Qingshan

Chapter 52 : Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Defection

Prince Jing, Zhu Youxiao.

His mother, Consort Li, passed early, and young Zhu Youxiao was raised by the current Empress Dowager, growing up as close as a brother to Emperor Ning.

When Emperor Ning ascended at eleven, Zhu Youxiao was fourteen, and Empress Dowager Liu held the reins of power.

For six years, Zhu Youxiao rallied northern scholars and censors, weakening the influence of maternal relatives.

At seventeen, Emperor Ning took the throne himself, and at twenty-one, he enfeoffed Zhu Youxiao as Prince Jing.

All seemed calm, but in recent years, Prince Jing’s reforms in governance, river repairs, disaster relief, and provisioning border armies raised his prestige.

The Ceremonial Directorate began targeting Prince Jing’s mansion, imprisoning many of his old subordinates and replacing his chief eunuch with their own.

Some said Emperor Ning and Prince Jing had grown estranged; others whispered Prince Jing harbored disloyal ambitions.

Even last year, for Emperor Ning’s forty-second birthday, Prince Jing didn’t return to the capital, busy with river repairs and relief.

The once-close brothers had become strangers.

Like in storytellers’ tales, anyone who became a prince grew dull.

Thinking of Master’s masterful divination, a deep worry rose in my heart. If Master was using Prince Jing’s mansion’s dragon qi to nurture a disciple, this calamity might be inescapable for the mansion.

The Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Division, Ning Dynasty’s Secret Spy Division, and the Liu Family were like a massive whirlpool, threatening to drag Prince Jing’s mansion under.

As the saying goes, wealth and honor come amid danger—where calamity lies, icy currents are found. Master wasn’t using divination to avoid misfortune; he was leading me straight into a pit!

Dark Cloud said goodnight and climbed the wall back to Evening Star Courtyard.

I stood alone by the counter, quietly pondering my situation.

As I thought, a noise came from the back courtyard.

Thud, thud, thud.

A knock sounded at the door.

I frowned. It was the hour of Zi—two hours until dawn. Who would visit now?

Was it Golden Pig, and what was his intent at this hour?

I went to open the door.

But the moment I pulled it open, my heart skipped, and I stumbled back several steps!

It wasn’t anyone else—it was Hundred Deer Pavilion’s shopkeeper Yuan, who was dead!

Shopkeeper Yuan’s face was pale, his smile eerie, exuding a chilling aura.

I had seen the Division Officer grip his jaw, driving a knife inch by inch into his heart, twisting it to shreds.

How could someone with a shattered heart return to life?!

Boom, boom, boom—dull autumn thunder rumbled, dark clouds cloaking Luocheng, cold rain falling.

This was the first rain since I came to Luocheng, not the usual gentle autumn drizzle but heavy and urgent.

In the lightning and thunder, I stopped retreating, drawing a short knife hidden in my sleeve and thrusting at Shopkeeper Yuan’s neck.

But before the blade reached, Shopkeeper Yuan raised a hand, two fingers catching the tip, stopping me cold.

The blade froze, as if time itself halted.

Shopkeeper Yuan smiled: “No need to be so tense. It’s not Yuan’s ghost—it’s me, the Military Intelligence Division’s Officer.”

I was stunned, studying Shopkeeper Yuan’s face. His expression was natural, no hint of oddity—who’d guess it was a human-skin mask?

A human-skin mask?

I’d only heard of such things in stories.

I’d wondered who’d replace Hundred Deer Pavilion’s shopkeeper after his death, never expecting the Division Officer to don his face.

I slowly eased my grip: “Lord Officer, sorry, I didn’t know it was you.”

The Division Officer smiled reassuringly: “Vigilance is good. How could I blame you?”

“Lord Officer, what brings you here so late?”

“To tell you bad news,” the Division Officer said gravely: “To arrange the withdrawal of spies who knew of you to the north, one Pigeon-rank spy defected. We’ve searched for him two days, but he’s still missing. I suspect he’ll defect to the Ning Dynasty’s Secret Spy Division… or already has.”

My heart tightened.

A Jing Dynasty spy who knew me had defected? That could mean my death!

I asked sharply: “Which spy? Has he seen me?”

The Division Officer entered, closing the clinic door, then said slowly: “He’s Zhou Chengyi’s subordinate. He saw you at Zhou’s mansion.”

Seen me?

I quickly thought back. If he saw me at Zhou’s mansion, he must know my clinic apprentice identity.

This spy likely hadn’t defected yet—if he had, Golden Pig would’ve stormed in already.

But why would he defect?

