Green Mountain

Chapter 805 652: Murder by Proxy

Chen Ji sat in the bustling tea house, his mind racing with thoughts, while the tea patrons around him whispered and conversed, but he seemed as if he hadn't heard a thing.

The Mountain Lord was his biggest secret, but also the other party's greatest secret. This senior brother of his acted ruthlessly, making moves with a do-or-die attitude.

Chen Ji knew this senior brother wanted to use someone else to do the dirty work, but why would he dare to make the Mountain Lord known to everyone?

At this moment, Xiao Man said worriedly, "Young Master?"

Chen Ji snapped back to reality, the noise of the tea house flooding into his ears.

A student from the Imperial Academy loudly said, "After all this time, we've only heard stories of Chen Ji but never heard about his Official Gateway."

Another student speculated, "Chen Ji's Official Gateway must be formidable, otherwise how could he kill so many Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers in Guyuan and then kill his way back from outside Chongli Pass?"

"The Mountain Lord... the name sounds so domineering, how does it compare to the Sword Seed of the Jing Dynasty?"

"Isn't it obvious? The Sword Seed is definitely stronger!"

Amidst the noise, Treasure Monkey looked at Chen Ji and lowered his voice to ask, "Sir, should we stop this storyteller?"

Qi Xiao said solemnly, "The Path is the biggest secret of an Executive Officer. If others hear of this, they will surely come for battle. We should take this storyteller to the Inner Prison Pipa Hall and interrogate who instructed him."

Changsheng softly said, "Call the spy to encircle the tea house and silence them all."

Treasure Monkey saw Chen Ji not responding and asked again, "Sir?"

Chen Ji looked at Xiao Man: "Xiao Man, go to other tea houses and find out if anyone else is talking about this matter. Ask the storytellers who instructed them."

Xiao Man acknowledged and ran out.

At this moment, the storyteller was very pleased with the effect of his shocking words. The so-called storyteller's hat trick was to tell a piece of exciting current affairs after the opening poem and before the main story, capturing the audience's attention before collecting money.

He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and then slowly began, "Do you all know what a Mountain Lord is?"

A student from the Imperial Academy loudly responded, "Isn't it just a tiger?"

The storyteller shook his head: "The Mountain Lord is a tiger, but not an ordinary one. A tiger at six years is called Big Cat. At twelve, it's called Striped. At eighteen, it's Wild Beast. At twenty-four, it's White Forehead..."

At this point, the storyteller paused, then tapped his clapper loudly: "At thirty, a tiger commands awe without anger, the mountains and rivers listen attentively, unmoving like a mountain, even fierce winds must detour, the world's most yang thing—that is the Mountain Lord."

The hall fell silent.

In the silence, Changsheng softly asked: "If the Mountain Lord is the most yang thing, then what is the most yin thing?"

Yu Yuan thought for a moment: "Perhaps the Xuan Snake, it's the most yin."

At this moment, a tea patron asked in confusion, "After saying so much, regardless of whether it's the Mountain Lord or a tiger, what skills does this Path have?"

The storyteller gave a mysterious smile: "Listen to me as I tell it slowly. As the saying goes, clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger, since ancient times the dragon and tiger's struggle always results in an injury... What is the dragon? The true dragon is the Emperor. And the Mountain Lord feeds on the dynastic fortune, swallowing the essence of heaven and earth."

The patrons were all shocked: "It eats dynastic fortune?"

The storyteller said decisively: "Exactly."

A patron asked again: "Dynastic fortune is elusive, how can it be eaten?"

"Dynastic fortune is not elusive," the storyteller said with a smile, "Do you all know that officials in our dynasty above the third rank all bear fortune, repelling all evil?"

The patrons all agreed: "This is no secret, a third-rank official is immune to a hundred magics, they can't be killed without weapons. I remember there's a story in the White Boat Record where the Jing Dynasty's monsters wanted to use magic to secretly harm our dynasty's young general, but little did they know the young general just received an Imperial Decree, getting promoted to the Standard Third Rank as General Zhao Wu, so the Jing Dynasty's monsters' efforts were in vain!"

