Chen Ji commanded the Imperial Guards to follow, while he himself spurred Zaozao, rushing into the night like an arrow released from a bow.

However, the Imperial Guards did not move.

In Kuole Street under the night sky, the Imperial Guards’ torches flickered in the cold wind as they looked towards Li Xuan and the Crown Prince, awaiting orders.

Qi Zhenzhuo stood still, holding his reins, and grumbled, “This kid has neither fame nor official position. By what right does he order my Imperial Guards around? It’s so cold; what if we chase after nothing again?”

Li Xuan glared at him. “If you have no brains, speak less. Have you forgotten what your sister told you before we came to Guyuan?”

Qi Zhenzhuo said indignantly, “Brother-in-law…”

Li Xuan erupted in rage. “Silence!”

He looked up at the Crown Prince on horseback, clasped his hands, and said, “Your Highness, the border guards intentionally led us astray just now, which proves Chen Ji was right. The urgent matter now is to find the Jing Dynasty culprits; we cannot delay any longer… Your Highness?”

Before Li Xuan could finish speaking, the Crown Prince turned his horse and galloped after Chen Ji. “Imperial Guards, heed my command! Follow me to eliminate the Jing Dynasty spies.”

“Yes!” The Imperial Guards, holding torches, mounted their horses and charged towards Shache Street with heavy hooves, like a flowing river of fiery light.

At this moment, Chen Ji, holding the abducted young man, asked loudly, “Which way is the next intersection?”

The young man could barely open his eyes due to the wind. After struggling to discern the direction, he shouted, “Sir, go north!”

Chen Ji’s expression was grave. He had previously suspected Old Wu was a Jing Dynasty spy, and now the border guard soldiers further confirmed his suspicion.

He couldn’t help but ponder: How many more spies have infiltrated the border army? What other plans do these spies have besides poisoning the well water?

Most critically, has Deputy Commander Zhou been subverted by the Jing Dynasty? Is this the confidence behind the Jing Dynasty’s Heavenly Strategem Army’s surprise attack on Guyuan?

All of a sudden, he felt as if Guyuan City was shrouded in layers of mist, and he had only just glimpsed a small fraction of the truth.

However, at this moment, Chen Ji saw a familiar figure ahead, none other than the border guard soldier who had just led the way!

The other party had somehow acquired a horse and was galloping furiously. Chen Ji immediately threw the young man he was holding onto a roadside haystack and accelerated to pursue the border guard soldier.

The border guard soldier heard the sound of hooves approaching from behind. He looked back and, upon seeing Zaozao and Chen Ji charging towards him, thought, “This is not good.”

He drew a simple saber from his waist. As his horse passed a wine shop, he slashed his saber at the wooden pole holding up the wine banner.

Wood chips flew as the wine banner fell diagonally behind the border guard soldier, blocking Chen Ji’s path.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince shouted a warning from behind Chen Ji, “Be careful!”

In an instant, Zaozao leaped powerfully, carrying Chen Ji and soaring over the falling wine banner!

With a crash, the wine banner slammed heavily onto the ground behind Chen Ji, kicking up dust from the dirt road.

The Crown Prince’s eyes lit up. He spurred his horse through the lingering dust and saw Chen Ji, his body low on Zaozao’s back, rapidly closing the distance to the border guard soldier.

Gradually, only one body length separated Chen Ji and the border guard soldier. However, the border guard soldier no longer thought about shaking off Chen Ji; instead, he raised his simple saber to his neck, intending to commit suicide!

Chen Ji’s heart jolted: A suicide operative!

Without time to think, he took his feet from the stirrups, lightly leaped to crouch on the saddle, and then launched himself towards the border guard soldier.

In mid-air, he reached out and grabbed the border guard soldier’s knife-wielding wrist. Twisting, he brought the man down with him, and they tumbled several times on the ground, their faces, hair, and clothes covered in mottled yellow dirt.

After stopping his roll, the border guard soldier tried to retrieve his fallen simple saber. But Chen Ji was a step ahead; he twisted the man’s arm back and pinned him firmly to the ground.

Chen Ji asked in a low voice, “How many more Jing Dynasty spies are there in the border army?”

The border guard soldier, with half his face pressed against the ground, sneered, “You’re the damn Jing Dynasty spy!”

Chen Ji suddenly felt puzzled. “Then why did you help the Jing Dynasty spy escape? Why did you collude with the Jing Dynasty to pollute Guyuan City’s well water?”

