Green Mountain-Chapter 554 - 416: Outlaw

Early morning, rooster crowing.

Chen Ji awoke beside the woodpile, smelling a whiff of alcohol. He turned towards the scent and saw two empty wine jars on the ground not far away.

Turning his head again, he saw Mrs. Lu practicing "walking stake" martial arts in the courtyard.

Mrs. Lu dressed in black, wearing a black veil hat, her steps glided on green bricks. Her body turned and moved gracefully, yet her steps never left the Eight Diagrams yin and yang fish pattern. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Silent and undisturbed.

Chen Ji leaned against the woodpile, raised his head and asked, "Why didn’t you call me to watch the night?"

Mrs. Lu casually replied, "Young people sleeping a little more does no harm, at my age, even wanting to sleep is difficult."

Seeing Chen Ji awake, Mrs. Lu’s Eight Diagrams palm style no longer held back, suddenly turning from yin to the extreme yang, each move wielding rain with wind. This drunken Eight Diagrams traveling palm style seemed even more carefree and decisive.

She sounded slightly drunk, "Should we try our fists and feet?"

Chen Ji shook his head and refused, "I only know how to use weapons, not skilled in fists and feet... Is this Aunt Ping’s official gateway?"

Mrs. Lu did not answer directly, only using a drunken move ’Running Horse Alive Carry’: "Someone taught me once but I didn’t want to learn, later he was gone, and I’ve been practicing for over ten years."

At this moment, Mrs. Lu completed a round and began anew, teaching while playing: "First, strike the solar plexus, second, hit the throat, third, strike both sides at the center, fourth, strike the ribs with Tai Chi, fifth, hit the underworld with Yin, sixth, strike the kidneys against the heart, seventh, strike the tail with Feng Fu, eighth, strike the ears with fans."

Unlike the fancy names of Jianghu’s skills, each phrase and move was lethal.

Mrs. Lu slowly retracted her fist structure, "Want to learn?"

Chen Ji shook his head against the woodpile, "No, fist and feet don’t kill fast enough."

Mrs. Lu smiled, "I said the same back then. I claimed his fists and feet were bad, he disagreed, then we proposed a drinking contest to decide the winner. I drank three of them under the table. He drunkenly admitted defeat, drunken eyes blurredly asked me, what kills the fastest? I said a blade kills the fastest, words kill the most cruelly. Never expected, one word would become a prophecy."

Chen Ji was puzzled, not knowing why Mrs. Lu spoke about this with him, whether intentionally or just drunken rambling?

Mrs. Lu patted the dust off herself, "No more nonsense, today we’ll catch Liao Zhong, catch him and you can return to the Imperial Capital tonight."

Chen Ji was surprised.

He felt as if overnight, Aunt Ping seemed even more murderous.

Mrs. Lu sat beside the square table, speaking slowly: "To catch Liao Zhong, you have to first guess where he’s hiding. In Changping County, there are five squares, Xuahua Square is where government officials and gentry live; Anfu Square is where merchants are; Weimo Square is where garrison troops and Capital Grain Storage are stationed; Rulin Square has the county school and Confucius Temple, where scholars gather, many humble scholars going for exams can’t afford to live in the capital and stay here; Gongji Square is mostly civilians and Ning royal tomb households, with craftsmen making paper offerings and servants cleaning tomb paths."

She looked through the black veils of the hat at Chen Ji: "If you were Liao Zhong, where would you place the Death Soldier?"

Chen Ji sat opposite the square table and analyzed: "Changping County’s Death Soldier is Liao Zhong’s last retreat, his final choice to hide and flee the Ning Dynasty. This Death Soldier must hide where fish and dragons mingle to evade capture and have a legitimate identity to leave town.

Chen Ji began eliminating options: "Weimo Square is not possible, if the Death Soldier is a garrison soldier, he can’t leave his post freely to escort him out; Xuahua Square is not feasible either, gathered with constables and officials; Rulin Square is equally impossible, because scholars going for exams won’t stay there too long."

