Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 274 The Purpose of the Imperial Prison
The "Yuanlai Inn" in the southern part of the capital has always been a gathering place for people from all walks of life.

The lobby reeked of alcohol, with江湖豪客 (jianghu heroes) shirtless playing drinking games, vendors squatting in the corner hawking their wares, and a few unfamiliar men pretending to drink while glancing at the second floor every now and then.

The second floor of Yuanlai Inn is not a place you can just go up to; you need someone to guide you.

Yuanlai Inn has a powerful backer, and no one in the martial arts world dares to cause trouble here. So no matter how curious the people in the lobby are, they dare not go up.

The innermost guest room on the second floor had its doors and windows tightly closed, and the curtains were drawn low.

Zhou Miaoyun's voice was filled with suppressed anger: "Miss Ding! We injured the Imperial Guard, but he escaped. If he falls into the hands of the Imperial Guard, he will likely die."

Ding Baiying leaned against the window, stroking the five-foot-long sword in her hand. Upon hearing this, she sneered, her eyes sharp as knives:

"Ha, you're being far too naive. That person doesn't need our help at all."

"No need?" Zhou Miaoyun's eyes widened. "He's charred black all over, unable to move, and his breathing is so slow it's like a dead man's. How can he live if we don't save him?"

"Breakout?"

"You think the Embroidered Uniform Guards are so easy to get rid of? If I hadn't held them off, you and I would both be dead by now. Besides, do you really think that last arrow just missed its mark out of thin air?"

Ding Baiying straightened up, the long sword in her hand swayed slightly, emitting a crisp hum.

Zhou Miaoyun was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Ding Tai chimed in, "Master is right. When we fled, an arrow was aimed straight at your back. Logically, there was no way you could dodge it, but it suddenly shattered into two pieces."

"It wasn't collapsing, it was shattered."

Ding Baiying's expression turned serious as she slowly said, "When the arrow was only three feet away from you, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of a small piece of metal flying from the direction of the bamboo house. It was as fast as lightning and struck the arrow shaft squarely. That piece of metal came from that strange man."

Zhou Miaoyun asked in shock, "You mean he helped us get away?"

Ding Baiying laughed and said, "That's right, that's the most terrifying thing. He seemed to be seriously injured, but his internal strength was unfathomable. At that time, he was able to shatter a fast-moving arrow with a piece of broken iron without making a sound. How many people in the martial arts world can match his strength and precision?"

"Do you really think someone like that would be so easily manipulated and captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Zhou Miaoyun paused, her tone carrying a hint of understanding: "Did he deliberately get arrested?"

Ding Chuan coughed twice, as he had been struck by Ling Yunkai's palm.

"They might not have deliberately gotten caught; their real goal was to get rid of us."

Zhou Miaoyun remained silent.

Yes, they could tell that Chen Zhan was no ordinary person. How could someone like Chen Zhan not see the trouble they were in?

"Let's not worry about others; let's focus on our own things first," Ding Baiying sighed.

"My senior brother hasn't come back yet. Is he alright?" Ding Chuan asked worriedly.

"It's alright. His martial arts skills are no less than mine, and he's very clever. Nothing will happen to him."

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

"Dangdangdangdang~"

There was a series of urgent knocks on the door, a special code. Ding Tai stepped forward and opened the door, saying, "Senior Brother, you're back?"

Ding Xiu nodded, went inside and sat down. Seeing that everyone was there, he immediately said:
"We've found out that there's a junior officer in the Northern Garrison named Jin Yichuan. He lives in the north of the city, his family is gone, he's a loner, and he has no connections. We can make a move on him. Who should we send to infiltrate?"

He searched for a long time before finding a suitable candidate. Most of the Jinyiwei were hereditary or merit-based, and they had elderly parents and young children to support, so it was impossible for ordinary people to get in.

To infiltrate an undercover operation, mere disguise skills aren't enough; the candidate must be suitable—orphaned, childless, and with poor relationships with superiors and colleagues.

Otherwise, it will be discovered very quickly.

