During their conversation, Old Yao’s face was dark as he walked into the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
He glanced at the crowded room and immediately began to usher people out, "Go about your business, the Princely Heir and the Commandery Princess should not linger here either, go back to the Prince Mansion first, Chen Ji needs to rest."
The Princely Heir, who had been eager to leave with Bai Li, stood up to take his leave upon hearing this, "Doctor Yao is right, we’ll head back now... Chen Ji, we’ll come to see you tomorrow morning!"
Chen Ji responded with a smile, "Thank you, Princely Heir and Commandery Princess."
Old Yao gave him a glance, then turned to the others in the room and said, "Liang Gou’er, Liang Mao’er, you two wait outside in the yard for a bit, I have something to say to Chen Ji. Liu Quxing, go help in the kitchen and don’t come in unless called."
...
...
Once the room was cleared of people, Old Yao completely dropped any pretense of kindness toward Chen Ji, who felt too guilty to speak.
A long and silent moment passed, during which even the flame of the oil residue lamp seemed to grow dimmer.
After a while, Old Yao asked in a grave tone, "Who was the person in the cloth shop? If you intended to kill him, why did you let him go?"
Chen Ji’s heart tightened as he realized his master knew even this!
Old Yao’s words were loaded with meaning as he said, "Still planning to keep secrets? Why don’t you ask if Jin Zhu managed to capture him?"
Chen Ji promptly became candid and looked up to ask, "Master, what has happened to him now?"
Old Yao stood next to the bed with his hands clasped behind his back, and scoffed, "This morning, the Spy Department had already found a new eyewitness and were investigating this way. In a few more ’hours’, they would have searched the cloth shop. While that boy from the shop was unconscious, I stripped him of his bloodstained clothes and threw them into an alley outside the West Market. Spies stationed there found the bloody garments, and now they have cordoned off the West Market and are conducting a door-to-door search."
So it was his master who had led the Spy Department astray!
While Old Yao always spoke as though there need be no sentimental bond between master and disciple, in the end, he took action.
But what puzzled Chen Ji was that, although they were master and disciple, and although Old Yao was a bit cold on the outside but warm on the inside, was their relationship really strong enough to have him confront the Spy Department for his sake?
He had a strange feeling that there was more to this matter.
Seeing Chen Ji silent, Old Yao sneered, "Your staged crime scene may fool Jin Zhu, but not me. Crow saw you almost lose your life and hurried back to call me to save you. You really should thank it. Without Crow, you would now be a corpse in the inner prison. Aren’t you going to confess? This fortune I tell is of great danger for you."
With a sigh in his heart, Chen Ji chose to reveal his secret, "Master, I’m not only working for the Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department but also for the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department."
Old Yao raised an eyebrow, "I know that. Tell me something I don’t know."
"Ah?" Chen Ji was dumbfounded. "You knew that too?"
Old Yao chuckled, "Did you really think you were so covert? Shall I recount the conversation you had with Consort Yun?"
Chen Ji was completely flabbergasted.
He couldn’t fathom how his master knew about that; even Crow hadn’t been present at the time...
Wait a minute.
In Feiyun Garden, there was a persimmon tree... Though there was no one in the courtyard during his conversation with Consort Yun, there was a magpie pecking at persimmons in the tree above, and from time to time, magpies would land and fly off at the gate!
If Wu Yun could communicate with all cats, then Crow could likewise communicate with all birds.
Do magpies have intelligence? Of course, they do. Magpies are among the top five most intelligent bird species. They can not only remember thousands of hidden food locations but can also sort their food clearly, their intelligence even surpassing many mammals.
Seeing Chen Ji’s eyes flicker, Old Yao mocked, "How many years have I cultivated in the way of the Mountain Lord? And you, how many days have you practiced?"
"Why didn’t you teach me earlier?"
Old Yao lamented, "Did you give me time to teach you? How soon after I began to impart the Dragon Energy to you did you begin causing all this trouble?"
Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, "Then, as a man of the Ning Dynasty, don’t you get angry after discovering that I work for the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department?"
Old Yao shook his head, "I don’t want to explain this. You will understand in time. Now let’s talk about your issue, what’s with the person in the cloth shop?"
Seeing that the other party didn’t seem to care about his role as a spy, Chen Ji opted for full disclosure, "The man inside the cloth shop is named Wu Hongbiao, sent by my uncle from the Jing Dynasty to teach me spy techniques and be my partner. My uncle is a big shot in the Jing Dynasty, but lately, his political struggles have failed. His rival, ’Lu Guanwu,’ is secretly clipping his wings, and Wu Hongbiao happens to be on the hit list. He came to the cloth shop to warn me to be wary of danger."
Old Yao became contemplative.
Chen Ji asked, "Master, what should I do now?"
Old Yao replied irritably, "Why ask me, how long do you expect me to cover for the messes that you make?"
"Is Wu Hongbiao still alive?"
"I don’t know about that."
"In this freezing weather, after you stripped him of his blood-stained clothes, did you give him different clothes to wear?"
"I did not; that’s not my concern."
"Did you at least get him something to eat..."
"That’s none of my business."
Suddenly, Chen Ji sat up from the bed, "Oh no!"
Poor Wu Hongbiao!
Old Yao clearly only cared about keeping himself alive, utterly indifferent to the well-being of others.
But then Old Yao laughed mockingly, "Shouldn’t you be thanking me? If he just died like that, you could comfortably quell your womanly compassion. Don’t worry, if he’s dead, it’s not your doing, it’s mine."
It turned out that the master wanted to leave Wu Hongbiao to die.