A young man from Luocheng walked on the cobbled street at night, holding a small black cat. His steps were heavy at first, but gradually became lighter. Life still had to go on, and he already had new hope.

“Wuyun, let’s talk about something cheerful,” Chen Ji said with a smile. “Could you tell me about what goes on in Prince Jing’s Residence?”

Wuyun, bored, curled up on Chen Ji’s arm, taking dried fish from a small blue bundle and munching on it. “What’s there to say about that rotten place?” it scoffed. “The prince’s mansion is a huge compound, and there are tons of dirty deeds just among the nannies and maids. For example, Chunhua was bought by Consort Jing to seduce Prince Jing, but he never even gave her a glance. For another, that vicious woman Chunrong, jealous of Chunhua’s youth and beauty, would secretly spit into Chunhua’s food…”

Chen Ji smiled and changed the subject. “In the three months you’ve been at Prince Jing’s Residence, has anything significant happened?”

“Of course!” Wuyun became animated. “The residence is about to get lively.”

Chen Ji looked expectant. “Oh?”

Wuyun eagerly said, “It’s the Double Ninth Festival soon. Prince Jing’s eldest son, Zhu Yunxi, Consort Jing’s daughter, Zhu Lingyun, and Consort Yun’s daughter, Zhu Baili, are all returning from Donglin Academy. And apparently, there’s also a young monk.”

“A young monk?” Chen Ji asked, puzzled.

Wuyun replied, “Consort Jing said he’s the reincarnated Buddhist Child of the Gening Sect from Yunzhou Esoteric Buddhism. The Gening Sect needs the court’s support and official endorsement, so they’ve kept him as a hostage in the Central Plains.”

“Is Donglin Academy very famous?” Chen Ji asked curiously, remembering that his two elder brothers had returned from there.

Wuyun explained, “I heard Donglin Academy, along with Qingya Academy and Yuelu Academy, are known as the three great academies of the Ning Dynasty, a place where talented scholars flock. It’s said that the monthly tuition is very expensive, and only children from noble families can study there. Among the successful candidates in every imperial examination, thirty percent are students from Donglin Academy.”

“Wanderers returning home after three years… it certainly should be lively,” Chen Ji mused. “Who is the principal consort, Consort Jing or Consort Yun? And whose child is Zhu Yunxi?”

Wuyun replied, “Neither of them is the principal consort. The principal consort was Zhu Yunxi’s mother, who passed away many years ago… I’m heading back to Wansing Courtyard now!”

Just as they were about to reach the entrance of Taiping Medical Hall, Wuyun suddenly leaped from Chen Ji’s arms and vanished in a flash.

Chen Ji walked around another corner and saw Old Man Yao standing expressionless at the entrance, asking, “Where have you been?”

Chen Ji pondered, knowing that if he said he took a small cat to find its mother, Old Man Yao certainly wouldn’t believe him. He replied, “I forgot something at home during my day off today, so I went back to get it.”

Old Man Yao frowned, his forehead wrinkling. “Actually, today’s tuition wasn’t from your family, was it?”

Chen Ji froze.

Old Man Yao sneered, “I knew something was off back then. Your stepmother is so narrow-minded; she sent you here to be an apprentice just so she wouldn’t have to pay the ten taels of silver monthly tuition for Donglin Academy. It’s good enough if she pays your tuition now; how could she possibly buy so many gifts to honor me?”

Chen Ji remained silent, unsure how to respond.

Old Man Yao then asked, puzzled, “Wait a minute, if the money wasn’t from your family, where did your tuition come from? Could it be you’re being supported by some woman…?” As he spoke, Old Man Yao’s expression changed dramatically, his beard nearly bristling with anger. “You’re an apprentice at my Taiping Medical Hall, after all. If word gets out that you’ve done something like that, what’s the difference between that and you directly defecating in my pocket?”

Chen Ji: “…Huh?”

“Huh what, huh?”

