Green Mountain-Chapter 559 - 421: Friends

In the courtyard, Bai Long sat calmly, with a tea set displayed in front of him. A silver teapot was slowly heating on a small red clay stove, as if engaged in a tea chat around the fire with a few friends.

Treasure Monkey, wearing a wooden monkey mask, sat cross-legged on the ground next to him, engrossed in making kites. It looked rather comical.

But Mrs. Lu would not find it comical.

The names of the Twelve Signs of the Spy Department were like twelve towering mountains. The shadow cast by these mountains alone suffocated the people of Jianghu.

If Sheep and Rabbit were watching you, you wouldn’t dare close your eyes while sleeping; falling into Meng Ji’s hands, all your secrets would be extracted cleanly; Treasure Monkey takes on human faces, unpredictable; if you’re listed in Xuan Snake’s register, you’ll be captured and returned to the Imperial Prison even if you hide to the ends of the earth...

But these people combined couldn’t compare to two words.

Bai Long.

At this moment, the teacup on the stone table was steaming, the fragrance of tea lingering under the gray-tiled eaves.

Bai Long still pushed the teacup, Mrs. Lu remained in the poised stance she took on when jumping out of the secret passage, and as Treasure Monkey turned to observe the two, almost thought the world was at a standstill.

A sharp voice came from beneath the wooden monkey mask: "Who is this woman? She isn’t in the Shadow Map List from Jiefan Building, I’m sure."

A hoarse voice said, "Ignore her, hurry up and get the paper kite done, otherwise that boy will start crying again, crying until my head hurts."

A sharp voice complained, "Isn’t it my head?"

"And mine!"

"And mine!"

It seemed like several noisy spirit monsters hid beneath that wooden monkey mask, and lifting the mask would unleash them to wreak havoc upon the world.

Hearing this noisy voice, Bai Long casually said, "Alright."

The voices from beneath the wooden monkey mask quieted down, leaving only Treasure Monkey quietly making the kite.

Bai Long looked at Mrs. Lu, smiling as he said, "Sorry, don’t mind that."

Mrs. Lu said nothing, still poised to act at any moment.

Bai Long was unconcerned with her vigilance, nor did he show any wariness: "Why not invite the friend from the secret passage out? There’s no turning back anyway."

Mrs. Lu pondered for a moment, then stepped aside from the secret passage, allowing Third Master Hu to emerge, carrying No. 13.

Bai Long gestured to the table opposite, courteously saying, "Please sit, have some tea."

Third Master Hu looked at Mrs. Lu, Mrs. Lu remained silent, then actually sat on the opposite side: "Lord Bai Long, such elegance, with the chaos outside, yet still minded to hide here and drink tea."

Bai Long pointed at the two cups on the table and joked, "Need me to test for poison?"

Mrs. Lu picked up a teacup, bringing it to her lips, Third Master Hu cautioned her, but she calmly drank it all in one go: "No need. Although it’s rumored in Jianghu that Bai Long is treacherous and ruthless, I’ve never heard of Bai Long poisoning anyone, because there’s no need for Bai Long to use poison to kill."

Bai Long praised, "Such courage! I was almost worried I’d wasted this fine pre-rain Longjing. Enough idle talk, I’m here today just to ask you two a few questions."

Mrs. Lu put down her teacup: "What does Lord Bai Long wish to ask?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Bai Long picked up the teapot and poured Mrs. Lu another half cup: "First question, why did you two help Chen Ji? This is very important; if not answered correctly, the two of you might die here today."

Third Master Hu let out a cold laugh: "Such a light statement to determine life and death, the Spy Department does have great prestige."

Bai Long nodded, "That’s the Spy Department."

Mrs. Lu remained unfazed, drinking the second cup of tea: "Are you so sure, Lord Bai Long, that you can take our lives here? I doubt it."

The moment the words fell, Treasure Monkey looked up abruptly from making the kite.

Under the wooden monkey mask, countless voices, layered together, both women’s and men’s, hoarse and sharp, mingling so that it was impossible to distinguish gender or age, as if gods and demons were united, and heaven and earth were resonating:

"Insolent!"

