Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Nightwalk
"Sir, that’s the gist of it regarding the young lady."
In his office at the South City Prison, Zeng Jihe was reporting to Chen Ping’an about Chen Erya.
Chen Erya was now a student at Cangsong Academy. As her older brother, Chen Ping’an couldn’t just ignore her, so he had Zeng Jihe check in on the little girl from time to time and report back to him regularly.
"Mm, good. Continue to keep an eye on her, and remember, don’t let Erya find out."
Chen Ping’an instructed. ’If the little girl finds out I have people watching her, she might appreciate the gesture, but she’ll probably just come and pester me again.’
"I understand, sir."
Zeng Jihe nodded.
After giving Zeng Jihe a couple more instructions, Chen Ping’an dismissed him.
Just as Zeng Jihe left, Zhu Qirong happened to be getting off his shift and came out of a room.
’Right on time, as always.’
Chen Ping’an glanced at him through the window.
Lately, the man had been acting docile. So docile it was like he’d just given up. He neither cooperated with Chen Ping’an nor openly defied him. In short, he kept a very low profile.
From Chen Ping’an’s perspective, the man was now dispensable.
Zhu Qirong had left his shift early, but Chen Ping’an didn’t go.
The South City Prison also had a night watch. Positions like the Prison Chief, Vice Prison Chief, and Constables all had to take turns on the night rotation.
Today, it just so happened to be Chen Ping’an’s turn.
In reality, as the man in charge of the South City Prison, it would only take a single word for Chen Ping’an to get out of night watch duty.
But for Chen Ping’an, since he could practice his Cultivation Technique here just as well, he didn’t mind. Night watch was night watch.
Chen Ping’an’s dinner was specially delivered. The food was excellent: a lavish meal of five dishes and a soup—three meat, two vegetable—and the portions were enormous.
They were all martial artists and naturally required an abundant supply of meat.
After dinner, Chen Ping’an decided to make a patrol round in the prison to walk off his meal.
The ground floor of South City Prison was tolerable, but as you descended, especially to the second basement level, the air grew damp, and an oppressive, heavy stench permeated everything.
A long-term stay in a place like this would probably make even a healthy person fall ill.
Fortunately, however, the Prison Guards on duty in the second basement were mostly at the Martial Arts Introduction level. Empowered by their Qi Blood, they wouldn’t get sick as long as they properly maintained their health.
"Lord Chen."
As he walked down the corridor, Prison Guards in uniform, sabers hanging from their waists, greeted Chen Ping’an with respectful faces.
Seeing Chen Ping’an patrolling in person, the Squad Leader on duty immediately ran up to greet him and fell in step behind him.
Chen Ping’an gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
The corridors were lined with cells, most of them empty.
The second basement housed serious felons, so their numbers were never very high. From one cell, a prisoner reached out a hand, trying to grab Chen Ping’an to beg for something to eat.
His hand had barely emerged when a whip cracked down on it, and he howled in pain.
"Lord Chen is here! How dare you act so presumptuously!"
The Squad Leader trailing Chen Ping’an bellowed.
Seeing this, the other prisoners shrank away into the dark recesses of their cells, terrified of getting whipped themselves.
But there were also long-term inmates who just sat there dazedly, their eyes utterly numb.
Then there was a defiant prisoner who, seeing Chen Ping’an pass, made a grab for his clothes with a wicked grin.
"Where’d this pretty boy come from? Skin so fair and tender... Why not come in here and keep me company? HAHAHAHA..."
Fearing Chen Ping’an’s anger, the Squad Leader lashed the man repeatedly with his whip.
But the prisoner was a tough one. Even as the whip struck him, his expression remained unchanged, his face still twisted in a jeering smirk.
"Harder! Come on, put your back into it! What’s the matter, you got no strength?!"
The Squad Leader, now furious, bellowed.
"You reckless fool! Cut off his food and water for the next few days!"
After shouting the order, he scurried to Chen Ping’an’s side, a fawning smile on his face. "My lord, he’s just an animal. Please don’t let it bother you."
"Rest assured, my lord. Once they’re in our hands, even the hardest steel can be bent like a twig. We have plenty of ways to break him!"
Chen Ping’an said nothing, which made the Squad Leader’s heart hammer with fear, terrified he had somehow offended him.
