Chapter 19: Wrong Cut
The winding streets and alleys of Los Angeles are like the lines on the palm of the city.

The Liu family team that was hunting down Chen Ji and others divided their forces into five groups, like closing hands, squeezing the air in the city together.

The spies walked through the shadows between the houses, and hundreds of steps behind them were the figures of the Liu family holding guns and sticks and holding torches high.

Jiaotu looked back at Chenji at the end of the team, then turned to ask Yunyang: "Do you believe what that guy said? If he doesn't find the evidence, we will miss the chance to leave Luocheng tonight."

"We can only trust him now," Yun Yang said solemnly, "If we can't find evidence tonight, we won't be able to get past the Chief Criminal Division."

Jiaotu said nonchalantly, "Lord Internal Minister won't really do anything to us. We are still useful. The worst that can happen is that we can kill a few more people for him."

"There are good people and bad people under the Lord Minister, but there are no stupid people. If you and I mess up this, there will be no place for us in the Secret Service... Maybe this kid can really find evidence?"

Jiaotu said in a serious tone, "I hope so. If he can't find the evidence, we will rush back to the capital to ask Bailong for mercy. We can't let him fall into the hands of the Chief Criminal Division."

Having said that, she turned back and looked at Chen Ji.

The young apprentice was following at the end of the team, panting. His hair was wet with sweat and the cloth covering his face was soaked, but he was unwilling to take it off.

"This kid is in pretty good shape. He can even keep up with the spies," Jiaotu praised.

Any spy under the Secret Service Department who is placed in the "Long Live Army" is the best of the best. So no matter how embarrassed Chen Ji is, it is not easy to keep up with them.

At this moment, Chen Ji felt the changes in his body. When he was exhausted, the three fires beside his dantian actually continuously gushed out warm currents, supporting him to keep running.

The fire washed over him like a torrent, causing his body to undergo some mysterious transformation.

It was like a rusty sword, the rust being wiped off.

As they crossed Changning Street, the sound of shouting and killing approached from behind. Yun Yang said in a deep voice: "The Liu family knows Luo City better than we do. They are taking a shortcut and surrounding us. If we continue to flee like this, we will definitely be caught up."

"What should we do?" Jiaotu asked.

"Sacrifice the rook to save the king."

When passing by a small courtyard, Yun Yang ordered: "Qi Wan, you take everyone to lead the Liu family to the west, and it will be considered a great achievement for you!"

The black-clad spy named Qi Wan whispered, "Yes, the rest of you follow me!"

Chen Ji stood by the courtyard wall, watching the spies leave without saying a word. Yun Yang and Jiao Tu had already climbed into the courtyard, and seeing that he hadn't climbed in yet, they poked their heads out from under the grey tiles: "What are you standing there for?!"

"Here I come," Chen Ji jumped hard, grabbed Yun Yang's outstretched hand, and tumbled into the yard in a panic.

The three of them stood behind the wall, pressed against the wall and listened with bated breath to the noise outside.

They heard dense and chaotic footsteps passing outside the wall, and heard someone saying "We must not let them escape from Los Angeles, we must avenge the old man."

They were so close that they were only separated by a wall, and Chen Ji could even smell the burning torches outside the wall, a mixture of cedar bark and pine resin, dry and crackling.

The huge crowd chased in the direction the spies left. It was not until the outside of the wall was quiet again that Chen Ji dared to breathe: "Can the spies survive?"

Yun Yang glanced at him and said, "In troubled times, life and death are determined by fate. It's the same for you, them, and Jiaotu and I. When Jiaotu and I were still little spies, we were abandoned countless times."

Jiaotu said: "Stop talking nonsense and leave quickly."

When the three climbed over the wall again, the street was empty. They headed east but stopped at the first crossroads.

Yun Yang narrowed his eyes and looked across the bluestone road. Lin Chaoqing and his group of dozens of Fish Dragon Guards were standing on horseback, waiting there quietly, as if they could always find their prey first.