With those two words, even the roof tiles trembled, shedding fine dust.

Mrs. Lu and Third Master Hu narrowed their pupils, but Bai Long was completely unfazed, calmly pouring another cup of tea for Mrs. Lu.

He said with great interest, "Care to try it?"

The voice below the Treasure Monkey mask roared again: "Try it!"

The courtyard fell silent, the exchange of energies so intense the air seemed ready to freeze, Mrs. Lu sipped her tea quietly, unmoved, and said calmly, "Lord Bai Long made a special trip here, surely not just to have a fight with me. Rather than intimidating, why not tell us what you really want?"

Bai Long laughed heartily: "I’m asking sincerely, just answer sincerely."

Mrs. Lu tapped the table with her fingers: "Pour the tea."

"Such spirit, truly a heroine among women," Bai Long praised, lifting his left sleeve to pour her a full cup with his right hand again: "Looks like you’re thirsty."

Mrs. Lu downed the tea for the third time and answered the first question: "Chen Ji was framed by the Crown Prince, I’m his friend, so naturally I’d help clear his name."

Bai Long placed the teapot back onto the red clay stove: "Friends, Jianghu, how wonderful."

Mrs. Lu casually said, "Lord Bai Long probably doesn’t have any friends."

Bai Long shook his head, pointing to Treasure Monkey on the ground: "I do have friends, just that this friend is a bit dim-witted."

Below the wooden monkey mask, a sharp voice exclaimed in surprise: "He said we’re his friends..."

A woman’s voice said, "He meant me, not you all."

"He meant me!"

"Me!"

A hoarse voice solemnly said, "Don’t believe him, who beats their friends every day?"

"But he doesn’t beat anymore."

Treasure Monkey angrily said, "Shut up first!"

Bai Long looked helplessly at Mrs. Lu: "My second question..."

Mrs. Lu and Third Master Hu exchanged a glance subconsciously; this time it was their turn to be puzzled.

They originally thought Bai Long came to seek justice over the matter of Chen Ji, yet unexpectedly, after Bai Long got the answer, he dismissed it so easily.

Strange, could it be that Bai Long never intended to capture Chen Ji?

The two of them were unaware of the inside story, hence they were somewhat confused.

Bai Long smiled and said, "My second question, I wonder if Lamp Fire would rather submit to my Spy Department?"

Mrs. Lu said calmly, "What Lamp Fire?"

Bai Long pointed to the secret passage, "My Spy Department knows more than you imagine, such as this secret passage."

He then pointed to Third Master Hu, "And this traitor from the Hu Family, Hu Junyuan, not to mention Dragon Gate Inn... Lamp Fire has never been much of a secret; even the Cao Guild knows about you. My Spy Department isn’t foolish either, it’s just that upstanding people like you only wish to clear General Wen Tao’s name. Lord Prime Minister appreciates your sincere heart and has simply ignored it."

Bai Long tapped the table, "You must understand, the matter of framing General Wen Tao is unrelated to my Spy Department; it’s the work of the Chen family colluding with Jing Dynasty spies. Therefore, there’s no deep-seated hostility between us."

Mrs. Lu and Third Master Hu couldn’t help exchanging glances again; the Spy Department knew too much, even about their efforts to clear Qing Wentao’s name. There must be someone very important in Lamp Fire who has sided with the Eunuch Party.

But the strange thing was, that Poison Minister in Jiefan Building had truly ignored them for so many years.

Why?

The answer was certainly not as simple as Bai Long suggested.

Bai Long continued in admiration, "Over the years, Lamp Fire has done many things, like transporting provisions to the border army and opening trade routes between the Western Regions and the Jing Dynasty... Impressive. Things my Spy Department couldn’t achieve, but you did."

Mrs. Lu asked sternly, "What does the Spy Department want?"

Bai Long corrected, "It’s not about what the Spy Department wants, but what I want. You should know that the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department has been infiltrating our dynasty; in their spies, there are people of high rank and power as well as ordinary people. But the spies my Spy Department dispatched to the North are always found by Lu Jin and killed one by one."

Mrs. Lu asked without revealing emotions, "Lord Bai Long, what do you want my Lamp Fire to do?"