The border guard soldier clamped his mouth shut and said nothing more.

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then began searching the man’s clothes to ensure he wasn’t hiding any weapons.

But just as he removed the man’s tattered rattan armor, a pair of gray cotton gloves fell from his embrace.

When Chen Ji picked up the gloves from the ground, he could still feel their warmth. The cotton gloves were brand new and seemed never to have been worn.

Seeing Chen Ji take the gloves, the border guard soldier immediately struggled violently, shouting, “Give me back my hand warmers!”

Chen Ji was slightly startled, then immediately realized that “hand warmers” was the Ning Dynasty’s northern term for gloves.

He hadn’t expected that simply taking the man’s gloves would provoke such a fierce struggle.

“Are you hiding something inside? Information you want to pass to the Jing Dynasty spy?” Chen Ji examined the gloves. While pressing the border guard soldier down with his knee, he freed a hand to feel the inside of the gloves, but there was nothing there.

He picked up the simple saber from the ground and cut open the gloves. But inside there was only white, brand-new cotton batting, no “intelligence” at all.

Seeing him cut open the gloves, the border guard soldier suddenly became furious and cursed, “Court lackeys, persecuting loyal officials! One day, you will witness a raging flood that will kill all you treacherous villains and your entire families!”

Chen Ji fell into thought… “Persecuting loyal officials?” Was he referring to General Wentao’s affair? But General Wentao was persecuted by the eunuch faction over a decade ago. Why would the border army bring up old matters again?

Wait!

He suddenly lowered his head and looked at the damaged gloves in his hand, recalling the transaction between Prince Jing and Chen Liqin: as long as Prince Jing could persuade Chen Ji to study the classics with Wang Daosheng, the Ministry of Revenue would purchase a batch of cotton gloves for the border army.

Back then, Prince Jing used this matter as moral blackmail, forcing Chen Ji to attend Wang Daosheng’s Zhixing Academy.

Chen Ji was filled with suspicion and uncertainty. Could these gloves be the very batch that the Ministry of Revenue had just allocated to the border army? And were the “loyal officials” the border guard soldier referred to actually Prince Jing?!

He lowered his body and asked in a deep voice, “You want to avenge Prince Jing?”

The border guard soldier’s eyes suddenly widened. Then he buried his head in the yellow dirt, refusing to say another word.

As Chen Ji prepared to ask again, the Imperial Guards arrived. Li Xuan gestured for two Imperial Guards, one on each side, to lift the border guard soldier to his feet.

One of the Imperial Guards swung his fist and heavily punched the border guard soldier in the abdomen. “Running? Still going to run now, are you?!”

The border guard soldier raised his head and spat on the Imperial Guard’s face, sneering ferociously, “Dog thief, why is your punch so weak? If you’ve got the guts, kill this old man now! If you don’t kill this old man, then take my family name!”

The Imperial Guard became enraged and retaliated with punches and kicks.

Chen Ji turned his head away, no longer watching, and remounted his horse.

The Crown Prince rode up beside him and praised, “Just now, I saw that Brother Chen Ji’s movements were clean and decisive, and he acted without hesitation. Truly, he is a formidable general.”

Chen Ji clasped his hands and bowed. “Your Highness flatters me. I merely did what needed to be done. This man is a tough nut to crack, and we won’t get anything out of him quickly. The urgent task is still to capture the culprits on Shache Street, lest they harm the people of Guyuan.”

The Crown Prince nodded. “Let’s go!”

A li of distance passed in an instant. Upon reaching the entrance of Shache Street, Chen Ji halted his horse.

He looked at the only elm tree on Shache Street. He could faintly smell a foul odor from over ten zhang away—this was the place!

Li Xuan instructed those around him, “Put out the torches, lest they ignite the marsh gas.”

Chen Ji calmly said, “No need. It takes at least a month for marsh gas to ferment in winter. They only collected the ‘golden fluid’ today, so there won’t be any marsh gas.”

The Imperial Guards glanced at him but still obeyed Li Xuan’s command, extinguishing their torches before moving forward under the moonlight.

Chen Ji did not dismount, remaining with Li Xuan and Chen Liqin by the Crown Prince’s side.

The Crown Prince looked at Chen Ji. “Brother Chen Ji, are you not planning to act?”

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, “When it comes to combat skills, the Imperial Guards’ formation is certainly more formidable, so I won’t embarrass myself. However, Your Highness has been fearless throughout, truly like a young general seasoned in battle.”

