Since arriving in this world, Chen Ji knew nothing about his past self and could only piece together his identity bit by bit from information revealed by others.

Now, the truth about his past is becoming increasingly complete… and increasingly horrifying.

A Jing Dynasty spy? Was he really a Jing Dynasty spy?!

For Chen Ji, this was the worst possible outcome, like walking on a cliff edge with a knife point pressed against him, a bottomless abyss on either side. Falling to the left or the right would lead to eternal damnation.

What could he do?

The person holding a knife to Chen Ji’s back calmly said, “Don’t make any rash moves, or you’ll die.”

The voice was dry and muffled, yet it conveyed absolute confidence.

The person must be a long-practicing official, a significant figure from the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau!

Chen Ji remained still, but he heard the shopkeeper say, “Sir Sicao, I’ve confirmed that Master Zhou was exchanging intelligence with this youngster on the night of the incident. Now, Master Zhou’s entire household has disappeared, and only this youngster is still alive; he must have betrayed us.”

Sicao, the head of the Military Intelligence Bureau, pressed the cold blade tightly against Chen Ji’s neck and asked in a grave tone, “Do you have anything to say?”

Chen Ji’s thoughts raced, but he eventually calmed himself and said, “The night I arrived at Zhou Chengyi’s mansion, he had already been betrayed by the ‘thin horse’ from Cui Zhu Yuan in Baiyi Lane; that’s when Cloud Ram and Bright Rabbit came calling. How can you say he died because of my defection?”

The shopkeeper said gravely, “Then how did you survive? Bright Rabbit and Cloud Ram are notoriously bloodthirsty. If you didn’t defect and prove your worth, how could you still be alive? You have betrayed the Jing Dynasty!”

The shopkeeper had just been kicked, and now, speaking in anger, he seized the opportunity to kick Chen Ji in the stomach, making Chen Ji double over.

Chen Ji wanted to retaliate, but the person behind him unexpectedly kicked him behind the knee.

Chen Ji’s knees buckled, and he nearly fell to his knees.

But he stubbornly held himself up, and before his knees could touch the ground, he stood back up.

Sicao of the Military Intelligence Bureau kicked him several more times, but each time Chen Ji was about to fall to his knees, he struggled back to his feet.

Seeing this, Sicao pressed down on his shoulders with immense force, yet this time, Chen Ji would rather risk a broken shoulder than let his knees bend even slightly.

He stood rigid, staring fixedly at the shopkeeper and saying fiercely, “No matter how many times you torture me, the result will be the same. I only have one question: If I’ve defected, why are you still alive and speaking to me?!”

The shopkeeper’s expression froze.

This was precisely why they hadn’t immediately killed Chen Ji. Although all signs indicated that Chen Ji had defected, everyone else, except for Zhou Chengyi and Liu Shiyu, was unharmed.

Given Chen Ji’s identity, if he had defected, it would be a disaster for the entire Military Intelligence Bureau system in Luocheng. The Bureau had to confirm exactly what had happened.

The storeroom was packed with medicinal herbs, making it feel somewhat cramped. Inside, the three could even hear each other’s breathing.

Chen Ji slowly let out a breath, gripping the blade with two fingers, and pushed the dagger away from his neck slightly. “You want to kill me without even knowing the full story? Let me finish what I have to say. After I arrived at Master Zhou’s mansion, Cloud Ram and Bright Rabbit showed up before I had even exchanged a few words with Zhou Chengyi. Knowing he had no hope of survival, Zhou Chengyi told me to save myself. He then swallowed poison and committed suicide, and I survived by posing as a medical apprentice. The Secret Intelligence Bureau still doesn’t know my true identity.”

Having said this, he surprisingly no longer looked at the Hundred Deer Pavilion shopkeeper, but turned to directly face the Sicao of the Military Intelligence Bureau behind him: the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau’s number three operative covertly stationed in the Ning Dynasty!

Sicao was dressed in plain grey clothes, a simple attire, with two patches on each elbow and knee.

Strangely, Sicao wore a thin wooden mask on his face, engraved with a green face and fangs, making it terrifying and ferocious.