Leaving only Gongji Square and Anfu Square.

Mrs. Lu listened quietly, not interrupting.

Chen Ji continued, "Anfu Square may have wealthy merchants, but merchants travel often, as a Death Soldier he may not stay in Changping constantly for him. Gongji Square’s Tomb Households may hold low status, but Ning royal tombs need monthly cleaning, paper offerings delivered every month, they have legitimate reasons to leave the town... Paper-made figures can also wrap people inside to be smuggled out."

Chen Ji confidently stated, "It’s Gongji Square."

East of Changping County, the Ning royal tombs bury dozens of Ning Dynasty emperors, holding monthly sacrificial ceremonies, paper offerings, incense, and gold ingots in abundance.

Tomb Households frequently travel between Changping County town and Ning royal tombs, having utterly legitimate reasons to leave town, even the guards are used to it.

Chen Ji looked up, "Liao Zhong is in Gongji Square... Perhaps this is also why Aunt Ping lives in Gongji Square. Does Aunt Ping know how many households live in Gongji Square?"

"Two hundred and sixty-three households," Mrs. Lu poured herself another bowl of wine and asked with interest, "With so many households, how are we going to search?"

Chen Ji laughed, "Doesn’t Aunt Ping have Hai Dongqing dominoes? Naturally use Spy Department identity for a house-to-house search openly. Search for three days and nights, surely we’ll find them."

Mrs. Lu shook her head, "A bold move, but not bold enough."

Chen Ji was stunned.

Mrs. Lu explained, "Pretending to be the Spy Department won’t last long, so action must be swift."

She drew a dagger from her sleeve, and carved the map of Gongji Square on the square table: "Gongji Square has only one main road running east to west, like a straight tree, its smaller alleys its branches, all visible at a glance. Soon I’ll stir some commotion, you go east, I’ll go west, whichever household reacts differently, that’s where Liao Zhong hides."

Chen Ji was slightly puzzled, "What kind of commotion will attract all two hundred and sixty-three households out?"

Next moment, he saw Mrs. Lu enter the side room and bring out the wine jars, smashing them in the main house, instantly the strong smell of wine soared to the sky.

She took out a fire inch stick, blew out a spark, threw it into the wine, igniting a raging fire.

In a few breaths, the flames traveled up the paper windows burning toward the roof!

Mrs. Lu smiled, "Without causing a big commotion, how do we bring people out to watch the fun? Rest assured, the whole street is mine, it won’t affect neighbors."

Chen Ji turned and looked at her, "Aunt Ping isn’t afraid of causing too much commotion, attracting Jiefan Guard and spies?"

Mrs. Lu once again took a wine jar from the side room, removed the clay seal and took a hard swig, then tossed it next door: "Don’t worry, you fear the Eunuch Party, Liao Zhong fears the Eunuch Party too, let’s see who can’t withstand the pressure first."

The flames in the house, driven by surging winds, gently lifted half of the veil to reveal the scar crossing Mrs. Lu’s nose.

At this moment, Chen Ji didn’t seem like the wanted criminal from the sea capture document, the Aunt Ping beside him more so.

Outlaw Rascal!

Mrs. Lu turned and walked out: "Let’s go."

She and Chen Ji patrolled east and west, and in less than fifteen minutes, the entire Daoyi Alley was engulfed in a raging fire, billowing with black smoke, startling neighbors to come out and check.

"Fire!"

"Put out the fire!"

Some civilians came running with their own buckets, shouting urgently: "Help put out the fire!"

Chen Ji just quietly observed.

Only thirty minutes after dawn, civilians were still at home, when faced with such a big fire, they would instinctively come out to check, or rush to put out the fire, or watch the commotion.

Those who didn’t dare come out to check must have issues, and those with strange expressions too... Chen Ji couldn’t let go of a single detail.

In the midst of thinking, there came the sound of horse hooves from afar, roaring like thunder.

