Chapter 446

To block or not to block, that is the question.

Chen Guanlou was a person who indulged in comfort and hated suffering, especially being injured and bleeding. Although he had the Xiao Changsheng Fruit to heal his wounds, the pain was real.

Furthermore, he absolutely could not reveal the miraculous side of the Xiao Changsheng Fruit healing his body in front of others.

So he moved slightly, curling his fingers. The teacup shattered in mid-air, and the shards fell onto the table in an orderly, rhythmic fashion. The tea inside the cup seemed to be guided by an invisible force, like a pair of sharp swords, lunging straight at Xiao Jincheng's eyes.

Xiao Jincheng looked horrified; he had prepared, but clearly not sufficiently.

His defense appeared somewhat clumsy. In the end, he successfully dodged the water swords, but half of the tea splashed onto the floor, and the other half sprayed onto his clothes.

One didn't get a single drop on them, while the other almost became a drowned rat—the winner was decided!

Someone had been utterly defeated!

Xiao Jincheng's face was dark, as if someone owed him a thousand or eight hundred taels of silver and wouldn't pay it back, or as if his favorite concubine had been stolen and he was wearing a green hat.

Chen Guanlou cupped his hands and said, "I concede!"

Xiao Jincheng took a deep breath, suppressed the turbulent emotions in his heart, and smiled faintly, "It is my lack of experience. I didn't expect such a small Heavenly Prison to hide a master like Prison Clerk Chen. The Heavenly Prison is about to turn things around!"

"Lord Xiao is joking. The Heavenly Prison is still the same old Heavenly Prison, and I am still an inconspicuous little pawn. I invited you for tea today, and since you drank it, you've accepted my favor. I hope Lord Xiao will leave a way for us to live and not push people too far."

"Prison Clerk Chen really knows how to joke. With your ability, you can go anywhere in the world. As for the conflict between the Hou Fu and Jiang Tu, it has nothing to do with me. I have not received orders to intervene in this matter."

"Oh! So the news I received is false. Everyone outside is saying that Jiang Tu has the help of the Brocade Uniform Guard, like a tiger adding wings, and the Hou Fu is in for bad luck."

"With you here, how could the Hou Fu be in for bad luck?" Xiao Jincheng laughed, "There is one thing I am quite curious about. With your skills, Prison Clerk Chen, why settle for the Heavenly Prison? I don't see anything good about this place."

"That is because of people's prejudices and blindness. Anyway, I think the Heavenly Prison is quite good; it suits me well. I cannot compare to Lord Xiao's lofty ambitions. I am just a small person without drive or aspirations, content with small wealth. If people don't offend me, I naturally won't stir up trouble. If people offend me, the worst I can do is fight for my life."

Chen Guanlou smiled, raising his teacup, smiling very simply and purely. It was as if the threatening words from just a moment ago hadn't come from his mouth at all.

Xiao Jincheng understood in his heart.

"I understand Prison Clerk Chen's thoughts. Fine, later I will bring the official documents to your door. At that time, I ask Prison Clerk Chen to make things convenient and ensure I can personally confirm the safety of the Great Ming Prince."

"As long as there are official documents, everyone in the Heavenly Prison will act according to the rules, and there will be absolutely no obstruction." Chen Guanlou promised solemnly.

The broken rules of the Heavenly Prison must be changed. Anyone being able to drill into the Heavenly Prison—what kind of order is that?

The reason the Heavenly Prison is a sieve is that in the past, it only focused on money and lacked any real management. It all depended on who had the most face; whoever did could come and go in the Heavenly Prison without restraint.

The prison guards also developed the habit of bowing three parts lower when seeing people; regardless of whether it complied with the rules, as long as the other party's status was higher than their own, they would listen to everything the other party said.

Xiao Jincheng stood up to take his leave!

It could be called coming and going in a hurry.

Just after sending the person away, Medical Official Mu poked his head out again.

Chen Guanlou looked at him, "You haven't left yet?"

Medical Official Mu hummed twice, "What did the Brocade Uniform Guard come here for?"

"On the surface, it was to visit the prison and understand the situation of the Great Ming Prince. Because there were no official documents, I rejected it. The real intention was to test my depth."

"Did they test it?"

"They did."

"What was the result?"

"Leaving so decisively, what do you think?" Chen Guanlou showed off a little.

Medical Official Mu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't believe it, "You actually won against the one surnamed Xiao? I heard that he has extremely high talent, and his cultivation has improved recently."

"It has indeed improved. His cultivation level is rising very fast, and his talent is very high." Chen Guanlou affirmed.

"You actually won against him?" Medical Official Mu couldn't hide his excitement, as if he were meeting the other person for the first time.

Chen Guanlou laughed: "I just had the upper hand slightly; it doesn't count as winning."

"You are humble when you shouldn't be, and you insist on being humble when you shouldn't. Winning is winning; having the upper hand is winning. In a martial arts contest, a hair's breadth is also a win." Medical Official Mu said sternly, "I am becoming more and more curious about you, and I believe there are many others like me. You really need to be careful. It was safer when you were keeping a low profile in the past. Now that you are a big deal, you are becoming increasingly dangerous."

Chen Guanlou rubbed his fingers and said lightly: "It's no big deal. It's nothing more than killing one if one comes, and killing a pair if a pair comes."

"Do you want me to prepare some injury medicine for you? I won't make money off you, just cost price."

"Alright, the more the better."

Chen Guanlou paid the deposit immediately. Although he didn't need it, to protect the secrets on his body, what was a little money?

Later that evening, Xiao Jincheng indeed brought the official documents and stepped into the Heavenly Prison again, successfully meeting the Great Ming Prince.

The Great Ming Prince was extremely disgusted with the Brocade Uniform Guard. Recognizing the uniform, he opened his mouth on the spot and cursed wantonly, using very dirty language. It was the kind of filth that Chen Guanlou couldn't bring himself to say.

The faces of the Brocade Uniform Guards were incredibly foul.

If the Great Ming Prince were locked in the Imperial Prison, they would definitely make him experience the eighteen heavy punishments of the Imperial Prison to see if he would still dare to curse.

It was only in the Heavenly Prison, a group of spineless cowards, that they would feed and house the Great Ming Prince so well.

Chen Guanlou reminded the Brocade Uniform Guard, "The Great Ming Prince is poisoned and his life hangs by a thread at any moment; you must not provoke him. If he dies, it will be entirely your responsibility. Even if the lawsuit goes to the Emperor, I will say the same."

"It's a pity your Heavenly Prison could come up with the trick of poisoning. If it were the Imperial Prison, we would have sent him to the torture room long ago; within three days, I guarantee he would be obedient."

"Who told you there are so many people outside thinking about the Great Ming Prince? Can sending him to the torture room stop the people outside who are eyeing him like tigers? You Brocade Uniform Guards do things crudely and never care about methods."

Chen Guanlou didn't indulge them and retorted directly.

From beginning to end, Xiao Jincheng didn't speak, letting his subordinates do as they pleased. He just stared at the Great Ming Prince, as if he were trying to see a flower, or perhaps pondering where to start the knife when performing the slow slicing execution.

In short, that gaze was extremely eerie and evil, making one feel uncomfortable all over.

When leaving, he gave one last instruction, "Great Ming Prince, His Majesty hopes you will recover well; you must not let His Majesty down. Your hometown, your followers—their lives are all in your hands."

"You... shameless! They are all subjects of Great Gan!"

"You are wrong! From the moment they provided you with help, they betrayed the imperial court, betrayed His Majesty, and are no longer subjects of Great Gan."