Chapter 82: Elimination

“The shopkeeper of Li Ji Clothing Shop, did you see any Jianghu people run out of Hong Yi Xiang last night?”

“Yes, sir. Those four Jianghu people looked flustered and were quite suspicious.”

The accumulated snow in Luo Cheng had not yet melted.

A cold wind howled close to the ground, causing the swaying torches to shake. They illuminated the hands of the secret agents, who suddenly tightened their grip on the hilts of their waist knives, and the white mist exhaled from under their bamboo hats, like hungry wild beasts who had found new prey.

The secret agents subconsciously looked towards Chen Ji, waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen Ji covered his face with gray cloth and lowered his head in thought.

As the saying goes, “three strikes with the prestige rod,” which can break the bonds of Jianghu brotherhood, and “three pages of confession,” where every sentence implicates brothers.

These several Jianghu heroes were not originally tough characters. If the Secret Agents Bureau caught them, they would inevitably implicate the Prince and Bai Li.

But if he deliberately didn't act, Xi Feng was no fool either.

In the swaying firelight, the oilcloth burning on the torches melted, and fire droplets fell onto the blue stone slab road one by one.

Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the firelight also stopped shaking.

Chen Ji raised his head and looked at the secret agent who had reported the message, saying calmly, “Bring the shopkeeper of Li Ji Clothing Shop here for questioning.”

In a moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a manager came forward with a fawning smile: “Ten thousand blessings to the sirs, this humble person is Li Bing.”

Chen Ji sized up the other person with a glance and calmly asked, “Where did you see those Jianghu heroes? Tell us carefully.”

Li Bing hurriedly replied, “Sirs, when Hong Yi Xiang was sealed off, they just escaped from the back alley of Hong Yi Xiang. One of them was so scared he even dropped his knife on the ground. He ran two steps, then turned back to pick it up.”

Chen Ji frowned in disappointment and said, “This kind of coward doesn't seem like the style of Jing Chao thieves.”

Xi Feng on the side was also a little disappointed: “Although Jing Chao thieves are hateful, every one of them is skilled. They are definitely not these kind of petty thieves.”

Li Bing suddenly added a sentence: “Right, at that time, it seemed there were people calling for help climbing the wall in the back alley. One of them went to help, but before he could help the person climb out, he ran back to his companions and said, 'Quick, leave, can't save them, they are surrounded by six people.' When they were talking, they passed by my side, and I heard it clearly.”

Xi Feng's face changed, and he looked at Chen Ji: “Sir, the ones surrounding them should be our colleagues. The killers made a move just to cover the people in this backyard. Although we don't know who the people being surrounded were, they must be very important.”

Chen Ji silently took a deep breath.

This shopkeeper listened too carefully. He couldn't cover it up even if he wanted to: “Shopkeeper Li, where did you see them run towards?”

“Along Luo Yi Jie towards the west, but this humble person doesn't know where they finally went!”

Chen Ji relaxed again. It was not easy to find four people in the vast Luo Cheng. At least it could buy some time.

However, at this moment, Li Bing spoke with a gasp: “But this humble person knows where they live.”

Chen Ji: “Hmm?”

Li Bing quickly said, “These four Jianghu people came to Luo Cheng half a month ago. I have an impression of them because they were clearly dressed in ordinary and worn clothes, yet they acted very generously. As soon as these four arrived in Luo Cheng, they each ordered two sets of clothes in this humble person's shop. They were all autumn wear with a stand collar and overlapping front, and they even chose exquisite mud gold claw rat patterns.”

Li Bing continued: “These four people left after being measured and instructed me to send the finished clothes to Fu Lai Inn on the west side.”

The so-called mud gold claw rat pattern is a kind of embroidery pattern on sleeve edges and collar edges. The embroidery craft is complex and is favored by officials and nobles. The price is not cheap.

The more Li Bing spoke, the heavier Chen Ji's mood became.

He had met these four people.

That day in the embroidery building in Bai Yi Xiang, among the twelve people Liu Xing Tou saw, besides Chen Ji, the Prince, Bai Li, She Deng Ke, Liu Qu Xing, Liang Gou Er, and Liang Cai Er, there were these four people.

At that time, these four people were wearing exactly stand collar overlapping front clothes with mud gold claw rat patterns embroidered on the cuffs.

Moreover, the time they came to Luo Cheng also matched. These four people were originally destitute, and their lives only improved after getting to know the Prince.

But even though the Prince was so good to them, when danger struck, they still abandoned the Prince and Bai Li.

Xi Feng on the side looked at Chen Ji's profile: “Sir, what should we do?”

Chen Ji's voice was calm and unperturbed: “Surround Fu Lai Inn and catch the people.”

His only hope now was that these four people were not so stupid and would foolishly return to the inn after escaping from Hong Yi Xiang.

Outside Fu Lai Inn, dozens of secret agents with knives hanging from their waists surrounded Fu Lai Inn completely in just a dozen breaths.

The backyard, the left and right sides, the stable, no place was missed.

If those four Houtian realm Jianghu people were in the inn, it would be hard for them to fly.

