The Azure Mountain

Chapter 99: Waking Up

On the official road of Luo City.

The old yellow ox pulled the cart step by step, unhurriedly walking into the dusk. Time seemed to also slow down along with its pace, letting the orange-red light of the setting sun warmly swallow everyone like a tide.

The official road was bustling with carts and horses. Some people drove ox carts heading to Luo City, while others carried unsold fruits on carrying poles returning to the suburban counties.

Bai Li sat on the ox cart, waving to an old man carrying a carrying pole: "Old man, why haven't these oranges of yours sold out? There are still so many left in the carrying pole."

The old man carried his pole and moved closer to the edge of the ox cart: "This handsome customer, these oranges were frostbitten by the heavy snow a few days ago, no one is willing to buy them."

Bai Li asked curiously: "How are you selling these oranges?"

The old man hurriedly said: "Two copper coins a catty (half a kilo)."

Bai Li smiled and felt a piece of broken silver from her hair bun, handing it over: "Here, give all your oranges to us, so you won't have to work hard carrying them back."

Hearing this, the old man was startled: "This won't do, frostbitten oranges can't be kept for long, you don't need to buy so many."

Bai Li was in an extremely good mood: "It doesn't matter! Brother Mao'er, help get off the cart and use the hem of your clothes to hold the oranges, we'll share and eat them."Liang Mao'er smiled with honest sincerity: "Alright."

Holding onto the edge of the cart, Bai Li leaned over to grab an orange from the old man's carrying pole and peeled it.

After breaking off a segment and putting it into her mouth, she immediately silently handed the orange to the Prince Heir.

The Prince Heir chuckled happily and shoved a segment into his mouth, then playfully handed the remaining orange to Chen Ji.

Just like this, it was peacefully passed along until it finally reached Liang Gou'er's hands.

Liang Gou'er shoved the small half of the orange into his mouth in one bite: "...Pah pah pah, I said why were you guys so kind to peel an orange for me, my teeth are going to drop from the sourness!"

Only at this point did the faces of everyone who had previously eaten the orange contort, and then they all burst into loud laughter together: "Hahahaha, no wonder the old man didn't sell a single orange!"

Laughter traveled far in the setting sun; times spent tricking friends were always so happy.

Amongst the bustling crowd, when the frolicking cart once again passed by the entrance of the examination hall, the Prince Heir subconsciously held his head high, puffed out his chest, and felt a sense of exhilaration as if raising his eyebrows and exhaling (feeling vindicated).

But the first round of the Autumn Examination would take three days to finish; there were no spectators today.

The Prince Heir exhaled a breath of stale air: "I really want to let those refined scholars know what great and meritorious deeds we have accomplished. Now entering the city silently like this is like walking at night in brocade clothes! What a pity!"

Sitting on the cart, Bai Li hugged her knees and smiled: "Brother, when will you be able to rein in that ostentatious temper of yours? If you become Prince Jing in the future and act like this, you will be laughed at by others."

The Prince Heir waved his big hand: "It doesn't matter. Our dad can sit steadily on the prince's throne for at least another few decades. After a few decades, I will definitely be mature and steady."

Bai Li retorted: "But Dad at your current age had already helped His Majesty suppress the maternal relatives."

The Prince Heir froze for a moment, suddenly feeling somewhat discouraged: "What's the use of helping His Majesty suppress the maternal relatives? Now isn't His Majesty still letting us be suppressed by the Eunuch Faction? The Eunuch Faction is hateful!"

Chen Ji asked curiously: "Has the Eunuch Faction been suppressing Prince Jing's Estate all these years?"

The Prince Heir sneered coldly: "These years, the Chief Punishment Division has kept its eyes fixed on my dad's old subordinates. Over twenty people have been arrested and sent into the Inner Prison. The Secret Spy Division has also placed secret spies in the Prince's Estate multiple times to monitor our food, clothing, housing, and transportation. You've also seen Eunuch Feng; he is also the Inner Chancellor's man, arranged just like that to stay by my dad's side without leaving a single step."

