midnight.

Chen Ji woke up from his dream and slowly sat up.

In the simple apprentice dormitory, Liang Maoer, She Dengke, and Liu Quxing were fast asleep. Liang Gouer was still fooling around somewhere and did not come back at night.

The cats and dogs, who are usually inseparable, did not go out together today.

Chen Ji got off the bed with difficulty and walked cautiously into the yard. He wanted to find out whether Wu Hongbiao had lied.

In the empty yard, only crows stood on the branches of the almond trees.

Chen Ji turned around and looked at the courtyard wall where the ladder was set up.

No one is stepping on his brother's shoulders, sticking his head out from the eaves of the wall, and no one is supporting his sister tottering on the other side of the wall.

The prince and Princess Baili suddenly stopped going out to play, or stopped borrowing the way from the medical clinic, and the Taiping Medical Center returned to its former tranquility.

Chen Ji took some leftover food and water from the kitchen and turned around to walk outside the medical center. However, Crow blocked his way and pointed to the outside of the medical center.

"Uncle Crow, what do you want to say?" Chen Ji was confused.

The crow spread its wings and gestured, first pointed outside the medical center, and then made a gesture of pulling out the knife from its waist.

Chen Ji was stunned: "Are you trying to say that Taiping Medical Center has been monitored?"

The crow nodded happily.

Chen Ji's heart trembled: "Uncle Crow, who is monitoring the hospital? If it's the Secret Intelligence Department, just blink your eyes. If it's the Military Intelligence Department, just blink twice."

The crow blinked three times...

Chen Ji: "..."

The crow grinned, as if laughing at Chen Ji's imminent disaster.

Chen Ji frowned and thought, why did these two parties monitor him? What went wrong?

Moreover, with these two parties monitoring him at the same time, how should he go out to see Wu Hongbiao?

The crow stopped looking at Chen Ji's joke. It waved its wings to signal Chen Ji to follow, and then flew up to the roof of the main hall of the medical center.

Chen Ji moved the ladder and sneakily climbed up to the roof with the crow.

At midnight, a man and a crow poked half their heads out of the roof and secretly looked at the shop opposite the main hall.

The two sides were separated by Anxi Street, so it was difficult to see clearly in the dark night.

Crow pointed at the second floor of the third shop on the right. The room was dark, but the window was opened a slit, just enough to see the main entrance of Taiping Medical Center.

Crow pointed to the second floor of the second shop on the left. The window also had a slit, facing the main entrance of Taiping Medical Center.

Both sides seemed to be observing who was coming in and out of the hospital.

Chen Ji muttered: "Fortunately, we didn't rent the same room..."

The crow laughed silently.

Chen Ji retracted his head behind the ridge of the roof and asked in a low voice: "Uncle Crow, how many people are there in the room on the right?"

The crow blinked three times, three times.

"What about the left side?"

The crow blinked three times, also three times.

Chen Ji felt a strong sense of crisis. If he sent only one person, it was a normal surveillance behavior, but if he sent three people at the same time, he was preparing to arrest or kill someone.

Fortunately, Uncle Crow helped...

Chen Ji turned around and smiled at Crow: "Thank you, Uncle Crow, for helping me again... Why are you willing to help me?"

The crow smiled silently and did not answer.

Chen Ji asked again: "How should I go around to the cloth shop?"

The crow flapped its wings and circled back.

Following the crow's guidance, he followed the shadows between the buildings on Anxi Street and entered the backyard of the cloth shop.

Not only that, Uncle Crow was even responsible for cleaning up the aftermath. When the traces entered the courtyard, he stopped on the courtyard wall to keep a lookout.

Hearing the movement over the wall, Wu Hongbiao, who was originally lying on the ground, stood up from his cross-legged position and said, "I've finally waited for you. Are the Military Intelligence Department and the Secret Intelligence Department still arresting me?"

Chen Ji said: "They are still being arrested, but they have been led to the West Market. I heard that the cloth shop is going to be sold outside recently. This is not a place to stay for a long time. Someone may come to visit the shop at any time."

Wu Hongbiao thought for a while and said: "Then I will clean this place tomorrow. If anyone comes, I will dig out of the yard first, and then dig in after they leave."

"It's never safe."

Wu Hongbiao thought for a while and said, "Have you found Si Cao's true identity?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "You answer some questions for me first and do something for me before I can answer your question."

Wu Hongbiao looked at Chen Ji carefully: "You have changed."

Chen Ji leaned against the door frame, letting the moonlight lengthen his shadow. The former good brothers, one stood at the door and the other sat on the ground, one more embarrassed than the other, like brothers who were in trouble together, but they kept a safe distance.

.

Wu Hongbiao said softly: "In the past, you did not receive long-term hard training, and your vigilance was very low. Of course, this is also related to the environment in which you grew up. We were conscripted into the harshest military camp in the north when we were twelve years old in the Jing Dynasty. We grew up in the bitter cold

It is cultivated in a land where it is winter for half of the year. There are only so many meals in the military camp. If you are not good enough, you will go hungry. If you go hungry for two meals, you will freeze to death. There, you can have a full meal.

