Chapter 394: Cunning Strategy (Part 1)

Duan Rong packed up his things, stowing the useful items into a moon-white small cloth bag. He swept a glance over the chaotic scene, then suddenly walked over to the carved wooden post, his True Qi surging, and with a single palm strike, he shattered the post into wood shavings.

He then stood there, tying the small cloth bag to his waist. He looked up at the sun overhead, estimating that the time had just passed noon, and prepared to return to his room to sleep and recover his energy; after all, the main event was at night.

He had not slept well for the past eight or nine days, and having stayed up another night, his Divine Soul was already somewhat overdrawn.

Dragging his exhausted body, Duan Rong walked back into his room with bloodshot eyes and collapsed onto the bed, falling fast asleep.

He did not know how long he had slept when he was suddenly startled awake by a knock at the door—*knock, knock, knock*. Duan Rong opened his eyes to see the room dim and hazy; it was already dusk.

He got out of bed, still groggy from sleep, and opened the door to find Liu Shushan standing outside with a somewhat nervous expression.

As soon as Liu Shushan saw Duan Rong, he said, "Brother Duan, just moments ago, Yang Ji returned to the city."

Duan Rong opened the door, paced over to the table, poured himself a cup of clear water, and gulped it down his parched throat.

After finishing the water, he sat down and said in a calm tone, "Good, I know."

Liu Shushan was quite surprised by Duan Rong's calm attitude.

The Prefectural Administrator Yang Ji had gone to Shenyun Prefecture for the approval documents regarding the case of Shen Yanliu; his return now meant he must have brought the approval documents back.

This meant that tomorrow at noon would be the time for Shen Yanliu's execution.

Duan Rong had promised Shen Mizhi that he would save Shen Yanliu, and with less than ten hours left until the execution, Liu Shushan still had not seen the beginning or end of Duan Rong's plan.

He had not expected Duan Rong to be so indifferent at this moment, acting as if nothing were the matter.

Duan Rong truly felt there was nothing to be nervous about. Yang Ji had returned earlier than he had anticipated, but it made no difference. In this realm, the execution of prisoners could only take place at the peak of noon, as it was said that this was the moment when the Yang energy was strongest in the day.

The timing he had originally chosen for the operation was before dawn on the day of Shen Yanliu's execution. This would significantly reduce the risk of exposure.

And at this moment, everything he needed to prepare was ready; he was only waiting for the right time. What was there for him to be nervous about?

He could even rest for a few more hours.

Duan Rong turned his head to look at Liu Shushan, who was standing blankly at the doorway, and said, "Shushan, I'm a bit hungry. Please go to the restaurant and bring back some food and wine."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shushan was even more dumbfounded. Big brother, at a time like this, you still want food and wine?!

However, looking at Duan Rong's unhurried manner, Liu Shushan finally sighed. Since Duan Rong had asked, he could not very well refuse to arrange it.

Just as Liu Shushan was about to leave, Duan Rong suddenly called him back and said, "What about Kankan? Call him over; I have something to ask of him."

Liu Shushan agreed and left.

Not long after, Ximen Kankan walked in. Duan Rong immediately whispered to him for a while.

Ximen Kankan then left the Separate Courtyard, got a carriage from the carriage rental, and drove out of the East City Gate into the vast twilight.

Over the past ten days or so, the Shen Yanliu case had made the atmosphere in the Prefecture City very tense, and the city gates were being searched strictly. However, Ximen Kankan was driving an empty carriage, so after the guards at the city gate searched it, they let him pass.

By the time Ximen Kankan drove out of the city, Duan Rong and Liu Shushan were already sitting in the hall of the Separate Courtyard, facing a table full of rich dishes. Duan Rong had long been so hungry he was famished, and he immediately began to wolf down the food.

Liu Shushan asked, "What about Ximen Kankan?"

With his mouth full of food, Duan Rong replied vaguely, "I had him leave the city."

