Aoyama

Chen Ji put the old, broken bed board back in its place.

Almost every intelligence agent in the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau has undergone rigorous training. The Military Intelligence Bureau strips away their natural instincts, teaching them to bury their own scent like wild beasts and live cautiously in the Ning Dynasty.

Carelessness can lead to death.

But even this group of people left behind this broken bed board. Perhaps it wasn't necessary to destroy it, or perhaps they couldn't bear to part with it; the traces remain unknown.

He finds it difficult to judge this group of people.

Or perhaps, he finds it difficult to judge everyone in this era, as it seems unfair to judge them from any one-sided perspective.

Chen Ji searched the dilapidated old house again, but found no further clues.

The clue is broken.

Lin Chaoqing disappeared.

Chen Ji turned to look at the extinguished brazier.

Time seemed to rewind to half an hour earlier, when it was still dark.

He could even picture Lin Chaoqing sitting in front of the brazier, the firelight dancing on his face, but his eyes were empty.

Chen Ji knelt down in front of Lin Chaoqing and stared into her eyes.

He could hear the sounds of war and chaos outside the courtyard—the sound of horses' hooves, shouts… but Lin Chaoqing inside the courtyard continued burning paper money as if nothing had happened.

Chen Ji looked at the illusory figure of Lin Chaoqing in front of him and slowly tossed yellow paper money into the brazier: "You're not afraid. Even though the pursuers are so close, you still dare to hold a memorial service for your comrades right under their noses because you've made thorough preparations and left yourself an escape route... But where can you hide?"

Lin Chaoqing did not answer, nor would she answer.

Chen Ji thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't come up with an answer.

He stood up and left, closing the courtyard gate behind him. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped, gripping the door knocker with both hands and bowing his head in deep thought.

and many more.

Chen Ji pushed open the courtyard gate again, squatted down in front of Lin Chaoqing, and said, "You've disguised yourself, haven't you? So you're not afraid of being discovered at all."

He suddenly remembered that Aunt Ping had said that the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau also had a line of officials who could help people disguise themselves.

It requires the blood of a beloved person to change their appearance, voice, and physique... This is how Si Caoxin portrayed Manager Yuan.

Unlike human skin masks.

The night the shopkeeper was killed, he was injured by a firearm explosion and buried alive by a collapsed house, yet his face remained unaffected. This kind of disguise, typical of officials, can withstand any scrutiny.

Chen Ji was now certain that Lin Chaoqing had already disguised herself and was living peacefully in the capital under a new identity...

No, no, no, that's not right.

Chen Ji felt as if he had overlooked something, and there must be something he hadn't thought of.

what is it then?

He stared directly into Lin Chaoqing's empty eyes, then looked down at the brazier: "You're not a sentimental, indecisive person. You raised Lin Chaojing, and you just sold him off like that... How could someone like you risk coming to mourn a colleague at a time like this? If you've decided to hide in the capital, you can come to mourn whenever you want, there's no need to choose today... You're leaving, aren't you? You'll never be able to come back here again, so that's why you're burning paper money to mourn at a time like this?"

Lin Chaoqing is leaving the capital!
Chen Ji suddenly stood up. Now, the nine gates of the capital only allow entry, not exit. Who could leave the capital so easily? Only the Secret Service and the Anti-Trouble Guard!

He stepped over the brazier, shattering the imagined image of Lin Chaoqing, and rushed out the door.

The outer city was devoid of vitality in the early morning. Breakfast stalls were slow to put down their doors, and even the vendors carrying loads on shoulder poles dared not shout their wares, for fear of displeasing some powerful figure.

Chen Ji's solitary figure running wildly caught the attention of a spy on the street. The spy did not recognize him and immediately drew his sword and shouted, "Who goes there? Stop!"

Chen Ji ignored all that and continued running wildly, attracting a group of spies who chased after him into Chongnanfang, searching for the Golden Pig and the Heavenly Horse.

When he found Jinzhu and Tianma, the two were sitting by the window in a noodle shop eating mutton soup noodles, with six or seven empty bowls piled up next to them.

Chen Ji stopped outside the door, panting heavily. A group of secret agents surrounded him from behind, also struggling to catch their breath.

Jin Zhu was eating noodles when he caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye. He immediately stood up and asked through the window, "What's wrong?"

The spy behind Chen Ji, panting heavily, said, "Sir, this man was running wildly just now, and his behavior was extremely suspicious. We suspect him..."

The golden pig waved its hand impatiently: "Get lost, who asked you?"

Chen Ji went to the window, leaned on the window frame, and asked in a low voice, "In the past half hour, which force, whether from the Secret Service or the Anti-Trouble Guard, has left the capital?"

The golden pig was taken aback: "I really didn't know that, I'm eating noodles."

A spy behind Chen Ji said, "I know that only one group of Jie Fan Wei left the capital in the past half hour. They showed their badges at Yongding Gate in the south of the city and said they were going to Jinling and Yangzhou to pursue Lin Chaoqing. There were a total of six people."

Chen Ji's expression turned serious: "How long have you been gone?"

The spy recalled, "It took about two incense sticks to burn."

Chen Ji said urgently, "Chase!"

Without asking another question, Jin Zhu said urgently, "Quickly, bring the horse!"

At this moment, Tianma finished drinking the soup from the bowl, put down the bowl and asked Jinzhu in sign language: What's wrong?
Golden Pig responded in sign language: "We've found Lin Chaoqing." Pegasus asked in confusion: "They've found him already?"

Jinzhu responded: This kid hasn't missed out yet.