’I’ll make that damn prisoner learn just how formidable I can be.’
Chen Ping’an took in everything happening in the prison, committing it to memory.
’So, even in a small prison like this, you can see a full spectrum of human nature.’
...
After completing his patrol of the prison, Chen Ping’an returned to the Prison Chief’s office.
As the man with absolute authority in South City Prison, his office was naturally quite large—more than spacious enough to practice the Golden Bell Shield.
After all his Cultivation, Chen Ping’an knew exactly what the foundation of his power was.
+1.
+1.
As he continued his Cultivation, streams of Cultivation Experience flashed before his eyes.
After circulating his Cultivation Technique several times, feeling the Qi Blood thrumming through his entire body and his Inner Qi surging, Chen Ping’an finally stopped.
’Wait, something’s not right!’
Chen Ping’an’s expression faltered.
The physical relaxation after his practice had left his mind unusually sharp.
’The people on watch duty tonight...’
Faces began to flash through Chen Ping’an’s mind.
They were the people he had just encountered during his patrol. There was nothing wrong with them individually, but... the number of them seemed wrong!
South City Prison was heavily guarded. Each floor should have at least three squads on duty, meaning nine squads for the three floors, not even counting the mobile squad guarding the main gate.
That meant a minimum of ten squads of Prison Guards!
But just now...
’The number of people I encountered on my patrol was nowhere near that many!’
’Something’s wrong!’
A strange premonition washed over Chen Ping’an as a flurry of thoughts raced through his mind.
...
「The night grew late.」
Torches lined the long corridors of South City Prison, illuminating the surroundings. Sunlight never reached the two underground levels, so they were lit by fire even during the day.
The Prison Guards on night watch had their duty rooms where, as usual, they gathered to chat.
Entertainment for Prison Guards was scarce to begin with, and the night watch was a particularly arduous shift. These experienced guards knew how to make their own fun. When the mood struck, they would share some peanuts and side dishes with a bit of wine to pass the long night.
Tonight, however, at various posts, it was as if the Prison Guards had all coordinated. They took out fine wine they’d brought in and called out to their comrades.
"Brothers, let’s have a drink and liven things up!"
The other Prison Guards eagerly agreed.
"Alright! Alright!"
"Hahaha, that’s the stuff!"
"..."
Tonight, the wine seemed to be endless. Bowl after bowl was poured, and soon many of the Prison Guards were drunk.
While this sort of thing happened from time to time, a celebration this widespread, as if coordinated, was virtually unheard of.
As the Prison Guards were lost in their cups, a dark figure slipped in, completely unnoticed.
The figure moved with incredible skill, clearly a Qi Blood master of no small accomplishment.
The intruder was none other than Zhu Qirong.
Tonight, he planned to release the prisoners and stir up chaos in South City Prison.
He had chosen this night precisely because Chen Ping’an was on watch.
Chen Ping’an’s appointment as Prison Chief had been tenuous to begin with. If a prison break were to happen on his watch, he would be unable to shirk the blame!
’Under these circumstances, let’s see how he talks his way out of it.’
Zhu Qirong was extremely agile. Using his familiarity with the prison’s layout, he swiftly weaved his way deeper into the lower levels.
Zhu Qirong had decided to act personally for two main reasons.
First, the stakes were simply too high; he couldn’t trust anyone else with the task.
Second, he had absolute confidence in himself. With his Martial Arts Realm, no one in South City Prison was his match. He was certain he could execute his plan flawlessly.
He wasn’t planning to release all the prisoners, just a select few.
With the guards in their current state, when the prisoners rioted, a significant number of them would be able to escape.
He would then step in at the last moment to "clean up the mess" and deal with those very same escapees.
And that would be the very merit he would use to secure his own promotion!
’Drag Chen Ping’an from his post and secure my own promotion—killing two birds with one stone. Absolutely brilliant!’
As he moved through the prison, Zhu Qirong’s heart soared. The plan was proceeding even more smoothly than he had imagined.
Just as Zhu Qirong was about to let himself indulge in visions of his success, he rounded a corner and froze, completely stunned.
A slim, handsome figure stood there with hands clasped behind his back, watching him with a placid expression.
"So, you finally couldn’t hold back."
