Qingshan

Chapter 4: A Quarter Hour

A lament from the depths, a fleeting spark, a dream within a dream…

Amidst the enigmatic echoes, Chen Ji didn’t know how long he had been wandering in darkness. It felt like trudging through a frozen river for a century, unable to pierce the fog surrounding him.

Yet, the darkness also felt fleeting, as brief as a spark struck from flint.

Chen Ji couldn’t control his body; he could only listen.

The sound of wind, rain, and even the rhythmic dipping of oars against water reached him—a sea of black clouds in a small boat.

He struggled to break free from the darkness, but everything around him felt heavy and viscous, making it impossible to free himself.

Suddenly, a relaxed voice from beyond the darkness broke the silence. “Official Zhou, we wouldn’t have personally come to your door without absolute certainty. The moment you see us, you have only two choices: either cooperate fully and help us expose the Jing Dynasty’s spies in Luo City, or we’ll make you wish you were dead. There are no other options.”

A middle-aged man responded with fury, “What crime have I committed that warrants you two slaughtering people in my residence? I don’t know any Jing Dynasty spies!”

The relaxed voice continued, “On the 27th of last month, you invited Official Li from the Ministry of Works to drink at the Mingzhu Garden in the Baiyi Alley of the East Market. During the banquet, you redeemed Miss Cuihuan and gave her to him. However, this Miss Cuihuan happens to be a Jing Dynasty spy, and she has already exposed you… Need I say more?”

“What does Miss Cuihuan being a spy have anything to do with me? I’ve never associated with her before!”

“You demand proof?”

“Yes!”

A girl’s laughter echoed through the room. “Since when does the Secret Intelligence Bureau need evidence to kill a spy?”

The interrogated Official Zhou fell silent. The room quieted down, leaving only the sound of heavy, ragged breathing.

Shattered porcelain littered the floor. The once elegant ornate display shelves had also broken into pieces, creating a scene of devastation.

Amidst the wreckage, seven or eight bodies lay contorted in death. Only a middle-aged man remained, slumped on the ground, his hair disheveled, his appearance one of despair.

Facing him was a young man dressed in a sleek black outfit, his demeanor relaxed and amused. A short distance away, a slender young woman in black attire perched on an armchair, watching the scene unfold like a play.

These two black-clad individuals appeared to be only around twenty years old, yet they had killed an entire room of people.

In the darkness, Chen Ji suddenly felt these voices were like a hand grabbing him as he sank into the abyss, dragging him back from hell to the world of the living.

“Official Zhou, who else are your associates in Luo City? It’s fine if you don’t want to tell the truth now—We have the entire night to spend together,” the young man said with a smile. “Just a moment, we’ll bring your family here from their hiding place in Firewood Alley, then we’ll see if you’re willing to talk.”

In the next instant, one of the corpses in the room abruptly sat upright!

Gasp!

Chen Ji drew a sharp breath, like a drowning man breaching the surface, greedily gulping air. His breathing was startlingly loud in the silence, shattering the oppressive stillness of the room.

Chen Ji sat up from the floor, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

Instinctively, he reached for the knife wound at his waist, but there was nothing there.

The girl perched on the armchair turned her head sharply. “Hey, Yun Yang, have you lost your touch? How is it that you can’t kill someone properly?”

Yun Yang defended himself. “Impossible. His heart must have been in an unusual position!”

“Just admit you messed up. Is it that embarrassing?”

“What should we do now?”

“Just kill him again.”

A torrent of questions flooded Chen Ji’s mind at this moment.

At this moment, Chen Ji had too many questions: Why had he been reborn? Where had he been reborn to? Could he ever find his way back home? If something as miraculous as rebirth could happen, could he ever see his family again?

He opened his eyes and spoke. “Wait, I have something to say…”

Before the words fully left his lips, footsteps echoed from outside, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

A dozen or so men in identical black attire entered the courtyard, dragging seven or eight people with them, including two children around eight or nine years old—one boy and one girl.

Taking advantage of this distraction, Chen Ji quickly surveyed his surroundings. The room was small, with a rosewood desk on the left, two armchairs and a table occupying the center.

Books, brushes, inkstones, and paper, were scattered everywhere, creating a mess.

Had he transmigrated?

Was this the dream world Li Qingniao had spoken of?

It seemed he had taken over the body of a recently deceased man, but he had no idea of the dead man’s identity.

Chen Ji desperately wanted to pause and assess his situation, but the unfolding crisis allowed him no time to think.

While he was still trying to grasp the situation, the men in black forced Official Zhou’s family members to kneel on the ground.

One of them, clasping his fist in salute, reported, “We’ve brought all of Zhou Chengyi’s hidden family members. This woman was redeemed by him from Baiyi Alley ten years ago. The two children are their flesh and blood, one boy and one girl. The others are the steward and maids.”

These black-clad men were stern-faced, each with a sheathed long saber at their waist.

