Chapter 70

In the gentle morning sunlight, Chen Ji had Liang Mao Er and She Deng Ke carry him and his bamboo chair to the main hall of the medical clinic.

As the old man, Lao Yao, diagnosed patients, and She Deng Ke and Liang Mao Er prepared the medicine, Chen Ji watched from the side. It was as if the sunlight shining in from outside the door and the lively atmosphere of An Xi Street were all imprinted in his mind.

If he went to Jing Chao, it would be difficult to return before he stepped into the realm of seeking the path within his sword seed lineage and mountain king lineage.

Liu Qu Xing returned to the medical clinic gleefully, carrying pork, mutton, fish, a basket of vegetables, and a jar of osmanthus rice wine from the Xue family’s old wine shop.

Lao Yao, who was just sitting behind the counter taking pulses, saw him come in with a large pile of things and asked, bewildered, "Did you sell your brain? You're suddenly so rich."

Liu Qu Xing replied, "Master, what are you saying? Chen Ji gave me the money to buy these. He said he wants to cook a meal for everyone at noon."

Lao Yao was slightly startled and turned his head to look at Chen Ji doubtfully.

Liu Qu Xing carried the items in front of Chen Ji and rattled off the prices like beans pouring from a bamboo tube: "Today, pork is forty-one wen per jin, mutton is thirty-four wen per jin, and the fish is fifty-two wen each."

After speaking, he took out a string of copper coins from his sleeve: "This is your change. I didn't pocket a single coin for myself."

Chen Ji smiled and took the copper coins: "Thank you, senior brother, for helping me buy things."

Liu Qu Xing said happily, "I'll take all these to the kitchen and help wash the vegetables first."

She Deng Ke asked curiously, "Chen Ji, why do you suddenly want to treat everyone to a meal? Is there something good happening?"

"Nothing good," Chen Ji replied with a smile, "I've been injured these past few days, and everyone has been taking care of me. You and Senior Brother Liu Qu Xing helped me change my dressing, Big Brother Liang Mao Er carried me around everywhere, and Master diagnosed me and prescribed medicine. It's only right that I treat everyone to a meal."

In fact, if circumstances allowed, Chen Ji even wanted to buy Liu Qu Xing a Li Ji cherry tile hat, Yu Deng Ke a set of silk clothes, Liang Mao Er a box of Zheng Xin Zhai pastries, and Lao Yao a new bamboo chair.

But he was leaving tomorrow evening for distant Jing Chao, and there was no time.

Chen Ji suddenly said, "Oh, right, some of the tiles on our medical clinic are overgrown with grass. There must be bird droppings on the roof, and the grass seeds in the droppings weren't digested properly, so willow tree seedlings grew."

"Willow tree seedlings are very harmful to the roof. If they aren't pulled out in time, the roof will probably leak when it rains later."

"Our medical clinic windows should also have the paper repasted, otherwise they will definitely let in wind in the winter."

"The cotton quilts of the two senior brothers should also be fluffed up with cotton, otherwise they won't be warm."

Lao Yao said suspiciously, "Why are you rambling like you're saying your last words, boy? Relax, that little injury of yours isn't going to kill you."

Chen Ji smiled and said nothing more. He was afraid that saying anything else would reveal clues.

At this moment, Lao Yao picked up a medicine prescription: "One of you go to Guang Le Street and take these two doses of medicine to Wang Yuan Wai."

She Deng Ke raised his hand: "Master, I'll go. Guang Le Street is a bit far, and my legs and feet are good."

"Okay, then you go."

Chen Ji slowly stood up, supporting the armrest of the bamboo chair. He rolled up his sleeves to his forearms and slowly moved to the back kitchen to pick vegetables with Liu Qu Xing.

Liu Qu Xing laughed happily: "It's only right for senior brothers to take care of each other. It's not worth you spending so much money. Where did you get this money, by the way? Did your family give it to you?"

"The county master gave it to me."

Liu Qu Xing smacked his lips: "The county master is really good, not like a high official or noble."

"What kind of appearance should high officials and nobles have?" Chen Ji asked.

"They should just look down on you, like they're looking at an ant," Liu Qu Xing sighed: "That year, my parents and I went to attend the birthday banquet of Old Master Liu. Officials and nobles gathered that day, some even came from the capital, Jin Ling, and Hu Di."

