Aoyama

Chapter 458 White Dragon
It was already evening when the group left Chongli Pass.

As the sun sets in the distance, the earth and distant mountains take on a deep, rich blue hue beyond its outline.

Bonfires were lit in front of the tents in the military market, and before it was completely dark, some soldiers on rest were already drunk.

Chen Ji and Zhang Xia walked side by side in front, while Xiao Man and the little monk followed behind, whispering to each other.

Xiaoman stared at Chen Ji and Zhang Xia holding hands and whispered to the little monk, "Tell me secretly what the young master was thinking just now."

The young monk quickly said, "This humble monk cannot say."

Xiaoman persisted, "Then tell me, what was Sister Xia thinking just now?"

The young monk still refused, saying, "I can't say that either."

Xiaoman rolled her eyes: "Then I'll guess myself. You don't need to say anything, just tell me if I guessed right or wrong, is that alright?"

The young monk put his hands together and said patiently, "Benefactor Xiaoman, being able to see through other people's thoughts is not necessarily a good thing. What you think and what you do are not necessarily the same. Don't always try to figure out what other people are thinking."

The military market was bustling with people around the bonfire, and shouts rose and fell. Xiaoman kicked at a pebble on the road and said unhappily, "Acting like a saint, aren't you curious about what other people are thinking?"

The little monk shook his head: "Not curious."

Xiaoman sneered, covered her eyes, and turned to ask, "Young Master wanted to go to Goryeo with Mr. Wang. The trip was dangerous, and he might not be able to return. So he wrote three letters, one of which was to Sister Xia. But he didn't make it and burned the letter when he came back. I read what was written in the letter. Do you want to know?"

The young monk casually replied, "Amitabha, I have seen it in your eyes."

Xiaoman glared at him: "You don't share other people's thoughts with me, and you always slack off when I urge you to memorize the scriptures and practice. What use are you!"

The young monk argued, “My master said that to cultivate Buddhism, one must first cultivate the mind. If one has not overcome the mental tribulations, even if one recites the scriptures ten thousand times, one is still just one of the masses. Only by overcoming the mental tribulations can one’s original mind be purified and realize the absence of self through the existence of self. If one strives to cultivate, one will only develop a mind of gain and loss and fall into a lower realm.”

Xiaoman pinched his waist hard: "Did your master predict that you would face this calamity with me?"

The little monk grinned and said, "Who could have predicted that!"

At this moment, Chen Ji saw Xiaoman bullying the little monk and turned around to look at him: "I entrusted you to Zhang Li before, and you were staying in the City God Temple just fine. Why did you take it upon yourself to come to Chongli Pass to join in the fun?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ji noticed that Zhang Xia's hand tightened slightly.

He subtly observed Zhang Xia, but Zhang Xia showed no unusual expression. If they hadn't been holding hands, he wouldn't have noticed that Zhang Xia had been nervous for a moment.

But Xiaoman said unhappily, "Why is the young master blaming me? I didn't make the decision on my own. It was Sister Xia who brought us to Chongli Pass."

Chen Ji's heart stirred.

Zhang Xia had previously said that Xiaoman was coming, but now Xiaoman's story doesn't match up at all.

Chen Ji turned to look at Zhang Xia, who calmly withdrew her hand: "What's wrong?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "It's nothing... By the way, how did you end up with Master Hu's caravan?"

Zhang Xia said casually, "It was Xiaoman who arranged this. At that time, my mother sent servants from the Zhang family to look for me, and even mobilized the Five Cities Garrison. I said I had to find a way to sneak out of the capital, and Xiaoman found Deng Huo."

Xiaoman nodded and said, "That's right. I went to look for lamps and unexpectedly met that Master Hu. I didn't have enough lamp coins, but Master Hu recognized me and said that he felt an instant connection with you, so he didn't take my lamp coins and brought us here."

Chen Ji was skeptical.

Xiaoman's explanation makes sense; it's simply that Zhang Xia concealed the truth about who advocated coming to Chongli Pass, which is also reasonable.

