Chapter 220: The Knife

By the side of the official road, Chen Ji stared blankly at the backs of the two strangers. The two were leading an ox cart and walking into the city gate of Mengjin with the large group of people, completely unaware of the scorching gaze behind them.

The two escorts were robust, one tall and one short. The tall one seemed a bit lazy, appearing to be an old hand in the martial world; the short one spoke in a muffled, gruff voice and did things strictly by the book.

Before today, Chen Ji had never seen the faces of these two, but he just felt they were very familiar.

To be precise, it was the way the other party spoke that made him especially familiar.

Er Dao, Pao Ge. These were two people Chen Ji had once thought he would never see again in this life.

Now their appearances had both changed, making it impossible for Chen Ji to determine if his guess was correct. What if there were people in this world who spoke in the same style as Er Dao?

But the desire to reunite with old friends in a foreign land made him just want to chase after them and ask clearly.

However, after only taking a few steps, Chen Ji slowly stopped again.

He stood in the cold wind and took a few deep breaths, letting the ice-cold wind pour into his lungs. Only then did he become a little sober.

Chen Ji, leading Zao Zao, braved the cold wind and chased after the two through the city gate arch, asking with a smile: “Are you two escorts from the Liang Family Escort Bureau?”

The tall escort turned his head to look at Chen Ji and smiled politely: “That’s right, we two work under Escort Head Liang.”

Chen Ji casually asked: “How should I address you two?”

The short escort wanted to answer, but was pulled by the tall escort.

The tall escort pulled the ox cart and walked while introducing: “Reporting to this noble person, you can just call me A Da, my brother is called A Si. We are four brothers from the same family hall, I am the oldest, he is the fourth.”

A Da sized Chen Ji up and down a bit: “And you are?”

Chen Ji said with a smile: “I am the third son of the Chen family. Now the family elders have been transferred to an official position in the capital, so our whole family is moving to the capital. By the way, A Da and A Si are your nicknames, right? What are your given names?”

He saw a trace of vigilance flash in A Da’s eyes, but his mouth still responded with a smile: “So it’s the third young master of the Chen Residence, disrespectful, disrespectful. For small characters like us who live in the mud, it’s better to be called by our small names to live longer. A fortune teller told our parents that our brothers have cheap fates, so calling us by our big names might not be able to support them. It’s fine not to mention them.”

The more cautious the other party was, the more Chen Ji wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Leading Zao Zao, he walked side by side with the two and casually started chatting: “You two are escorts, you must have been to quite a few places, right? I haven’t been out much, I wonder if you two can tell me about some sights from various places to broaden my horizons.”

A Da’s fingers suddenly tightened: “I wonder what young master wants to hear?”

Chen Ji asked with a smile: “First, tell me where you have been.”

A Da smiled: “We just came back from Runan. How about I tell young master about matters in Runan? Runan is a beautiful place, surrounded by water on all sides, the county city is like a gourd ladle in the lake…”

Chen Ji suddenly asked: “Besides Runan, where else have you two been to escort before?”

A Da and A Si subconsciously exchanged a glance. A Da’s mouth didn’t stop: “We have been to Jinci before to deliver someone. It was the second young master of the Qiao family, a Jin merchant. That trip was thrilling, all mountains along the way, and some mountain bandits. Right, we have also been to Jinling. At that time, we were responsible for escorting Staff Yao’s silver from Luo city…”

Chen Ji became interested: “I haven’t been to Jinling yet. I heard that the Qinhuai River there is full of singing girls, and at night it’s like a wonderland of fire and silver flowers, with bright lights. Is that true?”

A Da actually became interested too: “Indeed! That Qinhuai River is very lively at night, both banks are covered in smoke, merchants gather; golden powder buildings are tall and short; evening wine houses and tea shops are joyful all night, full of wine and women. The boats on the river, the big ones are called ‘walking warehouses’, the small ones are called ‘vine sheds’. Boats hang bright horn lamps, and women sit under the lamps playing the pipa. Those women one by one have graceful figures, with thin gauze covering their faces, making it unclear from a distance… It’s a pity that my brother and I are short of money and don’t dare to ask them to row a boat over.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked curiously: “I heard that the Guozixue on the south bank of the Qinhuai River is very lively, with many students. Linsheng have to worship there before the imperial examination, they say it’s very effective.”

A Da glanced at him: “Young master must have remembered wrong. The Guozixue is likely on the north bank, not the south bank.”

Chen Ji said “Ah”: “Did I remember wrong? Does the plaque in front of the Guozixue say ‘Tianxia Wenyun’?”

A Da laughed heartily: “Young master’s memory is indeed not good. The plaque in front of the Guozixue is called ‘Tianxia Wenshu’, not Tianxia Wenyun!”

A Da talked endlessly, showing that he knew the Qinhuai River like the back of his hand.

Chen Ji fell into thought. If this A Da and A Si were really Er Dao and Pao Ge, they shouldn’t have been to Jinling personally. Why could they speak so fluently?

Moreover, he had set two traps, but the other party could easily resolve them.

