Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 660 Locked Up Until Death

His right eye ability allowed him to survey his surroundings. Apart from the guards outside the prison and a few prisoners scattered in other cells, there seemed to be no one else around.

He didn't know whether this prisoner, who wouldn't last long, was thrown over to make him take the blame and deliberately set him up, or whether he was just throwing him over to appease Lan Qiaoyan.

If it's the former, then you're doomed no matter what; if it's the latter, then it's alright even if you die.

Logically speaking, there's no need to deliberately set a trap for yourself. In this prison, they are the ultimate authority. Even if they kill a nobody like him without any reason, he won't cause any trouble. He's not worth their effort at all.

After much hesitation, he couldn't resist the temptation. He sat cross-legged next to the seriously injured prisoner, patted the man's face, and said, "Wake up, can you talk?"

Seeing that the other person's Adam's apple was moving slightly, their eyes were opening and closing intermittently, and their breath was weak, they were unable to speak at all.

Shi Chun reached out again to carefully examine his injuries. After confirming that he was indeed in serious trouble, he deliberately said loudly, "Hold on, I'll treat your injuries first."

After speaking, he cast a spell and pressed his hand on the other person's dantian area.

It wasn't some kind of healing spell; it was a direct spell that absorbed the other person's demonic energy.

The seriously injured man was slow to react, and it took him a while to realize what was happening. His eyes widened in terror as he stared at Shi Chun, making soft "hoarse" sounds, but this did not stop the 'rescuer'...

Xu Yong, after being released from prison, passed through an area with giant snake bones coiled around it, entered a hall, reported to Du Huoguan, nodded to Qieshan beside him, and then left because he had other matters to attend to.

Du Huoguan, who was arranging the star map while fiddling with the gems, suddenly said slowly, "It took you more than a month to catch a demonic cultivator. Isn't your efficiency a bit too low?"

Qieshan, who was following closely beside him, said with a wry smile, "Inspector, how easy is it to catch a demonic cultivator? I'm completely clueless and have no idea where to start. It's not easy to ask around for information. This one was only obtained because I had no other choice but to shamelessly ask Mulan Jin of the Star Gazing Pavilion for help. Mulan Jin said that I would have to repay her favor in the future. If we can catch a demonic cultivator every month, that would be incredible. People outside would definitely treat me like royalty and help me. You can't refuse to release people for the sake of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path."

Du Huoguan glanced at him sideways, "How do you plan to repay that favor?"

And Shan laughed and said, "Don't worry, I won't show favoritism. I made it clear to Mulan beforehand that I would only do it if it didn't violate the rules of the Prison of Life, and he agreed..."

At the Bowang Tower in the city, Lan Qiaoyan returned from the outside world. On the way, she overheard some raggedly dressed people whispering and discussing Shi Chun.

Even after all this time, these refugees still remember Shi Chun, so I listened carefully.

It turned out that the strange thing was that Shi Chun hadn't been released since he was arrested. Everyone was curious about whether he was dead or alive, and they all had their own reasons. They were even still thinking about the clothes on Shi Chun's body.

Lan Qiaoyan had seen Shi Chun several times; his clothes were so dirty they were unrecognizable. Could he still wear them?

However, it is also known that compared to these refugees, it is still a good thing.

Every time she returned to the outside world, Miao Yilan would inquire about Shi Chun's situation, and even her husband Miao Dingyi would occasionally ask about it.

The daughter genuinely cares about her friend and truly considers Shi Chun a friend. Of course, there's also a sense of guilt involved, and she herself feels the same way.

In the eyes of the mother and daughter, Shi Chun's current predicament was entirely their fault.

The husband was just casually inquiring about information. In Miao Dingyi's words, it felt quite strange. It seemed that quite a few people wanted to find out about Shi Chun. He had been asked by Situ Gu, and Young Master Nan had also asked him. He didn't mention those people. Even Mulan had casually asked him when they met by chance. People in the demon realm had also inquired about him.

