By The Talking Elbow

Prince Jing, Zhu Youxiao.

His mother, Concubine Li, passed away early. The young Prince Jing was adopted by the current Empress Dowager and grew up alongside Emperor Ning, as close as blood brothers.

When Emperor Ning ascended the throne at age eleven, Zhu Youxiao was fourteen. Empress Dowager Liu held control of the imperial court. Over the next six years, Zhu Youxiao worked tirelessly, winning over northern civil officials and censors for Emperor Ning, thus weakening the power of the imperial relatives by marriage. At seventeen, Emperor Ning finally took personal control of the government. At twenty-one, he enfeoffed Zhu Youxiao as Prince Jing.

Initially, everything was peaceful. However, in recent years, Prince Jing’s reputation had grown significantly due to his efforts outside the palace: reforming governance, managing flood control and disaster relief, and preparing provisions for the border army. Consequently, the Directorate of Ceremonial began to find every possible way to undermine Prince Jing’s household. Many of Prince Jing’s former subordinates were imprisoned, and even his personal chief eunuch was replaced by someone newly appointed by the Directorate.

Some said there was a rift between Emperor Ning and Prince Jing, while others suggested Prince Jing was gradually harboring disloyal ambitions. Last year, Prince Jing even missed Emperor Ning’s forty-second birthday because he was overseeing river repair and disaster relief efforts, unable to return to the capital. The brothers, once so close, had suddenly become strangers. It was just like the storyteller’s tales: once people became kings, they inevitably grew dull.

Chen Ji, recalling his master’s exquisite divination skills, suddenly felt a deep sense of worry. If his master truly intended to harness the “dragon qi” of Prince Jing’s residence to cultivate his disciple, then Prince Jing’s household might not survive this ordeal. The Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Bureau, the Ning Dynasty’s Secret Intelligence Department, and the Liu family were like a colossal vortex threatening to drag Prince Jing’s residence to the bottom of the sea. As the saying goes, “fortune is found in danger,” and “where there is calamity, opportunities arise.” His master wasn’t using divination to avert misfortune; he was clearly using it to lead him directly into massive pitfalls!

Wuyun bid Chen Ji goodnight and climbed over the wall back to Evening Star Courtyard. Chen Ji stood alone by the counter, quietly contemplating his current predicament. As he pondered, he heard movement from the backyard.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knocking sound came from the front door. Chen Ji frowned. It was already midnight, and dawn was only a little over two hours away. Who could be calling at this hour? Was it Jin Zhu? He wondered what Jin Zhu’s purpose was in coming to the medical clinic at this time.

He walked to open the door. But the moment the clinic’s front door swung open, Chen Ji’s heart instantly pounded, and he stumbled back several steps! The person standing there was none other than Manager Yuan of Hundred Deer Pavilion, who was supposed to be dead! Manager Yuan’s face was pale, his smile eerie, and a chilling aura emanated from him. Chen Ji had personally witnessed Officer Sicao gripping Manager Yuan’s jaw, slowly inserting a knife inch by inch into his heart, twisting it until the heart was completely shattered. How could someone with a shattered heart come back from the dead?!

*Boom!* A dull autumn thunder rumbled in the sky. Black clouds had inexplicably enveloped Luocheng, and a cold rain began to fall. This was the first rain Chen Ji had experienced since arriving in Luocheng. Unlike a typical continuous autumn drizzle, it was heavy and sudden.

Amidst the lightning and thunder, Chen Ji stopped retreating. He drew a short knife that he didn’t even realize he had hidden in his sleeve and thrust it directly at Manager Yuan’s neck. But before the blade could reach, Manager Yuan gently raised a hand, and two fingers pinched the tip of the knife, preventing Chen Ji from moving it even an inch further. The knife tip simply stopped, as if time and space had frozen.

Manager Yuan chuckled, “No need to be so nervous. It’s not Manager Yuan’s ghost come to find you. It’s me, Officer Sicao of the Military Intelligence Bureau.”

Chen Ji was stunned. He scrutinized the “Manager Yuan” before him; the expression was natural, without any hint of strangeness. Who would have thought this was a human skin mask? A human skin mask? He had only heard of such things in stories. He had been wondering who would replace Manager Yuan of Hundred Deer Pavilion after his inexplicable death. He never imagined it would be Officer Sicao himself disguised as Manager Yuan.

Chen Ji slowly relaxed his grip on the knife. “Officer Sicao, my apologies, I didn’t know it was you.”

Officer Sicao chuckled reassuringly, “It’s good to be cautious; why would I blame you?”

“Officer Sicao, what brings you here so late?”

“I have some bad news for you,” Sicao said gravely. “Previously, in arranging the withdrawal of the spies who knew of your existence back to the North, one Dove-level spy defected. We’ve been looking for him for two days, but his whereabouts are still unknown. I suspect he might defect to the Ning Dynasty’s Secret Intelligence Department… or already has.”

Chen Ji’s heart tightened. A Jing Dynasty spy who knew of his existence had defected? Wouldn’t this mean his death was imminent? He asked gravely, “Which spy is it? Has he seen me before?”

Sicao entered the clinic, turned to close the front door, and then slowly said, “He was Zhou Chengyi’s subordinate. He saw you at Zhou Chengyi’s residence.”

Saw me? Chen Ji quickly thought to himself. If the person had seen him at Zhou Chengyi’s residence, then they must also know about his identity as a medical apprentice at the clinic. At this moment, the spy probably hadn’t defected yet. If he had, Jin Zhu would likely have already led people to attack the clinic. But why would he defect?

Chen Ji feigned confusion. “What’s wrong with arranging a retreat back to the Jing Dynasty in the North? He wouldn’t have to live in fear in the Ning Dynasty anymore. Why would that make him defect?”

