Chapter 121: The End

On the city wall, secret agents took hand crossbows from their waists, hiding behind the wall's crenels, staring intently at the darkness below the city.

Jin Zhu paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, no longer as calm as before.

From time to time, he had to lean over the top of the city wall to look down, confirming that Chen Ji was alright before temporarily putting his heart at ease.

Like a gambler at a Pai Gow table, when he gets a good hand of cards, he keeps rubbing his own cards to check, on one hand worrying he saw wrong, on the other hand worrying the opponent is cheating or will flip the table.

It was as if Chen Ji wasn't gambling with his own life, but with Jin Zhu's life.

Fortunately.

Perhaps because of the appearance of Tian Ma, among the disaster victims where the Liu family people were hidden, they did not make a move to assassinate Chen Ji.

They lay low like poisonous insects, waiting for Mao Shi.

Tian Ma stood beside the wall crenels looking down, only to see Chen Ji sitting alone leaning against the city wall, as if no one else was present, closing his eyes to rest, as if asleep.

Tian Ma looked towards Jin Zhu and gestured with his hands: "A newcomer? He's very brave, like a madman."

Jin Zhu's face suddenly turned bitter like a purple eggplant: "I might have to fall back to the Houtian realm. This boy will sooner or later play himself to death."

Tian Ma was surprised: "You actually bet on him?"

A trace of pity appeared in his eyes.

Jin Zhu sighed: "Meng Ji wrote in the secret report to the Nei Chen that this boy's official potential is extremely high, the same A-grade as you. I originally thought A-grade talents were hard to find and must be quickly grasped in my own hands, yet I didn't expect to be thwarted by him."

Tian Ma thought for a moment, then silently gestured: "You want to help him become one of the Twelve Zodiacs?"

Jin Zhu nodded his head.

Tian Ma gestured again: "He's also an orphan?"

Jin Zhu shook his head.

Tian Ma hesitated for a moment: "Then when do we eliminate his parents?"

Jin Zhu lowered his voice, in a bad mood, and said: "To become one of the Twelve Zodiacs doesn't necessarily mean one must be an orphan; several of the Zodiacs in earlier years weren't."

Tian Ma was doubtful.

Jin Zhu rolled his eyes and hurriedly said: "Really, there's no need."

Tian Ma looked at the stars as if nothing had happened: It's almost Mao Shi.

Jin Zhu's heart startled; he turned back to look towards the inside of the city, but still hadn't seen the shadow of the grain carts.

The torches had already been extinguished.

Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and saw the disaster victims in front of him standing up one by one, like a withered black forest, boundless and endless.

A disaster victim held a little girl in his arms and asked dryly: "This official, why hasn't the grain been transported here yet? My family's baby is already so hungry she can't even cry."

Chen Ji silently stood up.

The little girl in the disaster victim's arms had arms thinner than bamboo poles.

Chen Ji softly asked: "The flood has already receded, why not stay in Yu Xi to cultivate the land?"

The disaster victim said angrily: "After the flood receded, the fields designated by the officials all mysteriously became the Liu family's land. Every household has no surplus grain, and Yi Ma County City does have rich households willing to lend us grain, but that's with nine parts out of thirteen interest. If we continue, generation after generation will never be able to get ahead. If we had any other way out, we wouldn't have walked a hundred kilometers to come to Lu City."

The disaster victim said bitterly: "It's really unbearable hunger."

In the crowd, someone suddenly shouted: "What's the use of talking nonsense with him? It's almost Mao Shi, and the grain he promised us still hasn't arrived."

"Right, where is the grain?"

"He's lying, he's deceiving us!"

"Kill him, break down the door!"

On the city wall, Tian Ma immediately wanted to draw his bow to its full extent and shoot to kill the leading rioting disaster victim, but Jin Zhu pressed down his arm.

Jin Zhu gritted his teeth and said: "You can't kill him, you can't kill everyone. If you anger the disaster victims, Chen Ji won't really survive."

