Green Mountain-Chapter 547 - 409: Old Acquaintance

"You don’t want to leave?"

The woman in black scrutinized Chen Ji.

It was her first time in years seeing Chen Ji up close, just a step away.

Under the young man’s bamboo hat were serene eyes, and brows as sharp as swords. His nose was thin but high, and beneath his rolled-up sleeves were wrists and hands with distinct veins.

This wasn’t the kid who used to just follow behind her.

The person was Mrs. Lu.

At this moment, Chen Ji looked at her, she averted her gaze, speaking without a ripple in her voice, "Over a hundred from the Jiefan Guard and the Spy Department have arrived, and tonight they’re determined to turn Changping County upside down. They’ll start searching from the north of the city and will finish this not-so-small Changping County before dawn."

"The Jiefan Guard has a camp with soldiers five li away. If they don’t find you tonight, they’ll bring in those 500 troops to search a second time tomorrow."

"If still not found by the second round, they’ll use local tyrants like the village chief and local gentry for a third search. If by three rounds they still haven’t found you, they’ll pretend to withdraw and then scatter personnel in the marketplace to monitor closely, lasting up to a month."

"Perhaps you can evade three rounds of searches, but if you attempt to catch Liao Zhong in Changping, the result is that any disturbance will immediately draw hidden spies and Jiefan Guard to swarm in."

Mrs. Lu looked at Chen Ji, "Do you still want to stay in Changping?"

She spoke without emotion, laying out everything she knew in front of Chen Ji for him to make a choice.

However, Chen Ji was unmoved, saying earnestly, "Sorry, I have yet to decide to leave the Ning Dynasty."

Mrs. Lu calmly said, "Only charging you ten copper coins."

Chen Ji didn’t speak.

Mrs. Lu continued, "Five."

Chen Ji shook his head, "Sorry, I can’t leave yet."

Mrs. Lu slightly furrowed her brow, "You don’t fear death? You should first hide in the inn, I’ll come ask you again tomorrow, and if you’ve made up your mind, I can send you away from the Ning Dynasty anytime."

She decisively walked out, as resolute as a knight’s sword.

But just at this moment, the door curtain was lifted.

As Mrs. Lu walked out, a woman squeezed in through the door gap, brushing past her, heading straight for the counter, "It’s chaotic outside, who’s spreading the message?"

The woman was in her thirties, wearing all black nightwear, with two Emei daggers tucked in her waist.

The shopkeeper, seeing it was her, said instinctively, "Sister Su Zhou, when did you return?"

The woman named Su Zhou leaned against the counter, "What, I have to notify you when I come back, huh... Is it you?"

She turned her head and was taken aback to see Chen Ji, "Why are you here? Where’s that dead girl, Xiao Man?"

Chen Ji was also a bit surprised, not expecting to meet this female assassin here, "Xiao Man is still in the Imperial Capital."

Mrs. Lu stopped her steps, standing at the doorway observing the two.

She looked at Su Zhou, then at Chen Ji, not understanding how these two were entangled together.

Su Zhou’s expression turned slightly cold, her hand on her waist feeling the Emei dagger, "You said you’d take me to the capital, but as soon as we left Luocheng City, you abandoned me in a box. Do you know how I managed to get to the Imperial Capital?"

Chen Ji quickly clasped his hands in apology, "Apologies, there were circumstances last time, the Chen family was summoned to Guyuan, had no choice but to leave halfway, and Xiao Man forgot you were still in the box."

Su Zhou sneered, scolding, "Forgot? Such a big living person like me, you say forget and just forget? When I see that dead girl Xiao Man again, I must give her a good twist."

Chen Ji clasped his hands, "There’s no need to hold a grudge against Xiao Man, it was all my oversight."

Su Zhou pointed at Chen Ji’s shoulder with her finger, scolding, "I hid in the box for a long time, severely injured, couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink. I could only sneak out of the box at midnight when everyone was asleep, rummage some food and water pouch from the Zhang Family’s luggage, then crawl back into the box..."

The young shopkeeper suppressed his laughter, Su Zhou glared at him, "If you dare to laugh out loud, I’ll tear your mouth off."

Chen Ji looked embarrassed.

Su Zhou circled around him with her hands behind her back, "Are you the one spreading the message? There are wanted pamphlets all over outside hunting for you, and you still dare to come to an inn?"

Chen Ji softly explained, "I came to the Denghuo Inn to seek Denghuo’s help, to find Liao Zhong’s whereabouts."

Su Zhou was surprised, "Liao Zhong? Weren’t the two of you conspiring to assassinate the Crown Prince, what do you want with him, did you get separated?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Chen Ji couldn’t explain.

Anyone seeing the Ritual Supervision posting two wanted notices at the same time would think he and Liao Zhong were accomplices in the Crown Prince’s assassination, yet the truth was not so.

Just at this moment, noise from outside grew nearer.

The Jiefan Guard and the Spy Department had already sealed all exits, beginning the city search.

Seeing the noise of the search getting closer, the shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Folks, head to the backyard first to lay low, once the Eunuch Party finishes searching the inn, you can come out."

The attendant quickly led the three to the backyard by the well, signaling them to climb down with the well rope, "There’s a stone facing inside the well that can be removed, just kick it open, hide inside, then re-stack the stones, from outside it will look undisturbed."

Chen Ji looked at the well opening, this method of hiding in the well was just like in Guyuan.

In his memory, Xiao Man took one thousand and eleven taels of silver from here that day, and in just one day exchanged it for a granary and two thousand stones of grain, all hidden inside the well.

