In the pouring heavy rain, more than ten spies hurried silently along the road, letting the rain drench their raincoats and hats.

Turning the corner of Anxi Street, secret agents led out more than ten warhorses. Everyone leaped onto a horse and galloped towards the East Market.

Horse hooves stepped in the accumulated water, making a thud, thud, thud sound, like blooming waves one after another.

Chen Ji had survived the robbery and at this moment his heart was still involuntarily pounding. He could only tightly pull the reins to adapt to the warhorse’s galloping rhythm, barely managing not to fall off.

The pain in his neck almost made him feel as if that Si Cao was still pinching him.

However, Chen Ji still had many doubts in his heart…

Jin Zhu, riding on his horse, turned his head to look at him: “Today you seem a bit different from the past, with a heavy heart. What, did something happen at Taiping Medical Hall?”

Chen Ji’s heart sank. This Jin Zhu was good at observing people, not even letting go of the slightest hint.

He gathered all his energy to respond: “Reporting to Jin Zhu adult, I was scolded by my master a while ago. He told me not to run around often and to concentrate on my studies.”

Jin Zhu knew Chen Ji was hinting ‘don’t come looking for me unless there’s something important,’ yet he pretended not to know and smiled: “Yao Taiyi, ah, I often saw him in the capital in the early years. When he was in the capital, he cured the inner minister’s leg disease. Everyone in our secret spy department was very polite to him. No harm, you can frankly tell the old adult your secret spy identity, he will understand you.”

Seeing Chen Ji not speak, he softly comforted him: “Are you worried about capturing Jing Dynasty spies being too dangerous? Rest assured, our secret spy department has elite soldiers and strong generals. Bai Long and Hei She in the capital beat the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department chief until he didn’t dare show his face. Shi Gou and Bao Hou in Jinling are pressing them hard. This land is still our Ning Dynasty’s land, we won’t allow them to act recklessly.”

Chen Ji heard these words and suddenly fell into contemplation.

The Ning Dynasty secret spy department had twelve zodiac signs in charge. Could the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department be solely supported by one Si Cao?

One must know that in the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department’s system, above Si Cao was Si Zhu. With only these two people supporting the huge military intelligence department, it seemed weak no matter how you looked at it.

However, it was precisely this matter that made Chen Ji feel suspicious: The Si Cao he saw today also seemed different from the one he saw last time.

At Bailu Pavilion, that Si Cao, when killing, deliberately avoided the eyes of the dead. Tonight, the other party stared fixedly at his own eyes, seemingly wanting to watch the dead gradually lose their gaze.

At Bailu Pavilion, that Si Cao liked to use a knife, even when dealing with a small fry like himself, he would definitely take out a short knife. Tonight, this Si Cao did not take out a knife.

At Bailu Pavilion, that Si Cao mentioned his uncle several times, while the other party did not mention a word tonight.

The more Chen Ji thought about it, the stranger it felt. Was the person under that Si Cao’s mask the same person? If it really was the same person, the daily affairs of Bailu Pavilion were already busy enough, where would this Si Cao have the energy to manage the entire military intelligence department’s intelligence network?

Chen Ji suddenly asked: “Jin Zhu adult, is that military intelligence department Si Zhu hiding in our Ning Dynasty capital?”

Jin Zhu nodded: “Hmm, at least the intelligence we’ve obtained indicates this. But the spies we’ve captured are all still too low-level. So far, no one has seen his true appearance.”

Chen Ji asked again: “Then in Jinling, who from the military intelligence department is lurking?”

“Naturally it’s the military intelligence department’s Si Cao. I just don’t know who has come to Luocheng this time.”

Chen Ji fell into contemplation.

…

…

Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji and asked with a smile: “Why are you asking about their Si Cao and Si Zhu? Do you want to catch them? Ambitious! If you really catch them, perhaps you’ll really be promoted to one of the twelve zodiac signs. At that time, you won’t lack cultivation paths, and the inner minister will guarantee your rapid rise.”

