Chapter 5: Shattered Porcelain

It was only a quarter of an hour.

Very brief.

Chen Ji no longer wasted words. He quickly surveyed the study, his gaze pausing on the scattered books and rice paper, and rapidly flipped through the books on the shelves.

"The rice paper is all blank, and the books are all available on the market; there's nothing hidden inside," Jiao Tu reminded him.

Chen Ji turned and walked into the courtyard.

This was a two-entrance quadrangle. He carefully observed every detail of the courtyard, trying to find any clues. Chen Ji knew deep down that he had no real confidence in finding any clues. He had said those words earlier just because, facing a group of ruthless killers, not saying them might mean immediate death.

As time ticked by, Yun Yang gradually lost patience: "Too slow, too slow. We need to add a game. See that wutong tree in the courtyard? For every leaf that falls while you search for clues, I will stab you with a needle."

As he spoke, a leaf fell from the branch.

Yun Yang raised his hand and caught the withered leaf in mid-air, sighing, "Your luck is really not good."

He then walked up to Chen Ji and stabbed a needle into the youth's tiger's mouth.

Chen Ji's face turned red, and he bent over in intense pain. It was late autumn, yet sweat beads the size of peas rolled down his forehead one after another.

He cursed Yun Yang in his heart, but it did nothing to alleviate the pain.

Yun Yang said calmly, "The time wasted due to the pain is also counted within that quarter of an hour."

Chen Ji, leaning against the wutong tree, slowly straightened up and stepped into the kitchen. He had to find the clue before the second leaf fell!

Inside the kitchen, there was nothing but a brick stove and a pile of bottles and jars filled with seasonings.

The room was clean and tidy, with no extra items.

After checking all the bottles and jars, Chen Ji walked out of the kitchen. However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He muttered to himself, "Something feels off, as if I've missed some detail."

Yun Yang leaned against the kitchen door frame, yawning and playing with a silver needle on his fingertip: "You're running out of time. It seems I've wasted a quarter of an hour."

Chen Ji still stood there, desperately trying to figure out what detail he had missed!

Just as he was thinking, another leaf fell from the wutong tree, and Yun Yang stabbed Chen Ji behind the ear.

In an instant, Chen Ji bent over and curled up like a shrimp, almost passing out.

But this time, without waiting for Yun Yang to urge him, he straightened up and returned to the kitchen, taking out two jars. Both were filled with fine white powder.

Yun Yang glanced curiously: "Two jars of salt, what's the problem?"

"Why would a kitchen have two jars of salt?" Chen Ji said, pinching a bit of the fine white powder from one of the jars and rubbing it between his fingers: "This isn't salt."

"Not salt?" Yun Yang was curious. He and Jiao Tu were skilled in killing and covering up, but they were weak in finding clues.

Chen Ji extended his finger to Yun Yang: "Taste it and see what it tastes like."

Yun Yang said irritably, "You're quite cautious, what if it's poisonous? I won't taste it."

Jiao Tu laughed.

If not for the bodies on the ground, this snake-like girl would have a rather cute laugh.

Yun Yang, with a cold face, said, "Taste it quickly."

Chen Ji pinched a bit of the white powder and put it in his mouth: "It's extremely astringent, with no distinct taste."

He fell into deep thought.

What could this be?

Chen Ji quickly searched his memory, trying to find an answer from the books he had read.

Wait, this is alum!

Some military intelligence books mentioned that alum is one of the main materials used to write secret messages in intelligence operations. Writing with alum water, the writing disappears when it dries. This espionage technique originated in the 13th century and was frequently used by spies during World War I and World War II.

After much thought, Chen Ji was certain he had found the answer: The Jing Dynasty spies used alum to write secret messages. Zhou Chengyi hid this item at home, mixed with salt to mislead. Placing it so close and conveniently suggests that the secret messages were frequently exchanged. Therefore, Zhou Chengyi's home must have secret messages from other spies.

He immediately took a vinegar jar from the kitchen and returned to the study, laying out the white rice paper on the table. He tore a piece of cloth from his clothes, dipped it in vinegar, and gently wiped every part of the rice paper.

After wiping five or six sheets of rice paper, he still didn't get the answer he wanted. Time was ticking away, and in the cold autumn, sweat beads formed on Chen Ji's forehead.

He turned to look at Zhou Chengyi, who remained calm and unperturbed.

Could I be wrong?

No, I can't be wrong!

At that moment, a cold wind blew, and the withered leaves of the wutong tree fell like rain. Yun Yang smiled: "Your luck isn't good enough..."

"I found it!"

"Hmm?" Yun Yang's attention was drawn.

When Chen Ji wiped the twelfth sheet of rice paper, the areas touched by the light yellow vinegar revealed a line of red text: "East City Lijing Lane, Li's Sweet Water Shop. Go there immediately if in danger."

Seeing these words, Yun Yang's eyes lit up: "This is a new base established by the Jing Dynasty spies. There might be a high-ranking official from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau in Luocheng!"

He looked at Jiao Tu: "A great achievement!"

Jiao Tu thought for a moment: "Kill this kid, and the credit goes to us."

"No, I promised not to kill him. Besides, he's not from our Intelligence Bureau, so the credit will still be counted on us."