The storyteller nodded: "Do you all know that in the early years, the Emperor's Blood Letter could summon the wind and rain?"

A student from the Imperial Academy loudly said, "I've heard of this, in the 27th year of Zhengde, there was a great drought in Ji State. The late Emperor cut his palm to write an Imperial Blood Letter, ordering the rain in Ji State. Chief Eunuch Wang Bao personally took the decree to Ji State, and as soon as the decree was read, it started to rain, it was a miracle. This is recorded in the local chronicles of my Ji State, it's undeniably true."

The storyteller unfolded his fan, fanning it twice as if proudly, and asked, "Have you heard of any incidents of the Emperor's Blood Letter summoning the wind and rain in recent years?"

The patrons looked at each other: "It seems there really isn't. In the 21st year of Jianing, an Imperial Decree was sent to Shan Province, but not a drop of rain fell. I heard the same thing happened in Jing Dynasty, with a grain shortage happening over in Western Capital Road and Longyou Road too."

The storyteller leisurely said, "These are all because of the Mountain Lord Path devouring fortune, the cultivation method is called Dragon Swallowing!"

The patrons gasped in shock.

Dragon Swallowing?

The current dynasty even taboos mentioning the word dragon, and those who cultivated the merits of raising dragons struggled to end well, let alone Dragon Swallowing? How is this different from treason and rebellion?

At this point, even Treasure Monkey was tentatively looking at Chen Ji, but Chen Ji calmly watched the storyteller, lost in his own thoughts.

Treasure Monkey quietly asked: "Sir..."

Chen Ji calmly said: "It's fake."

Treasure Monkey breathed a sigh of relief: "I'll go find a spy to gather everyone in this tea house into the Imperial Prison to avoid endangering your life."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Man came running back breathlessly and whispered, "Young Master, several tea houses are spreading this story. I inquired around, and the storyteller at Youfu Tea House said someone gave them five taels of silver to tell this hat book today. The person was wearing a bamboo hat, a middle-aged man, but none of the storytellers got a clear look at his face."

Yu Yuan pondered: "If more than three hundred tea houses in the capital have all been bribed, this will spread throughout the capital within a day."

Chen Ji's thoughts sank, realizing this couldn't be stopped.

This kind of rumor he could not acknowledge, but initially people might take it as a jest. After two days, three days, four days, someone would start to doubt and want to know if the Mountain Lord Path truly fed on the dynastic fortune.

In just a few days, even the Emperor Ning, deep in the palace, would want to know if the rumors were true.

This senior brother of his didn't even need to act personally; just spreading this would suffice for someone to come and kill him.

The Treasure Monkey quietly asked, "Sir, if the rumors are false, could you reveal your Cultivation Path to prove yourself?"

Chen Ji remained expressionless.

He could prove himself, as revealing the sword seed would immediately show that he was not on the Mountain Lord Sect's Path, but revealing the sword seed was a dead end.

If it were revealed today, it would soon attract the Mountain Master Lu Yang. Across the Ning Dynasty, who could protect him in front of Lu Yang?

While pondering, a tea guest loudly asked the storyteller, "How do you know that Chen Ji cultivates the Mountain Lord Sect's Path?"

The storyteller smiled, "It's not necessary for you to know how I know. You just need to know that the Mountain Lord Sect's Path is definitely related to the Beast Contract, and coincidentally, Chen Ji has a highly intelligent black cat by his side."

Chen Ji frowned.

Xiao Man, Treasure Monkey, and the little monk simultaneously looked at Wu Yun on the stool, who stared back with big, round eyes.

Before anyone could ask anything, Chen Ji had already tucked Wu Yun into his bosom, grabbed the Whale Blade, and stood up, "Wait here for Axia, I'll be back soon."

Xiao Man hesitated, "Master, where are you going..."

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Ji's figure had already disappeared beyond the teahouse door.

...

...

Chen Ji lowered his head and weaved swiftly through the crowd on the long street.

Wu Yun meowed in his bosom, "Who is that person? Why are they so familiar with the Mountain Lord Sect's Path?"

