Aoyama

The relief came too quickly, unusually quickly.

The gangster squinted and whispered to Chen Ji, "From the time we entered Wen Yuan Bookstore to when we came out, it wasn't even the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Why is the Jie Fan Guard here?"

Chen Ji stood still, looking at the Jie Fan guards who were charging at him from dozens of feet away: "This means that someone has been secretly guarding Lin Chaojing all along."

Today, Chen Ji was like playing chess against a seasoned veteran. He was skilled at controlling isolated groups and devouring large groups of enemies, but his opponent had calculated everything perfectly. Before Chen Ji even made a move, his opponent had already figured out what Chen Ji could and would do, and had prepared all his backup plans well in advance.

Originally, Chen Ji risked being punished to take Lin Chaojing to Meng Ji for a secret interrogation. As long as Meng Ji made a move, the truth would immediately come to light.

If Chen Ji guesses correctly, then everything will be fine. If he guesses wrong, then he will be exiled to Lingnan along with the Gelaohui (a secret society).

But Si Cao Ding did not give him that opportunity, nor did he intend to let him leave Liulichang.

Chen Ji turned to look at Lin Chaojing: "But the faster the Jie Fanwei arrives, the more it proves that we have arrested the right person."

Lin Chaojing, suspended in mid-air by a stick, showed no fear: "The man of Wuxiang County should think about how to save his life. Arresting a Hanlin Academy probationary official without any evidence, do you know what the consequences will be?"

At this moment, the Jie Fanwei were getting closer and closer, and even the sound of horses' hooves could be heard behind him. Chen Ji turned around and looked behind him. In the dark alley of Liulichang, the Jie Fanwei had already blocked his retreat.

The man scratched his head: "I'm not good at this kind of thing, what should I do?"

Chen Ji walked forward: "Enter Wenchang Bookstore."

They arrived at the Wenchang Bookstore before Jie Fanwei could arrive. Before Chen Ji could even knock, the door was already open.

Aunt Ping urged, "Come in, I'll hold them off."

Chen Ji led the gang into the Wenchang Bookstore, brushing past Aunt Ping: "Aunt Ping, be careful of Lin Chaoqing, this person is a Dao Seeking Realm official."

Aunt Ping stood in front of the door, no longer pretending to be the manager of Wenchang Bookstore, and straightened her back: "Don't worry."

Dozens of Jiefan Guards dismounted, and one of them said in a deep voice: "The magistrate of Wuxiang County colluded with Jingchao's spies and detained Lin Chaojing, a probationary scholar of the Hanlin Academy. Arrest him immediately and throw him into the imperial prison! If he resists, kill him without mercy!"

Chen Ji turned around upon hearing the sound.

Just then, Jie Fanwei drew his sword and charged into the Wenchang Bookstore, but Aunt Ping's back remained as firm as a pine tree, and she blocked all of Jie Fanwei's attacks with every move.

You Jie Fanwei shouted in a low voice: "Seeking the Dao Realm Officer!"

Chen Ji watched the shadowy figures moving outside the door. Xie Fanwei's face was hidden by a bamboo hat, and he couldn't tell whether Lin Chaoqing was inside or not.

He stopped looking at him and took Lin Chaojing from the stick, carrying him into the backyard: "Interrogate him."

Erdao asked, "How do we conduct the interrogation?"

The man thought for a moment and said, "Let's remove the fingernails first."

Erdao gave an "oh," pulled out a pair of iron pliers from behind his waist, and, pressing down on Lin Chaojing's wrist, pulled out his fingernails one by one.

Lin Chaojing was in excruciating pain but did not beg for mercy, letting sweat soak his clothes: "You've used torture on a Hanlin Academy probationary official without any evidence. Do you have a death wish?"

Erdao's hands moved swiftly, and he finished pulling out the left hand in just a few breaths.

Chen Ji squatted down in front of Lin Chaojing and asked in a deep voice, "Is Lin Chaoqing Si Cao Ding, nicknamed Long Whale?"