"You didn't see the scene; the horse carriages lined up for several li outside the big courtyard gate of the Liu family."

Liu Qu Xing continued: "My father was just a small official in Meng Jin County. He was still somewhat respected in Meng Jin County, but when he got to the big courtyard of the Liu family, no one even looked at him properly. The Liu family arranged for us to sit at the servants' table."

"Being at the same table as servants was one thing, but even the servants of those officials and nobles didn't look at us properly."

"When you go to a place like that, you realize that people really do have different ranks."

"Didn't you think about taking the imperial examination? I see you study medicine very hard, there's no reason you can't study the classics."

Liu Qu Xing laughed: "The imperial examination path is not for small doors and small households."

"The teachers in those private schools also judge people."

"If you only pay tuition, then you only listen to some of the most superficial knowledge in the private school."

"But if you often send up rice, flour, money, and grain, he will let you come to his home for small classes and teach you real things!"

Chen Ji was silent.

Liu Qu Xing smiled and shook his head: "Instead of giving those people dozens of taels of silver, it's better to hug Master's leg and become an imperial physician. Then, when I meet those private school teachers, I'll deliberately stab them with a few more needles when I acupuncture them!"

Chen Ji laughed.

Perhaps the reason he felt some reluctance about this place was precisely because of people like Liu Qu Xing, who were a little bit vulgar and a little bit lovely.

Chen Ji looked at Liu Qu Xing, who was bowing his head and picking vegetables, and said, "Senior Brother Liu, you will definitely become a good imperial physician in the future, and your days will be prosperous."

"Borrowing your auspicious words," Liu Qu Xing asked, "What dishes are you planning to make for lunch? Braised pork with noodles, steamed perch, scallion-braised mutton, red-braised eggplant, and then cook a pot of white rice, how about that?"

Liu Qu Xing salivated a bit: "That sounds delicious!"

At this moment, She Deng Ke ran back into the medical clinic from outside, shouting loudly: "Master, Master, quick save me, I was cut by a thief with a knife blade and my arm is ruined."

The crowd looked, and suddenly saw She Deng Ke's sleeve cut open by a sharp weapon, all the way from his wrist to his elbow. His clothes were torn, and fresh blood was flowing.

Lao Yao tore open the part of the clothes covering the wound and saw that the skin was split and the flesh was exposed. His face suddenly darkened: "What kind of ruthless thief is this, stealing is one thing, but injuring someone like this, why!"

Just as he was speaking, a carriage slowly stopped at the door. It was Shopkeeper Yuan, who jumped out of the carriage, squinted his eyes with a smile, and walked into the medical clinic carrying two bags of pastries.

Shopkeeper Yuan was wearing a set of bright red satin clothes and a gold crown on his head, exuding an air of wealth.

He put the pastries on the counter and bowed with a smile: "Imperial Physician Yao, I have come to visit Chen Ji again. He may be better today."

Imperial Physician Yao coldly glanced at him and said plainly, "Chen Ji is in the courtyard, go look yourself."

Shopkeeper Yuan went directly to the backyard, lifted his clothes, and sat on the stool opposite Chen Ji.

Chen Ji was peeling the outer layers of a large scallion and calmly asked, "She Deng Ke's injury, you did it."

Shopkeeper Yuan said with a smile, "I told you to contact that person in Wang Fu, but you didn't even go out yesterday and didn't send me a message."

"I said I would only give you one day. Since you want to challenge my patience, then I also have to let you know the consequences of challenging me."

Chen Ji threw away the onion in his hand and looked directly into Shopkeeper Yuan's eyes: "What if I still don't help you contact him?"

Shopkeeper Yuan picked up the onion that Chen Ji had thrown away from the ground and peeled it layer by layer until the innermost layer, then gently broke it: "Starting from today, for every day you don't make contact, one person in this Tai Ping Medical Clinic will die."

"If everyone dies and you still don't make contact, you will also have to die."

Chen Ji was speechless.

Now Liang Dog Er was unwilling to oppose the secret service, and although Liang Mao Er was naturally strong, he was unable to guard against secret agents' sneak attacks.

If Shopkeeper Yuan was really determined to force him and let the Tai Ping Medical Clinic die one person a day, it was absolutely not empty words.