Could it really be just a coincidence?

Or was Pao Ge meticulous in his thinking? Although he was a foreign guest, he supplemented his identity loopholes to avoid being exposed. Hadn’t he previously checked the files of the secret spy department to cover his identity?

This A Da had already revealed a flaw.

This era was not like later generations where everyone was literate. Instead, few were literate, and the majority were illiterate. In a profession like escorts, among ten escorts, it would be good to find one who was literate.

When this A Da described the Qinhuai River earlier, he was clearly literary and formal, like reciting texts. He could even remember the plaque “Tianxia Wenshu”. Was this knowledge something an ordinary escort would possess?

A Da and A Si definitely had problems!

Chen Ji had the impulse to open his mouth and ask directly, Are you Er Dao? Are you Pao Ge?

But what would happen after asking?

Before his death in his previous life, Pao Ge once admired him and lamented that they met too late. But if Chen Ji therefore considered Pao Ge a good person, that would be greatly wrong.

It was precisely because of Pao Ge’s bad reputation in the martial world that he chose the other as a key link in his plan.

This person had been a freestyle fighter in his early years. Because he killed someone in a black boxing match, he went to prison and was sentenced. After coming out of prison, he followed a big brother in the dao to operate a high-interest loan business and was good at violent collection. He had been to the bureau at least six or seven times, and later became a big brother himself.

If this kind of person knew Chen Ji’s real identity, it was hard to guarantee what would happen.

While thinking, he saw the convoy stop at the Mengjin Relay Station. Escort Head Liang waved his arms under the setting sun and shouted: “Don’t just stand there! Drive all the carts into the backyard, eat hot meals in turns, and we’ll stay in the woodshed and cowshed tonight to watch the owner’s goods!”

Seeing the situation, A Da turned his head to Chen Ji and smiled: “Third young master, we have to go to work. If you still want to hear something, you can come find us after we finish.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said: “Thank you two for your trouble.”

A Da and A Si lowered their heads and entered the backyard. A Si asked in a low voice: “Brother, didn’t you say that officials are all bad people? I think this young master is quite good.”

A Da’s eyes were deep: “We must investigate the root of everything, don’t be careless… I’m only afraid that the matter will be exposed. Strange, where did we reveal ourselves?”

A Si asked in a low voice: “Shall we get rid of him?”

A Da scratched his eyebrows helplessly: “I told you early on not to be always thinking about fighting and killing. You have to learn to be a person first!”

A Si turned his head and looked at his own buttocks, becoming troubled.

A Da sighed: “I’m speaking metaphorically!”

A Si asked: “What should we do now?”

A Da didn’t answer.

He stood in the backyard and looked towards outside the yard, his eyes deep.

The relay stations of the Ning Dynasty were all officially run and were one of the largest military institutions, specifically in charge of relay, station, and post matters.

The so-called ‘relay’ was to rely on ‘mail symbols’ to verify identity, entertain guests, and arrange supplies and personnel transportation.

The so-called ‘station’ was to rely on ‘Soldier Department fire tickets’ and ‘Secret Spy Department fire cards’ to verify identity and transmit important urgent documents and military intelligence, which was for military use.

The so-called ‘post’ was for normal official transmission of documents, managed by the county magistrate and prefect.

The scale of the Mengjin Relay exceeded Chen Ji’s imagination, far surpassing ordinary inns. Even if a dozen inns were added together, they would not be as big. Just like the Ning Dynasty’s most famous ‘Jiming Mountain Relay’, it even had the title of a relay city, a veritable small city.

It was gradually getting late. After Chen Ji settled Xiao Man, he immediately went out to the backyard where the cows and carts were. However, he could only smell the cow dung. He walked among the cow carts for half a while, but still couldn’t find any trace of A Da and A Si.

He called out to Escort Head Liang: “Escort Head, where are A Da and A Si?”

Escort Head Liang was startled for a moment: “Third young master, who are A Da and A Si?”

Chen Ji’s heart sank. He said in a low voice: “They are in your escort team, the two who often walk together, one tall and one short. One of them speaks and does things strictly by the book. Do you have an impression?”

Escort Head Liang’s face changed: “What do you want with them two? Did they offend you?”

Chen Ji shook his head: “No, I just chatted with them on the road today and got along well. I want to listen to them talk about sights from other places again.”

Escort Head Liang slightly relaxed: “Oh, I see… Then I’ll help you find them.”

Saying this, he cleared his throat and asked: “Dao Zi, Diao Zi?”

He shouted for a while, but no one responded.

Escort Head Liang pulled an escort by the arm: “Did you see Dao Zi and Diao Zi?”

That escort was holding a bowl of buckwheat noodles and slurping with sound. He swallowed a mouthful of noodles and used his chopsticks to point at the yard door: “They said they went out to buy wine to drink.”

Escort Head Liang asked: “How long ago did they go?”

The escort recalled: “Oh, I’m afraid it’s been an hour. The sky wasn’t dark when they went, why haven’t they come back yet?”

Chen Ji looked at the night outside the yard and hesitated for a long time… They ran!