Arriving in this world, Chen Ji knew nothing about himself. He could only piece together his identity bit by bit from information others revealed. Now, his past was becoming increasingly complete… and increasingly shocking.

A Jing Chao spy? Was he truly a Jing Chao spy?!

For Chen Ji, this was the worst possible outcome, like walking on a cliff edge. On either side was a ten-thousand-zhang abyss. No matter if he fell to the left or the right, it would be eternal damnation.

What should he do?

The person behind Chen Ji calmly pressed a knife to his back and said, “Don’t act rashly, or you will die.”

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

The person opposite was surely an official who had practiced for a long time, a big figure in the Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department!

Chen Ji’s body didn’t move, yet he heard the shopkeeper say, “Si Cao adult, I have already confirmed that Zhou adult transmitted information with this boy on the night of the incident. Now Zhou adult’s entire household, from top to bottom, is missing. Only this boy is still alive. He must have betrayed us.”

The Military Intelligence Si Cao pressed the ice-cold blade tightly against Chen Ji’s neck and asked in a condensed voice, “What do you have to say?”

Chen Ji’s thoughts raced. Finally, he calmly said, “When I went to Zhou Chengyi’s mansion that night, he had already been betrayed by the ‘thin horse’ of Cui Zhu Yuan on White Clothes Lane. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu had already found their way in… How can you say he died because I defected?”

The shopkeeper said in a condensed voice, “Then how did you survive? Jiao Tu and Yun Yang are known for their bloodthirstiness. If you hadn’t defected and performed a meritorious deed, how could you be alive now? You have already betrayed Jing Chao!”

The shopkeeper had just kicked him. Now, getting angrier, he took the opportunity to deliver another kick to Chen Ji’s belly, causing Chen Ji to bend over.

Chen Ji wanted to fight back, but he couldn’t defend against the person behind him, who kicked him in the back of the knee.

Chen Ji’s knee softened, and he almost knelt on the ground.

But he supported himself firmly, not letting his knee touch the ground before standing up again.

The Military Intelligence Si Cao kicked him several more times. Each time, Chen Ji struggled to stand up before kneeling.

Seeing this, the Si Cao pressed down on his shoulder with great force. However, this time Chen Ji was willing to risk a fractured shoulder, not bending his knee at all.

He straightened his body, staring fiercely at the shopkeeper, and said, “No matter how many times you torture me, the result will be the same. I only ask one question: if I have already defected, why are you still alive and talking to me?!”

The shopkeeper’s face froze.

This was the reason they hadn’t immediately killed Chen Ji. Although all signs indicated that Chen Ji had defected, everyone except Zhou Chengyi and Liu Shi Yu was safe and sound.

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

The warehouse was piled full of medicinal herbs, making it feel somewhat crowded. The three people in the room could even hear each other’s breathing.

Chen Ji slowly exhaled, pinching the blade with two fingers to push the dagger clamped on his neck away slightly. “You want to kill me without asking for the truth? Let me finish. After I arrived at the Zhou mansion, before I could say a few sentences to Zhou Chengyi, Yun Yang and Jiao Tu visited. Zhou Chengyi knew there was no hope of survival, so he told me to protect myself. Later, he swallowed poison and committed suicide. I then survived as a medical hall apprentice. The Secret Spy Division still doesn’t know my real identity.”

Having said this, he no longer looked at the Bai Lu Ge shopkeeper, but turned directly to face the Military Intelligence Si Cao behind him: the third-highest figure of the Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department latent in Ning Chao!

This Si Cao was wearing gray clothes, a plain dress with two patches on the elbows and knees.

What was strange was that the Si Cao’s face was covered with a thin wooden mask carved with a green face and fangs, making it terrifying and ferocious.

Before he could even open his mouth to speak, the Si Cao raised a hand and struck him precisely on the neck, knocking him unconscious.

…

…

When Chen Ji slowly woke up, he suddenly found himself hanging upside down somewhere by someone. A black cloth covered his head, making everything dark before his eyes. His wrist felt a pain similar to being cut.

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

That dripping sound was like a life countdown, filling people’s hearts with fear and urgency.

But Chen Ji instead calmed down.

“According to the blood flow rate, you only have two quarters of an hour left to live,” the Si Cao’s voice came from behind the mask, somewhat muffled. “Now I ask you, the Secret Spy Division always prefers to kill the wrong person rather than let one go. Even if they don’t know your spy identity, they certainly wouldn’t let you live. Tell me, on what basis did they let you go?”

Chen Ji explained in the darkness, “Because I performed a meritorious deed. Using alum as a clue and vinegar to brush the paper, I found the sealed letter from the xuan paper shop to Zhou Chengyi.”

The Si Cao asked in a deep voice, “If what you say is true, then the ability you showed doesn’t match your identity as a medical hall apprentice. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu would certainly suspect you! Yuan Ming, when he came, did you confirm no one followed?”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “No.”

“Confirm again, see if there are any strange faces appearing near Bai Lu Ge at this time.”

“Understood.”

The Bai Lu Ge shopkeeper named Yuan Ming immediately pushed the door open and stood in the courtyard, emitting a crisp swallow call sound with a copper whistle.

Soon, from the southeast, northwest, and southwest directions outside Bai Lu Ge, swallow calls were successively transmitted back.

The shopkeeper returned to the room, a look of doubt on his face. “Si Cao adult, the deployed brothers around report that indeed no one followed him.”

The Si Cao fell into thought. “On what basis can you gain the Secret Spy Division’s trust? You don’t even have a tail following you?”

Chen Ji also fell into thought. Yes, on what basis…

He seemed to have suddenly gained the trust of Yun Yang and Jiao Tu. Not only could he go to the inner prison, but he could even freely read files.

