Chen Ji felt a chill in his heart.
Jin Zhu chuckled, "Suddenly silent? There are even weirder practices in the southwest, I have seen those who use skulls and leg bones as magical instruments."
Chen Ji remained silent for a moment before asking, "Why does Lord Jin Zhu know so much about the Mountain Flower Ghost Money?"
Jin Zhu replied with a hearty laugh, "More than one person has practiced this method, and our Spy Department has killed two of them. In the basement of the Jiefan Building under the Spy Department, we are keeping two Mountain Flower Ghost Money coins that have been nurtured for several hundred years. The longer these things are nourished, the redder they become. The one in the Jiefan Building... tsk tsk, is so red it’s practically dripping blood. If you’re interested, once you are promoted to Hai Dongqing, I will request that the Lord Prime Minister grants you this method."
Chen Ji let down the carriage curtain, "Thank you for your kind offer, Lord Jin Zhu, but there’s really no need."
"We’ve arrived."
Jin Zhu stopped the carriage in a small alley one mile away from Mudan Bridge, and both men put on their ox and tiger masks, slowly making their way onto Mudan Bridge.
Just as they arrived, a carriage could be seen slowly approaching from a distance.
The coachman’s seat was clearly unoccupied, yet the reins moved as if by an unseen force.
Jin Zhu squinted slightly; had Liu Mingxian come after all? He had thought the man wouldn’t show up: "It seems we can rule out the first possibility. If Liu Mingxian has re-established contact with the Jing Dynasty traitors, he shouldn’t have come tonight."
However, the person who disembarked from the carriage was not Liu Mingxian but the old man who had been playing with Mountain Flower Ghost Money.
The next moment, the old man lifted the carriage curtain and jumped down, holding a burlap sack tied with thick hemp rope. As the old man landed, the sack suddenly struggled and shook violently!
The old man walked onto the bridge and, with a heh-heh laugh, threw the sack onto the ground, while looking at Jin Zhu and Chen Ji, he began to unravel the rounds of hemp rope around the sack: "I’ve brought the goods you asked for."
When the sack was untied, the frightened face of a middle-aged man was revealed.
Jin Zhu’s figure shifted slightly as if to take action, but Chen Ji suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, "What we wanted was not this."
The old man knocked the middle-aged man unconscious and, stroking the Mountain Flower Ghost Money at his waist, smiled, "Under urgent circumstances, take the convenient route. The Spy Department is too watchful, and the item you wanted couldn’t be stolen from the Craftsmanship Supervisor."
Pointing at the middle-aged man’s head, the old man continued, "But everything you want is in his mind. This man is the Deputy Director of the Craftsmanship Supervisor. If you have the means to get him back to the Jing Dynasty, what can’t you create?"
A quietness settled over the bridge as the moonlight was shrouded by clouds.
Inside his mask, Chen Ji took a light breath; he and Jin Zhu had not expected Liu Mingxian to be so audacious. The other party hadn’t made a move in the Craftsmanship Supervisor but took a different approach altogether, kidnapping the Deputy Director who was on his way home for rest!
Jin Zhu spoke gravely, "The journey to the Jing Dynasty is over a thousand miles with seventeen checkpoints; transporting a man out is as difficult as reaching the heavens!"
The old man sneered, "That’s beyond our control."
Jin Zhu pondered for a moment before asking, "Is Lord Liu in the carriage? Please ask him to come down for a talk."
The old man answered, "Lord Liu? What Lord Liu? This deed is solely my doing, Zhang Guo’er. I don’t know any Lord Liu. Moreover, I’ve done what your department asked of me. When can I meet the Division Head?"
Just as Jin Zhu was about to reply, Chen Ji spoke up first, "We need to take the man to Kaifeng Prefecture first. In three days, we’ll meet again on Mudan Bridge. However, next time you won’t be the one to make the decisions. Bring someone who can."
Zhang Guo’er bowed, "Understood, this humble old man takes his leave."
Jin Zhu watched the carriage fade into the distance, sighing softly, "I had you wrong before. It wasn’t because of your leak that Liu Mingxian did not make his move on the Craftsmanship Supervisor; it’s really because... the man is just too reckless."
Chen Ji spoke softly, "Those without enough courage wouldn’t dare commit such treacherous acts."
Jin Zhu turned and walked down the bridge, waving towards an alley where the figure of West Wind, dressed in black, suddenly appeared.
Chen Ji looked closely and saw that the alley was filled with spies from the Spy Department, hands resting on their waist knives.
Confused, he asked, "Lord Jin Zhu, what is this...?"
Jin Zhu sighed, "The plan was to capture Liu Mingxian tonight and take him to the inner prison for interrogation, but we didn’t even catch a glimpse of him. What now?"
With the mask still on, Chen Ji bowed his head in thought.
When he looked up again, he turned to Jin Zhu, "Lord, are these spies trustworthy?"
Jin Zhu affirmed, "Trustworthy. Each has been carefully selected by me, and I’ve spent a fortune to have Meng Ji interrogate them. There will be no problems."
Chen Ji looked at West Wind, "From today on, you are the Military Intelligence Department Chief."
West Wind, "Ah? Me?"