Chapter 69 Whale

In Taiping Medical Clinic, the farce caused by the arrival of the golden pig made everyone silent.

In the apprentice dormitory, there is one person and one cat.

Wuyun whispered about his discovery: "We followed him all the way to the south. This person is very alert. If he sees something wrong, he will immediately stop and look around, and then deliberately create confusion to lure the people following him into the trap."

"After going back and forth four times, he finally put his mind at ease and drove a carriage out of the woods near Tuoluo Temple in the south and waited at the gate of the temple. After a while, I saw Liu Mingxian coming out of the temple and getting on the carriage..."

Chen Ji was surprised: "He is actually Liu Mingming's coachman? He was the one who took Master away from the clinic to see Old Master Liu..."

He thought for a moment and said, "I guess Liu Mingxian doesn't know that there is a person from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department hiding next to him. Otherwise, why would the Military Intelligence Department need me to connect with Yun Fei?"

The coachman's hiding position was very good. Not only could he keep track of Liu Mingxian's whereabouts at any time, but he could also eavesdrop on Liu Mingxian's conversations with others.

The Liu family's rickshaw drivers all lived together. If the other rickshaw drivers were not wary, this rickshaw driver's officer could even find out where the other members of the Liu family had gone, what they had done, and who they had met.

But why would Si Cao, who is so smart and cautious, come to Taiping Medical Clinic this morning and risk being exposed...is he here to kill me?

Chen Ji recalled the conversation between the two Si Caos. Manager Yuan asked, "What are you doing here?"

The driver Si Cao responded: "What are you doing here again?"

Then, Shopkeeper Yuan said, "Now that Luocheng is under my control, you need to put yourself in the right place."

Chen Ji muttered to himself: "'You need to put yourself in the right place', in what context would you say something like that?"

Wuyun raised a paw and raised his hand: "I know this. The day before yesterday, I recruited a leading tabby cat, but it still refused to obey the discipline, so I beat it up again and said, "Put yourself in your place!"

Chen Ji was shocked, and a spark of light flashed in his mind: "So that's how it is. The power of the Luocheng Military Intelligence Department has changed hands. In the past, the coachman Si Cao was in charge of Luocheng, but now it is the turn of the new shopkeeper Yuan to be in charge, and the coachman Si Cao has been marginalized."

There was a change of power in the Military Intelligence Department, and after his uncle stepped down, power fell into the hands of others.

The coachman, Si Cao, had mentioned many times that his uncle had asked him to take care of him. He must have been very close to his uncle, so naturally he became the target of exclusion.

Chen Ji was puzzled: "But why did he come to Taiping Clinic this morning? Is he here to kill me?"

Wu Yun's expression became serious: "He wants to kill you?!"

"Not necessarily," Chen Ji shook his head.

Previously, Wu Hongbiao said that the coachman wanted to kill them in exchange for surrender, but Chen Ji had always had a doubt:
The driver, Si Cao, looked extremely ferocious, but...

When the Military Intelligence Department of Jing Dynasty suspected that he had betrayed Zhou Chengyi, no matter how his subordinates accused him, the Coachman's Officer did not kill him.

The other party did hang me upside down for interrogation, but after the interrogation, I didn't even have a scratch on my skin.

Chen Ji didn't care what others said and just looked at what they did. Judging from these two doubts alone, the coachman Si Cao actually had no intention of killing him.

Even if the coachman Si Cao changed his mind and wanted to kill me as a token of his loyalty, the timing was not right.

Last night, Liu Mingxian and I were in the East Market together. The coachman Si Cao must have been there too and noticed me.

If the other party wanted to kill me, he would have had plenty of opportunities last night. Why would he wait until so early in the morning to come to the clinic?
So, the other party is not here to kill me.

Chen Ji was even more confused now: "Then why did he come to Taiping Clinic this morning? What caused such a cautious person to sneak into the clinic while his employer was burning incense and praying to Buddha? Is there any variable?"

Wait, it’s because Manager Yuan is here.

The coachman Si Cao was not here to kill me, he was here to protect me!
Chen Ji was amused by his own inference: "Why would he protect me... But Wu Hongbiao either made a mistake or lied. I have to figure this out. Wuyun, did Wu Hongbiao go out yesterday?"

Wuyun replied, "No, you didn't bring him food yesterday, so I went back to the clinic to ask Uncle Crow for two multi-grain cakes and gave them to him. Don't worry, I put them at the door while he was sleeping, so he didn't notice me."

"Drinking will cause trouble..."

At this moment, Liang Maoer's voice came from outside the window: "Brother, why didn't you take action just now?"