Tian Ma looked towards Jin Zhu and used sign language to say: No one will listen to him; he's dead for sure. If not, shall I give him a quick death?

Jin Zhu urgently said: Wait a little longer!

In a moment, the crowd under the city wall was like a black sea tide, instantly engulfing Chen Ji.

Some swung their fists, some smashed hoes, some lifted their feet to kick. Chen Ji could only barely dodge fatal attacks, retreating step by step towards the city gate, finally backing against the round copper rivets of the red lacquer city gate.

Jin Zhu clung to the wall crenels looking down, only to discover that Chen Ji had already been forced into the city gate tunnel and was no longer visible.

At this time, in the city gate tunnel, Chen Ji grabbed a fist pounding towards him, stared directly at the other person, and said: "I said the grain would arrive, and it certainly will. My body and life are bet here; I'm not panicking, what are you panicking about? Wait another quarter hour. If the grain still hasn't come after a quarter hour, you can kill and chop as you please."

In the crowd, someone shouted again: "We've already waited all night, what are we still waiting for?"

"Kill him, break down the door!"

"Enter the city to rob things to eat!"

Chen Ji's face sank; the Liu family people were unwilling to wait any longer.

But the disaster victims hesitated, unwilling to lay deadly hands on Chen Ji for a long time.

They were just honest farmers; they had never actually killed anyone, and before, they were just bluffing.

The next moment, a man with a fierce expression shuttled through the disaster victims. He quietly came to the front row, and from the gap, stabbed out a knife, straight towards Chen Ji's abdomen.

In the chaos, if this knife had stabbed Chen Ji to death, there would be no turning back between the disaster victims and the court.

However, just as this knife was thrust out, the man was astonished to discover that the knife was actually dodged by Chen Ji.

He suddenly lifted his head, directly facing Chen Ji's cold gaze.

The man then realized that Chen Ji was absolutely not as weak as he had previously appeared.

However, after the sneak attack failed, the man did not hesitate. He viciously turned the edge of the knife and stabbed it directly into his own abdomen, howling and raising his blood-soaked hands: "Killed, the official killed me, avenge me, enter Lu City."

Chen Ji's expression turned serious; this was a dead man raised by the Liu family.

Zhang Zhuo, why hasn't the grain been transferred yet?

What accident? Could the Liu family have a backup plan at the grain depot?

For a moment, mixed emotions surged into his mind. Chen Ji felt himself trapped in a carefully designed dead end by the Liu family.

This didn't feel like Liu Mingxian's scheme; it felt more like a temporary move by an old, scheming chess player, casually placing a piece that blocked all his retreat paths.

Sinister, cunning, and no room for maneuver.

The opponent's plan was linked ring by ring, as if no matter how he struggled, he would ultimately be unable to escape the destined fate of failure.

At this time, someone shouted: Make way.

The crowd parted one after another.

Chen Ji lifted his head to look and saw at the end of the channel where the disaster victims had made way, there were just dozens of people shouldering hemp ropes, lifting heavy giant wood to ram the city gate.

Once the city gate was broken, civil unrest would certainly rise, and a dead end would form.

However, just at this moment, from behind the city gate came the crisp sound of horse hooves, solitary yet resolute.

The noisy voices of the disaster victims were actually suppressed by this solitary horse hoof sound; the whole world was left with only this one sound.

Creak, creak sounds transmitted. The heavy vermilion lacquer city gate behind Chen Ji was actually slowly pulled open by someone from inside.

The disaster victims looked on in astonishment, their gazes passing over Chen Ji, towards that increasingly large gap in the door.

In the vermilion red gap of the door, Zhang Zhuo was sitting on a black war horse, his face and red official robe covered in bloodstains.

Zhang Zhuo lightly urged his horse forward. The war horse snorted and stepped out of the city gate. It took one step, and the disaster victims retreated one step, until people were crowded together and could retreat no further.

This figure of one person and one horse actually surpassed the momentum of thousands of disaster victims.