Before he could speak, Sicao raised a hand and struck him precisely on the neck, knocking him unconscious.

When Chen Ji slowly regained consciousness, he suddenly found himself hanging upside down somewhere he didn’t recognize, a black cloth over his head, plunging him into darkness. His wrist throbbed as if it had been cut.

He heard a viscous dripping sound, as if his own blood was falling drop by drop.

The dripping sound, like a countdown to his life’s end, filled him with fear and urgency.

But Chen Ji, surprisingly, calmed down.

“At this rate of bleeding, you have only half an hour to live,” Sicao’s voice, muffled by the mask, came through. “Now I ask you: the Secret Intelligence Bureau always prefers to kill the wrong person than let the right one go. Even if they didn’t know your spy identity, they would never let you live. Tell me, why did they let you go?”

In the darkness, Chen Ji explained, “Because I rendered a meritorious service. Using alum as a clue, and brushing paper with vinegar, I uncovered the secret letter that the Xuan Paper shop delivered to Zhou Chengyi.”

Sicao asked in a deep voice, “If what you say is true, then the abilities you displayed don’t match your identity as a medical apprentice. Cloud Ram and Bright Rabbit would surely be suspicious! Yuan Ming, are you sure no one was tailing him when he arrived?”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “No.”

“Check again. See if there are any unfamiliar faces near Hundred Deer Pavilion right now.”

“Understood.”

The Hundred Deer Pavilion shopkeeper, Yuan Ming, immediately pushed open the door and stepped out, standing in the courtyard. He then used a brass whistle to emit a crisp swallow’s call.

Soon, from the east, west, south, and north directions outside Hundred Deer Pavilion, swallow calls echoed back in succession.

The shopkeeper returned inside, a puzzled expression on his face. “Sir Sicao,” he said, “the brothers stationed around have reported that indeed no one was following him.”

Sicao fell into thought. “How did you manage to gain the Secret Intelligence Bureau’s trust to the point where you don’t even have a tail?”

Chen Ji also fell into thought. Yes, how did I…

He seemed to have suddenly gained the trust of Cloud Ram and Bright Rabbit, not only allowed to visit the inner prison, but also permitted to freely examine their files.

Those files were of utmost importance to the Secret Intelligence Bureau. If Cloud Ram and Bright Rabbit still suspected him of being a Jing Dynasty spy, they would never have handed them over for him to investigate.

Why was that?

Wait, it was because of that bizarre dream.

Chen Ji recalled that in that dream, the other party had controlled his subconscious, making him answer some questions.

And he had luckily passed the interrogation at the time because… he genuinely didn’t know he was a Jing Dynasty spy then!

That was close! He had, by a stroke of luck, inadvertently evaded the interrogation!

Drip, drip.

The sound of blood dripping continued, as if rushing him to his death.

Chen Ji’s expression was calm, but his tone was urgent as he said, “I had a dream earlier. In the dream, someone kept asking if I was a Jing Dynasty spy. At the time, my mind was on the verge of giving way, but I ultimately held onto my sanity and answered ‘no’.”

Sicao seemed somewhat surprised. “Dream Rooster personally intervened? You actually resisted Dream Rooster’s interrogation.”

However, Sicao was not entirely convinced.

Chen Ji felt a sharp pain in his arm, as if it had been cut by a knife again.

The sound of dripping blood disappeared, replaced by the sound of blood pouring in a thin stream into a wooden basin, splattering continuously.

Sicao calmly said, “No matter how eloquently you speak, it could all be a fabrication arranged by the Secret Intelligence Bureau. If you want me to believe you, then prove your continued loyalty to the Jing Dynasty. If you can’t prove it, I’ll have no choice but to kill you. I’m sure your uncle will understand.”

Chen Ji was startled. “Uncle?”

At this moment, the shopkeeper said, “Sir, stop wasting words on him. The Secret Intelligence Bureau must have an ulterior motive for letting him live. If we let him go back again, Hundred Deer Pavilion might be ruined one day. This is one of our most important assets in the south, and many people rely on Hundred Deer Pavilion for their livelihood.”

Sicao did not reply, only waiting for Chen Ji’s answer.