Even Bai Li complained: "The Eunuch Faction is arrogant and domineering, truly detestable."

Chen Ji fell silent. Although it wasn't voluntary, he was now truly and genuinely a member of the Eunuch Faction. Caught in the crack between Prince Jing's Estate and the Eunuch Faction, he didn't know how to keep both sides happy.

However, right at this time, within the reach of his gaze, he saw a chubby figure standing by the street, currently sizing him up with a beaming smile.

That figure was like a massive bell, waking him up from a beautiful dream.

Just as the rising sun will always set, no matter how beautiful a dream is, one must always wake up. When Chen Ji hid in Liu Family Village, he knew he couldn't hide for long, and what should come would eventually arrive.

Jin Zhu.

Jin Zhu was seen in the sea of people, smiling happily and waving to him to follow, before spinning around and merging into the crowd without a word.

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and said to Bai Li: "Commandery Princess, you guys go back first. I just remembered I still have some matters to attend to."

After saying that, he jumped off the cart and chased after Jin Zhu's figure.

Liu Quxing sat on the cart and shouted loudly at Chen Ji's back: "Hey, this isn't an excuse for you not wanting to treat us, is it? We are going to Yingxian Restaurant later, come back early!"

But Chen Ji didn't reply.

His face was calm as he watched the back of Jin Zhu faintly visible in the crowd ahead.

Jin Zhu's footsteps never stopped. He led Chen Ji around an unknown number of street corners until pedestrians gradually became sparse, and only then stopped and turned around in a dead-end alley.

Chen Ji stopped his steps: "Lord Jin Zhu, why did you lead me to this dead-end alley?"

Jin Zhu looked at him with a beaming smile but didn't speak. The next moment, a carriage suddenly stopped at the entrance of the alley behind Chen Ji, blocking the opening tightly.

The sound of wind roared over. Before Chen Ji could even react, someone struck the back of his neck with a hand knife, knocking him unconscious.

...

...

Chen Ji had a dream.

He dreamt that under the gorgeous evening sunset glow, he was still sitting on that dilapidated ox cart, and his friends were still by his side.

Everyone was eating sweet oranges. The orange-red gentle breeze blew across their faces, fluttering everyone's hair strands, and Bai Li was singing a ballad softly with a beaming smile.

But as the sky gradually darkened, two people jumped off from the end of the cart.

They stood firm, turned around, bowed, and smiled at Chen Ji on the cart: "We shall meet again."

The cart didn't stop, Chen Ji could only watch his friends who got off the cart disappear into the night behind them.

When those two people could no longer be seen, three more people jumped off the cart, bowed, and said with a smile: "We shall meet again."

Friends jumped off the cart one by one to bid farewell, like a good play's curtain falling and the audience dispersing.

Chen Ji wanted to remember their appearances, but the faces of those friends were shrouded in the dark night and could never be seen clearly.

He asked his side: "Where are they going?"

No one answered.

Chen Ji looked around in astonishment, only to realize that on this wobbling ox cart, he was the only one left all alone.

At this time, a basin of cold water poured down from the sky, waking him from this long dream.

Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and looked up. His hands were bound and hung from the ceiling of the Inner Prison; the cold iron chains dug into his wrists with piercing pain.

Looking down again, he saw himself dripping wet all over, with water still dripping from his messy hair and chin.

The cold clothes stuck to his body, chilling to the bone.

Inner Prison.

This was the Secret Spy Division's Inner Prison.

In the gloomy secret chamber of the Inner Prison, the flames on the Bagua array lamps on the walls flickered unsteadily, yet offered not a single trace of warmth.

Jin Zhu put down the water bucket, sat beside the dark red Eight Immortals table in front of him, and gently picked up a piece of tender meat from the fish's gill with his chopsticks: "Awake?"

Chen Ji said in a low voice: "Awake."

