Chapter 419: I Am Not That Kind of Person

The originally lifeless eyes of the Prince of Great Ming blazed with intense light, staring at Chen Guanlou as if seeing the future, as if seeing the rebellion he had long yearned for.

He acted like a mentor, an elder, inciting a confused young man to inherit his rebellion.

He had thought being captured and thrown into the Heavenly Prison meant the end of his life, the end of his great cause, that there was nothing left in this world worth remembering.

A sudden turn of fortune!

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that, with just a turn of his head, heaven had sent him a chosen heir to his rebellion.

Hahaha…

Heaven itself will not let him die!

His rebellion had merely hit a temporary setback; as long as he could trick the prison warden onto his side, his great cause would surely be reborn, surpassing his past achievements and violently overthrowing the rule of the Great Gan Dynasty.

Mu Yiguan: …

His mood was heavy, his head foggy; events had spiraled beyond expectation, veering onto a bizarre path.

He had merely been criticizing, just bending down to pick up a pen—how had the conversation escalated to the point where the Prince of Great Ming was urging Chen Guanlou to rebel?

Was it that the conversation had advanced too fast for him to keep up, or was he just too stupid to grasp the key point?

He had no choice but to speak up: "Prison Warden Chen, don't let him fool you! Why give up a stable government salary to risk execution for rebellion? Only a fool would do that. You're not actually falling for his lies, are you?"

Chen Guanlou laughed. "Prince of Great Ming, you're as clueless as ever about judging people. I just said a few random things, and you took them seriously. Look at me—do I look like the kind of man who'd endure hardship and suffering to rebel?"

"You are!" the Prince of Great Ming declared firmly. "As long as you want it, nothing in this world can stop you."

"The key is, I don't want it," Chen Guanlou waved his hand. "Any other requests?"

"I want to see Prison Warden Chen every day," the Prince of Great Ming demanded bluntly. "I want to talk to you every day. I've reached the end of my road—I might snap and kill myself at any moment. The old emperor plans to sacrifice me in a ritual, so he won't let me die. You don't want me dead either, do you? Come visit me daily, talk to me, and I promise I won't kill myself."

Chen Guanlou snorted.

Yet the Prince of Great Ming stared at him with burning eyes; seeing Chen Guanlou dismiss his words, the man suddenly slammed his head into the wall.

Mu Yiguan cried out in horror, unable to watch.

Chen Guanlou cursed inwardly: Madman!

The water-and-fire baton flew out, striking the Prince of Great Ming down, crippling him on the floor.

Yet the Prince of Great Ming felt no pain—he gazed at Chen Guanlou with even fiercer intensity. "Prison Warden Chen, you've seen my resolve. I'm determined to die—no one can stop me. Unless you agree to come to the Heavenly Prison daily to visit me and talk to me."

Chen Guanlou's skin prickled with revulsion; he couldn't stand that look—it was just too damn…

"If you want to die, I can grant your wish."

"If Prison Warden Chen refuses to inherit my cause, then let me die!" With that, the Prince of Great Ming closed his eyes, resigned to death.

Chen Guanlou: …

Mu Yiguan: …

The two stared at each other.

This turn of events was something no one had foreseen. Too bizarre.

Chen Guanlou regretted it bitterly—he shouldn't have spouted nonsense. He'd just been blowing off steam, and now someone had taken him seriously—and was using it against him.

The suffocating frustration made him truly regret it.

As he helped the Prince of Great Ming to his feet, Chen Guanlou tapped several points on his body.

The Prince of Great Ming suddenly felt chains binding his limbs—he couldn't muster an ounce of strength. Even trying to stand, his legs gave out helplessly.

"You…!" He looked terrified, his heart trembling.

Chen Guanlou spoke coldly: "You need to learn to behave. You're in the Heavenly Prison—how dare you threaten me? In this place, only I threaten others; no one has ever threatened me. Mu, give him medicine. Keep him lying there like a vegetable until next year's sacrifice ceremony."

"You can't do this."

"Of course I can. You've got your mouth—you can still chatter all day long."

Mu Yiguan added: "Since the Prince of Great Ming has embraced death, it's truly necessary to administer medicine. Don't panic, Prince of Great Ming—the drugs only temporarily paralyze your body and seal your cultivation. Once you abandon your suicidal thoughts, I'll give you the antidote. Don't blame Prison Warden Chen—we're government servants. We must follow the court's orders. The court demands you live until next spring—not a day sooner, not a day later."

Mu Yiguan pulled a vial from the bottom of his medicine chest, took out a pill, and handed it to Chen Guanlou. "Give him one daily. It'll keep him completely immobile—just like you said, lying there like a vegetable, with only his mouth still able to move."

The Prince of Great Ming struggled, clenched his teeth.

But before Chen Guanlou, all resistance was futile—he dislocated the man's jaw, dropped the pill into his mouth, forced him to swallow, then snapped the jaw back into place.

The Prince of Great Ming had never endured such humiliation—his eyes burned with hatred.

Chen Guanlou grinned cheerfully, in excellent spirits. "Now you understand, don't you? We walk different paths. Your rebellion? Leave it to someone worthy. Don't bother me. I've spent my life eating well, drinking well, and waiting to die. Who the hell would rebel?"

"You… you're wasting heaven's gift, beyond redemption! Don't you know what the world outside looks like? Don't you know the people suffer in fire and water? Don't you know…"

"So what if I know? So what if I don't? I clock in and out on time, spend money every day, support small merchants, contribute to market prosperity, to everyone's happy life—I have no guilt. If the people suffer, it's not my fault. Who caused this? Go find them. No one's stopping you. Who wants to pity the world? Go find them. Who has the ability to rescue the desperate? Go find them. In short—don't come to me. I'm not that kind of person."

Chen Guanlou stated his views with unshakable conviction.

He had fulfilled his duties, he had met his responsibilities. Don't expect more from him.

He had no lofty ideal of saving the people from ruin, nor did he believe he had the ability. His views, his thoughts, his beliefs—though they seemed to blend with this era, were in fact utterly alien to it.

Toppling heaven and earth with a crowd? Sounds thrilling—but he had zero interest. Let someone else do it.

He had endless life—he only wanted to watch the scenery.

The rise and fall of a dynasty? To him, it was merely a landscape along his journey. As a spectator, he had no need to get involved.

"You're running away. That's the act of a coward."

"Ah, you're right—I am a coward. Happy now?" Chen Guanlou teased with a grin.

The Prince of Great Ming's chest heaved with rage; Mu Yiguan feared the man would choke to death on the spot and hurriedly urged Chen Guanlou: "Say less. If you anger him to death, you'll be the one who suffers."