Moreover, once the other side discovered that he had signs of defecting to the secret service and reporting, the three people responsible for monitoring the Tai Ping Medical Clinic would immediately kill to silence him.

Chen Ji said in a condensed voice, "I said I am seriously injured and cannot move easily. How can I contact that person in Wang Fu?"

Shopkeeper Yuan lowered his voice and said seriously, "Do you know how many people in my Jing Chao border army died for these drawings and formulas because of Ning Chao firearms? How many spies in my military intelligence department died one after another when they were just one step away? How can this be delayed because of you?"

Chen Ji's heart suddenly enlightened. That rainy night, Shopkeeper Yuan visited the medical clinic but was interrupted by Jin Zhu.

The other side could have killed him at that time, but the reason they didn't was not because the other side was kind-hearted, but because the other side was worried that his death would delay the second delivery of goods!

Once all the goods were delivered, Shopkeeper Yuan would definitely kill him.

Shopkeeper Yuan stared at Chen Ji, folding the onion in his hand into two pieces and throwing it on the ground: "I have said everything I should say. Getting this batch of goods one day earlier means my Jing Chao can research these Ning Chao firearms one day earlier. The border army is dying heroically at the border; you and I in Ning Chao should also sacrifice our lives."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment before answering: "I understand. I will contact that important figure in Wang Fu as soon as possible and definitely get the time and place for the second batch of goods before midnight tomorrow."

Shopkeeper Yuan laughed with satisfaction. He stood up and patted Chen Ji's shoulder: "That's more like it."

"Oh, right, I brought you Zheng Xin Zhai pastries and put them on the counter. Don't forget to eat them."

"If this matter is successful, I will definitely promote you to pigeon level. Our dynasty does not mistreat meritorious subjects."

After saying this, he swung his arms and left the medical clinic. Chen Ji then sat alone in the courtyard, falling into endless silence.

Now it was no longer a matter of where and when to deliver the goods. Once he left, Shopkeeper Yuan would also definitely not let go of the people around him.

Shopkeeper Yuan would not let go, and Jin Zhu would also not let go. The intelligence agencies of the two dynasties had killed each other for countless years, and their hearts were already hard as iron. They simply did not care about the life and death of ordinary people.

Human life in their eyes was as cheap as wild grass.

So, go or not go?

If he didn't go, everyone would die together.

Chen Ji stood up and followed the procedure to cook the dishes. When the dishes were served, everyone praised them endlessly. Even Yu Deng Ke, who had just been injured, wrapped his wound and ate three bowls of white rice.

In the joyful laughter, only Chen Ji spoke a few silent words.

This meal should not have been eaten like this.

While eating, Chen Ji suddenly tentatively asked, "Master, She Deng Ke was cut by a thief, are we just going to let it go?"

Lao Yao glanced at him: "Those marketplace thieves are all organized. If you seek revenge against one, a group of people will come to seek revenge against you. Then, how can you still live?"

"Oh, oh."

Lao Yao added meaningfully, "Where you should go, go there. What you should do, do it. Don't let others influence you."

Chen Ji was startled. He suddenly felt that Master had guessed something?

What did the other side mean by these words, telling him to go quickly?

She Deng Ke said happily, "Chen Ji, just don't think about this matter. Don't hurt yourself because of me."

After finishing the meal, Chen Ji lay back on the bamboo chair.

He slowly closed his eyes, returning to that ancient battlefield, picking up the long knife named 'Whale'.

At night, Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and came to the courtyard.

Liang Dog Er still hadn't returned, and the young master and county master, and the little monk hadn't even climbed over the wall to borrow a path. There wasn't even a proper farewell.

Guided by Crow Uncle, Chen Ji climbed over the wall into the backyard of the cloth shop. He saw Wu Hong Biao somehow found a broom and a wooden bucket and was washing and sweeping the ground in the courtyard.

He asked curiously, "With your injury, why are you still sweeping the ground in the middle of the night?"

Wu Hong Biao said with a smile, "There are some mouse bones and bloodstains thrown in the courtyard. If someone comes to look at the shop and gets scared, it might cause unnecessary trouble for the shop owner."

"You seem to be in a good mood," Chen Ji asked.

Wu Hong Biao said with a smile, "Let me tell you some good news. I saw Si Cao today. He doesn't want to kill us. In addition, he has arranged for other people to send us away. We can return to Jing Chao tomorrow evening!"

