring loudly, his head resting on Liang Mao’er’s stomach.

Chen Ji quietly got dressed and slipped out. Standing under an apricot tree, he exhaled faint wisps of mist and silently gazed up at a red cloth strip tied to the highest branch. After a long moment, he turned and headed to his master’s main house. He quietly lifted the heavy cotton door curtain and peered inside.

Prince Jing lay fast asleep on the bed. Old Man Yao rested in a reclining chair, eyes closed, while the low stove in the room emanated a gentle warmth.

Chen Ji slipped into the room through the curtain’s opening, carefully approached the bedside, and reached out to check Prince Jing’s pulse. However, before he could touch it, Old Man Yao grabbed his wrist from the side.

Chen Ji gasped, nearly crying out, “Master, when did you get up? I didn’t hear a sound!”

Old Man Yao asked expressionlessly, “What are you doing?”

Chen Ji quickly explained, “I just wanted to see if the Prince was really sick!”

Old Man Yao sneered, “With your half-baked skills, what could you possibly discern from his pulse? The Prince just fell asleep a short while ago; I merely feared you’d carelessly wake him.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, “Master, last night, the Prince took me to the Lin Residence on Tongji Street to attend a private theatrical performance. During the show, Troupe Leader Meng sang a scene from *The Ballad of White Boat*. In the play, a young general toils for half his life, only to meet a tragic end. The person he traveled three thousand *li* to save eventually turned against him.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Master, is the Prince like that young general in the play?”

Old Man Yao raised an eyebrow. “What nonsense are you spouting? *The Ballad of White Boat* is a story from over a hundred years ago. How could it be the Prince!”

Chen Ji looked at his master. “Master, you know what I mean!”

“Where do you get so many questions from…” Old Man Yao tugged Chen Ji’s wrist, forcibly pulling him out of the main house and pushing him outside. “The water vats are empty. Go fetch water!”

With that, Old Man Yao turned back into the room, pulling the door curtain tightly shut.

Chen Ji stood outside, looking back at the thick cotton door curtain. He was puzzled. Was Prince Jing truly sick or not? He wasn’t even allowed to check his pulse! If Prince Jing wasn’t sick, why would Master need to hide his pulse? The more Master concealed it, the more it suggested something was amiss.

If Prince Jing was sick, what kind of illness did he have? He could be so ill as to faint and not hear conversations happening right beside him, yet when supposedly well, he could walk for an hour, full of vigor, to attend a play?

Just then, the calls of magpies came from outside the medical hall. Magpies were resident birds; they would change into their winter plumage early and build nests by winter. Once winter arrived, they wouldn’t leave their nests casually, nor would they chirp without reason. Chen Ji realized this was a signal from the Secret Service.

He bent down, picked up the shoulder pole and wooden buckets, and swayed as he walked toward the door. As he reached the entrance, the Prince’s guards, brought by Butler Feng, crossed their halberds, blocking his path.

Chen Ji said with a smile, “My respected guards, I’m going to fetch water; the vats in the courtyard are all empty. If it’s inconvenient to let me out, you could help fetch the water instead. About eight trips should fill them up.”

The two guards exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, then silently lowered their halberds.

Chen Ji walked through the thin mist on the flagstone path. When he reached the well, a plump figure was already operating the wooden winch. It was Golden Pig! Chen Ji quietly walked over to the well.

Without turning his head, Golden Pig whispered, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, “Is Prince Jing truly sick or just feigning illness?”

Chen Ji whispered back, “My master told Concubine Jing that Prince Jing doesn’t have much time left.”

Golden Pig cursed under his breath, “This illness couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

“What’s wrong?” Chen Ji asked, puzzled.

Golden Pig’s voice took on a metallic edge. “The Liu family’s more than ten private armies in Yuzhou are mobilizing like mad. The entire vast Yuzhou is now allowing entry but no exit. The Liu family plans to rebel, but we can’t get our intelligence out.”

“Even Sky Horse can’t get through?” Chen Ji asked.

Golden Pig wailed, “The Liu family has been planning this for a long time. There are only a few routes in and out of Luocheng, and all are heavily guarded. The mountains are also swarming with scouts. No matter how formidable Sky Horse is, he’s only at the Path-Seeking Realm. How could an agent at the Path-Seeking Realm dare to fight a fully organized army formation?”

“What if Sky Horse breaks through to the Divine Path Realm?” Chen Ji said.

Golden Pig lifted the reeled-up wooden bucket and placed it on the well’s edge. “If someone at the Divine Path Realm is determined to leave, even an army formation can’t stop them. But the problem is, across the entire Ning Dynasty, there are only three Divine Path Realm practitioners. It’s incredibly difficult for Sky Horse to break through. Right now, hundreds of Liu family assassins are scouring the city with portraits of me and Sky Horse, trying to capture us. It’ll be a miracle if we even survive this catastrophe.”

