Aoyama

Chapter 435 Finding a Needle in the Ocean
Li Changge.

This was originally a fictional name, which spread throughout the capital city along with a fictional story.

But the moment Chen Ji wrote the three characters "Li Changge" on the book cover, he seemed to form some kind of connection with that name. From that moment on, he was Li Changge, and Li Changge was him.

Chen Ji suddenly groaned and took a small step back, as if he had been severely injured without his knowledge.

Xiaoman quickly helped Chen Ji up, exclaiming in surprise, "There's something wrong with this book! You thieving Taoist priest, you've harmed my young master!"

Zhang Li said lazily, "How could it be a disaster? This is clearly a good thing. Don't worry, your young master will be fine in a little while."

Xiaoman asked with a hint of doubt, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Li patted the blank book in his palm: "This is the treasure of the Huangshan Taoist Temple, the blank book. Now that Li Changge is famous and has many followers, your young master has become one with him and received the power of the believers' wishes. Naturally, he will live a long life and be free from all diseases. You can think of it as building a shrine for your young master on the blank book. Many high-ranking officials and nobles want a shrine but cannot get one. This is an opportunity that is rare and hard to come by."

Xiaoman looked surprised: "A shrine for the living?"

Zhang Li chuckled: "If my words were to spread throughout the country, not only would they grant longevity, but they might even help your young master achieve sainthood through ancestral worship."

Chen Ji remained silent throughout.

He could hear faint sounds coming from all directions, from men and women, young and old.

The voice called out again and again, "Li Changge..."

“Li Changge…”

"Li Changge!"

The voices of the believers were deafening, a cacophony of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness that nearly overwhelmed his senses.

He suddenly felt as if he were in a trance, looking down from the sky at the backyard of the City God Temple. In the backyard, Zhang Li sat on the stone steps, supported by Xiao Man, while a young monk chanted sutras with his head bowed.

Chen Ji kept his eyes tightly closed, unable to move or open them.

Zhang Li glanced at the little monk: "The little monk's skills are not good enough, he can't pull him back, let me do it."

The next moment, she looked up at him, made the Three Platforms Seal with her hands, and chanted: "The Three Platforms gave me life, the Three Platforms nurtured me, the Three Platforms protected me, so be it!"

But then Zhang Li shouted in a solemn voice, "Come back!"

Everything is quiet!

Chen Ji fell from the sky and back into his body. He looked down and clenched his fist, feeling as if he had been reborn.

Xiaoman asked worriedly, "Young Master, are you alright?"

“It’s nothing,” he looked up at Zhang Li, “Daoist Master, what happened just now?”

Zhang Li smiled and said, "The incense offerings accumulated by believers in this wordless book were so great that they startled your soul for a moment, but you are fine now. Don't worry, although you can't feel any changes in your body, the benefits of building a shrine will become apparent sooner or later."

Zhang Li is wrong. Others may not be able to feel the changes in their bodies, but Chen Ji can.

The stagnant fire within him, which had remained unchanged for so long, flickered slightly. The crimson flames turned a pale yellow.

It didn't end there; it only slowly stopped when the fire in his stove changed from pale yellow to bright yellow.

Back in Luoyang, when the Daoist court wrote about his debate with Wuzhai to the storyteller, the furnace fire in his body slowly turned from pale red to deep red. Although there were changes afterward, they were slow.

Chen Ji knew that every time the color of the furnace fire changed, his healing speed would increase, which was a real benefit.

He cupped his hands to Zhang Li and said, "Xiaoman and Luozhui Saga will be left in the care of the Daoist."

“You’re the only one to entrust a monk to a Taoist priest for care,” Zhang Li said thoughtfully. “How about my Taoist temple helps you find someone with the surname Wang? You can then owe my Taoist temple a favor.”

Chen Ji turned and walked out: "Thank you for your kindness, Daoist, but there's no need to help me find the person. Daoist Court is shrewd and calculating; I'm afraid I'll be unable to repay the favor."

Zhang Li asked curiously, "The outer city is a melting pot of all sorts of people. Merchants and travelers from all over the country gather here. Finding someone is like finding a needle in a haystack..."

