Chapter 694
Tiger
Not only did Old Man Yao get up to ask further questions.
Zhu Yunxi put down the knife in her hand, Liang Gou'er sat up straight, and Liang Mao'er also nervously put down the sauerkraut bun in her hand. They hadn't heard any news about Chen Ji for a long time. The last time they heard news about Chen Ji was when he got married to Zhang Xia.
On that day, Princess Liyang had Jiang Pan fetch the finest Yuhuchun wine from the cellar. Zhu Yunxi and Liang Gou'er celebrated remotely, drinking themselves into oblivion. Even Old Man Yao made an exception and drank a few cups of wine, sitting alone until dawn.
Princess Liyang was quite drunk and sat next to Old Man Yao, talking nonsense all night. Surprisingly, Old Man Yao didn't chase her away.
News of one's hometown and old friends is worth a fortune, so much so that several people ask Princess Liyang every day if there is any new information about Chen Ji.
Everyone originally thought that the next news about Chen Ji would be that he had a child and had become a high-ranking official in the Ning Dynasty. However, they never expected that he would break into the Martial Temple and steal the sacred relics of the God of War...
Liang Gou'er pondered for a long time, then asked in confusion, "Wait, didn't that kid just get married? Why isn't he at home having a baby? Why did he go to the Martial Temple? Did his wife kick him out?"
Princess Liyang sneered, "What kind of wife did you marry to think like that? No matter how fierce Miss Xia is, she couldn't possibly drive him from the capital of Ning Dynasty to the Temple of Martial Arts. There must be something that happened in Ning Dynasty that we don't know about, and the news hasn't reached me yet."
Old Yao said impatiently, "We can talk about the idle chatter of a few drunkards another day. Let's talk about Chen Ji's situation first."
Princess Liyang entered the room: "The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are currently searching for him. He fought with Yuan Hengli Zhen, killing over a hundred Mo Dao soldiers and leaving a scar on Yuan Hengli Zhen's face. Three forces from the Twelve Central Imperial Guards are also searching for him. Among them, Yuan Xing, the Marquis of Changping County of the Right Martial Guard, was very close to him, only a few steps away. The Tokyo Circuit is also searching for him, and someone has even drawn a picture of him..."
She stirred the emotions of everyone in the room.
Old Yao said irritably, "Don't talk so big."
Princess Liyang walked to the candlestick and burned the secret letter sent by the Tokyo Circuit. The flickering firelight illuminated her confident face: "Don't worry, the Tokyo Circuit won't circulate his portrait. As long as he hides it well, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Central Imperial Guards may not be able to find him."
Old Yao frowned and said, "He's unfamiliar with Jingchao, and the household registration system in Jingchao is so strict. How can he hide?"
Princess Liyang smiled and said, "Do you still think of him as a child? How many people has he killed and how many things has he done this year? So many people in Ning Dynasty have tried to kill him but failed. Hiding his whereabouts is not a problem. In my opinion, escaping Changbai Mountain is the most difficult step, followed by how to leave Jing Dynasty. Now that we have escaped from Changbai Mountain, we should be safe for the time being."
Old Yao frowned and remained silent.
Princess Liyang, feeling the effects of the alcohol, swayed and said, "By the way, there was an old man with him. This old man seems to have some skills, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to escape from Changbai Mountain."
Old Yao's expression shifted: "What is your identity, old man?"
Princess Liyang thought for a moment and said, "The Tokyo Circuit painted a portrait of half of his face."
Old Yao asked in a deep voice, "Where?"
Princess Liyang pointed to the candlestick and hiccuped: "Don't worry, it's already burned."
Old Yao remained silent for a long time, then sighed, "I knew we couldn't let that drunkard do things!"
He started to walk outside, but Princess Liyang grabbed his arm and asked, "Master, where are you going?"
Old Yao calmly said, "Go find Chen Ji."
Princess Liyang, feeling dizzy, asked, "Where are we going to look?"
Old Yao speculated, "There are only four routes to leave Jingchao: Lushun Port, Yingkou Port, Xijing Road to Chongli Pass, and Longyou Road to Guyuan. Longyou Road and Xijing Road are too far away. Lushun and Yingkou are probably the best choices. But if it were him, he would probably try to take Xijing Road, because he has already traveled that road once."
Princess Liyang shook her head: "No, no, no, I guess he will take the Longyou Road, because his friends are there."
Old Yao walked outside: "Whether it's Longyou Road or Xijing Road, they all have to pass through Fengsheng Prefecture. We'll go there to meet them."
Princess Liyang suddenly asked, "No, no, no, do you think he might come to the capital?"
"Hmm?" Old Man Yao asked, puzzled.
Princess Liyang tilted her head and pondered, "I was just thinking that someone like Chen Ji would definitely go to Guyuan because it's rare for him to see his friends. But then I thought, if he knew you were in the capital, he would definitely be unable to resist coming to see you since he's come to Jingchao. I guess you're the person he wants to see most right now."
