Chapter 655
Empty Skin
Chen Ji sped through the narrow alleyways, with dark clouds walking alongside him on the eaves.
Wuyun meowed, "Your senior brother is a bit strange."
Chen Ji gasped, "If it weren't so sinister, I wouldn't have been expelled from the sect."
Wu Yun asked curiously, "I wonder why Master spared his life back then? Did he have a soft heart?"
Chen Ji turned out of Hongchang Hutong, looked around, and then chose to head east along Qipan Street: "Perhaps it's not that simple. The court judge's and master's stories don't match up. It's been too long, and no one knows what really happened that year. Moreover, I don't know when this senior brother joined the Military Intelligence Bureau, or what role my uncle played in it."
According to the judge's timeline, the eleventh and twelfth years of the Jia Ning era were precisely the time when his uncle, Lu Jin, was most active in the Ning Dynasty. This continued until the fourteenth year of the Jia Ning era, when he framed Qing Wentao and then assassinated the Minister of Revenue.
In the past few years, there have been banditry in Nanguang, Prince Jing's suppression of the rebellion, and the Tomb Dog bringing ancient books from Changsha Prefecture to wreak havoc in the martial arts world... So many things have happened that we don't know what role Lu Jin played in them, nor what role Yao An played in them.
If Yao An had already joined the Military Intelligence Bureau at that time, he would be considered a veteran of the Bureau and probably the person closest to the head of the Bureau.
The dark cloud meowed in confusion: "Why are there so many bad people around you?"
Chen Ji said irritably, "How can you blame me for this?"
Wu Yun asked curiously, "Could your senior brother have already reached the Dao Seeking Realm? Can we defeat him?"
Chen Ji quickly pondered: "It's hard to say. Shan Jun needs to cultivate in the center of power. He has been away from the outside for twenty years. He has neither been able to obtain enough ice flow nor has he experienced the death of an emperor. He may be stuck at the last step of the innate realm, just like me... If he has already reached the Dao-seeking realm, then it means that I guessed wrong. Shan Jun has another way to break through to the Dao-seeking realm."
Chen Ji just couldn't understand why his senior brother would take the academy envoy's heart. Was it because the wild beasts around him liked to eat hearts first?
What wild animals like to rip out hearts? Wolves, leopards, and black bears.
These are all ferocious beasts that love to pluck out hearts. Their internal organs are highly nutritious, tender, and easy to eat. This is the instinctive preference of wild animals when choosing food. However, none of the things Chen Ji could think of could be brought into the capital.
Just as Chen Ji was crossing Xuanwumen Street, he overheard passersby discussing, "If the story of Shan Jun's lineage is really as they say in the teahouse, then isn't Chen Ji a traitor? How could the court tolerate him?"
The man accompanying him chuckled, "Can you really believe the stories in the teahouse? Chen Ji's official connections haven't leaked a word for so long, how could a storyteller know? Someone must be plotting against him behind the scenes."
The first to speak whispered, "What if it's true?"
Chen Ji heard the conversation clearly, but he couldn't care less about the rumors at the moment. As long as Yao An was alive, he couldn't stop the source of these rumors.
He arrived at the gate of the Qi family mansion on Fuyou Street. The gatekeeper of the Qi family saw him carrying a knife and retreated in fright: "What are you doing here? The Qi family does not welcome you."
Chen Ji did not force his way into the Qi residence, nor did he pay attention to the gatekeeper or servant. Instead, he stood under the plaque, head bowed in deep thought.
Could this time be another trap, just like yesterday? At this critical moment when the Censorate and the Ministry of Rites are impeaching the Secret Service, if I force my way into the Qi residence and nothing happens inside, it will likely push this matter into the spotlight once again.
If you don't get involved, how can you break the deadlock?
Chen Ji looked at the gatekeeper: "Has the head of the Imperial Medical Academy come by?"
The gatekeeper was taken aback: "The abbot just went in not long ago."
