Chapter 403: Prey and Hunter

Outside the Ministry of Personnel's yamen, Chen Wend, in his red official robe, stood as a humble attendant respectfully presented his calling card.

Zhang Zhuo was the Junior Vice Minister of Personnel, and Chen Wend was the Junior Vice Minister of Rites. By all accounts, Chen Wend did not need to be so humble. However, all officials and nobles in the capital knew that Zhang Zhuo was on the rise, already functioning as a cabinet minister even without formally being in the Grand Secretariat—his promotion was only a matter of time.

About fifteen minutes later, Zhou Xingwen, the Junior Vice Minister of Personnel, came out to greet Chen Wend and led him into the yamen. "Minister Chen, you are too courteous," he said. "There's no need for a calling card; you could have simply walked in."

Chen Wend politely inquired, "Where is Minister Zhang?"

Zhou Xingwen smiled, "Minister Zhang is waiting for you at the official residence!"

As they walked through the Ministry of Personnel's compound, they passed an admonitory stele inside the ceremonial gate. It was inscribed with Emperor Ning's handwriting: "Uphold integrity, cultivate talent, utilize ability, and ensure stability." These were the "Four Virtues" of the Ministry of Personnel's Metropolitan Review, serving as the criteria for evaluating officials during the review process.

Chen Wend's gaze swept across the scene: in the Archives Office, the Document Repository, the Secretariat, and the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel, clerks bustled about, a continuous stream of people hurrying with their heads down, eager to finish their tasks.

He smiled, "Minister Zhou, I've long heard that the Ministry of Personnel is the busiest of the Six Ministries, and seeing it today, it certainly lives up to its reputation!"

Zhou Xingwen humbly replied, "It's the time of the triennial imperial examination and the six-year Metropolitan Review, so naturally, we're quite busy!"

As they arrived before the Ministry of Personnel's official residence, Chen Wend instinctively looked up at the plaque. This residence was originally intended for the Minister of Personnel as a place of rest, but Zhang Zhuo had moved in early.

Inside the residence, Xiaoman and the young monk were wolfing down food.

Zhang Zhuo, watching from the side, smiled and advised, "Slow down, slow down. Why do you two eat like you've been reborn from starving ghosts? Are the Chen family members so stingy? With such a large family fortune, how could they let you two starve?"

With his mouth full of steamed buns, Xiaoman mumbled, "Minister Zhang, there's no one left in the Chen family besides our young master!"

Neither of them seemed to notice Chen Wend standing outside the threshold. Chen Wend, listening to their back-and-forth, remained expressionless, neither pleased nor angry.

Zhou Xingwen reported loudly from outside the residence, "Sir, Vice Minister Chen has arrived!"

Only then did Zhang Zhuo notice Chen Wend. He quickly said, "Oh, my apologies, I didn't see Minister Chen arrive! What brings Minister Chen here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Xingwen bowed and excused himself.

Chen Wend calmly stepped inside, no longer looking at Xiaoman or the young monk. He composedly asked, "Minister Zhang, do you know the purpose of the marriage alliance between the Chen family's main branch and the Qi family?"

Zhang Zhuo casually replied, "I'd like to hear the details."

Standing in the main hall of the official residence, Chen Wend spoke softly, "No man is good for a thousand days, and no flower stays red for a hundred. Grand Secretary Xu has held the position of Senior Grand Secretary for nineteen years, and there are always those who feel resentful. Now that Grand Secretary Xu is doddery and Minister Zhang's qualifications are not yet sufficient, the matter of Minister Zhang endorsing memorials and drafting imperial edicts on Grand Secretary Xu's behalf at his residence has been widely discussed in the capital. Naturally, some people have started to plot."

Chen Wend sincerely continued, "Minister Zhang, once the Qi and Chen families form a marriage alliance, those fence-sitters will naturally side with them, because there will be no greater power in the Ning Dynasty than theirs. Even His Majesty will have to show them deference."

Zhang Zhuo smiled, "Minister Chen, are you trying to tell me that breaking up the marriage alliance between the Qi and Chen families is what I should be doing right now?"

