Aoyama

Chapter 415 Returning Carnage

Inside the main room, Liao Zhong was taking a short rest, half-sitting and half-leaning against the corner of the wall by the kang (a heated brick bed), carefully hiding his entire back against the wall.

He is too tired.

From the spring hunt until now, he has been seriously injured, working tirelessly without sleep, and has not dared to close his eyes for a single moment.

Even while sleeping, he still held Ping'er's wrist tightly in his hand, and Ping'er, after eating the sorghum candy from his sleeve, fell into a deep sleep without crying or making a fuss.

Outside the house, the woman's tears flowed uncontrollably, yet she dared not make a sound.

She grabbed the man's arm, her eyes pleading, and mouthed silently: Save Ping'er.

The man slowly shook his head.

Liao Zhong is a Dao Seeking Realm official. Even if he is seriously injured, how could they possibly handle him? Moreover, Ping'er is right next to Liao Zhong. If he is not careful, Ping'er will lose her life.

Suddenly, a muffled groan of pain came from the main room, as if Liao Zhong had touched his wound in his sleep.

The man seemed to be deep in thought. He took a packet of medicine powder from the side room and whispered to the woman, "I'll go treat his injuries. We're all in this together now. The sooner he recovers, the sooner he can leave."

As if struck by a thought, the woman pulled a small bottle from her sleeve and said in a very low voice, "Mix this in."

The man shook his head: "He'll use Ping'er as a test subject for the medicine."

The woman said resolutely, "Then I'll cut open my own arm to test the medicine. The effects will take two hours to take hold. I'll die with him then, as long as you and Ping'er can survive..."

The man sighed, "It's impossible."

He took a deep breath, strode into the main room, and said respectfully, "My lord, I have wound medicine issued by the Secret Service here, including dragon tooth grass, white cogon grass root, and so on..."

Liao Zhong slowly opened his eyes from his sleep.

He was found huddled in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), his hair soaked with sweat, looking extremely weak.

He ignored the medicine in the man's hand and continued, "Lord Li, I dreamt that I returned to sixteen years ago, to the day I first met the Crown Prince. It was the eighth day of the second month of the sixteenth year of Jianing, and it was still chilly in early spring. The Crown Prince seemed to be only twelve years old that year?"

"I was the second-ranked scholar personally selected by the late Emperor in the Jianji Hall. However, because my father talked about politics while drunk, all the men in my family were castrated and exiled to Lingnan, and the women were sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution). On the way to Lingnan, some members of the Liao family died from exhaustion, and others from starvation. When we arrived in Lingnan, only I was left. It was not until the sixteenth year of the Jianning era that I was granted a general amnesty and allowed to return to the capital. When I left, I was a handsome young man, and when I returned, my temples were already gray."

"On the day I arrived in the capital, the maid led me through a long corridor and I saw the Crown Prince wearing a black fox fur cloak, as if he had come from a painting. As soon as the Crown Prince saw me, he took off his cloak and draped it over my shoulders, and then ordered his men to whip my back fifty times with thorny branches until my skin was torn and bleeding before they stopped."

“I was puzzled, but the Crown Prince asked me, ‘Can you atone for the late Emperor’s sins? If you ascend the throne one day, can you clear the name of the Liao family?’ I knelt at the Crown Prince’s feet, tears streaming down my face. The Crown Prince then asked me what my wish was. I said, ‘Please, Your Highness, kill all the women from my Liao family who work in the brothel, so that my Liao family will no longer be disgraced.’”

Liao Zhong spoke in a daze, rambling on and on, but the man holding the medicine packet felt a chill run down his spine.

Liao Zhong's lips were pale, but his gaze was still like that of a jackal as he looked at the medicine packet in the man's hand: "I say this to remind Lord Li that if you and your wife have any other intentions, I will not hesitate to kill a child. Take out this medicine, and no matter what's inside, I will use Ping'er to test it."

As he spoke, he flicked his left hand, and a dagger fell from his sleeve into his hand, which he was about to use to slash Ping'er's arm.

"Wait a minute, sir," the man hurriedly cut a gash in his arm with a kitchen knife, letting the blood gush out.

He spoke frankly and openly: "My lord, there is no problem with this medicine. I am willing to test it on myself. If you do not believe me, you can observe for a day and a night before using it. I have no other intentions but to ask that you go to Datong as soon as possible after you recover from your serious injuries and give my family of three a way to survive."

The man untied the medicine packet and poured the powder onto the wound.

Then he knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.

Liao Zhong looked at the man kneeling before him, unmoved: "I have never trusted anyone in my life. I didn't trust you yesterday, I won't trust you today, and I certainly won't trust you tomorrow. The fact that I dared to use the child to manipulate you two shows how much you care about the child. Therefore, I have never dared to underestimate your determination to save your child."

He stared at the man with a sinister look: "I am an officer of the Seeking Dao Realm. Even without medicine, this injury will heal sooner or later, it will just hurt for a while longer. Get out of here. Do not come in again without my summons, or I will gouge out Ping'er's eyes. Don't worry, I am only staying here for a while. I will leave once the Jie Fan Guard and the Secret Service have dispersed."

At this moment, Ping'er slowly woke up, and Liao Zhong asked with a smile, "Ping'er, how about Uncle carves you a pair of wooden eyes?"

……

……

On the banks of the Yongding River, Chen Ji and the Lu family stand side by side.

Chen Ji looked at the slowly flowing river: "If Su Zhou is smart enough, she will realize that we haven't actually gone far, otherwise the small boat wouldn't have drifted so far downstream... She might even chase after us."

