Chapter 587
Opening the Door to Life, Resting the Door
Night has fallen.
The capital city is even more bustling tonight than during the day.
The Bodhisattva procession at Yuanjue Temple begins in the inner city, with monks carrying a three-zhang-high Sumeru pedestal along the Jade River street. Countless people follow behind, holding incense sticks and chanting Buddhist mantras, forming a winding, fiery dragon.
The outer city was even more crowded, with vendors selling dogwood, chrysanthemum wine, and Double Ninth cakes. People carrying loads, pushing carts, and setting up stalls packed the entire street.
Some people bought dogwood and pinned it to their clothes, while some children carried wooden windmills and weaved through the crowd, drawing repeated scoldings from adults.
Only Taiye Pond remained still.
The two carriages stopped not far from Taiye Pond. After the drivers confirmed that no one was around, they knocked on the carriages.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and four men filed out, all wearing straw hats, dressed in black, and with crossbows at their waists, just like secret agents.
Inside the carriage, Bai Li, dressed in a Taoist robe, quietly watched Lü Qi and the other three, who were like pillars of the four beams and eight pillars, get off the train and check each other's attire for any flaws.
Lu Qi turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Bai Li, saying, "Please wait a moment, Chief. If everything goes smoothly, we will be able to bring the old chief back in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
Bai Li looked up at them: "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs and the Inner Prison are not that simple. If things are not going well, preserve yourselves first."
The men who were inspecting the crossbows paused in their movements.
The leader was named Chen Huaibei, the oldest of the four pillars of the canal gang, who was forty-three years old this year.
He raised his head, glanced at Bai Li, but his gaze only swept over her briefly before he lowered it again: "The leader is overthinking it. We are not some amateur group."
As he sheathed the crossbow bolts back into his waistband, he said calmly, "Our Canal Gang hasn't been idle these past few years. We've tried many times to prove that the inner prison only recognizes waist tokens, not people. Our waist tokens are genuine. Once we knock on the door, the rest is just a matter of fighting our way in and out."
The tall, thin man named Zheng Zhou nodded in agreement and said in a soft voice, "Boss, we know exactly when the Jie Fan Guard changes shifts, the routes the Secret Service patrols at night, how many gates there are in the inner prison, how far apart they are, and how long it will take for reinforcements to arrive if something happens. This eunuch prison is nothing special. Last year, the Luoyang inner prison was raided... When we were following the old boss, risking our lives, the boss wasn't even born yet."
Chen Huaibei and Zheng Zhou sang in unison, and Lü Qi's expression changed. Just as he was about to speak, the last of the four pillars tugged at his sleeve.
Chen Huaibei straightened his clothes, took off his straw hat to reveal a face weathered by decades of river winds, wrinkles like a dried-up riverbed, one horizontal and one vertical: "Chief, please don't be offended. Zheng Zhou and I have been following the old chief since we were fifteen, traveling all over the country. When he got into trouble, we were anxious and inevitably said the wrong thing... But the chief is so young, yet so timid. When our canal gang started out, we were always on the edge of a knife. If we were all like the chief, so afraid of everything, we would have been wiped out long ago. The chief is still young, so just wait here quietly, nothing will happen."
Bai Li glanced at Chen Huaibei and Zheng Zhou, then looked at the silent Lü Qi and Tian Kuang.
The heroes of yesteryear have all become selfish, and the current state of the canal gang is so complex that even Han Tong himself probably can't figure it out.
With the Grand Canal Gang leaderless, there would be discontent with whoever took over. However, the Wen family's influence still existed. As long as Bai Li changed his name to Wen Bai Li and stepped forward, at least no one would say anything openly.
At this time, Bai Li was young and easily bullied, which was the perfect opportunity for him to seize the emperor and command the feudal lords.
Just then, Tian Kuang muttered to himself, "If it weren't for Chen Ji's eunuch faction, how could the old gang leader be imprisoned? These past two days, the gang leader has been traveling around with that eunuch faction, and today he even cooked a meal for them himself. It's really baffling."