Everyone knows that Bowanglou has connections in the prison, and they also know that Miao Dingyi's wife manages that business, and that his wife's family had a relationship with Du Huoguan in the previous generation, so they all think that he would know more about the situation there.

After learning that Shi Chun was still in custody and had not died, everyone seemed to want to know one thing: when would the prison release Shi Chun?

The reality was cruel: the news was that the prison would keep Shi Chun locked up until he died!
Unless Shi Chun can provide the case clues that the prison wants, they will be locked up until they die. But Shi Chun says he won't know anything even if you kill him, so isn't that just locking them up until they die?

This was Du Huoguan's reply to Lan Qiaoyan.

Then Lan Qiaoyan told her husband, and Miao Dingyi told others the news.

Some people expressed their anger, saying that it was outrageous for the prison to detain people without any evidence. But who can reason with the prison?

Young Master Nan asked someone to help him visit the prison, but he couldn't even get through the main gate.

Miao Yilan also wanted to visit the prison, but Lan Qiaoyan stopped her and forbade her daughter to go. Despite her concern, the mother felt that she couldn't affect her daughter's relationship with Gong Shaoci. The fact that Shi Chun had fallen out with Gong Shaoci on Lihuo Island was no secret.

Shi Chun was completely unaware of the outside world's turmoil and didn't bother to care; out of sight, out of mind.

After slowly finishing his practice and opening his eyes, his primary concern was the severely injured prisoner in front of him. He patted the man's face and found that he was barely breathing.

After observing the surroundings, he slowly reached out and covered the other person's mouth and nose, looking quite regretful.

The seriously injured prisoner's cultivation level was higher than Jiang You'er's, and his demonic energy was more abundant. However, Jiang You'er's cultivation capacity was limited, and he was unable to absorb all of Jiang You'er's demonic energy. He had absorbed too much and reached his limit. If he absorbed any more, demonic energy would come out of his mouth when he spoke.

But he couldn't leave anyone alive, and he couldn't let his absorption of demonic energy be exposed, so he suffocated the person completely before letting them go.

After repeatedly checking and confirming that he was dead, he suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! Help! Someone's dead! Someone's dead..."

Before long, a jailer came quickly to check on the situation.

Shi Chun squatted beside the corpse and reported, "Sir, his injuries were too severe, and he suddenly died. I really couldn't save him." The jailer quickly left, and when he returned, Xu Yong had also arrived.

After opening the cell door and examining the deceased, Xu Yong questioned, "Did he confess anything?"

Shi Chun smiled bitterly, "Sir, you injured him so badly that he couldn't even speak. I treated him like an ancestor, but I still couldn't keep him from dying. What can I do? He died before he even had a chance to say a word. I almost died from exhaustion." He raised his hand to wipe away his sweat.

Xu Yong snorted coldly, "I gave you the opportunity, but you didn't seize it. Don't blame me for not giving Lan Qiaoyan face. Since you're useless, you might as well stay here and behave yourself for the rest of your life." After saying that, he waved his hand to signal people to move the body away.

With the prison empty after the prisoners left, Shi Chun was left all alone again.

Shi Chun, stunned in the cell, blinked dryly. Apart from moving his eyes, he dared not move or even breathe loudly, for fear that the slightest sound would startle the other party back. It seemed that the other party had forgotten something: forgotten to place a restriction on him and forgot to control his cultivation and magic power.

After carefully holding back for a few days, seeing that no one really took him seriously, he tried sitting cross-legged and slowly refining the demonic energy absorbed into his body.

Actually, this method of improving cultivation progress is already considered very fast, but having tried to land a single strike with the Thunder Sword, he felt it was slower than a snail crawling.

The days that followed were uneventful, and he was no longer bored because he had something to do.

Two years later, with his messy beard and unkempt hair, he suddenly opened his eyes in the dim light one day.

His cultivation at the High Martial Arts Mastery level was only one step away from the Human Immortal realm, but it took him two whole years to take that step.

