Chapter Fifty-Four: Baozi’s Recovery

When Baozi frowned, Zhou Yi wanted to step forward and ask, but Kang Youwei tugged at his sleeve. “Call the nurse. Don’t disturb him. Let’s go,” Kang Youwei said, pulling Zhou Yi out of the ward.

“Who were those two groups last night?” Kang Youwei asked.

“One group was Boss Liu from the Eight Alleys, and the other called themselves the Revolutionary Army,” Zhou Yi replied.

“Oh? The Revolutionary Army?” Kang Youwei raised his eyebrows. At this time, the Revolutionary Army was active in the southern Hubei and Guangxi regions. Kang Youwei hadn’t heard of them coming to Beijing. If it were just a few men, it would make sense, but this was a small unit.

“Yes, the Revolutionary Army. One of them I met in the Northeast, named Ji Liang,” Zhou Yi explained, seeing Kang Youwei’s doubts.

“Ji Liang, Ji Liang…” Kang Youwei muttered the name under his breath, as if it was familiar to him. After a moment, realization dawned on him, and he quickly stood up. “Wait here. I’m going to call Commander Zhang. Something is odd about this.”

Zhou Yi wasn’t concerned with affairs of state at that moment and didn’t ask further. But his mind was calculating how Zuo Zhi could be associated with Kang Youwei and Zhang Xun.

Zhang Zhuozheng’s involvement was easy to explain, as he was Zhang Xun’s nephew. When Zhou Yi met Zhang Zhuozheng in Zhuolu, it was clear he was after Xun Feng and Li Huo, his purpose obvious—the restoration of the Qing dynasty.

But Zhou Yi’s first encounter with Zuo Zhi was when Zuo Zhi was hacking at a stone egg deep in the mountain with an axe. Zhou Yi recalled that Zuo Zhi had said, “Qing dogs, all deserve to die.”

Zhang Xun’s goal was restoration, whereas Zuo Zhi wanted to destroy the Qing entirely. Their aims opposed each other; they should have been enemies.

The problem clearly did not lie with Zhang Xun.

Then there was Ji Liang. When he entered the mountain, he sought to break the temple’s ward; on their second meeting, he aimed to kill the giant python within, obviously intent on overthrowing the Qing and severing its dragon vein.

Logically, Ji Liang and Zuo Zhi should be on the same side.

As Zhou Yi analyzed Ji Liang, he recalled what Ji Liang had said when capturing him: “What we want is that beast.” This statement warranted scrutiny. He remembered that when he first arrived in the capital, a mob of ignorant citizens treated Xun Feng as a monster, shouting to kill him.

Yet it was clear their real aim wasn’t Xun Feng’s life. Zhou Yi had followed the ringleader to a teahouse and found a man in uniform drinking tea.

Was that man Ji Liang? No, the build was wrong; the tea-drinker was slightly overweight. Zhou Yi shook his head, dismissing his assumption.

The tea-drinker and Ji Liang were likely associates, given their two encounters and their shared goal: Xun Feng. But what did they want Xun Feng for?

“What are you thinking so deeply about?” Lost in thought, Zhou Yi didn’t notice Kang Youwei approaching.

“Which other officers have come to the capital?” Zhou Yi’s question seemed random, but Kang Youwei, clever as he was, smiled slightly.

He whispered, “Ji Yulin.”

Zhou Yi hadn’t heard the name before and frowned. “Who is Ji Yulin?”

“A member of the revolutionary party. No, that’s not quite right—the revolutionary party was dissolved last July by Mr. Sun. They haven’t found a new name and still call themselves the revolutionary party,” Kang Youwei explained.

Though Zhou Yi didn’t know why they were seeking Xun Feng, he now knew who they were. If the monk escapes, the temple remains; knowing their identities meant he could seek revenge later.

“Let’s delay returning to the Northeast for now, until Baozi’s wound is healed,” Zhou Yi said after some thought.

Kang Youwei agreed, understanding it wasn’t the right time. “I’ll notify Commander Zhang. Also, don’t leave the hospital these days—this place was built by Russians, the revolutionary party won’t cause trouble here.”

With that, Kang Youwei left. Alone, Zhou Yi began to consider how to make the dragon egg hatch quickly, fulfilling his promise to Zhang Xun.

At Huaxiang Pavilion, Zhou Yi had intended to secure Li Huo first, but after these events, he realized he needed to carefully plan how to assist Zhang Xun.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t about helping Zhang Xun, since Kang Youwei was the one who saved him; Zhou Yi and Zhang Xun merely had a cooperative relationship. The connection between Kang Youwei and Zhang Xun was not his concern.

Turning back to Baozi: since Boss Liu’s men used the Type 38 rifle, with an effective range of only twenty meters and no rifling in the barrel, the bullet didn’t penetrate deeply and missed the heart.

After two days of recuperation in the hospital, Baozi was already able to walk. This owed much to Baozi’s strong constitution and cultivation of Xuanming Qi; an ordinary person would need at least ten days or half a month to recover so well.

“Why haven’t you left yet? Are you getting lazy, sticking to me?” Zhou Yi glanced at Mu Chen.

Mu Chen scratched his head and grinned, saying nothing and refusing to leave—clearly reluctant to part ways.

Zhou Yi was truly helpless with Mu Chen. The man was out to gain experience, yet kept following him, and seemed a bit slow-witted; sticking with Zhou Yi brought too much uncertainty.

“We’re about to leave—are you out of money?” Baozi joked. He didn’t mind Mu Chen much.

“Boundless Heavenly Venerable! I am a direct disciple of the Maoshan Sect’s chief, dedicated to exorcising evil and upholding the Way. How could I be out of money?” Mu Chen scoffed at even the suggestion.

Zhou Yi pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed, then gritted his teeth. “If you have money, why are you still following us?” He was utterly frustrated; in two days, both he and Baozi had repeatedly asked Mu Chen about his plans, but Mu Chen claimed he hadn’t decided when to leave.

Mu Chen’s smile vanished and he lowered his eyes. “If you don’t want me, I’ll be on my way. But Xun Feng has been acting strangely lately—take care of him.” With that, Mu Chen turned to leave.

Zhou Yi watched Mu Chen’s departing figure, feeling a strange sense of loss. He glanced at Baozi and murmured, “He really left!”

Sitting on the bed, Baozi saw Zhou Yi’s expression and immediately understood what he felt.

“I’ll go call him back.”

Zhou Yi was about to protest, but Baozi had already run out of the ward. Remembering Mu Chen’s comment about Xun Feng acting oddly, Zhou Yi finally looked at the creature lying nearby.

On closer inspection, he found Xun Feng listless. For the past two days, Zhou Yi had been absorbed in Baozi’s recovery and neglected Xun Feng. Cursing his own carelessness, he began to examine Xun Feng.

Only then did he discover a bullet wound, likely from the skirmish with the soldiers.

He quickly channeled spiritual energy to expel the bullet, but the wound refused to close.

Firearms are yang-based, their bullets made of brass, also yang. Xun Feng was yin-based, so the wound naturally resisted healing.

While Zhou Yi was tending to Xun Feng’s injury, Baozi had chased Mu Chen back. “Mu Chen, Xun Feng was wounded by a firearm. How can he be healed?”