Green Mountain

The 32nd year of Jianing, fifteenth day of the twelfth month.

Treasure Monkey was sound asleep in the East Wing Room, while Chen Ji sat in the small courtyard of Nianzi Alley, slowly pushing the blade edge open, then closing it, pushing it open again, and closing it again.

Until the rooster crowed, a "meow" came from the rooftop: "I’m back. I didn’t see anyone suspicious near the Zhang Mansion, only twenty-four Jiefan Guards watching, and Li Dong personally standing guard outside. This person seems not to need sleep."

Chen Ji sighed in relief.

Now he and Yao An were in hiding, and his biggest worry was Yao An using the Zhang Family to force him to appear. Yet, in searching for him, the Jiefan Guards inadvertently protected the Zhang Family.

As long as he wasn’t caught, the Jiefan Guard had to keep people watching the Zhang Family constantly.

Wu Yun jumped from the rooftop onto the table and "meowed" again: "Zhang Xia, like you, sat in the courtyard of the West Garden all night. Xiao Man was pacing back and forth, and the little monk slept soundly, but not long before Xiao Man woke him, asking him to chant scriptures to bless you. The little monk said he didn’t know how to bless, so Xiao Man told him to learn quickly..."

Wu Yun "meowed" again: "Lord Zhang summoned the Zhang Family Death Soldiers for home protection; one of them looks quite formidable. Mrs. Zhang urged Lord Zhang to enter the palace to plead your innocence, but he said to remain still and that he trusts you to have your own judgments. Mrs. Zhang scolded him for refusing to enter the palace, then went to fetch Xu Shu and Zhang Zheng to scold too, but Xu Shu said you’d surely be fine since you haven’t used the amulet he gave you yet..."

Chen Ji listened silently.

Wu Yun perched on the stone table opposite him, "How long will we leave this time, and will we return? I quite like the Zhang Family."

Chen Ji murmured, "Return."

At this moment, faint footsteps came from outside. Wu Yun leaped onto Chen Ji’s head, then with a bound vanished over the roof ridge.

The brown door was gently pushed open. Mrs. Lu entered carrying a lunch box, seeing him seated beside the stone table, she laid out the food from the box before him: "White porridge, Bianyifang’s pickled vegetables, sour cabbage buns."

Chen Ji once more folded the Whale Blade to the side, smiling, "Thank you, Aunt Ping."

Mrs. Lu sat opposite him, "Don’t thank me just yet. At Mao hour, the Jiefan Guard issued a sea arrest warrant, already posted at all city gates."

Chen Ji paused with his spoon suspended in midair, "Does the sketch resemble me this time?"

Mrs. Lu pushed the pickled vegetable plate closer to Chen Ji, "It resembles more than last time, but the court’s sea arrest warrant, no matter how similar, will still differ by a few shades. They rely on household registration, travel permits, and bounties for search."

Chen Ji hummed in response, between sips of the porridge he asked, "Has Aunt Ping devised a plan to leave the capital?"

Watching how Chen Ji ate, her voice softened, "The ship heading south is ready; it departs at noon, wait for no one. Go to the Cao Yun Pier in Chongnan Fang, a large ship flying a crescent flag, named Anlan. Board the ship and find ’Chief Captain’ Old Li, say it was Li Zhu from Chongnan Fang who recommended you onboard to make a living. As for when you wish to quietly disembark, decide yourself."

Saying this, Mrs. Lu pulled a Yellow Register and a travel permit from her sleeve, placing them on the table, "Everything on the household registration you must memorize. Reside in Chongnan Fang, orphaned at a young age, lived with your uncle. From today you are no longer called Chen Ji, but Chen Qi. But typically in impoverished families, full names aren’t used; if asked, let them call you Jiu Jin, for you weighed nine jins at birth, almost costing your mother’s life."

Chen Ji responded, "Jiu Jin... remembered."

Mrs. Lu pulled another sheet from her sleeve, "This lists place names and local customs of Chongnan Fang; memorize it so you can answer if asked."

Chen Ji nodded, "Okay."

Still worried, Mrs. Lu continued to remind, "You’re now worth ten thousand taels of silver; don’t slip up. Jiefan Guard under Li Dongyan isn’t like before; think of it as a second infiltration into Baidadan City."

Chen Ji suddenly said, "If today goes smoothly, perhaps Jiefan Guard will stop seeking me."

Mrs. Lu looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Chen Ji took a bite of his bun, shifted the topic, "Is traveling by water secure?"

Mrs. Lu observed him a moment, "Have you washed your hands?"

Chen Ji was startled, then quickly explained, "I did, I did."

Mrs. Lu slowly said, "This time, the ship arranged isn’t from the Cao Guild; it’s a cargo ship heading south to Jiaozhi. Once aboard, you’re not a guest but a scribe recommended by acquaintance. When docking, have documents ready for the ’Imperial Censor of the River Patrol’ and the ’Cao Yun Chief Captain’. But don’t worry, you’re chosen for literacy, not for prior work as a cargo ship clerk. Someone will teach you."

Chen Ji quietly memorized this.

After some thought, Mrs. Lu added, "As the saying goes, for the innkeeper, no crime should be a pardon. The Jianghu is perilous; a ship in the river center is the Ghost Gate, and night navigation often sees looting and murder. The south is in upheaval now, and river bandits are rampant..."

She continued to worry aloud, by the time she realized, she had been talking to Chen Ji for thirty minutes.

Mrs. Lu paused, "You have seen great winds and waves, my many words seem to underestimate you; take care of yourself."