Chen Ji hummed: "Reliable? They won't be trying to lure us out and kill us?"

Wu Hong Biao propped up the broom and thought for a moment: "It should be reliable. When he pulled me into the small alley today, I was already prepared to die, but he didn't make a move. If he wanted to kill us, it wouldn't have needed to be so troublesome."

Saying this, Chen Ji leaned against the door frame, slowly sat on the threshold, and said softly, "Do you miss your hometown?"

Wu Hong Biao propped the broom and stood in the courtyard. While looking at the moon in the sky, he said yearningly, "Yes, I miss it. I was taken to the cold camp for hard training when I was twelve and never had the opportunity to return home to see my parents again."

"This time back, I should have the opportunity to go home."

"When I was little in the village, when autumn came, everyone would pick pears from the fruit trees. The good ones were sold to the city, and the ones that weren't good were left to make frozen pears."

"The kind of frozen pears we made were sour and astringent. My grandma called them 'choke dead dog', but strangely, they were delicious when they were frozen."

"In winter, the adults would carry hard bows and bring four or five hunting dogs up the mountain to hunt blind bears. We would wait at home with hope. When they dragged the blind bears back, Grandma would peel the fat from the blind bears and fry it into oil for us to eat."

"Many people said it was smelly, but I thought it was extremely delicious."

"When we go back to Jing Chao, I will definitely take you back to my hometown to see. At that time, I will treat you to frozen pears and fried oil shuttle."

"We can also go up the mountain and kill blind bears."

Chen Ji listened silently. Perhaps Wu Hong Biao had suffered too much during this period, so he was more emotional, or perhaps he had always missed his homeland in the north country after coming to Ning Chao. Now that he was finally going back, he was especially talkative tonight.

He had also recently heard fragmented words from traveling merchants and knew that Jing Chao seemed to have ten states, and Wu Hong Biao's hometown was probably in the northeasternmost state, "Shang Jing Dao."

Chen Ji sat on the threshold, looking at the moon with Wu Hong Biao: "Brother Biao Zi, when you were seriously injured, why did you still come to report the news to me? What if I betrayed you?"

Wu Hong Biao said with a smile, "Actually, I was a little scared on the way to escape. What if you really betrayed me, boy? But if I didn't come, I'm afraid I would regret it."

After saying this, the two people, one sitting and one standing, were silent at the same time.

Although their situations were different, both of them wanted to leave this troublesome place and no longer have to worry about living every day, but when it was time to go, their moods were complex.

Chen Ji suddenly said, "Brother Biao Zi, you go back, I'm not going."

"Huh?" Wu Hong Biao was startled: "You're not going? You'll die if you stay in Luo City!"

Chen Ji smiled: "Did you forget? My father is the assistant magistrate of Luo City. I have ways."

"Then I'll stay too!" Wu Hong Biao said firmly.

Chen Ji and Wu Hong Biao looked at each other: "What about your sister?"

Wu Hong Biao was startled.

Just now, Chen Ji really wanted Wu Hong Biao to stay and help him kill that Shopkeeper Yuan, but he couldn't do that.

He said with a smile, "Go back safely. I'll move back to the Chen family home in Luo City tomorrow. I don't believe Shopkeeper Yuan dares to sneak into the assistant magistrate's home to kill me. Do you think he dares?"

Wu Hong Biao scratched his head: "Also, if he really dares to assassinate someone at the assistant magistrate's home, not to mention that Luo City can't accommodate him, the entire Ning Chao can't accommodate him... Then you're really not going?"

"Yes, I'm staying to continue serving Jing Chao!" Chen Ji stood up and patted the dust off his butt: "I probably won't be able to see you off tomorrow. Have a good life when you go back to Jing Chao. Don't come back to Ning Chao again."

Wu Hong Biao laughed heartily: "I don't want to come back here and worry about living either. I'll wait for you in Jing Chao."

Saying this, he actually opened his arms.

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, finally also opening his arms, and hugged Wu Hong Biao for a bit, then climbed over the wall and left the cloth shop.

When he climbed out, Dark Cloud was squatting on the wall next door. It asked curiously, "We're really not going?"

Chen Ji said with a smile, "No, I'm afraid I'll regret it."

"You go beat White Prajna up. I have something to say to its master."