Chapter 116: United in Heart and Mind

A large fire, with thick smoke billowing upwards, attracted all the people of Luocheng to Peony Bridge. Ordinary people didn't go to work; they all craned their necks, eager to watch the excitement. Even peddlers carrying their shoulder poles strode like meteors. Chen Ji silently walked towards Anxi Street, with the crowd all rushing past his back. Only his slender figure moved against the flow. He thought he should hurry back to the medical hall because he had too many questions he wanted to ask.

When he returned to the entrance of Taiping Medical Hall, the fragrant smell of white porridge and fried oil drifted out. Chen Ji could even hear the noisy voices of She Dengke and Liu Quxing in the backyard. He stood outside the door for a long time before taking a deep breath and crossing the threshold. The moment he crossed the threshold, a wave of fatigue surged through his mind, yet his heart felt like a heavy stone had finally dropped. Chen Ji let out a long exhale, expelling all the dissatisfaction he felt outside the door. "I'm back."

Old man Yao stood alone behind the counter, his head bowed, fiddling with the abacus. He mumbled, "Returned is returned, what's all the shouting about?" Wu Yun, with his paws tucked into his chest, was napping beside the abacus. When he saw Chen Ji enter, he opened his eyes. Chen Ji stood opposite the counter, looking at his master, wondering how to start. Old man Yao stopped his hand that was fiddling with the abacus beads, looked up, and glanced at him sideways. "If you have something to say, say it quickly."

Chen Ji asked, "Master, was it you who helped me today?"

Old man Yao raised his eyebrows. "I helped you with what? Don't talk nonsense."

Chen Ji frowned, somewhat doubtful. "No?"

Old man Yao pointed at Wu Yun. "I was with this little thing all night. Ask him and see if I helped you." Chen Ji looked towards Wu Yun.

Wu Yun meowed. "It seems indeed not."

Old man Yao stroked his beard and laughed proudly. "See?"

Wu Yun meowed again. "But Master was very concerned about you. He took me to the riverbank to watch you chase and kill Yuan Zhanggui. He didn't return to the medical hall until he confirmed you were safe and sound in the early morning."

Old man Yao smacked his lips. "Who asked you this?"

At this moment, Liang Mao'er came out carrying a bowl of steaming ginger soup and handed it directly to Chen Ji. "Master just asked me to boil ginger soup. One bowl each to ward off the cold. It's just right that you've returned. Drink it while it's hot."

Chen Ji held the ginger soup in silence for a long time before finally drinking it all in one gulp. He placed the porcelain bowl on the counter and said calmly, "Master, today Jin Zhu invited Meng Ji over to interrogate me, but Meng Ji told me in a dream that you had already instructed him not to cooperate with Jin Zhu in interrogating me. You don't need to hide it from me. Thank you for helping me get through this disaster."

Old man Yao sneered. "Still trying to trick this old man? When I was tricking others, your dad hadn't even met your mom yet."

Chen Ji was speechless.

Old man Yao glanced at him sideways. "Someone who can command the Twelve Zodiacs must be a powerful figure in the Si Li Jian. If I had such an identity, how could I tolerate a Jing Chao thief like you prancing around in front of me?"

Chen Ji fell into thought. When Meng Ji said there was a powerful figure favoring him, his first reaction was that his master had acted to help him. But what his master said now also made sense. One of the duties of the Si Li Jian is to capture Jing Chao spies. If his master was really a powerful figure in the Si Li Jian, why would he let him live?

Chen Ji turned and asked, "Master, do you know anything about Jin Zhu?"

Old man Yao said, "No understanding!"

Wu Yun said, "Understood."

Old man Yao slowly turned his head to look at Wu Yun, his expression blank.

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Today, Jin Zhu and I made a deal. The moment we made the deal, I seemed to detect some changes, but I can't say what the change was. Also, after making the deal, he seemed to have truly let down his guard..."

