"Who’s there? Catch him!"
The spies followed the direction pointed out by Lord Jin Zhu and saw a dark face peering out from behind the ridge of a restaurant’s rooftop, stealthily observing Hongyi Lane.
A spy suddenly gasped in surprise, "Is it a man or a ghost?!"
Lord Jin Zhu, with a smile in his eyes, watched the rooftop figure of Chen Ji, "Playing tricks? Surround him!"
Tonight, the Spy Departnt ca up empty-handed, and though Lord Jin Zhu’s face bore a smile, his heart was already ablaze with fury. If a Jing Dynasty mole were exposed among his own n, the other zodiac signs would surely mock him to no end.
In the next mont, Chen Ji watched helplessly as dozens of spies surrounded him, sealing off the restaurant so tight nothing could escape.
So climbed up the outer wall, while Chen Ji lifted tiles and smashed them down on the spies attempting to ascend, causing them to stagger down with bloody heads.
Other spies brought over two long ladders, trying to climb up to the rooftop.
Chen Ji reached the ladder and, gathering all his strength, flipped both the ladder and the climbing spies, repeating the process whenever they set up a new ladder.
But with too many spies and an increasing number of ladders, it was impossible for him alone to fend off all cors—a breach was just a matter of ti.
He was like a lone guardian of a fortress, facing an invading army from all directions.
At this point, Lin Chaoqing leisurely asked Lord Jin Zhu, "Do you need the Jiefan Guard to take action? If Lord Jin Zhu’s spies can’t capture him, we from the Jiefan Guard could ease your worries. So many eyes are watching; being unable to cope with a single Jing Dynasty crook would be quite the embarrassnt for our Ritual Supervision."
Lord Jin Zhu responded with a laugh, "No need for the Jiefan Guard to intervene. We from the Spy Departnt can handle it."
Having said that, he took off the light armor he was wearing and handed it to a subordinate before personally moving to capture Chen Ji.
Chen Ji caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye and silently cursed his luck—if Lord Jin Zhu personally made the arrest, escape would be impossible. He untied the cloth bundle on his back and pulled out two bamboo tubes!
The next mont, Lord Jin Zhu rushed towards the restaurant, each of his strides covering several ters.
Upon reaching the building, Lord Jin Zhu leaped high, his corpulent figure shooting up to the second floor like a springing leek.
With one more step off the wooden railing on the second floor, he flew directly onto the rooftop!
For a Grand Official like Lord Jin Zhu, scaling buildings several ters tall was as easy as walking on flat ground, having long since surpassed the realm of ordinary mortals.
However, no sooner had he set foot on the rooftop than he saw the shadowy figure opposite to him, one hand holding a fire inch stick, the other holding a bamboo tube with the dicine wick already lit.
But after lighting it, Chen Ji didn’t throw the bamboo tube imdiately. He patiently waited until the wick was almost burnt through before hurling it at Lord Jin Zhu, who had just landed on the roof.
Get down!
Chen Ji lay flat on the rooftop, covering his ears tightly.
Lord Jin Zhu, not yet steady, saw the bamboo tube flying towards him and instinctively tried to kick it away, but before the tube reached him, it exploded abruptly!
With a thunderous boom, Lord Jin Zhu raised his arms to protect his head, the massive blast flipping him through the air!
The explosion roared like a clap of thunder from clear skies, the light from the blast setting the dim sky ablaze, as if divine wrath descended with righteous fury, absolutely strong and masculine.
Outside Hongyi Lane, the thunderous noise of the explosion carried far and wide; suddenly, hundreds of watchdogs began to howl furiously, as if the entire Luocheng City were jolted awake!
Inside Hongyi Lane, clients and songstresses, with their hairs on end from fright, nurous clients and songstresses lay on the ground, screaming.
Not only them, but even the warhorses of the Jiefan Guard reared in terror, with dozens of horses rearing high on the cobblestone streets, nearly throwing the Jiefan Guard off their backs.
Lin Chaoqing’s steed also tried to lift its hooves but was firmly checked by him.
The Chief of Criminal Justice Departnt, with a serious expression, looked up calmly at the sky, his sharp gaze shooting from underneath his wide-brimd hat. He saw Lord Jin Zhu, who had just climbed onto the rooftop, flying backward like a kite with its string cut, plumting straight down from several ters high.
Lord Jin Zhu’s usually immaculate robe was now torn at the sleeves and half its trousers missing, ragged all over like a torn sack.
A spy shouted, "Save the lord, don’t let him hit the ground!"
With that, more than a dozen spies rushed towards the spot where Lord Jin Zhu was falling, managing to catch him before he hit the ground head-on.
With several audible cracks, a number of spies felt their arms break under the weight of the heavy Lord Jin Zhu, their backs likewise unable to bear the load!
A group of them crashed loudly to the ground, but ultimately, they prevented Lord Jin Zhu from smashing onto the cobblestone street.
"Lord?!"
"Lord!"
These spies had followed Lord Jin Zhu for many years and had long since ford a bond akin to brothers.
"Let’s not talk about how ferocious Jin Zhu is toward those treacherous Jing Dynasty scoundrels, just ntioning his care and ability to win the hearts of his own subordinates.
But now, with his eyes tightly closed and his complexion ashen, Jin Zhu was not even breathing.