Setting down his chopsticks, Chen Ji smiled, "It’s no trouble. They say no matter how far a son travels, a mother worries... having someone care is better than not."

The courtyard quieted, Mrs. Lu speechless, and Chen Ji resumed his porridge.

Long after, Chen Ji finished the white porridge. He handed the Whale Blade to Mrs. Lu, "Aunt Ping, the Whale Blade is conspicuous, please pass it to Axia afterwards."

Mrs. Lu took the Whale Blade, "Remember, the ship departs at noon, waits for no one."

Chen Ji acknowledged, stood up and walked out.

At the entrance, he paused, turned back, said earnestly to Mrs. Lu, "Aunt Ping, thank you."

...

...

Inside the East Garden Wood Factory.

In the courtyard, there is a hearse parked, inside which is a coffin twelve feet long, four feet wide, and three feet high, carved with patterns of sun, moon, dragon, phoenix, tiger, and turtle.

Four tigers are around the vehicle, polishing the car and coffin until they shine brightly.

A moment later, one of the tigers walked towards the main house, pushed open the door, held his hands in salute, and said, "Mountain Lord, everything is ready, just waiting for the Jiefan Guard to deliver the orders."

Yao An is sitting in a circle chair in the darkness, resting with his eyes closed: "Zhao’er, do you miss your wife and children?"

The tiger kneels on the ground: "Yes."

Yao An casually responds: "If this matter succeeds here, I will allow you to visit your wife and children before you’re relieved."

The tiger lies on the ground, pupils slightly shrinking, remaining silent.

Yao An opens his eyes and says with a smile: "Why, you don’t believe me?"

The tiger still doesn’t dare to speak.

Yao An slowly gets up, stands beside the tiger, and looks towards the courtyard: "Being able to return home is a good thing, you should be happy."

The tiger stiffly pulls a corner of his mouth into an ugly smile: "Mountain Lord is right."

Yao An exhaled a breath of white air in the cold wind: "Wandering for twenty years, thinking about returning home day and night, but truly back, why can’t I feel joy? My junior brother was right, a place with family is home, he thought I didn’t understand, but I understood long ago. Didn’t I think out the path of the tigers just to keep the master by my side? Don’t you agree?"

The tiger’s body stiffened: "Mountain Lord is wise."

Yao An praises: "If I could also make my junior brother into a tiger to keep by my side, it would be even better; not only I would be happy, but the master should also be happy."

At this moment, someone knocked loudly on the door: "Open the door."

Yao An listens to the knocking sound, and step by step, retreats into the darkness: "Go, bring back the dynasty’s fortune for me."

The tiger gets up, quickly walks to the door, and lifts the door latch; outside, two Jiefan Guards walk straight in, go to the hearse, first open the coffin to inspect, then use the knife handle to tap the coffin walls; after confirming nothing abnormal, they look towards one of the tigers: "Has the burial objects been prepared properly?"

The tiger holds his hands in salute: "Everything’s ready, let’s go."

As soon as the words fall, the courtyard of the wood factory suddenly quiets down. The two Jiefan Guards exchange a glance and slowly reach for their knife handles: "’Let’s go’?"

The tiger hurriedly explains: "I made a careless mistake."

The two Jiefan Guards slowly approach: "As a craftsman of the East Garden, how can you be careless with forbidden words?"

When officials die, there are many forbidden words. The ritual Chapter of the Da Ning Convention lists forbidden words; in funerals, words like "overturn", "collapse", "break", "end", "alone", "widow", "sink", "fall", "bury", "tumble" are ominous.

Furthermore, there are customary rules amongst the common people, and words like "go", "leave", "depart", "scatter", "float", "wander" cannot be said.

Ordinary people may not understand, but the East Garden craftsmen, who deal with officials’ funerals all year round, cannot not know.

At this moment, from within the main house, Yao An sighs: "Drag them in."

The two Jiefan Guards suddenly drew their knives, looking towards the dark main house door: "Who is there?"

But before they could react, two tigers had already slipped behind them, covering their mouths and dragging them into the main house. The Jiefan Guards struggled desperately, but the arms holding them were like cast iron.

Entering the main house, Yao An was seen leisurely taking off his outer robe, baring his bony upper body. The bare upper body had eight stripes, four black as ink, four pale as charcoal.

The tigers did not dare to look directly at the stripes and just threw the two Jiefan Guards into the main house but did not dare to step inside by half a step.

Inside the room came the sounds of wailing and chewing, and the tigers knelt silently outside the main house, not daring to breathe heavily. The two war horses in front of the hearse pawed the ground restlessly, wanting to move away from the main house, but they could not move, tied to stakes.

No one knew how long it lasted, but the chewing sounds in the darkness slowly stopped.

A tiger cautiously looked up, only to see Yao An’s figure slowly emerging from the darkness.

As he put on his outer robe, he walked towards the door. With his robe swaying, the stripes on his upper body had faded by two, and the color on his face had also faded away, as pale as if it had been soaked in water for hours.

In the next moment, the two Jiefan Guards followed Yao An, walking out of the darkness without any expression, showing no sign of any abnormality externally.

Yao An stood at the threshold, put on his Daoist robe, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said calmly: "One word of negligence cost me more than twenty percent of the fortune, but considering today’s big picture, I will not punish you, now go and fetch the dynasty’s fortune back."

The tigers again bowed down: "Yes."

The two Jiefan Guards also folded their hands behind Yao An: "Yes."