Chen Ji quickly said, “You’ve misunderstood, how could I possibly do such a thing?”

“Then where did you get this money?”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. “Master, I can’t say. I don’t want to get you involved.”

Old Man Yao looked him up and down. “The Secret Service? Are you working for them?”

Chen Ji sighed, thinking, *No wonder people often say that old age brings wisdom. I only revealed so little, yet he guessed it.* He could only explain, “Master, Yunyang came to my door; I had no choice.”

Old Man Yao stared at him for a long time, then turned and walked back into the medical hall. “Whether you had a choice or not, you’ve already made it. I won’t interfere or ask questions, as long as you pay your tuition every month. And if you die outside someday, it’s best I don’t know… Now hurry up and go to bed!”

The medical hall’s door closed. Three people emerged from the corner at the end of Anxi Street. Yunyang, arms crossed over his chest, muttered, “Physician Yao seems not to like our Secret Service much.”

Jiao Tu shrugged. “It’s quite normal for them not to like us.”

Yunyang looked at the third person. “Meng Ji, that young apprentice is the one I want to interrogate. I need to confirm if he’s a spy from the Jing Dynasty.”

The man named Meng Ji wore a bright brown robe with a crossed collar and wide lapels. Dozens of brightly colored pheasants were embroidered on his robe, making it look like a theatrical costume.

Meng Ji touched his neat sideburns and said in a thin, reedy voice, “A mere apprentice, is he worth such generosity from you? And you even specially invited me from Kaifeng Prefecture.”

“I pay, you do the work. I’ve told you all the information you need to know; don’t ask about anything else,” Yunyang said calmly.

“Alright, I guarantee your satisfaction. In dreams, what you want to do, I’m in charge,” Meng Ji cackled, making Jiao Tu rub the goosebumps on his arms.

Yunyang asked curiously, “I’ve always had a question: why do you dare to openly display your cultivation path? Aren’t you afraid of getting into trouble?”

Meng Ji chuckled, “His Excellency the Grand Minister said that I am the only one in the world who practices this path. What trouble could I possibly get into?”

He then sat cross-legged on the ground and took out a yellow talisman paper from his embrace. Meng Ji bit his finger, using his blood to draw and write on the talisman paper. Finally, he wrapped a strand of hair in the talisman paper and swallowed it!

In an instant, Meng Ji’s pupils rolled upwards, leaving only the whites of his eyes visible!

Chen Ji did not return to his room to rest. He quietly lit an oil lamp in the main hall of the medical hall and silently flipped through “The Comprehensive Medical Compendium.” Just the six hundred and eighteen acupuncture points within the twelve primary meridians of the human body were difficult to memorize.

He felt as if he was back in a classroom on a hot summer day, with piles of exam papers and books in front of him, and the resonant sound of students reciting lessons in his ears. Memories of studying were almost every student’s most profound memory during their youth, accompanied by the relentless passage of time. At this moment, Chen Ji wished he had a “Five Years of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Three Years of Mock Exams” textbook in front of him.

As he was studying, he suddenly felt sleepiness wash over him, as if he were wrapped in warm seawater during a mild season, pulling him towards the ocean’s depths. Chen Ji became alert. Ever since he had ignited the four furnace fires within his body, he had always been full of energy. This drowsiness was completely illogical. Yet, no matter how vigilant he tried to be, his eyelids slowly closed.

After an unknown period, Chen Ji opened his eyes in a dream. He was standing distinctly before the vermilion gate of Zhou Chengyi’s residence.

*Hmm, what was I supposed to be doing?* Chen Ji looked at the medicine packet in his hand, wrapped in hemp paper and inscribed with “Taiping Medical Hall.” Then he looked up at the plaque that read “Zhou Mansion.” *Right, I was here to deliver a tonic to Lord Zhou.*

*Knock, knock, knock*. Chen Ji picked up the brass knocker and knocked on the door. Everything felt very natural; he had forgotten this was a dream.

