The Azure Mountain

Chapter 68: Innate Divine Strength

In the narrow alleys of Luo City at dawn, Wu Yun glided through the lanes — unhurried, composed, exuding the bearing of a commanding general.

Behind her, only six of the most agile tabby cats remained in her retinue.

As they passed, a guard dog burst out barking furiously. One of the tabby cats merely cast a casual glance at the dog, and it immediately whimpered and scurried back inside.

A moment later, a tabby cat came sprinting back from up ahead and meowed: 'Not found!'

Wu Yun meowed back: 'Scout again and report!'

The tabby cat spun around and bolted away.

Before long, another scouting tabby returned from a different route: 'Not found!'

Wu Yun: 'Scout again and report!'

She had sent six tabby cats down six different paths in pursuit. She refused to believe she couldn't find the person Chen Ji had described.

Then one of the tabbies came racing back: 'Found him!'Wu Yun shot forward like an arrow, her black silhouette flowing like a liquid shadow — sleek and fierce.

The Si Cao had reached Changning Street. The short blade in his hand had vanished, concealed within his sleeve. Walking among the crowd, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary tenant farmer — utterly unremarkable.

The streets of Luo City were growing busier. Household after household emerged carrying chamber pots, dumping the previous night's waste into the government-built public latrines along the road.

Night soil collectors gathered around the latrines, scooping as fast as the residents poured.

In this era, the waste trade had already formed a massive industry. Merchants mixed the waste into hard soil to form solid blocks, composted it, and sold it to farmers.

Some had amassed fortunes from this business, and the night soil collectors had earned their own distinctive title — "tipping heads."

The Si Cao suddenly halted. He turned his head slightly, and beneath the bamboo hat, his gaze was sharp as a blade, slicing across every passerby.

Yet no matter how long he searched, he couldn't find a single clue.

Strange. A nameless sense of danger nagged at him, like a needle pressing against the spot between his eyebrows, making the skin there tingle and itch.

He always felt this way when he was being watched. But this time, he couldn't find whoever was watching him.

As he scanned his surroundings, a tabby cat sauntered past his feet with a casual swagger.

The Si Cao flicked a glance at it, then shifted his gaze elsewhere without a second thought.

'Who is following me?'

'The Secret Spy Division?'

'Or that Shopkeeper Yuan? Or perhaps the Liu family?'

At this thought, the Si Cao quickened his pace. He ducked into a dead-end alley, then leapt effortlessly onto a wall ledge.

He crouched low behind a rooftop ridge and cautiously peeked out, watching the dead-end alley below — waiting to see who would follow.

But the Si Cao waited for a full quarter of an hour, and no one appeared. On the rooftops of the nearby houses, there was only a black cat and a tabby cat roughhousing in the distance. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The Si Cao let out a soft breath. It seemed he'd been wound too tight lately. He was overthinking things.

......

......

In a deserted alley, Chen Ji leaned against the gray wall, breathing hard. He wasn't sure whether Wu Yun could catch up to the Si Cao, but he had to try.

Once, he'd had no allegiance between the Ning Dynasty's Secret Spy Division and the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division. He would work for whoever paid him — silver was silver.

But you couldn't spend every day walking a tightrope... In that moment atop the Drum Tower, watching the sunrise with his Ning Dynasty friends beside him, Chen Ji had suddenly wanted a fresh start.

And his identity as a Military Intelligence Division spy was a chasm standing between him and that "fresh start."

To begin anew, the old identity had to end.

As things stood, only four people knew he was a spy for the Military Intelligence Division: his uncle, the two Si Cao, and the Department Head.

That legendary uncle of his had already been ousted from power. He could no longer control the Military Intelligence Division, and therefore could no longer control Chen Ji. If the man's political enemies could finish him off entirely — well, that would be the best outcome of all. With two dynasties between them, they would never meet again...

As for the remaining three... if he could kill them all, he could gradually fade from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Division's sight.

On the Drum Tower, the Prince Heir had asked what he wanted to do in the future. He hadn't known then — he'd only said he wanted to survive.

Now he knew. He wanted to break free from the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Division.

Chen Ji braced himself against the wall and slowly straightened up. Shopkeeper Yuan's pressure on his wound, followed by the frantic dash — the wound had torn open again. It was only when he lifted his shirt hem that he noticed his trousers were soaked with blood.

But there was no time to worry about that now. He brushed the dust from his clothes and limped back toward the clinic through the narrow alleys.