Lü Qi's expression changed: "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Tian Kuang sneered: "Did I say something wrong?"
Bai Li slowly spoke: "I was just giving you a friendly reminder. Now that you are all ready, please go and come back quickly. I will be here to meet you."
The four exchanged glances, put on their straw hats, lowered the brims, and walked deeper into Taiye Pond.
Upon reaching the artificial hill outside Qionghua Island, the four of them tensed up. A secret agent from the Secret Service emerged from behind the hill, pointing a crossbow at them: "Who goes there?"
Chen Huaibei held up the waist token in his hand: "Zhang Yin, a gyrfalcon under Meng Ji's command, is here on official business in the inner prison."
The secret agent stepped forward and looked at the ivory plaque. It was engraved with twelve characters: "To patrol on behalf of Heaven, to report major matters to the emperor for decision, and to make immediate judgments on minor matters." He stroked the texture of the plaque with his hand. It was not a new ivory, but an old ivory dug from the frozen soil of the north.
The auspicious cloud pattern engraved on the ivory plaque is also exactly the same.
The sentry clasped his hands in a fist salute and stepped back, saying, "Please, sir."
Lu Qi and the others walked towards the inner prison, feeling a sense of relief, but their faces remained tense, not daring to show anything unusual. The four of them arrived at the iron gate of the inner prison, and Chen Huaibei stepped forward and knocked on it three times long and two times short.
The small window in the iron gate opened, and the spy on duty inside asked in a cold voice, "What brings you here?"
Chen Huaibei said in a deep voice, "Lord Mengji sent us here to interrogate the wanted criminal Li Muzhe. Open the door."
The spies inside peered through the small window at the group, then asked suspiciously, "Lord Prisoner Rat has ordered that the inner prison is currently holding the wanted criminal Han Tong, and no one but a member of the Secret Service or a commander of the Jie Fan Guard is allowed to enter. What, didn't Lord Meng Ji tell you that?"
Chen Huaibei and Zheng Zhou exchanged a glance, hesitant and undecided.
Tian Kuang and Lü Qi exchanged a glance. Tian Kuang stepped forward and continued calmly, "We are here only for Li Muzhe. What does it have to do with Han Tong? Lord Mengji needs Li Muzhe urgently. Open the door immediately."
The spy inside sneered, "Don't try to intimidate me with Meng Ji. This inner prison is ruled by Lord Prisoner Rat. Even Lord Xuan She has to come to the inner prison personally to interrogate important criminals, let alone Meng Ji. If you want to interrogate Li Muzhe, have your Lord Meng Ji come in person!"
Having said that, the spy slammed the small window shut.
Tian Kuang was about to knock on the door to argue when Chen Huaibei and Zheng Zhou pulled him away hastily. The four returned to the carriage, and Tian Kuang, his eyes blazing with fury, broke free from the two men: "You two are absolutely not sincerely trying to rescue the gang leader!"
Chen Huaibei removed his straw hat and said slowly, "If we weren't sincerely trying to rescue the gang leader, why would the two of us be here? What do you think the Inner Prison is? Is it some kind of pleasure boat on your canal? This is a den of dragons and tigers!"
Tian Kuang stepped forward: "Zhang Yin is someone you planted next to Meng Ji. Why didn't he tell you that Prisoner Rat sealed off the inner prison?"
Chen Huaibei dusted himself off: "The Prisoner Rat's sealing of the Inner Prison must have happened in the last few days, so he hasn't had time to tell me yet."
Lu Qi also said in a deep voice, "You two clearly know that we can't get into the inner prison. You're just pretending to come to the inner prison so that when you go back, the gang members will know that you once went through fire and water for the old gang leader, thus establishing your prestige in the martial arts world!"
Chen Huaibei narrowed his eyes slightly: "What nonsense are you talking about? I, Chen Huaibei, am here without putting my life on the line. Don't blame me just because we couldn't rescue the old gang leader."