Chen Ji said no more and rushed into the Qi residence, striding towards the three gates of Shouzhuo, Yangwang, and Mingjue.
The gatekeeper chased after him, shouting, "Guards! Someone has broken into my Qi residence!"
Before Chen Ji could even reach the gate of Shouzhuo, several Qi family assassins emerged from the inner courtyard, their eyes blazing with hatred at Chen Ji: "You dare to trespass on my Qi family's property?"
Chen Ji, unwilling to get entangled with them, declared loudly, "The Grand Secretary is dead, and the one in the Qi residence is an imposter. Go and rescue the Grand Secretary!"
The Qi family's assassins ignored everything and drew their swords to strike.
Chen Ji continued walking without stopping. As he passed through the first gate, he flicked his thumb against the blade's jaw, and the five-foot-five-inch-long whale blade was drawn from its sheath like a startled swan, the blade even faster than the man.
When he met the assassin, he had already discarded his scabbard, strode forward, and grabbed the hilt of the sword in mid-air.
The gleaming blade traced an arc in the air, and with two clangs, the long sword in the assassin's hand snapped in two.
Chen Ji slipped through the gaps in the broken blade, his pace quickening.
As he passed through the second door, he shouted, "Quickly go inside and check on the Grand Secretary's safety!"
Four more Qi family assassins arrived. The four assassins were still guarding the main house door, but this time someone finally listened to his words and turned around to rush into the main house.
The next moment, before the Qi family assassins could even reach Chen Ji, a loud bang came from the main room. The assassins who had just rushed into the main room crashed through the curtain and flew out.
Inside the empty doorway, the "Director" stood covered in blood in the dim light. At his feet lay two assassins, their throats slit in a sneak attack. They must have accompanied the Director into the room and were silently murdered afterward.
At this moment, the academy master looked through the porch and stared straight at Chen Ji, grinning as he said, "Junior brother, you've arrived so quickly. You are indeed intelligent. No wonder it took me twelve years to learn the Mountain Lord's teachings, while you only followed him for two years and were able to receive the true teachings."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Qi family assassins stopped looking at Chen Ji and turned to rush into the main room: "Protect the Grand Secretary!"
With Qi Zhong absent, these assassins couldn't even withstand a single move from the academy envoy. No matter how many people rushed into the main room, they were all knocked out by the academy envoy with a punch and a kick.
The academy patted the dust off his clothes and joked, "Junior brother, look, this is how cold and fickle human relationships are. The power of the Qi family has changed hands, and they have scattered all their manpower around Qi Zhen. Grand Secretary Qi didn't even leave a single Dao Seeking Realm official by his side."
Chen Ji dragged the whale-shaped sword forward step by step: "Where is Grand Secretary Qi?"
The academy chuckled: "Grand Secretary Qi? I've already dealt with him. Qi Zhen hasn't received the imperial decree yet, so the dynasty's fortune still rests on Grand Secretary Qi. Once Qi Zhen receives the decree today, the fortune will no longer be on him. However, you've come too quickly; I'm afraid the dynasty's fortune will be yours to enjoy today."
Chen Ji looked into the courtyard. This senior brother had left the Qi family assassins alive. Every word the other party uttered at this moment was meant to publicly confirm the rumors of the Mountain Lord's lineage.
In an instant, he swung the whale blade down at the academy envoy, but the whale blade went from thunderous force to sudden stillness in just a moment, the blade trapped between the academy envoy's palms and unable to move.
The academy envoy first looked surprised, then smiled and said, "Oh, so Junior Brother hasn't broken through to the Dao Seeking Realm yet... How could that be? You've swallowed the dynasty's fortune of Prince Jing and the Empress, how could you not have entered the Dao Seeking Realm? If I had known this, I should have killed you first."
Chen Ji twisted the blade, but the academy envoy's leg was faster, landing a kick on his chest and sending him flying more than three zhang away, breaking his ribs one by one.