Let’s plot against each other.”

Wu Hongbiao continued: "You grew up in the Ning Dynasty in the south where birds are singing and flowers are fragrant. There are gorgeous dancers and singers here, as well as elegant literati and scholars, and the shadows of oars on the Qinhuai River. Living here, naturally... you are weaker.

"

Chen Ji calmly asked: "What about now?"

Wu Hongbiao answered seriously: "It's different now. Although I don't know what you have been through, you are more like a qualified warrior now. Although it will be a bit disappointing not to be trusted, I am happy for you from the bottom of my heart.

Only you like this can survive until the day you and I meet again."

Chen Ji lowered his head: "Then you were betrayed by Jing Chao, haven't you considered joining the Secret Service?"

But Wu Hongbiao looked solemn and said: "It was not Jing Chao who betrayed me, but Si Cao. I have told you before that I will never shake my faith because of some people's dirty politics. I

I also believe that your uncle and the others will definitely make a comeback and wipe out the Chaoye Xiaoxiao. I, the people of Jingchao, have suffered enough, and I will not betray my motherland just because of a few villains."

Silently, this was the first time he heard the word "faith" after coming to this world.

He didn't want to dwell on this issue, so he asked the question he wanted to ask the most: "You said that Si Cao, who wears a green-faced fang mask and is good at using swords, wants to kill us. Why do you say that?"

Wu Hongbiao said strangely: "Si Cao is Si Cao. Why have so many adjectives been added? There is only one Si Cao."

Chen Ji shook his head: "Answer my question first."

Wu Hongbiao recalled: "The people who came to kill me first lied to me that Si Cao had ordered me to go to Dongshi Caobang to pick up a batch of goods. I am a pigeon-level spy. Apart from you, only Zhou Chengyi and Si Cao in the entire Luo City are qualified to know

My information. In addition, I also asked them to show Si Cao’s token on the day the killer came, and they did.”

"What is Si Cao's token?"

"The Chronicle of Luo City is printed with the special seal of 'Rongbaozhai'. A corner of the upper right corner of the seal is chipped off, so it cannot be copied."

Chen Ji finally understood that in fact Wu Hongbiao did not know that there were other Si Cao, nor did he know that a new Si Cao had arrived in Luo City and squeezed out the original Si Cao.

Therefore, according to my own inference, it was Shopkeeper Yuan who wanted to kill them, not Si Cao, the coachman.

However, Chen Ji had to verify that Wu Hongbiao was not lying.

After a long silence, he said, "I need you to do something."

"What's up?"

"Meet Si Cao."

Wu Hongbiao looked shocked.

…

…

Early morning, Luocheng magistrate's office.

A gold-lacquered plaque reading "Luocheng Government Office" hangs on the yamen gate. Officials at the yamen gate came to order in a hurry. One clerk lowered his voice and said, "Hurry up, hurry up. If you get there late, you will have to be escorted by Tongzhi."

Just as he was talking, a carriage engraved with a canary pattern slowly stopped at the entrance of the government office. The officials stopped and bent down to salute.

The coachman opened the curtain and hung it on the hook on the carriage, picked up a stool and placed it beside the carriage, and then whispered: "Second Master, we are here."

Liu Mingming was wearing a blue official robe, a black veil on his head, a jade leather belt around his waist, and black-faced white-soled soap boots, and he slowly stepped out of the carriage.

"Hello, Lord Tongsan."

"Hello, Lord Tongsan."

Liu Mingming snorted from his nose, and the officials dared to straighten up and hurried to the government office.

According to the rules, Liu Mingming, a fifth-grade official, was not qualified to ride on this canary carriage, but the Liu family and Liu Ge held a high position, and Yuzhou was the Liu family's private territory, so naturally no one dared to say anything.

When Liu Mingming entered the Yamen, the coachman drove the carriage aside, put on a bamboo hat and squatted at the door, chatting with other coachmen and sedan bearers.

The coachman asked with a smile: "Er Niu, did your master go out for fun again last night?"

Erniu said with a smile: "Hey, my master, why don't you go out to be cool? Last night, I went to the embroidery building in Baiyi Lane, and I heard that I met Liu Xingshou."

The coachman exclaimed: "Now all the gentlemen in Luo City want to see what Chief Liu looks like. What do your gentlemen say?"

Erniu said honestly and kindly: "My master said that Liu Xingshou is really a wonderful person. It's a pity that the other party is protected by the Xu family, so no one dares to do anything to her."

The coachman paused for a breath, and then asked: "Lao Li, what about you, what did you do last night?"

"What else can we do?" Lao Li yawned: "Last night, a group of secret spies came from the supervisor's office. They said they wanted to check the account books of the supervisor's warehouse. My master stayed in there all night and couldn't leave even half a step. This is not possible.

, I was just released this morning, and the master didn’t even go back home, he came directly here.”

The coachman smiled and said, "Then you are really miserable. Go back and ask your mother-in-law to give you a good beating on your back."