Duan Rong wanted him to leave during the dusk to avoid stricter searches after nightfall, or even the possibility of a curfew, which would affect the implementation of his subsequent plans.

Liu Shushan's eyes flickered, but he still said, "Brother Duan, tomorrow should be the day of the execution."

"I know."

"But you don't seem very anxious?" Liu Shushan looked at Duan Rong with curious eyes.

Duan Rong was more than just not anxious; he was downright leisurely.

He picked up the wine pot, poured a cup for both Liu Shushan and himself, and smiled, "It's only just turned dark. One must be well-fed and satisfied to get things done. Come, Shushan, have another drink with me!"

Liu Shushan had no choice but to raise his cup and drink with Duan Rong, though he still noticed the moon-white small cloth bag tied to Duan Rong's waist; it was bulging, and he wondered what was inside.

After Duan Rong had his fill of food and wine, he picked his teeth with a toothpick while chatting with Liu Shushan about trivial matters. Liu Shushan chatted back and forth, but his mind was always elsewhere.

After the two chatted for a while, Duan Rong suddenly said, "Shushan, you don't need to participate in tonight's operation. You've been tired these past few days; get some good rest."

As he spoke, Duan Rong stood up, patted Liu Shushan on the shoulder, and walked out of the Main Hall.

Liu Shushan watched Duan Rong's back, wanting to call him back, but finally swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

Duan Rong returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and closed his eyes to gather his energy.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but in the pitch-black room, Duan Rong remained motionless, as if he had merged into the darkness.

On the street, the faint sound of the night watchman's clapper came; Duan Rong immediately focused his mind to listen to the count of the clapper.

Suddenly, in the darkness, Duan Rong's eyes snapped open.

"It is already the Hour of the Tiger."

Duan Rong suddenly leaped up, landing silently before the door like a falling leaf. He opened the door and walked out.

The moment Duan Rong stepped out, his gaze shifted, and he glanced at the Rockery in the courtyard not far away. However, he only paused for a moment before lightly closing the door and leaping out of the Separate Courtyard like a great bird.

Just as Duan Rong's figure vanished from the wall of the Separate Courtyard, Liu Shushan emerged from behind the Rockery not far from Duan Rong's room. In the darkness, he watched the wall where Duan Rong had disappeared, his eyes flickering.

Liu Shushan stood there for a while before returning to his own room to sleep. He was merely curious about when Duan Rong would act; since Duan Rong had instructed that he did not need to participate in the night's operation, he naturally would not act rashly.

He knew very well that they were trying to save someone from under the nose of Chen Xun; it could be said they were pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth. Duan Rong's plan could not afford a single mistake, and he absolutely could not mess things up.

As Liu Shushan walked back to his room, his heart was much more settled; he realized he still had confidence in Duan Rong.

The cold moon was like a thread, and a large star hung upside down in the sky.

In the ink-thick night, Duan Rong's figure flickered like a ghost.

The patrols in the Prefecture City streets had clearly been reinforced, but with the support of Duan Rong's Divine Sense Projection and his ghostly movement technique, no amount of patrolling was of any use.

Soon, Duan Rong darted into a residential alley not far from the Prefecture City Dungeon. Once in the dark alley, Duan Rong was like a fish in water, and his speed increased even more.

After only a few breaths, he leaped into a courtyard overgrown with sparse weeds.

With his Divine Sense penetrating through, everything inside and outside the house remained as it was.

Duan Rong walked over slowly and pushed open the slightly ajar door; a heavy scent of earth rushed to meet him.

He stepped inside, gently closed the door, and slid the bolt into place.

Duan Rong's eyes flashed, and he picked up a short-handled iron shovel from the corner of the wall, then leaped up, hunched his shoulders, and jumped into the hole in the middle of the main room.