But he had a vague feeling that something was wrong... There were just too many strange things happening to Zhang Xia lately.

Zhang Xia casually looked him over: "Why are you suddenly asking about these things?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "I'm just curious. Let's go, I saw Master Hong go into a tent, let's go take a look."

Outside the tent where Grandpa Hong had crawled into, a huge bonfire was burning. Two sheep were roasting over the fire, their skins charred golden brown, and their aroma wafted far and wide.

Chen Ji arrived at the tent and saw Ah Sheng carrying out several trays to hand them over: "This tent is the best tavern in the military market, and the whole roasted lamb is a specialty of Chongli Pass. Please don't be shy, Master Hong has already paid the money."

After saying this, he knelt down by the campfire, beckoned the waiter to cut off a leg of lamb, and then he cut off pieces of meat and placed them on a tray.

Xiaoman's eyes sparkled: "It doesn't matter how much I eat?"

Ah Sheng smiled brightly: "Of course it's okay, Sister Xiaoman can eat as much as she wants."

However, at that moment, Chen Ji spotted two familiar figures in the crowd at the military market.

The two, dressed in black and wearing black boots, were gathered around another campfire. The man had a gloomy expression, while the woman was holding a wine jar and drinking heartily with the soldier.

Cloud sheep.

The bright rabbit.

The Emperor Ning's secret decree had previously mentioned that the twelve zodiac animals would come to provide support, and now they had finally arrived. However, these two did not seek him out after their arrival; instead, they hid in the crowd, their intentions unknown.

Moreover, it might not be enough for just these two to provide support.

An official may have the vision, but not necessarily the intellect.

While he was pondering, Zhang Xia stood up and said, "I'm going to the Vermilion Bird tent to change into something more understated. This archery outfit is too conspicuous."

Chen Ji hummed in agreement. He watched Zhang Xia leave, but when he turned around, he was shocked to find that Yun Yang and Jiao Tu had disappeared from the campfire in the distance.

Chen Ji felt a chill run down his spine.

and many more.

People are always like this: when they have no suspicions, they don't think too much, but when they have suspicions, they will follow the clues one by one to verify them.

Zhang Xia and the person he had always suspected never seemed to appear at the same time.

White Dragon.

Chen Ji closed his eyes and recalled that Mr. Feng had said that if he could only trust one person in the Directorate of Ceremonial from now on, it would definitely be him.

This statement implies that Bailong must have an inextricable connection with him.

Who could it be? Chen Ji had guessed everyone around him, and even some people he had never met.

He originally thought that Bai Long must be a man, given his physique, but later learned that the mask could conceal his form and voice, so Bai Long might not be a man.

Since Zhang Xia returned to the capital, she has often disappeared. She was not seen at the Qi Family Literary Gathering. It is said that she went to see the Four Dreams of Bianliang with her close friends. She was not seen at the Silkworm Goddess Festival. It seems that she was at home learning needlework.

After that, the original copy of the ancient book that records the Five Witches' army should be in Jiefan Tower. Half of the copy copied by the Corpse Dog may be in the Canal Gang, and the other half is in the hands of Deng Huo.

How did Zhang Xia learn about the Five Witches' army?
Finally, Zhang Xia lied and claimed that Zhang Zhuo had discovered that Wu Yun had entered the palace and sent her to deliver the little black cat, but Zhang Zhuo vehemently denied it.

On the day the Goryeo envoy entered the palace, only the officials in the Forbidden City could see the dark clouds. How could Zhang Xia know that the dark clouds were in the palace?
No, not just the high-ranking officials, but also the secret intelligence bureau and the anti-trouble guards.

Unfortunately, the new White Dragon was also well-versed in the laws of Da Ning and seemed to have a photographic memory.

After thinking it over, Chen Ji whispered to Xiao Man, "You and the little monk fill your stomachs first, I'll be right back."

Xiaoman ordered a whole leg of lamb, her mouth glistening with oil as she ate: "Young master, please go ahead."

Chen Ji got up and headed towards the Vermilion Bird tent, his gaze passing through the throng of people and fixed on Zhang Xia's back.