At the time, Chen Ji thought Xiao Man was just good at business, but now it seems, it was clearly Denghuo’s help. That grain shop originally belonged to Denghuo.

Strange, the one helping Xiao Man surely wasn’t the innkeeper from Dragon Gate Inn... So who could be aiding him in the shadows?

Third Master Hu? Or was it someone else?

Su Zhou saw Chen Ji hesitating, assuming he was afraid to enter the well. She immediately grabbed the rope first and slid down: "Why are you so timid?"

She kicked open the green bricks at the bottom of the well and crawled into the secret chamber behind them.

Mrs. Lu cast a glance at Chen Ji, listened to the sound of hooves behind her, and suddenly said to him, "You first."

Chen Ji was slightly surprised but said nothing. He followed the rope into the secret chamber, and his view suddenly widened. This place was more spacious than the under-well storeroom in Guyuan’s grain store. The eight-foot high chamber was paved with green bricks and sprinkled with lime, even allowing Chen Ji to stand upright.

There were no bags of grain here, but a bed and a desk instead, as if someone regularly hid here.

In the middle of the secret chamber, a large urn was buried, covered with a thin layer of oiled paper.

Mrs. Lu came in last, pulled out a fire inch to light the candle inside, and glanced at Chen Ji: "Pile up the green bricks."

Chen Ji guarded the opening and put each green brick back in place. Just as he inserted the last brick, he heard the sound of intense footsteps above.

The thin layer of paper on the urn transmitted the movements above clearly.

Someone shouted loudly: "Search, don’t leave out a single corner."

"The stables are clear!"

"The third floor is clear!"

"The second floor is clear!"

Chen Ji and the others held their breath in the secret chamber, listening to the Ritual Supervision personnel comb through the place like sifting with a sieve, unclear whether it was the Jiefan Guard or the Spy Department who came.

Just when the searchers were about to leave, Xuan Snake’s soft voice suddenly sounded in the hearing urn: "A small Changping County built such a large inn, but there is only one innkeeper and one steward. The inn is fourteen zhang and one chi wide at the front, but only twelve zhang and three chi at the backyard... having followed me for so many years, can’t you see this little discrepancy, do I have to teach you repeatedly?"

Xuan Snake, worthy of being the master of criminal investigation within the Spy Department, immediately saw through the oddities of the inn. If others had come to search, they might not have noticed anything peculiar, it was unusual for a master like Xuan Snake to visit Changping County town.

But this time, Xuan Snake came, under his eyes, the secret chamber was completely exposed.

The next moment, footsteps rushed towards the stables, then a loud voice said: "Sir, there is a secret chamber behind the stables, with ledgers hidden inside!"

Chen Ji was shocked, there was another secret chamber behind the stables?

In the dim candlelight, he glanced at Su Zhou and Mrs. Lu, Su Zhou’s eyes were bloodshot, eager to act, but Mrs. Lu held her still in place first.

Su Zhou whispered fiercely: "What are you doing?"

Mrs. Lu coldly glanced at her: "The innkeepers of Denghuo Inn aren’t afraid of death, they have long been ready to die. If you want to go out and court death, wait until we leave first."

Su Zhou said coldly: "Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid yet."

Mrs. Lu said casually: "Prevention is better than cure."

At this moment, an angry shout came from above: "Not good, flaming oil is stored in the secret chamber!"

As the words fell, there was a loud boom, and fierce flames rose on the ground, even a hint of heat could be felt at the bottom of the well.

Someone shouted: "The innkeeper has run away!"

Xuan Snake angrily shouted: "What are you still standing there for? Chase!"

The footsteps faded away, Chen Ji said in a deep voice: "This place is not safe to stay for long, they will come back for a thorough search, this well probably won’t escape Xuan Snake’s notice either."

Mrs. Lu had already blown out the candle: "Let’s go, the innkeeper of Denghuo Inn has a poison bag in his mouth, he ran away to buy time for you and me."

Unexpectedly, the two of them had an unspoken understanding.

Mrs. Lu came to the entrance of the secret chamber, removed the green bricks, and this time, she said to Chen Ji: "I’ll go first."

She climbed up the rope, leaping out of the well mouth in a few steps. There were a few muffled sounds from outside the well, then Mrs. Lu’s head peeked out from the well mouth: "Come out."

When Chen Ji climbed out of the well, he was shocked to see five spies lying on the ground, their life forces extinguished.

He looked at this masked woman, whose name was still unknown, in surprise. What kind of skill did she possess to deal with five spies in three breaths without them making a sound?

The backyard of the inn was ablaze with raging flames. Mrs. Lu didn’t wait for Su Zhou to come out and turned to climb over the east wall: "This way."

Just as Su Zhou’s head appeared above the well edge, she saw Mrs. Lu’s figure disappearing over the courtyard wall, she gritted her teeth and leaped to follow: "Where did this reaper come from, is her blood cold?"

The sky had darkened, and all around the Jiefan Guard and the spies were closing in by sound.

Mrs. Lu led Chen Ji and Su Zhou, sticking to the shadows under the eaves, stopping and starting along the way to avoid the crowd, finally stopping at Changping County’s grain warehouse.

Mrs. Lu whispered to Chen Ji: "The Jiefan Guard and the spies won’t search the grain warehouse at night, if a fire accidentally breaks out, they will be held responsible."

Chen Ji suddenly realized that the person before him had already dealt with the Jiefan Guard and the spies for many years.

...

Apologies everyone, I’ve been quite busy with relocating my family to Shanghai recently; it’s been a bit hectic for me, just finished everything today.