Chen Ji tucked his shirt over his trousers to hide the bloodstain, but the moment he stepped out of the alley, he retreated right back in.

Right now, Jin Zhu was standing at the front door of Taiping Medical Clinic, speaking to someone through the closed door.

Chen Ji frowned. Jin Zhu was blocking his way back. If Baili opened the door and let Jin Zhu into the clinic, only for him to discover Chen Ji wasn't there — suspicion was inevitable.

'Baili, please stall him for me,' Chen Ji silently prayed as he painfully hauled himself up onto the rooftop. He wasn't even sure whether Baili would help buy him time — after all, he'd never asked her to.

......

......

In front of Taiping Medical Clinic.

"You're Chen Ji's friend?" Commandery Princess Baili asked skeptically from behind the door.

"That's right," Jin Zhu said with a smile. "Would you mind opening the door? I've brought some things to help him recover."

At that moment, Baili's instinct was to say that Chen Ji had gone out, and perhaps the visitor should come back later.

But she glanced back at the empty bamboo chair and recalled how Chen Ji had slipped away moments ago. She suddenly felt that she couldn't say that.

She thought for a few seconds: "Chen Ji's injuries are quite serious. He's still asleep right now. Wait a moment — I'll go wake him."

Jin Zhu muttered outside the door: "This princess from Prince Jing's Estate has no sense of social graces. Even if you're going to wake him up, at least let me inside to sit and wait. Won't even open the door — what's that about... huh?"

He gave the door a gentle pull, then a push, and discovered that the front door of Taiping Medical Clinic had been bolted shut from the inside. It wouldn't budge.

Jin Zhu grew even more puzzled. Granted, a medical clinic didn't need to open as early as a breakfast shop, but didn't anyone come out to fetch water in the morning? The door was barred — what were they doing in there?

At this thought, Jin Zhu slowly backed away to Anxi Street, his gaze sweeping across the rooftops.

Just as he was about to leap onto a roof and sneak inside for a look, a voice came from within Taiping Medical Clinic — Commandery Princess Baili's voice: "Chen Ji is still sleeping, but you can come in and wait. Let me get the door for you."

At this, Jin Zhu abandoned any thought of infiltrating and waited patiently.

But he waited and waited, and the door never opened.

Jin Zhu spoke firmly: "Why haven't you opened the door yet?"

From inside, the princess's voice came in a rush: "This bolt is stuck somehow — I can't pull it out."

In the next instant, Jin Zhu channeled his strength and wrenched the door hard. The bolt snapped with a sharp crack.

The princess inside stumbled back several steps in fright, while Jin Zhu barged in with a cheery grin: "The bolt must have rusted, that's why it wouldn't open. I'll send someone this afternoon to install a new one — guaranteed to work properly."

The princess panicked and grabbed his arm with all her might: "Hey, what do you think you're doing, barging into someone's home like this? How outrageous! I bet you're the same villain who hurt Chen Ji in the first place — you won't touch him again!"

But her strength was no match for Jin Zhu's, and she was dragged along, her feet sliding across the floor.

The princess shouted: "Brother! Physician Yao! Brother Gou'er! Someone's broken into the clinic!"

"What's going on? What's going on?" The Prince Heir was the first to come charging over, blocking Jin Zhu's path and grabbing his clothes.

But Jin Zhu was slippery as an eel. A single twist of his body and he shook off both the Prince Heir and the princess, slamming right into Liang Mao'er.

He pushed against Liang Mao'er. Didn't budge. Instead, Liang Mao'er pressed his lips together and shoved Jin Zhu all the way back to the main hall entrance!

"Heh," Jin Zhu refused to accept this and threw himself into a grapple with Liang Mao'er, trying to use wrestling techniques to throw him to the ground.

But strangely, Liang Mao'er's center of gravity was even lower and more stable than his — utterly immovable!

"Huh?" Jin Zhu stared at Liang Mao'er in astonishment: "Innate divine strength?!"

Liang Mao'er gripped Jin Zhu's shirt and rumbled in his deep voice: "What are you doing, breaking into the clinic?"

Realizing he was outmatched in brute force, Jin Zhu immediately shed his outer robe like a snake shedding its skin, slipped out from under Liang Mao'er's arm, and dove headfirst into the apprentices' dormitory.