Jin Zhu closed his eyes and ate that piece of tender meat, savoring it carefully, and praised: "Fresh and tender!"

He opened his eyes, smilingly picked up another piece of meat from the fish's belly, and stood on the chair to feed it to Chen Ji's mouth: "Eat it, swallow it all down."

The fish bones from the fish belly hadn't been picked out. Chen Ji chewed it all into pieces along with the fish bones and swallowed it into his stomach. The broken fish bones cut his throat with raw pain.

Jin Zhu gave a thumbs up and praised: "Eating it down without uttering a single sound, tough and unyielding!"

He sat back in front of the Eight Immortals table and asked curiously: "Little Doctor Chen, you wanted to hide from me?"

"Yes."

Jin Zhu used his chopsticks to dismantle the fish head, picked out another chopstick-ful of tender meat, and sent it into his mouth: "Why didn't you hide this time? If you hid inside Prince Jing's Estate, I wouldn't dare do anything to you."

Chen Ji replied calmly: "Lord Jin Zhu rules with an iron fist. If you couldn't find me, presumably you would take out your anger on the other people in the clinic."

"Smart..." Jin Zhu said in puzzlement. "But since you are so smart, why can't you see that I genuinely want to elevate you? If you also become one of the Twelve Zodiacs, providing mutual care and support for each other with me and Tian Ma in the Secret Spy Division, wouldn't that be a beautiful thing?"

Chen Ji answered: "That night when Xi Feng and I were tracking down the people of the Jianghu together, we discovered that the person who silenced them came from the inner court of the Directorate of Ceremonial. I felt this matter was too dangerous and didn't want to involve myself in it anymore."

Jin Zhu sighed with emotion: "Indeed, now that you have latched onto Prince Jing, you can certainly extricate yourself and stay far away from right and wrong. But is my Secret Spy Division a place you can enter as you please and leave as you please?"

Saying that, he scraped off all the fish meat from the plate, stood up again, and handed the whole fish skeleton to Chen Ji's mouth: "Eat it to nourish those tough bones of yours. Talk after you finish eating."

Chen Ji didn't hesitate. He opened his mouth, chewed the fish skeleton into pieces, and swallowed it somewhat stiffly.

Jin Zhu stood on the chair, staring at him with his hands behind his back: "Although those martial artists' faces were peeled off, I still managed to investigate and find out that they had previously mingled and drank wine with the Prince Heir of Prince Jing's Estate, and the silver on their bodies was also gifted by the Prince Heir. Are you unwilling to investigate further because you don't want the Prince Heir to be dragged into this major case of rebellion and treason?"

When he reached this point, Jin Zhu's voice and expression became harsh: "What are you trying to cover up for the Prince Heir?"

Chen Ji looked directly into Jin Zhu's eyes: "It's impossible for the Prince Heir to be involved in this matter. If he was truly involved in this matter, he wouldn't have left behind so many clues. How could a person daring to collude with the Jing Dynasty in treason so easily let you find out that he had previously mingled with these martial artists? Lord Jin Zhu is also a smart person and definitely understands this principle."

Jin Zhu's expression softened slightly.

He jumped down from the chair, slowly sat back in front of the Eight Immortals table, picked up a cup of wine, and emptied it in one gulp: "Chen Ji, you must also not blame me for hanging you up here. Once you've entered the Secret Spy Division, there is no road back to take. Hide? You cannot hide away. Even I couldn't hide, how could you?"

Chen Ji said softly: "Lord Jin Zhu also thought about hiding?"

Jin Zhu looked at the flickering flames on the wall, a reminiscing expression appearing on his face: "I was originally the son of a merchant in Gongyi County of Luo City. In his early years, my father started out by walking the streets and alleys selling sugar. He was an amazing person. While others got up at the fifth watch (3-5 AM) to sell sugar, he would get up at the third watch (11 PM-1 AM) and go out carrying his carrying pole. Thanks to this diligence, our family's days were quite good."

Chen Ji listened quietly.