Tianma nodded, went out, mounted his horse, and led dozens of spies at high speed toward Yongding Gate.

Chen Ji rode behind and lowered his body, explaining to Jin Zhu, "I guess Lin Chaoqing has disguised himself as a Jie Fan Guard and left the city with him."

Jin Zhu didn't press for details, only reassuring him, "Don't worry, there should still be time!"

The group of people and horses galloped to Yongding Gate, where three rows of barricades stood in front of the gate.

Before the infantrymen of the Five Cities Garrison could check the waist tags or move the barricades, Tianma directly drew his bow and nocked an arrow, blasting the barricades into a shower of wood chips.

The infantrymen guarding the city hurriedly dodged, letting them ride their horses through the wood chips.

After leaving the city, they chased south along the official road for ten miles when Chen Ji's expression suddenly changed. He saw five corpses of Jie Fanwei lying in a pavilion ahead, with blood flowing down the stone steps.

There was a short pavilion every five li and a long pavilion every ten li. If someone was leaving the capital to travel south, their relatives and friends would see them off for ten li and drink and say goodbye at this long pavilion.

When Wuzhai led the monks of Yuanjue Temple south to Luoyang, the literati and scholars of the capital saw him off here and wrote poems such as "The Blue Ox Listening to the Sutra", "Sending the Venerable Wuzhai to the Southern Expedition of Luhun" and "Breaking the Mystery Song" at the pavilion.

At this moment, the pavilion was stained with blood.

Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji: "You guessed right. There were six people when they left the capital, but now there are only five corpses. Lin Chaoqing killed them."

Chen Ji asked urgently, "There must be a reason why he chose to make his move here. He doesn't want to go any further south... Is there any way to escape nearby?"

After a moment's thought, Jin Zhu said confidently, "The only way is by water. The southern ferry crossing on the Yongding River is not far away; he'll use the waterway to leave! Chase after him!"

The golden pig turned its horse around and led the way. After only two miles, they saw a vast expanse of reeds.

It was summer, and the lush green reeds, taller than a person, swayed gently.

The group rode their horses along the official road through the reed marshes. When they arrived at the ferry, they saw a small awning boat drifting downstream in the middle of the river. Lin Chaoqing stood on the boat with his hands behind his back, and behind him was a lean man holding a long bamboo pole.

The small boat looked especially lonely in the middle of the river.

Lin Chaoqing wore a straw hat and a raincoat, looking like a traveler heading south from home.

When Jin Zhu and the others arrived at the ferry, he seemed surprised that someone would catch up so quickly.

Lin Chaoqing said with a smile, "So, besides Bai Long, there are still smart people in the Secret Service."

The golden pig shouted from across the river, "Now that you're gone, I'll definitely give Lin Chaojing a good beating in the imperial prison and have him executed by slow slicing!"

Lin Chaoqing remained unmoved and declared loudly, "The two dynasties have been locked in bitter warfare for a long time, with high taxes and the people suffering greatly. When I return, I will lead my iron cavalry to crush the capital of your Southern Dynasty and restore peace and prosperity to the world."

The golden pig angrily cursed, "What are you pretending to be? Who do you think you are?"

Lin Chaoqing smiled, cupped his hands in farewell from afar, and called out loudly, "Everyone, no need to see me off. Until we meet again."

Chen Ji looked around and saw that Lin Chaoqing had killed all of the more than ten boatmen at the ferry crossing, and the boats had all been destroyed.

The next moment, Tianma spread his arms wide and produced a dazzling longbow out of thin air.

boom!
boom!
boom!
A barrage of meteor arrows flew in parabolic arcs toward the small boat, heading straight for Lin Chaoqing's face from over two hundred paces away. Lin Chaoqing drew his sword from under his raincoat and shattered the meteor arrows into stars in broad daylight.

Lin Chaoqing sheathed his sword and said no more.

Jin Zhu whispered, "The distance is too far... This old fellow has been hiding his true abilities all along; he's clearly a Grand Master at the peak of the Dao Seeking Realm."

Chen Ji stood at the ferry crossing, watching the small boat gradually disappear into the dense reeds.

Lin Chaoqing left just like that.

Si Cao Ding, who had been lurking in Ningchao for so many years, killed so many people, and tricked so many people, managed to escape unscathed. No wonder he was in charge of the "Di" branch of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Tianma sheathed his bow and gestured to Jinzhu. Jinzhu turned to the spy and instructed, "Send a message back to the capital by carrier pigeon, and have the Jiefan Guards intercept and kill him along the way!"

A spy hurriedly left.

Chen Ji suddenly turned his horse around and galloped south after leaving the ferry, his horse's hooves kicking up a cloud of yellow dust that was ten feet high behind him.

Ten miles further south, the view finally cleared of the reeds.

Chen Ji stared intently at the Yongding River, certain that the small boat couldn't possibly be faster than a warhorse, not even if the bamboo pole broke. He waited from dawn until noon before finally seeing the small boat drift slowly and forlornly out of the reeds.

When the small boat reappeared, Lin Chaoqing and the boatman on board had vanished without a trace.

Where have you been?
do not know.

Perhaps there were other people waiting to meet them in that reed bed, or perhaps there were other exits and tributaries in that reed bed; the traces cannot be determined.

Lin Chaoqing had made thorough plans to leave Ningchao, and perhaps the other party had been waiting for this day for a full twenty-one years.

Chen Ji watched quietly.

He had a premonition that this time, he really wouldn't be able to catch Lin Chaoqing. (End of Chapter)