Wu Yun said, "Master said that Jin Zhu must rely on investing in others to cultivate. This is his cultivation path. Previously, he invested in Tian Ma and leaped to break through to the Xun Dao realm. But later, he consecutively failed in investing in two people and then fell back from the Xun Dao realm to the Xian Tian realm. Now, he has chosen to bet on you. This is his last chance."

Chen Ji was shocked in his heart. There was such a cultivation path. The name of this cultivation path was perhaps 'Gambler Dog'. No wonder Jin Zhu said that even if he had to kneel in front of Jie Fan Building, he would still kneel for his own cultivation path. It turned out he was using himself to cultivate.

Chen Ji hurriedly asked, "What connection will I have with Jin Zhu? If something happens to him, will it affect me?"

Wu Yun looked towards old man Yao. "Master, you haven't said this!"

Old man Yao said impatiently, "Naturally not. Even if he dies, it has nothing to do with you. It's just that after you break through a layer in your cultivation realm, he will benefit from it."

"How much benefit?"

"About fifty percent!"

Chen Ji's eyebrows were tightly furrowed. "That's equivalent to letting him know my cultivation progress. Why didn't you remind me earlier?"

Old man Yao laughed. "What's bad about having an extra Twelve Zodiac as a bodyguard? If you encounter danger now, Jin Zhu will be more concerned than your parents and brothers."

Chen Ji was somewhat puzzled. "If I die, he will just fall back one realm. Why is he so concerned?"

Old man Yao said unhurriedly, "The Xun Dao realm is a major life tribulation. Stepping into it means a different life. But there are also differences among those in the Xun Dao realm. If one steps into the Xun Dao realm before the age of thirty-six and stabilizes their realm, they can shed their mortal body and change their bones, prolong their life, and live for a hundred years without a problem. If they step into the Xun Dao realm after the age of thirty-six, they will be no different from ordinary people in terms of birth, old age, sickness, and death. Jin Zhu is now thirty-one years old. There isn't much time left. His last hope is on you."

"So that's how it is." Chen Ji didn't understand. "Then why does he still suspect me like this? Isn't he offending me to death?"

"You might not believe it, but although he suspects you and interrogates you, he hopes more than you do that you are innocent."

The main hall of the medical hall quieted down. Old man Yao started fiddling with the abacus again. Chen Ji suddenly said, "Master, you don't need to hide it. Meng Ji really told me everything."

Old man Yao said in a bad mood, "Get out of my sight." Then, he looked at Wu Yun on the counter. "Liang Gou'er should be awake. You get out too."

Wu Yun slipped away like a mouse.

Chen Ji slipped back to his bedroom to change into dry clothes. He sat on the bed in the dim bedroom, pondering. The people in the Jing Chao military intelligence department who knew his spy identity were either dead or gone. Jin Zhu, who suspected him within the Ning Chao secret spy department, had also lowered his guard. Life seemed to finally be stable. He could breathe a sigh of relief.

Chen Ji lifted his head and looked up. The cobwebs on the beam should be cleaned. The broken tiles on the roof also needed to be replaced. Several bricks in the courtyard were broken, and water would still accumulate on rainy days. He needed to buy some new bricks and tiles. While it wasn't completely winter yet, he could use cement as a base to replace all the tiles and green bricks. This way, he wouldn't be afraid of rain leaking or water accumulating. He would go buy them today.

At this moment, hearty laughter came from outside the room. Chen Ji bent down to put on his boots and went out to see. It turned out to be Zhang Zhuo standing under the apricot tree, looking with interest at the red cloth strips on the tree. Zhang Zhuo was wearing a red official robe today, which indeed complemented the red cloth strips on the apricot tree. After reading the wishes on the red cloth strips, he turned his head and asked Liu Quxing, "Brother Liu, the little doctor, do you still have red cloth strips in the medical hall? I also want to write one and hang it up."

Liu Quxing hurriedly ran to the main hall. "Wait a moment, there are still many red cloth strips." When he brought the cloth strips and handed out a brush, he stretched the cloth strips open in front of Zhang Zhuo with both hands. Zhang Zhuo lifted the brush and wrote down four words: Tong Xin Tong De. Then, he personally tied the red cloth strip to an empty branch.

