5. broken porcelain

```

Only fifteen minutes.

Very brief.

Chen Ji wasted no more words; he swiftly surveyed the study, his gaze lingering on the scattered scrolls and Xuan paper. He quickly flipped through the books on the bookshelf.

"All the Xuan paper is blank, and the books are commonplace, with nothing concealed inside," Jiao Tu pointed out.

Chen Ji turned and walked out into the courtyard.

It was a two-section quadrangle; he observed every detail of the courtyard, trying to find any hint or trace. Chen Ji knew he had no certainty of finding clues; his bold assertion was only because he faced a group of ruthless murderers—had he not said so, he might have been killed on the spot.

As time ticked by, Yun Yang grew impatient, "Too slow, too slow. We need to add a game. See the plane tree in this courtyard? For every leaf that falls while you search, I will stick a needle into you."

No sooner had he spoken than a leaf detached from a branch.

Yun Yang caught the withered yellow leaf midair and sighed, "You're really out of luck."

Saying so, he approached Chen Ji and plunged a needle into the young man's palm.

Chen Ji's face turned suddenly red with intense pain, and he bent over, beads of sweat the size of beans falling one by one from his forehead despite the cool autumn air.

He cursed Yun Yang as a sadist in his mind, unable to alleviate the pain in the slightest.

"Any time lost to pain counts within that quarter hour," Yun Yang stated calmly.

Supporting himself against the plane tree, Chen Ji slowly straightened up and shuffled into the kitchen. He had to find a clue before the second leaf fell!

The kitchen comprised but a brick stove and an array of jars and bottles for seasonings.

Inside, it was clean and orderly, nothing superfluous.

After inspecting all the jars, Chen Ji stepped out of the kitchen, but then, he just stood there motionless.

He muttered to himself, "Something feels off; it feels like I missed some detail."

Yun Yang leaned against the kitchen doorframe, yawning and twirling a silver needle on his fingertip: "You're running out of time; it seems I've wasted a quarter hour."

Chen Ji still stood motionless, straining to think of what detail he might have missed!

In the midst of his pondering, another leaf fell from the plane tree, and Yun Yang stuck another needle behind his ear.

In that instant, Chen Ji doubled over, curled up on the ground, motionless and close to passing out.

But this time, without waiting for Yun Yang's urging, he immediately stood up, returned to the kitchen, and retrieved two jars, both filled with fine white crystalline powder.

Yun Yang cast a curious glance, "Two jars of salt, what's the issue?"

"Why would a kitchen have two jars of salt?" Chen Ji said as he pinched a bit of the white powder from one of the jars and rubbed it on his fingertip, "This isn't salt."

"Not salt?" Yun Yang asked with curiosity, both he and Jiao Tu were skilled at killing, covering up, shifting blame, and taking credit, but finding tiny clues was certainly a weak point for them.

Chen Ji extended his finger to Yun Yang: "Taste it and see."

Yun Yang retorted irritably: "Cautious, aren't you? What if it's poison? I won't taste it."

Jiao Tu couldn't help but laugh.

If not for the corpses lying all around, this venomous young girl's laughter would seem rather charming.

Yun Yang said with a stern face, "Just taste it quickly."

Chen Ji took a bit of the white powder and put it in his mouth: "Extremely astringent upon entry, with no distinct flavor."

He pondered.

What could this substance be?

Chen Ji urgently searched his memory, trying to find the answer among the books he had read.

Wait, this was alum!

Some books on military and intelligence mentioned that alum was one of the primary substances used for writing secret messages in espionage. Written with alum water, the writing would become invisible once dried. This spy technique originated in the thirteenth century and was increasingly used by spies during WWI and WWII.

After long thought, Chen Ji became certain that he had the answer: the Jing Dynasty spy used alum to write secret messages. Zhou Chengyi must have hidden it at home, mixing it with the salt to cloud observers' vision. Keeping something so important so close and so conveniently stored meant that the secret communication must have been very frequent, thus... there must surely be secret messages from Zhou Chengyi's dealings with other spies at his home.

He immediately retrieved a vinegar jar from the kitchen and returned to the study, laying out the white Xuan papers on the desk. He tore a piece of cloth from his clothing and, dipping it in vinegar, carefully wiped every part of the Xuan papers.

After wiping five or six sheets without getting the answer he sought, time marched on. In the chill of autumn, fine beads of sweat formed on Chen Ji's forehead.

He glanced at Zhou Chengyi, who appeared calm and unperturbed.

Could he have guessed wrong?

No, absolutely not!

Then, a cold gust of wind blew, and the yellow leaves from the plane tree fell like rain. Yun Yang smiled, "Your luck isn't good enough..."

"I've found it!"

"Hmm?" Yun Yang's attention was captured.

On the twelfth sheet of Xuan paper, where the pale yellow vinegar had been smeared, a line of red text appeared: "East of the city, Lijing Lane, Li Ji's Syrup Shop, go immediately in case of emergency."

Seeing these characters, Yun Yang's eyes lit up with fervor: "This is a new hideout established by the Jing Dynasty spy; perhaps a bigwig from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department has come to Luocheng City!"

He then looked at Jiao Tu: "Great merit!"

Jiao Tu considered for a moment: "Let's kill this kid, and take the credit ourselves."

"No, I promised not to kill him. Besides, he's not one of our Spy Department, so the credit will ultimately go to us anyway."

```

"Fine then..."

However, looking back at Zhou Chengyi, the Jing Dynasty spy's face was ashen.

He stopped pretending and immediately drew a concealed flexible sword from his belt to pounce on Chen Ji, obviously intending to fight to the death.