"Alright..."

Zhou Chengyi, the Jing Dynasty spy, looked ashen-faced.

He no longer pretended and immediately drew a hidden flexible sword from his waist belt, lunging at Chen Ji, determined to kill him.

The Jing Dynasty spy, who had been running quickly, suddenly shed his previous disheveled appearance, becoming as fierce as a wild beast.

Chen Ji leaped backward, and on the other side, Jiao Tu suddenly darted forward like a shadow, moving like a butterfly.

She blocked Zhou Chengyi's path, and as their figures flashed past each other, the silver needle between her fingers lightly touched Zhou Chengyi's waist.

With a thud, Zhou Chengyi lost his strength and fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

At that moment, a cold current surged from Zhou Chengyi's body, like a gray, flowing dragon in the night, entering Chen Ji's body.

This was a sensation Chen Ji had never experienced in his seventeen years of life. The cold current was like the icy water from a snow mountain, clear and pure, flowing through his blood.

Where did this cold current come from? Why did it come? Chen Ji didn't know.

The scenes he witnessed tonight were something he had only seen in movies. This world was completely different from what he knew!

Chen Ji observed Jiao Tu and Yun Yang, noticing that they didn't seem to have seen what just happened. Could it be that only he could see it?

Seeing that Zhou Chengyi was no longer capable of resistance, Yun Yang turned to Chen Ji with interest: "How does a medical apprentice know all this?"

Chen Ji explained without hesitation: "Alum can be used in medicine, for stopping bleeding, treating ulcers, and relieving pain, so I know about it."

"Ah?" Yun Yang pinched some alum from the jar and put it in his mouth: "I've been having mouth ulcers recently, so this is timely."

Jiao Tu stood straight on Zhou Chengyi's back: "What are you chatting about? Send someone to Lijing Lane and raid Li's Sweet Water Shop immediately."

Immediately, eight black-clad men mounted their horses and galloped towards Lijing Lane.

The crisp sound of hooves on the midnight cobblestone road shattered the night's tranquility.

Chen Ji asked, "Can I go now?"

"Um... I'm afraid not," Yun Yang shook his head.

"Changing your mind?"

"Not exactly. I just said you could live, but I didn't say I'd let you go," Yun Yang dusted off his clothes: "I need to take you to the inner prison for a thorough interrogation."

"Interrogate what?"

"For example, why was a medical apprentice from the Jingwang Palace out at night at Zhou Chengyi's house? Is the Jingwang already using Zhou Chengyi to connect with the Northern Jing Dynasty, planning to rebel with their help?" Yun Yang spread his hands: "See, I have many questions to ask."

Jiao Tu tempted him: "Zhou Chengyi is just a minor county official, but if you can implicate the Jingwang, we'll give you wealth and honor!"

Chen Ji sighed, realizing his situation was more complicated than he imagined.

Where is the Jing Dynasty? Who is the Jingwang?

Was the deceased's social network so complex?

He responded, "I came to deliver medicine, and I was innocently implicated."

Chen Ji said this because he had seen two packages of medicine labeled "Taiping Medical Hall" in the kitchen, wrapped in yellow paper and placed by the sand pot stove, still unopened.

Yun Yang shook his head: "That's just your side of the story. I only believe what I get from my interrogation."

Chen Ji changed the subject: "Do you want to catch that high-ranking official from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau?"

"The people to catch him are already on their way."

"You won't find him at the sweet water shop in Lijing Lane. It's clearly just a place to help Zhou Chengyi escape. There won't be any high-ranking official there."

Yun Yang thought for a moment: "Do you have any other clues?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Yun Yang came to Chen Ji, and with his index and middle fingers, lightly touched Chen Ji's shoulder with the thin silver needle.

Instantly, Chen Ji felt a piercing pain, and in just a few breaths, his clothes were drenched in sweat. But the pain came and went quickly, disappearing without a trace in a few more breaths, as if it had never happened.

Yun Yang said casually, "I have many more methods. Over the years, very few people have withstood more than three of my needles."

But Chen Ji still remained silent.

Yun Yang stabbed Chen Ji's hand, causing the youth's body to tremble uncontrollably, but he made no sound.

Yun Yang stabbed him two more times, and Chen Ji still said nothing.

"Can you withstand this?" Yun Yang was amazed.

The next second, Chen Ji suddenly flipped out a shard of porcelain from his hand and tried to cut his own carotid artery!

The porcelain shard stopped just short of his neck, as Yun Yang grabbed Chen Ji's wrist: "Threatening to die?"

"Never mind, we can't afford to let the big catch get away," Jiao Tu raised three fingers: "I swear by my mother's name, if you help us with the information and earn us credit, I'll set you free."

Yun Yang raised three fingers: "I swear by my parents' names, if I lie, may they fall into eternal hell."

Chen Ji remained silent, pondering the weight of these oaths.

People in this era were superstitious, so oaths carried significant weight... but he still couldn't trust them.

But if he showed enough capability and made himself useful, could he gamble with his life?

Finally, he gasped, "That rice paper must have been bought with the alum water already written on it, likely by the high-ranking official you mentioned. So, instead of looking for clues in Lijing Lane, you should find the shop that sold the rice paper. That shop is the key to the most important information."