“Kill them all,” Mr. Feng said casually under the cover of night, a light remark that sealed everyone’s fate.

In the dim Feiyun Courtyard, Chen Ji’s gaze silently swept over the faces of Zhang Zhuo, Old Yao, Zhang Xia, She Dengke, and the others, his peripheral vision finally settling on Mr. Feng.

Chen Ji gripped his saber hilt tightly, the sweat in his palm soaking the black cloth wrapped around it. His tense breathing echoed within his face guard.

How could he break this deadlock? No matter how Chen Ji thought, he couldn’t find a way.

The next moment, Chen Wenzong suddenly grabbed Chen Liqin’s arm. “Father, we can’t go!”

Mr. Feng paused at the doorway and turned back. “Oh?”

Chen Wenzong looked at Mr. Feng. “My father will only write the declaration against the rebels for you if you release these people!”

Mr. Feng burst out laughing. “You think you’re in a position to bargain with me? Guards, sever his brother’s arm.”

Chen Liqin stepped in front of Chen Wenxiao. “I’ll go with you. All you want is a declaration; why commit such wanton slaughter? Release Lord Zhang and Imperial Physician Yao, and I’ll write the declaration against the rebels for you immediately.”

Mr. Feng shook his head helplessly. “Lord Chen, you still don’t understand. Once you embark on this path, there’s no turning back. Those unwilling to stand with you are all enemies. It’s just a pity about Lord Zhang’s talent and ambition.”

He called out towards the door, “Guards, take Lord Chen and his family to Jing’an Hall!”

Chen Liqin was seized by the arms by the armored guards who rushed in from outside. Struggling, he furiously declared, “If you kill them, I won’t write this declaration against the rebels!”

Mr. Feng laughed heartily. “When it comes to compromise, a first time inevitably leads to a second.”

Having said that, he turned to Chen Ji. “After you two execute them, find me in front of Jing’an Hall. There’s another task waiting for you.”

Chen Ji’s heart stirred. An opportunity.

He always felt something was amiss, but he couldn’t dwell on it.

Once Mr. Feng and Chen Liqin had departed, another armored guard in the courtyard drew the saber from his waist and slowly advanced toward Old Yao and Zhang Zhuo.

Zhang Zhuo pulled Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng behind him, retreating step by step. “Young brother, I am Zhang Zhuo, the Prefect of Luocheng. Killing me is a grave crime, punishable by the extermination of your entire clan.”

The armored guard said in a muffled voice, “My apologies, Lord Zhang, but we are merely following orders.”

Zhang Zhuo nervously offered, “How about this: you only kill me and let my children go. I’ll have them bring you a hundred taels of gold, enough to secure wealth and prosperity for three generations of your descendants…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw the black-armored warrior who had punched his son earlier, flash behind another black-armored warrior and tightly choke him by the throat with his arm.

The choked black-armored warrior struggled fiercely but to no avail, unable to make a sound.

Zhang Zhuo’s heart leaped. “This is…”

At that moment, he felt his hand empty and turned to see Zhang Xia break free from his grasp and rush forward.

Zhang Xia went to the black-armored warrior with the broken neck and, without a word, skillfully removed his armguards, chest plate, front armor, body armor, and leg guards, not wanting to waste a single moment.

Zhang Zhuo and Zhang Zheng exchanged a bewildered glance, unable to comprehend what Zhang Xia was doing.

Zhang Xia paid no mind to what the others thought. Instead, she looked up at Chen Ji and asked concisely, “Who will wear this armor? I can’t; the height is wrong, and my voice is too easily recognizable.”

Zhang Zheng asked, stunned, “A-Xia, what are you doing? Who is this?”

Zhang Xia glanced up at Chen Ji.

Seeing that Chen Ji had no intention of revealing his identity, she didn’t answer Zhang Zheng. Instead, she turned back to Zhang Zheng and urged, “Brother, put on this armor. Then follow him and obey his instructions. Do not act on your own initiative.”

Zhang Zheng still hadn’t fully processed it. “Follow who?”

Chen Ji said in a muffled voice, “She Dengke, you wear this armor.”

She Dengke was taken aback. “How do you know my name? Who are you?”

Zhang Zhuo quickly stepped forward and immediately began putting on the armor. “I’ll wear it. Zhang Zheng is impulsive, and She Dengke lacks quick thinking; they might jeopardize things.”

Zhang Xia hesitated for a moment. “…Alright!”

As she helped her father don the armor, she whispered instructions. “Father, if you get a chance to escape, don’t come back.”

Zhang Zhuo chuckled. “What are you talking about, silly girl? Is your father that kind of person? Don’t worry, if I get a chance to escape, I’ll go to Tuoluo Temple for reinforcements. With Xu Shu’s influence, the Buddhist sects across the land won’t stand idly by; saving a few of us will be enough.”

Zhang Xia hummed in assent. “You must follow this person’s arrangements; do not act on your own.”

Zhang Zhuo glanced at Chen Ji, clad in armor. “Alright.”

Chen Ji instructed Zhang Xia, “Don’t run around for now. The outside is full of armored guards. You’ll be safer staying here in Feiyun Courtyard, which has already been searched.”

Zhang Xia nodded in agreement.

Seeing Zhang Zhuo fully armored, Chen Ji immediately started walking out. “Lord Zhang, don’t speak from now on. I will handle everything. If there’s a suitable opportunity, I will get you out.”

In the rear quarters of Prince Jing’s manor.

Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo, holding spears and with sabers at their waists, walked side by side along the gravel path in the garden toward Jing’an Hall, their armor clanking coldly in the silent night.