With a creak, the vermilion gate opened, and Steward Wang greeted him with a smiling face from inside. “Young Doctor Chen, you’re here? Please come in quickly.”

“Where is Lord Zhou? I’ve brought the medicinal herbs he requested,” Chen Ji said as he followed Steward Wang inside. The gate slowly closed behind them. Chen Ji looked around. Maids were wiping down mahogany furniture in the main house, and in the courtyard, a woman was smiling as she held a little girl, while a little boy kicked a shuttlecock nearby. Steward Wang led him into the main house. Chen Ji felt that the place was exceptionally familiar, yet he couldn’t recall where he had seen it before.

At this moment, Zhou Chengyi was sitting behind a desk, transcribing a book with a writing brush. Seeing Chen Ji arrive, he dismissed the steward and maids.

Chen Ji placed the medicine packet on the table. “Lord Zhou, here is your medicine.”

Zhou Chengyi looked up and suddenly asked, “Does Prince Jing have any new messages to convey to me?”

Chen Ji froze for a moment. “Lord Zhou, what are you talking about?”

Zhou Chengyi’s voice grew darker. “Have you forgotten? You and I are spies sent to the south by the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau. I’m responsible for contacting the Liu family, and you’re responsible for contacting Prince Jing! I’ll ask you again: are there any new messages from Prince Jing’s side?”

Chen Ji frowned, not answering, as thoughts rapidly churned in his mind. But then he heard Zhou Chengyi asking again and again, “Have you forgotten your identity?”

“Have you forgotten how the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau trained you?”

Zhou Chengyi’s voice grew louder and more penetrating: “Have you forgotten that you are a spy?”

Each question was like a demonic whisper piercing his ears, making Chen Ji dizzy and disoriented. He felt as if his consciousness was being manipulated, and his eyes involuntarily rolled upwards, showing only the whites.

The next moment, with only the whites of his eyes visible, Chen Ji replied, “Lord Zhou, have you misunderstood? I’m not a spy!”

Zhou Chengyi revealed a satisfied smile. He had already obtained the answer he wanted and could now go to Yunyang to complete the transaction. However, he grew curious again. “How do you know Yunyang?”

As his words fell, Chen Ji felt the four furnace fires in his Dantian ignite, burning away all the evil spirits, demons, and monsters within him!

Zhou Chengyi, completely unaware, stood up, leaning forward with his hands on the table. “Why does Yunyang suspect you’re a Jing Dynasty spy, and what’s so special about you that Yunyang didn’t simply kill you?” The last sentence, surprisingly, was no longer Zhou Chengyi’s original voice, but had changed to a high-pitched, reedy voice.

At this moment, Chen Ji’s pupils startlingly rolled back down, and he turned to walk outside! “Zhou Chengyi” watched in astonishment as Chen Ji turned and walked outside. He walked directly to the vermilion gate, as if no one else was there, and forcefully pulled it open.

When “Zhou Chengyi” saw the gate open wide, Yunyang and Jiao Tu stood outside, smiling playfully. He asked in astonishment, “Hmm? Yunyang, Jiao Tu, how did you get into my dream?”

Wait!

This isn’t right!

“Zhou Chengyi” clearly realized that it was impossible for Yunyang and Jiao Tu to invade his dream, and he had never conjured them up in this dream before… The Yunyang and Jiao Tu before him were conjured up by Chen Ji, the young apprentice, within the dream! The dream was no longer entirely under his control!

Then Chen Ji thought for a moment, pointed at “Zhou Chengyi,” and said to Yunyang and Jiao Tu, “Lord Yunyang, Lord Jiao Tu, Zhou Chengyi is definitely a Jing Dynasty spy!”

Yunyang asked with interest, “Do you have proof?”

Chen Ji said with certainty, “Does the Secret Service need proof to arrest a spy? Just stab him, and it’s done!”

“Zhou Chengyi” watched Yunyang and Jiao Tu pounce towards him and instantly roared, “Wait…! Ah!”