Chapter 179: Wine

"The heavens and the earth are parched, be careful of fires and candles... Young man, go home and rest early, don't let your family worry."

"Alright, thank you, old uncle."

Another day passed. A frail, old man carrying a white paper lantern brushed past Chen Ji, who was walking towards him.

Chen Ji hugged the sleeping Heiyun in his left arm and a jar of wine in his right. He walked down Anxi Street and pushed open the wooden door of Taiping Medical Hall.

He was slightly stunned. An orange-yellow light shone from the crack in the door, like the rare warmth found in winter.

Behind the counter, Old Man Yao was clicking his abacus, recording accounts. Heiyun, who hadn't been seen for a long time, had returned to the medical hall and was standing on his shoulder.

Old Man Yao lifted his eyes and glanced at Chen Ji, asking lightly, "Why didn't you shout 'I'm back' today?"

Chen Ji smiled and entered the door. "Uncle Heiyun, long time no see."

Heiyun lifted a wing slightly, a greeting.

Old Man Yao looked at the wine jar in Chen Ji's hand, his eyes unreadable. "Don't go carry water tomorrow morning."

Chen Ji placed the wine jar on the counter and asked curiously, "Why?"

Old Man Yao said casually, "Remember from now on, after killing someone, don't go to the Chenghuang Temple, and don't look into wells. The feng shui is bad."

Chen Ji was slightly startled. Although he didn't understand what he meant, he still replied, "Okay!"

Old Man Yao asked, "Regret it?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment. "No regret!"

It turned out Old Man Yao hadn't been sleeping. He knew what Chen Ji had experienced tonight and was waiting for him.

It was the same feeling as when he first stepped into Taiping Medical Hall. As if once he stepped inside, everything outside could be temporarily forgotten and put down.

This meant the old imperial physician's blood might be cold, but his heart was warm.

Old Man Yao opened the clay seal of the wine jar, sniffed it, and wrinkled his brows. "How many heavy matters are weighing on your heart that you would buy such strong wine? Go get two bowls."

Chen Ji said "Oh" and went to the kitchen to get two pottery bowls.

Old Man Yao poured himself a shallow bowl and slowly sipped a mouthful from the rim!

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Master also drinks wine? I thought you never did!"

Old Man Yao looked at the lamp wick on the counter. "I loved drinking when I was young, but not anymore!"

Chen Ji didn't understand. "Why don't you drink?"

Old Man Yao thought for a moment. "After getting old, the wine tastes a bit bitter."

He lowered his head and looked at the wine in the bottom of the bowl shimmering in the lamplight. "The longer you live, the more you sigh about how fate plays with people. Is it time? Is it fate? The key to killing this person tonight isn't whether the county princess knows the truth, but whether you can get past that hurdle in your own heart."

Chen Ji remained silent.

Old Man Yao looked at him. "But it's good that you finally understand a truth: the person you can't abandon is the one you can't change."

Chen Ji seriously considered this sentence. Afterward, he also poured himself a bowl of wine, not much, just a shallow bottom.

He lightly sipped a mouthful, then exhaled a breath of wine that was as strong as a knife.

At this moment, Heiyun also woke up. It poked its head out and licked a mouthful of wine from Chen Ji's bowl.

It was suddenly spicy and stuck out its tongue, making Heiyun tease it by silently laughing and pointing at it with its wing.

Heiyun was angry and chased Heiyun around the room, pouncing.

Old Man Yao watched the cat and bird making trouble and asked casually, "With the ice flow you get from Jing Fei and Yun Fei now, and two ginseng roots a day, are you not afraid Jin Zhu will suspect your progress?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and explained, "Master, I cannot wait."

The ice flow given by Jing Fei and Yun Fei was more than anyone had given before. Roughly calculated, it was enough to digest over twenty more ginseng roots.

It was a pity that Liu Ge Lao had resigned and returned home due to Ding You, so there was no ice flow. Otherwise, the ice flow produced by the Ge Lao in court would probably be more than the combined total from the Fei of the two Wangye.

Old Man Yao sighed. "The most fearful thing about the Shan Zhu path is rushing. If people see a clue, the world cannot tolerate you."

Chen Ji replied, "Master, I have the cultivation path given by the Jinyiwei as a cover. Even if Jin Zhu discovers that my cultivation speed is problematic, he won't know that I'm cultivating the Shan Zhu path. Besides, the only thing that truly ties people together in this world is interest. Although I don't know exactly what Jin Zhu is trying to do by lurking in the Jinyiwei, it must be a matter of great importance."

Chen Ji continued, "He needs strength. The faster I cultivate, the more he cannot leave me. If you ask me who is the person who least hopes I die right now, it is definitely him!"

Old Man Yao raised an eyebrow. "If he finishes handling his matter and no longer needs you, what should you do?"

A thin mist flashed in Chen Ji's eyes, and he said in a low voice, "That time will not come."

Old Man Yao looked at him seriously for a moment, then said with pleasure, "You are finally no longer an outsider."

Chen Ji's gaze was fixed. This sentence seemed to carry the weight of a thousand jun again.

The old imperial physician and the young man faced each other across the counter, breaking this layer of window paper for the first time.

Chen Ji had thought before that Old Man Yao must have known he came from the Forty-Nine Heavens, which was why the other side didn't question him when his character changed so much. On the night he first came, the other side said he had calculated a 'good hexagram' before going to the Zhou family.