“Oh? Cultivation paths?” Chen Ji said doubtfully: “Does the inner minister adult have many cultivation paths?”

Jin Zhu laughed heartily: “What kind of person is the inner minister adult? Ten years ago he swept the jianghu flat and collected many good things. Otherwise, why do you think Yun Yang and Ming Tu want to earn merit? They’re not stuck at the xiantian realm in their cultivation methods and want to break through to the seek dao realm; they must earn great merits to do so.”

Chen Ji thought to himself, so that’s how it is, no wonder the inner minister can control a crowd of officials.

He asked again: “Jin Zhu adult, since the Jing Dynasty spy has already been caught, the other side should know who captured the person and what they look like. Why do they still need to find me?”

Jin Zhu laughed hey hey: “This official has his own arrangements.”

Chen Ji frowned, he didn’t understand Jin Zhu’s intention.

Jin Zhu was clearly different from Yun Yang and Ming Tu. Although his face was always smiling, he was like a bottomless abyss, impossible to see through or guess.

Everyone passed through the rain and finally arrived at Hongyi Alley.

Hongyi Alley was the most lively place in Luocheng at night. Brothels, gambling houses, and restaurants lined the streets. If a family wanted to become famous in Luocheng, they had to open in Hongyi Alley.

At this time, above the brilliantly lit and staggered buildings, the rain washed the rooftops, then hung down from the eaves, forming a curtain of rain.

Countless girls in bright clothes waved and flirted with passers-by downstairs, and even the heavy rain couldn’t stop the enthusiasm of Hongyi Alley.

However, when more than ten riders from the secret spy department arrived, all the girls and guests saw those solemn rain hats and raincoats and quickly hid inside the buildings. Some even hastily blew out the candles in their rooms.

In just a few breaths, the figures of the secret spy department were like a basin of ice water poured down. The huge Hongyi Alley was as silent as cicadas in winter, all sounds ceased.

Jin Zhu laughed heartily and looked at Chen Ji: “See? What is the secret spy department? This is the secret spy department!”

Everyone dismounted in front of a gambling house called “Chaocang” and went straight inside.

Inside the gambling house, dozens of secret spies had already taken control. Gamblers and saccarii were all squatting to one side. The so-called saccarii were the dealers of this era, also called recorders.

Jin Zhu lowered his voice and asked: “Where is that defected spy?”

A secret spy cupped his hands and bowed: “Adult, he is upstairs. He is willing to confess, but he needs to tell you personally. He said he has conditions to discuss with you.”

“Lead the way!”

Chen Ji stood to the side, his heart inexplicably shocked: The secret spy department had already caught that defected spy?!

If I just follow them upstairs like this, won’t I be recognized by the other party on the spot?

What to do? Fight my way out?

There are so many secret spies here, with my newly acquired official identity, I can deal with one or two secret spies, but how can I fight my way out?

Jin Zhu walked up the stairs, then turned his head and looked at Chen Ji in confusion: “Eh, why aren’t you coming up? There’s still a lot to do, don’t delay.”

Chen Ji said: “Adult, I want to check downstairs to see if there are any other spies hiding among the gamblers.”

Jin Zhu smiled and waved his hand: “No need, no need, come up quickly.”

Chen Ji was helpless. He could only press down his hat and steel himself to go upstairs.

Arriving at the second floor, Jin Zhu pushed open a side room door. He saw a person hanging from the ceiling, his hands bound by hemp rope and hanging from the beam. Around him were four secret spies with their hands on their waist knives guarding him.

Chen Ji carefully lifted his head to look, but was shocked to discover that the face of the hanging person was already blackish, bleeding from all seven orifices, deader than dead.

A dead person naturally couldn’t identify him!

Chen Ji’s palms were numb from tension, yet he pretended to be calm and asked: “Jin Zhu adult, since he is a defected spy, he should be very important, why must he be killed?”