Chen Ji’s heart sank. “Are we just going to stand by and watch the Liu family rebel?”

Golden Pig lowered the empty bucket into the well. “What else can we do? Or perhaps we could secretly sneak into the Liu family compound now, kill Grand Secretary Liu first, and then imprison all of the Liu family’s relatives! Once their tens of thousands of private soldiers are leaderless, we might break this deadlock.”

Chen Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “How about we choose a different way to die? My lord, if the Liu family is truly ready, why haven’t they made their move yet? What are they waiting for?”

Golden Pig replied, “The Liu family is waiting for a legitimate pretext. They want to raise Prince Jing’s banner, but at this very moment, Prince Jing has fallen ill. The moment he collapsed, all of Luocheng fell into chaos. Last night, we discovered Concubine Jing rushing to the Liu family’s main residence. She only returned to the Prince’s mansion half an hour ago. Concubine Yun rushed to the East Market and disappeared under the cover of the River Transport Gang. She still hasn’t returned.”

Golden Pig continued, “You must keep a close watch inside the medical hall. Who visits Prince Jing, what they ask, what they say—all of it is crucial. If the River Transport Gang and the Liu family join forces, things will become even more difficult.”

“The River Transport Gang?” Chen Ji asked, puzzled, “What’s the connection between the River Transport Gang and Concubine Yun?”

Golden Pig paused, surprised. “Don’t you know? The Luo Tian Sect is behind the River Transport Gang. Concubine Yun is the only daughter of the previous Sect Master. Otherwise, why do you think Prince Jing married her? When the Emperor was young, the court was in turmoil, and the Luo Tian Sect seized control of the three rivers’ transport system, effectively controlling all north-south freight and grain shipments. This difficult situation only gradually improved after Prince Jing married Concubine Yun.”

The Luo Tian Sect! Previously, when Concubine Yun was trading firearms with the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau, she instructed them to go to the Golden Brothel in Red Garment Alley and tell the madam the words ‘Luo Tian.’

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “Who is the current Sect Master of the Luo Tian Sect?”

Golden Pig explained, “The current Sect Master is Han Tong, the previous Sect Master’s most favored direct disciple. He and Concubine Yun were childhood sweethearts.”

Chen Ji’s pupils contracted. “Does he have a Buddha tattoo on his wrist?”

Golden Pig looked puzzled. “You’ve met him?”

Chen Ji casually explained, “No, I’ve only heard of him.”

Golden Pig, having reeled up the second bucket and placed it on the well’s edge, lamented, “This person’s movements are elusive; he’s always hidden among the River Transport Gang’s enforcers, impossible to catch. If you see him, you must report it to me immediately.”

Chen Ji said helplessly, “My lord, you’re currently without a fixed residence, wandering everywhere. I don’t even know how to find you. How am I supposed to report to you immediately?”

Golden Pig sighed mournfully, “You’re right… Damn it… The esteemed Secret Service reduced to this state, where can one even complain? Prince Jing needs to wake up quickly. If he keeps being sick like this, who knows where the universe will end up!”

“Can Prince Jing quell the rebellion once he wakes up?”

“If he chooses to, perhaps! With Prince Jing’s prestige in the Central Plains, if he’s willing to step forward and rally the people to quell the unrest, many of the Liu family’s schemes would crumble. Not everyone among the Liu family’s tens of thousands of private soldiers wants to rebel. It’s not like they’re starving to death! As long as common folk have something to eat, who would willingly commit a capital crime punishable by beheading and extermination of nine generations of their kin?”

“But what if Prince Jing also plans to rebel?”

“Then everything is lost!”

Chen Ji speculated that Prince Jing was not involved in the rebellion. He knew best that if Prince Jing had intended to rebel, they wouldn’t have gone to a private theatrical performance last night, but rather to the Liu family’s main residence.

Golden Pig cautioned, “I’m leaving. Be careful. Unless it’s extremely important, don’t go out these next few days. The Liu family now intends to wipe out all Secret Service agents within Luocheng.”

Chen Ji acknowledged, “Understood. I will be careful.”

Just then, Golden Pig pulled a small cloth-wrapped parcel from his embrace and pressed it into Chen Ji’s hand. “This is for you. Train well!”

Chen Ji was stunned. He unwrapped the gray cloth layer by layer, only to find five old ginseng roots nestled inside. “My lord… this is…”

Golden Pig said, clearly pained, “I bought these with my own salary. Your talent for cultivation is exceptional; don’t waste it.”

With that, he hoisted the shoulder pole and swayed unsteadily into the thin mist.

Chen Ji suddenly felt that the entire city of Luocheng was like a carriage speeding wildly. Prince Jing was like a coachman who, for the past decade or so, had diligently kept the reins taut, steering the carriage along the official road. But now, this coachman had let go of the reins. He was allowing the out-of-control carriage, with everyone inside, to hurtle towards the edge of a cliff.