Liu Quxing's face became strange. "Lord Zhang, what does this mean?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily. "Wishing your master and three brothers Tong Xin Tong De is a good thing, isn't it?"

Liu Quxing softly muttered, "It's good, it's good, but Tong Xin Tong De is generally followed by 'raise eyebrows together' These four words."

At this moment, Chen Ji spoke and asked, "Lord Zhang, why have you come to Taiping Medical Hall today?"

Zhang Zhuo turned to look at Chen Ji and immediately explained patiently, "Little Doctor Chen, I just heard earlier that Xia'er, I don't know how she heard the news, actually came to the medical hall without authorization and made a fuss. I specifically came to apologize to you. This child has been short-tempered since she was small, but her nature isn't bad. You must not stoop to her level."

Chen Ji said, "Oh." "So, what Miss Zhang the Second said doesn't exist."

Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard. "Of course. A forced melon is not sweet. I, Zhang Zhuo, am an open-minded person. I would never do something that forces others. Little Doctor Chen, just put your heart back in your stomach. I appreciate your conduct and will naturally consider everything thoroughly for you."

This made Chen Ji not know how to respond. He thought for a moment. "Why does Lord Zhang appreciate me? We haven't met many times."

Zhang Zhuo became interested. "I look at people based on two points. The first point is what they do when they suddenly become rich, whether they are arrogant or not, whether they shake their clothes and make noise. The second point is what they don't do when they are poor, whether they guard their hearts or not, whether they commit fraud or not."

Just as he was speaking, he heard footsteps from outside the door again. The crowd turned their heads to look and saw only Prince Jing directly coming to the backyard, followed by that tall and big Feng Da companion.

Old man Yao muttered, "This little Taiping Medical Hall is unexpectedly more lively than Prince Jing's residence."

Prince Jing entered the yard and was slightly surprised to see Zhang Zhuo. "Lord Zhang, didn't you say you were going to supervise the construction of the refugee camp houses? Why have you run to Taiping Medical Hall?"

"Passing by, passing by..." Zhang Zhuo was slightly embarrassed.

Prince Jing didn't tease him either. He turned his head to look at Chen Ji. "This morning, your father, Lord Chen Liqin, came to see me."

Chen Ji calmly asked, "I don't know what Lord Chen wanted to see the Prince about."

Prince Jing smiled. "Seeking knowledge!"

"Seeking knowledge?"

Prince Jing explained, "Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao will take the imperial examination in the capital next spring. At that time, scholars from all over the country will gather, and the difficulty is not comparable to the autumn imperial examination. It just so happens that Mr. Wang is back in Luocheng to observe mourning. During the daytime, he is responsible for teaching Yunxi, Baili, and Lingyun in my residence, so Lord Chen thought of letting Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao also come to listen to the classes to avoid them being idle at home and delaying next year's metropolitan examination."

Chen Ji didn't speak.

Prince Jing said with a smile, "Lord Chen also paid your tuition fees together. He wants you to also go and listen to Mr. Wang's teachings. I thought carefully about it and also feel that you at this age should listen to more knowledge. I simply paid the tuition fees for Liu Quxing and She Dengke as well. You can rest assured, Mr. Wang is different from the teachers in other academies. Even His Majesty highly praises him. He will definitely bring you benefits."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "I can't decide this. I need Master's agreement." He then turned to look at old man Yao and blinked his eyes vigorously several times.

Old man Yao slowly said, "I have no opinion. Let these three little brats go to listen to the classes. I can be free for half a day every day. It's quite good."

Chen Ji was speechless.

However, at this moment, Zhang Zhuo, who was standing nearby,'s eyes flickered slightly. He suddenly spoke, "I still remember how stunning Wang Daosheng's 'Ping Wa Twelve Strategies' was in that year's palace examination. It's a pity that now his talent is full but he can't display it. Prince, my daughter Zhang Xia can also go there to listen to the classes. It would be good to let him discipline my daughter's wild temper."

Prince Jing was amused. "Of course you can!"