The Chief Criminal Division was in the east, and the Secret Service Division was in the west. They stared at each other from a distance but did not speak to each other. Both sides stood in the shadows, waiting for the other to speak first.

The Yulong Guards were wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, and each of them had his hand on the hilt of the sword behind his waist. The sense of oppression came over them like a mountain.

In this silence, Lin Chaoqing drove his horse forward and slowly walked towards Yunyang.

His expression was hidden under his bamboo hat, so no one could see it clearly. "We both work in the Imperial Household Department, and we are colleagues. We don't want the Secret Service to be taken down by the civil servants. I let you go just now to give you a chance. Now an hour has passed, can you produce evidence?"

Yun Yang remained silent with a solemn expression. This was no longer a time to bluff and fool people.

"It seems there is still no one," Lin Chaoqing urged his horse forward: "Capture them..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a noise from afar: "Liang Mao'er, where are you going to carry me? Miss Yan'er is still waiting for me in the red curtain!"

"Brother, the Liu family seems to be angry. We have to kill the eunuchs quickly, otherwise you will run out of money for wine and medicine for cultivation!"

"What! Cut off my wine money?"

"Brother, medicine is more important!"

The Chief Criminal Division and the Secret Service Division looked to the left at the same time, and saw a fat young man running towards them carrying a drunken middle-aged man on his back.

The middle-aged man had his robe open and hanging loosely on his body, and his head was tilted on the young man's shoulder. His hair was disheveled and he was sloppy, but the knife on his waist looked very delicate, as if it was often wiped.

When Lin Chaoqing saw this person, he pulled the reins, and all the Fish and Dragon Guards of the Chief Criminal Department stopped at once.

Jiaotu whispered, "It's Liang Gou'er."

Everyone looked at the two men, one fat and one thin, in silence. In the strange silence, Liang Maoer came closer, carrying Liang Gouer on his back, cursing.

When passing the intersection, the fat Liang Maoer saw the Chief Criminal Department and the Secret Service Department in the shadows on the side of the road. He was so frightened that he dared not breathe and his fat body shook.

"Brother, brother, wake up! I think I saw them!" Liang Maoer said.

Liang Gou'er drunkenly opened his eyes and said, "Have you found the eunuch party?"

Liang Maoer's forehead was covered with sweat. He wanted to leave Liang Gou'er behind and run away. He lowered his voice and said, "Brother, they can hear..." Liang Gou'er turned his gaze to Lin Chaoqing. When he saw the other party's neatly-knitted straw raincoat and straw hat, he was immediately delighted and said, "This pile of straw raincoats and straw hats, he is indeed a eunuch! But we must not offend anyone. Remember to tell the Liu family when we go back that I have taken action..."

In an instant, Liang Gou'er lay on Liang Mao'er's back, hooked the handle of the knife with his middle finger and index finger, and flicked it lightly.

With a clang, the long sword was unsheathed.

The majestic sword light slashed towards Lin Chaoqing, and before everyone could react, the sword had returned to the sheath.

With a snap, the bamboo hat on Lin Chaoqing's head broke into two and fell to the ground, revealing his angular and resolute face. This mid-air sword strike was so perfect that the sword energy stopped after shattering the bamboo hat, and Lin Chaoqing's face was not hurt at all.

The long street was silent, and everyone was shocked out of their thoughts by this scene.

Liang Maoer looked at the Chief Criminal Division on the right, and then looked at the Secret Service Division on the left: "Brother, you killed the wrong person..."

"Ah?" Liang Gou'er narrowed his eyes and looked at the Secret Service Department, then looked at Lin Chaoqing.

Lin Chaoqing sat still on his horse and said coldly, "Liang Gou'er, open your dog eyes and see who I am."

"what!"

The next second, Liang Gou'er jumped off Liang Mao'er's back, and crawled to Lin Chaoqing's horse, saying with a flattering smile: "Isn't this Commander Lin? Sorry, sorry. It's all the fault of the Liu family. I said I wanted to drink in Hongyi Lane, but they forced me to come and chop you up!"

