Chapter 53: Sending Credit

In the dark night with heavy rain, more than a dozen spies hurried on their way in silence, letting the rain pour down on their straw raincoats and bamboo hats.

After turning the corner of Anxi Street, a secret agent brought out more than ten war horses. Everyone jumped on the horses and galloped towards the East Market.

The sound of horse hooves stepping on the accumulated water was like waves blooming on the ground.

Although Chen Ji survived the disaster, he still felt palpitations in his heart. He could only hold the reins tightly to adapt to the galloping rhythm of the warhorse and barely avoid falling off the horse.

The pain in his neck almost made him believe that Si Cao was still pinching him.

However, Chen Ji still had many doubts in his heart...

Jin Zhu rode on his horse and turned to look at him: "You seem a little different today than usual, you seem to be worried. What's going on? Did something happen at Taiping Clinic?"

Chen Ji's heart sank. This golden pig was good at observing people's words and expressions and would not miss any clues.

He responded with full energy: "Reporting to Master Jinzhu, my master gave me a lecture later in the evening and told me not to run around too often and to concentrate on my studies."

Jin Zhu knew that Chen Ji was hinting at him, "Don't come to me if you have nothing to do." He pretended not to know and smiled, "Doctor Yao, I often saw him in the capital in the early years. When he was in the capital, he cured the leg disease of the Minister of Internal Affairs. Everyone in our Secret Service Department was very polite to him. It's okay. You can tell the old man your identity as a secret agent. He will understand you."

Seeing that Chen Ji didn't say anything, he slowly said to comfort him: "Are you worried that arresting the Jing Dynasty spies is too dangerous? Don't worry, our Secret Service Department has elite soldiers and strong generals. Bai Long and Xuan Snake have beaten the chief of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department in the capital so hard that he dares not show his head. Corpse Dog and Treasure Monkey have suppressed them in Jinling so much that they can't breathe. This country is still our Ning Dynasty's country, and we won't allow them to be so presumptuous."

When Chen Ji heard this, he suddenly fell into deep thought.

The Ning Dynasty's Secret Intelligence Department has the twelve zodiac animals in charge, but is the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department only supported by one official?
You know, in the system of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department, the next level above the Secretary is the Director. These two people are the only ones supporting such a large Military Intelligence Department, and they seem weak no matter how you look at it.

However, this incident made Chen Ji feel puzzled: the Si Cao he saw today seemed different from the last time he saw him.

In Bailu Pavilion, when the Si Cao killed someone, he deliberately avoided the eyes of the deceased, but tonight, the other party stared at his eyes intently, as if he enjoyed watching the deceased's eyes gradually lose their luster.

In Bailu Pavilion, the Si Cao liked to use a knife. Even if he was dealing with a small character like me, he would definitely take out a short knife. But tonight, the Si Cao did not take out a knife.

In Bailu Pavilion, the Si Cao mentioned his uncle several times, but the other party did not mention him at all tonight.

The more Chen Ji thought about it, the more he felt it was strange. Was it the same person under the mask of Si Cao? If it was the same person, the daily affairs of Bailu Pavilion were busy enough. How could this Si Cao have the energy to handle the intelligence network of the entire Military Intelligence Department?
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Master Jinzhu, is the head of the Military Intelligence Department hiding in the capital of our Ning Dynasty?"

Jin Zhu nodded: "Well, at least that's the intelligence we got, but the spies we arrested are too low-level, and no one has seen his true face so far."

Chen Ji asked again: "Who from the Military Intelligence Department is lurking in Nanjing?"

"Of course it's the Military Intelligence Department's Secretary, but I don't know who came to Los Angeles this time."

Chen Ji fell into deep thought.

……

……

Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji and asked with a smile: "Why are you asking about their Si Cao and Si Zhu? Do you want to catch them? You have great ambition! If you really catch them, you may be promoted to the Twelve Zodiac Signs. By then, you will have no shortage of ways to practice. The Minister of Internal Affairs will ensure that you will rise to the top."

"Oh? Ways to practice?" Chen Ji asked doubtfully, "Does the Minister of Internal Affairs have many ways to practice?"

The Golden Pig laughed: "What kind of person is the Minister? He collected a lot of good things when he conquered the martial arts world ten years ago. Otherwise, why do you think Yunyang and Jiaotu want to make meritorious deeds? It's because their skills are stuck at the Xiantian realm. If they want to break through to the Xundao realm, they have to make great merits."

Chen Ji thought to himself, "So that's how it is. No wonder the Prime Minister can control all the officials."

He asked again: "Master Jinzhu, since the Jingchao spy has been caught, the other party should know who the person to be arrested is and what he looks like. Why do they need to look for me?"

The Golden Pig chuckled and said, "I will make my own arrangements."

Chen Ji frowned, he didn't understand Jin Zhu's intention.

The Golden Pig is obviously different from the Cloud Sheep and the Bright Rabbit. Although it always has a smile on its face, it is like a bottomless pit that cannot be seen through or guessed.

The crowd walked through the rain and finally arrived at Red Lane.

Red Dress Lane is the most lively place in Los Angeles at night, lined with brothels, gambling houses, and restaurants. If any business wants to become famous in Los Angeles, it must open a business in Red Dress Lane.

At this time, above the brightly lit and scattered buildings, the rain curtain washed the roofs and then hung down from the eaves to form a rain curtain.

Countless girls dressed in brightly colored clothes waved and flirted with the guests passing downstairs. Even the heavy rain could not stop the liveliness of Red Dress Lane.

However, when more than ten riders from the Secret Service arrived, all the girls and guests saw the solemn bamboo hats and raincoats and hid inside the building. Some even hurriedly blew out the candles in the house.

In just a few breaths, the shadow of the Secret Service was like a basin of ice water poured down, and the huge Red Lane became silent as a cicada.