Bai Long chuckled, "Naturally, I wish to use Lamp Fire to embed spies in the North. I already have some suitable candidates here; Lamp Fire only needs to mix them into the caravans and take them to the Jing Dynasty. Once there, procure suitable residence permits for them... just like how you help Ning Dynasty merchants and fleeing officials."

Forging residence permits is a delicate task; it can’t be done by merely copying similar documents. The Jing Dynasty’s residence system is far stricter than Ning Dynasty’s. It’s necessary to find people with no ties and have others impersonate them.

However, this can only infiltrate the remote counties. To infiltrate high-level positions, much more effort, resources, and manpower are needed.

Now, with Lu Jin guarding strictly, it is as difficult as scaling the heavens.

Mrs. Lu calmly asked, "What can Lamp Fire gain?"

Bai Long thought for a moment, pointing to the secret passage, "Later, Xuan Snake will come out of this secret passage; tonight, I’ll kill him, how about you become the next snake in the Twelve Signs? It doesn’t have to be called Xuan Snake; you can name it Black Snake, White Snake... anything."

Mrs. Lu pondered, Bai Long actually offered her a position in the Twelve Signs?

But after much consideration, she shook her head, "I won’t join the Twelve Signs."

Bai Long asked curiously, "Why, do you find the name unattractive?"

Mrs. Lu raised her eyebrows, was this about the name?

Why are there only some inexplicable lunatics in the Spy Department.

She took a deep breath, "Make another offer."

Bai Long chuckled, "Others are eager for a position in the Twelve Signs, yet it doesn’t attract you. Then let me think... I’ll open the trade routes for you in the South, like Annan, Jiaozhi, and Siam."

Mrs. Lu shook her head, "Not enough."

Bai Long pondered for a while longer, "If you find clues and evidence, I’ll help clear General Wen Tao’s name; how about that?"

Mrs. Lu remained silent.

Bai Long tapped on the stone table, "Quick, agree; otherwise, I’ll start killing Lamp Fire’s people, first the caravan, then those receiving leaves, one by one; eventually you’ll agree."

Mrs. Lu chuckled, "Lord Bai Long, all the infiltrated spies’ residence permits were handled by me, aren’t you afraid I’ll betray all the Spy Department’s spies"

Bai Long fell silent for a moment, "You are people from Guyuan; people from Guyuan, I trust."

The courtyard fell into prolonged silence again.

Until Treasure Monkey suddenly raised a kite happily, "It’s done!"

Bai Long turned to look, only to see that the kite resembling a monkey was crooked, "Redo it."

Treasure Monkey muttered an ’oh,’ crumpled the kite, and took new bamboo strips and paper.

Mrs. Lu suddenly said, "Deal. The next caravan sets off seven days later; send the spies to await at Bianyifang Restaurant, no more than three each time."

Bai Long clapped his hands joyfully, "Good, good, good. It’s a pity there’s no wine here; otherwise, you and I should drink heartily!"

Mrs. Lu stood up, "Drinking heartily won’t be necessary; wine, I only drink with friends."

Bai Long laughed loudly, "It doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter, the heroine might find in the future that befriending me is a very pleasant thing. Alright, no more delay; I have some Spy Department affairs to handle."

Mrs. Lu headed out, "Farewell."

She pushed open the courtyard door, only to find outside of it empty; no spies, no Jiefan Guard.

Bai Long and Treasure Monkey came alone, either confident in their abilities or in people’s hearts.

Mrs. Lu stood before the courtyard gate, having just escaped danger, surprisingly not in a hurry to leave.

She suddenly looked back at Bai Long, "I also want to ask Lord Bai Long a question."

Bai Long replied casually, "Feel free."

Mrs. Lu directly faced the dragon-pattern mask, "Why did Lord Bai Long help Chen Ji?"

Bai Long calmly said, "Chen Ji was framed by the Crown Prince; I’m his friend, naturally wanting to clear his innocence."

This was exactly the response Mrs. Lu gave Bai Long, word for word as Bai Long returned it to her.

Mrs. Lu turned away, "Until we meet again."