After Zhang Xia entered the Vermilion Bird Tent, Chen Ji did not approach rashly. He saw Zhang Xia take his clothes out of the Vermilion Bird Tent and then enter a small tent.

Chen Ji stopped where he was, looking elsewhere for Jiao Tu's figure, wondering if Jiao Tu would also crawl into that tent.

However, Jiao Tu's voice rang out behind him: "Lord Chen, how have you been?"

Chen Ji suddenly turned around, and Yun Yang and Jiao Tu were standing not far behind him, walking silently. No wonder they were the two zodiac signs most skilled in assassination.

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching: "Who sent you two? What brings you here?"

With a slightly flushed face, Jiao Tu crossed her arms and teased, "Naturally, I am here to support you, Lord Chen, on the orders of Lord Bailong."

Chen Ji took a step back behind a tent to avoid being seen talking to Jiao Tu at the same time, and then asked calmly, "Where is Lord White Dragon?"

Yun Yang said expressionlessly, "Lord Bailong is still behind us. We two are here to scout ahead for Lord Bailong."

Chen Ji pondered, wondering if, given Bai Long's modus operandi, he might have already reached Chongli Pass but no one recognized him.

Jiao Tu smiled and asked, "Thanks to your kindness last time, we made a contribution in Changping. Lord Bai Long was so pleased that he promoted us both to the rank of Hai Dong Qing. We are only one step away from returning to the Twelve Zodiacs. If things go smoothly this time, I will invite you, Lord Chen, for a drink when I return to the capital."

Chen Ji glanced at Yun Yang: "You two have helped me a lot, so it's only right that I help you two in return."

Jiao Tu said solemnly, "I also have some news to tell you, sir. On the night of the Qionglin Banquet, the Grand Chancellor sent an imperial edict to Wunian Mountain, apparently to summon twenty-four new recruits to the capital. They may have already arrived in the capital. These new recruits have just come from Wunian Mountain and haven't seen the world yet. They are at their most bloodthirsty. How frightening!"

Yun Yang said casually, "Back in Wunian Mountain, we were always thinking about becoming a zodiac animal and never going back to that godforsaken place. I imagine these newcomers have the same idea."

Chen Ji fell into deep thought.

Jiao Tu smiled and said, "Lord Chen, are you thinking about how to use them to kill me and Yun Yang?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "How could that be? We are colleagues, so we should help each other out."

Jiao Tu said with great interest, "But the most dangerous one right now isn't the two of us, but you, my lord! You've accomplished several great things. Although the Inner Minister hasn't said it explicitly, this is the first time we've seen him command the twelve zodiac animals in conjunction with the gyrfalcon. You are the one with the best chance of becoming a zodiac animal. Tell me, who do you think those wolf cubs who just came out of Wunian Mountain will target first?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "So you two are here to kindly remind me? I haven't even seen the Grand Chancellor since I came to the capital."

The Jade Rabbit laughed heartily: "No rush, no rush. The Inner Minister is currently keeping a low profile and avoiding you is the best way to protect you. When we finally meet, we might just become the Zodiac animal."

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought: "Why are you two telling me all this?"

The Jade Rabbit said solemnly, "Lord Chen, we two must return to the Zodiac in this mission, otherwise we might really become expendable pawns. Please. In the days we've spent together, although we've had our disagreements, we've also supported each other. The Cloud Sheep and I are convinced, and even if we return to our Zodiac positions, we are willing to serve you faithfully. What do you think, Lord Chen? Having two Zodiac subordinates must be quite a good experience."

Chen Ji pondered for a long time: "There is indeed something I need to entrust to the two of you..."

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of Zhang Xia, who had changed into a gray outfit, emerging from the tent. He quickly whispered a few words to Jiao Tu, signaling her to leave.

He watched the bright rabbit and the cloud sheep leave, and then Zhang Xia's voice rang in his ears: "What are you doing here?"

Chen Ji turned around and smiled, "The military market is a mixed bag, I'm here to help you guard the gate."

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you."

(End of this chapter)