Chapter 656
Serving as an Accomplice to a Tiger
The envoy's heart, inside Zhang Qian's chest cavity, withered away little by little, like a flower fading, until it turned into a cloud of black ash and scattered.
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Qian's body also withered and turned to ash, which was then scattered by the wind, leaving no trace of his body.
Jin Zhu kicked at the remaining dust on the ground and muttered under his breath, "This is fucking weird. What kind of technique is this...? Have you guys ever heard of it?"
Li Dongyan turned to Chen Ji: "Lord Chen was the one who caught up here first, so he must know more than we do. Why don't you answer, Lord Chen?"
Chen Ji remained silent; his earlier guess seemed to have been wrong.
He thought that the secret agent of the General Intelligence Bureau was disguised as Zhang Qian to steal seventy catties of gunpowder, but there is more than one way to change one's appearance in this world.
Senior Brother Yao An stole seventy catties of gunpowder, not by replacing Zhang Qian's face with a mask, but by making Zhang Qian his puppet.
Zhang Qian was able to adopt the face of the Imperial Academy Minister not because of any special connections, but because he had sewn the Minister's heart into his own chest.
Chen Ji frowned. Could it be that his senior brother had taken a different path to officialdom?
No, the other party is indeed cultivating the Mountain Lord's Path.
The dark clouds had previously carried the dynasty's fortune, which belonged to the Empress, out of the palace, and Zhang Qian was no different from the dark clouds. No wonder the other party dared to make his pact with a beast public, because the pact he made was not with a beast, but with a human.
But how could the other party sew on a heart and become the appearance of the hospital envoy?
Bai Long suddenly spoke up and said, "The Book of Strange Things says that a person who has his internal organs eaten by a tiger will be transformed into a chang (a kind of courier). The chang will not change his appearance or dissipate his soul, but will be used by the tiger."
He looked at Chen Ji: "Is it similar to the current situation?"
Chen Ji suddenly realized he was being an accomplice to a tyrant.
He pressed further, asking, "What other records in our dynasty relate to the changgui (a type of ghost or spirit)?"
Bai Long glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and replied, "According to the same 'Bo Yi Ji,' a man from Jingzhou was traveling in the mountains when he suddenly encountered a 'Chang Gui.' He hid in a tree and saw the 'Chang Gui' peeling off people's hearts, swallowing them, and transforming them into other people's appearances."
"As the book 'Miscellaneous Remarks of a Wanderer' says, all ghosts who die from tigers or drown are called 'chang'. Only when someone takes their place can they be freed."
"According to the Records of Snow Mountain, there are many tigers in Yuzhou. Hunters set traps, and at night they saw a little boy in green robes come to dismantle the traps. The hunters hid in the trees and waited for the boy to leave before setting the traps back up. When the tigers came, they fell into the traps and died."
"The Miscellaneous Records of the Countryside states that a woodcutter was devoured by a tiger, which turned him into a 'chang' ghost. He returned home and lured his wife out, which led to the tiger killing her, thus freeing him from his predicament. The Miscellaneous Records also states that 'chang' ghosts are adept at changing their appearance to lure relatives and friends."
The numerous instances of aiding and abetting evil recorded in these miscellaneous notes all corroborate the events unfolding before our eyes.
Therefore, Senior Brother Yao An did not make a pact with the beasts, but instead took a different approach, turning the people he killed into vengeful spirits.
But according to those miscellaneous notes, could it be that Senior Brother is going to eat it...? Thinking of this, Chen Ji felt a wave of nausea.
He recalled what his senior brother had just said, which seemed to contain a lot of useful information. First, the other party said that the dynasty's fortune would remain with him for now and be taken back on a later date, indicating that the other party was certain that as long as he killed him, he could seize the dynasty's fortune that he had swallowed. Second, the other party did not know that he could be resurrected from the dead; the other party did not have that ability.
At this moment, the Qi family rushed over upon hearing the commotion. Seeing the eunuch faction and the dead soldiers lying on the ground, they immediately cursed angrily, "The eunuch faction is going too far! How dare they come to my Qi family and cause trouble, injuring my Qi family's guards?"
"Breaking into the residence of a cabinet minister and committing violence is a heinous crime of treason!"
