Chapter 659
Fire
The feeling of being homeless...
Chen Ji looked at the small courtyard. He had brought Xiao Man from Luocheng to this place. Xiao Man was looking forward to eating grapes in the summer, but they didn't even make it through the winter before they were chased away again.
Now that I've finally managed to settle down in the Zhang family, and have just celebrated my nineteenth birthday, there are countless security guards standing at the Zhang family's gate.
At that moment, flames broke out not far away, and someone shouted, "Fire! Where's the fire armor? Come and put out the fire!"
The area outside Shaojiu Hutong became noisy.
In the alley of Shaojiu, Yao An and Chen Ji remained seated, their eyes fixed on each other's faces.
Chen Ji casually asked, "Did Senior Brother have someone set the fire?"
Yao An smiled and said, "It really wasn't my foolish brother who did it. The capital is still the same as always. It's prone to fires in winter. Charcoal burners, coal burners, and oil lamp burners can easily cause a big fire if they're not careful. I still remember in the eighth year of the Jia Ning era, a big fire almost burned down the entire Liulichang... There will be many more homeless people. How wonderful."
Chen Ji said softly, "Senior brother, a person will face many choices in this life. Every choice is a fork in the road. You are homeless because you made the wrong choice. You have never understood that a home is not a house, but the people in the house. Although the house may burn down, as long as the people are still there, there will be a home. And you, senior brother, even if you stay in this courtyard, you are still homeless."
Yao An observed Chen Ji's expression and teased, "Speaking of being homeless, why do you look so deeply moved, Junior Brother... Tsk tsk, you're getting menacing."
Chen Ji did not answer. His right hand fingers slowly caressed the whale knife, while his left hand fingers were tucked into his sleeve and caressed another object.
If he were to reveal all his trump cards, he might be able to fight to the death with someone at the Dao Seeking Realm. He had previously been wary of Headmaster Lu Yang's inability to use his sword seed, but now it was a matter of mutual destruction.
Chen Ji has made a new decision.
However, he still couldn't determine how many changgui (a type of spirit companion) his senior brother had, nor could he determine whether the person in front of him was the real person or a changgui, let alone how his senior brother and the changgui were connected.
Logically speaking, since Yao An still followed the path of the Mountain Lord, then he and Wu Yun should not have a clear master-servant relationship and should be independent individuals.
But tigers and accomplices seem to be different.
Chen Ji said casually, "Senior brother, I personally killed your treacherous servant today. He was no match for me, how do you think you could defeat me?"
Yao An smiled and said, "Junior Brother has the fortune of Prince Jing and the Empress, so his cultivation speed is naturally far superior to that of your foolish brother. What your foolish brother wants to compare with you is not martial arts, but mental strength."
Chen Ji felt somewhat relieved and tricked his way out.
What the ghost saw and heard could not be immediately known to Yao An. The other party still believed that he had entered the realm of seeking the Dao, and was unaware that he could be resurrected from the brink of death.
Chen Ji tentatively asked, "How does Senior Brother intend to compare?"
Yao An pondered for a moment: "Why don't you guess what I plan to do next? If you can't guess, that's fine too. You can add the White Dragon, the Bright Rabbit, the Cloud Sheep, the Golden Pig, and the Heavenly Horse."
Chen Ji then asked, "Senior Brother, I'm afraid you're not alone, are you? There are several officers from the Military Intelligence Bureau in the capital, all under your command?"
Yao An smiled and said, "Junior brother, you want to stall for time? No need, senior brother will be leaving now."
In an instant, a great bell rang in Chen Ji's heart, and he flew backward, carrying the whale-shaped blade.
Yao An slammed his hands on the stone table, and the heavy stone table hurtled toward Chen Ji and Bao Hou with a force as heavy as a thousand pounds, leaving them no way to avoid it.
The Monkey King transformed into a cloud of black mist, from which came the sharp, high-pitched voice of Changsheng: "No!"
Qi Xiao said in a muffled voice, "I'll do it."
The next moment, the black mist landed in front of Chen Ji, solidified again, and continued to expand.
Qi Xiao transformed into a towering celestial being, blocking Chen Ji's path like a cloak of the sky. His entire body was adorned with alternating shades of green and gold, and he wore gleaming gold armor. His eyes were wide open, with reddish-gold pupils, and his gaze was piercing and imposing without anger.
Qi Xiao held a giant umbrella and opened it in front of Chen Ji. The stone table crashed onto the umbrella and exploded, with pebbles hitting the umbrella canopy and making crackling sounds.
Once the sound subsided, Qi Xiao closed the giant umbrella.
Yao An came out of the kitchen, holding a piece of firewood, and threw it into the main room, whereupon a great fire broke out instantly.
Yao An stood with his back to Chen Ji, silently watching the fire spread: "My body is far away, but my heart has no home. Junior brother, this is the memory of my foolish brother and Master. You cannot live here, and no one can live here."
Chang Sheng said in a shrill voice, "This person's mental illness is even more severe than Liao Zhong's!"
Yu Yuan whispered, "Qi Xiao, kill them."
Qi Xiao strode towards Yao An, but just as he reached the kitchen door, a loud bang was heard, and gunpowder exploded inside. The massive blast ripped the roof off, and even Qi Xiao was thrown out.
Amidst the roar, Yao An remained calm and composed.
The young ghost was standing under the eaves of the main house with his hands raised in a bow stance. Yao An climbed up the stairs as if ascending a staircase, stepping on the young ghost's thighs, then his left hand, and then his right hand, leisurely strolling onto the roof.
