The Azure Mountain

Chapter 114: Interrogation

The light of dawn had yet to break, and the river water was like black ink.

Chen Ji's head emerged from the water surface, breathing heavily in large gulps. The bone-piercingly cold sensation seemed to seep from his skin into the seams of his bones, drilling into his bone marrow.

His soaked clothes stuck to his body, unable to retain a single bit of warmth.

Chen Ji looked around the water surface, attempting to search for Shopkeeper Yuan's tracks amidst the ripples, but was suddenly attracted by the scenery above his head.

Shooting stars flew across the river surface, trailing long comet tails, like a meteor shower rarely seen in years—resplendent, brilliant, and radiant.

Below the fully drawn bowstrings, the shooting stars swept across a distance of a hundred paces. The twenty-odd Elephant Armor Guards on the bridge actually didn't even have the leeway to fight back, being pierced through one by one.

On the bridge, a tattooed burly man hid on the other side of the carriage, dodging the shooting stars one by one. Taking out a copper whistle from his waist, he blew it.

Hearing the whistle, densely packed Elephant Armor Guards surged out from the small alleys, charging towards Peony Bridge like a brown torrent.

The tattooed burly man roared furiously: "Seize Jin Zhu, cover Second Master's escape! It's merely one Tian Ma who came, I don't believe he can continuously fire hundreds of arrows!"

But just as his voice fell, the sound of iron hooves was heard coming from afar.Those iron hooves went from far to near, as if a grand battle formation was stepping across a frozen river to arrive.

Chen Ji abruptly turned his head, only to see a middle-aged man wearing a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat quietly standing on the eaves of a pavilion in the distance.

Like a black falcon in the flickering firelight, the other party held up a black banner with his hand, pointing it towards the Peony Arch Bridge from afar!

On the banner, the two large characters "Trouble-Resolving" were embroidered with gold thread!

It was Lin Chaoqing, Tian Ma had also mobilized the Trouble-Resolving Guards of the Mengjin Military Camp!

Chen Ji gazed at Jin Zhu on the bridge. The other party was bending over and scurrying about miserably in a sorry state, ultimately seizing an opportunity to leap into the water. It seemed Jin Zhu couldn't be killed today. Although Liu Mingxian's layout was massive, the Directorate of Ceremonial seemed to be one level superior in breaking the situation.

The overall situation was already set.

But the matters Chen Ji had to do tonight were not over yet.

At this time, the sound of water rippling came from not far away. Shopkeeper Yuan was seen swimming vigorously towards the west, constantly churning up sounds of water.

Chen Ji carefully trailed behind, neither getting too close nor too far away.

Shopkeeper Yuan turned his head to glare at him coldly, and swam even faster.

The two were one in front and one behind. Behind them were towering flames and shouts of killing, while here there was only the sound of splashing water. The firelight reflected on the black river surface, as if even this bone-piercingly cold Luo River water had ignited with cold flames.

While swimming, Chen Ji shouted: "Stop fleeing. You've suffered a penetrating wound on your leg, where can you escape to?"

Shopkeeper Yuan sneered and didn't answer.

Chen Ji continued to shout: "Cooperate with my Secret Spy Division, and your life might be spared!"

Shopkeeper Yuan still didn't answer, only swimming towards the riverbank.

Chen Ji swam vigorously a few times to catch up, but Shopkeeper Yuan suddenly turned his head and ruthlessly kicked him on the head.

Amidst the surging undercurrents, Chen Ji was kicked to the bottom of the river by this kick, the bone-piercingly cold river water drilling into his mouth and nose. If not for the resistance in this water, he probably would have fainted instantly.

He shook his head, pushed off heavily against the riverbed with his legs, and actually gritted his teeth to catch up again.

Shopkeeper Yuan turned his head to glance back, only feeling as if a lone wolf was following behind him, seemingly intent on dragging him to death alive on a deserted wasteland.

A moment later, he limped, stepping on cobblestones, and slowly waded ashore.

Shopkeeper Yuan looked down at his wound, only to see a thumb-thick bloody hole on his thigh still bleeding, soaking his pants purple.

Just as he lowered his head, the whistling sound of something tearing through the wind came. He slightly tilted his head, and a flying stone brushed past his ear, landing on the mudflats in the distance.

Shopkeeper Yuan looked back, only to see Chen Ji standing in waist-deep water, bending over to pick up a few cobblestones from the water and holding them in his hands, throwing them over one after another.

