Aoyama

Chapter 451 Survival
"How far is it?"

"It's not far, just over that hill in front of us."

Chen Ji looked at A Sheng expressionlessly: "This is the fourth time you've said that we'll get there after we cross that mountain."

The mountains of Malaysia are vast, with pine, birch and poplar trees dominating the landscape. The mountain paths are rugged and difficult to traverse, and one often has to wade through rivers. Fortunately, the rivers are not deep, with the deepest only reaching waist-deep.

Every time Chen Ji asked, A Sheng would say it wasn't far, just over the mountain. But after crossing three mountains, they still hadn't seen a trace of Willow Gully.

They set off at dawn and walked until the sun was setting.

Chen Ji looked down at his straw sandals; the rough straps were about to break, and they might not last until the return journey. If it weren't for his mountain-guarding skills, his ankles would probably be blistered and his feet would be covered in blisters.

Ah Sheng finally felt a little embarrassed and cautiously looked Chen Ji up and down: "I was just afraid you wouldn't want to go. Young master, Uncle Baizi and Xingxing are in grave danger. No one but us can save them. I also brought a pair of straw sandals for you to wear."

“No need, my straw sandals are still intact,” Chen Ji said as he walked past him. “Just make sure it’s the last mountain. If we haven’t seen Willow Gully by the time we get over it, I’ll turn around and leave.”

Ah Sheng hurriedly followed behind: "Then I'll leave the straw sandals for you. Don't worry, we're almost at Willow Gully."

As the two traveled, Ah Sheng's straw sandals broke halfway through the journey, so he simply threw them aside and walked barefoot. The young man walked barefoot on the mountain path, not even flinching when he stepped on pebbles.

He carried the straw sandals he had promised to keep for Chen Ji on his back and never changed into them for himself.

Chen Ji glanced at him sideways: "What level of official are you?"

Ah Sheng replied, "Seventh level of the Day after tomorrow. I started cultivating three years ago. Master Hong said I was born to be this kind of person, and I could reach the Innate Realm before I was eighteen. Sometimes after he drank, he would say sorry to me for not being able to find me a path with fewer fellow cultivators, otherwise I would definitely have been able to cultivate to the Seeking Dao Realm... Young Master, you are an Innate Realm cultivator, right? How long did it take you to cultivate to the Innate Realm?"

Chen Ji paused for a moment: "Eight years."

Ah Sheng quickly replied, "Then you are very capable too."

As he passed a tree, he casually picked two bunches of red fruit and handed them to Chen Ji: "Young master, have some to quench your thirst. This thing is called 'wine cake woman.' When Hong Ye and I go back empty-handed, we take some of this with us. We can use it to brew wine. It's also sweet and sour and can quench your thirst."

Chen Ji turned around and looked at A Sheng, who was barefoot and eating fruit: "How old were you when you started following Master Hong out of seclusion?"

Ah Sheng replied, "When I was nine years old, Master Hong was going to Baidadan City. Bringing a child would make the Jing people lower their guard more easily, so he took me with him. After that, he would take me with him every time he went out of the pass."

Chen Ji remained calm: "You still dare to go to the cities of Jing Dynasty?"

Ah Sheng replied matter-of-factly, "I've been to all the night watchmen."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "What were you doing in Baidadan City that time?"

Ah Sheng recalled, "Master Hong heard from a merchant passing through Chongli Pass that a nobleman of the Jing Dynasty wanted a hundred bolts of Yun brocade before the Lantern Festival, and also commissioned a craftsman in the capital to make a palm-sized pure gold peach to be sent to Baidadan City. He guessed that the city lord's father was going to celebrate his birthday and would definitely host a banquet. Then Master Hong and Uncle Baizi decided to poison the banquet, killing dozens of guests..."

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow. Hong Zuer dared to bring a nine-year-old child along to do something like this?

Just then, a rustling sound came from afar.

Chen Ji and Ah Sheng simultaneously slipped behind a tree, one on each side, and then quietly peeked out together.

Should we capture the enemy alive, or should we have them captured at night?

Or perhaps Zhang Baishi and Xu Xingxing were chased here?

The next moment, a hunter clad in leather armor darted through the forest, running towards Chen Ji and A Sheng. He glanced back every now and then, his expression hurried.

The hunter was covered in blood and limped as he ran, clearly indicating that he was seriously injured.

With a whoosh, an arrow shot from behind him.

As Zhuo Sheng tilted his head, an arrow grazed his ear and landed with a thud in the tree where Chen Ji was hiding, still trembling on its own.

Chen Ji withdrew his head and pondered to himself, "Is someone chasing Jing Chao to capture his general alive? Could it be the night scouts of the three Imperial Guards?"

A few more bowstring twanged outside. He peeked out again and saw, in the dim sunset, the fleeing hunter pinned to the ground by three feathered arrows.

Chen Ji and A Sheng exchanged a glance, both recognizing that the feathered arrows were not standard Ning Dynasty arrows, and did not rush out.

A few breaths later, five hunters emerged from the forest and approached the body of the hunter. Four of them stood guard with bows, while one stripped the leather armor and tokens off the body.

Chen Ji's pupils contracted slightly; the capture of the living was about to turn into infighting.

why?
The hunters stripped the corpse naked, and one of them retrieved the arrows, wiped them clean, and put them back in his quiver. Each arrow cost more than seventy coins, equivalent to a carpenter's daily wage; they recycled whatever they could.

Chen Ji hid behind a tree, holding his breath as he listened to the hunter approach step by step.

Three sword-shaped artifacts emerged from the markings and were hidden in the sleeve.

Once his whereabouts are discovered, he will inevitably face a life-or-death battle with the five hunters. He might survive, but Ah Sheng will certainly die.

