The Qiansui Army… it was no longer the force that had once fought alongside Prince Jing through life and death. Over the long years, the Ministry of Rites had used various methods to divide, intimidate, and dismantle it. Those who were disobedient had already been executed; only the compliant ones were allowed to survive.

No reinforcements.

Chen Ji suddenly felt a surge of helplessness, as if no matter how much effort he exerted, there was always a hand reaching out to correct every twist of fate he desperately tried to alter. Could the divination his master had performed truly be unchangeable? Was this destiny?

No!

Chen Ji stood encircled by the Qiansui Army soldiers, a solitary reef against the tide. But before the soldiers could close in, he moved not forward, but backward, like an icebreaker on the open sea, heading directly for the deputy general! No one expected such audacity from him, that he would even attempt to strike down a general. Caught off guard, the deputy general swung his halberd. It whistled through the air but came to a steady halt in Chen Ji’s hand.

Chen Ji powerfully flicked his wrist, commanding, “Let go!” An immense force traveled from the halberd’s shaft into the deputy general’s hand, shaking him until he was forced to release it. “Official, almost Xiantian!” he exclaimed.

The remaining soldiers, seeing this, closed in, but Chen Ji swung the halberd, its crescent blade sweeping everyone away like a wide arc of the moon. By the time they reacted, Chen Ji was already standing behind the deputy general, the halberd’s crescent blade pressed against his neck. “Everyone else, step back, or he won’t survive!” he ordered. “Speak! Tell your subordinates to retreat!”

The deputy general stated gravely, “My Qiansui Army does not fear death; your threats are useless.” Chen Ji scoffed, “If you truly didn’t fear death, why would you betray your master for gain?”

At these words, the halberd-wielding soldiers exchanged glances.

Holding the deputy general hostage, Chen Ji slowly retreated toward the camp gate, proclaiming loudly, “Prince Jing is currently held by the Secret Police in Luocheng’s inner prison, facing false accusations and slander; his life hangs by a thread. Prince Jing himself wrote a blood letter, asking me to deliver it to General Wang, hoping he could break into the prison tonight and take the Crown Prince and Princess to safety. Yet, General Wang, who outwardly agreed, has now taken the blood letter to inform the Secret Police! This deputy general is doing the same, slandering me as a remnant of the Liu family! If I were a Liu family remnant, why would I come to your Qiansui Army camp?!”

The camp erupted in an uproar. The halberd’s crescent blade in Chen Ji’s hand cut into the deputy general’s neck, drawing a line of blood. “If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll take your life now, and we’ll die together,” he threatened.

The deputy general sneered, “If you kill me, how will you escape?”

Chen Ji suddenly declared loudly, “All soldiers, look closely at my face! On the day at Luhun Villa, the Crown Prince and Princess were right beside me; I even led the Princess’s horse!”

One soldier recognized Chen Ji. “I remember him! I thought he was a princely son-in-law back then!” While they might have mistaken his actual status, many indeed recognized Chen Ji’s face.

Chen Ji breathed a slight sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak again, his peripheral vision caught sight of someone in deputy general armor ascending an arrow tower diagonally behind him, a grim look on their face as they drew a bow to fire. Simultaneously, the camp gate began to close slowly! He suddenly spun around, using the deputy general in front of him to shield against the arrow. This was bad—too many people in this camp had been bribed!

Chen Ji abandoned the hostage’s corpse and, while running desperately, hurled the halberd at the deputy general on the arrow tower. The halberd was heavy and powerful; the deputy general quickly ducked, and it narrowly grazed his head, shattering the arrow tower’s wooden roof. The Qiansui Army camp gates were slowly closing. In the nick of time, Chen Ji lunged forward, slipping through the rapidly narrowing gap.

As he landed from his lunge, he quickly braced himself with both hands. With another surge of power, he darted away like a cheetah, not pausing for an instant. Arrows flew after him, but they couldn’t match his speed, merely striking the footprints he left behind.

Chen Ji reached his tethered horse, swung onto its back, and fiercely spurred its flanks. The warhorse shot forward like an arrow from a bow, leaving all the commotion and clamor behind. Chen Ji continuously urged his horse, pushing it to accelerate again and again. Yet, the warhorse was already exhausted, able to manage only a slow trot.