Although both were at the Seeking Dao Realm, this senior brother's oppressive aura was not as strong as Han Tong's, but it was still something Chen Ji could not withstand.
As the academy envoy walked out, Chen Ji, leaning on his whale-shaped sword, had just stood up when he was kicked three zhang away, vomiting blood uncontrollably: "Is it because you're short of money? Then why spend money on the brothel? What woman in this world is more important than entering the Dao Seeking Realm? Once you enter the Dao Seeking Realm, you can have any kind of woman you want."
Chen Ji rolled several times on the ground, activating the fourth pattern as he rolled. A massive flow of molten material overflowed from the pattern, filling his limbs and bones, and reconnecting the broken bones one by one.
Just before the academy envoy's third kick came, he flipped himself up and barely dodged it, dragging the whale knife as he quickly retreated.
The academy director let out another soft exclamation: "What's going on?"
Chen Ji sensed something was wrong. According to the other party, he had swallowed the dynasty's fortune of Prince Jing and the Empress. As long as he had enough silver, it should have been a matter of course for him to step into the Dao Seeking Realm.
However, his body contained not only the ice flow from Prince Jing and the Empress, but also the ice flow accumulated in the inner prisons of Luo City and the capital, which far exceeded what was needed for the innate stage to enter the path of seeking enlightenment. Now, all of it was dormant in his dantian.
Logically speaking, he has everything he needs and should have broken through to the Dao Seeking Realm long ago, but he is stuck at the last step, with no way to find the path.
Now, the other party seems unaware of the existence of the marks, and is wondering why they were able to heal in an instant.
Wait a minute, Old Man Yao never mentioned the markings, never mentioned the changing colors of the furnace fire, and never mentioned any obstacles to entering the Dao Seeking Realm. It seems there are differences between the mountain lords.
The abbot stopped and carefully examined Chen Ji: "How could you heal yourself so quickly? Did the old man hold back a trick when he taught me?"
Chen Ji probed calmly, "It's not that easy to step into the Dao Seeking Realm."
The academy head tilted his head and thought for a moment, then grinned and said, "Is it difficult? I don't think so."
As he spoke, he lunged at Chen Ji again, but while he was in the air, a streak of light suddenly appeared behind Chen Ji, and three meteor arrows grazed past Chen Ji's clothes.
One of the shooting stars flew past Chen Ji's ear, the swirling wind lifting Chen Ji's disheveled hair. An arrow pierced through the chest of the academy envoy, the immense force sending the academy flying backward. The academy envoy landed on the ground like a tattered sack: "Junior brother, the dynasty's fortune will remain with you for now. I will take it another day."
After saying that, a huge stream of ice surged forth and flowed into Chen Ji's body.
This is... Elder Qi's ice flow?
Chen Ji suddenly turned around and saw Tianma standing under Shouzhuo's gate, holding a dazzling longbow, while Jinzhu rushed over and looked at the blood vomiting from his chest: "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing." Chen Ji quickly walked to the side of the academy envoy, only to see that the other's face slowly changed. The old face peeled off piece by piece like orange peel, revealing a young man's face.
At this moment, Bai Long and Li Dongyan walked leisurely through the triple gate side by side, glancing at the corpse and saying indifferently, "Zhang Qian. But Zhang Qian shouldn't have this level of strength."
Chen Ji reached out to touch the corpse, then suddenly paused, and then tore open the other person's clothes with both hands.
The golden pig gasped, "What the hell?"
Beneath the corpse's clothes, a wound had been cut open from the neck to the lower abdomen. All the internal organs were gone, leaving only a tattered, empty sac, yet not a drop of blood flowed out... as if the blood in the body had long since drained away.
Chen Ji used the tip of his knife to pry open the skin, revealing a heart that did not belong to this body, which had been sewn into the chest cavity with hair.
Chen Ji was taken aback; this was the Dean's heart. (End of Chapter)