The Azure Mountain

Chapter 112: Masks

An old man and a cat, lonely and solitary on the long street.

"Master, what is stabilizing a weak group of stones and swallowing the dragon?"

"It is using a single isolated Go piece to slay the opponent's large dragon; a sword striking from a slant technique, killing intent hidden in every step, finding life in a desperate situation." Old Yao unhurriedly walked on the bluestone paved road holding Wu Yun: "Chen Ji's Go playing style is like this, and so is his way of conducting himself. People often say observing a person's Go reveals their character, which is not without reason."

Old Yao sighed: "This time, if there are no unexpected variables, that kid Jin Zhu is probably going to be pithed to death by Chen Ji."

"You seem to be very familiar with Jin Zhu? You even know his cultivation pathway. I heard Chen Ji say that one absolutely must not let others know their own cultivation pathway, as it would invite the disaster of being killed."

Old Yao thought for a moment: "Not exactly familiar either, it's just that when I was in the Capital City, I personally watched him go from a little fatty to a big fatty, from a reckless young man to his current appearance."

Wu Yun suddenly said: "Master, Chen Ji said you have many secrets."

Old Yao laughed: "Me? What did he say."

Wu Yun thought for a moment: "Can I tell you this?"

Old Yao also thought for a moment: "Did he instruct you not to say?""No."

"Then you can say it."

Wu Yun nodded: "He said you clearly know about the Forty-Nine Heavens, yet you said you don't know."

Old Yao froze: "How did he know that I know?"

Wu Yun said: "He said, previously when calculating the gunpowder, you asked him who passed down this alchemy technique, and you asked him if it was passed down by Limitless Mountain. Later, when he was chatting idly with the Prince Heir, he discovered that Limitless Mountain is one of the Forty-Nine Heavens."

Old Yao smacked his lips: "When speaking with this kid, one truly has to be watertight without a single leak, leaking even the slightest flaw and he catches it. You say he is so smart, why is he precisely smart in the wrong places? He's still not smart enough."

"Then where should he be smart?"

Old Yao said: "If he were truly a bit smarter, he should have taken you and fled far away to the Jing Dynasty, staying far away from these rights and wrongs. A truly smart person should involve themselves less with karma, having no attachments or worries so as to have no flaws to exploit."

Wu Yun nodded: "So you are his flaw."

Old Yao laughed out of anger: "Forget it, I can't explain it clearly to a little cat like you!"

"Master, where are we going now?"

Old Yao thought for a moment and said: "Naturally we are going to Peony Bridge to take a look over there. Chen Ji calculated clearly, but by using the stratagem of driving a wolf to swallow a tiger to kill Jin Zhu, he also has to personally enter the dangerous game. Jin Zhu will indeed be pithed to death by him, but how will he himself maintain his own integrity?"

Wu Yun raised her head: "Master, Chen Ji said he has a plan."

"Oh?"

Wu Yun recalled for a moment and said: "He said from the very beginning he put on the mask, intending to intentionally tear all face with Jin Zhu when it reached the critical moment. In order to prevent him from disrupting the situation, Jin Zhu would definitely find someone to swap masks with him and wear it, because to Jin Zhu, this is the simplest method. Chen Ji said people all have inertia and are accustomed to using the simplest methods to solve problems, and Jin Zhu would be no exception."

Old Yao pondered for a moment, and let out a long sigh: "Why did Jin Zhu insist on provoking this kid."

"Master, are we still going to the Peony Bridge over there?"

"We are."

"Are you going to help him?"

Old Yao said grumpily: "He's already so smart, does he still need my help? Can't I just go to watch the commotion."

...

...

Under the intense night darkness.

Wearing the ox-head mask, Jin Zhu quietly gazed at the Peony Arch Bridge. He only felt that this bridge in front of him was like a bloody gaping maw, capable of swallowing a giant dragon in one bite.

More than twenty zhang away, five people stood in attendance beside a carriage. The night was so dark their appearances couldn't be seen clearly.

The carriage was tightly covered and concealed, unknown if it was a human or a ghost inside.

Jin Zhu took a deep breath, and subconsciously asked: "Chen Ji, do you think we should retreat?"

Liu Tiao froze for a moment: "Lord, I am Liu Tiao. Chen Ji is being escorted, he didn't come over."

Jin Zhu slightly turned his head, silently looking at that cyan tiger mask beside him, remaining speechless for a long time.

He mocked himself with a sentence in his heart, and then opened his mouth to say: "Do you guys think, by setting up an ambush, has the Liu family already seen through our identities?"