There were also the sporadic sounds of the copper whistle from the Spy Department, each whistle calling like two birds: Surround!

The commotion here was too big, eventually drawing out the lurking Spy Department and Jiefan Guard.

As the sound of horse hooves grew nearer, Chen Ji’s heart became calmer.

He needed to find Liao Zhong before Jiefan Guard arrived.

Wherever Chen Ji’s eyes swept, every household in Gongji Square came out to check, except for four houses with tightly closed doors.

Among these four houses?

No, that’s not right. These four houses don’t have wild vegetables drying on the roofs.

In the northern regions of the Ning Dynasty, civilians often lacked food in the spring; elm fruits, shepherd’s purse, purslane, and dandelions were life-saving early spring wild vegetables, dried and stored for emergencies in autumn and winter.

Chen Ji scanned the area, every household had wild vegetables drying on the roof, except these four.

No people lived inside.

That alone wasn’t concrete proof, so Chen Ji carefully examined further, noticing the weeds and willow buds in the roof crevices of these four houses were left untouched, probably indicating no one lived there.

Chen Ji temporarily noted these four households and cast his gaze elsewhere.

At this moment, he suddenly saw a woman looking nervously towards the fire, her eyes red, seemingly from crying multiple times, causing them to swell.

The woman was covertly observing the fire in Daoyi Alley, instinctively hiding behind her neighbor while doing so.

The woman asked her neighbors in a low voice: "What happened over there in Daoyi Alley?"

Neighbors shook their heads: "Not sure how it caught fire."

The woman cautiously scanned the crowd, and as she was about to spot Chen Ji, he turned away, avoiding her seeing his face.

Mrs. Lu hurriedly approached from the west, quietly asking Chen Ji: "Nothing unusual in the west, how about your side?"

Chen Ji didn’t answer, his peripheral vision remained on that woman.

But the woman was extremely alert; seeing Chen Ji and Mrs. Lu together, she grew wary and headed back to her home.

Chen Ji thought to himself, something’s not right.

In the next moment, the woman pushed through the crowd and ran into the alley, Chen Ji ignored the others, leapt up, and dashed across the rooftops.

The two of them, one running in the alley, one sprinting on the rooftop, Chen Ji leapt and pounced down, ready for a fight with the woman.

But before he could land, the woman, knowing she was no match, fell to her knees with a thud, tears streaming down like rain.

The woman looked at Chen Ji before her, then at Mrs. Lu blocking the way behind, sorrowfully saying: "Sirs, I beg you, spare me, my child is still with him, any sudden move might cost my child’s life!"

Chen Ji landed in front of her and asked solemnly: "Liao Zhong is holding your child hostage?"

The woman nodded frantically: "He uses the child as leverage, my husband and I are truly forced into this. Please, have mercy, let us rescue our child first, then we’ll submit to your justice."

By this time, the sound of horse hooves was close.

Mrs. Lu walked straight past the woman: "There’s no time, a Death Soldier must have the awareness of one; having taken someone’s money, you’re no longer innocent."

Seeing her pleas were futile, the woman suddenly got up, drew a dagger from her sleeve, and rushed at Mrs. Lu.

Mrs. Lu sidestepped the dagger, her body twisting swiftly, Chen Ji didn’t even see how she moved, but she sent the woman flying, crashing heavily against the wall.

Mrs. Lu didn’t look at the woman, she walked into a nearby open house, pulled a burning firebrand from the stove, and threw it into the house next door, starting another fire.

The thick smoke billowed with the wind, drifting into the woman’s house.

The fire spread quickly, reaching the woman’s house in less than fifteen minutes.

Chen Ji watched as Mrs. Lu leaped onto the rooftop, crouching on the eaves of the woman’s house, holding her breath, waiting for the smoke to force the people inside out, indifferent even as the fire neared her feet.

The sounds of the copper whistle from the Spy Department grew closer, but Mrs. Lu remained unmoved.

She intended to use the fire to force Liao Zhong out of the house.