The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#617 - You...are not dead?

"I know he's using an alias, of course, not many people know," Lu Jing said. "But his appearance is quite distinctive."

"Appearance… can also be disguised."

Firewalker Sun was still trying to hold on, but Lu Jing was already getting impatient. "Now that I know the person is in your hands, I'll find him sooner or later, whether you cooperate or not."

Firewalker Sun was silent. After a moment, he still took a step back and said, "Okay, whether you let me go is another matter, but at least you can't kill me again. If you can promise that, I'll take you to find him. If you can't, then just kill me now. Anyway, it's just the difference between living a little longer and living a little less."

"If you kill me now, at least I'll have a clear conscience towards Mr. Ji."

Lu Jing looked at Firewalker Sun, knowing that this was pretty much the guy's bottom line. If he pushed him any further, it would be a lose-lose situation.

Although Mr. Ji had personal grievances with him, it was mainly Mr. Ji who held a grudge against him. Lu Jing didn't necessarily have the urge to kill all of his subordinates.

This time, Lu Jing's most important task in Liangzhou was to find Qi Wenren and bring him back to the academy to study the secret realm. Therefore, he didn't continue to press him. He nodded and said, "Okay, you take me to find him, and I won't harm you."

Firewalker Sun looked at Lu Jing again, seemingly calculating how credible the man's promise was.

After a moment, he suddenly raised his voice and said to the outside, "It's okay, everyone can leave."

After speaking, he said to Lu Jing, "Let's go, I'll take you to see him."

To prevent Firewalker Sun from playing any more tricks, Lu Jing still put his arm around his shoulder, half-挟 him in his arms.

The two of them left the way they came.

However, when Lu Jing went downstairs, he found more than a dozen people in the teahouse, and most of them were skilled in martial arts, looking like they were up to no good.

Their eyes were focused on Lu Jing, one hand still gripping their weapons, looking eager to try.

It wasn't until Firewalker Sun shouted, "What are you looking at? Go do what you're supposed to do," that the group withdrew their gazes. During this time, the four tea servers stood trembling on the side, not daring to breathe.

Lu Jing raised his eyebrows. "Isn't the person who went to report the news earlier among them?"

Firewalker Sun shook his head. "They're too conspicuous. If anyone suspects One Burrow of Ghosts, they'll definitely suspect them too. So the person responsible for responding here is just a tea customer. Uh, it's the one wearing a felt hat near the door. He already slipped away after shouting."

The two of them spoke as they walked out of the teahouse.

Firewalker Sun led Lu Jing further south, first passing through a market, then crossing a street. Just as they were about to reach the south gate, they stopped in front of a post house.

This post house was the opposite of One Burrow of Ghosts. Before, because of the autonomy of the three prefectures, the imperial court couldn't remember this place for a while, and often no letters came for months, so it was naturally deserted.

But now, a large number of court officials were expelled by those indigenous chieftains and fled to the towns still controlled by the border army.

People like Registrar Luo, who were important figures, naturally had special reception, found good places to live for them, and arranged food and drink, but more were minor officials of the eighth or ninth rank, or even clerks without any rank.

When these people entered the city, no one paid attention to them, and they weren't even given a hot meal.

And these people happened to be in a hurry when they fled, and many of them didn't bring much money with them. Seeing that they were about to run out of resources, someone remembered that there was still a post house in the city where they could stay.

Moreover, according to regulations, these post houses were supposed to take care of their food and accommodation, so everyone flocked over to ask for food and drink, and it became even more lively than a brothel.

Because there were too many officials begging for food and not enough space to live, those above the seventh rank now had three people to a room, and those below the seventh rank had no room to live, so they simply set up thatched sheds next to them.

Lu Jing looked at it like a slum, but the poor people in these slums still addressed each other as Lord Li and Lord Wang every day, creating a kind of black humor.

Firewalker Sun reached out and pushed aside two minor officials blocking the way, and came to a thatched hut amid their exclamations.

Lu Jing also had to admit that this place was indeed suitable for hiding people. After all, the fleeing officials came in waves, like bamboo shoots after rain, and most of them had been on their own turf before and didn't know each other.

And the best thing was that even though the city was strictly controlled now, ordinary soldiers really didn't dare to search this place.

Don't look at these people now, each one more down and out than the other, but if the imperial court really quelled the rebellion and let them return to their territories, they could immediately become big figures in the local area.

Maybe they could even be rewarded for sticking to the front line and not running away.

However, what surprised Lu Jing was that there was no one guarding the thatched shed where Qi Wenren was being held.

Could it be that Qi Wenren was tied up, or had his acupoints been sealed?

Lu Jing was thinking when he heard Firewalker Sun shout inside, "Lord Zhen, we're coming in."

After a while, a rather dignified voice came from inside, "Okay, come in."

"… … … …"

Lu Jing couldn't figure out what Firewalker Sun was up to. It didn't seem like they were restricting Qi Wenren's freedom, and their words seemed quite polite to Qi Wenren.

Hmm, he should be at least seven feet tall. Then he looked at his arms… This doesn't feel that long. It seems unlikely that they reach his knees.

Then Lu Jing reached out and grabbed his right hand under the other person's surprised gaze, but there wasn't a mole on the back of his hand.

Lu Jing frowned and turned to look at Firewalker Sun, looking displeased. "Are you lying to me?"

"How is that possible?" Firewalker Sun was also anxious, and frantically gestured to the man in the thatched shed, "Quick, this is one of our own, quickly take off the human skin mask on your face."

It was obvious that the man in the thatched shed was a little puzzled, but in the end, he did as Firewalker Sun said.

And when he took off the mask on his face, it was Lu Jing's turn to be stunned, and he blurted out.

"You… you're not dead?!"

"You recognized me?" The man was also a little surprised, but then he nodded and said, "That's right, the world thinks I'm dead, but I'm actually still alive."