He stopped short. In the dim dormitory, Chen Ji was wrapped in a blanket on the apprentices' communal bunk, sound asleep — completely contrary to what he'd expected.

The Prince Heir, Commandery Princess, She Dengke, Liu Quxing, and the rest piled into the dormitory, intent on dragging Jin Zhu outside.

But Jin Zhu's feet seemed nailed to the floor. No matter how the group pulled and tugged, he didn't move an inch.

The princess looked back at Liang Gou'er: "Brother Gou'er, help!"

But Liang Gou'er kept sweeping the floor, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

Seeing this, Liang Mao'er seized Jin Zhu's arm and gave a mighty heave, physically wrenching him out through the door.

Jin Zhu's feet left the ground entirely. He yelped in shock: "What the hell?!"

Liang Mao'er set Jin Zhu down in the courtyard, and the whole group surrounded him, cornering him outside the kitchen door.

Baili stood outside with her hands on her hips, her delicate willow-leaf brows furrowed as she hissed in a low voice: "You're no friend of Chen Ji's, are you? What kind of friend forces his way into someone's home like this?"

Jin Zhu quickly laughed and explained: "I was just worried about Chen Ji. You took so long to open the door that I thought something had happened inside."

"Even if the sky were falling, that's no excuse for this!"

Old Yao stood beside the apricot tree with his hands clasped behind his back, speaking slowly: "Honorable Jin Zhu, what brings you to our door today?"

Jin Zhu held up the pastries and fruit he'd brought: "Our Secret Spy Division was apprehending a Jing Dynasty spy when the spy unfortunately escaped, and in the process, Chen Ji — who happened to be passing by — was injured. It was our negligence that led to his injuries, so I felt terrible about it and came to visit."

The Prince Heir and Baili froze. This fat man was from the Secret Spy Division? No wonder Liang Gou'er had refused to step in!

They glanced at Liang Gou'er, but he was still standing there with the bamboo broom, acting as if nothing was happening.

Baili turned back to Jin Zhu: "Honorable Jin Zhu, you've seen him and delivered your gifts. Please leave now. In the future, kindly do your duty and arrest Jing Dynasty spies properly — don't let them escape and hurt innocent people again... By the way, the spy who injured Chen Ji — where is he being held?"

Jin Zhu said with a smile: "Held? No, no, no — Chen Ji killed him."

The Prince Heir and Baili sucked in a sharp breath. They instinctively turned to look toward the apprentices' dormitory. Until this very moment, they had never been able to connect Chen Ji with killing.

Baili recalled how Chen Ji had just slipped away, and her expression grew complicated. This clinic apprentice was apparently not as simple as she'd thought...

While everyone stood stunned, Jin Zhu slithered through the gaps in the crowd like an eel. He slipped into the dormitory, grabbed the blanket covering Chen Ji, and yanked it aside, exposing half his body.

Chen Ji lay there in a simple sleeping tunic, slowly opening his eyes: "Honorable Jin Zhu, what brings you here?"

The deep furrow on Jin Zhu's brow gradually smoothed out. Before the crowd could swarm in again, he quickly cupped his hands with a smile: "I won't intrude any further today. Once Chen Ji is feeling better, I'll come visit again."

With that, he made his escape.

Chen Ji sat on the bed, catching his breath. Jin Zhu was incredibly difficult to deal with. His suspicious nature — his refusal to overlook even the tiniest detail — was precisely the quality the Secret Spy Division valued most.

But having such a man as an adversary meant that a single slip could spell irreversible doom.

The others wanted to come in and ask Chen Ji what was going on, but Baili stood at the doorway and said softly: "Go take care of your chores. I have something I'd like to ask him."

Once everyone had left, Baili asked: "Where did you just go?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "Princess, I don't want to lie to you. If you're willing to trust me, please don't ask."

"Then tell me this first — your being around me and my brother... was that arranged by someone?"

"No. And I would never do anything to harm either of you."

"Good. I won't ask again. Rest assured, I won't tell anyone about what happened just now."

With that, she turned and walked out, calling to the Prince Heir: "Brother, let's head back to the estate."

The Prince Heir blinked: "Leaving already? I was hoping to stay for lunch."

Chen Ji sat on the bed, listening to the sounds of them climbing a ladder and scaling the wall to leave, and said nothing.

The dormitory window shifted slightly, and Wu Yun's head squeezed through a crack. She poured herself through the gap like liquid: "I found the person you were looking for. He works as a carriage driver for the Liu family."