“Ran away?”

“They just ran away?!”

Chen Ji stood dazedly among the ox carts, finding the situation somewhat absurd.

The moment he heard “Daozi” and “Chongzi,” Chen Ji was certain these two were Erdao and Paoge. This was because when Chen Ji was near death, Paoge had introduced himself, saying, “My real name is Chen Chong, but my friends like to call me Paoge.”

Chen Chong.

Chongzi.

It was no coincidence.

Thinking of this, Chen Ji felt an inexplicable joy. *You and I are not well acquainted, yet I feel an unusual closeness to you. When I see you, even the wind seems to carry messages from my homeland.*

However, he never imagined that Paoge would flee so decisively.

When ordinary people face unknown situations, most harbor a glimmer of hope until the danger truly descends. What Chen Ji didn’t know was that Paoge and Erdao’s hopeful illusions had been thoroughly shattered by police officers during their seven or eight previous stints in prison.

In the cold wind, Chen Ji suddenly shouted, “Zaozao!”

Hoofbeats echoed from the stables.

Chief Escort Liang looked back in surprise, only to see Miss Zhang Er’s chestnut horse, Zaozao, easily leap over the stable fence with its reins in its mouth, then stop beside Chen Ji.

The miraculous steed’s breath, expelled in the cold night, appeared like two white arrows of steam. It lowered its head, releasing its grip, and the reins dropped into Chen Ji’s hand.

“Chief Escort Liang, wait for me here,” Chen Ji said, then swung himself onto the horse using the stirrup. With a slight flick of his wrist on the reins, Zaozao galloped away like an arrow released from a bow, carrying Chen Ji.

He galloped through the dirt roads of the county town, chasing from south to north without finding any trace of Erdao or Paoge, and then from west to east, still nothing.

The town’s residents had already gone to bed early; not even a night watchman could be seen.

He searched back and forth alone in the county town but never saw Erdao or Paoge, unsure if they had already left the town or were hiding among the residential buildings.

Chen Ji slowly halted his horse in the darkened county town, his mind gradually settling.

There was a time when he thought he was the only one who had traveled from Earth to the Ning Dynasty. From then on, he wouldn’t be able to discuss *Empresses in the Palace*, *Drawing Sword*, or *Soldier Assault* with anyone, nor could he enthusiastically talk about Cristiano Ronaldo’s divine hat-trick in the 2018 World Cup.

Because no one would understand.

Perhaps Erdao and Paoge didn’t watch *Empresses in the Palace* or *Drawing Sword*, and didn’t like Cristiano Ronaldo. But it didn’t matter; they could always find common ground.

The moment Chen Ji discovered Erdao and Paoge, it was as if he had seen a faint glimmer of light in the darkness, but this light quickly extinguished.

Chen Ji gently patted Zaozao’s back. “Let’s go back to the inn.”

Zaozao did not gallop back but returned slowly with Chen Ji, as if it knew the person on its back was no longer so urgent.

Back at the inn, Chen Ji rode up to Chief Escort Liang. Sitting on horseback, he calmly asked, “Chief Escort Liang, those two must be hiding some secret, otherwise, why would they run?”

Chief Escort Liang looked up, scrutinizing Chen Ji, and saw that the young Third Master Chen’s eyes were unfathomably deep.

He was a man who had traveled far and wide, understanding at a glance who was easy to provoke and who wasn’t, who was easy to fool and who wasn’t. In the eyes of those in the jianghu, there were only two kinds of people in the world: sheep and wolves.

Some people, no matter how fierce their expressions, had shifting eyes, and such people were merely sheep in wolves’ clothing. Others, though seemingly frail, had eyes like knives, eager to carve a piece of flesh from you; these were wolves in sheep’s clothing.

At this moment, this Third Master Chen did not resemble a scholar; instead, he seemed more like an enforcer of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Chief Escort Liang said with a forced smile, “Third Master, perhaps they just couldn’t endure the hardships of escorting, which is why they ran? You may not know, but this escort business is tough, and escorts secretly running away is a common occurrence.”

Chen Ji grunted, dismounted, and led Zaozao by the reins toward the stables.

After taking two steps, he stopped, then stepped back.

Chen Ji calmly gazed at Chief Escort Liang. “The Zhang family’s transporting their family fortune to the capital is a major affair, yet you’ve allowed people of unknown origin and background to join. What are your intentions? Are Daozi and Chongzi bandits from Mount Taihang? Is your Liang Escort Agency colluding with the Mount Taihang bandits to plunder the Zhang family’s wealth?”

Chief Escort Liang’s face paled slightly, and he nervously said, “Third Master, some words cannot be spoken carelessly; they can lead to loss of life.”

Chen Ji then changed the subject, asking, “Chief Escort Liang, what is your relationship with Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er?”

