Qingshan

Chapter 56 : Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Gambler

I watched Dark Cloud slowly retreat into the shadows and disappear into the gambling den.

Dark Cloud plunged into the rain curtain, ignoring the torrential downpour soaking her body, and searched toward every corner of Red Cloth Lane.

She climbed into a rear courtyard and gently lifted a bamboo winnowing basket, revealing the fat orange cat inside.

Seeing it was an orange cat, Dark Cloud was slightly disappointed, but she hesitated and still asked: "Did you see an injured human escape tonight?"

The fat orange raised its head and meowed: Huh?

Dark Cloud suppressed her temper: "I said, did you see an injured human..."

The fat orange meowed again doubtfully: Huh?

Dark Cloud covered the bamboo basket again: "I was wasting my time asking you!"

She braved the heavy rain and climbed back up to the roof of the tallest building in Red Cloth Lane—the roof of "Jin Fang."

She stood on the corner of the eaves overlooking the entire Red Cloth Lane, quickly analyzing where calico and tabby cats might appear.

However, Dark Cloud suddenly saw that in the nearby streets, hundreds of spies wearing straw raincoats were quietly hiding in ambush in the shadows. Not only that, some spies disguised as civilians were searching house by house.

Although searching for that defecting spy under the heavy rain was difficult, Jinzhu hadn't truly given up!

Dark Cloud's heart grew urgent as she leapt down from the eaves. She had to find that person before the Secret Spy Division did.

At this time, I looked through the gambling den's back door at the black night outside, my heart also filled with the anxiety of approaching crisis.

No matter how skilled I was at reasoning, it was impossible to find that defecting spy under these circumstances.

Fortunately, Dark Cloud had brought a turning point... it just depended on whether Dark Cloud could find that defecting spy before the Secret Spy Division.

I adjusted the straw raincoat on my body, pressed down the brim of my bamboo hat, and turned back toward the gambling den's main hall.

I found a spy and pointed to Chen Wenxiao crouching in the crowd: "Drag him into a room and hang him up. I have questions for him."

Chen Wenxiao had been crouching on the ground too long, causing his legs to go numb. He kept changing positions, as if urgently needing to urinate.

Just as I spoke, a spy came to Chen Wenxiao's side and grabbed his hair: "You, come with me."

Chen Wenxiao's hair was pulled painfully. He could only grimace as he was dragged to a private room upstairs and bound with rope, suspended from the ceiling.

A long while later, the spy withdrew. I walked in wearing my bamboo hat and asked slowly: "Name."

"My father is Luocheng Deputy Prefect Chen Liqin. You can't treat me this way!" Chen Wenxiao roared, trying to see my appearance clearly. But he was suspended from the beam, his gaze completely blocked by my bamboo hat, unable to see clearly at all.

With a bang, I struck Chen Wenxiao with a feather duster and said coldly: "Answer whatever I ask. Understand?"

"Understand, understand," Chen Wenxiao's hands were painfully bound. Gone was his elegance from when he rode through Luocheng.

"Name."

"Chen Wenxiao."

I asked: "Why did you collude with Jing Dynasty?"

"Huh?" Chen Wenxiao was dumbfounded. He didn't know how he'd gotten tangled up with such a monstrous crime.

Chen Wenxiao said frantically: "I've been wronged! I didn't collude with Jing Dynasty. I only came to the gambling den to play!"

"Wronged?" I sneered and asked: "Then why is there never any IOU or transaction record of yours in the account books of gambling dens throughout Red Cloth Lane? You're not a gambler here—clearly you're a Jing Dynasty spy, here to meet your comrades!"

Chen Wenxiao grew anxious: "I just returned from Donglin Academy a few days ago. How could there be transaction records or IOUs?"

I said gloomily: "It seems you have no way to prove yourself? Then come with me to the Inner Prison."

Hearing the words "Inner Prison," Chen Wenxiao was so frightened he nearly lost control. In recent years, how many people had walked out of the Inner Prison alive? Never mind him being a fifth-rank official's son—countless fifth-rank officials had died inside.

He thought for a long time: "Wait, before I went to Donglin Academy, I borrowed money from gambling dens using my younger brother Chen Ji's name, so my name isn't there. You can check the account books of each establishment—you'll definitely find Chen Ji!"

Chen Wenxiao added: "During these three years, I returned home every Spring Festival for a month. During that time each year, you'll definitely find the name Chen Ji in the accounts."

I fell silent.

Did I have account books from various gambling dens? Of course not. I was just bluffing Chen Wenxiao based on my guesses.

Once upon a time, I truly thought my predecessor was a gambler, and the Chen family detested me because I really had committed vile acts.

But now, I suddenly understood many things.

I lowered my head and asked quietly: "Since it was written in Chen Ji's name, who should the gambling den find to collect the debt?"

Chen Wenxiao answered: "Naturally they'd find my father. If my father doesn't want family scandals exposed, he can only acknowledge those IOUs one by one."

I asked doubtfully: "Does your father know these are your debts?"

"He doesn't know. He still thinks they're Chen Ji's."

I was even more puzzled: "Wouldn't Chen Ji defend himself?"

"He defended himself, but what use was his defense? Over these years his reputation has long been ruined. My father simply doesn't believe his words... Lord, please let me down. I'm truly not a Jing Dynasty spy. Hanging up here is too uncomfortable."

I let out a gentle breath: "I'm still not certain whether what you said is true... For Lord Chen's sake, I can temporarily spare you, but you must write down everything you just said and sign and seal it. If anything is untrue, our Secret Spy Division will still go to the Chen Manor to find you."

Chen Wenxiao wept with joy: "Rest assured, Lord. Everything I said is true. I'll write it all clearly!"