Jin Zhu raised his eyebrows: "Don't talk nonsense. The Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau attempted to assassinate the Grand Secretary. We are here to rescue him."
"Assassination attempt?" The Qi family members were stunned upon hearing this, then turned and rushed into the main house. Cries and shouts followed from the main house: "Master!"
"The master has passed away! Immediately send a fast horse to Jizhou!"
"Go to the Five Cities Military Command and report to the authorities!"
"Go find Lord Qi Zhen and tell him about this!"
Amidst the chaos of war, Li Dongyan strolled leisurely through the crowds. He squatted down beside the Qi family's assassins, carefully questioning them.
Interrogating one person was not enough; he also had to interrogate all the assassins and compare each person's testimony.
Jin Zhu lowered his voice and asked Chen Ji, "Does this matter have anything to do with you? Li Dongyan and Xuan She are both skilled in criminal law, and they won't miss the slightest clue. Don't take any chances. If it really has anything to do with you, leave now."
Chen Ji shook his head: "It has nothing to do with it. Someone framed me."
As they were talking, a woman's voice came from afar. Everyone turned around and saw Qi Zhaoning, Qi Zhaoyun, and Qi Zhenzhen approaching together, their eyes red.
Chen Ji did not want to meet Qi Zhaoning, but since the other party came from the triple gate, he had no way to avoid it.
Qi Zhaoning confronted Chen Ji and questioned, "You've already married Zhang Xia as you wished, so why do you still want to harm my Qi family? My grandfather doesn't have much time left, can't he even wait a little longer?"
Chen Ji said softly, "The Military Intelligence Bureau's spies attempted to assassinate me. I'm here to rescue the Grand Secretary."
Qi Zhaoning angrily retorted, "Where are the spies?"
The golden pig looked at the dust scattered by the wind on the ground and thought to itself, "Oh no."
Qi Zhenzhen suddenly asked softly, "All of you are experts in the Secret Service. With so many people here, have you not caught any spies?" Chen Ji glanced at Qi Zhenzhen, and Jin Zhu hurriedly pointed to the Qi family's assassins and said, "Although the spy's body is gone, your Qi family assassins are enough to testify that the spy was killed on the spot by Tianma."
Qi Zhaoyun said in a low voice, "Let's go see Grandpa first. We'll leave this matter to the steward and Third Grandpa."
She pulled the tearful Qi Zhaoning towards the main house. Qi Zhaoning turned around and hysterically said, "Chen Ji, what grudge does my Qi family have against you?!"
Chen Ji watched the two figures disappear through the door, and then listened to the crying coming from inside the house. He sighed softly, "I'm going back now. Someone is waiting for me at the teahouse across from the Imperial College..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Dongyan stood up from beside the Qi family's assassins: "Wait."
Chen Ji asked calmly, "What are your orders, Commander Li?"
Li Dongyan smoothed the wrinkles on his dragon robe: "Before I could inform Lord Chen, His Majesty had already agreed to Qi Zhen's request that the court take control of the Secret Service... However, it will not be under the control of the Censorate, but rather under the control of my Jiefan Guard. From now on, any action taken by the Secret Service will require the presence of a Jiefan Guard commander or captain."
Jin Zhu squinted and stepped forward to block Chen Ji's way: "Commander Li, in times of emergency, we must act expediently. Chen Ji has come here to arrest a spy from the Military Intelligence Bureau. If you want to accuse him of trespassing on the residence of an official of the court, I advise you to save your breath."
Li Dongyan shook his head and said slowly, "Lord Jinzhu misunderstands. In Taiyuan Prefecture, I have not only dealt with all sorts of people, but I have also captured more than ten Jingchao spies. I naturally understand the principle of expediency in times of emergency and will not make things difficult for Lord Chen in this matter."
The golden pig asked in confusion, "Then what do you want to do?"
Li Dongyan placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist and stared intently at Chen Ji: "Lord Chen is the gyrfalcon of the Secret Service, and I am the commander of the Jie Fan Guard. We both belong to the Directorate of Ceremonial, and we should not hinder each other. But I still want to ask, what is Lord Chen's official lineage?"
The golden pig said in a deep voice, "The path of cultivation is the greatest secret of an official; how can you question it so casually?"