Chen Ji turned back to look; Zhang Zhuo had come alone, with no grain carts behind him.

He suddenly lifted his head, finding it hard to believe.

"Where is the grain? Why come here without grain? To die?"

However, Zhang Zhuo calmly sat on his horse, neither rushed nor slow, and raised his voice: "This official is the Lu City Prefect, Zhang Zhuo. The relief grain is on the way; it will be transported here in not more than half an hour. All people retreat back one hundred zhang. This official wants to set up porridge sheds under the city and then line up to give out porridge; everyone will have a share."

The disaster victims didn't move; without grain, talking was useless, no matter how much was said.

They confronted Zhang Zhuo in silence; the oppressive feeling of thousands of silent people was as thick as city walls, solid as substance.

Chen Ji's heart sank; he said in a low voice: "Adult, retreat slowly; the Secret Agent Department will cover you."

Yet, he heard Zhang Zhuo let out a cold laugh from his nose and actually urged his horse forward again to press on.

The black tide of disaster victims was boundless; a touch of red figure was straight, firm, and brooked no doubt.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

The slow sound of iron hooves knocked on the hearts of the disaster victims. Zhang Zhuo calmly said: "This official is the Emperor-appointed Lu City Prefect, Zhang Zhuo. If you do not retreat, according to the law, you should be beheaded."

Also at this time, some disaster victim saw through the city gate that Xi Feng and others, pulling cart after cart of grain, had appeared at the end of the long street: "The grain has come."

"The grain has come!"

"Quick, don't obstruct Adult Zhang from setting up the porridge sheds."

The disaster victims suddenly scattered like a defeated army, retreating like a tide.

Chen Ji exhaled a long, turbid breath.

Zhang Zhuo stopped his horse by his side and laughed happily: "I still thought you really weren't afraid of death!"

Chen Ji said wearily: "Adult Zhang, in this world, where are there people who are truly not afraid of death? I am afraid to death."

Zhang Zhuo lowered his head and carefully examined Chen Ji, only to see the young man's clothes torn, his face bruised, and extremely disheveled.

After a moment, he solemnly said: "Thank you."

Chen Ji replied: "Adult doesn't need to thank me; it's good as long as it's over."

Zhang Zhuo solemnly said: "If it weren't for your reminder, I wouldn't have discovered the civil unrest tonight. If it weren't for you delaying time, the disaster victims wouldn't have waited for the grain. This official thanks you first for preserving my and Adult Chen's official hats, and second for preserving the thousands of households behind this city gate."

Saying this, Zhang Zhuo jumped off his horse and deeply bowed towards Chen Ji.

Chen Ji slightly stepped aside, only feeling that tonight's Zhang Zhuo was somewhat different from the Zhang Zhuo of the past.

He slowly opened his mouth: "Now that Adult Zhang is here to preside over the situation, I should also leave."

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

Zhang Zhuo looked towards Chen Ji and asked seriously: "I have great ambitions; can you assist me?"

Chen Ji laughed: "Thank you, Adult Zhang, for your favor. I know how much I weigh. Risking my life is possible, but I'm not good at playing politics."

Zhang Zhuo looked into Chen Ji's eyes, not angry because of the refusal, but instead smiled: "No harm, a forcibly twisted melon is not sweet. But one day, if you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."

Chen Ji was doubtful, always feeling as if he had heard this sentence somewhere. He answered firmly: "I won't change my mind."

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily: "Young man, don't say words that are final. In this world, the only unchanging thing is 'change'."

Saying this, he took the initiative to change the subject: "This matter, was it indeed the Liu family behind it?"

Chen Ji replied: "Confirmed without a doubt."

Zhang Zhuo looked towards the dense disaster victims: "Don't rush to achieve success and retire yet. The Liu family people are still hiding among the disaster victims. If we allow them to continue to lurk, there will likely still be variables. Moreover, I ask you, do you have a way to find them out?"

Chen Ji closed his eyes, thinking of the Chen family.

He reopened his eyes and answered: "There is a method; I can try."