Sicao explained, “This individual is one of our Military Intelligence Bureau’s most capable spies, always decisive and ruthless. I had someone inform him to prepare for withdrawal, but he thought I was trying to silence him. So, he killed the messenger and disappeared.”

No, no, no, it wouldn’t be that simple. Chen Ji frowned. Given Officer Sicao’s character, he likely did intend to silence him. But the person he sent didn’t expect the spy to be so formidable and was killed instead.

“Officer Sicao,” Chen Ji asked, “does he know why you… arranged for his withdrawal?”

“Of course, he wasn’t informed of the reason,” Sicao replied.

So, the defected spy still didn’t know why he was being targeted for elimination. However, if he truly sided with the Secret Intelligence Department, he would undoubtedly reveal everything he knew. At that point… Chen Ji would be in grave danger!

“Officer Sicao, may I ask where he might be hiding… Hmm?” Chen Ji noticed something was wrong and rapidly retreated. But his retreat was no match for the other’s speed of pursuit. In just the space of a breath, Chen Ji’s throat was grasped by a single hand, and he was lifted into the air.

Officer Sicao sighed, “Don’t make a sound, or I’ll have to kill everyone in this courtyard.”

Chen Ji struggled fiercely, his face turning crimson. However, before an experienced official like Sicao, who had practiced for many years, Chen Ji, a mere novice, had no room to resist. Chen Ji wanted to shout loudly, to call for the sleeping Liang Gou’er to intervene, but he couldn’t make a sound. He could only struggle to write on the back of Sicao’s hand with his finger: *Why kill me?*

Sicao did not answer, merely gazing silently into Chen Ji’s pupils, as if looking at a dead specimen. Chen Ji’s mind raced. The reason Sicao was killing him was to thoroughly purge the intelligence network that the defected spy might expose. This was a common cleansing policy among all intelligence agencies; intelligence work was extraordinary, and a single flaw required the entire team to be withdrawn or eliminated. If the defected spy exposed Chen Ji, Chen Ji might, in turn, expose Hundred Deer Pavilion. Hundred Deer Pavilion, as one of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau’s largest sources of funds within the Ning Dynasty, could not be jeopardized!

Chen Ji was desperate. He quickly looked around, searching for a way to save himself. But his gunpowder wasn’t ready, and even if it were, at this distance, it would at most result in a mutual death with Sicao. The two most weighty words in this world were simply power and strength. Chen Ji had fantasized about living peacefully as an imperial physician in the clinic, and also about wandering the *jianghu* (martial arts world) to escape both the Secret Intelligence Department and the Military Intelligence Bureau. But all these fantasies were futile without the backing of strength and power.

Cultivation! Cultivation was the most important thing! But what now?

Just then, another knock echoed from the clinic’s front door!

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound was muffled by the rain, yet strikingly abrupt. Sicao’s pupils suddenly contracted. He quickly carried Chen Ji to a corner of the main hall, his eyes flickering, seemingly contemplating whether to just kill Chen Ji and then force his way out. He looked at Chen Ji, who quickly wrote on the back of his hand with a finger: *I’ll handle it!*

The clinic fell silent, save for the sound of the rain outside. After a moment, Sicao whispered, “You know what to do. If you call for help, you will die first.”

Chen Ji struggled to nod. Sicao put Chen Ji down, slowly releasing his hand. Chen Ji rubbed his neck and asked calmly, “Who is it?”

The person outside spoke calmly, “Jin Zhu. Open the door, I have something for you. As agreed with Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, each intervention costs fifty taels of silver.”

Sicao and Chen Ji exchanged glances. Chen Ji quickly whispered, “He definitely hasn’t caught the defected spy yet, otherwise he wouldn’t be speaking so politely.”

“Then what is he doing here?”

Chen Ji said urgently, “Your search for the defected spy must have alerted the Secret Intelligence Department. They probably want to find this person before you do. This is a rare opportunity; I can use the Secret Intelligence Department to find him and see what clues they have.”

Sicao’s expression remained steady, betraying no emotion. Outside, an impatient voice called out again, “Boy, open the door quickly.”

Chen Ji said again, “Officer Sicao, although Yun Yang and Jiao Tu are already imprisoned, I have gained Jin Zhu’s trust and can still approach the Grand Chancellor. I know you’re concerned about Hundred Deer Pavilion, and I am equally concerned. This is my loyalty to the Jing Dynasty. Rest assured, I will find this defected spy and figure out a way to eliminate him!”

Sicao narrowed his eyes slightly. “Consider the consequences before you act. If you call for Jin Zhu’s help, you will undoubtedly expose your identity as a Jing Dynasty spy. At that point, even if you surrender, Jin Zhu certainly won’t spare you. You know how much they hate us.”

“Understood!”

Sicao slowly retreated behind the counter and crouched down, listening intently. Chen Ji, meanwhile, adjusted his collar to hide the choke marks as he walked to the door and pulled it open.

Outside, Jin Zhu, wearing a straw cape and a bamboo hat, stood in the pouring rain. “Why did it take you so long?” Behind Jin Zhu, more than ten other spies stood solemnly, also wearing straw capes.

Chen Ji whispered, “Someone just got up to relieve themselves, which caused the delay… Officer Jin Zhu, what brings you here?”

Jin Zhu said, “Come with me. We caught a Military Intelligence Bureau spy in Red Robe Alley. They seem to be pursuing a defected spy, and we need to find this person first. This person is very important!” With that, Jin Zhu had someone throw Chen Ji a straw cape.

As Chen Ji put on the straw cape, he nonchalantly glanced at the clinic’s counter. He ultimately did not expose Sicao, simply donned his cape, and turned to step out into the heavy rain.

Novel Information:
This novel is a compelling and thrilling masterpiece by the author, “The Talking Elbow.”