Liang Gou'er pouted, and while twirling the bamboo broom, he lowered his head and said, "I said there are three things I won't help. Have you forgotten? I won't help the eunuch party, and I won't help those who are against the eunuch party."

"But we are friends," Liang Mao'er said anxiously, blushing, "We just went to the Drum Tower together to watch the sunrise this morning."

Liang Gou'er sneered: "There are many people who have watched the sunset with me. Do I have to help everyone? Don't take what is said while drinking seriously. This is the rule of the bar!"

Liang Maoer was so angry that she snatched the broom from him: "How did you become like this? You were not like this before!"

Liang Gou'er muttered, "The past is the past, and the present is the present."

Inside the house, Wu Yun looked at Chen Ji: "What happened just now?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment and then asked, "Wu Yun, if your friends kept many things from you, would you be angry?"

Wuyun thought for a long time and said, "I don't know. You are my first and only friend. I have no experience in this area... but I should be angry."

Chen Ji sighed inwardly. Just now, Princess Baili left in anger. Perhaps she was angry because: they had been scolded, drank together, and watched the sunrise together. In her heart, she already regarded everyone as friends. But why are there still people who are unwilling to help their friends in trouble? Why are there still people hiding so many secrets?

But Chen Ji had no choice, some secrets he could only keep in his heart.

Wuyun patted the back of Chen Ji's hand and said, "I'm leaving now. I just had a fight and my men are waiting for me."

Chen Ji: "...Okay, don't let the blood splash on you."

……

……

After the dark clouds left, Chen Ji slowly closed his eyes and thought about the clues just now.

If the driver Si Cao really didn't intend to kill him, then did Wu Hongbiao lie? What role did the driver Si Cao play in this matter? He could only wait until night to test it out.

Chen Ji gathered the sixteen fires and let himself fly through the black sea of ​​clouds and land on the green mountains.

Once upon a time, Chen Ji hated this dream so much. The shouting and killing sounds night after night were like a nightmare. He couldn't wake up and couldn't sleep well.

But now he likes this place, not only because of the exquisite fighting skills here, but also because he doesn't have to think about complicated interpersonal relationships here.

There is no Military Intelligence Department, no Secret Service Department, no parents, and no uncle.

Here, Chen Ji only needs to fight again and again, learn skills one after another, and doesn't have to think about anything else.

He turned around and saw Xuanyuan, wearing a black royal robe, sitting on the edge of the cliff, leaning on the royal flag and looking into the distance.

The battlefield froze outside the cliff, the clouds rolled in the sky, and even Chen Ji's mood calmed down.

He sat silently beside Xuanyuan: "Have you been watching all this alone all these years?"

Xuanyuan ignored him.

Chen Ji asked again: "Why are you in my dream?"

Xuanyuan glanced at him and said, "I am in your dream...are you worthy? This is my world." Chen Ji: "..."

So this is not a dream, but a real place?

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Have you heard of the Forty-Nine Heavens?"

Xuanyuan was puzzled: "What is that place? I have never been there."

Now Chen Ji was also confused. It was ok that the people around him didn't know about the Forty-Ninth Heaven, but even an "immortal" like Xuanyuan didn't know about the existence of the Forty-Ninth Heaven. Was Li Qingniao talking nonsense?

"Beiju Luzhou?"

"never heard of that."

"Then have you heard of Li Qingniao?" Chen Ji asked.

"I haven't heard of it." Xuanyuan shook his head: "I have seen 'Blue Bird', but I have never heard of anyone with this name... What nonsense are you talking about?"

Chen Ji was confused. Didn't everyone know about the existence of the Forty-Nine Heavens?
Xuanyuan stood up and said, "Don't waste time, Feng Huai, give him a sword and practice with him."

The swordsman named Feng Huai nodded: "Yes, sir."

"Wait a minute," Chen Ji raised his hand and said, "But someone told me that I shouldn't practice swordplay."

Xuanyuan seemed to have heard a huge joke: "Did you come here just to tell me a joke? You shouldn't practice swordplay? Some people say you shouldn't practice swordplay?! Hahahahaha."

Xuanyuan's laughter rolled out like a huge bell, and even the clouds were scattered by the sound.

Chen Ji frowned: "Is it so funny?"

Xuanyuan pointed at him from a distance and wondered, "You used a knife before!"

Chen Ji: "...Is there such a thing?"

"The sword is the king of all weapons, the knife is the courage of all weapons, the knife is the most suitable for you, what else can you practice if not the knife?!"

"Maybe the knife was suitable for me in the past, but now I want to practice sword. The person who taught me said that my personality is not suitable for using a knife now, and it will ruin my basic training."