I feigned confusion: “What’s wrong with withdrawing to the Jing Dynasty? No more living in fear in Ning—why would that cause defection?”

The Division Officer explained: “He’s one of our best spies, always decisive and ruthless. I sent word for him to withdraw, but he thought I meant to silence him, so he killed the messenger and vanished.”

No, no, it wasn’t that simple.

I frowned.

With the Division Officer’s nature, he likely meant to silence him, but the messenger didn’t expect this spy to be so formidable and got counter-killed.

“Lord Officer, does he know why you… arranged his withdrawal?” I asked.

“Of course I didn’t tell him,” the Division Officer replied.

So, the defecting spy didn’t know why he was to be silenced.

But if he joined the Secret Spy Division, he’d spill everything he knew, and then… I’d be in danger!

“Lord Officer, where might he be hiding… hm?” I sensed something wrong and quickly backed away.

But my retreat was no match for his pursuit.

In a single breath, the Division Officer grabbed my throat, lifting me off the ground.

He sighed: “Don’t shout, or I’ll have to kill everyone in the courtyard.”

I struggled, face red.

Against a seasoned Enforcer like the Division Officer, a novice like me had no chance to resist.

I wanted to yell for Liang Gou’er, asleep, to help, but my throat couldn’t make a sound.

Desperately, I scratched on his hand: Why kill me?

The Division Officer didn’t answer, just stared into my eyes, like observing a dead specimen.

My mind raced. He was killing me because he needed to clean the intelligence line the defecting spy might expose.

This was standard for intelligence agencies: one breach, and the whole group must withdraw or be purged.

If the defecting spy named me, I might reveal Hundred Deer Pavilion.

Hundred Deer Pavilion, a major revenue source for the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence in Ning, couldn’t be compromised!

My heart raced. I scanned for ways to save myself, but the gunpowder wasn’t ready. Even if it was, at this distance, it’d only take us both out.

In this world, the heaviest words were power and strength.

I’d dreamed of living quietly as an imperial physician or roaming the martial world free of the Secret Spy and Military Intelligence Divisions, but without strength or power, those were delusions.

Cultivation!

Cultivation was the most important thing!

But what now?

At that moment, another knock sounded at the clinic door!

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound, muffled in the rain, was jarringly abrupt.

The Division Officer’s pupils shrank. He dragged me to a corner of the main hall, his gaze flickering, as if weighing whether to kill me and flee.

I quickly scratched on his hand: I’ll handle it!

The clinic fell silent, only the rain outside audible.

Moments later, the Division Officer whispered: “You know what to do. Cry for help, and you die first.”

I struggled to nod.

The Division Officer set me down, slowly releasing his grip.

I rubbed my neck, asking calmly: “Who’s there?”

The voice outside said evenly: “Golden Pig. Open the door. Same deal as Yunyang and Jiaotu—one job, fifty taels.”

The Division Officer and I exchanged glances. I whispered quickly: “He hasn’t caught the defecting spy yet, or he wouldn’t be so polite.”

“Then why’s he here?”

I said urgently: “Your hunt for the defector must’ve alerted the Secret Spy Division. They want to find him before you. This is a golden opportunity—I can use the Secret Spy Division to track him and see what clues they have.”

The Division Officer’s face was steady, betraying no emotion. Another urging voice came: “Kid, open the door quick.”

I said again: “Lord Officer, though Yunyang and Jiaotu are in prison, I’ve earned Golden Pig’s trust and can get close to the Inner Minister. I care about Hundred Deer Pavilion as much as you—that’s my loyalty to Jing. Trust me, I’ll find this defector and deal with him!”

The Division Officer narrowed his eyes: “Think of the consequences. If you call to Golden Pig for help, you’ll expose yourself as a Jing spy. Even if you surrender, Golden Pig won’t spare you—you know how much they hate us.”

“Understood!”

The Division Officer slowly crouched behind the counter, ears alert.

I adjusted my collar to hide the choke marks and opened the door.

Outside, Golden Pig stood in a straw cloak and bamboo hat, rain pouring around him: “Why so slow?”

Behind him, over a dozen spies stood silently in cloaks.

I said softly: “Someone got up to pee, so I was delayed… What brings Lord Golden Pig?”

Golden Pig said: “Come with me. We caught a Military Intelligence Division spy in Red Cloth Lane. They’re hunting a defector, and we need to find him first. He’s important!”

With that, he had someone toss me a cloak.

I donned it, glancing casually at the clinic counter.

In the end, I didn’t expose the Division Officer, just put on the cloak and stepped into the rain.