Chapter 32: The Abyss

Upon arriving in this world, Chen Ji knew nothing of himself, piecing together his identity only from the scattered fragments of information gleaned from others. Now, his past was becoming increasingly complete… and increasingly perilous.

A Jing Chao spy? Was he truly a Jing Chao spy?!

For Chen Ji, this was the most dire outcome, as if he walked a razor's edge atop a sheer cliff face, with an abyss of ten thousand *zhang* on either side. A fall to the left or right meant eternal damnation.

What was he to do?

The one behind Chen Ji, pressing a blade to his back, calmly spoke, "Do not act rashly, or death awaits."

The voice was dry and muffled, yet possessed an absolute confidence. This opponent must be a seasoned official, a prominent figure within the Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department!

Chen Ji remained still, yet heard the shopkeeper speak, "Lord Si Cao, I have confirmed it. Master Zhou's matter that night involved this boy passing information. Now, Master Zhou's entire family has vanished, yet this boy alone remains. He must have betrayed us."

Lord Si Cao of the Military Intelligence, his icy blade pressed tightly against Chen Ji’s neck, inquired in a hushed voice, "Do you have anything to say?"

Chen Ji’s thoughts raced, finally calming as he replied, "The night I went to Zhou Cheng Yi’s mansion, he had already been betrayed by the 'slender horse' of Cui Zhu Yuan in White Clothes Lane. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu then came calling… How can you say his death was due to my defection?"

The shopkeeper retorted in a low voice, "Then how did you survive? Jiao Tu and Yun Yang are renowned for their bloodthirstiness. If you hadn't defected and offered meritorious service, how could you be alive now? You have already betrayed Jing Chao!"

Having just received a kick, the shopkeeper, in his fury, seized the opportunity to aim another kick at Chen Ji's abdomen, causing him to double over.

Chen Ji sought to retaliate, but the person behind him delivered a kick to the back of his knee.

Chen Ji’s knee buckled, and he nearly sank to the ground.

But he held firm, his knee not yet touching the earth before he straightened up.

Lord Si Cao delivered several more kicks. Each time, before Chen Ji could kneel, he would struggle back to his feet. Seeing this, the Si Cao pressed down on his shoulder with great force. This time, Chen Ji risked a fractured shoulder, refusing to bend his knee in the slightest.

Standing tall, he stared fiercely at the shopkeeper, his voice like tempered steel. "No matter how many times you torture me, the outcome will be the same. I ask but one question: If I have already defected, why are you still alive and speaking with me?!"

The shopkeeper’s face stiffened. This was precisely why they hadn’t immediately killed Chen Ji. Although all signs pointed to his defection, strangely, everyone else besides Zhou Cheng Yi and Liu Shi Yu remained safe and sound. Given Chen Ji's identity, his defection would be a disaster for the entire Luo City Military Intelligence system. The Military Intelligence had to confirm exactly what had transpired.

The storeroom, filled with medicinal herbs, felt somewhat cramped. The breathing of the three individuals within the room could be heard distinctly.

Chen Ji slowly exhaled, pinching the blade with two fingers and pushing the dagger clamped against his neck slightly away. "You wish to kill me without discerning black from white? Allow me to finish. After I arrived at the Zhou mansion, I had barely exchanged a few words with Zhou Cheng Yi when Yun Yang and Jiao Tu arrived. Zhou Cheng Yi knew there was no hope of survival and told me to protect myself. He then swallowed poison and committed suicide. I subsequently lived on under the guise of a medical hall apprentice. The Secret Spy Department still does not know my true identity."

Having said his piece, he no longer looked at the Bai Lu Ge shopkeeper. Instead, he turned directly to face the Military Intelligence Si Cao behind him: the third most important figure of the Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department lurking within Ning Chao!

This Si Cao wore a simple gray robe, with two patches on each elbow and knee. Oddly, the Si Cao wore a thin wooden mask carved with a fearsome, fanged green face.

