24、Meng Ji

Luocheng City's young lads were walking along the stone-paved road at night, with the steps initially heavy but gradually becoming lighter.

Life had to go on, didn't it? He already had new hope.

"Wu Yun, let's talk about something cheerful," Chen Ji said with a smile, "Can you tell me about the happenings at Prince Jing Mansion?"

Wu Yun, out of sheer boredom, curled up on Chen Ji's arm, pulled out some small dried fish from a blue bundle, and began nibbling, "What's there to say about that wretched place? Prince Mansion is a vast complex, filled with dirty dealings among the nannies and maidservants. For instance, Chunhua was bought by Princess Consort Jing to seduce Prince Jing, but Prince Jing wouldn't even glance at Chunhua properly. Or take Chunrong, that jealous witch, she would secretly spit into Chunhua's food because Chunhua was young and beautiful..."

Chen Ji, chuckling, shifted the conversation, "In these three months at Prince Jing Mansion, has anything significant happened?"

"Of course!" Wu Yun perked up, "Things are about to get lively at the mansion."

Chen Ji's expression turned expectant, "Oh?"

Wu Yun said excitedly, "The Double Ninth Festival is coming up soon. Prince Jing's eldest son, Zhu Yunxi, Princess Consort Jing's daughter, Zhu Lingyun, and Consort Yun's daughter, Zhu Baili, are all returning from Donglin Academy. It's said that a little monk will be coming too."

"A little monk?" Chen Ji asked, puzzled.

Wu Yun explained, "Princess Consort Jing said he is the Reincarnated Buddha of Yunzhou's Gening Sect. Since the Gening Sect needs the court's support and imperial endorsement, they left him in the Central Plains."

"Is Donglin Academy very famous?" Chen Ji inquired curiously, remembering his two elder brothers had also returned from there.

Wu Yun explained, "I've heard that Donglin Academy, along with Qingya Academy and Yuelu Academy, are known as the three great academies of the Ning Dynasty. It's a place where talented individuals flock to. It's said that the tuition fee is quite expensive, and only children from noble families can afford to study there. Every time the scholar exam results are released, thirty percent of those who pass are from Donglin Academy."

"Three years away, it really should stir up some excitement... Who is the official wife among Princess Consort Jing and Consort Yun? And whose child is Zhu Yunxi?"

Wu Yun answered, "Neither is the official wife; the official wife was Zhu Yunxi's mother, who passed away many years ago… I'm heading back to Late Star Garden now!"

As they were approaching the entrance to Taiping Medical Hall, Wu Yun suddenly jumped out of Chen Ji's embrace and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As Chen Ji rounded a corner, he was stunned to see Old Yao standing expressionlessly at the entrance asking, "Where have you been?"

Chen Ji pondered, if I say I brought a little cat to find its mother, you certainly wouldn't believe it…

He answered, "I forgot something at home during my day off, so I went back to fetch it."

Old Yao frowned, his forehead wrinkles pressed together, "Actually, today's tuition fee wasn't provided by your family, was it?"

Chen Ji was taken aback.

Old Yao sneered, "I suspected as much. Your stepmother has always been narrow-minded. Initially, to avoid paying the ten silver taels monthly tuition fee for Donglin Academy, she sent you here as an apprentice. It's already good enough that she's paying your tuition fee now; how could she possibly buy so many gifts to honor me?"

Chen Ji remained silent, unsure how to respond.

Old Yao continued suspiciously, "Wait, if the money isn't from your family, where did your tuition fee come from? Surely you haven't become involved with some lady…"

As he spoke, Old Yao's expression darkened drastically, his mustache nearly bristling in anger, "You are, after all, an apprentice at my Taiping Medical Hall. If such a thing were to get out, it would be no different from you directly shitting into my pocket!"

Chen Ji: "…Ah?"

"What 'ah'?"

Chen Ji hurriedly said, "You're mistaken, how could I possibly do such a thing?"

"Then where did this money come from?"

Chen Ji paused for a moment, "Master, I can't say; I don't want to implicate you."

Old Yao scrutinized him up and down, "Spy Department? Are you working for the Spy Department?"

Chen Ji sighed, no wonder people often say that the elderly are cunning; he had disclosed so little, yet his master had guessed it.

He could only explain, "Master, Lord Yun Yang approached me; I had no choice."

Old Yao stared at him intently for a long while, then turned and walked back into the medical hall, "Whether you had a choice or not, you've made it, and I won't interfere or inquire. Just make sure to pay the tuition fee monthly. If you end up dead outside one day, it's best I don't know about it… Now go to sleep!"

The medical hall's main door closed, and out at the corner of Anxi Street, three people emerged. Yun Yang crossed his arms in front of his chest, murmuring, "Doctor Yao doesn't seem to like our Spy Department much."

Jiao Tu shrugged, "It's normal for him not to like us."

Yun Yang looked towards the third person, "Meng Ji, that young apprentice is whom I wanted to interrogate, to confirm whether he is a spy from the Jing Dynasty."

The man named Meng Ji, dressed in bright brown with a double-collared robe embroidered with dozens of brightly colored pheasants, resembling a theatrical costume, touched his neatly trimmed sideburns and said in a delicate voice, "An apprentice, worthy of such lavish attention? You even summoned me specifically from Kaifeng Prefecture."

"I pay, you work. I've told you the information you need to know; don't ask about the rest," Yun Yang said calmly.

"Alright, I'll ensure your satisfaction. In dreams, I make the rules," Meng Ji laughed shrilly, causing Jiao Tu to involuntarily rub the goosebumps on his arms.

Yun Yang curiously asked, "I've always wondered why you daringly reveal your Cultivation Path in public, aren't you afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself?"