Ding Baiying nodded and looked at her youngest disciple, Ding Chuan: "A Chuan, you go."

Ding Chuan was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "Cough cough cough, my martial arts are the worst, so why don't you let my senior brother go?"

Ding Baiying turned to look at Ding Xiu, who was chewing on a foxtail grass and looking nonchalant.

"He's not suitable, that's settled."

"Be careful when you enter the Zhenfu Division. First, gather information. It is said that the thing is in the hands of the old eunuch Wang An, who is in charge of the Eastern Depot. But the Eastern Depot requires verification of identity, so we can't sneak in."

"However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot are mortal enemies. Although Luo Sigong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is not as high-ranking as the old eunuch Wang An, he is deeply trusted by the emperor. Once the Eastern Depot makes any moves, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will be the first to know."

"The Emperor's health is deteriorating day by day, and it has worsened since the great defeat at Sarhu. Only with that thing in hand can we help His Highness stabilize the situation."

Ding Baiying muttered to herself in a low voice, but everyone could tell she was serious.

Ding Chuan gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, Master."

Ding Baiying nodded, then said, "Miss Zhou, please leave the city first. It's not safe inside the city. If you die, I won't be able to explain it to His Highness."

"Leave the city."

“Alright, I’ll leave the city. But since you’ve infiltrated the Zhenfu Division, could you check if that person is safe?” Zhou Miaoyun knew the priorities and didn’t dare delay His Highness’s business. She agreed to leave the city, but then made her final request.

Ding Baiying agreed. Checking it out wasn't a big deal, and more importantly, she was also very curious about who Chen Zhan really was.

She knew a thing or two about all the various forces, but Chen Zhan's appearance was too unexpected, completely illogical and without reason.

"Whoa whoa whoa~"

The noise downstairs was extremely loud; even those of us in the innermost room on the second floor could hear it clearly.

"Go see what's wrong."

Ding Xiu turned and went downstairs. He saw the source of the noise was a piece of paper, or rather, a stack of papers.

Ding Xiu was shocked as he glanced at the paper, grabbed a page, and went back upstairs.

"Blackstone has gone mad!"

Ding Xiu handed the paper to Ding Baiying, surprised. The paper read: "[Within this month, take the head of Grand Secretary Liu Yizhu.]"

The inscription was signed with three black stones, and the reward was one thousand taels of gold.

Blackstone is an extremely mysterious organization, and no one knows exactly how many core members it has, but they have one rule:
"Prices are insane, honest and fair to all, young and old."

Anyone can accept Blackrock's quests, and if they kill the target ahead of time, they can get a bounty, no matter how they do it.

This is what the flyers distributed by the inn are like.

However, the Grand Secretary of the current dynasty is a member of the cabinet, a top-ranking official position, with only the Grand Secretary and the Emperor above him.

Who would dare to kill them?

A thousand taels of gold—even if you have the life to take it, you won't have the life to spend it. The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are joking with you.
Ding Baiying realized almost instantly that this was an attempt to "stir up trouble".

Because Liu Yiju had only been in the cabinet for a short time, his power was not great, and he did not have much family influence.

Why kill him?

It's likely that Blackstone has also gotten wind of this and wants to seize that thing.
-

The Imperial Prison of the Zhenfu Division.

Water droplets condensed on the damp stone wall, slowly sliding down the mottled moss and dripping onto the blue brick floor, making a monotonous "drip-drip" sound.

The clanging of chains being dragged, the cries of prisoners, and the shouts of jailers mingled together, filling the air with a stench of decay and blood.

Only Chen Zhan's cell was eerily quiet.

He remained seated cross-legged on the cold ground, much of his charred skin peeling away, revealing tender flesh that gleamed faintly in the dim candlelight.

The skin on his chest and neck had long since recovered, creating a stark contrast with the charred patches that hadn't fallen off, making it look even more bizarre.

With a loud bang, the cell door was pushed open.

The young jailer came in carrying a food tray with two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a pot of warm rice wine.

This is because the superior just gave the order, and we must handle it carefully and not take it lightly.