Standing on the gray tiles, he calmly turned around to look at Qi Xiao as he got up from the ground, and teased, "The Primordial Pearl Umbrella, the Vairocana Crown, and the Gilded Green Armor—is this the Northern Heavenly King? He looks quite formidable, but you're not the real Heavenly King."
After saying that, Yao An looked at Chen Ji and smiled, "Junior brother, we'll meet again soon."
Chen Ji drew his whale-shaped sword, intending to step on Qi Xiao's shoulders and leap onto the roof. In mid-air, the young cougar flicked his wrists, producing two soft swords from his sleeves with a clattering sound. He leaped into the air as if from nowhere, pouncing towards Chen Ji.
Chen Ji turned his blade and cleaved it down like a mountain, intending to split the ghost in two with the force of the downward strike. But before the blade could fall, the tall and burly Qi Xiao grabbed the ghost's ankle and yanked it down from mid-air.
Qi Xiao muttered, "Die!"
He grabbed the ghost by the ankle and repeatedly swung it on the ground as if it were a doll.
Just then, a roaring sound came from the main room again, and flames poured out from the doors and windows. Qi Xiao held the cougar in front of him, and bent over to block the heat wave that was rushing towards him.
The traces were thrown backward by the heat wave and tumbled to the ground.
When he looked up again, he saw that the house where Old Man Yao had lived for many years had been reduced to ruins, and Yao An on the roof had long since disappeared.
Everyone was speculating about where the Military Intelligence Bureau would use the stolen seventy catties of gunpowder—either to assassinate a cabinet minister or to assassinate His Majesty—but no one expected it to be used here.
Shaojiu Hutong is separated from the Forbidden City only by Yuhebian Street. The roar of horses reached deep into the palace. The sound of hooves echoed outside the hutong. Chen Ji sheathed his whale-shaped sword and whispered to Qi Xiao, "Hurry up!"
Qi Xiaona, the Heavenly King of the West, shrank back to the original form of the precious monkey in the blink of an eye, as if a fish bladder had deflated. The wooden monkey mask was still on his face.
The two left the courtyard. Chen Ji glanced back at the raging fire behind them and disappeared into a small alley to the east before Jie Fanwei arrived.
In the narrow alley, Chen Ji thanked Bao Hou.
The Monkey King didn't take it seriously: "Lord White Dragon instructed that nothing can happen to you."
Yu Yuan asked curiously, "Sir, what about your little black cat? Is it alright?"
Chen Ji did not answer.
……
……
On the other end, Yao An, dressed in a Taoist robe, strolled leisurely through the night. He didn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere, but just wandered around the inner city, always managing to avoid the patrolling Five City Garrison and Jie Fan Guard.
The drums on the city tower sounded, their beats rapid and urgent.
A curfew has been imposed.
The taverns and teahouses in the inner city asked their customers to leave, rushing to close before the drumbeats stopped. The customers went home cursing, and then the capital returned to silence.
As dawn broke, Yao An turned south and made his way to the gate of the East Garden Timber Factory in Xianyi Ward.
Yao An walked inside, where two people were kneeling on the ground wiping bloodstains from the blue bricks. Upon seeing him, they immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Lord of the Mountain."
Yao An ignored them and walked further in, where two more people were carrying four corpses from the lumberyard to the warehouse.
Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the hearts of all four corpses have been removed, and the two men wiping the floor and the two men carrying the corpses bear identical appearances to the four corpses.
Yao An walked through the courtyard, pushed open the door and entered the main room. He sat down in the deepest darkness, quietly watching the moonlight outside the door, lost in thought.
In the darkness, a voice whispered reproachfully from an even darker spot behind Yao An: "Why didn't you inform the Chief Master about this unexpected turn of events?"
Yao An didn't even turn his head: "I am a military intelligence officer and am not under the control of the chief. I will not concern myself with the secret meeting between the Heavenly Branches and the Earthly Branches. The officers Ding, Gui, and Xin of the chief have all been purged, and the chief has stood by and done nothing, forcing me to rush back from Yunzhou to save face. I can overlook these things... so don't come looking for trouble."
"The Chief Minister did not stand idly by," the voice behind him became serious. "Lord Lu summoned you here for a more important matter. You have caused trouble, and I will certainly report this to the Lord."
Yao An smiled and smoothed his robes: "There's no need to use Lu Jin to scare me. If it weren't for me, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape back to Jingchao. Now that I'm serving under him, it's just that I don't want to show my face in public."
The person behind remained silent.
Yao An said casually, "Go back and tell the Chief that I will not delay his business, and he should not interfere with my business."
The person behind Yao An slowly retreated, saying as he did so, "Don't provoke Chen Ji anymore; important matters are at hand."
After saying that, he opened the window and climbed out.
Yao An chuckled.
Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the lumberyard: "Open the door!"
The four ghostly figures in the lumberyard exchanged glances, and one of them went to open the door.
The door opened, and the middle-aged ghost rubbed his eyes, looking sleepy: "Who is it?"
Outside the door, Jie Fanwei said in a deep voice, "By imperial decree, Grand Secretary Qi has passed away. He has been granted a coffin made of secret artifacts from the Eastern Garden, measuring twelve feet long, four feet wide, and three feet high. It will be lacquered in vermilion inside and out, and carved with the sun, moon, dragon, phoenix, tiger, tortoise, and jade. You are to obtain golden nanmu wood from the Imperial Palace and complete the construction within three days. It will then be transported to the Qi family in a palanquin."
The middle-aged ghost hurriedly knelt down and said loudly, "Your subject, Master Zhang of the Eastern Garden, obeys the decree." (End of this chapter)