Chapter 61 Origin
When Zhao Ji turned around, a ball of paper suddenly flew towards him.

He caught the paper ball, and on it was written: "Meet Hu Jinghui in the woods west of Zhen."

Zhao Ji was startled and immediately looked up towards the direction where the paper ball came from, but Hu Jinghui's figure had disappeared from his sight.

"Hu Jinghui! Could he have seen what happened just now?" Zhao Ji felt uneasy.

"Why does he want to see me? Could it be a trap? Should I go?"

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Zhao Ji's mind quickly. Recalling that Hu Jinghui had also reminded Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang respectively in the original drama, it seemed that it was his turn this time.

He took out a fire stick and burned the note to ashes. Zhao Ji decided to go meet Hu Jinghui to see what he had to say.

Zhao did not hesitate any longer. He immediately handed over the tasks at hand and headed for the woods west of the town.
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After arriving in the woods, Zhao Ji carefully observed the surroundings and found nothing unusual.

The fallen leaves on the ground were crushed by Zhao Ji, and the sound of his footsteps echoed in the silent woods.

Zhao Ji put his hand on the hilt of the sword, ready to deal with any unexpected event. But after walking for dozens of steps, he did not see Hu Jinghui.

At this moment, Zhao Ji suddenly heard a slight noise and turned around quickly. At the moment he turned around, Hu Jinghui just fell to the ground.

Hu Jinghui was empty-handed and dressed in casual clothes, completely different from his previous viper image.

"Chengyuan, are you being a little too cautious? No one here wants to harm you." Hu Jinghui said with a smile.

Seeing Hu Jinghui appear empty-handed, Zhao Ji felt relieved.

He put the sword back into the scabbard and said, "It's better to be careful. I wonder why General Hu wants to see me?"

"For two things. One of them is to remind you to pay attention to the safety of adults." Hu Jinghui said.

Zhao Ji said indifferently: "Your safety is the responsibility of Yuan Fang, no problem. What about the other thing?"

Hu Jinghui suddenly put his hands behind his back, was silent for a moment, and slowly said: "I met Kui Wenzhong a few days ago."

"Kui Wenzhong?" Zhao Ji's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"Yes, it is Kui Wen Zhong. I learned from him that Cheng Yuan's secret technique of hiding his body originated from Yuan Tiangang!" Hu Jinghui suddenly stared at Zhao Ji like a beast looking at its prey.

Zhao Ji did not have any special reaction, but showed a puzzled expression: "Yuan Tiangang? What does this have to do with me?"

"Chengyuan, stop pretending. Yuan Tiangang is your master, right?" Hu Jinghui said firmly.

"I don't understand what you are saying. If you want to talk nonsense, I have official business and I don't have time to accompany you."

Zhao Ji turned and left, watching the surroundings of the woods warily, fearing that Di Renjie or Wu Zetian would suddenly appear from somewhere. Xu Shide was killed by this move.

"Chengyuan, stop playing dumb. I have no ill will towards you. If you don't want me to tell Di Gong about your relationship with Yuan Tiangang, you'd better talk to me." Hu Jinghui said, looking at Zhao Ji's back.

Zhao Ji stopped walking when he heard that, turned around and stared at Hu Jinghui coldly, his hand on the hilt of the sword again.

Hu Jinghui realized Zhao Ji's wariness and said with a smile: "I am not carrying any weapons, this is my sincerity. I have no intention of making things difficult for you, I just want to find out your identity."

Hearing Hu Jinghui's words, Zhao Ji calmed down and let go of the hilt of the sword: "Okay, I'm willing to talk to you."

Hu Jinghui saw that Zhao Ji's attitude had changed and asked, "So, you are indeed Yuan Tiangang's apprentice?"

Zhao Ji nodded and said, "Yuan Tiangang and I are not master and disciple in name, but we are master and disciple in reality. He raised me and taught me all my skills."

This "I" of course refers to the unlucky guy whose body was possessed by Zhao Ji.

"You were raised by Yuan Tiangang?" Hu Jinghui was surprised to hear this. Zhao Ji regained his composure and began to talk to Hu Jinghui: "Yes, 'I' am one of the orphans secretly raised by Yuan Tiangang."