"My mother-in-law? You can hit me, but forget about hitting me on the back!"

The coachmen and bearers laughed heartily.

At this time, Liu Mingming's coachman glanced at the street unintentionally, and his expression suddenly darkened.

Across the street, a young man with a bloodless face was standing, looking directly at him.

The driver said to the others: "I haven't eaten anything in the morning, so I'm going to have a bowl of tofu puffs while you chat."

"Okay, come back and bring me two fried dough sticks!"

But he saw the coachman Si Cao quickly walking into the crowd. As he was walking, he suddenly sided to the young man's side, grabbed his arm and walked towards the alley.

When the two of them came to the alley, the coachman, Si Cao, shouted: "Wu Hongbiao, do you want your life? The Secret Service and the Military Intelligence Division are looking for you, how dare you stay in Luo City?!"

Wu Hongbiao whispered: "I can't leave."

Coach driver Si Cao asked in a calm voice: "How do you know my identity and how did you find me here?"

Wu Hongbiao lowered his head: "I have followed you before."

Si Cao sneered: "You are following me? You can also follow me? Have you surrendered to the Ning Chao Secret Service?"

Wu Hongbiao raised his head and looked at Si Cao: "After all, I am also an elite member of Mr. Lu's staff. I was specially sent to the Southern Dynasty. Don't underestimate people."

Si Cao still didn't believe it. He narrowed his eyes slightly and put his hand into his sleeve, ready to draw out the short knife at any time. He quickly looked around, but found that no one was surrounding him.

The Secret Service used hundreds of people on the banks of the Qinhuai River last time but failed to catch him. If Wu Hongbiao had betrayed him, the Secret Service might have mobilized the guards from the Mengjin Camp to surround him.

Si Cao thought thoughtfully: "If you don't hide your name now, what are you going to do with me?"

Wu Hongbiao said: "Someone is holding your token to trap me and kill me. Naturally, I have to come and ask in person, Mr. Si Cao, why do you want to kill me?"

"It's not me, someone wants to cleanse us," Si Cao replied in a deep voice.

"How to prove it?"

Si Cao sneered: "If I killed you, would you be able to live to this day? Don't talk nonsense. As soon as you are alive, go to the Taiping Medical Center and tell Chen Ji what happened. Tell him that you two will come to this alley again tomorrow evening.

I will arrange for you to leave Luo City!"

"Where to go?"

"There will be a merchant who will take you back to Jingchao. Go back and find his uncle. Only by staying with him can you be safe for the time being," Si Cao said.

Wu Hongbiao turned around and left. At the same time, two civet cats stopped playing on the gray tiles on the eaves, jumped off the roof, and disappeared into the huge city of Luo.

…

…

At noon, dark clouds jumped from the roof into the courtyard. It raised its paws and patted the traces gently, but it failed to wake it up.

Wu Yun waited patiently until Chen Ji took a breath of air and woke up from the nightmare of the ancient battlefield. He touched his neck, where Feng Huai had been chopped just now...

Chen Ji looked at Wuyun: "Are you injured again?"

Dark Cloud raised his head: "Triumph! From now on, I have the final say on Anxi Street!"

Chen Ji was in awe: "Ferocious!"

Wu Yun recounted the story of monitoring Wu Hongbiao today, and Chen Ji came to a conclusion: Wu Hongbiao did not lie, and the coachman Si Cao did not want to kill him. The other party came yesterday to protect him.

The person who wanted to kill him was Shopkeeper Yuan.

Wu Yun suddenly asked: "Are you leaving Ning Chao?"

The traces of silence.

Do you want to leave? After leaving, at least you can no longer live the life of a double agent. Jing Chao also has an uncle who has been a high-ranking official. Even if the other party is out of office, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse.

Even if you don’t have the right, you can still buy more ginseng, right?

Although some of the new friends I have made cannot be seen anymore, they will not come to the hospital again anyway.

The only thing he couldn't let go of was Old Man Yao... If he left, what would the other party do? He could only leave it to She Dengke and Liu Quxing.

No matter which aspect he considered, Chen Ji should leave. This was not the choice he most wanted to make, but it was the wisest.

Chen Ji looked at Wu Yun: "Are you willing to go with me?"

Wu Yun thought for a while: "Although the newly built Anxi Street is a pity, I will go wherever you go."

Chen Ji took a deep breath: "Okay, let's leave tomorrow afternoon and leave this place of right and wrong."

He stood up and moved slowly to the yard, looking at the large water tank in the southeast corner of the yard, the apricot tree in the middle of the yard, the main room with the door closed, and the busy main hall of the medical center...

Chen Ji came to this world not long ago, but even though he only stayed for more than ten days, when he thought about leaving, he felt reluctant to leave.

At this time, Liu Quxing returned to the backyard to wash his hands. He looked at Chen Ji in surprise: "Hey, you finally woke up."

Chen Ji smiled and took out a piece of silver and handed it out: "Brother, can you buy some meat and vegetables for me? I want to make a meal for everyone."
Chapter completed!