Liang Mao’er and Liang Gou’er had previously mentioned that their father was an escort who had fallen ill and died early after being ambushed by Mount Taihang bandits.

Chief Escort Liang quickly replied, “They are my two younger brothers. We separated years ago and haven’t seen each other for a long time.”

Chen Ji nodded. “Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er are my friends. Out of respect for them, I can put this matter aside for now, but we need to get to the bottom of it first.”

Chief Escort Liang nodded profusely. “Please, tell me.”

Chen Ji suddenly lowered his voice and demanded, “Why did those two run?”

Chief Escort Liang bowed his head and remained silent.

Chen Ji said casually, “It seems I’ll have to let Lord Zhang interrogate you personally before you’ll tell the truth.”

With that, he made to leave, but Chief Escort Liang quickly pulled him back. “Reporting, Third Master, those two were not originally my escorts; they were from Luo Wei Escort Agency. About two months ago, something unknown happened to Luo Wei Escort Agency; its escorts scattered like birds and beasts, and the chief escort vanished without a trace. The two of them came to seek refuge together, and since I was short-handed, I allowed them to work at Liang Escort Agency.”

Chen Ji smiled. “Something unknown happened? Is Chief Escort Liang still going to pretend he doesn’t know? Don’t court death.”

Chief Escort Liang’s eyes flickered in the moonlight. In the inn’s backyard, ox carts were parked layer upon layer, like a stacked labyrinth. In the darkness, escorts quietly crept closer, their hands slipping into their sleeves to grasp the hilts of their daggers.

Chen Ji seemed oblivious to the danger, remaining in his spot.

However, Chief Escort Liang noticed the escorts’ movements and immediately cursed, “Get back, all of you! Do you want to get me killed?”

Just then, a voice came from a distance: “Chen Ji? Where are you?”

Chen Ji smiled and replied, “I’m here.”

Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng came together. Zhang Xia said, “I just went to your room to find you for a game of chess, but only Xiao Man was there… Why are you awake so late, and what are you doing here?”

Chen Ji explained, “I discovered that two people from the escort agency secretly ran away, so I came to ask some questions.”

Zhang Xia exclaimed, “Ran away? Why did they run away?”

At this moment, Chen Ji saw that Zhang Zheng still had his black cloak draped over his arm.

Zhang Zheng draped the cloak over his shoulders and casually instructed, “The wind is strong; don’t catch a cold. If you get sick while traveling, it will be quite uncomfortable.”

Chen Ji whispered his thanks, then turned to Chief Escort Liang. “Chief Escort Liang, whatever your intentions, I can let bygones be bygones. But if you don’t clearly explain the situation with those two, I’m afraid you won’t escape imprisonment.”

Chief Escort Liang sighed softly. “I will tell you everything, Third Master; please don’t alarm Lord Zhang. The situation is this: Luo Wei Escort Agency was recently escorting Master Yao and ten carts of valuables to Jinling. However, when they passed through Mount Langya, they encountered a large number of bandits. The escorts from Luo Wei Escort Agency knew they were outmatched and abandoned their client on Mount Langya.”

“That simple? If it were that simple, they wouldn’t need to run,” Chen Ji wondered. “They say escort agencies operate by appeasing both the righteous and the lawless. Since they dared to take this route, didn’t they know the bandits of Mount Langya?”

Chief Escort Liang explained, “They did know them originally. The chief escort of Luo Wei Escort Agency and the head of Mount Langya’s bandits even had a life-or-death friendship. However, floods in Yuzhou caused many common people to become displaced. A group of disaster victims fled south, drove away the original bandits from Mount Langya, and established their own stronghold there. These victims don’t understand the rules of the jianghu; they rob anyone they encounter. They will probably be suppressed by the authorities soon.”

Chen Ji asked, “The bandits didn’t kill anyone from Luo Wei Escort Agency?”

Chief Escort Liang whispered, “Third Master, you might not know, but bandits seek wealth, not lives. If they can get along peacefully with the escorts, there’s no need for a deadly fight. It’s said the bandits gave Luo Wei Escort Agency two options: the first was a fight to the death, and the second was for Luo Wei Escort Agency to leave, but they could take one box of Master Yao’s valuables.”

Chen Ji nodded. “So they chose to split the money… How do I know you’re not bluffing me?”

Chief Escort Liang whispered, “Third Master, there’s still someone from Luo Wei Escort Agency in the contingent. I can bring him to you.”

He blew a whistle, and among the ox carts, several escorts drew short blades from their sleeves and surrounded a corner.

Moments later, they dragged a young man before Chen Ji. “Third Master, this is the Luo Wei Escort Agency’s advance man, responsible for shouting the escort calls. You can just ask him.”