Chen Ji replied softly, "He's the beggar adopted by Old Yao. Perhaps Old Yao couldn't bear to kill him back then. Now he's returned to the Imperial Capital. Strange..."

Wu Yun queried, "What's strange?"

Chen Ji frowned but remained silent.

This senior brother, in his 'hat book' given to the storyteller, mentioned the Mountain Lord swallowing fortune, but dared not mention that the Mountain Lord must wait for high-ranking court officials and royal descendants to die before swallowing.

The opponent must be leaving a backdoor for the Mountain Lord Sect's Path, lest they cannot approach to swallow the Ice Flow in the future.

Yet this senior brother publicly disclosed the matter of contracting with beasts. Aren't they afraid of being discovered and pulled out?

Could this senior brother have another plan?

Wu Yun curiously asked, "Where are you going now?"

Chen Ji replied gravely, "First, I need to find out who he is."

He arrived at Chessboard Street and walked straight into the Imperial Hospital. As he stepped over the threshold, the doorkeeper's servant was about to stop him but panicked and saluted when he saw it was Chen Ji, "Hospital Director, sir."

Chen Ji acknowledged with a hum and continued inside, spotting Zhou Fangping weighing medicine behind the pharmacy counter, "Where is the Hospital Director and the Dean?"

Zhou Fangping hesitated, "I don't know about the Hospital Director, but the Dean is in the main hall."

Chen Ji continued walking, the Dean saw him from afar, dropped the brush in his hand, and stepped out quickly, "Why are you here, sir?"

Chen Ji got straight to the point, "My master, Doctor Yao, once took in a child disciple. Did you ever work as a colleague with him?"

The Dean was astonished, "I've heard of this person, but I never worked as a colleague with him. I heard he passed away early in the Jaining era; I only moved from Jinling to the Imperial Capital in the 21st year of Jaining. You should ask the Hospital Director about this; he was an apprentice at the Imperial Hospital since childhood, surely he's seen this person."

Chen Ji asked again, "Where is the Hospital Director?"

The Dean replied, "The Hospital Director didn't come to the Imperial Hospital today; perhaps some official invited him for a consultation."

Chen Ji asked urgently, "Did the Hospital Director not inform anyone in advance that he wouldn't be coming to the Imperial Hospital today? Does he usually do this?"

The Dean shook his head, "No. The Hospital Director has been diligent for years, taking few leaves. If he doesn't come, he usually informs us in advance."

Chen Ji turned to walk out, "Take me to the Hospital Director's residence, quickly!"

The Hospital Director's residence wasn't far, east from the Imperial Hospital, past the Jade River Bridge, and a few steps further.

The Dean saw Chen Ji's serious expression and hurriedly led the way, lifting his robe as they went, "Ahead is Red Factory Alley, the second door inside."

Arriving at the dark brown small door, Chen Ji saw the gate was slightly ajar. He immediately blocked the Dean behind him with the Whale Blade, "Wait for me outside the alley."

The Dean was startled, "The Hospital Director won't be in trouble, right?"

Chen Ji did not answer, slowly approached the small door, and after the Dean had exited the alley, he cautiously drew the Whale Blade. Wu Yun jumped onto the roof and meowed.

Chen Ji used the tip of the blade to push the gate open, Wu Yun meowed, "The smell of blood."

Chen Ji hurried inside, finding the courtyard plain and simple, with strings of dried radishes and salted fish hanging from the eaves, and patched clothes left on bamboo poles.

Going further in, he saw the Hospital Director lying in a pool of blood, his face submerged in purple blood, and there was a letter on the square table beside him.

Chen Ji took a deep breath, squatted by the Hospital Director, and placed two fingers on his neck. There was no pulse and no Ice Flow.

He pressed the Hospital Director's wrist, cut open his clothes, and felt his abdomen; the skin was cold, but there was still some residual warmth in the chest and abdomen.

Chen Ji tried to pry open the Hospital Director's fingers; they hadn't stiffened yet, "The time of death was within the past four hours, after the senior brother made eye contact with me in the crowd and came here."

He closed the Hospital Director's eyes, stood up, and opened the letter, surprisingly written in the Hospital Director's blood, "Junior brother, greeting you through this letter."