He glanced back, confirmed no one was pursuing him, and finally exhaled. But what now? If General Wang delivered the blood letter to Bailong, it would serve as evidence of Prince Jing inciting the Qiansui Army to break into prison—a grave crime of treason. Furthermore, if the blood letter fell into Bailong’s hands, Chen Ji would also be implicated as an accomplice. Perhaps if he could just catch General Wang, there would still be a chance to reverse things, but he was destined not to catch him; the other party was far too fast.

Two hours later, as the walls of Luocheng appeared on the horizon, Chen Ji slowly tightened his grip on the reins. His warhorse gradually slowed, eventually standing in place, pawing the ground. He looked at the city gates ahead, his brow furrowed. It was still not too late to flee the Ning Dynasty. He could, like Si Cao Gui and Wu Hong Biao, first go to Jinling and Yangzhou to lie low, hiding on a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River for a month or two, then circle north to the Jing Dynasty. From then on, the affairs of the Ning Dynasty would be none of his concern. Those people and events would eventually be forgotten.

Chen Ji felt as if he saw a path of white bones leading into the city, with pristine snow falling on shattered fragments. These bone shards were like thorns; once he stepped onto them, there would be no turning back. He vaguely looked up and saw snowflakes truly falling from the sky—Luocheng’s third snowfall of the winter.

To go, or to stay? He could not leave.

The next moment, Chen Ji spurred his horse to accelerate, rushing into Luocheng. As he neared the inner prison, he suddenly heard someone call his name: “Chen Ji, what are you doing here?”

Chen Ji spun around sharply and saw Golden Pig alighting from a carriage, accompanied by West Wind. He asked, puzzled, “Lord Golden Pig, weren’t you apprehending Consort Yun? Why are you here at the inner prison?”

Golden Pig was fuming. “I was in the middle of searching for clues about Consort Yun, when Bailong suddenly sent a verbal order, summoning all the Zodiacs to the inner prison. Who knows what kind of trouble that fellow is stirring up now, treating us like monkeys, summoning and dismissing us at his whim!” As he spoke, he went to knock on the iron door of the inner prison. “Open up!” he called.

When the jailer opened the door, Golden Pig led the way down the steps. Noticing Chen Ji hadn’t moved, he turned back, asking in confusion, “Come on, why are you just standing there?” Chen Ji grunted in acknowledgment and followed him down. He had no idea why Bailong had suddenly summoned all the Zodiacs, nor what would happen next. He only knew that he, Prince Jing, the Crown Prince, and the Princess were all on the brink.

Entering the dim corridor, Chen Ji immediately saw the end: many people had already gathered in front of Cell Number One, Type Jia, with Steward Feng and Bailong standing side by side. As he passed Cell Number Seven again, the Crown Prince and Bai Li stood inside the cage, gripping the bars. The Crown Prince urgently asked Golden Pig, “Lord Golden Pig, what happened? Why are so many people here? What are you going to do?”

Neither Golden Pig nor Chen Ji replied.

When the two arrived at the door of Cell Number One, Bailong remained silent, his expression concealed by his mask. Steward Feng smiled faintly and began, “Everyone has worked hard lately, first in quelling the Liu family’s rebellion, and now in apprehending Prince Jing’s Household, the mastermind of this insurgency.”

Chen Ji’s pupils suddenly constricted. The next moment, Steward Feng withdrew a page from his sleeve, on which words were written in blood: “Just today, Prince Jing wrote a blood letter, ordering the Qiansui Army to break into prison, thereby committing the grave crime of treason!”

Cloud Sheep, White Rabbit, Dream Rooster, and Golden Pig exchanged glances; they were only just learning of this themselves!

Steward Feng smiled and said, “Fortunately, we have a young hero in my Ministry of Rites. After cleverly obtaining the blood letter from Prince Jing, he immediately handed it to me, thus preventing Prince Jing and the Qiansui Army from committing a grave error… Isn’t that right, Chen Ji?”

Cloud Sheep, White Rabbit, Dream Rooster, and the others all turned to look at Chen Ji, a strange expression flickering in their eyes. Everyone knew he was closely associated with Prince Jing’s Household, but they never expected that he would be the one to ultimately betray Prince Jing.