"No wonder I have no impression of you. And I have tested Kui Wen Zhong, and he seems to be completely unaware of your existence." There was still some doubt in Hu Jinghui's tone.

"There's nothing strange about this. On the day Yuan Tiangang was arrested, I escaped from Yuan's mansion alone and escaped from his control."

Zhao Ji's eyes were filled with deep hatred and he seemed to be lost in a long memory.

Seven years ago, the original owner of Zhao Ji's body tried to escape Yuan Tiangang's control, but failed and fought with Yuan Tiangang. He was seriously injured and died soon after. Both his body and martial arts were lost to Zhao Ji.

At that time, Zhao Ji also inherited the original owner's serious injuries, and two girls took care of him and saved his life. They were later called Blood Spirits.

After his injury healed, Zhao Ji used the original owner's identity to live a life of luxury in Yuan's mansion.

But he didn't have any freedom at all. He was confined in Yuan's mansion every day, just like being in prison.

Yuan Tiangang in this world is extremely skilled in martial arts and ruthless, and the original owner's experience also frightened Zhao Ji.

So Zhao Ji hid his minions and prepared to escape. He would wear a human skin mask every day to prevent anyone from seeing his true face.

Yuan Tiangang is a man of great cunning, and deliberately prevents the Snake Spirit from contacting Zhao Ji and the Blood Spirit sisters. This is also reflected in the original plot, and Xiao Qingfang naturally thinks that Kui Wenzhong does not know the information of the Blood Spirit sisters.

In addition, the original owner was still a teenager. Under these conditions, not many people among the snake spirits knew of Zhao Ji's existence.

Five years ago, in the first year of the Wansui Tongtian reign, Wu Zetian ordered the arrest of Yuan Tiangang, and the inner guards surrounded Yuan's mansion.

Yuan Tiangang was in danger and could no longer care about Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji seized this opportunity and made a prompt decision to escape.
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Zhao Ji told Hu Jinghui a story that was half true and half false, and blamed the fact that he wore the mask on Yuan Tiangang's coercion.

"General Hu, I think you can understand to some extent. How does it feel for a person to be forced to live with a human skin mask and not be able to show his true face in the sun?"

Hu Jinghui thought of his own experience and nodded heavily: "Yes, it is not easy to live in anonymity."

"I hated that kind of life, so I tried to escape several times, but failed. You can imagine what happened to me after I was caught. If it weren't for them, I would be a corpse now." Zhao Ji used the original owner's experience to deceive Hu Jinghui.

"they?"

"They are considered my two junior sisters. Of course, they can also be my senior sisters." A faint smile appeared on Zhao Ji's face, as if he was recalling some happy past events.

Hu Jinghui observed Zhao Ji's expression, and his heart was moved. He recalled the day when he first met Jin Mulan. At that time, she was like a brilliant color, illuminating his originally gloomy life.

After his thoughts calmed down, Hu Jinghui asked again: "So, what happened after you escaped from Yuan's mansion?"

Zhao Ji took a deep breath and continued, "After escaping Yuan's mansion, I was afraid of being caught again, so I didn't dare to stay in Luoyang. I headed north, through many hardships, and finally arrived in Youzhou."

"I have no other strengths, the only thing I can rely on is my martial arts. So I changed my name and joined the army like General Hu. You know what happened next."

"So that's how it is," Hu Jinghui sighed after hearing what happened to Zhao Ji, "But considering your relationship with Yuan Tiangang, it's very dangerous to stay under Wu Zhao's nose."

Zhao Ji shook his head helplessly: "It's not up to me. It's fate. The emperor selected me to join the Qianniu Guard. Can I disobey his order and escape again?"

"Besides, after Yuan Tiangang was arrested, few people recognized my face. It can be said that I started a brand new life."

"Therefore, General Tiger, I beg you to keep this secret for me. You and I are different. You are determined to take revenge, but I have my own ambitions!"

Hu Jinghui suddenly stared at Zhao Ji closely, and in a trance, he saw a light in Zhao Ji's eyes similar to that in Jin Mulan's.

That kind of light is a desire for power and an expression of ambition. It is this ambition that has brought about a radical change in the relationship between him and Jin Mulan.

(End of this chapter)