Green Mountain

Mr. Feng sat in front of the stone table, his hand holding the brush suspended in mid-air.

In the yard, two fire pits swayed unpredictably in the cold wind. The man with a heart as hard as iron borrowed the light of the flames to observe this old friend before him, and even he experienced a moment of disbelief.

No one expected the Top Three of the Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department, Bai Long and Binghu, to meet in the Jing Dynasty’s Shangjing City.

After a long while, Mr. Feng placed the brush beside the inkstone, a hint of mischief in his eyes: "I previously asked you to come to Shangjing overnight. Why did you only arrive today? How come no one else was delayed by the wind and snow, yet you are the only one late? Go, take twenty strokes... no, fifty strokes."

The ten or so subordinates of the Bai Family in the courtyard showed no change in expression, as if they were accustomed to this Chief Steward’s rewards and punishments.

Mr. Feng suddenly changed his mind again: "Wait, there’s no need to go to the Second Steward for twenty strokes. Just do it here. Bai Zhong, fetch the stick."

A subordinate responded with crossed hands: "Yes."

Watching as the other went to find a stick, Chen Ji glanced at Mr. Feng and stepped forward, saluting with crossed hands: "Chief Steward, my delay due to the wind and snow is just an excuse. It was you who instructed me to change my route to find someone, which is why I was delayed in entering the capital... Did you forget?"

"Oh?" Mr. Feng said, expressionless: "Is that so? I don’t remember. Who did I tell you to find?"

Chen Ji whispered: "A traveling Taoist."

Mr. Feng instinctively raised his eyebrows: "...I recall now, indeed I sent you, then there is no need for punishment."

Chen Ji smiled and said: "Thank you, Chief Steward."

The two of them exchanged smiles, the insincere grimaces turning into genuine laughter, and then Mr. Feng laughed heartily in front of everyone.

Chen Ji also released a breath, letting go of the tension from being wanted for the past several days.

Only the Bai Family subordinates were left looking at each other, not knowing what had happened.

Mr. Feng’s gaze crossed over Chen Ji and instructed the Bai Family subordinates: "Bai Zhong, tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and Taichang Temple will host the major exorcism ceremony at night, the Duke will also attend. Lead six men to investigate Jingzi in advance, do not let villains mix in among them."

The subordinate named Bai Zhong responded with crossed hands: "Yes."

After saying that, he pointed out six men and hurried away.

Mr. Feng reminded another Bai Family subordinate: "Bai Ye, tomorrow the Duke will go to Qilin Hall to keep watch, you shall check the carriages and routes, guarding the palace entrance in advance to prevent ambushes by villains."

Bai Ye responded with crossed hands: "Yes."

Mr. Feng said to the last few subordinates: "Go tell Bai Fen to have the kitchen send some wine and dishes over, cook forty dumplings, with chives and eggs."

The subordinates looked at each other, no one responding.

Mr. Feng casually asked: "What is it?"

A subordinate said in a low voice: "You have always abstained from alcohol, why suddenly want to drink today?"

Mr. Feng chuckled: "Usually to not delay important matters, as New Year’s Eve is merely an hour away, can’t I have a drink? Go on."

"Yes."

Mr. Feng sent everyone away, the East Wing returned to quietness.

He looked at Chen Ji, Chen Ji returned the gaze, and the two seemed to recall something very funny, laughing together silently, Mr. Feng even coughed a few times from laughter.

Once the cough stopped, Mr. Feng raised his head to look at Chen Ji, smilingly saying: "Why are you still standing? Should I invite you to sit down?"

Chen Ji lifted his robe and sat down, whispering: "Having you call yourself ’this seat’ is not to be used lightly, be cautious or else your identity may be disclosed, leading to the White Dragon of Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department being hacked to death."

Mr. Feng squinted at him: "Lord Binghu, if your identity is exposed, it’s no better for you, there won’t be enough left to bury... Who would have thought that the White Dragon and Binghu of Ning Dynasty would meet in Jing Dynasty’s Shangjing City? If the Military Intelligence Department knew, they would likely be half-dead with anger."

Chen Ji’s eyes flickered: "You already knew I would take the Binghu position."

Mr. Feng snorted with a laugh, calmly saying: "What kind of people do we usually deal with? They are the elite of the elite. If we can’t even manipulate a rookie like you, then the extra years are like living in a dog’s belly."

Chen Ji replied irritably: "How can you make manipulating others sound so reasonable?"

Mr. Feng’s expression remained unchanged: "Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. What we have to do is as difficult as climbing to the sky, manipulating you, I must even manipulate myself."

Chen Ji suddenly asked: "Who is the current White Dragon?"

Mr. Feng laughed heartily, tossing the ledger aside: "Young man, to ask such an important question with just a meeting of lips, isn’t that too greedy? Keep me company with some wine later, if you drink me under the table, maybe I’ll tell you."

Chen Ji perked up: "Is that true?"

Mr. Feng raised his hand to his mouth: "Shhh."

After three breaths, the Second Steward came in carrying two food boxes, smiling broadly, and placed dish after dish on the table: "Chief Steward, I personally fried some peanuts for you to taste... there’s a trick to frying peanuts, first boil them in water until soaked, then drain, drop the peanuts into cold oil, fry with low heat until golden, only then are they crispy."

Mr. Feng tossed one into his mouth: "Not bad."

