Green Mountain

Anxi Street was deathly quiet, with the moonlight streaming onto the flagstone pavement like a flowing stream, serene and clear.

Chen Ji stood inside the door, silent, while outside, Yun Yang didn't rush him. The two men, just a door apart, stood quietly.

After a long contemplation, Chen Ji finally took a deep breath and slowly opened the door with a creak, "Lord Yunyang, what brings you here?"

Outside, Yun Yang, clad in black that seemed freshly ironed, held his hair neatly atop his head with a hairpin, resembling the young noblemen often seen in operas.

Separated by the high threshold of Taiping Medical Hall, Yun Yang smiled and asked, "Won't you invite me in to sit?"

Chen Ji shook his head, "There's nowhere to drink tea inside the clinic, let's just chat here at the door."

"Eh?" Yun Yang looked at Chen Ji with interest, "Don't you know I'm from the Spy Department? Didn't Doctor Yao tell you?"

"He did."

Yun Yang's smile faded, and he spoke indifferently, "Then you must know when the Spy Department says it wants to sit in someone's house, nobody dares to refuse. Aren't you afraid of me?"

With that, he stepped over the threshold, passing by Chen Ji as if he owned the place and headed into the Medical Hall.

"Fearful," Chen Ji turned around, candidly admitting, "but when I suggested we talk at the door, it was because I know you are in a rush and didn't want to waste your time."