CHAPTER 38: 36. SHADOWS IN THE SUNLIGHT_2

Yun Yang turned his head and was instantly frozen in shock, for he saw Old Master Liu lying quietly in the coffin.

Liu Mingxian burst into tears, collapsing to the ground, "Grandfather, your grandson is unfilial, to have allowed the Eunuch Party to commit such a disaster! Your grandson is unfilial, deserving death!"

Yun Yang stared blankly at Jiao Tu, "Didn’t you say..."

Jiao Tu was also stunned, "When I investigated that day, there was definitely no one inside!"

Yun Yang took a step back.

How could this be?

The coffin was supposed to be empty, Old Master Liu was supposed to be alive, how could he appear inside the coffin!

How could this be?!

Liu Mingxian, with red eyes, glared at Lin Chaoqing and snarled, "Lin Chaoqing, is this how the Criminal Justice Department conducts its business? Allowing the Spy Department to persecute a meritorious official!?"

Lin Chaoqing’s face turned iron blue as he looked at Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, "Is this what you were supposed to do? Come here, take these two and escort them to the Imperial Capital to await their punishment!"

Yun Yang suddenly raised his hand, "Wait!"

Saying this, he was about to examine Old Master Liu’s body, but before he could touch it, someone suddenly burst out from behind Liu Mingxian and kicked him away, "Still want to disturb Old Master Liu’s peace, courting death!"

This person’s strength, turned out to be much stronger than he had previously shown!

Seeing Yun Yang at a disadvantage, Jiao Tu drew his long knife and attacked.

But then another person rose from behind Liu Mingxian to meet her, and the two of them parted immediately upon clash; this time it was Jiao Tu who was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

When Jiao Tu got up again, she was furiously ready to cut open her brow to unleash killing fury.

However, she heard Yun Yang shout, "Jiao Tu, don’t! Don’t reveal your cultivation path!"

Jiao Tu coldly looked at Yun Yang, "We may not necessarily be defeated, let’s break out and go into hiding."

"There are five hundred Jiefan Guards here, we can’t fight them," Yun Yang shook his head, resignedly, "Even if we went into hiding, where would we find shelter? Let’s return to the Imperial Capital, to see the Prime Minister."

Lin Chaoqing mounted his horse, "Take these two away!"

Liu Mingxian, his eyes red, gritted his teeth, "Just like that? I want these two to be buried with my grandfather!"

Lin Chaoqing scoffed coldly, "Since when do you get to decide on matters of the Ritual Supervision? The Prime Minister will give you justice, but without his word, no one can touch them."

Saying this, Lin Chaoqing led Yun Yang and Jiao Tu away.

As Yun Yang walked down the mountain road of Beimang, he gazed towards Luocheng City, recalling how they had arrived with the majestic authority of the Zodiacs of the Spy Department holding the King’s Command Flag, but now they were leaving as prisoners.

The trouble they had caused this time was too great, probably even the Prime Minister couldn’t cover for them.

Yun Yang looked at the Jiefan Guards beside him, impatiently said, "No need to keep holding me, I can’t run. Step back and let us talk."

The guards glanced at him and finally, intimidated by his fierce reputation, silently stepped back a few steps, still surrounding them as they continued downhill.

Jiao Tu, seizing the opportunity, moved closer to Yun Yang and whispered, "What exactly happened? Did the Liu Family get prior notice, knowing we would open the coffin for inspection? But Old Master Liu couldn’t just die out of the blue, could I have seen wrong that day... wait, could it be Chen Ji who passed the message to the Liu Family?"

Yun Yang suddenly frowned, he subconsciously surveyed the surroundings, trying to see if Chen Ji was there.

He always felt like that young apprentice was watching him from the shadows.

Yun Yang knew he wouldn’t die, the Prime Minister still needed him to kill, but if this was really Chen Ji’s doing, once he returned to the Spy Department, he might really be trampled upon.

He hesitated slightly, "Chen Ji didn’t know we were going to inspect the coffin today, if he could guess even this, that would be too incredible."

"He really is incredible," Jiao Tu frankly said.

Yun Yang, unwilling to admit that not only had he failed to use others to kill, but he had also been trapped into imprisonment, "He should be too busy to look after himself; after Princess Consort Jing lost her son and her nephew, whom she had watched grow from a young age, she has somewhat lost her sanity. She will surely seek revenge."

Jiao Tu was being escorted, yet her tone lightened again, lowering her voice, "Let us not mention who leaked the message for now, we need to find someone to seek out Chen Ji, to figure out a way to save us! Give him money!"

Yun Yang fell silent for a moment, "But we’re being watched by Lin Chaoqing, where can we find someone to go!"

"That’s true..."

Suddenly Yun Yang said, "I have planted a mole in the Liu Family, perhaps I will soon know who passed on the message."

As the two were escorted down the mountain by the Jiefan Guard, Liu Mingxian stopped crying, his face calm as he stood up from beside the coffin, wiped his tears, and spoke evenly, "Check who passed on the message to us?"

"They say a letter suddenly appeared in the house, the guards didn’t notice who put the letter there."

Liu Mingxian furrowed his brows, "Someone was able to enter our inner residence soundlessly? What use are the experts I keep, when will you be able to recruit some real experts for me?"

It was deadly silent around, no one dared to respond.

Liu Mingxian took a deep breath, "There’s a Grand Official hiding in the shadows we know not of, who could even secretly infiltrate my inner residence, hard to investigate or not, we must investigate!"

...

...

Chen Ji walked leisurely along the long street, in the shadows beneath the eaves. The flow of people beside him was unceasing, as if he had no connection with this world.

Autumn leaves fell, carpeting the street, creating a desolate scene.

This was not the Luocheng City that Chen Ji had imagined, it was even more brutal, kill or be killed.

Once new here, he had done every task with utmost caution, afraid of making a mistake or misspeaking.

But now, he had learned how to interact with this world.

Although his life was not glamorous, it didn’t matter.

Wu Yun stuck his fuzzy head out from his embrace, "Chen Ji, there’s roasted chicken over there, buy me a roasted chicken."

Chen Ji smiled, "Okay, you’ve made a great contribution today, you can eat whatever you want, it’s only reasonable you sleep on my head too."

At that moment, laughter came from behind them, Chen Ji turned and was stunned to see dozens of people riding tall horses, joyously coming from the sunlight.

Someone shouted, "The Princely Heir has returned! The Princely Heir and two Commandery Princesses have returned from the Donglin Academy!"

A young man clad in a white fur robe sat on a horse, that once-nightly Lin Chaoqing’s hat-splitter Liang Gou’er, was leading the reins with a flattering demeanor, while Liang Mao’er was holding the long knife, a gloomy expression on her face.

Five or six women rode white horses behind them, whispering among themselves, laughing occasionally.

As this group approached, Chen Ji suddenly saw two figures on horseback behind the crowd, indeed, they were his two legitimate brothers from the Chen Family.

The two men rode alongside the Princely Heir, one of them jokingly said, "Princely Heir, my brother and I returned to Luocheng a few days ago, you left the academy earlier than us, how come you only returned today, where have you been playing?"

The Princely Heir laughed heartily, "Coming back to Luocheng means being under the old man’s watch, of course it’s better to return late!"

Wu Yun quietly asked from his embrace, "Chen Ji, who are they?"

"They’re not important."

As they spoke, the crowd passed by under the eaves where he stood, no one giving him a second glance.

The brilliant noon light shone on their white horses and brocade robes, their spirits high, with the sunlight just right.

And Chen Ji stood in the shadow beneath the eaves, with only the youth and the cat in the shadow.

...

...

Volume One, Prologue (End)