I walked out of the private room and gave a few instructions to the spies.

Two spies entered the room and closed the door. After a while, one spy came out holding a sheet of paper covered in writing and handed it to me: "He's finished writing."

"Thank you." I nodded, turned, and walked toward the second floor, carefully tucking this confession into my chest, sheltering it under the straw raincoat.

"L-Lord," the spy didn't know my rank or how to address me, but seeing me follow beside Lord Jinzhu, I should also be one of Jinzhu's confidants: "What should be done with the person in the room?"

I climbed the wooden stairs step by step, my voice drifting back lightly: "Keep hanging him."

......

......

Just as I was going upstairs, a spy rushed in from outside. He threw his rain-soaked straw raincoat onto the floor and charged up to the second floor with his hand on his waist knife.

Arriving at the second-floor private room door, the spy cupped his hands and said to Jinzhu, who was drinking tea inside: "Lord, fortunately I didn't fail my mission. This subordinate finally found an eyewitness. The witness is a street peddler who saw someone covering a waist wound and running westward this evening!"

My mood gradually sank to the bottom. I hadn't expected that while Jinzhu said it was impossible to find him, he still arranged a large number of people to investigate leads.

And they actually found something!

Where was that defecting spy now? Would anyone else have seen him? What would he confess after being captured? I knew nothing.

I calmed myself and looked at Jinzhu: "Congratulations, Lord. Merit is within reach."

Jinzhu stood up with a smile: "Send people to continue searching westward. When he was fleeing, he must have been seen by others. Find all the eyewitnesses! The Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Division sent so many people to catch him—this person must be hiding a great secret! Tonight, we must find him!"

The spy acknowledged the order and hurried downstairs toward the door.

However, just as he walked out the gambling den entrance, there was a thunderous boom. The entire person flew back into the gambling den, crushing the gambling den's tables!

With a clang, all the spies drew their knives and aimed their waist crossbows at the black night outside the gambling den entrance to shoot.

But the newcomer wore a blue cloak. He simply removed the cloak from his collar and with a shake and roll in front of him, rolled all the crossbow bolts into the cloak, himself completely unharmed!

The torrential rain curtain falling around him seemed to be pushed away like by a magnet—not a single drop fell on him.

I heard Jinzhu beside me sneer: "This isn't a Jing Dynasty spy. Looking at this technique, it's more like a certain enforcer. I heard years ago he went into hiding in the mountains and forests. I didn't expect him to re-emerge today... Attack! I want him alive!"

The next moment, a spy pulled out a copper whistle and blew it.

Shouts of killing came from outside Red Cloth Lane. Over a hundred spies emerged from the shadows and surrounded that enforcer.

Jinzhu walked down the stairs unhurriedly, slowly walking outside the encirclement. He juggled several copper coins in his hand, seemingly ready to throw them at any moment to take a life.

I silently observed the situation. I didn't care at all whether this fight was won by the Military Intelligence Division or the Secret Spy Division...

"Meow!"

A cat's cry suddenly rang out. I turned to look out the window and saw Dark Cloud standing on the windowsill: "Found him! A tabby cat said they saw him escape to Anxi Street, in the rear courtyard of that cloth shop that just moved out."

I frowned. How coincidentally did he escape to Anxi Street of all places?!

The area around Anxi Street wasn't a major thoroughfare, nor was it as chaotic as East Market or West Market where it would be convenient to hide. Instead, because it was close to the Prince's Manor, there were even more night patrols.

Was this spy looking for me, or did he just happen to escape to Anxi Street? It couldn't be that coincidental!

The better one was at reasoning, the less one believed in coincidences!

I knew I couldn't stay here any longer. I had to go resolve this spy!

But how should I leave?

Just as I was pondering, the sound of shattering tiles came from overhead. I looked up to see that on the wooden beams and rafters above, someone seemed to be taking heavy footsteps toward the eaves.

Not only that, footsteps also came from other directions, rushing toward the windows on the second floor of this gambling den.

The enforcer outside the door was used to divert the tiger from the mountain. These spies invading from all directions were the real ones coming to silence witnesses.

With a whoosh, a masked figure in black flipped down from the roof through a window like a hawk, drawing his knife without a word to slash at me!

In the narrow room, I grabbed a chair beside me and threw it at the spy, then quickly retreated from the private room, coming to the second-floor corridor and shouting: "Lord Jinzhu, someone infiltrated from the roof!"

This shout attracted everyone's attention. Jinzhu raised his eyebrows and turned back to attack.

Just as he was rushing back, Jinzhu saw a spy with a knife chasing into the corridor.

The spy's knife technique was fierce. With each slash, wood chips flew. I, a weak medical clinic apprentice, could only desperately dodge left and right, with no ability to fight back!

With a hiss, the knife tip slashed across my chest, tearing a huge gash in the straw raincoat I wore. Blood seeped through the clothing.

Just when everyone thought I was going to die, they saw me somehow burst forth with courage, roaring and advancing instead of retreating, ramming headfirst into the Jing Dynasty spy's embrace!

With all my strength, I used my arm to hook the spy's knife-wielding hand under my armpit and pushed the spy back into the private room, crashing all the way out the second-floor window!

Jinzhu froze for a moment, but then with a slight effort from his legs, his plump form floated up to the second floor like a feather.

He rushed to the window ledge and looked down to see the Jing Dynasty spy who had fallen from the building, staggering as he chased after the severely wounded me, killing his way into the black rainy night outside Red Cloth Lane.

Jinzhu stood at the window frame, letting the night rain sweep over him: "Strange. The Jing Dynasty spies came to silence witnesses. Why abandon the target and instead desperately chase Chen Ji?"