With his cultivation breakthrough imminent, he dared not take that step lightly. Without the help of the 'Immortal Spirit Pill' to help him transform himself, and without an experienced person to guide and assist him, he dared not rely entirely on his own ability to rashly forge an immortal body, lest a misunderstanding cause his physical body to collapse.

The 'Immortal Elixir' is very expensive, causing many cultivators to stop there or take risks as a result.

However, Shi Chun already had the purchasing power and had prepared everything, but at this moment he was penniless, as everything was with Wu Jinliang.

Therefore, he had to suspend his cultivation.

Fortunately, a few days later, Lan Qiaoyan came to visit him in prison again. He wrote his needs on his palm and showed them to Lan Qiaoyan.

Lan Qiaoyan truly provided invaluable assistance; during her next prison visit, after communicating with the relevant authorities, she brought Shi Chun wine and food.

She gestured for Shi Chun to finish all the dishes, and Shi Chun immediately understood what she meant.

As Shi Chun had predicted, Lan Qiaoyan crushed the 'Immortal Elixir' and mixed it into the dish.

Normally, the original relationship between the two parties would not have been enough for Lan Qiaoyan to do this; it was really a bit risky. It was only because of her guilt over causing Shi Chun to be imprisoned that she helped him.

Before leaving, Lan Qiaoyan gave Shi Chun another gesture, indicating that Wu Jinliang had contacted Miao Yilan again and conveyed the message that Wu Jinliang was still safe and had not been captured.

Speaking of Wu Jinliang now, she was both annoyed and amused. He was like a ghost, and no one knew where he was hiding or what he was doing. Miao Yilan couldn't contact him at all. Only when Wu Jinliang took the initiative to contact her could Miao Yilan chat with him for a few words, and she had to be extremely careful.

After watching Lan Qiaoyan leave, Shi Chun immediately devoured the food and wine, then sat cross-legged and waited quietly.

After confirming that he was feeling the effects of the medicine, he immediately entered a breakthrough state. Ash began to emerge from his body, and his dirty skin gradually transformed as if it were being renewed amidst the ash...

Fast forward ten years.

As dusk filled the sky above Dazhicheng, the woman in red, having finished her last day's work, stood at the door and raised her hand to stop the Dong Wenshu family from seeing her off, emphasizing once again that she was not allowed to see them off and that this was the end of it.

The only instruction was to have the owner take good care of the library.

Then, the woman in red gracefully blended into the bustling, twilight street.

Dong Wenshu looked troubled, and there were some things he didn't dare to say in the end. He stood at the door with his children, silently watching that beautiful figure leave.

The woman in red did not turn around. Having stayed here on and off for ten years, her interest had waned, and this time she was truly leaving.

Of course, that doesn't prevent her from rekindling her feelings sometime in a certain year or month, which may be a long, long time from now.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I have rarely had the chance to actually stroll around the streets. This time, however, I really walked around for quite a while, with the big red flower in my temples shining brightly against the backdrop of the gradually brightening streetlights.

Along the way, men who were attracted to her appearance would occasionally come up to chat her up, but she ignored them and didn't get angry or make a fuss.

As I walked, I unknowingly arrived at the place where I had made love with Shi Chun twice. Seeing the place reminded me of him, and I couldn't help but stop and think of Shi Chun.

To be honest, she is now really doubting her previous judgment. She originally thought it was someone from Shengyu who was idle, but the information she found out all said that Shengyu was going to keep people locked up until they died.

She had some doubts at first, but as the years went by, ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and there was still no sign of her being released. It seemed to be true, which made her feel depressed every time she thought about it, as if she had been misled.

This complete departure is also partly due to the lack of any indication that Shi Chun will reappear. If Shi Chun continues to occasionally come here as before, she will not leave for the time being. In any case, it is convenient for her to come and go, and it will not affect her affairs.

After a moment of contemplation, he continued onward, eventually returning to the old pavilion in the ancient courtyard. With a casual flick of his wrist, he created a rift in the void, and with Alan, they vanished completely from the city of Dazhi. The lamps in the pavilion went out.

(End of Volume Four, Volume Five Preview: Clash of Armies!)
(End of this chapter)