The Second Steward took out a jar of wine from another food box and continued to smile ingratiatingly, "This wine was stored last year, the twenty-year Jade Pot Spring. One sip warms you up from head to toe. I’ll accompany you for a couple of drinks later..."

Mr. Feng said casually, "Step aside."

The Second Steward signaled to Chen Ji with his eyes: "Without a hint of awareness, shouldn’t you quickly step aside?"

Mr. Feng corrected, "I told you to step aside, why are you looking at him?"

The Second Steward widened his eyes, pointed at Chen Ji, then at himself: "Me step aside?"

Mr. Feng glanced at him, and the Second Steward lowered his head, sulkingly stepped out, and before leaving, glared fiercely at Chen Ji’s back, then closed the courtyard door.

Mr. Feng pointed at the dumplings on the table: "The dumplings of the Jing Dynasty are indeed tastier than those in the South, try some."

Chen Ji stood up: "Wait for me."

Mr. Feng asked in confusion: "Not drinking anymore?"

Chen Ji walked out: "Let me fetch Wu Yun, it hasn’t eaten yet."

With Mr. Feng alone left in the courtyard, he picked up the jar of wine and poured a bowl of it, bowed deeply toward the South, and poured the wine entirely onto the ground.

Yet it was unclear who he was honoring.

...

...

When Chen Ji returned to the East Wing carrying Wu Yun, Wu Yun poked out of Chen Ji’s collar, looked at Mr. Feng in shock, meowing: "Why is he here? We should run quickly; it’s about to get chaotic here!"

Chen Ji placed Wu Yun on the table: "First, have something to eat."

Mr. Feng smiled, divided half of the dumplings to Wu Yun, and said gently: "It has been a long time since I last saw you, eat, eat. I wonder if you can get used to chive egg dumplings, if not, I’ll ask the kitchen to cook some meat-filled ones."

Chen Ji teased: "Master is more kindly to cats than to people."

Mr. Feng looked at Wu Yun and laughed: "Even the fiercest cat wouldn’t kill its kind, better than people indeed."

He picked up the wine jar and poured a cup for Chen Ji, but Chen Ji pushed the cup aside: "Use a bowl."

Mr. Feng smiled pleasantly and filled two bowls full of wine.

Chen Ji clinked the rim of his bowl with Mr. Feng’s, and drank it up, then pushed his wine bowl toward Mr. Feng: "Another round."

Mr. Feng put down his wine bowl and teased, "Why the rush, so eager to know who Bai Long is? Let’s eat a few bites first."

Chen Ji took the wine jar from in front of him and poured it full again for both: "Can’t wait, I have some guesses but I need you to confirm them."

Mr. Feng laughed heartily: "Don’t rush, don’t rush, finish the wine and then talk."

This time, he no longer drank with Chen Ji in full gulps, but sipped slowly, as if afraid of finishing the wine in a few sips.

Seeing him like this, Chen Ji also slowed down his drinking: "Master came to the Jing Dynasty without a drop of wine because you’re afraid of saying nonsense when drunk and revealing your identity?"

The Jade Pot Spring of the Jing Dynasty was strong, one sip felt like a solid fiery burn down the throat, just smelling the aroma could get you drunk.

Mr. Feng sipped lightly and chuckled: "Worrying about mishaps due to drunkenness is one reason. Secondly, whom you drink with is important; there should at least be someone at the table whom you can trust to drink yourself drunk, or you wouldn’t know where to sleep. When I was young, I was also a heavy drinker, but later on, I couldn’t drink like that anymore."

Chen Ji remained silent, he looked at Mr. Feng sitting in the flickering firelight, and for the first time noticed that the other man was actually quite thin, with prematurely white hair standing out starkly in the firelight.

The two ate and drank slowly, eventually finishing the jar of wine cleanly. When Chen Ji picked up the wine jar for the last time, it was empty, and neither of them showed any trace of drunkenness, they could only sit beside the stone table, staring at each other.

Chen Ji remained silent for a moment: "I’ll go get a few more jars."

Mr. Feng, with a hint of drunkenness, said: "Enough, don’t bother. As for who Bai Long is, wait for him to tell you himself. Tsk, once you know who he is, when you look back at what he’s done for you, you should be moved to tears."

Chen Ji remained impassive: "Why?"

Mr. Feng said with great interest: "Becoming Bai Long means being destined to be forgotten by the world for his original name, all the good deeds he does are credited to Bai Long, he himself hasn’t the slightest credit. He doesn’t seek any returns, doesn’t even need you to know who he is, isn’t such selflessness moving enough?"

Chen Ji exhaled a breath of wine vapor in the cold wind: "That’s why I want to confirm who he is."

Mr. Feng laughed, picked a dish for him, and changed the topic: "I had planned to return to the Imperial Capital a few days ago, but due to some incident on Changbai Mountain, I was delayed for a few days. I went to Huanglong Prefecture to gather news and heard that the Sword Seed Path’s inheritor appeared..."

As Mr. Feng spoke, he stared intently at Chen Ji.

But Chen Ji only murmured: "I heard it too."

Mr. Feng paused for a moment and continued: "I heard that the Sword Seed Inheritor actually took advantage of the Mountain Master’s absence to sneak into Changbai Mountain and steal the Holy Relic of the Weapon Lord, causing the Five Sounds of Martial Arts to resonate. Tsk, tsk, I guess this person is from the Ning Dynasty... What do you think?"

Mr. Feng’s gaze fixed on Chen Ji’s face, staring right into his eyes.

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