Before he could even open his mouth to speak, the Si Cao raised his hand and struck him precisely on the neck, rendering him unconscious.

……

……

When Chen Ji slowly awoke, he suddenly found himself suspended upside down somewhere. A black cloth covered his head, rendering everything dark. His wrist felt as if it had been cut, a burning pain radiating from it.

He heard a sticky dripping sound, as if his blood was falling drop by drop. That dripping sound was like the countdown of life itself, instilling fear and urgency in one's heart.

But Chen Ji, strangely, calmed down.

"Based on the rate of bleeding, you have only two quarters of an hour left to live," the Si Cao's voice, somewhat muffled, emanated from behind the mask. "Now I ask you, the Secret Spy Department always prefers to kill the wrong person rather than let one escape. Even if they don't know your spy identity, they certainly wouldn't let you live. Tell me, what did you rely on to get them to spare you?"

Chen Ji, in the darkness, explained, "Because I performed meritorious service. Using alum as a clue, and vinegar to brush the paper, I discovered the secret letter that the paper shop delivered to Zhou Cheng Yi."

The Si Cao's voice deepened. "If what you say is true, then your displayed ability does not match your identity as a medical hall apprentice. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu would certainly be suspicious! Yuan Ming, when he came, did you confirm no one followed him?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "No."

"Confirm it again. See if there are any suspicious faces near Bai Lu Ge at this time."

"Understood."

The Bai Lu Ge shopkeeper, named Yuan Ming, immediately pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard. With a copper whistle, he emitted a crisp swallow call.

Soon, from the southeast, northwest, and other directions outside Bai Lu Ge, swallow calls successively echoed back.

The shopkeeper returned to the room, his face showing doubt. "Lord Si Cao, the brothers stationed around have reported. Indeed, no one followed him."

The Si Cao fell into thought. "What did you rely on to gain the trust of the Secret Spy Department, to the point where you don't even have a tail?"

Chen Ji also fell into thought. Yes, what did he rely on… He seemed to have suddenly gained the trust of Yun Yang and Jiao Tu. Not only could he go to the inner prison, but he could even freely examine files. Those files were the Secret Spy Department's most crucial. If Yun Yang and Jiao Tu still suspected him of being a Jing Chao spy, it would be absolutely impossible for them to let him examine them.

Why?

Wait, it was because of that strange dream.

Chen Ji recalled that in the dream, an opponent had once controlled his subconscious and asked him some questions. And the reason he had luckily passed the interrogation at that time was because… at that time, he truly didn't know he was a Jing Chao spy!

So close! He had actually managed to dodge the interrogation by sheer luck!

Drip, drip.

The sound of blood falling continued, as if urging life along. Chen Ji’s face was calm, yet his tone was urgent. "Earlier, I had a dream. In the dream, someone kept asking me if I was a Jing Chao spy. At that time, my mind almost lost its defenses, but ultimately, I still guarded my mind and answered 'no'."

The Si Cao seemed somewhat surprised. "Dream Chicken personally made a move? You actually resisted Dream Chicken's interrogation."

However, the Si Cao did not fully believe him.

Chen Ji felt a pain in his arm, as if it had been cut with a knife again. The sound of fresh blood dripping vanished, replaced by the sound of blood pouring in a thin stream into a wooden basin, pattering and urging relentlessly.

The Si Cao calmly stated, "No matter how eloquently you speak, it is all possible that the Secret Spy Department taught you and arranged it. If you want me to believe you, then prove your continued loyalty to Jing Chao. If you cannot prove it, I can only kill you. I believe your uncle will understand me."

Chen Ji was startled. His uncle?

At this moment, the shopkeeper said, "Lord, don't waste words with him. The Secret Spy Department letting him live certainly has a conspiracy. If he is allowed to go back again, who knows when Bai Lu Ge will be completely destroyed? This is one of our most important assets in the south. Many people rely on Bai Lu Ge for support."

The Si Cao did not reply, simply waiting for Chen Ji’s answer.