Li Dongyan stroked the hilt of his sword: "Before I came to the Qi residence, I received intelligence that Lord Chen's cultivation path was called Mountain Lord, which could devour the imperial court's fortune. Is that true?"
Chen Ji calmly said, "This is a frame-up by the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division. I have clashed with the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division several times and personally exposed the division's chief clerk, Ding. They see me as a thorn in their side and want to use me to kill them."
Li Dongyan slowly stepped forward: "May I ask, Lord Chen, where did you learn your official training? If it was taught by Physician Yao, why have I never heard of you being an official? If it was taught by our Directorate of Ceremonial, why is there no record of it in the archives of the Jiefan Tower?"
Bai Long stood in front of Li Dongyan, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has many secret channels for officials, not even the channels for the Golden Pig and the Mountain Ox. Commander Li, we both serve the Inner Court, so it would be better not to use the same deceptive methods used on commoners on our own people."
Li Dongyan stopped in his tracks: "If Lord Chen wants to clear his name, it's simple. He can just use his official connections in public."
Chen Ji calmly said, "My official position is special and cannot be easily revealed to others. If you want to know the truth, it's simple; let Meng Ji interrogate me once and I'll know."
Li Dongyan shook his head: "Lord Chen knows that Mengji was severely injured by the civil officials in front of the emperor and will not be able to use Shanmengshen for half a year."
Chen Ji then said, "If you wish to see my official channels, that's fine too; I can show them to Your Majesty privately."
Informing Emperor Ning of the secrets of sword cultivation privately is the safest approach, and Emperor Ning is unlikely to leak the secret to the Jing Dynasty and the Martial Temple.
But Li Dongyan smiled and said, "The Qi family's assassins all say that the person who assassinated the Grand Secretary is a fellow disciple of Lord Chen. Lord Chen wants to meet His Majesty alone. Could this also be a scheme by the Military Intelligence Bureau?"
Jin Zhu cursed loudly, "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you know how many spies he has personally arrested?"
Li Dongyan glanced sideways at the golden pig: "It's true that Si Cao Ding was the one who dragged him out, but have any of you caught Si Cao Ding? No. How do I know this isn't a ruse staged by Lord Chen and the Military Intelligence Bureau?"
Jin Zhu sneered, "You mean, Chen Ji pretended to arrest spies, but actually secretly tipped them off and let Si Cao Ding go, putting on a show for us?"
Li Dongyan said casually, "Lord Golden Pig, I have arrested many people, and before I have presented irrefutable evidence, everyone is crying foul, as if there is no bad person in the world. You have also interrogated spies, so you should know how ruthless they are... I do not believe in people's words, nor do I believe in people's hearts, I only believe in evidence."
His voice suddenly turned cold: "Lord Chen, all the Qi family's assassins heard the Jing Chao assassin address you as his fellow disciple. Is this true?"
Chen Ji stated firmly, "It's a frame-up."
Li Dongyan changed the subject: "So you don't recognize him... Let me ask you, how did you guess he wanted to kill the head of the Imperial Medical Academy? Lord Chen, there's no need to panic, I was just speculating. You are a meritorious official of our dynasty in arresting the Military Intelligence Bureau, so I will naturally not make things difficult for you. However, the rumors circulating are of great importance. I ask Lord Chen to come back to the inner prison with me. Once everything is clear, I will naturally clear your name."
“I’m sorry, I cannot go to the inner prison,” Chen Ji said, turning and leaving.
Just as Li Dongyan was about to step forward to arrest him, he saw Jin Zhu make a hand gesture, and together with Tianma, they pinned him down in the middle, preventing him from breaking through. Without turning his head, Jin Zhu said to Chen Ji, "Don't go back to the Zhang family yet. We'll help you find out the truth."
Golden Pig, Pegasus, White Dragon, and Li Dongyan faced off at the triple gate, their tension palpable.
At this moment, Tianma made a sign: "I also think that kid is a bit suspicious."
Jin Zhu looked at Li Dongyan's hand gripping the hilt of his sword and sneered as he translated, "Commander Li, you may try drawing your sword."
Pegasus rolled his eyes.
Li Dongyan watched Chen Ji's departing figure and slowly released his grip: "No need. Lord Jinzhu is willing to risk his life for him; let's hope he doesn't actually lose his life for him. Besides, I can read sign language." (End of Chapter)