Chen Wend bowed, "Precisely! If Chen Ji is eliminated, my Chen family's second branch will find a way to sow discord between the Qi and Chen families, and within three years of the alliance, we will seize control of the main branch. After this, Minister Zhang can continue endorsing your edicts and memorials at the Xu residence, and promote your new taxes. My Chen family will pledge absolute loyalty to you, Minister Zhang!"

Zhang Zhuo sighed lightly, "You are a *jinshi* from the 24th year of Jianing?"

Chen Wend, not understanding the implication, replied, "Yes!"

Zhang Zhuo recalled, "That year, during the imperial examination, the Chief Education Officer set a question on governance: 'What is the root cause of corruption in governance? Is it a flaw in the system, or the degradation of human nature?'"

Zhang Zhuo looked at Chen Wend, "I remember that among the five hundred and twelve characters you wrote, the first sentence was: 'The primary chronic illness of current governance lies in the aristocratic and influential families entrenched like colossal trees, obscuring the court's clarity and seizing the light from the common people!'"

Chen Wend was silent for a moment, then bowed and said, "Minister Zhang indeed has a photographic memory!"

Zhang Zhuo sighed lightly, "It's a pity. Back then, you still harbored grand ambitions, but now you've become like everyone else, with only power and schemes left in your heart!"

Chen Wend smiled and said, "Minister Zhang, I was young and naive then. If I weren't a Chen family scion, I might never have had a chance at the imperial examinations in this lifetime! I personally believe that if a scheme benefits others, it is an open strategy! Minister Zhang, you are now so close to that position; how can you sit idly by while the Chen family's main branch and the Qi family form an alliance? Chen Ji is not your friend, but your enemy!"

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily, "Minister Chen, I'm not that foolish. How can this matter hinge on Chen Ji alone? Even if he dies, the Qi family will still be the Qi family, and the Chen family will still be the Chen family. You can't stop them, and neither can I! You, the Chen family's second branch, know what you truly want to do; there's no need for further deceptive words!"

Chen Wend was about to argue further, but Zhang Zhuo reined in his smile and said sternly, "Furthermore, I sincerely advise Minister Chen: in this world, only those who harbor grand aspirations and unite like-minded individuals can pursue a truly open strategy. All else is mere conspiracy and petty tricks!"

Chen Wend was silent for a moment, then turned and left. "Minister Zhang," he said, "Chen Ji will certainly die today, because too many people want him dead now!"

Zhang Zhuo stood inside the threshold, smiling as he asked, "Minister Chen, do you know why I'm not worried?"

"Why?"

Zhang Zhuo calmly replied, "Because I've worked with him, I am certain he won't die!"

"He's very close!"

A Mountain Ranger and Hunter of the Five Fierce Spirits soldier crouched beside a sumac tree. His gaze, piercing through his bone mask, was fixed on the bent grass stems on the ground.

The forest was full of wild grass; it was impossible to avoid stepping on it. After grass stems are trampled, they slowly straighten back up in about fifteen minutes. The soldier, with just a glance at the bent grass stems before him, determined that their quarry had passed this spot about seven and a half minutes earlier.

He crouched, his gaze following the bent grass stems deep into the forest, as if he could clearly see every step Chen Ji had taken.

Not far away, another Mountain Ranger and Hunter looked up at the sky. The setting sun in the west stretched the shadows of the trees in the forest infinitely long. In his eyes, beneath the bone mask, a wild fire flickered incessantly. "The sun is setting!" he said.

The Mountain Ranger and Hunter who had been crouching stood up, took the bone longbow from his back, and casually remarked, "Don't worry, we'll have his head before sunset!"

"And after we take his head?"

The ranger who had taken off his bone longbow twanged the string. "Drinking! We need to drink soon. In a few more hours, these rotten tongues won't be able to taste the wine anymore!"

"Drink until dawn?"

"Drink until dawn, then go home and sleep!"

The two rangers chatted idly, "How long has it been since we were last in the human world?"

"One hundred thirty-five thousand seven hundred twenty-two days. I've been counting!"

"That's three hundred seventy-two years!"

The Mountain Ranger and Hunter plucked a purple-flowered alfalfa plant from the ground. He picked off a tender sprout and chewed it greedily. He picked a few more leaves and handed them to his comrade, who also casually lifted his bone mask and put the tender sprouts into his mouth. These earthy-smelling grass sprouts were a taste they had longed for but could not reach in their previous lives.