A squad of armored guards approached, herding weeping maidservants and sturdy male servants toward the back garden.

Chen Ji silently pulled Zhang Zhuo aside to let them pass. Once the squad had departed, they resumed their hurried pace.

Zhang Zhuo, wearing his face guard, quietly asked, “What’s the situation like outside now?”

Chen Ji explained, “The Liu family has already sealed the city gates and should now be trying to win over Prince Jing to join their rebellion.”

Zhang Zhuo muttered to himself, “They want to force Prince Jing to storm the capital. Once they kill the one in Renshou Palace, and the current Empress Dowager cooperates by issuing a fabricated edict to enthrone Prince Jing, it will be done. Luocheng is over six hundred *li* from the capital; a long-distance assault could reach it in half a month…”

Zhang Zhuo frowned. “But the problem is, how can he be sure he can breach the capital’s gates with just tens of thousands of private troops? No, other aristocratic families and armies must have been subverted by the Liu family!”

Zhang Zhuo continued to muse aloud, “Who would be working with them from the inside? The Hu family, the Chen family, the Yang family, the Qi family? The Divine Mechanism Battalion, the Fengtai Battalion, the Five Army Battalions, the Leopard Transformation Battalion…”

As he spoke, Chen Ji suddenly reached out and tightly gripped his wrist, stopping them both.

Zhang Zhuo looked up and froze on the spot.

Under the moonlight, Mr. Feng, clad in a green robe, strode confidently from the path ahead. He smiled as he looked at Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo and asked, “Finished killing them?”

Chen Ji said in a muffled voice, “Yes, Mr. Feng, we’re done.”

Mr. Feng nodded. “You two, come back with me to Feiyun Courtyard for a moment; I forgot to retrieve something.”

In that instant, Chen Ji felt a chill rise from his feet to his head. The world grew so silent that only his heartbeat remained, and even the air seemed to congeal.

Mr. Feng, seeing his stillness, asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? Did you not kill Lord Zhang and Imperial Physician Yao? Surely I don’t have to handle such a minor task myself, do I?”

Zhang Zhuo slowly reached for the hilt of his waist saber, but Chen Ji gripped his wrist like an iron clamp, preventing him from moving.

Before a high official like Mr. Feng, attempting to use force was akin to seeking death. If even Golden Pig and Heavenly Horse couldn’t kill him, how could he and Zhang Zhuo possibly succeed?

But what other way was there to break the deadlock?

Mr. Feng walked closer step by step, finally stopping in front of Chen Ji. “Nothing to say?”

The next moment, Chen Ji gently removed his face guard. “Mr. Feng, let’s talk.”

Zhang Zhuo was stunned; he had only just guessed Chen Ji’s identity, but he hadn’t expected Chen Ji would dare to reveal it to Mr. Feng!

Mr. Feng looked at the face beneath the face guard and suddenly burst into laughter. “So it’s you! I was wondering who had the audacity to fool me like this! But you already escaped earlier using the Dao Court’s carriage; why did you come back?”

Chen Ji took a deep breath. “Naturally, there was a reason I had to return.”

Mr. Feng, with his hands clasped behind his back, asked with interest, “You dare to remove your face guard; are you not afraid I’ll kill you?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, “If Mr. Feng wanted to kill me, he would have done so already.”

This Mr. Feng had discovered his problematic identity as far back as Cuiyun Alley but chose not to expose him, keeping him by his side instead.

If his identity as a ‘spy’ wasn’t useful, the other party would have killed him long ago.

Mr. Feng nodded with satisfaction. “Tell me, what do you want to talk about?”

Chen Ji pondered for a moment. “Mr. Feng, since you’ve spared my life, there must be something you find inconvenient to do yourself, for which you need my help. Is that correct?”

Mr. Feng looked at Chen Ji with a half-smile. “Now your life is in my hands; whether you live or die is solely up to my whim. The reason I spared you is that I need you to help me kill someone. Let’s play a game: you guess who I want to kill. Three chances. If you guess correctly, I will not only spare your life but also grant you immense wealth.”

Chen Ji frowned. “Prince Jing?”

He had always found Mr. Feng’s identity suspicious. If the man intended to thwart the Liu family’s rebellion, then killing Prince Jing would naturally disrupt half of their plans.

He looked up, observing Mr. Feng’s expression, but heard him slowly say, “Incorrect. You have two more chances.”

Chen Ji unconsciously tightened his grip on Zhang Zhuo’s wrist, his mind racing. The man must be keeping him alive to exploit his unique qualities… perhaps his special identity.

What special identity did he possess? A spy for the Secret Service.

Chen Ji spoke. “Mr. Feng wants to kill Heavenly Horse?”

Mr. Feng shook his head with a smile. “Still wrong. Last chance.”

Chen Ji’s pupils constricted slightly. He hadn’t guessed correctly?

Wait, Mr. Feng hadn’t known who was under the face guard earlier, so the person he wanted to kill had nothing to do with the Secret Service…

Who exactly did he want to kill?

Zhang Zhuo noticed Chen Ji’s grip on his wrist tightening and immediately looked over with concern. The young man, who should have been cleanly studying in the academy, now had a tightly furrowed brow, struggling for survival.

Yet, in the next moment, Zhang Zhuo saw the young man’s brow suddenly relax.

Chen Ji looked at Mr. Feng and said with certainty, “Mr. Feng wants to kill General Qian of the Tiger-Armored Cavalry.”

Mr. Feng raised an eyebrow, then said admiringly, “Sparing your life earlier in Dragon King’s Hamlet was indeed the right decision.”