The Talking Elbow:

The dark Tongji Street.

Normally, Tongji Street would be bustling at this hour. Merchants would invite opera troupes to their homes for banquets, carriages and horses would line up outside, and their drivers would squat in corners, gambling and boasting.

But today, Tongji Street was eerily quiet. Many merchants had left overnight, fearing they might be seized by the Secret Service and falsely accused of being Jing Dynasty spies.

Inside an abandoned mansion, seven black-clad figures, wearing bamboo hats, stood solemnly around Shopkeeper Yuan’s body, like seven sculptures.

While Chen Ji pondered, no one dared to utter a word, afraid of disturbing his thoughts. What had just happened at the Welcoming Guest Inn was still vivid in their minds. With their remarkably insightful new superior, the secret agents hardly dared to breathe, as if a massive boulder was pressing down on them.

Chen Ji looked at Shopkeeper Yuan’s undisturbed body on the ground and suddenly asked, “Every stab was aimed at a vital point, consistent with the killer’s method at the Welcoming Guest Inn, which means both scenes were indeed the work of the same person. Are there any Jing Dynasty criminals who specialize in short knives? Not many assassins use short knives as their preferred weapon.”

Xifeng quickly replied, “There’s one person who’s extremely skilled with short knives. Colleagues in Jinling tried to apprehend him, but he killed more than ten people before escaping by jumping into the Qinhuai River. We also suspect him, but he never demonstrated the ‘broken blade’ technique before, which makes us somewhat uncertain.”

Chen Ji asked, “How long ago was the Jinling incident?”

Xifeng replied, “About three years ago.”

Chen Ji nodded, “Three years is a long time. Perhaps this person has developed a new, exceptional skill during these three years. For now, he’ll be considered the primary suspect. Issue an arrest warrant.” Anyway, Gui was going back to Jing Dynasty; having him take on the Secret Service’s animosity shouldn’t be a problem.

But then Xifeng said with difficulty, “No, this person is very cautious. During the last confrontation, he wore a green-faced, fanged mask, so no one saw his appearance clearly. We can’t issue an arrest warrant. However, Lord Jin Zhu has already led men out of the city to blockade various major routes; they won’t escape.”

Chen Ji’s heart sank. So Lord Jin Zhu had gone out of the city to set up checkpoints himself. He asked casually, “Are you certain the Jing Dynasty criminals have already fled Luocheng?”

Xifeng thought for a moment and replied, “We can’t be certain, but the Jing Dynasty criminals’ main objective was to steal our dynasty’s firearms. Now that they’ve succeeded, their top priority must be to send the firearms back to Jing Dynasty. There’s no benefit in staying here.”

Chen Ji didn’t know yet that after he had used three firearms in succession last night, the matter was being rushed 800 *li* to the capital and border armies, considered of utmost importance. Land and water routes leading north were being sealed off one by one, absolutely preventing the Jing Dynasty criminals from taking the firearms back to Jing Dynasty. Jing Dynasty had not actually obtained the firearms, but everyone believed they had. The Secret Service was, with the highest priority, blockading all northern routes. Fortunately, Gui hadn’t chosen to head directly north; otherwise, he would likely have walked right into a trap by now.

Chen Ji squatted down beside Shopkeeper Yuan’s body, pondering what he should do next. Firstly, he definitely couldn’t pursue Gui and Wu Hongbiao; if he actually caught them, he would suffer the consequences himself. Secondly, he had to apprehend a group of Jing Dynasty spies, or Lord Jin Zhu wouldn’t let him off.

But who should he catch? Wait, he knew who he should catch.

Chen Ji calmly asked, “Xifeng, when you found the body, was he already naked? Were there any clues to prove his identity?”

Xifeng squatted beside Chen Ji and whispered, “This person was an ‘Xingguan’ from Kujue Temple in Jing Dynasty. He should be a Jing Dynasty spy. Other aspects of his identity are still under investigation… For now, there are no other clues.”

Chen Ji frowned, “No other clues? What have you all been doing today?”

The secret agents immediately felt increased pressure. Xifeng quickly said, “Today we had all the residents of Tongji Street come to identify him one by one, but no one on the entire Tongji Street had ever seen him. This mansion belongs to a Huizhou merchant and has been abandoned for over a year… We also brought in nearby brokers and community leaders for identification. We’ve investigated all day; everything that could be checked, has been.”

“It’s as if this body appeared out of thin air. Within several *li* in all directions, there’s not a single person who recognizes his identity.”

“It’s not that the secret agents aren’t trying hard; there truly are no clues left.”

Chen Ji calmly stated, “It’s freezing cold. This person couldn’t have walked out of the house naked by himself. The killer must have stripped him of his clothes after killing him. Why would they take his clothes? It must be because his clothing was distinctive enough that it could be used to identify him.”

Xifeng asked, “My Lord, have you thought of a way to investigate?”

“How many Secret Service agents are left in Luocheng?”

“Lord Jin Zhu left forty-two people to guard Luocheng.”

“Bring them all here to blockade the East Market,” Chen Ji stood up and said slowly. “Since deduction isn’t working, let’s use a simpler method of elimination. This person must have lived in Luocheng; his disappearance couldn’t have left no trace at all. Summon the community leaders and brokers from the East Market, and investigate all missing persons within the entire East Market. Whoever inexplicably disappeared, that’s who the deceased is.”