Chen Ji closed his eyes, his mind racing with how he could prove his continued loyalty to Jing Chao. Reopening his eyes, he spoke with determination. "I saw that Jin Si Lu at Liu Shi Yu's home, which used an anti-cutting method to hide information, but I did not give it to Yun Yang and Jiao Tu. In the book, Liu Shi Yu revealed that a high-ranking palace figure was in contact with our Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department, and also revealed that the entire Liu family had already turned to Jing Chao. If this book were handed over, perhaps the Liu family would struggle to escape disaster!"

The Si Cao held his breath. "Where is the Jin Si Lu?"

"Burned."

The Si Cao’s eyes narrowed slightly, a fierce light flashing within them as he quietly pondered. "You are indeed not lying about this point. The Secret Spy Department did not find that Jin Si Lu. After I snuck into the Liu Shi Yu mansion to search for it, I also didn't find it. So you hid it beforehand. Very good…"

Chen Ji's heart turned cold. The Jing Chao Military Intelligence Department actually knew that the Secret Spy Department hadn't obtained the Jin Si Lu? Could it be that there were other spies in the Liu family mansion that night?!

Just as the Si Cao was deep in thought, the shopkeeper urgently spoke, "Lord Si Cao, no matter how eloquently this boy speaks, he cannot change the fact that he betrayed his colleagues. You may know that after the Liu family paper shop was confiscated, it involved a wide range of people. Not only did it harm Liu Shi Yu, but it also almost caused a major disaster!"

Chen Ji, hanging upside down from the beam, solemnly asked, "Dare I ask, who else among our Jing Chao has gained the trust of the Secret Spy Department's Twelve Zodiacs? Who else can dodge Dream Chicken's interrogation?"

A change came over the Si Cao’s eyes. Dream Chicken was one of the biggest obstacles for the Military Intelligence Department in infiltrating the Secret Spy Department. How many spies had successively attempted to penetrate the Secret Spy Department, only to ultimately fall before Dream Chicken. Now Chen Ji had escaped his opponent's interrogation. Perhaps it truly was an opportunity.

But how could he confirm that Chen Ji had truly escaped the interrogation?

Chen Ji had waited a long time for the Si Cao's answer. Finally, he took a gamble. "Give me one month's time. Within one month, I can prove that I have not defected, prove my loyalty to Jing Chao."

The Si Cao thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at the shopkeeper. "Pass the message out. I want to see 'Long Whale.' I have an important matter to assign to him."

The shopkeeper seemed to hesitate, but still turned and went out the door.

The Si Cao remained silent in the room for a long time, finally cutting the rope and lowering Chen Ji. He slowly placed the dagger back into the sheath within his sleeve. "This time coming to Ning Chao, your uncle once asked me to look after you on his behalf, but I did not expect to encounter such changes. Rest assured, if it is truly as you say, I will not only not kill you, but I will also protect you. But if you deceive me, do not blame me for being ruthless."

Chen Ji took off the black cloth covering his head. He saw that he was still in the medicinal materials storeroom, and the Si Cao held a chicken in his hand. The chicken's blood had already been poured into the wooden basin. Chen Ji's heart was not surprised, yet he still pretended to touch his arm in surprise. The place where he had felt pain earlier had no wound.

The Si Cao calmly explained, "I still rely on you to infiltrate the Secret Spy Department. Naturally, I would not casually leave wounds on your body to cause suspicion. Furthermore, in consideration of your uncle, I am willing to give you the opportunity to prove yourself."

His uncle was not a person of Ning Chao, but a person of Jing Chao? Then he at least had half of Jing Chao's bloodline. Chen Ji had originally thought that the Jing Chao people would be nomadic, their appearance vastly different from those of Ning Chao. But from his own appearance, Ning Chao and Jing Chao were clearly of the same origin, completely contrary to his previous judgments of this world. For a time, he only felt his identity becoming even more mysterious. No wonder his opponent had said earlier…

"You have betrayed your identity, betrayed your surname."