Tian Kuang angrily rebuked, "Do you think you can win over the masses by bringing this damned Zhu Baili back? Without the old gang leader, you still can't control Zhang Zhan and Li Ziyi. They're colluding with the eight major merchants and will hand over the Grand Canal Gang to the eunuchs and the dog emperor sooner or later! If the old gang leader hadn't saved you from the officials back then, you'd probably be worse than a dog now. How dare you be so ungrateful?"
Chen Huaibei tossed his straw hat into the carriage and glanced sideways at Tian Kuang: "You are one of the Eight Pillars of the Canal Gang, and I am the Fourth Pillar. When did it become your place to yell at me?"
Tian Kuang rolled up his sleeves: "Then let's test our skills!"
Chen Huaibei scoffed, "A mere Innate Official dares to fight me?"
Lü Qi stood next to Tian Kuang, while Zheng Zhou stood beside Chen Huaibei.
Just as the four were about to start fighting outside Taiye Pond, Bai Li's weary voice suddenly rang out from inside the carriage: "Enough."
Bai Li's clenched hand suddenly opened, forcefully separating the four people. Chen Huaibei tried to brace himself in a horse stance to resist the invisible force, but even the two fur marks his black boots left on the blue bricks couldn't stop him.
The four of them suddenly looked at Bai Li, and Chen Huaibei whispered, "Seeking the Dao Realm?"
He then looked at Lü Qi: "She... the leader of the gang is a Dao Seeking Realm official, why have you never mentioned it?"
Lü Qi was also surprised and doubtful: "I just found out too."
Chen Huaibei's expression shifted uncertainly. The Canal Gang had a deep foundation, and it was not surprising that two of the Four Pillars were at the Dao Seeking Realm... But the one in front of him was clearly only eighteen years old.
The eighteen-year-old seeking the Dao realm...
Bai Li sighed, "The Canal Gang is already in disarray; we cannot tolerate any more internal strife among you all."
Tian Kuang hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Bai Li and said, "Chief, I was rude earlier and cut off one of my fingers when I got back. But now the old chief cannot leave without saving me. I hope the chief can think of another way."
Bai Li remained silent, stepped down from the carriage, and quietly looked at the dark and deep Taiye Pool, at a loss for what to do.
But just then, footsteps could be heard in the distance.
She turned her head and saw a person wearing a bamboo hat with a black cloth covering their face. The person was thin, but when they looked up, the eyes under the hat were all too familiar.
Traces of the past.
Chen Ji came to Bai Li's side and, after a long silence, said, "Don't worry, I'll go save them."
Before Bai Li could speak, he had already walked into the depths of Taiye Pond. Bai Li stared blankly at Chen Ji's back. She thought that after parting ways this morning, she didn't know when she would see him again.
Lu Qi asked in confusion beside her, "Chief, who is this...?"
The white carp did not answer.
As Chen Ji arrived at the artificial hill, the secret agents from the Secret Service once again appeared: "Who goes there?"
Chen Ji raised the ivory token in his hand, continuing his steps without explaining his identity.
When the sentry saw the ivory plaque clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted. For a moment, he was unsure whether he was seeing things or had truly seen the legendary ivory plaque.
Before he could ask any further questions, Chen Ji had already brushed past him, calmly leaving behind only two words: "Step back."
The sentry hesitated for a moment before retreating behind the artificial hill.
Chen Ji went straight to the inner prison gate and knocked three times long and two times short.
The small iron window opened, and the spy inside said coldly, "Didn't I just say that if I wanted to interrogate Li Muzhe, I needed your Lord Mengji to do it personally..."
The words came to an abrupt halt.
The spy stared in astonishment at the ivory plaque before him, speechless for a long time. The plaque was engraved with a yin-yang symbol, and beside it were the gates of opening, life, and rest.
Sanji Gate.
The spy's expression turned terrified: "Lord Sick Tiger!" (End of Chapter)