Chen Ji replied without turning his head, "It's alright, I have some connections in the outer city."

He walked out of the City God Temple, brushing past the devout men and women who were entering the temple.

He spotted Si Cao Gui's figure in the distance out of the corner of his eye, but pretended not to see anything and got into the carriage: "To Plum Blossom Ferry."

……

……

Baoji Alley.

In one household, Wang Gui lifted the lid of the rice jar, only to find it empty.

He cursed his bad luck and searched other corners of the kitchen, but found nothing.

Wang Gui returned to the room, lay on the bare bed, staring blankly, his eyes sunken from hunger.

Inside the main room was a large wooden box filled with gold, silver and valuables stolen from the Chen family, but now they dared not go out, unable to exchange them for a single grain of rice.

This house was where he secretly kept concubines in his early years. Later, when he was going to Luoyang with Chen Liqin, he sold the concubines back to the brothel.

A few days ago, he guessed that the second wife intended to kill him to silence him, so he immediately fled here.

Fortunately, the Chen family did not know that he had another house here. Fortunately, the second branch of the Chen family lost the support of the Five Cities Military Command and "Heji", and could no longer be as influential as before.

The second branch of the Chen family kept the Heji Martial Arts Company in the outer city, not for those businesses: whoever controlled the Martial Arts Company in the outer city controlled all sorts of people and thus had spies all over the city.

Wang Gui rolled off the bed and slowly opened the door a crack, peeking out... Yesterday there were still servants from the Chen family patrolling outside, but today they are gone.

He thought to himself, "Perhaps the court won't find anything out, so let's just give up."
Or perhaps the second branch of the Chen family has already confessed and accepted punishment?
Wang Gui paced back and forth in the courtyard, anxiously running around in circles.

Just then, footsteps came from Baoji Alley. They were the footsteps of a man, heavy and powerful.

His heart was in his throat. Could it be that the Chen family was still pursuing him?

In his panic, he heard a man knocking on the door of the next room: "Du Niang, open the door."

The door opened.

A woman's voice said languidly, "Why haven't you come for several days? Have you forgotten about me?"

The man explained in a low voice, "My wife at home is very controlling..."

Du Niang scoffed, "Looks like the women at home are still the most important." The man said impatiently, "Why are you talking about this? You have more than one man. Let me in first."

Du Niang blocked the doorway, stretching her hand out to the man: "Where's the money?"

The man pulled a string of copper coins from his pocket: "That's all."

Du Niang turned and walked into the house: "If you only bring this much next time, I won't let you get away with it."

Wang Gui listened intently against the courtyard wall for a while. The man and Du Niang started panting as soon as they entered the house, which made his eyes widen in disbelief.

Before half an incense stick had burned out, the man tied his clothes and walked out, saying, "I have something to do today, so I'll be leaving now."

The man pushed open the door and hurriedly left.

Du Niang spat in the courtyard, "Useless thing!"

Wang Gui's eyes darted around. This Du Niang was a prostitute, one of the least influential people in the capital. Even if she asked something, it shouldn't alarm the Chen family.

He went back into the house, rummaged through the box and found a gold hairpin, then squeezed through the crack in the door to Du Niang's door.

dong dong dong.

Du Niang's impatient voice rang out from the courtyard: "Why are you back again? Aren't you afraid of your wife... Who do you think you are?"

She looked at Wang Gui warily, and was about to close the courtyard gate again when she saw Wang Gui take out the gold hairpin and wave it in front of her.

Before Du Niang could react, Wang Gui squeezed into the room and closed the door.

He went straight to the kitchen, scooped a bowl of cold porridge from the pot, and gulped it down.

Du Niang leaned against the kitchen door frame, puzzled, and tugged at her clothes, revealing half of her shoulder: "Sir, what are you doing?"

Wang Gui drank another bowl of cold porridge before asking, "I have a few questions for you. Answer them well, and the hairpin is yours."

Du Niang's eyes lit up: "Please ask, sir."

Wang Gui asked, "Has anything major happened in the capital these past few days?"

"Something big?" Du Niang thought for a moment and replied, "Young Master Chen has returned from Xiangshan. Prince Fu is leading his horse at Andingmen."