Mrs. Lu said calmly, "Don't worry, she's not that smart."

In the thick fog at midnight, the moment Lu promised to help Chen Ji capture Liao Zhong, the small boat quietly changed direction and returned to the mine tunnel they had come from.

Chen Ji looked at Madam Lu: "Why did we come back?"

Standing on the shore, Lu explained, "I originally intended to lure you to Datong. It's a place where we can attack or defend, and if things don't go well, we can leave Ningchao at any time. But now that I've agreed to capture Liao Zhong, I have to go back to Changping to capture him... because Liao Zhong must still be in Changping County."

Chen Ji was somewhat surprised: "Why?"

There was a hint of arrogance in Lu's words: "Not everyone has the ability to leave Changping County at this time. I bet Liao Zhong can't leave."

The traces of the past suddenly became clear.

Lu continued to speculate: "Liao Zhong is a treacherous and ruthless man, extremely good at hiding his true intentions. I guess he will stay in Changping County until things calm down before leaving, but you can't wait that long. The Secret Service and the Anti-Fan Guard have already been lured away, so we will arrest him in Changping."

South of the Yongding River, the midday sun is intense.

Chen Ji recalled the events of the previous day. Aunt Ping had first strolled leisurely through the capital's granary, and then calmly escaped from the encirclement, leaving herself with a backup plan at every step. He decided to trust Aunt Ping.

but……

Chen Ji turned to look at the mine tunnel: "Aunt Ping, how do we get back to Changping County?"

Lu also turned to look at the mine tunnel, hesitating.

Chen Ji suddenly became certain that Aunt Ping had indeed changed her mind halfway through; otherwise, she wouldn't have erased all the markings in the mine tunnels...

After thinking for a moment, Madam Lu said, "This time, let's go back through the main gate."

Chen Ji frowned: "Go back through the main gate?"

Lu said firmly, "Go back through the main gate."

Sunset.

Chen Ji and Lu Shi walked side by side on the official road, both of them covering their mouths and noses with a piece of gray cloth as a scarf to shield themselves from the sandstorms of the northern spring.

In front of the city gate of Changping County.

Inside the city, merchants lined up to leave, while outside the city, only the two of them were walking into the city.

More than ten secret agents stood in the city gate, carefully checking the travel permits of all passersby and comparing them with the images of the arrest warrants. Only after confirming that everything was correct were they allowed to leave.

Chen Ji looked up and saw dozens of garrison soldiers from Changping County standing on the city gate tower, holding bows and crossbows.

As Lu approached the city gate, he remained calm and composed, while Chen Ji tensed up.

Madam Lu glanced at him and said, "Don't be nervous. Nobody expected you to dare come to Changping County."

Upon approaching, the spy glanced at the two men and said, "Travel permit."

As they spoke, six spies surrounded them, some silently reaching for the crossbows hanging at their waists, while others pressed their hands on the hilts of their knives.

This is completely different from what Lu said. Whether entering or leaving the city, the spies did not miss any opportunity.

All the spies had only one thing on their minds: to make a name for themselves.

From Sparrow level to Pigeon level, from Pigeon level to Gyrfalcon, from Gyrfalcon to the Twelve Zodiac Animals, only by becoming one of the Twelve Zodiac Animals can one obtain the path to the Dao Seeking Realm.

Chen Ji breathed slowly, balancing his body, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

If a fight really breaks out, first capture one person, then use the corpse to shield your head from the arrows, and flee north.

Just as he glanced sideways to observe the retreat route, Lu suddenly took out a gyrfalcon ivory token from his sleeve and held it up in front of the spy: "By order of Lord Bailong, I have come here to conduct a secret search."

Chen Ji was startled.

Hai Dongqing tooth pendant? He also has one, exactly the same as the one in Lu's possession.

The spy carefully examined the ivory tablet and saw that it was engraved with twelve characters: "Acting on behalf of Heaven to patrol and inspect, report major matters to the emperor for decision, and make immediate judgments on minor matters."

All six spies were taken aback: "How many strokes are there in the character 'Chang'? Answer them."

Lu casually replied, "There are no mountains under the sun."

This wasn't the end of it. Madam Lu countered, "How many layers are there in the rat hole? Give me your answer."

The spy hurriedly said, "The truth has come out... It really is Lord Hai Dongqing. Please forgive me, sir, Lord Bailong did not give any prior instructions, so I was unaware of your arrival. I apologize for the offense."

Madam Lu calmly replied, "It's alright. Have you found any trace of Chen Ji or Liao Zhong?"

Inside the city gate, the spies bowed their heads in shame: "Reporting to my lord, not yet."

Lu's tone was chilling: "Lord Bailong suspects that the wanted criminal is still in Changping County. If there is any news, report to the Lin residence in Daoyi Lane, Gongjifang immediately. Anyone who harbors him will have their entire family implicated."

The spies clasped their hands and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lu led Chen Ji swaggering into the city, brushing past the merchants queuing to leave. The merchants all avoided eye contact, not daring to meet the gaze of the 'big shot' from the Secret Service.

Chen Ji was still somewhat dazed at this point. Had he just walked in like that?

After they had walked a distance, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you come to have a gyrfalcon ivory token? Are you a spy for the Directorate of Ceremonial?"

Madam Lu took out the ivory plaque again: "This one? It's not difficult to carve one myself."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Then how do you know the password for the Secret Service?"

Madam Lu glanced at him but didn't reveal anything: "I have my own way."

Chen Ji pressed further, "What if we get exposed?"

Lu said casually, "Let's run. Bai Long isn't here; they can't stop me."

(End of this chapter)