As the Jing Dynasty spy rushed forward, he instantly shed his previous disheveled state, fierce as a wild beast.

Chen Ji swiftly retreated backward, while Jiao Tu suddenly sprang up like a ghostly shadow, flitting about like a butterfly.

As she blocked Zhou Chengyi's path, their figures flashing past each other, the silver needle between her two fingers lightly poked Zhou Chengyi's waist like a dragonfly skimming water.

With a bang, Zhou Chengyi fell to the ground, losing his strength and kicking up a cloud of dust.

It was also at this moment, a cold current swirled out from Zhou Chengyi's body, resembling a gray-white, flowing serpent in the night, burrowing into Chen Ji's body.

This was a sensation he had never experienced in his seventeen years, the Ice Flow like glacier water from atop a mountain, crisp and clear, coursing through his blood.

Where did this Ice Flow come from? Why did it come? Chen Ji didn't know.

What he had seen tonight, scenes that usually only occurred in movies, this world was completely different from the world he knew!

Chen Ji observed Jiao Tu and Yun Yang, realizing they seemed not to have seen what had just happened. Could it be that only he was able to see it?

When Yun Yang saw that Zhou Chengyi no longer had the ability to resist, he turned his head to Chen Ji with interest, "How does a mere apprentice from the Imperial Medical Hall know these things?"

Chen Ji didn't hesitate to explain, "Alum can be used in medicine, having effects like stopping bleeding, treating ulcers, and pain relief, so I have some understanding of it."

"Oh?" Yun Yang took a pinch of alum from the jar and put it in his mouth, "Just right, I've been having ulcers due to internal heat recently."

Jiao Tu stood upright on Zhou Chengyi's back, "What time is it for idle chat, we should first send someone to Lijing Lane to take down Li Ji's Syrup Shop."

Immediately, eight black-clad men left the house, mounted their horses, and raced towards Lijing Lane.

The crisp sound of hooves on the midnight cobblestones rent the night's tranquility.

Chen Ji asked, "May I go now?"

"Ah... I'm afraid not," Yun Yang shook his head.

"Going back on your word?"

"Not really, I only said you could live, but I never said I'd let you go," Yun Yang dusted off his clothes, "I need to take you to the inner prison for a thorough interrogation."

"Interrogate about what?"

"Like why an Imperial Medical Hall apprentice from Prince Jing Mansion would appear at Zhou Chengyi's mansion in the middle of the night? Is Prince Jing already in collusion with the North Jing Dynasty through Zhou Chengyi, planning to use their power for rebellion?" Yun Yang spread his hands, "As you see, I have many questions I wish to ask."

Jiao Tu enticed, "Zhou Chengyi is just a minor official, a County Chief, but if you can implicate Prince Jing, we will grant you wealth and honor!"

Chen Ji silently lamented the complications of his situation, which seemed to surpass imagination.

Where was the Jing Dynasty? And who was Prince Jing?

Was the social circle of the deceased this intricate?

He replied, "I came to deliver medicine and got implicated for no reason."

Chen Ji answered thus because he had seen two packs of herbs labeled "Taiping Medical Hall" in the kitchen, wrapped in yellow paper and placed beside the clay pot stove, yet to be unsealed.

Yun Yang shook his head, "That's just your side of the story, I only believe the answers I get from the interrogation."

Chen Ji changed tack, "You want to capture that big shot from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department?"

"The people tasked with capturing him have already gone."

"You won't catch that person at Li Ji's Syrup Shop in Lijing Lane, it's clearly just a place to help Zhou Chengyi escape, there won't be any big shots there."

Yun Yang's face showed contemplation, "Do you have other leads?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Yun Yang came in front of Chen Ji, pinched a thin silver needle between his middle and forefinger, and lightly tapped it on Chen Ji's shoulder.

In an instant, Chen Ji felt an excruciating pain that made him sweat so profusely his clothes dampened, but as quickly as the pain arrived, it disappeared without a trace, as if it had all been an illusion.

Yun Yang said nonchalantly, "I have many methods like this. In my years wandering Jianghu, few have withstood three of my needles."

Still, Chen Ji kept his lips sealed.

Yun Yang poked another needle into the back of Chen Ji's hand. The young man couldn't stop trembling, yet he didn't utter a sound.

Yun Yang then pierced two more needles, with Chen Ji remaining silent throughout.

"You can withstand even this?" Yun Yang exclaimed in surprise.

The next second, Chen Ji suddenly revealed a piece of broken porcelain in his palm, shakingly sweeping it toward the major artery in his neck!

The shard of broken porcelain had always been hidden in his palm.

Just as the porcelain shard neared his neck, it stopped abruptly, with Yun Yang catching Chen Ji's wrist, "Threatening with death?"

"Forget it, if we delay any longer, the big credit will slip away," Jiao Tu raised three fingers, "I swear on my mother's honor, if you provide information to help us achieve merit, I will grant you your freedom."

Yun Yang raised three fingers, "I too swear on my parents' honor, and if I lie may they eternally fall into Infinite Purgatory."

Chen Ji remained quiet, weighing the value of the oath.

People of this era should be superstitious, so the weight of an oath was significant... No, he still couldn't trust it.

But if he demonstrated enough ability, making himself sufficiently useful, could he wager his life on it?

Finally, gasping for breath, he said, "That Xuan paper must have been written with alum water when it was bought, very likely by the Jing Dynasty VIP you mentioned, so if you want to find clues at this time, you shouldn't be going to Lijing Lane, but to the store selling the Xuan paper, that shop would be the key channel for the most crucial information."