"Your current personality... what he said is not completely unreasonable," Xuanyuan sneered, "but with your limited foundation, how can you say 'practice is useless'? After you finish practicing the knife, you have to practice the sword, axe, spear, stick, hammer... everything. If you can't master everything, how do you know what means the enemy will use to fight you? When you have practiced everything, you will know that the way of the world is the same."

Liang Gou'er doesn't allow us to practice, but Xuanyuan wants us to practice. Who should we listen to?
Chen Ji chose to listen to Xuan Yuan, because Xuan Yuan's realm seemed much higher than Liang Gou'er...

He looked at Xuanyuan: "If... I mean if I am really the person you knew back then, then what kind of knife did I use back then?"

Xuanyuan stared at Chenji for a long time, then suddenly raised his hand and pulled out a sword as tall as a person from the air: "Try this one."

But I saw that the handle was about two-thirds long, and the blade was about one-third long. There was a golden dragon pattern on the handle, and the blade was as white as snow.

Xuanyuan threw the knife from a distance, and when Chen Ji tried to catch it, he was pulled by the weight of the knife and almost fell down.

Chen Ji waved the sword with both hands for a few times, then immediately shook his head: "No, I'm not used to it."

Xuanyuan pulled out a two-foot-long sword from the air and threw it to Chen Ji: "Try this one again."

The blade of this knife is red, as if it had just been pulled out of magma.

Chen Ji waved it a few more times: "No, I'm not used to it either, it's a bit awkward."

This awkward feeling is like someone who used to be used to using a certain pen of his own, and suddenly changes to a new pen. He can use it and is familiar with it, but still wants to change back to his previous pen.

Xuanyuan glanced at him, and summoned dozens of swords from the void, standing in the air: "Pick it, until you pick the one you like."

Chen Ji came to a row of swords, he took each one down and tried to chop with them in his hand. There were sleeve blades, daggers, crescent-shaped swords, straight-handled swords, and scimitars.

He carefully compared the differences between each knife. Time passed by minute by minute, but Xuanyuan did not urge him at all.

This time, Xuanyuan was extra patient.

Finally, Chen Ji stopped in front of a sharp, narrow and long knife. The blade was three feet and three inches long, and the handle was two feet and two inches long. When it was leaning on the ground, the handle was as high as his collarbone.

Chen Ji held the knife in his hand and asked curiously, "What is the name of this knife?"

"Don't you recognize it?"

“Should I recognize it?”

"Of course you should know it, because it is your sword," Xuanyuan said calmly, "It's called Whale."

"Did I name it?"

"No, I did it."

Chen Ji was silent. It turned out that Xuanyuan had been waiting patiently without saying anything, just to see if he could choose this one.

There were clearly more than fifty swords hanging in the air on the top of the green mountain, but he did not choose a longer one or a shorter one, but this one.

Chen Ji held the "Whale" and felt inexplicably familiar, as if he had found a long-lost friend.

At a certain moment, he was seriously wondering whether he was really the person Xuanyuan mentioned, and the other party did not recognize the wrong person.

This shock came very suddenly. Although Chen Ji had apologized for his "former self" and acquiesced to Xuanyuan's guess, he didn't believe it in his heart. He just wanted to learn more skills on this battlefield, learn how to fight, and learn the ways of swordsmanship.

And now...

Chen Ji looked up at Xuan Yuan and said, "Why is my knife in your hand? Are you going to kill me?"

Xuanyuan was silent.

Chen Ji suddenly laughed and said, "Haha, why do you have that expression? Even if you kill me, I'm still alive! By the way, can you give me this knife? Since you said this is your world, then this knife is real, right?"

Xuanyuan glanced at him and said, "If you can defeat Feng Huai within three days, I will return this sword to you."

Chen Ji casually made a knife flower: "What are you waiting for? Come on!"

Xuanyuan looked at Chen Ji and said seriously, "Don't think you are that powerful just because you can beat the giant halberd warrior in one day. The bronze halberd is used to deal with charging war horses in the battle formation. It has few changes and is not flexible enough, so it is easy to be caught in the weakness. The sword is different. If you can beat Feng Huai, it means you are qualified to fight in the battle formation."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "I noticed that the giant halberd warriors and broadsword warriors you selected are dressed differently from the others. Are they not ordinary soldiers?"

Xuanyuan glanced at him and said, "They are both my brave warriors, the best in the army, and instructors of all kinds of weapons."

Chen Ji was helpless. It turned out that he was fighting with the most skilled person, using the weapon that the other party was best at. "Why do I feel like... you really want to teach me all the skills of fighting in battle formations?"

Xuanyuan sneered: "Feng Huai, cut him down."

(End of this chapter)