He laughed out of anger: "Who the f... are you? Picking up a few cobblestones and you dare to chase after this seat?! The Secret Spy Division only issues you a few taels of silver a month, why are you risking your life with this seat?"

Chen Ji didn't speak.

Shopkeeper Yuan wanted to lower his head and tear off the hem of his clothes to wrap the wound and stop the bleeding. If he didn't stop the bleeding soon, he wouldn't be able to escape much further either.

However, just as he lowered his head, he once again heard stones tearing through the wind towards him.

Shopkeeper Yuan easily dodged a step, making a posture to return to the river and kill Chen Ji first. But the moment he moved, Chen Ji immediately waded through the water and returned deeper into the river.

The veins on his forehead throbbed with anger: "You think you can stall for time just relying on yourself?"

Having said that, Shopkeeper Yuan simply ignored Chen Ji anymore, not even dodging the flying cobblestones, focusing entirely on lowering his head to bandage the wound. Even if a cobblestone thrown by an ordinary person hit him, it wouldn't hurt his muscles or bones.

The next moment.

With a 'thud'.

A giant stone smashed onto the corner of Shopkeeper Yuan's forehead, smashing his vision black and causing him to stagger several steps to the right.

He glared with wide, angry eyes, only to see Chen Ji strenuously hugging another head-sized stone out of the river.

The youth in the river had a pale, greenish complexion, his lips were white, and his entire body trembled from the cold, as cold and hard as the cobblestones at the bottom of the Luo River.

"Are you f...ing done yet?" Shopkeeper Yuan narrowed his eyes: "Don't pester this seat anymore. In the future, I will gift you wealth you won't be able to spend in a lifetime, much better than being an errand runner in the Secret Spy Division."

Chen Ji sneered: "Wait until you survive tonight to say that."

It was also exactly at this time that someone not far away said smilingly: "Looking down on my Secret Spy Division's salary? Could it be that your Military Intelligence Division can offer more? May I trouble to ask, is the person before me a Si Cao of the Military Intelligence Division? We've searched for you quite arduously."

Shopkeeper Yuan abruptly turned his head, only to see Jin Zhu had arrived at some unknown time. His clothes still dripping with water, he slowly waded through the water and walked ashore from the river.

In the middle of the river, on a small awning boat, an old man in a coir raincoat pushed a long punting pole, carrying the white-clothed Tian Ma and slowly approaching.

Tian Ma stood proudly on the bow of the boat, motionless, like a Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle. It seemed as long as he was there, the river water couldn't churn up terrifying waves.

Shopkeeper Yuan wanted to flee towards the river embankment, but the moment he turned around, he saw a person squatting on the river embankment behind him, staring at him with a grinning smile.

This person, wearing a bright brown men's robe with a cross-collar, stood up and descended from the river embankment to the mudflats.

His robes were embroidered with dozens of brightly colored wild pheasants. His face was fair and beardless, his hair neatly smoothed and shiny, looking like a major female lead appearing fully made up on a theater stage.

Meng Ji.

Shopkeeper Yuan said with a ferocious voice: "Three of the Twelve Zodiacs have already arrived, even Tian Ma of the Top Three Ranks has shown up—truly mobilizing a large force. It's just that, instead of catching Liu Mingxian, you all came looking to play with me?"

Jin Zhu laughed: "If the Inner Chancellor wants the Liu family dead, there's no reason for him to live. Liu Mingxian is but a minor character. The Liu family's foundation is in Yuzhou, where can he run to? Stop struggling, allow yourself to be captured without putting up a fight."

Shopkeeper Yuan didn't answer. Instead, he turned around and prepared to pounce towards Chen Ji, planning to take the little thief who entangled him down together before dying.

But turning his head around, he discovered that Chen Ji seemed to have anticipated his intentions and had returned to the river early on.

The next moment, a shooting star flew from the center of the river, piercing through Shopkeeper Yuan's other good leg.

Jin Zhu walked forward with a beaming smile, turned Shopkeeper Yuan over, and pinned him to the ground.

He took out a small knife from his sleeve, cut off a lock of Shopkeeper Yuan's hair, and handed it out: "Meng Ji, interrogate him directly here. Also, that kid in the river, interrogate him here as well."

Squatting on the ground, Jin Zhu turned his head to look at Chen Ji in the river, and unhurriedly said: "Only after interrogating him can I set my mind at ease."

(End of Chapter)