Maintaining his tall, straight, and arrogant posture, Xi Feng said in a low voice beneath the mask: "Lord, the Liu family laying an ambush with manpower might just be in case of the unexpected, it's not aimed at us. If it were us going to negotiate such an important matter, we would also arrange manpower for surveillance beforehand."

Liu Tiao said in a low voice: "Makes sense."

Jin Zhu refuted in a low voice: "This concerns our lives and properties, how can we harbor a fluke mentality?"

Xi Feng remained silent for a moment: "Lord, how about we retreat first? There might still be chances to catch him in the future."

Liu Tiao said: "Lord, as long as the green mountains remain, one need not fear lacking firewood."

Jin Zhu remained silent and speechless, finding it difficult to choose.

This was exactly the reason why he had wanted to look for Chen Ji earlier: there actually wasn't even a single person beside him who could help offer advice and suggestions.

Just at this moment, the curtain of that carriage was lifted from the inside by someone. Wearing a black fox-fur overcoat and holding a small copper hand warmer in his hands, Liu Mingxian slowly stepped down from the carriage.

He and Jin Zhu's group gazed at each other from afar, and asked with a smile across the distance: "Since the few of you have arrived, why not come up to the bridge for a chat?"

The two sides confronted each other, one on the bridge and one below. The air gradually solidified, and even the Luo River below the bridge was completely quiet.

The next moment, Jin Zhu said in a low voice: "The arrow is on the bowstring and must be fired, go up the bridge! Liu Mingxian has already appeared; later, act according to my commands!"

Xi Feng lifted his foot and stepped onto the bridge.

Seeing them ascend the bridge, Liu Mingxian smiled and said: "Why must everyone be so cautious?"

Jin Zhu, behind Xi Feng, sneered: "After you handed the Deputy Supervisor of the Imperial Workshop over to us, you then instructed the Luo City City Defense Division to snatch the person back. This matter has already violated our mutual agreement. That we are still willing to come tonight is already a boundless stroke of grace bestowed upon your Liu family."

Liu Mingxian gradually restrained his smile: "With my Liu family's lintel, who has the qualifications to speak of bestowing grace?"

Jin Zhu smiled and said: "Oh? In earlier years, relying on having the Empress Dowager and a Grand Secretary in your own family, your Liu family acted tyrannically and aggressively, leaving behind quite a few actionable flaws. Over these years, the situation in the Imperial Court reversed, and half of the Liu family's protégés and former subordinates were impeached and brought down by the imperial censors. Seeing that the general trend has shifted, you could only shrink back to the single region of Yuzhou. Give it a few more years, and I'm afraid you won't even be able to protect Yuzhou, ultimately ending up with property confiscation and family extermination."

Jin Zhu's voice gradually turned cold: "If it wasn't so, how else could you Liu family have thought of contacting my Jing Dynasty?"

Liu Mingxian suddenly laughed mockingly: "Jing Dynasty... are you all truly people of the Jing Dynasty? Lord Jin Zhu, when did You turn into a spy of the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division?"

Hearing the other party call out his name, Jin Zhu's expression immediately changed, and he pulled Xi Feng and Liu Tiao to retreat backward.

Liu Mingxian abruptly shouted forcefully: "These three people are Jing Dynasty thieves. I am the Luo City Assistant Prefect, naturally I must eliminate them for the Imperial Court. Kill, kill without mercy!"

All pretense of cordiality was torn away!

From behind Liu Mingxian, Zhang Guo'er took out a copper whistle from his waist and blew it, the piercing whistling sound tearing apart the night darkness.

In an instant, the doors of the quiet civilian residences abruptly swung open, and hundreds of elites wearing brown leather armor charged out, engaging in close-quarter slaughter with the secret spies scattered and hiding in the small alleys!

As Jin Zhu retreated flying backward, he saw over a dozen people behind him, holding long sabers horizontally in their mouths, climbing up from under Peony Bridge and blocking their retreat route.

Xi Feng said hurriedly: "Lord, it's the elites the Liu family hid in the Yanshi Grand Camp!"

Jin Zhu wanted to pull Xi Feng and Liu Tiao to jump into the river, but their path was blocked by that Zhang Guo'er, who was fondling the Mountain Flower Ghost Coin, and those two tattooed burly men.

With a gloomy expression, he listened to the sounds of metal clashing in the night darkness, turning his head to look at Liu Mingxian: "Lord Liu privately moving armored troops into the city, are you planning a rebellion?"

Liu Mingxian said with profound meaning: "I am apprehending Jing Dynasty thieves ah, how could it be a rebellion?"

Jin Zhu sneered: "Saying we are Jing Dynasty thieves, does Lord Liu have evidence? If there is no evidence, arbitrarily surrounding and killing members of the Secret Spy Division is no different from rebellion."