The spies were imdiately stricken with sorrow.
’Ahem, ahem, ahem, ahem, what are you crying for, what are you wailing for, I’m not dead yet,’ Jin Zhu slowly opened his eyes and sat up, looking around in confusion, ’What the hell, why is this gunpowder so powerful? The stuff in our Craftsmanship Supervisor isn’t this fierce!’
Earlier, when Jin Zhu saw the bamboo tube and dicine wick, he had prepared himself ntally. He guessed that there must be gunpowder in the bamboo tube and that he would definitely be injured if it exploded. But he never imagined that the firecracker would be far more powerful than he had anticipated!
This thing was simply not the sa kind of gunpowder he had seen before!
Looking down at his ragged clothes and feeling the searing pain all over his body, his bones felt like they had co apart, and all his internal organs had shifted.
If he weren’t of such high caliber, he would probably have been killed by the blast.
Strange, could it be that soone in the Craftsmanship Supervisor has developed sothing new but kept it secret, quietly selling it to Jing Dynasty scoundrels?
Not good, if the Jing Dynasty gets their hands on this thing, the Ning Dynasty is in danger!
Forcing himself to stand, Jin Zhu said, ’Quick, quick, quick, catch that person! If this person gets away right under my nose, how can I face the Lord Pri Minister when I return!’
But as he raised his head again, where was there any sign of Chen Ji on the rooftop? He had already leaped to another and fled.
Seated on his horse, Lin Chaoqing gave him a glance, ’Lord Jin Zhu, you’re fortunate to survive a great disaster, but next ti if you’re not completely certain, don’t co to ngjin Camp to summon my Jiefan Guard, let’s return to camp!’
...
...
The noise in Hongyi Lane quieted down.
Jin Zhu scattered half of his spies to try and trace the black-clothed, black-faced person... but he knew in his heart that it probably wouldn’t be easy to find.
He led his trusted followers to the back courtyard of the inn and silently watched his six n lying dead in the yard.
’They are all knife wounds... West Wind, you are the most skilled with knives, check it out,’ said Jin Zhu expressionlessly.
The spy nad West Wind knelt down, muttered an apology in his heart, then stripped the clothing from the deceased colleagues.
Bringing clean water, the spy rinsed the corpses’ wounds and examined them in detail, ’The assailant used a short knife. The cut is a bit odd, seemingly not sharp, and doesn’t even look like a knife made specifically for killing...’
’What kind of knife was used?’
’Sir, there are too many types of knives. It seems the assassin just grabbed any knife at hand to use. The assassin’s use of the knife was extrely fierce and cunning, with all the wounds located at fatal points, and very precise. The person is an experienced swordsman. Without years of hard practice, they couldn’t be so clean and swift.’
’Also, this person is very cautious. They’re well aware that one does not imdiately die from a stab, so they added several more to other vital spots to every person they killed.’
Taking a sharp breath, the spy said, ’Such a ruthless ntality.’
Jin Zhu frowned and looked around, then suddenly noticed the spy’s long knives scattered on the ground, ’Hey, why are all these knives broken?!’
The spy conducting the examination stood up and saw to his shock that of the six knives in the yard, five were broken!
He picked up a piece of the broken blade and found the matching hilt. When he fitted the two together, everyone could see a clear nick at the break of the long knife.
The spy, sowhat incredulous, said, ’Sir, these knives were chopped in one stroke. The long knives used by our Spy Departnt are all made of hundred-forged steel, and you’re saying soone just picked up a short knife and chopped through our knives in one strike?’
Jin Zhu turned to the spy, ’Have you seen this kind of sword skill before?’
The spy shook his head, ’I’ve never seen it. Could it be Liang Gou’er?’
Jin Zhu snorted, ’It’s not Liang Gou’er. If Liang Gou’er were here, why would he bother breaking their knives? And besides, Liang Gou’er’s spine is broken, and he wouldn’t dare to oppose my Spy Departnt... Then who could it be, such a formidable swordsman, surely not soone who just sprang from a crack in the rocks, right?’
He stood in the silent courtyard, surveying the bloodstains and corpses on the ground.
The person who killed six spies alone must certainly be an executive officer. But Jin Zhu had seen many such officials, few with such exquisite sword skills.
Wait, doesn’t the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Departnt have an executive officer skilled with a short knife?!
Previously, Treasure Monkey led a team to arrest the person in Jinling, but they ended up fighting and losing more than a dozen n before the person jumped into the Qinhuai River and escaped. At that ti, the officer used a short knife!
Jin Zhu felt a burning pain all over his body, and his skin was embedded with countless tiny iron fragnts. Now, every step he took was agony, like his bones had co apart.
He should have sought dical attention imdiately, but when he thought of such powerful gunpowder ending up in the hands of Jing Dynasty scoundrels and being used against the Ning Dynasty border army, he could no longer care about his own injuries.
Jin Zhu harshly said, ’West Wind, take my waist tag and go to the Luocheng Military Departnt. Tell them to lock down all the city gates of Luocheng. East Wind, go and intercept the Jiefan Guard, tell them to head to the Caoyun Pier now, no vessels are to leave within three days!’
He stated grimly, ’Find him for , even if it ans digging three feet into the ground, turn Luocheng upside down if you have to, but bring this person to !’"
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