He turned to look at Ah Sheng, who gripped the knife hilt tightly, not daring to breathe. Ah Sheng knew very well that she couldn't afford to make a mistake now. A mistake would mean death.

The footsteps finally stopped behind the tree. Zhuo Sheng pulled the arrows from the tree and retreated step by step back to his colleague, facing the forest: "Let's go."

The five of them headed north together, their figures disappearing into the shadows of the mountains and forests.

The sun has set.

…… ……

Ah Sheng was panting heavily, sweat dripping down her hair and soaking the back of her clothes.

After waiting for a full two incense sticks to burn, a flock of birds was startled from the treetops in the distance. Only then did Chen Ji emerge from behind the tree and walk towards the corpse: "Have the 'Life-Catching Generals' ever fought amongst themselves before?"

Ah Sheng followed behind him: "No. I've been following Master Hong for so long, and I've never seen the hunters fight amongst themselves."

Chen Ji squatted beside the corpse. Zhuo Shengjiang's face had been skinned, as if the perpetrator was afraid that the victim would be recognized.

Chen Ji pried open the other person's mouth: "Over thirty-five years old, you're an old soldier."

Ah Sheng blinked: "Young master, you can tell someone's age from their teeth?"

Chen Ji casually explained, "Around the age of twenty, the tips and edges of teeth will show slight wear. By the age of thirty, the tips of the teeth will be worn down, revealing one or two points of enamel wear. After the age of thirty-five, three or four wear points will merge into a patch... However, this can only be a rough judgment, not a precise one."

Ah Sheng secretly made a mental note of it.

Chen Ji frowned and muttered to himself, "Under what circumstances would capturing animals lead to infighting?"

Ah Sheng said from the side, "The hunters are very cooperative. They would never kill each other unless something serious happened. Moreover, the injuries on this hunter's body came from his back, which clearly means he was ambushed by someone he trusted very much."

Chen Ji suddenly remembered the infighting between the two factions of spies in the Military Intelligence Bureau... So, after Yuan Cheng was captured alive, did the purge within the Jing Dynasty also begin?
Was it because some wanted to intercept the envoy for Lu Jin, while others wanted to exchange Yuan City for him, that a huge disagreement and struggle arose? The capture of the general might be a microcosm of the Jing Dynasty court.

Chen Ji looked up to the north: "These hunters came from Willow Gully. If Uncle Baizi and Xingxing were really in that direction, they definitely wouldn't have survived."

Ah Sheng's face darkened.

Chen Ji turned to look at him: "Are you still going?"

After thinking for a long time, Ah Sheng said, "You should go back first. I'll go collect Uncle Baizi's and Xingxing's bodies. People say that fallen leaves return to their roots. I can't watch them being carried away by wolves in the wilderness. They won't be able to reincarnate."

People in this era believed in these things, and even old records gradually began to be believed in them.

He thought for a moment and said, "I'll go with you."

Ah Sheng was taken aback upon hearing this: "Really?"

After saying that, he knelt down and kowtowed three times to Chen Ji: "Young Master Chen, your kindness and virtue are unforgettable. In the future, if you need anything, I will be at your beck and call."

Chen Ji shook his head: "There's no need for that. I just need you to guide me on something later, and I can't let you die here."

Just as the two got up to head towards Liutiaogou, footsteps suddenly came from the forest again.

Chen Ji pulled Ah Sheng back quickly, retreating back behind the big tree where they had been hiding.

The footsteps were few, slow, and somewhat weary.

Chen Ji and A Sheng dared not peek out, but then they heard the newcomer suddenly say, "When you get back, you are not allowed to mention today's events to anyone. If anyone asks, let them come and ask me. Do you understand?"

Someone responded, "Understood, Master."

Ah Sheng was startled and couldn't help but exhale.

The newcomer was extremely alert: "Who is it?"

Ah Sheng and Chen Ji exchanged a glance. Ah Sheng took a deep breath and went out: "Xingxing, Uncle Baizi? Are you alright? I thought you had all died in Liutiaogou! Master Hong was so worried last night that he came out of the pass at night to look for you, but he accidentally fell into the ambush of the capture general."

Chen Ji narrowed his eyes slightly.

The newcomers were none other than Zhang Baishi and Xu Xingxing? No wonder Asheng lost her composure upon hearing their voices.

He didn't rush out. These two men came from Willow Gully in the north, which was the direction the five hunters had gone. If they were alive, it could only mean one thing... that they had betrayed him.

Chen Ji peeked out from behind a tree, quietly observing whether Zhang Baishi and Xu Xingxing would make a move against Asheng.

Zhang Baishi was a middle-aged man, with graying temples like Hong Zuer, both looking weathered and worn.

Xu Xingxing is about the same age as Asheng, but she is a little more dull than Asheng.

The two men did not attack Ah Sheng, but were somewhat surprised to find her there.

Zhang Bai hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Ah Sheng, what are you doing here? Did you encounter any danger?"

Ah Sheng replied, "I just witnessed a fight among the hunters. They had just left when I came out to investigate and heard your footsteps..."

Zhang Baishi frowned: "Hong Zu'er wouldn't let you come to see me alone. Who else came with you?"

Ah Sheng didn't approach too closely rashly, nor did she reveal Chen Ji's background: "There's no one here, just me. Master Hong was wounded by an arrow, and the arrow was poisoned. I asked Brother Zhang Tonggou to send him back, and that's why I came to find you alone."

Zhang Baishi ignored Asheng and instead looked up at the tree where Chen Ji was hiding and said wearily, "Come out, friend, we're on the same side."

Chen Ji knew he was being tricked.

But after a moment's hesitation, he stepped out from behind the tree, slowly walked into the moonlight, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Zhang."

(End of this chapter)