Yun Yang grinned, squatting before the woman. “Madam, did you know that Official Zhou is a Jing Dynasty spy?”

The woman clutched the little boy tightly to her chest, shaking her head in terror. “No, we don’t know anything!”

Yun Yang pulled a thin silver needle from his sleeve and struck the woman’s chest like lightning. She couldn’t make a sound as she collapsed to the ground.

Dead.

A chorus of wailing erupted in the room. The steward, his voice cracking with despair, shrieked, “Master, what is happening, Master?!”

Zhou Chengyi didn’t answer, only watching the scene with a grim expression.

Yun Yang looked at him, then crouched in front of a maid. “Do you have anything you want to tell me?”

The maid stammered, “I… Master only comes two or three times a month. We… we barely get to see him.”

Yun Yang swiftly flicked the silver needle toward her. The maid tried to dodge, but the needle was too fast—she could only watch helplessly as it pierced her chest.

Chen Ji instinctively touched his own chest.

Yun Yang continued killing his way forward until he reached the little boy. He crouched down with a smile, but instead of looking at the boy, he stared directly at Zhou Chengyi.

“Little one, has your father ever told you anything?”

Zhou Chengyi’s face contorted. “Your Ning Dynasty prides itself on scholarly virtue and propriety, and yet you would butcher a child?”

Yun Yang let out a cold laugh,

“This spring, Jing Dynasty cavalry swept south, slaughtering countless innocent citizens of our Ning Dynasty. Why should I bother to discuss scholarly virtue and propriety with you? Besides, last year you bought a ten-year-old girl and kept her in your home, later giving her to the Prefect of Luo City. Wasn’t she a child too? Official Zhou, if you don’t confess, your son will be next.”

“Father, save me!”

But Zhou Chengyi merely turned his head slightly away, deaf to his son’s plea.

Yun Yang whistled. “Such a ruthless heart. It seems we’ve caught a spy of considerable rank, a Gyrfalcon or higher. To think you’ve been lurking under our noses for so many years. Truly shameful of us.”

Stab.

The boy collapsed, dead.

Chen Ji watched silently. The child’s eyes hadn’t even closed, staring widely at him.

Veins throbbed on Zhou Chengyi’s forehead.

At this moment, the girl named Jiao Tu approached the little girl. She crouched down and spoke softly. “Did you see how your mother only held your brother just now?”

The little girl nodded fearfully.

Jiao Tu continued, “If you’re willing to come with me and call me sister, and I won’t kill you.”

The girl didn’t respond, only looked at her father with a mixture of fear and bewilderment.

“In this world, weakness brings much suffering for a girl,” Jiao Tu said with a smile, drawing the little girl into her arms. “Don’t be afraid. It will be over quickly.”

From her hair, she pulled out a silver needle identical to Yun Yang’s and plunged it into the back of the girl’s neck. The girl immediately went limp in Jiao Tu’s arms and made no more sound.

Chen Ji’s pupils contracted.

Yun Yang watched this scene with indifference. He approached the surviving steward and Chen Ji.

“Young man, you were lucky to survive just now. Since you’ve fortuitously escaped death, I’ll give you another chance. Let’s play a game, whoever speaks up first with information gets to live.”

The steward immediately crawled forward on his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face. “My lords, I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything you want to know! Just let me live!”

Yun Yang chuckled. “I love a good betrayal!”

Chen Ji spoke as well. “I have no information, but give me two quarters of an hour, and I’ll find some for you.”

The steward hastily interjected. “He’s just a lowly apprentice at a clinic! What intelligence could he possibly know? Listen to me instead!”

Yun Yang turned to Chen Ji, feigning sincerity. “Your intelligence requires me to wait two quarter-hours, and it’s not even guaranteed to exist. So I’m very sorry… Hey, you!”

He was still mocking when suddenly Chen Ji lunged at the steward, pinning him firmly to the ground.

In an instant, a shard of porcelain that had somehow been concealed in Chen Ji’s hand sliced across the steward’s throat. Unfortunately, lacking experience in killing, he failed to cut the major artery on his first attempt.

Neither Yun Yang nor Jiao Tu made any move to stop him.

In his panic, the steward thrashed on the ground, punching wildly at Chen Ji’s face. Chen Ji didn’t flinch, didn’t dodge. He tightened his grip on the porcelain shard and slashed again.

With this second slash, the steward’s carotid artery was finally severed, causing blood to spray out like a fountain.

The steward died.

Chen Ji slowly rose to his feet, the corner of his eye split open by the steward’s blows, his hand lacerated from clenching the shard too tightly. Drops of blood dripped to the floor.

Jiao Tu’s eyes flickered with interest.

Yun Yang’s interest was piqued as well. “You’re that desperate to live?”

Chen Ji panted, “I have no information, but give me two quarter-hours, and I’ll find the information for you.”

“Oh?” Yun Yang raised an eyebrow. “Deal, but I’ll only give you one quarter-hour.”