Old Yao chuckled, "He doesn't know I'm in the capital."
Princess Liyang pondered again, "That's true... But what if he comes looking for me? I'm his friend too."
Old Yao glanced at her sideways and said, "What kind of friend are you?"
Princess Liyang feigned anger, saying, "What are you saying? He and I, and Miss A-Xia, have a life-or-death bond." "Moreover..." But then she changed the subject, saying smugly, "In Ning Dynasty, he was my biggest backer, but in Jing Dynasty, I am his biggest backer. If he wants to leave Jing Dynasty, instead of struggling and wandering to find a way out, he might as well come to me. I have a way to send him back to Ning Dynasty. Master, let's stay in Shangjing City and wait and see."
……
……
On the boundless snowfield, Chenji, Lao Erduo, and Wuyun lay side by side in the snow beside the official road, quietly observing the distant pass.
The pass was formed by the compression of two precipitous peaks. Outside the pass was a flat snowfield, but here it suddenly narrowed, with a narrow path squeezed out by the mountains on both sides. The imperial court built a small post town here to inspect the people coming and going and collect taxes.
There is also a beacon tower on the gate tower. If there is any enemy activity, it will be lit immediately, and the enemy situation can be transmitted to hundreds of miles away in an instant through the beacon towers.
At this time, more than a hundred armored soldiers were guarding the pass, and a flag embroidered with a golden axe was flying on the gate tower.
Old Ears whispered, "These are usually just foot soldiers who don't know how to get by. Now that the Left Guard has taken over, they must be here to arrest you."
Chen Ji corrected, "They're arresting us."
Old Ears pondered, "This checkpoint is relatively easy. We can get through by climbing over the mountain next to it with a bit of effort. But further ahead, the road will probably be more difficult. We'll need to get a proper household registration and travel permit, otherwise we won't be able to reach Lushun."
Chen Ji suddenly said, "We're not going to Lushun."
Old Ears paused, then turned to look at him: "Why aren't you going to Lushun? Didn't you want to leave Jingchao?"
Chen Ji squinted as the sunlight reflected off the snowfield, his lips chapped. He grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth to quench his thirst: "Everyone knows where to go if we want to leave Jingchao. The Jingchao Central Imperial Guard and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry naturally know as well. They might already be waiting for us in Lushun and Yingkou. Let's just go to the capital. Princess Liyang owes me a favor; she might be able to find a way to send us away."
Old Ears' eyes darted around: "This old man is not going to the capital. I was scared out of my wits there back then, and I even lost my sword seed."
Chen Ji said calmly, "You dare to go to the Martial Temple, but you don't dare to go to the capital? You've been away from home for so many years, don't you want to go back and visit, or were your previous statements all lies?"
At this point, Chen Ji became suspicious again: "Is there something else you're hiding from me?"
Old Ears lay prone in the snow: "Anyway, I don't know the way."
Chen Ji gritted his teeth and said, "I'll find my own way. If you don't want to go, we'll go our separate ways."
He went to the capital not only to find Princess Liyang, but also to inquire whether she had heard any news about Old Man Yao. After all, Old Man Yao had been in Jingchao for so long with his cat, dog, and prince, so there should be some news about him.
The two people and the cat lay there for half an hour until it got dark before they made their way up the snow-capped mountain next to the pass.
Just as they reached the halfway point of the mountain, the dark clouds suddenly perked up their ears in Chen Ji's arms and breathed out at the front.
Chen Ji followed the gaze of the dark clouds and saw a fierce tiger standing on a distant mountain pass, quietly observing them.
Moonlight shone from behind the tiger, and Chen Ji could only make out its outline: "Is it the one from Changbai Mountain?"
The cloud meowed, "It's it."
The tiger slowly retreated behind a large tree, only its head peeking out to stare at the dark clouds. It lacked any of the domineering aura of the king of beasts, instead exuding a sneaky and furtive air.
Chen Ji pondered for a moment and continued walking forward, but when the tiger saw him coming, it turned around and ran into the mountains, disappearing without a trace in a few breaths.
Chen Ji arrived at the spot where the tiger had been hiding, only to find a sika deer lying on the snow, blood gushing from its neck, as if the tiger had just hunted it.
Old Ears stood beside him: "Did this come to us? It's probably been with us all the way, and it knows we haven't eaten all day."
Chen Ji corrected him, "It was a gift for me."
Old Ears rolled his eyes: "You've calculated things quite clearly this time."
He pulled a short knife from Chen Ji's sleeve, deftly cut open the sika deer's belly, and pulled out a blood-soaked deer heart.
Old Ears used snow to clean the surface of the deer heart, then cut off a piece of meat and handed it to Chen Ji: "Deer heart is a good thing. We can't start a fire in this desolate wilderness, so let's just eat it raw."
Chen Ji took the meat but didn't eat it right away. He quietly watched the direction the tiger had gone. The tiger hadn't gone far; it stopped about a hundred paces away and quietly observed them. (End of Chapter)