Xiao Wu was the youngest jailer in the imperial prison. He was stubborn and hadn't eaten or drunk anything since Chen Zhan came in, but he still maintained his meditation posture. Instead of finding it unlucky, Xiao Wu became even more curious.

"Sir, the kitchen has stewed venison and some rice wine today. Would you like to try some?"

The jailer placed the food tray on the stone platform in front of Chen Zhan, his tone somewhat cautious.

He had seen too many prisoners slumped in their cells like mud, either crying and begging for mercy or cursing. He had never seen anyone like Chen Zhan, who, despite being seriously injured and on the verge of death, was more composed than ever before.

Chen Zhan kept his eyes closed, his breathing so slow it was almost imperceptible. He paid no attention to the jailer's words and didn't even flinch.

"Ugh."

The old jailer stood outside the cell gate, leaning on his fire-and-water stick, his white beard hanging down to his chest.

"Xiao Wuzi, don't waste your energy. This kind of person is either so skilled in martial arts that he can hold his breath and abstain from food, or he is truly exhausted and won't last more than a few days. Look at his appearance, his whole body is charred black. He has probably been poisoned or subjected to some strange technique. Even if his martial arts are high, he won't last long with such injuries."

“But he’s been like this for seven days, and he hasn’t changed his position at all. If he really couldn’t take it, he should have collapsed long ago.”

"That was just a final burst of energy before death, a desperate attempt to hold on to the last breath."

The old jailer shook his head, but there was a hint of awe in his eyes: "Many martial arts masters have been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison. I have seen those who can break gold and split stone, and those who can capture dragons and seize things, but I have never seen one as strange as this. The orders from above are to keep a close watch on him, serve him good wine and food, and just make sure nothing goes wrong. Don't take it too seriously."

As the two were talking, a young man in a blue prison uniform peeked out from the next cell and curiously looked at Chen Zhan.

The young man was in his early twenties, with a handsome face. Although he was imprisoned, he still stood up straight and had clear eyes, clearly indicating that he was no ordinary person.

He was imprisoned three days ago and is said to be a disciple of the Huashan Sect.

Wang Yan, the censor in charge of the grain transport, was killed. He was nearby and was arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, Su Changfeng believed himself to be innocent and had nothing to do with the Black Stone assassins. He also had some connections with the Huashan Sect, so he was not worried.

I've been here for three days.

At first, I thought he was a death row inmate; judging from Chen Zhan's appearance, he wouldn't live more than a few days.

However, his internal strength was not bad. Upon closer observation, he discovered that Chen Zhan did not have internal energy, but had extremely powerful blood and qi flowing throughout his body, and it was becoming more and more stable and restrained.

Its body was charred black, and the charred material was peeling off at an extremely slow rate.

It wasn't as the two jailers said, that their time was running out.

"This gentleman?"

"Judging from your appearance, have you perhaps offended some important figure? Or have you fallen victim to the evil cult?"

Su Changfeng could only imagine being made into this state and still alive.
That would only be the methods of a demonic cult.

It's unlikely to be a reputable family or clan.

Chen Zhan remained motionless and unresponsive, as if the questions from next door had nothing to do with him.

Undeterred, Su Changfeng continued, "I am Su Changfeng, a disciple of the Qingfeng Sword Sect. I see that you possess a profound and powerful aura, far from being an ordinary person. How did you end up in such a predicament? The Imperial Prison is dangerous. If you have any unspeakable difficulties, perhaps we can help each other out."

He talked for a long time, but Chen Zhan remained unresponsive, like a lifeless statue.

Xiao Wu finished tidying up the food dishes from the previous day. Seeing that Chen Zhan still hadn't moved, he couldn't help but reach out to touch his shoulder, but was pulled back by the old jailer.

"Don't touch him! The higher-ups said this person is strange, don't move him!"

Xiao Wu, startled, withdrew his hand and followed the old jailer out of the cell. The cell door slammed shut again, cutting off most of the outside noise.

(End of this chapter)