Meng Ji chuckled, "Lord Prime Minister said, among those practicing this path, I am the only one in the world; what trouble can I possibly stir?"

Yet as he spoke, he sat cross-legged on the ground, took out a yellow talisman from his bosom.

Meng Ji bit his finger, and with his blood, he wrote and drew on the talisman, eventually wrapping a strand of hair within, and swallowed it!

In an instant, Meng Ji's pupils rolled upward, leaving only the whites of his eyes visible!

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...

...

Chen Ji did not return to his room to rest. Instead, he quietly lit an oil residue lamp in the main hall of the medical hall and silently flipped through the "Medical Skills Summary."

Memorizing the six hundred and eighteen acupoints in the twelve main meridians of the human body was a hard task.

It felt as if he was back in the sweltering summer classroom, surrounded by stacks of papers and books, with the recitation of lessons ringing in his ears. Memories of studying were often the most profound in one's youth, accompanied by the thundering noise of the sun's rise and fall.

At that moment, Chen Ji wished he had a "Five Years of Traditional Medicine, Three Years of Simulations" in front of him.

As he studied, he suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness envelop him, as if the mild season wrapped his body in warm seawater, carrying him off into the depths of the ocean.

Chen Ji became alert. Since igniting four stoves inside his body, he had always been full of energy; this sudden drowsiness made no sense.

Yet, no matter how alert he stayed, his eyelids slowly closed.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ji opened his eyes in a dream. He found himself standing in front of the vermillion-painted gates of Zhou Chengyi's residence.

Eh, what was he supposed to be doing?

Chen Ji looked at the medicine package wrapped in yellow jute paper labeled "Taiping Medical Hall," then raised his head to see the signboard "Zhou Mansion."

Right, he was here to deliver restorative medicine to Lord Zhou.

Dong dong dong, Chen Ji picked up the copper ring and knocked on the door. Everything felt so natural, he had forgotten this was a dream.

Creak, the vermillion gate opened, and Housekeeper Wang stood smiling inside: "Dr. Chen has arrived? Please come in."

"Where is Lord Zhou?" He has the herbs he requested," said Chen Ji, following Housekeeper Wang inside as the door slowly closed behind them.

Chen Ji surveyed his surroundings; maids were cleaning the mahogany furniture in the main house while a woman in the courtyard, smiling sweetly, held a little girl, and a little boy kicked a shuttlecock nearby.

Housekeeper Wang led him into the main house, and while Chen Ji found the place unfamiliar yet oddly familiar, he couldn't recall where he might have seen it.

At that moment, Zhou Chengyi was sitting behind a desk, transcribing a book with a brush. Seeing Chen Ji, he dismissed the housekeeper and maids.

Chen Ji placed the medicine on the table: "Lord Zhou, here is your medicine."

Zhou Chengyi looked up, then abruptly asked, "Has Prince Jing sent any new messages for me?"

Chen Ji paused: "Lord Zhou, what are you talking about?"

Zhou Chengyi's voice became increasingly grim: "Have you forgotten? You and I are spies from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department, assigned to the south. I'm in charge of connecting with the Liu Family, and you are to connect with Prince Jing! Let me ask you again, is there any new news from Prince Jing?"

Chen Ji frowned and didn't answer, his mind rapidly sorting through thoughts.

But he heard Zhou Chengyi repeatedly asking: "Have you forgotten your identity?"

"Have you forgotten how the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department trained you?"

Zhou Chengyi's voice grew louder and more penetrating: "Have you forgotten that you are a spy?"

This series of pressing questions felt like devilish echoes that gave Chen Ji a pounding headache. He felt his consciousness being manipulated as his eyes uncontrollably rolled back.

The next moment, only the whites of his eyes were visible in Chen Ji's eyes as he responded: "Lord Zhou, could there be some misunderstanding? I am not a spy!"

Zhou Chengyi let out a satisfied smile, having gotten the answer he needed, ready to make a deal with Yun Yang.

However, his curiosity arose: "How do you know Yun Yang?"

As the words fell, Chen Ji felt the four stoves inside his Dantian ignite, burning away all the evil spirits inside his body!

Unaware of anything, Zhou Chengyi stood up, leaning on the table, leaning forward: "Why would Yun Yang suspect you are a spy from Jing Dynasty, and what is special about you that he did not simply kill you?"

この最後の質問は周成义の本来の声ではなく,尖った声に変わっていた.

At that moment, Chen Ji's pupils flipped back, and he turned to walk outside!

"Zhou Chengyi" stared, astonished, as Chen Ji turned and walked away, ignoring everything, and pulled open the large vermillion gate harshly.

"Zhou Chengyi" saw Yun Yang and Jiao Tu standing outside the gate with amused smiles when the gate opened wide. He exclaimed, "Huh? Yun Yang, Jiao Tu, how could you enter my dream?"

Wait!

Something's not right!

"Zhou Chengyi" realized that Yun Yang and Jiao Tu couldn't possibly invade his dreams, and he had never conjured them in this dream...

The Yun Yang and Jiao Tu he saw were created by Chen Ji, the young apprentice, in his dream!

The dream was no longer fully under his control!

But then, Chen Ji, after a moment of thought, pointed at "Zhou Chengyi" and told Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, "Lord Yun Yang, Lord Jiao Tu, Zhou Chengyi is undoubtedly a spy from Jing Dynasty!"

Yun Yang, intrigued, asked, "Any evidence?"

Chen Ji confidently responded: "Does the Spy Department need evidence to capture a spy? Just tie him up, and that's that!"

"Zhou Chengyi" watched as Yun Yang and Jiao Tu pounced, then yelled out in a roar, "Wait… Ah!"

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