But now that he thought back, it was more likely that the other side was worried he couldn't find his way home and would become a lonely ghost, so he went to lead him home.

That night, if Old Man Yao hadn't gone to lead him, Chen Ji wouldn't have known where to go after leaving the Zhou family.

Old Man Yao sighed, "I don't know where you lived before, you actually have a naturally compassionate heart, but look at this world now, good people don't live long. Now your blood has become cold. Very good, otherwise I would have been worried that you would die before me."

Chen Ji remained silent.

Old Man Yao looked at him and said, "But I still want to give you one more sentence!"

Chen Ji asked, "What sentence?"

Old Man Yao said slowly, "Blood can be cold, but the heart must be warm!"

The same eight characters, but this time the master changed the order and spoke them out. "This thing should also be given to you."

Old Man Yao took something from his sleeve and placed it on the counter, pushing it towards Chen Ji.

Chen Ji took it and looked, and it was a piece of ivory white waist token carved with an eight trigrams map.

There were no words on the waist token, only three trigrams.

He was puzzled. "Master, what is this?"

Old Man Yao said casually, "I didn't want to give it to you originally, I was afraid you would die faster with it. As for what it is, I can't say, and I don't want to say. You are a smart person, when you can use it one day, you will naturally understand."

Chen Ji asked again, "On this waist token, there are eight trigrams, why are there only three?"

Old Man Yao said casually, "Open door, rest door, birth door, three good doors, no significance, just for good luck."

Chen Ji said "Oh" and tucked the waist token into his chest. "Master!"

Old Man Yao impatiently waved his hand. "I don't have time to chat with you. I want to go back to sleep. I'll say it again, no need to carry water tomorrow morning. Don't follow the rooster's crow all day, it affects this old man's sleep."

Chen Ji: "..."

Old Man Yao finished the wine in the bowl in one gulp, then looked at Chen Ji. "You bought the wine, why aren't you drinking?"

Chen Ji was startled. "Master, I didn't buy this wine to drink!"

Old Man Yao doubted, "Isn't it to borrow wine to dispel sorrow?"

Chen Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He brought charcoal from the kitchen, crushed it, and mixed it with the strong knife-like wine, spreading it out to dry. He waited for it to evaporate. "Master, this process is to extract the charcoal, so that the charcoal inside... anyway, it's to make the strong, overbearing thing you mentioned!"

Old Man Yao's eyes widened, then he flicked his sleeve and went to the backyard. "I was just worrying too much about you."

Chen Ji smiled and focused on grinding all the black charcoal, mixing it with the strong wine, and spreading it out to dry again.

After everything was done.

Chen Ji silently blew out the oil lamp and sat alone behind the counter, lost in thought, letting the darkness engulf him!

Dawn broke!

In the thin mist floated the fishy smell of morning water, as if soft moss grew in the air.

Chen Ji led the warhorse tied to the apricot tree and walked into the thin mist on the green stone path.

The clatter of horse hooves spread far, echoing in the empty street.

He first went to the East Market and bought pastries from Zhengxin Zhai, then left from the South City Gate.

He rode towards the Liu family's mansion.

Now that Yun Fei was gone, the Jinyiwei naturally had no way to use criminal evidence to convict Jing Wang.

He thought they would have to soft-imprison the shizi and the county princess for a period of time before reluctantly releasing them.

However, when Chen Ji arrived in front of the Liu family's mansion and looked at the red painted door, he finally hesitated a little.

On the way here, he only thought about finally saving the Jing Wang's household.

But at the door, he stopped and looked.

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then finally jumped off his horse and knocked on the big door.

With a creak, the red painted door was pulled open from the inside, and a young Jinyiwei poked his head out. When he saw Chen Ji, he asked doubtfully, "Lord Chen, why have you come?"

Chen Ji handed over the pastries. "Please deliver these to Jing Wang. I won't go in."

That Jinyiwei said, "Lord Chen, you've brought this to the wrong place."

Chen Ji frowned slightly. "What do you mean? What did Lord Jin Zhu explain?"

The Jinyiwei knew that Chen Ji was a favored person of Jin Zhu and had made a great contribution. He wasn't sure when he would become a high-level Jinyiwei like Hai Dongying.

He quickly explained, "This morning, Lord Bailong has already brought people to escort Jing Wang, the shizi, and the county princess to the inner prison. So you should send these pastries to the inner prison!"

Chen Ji asked without changing his expression, "Why did Lord Bailong escort them into the inner prison?"

The Jinyiwei said with a forced smile, "This humble one is not clear. Perhaps you should go to the inner prison yourself to see."

Chen Ji stood in front of the door for a long time without speaking. The biting cold wind blew sharply, blowing his hair to the east.

Chen Ji threw the pastries down in front of the door, flipped onto his horse, pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and bowed low, flying towards the inner prison.

He suddenly remembered what Jin Zhu had said. If the most powerful people in this Ning Dynasty all hoped that Jing Wang would die, then he must die. This was the general trend.

Chen Ji finally understood that the Jinyiwei were already committed, the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. Without Yun Fei, they would still fabricate other evidence until Jing Wang was completely dead and the hidden danger was forever eliminated.

Jing Wang trusted the wrong person, and he deserved to die.

But what about the shizi and Bai Li?

Chen Ji dismounted in front of the inner prison gate.

He took a steady breath, then slowly and deliberately knocked on the iron door.

A jail guard looked through the small window behind the iron door, saw that it was Chen Ji, and quickly opened the iron door. "So it's Lord Chen!"