Chapter 76: Another Explosion

On the dim street, Shìzǐ and Bái Lǐ were fleeing with their heads down from Hóngyī Alley, first heading north, then turning west.

The two no longer had any composure or calmness. Their clothes were torn in several places, and their hair was disheveled.

They were panting and running when they suddenly heard an explosive loud noise behind them. Immediately after, the entire Luòchéng seemed to awaken, and the guard dogs of every household began barking madly.

Bái Lǐ stopped, her face showing worry as she turned back to look at Hóngyī Alley. "What happened? How could there be such a sound?"

Shìzǐ thought for a moment. "It sounds like someone used firearms. When I followed my father to observe the Shénjī Camp's firearm and cannon drills, it made this kind of noise."

"Firearms and cannons?"

Bái Lǐ was startled. She turned and wanted to head back towards Ānxī Street.

Shìzǐ's face changed drastically. He quickly grabbed her arm. "My little ancestor, what are you doing? We just managed to escape with great difficulty!"

Bái Lǐ turned back urgently. "These firearms and cannons, could they be used against the person who just saved us? The power of those firearms and cannons is so great that even a high official has to temporarily avoid their sharpness. How can he block it?"

Shìzǐ also became conflicted. "Logically speaking, the Shénjī Camp is a hundred li away. Unless it's a major incident, they absolutely wouldn't enter Luòchéng."

Furthermore, even if the Shénjī Camp came, they wouldn't dare use firearms and cannons in the city arbitrarily.

"I guess it shouldn't be firearms and cannons, maybe other things... We should go back and save him. That chivalrous man saved us; we can't be ungrateful."

"Is there any way to save him?" Bái Lǐ asked.

Shìzǐ thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "The two of us just running back like this definitely won't save him. Follow me to the Qiān Suì military camp and find Uncle Wáng to dispatch troops to surround Hóngyī Alley."

"As long as you and I can persuade Uncle Wáng to move the Qiān Suì army, no matter how elite the Jiè Fān Guards are, they only have five hundred people!"

"Can we persuade Uncle Wáng? He won't move without father's tiger tally," Bái Lǐ said worriedly.

"I'll kowtow to Uncle Wáng. I guarantee it will work!"

Bái Lǐ: ......

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar. Shìzǐ quickly pulled Bái Lǐ to hide in a dark, narrow alley. They found an abandoned bamboo basket in the alley and used it to cover themselves.

A moment later, five hundred Jiè Fān Guard riders passed by outside the alley. Their neat hats, raincoats, and waist knives on the moonlight-illuminated stone road were particularly cold and solemn.

Beside Lín Cháoqīng, a young man reined in his horse and walked by his side. "Sir, will Jīn Zhū fail this time?"

"No." Lín Cháoqīng said flatly.

"He arbitrarily mobilized our Méngjīn Camp's Jiè Fān Guards but returned without success, not even catching a single Jǐng Dynasty thief. Why not take this opportunity to arrest him back to the capital?" The young man said doubtfully. "Even if this matter is taken to the Minister, we are in the right."

"These Twelve Zodiacs of the Secret Spy Division act arrogantly and overbearingly. Catching them is eliminating harm for the people."

Lín Cháoqīng looked ahead. Although he was riding a horse, his waist was straight like a long spear. "Jiāo Tù and Yún Yáng in the Secret Spy Division have no foundation. Dealing with them is just dealing with them."

"Jīn Zhū is different. These past few years, he has been loyal and devoted to the Minister, and he has Tiānmǎ's protection behind him. We can't move him with just this small matter."

As he spoke, the Jiè Fān Guards gradually moved away.

After some time, Shìzǐ confirmed that there was no one outside the alley. He then removed the broken basket from himself and Bái Lǐ. "They seem not to have caught the person. We don't need to go save anyone anymore."

"This person is so formidable, actually able to escape from the hands of the Secret Spy Division and the Jiè Fān Guards."

Bái Lǐ hesitated for a moment and asked, "Brother, do you recognize the person who saved us? Did you feel he was a bit familiar?"

Shìzǐ said awkwardly, "At that time, I was only thinking about how to escape. I really didn't observe carefully... Could it be one of the jiānghú people I befriended before, who saw us in danger and came out to risk their life to help?"

Speaking of those jiānghú people, Bái Lǐ suddenly became unhappy. "What kind of people have you befriended? As soon as there's danger, they run away themselves! It's definitely not those jiānghú people; they are false friends!"

"There are also good ones..."

"Anyway, from now on, I will no longer pay for their wine." Bái Lǐ said angrily. "These people spend money like water when drinking, they must pick the good food to eat, and they must drink the good wine. They talk fluently about food, wine, and beauties, but at the crucial moment, none of them are reliable."

"I'm not heartbroken about the money; I just look down on their mouth full of chivalry."

Shìzǐ scratched his head. "Alright, alright, from now on, I won't pay for their wine... Right, you just said the chivalrous man who saved us was somewhat familiar. Have you recognized who he is?"