In silence, Chen Ji was the first to step over the inn's threshold.

He saw that the first floor of the inn was a simple wine shop.

At this time, it was closed, the wooden chairs were all wiped clean and placed upside down on the tables.

Behind the counter, a young attendant was lying on an abacus snoring, with an oil lamp lit beside him.

Chen Ji came to the counter and gently patted the attendant's shoulder.

The attendant drowsily raised his head and said in his sleep, “Several guests want to stay at the inn? Tian character room is one hundred and forty wen per night, Di character room is forty-five wen per night, and the stable is twelve wen per night.”

As he spoke, the attendant saw Chen Ji with a covered face and the several secret agents with knives hanging behind him, and suddenly sobered up.

He trembled and said, “Sirs, I, I haven't committed a crime.”

Chen Ji asked, “Don't be afraid, just ask you one question.”

“Sir, please ask.”

“Are there four Jianghu people with knives and swords living here?”

The attendant quickly replied, “Yes.”

“Are they still in the inn?”

The attendant answered one by one: “Yes, they said they wanted to go to Hong Yi Xiang to have fun yesterday, but they returned early before midnight, looking hurried. Afterwards, these four people all ordered wine and food directly to their room and didn't come out again.”

This was the answer Chen Ji least wanted to hear.

He was silent for a moment: “Which room do they live in?”

The attendant pointed to the stairs: “The third room on the right after going upstairs, the Tian character room, with a 'Chun Shui' sign hanging in front of the door.”

Before Chen Ji could give the order, Xi Feng gave a look to the secret agents, and several secret agents immediately drew their waist knives, bent their waists carefully, and went upstairs.

Chen Ji also wanted to follow, but Xi Feng pressed his shoulder and said, “Sir, Lord Jin Zhu said you have no martial arts on your body and specially instructed us to protect you well. For this kind of dangerous matter, we will go. You must not risk danger with your body.”

Chen Ji sized up the expression under the opposite side's bamboo hat, which was sincere and earnest, with firm eyes: “He doesn't suspect himself, that's how Jin Zhu instructed.”

He sighed in his heart and stood by the counter without moving: “You all be careful.”

The secret agents suddenly kicked open the door of the Chun Shui room. The secret agents with long knives in hand filed in, their killing intent soaring.

However, the next moment, someone suddenly shouted: “Sir, come quickly.”

Chen Ji was the first to pick up the oil lamp on the counter and rush up.

He pushed aside the secret agents in the corridor and came to the doorway. He looked up at the house beam and his breathing suddenly stopped.

He saw that on the house beam, the four Jianghu people they were looking for were being strangled by four white silks, hanging neatly from the roof.

Not only that, the skin on the faces of the four people had all been cut off, leaving only the bloody facial muscles exposed in the air, which was extremely terrifying.

The secret agents had indifferent expressions, as if they had seen such things often.

But a chill suddenly rose in Chen Ji's heart. These four people had been silenced ahead of time.

He endured the discomfort in his heart and stepped forward to check the corpses.

The corpses were cold and stiff, and the stiffness had spread throughout the body, having died at least two hours ago.

Chen Ji came to the edge of the door. The door bolt was not damaged.

He came to the window edge again and saw that the copper piece used to close the window had been cut off by a sharp weapon. The killer had come in through the window.

“Take them down and strip off all their clothes.”

Chen Ji said in a cold voice.

The secret agents used their bodies as ladders and took the four corpses down and placed them on the bed.

After the clothes of the four people were stripped off, everyone saw in the moonlight outside the window that each corpse had a copper nail nailed to its chest.

The copper nails were stabbed in cleanly and neatly, and not a single drop of blood flowed out.

The dead did not cry for help. The person who killed them must be an expert among experts, not even giving them a chance to react.

Chen Ji pried open the mouths of these four people again and saw that a short copper nail was also nailed to the tongues of all the people.

“This is not silencing, this is judgment.”

“Someone is punishing them.”

Xi Feng's face was solemn. They had just found a new clue, and before they could be happy, the clue was broken again.

Chen Ji looked at Xi Feng: “Have you ever heard of this kind of judgment method?”

Xi Feng seemed to have thought of something: “There seem to be two cases in Jianghu, but the specific details must be checked in the Nei Yu case file library to know. Sir, this matter is strange. The person they threw down earlier must be very important, so much so that they did not hesitate to kill them to make them forever shut their mouths. Moreover, the killer also specially cut off their face skins to prevent us from finding people who were familiar with them to be witnesses. Who do you think did it?”

“Who did it? Simple, whoever benefits the most is the one who did it.”

Chen Ji stood in the dim room, his left hand still holding the oil lamp.

He recalled the Prince's bold and bright smile and found it hard to believe that such a deep and vicious mind was hidden behind him.

Moreover, if the Prince had this kind of expert to clean up, why would he still turn to himself to save him last night?

But if it is said that the Prince did not do this, who else could it be?

Chen Ji's brilliant impression of the Prince in his memory suddenly blurred, as if a layer of haze gradually covered the Prince's face.