Fondling the copper hand warmer in his embrace, Liu Mingxian smiled and said: "I have still kept the secret letters you used to invite me to Peony Bridge earlier. The secret letters clearly used the word-hiding method only the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division uses, this is the evidence. Even without this, I can still concoct quite a bit of evidence in the same way. This matter won't trouble Lord Jin Zhu to worry about."

Jin Zhu slowly took off his mask, only to see Liu Mingxian turn his head and say to a person beside him: "Lord Yuan, earlier our side leaked secrets, causing Your esteemed division to nearly be surrounded. This matter is indeed my Liu family's fault. Tonight, the head on Jin Zhu's neck is the generous gift my Liu family presents, using this as a pledge of loyalty. Is this sincerity enough? I wonder if the Department Head can travel south, my Liu family has important matters to discuss."

A deep, low voice unhurriedly responded: "Lord Liu is full of sincerity. If you can truly take the head on Jin Zhu's neck, the Department Head will definitely travel south to meet."

Jin Zhu's pupils contracted, abruptly looking at the person speaking: a plump figure wearing a bamboo hat beside Liu Mingxian.

He wanted to see the other party's face clearly, but the other party not only lowered his head, his face was also covered with grey cloth.

Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division!

No wonder Liu Mingxian exposed their identities, it turns out they had re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division!

But the key was, three days ago the Liu family clearly still hadn't re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty, how did they suddenly establish contact?!

Where exactly did the problem occur!?

Looking at the Liu family elites slowly closing in, Jin Zhu asked with a ferocious voice: "Fight our way out!"

Liu Tiao looked at the three Liu family Practitioners in front of him, and then turned his head to look at those elites behind him.

He suddenly somewhat regretted suggesting that he wear the tiger mask. Otherwise, the one dying on the bridge right now should be Chen Ji, not him!

...

...

A quarter of an hour ago.

In the narrow small alley, Chen Ji was shoved by the secret spy, staggering forward.

To prevent him from getting any crooked ideas, the secret spy guarding him actually used a rope to tie his hands behind his back directly.

Chen Ji suddenly stood still and stopped walking forward. The secret spy behind him kicked over, but Chen Ji, as if he had eyes on his back, turned his body aside to dodge.

The secret spy's kick missed and he landed on empty air, staggering and nearly falling: "You motherf..."

He steadied his body and wanted to grab Chen Ji, but Chen Ji was as slippery as a loach, completely impossible to catch.

With his hands tied behind his back, Chen Ji ran staggeringly. The two chased after each other in the small alley, and actually gradually ran out of the small alley, running further and further along the banks of the Luo River.

Seeing that his hopes of rendezvousing with his colleagues were dashed, the secret spy immediately grew anxious and drew his saber: "If you run again, I will chop you with one saber strike!"

Chen Ji stopped. He mumbled and hemmed and hawed, but with his mouth gagged, he couldn't speak a complete sentence for a long time.

Impatiently, the secret spy snatched the cloth strip off his mouth: "What exactly do you want to say?"

Chen Ji moved his jaw, and with his hands behind his back, he asked in a deep voice: "This Lord, do you not feel something is quite amiss?"

"What is amiss?"

Chen Ji said hurriedly: "I'm afraid there are hundreds of residents in this area, and in Luo City, an average of three out of ten households raise dogs. Yet with hundreds of secret spies infiltrating and laying surveillance here, not a single bark can be heard. Where have all the dogs gone?"

He continued: "Moreover, it's not just that dog barks can't be heard. The sky hasn't even brightened at the fourth watch, yet those night soil collectors carrying excrement, and the people rushing to the morning market to sell or buy goods should have set off. Lord, we have walked for so long, have you seen a single person step out of their doors?"

Thinking about it deeply caused the secret spy to feel terrified. He wasn't a fool either, every sentence Chen Ji said made sense!

However, right at this moment, a piercing whistling sound was heard coming from afar. Before they could react, they saw the main doors of two civilian residences in the small alley being kicked open, and five or six leather armored elites charged out from each!

Seeing these ten-odd elites, the secret spy sucked in a breath of cold air: "The Elephant Armor Guards of the Yanshi Grand Camp!"

In the narrow and gloomy alley, one of the Elephant Armor Guards shouted in a low voice and took the lead to swing his saber and chop: "Kill!"

However, when the long saber chopped over, Chen Ji, with his hands tied, rapidly turned around. This saber strike actually chopped squarely and precisely across the rope between his hands with a clang!

With a 'ci' sound, the rope cleanly snapped.

(End of Chapter)