Bái Lǐ was silent for a moment. "No, I didn't recognize who he is either."

In her heart, she actually had a guess, but she ultimately didn't voice it, choosing instead to silently bury it in her heart and prepare to carefully verify it herself.

Bái Lǐ pulled out a hairpin, lifted both arms to re-tie her hair, and only then set off again.

The two people hid all the way east and west back to Ānxī Street. When they saw the guards and plaque of the Jǐng Wáng Fǔ from afar, they finally let out a sigh of relief.

Bái Lǐ didn't climb back into the Wáng Fǔ from the back garden. She suddenly said to Shìzǐ, "Brother, let's go back through Tàipíng Medical Hall. There's a ladder there."

Shìzǐ, supporting his knees with both hands, panted and said in surprise, "When you came out tonight, you said you would never go through Tàipíng Medical Hall again and would absolutely not let that little thief Chén Jì earn your passage fee. How have you changed your mind now?"

Bái Lǐ rolled her eyes. "I don't want to climb over the wall anymore. Is that not allowed? Having a ladder is more convenient."

Shìzǐ also rolled his eyes. "Women are all so fickle."

The two quietly slipped to the door of Tàipíng Medical Hall. Just as they were about to pull the door open, they discovered it was bolted from the inside.

Bái Lǐ thought for a moment and called out, "Chén Jì, Chén Jì, we've come to give you the passage fee!"

Silence.

No one inside the door responded.

Bái Lǐ became more certain of her guess. She bent down and tentatively shouted towards the crack in the door, "Chén Jì, this time we'll give you ten taels of silver!"

Still quiet.

Still no one responded.

Bái Lǐ muttered, "He's really not inside, huh."

As she finished speaking, with a creak, the door opened.

Bái Lǐ was stunned. She slowly raised her head and saw Old Yào standing calmly at the door.

She said awkwardly, "Imperial Physician Yào, are we disturbing you? Chén Jì, why didn't he come to open the door?"

Old Yào said expressionlessly, "Why are the Princess and Shìzǐ not sleeping in the middle of the night and running to my Tàipíng Medical Hall? This old man is ninety-two years old and cannot stand this kind of torment from you."

Bái Lǐ's mind raced in her urgency. "Imperial Physician Yào, my brother and I are feeling a bit unwell. Can you let us in and take our pulses?"

Old Yào looked at her, actually stepped across the threshold, and directly reached out to feel her wrist pulse.

After a moment, Old Yào said, "You have a brain disease. It cannot be cured. Please go back."

"Did you diagnose the wrong pulse? Let me go in and sit down, then carefully diagnose again," Bái Lǐ tried to squeeze past Old Yào, but Old Yào seemed to anticipate it and quickly closed the door.

With a bang, the wooden door shut tightly.

Old Yào's voice floated out from the crack in the door. "The Shìzǐ and Princess are returning to the Wáng Fǔ from other places. If you continue to cause trouble, when the Prince returns, I will certainly report this matter to him."

Bái Lǐ still wanted to knock on the door, but Shìzǐ pulled her away in a hurry. "Go, go, go! Chén Jì borrowing the path for us probably already angered Imperial Physician Yào. Let's not make it difficult for Chén Jì. Let's go through the back garden."

"If Imperial Physician Yào really reports this to father, your monthly allowance will probably also be cut off..."

Bái Lǐ was pulled away, looking back three times with every step, her gaze repeatedly fixed on that tightly closed wooden door, but she could only give up the idea of seeking the truth.

She wondered in her heart, "Could it be that Chén Jì hasn't returned yet, so Imperial Physician Yào is helping to cover up? It must be like this."

"But if it's really as the Jiè Fān Guards said, the Secret Spy Division didn't catch Chén Jì, then where is Chén Jì at this time?"

Under the night, Chén Jì was limping through the complex network of small alleys.

He slowly stopped, panting and bending at the waist, untied the cloth strip wrapped around the wound on his right leg, and then tied it tightly again.

The wounds on his chest and leg were aching painfully, but tonight's business was not yet finished, and he had no time to stop and rest.

Chén Jì raised his head to look at his surroundings and continued running towards the meeting point he had agreed upon with Wú Yún.

After turning two more small alleys, he saw Wú Yún squatting on the eaves of an alley wall, saying with concern, "Are you still okay?"

Chén Jì bent over, panting and sighing. "Jīn Zhū is probably a Seeking Dao realm expert. Such powerful firecrackers didn't kill him. The foundation of a high official is deep and immeasurable. This world is even more terrifying than I imagined."

"If I hadn't had gunpowder on hand just now, I would be on my way to the inner prison at this moment."

Wú Yún meowed again. "I'm asking about your injury. How is it? Or go back and find your master. Let him treat your injury first."

Chén Jì shook his head. "No, I must kill Shopkeeper Yuán first."

Tonight, the Secret Spy Division surrounded and captured Jīn Fāng. If he thinks I leaked the secret, he's probably already considering how to kill me... Can you grasp his whereabouts now?