Duan Rong climbed to the end of the tunnel; with his Divine Sense Projection, he monitored the situation in the Dungeon above. In two more hours, it would be dawn, so now was the best time to dig through the final half-zhang.

Duan Rong infused his True Qi and began to dig with his shovel.

Inside a certain cell above the tunnel.

Tang Wanhong lay on a pile of hay in the corner, but his body was severely injured, and he was often awakened by pain in the middle of the night.

At this moment, a series of heart-piercing stabs came from his ribs again; he gritted his teeth and barely managed to endure it, the sensation of pain seeming to recede slowly like a tide.

Tang Wanhong let out a breath of stale air, preparing to sleep a while longer. Just then, he seemed to hear a faint sound.

The sound seemed to be right beneath his body.

Because the rustling sound was very faint, Tang Wanhong thought he had misheard, but after listening carefully for a while in the silent cell, he discovered that the sound was actually continuing.

Tang Wanhong shifted his body and slid to the edge of the hay pile; because he tugged at his wounds, he winced in pain.

But when he turned on his side and pressed his ear to the ground to listen carefully, the sound suddenly vanished.

Yet after only a breath of time, the rustling sound began again.

"Perhaps it's a rat..." Tang Wanhong thought to himself after listening for a while.

Duan Rong, under the probe of his Divine Sense, "saw" the actions of Tang Wanhong above the tunnel clearly; when Tang Wanhong pressed his ear to listen just now, he had paused for a moment, then continued to shovel the dirt.

Tang Wanhong listened for a while longer, and the sound seemed to become clearer and clearer; a flash of doubt crossed his eyes. "It doesn't seem to be a rat..."

At this time, a squad of patrolling heavy-armored soldiers walked past the cell. During the time the patrolling soldiers walked by, the sound clearly disappeared. After the patrolling heavy-armored soldiers walked away, the rustling sound started up again.

Tang Wanhong's parched throat bobbed, and an expression of extreme astonishment appeared in his eyes. "Is... is it a person?"

Although he was not very certain, the awareness to know to avoid the patrolling heavy-armored soldiers meant it was very likely a person.

"Could it be that someone is beneath the Dungeon?" Thinking of this inconceivable conclusion, Tang Wanhong's heart trembled.

Tang Wanhong had long since assumed he was a man destined to die.

But at this moment, the sound beneath the Dungeon gave him a delusional hope for life.

Perhaps someone had come to save him?

Tang Wanhong's mind churned. "Who could it be?"

"Is it Yu'er? No! Yu'er is still young."

"Is it Guan Kui? No, that kid is still locked in a cell."

Tang Wanhong pondered repeatedly; he was almost certain that no one would come to save him when he was on the verge of death.

His gaze turned cold.

But he suddenly thought again, what if there was someone? What if someone remembered his kindness, and he had simply forgotten it himself?

He was like a drowning man, grabbing at a straw on the water's surface regardless of everything... tormenting himself in wild delusions.

Tang Wanhong thought this, and pressed his ear to listen again, only to hear the rustling sound as if it were ringing right by his ear, incomparably clear and close at hand.

Tang Wanhong was startled and immediately rolled to the side; at this very moment, in the darkness, it was vaguely visible that the dirt at that spot had collapsed.

Then a black shadow protruded from the place where the soil had collapsed.

Although the cell was pitch black, Tang Wanhong immediately knew that it was a person.

"Who is it?"

Tang Wanhong's teeth chattered slightly as he asked in a low voice.

Just then, the black shadow flicked his sleeve, and a cloud of Medicine Powder was sprinkled onto Tang Wanhong's face.

Fear flashed through Tang Wanhong's heart as he felt the powder hit his face and suddenly stick; when he wanted to hold his breath, it was already too late. The Medicine Powder clearly had a potent effect, and in just an instant, his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

Duan Rong looked at Tang Wanhong, who had fainted beside the hay pile, in the darkness.

He moved his thoughts, and the range of his Divine Sense Envelopment instantly expanded to its maximum.