Jin Zhu laughed and looked at Chen Ji: "See, what is the Secret Service? This is the Secret Service!"

Everyone dismounted from their horses at a gambling house called "Asakura" and walked straight in. However, they saw that the gambling house had been controlled by dozens of secret agents at some point, and the gamblers and the Nangjia were squatting on the side. The so-called Nangjia was the role of the dealer in this era, also known as the recorder.

Jin Zhu lowered his voice and asked, "Where is the defected spy?"

A secret agent bowed and said, "Sir, he is upstairs. He is willing to confess, but he has to tell you in person that he has conditions to discuss with you."

"lead the way!"

Chen Ji stood aside, inexplicably shocked: The Secret Service has already captured the defecting spy? !

If I just followed him upstairs, wouldn't I be recognized by him on the spot?
What to do? Fight your way out?
There are so many spies here. With my status as a newly-appointed officer, I can probably deal with one or two of them, but how can I fight my way out?

Jin Zhu walked up the stairs and looked back at Chen Ji in confusion: "Hey, why don't you come up? There are still many things to do. Don't waste time."

Chen Ji said, "Sir, I want to check downstairs to see if there are other spies hiding among the gamblers."

The Golden Pig smiled and waved his hands: "No need, no need, come up quickly."

Chen Ji had no choice but to hold down his hat and go upstairs.

Arriving on the second floor, Jin Zhu pushed open a door and saw a man hanging from the ceiling, his hands tied with hemp ropes and hanging from the beam. There were four secret agents guarding him with knives on their waists.

Chen Ji looked up cautiously, but was shocked to find that the hanged man had a black face and blood was flowing from all seven orifices. He was deader than dead.

Of course, a dead person cannot identify him!
Chen Ji's palms were numb from nervousness, but he pretended to be calm and asked, "Master Jinzhu, since he is a defected spy, he is extremely important. Why do you have to kill him?"

"This person is not the spy who defected, but the spy who was responsible for capturing the defected spy... How confusing! Haha, after this person was caught by us, he committed suicide by biting himself with poison," said Jinzhu with a smile.

Chen Ji's heart was lifted again. The defected spy was not dead yet!
But the golden pigs surrounded the hanged spy and exclaimed: "The spies of the Jing Dynasty are all deadly. They are cruel to others and even crueler to themselves. Over the years, it has been difficult for my Secret Service to catch a live person. Do you know why?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "I don't know."

"On the one hand, it's because they cleaned themselves up quickly enough. As soon as they found someone exposed, they immediately cleaned up the entire intelligence line from top to bottom and sacrificed the car to save the king. Killing a few people to save the overall situation is a wise move. As the saying goes, a man of integrity should not do business, and a man of kindness should not be in charge of the army. The head of the Military Intelligence Department is a powerful figure."

"On the other hand, they specifically target spies with families to lurk here. Once a spy betrays, their entire family in the Jing Dynasty will be arrested. The young ones will be made slaves and the women will be made prostitutes; the old ones will be executed directly."

Chen Ji's heart sank. The struggle between the spies of the two dynasties was so cruel.

He asked, "I wonder what Master Jinzhu's next plan is. Do you need me to look for the trace of the defecting spy?"

"Don't worry, don't worry. We only know that the spy was injured. We could have followed the smell of blood to find him, but a heavy rain washed away all the traces. Now it's hard to find him, but it doesn't matter..." Jin Zhu looked at the spy next to him and asked, "After we came in, did anyone go to tip him off?"

The spy whispered, "It is the spy you suspect, my lord. He quietly went to the toilet."

"Let him go, we'll just wait here for the Jing Dynasty spies to come and kill him!"

Chen Ji suddenly understood that Jin Zhu had not caught the defecting spy tonight and had no intention of catching the defecting spy.

The other party blocked the entire gambling house, blocked the news, and directly announced to the public that they had captured a defected spy, luring the military intelligence department to kill them!

What Jinzhu is betting on is that the Military Intelligence Department of Jing Dynasty has not caught the defecting spy, so they have to come and kill him to silence him... What an amazing ability to respond!
This kind of person is much more difficult to deal with than Yunyang and Jiaotu!

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "Why did Lord Jinzhu tell me everything?"

The Golden Pig smiled and held his hands: "You don't know, I am different from the Bright Rabbit and the Cloud Sheep. They like to grab the credit, but I like to give the credit!"

"Oh?" Chen Ji asked puzzledly.

Jin Zhu patted the back of his hand and said, "Those two bastards are devoted to cultivation, and want to use their merits to advance to a higher level of cultivation. But I don't have that ambition, and I don't seek immortality. It's not easy to sit in the position of the twelve zodiac signs. If I want to go up, I'm afraid I can only enter the palace to replace Master Wu Xiu. I don't care about the top three or the bottom nine. The bottom nine is good enough. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up!"

Chen Ji was speechless. This Lord Golden Pig was indeed well versed in the doctrine of the mean.

Jin Zhu continued, "I like making friends. When the Minister of Internal Affairs personally issued an order to recommend you to the Secret Service, I knew that you caught his eye. The last time someone was specially approved to join the Secret Service was Tianma..."

"Oh?"

The Golden Pig smiled and said, "Do you know who worked for Tianma when he first started working as a spy? He worked for me. At that time, I helped him gain merit step by step and managed to get him to the position of Tianma. Now that he has achieved the third rank, he will naturally remember my kindness. Don't worry, I am not afraid that you will have a higher position than me in the future. The higher your position, the better... Just don't forget me."

"So the reason why the adults asked me to come here tonight is..."

"If we catch the Jing Dynasty spy tonight, the credit will be half for you and half for me."

……

Today's Chapter

(End of this chapter)