Lin Chaojing was drenched in sweat, but his voice remained firm: "I thought the magistrate of Wuxiang County had some clever tricks up his sleeve. He just wanted to torture me into confessing before the Jiefan Guard could break through this place. Don't worry, I will hold out to the end. If I can hold out for another two incense sticks, it will be your turn to die."

Chen Ji beckoned to Er Dao: "Keep pulling."

Erdao ripped out all of Lin Chaojing's fingernails, causing Lin Chaojing to tremble in pain. Erdao then removed Lin Chaojing's boots and ripped out her toenails as well.

This time, Lin Chaojing finally couldn't help but let out a wail.

Chen Ji stared at Lin Chaojing and continued, "The Imperial Palace Supervisor is not a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau. He was only forced to work for the Military Intelligence Bureau by your brother Lin Chaoqing after he was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison. Is that right or wrong?"

Lin Chaojing's neck veins throbbed: "Lord Chen, are you acting entirely on conjecture? Where's the evidence?"

Chen Ji said to Er Dao, "Break all his fingers."

Erdao let out an "oh" and broke all of Lin Chaojing's fingers as if breaking chopsticks.

Lin Chaojing said with a ferocious expression, "Chen Ji, my brother will not let you go."

Chen Ji hummed in agreement: "As the saying goes, no hero is without a rod. An ordinary person would have cried out for their parents long ago after being subjected to such torture. Yet Lord Lin can still threaten me in return. If you're not a spy, then who is? You assist Wen Yuan Bookstore in publishing newspapers, presumably to find a place for the Military Intelligence Bureau to transmit messages, right?"

Lin Chaojing sneered: "The man from Wuxiang County has run out of tricks."

Chen Ji stood up: "Er Dao, break his legs."

He walked out again, only to see that Aunt Ping had already closed the door of Wenchang Bookstore. She turned back to him and said, "The Jiefan Guard didn't come in large numbers. They retreated because they couldn't break through. They probably want to wait for reinforcements to come before they attack again."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Aunt Ping, you should go."

Aunt Ping frowned: "You want to... again..."

Chen Ji interrupted Aunt Ping, saying solemnly, "This time, I'm not asking you to stay out of it, but rather I'm asking you to take Lin Chaojing out to Taiye Pond to find Bai Long, so that Bai Long can hand Lin Chaojing over to Meng Ji for interrogation. I'm certain this person is a spy from the Military Intelligence Bureau, and only Meng Ji's interrogation can break this deadlock. I'll rush out to distract the Jie Fan Guards, and you, Aunt Ping, will escape from behind in the chaos. Thank you!" Aunt Ping took a deep breath: "What if the Jie Fan Guards kill you in the chaos?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Aunt Ping, I am the baron of Wuxiang County. The Jiefan Guard has no right to kill me. The court must first strip me of my title. If the Jiefan Guard kills me rashly, they will also be buried with me. Lin Chaoqing has only been in the capital for a short time. There are not many people in the Jiefan Guard who are willing to join him in rebellion. After you leave, I will surrender without resistance. They will not kill me."

Aunt Ping then asked, "What if Lin Chaoqing takes action personally? In his view, you protected Princess Liyang as she escorted Yuancheng back to Jingchao, and you also plotted to kill Si Cao Gui. You are already a major threat to the Military Intelligence Bureau. If there is an opportunity to kill you, he will definitely not miss it."

Chen Ji grinned and said, "Aunt Ping, life and death are predestined."

Aunt Ping gave him a deep look, then turned and walked towards the backyard: "Alright, I will definitely bring Lin Chaojing alive to Bailong."

However, at that moment, even more rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from outside the courtyard, and the reinforcements of Jiefanwei surrounded Wenchang Bookstore.

Instead of charging in, the guards fired crossbow bolts from the outside.

The crossbow bolts were coated with pine resin and burning fiercely. One by one, the crossbow bolts were driven into the doors and windows, and the white paper windows caught fire and burst into flames.

Chen Ji's pupils suddenly contracted.