“This person is not that defected spy, but the spy responsible for capturing that defected spy… Really a tongue twister! Haha, after we caught this person, he bit poison and committed suicide,” Jin Zhu said with a smile.

Chen Ji’s heart leaped again, that defected spy was still not dead!

He saw Jin Zhu circling around the hanged spy and sighing: “Jing Dynasty spies are all dead soldiers. They are ruthless to others and even more ruthless to themselves. In these years, it’s been very difficult for our secret spy department to catch one alive, do you know why?”

Chen Ji shook his head: “I don’t know.”

“On one hand, because they clean up fast enough. As soon as they discover someone is exposed, they immediately clean up the entire intelligence line from top to bottom, sacrificing the cart to protect the king. Killing a few people to protect the overall situation is a wise move, as the saying goes, righteousness does not do business, benevolence does not command an army. That military intelligence department Si Zhu is a formidable character.”

“On the other hand, they specifically pick spies with families to lurk. Once a spy defects, they will capture his family in the Jing Dynasty, the entire household. The young ones and males will be made slaves, females prostitutes; the old ones will be directly beheaded.”

Chen Ji felt stern in his heart, the struggle between the spies of the two dynasties was unexpectedly so cruel.

He asked: “What is Jin Zhu adult’s next plan? Does this subordinate need to go seek the trace of that defected spy?”

“No hurry, no hurry. We only know that the spy is injured. Originally, we could follow the bloody scent to find him, but we didn’t expect the traces to be washed away by a heavy rain. It’s not easy to find him now, but no matter…” Jin Zhu looked at a secret spy nearby: “After we came in, did someone go to tip them off?”

The secret spy softly said: “Precisely the secret spy you suspected, he quietly went to the toilet.”

“Let him go, we’ll just wait here for the Jing Dynasty spies to come and kill him to silence him!”

Chen Ji suddenly understood. Jin Zhu didn’t catch the defected spy tonight, nor did he plan to catch that defected spy.

The other side blockaded the entire gambling house, blockaded the news, and directly claimed outside that they had caught the defected spy, luring the military intelligence department’s Si Cao to come and kill him!

Jin Zhu’s bet was that the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department also hadn’t caught the defected spy and would have to come and kill him to silence him… What fierce adaptability!

This kind of person is much harder to deal with than Yun Yang and Ming Tu!

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: “Jin Zhu adult, why lay all your cards on the table for me?”

Jin Zhu smiled and grasped his hands: “You don’t know, ah, I am different from Ming Tu and Yun Yang. They like to snatch merits, I like to give merits!”

“Oh?” Chen Ji was doubtful.

Jin Zhu patted his hand back: “Those two killers are wholeheartedly cultivating, they want to exchange merits for another layer in their cultivation paths. I don’t have that ambition, nor do I seek longevity. It’s not easy to sit in the position of one of the twelve zodiac signs. If I go up further, I’m afraid I’d have to castrate myself and enter the palace to replace Wu Xiu adult. I don’t care about what upper three or lower nine is. Lower nine is pretty good, if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up!”

Chen Ji was speechless. This Jin Zhu adult unexpectedly understood the way of mediocrity deeply.

Jin Zhu continued: “I like to make friends. The inner minister adult personally decreed your promotion into the secret spy department, so I know you have entered his good graces. The last time someone was specially approved into the secret spy department was Tian Ma…”

“Oh?”

Jin Zhu laughed: “Do you know whose subordinate Tian Ma was when he first became a secret spy? Under my command. At that time, I helped him earn merits step by step, practically sending him to the position of Tian Ma. Now that he has reached the upper three, he naturally remembers my kindness. Rest assured, I’m not afraid of your position being higher than mine in the future. The higher you sit, the better… Just don’t forget me, that’s all.”

“So tonight adult called me here is…”

“Tonight, if we catch the Jing Dynasty spies, you get half the merit, I get half.”

…

One chapter today