Wang Gui was shocked. How could Chen Ji have returned alive?

He asked calmly, "And then?"

Du Niang leaned against the door frame and replied with a smile, "Later I heard that he entered the palace and was even granted a title by His Majesty. Today, the whole city is talking about his engagement to the Qi family, and many people have sneaked into the inner city to collect their rewards in front of the Chen family's gate on Fuyou Street."

Wang Gui pondered to himself.

The fact that there is a marriage means that the second branch of the Chen family is safe. Otherwise, given the charges of treason against the second branch of the Chen family, the Chen family would be too busy with funerals to have any time for a wedding.

It seems the Chen family has covered up the matter... but this capital city is still not safe. As long as he lives, Chen Lizhi will not be able to sleep soundly.

However, Chen Lizhi dared not make a fuss, nor could he openly arrest him.

Just as he was pondering, Du Niang leaned closer: "What else would you like to ask, sir?"

Wang Gui, feeling aroused, pushed Du Niang away and asked, "Has Yongding Gate been heavily guarded lately?"

Du Niang was getting impatient: "How would I know? What's wrong with you? You come here asking me all sorts of nonsense, and you even drank two bowls of my porridge. Do you even know where I am?"

Wang Gui's face darkened. He picked up a kitchen knife from the stove, broke the hairpin in two, and threw one half to Du Niang: "Go to Yongding Gate and tell me everything you see and hear, and I'll give you the other half too."

Du Niang bit the broken hairpin, saw the teeth marks on the gold, and smiled broadly: "Master is so generous."

She slowly moved closer: "Is this all you're going to do, Master?"

Wang Gui frowned and pushed her away: "Get out of my way, how dare you touch me?"

Du Niang raised an eyebrow, and suddenly reached her hand towards Wang Gui's crotch: "Sir, you're not impotent, are you...you really are impotent!"

Wang Gui was in pain from being grabbed, and he bent over, gasping for breath: "Bullshit!"

Du Niang leaned against the stove and sneered, "Did I say something wrong?"

Wang Gui flew into a rage: "Just you wait!"

He turned and went back to his own courtyard, rummaged through a box and took out a blue phoenix crown-shaped hair ornament, then returned to Du Niang's room: "Put it on!"

Du Niang's eyes widened: "Master, this is a headdress that only wealthy families can wear when they get married."

Wang Gui urged, "Stop talking so much nonsense, just put it on."

Du Niang went into the main room, put on her headdress in front of the mirror, and turned her head left and right to examine herself in the mirror.

Wang Gui shoved her right in front of the mirror.

Du Niang was about to turn back to look at Wang Gui, but Wang Gui turned his face away and said, "Don't look at me."

……

……

Half an hour later, Du Niang straightened her clothes and left the courtyard, leaving Wang Gui alone in the room, breathing quietly.

He got up and went to the kitchen, where he found two cornbread buns and a dish of pickled vegetables. He sat by the stove and ate quietly, pondering how to escape the capital.

Another incense stick's time passed, and then they heard Du Niang's voice from outside: "My lord, she's inside!"

Wang Gui was startled and got up to run, but as soon as he ran out of the kitchen, he saw Chen Ji squatting on the courtyard wall, smiling at him.

He ran towards the door, only to find the gang leader and his two thugs guarding the entrance, looking fierce and menacing.

Wang Gui retreated step by step back into the courtyard, and knelt on the ground with a thud: "Young master, spare my life!"

Chen Ji was somewhat puzzled: "You don't seem like a spy from the Military Intelligence Bureau. The Military Intelligence Bureau doesn't have a spy as incompetent as you... How did you become a spy for the Jing Dynasty?"

Wang Gui, with tears streaming down his face, said, "I am not a spy for the Jing Dynasty. Someone had previously asked me to buy information about you, asking me to record what you did and who you met. They offered me one hundred taels of silver each time! Later, that scoundrel from the Jing Dynasty said that if I accepted the money from the Jing Dynasty, I had to work for them, or he would report me to the Secret Service... I had no choice!"

Chen Ji was stunned.

From Los Angeles to Beijing, the Military Intelligence Bureau has been buying his information.
(End of this chapter)