The surroundings were pitch black, and the patrolling heavy-armored soldiers were carrying lanterns toward the other end.

Not far from here, beside Shen Yanliu's cell, a dim yellow lantern hung; under the lamplight, one could see Xiong Yi wearing a felt hat, lying on a long bench, unsure if he was asleep or not, with a brown round-bellied wine bottle placed on the ground beside his hand.

And further away, at the entrance of the bunker, the mahjong tiles were still clattering; several jailers were already yawning repeatedly, but the person in plain clothes had eyes shining with light, showing no signs of sleepiness.

Duan Rong took a deep breath and stepped out of the hole with light steps.

He carefully untied the moon-white small cloth bag from his waist, and under the probe of his Divine Sense, accurately took out the items he needed from inside.

Duan Rong laid Tang Wanhong's body flat and carefully scanned his face with his Divine Sense.

He took out the prepared adhesive clay, scraped a bit with a small wooden knife, and carefully smeared it onto one side of Tang Wanhong's nasal wing.

Tang Wanhong had a flat nose, while Shen Yanliu's nose was very straight.

After Duan Rong finished treating the nose, he used a razor to shave off Tang Wanhong's eyebrows and beard, then carefully took out "that face" and pasted it onto Tang Wanhong's face, smoothing out all the delicate wrinkles.

Under the probe of his Divine Sense, Duan Rong was quite satisfied with his face-changing craftsmanship.

This operation actually consumed a lot of time; seeing that the patrolling heavy-armored soldiers were about to come by again, Duan Rong immediately jumped into the tunnel, pulled Tang Wanhong over, and used his back to cover the hole beside the hay pile.

The patrolling heavy-armored soldiers walked by carrying lanterns, seeing that the place was quiet and Xiong Yi was sleeping on the long bench not far away.

They only glanced at the cells on both sides as they walked past and quickly moved on.

After the patrolling heavy-armored soldiers walked far away, Duan Rong pulled Tang Wanhong, who was covering the hole, aside; he suddenly flipped his hand and stuffed a Medicine Pill into Tang Wanhong's mouth, rubbing his throat to ensure he had swallowed the Medicine Pill.

Duan Rong suddenly walked to a corner of the cell's wooden bars; in the darkness, he grabbed a handful of Medicine Powder, his palm surging with True Qi, and scattered the Medicine Powder into the air like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

Duan Rong scattered three handfuls in this manner.

This Medicine Powder was a potent anesthetic, and soon the prisoners in the nearby cells died away into unconsciousness in their dreams.

Xiong Yi, lying on the long bench, suddenly twitched his nose; as a powerhouse of the True Qi Realm, because he had True Qi protecting his body, ordinary poisons were already difficult to deal with him.

The moment the toxin entered his body, the True Qi in Xiong Yi's dantian and meridians began to churn on its own.

He was just about to jump up when he suddenly saw a flickering light spot flash before his eyes like a firefly.

The next moment, he became as if petrified, and the scene before his eyes instantly began to twist and blur.

But just at the moment the scene began to twist and blur, a flying knife shot out from the twisted and blurred background, flashing with a cold light, growing larger and larger in his eyes!

That eerie feeling was just as if that flying dagger had been shot at him from the surface of a rippling lake.

He could feel that the flying dagger was real!

However, his body was as if petrified, completely unable to move!

The flying dagger silently claimed his life; the instant it struck Xiong Yi, his entire head exploded like a watermelon, and blood and minced flesh splattered all over the ground.

Under the illumination of the lights not far away, Xiong Yi's headless corpse still lay on that long bench, both hands hanging down naturally, and the brown, round-bellied wine bottle beside it was splattered with minced flesh...

A Willow Leaf Flying Dagger was stuck diagonally in the ground not far from one end of the long bench.

And all of this happened silently, without attracting anyone's attention.

(End of this chapter)