The young advance man struggled fiercely. “Liang Zhu’er, you son of a bitch! You took our gifts and now you’re turning against us? We agreed that after we passed Linfen with you, we’d go our separate ways—you to your capital, us to our Guyuan! What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!”

Chief Escort Liang looked at Chen Ji with some embarrassment. “Third Master, don’t listen to his nonsense; I never agreed to that. I truly only took them on because I was short-handed and they were experienced escorts.”

Chen Ji mused, “Why go to Guyuan?”

Chief Escort Liang whispered, “Although Guyuan is a military fort of our Ning Dynasty, there are more Jing Dynasty people living there than Ning people. It’s a mixed bag of people, with countless smugglers, and our Ning border army doesn’t really interfere much. I heard there’s an inn in Guyuan run by General Wentao’s former subordinates, which can transport people to the Jing Dynasty.”

Chen Ji turned to the young advance man. “Let me ask you, where did you go after leaving Mount Langya?”

The advance man stiffened his neck. “We went to Jinling.”

Chen Ji asked again, “What about the money you received?”

The advance man replied, “It was all spent on the Qinhuai River!”

Zhang Xia’s eyes widened. “After such an incident, you still had the mind to enjoy yourselves?”

The advance man retorted with a sullen face, “We figured we’d be dealt with by the authorities sooner or later, so we might as well enjoy ourselves by the Qinhuai River before we died. Who would have thought the authorities never even came looking for us?”

Chen Ji calculated the dates. At that time, Lin Chaojing of the Jiefan Guard had been transferred from Jinling to Luocheng, bringing with him Jinzhu, Jiaotu, Yunyang, Bailong, Mengji, and Tianma. Everyone’s target was the Liu family; who would have the time to bother with a mere Master Yao…

He pondered for a moment and asked, “Are you familiar with Daozi and Chongzi?”

The advance man spat on the ground. “Familiar? I’m too familiar! We called each other brothers every day, but then in a blink, they turned their backs and denied knowing me! It was my own blindness to consider such people good brothers!”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Turned their backs?”

The advance man sneered, “Exactly! When I ran out of money and asked Chongzi for a loan, that scoundrel forgot how he used to borrow money from me. He actually demanded ‘nine out, thirteen back,’ wanting to suck my blood! I never asked for such high interest when I lent him money before!”

Chen Ji was slightly startled. It seemed Paoge was continuing his old profession in the Ning Dynasty.

The advance man continued, “Third Master, did those two offend you? If I tell you more about them, will you let me go?”

Chen Ji smiled and asked, “Are you going to betray them?”

“Betrayal or not,” the advance man shrugged, “they abandoned me and left. Why should I cover for them?”

Chen Ji nodded. “Go on, tell me.”

The advance man whispered, “They weren’t originally called Daozi and Chongzi. Their names were Li Baocheng and Wang Duo. After we returned to Luocheng from Mount Langya, they suddenly said they wanted to use the aliases Erdao and Chen Chong. It was baffling.”

Chen Ji asked again, “Do they still have family?”

The advance man quickly said, “Yes, yes. Li Baocheng… that’s Erdao, he has an elder sister. Chen Chong has a younger brother. Those two scoundrels don’t even care about their own families anymore.”

Chen Ji knew that Erdao and Chen Chong, like himself, had no family ties in this world and naturally wouldn’t care about sisters or brothers.

He pondered for a moment and then asked, “When did they turn their backs on people?”

The advance man recalled for a moment, “It was back when we first encountered the bandits in Mount Langya. Many people were ambushed, and Daozi and Chongzi were knocked unconscious with hoes by the bandits. After that, they didn’t recognize people anymore, couldn’t even remember their own names. We all said their brains were damaged from the beating.”

Chen Ji lowered his head in thought. Erdao and Paoge, like himself, had taken over the bodies of deceased individuals. But he had been smuggled here by Li Qingniao and his master. How did Erdao and Paoge arrive? His name was the same in both his past and present lives, but Erdao and Paoge’s were not. What was the difference?

The capital.

Chen Ji suddenly remembered Paoge saying that the capital was prosperous, and it would be a pity not to make a name for oneself there.

People like Paoge, as long as they didn’t die, would surely be seen again.

The advance man said hopefully, “Third Master Chen, I’ve told you everything I know. Please be merciful and let me go.”

Chief Escort Liang, standing nearby, cautiously asked, “Third Master, do you know Master Yao and intend to avenge him? If so, I will immediately drag this advance man to the cowshed and butcher him. However… I also have to speak on their behalf, Third Master. You probably haven’t seen the countryside; villagers have fled their homes, leaving villages empty, and were forced to become bandits. No matter how skilled we escorts are, we can’t withstand their sheer numbers. Those victims, their eyes are green with hunger. For a bag of grain, they would fight you to the death with sickles and hoes. They are beyond reason.”

Chen Ji waved his hand. “Let him go.”