Lin Chaoqing whipped Liang Gou'er on the shoulder with his whip: "I won't embarrass you today, get out of here."

"Okay, okay, I'll get out of here right away!" After saying that, Liang Gou'er actually rolled to the side.

Lin Chaoqing raised his head and looked across.

At this time, Yunyang, Jiaotu and Chenji in the opposite street had long disappeared.

"Chase, you won't get far."

Dozens of Yulong Guards rode their horses to chase after him, and Liang Gou'er finally stood up shakily. Liang Mao'er came over distressedly and brushed the dust off him: "Brother, why do you have to put up with their bullshit?"

Liang Gou'er happily gathered his messy hair into a hairpin on top of his head: "Mao'er, wasn't I smart just now? I cleverly resolved a crisis!"

Liang Mao'er grumbled aggrievedly: "Not clever at all!"

"Let's go, we've finished our work, let's go drink some more!"

"I don't want to drink! You've already had so much to drink, so don't drink!"

Liang Gou'er: "I haven't drunk enough... Ugh!"

……

……

"The Chief Criminal Officer has such a sharp nose, he can find us no matter where we go," Jiaotu complained.

Yun Yang carried Chen Ji on one shoulder and ran while saying, "They say we are the inner minister's hawks and dogs. We are the hawks and they are the dogs. The chief criminal department has a famously sharp nose. They can find you even if you hide at the ends of the earth."

As he was running wildly, he coughed up blood again.

Jiaotu was surprised and asked, "Are you injured? I'll carry him."

"I just fought with Lin Chaoqing once. He's fine. He was only slightly injured." Yun Yang said, "This guy is a man. Why are you carrying him... We're here!"

Arriving at the door of a sealed mansion, Yun Yang threw Chen Ji down and said, "It's right here. Hurry up, the Chief Criminal Division will be here soon!"

Chen Ji walked forward, tore off the seal, and pushed hard to open the red lacquer door. He walked around the rockery and the fish in the pond in front of the door and walked quickly inside: "Where is the study?"

"Innermost!"

In the distance, they could already hear the sound of galloping horses, as loud as drums!

But Chen Ji walked into the study and took books off the bookshelf. He glanced at each book in the moonlight and then threw it on the ground, just like he did before in Zhou's house!
Yun Yang took out a tinder from his bosom, lit the candle in the room, and held it in front of the bookshelf. He suddenly felt like Chen Ji's book boy, and wanted to get angry, but he could only hold it back when the disaster was imminent.

Yun Yang asked in confusion: "What are you looking for? I feel like you are just trying your luck like a headless fly."

Chen Ji said: "Sometimes, luck is also a part of strength."

As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves stopped outside the door. They heard the sound of straw raincoats rubbing against saddles. The Chief Justice was about to come in!
Jiaotu's face darkened, and she stood in front of the door with her petite and sturdy figure, holding a short knife at her waist.

She said to the Yulong Guards who rushed in, "It's a critical moment for the Secret Service to capture the spy. If you take another step, you will die."

However, Lin Chaoqing ignored her threats and continued to press forward: "Go in, and kill anyone who resists."

The two sides were about to fight, Jiaotu suddenly pulled out a short knife and cut his forehead, and there seemed to be a ball of black mist about to emerge from the forehead.

In the solemn and solemn mansion, Lin Chaoqing walked forward step by step with a long sword on his waist. He pulled out the sword bit by bit, and the cold light shone through under his straw raincoat, making people feel cold and chilling.

The sturdy and strong middle-aged man was like a tiger, his eyes always fixed on the deep red wound between Jiaotu's eyebrows. An inexplicable power seemed to surge out of the wound.

Lin Chaoqing sneered: "I am a fourth-rank official in Daning, so don't bring out such a small trick to embarrass myself."

Jiaotu said calmly: "Whether it is a trick or not, we will know after trying it."

At this moment, Chen Ji's voice suddenly came from inside the house: "Found it!"

The young man walked out of the house, holding a book in his hand.

(End of this chapter)