Chen Ji closed his eyes, his mind racing to think of how he could prove his continued loyalty to the Jing Dynasty.

When he opened his eyes again, he said decisively, “I saw the ‘Jin Si Lu’ at Liu Shiyu’s home, the one with information hidden using the ‘fanqie’ method, but I didn’t hand it over to Cloud Ram and Bright Rabbit. In the book, Liu Shiyu revealed that a significant figure from a royal mansion was in contact with our Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau, and also that the entire Liu family had sided with the Jing Dynasty. If that book were handed over, the Liu family would likely not escape retribution!”

Sicao held his breath. “Where is the ‘Jin Si Lu’?”

“I burned it.”

Sicao narrowed his eyes slightly, a fierce glint appearing within them, and quietly pondered something. “You didn’t lie about that. The Secret Intelligence Bureau indeed didn’t find that ‘Jin Si Lu’. Afterwards, I infiltrated Liu Shiyu’s mansion to look for it, but couldn’t find it either. So, you had hidden it beforehand. Very good…”

Chen Ji’s heart tightened. The Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau actually knew that the Secret Intelligence Bureau hadn’t obtained the ‘Jin Si Lu’? Were there other spies inside the Liu family residence that night?!

As Sicao pondered, the shopkeeper urgently said, “Sir Sicao, no matter how eloquently this youngster speaks, it doesn’t change the fact that he betrayed his comrades. Do you know that the seizure of the Liu family’s Xuan Paper shop had far-reaching implications? It not only caused Liu Shiyu’s death, but also nearly led to a major catastrophe!”

Chen Ji, still hanging upside down from the beam, asked solemnly, “May I ask, who else in our Jing Dynasty has gained the trust of the Secret Intelligence Bureau’s Twelve Zodiacs? And who else could have escaped Dream Rooster’s interrogation?”

Sicao’s gaze shifted.

Dream Rooster was already one of the biggest obstacles for the Military Intelligence Bureau in infiltrating the Secret Intelligence Bureau. How many spies had tried, one after another, to infiltrate the Secret Intelligence Bureau, only to ultimately fall before Dream Rooster.

Now that Chen Ji had escaped their interrogation, it might truly be an opportunity.

But, how could they be sure Chen Ji had truly escaped the interrogation?

Chen Ji heard no reply from Sicao for a long time, and finally, he raised the stakes. “Give me one month. Within that month, I can prove that I haven’t defected and demonstrate my loyalty to the Jing Dynasty.”

Sicao pondered for a moment, then turned to the shopkeeper. “Send word,” he said, “I want to meet ‘Long Whale’. I have something important to tell him.”

The shopkeeper looked as if he wanted to say more but held back, then turned and left the room.

Sicao remained silent in the room for a long time, then finally cut the ropes, letting Chen Ji down.

He slowly put the dagger back into its sheath in his sleeve. “When I came to the Ning Dynasty this time, your uncle asked me to look after you on his behalf, but I didn’t expect such an unforeseen turn of events. Rest assured, if what you say is true, I will not only spare your life but also protect you. But if you’re lying to me, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Chen Ji removed the black cloth from his head and saw that he was still in the medicinal herb storeroom. Sicao held a chicken in his hand, its blood already poured into the wooden basin.

Chen Ji was not surprised, but he still feigned surprise and touched his arm. There was no wound where he had felt the pain.

Sicao calmly explained, “I still expect you to infiltrate the Secret Intelligence Bureau, so of course I wouldn’t carelessly leave wounds on you to arouse suspicion. Furthermore, for your uncle’s sake, I’m willing to give you a chance to prove yourself.”

His uncle wasn’t from the Ning Dynasty, but from the Jing Dynasty? Then he himself must have at least half Jing Dynasty blood.

Chen Ji had originally thought that the Jing Dynasty would be a nomadic people, and their appearance would be distinctly different from those of the Ning Dynasty. However, judging by his own looks, the Ning and Jing Dynasties were clearly of the same origin, which completely contradicted his understanding of the world.

Suddenly, he felt his identity become even more convoluted. No wonder the other party had said earlier…

“You have betrayed your identity, betrayed your surname.”