Those files were the Secret Spy Division’s most important. If Yun Yang and Jiao Tu still suspected him of being a Jing Chao spy, it would be absolutely impossible for them to hand them over for him to view.

Why?

Wait, because of that strange dream.

Chen Ji recalled that in the dream, someone had once controlled his subconscious and answered some questions.

And he had luckily passed the interrogation at that time because… he truly didn’t know he was a Jing Chao spy at that time!

So close, he had actually by chance evaded the interrogation!

Drip, drip.

The sound of blood falling still continued, as if urging life.

Chen Ji’s face was calm, but his tone was urgent as he said, “I had a dream earlier. In the dream, someone kept asking me if I was a Jing Chao spy. At that time, my mind almost lost its guard, but finally, I still guarded my mind and answered ‘no’.”

The Si Cao seemed a little surprised. “Dream Chicken personally took action? You actually resisted Dream Chicken’s interrogation.”

However, the Si Cao didn’t completely believe him.

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

The sound of fresh blood dripping disappeared, replaced by the sound of blood pouring into a wooden basin like a thin stream, pattering incessantly.

The Si Cao calmly said, “No matter how eloquently you speak, it’s all possible that the Secret Spy Division taught you to arrange it well. If you want me to believe you, then prove your loyalty to Jing Chao. If you cannot prove it, I can only kill you. I believe your uncle will also understand me.”

Chen Ji was startled. Uncle?

At this moment, the shopkeeper said, “Adult, don’t waste words with him. The Secret Spy Division keeping him alive certainly has a plot. If we let him go back again, who knows if Bai Lu Ge will be completely destroyed one day. This is one of our most important businesses in the south, and many people rely on Bai Lu Ge for support.”

The Si Cao didn’t answer, just waited for Chen Ji’s reply.

Chen Ji closed his eyes, thinking in his mind how he could prove his loyalty to Jing Chao.

Opening his eyes again, he said categorically, “At Liu Shi Yu’s house, I saw that Jin Si Lu which used the fanqie method to hide information, but I didn’t hand it over to Yun Yang and Jiao Tu. In the book, Liu Shi Yu revealed that a high figure in Wang Fu is in contact with our Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department, and also revealed that the entire Liu family has already leaned towards Jing Chao. If I handed over this book, perhaps the Liu family would have difficulty escaping disaster!”

The Si Cao held his breath. “Where is the Jin Si Lu?”

“Burned.”

The Si Cao slightly narrowed his eyes, a fierce light showing in them, and quietly thought. “At this point, you indeed did not lie. The Secret Spy Division did not find that Jin Si Lu. Afterwards, I snuck into Liu Shi Yu’s mansion to find it, and also didn’t find it. You hid it earlier, very good…”

Chen Ji’s heart went cold. The Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department actually knew that the Secret Spy Division hadn’t gotten the Jin Si Lu? Could it be that there were other spies in the Liu family mansion that night?!

Just as the Si Cao was thinking, the shopkeeper urgently said, “Si Cao adult, even if this boy speaks eloquently, it cannot change the fact that he betrayed his colleagues. You may know, the confiscation of the Liu family’s xuan paper shop afterwards involved a wide range and not only harmed Liu Shi Yu, but also almost caused a major disaster!”

Chen Ji, hanging upside down on the beam, solemnly asked, “Dare I ask, who else in our Jing Chao has gained the trust of the Secret Spy Division’s twelve zodiac signs? Who else can evade Dream Chicken’s interrogation?”

There was a change in the Si Cao’s eyes.

Dream Chicken was already one of the biggest obstacles for the Military Intelligence Department in penetrating the Secret Spy Division. How many spies had gone forward successively wanting to penetrate the Secret Spy Division, yet finally fell before Dream Chicken?

Now Chen Ji had escaped the other side’s interrogation. Perhaps it really was an opportunity.

But, how could he confirm that Chen Ji had really escaped the interrogation?

Chen Ji waited for a long time without hearing the Si Cao’s answer, and finally took a big gamble. “Give me one month’s time. Within one month, I can prove that I have not defected and prove my loyalty to Jing Chao.”

The Si Cao thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at the shopkeeper. “Transmit the message out. I want to see ‘Long Whale’. I have an important matter to entrust to him.”

The shopkeeper wanted to speak but stopped, but still turned around and went out the door.

The Si Cao remained silent in the room for a long time, finally cutting the rope and letting Chen Ji down.

He slowly put the dagger into his sleeve sheath. “This time coming to Ning Chao, your uncle once asked me to look after you a bit on his behalf, but I didn’t expect to encounter such a change. Rest assured, if it is truly as you said, I will not only not kill you but will also protect you. But if you deceive me, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Chen Ji took off the black cloth covering his head. He saw that he was still in the medicinal herbs warehouse, and the Si Cao held a chicken in his hand. The chicken’s blood had already been poured into the wooden basin.

Chen Ji was not surprised in his heart, yet he still pretended to be surprised and touched his arm. There was no wound where it had hurt earlier.

The Si Cao calmly explained, “I still count on you to penetrate the Secret Spy Division, so naturally I won’t casually leave wounds on your body to cause suspicion. Additionally, out of regard for your uncle, I am willing to give you an opportunity to prove yourself.”

His uncle was actually not a Ning Chao person, but a Jing Chao person? Then he at least had half Jing Chao blood.

Chen Ji originally thought that the Jing Chao people would be nomads, and their appearance would be vastly different from the Ning Chao people. But judging by his appearance, the Ning Chao and Jing Chao were clearly of the same origin, completely different from his judgment of the world.

For a time, he only felt that his identity had become elusive again. No wonder the other side had said earlier…

“Betrayed your identity, betrayed your surname.”