At this moment, Shopkeeper Yuan was no longer at Bailu Pavilion, making this the only clue pointing to Bailu Pavilion. As long as Shopkeeper Yuan was confirmed missing, he would have reason to raid Bailu Pavilion, arrest people for interrogation, and provide an explanation to Lord Jin Zhu. Copying from the answer sheet, there was no reason to get it wrong.

Chen Ji knew that Gui had stripped Shopkeeper Yuan of his clothes because he didn’t want the Secret Service to trace it back to Bailu Pavilion, thus ruining the Military Intelligence Department’s source of income. But what did that have to do with Chen Ji? Bailu Pavilion was hiding so much ginseng, which was exactly what he needed.

Late at night, the community leader was dragged out of his home by the secret agents, trembling as he followed them, terrified that these living Yama Kings might become displeased and skin him alive.

Xifeng held a torch, leading the secret agents as they knocked on shopkeepers’ doors one by one, searching each establishment thoroughly. Sounds of fear erupted from the previously quiet shops. Shopkeepers and their assistants, roused from sleep, were ruthlessly dragged into the street by the secret agents before they could even put on their padded jackets, shivering from the cold. Xifeng and the others wore grim expressions. Only when the community leader confirmed that no one was missing from a shop did the secret agents let the shopkeepers and assistants go back to sleep.

Chen Ji followed silently behind the secret agents, his mind not on these unrelated shops, but simply waiting as they checked one shop after another, getting closer and closer to Bailu Pavilion. To prevent the Jing Dynasty criminals inside Bailu Pavilion from launching a desperate counterattack or fighting to the death, he stayed hidden at the very back.

However, just as they were about to reach Bailu Pavilion, Chen Ji felt something was off… it was too quiet. Bailu Pavilion seemed unaware of what was happening outside; no one attempted to escape, behaving like an ordinary shop.

The next moment, Xifeng stepped forward and knocked on Bailu Pavilion’s main door. Inside, someone unlatched the door. With a creak, the door was pulled open from the inside. A young assistant, sleepy-eyed, squinted and shielded his eyes with his palm as the torchlight hit him. “Who is it? What’s going on in the middle of the night?”

Xifeng remained silent, but the community leader stepped forward, holding a household register, and asked with a smile, “There was a murder on Tongji Street, but we can’t confirm the victim’s identity. We’re going door-to-door to check for any missing persons. Young man, please call everyone in the shop out. We’ll leave once we’ve verified.”

“Oh…” The young assistant turned and called inside, “Shopkeeper! The community leader is here with people. He says they want to check if anyone in our shop is missing.”

Chen Ji’s muscles tensed, ready to kill or retreat at any moment.

However, he suddenly froze.

From inside, a stout figure emerged, leading five assistants to the doorway, and said with a smile, “Master Community Leader, these are all the people we have here at Bailu Pavilion. They’re all present.”

Shopkeeper Yuan!

Chen Ji almost thought he was mistaken, but he confirmed it again and again. The stout figure before him, dressed in a large red satin robe and wearing a golden-beamed hat, who else could it be but Shopkeeper Yuan? For a moment, he even felt a sense of disorientation.

Inside Bailu Pavilion, Si Cao Gui had slit the throat of one Shopkeeper Yuan. On Tongji Street, Chen Ji had personally slit the throat of another Shopkeeper Yuan. But now, yet another Shopkeeper Yuan had appeared inside Bailu Pavilion!

The person seemed impossible to kill, like a lingering ghost that couldn’t be driven away. He almost wanted to grab the person’s collar and ask, “Are you human or a ghost?”

Chen Ji stared intently at Shopkeeper Yuan’s fair face. He knew this face was a new human-skin mask. After discovering the death of Si Cao ‘Xin’, Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Department must have found a new person to replace him, even preparing the human-skin mask well in advance.

Should he expose the human-skin mask now? But what after exposing it? How would he explain to Xifeng how he knew there was a human-skin mask on the person’s face? Xifeng wasn’t stupid; he might even realize that Chen Ji had come specifically for Bailu Pavilion tonight!

At the entrance of Bailu Pavilion, the community leader was heard saying to Xifeng, “My Lord, Bailu Pavilion is an old merchant establishment in our East Market. They’ve always had these same people; there’s no mistake.”

Xifeng looked at Shopkeeper Yuan: “Luocheng has been unsettled these days. If you find anything unusual, report it to us immediately.”

Shopkeeper Yuan said with a smile, “Of course, of course. We are all law-abiding citizens of Luocheng. Helping you apprehend criminals is simply our duty.”

Xifeng grunted in acknowledgment. He simply reminded them to “close their doors and windows well” and then moved on to the next shop.

Chen Ji ultimately did not expose him. He turned and followed Xifeng, leaving Shopkeeper Yuan and his assistants standing calmly inside Bailu Pavilion’s doorway, their expressions placid, revealing no emotions.

At this moment, a secret agent suddenly arrived from afar. As he ran closer, the agent said to Xifeng, “My Lord, while we were investigating with the brokers at Li Ji’s Tailor Shop, we got an important lead. The shopkeeper there said that last night, when he saw us blockading Hongyi Alley, four martial artists carrying swords secretly ran out from behind Hongyi Alley. These people might just be the Jing Dynasty criminals!”

Chen Ji’s heart sank. Could it be the four people who abandoned the crown prince and Baili?

End of Chapter.

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