From outside the courtyard came the shouts of Jie Fanwei: "The magistrate of Wuxiang County is plotting a rebellion! Arrest him!"

Aunt Ping turned to look at him: "It's too late. The Jie Fan Guard has surrounded this place, and there are fires on all sides. Even I can't break through."

We're going to lose.

In the end, Si Cao Ding was still the more skilled one.

Chen Ji stood in the firelight, the flames dancing wildly in his eyes, as the suspicious clues he had encountered since arriving in the capital resurfaced in his mind.

Where is the Military Intelligence Division's evidence?
Chen Ji spent a month searching through books at Wenchang Bookstore but couldn't find any trace of the Military Intelligence Bureau's messages. So, what channels did they use to transmit messages in the capital?

In the firelight, Chen Ji suddenly looked up and rushed towards the backyard.

Aunt Ping's expression shifted: "What's wrong?"

She followed Chen Ji to the backyard and watched as he tore off a piece of his clothing to cover his mouth and nose before rushing into the sea of ​​fire.

Aunt Ping got anxious: "What are you doing?"

She instinctively reached for Chen Ji's arm, only to hear the sleeve tear with a ripping sound. Even though the sleeve was torn, it couldn't hold Chen Ji back.

Aunt Ping could only watch helplessly as Chen Ji rushed into the Wenchang Bookstore's warehouse, his figure engulfed by the flames on the doors and windows.

The man was dumbfounded: "Has the boss gone mad? What's in there?"

Aunt Ping recalled, "Only the woodblocks used by Wenchang Bookstore..."

Before the words were even finished, the door of Wenchang Bookstore was smashed open, and wood chips flew everywhere.

Jie Fanwei drew his sword from his waist and charged inwards, shouting, "Capture the magistrate of Wuxiang County!"

Aunt Ping said to the gangster in a deep voice, "Get behind me!"

Aunt Ping stood in front of the door leading from the main house to the backyard, blocking all the way.

A guard rushed forward and slashed at her with his sword. Aunt Ping struck the sword with her palm, but the sword seemed to be glued to her hand, following the movement of her palm.

With her left hand pulling the blade, Aunt Ping dragged Xie Fanwei to her side, and with her right hand, she pressed her palm against his chest. Xie Fanwei coughed up blood, and the raincoat on his back was pierced by the palm, creating a hole.

She didn't use the Eight Trigrams Dragon Dance, nor did she try to dispel the evil spirits; she only used the purest martial arts techniques to fight her enemy.

As Jie Fanwei slowly collapsed in front of Aunt Ping, she held his long sword in her hand and glared menacingly at the dark mass of Jie Fanwei in the main hall of the bookstore.

Someone behind Jie Fanwei shouted, "Use the crossbows!"

The dark mass of guards took out their crossbows and unleashed a torrential downpour of arrows at Aunt Ping.

Aunt Ping had no choice but to step aside, but in doing so, she cleared the way to the backyard.

In an instant, Jie Fanwei charged forward fearlessly, and more than ten men surrounded Aunt Ping one after another. Six others rushed towards the Pao Ge gang, shouting loudly, "Surrender and you'll have a chance to live, otherwise you'll be killed without mercy!"

The man turned to look at the sea of ​​fire. The fire had first set off the doors and windows, and now it had completely engulfed the house. Yet he could still vaguely see figures moving inside, and Chen Ji seemed to be searching for something.

The man gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and said to Erdao, "Let's fight them!"

He grabbed Lin Chaojing and pulled him into his arms, pressing a dagger against the man's chin as he roared, "Get the hell out of here, or I'll kill him right now!"

Jie Fanwei, knife in hand, approached step by step, forcing the Pao Ge and his men back in a fan-shaped formation.

The man could even feel the waves of fire surging from behind him, scorching his back... He couldn't retreat any further.

At the critical moment, Chen Ji emerged from the sea of ​​flames, carrying more than ten charred pear wood carvings in his arms: "The evidence of Lin Chaoqing and Lin Chaojing's treason is here! Step back!" (End of Chapter)