Wú Yún replied, "He delivered goods to other medical halls at noon, then returned directly to his residence on Tōngjì Street in the afternoon. He hasn't come out since then."

During the daytime, Shopkeeper Yuán drove the ox cart to deliver goods to Tàipíng Medical Hall. When he left, two tabby cats secretly followed, always tracking him.

Just now, Chén Jì and Wú Yún acted separately, precisely so that it could go find those two tabby cats.

"It looks like Shopkeeper Yuán already knew about Jīn Zhū's encirclement plan at noon," Chén Jì frowned. "Who leaked it to him? Could it be those more than ten medical halls? Wú Yún, which medical halls did he go to?"

Wú Yún shook his head. "Tabby cats' brains can't remember so much information. At most, they can recall a part."

Chén Jì thought, "Alright, as long as Shopkeeper Yuán dies, who passed the information to him doesn't concern me."

Saying that, he leaned against the wall to stand up, wanting to continue his journey.

However, tonight he first killed six secret spies, then after heavily injuring Jīn Zhū, leaped over rooftops one by one to escape, nearly exhausted.

He had just walked two steps when he felt his legs become weak, somewhat unable to walk.

Wú Yún worried, "Let's go back to the medical hall."

Chén Jì shook his head. "Take me to his residence. Shopkeeper Yuán must die tonight."

Tōngjì Street had always been a place where merchants gathered and lived. Unlike the gates of literati families, here, the stone lions in front of the doors were bigger than each other, the carriages parked in front were more exquisite than each other, and the plaques and door frames were higher than each other, as if afraid of being outdone by their neighbors.

In the Níng Dynasty law, merchants and opera actors were not allowed to ride carriages; they had to have the identity of a scholar or above to do so.

But in recent years, the folk workshops of the Níng Dynasty had become increasingly famous, and there were also more and more merchants. Relying on their backers, they modified carts into carriages, and once checked, they would bribe their way through with some silver. This law also gradually became a dead letter.

At this time, the Yuán residence was as quiet as a graveyard, without a single servant or attendant.

Shopkeeper Yuán sat in the main hall, the doors and windows tightly closed. It was clearly midnight yet he was still fully dressed, as if patiently waiting for the long night to pass.

Sizzle.

He suddenly heard a strange sound coming from outside the door. This sizzling sound was exceptionally abrupt in the middle of the night.

Shopkeeper Yuán's face became solemn. He stood up and slowly approached the door, pressing his ear to the crack to listen to what the sound was.

Creak.

Shopkeeper Yuán saw someone from outside pull open his window, throw in a bamboo tube, and then carefully help him close the window.

Not good!

Shopkeeper Yuán looked at the fuse that was almost burned to the end and immediately wanted to break out of the door, but the door outside seemed to be blocked by someone's body. He actually couldn't push it open for a moment!

Chén Jì's strength was ultimately not as great as Shopkeeper Yuán's. Shopkeeper Yuán only exerted force again, and Chén Jì, leaning his body and pressing his feet against the ground, was still hard-pressed to push open a door gap two arms wide.

Shopkeeper Yuán looked outside through the door gap and saw only Chén Jì outside, pressing against the door with both hands, his eyes coldly and deeply looking at him.

"Seeking death, open up for me!"

Then, Shopkeeper Yuán angrily struck out, his palms slapping heavily on the two doors. The two wooden doors could not withstand this immense force and immediately shattered, even sending Chén Jì flying backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood in mid-air!

An expert of this realm was not someone Chén Jì could block!

But for Chén Jì, delaying this moment was already enough!

"Die for me!"

Boom.

Before Shopkeeper Yuán even left the house, the bamboo tube on the ground exploded. The mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal burned violently. White sugar at high temperature mixed with gunpowder released a massive amount of gas.

In an instant, a huge shockwave swept through the house, carrying the iron fragments in the bamboo tube, shredding Shopkeeper Yuán's clothes to pieces.

Another boom. The brick walls of the house could not bear the weight and could no longer support the roof. Countless roof tiles collapsed like a mountain, raising a huge cloud of dust, burying Shopkeeper Yuán alive in the house!

Chén Jì fell to the ground, his ears ringing, as if a huge metallic noise was ringing madly beside his ears.

He couldn't hear the sounds outside, yet he still strongly propped himself up to crawl, vigilantly looking at that pile of house ruins.

Had Shopkeeper Yuán died?

Probably dead, huh.

Earlier, that bamboo tube exploded in the air, and the power of the gunpowder hadn't fully been unleashed.

This time, the bamboo tube exploded inside the house. Even though Shopkeeper Yuán had already broken the door, the power still multiplied geometrically.

Chén Jì kept hoping in his heart, dead, Shopkeeper Yuán must be dead!

He slowly stood up straight, staggered towards the ruins, wanting to move the tiles aside and confirm the other's death.

But he had only staggered a few steps when he heard a click.

That pile of ruins suddenly bulged up!

Chén Jì retreated in shock!

He's still not dead!

.