Chapter 788: Midnight Martial Contest Tests the Edge of the Blade (43)

Mo Du hurriedly shook his head and said, "No, he is an envoy of the Yaoqing Celestial Boat. Please tolerate his henchmen for now; he still has value as a hostage. Take him, let's go!"

……

At the same time, Xing, Dan Heng, and Han Ya sensed that the situation in the prison had also gone out of control…

Han Ya summoned the operational Ghost Palace martial swords and reported, "Lord Han Ya, the martial swords in each region are reorganizing their units. Those mechanical enemies are roaming everywhere, having killed many comrades."

"Moreover, those iron wolves have also destroyed the cages and released the criminals! We have already called for outside assistance, but it seems all communications have been cut off."

Han Ya nodded, "Preserving strength comes first; prioritize subduing isolated prisoners and prison‑breakers. By the Ten Kings' decree, anyone who escapes or breaks the prison is not to be spared from killing."

The Golden Soul‑Collector reported, "A moment ago, the Prison‑Break Wheel Key mechanism was triggered. It seems Lord Xueyi and the Yaoqing envoy entered the depths of the Ghost Prison to investigate. Given the current loss of contact, the thieves' target is precisely here."

——

Black Robe Riot Squad.

Huh……

Starlight almost instinctively exhaled a sigh of relief, her body relaxing slightly as she leaned against the shabby sofa cushion. She held in her arms a pillow that was no longer very soft; whenever tension rose, she would tug at its loose threads—after this prison break, the pillow was already about to fall apart in her hands.

Thank the heavens…… at least Jiao Qiu is still alive; I thought Hu Lei would go on a killing spree, so just staying alive would be enough.

"Alive?" Ma Wen snorted coldly, sitting on a folding chair with his hands behind his head. "Don't kid yourself; that Jiao Qiu has only delayed it briefly—ultimately he'll still die."

"Why?"

"It's simple. Right now, what's on his mind certainly isn't celebrating his survival, but that he's become a hostage—a bargaining chip for Hu Lei to threaten the Celestial Boat. If his presence caused that dangerous Hu Lei to escape, anyone working beside the general would find that far worse than death. I bet he'd rather perish together with Hu Lei—if that's possible—rather than become a burden," Ma Wen said.

Hugh frowned. He disliked this line of reasoning, as if everyone had to sacrifice themselves for some belief or value. Moreover, he didn't think that, in Feixiao's eyes, Hu Lei's life was more important than Jiao Qiu's. If Hu Lei escaped, he could be recaptured; if Jiao Qiu died… there would be no one left to try to cure her.

"Hey, don't be so absolute. At least…… at least there's still room for negotiation, right?"

"No room." Ma Wen shrugged. "Stop deceiving yourself. As soon as Yan Qing reports back to the general, Luofu will immediately cast a heavenly net and earthly net; not even a mosquito will think it can fly out of the Celestial Boat—since Yan Qing and the others discovered the Step‑Departed, their plan has already fallen apart."

Ma Wen leaned forward slightly, his tone deepening: "If Hu Lei eventually confirms that he cannot escape the Celestial Boat no matter what, what do you think he'll do? It's fine not to know, but his mindset will surely be 'die fighting'… Yet before that, would they care about the life of a fox person?"

——

Dan Heng mused, "Those prison‑breakers are so audacious; they must have planned this operation for a long time."

Han Ya nodded, "You're right. It's just strange—Step‑Departed have always favored outright violence, yet this meticulously crafted plan… doesn't match their usual style. The situation is urgent now, not a time for review. Both of you, please lend me a hand!"

"Miss Han Ya, where is the quickest route to the depths of the Ghost Prison? If we can't win time, the entire Ghost Prison may become our enemy."

"For today's plan, we have to resort to some clever shortcuts; everyone, follow me."

Han Ya led the group to the mechanism area, and after her precise operation, everyone quickly arrived at the depths of the Ghost Prison.

Looking at the corridor leading straight down to deeper underground, Han Ya's complexion grew even paler: "The Prison‑Break Wheel Key has opened the passage; hopefully we aren't too late… Sister, please hold on!"

Following the corridor further down, they saw layer upon layer of Step‑Departed and martial swords' corpses.

Dan Heng surveyed the surrounding carnage, murmuring, "It looks like a fierce battle took place here not long ago."

But the deeper she went, the more her heart sank. The judge's duty barely kept her conscious until she reached the entrance to the cave heaven… The scene before her was like a red‑hot iron pestle, hammering violently into her chest.

"The prison gate and the cage cave heaven have been severed, allowing Hu Lei to escape," Han Ya inhaled deeply. "What about the Yaoqing envoy? Sister? Are they still alive?"

——

One Punch Man.

"Damn, why keep that fox face with you? It's a hindrance, and you have to waste time guarding against his tricks—so annoying… I'd rather kill him with a single slash; after all, these Step‑Departed and fox people are mortal enemies," Heise Jingzi sneered disdainfully, cracking his knuckles.

"I agree!" the ugly big president beside him let out a snickering laugh, "We can't kill him easily… it takes a punch! A punch that smashes his face to pieces! Boom—into the wall, so that nothing can be pulled out!"

With that, his massive fist slammed hard into the adjacent stone wall, and shards of rock rained down.

Usually, he despised anyone who looked better than him. Before the heavenly curtain appeared, his biggest rival was Sweetheart Mask. But after the curtain rose, Jiepad, Jing Yuan, Yin Zhi, Shajin, Jiao Qiu… more handsome guys kept showing up! Every time he looked up, he saw another striking face, making his veins bulge with envy.

Those guys… must have many women admiring them, right? Thinking of that makes him even less able to tolerate those handsome fellows in the heavens.

"The more handsome… the more they deserve to die! Just looking at them makes me sick! They should be crushed… trampled!"

A more mocking sneer crossed Heise Jingzi's face as he turned toward another direction—the location of the human city above.

"So these Step‑Departed should hide, slip into the Celestial Boat, and not rush to escape—live together with the Boat's people. Wait a year or two… wait until that sleeping general lets his guard down, then emerge. Can the Celestial Boat stay on edge forever? If they try to flee now, they'd just run straight into the massive net woven by the Celestial Boat, wouldn't they?"