One of the rangers put his bone mask back on. "Let's go, the centurion is waiting! Be careful not to stumble in the ditch, or you'll have to return to the Five Turbid Realms alone, waiting anxiously for others to tell you what human wine tastes like these days!"

The two rangers set off.

One led the way, head down, tracking their quarry. Bent grass stems, closed wood sorrel—every plant was a trace. The other brought up the rear, surveying his surroundings, ready to draw his bow and shoot at any moment.

They followed the tracks for a long time. One of them whispered, "There are footprints in the mud, with very deep toe marks. He's running frantically, his stride shortening. He's about to be exhausted!"

"Chase him!"

The two rangers accelerated together, leaping and darting through the wilderness, tireless.

Just as the two passed a large tree, one in front and one behind, the tree bark suddenly shifted. The rear ranger's ear twitched. He immediately turned around and drew his bow! But before the bone arrow in his hand could be loosed, Chen Ji reached out and snatched it, then thrust it into the eye socket of the ranger's bone mask with a backhand motion.

The ranger stared fixedly at Chen Ji, looking at the black mud on his face. "Is it really that hard to get a drink?"

The next moment, the wild fire in his eyes extinguished, and his body, along with the bone mask, turned into white ash and fell to the ground.

The leading ranger turned and fired his bow, but three consecutive arrows missed their mark. *Thud, thud, thud* went the three bone arrows, following Chen Ji's figure and striking the tree trunks one after another.

Chen Ji fired an arrow back with a reverse grip, forcing the ranger to dodge sideways. When he looked back again, Chen Ji had vanished without a trace into the forest.

The ranger strained to discern Chen Ji's hiding place, but Chen Ji seemed to have merged with the forest once more. A chill ran through him, and he quickly retreated.

As the ranger retreated, he drew another arrow from his quiver, notched it on his bowstring, and shot it skyward. The whistling signal arrow soared, startling a flock of sparrows in the forest.

He retreated to a clearing, drew another arrow from his quiver, and notched it on his bow, searching for Chen Ji's whereabouts. "Kid, I underestimated you. Who taught you this art of concealment?"

No one replied.

The ranger continued, "Kid, a signal arrow has been fired. Hiding here is useless. A large force will come to surround you soon, so run!"

Still, no one replied.

The ranger's gaze roamed around, trying to pinpoint Chen Ji's location. "I found you."

As he spoke, he dry-fired his bowstring, hoping to trick Chen Ji into revealing himself. But there was only the sound of birds flapping their wings in the forest; not even a breeze. When the birds settled back into the forest, an eerie silence fell.

The ranger suddenly realized that he wasn't chasing prey; his opponent was more patient than he was.

He slowly retreated. Just then, he heard the rustle of dead leaves behind him. Without thinking, the ranger turned and fired an arrow, simultaneously diving to his left to dodge any incoming arrows. But as he was mid-air, the wild fire in his eyes flickered violently: the sound had not been Chen Ji, but a rabbit! In a battle of patience, he had ultimately lost.

The ranger held his bone bow in front of his bone mask. He didn't know Chen Ji's location, but as long as an arrow didn't pierce through, the wild fire in his eyes still had a chance.

An arrow whizzed from behind his head. The ranger heard the wind and thought to himself, *It's over! No more wine!* Not only would he not drink, but probably many of his comrades wouldn't either!

The arrow struck with immense force, piercing through the back of his head and extinguishing the wild fire in his eyes. Before the ranger even hit the ground, he disintegrated into a handful of white ash in mid-air.

A few breaths later, Chen Ji emerged from behind a tree. He crouched before the pile of white ash, silently observing for a moment, then tiptoed backward, step by step, out of the battlefield.

About fifteen minutes later, eight more hunters cautiously approached. Two went forward to investigate, while six stood guard around them, like a net cast over the entire battleground. One of them carefully touched the mud left on the tree bark, then crouched, gazing intently at the tree bark fragments that Chen Ji had shaken off his clothes as he moved. The wild fire under his bone mask flickered. "Be careful," he said. "This kid isn't the prey; he's the hunter!"