Chapter 32

Finally sent away the plague god.

Chen Guanlou lay on the bed without moving, silently calculating the time. An hour later, confirming that the swordsman would not return, he hurried to the kitchen and dug the package out from the stove.

Thank goodness, the "Sheng Tian Lu" was not searched away, and all the martial arts manuals were lying in the package.

His secret was kept.

At this moment, he finally confirmed one thing: the swordsman did not see that he practiced internal cultivation techniques.

The reason Duan Tianlin was able to see that he practiced internal cultivation techniques back then was because he had used martial force and performed the blade techniques from the "Sheng Tian Lu". Although he had just started practicing, he still managed to block three of Duan Tianlin's moves.

It was those three moves that exposed him.

From this, it can be confirmed that the Longevity Fruit or the "Sheng Tian Lu" indeed has a concealing effect. The prerequisite is that he cannot use martial force.

Is there any way to conceal the fact that he has no martial pulse? Even if a fight breaks out, the other person still wouldn't be able to see through his depth?

He learned from the prisoners in the Heavenly Prison that there is a condition called a Hidden Pulse.

Then could he forge a Hidden Pulse to deceive everyone?

The hope still lies in the Heavenly Prison.

Only the lovely prisoners of the Heavenly Prison can help him solve this problem.

After hiding the manuals, he reminded himself once again: remember, remember, unless absolutely necessary, never use martial force with people, especially with real martial artists. They can see through your depth at a glance.

The next morning, when he arrived at the Heavenly Prison for duty, all the prison guards looked as if they had lost their parents. After a night of thinking, everyone understood the stakes involved. It wasn't like before, where they could just muddle through with a bit of deception.

This time, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was personally presiding over the thorough investigation of this case, and the Heavenly Prison would definitely be skinned alive.

Bad luck!

Now that bad luck had arrived, everyone's enthusiasm for duty was at an all-time high.

Lu Datou rarely patrolled the Heavenly Prison together with Chen Guanlou.

Chen Guanlou took the opportunity to ask, "Brother Datou, what should we do?"

Lu Datou also looked dejected, staring at the bloodstains remaining on the ground, not moving for a long time.

Chen Guanlou didn't urge him, but just continued, "Coming over early in the morning, I saw the constables of the Six Shanmen coming in and out. I even saw the agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Could this case have alarmed the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Is the Embroidered Uniform Guard going to intervene in the investigation?"

Lu Datou shook his head, biting his back teeth, "Little Chen, you patrol Prisoner Number Thirteen every day, have you discovered anything unusual?"

"No! He just lies in the cell every day; I haven't even seen what he looks like. Brother Datou, isn't Prisoner Number Thirteen just a nobody? The higher-ups shouldn't be making such a big fuss, right?"

Chen Guanlou didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly; they were already talking about Number Thirteen.

"Sigh, that's what's said, but the higher-ups won't let go of Prisoner Number Thirteen, so we can only do things according to their instructions." Lu Datou sighed, appearing powerless, yet having to bite the bullet and do the job.

"But what can we do? We are just prison guards, we can't even touch the case files, so what could we possibly know?"

"It's not about what we know, but that the higher-ups are convinced we should know something." Lu Datou looked irritable.

Damn!

Chen Guanlou kicked the cell door railing, "Prisoner Number Thirteen doesn't even let out a fart from morning till night, what could we possibly know? Are the people above always so presumptuous?"

"Stop talking. Think back carefully, don't let go of any details. I'll ask the people in the neighboring cells in a while to see if I can find out anything."

Chen Guanlou whispered a reminder, "Brother Datou, the people in the neighboring cells have been changed several times in these past few months." He was afraid they wouldn't be able to ask anything.

Lu Datou had a dark face, "Even if we can't ask, we have to ask. If it really doesn't work, then use severe torture; we must produce something to report to the higher-ups, do you remember?"

Chen Guanlou nodded, silently feeling aggrieved for the prisoners in the neighboring cells.

For the first time in history, the Heavenly Prison was this busy, with everyone doing their duty, and no one slacking off, fishing, playing cards, or bragging. Everyone's performance was exemplary, a model. Even that guy Zhang Wantong, the master of slacking off, personally led a team to patrol the Heavenly Prison, urging the handymen to clean up, sweep the chamber pots, and not make the Heavenly Prison so smelly.

Even though the Heavenly Prison was really smelly, they had to try hard to make it smell a bit better, ensuring the higher-ups were satisfied.

Investigators came and went, one batch after another.

The big hole in the roof hadn't been patched yet, as they said it was left for the convenience of the investigation. What if the prisoners got wet on a rainy day? Just deal with it!

What if more ruffians came from the hole in the roof to break into the prison?

What are prison guards for? Send more people to patrol!

Great! It's all the prison guards' fault.

Cell Number Thirteen was also a key point of the investigation; even every brick and wall crack was searched over and over again. They even brought in a master who was said to practice special techniques and could sense the environment to stay in Cell Thirteen for a night.

It's unclear if they gained anything, but anyway, the investigators never came to the Heavenly Prison again after that. The big hole in the roof was finally patched. The Heavenly Prison, which had rarely seen the light of day, returned to its days of darkness.

Chen Guanlou saw the swordsman again in a cold winter.

He bought two jin of mutton and went home, preparing to drink mutton soup in the evening. For this, he even specially bought a pot of wine.

When he pushed open the courtyard gate, the swordsman was already drinking tea at the stone table in the courtyard.

Chen Guanlou:...

This is his own home, yet someone has taken over as the master.

He asked as soon as he spoke, "How did you get in?"

The swordsman pointed at the top of the wall.

Chen Guanlou's mouth twitched, "Next time you can knock on the door to come in."

"You weren't here when I arrived. Eating mutton tonight, huh? Not bad, mutton is my favorite."

Chen Guanlou:...

It's his, it's his, it's all his.

"Since you like to eat it, I'll go buy two more jin of mutton."

"No need. You raise chickens at home, killing one is enough."

Even his chickens were being eyed.

Chen Guanlou felt very stifled.

He silently carried a kitchen knife to the back wall of the house, where a two-meter-long alley had been cleared specifically for raising chickens. Keeping the chickens at the back wall was also to prevent the smell from reaching the front courtyard.

He killed an old hen and decided to braise it in soy sauce.

He was busy in the kitchen, and the swordsman stood at the door and teased, "I didn't expect you to be skilled in cooking."

"I can't eat out every meal, it's too wasteful."

"Why don't you take a wife? This home is missing a woman."

The two of them inexplicably started chatting about household matters.

"I'll talk about that after I've saved enough money."

"You helped the Luo family, didn't Luo Jingtian give you money?"

"No one thinks they have too much money." Chen Guanlou's reason was very strong.

"Doesn't your eldest sister ask about your marriage?" The swordsman seemed very curious about his daily life.

Chen Guanlou nodded and then shook his head, "My eldest sister and I agreed long ago to talk about marriage in a few years. My eldest sister didn't object."

"Your eldest sister is really good to you."

"The food is ready. Should we eat inside or in the courtyard?"

"Are you afraid of the cold? If you're not, let's eat in the courtyard."

"Fine! I didn't poison it!"

"I assume you wouldn't dare."