Jin Zhu continued: "My mother at home was gentle and kind, and I also had a sister who doted on me and loved me. I remember every New Year, my sister was reluctant to buy new clothes for herself, but insisted on buying two sets for me. If my father caught fish from the river and brought it back, they would both save the most tender meat of the fish head and fish belly for me to eat. If there were no accidents, I should have lived very happily."

"It's a pity that when I was eight years old, my father discovered a method to produce white sugar, which could sun-dry and filter brown sugar into immaculately clean white sugar in seven days. Once the white sugar came out into the world, it was highly favored by officials and nobles. I still remember on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, my father smiled by the kerosene lamp and told me our family was finally going to become prosperous. At that time, he wanted to prepare a thick dowry for my sister, find her a good family, and absolutely not let her not be able to lift her head in front of her husband's family. He also wanted to buy an official position for me, so we would never be low-status merchants again."

"He didn't know where he heard from others that in our Ning Dynasty, donating a hundred piculs of rice could get you the title of an Imperial Academy Student, and two hundred and fifty piculs of rice could get you a rank-nine honorary official position. Although it had no real power, it was respectable."

Jin Zhu poured himself another cup of wine and downed it: "But the result? That night, the official runners of the Luo City government office suddenly broke through our doors and under the guise of conscription for corvée labor, dragged my entire family to the Liu family's coal yard. In that pitch-black coal yard, my father and mother were worked to death alive. Before they died, I cried until my voice went hoarse but still couldn't call them back."

"To let me survive, my sister gave herself to those coal yard overseers in exchange for a bite to eat. She saved her rations for me every day, but was infected with a dirty disease by the overseers. What could I do? I could only watch her waste away day by day, as if her bones were being drawn out one by one. Before dying, my sister opened her eyes and said she wanted to take another look at me. I wanted to hug her, but she told me to go away and not to touch her."

"At that moment, I thought I was going to die too, when suddenly a person took me in front of a high official with a lame leg. That high official asked me if I wanted to avenge my family, I said I did."

Chen Ji, hanging from the roof, lowered his head and asked: "The Inner Chancellor?"

Jin Zhu gripped his wine cup, deep in thought: "That high official looked so majestic. His black official boots were clean, his official robe was red like blood, and everyone standing behind him were respectful and reverent. I thought, such a high official will definitely be able to help me get my revenge, right. I said, I beg you, please help me get my revenge."

Chen Ji asked: "What did the Inner Chancellor say?"

Jin Zhu smiled: "He said he would get revenge for me, but I had to give my life to him. I thought at the time, this rotten life of mine can actually be exchanged to avenge my family, it's simply too wonderful!"

Speaking to this, he raised his head to look at Chen Ji: "These years, I sought out those official runners from that year one by one and killed them. I also sought out those coal yard overseers, and skinned them and drew their tendons one by one, along with their families. Some who were already dead, I dug them out, ground their bones, and scattered their ashes."

"But I still hate!" Jin Zhu gritted his teeth, pronouncing each word clearly: "I hate, because the Liu family, who snatched my family's white sugar business, is still living well. The moment the Inner Chancellor chose me to come to Luo City, I knew the opportunity for revenge had come. The Inner Chancellor wants the Liu family completely exterminated entirely!"

Chen Ji lowered his head to look, only to see this Zodiac who was always smiling with a beaming smile having the green veins on his forehead fully popping out.

Jin Zhu stared straight at Chen Ji, his expression malevolent: "Chen Ji, I spoke so much with you because I want you to assist me. Right now, I cannot trust the secret spies in Luo City, and I cannot trust the Trouble-Resolving Guard either. I need a smart person like you. As long as you help me, I will definitely risk my life to elevate you to snatch a position as a Zodiac, assisting you to soar straight to the clear blue sky and fly ten thousand li on the roc's journey."

"I've waited for this day for too long. Whoever delays me, I will kill them. Whoever doesn't help me, I will kill them together as well."

(End of Chapter)