The Crown Prince turned to Chen Liqin and said, “Brother Chen Ji speaks much more pleasantly than Brother Wenzong!”

Chen Liqin quickly replied humbly, “My humble son speaks the truth. You are of noble birth, yet you are willing to exert yourself for the people of Guyuan. When I return to the capital, your subordinate will surely let the world know that they have a good Crown Prince who cares deeply for the common people.”

The Crown Prince laughed heartily. “You two father and son are certainly flattering me to the heavens! Minister Chen, earlier Brother Chen Ji said he had no interest in the imperial examinations. How about I have him serve in my Zhongcui Palace? If you agree, I will submit a memorial to the Emperor upon my return to the capital, requesting a position as a Right Commander for him.”

Chen Liqin was startled. Li Xuan currently held the concurrent position of Left Commander, and the Right Commander position was still vacant. But the Right Commander was a sixth-rank official post. The Crown Prince was actually willing to offer it to Chen Ji? Even if Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao filled positions after the imperial examinations, they could at most start from the seventh rank.

However, he quickly waved his hand. “No, no, Your Highness, absolutely not.”

The Crown Prince asked in confusion, “Minister Chen disagrees?”

Chen Liqin hesitated for two breaths, then carefully explained, “My humble son is naturally unruly and is not fit for such a heavy responsibility. Moreover, your subordinate still hopes he can pursue a career through the imperial examinations…”

The Crown Prince smiled. “Then we can discuss it further after returning to the capital.”

Chen Ji subtly glanced at Chen Liqin, but said nothing.

At this moment, the Imperial Guards had already encircled the area from the front street, back alley, and rooftops. Qi Zhenzhuo cleaved open the main door from the street with one strike, and the Imperial Guards swarmed in.

The next moment, someone shouted loudly, “Watch out, Xingguan!”

The mud courtyard wall facing the street crashed down. An Imperial Guard was actually blasted out from inside, buried beneath the wall.

Six masked figures in black burst out from the courtyard, forcing the Imperial Guards to retreat repeatedly.

Li Xuan shouted, “Form ranks!”

The Imperial Guards swiftly formed a military formation, surrounding the six black-clad figures. The clanging of weapons echoed through Shache Street, and the fighting was fierce.

Even the Xingguan struggled to cope in front of the military formation.

The next moment, realizing the situation was hopeless, the black-clad figures joined forces in pairs, throwing two of their companions several zhang away, suddenly breaking free from the Imperial Guard formation.

Those two black-clad figures did not intend to flee. Upon landing, they moved like cheetahs, charging menacingly with raised sabers towards the Crown Prince from over twenty zhang away.

Chen Liqin frantically tugged his reins, wanting to turn his horse and leave. “Your Highness, quick, go!”

At the critical moment, with a clang, Chen Ji ignored Chen Liqin, reached out, drew the long sword from the Crown Prince’s waist, and rode to block in front of him.

Just then, the sound of breaking roof tiles echoed from both sides of Shache Street.

Chen Ji turned his head to look. On the left, a row of border army archers suddenly appeared on the rooftops, their bows drawn taut. He looked to the right, and there was another row on that side as well.

It was unclear when the archers had arrived, but they drew their bows and fired. Arrows rained down, blocking all escape routes for the two black-clad figures, literally shooting them into porcupines.

The archers drew another arrow from their quivers and shot towards the remaining four black-clad figures.

Iron-tipped arrows shot from the strings, which hummed in the air. Li Xuan roared, “Imperial Guards, get out of the way!”

The Imperial Guards scattered, watching as the black-clad figures were pinned to the ground by a barrage of arrows, none left alive.

Chen Ji looked towards the rooftops with suspicion and uncertainty. He pulled the reins of the white horse beneath the Crown Prince, protecting him as they slowly retreated, fearing that these border army archers might draw their bows and fire again.

These archers arrived too suddenly, as if they had been waiting nearby all along. Moreover, they killed so decisively, like an execution to silence witnesses.

Could the border army be rebelling?!

At this moment, Shache Street suddenly fell silent. Only then did Chen Ji hear the slow thud of hooves approaching from behind, growing louder. He abruptly turned his head and saw Hu Junxian and Zhou You slowly nearing.

Hu Junxian was burly and tall. As he approached, it felt as if a mountain was bearing down, suffocating.