Chen Ji froze in place. He had assumed the blood letter would be in Bailong’s hands, never imagining that Steward Feng was orchestrating everything from behind the scenes. Bailong hadn’t uttered a single word from beginning to end. What was Steward Feng’s true identity? Sick Tiger? Or was he not even one of the Zodiacs, but rather someone who held authority over them? He knew that General Wang had clearly tricked the blood letter away and given it to Steward Feng, yet now Steward Feng was claiming *Chen Ji* had tricked it from Prince Jing’s hands.

Why? Why? Why!?

Chen Ji turned to Cell Number One, Type Jia, seeing Prince Jing meet his gaze, eyes devoid of emotion, neither sad nor joyful. In the muggy, damp, and gloomy inner prison, Chen Ji felt a sudden roar in his mind, as if something had exploded.

Golden Pig nudged Chen Ji with his arm, prompting in a low voice, “Speak up!”

Chen Ji snapped back to reality, his heart turning to ice. He clasped his hands in salute, saying, “Reporting to Steward Feng, your humble subordinate merely did his duty.”

Steward Feng raised his hand and made two dismissive gestures. “Don’t be modest. Had it not been for you this time, my Ministry of Rites would truly have struggled to convict Prince Jing. This is a great achievement. Upon my return to the capital, I will personally inform the Interior Minister and request further commendation for you.” With that, he smiled and pulled a white scroll from his sleeve. “Coincidentally, the Interior Minister’s order for your promotion to Haidongqing has also arrived. Congratulations. In the future, remain humble, avoid arrogance, and do not rest on your laurels. My Ministry of Rites truly needs young talents like you to serve the nation.”

Chen Ji stepped forward a few paces and took the scroll. “Thank you, Steward Feng,” he said.

Steward Feng offered a wry smile. “Don’t thank me; thank the Interior Minister for his appreciation of you. In three days, Bailong, Cloud Sheep, White Rabbit, and Golden Pig will escort Prince Jing to the capital.” With that, Steward Feng turned to Bailong. “Lord Bailong, please, let us lead our people to Prince Jing’s Household to inventory and confiscate its assets. Afterwards, we can discuss the itinerary for our return to the capital.”

Bailong smiled. “Very well,” he replied.

After the two had left, White Rabbit tilted her head, curiously examining Chen Ji. “Actually, regarding the apprehension of Prince Jing’s Household, even if you had openly gone easy on them, no one would have said anything. After all, you are friends with the Crown Prince and Princess. I never expected you, young man, to be so ruthless, to personally deliver the final blow.”

Chen Ji remained silent.

Cloud Sheep remarked with a smile, “You’re certainly becoming more and more like a Zodiac.”

Suddenly, Chen Ji said with a smile, “Lord Cloud Sheep, you flatter me. It’s already no small feat for your humble subordinate to be promoted to Haidongqing. I plan to host a celebratory banquet at Yingxian Tower tomorrow. I wonder if I would be honored to invite a few lords to grace it with your presence?”

Golden Pig let out a hearty laugh. “Yes, we’ll all go together to celebrate your success! Hey, Dream Rooster, you come have a drink too. When was the last time we drank together? Was it during His Majesty’s southern tour, when he hosted a banquet for his ministers?”

Dream Rooster brushed the dust from his sleeves, remarking nonchalantly, “If you want to drink, then let’s drink. I have nothing better to do.”

Golden Pig then turned to Cloud Sheep and White Rabbit. “What about you two? Come on, give us some face. We’re colleagues, not enemies.”

Before Cloud Sheep could speak, White Rabbit replied with a smile, “Alright, let’s all go. But I want Huadiao wine aged for thirty years in the cellar—not a single year less.”

“Alright, if that Huadiao is even one year short, I’ll chop off the owner’s head at Yingxian Tower and kick it like a ball!” Golden Pig said, putting an arm around Chen Ji’s shoulder and leading him out. “Come on, come on, I’ll treat you to this celebratory banquet at Yingxian Tower. Before, I was worried you might do something foolish, but now that I see you’ve seen the light, I’m even happier than you are. Remember this: in this world, all pretense is meaningless. Only power held in your hands is real!”

As the two passed Cell Number Seven, Type Jia, Chen Ji subconsciously glanced inside. Bai Li’s clear tears streamed down her cheeks, collecting at her chin before dripping to the ground. The iron bars between them seemed like an insurmountable chasm, impossibly vast.

Chen Ji turned his head away and said with a smile, “How could I let Lord Golden Pig pay? As I’ve been promoted to Haidongqing, it’s only natural that I should host.”